Read Online Indiana Jones and the Secretof the Sphinx by Max McCoy - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Max McCoy
Tags: Indiana Jones
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behind them.
"That will not fool Sokai Sensei," Musashi said.
"No," Indy said as he reloaded the Webley, "but it might just buy us some time. Mr. Bryce, let's have a chat with the captain, shall we?"
After a long and somewhat heated discussion, a deal was finally struck.
"The old Malay pirate who is running this junk wanted a hundred dollars American to run us to port," Indy reported as he rejoined the Maskelynes on the forward deck. "I gave him everything I had, which was thirty-five dollars and some change."
"Was it enough?"
"It'll have to be," Indy said.
"Where exactly are we headed?"
"Shanghai," Indy said. "Which is good, because I have friends there. We should arrive sometime tomorrow night. Until then, we just need to take it easy and lie low. "
Faye nodded.
"And we can get you passage back to England."
"I beg your pardon?" Faye asked.
"We're American, Dr. Jones," Mystery said. "Mom uses the English accent onstage because people expect it, because Daddy is English. But Mother was born in Oklahoma."
"Okay," Indy said. "We'll get you back to the States, then."
"We're not going back," Faye said. "We're going to stay here until we find Mystery's father."
"But you have no business in this part of the world," Indy said. "It's dangerous, if you haven't noticed. You and your escape artist of an assistant are going to get yourselves killed."
"We were doing quite well," Faye said, "until you happened to crash the show. It wasn't the Imperial Army searching for us. And, if I recall, we were the ones who saved your hide, not the other way around."
"I was doing all right," Indy said.
Faye laughed.
"You were not," she said. "You were three steps away from being back in prison. And now that we're on the subject, what were you locked up for, anyway? You never told us."
"It's a long story," Indy said.
"I'll bet," Faye said. "And that alias of yours. Couldn't you think of something better than Jones? It shows a distinct lack of imagination."
"It's my name," Indy protested.
"But only on the days it isn't Smith, eh?"
"Mother," Mystery pleaded. "Please don't fight."
"He started it," Faye said. "I just want him to know that we're going to continue our search for Kaspar, and that we expect him to repay us for the losses we've suffered because of him."
"You mean all of that was true?" Indy asked.
"Of course it's true," Faye said. "Do you think we would make all of that up?"
"It was such a good story," Indy said, "I figured it was just part of the act. Forgive me, but in my experience stage magicians haven't exactly been the most reliable of sources. But if what you say is true... that could lead to some interesting possibilities. I might even be inclined to stick around."
"How's your shoulder, Dr. Jones?" Mystery asked.
She was doing her best to change the subject.
"It hurts," Indy said as he stretched out on a mound of burlap and pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes. He was silent for a moment, then asked: "Do you mean to say that your Kaspar really was searching for the Staff of Aaron?"
But before Faye could answer him, Indy was snoring.
As the junk continued her leisurely, dreamlike journey to the southwest, Indy allowed himself to sleep in order to cope with the pain from his aching shoulder. Driven by the wind and attended only by the sound of the water and the sails, the junk made for a timeless scene that could have taken place during any of a thousand previous Septembers. Shrouded in mystery and tradition, the castlelike junk made her way down the channel that separated Japan from occupied Korea.
By that afternoon the junk was crossing the East China Sea, bound for Shanghai. Although high storm clouds were building in the east, the day was balmy, the sea was calm, and the wind was moderate. The air had taken on that particular luminous quality that Indy had only seen in the East; the day seemed to shimmer in green and gold.
Then, early in the evening, a shadow crossed the sea.
The eastern
"That will not fool Sokai Sensei," Musashi said.
"No," Indy said as he reloaded the Webley, "but it might just buy us some time. Mr. Bryce, let's have a chat with the captain, shall we?"
After a long and somewhat heated discussion, a deal was finally struck.
"The old Malay pirate who is running this junk wanted a hundred dollars American to run us to port," Indy reported as he rejoined the Maskelynes on the forward deck. "I gave him everything I had, which was thirty-five dollars and some change."
"Was it enough?"
"It'll have to be," Indy said.
"Where exactly are we headed?"
"Shanghai," Indy said. "Which is good, because I have friends there. We should arrive sometime tomorrow night. Until then, we just need to take it easy and lie low. "
Faye nodded.
"And we can get you passage back to England."
"I beg your pardon?" Faye asked.
"We're American, Dr. Jones," Mystery said. "Mom uses the English accent onstage because people expect it, because Daddy is English. But Mother was born in Oklahoma."
"Okay," Indy said. "We'll get you back to the States, then."
"We're not going back," Faye said. "We're going to stay here until we find Mystery's father."
"But you have no business in this part of the world," Indy said. "It's dangerous, if you haven't noticed. You and your escape artist of an assistant are going to get yourselves killed."
"We were doing quite well," Faye said, "until you happened to crash the show. It wasn't the Imperial Army searching for us. And, if I recall, we were the ones who saved your hide, not the other way around."
"I was doing all right," Indy said.
Faye laughed.
"You were not," she said. "You were three steps away from being back in prison. And now that we're on the subject, what were you locked up for, anyway? You never told us."
"It's a long story," Indy said.
"I'll bet," Faye said. "And that alias of yours. Couldn't you think of something better than Jones? It shows a distinct lack of imagination."
"It's my name," Indy protested.
"But only on the days it isn't Smith, eh?"
"Mother," Mystery pleaded. "Please don't fight."
"He started it," Faye said. "I just want him to know that we're going to continue our search for Kaspar, and that we expect him to repay us for the losses we've suffered because of him."
"You mean all of that was true?" Indy asked.
"Of course it's true," Faye said. "Do you think we would make all of that up?"
"It was such a good story," Indy said, "I figured it was just part of the act. Forgive me, but in my experience stage magicians haven't exactly been the most reliable of sources. But if what you say is true... that could lead to some interesting possibilities. I might even be inclined to stick around."
"How's your shoulder, Dr. Jones?" Mystery asked.
She was doing her best to change the subject.
"It hurts," Indy said as he stretched out on a mound of burlap and pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes. He was silent for a moment, then asked: "Do you mean to say that your Kaspar really was searching for the Staff of Aaron?"
But before Faye could answer him, Indy was snoring.
As the junk continued her leisurely, dreamlike journey to the southwest, Indy allowed himself to sleep in order to cope with the pain from his aching shoulder. Driven by the wind and attended only by the sound of the water and the sails, the junk made for a timeless scene that could have taken place during any of a thousand previous Septembers. Shrouded in mystery and tradition, the castlelike junk made her way down the channel that separated Japan from occupied Korea.
By that afternoon the junk was crossing the East China Sea, bound for Shanghai. Although high storm clouds were building in the east, the day was balmy, the sea was calm, and the wind was moderate. The air had taken on that particular luminous quality that Indy had only seen in the East; the day seemed to shimmer in green and gold.
Then, early in the evening, a shadow crossed the sea.
The eastern
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