Read Online Casca 17: The Warrior by Barry Sadler - Free Book Online
Authors: Barry Sadler
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told meaningful stories, recounted legends, or set symbolic examples.
That night, as far as Casca could tell, the conversation in the chief's house was entirely about other matters. It was as if the people only had a memory span of a few hours.
Or perhaps it was simply that the disturbing news that had reached the island from the nearby Fiji isles put all other matters out of mind.
Cakabau, the chief of the tiny island of Bau, had declared himself king of all of Fiji and the islands to the west, which included Navola Levu. Kini came from a village that had been subjugated by this bloodthirsty and power-hungry chief, and the elders of the village were interested to hear whatever he could tell them. They sat with Kini, Casca, and several members of the Rangaroa crew while the bib—the coconut kava cup—was passed back and forth.
The old chief nodded knowingly. "Here in our mountain fastness we are invincible. It is impossible for an enemy to kill one of our men before we kill one of his, so long as we choose to stay behind our palisade."
"Which we don't very often do," Mbolo said. it seemed to Casca that Mbolo, educated in English by the wandering merchant adventurer Samuel Clevinger, was almost as important as Semele.
Sonolo, a massively built young man, shrugged and spread wide his enormous hands. "Well, after all, that is the way we are. Naturally we prefer to go out and greet the enemy and fight him where there is more danger."
Semele paused, pursed his lips in thought for a moment, then spoke: "But is it not clear that against Cakabau we cannot afford to be so adventurous? Should we meet him outside the palisade and he kill one of our men, we would pay a great price for our adventurousness, Sonolo."
It seemed to Casca that he must be missing or misunderstanding something of this conversation.
"Excuse me," he said, "but I don't quite understand. Do you mean to say that the fighting stops as soon as one man is killed?" He looked into a number of uncomprehending faces.
Sonolo, who was the war chief and a nephew of Semele, answered him. "But of course. Surely one dead man is enough."
"Well," Casca shrugged, "from the point of view of the one, I guess it's one too many. But what if you should lose a man when you have the advantage?"
Semele looked at Casca as if he suddenly had doubts of his intellect. "What advantage could offset the death of a man?"
Casca shrugged and sat staring up at the thatch roof, looking for an answer from his long experience of civilized warfare that would make sense to these man-eating barbarians who could not conceive of a war that would kill more than one man.
"But Cakabau, too, is invincible," Kini told the chief. "Perhaps he is, on his island of Bau, but we do not think of attacking Bau."
"That is not what I mean," said Kini. "He is invincible wherever he goes."
"How can this be?" asked Semele, puzzled.
"He carries with him six weapons of enormous power."
Semele laughed. "I will be very happy to meet Cakabau in battle if he is silly enough to carry six clubs. No man could wield even two clubs effectively."
"These weapons are not clubs, and Cakabau himself only carries one of them, but they can kill a man from a distance of tens of paces."
The old chief looked intently into Kini's eyes. "You have seen these weapons?"
"I have seen them. On our island of Vanua Levu we met Cakabau and his raiders on the beach and three of our men were killed from a great distance."
"Hmm." Semele scratched his grizzled head. "Hmm. We have heard of these fire-stick weapons, but we thought the tales exaggerated. This is something new which must be taken into consideration."
Ateca, a tiny woman who seemed to be the chief's number one wife, spoke: "Can the stones that these fire sticks throw pierce our palisade?"
"Not readily, I think," Kini replied.
"Then here we remain invincible," said Semele, "but outside our palisade we are vulnerable." He turned again to Kini. "What is Cakabau's
That night, as far as Casca could tell, the conversation in the chief's house was entirely about other matters. It was as if the people only had a memory span of a few hours.
Or perhaps it was simply that the disturbing news that had reached the island from the nearby Fiji isles put all other matters out of mind.
Cakabau, the chief of the tiny island of Bau, had declared himself king of all of Fiji and the islands to the west, which included Navola Levu. Kini came from a village that had been subjugated by this bloodthirsty and power-hungry chief, and the elders of the village were interested to hear whatever he could tell them. They sat with Kini, Casca, and several members of the Rangaroa crew while the bib—the coconut kava cup—was passed back and forth.
The old chief nodded knowingly. "Here in our mountain fastness we are invincible. It is impossible for an enemy to kill one of our men before we kill one of his, so long as we choose to stay behind our palisade."
"Which we don't very often do," Mbolo said. it seemed to Casca that Mbolo, educated in English by the wandering merchant adventurer Samuel Clevinger, was almost as important as Semele.
Sonolo, a massively built young man, shrugged and spread wide his enormous hands. "Well, after all, that is the way we are. Naturally we prefer to go out and greet the enemy and fight him where there is more danger."
Semele paused, pursed his lips in thought for a moment, then spoke: "But is it not clear that against Cakabau we cannot afford to be so adventurous? Should we meet him outside the palisade and he kill one of our men, we would pay a great price for our adventurousness, Sonolo."
It seemed to Casca that he must be missing or misunderstanding something of this conversation.
"Excuse me," he said, "but I don't quite understand. Do you mean to say that the fighting stops as soon as one man is killed?" He looked into a number of uncomprehending faces.
Sonolo, who was the war chief and a nephew of Semele, answered him. "But of course. Surely one dead man is enough."
"Well," Casca shrugged, "from the point of view of the one, I guess it's one too many. But what if you should lose a man when you have the advantage?"
Semele looked at Casca as if he suddenly had doubts of his intellect. "What advantage could offset the death of a man?"
Casca shrugged and sat staring up at the thatch roof, looking for an answer from his long experience of civilized warfare that would make sense to these man-eating barbarians who could not conceive of a war that would kill more than one man.
"But Cakabau, too, is invincible," Kini told the chief. "Perhaps he is, on his island of Bau, but we do not think of attacking Bau."
"That is not what I mean," said Kini. "He is invincible wherever he goes."
"How can this be?" asked Semele, puzzled.
"He carries with him six weapons of enormous power."
Semele laughed. "I will be very happy to meet Cakabau in battle if he is silly enough to carry six clubs. No man could wield even two clubs effectively."
"These weapons are not clubs, and Cakabau himself only carries one of them, but they can kill a man from a distance of tens of paces."
The old chief looked intently into Kini's eyes. "You have seen these weapons?"
"I have seen them. On our island of Vanua Levu we met Cakabau and his raiders on the beach and three of our men were killed from a great distance."
"Hmm." Semele scratched his grizzled head. "Hmm. We have heard of these fire-stick weapons, but we thought the tales exaggerated. This is something new which must be taken into consideration."
Ateca, a tiny woman who seemed to be the chief's number one wife, spoke: "Can the stones that these fire sticks throw pierce our palisade?"
"Not readily, I think," Kini replied.
"Then here we remain invincible," said Semele, "but outside our palisade we are vulnerable." He turned again to Kini. "What is Cakabau's
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