Read Online Tiger War by Don Pendleton - Free Book Online Page B

rifles.
    When the ambush was over eight corpses lay on the trail. Over them stood a few dazed horses. The rest of the animals had gone back the way they had come, along with the sole surviving soldier. From behind the boulder Bolan observed the silent scene, lit by the dying torches on the ground. Not a soul moved.
    Bolan shouldered his rifle and walked back to the woods. He mounted his horse and resumed his journey.

Chapter 7
    Bolan and Nark reached the ridge overlooking the village late in the afternoon. One glance at the activity below told them something was up. An armed crowd milled outside the headman's hut, everywhere horses were being loaded with household belongings, and children were rounding up animals.
    They dismounted and led the horses down the slope. That way they could descend faster. By the first house they came to, a woman was tying pots and pans to a horse already laden with bales of tobacco.
    "What's going on?" Bolan inquired in Meo.
    "Chinese are coming to kill Hmong," the woman replied.
    "Why?"
    "To punish the Hmong for helping white men."
    "Who told you this?" Nark asked.
    "Ask the headman," the woman said with a nod in the direction of his house.
    They rode into the village past doorways from which women emerged, arms full. Piles of furniture and bedding lay everywhere. Pigs were squealing and hens were cackling. The entire village was preparing to move out.
    In the square, men were loading a large crate onto the back of the village elephant. The beast knelt with the driver, the mahout, astride its neck. Nearby lay sacks of corn and rice for loading.
    As they reached the crowd, the people parted to let them through. Faces watched them in silence, impassive. There was no hostility, but there was no friendliness either. The men were armed with muskets and crossbows. Where were the rifles they had captured? Bolan wondered.
    They dismounted and entered the headman's gloomy home. The place was packed with people, the air thick with smoke. A shouting match was in progress at the far end. So absorbed was the audience, Bolan and Nark's entry went unnoticed.
    "Did we not tell you?" a man shouted. "We told you not to have anything to do with him. We told you he would bring us trouble."
    "You told me, you told me," shouted back a voice which Bolan recognized as Vang Ky's. "You told me many things. But when he offered you money you also accepted."
    "Only because you vouched for him. You said he could be trusted. You said we would get the arms and money before we went to war."
    "Pao is right," added a third man. "The agreement was for arms and money first. They tricked us."
    "Why are you saying this?" Vang Ky retorted. "You know it is not true. It was the arrest of the first man that delayed the money."
    "Who are these long noses, anyway?" broke in a fourth man. "I don't believe they are Russians. My son says they speak English to each other. He thinks they are Americans."
    "Of course they are Americans," said someone. "They want to destroy Tiger for the poppies. Remember in Xiengkhouang? They were always after us to stop growing opium."
    "Is this true, Ky?"
    "Is what true?"
    "That they are Americans."
    A long silence followed. "Ky, we want an answer," the man persisted.
    "Yes, they are Americans," the headman admitted.
    On the rim of the audience, in the shadows, Bolan and Nark exchanged glances. The cover was blown.
    "So, Ky," said a voice rising in anger, "you lied to us. You told us they were Russians when all the time you knew they were Yankees. Tell us, Ky, how much are they paying you to be their agent? How much for lying to your own?"
    "Ky always did like licking American asses," observed someone.
    "You'd better watch your tongue, Xan," said Vang Ky.
    "Headmen, headmen," a new voice called. "We did not meet to exchange insults. We are here to find a way of saving the villages."
    "You have a suggestion, Ly?"
    "Yes, I do."
    "Let's have it."
    "What I propose is that we offer the Chinese a deal. As soon as the