 log entry the catch scarlet queen philip carney master position six degrees eight minutes north 122 degrees 15 minutes east wind brisk sky fare remarks departed sulu islands at dawn after violent exit from royal palace reason for violence the lonely sultan of isabella de basalan basalan is the northernmost of the sulu group which forms the palm stuttered division line between the sulu sea to the east and the celibate sea to the west its chief city isabella de basalan a collection of bamboo and nipah palm houses grouped around the mohammedan temple and a few shops and offices was a crucial port on the voyage of the scarlet queen there we would have contacted an aged and trusted friend of kujikang the sultan of the island kamalul hakayam the second from his hands we would have received what had grown to be the most important document in the world the final instructions the chart showing the actual location of ten million dollars worth of priceless relics that trace the eight historic periods of china's past and china's beginning so it was with feelings mixed between elation and something like dread that we made on moorings in the lazy harbor of isabella and were boarded by the turban little port official which is captain one that's me i will look at papers written for the ship one yeah here they are already for you you have no purpose here one yeah i got a good purpose here i have business with kamalul hakayam the second knowing one that shadows come and shadows go this island will be a place of desolation for you his shadow is no longer with us forget to the point you mean he's dead for five days toans his son is even now at home in the great chambers of the palace of marmanuk as kamalul hakayam the third sultan of basilan you will hearing this still have business here i hope so believe me i hope so and so mutual continues the voyage of the scarlet queen written by gildowd and bob tallman and starring elliot louis the scarlet queen protest ship to plow the seas bound for uncharted adventure every week a complete entry in the log and every week a league further in the strange voyage of the scarlet queen ten minutes after we were moored i left the ship and gallagher's command and headed toward the palace realizing if there was anyone with whom the old sultan had trusted the secret his son or anyone else i'd have to make my arrival known before i could hope to be contacted when i reached the palace of marmanuk i followed a heavy set brightly uniformed guard down a long inner hallway rich with marvel mysterious with tightly closed doors on either side uneasy with a complete lack of visible humanity my god motioned me to a stop in a domed circular widening of the hall disappeared down another long passageway to deliver my message i didn't have to wait long for an answer but it wasn't from the sultan it was a ruddy faced white man who walked into my waiting room flanked by two guys well well captain philip carney to see kamalul hakayam the third sultan of basilan that's ryan might i ask carney aren't you behind schedule who are you well you might say i'm a sort of unofficial court advisor these young rulers need guidance you know my name is roi polk so i'm glad you arrived carney a very important man wants to meet you constantino he's arriving tomorrow huh i was looking forward to meeting him too strangely enough he feels a certain amount of admiration for you because you've been so difficult to kill i believe you aren't surprised to find us here before you and in possession of the most vital charts of all not in the slightest your men have waited for me before just wondering how you managed to knock off the old man his death was due to natural causes but actually it would have made little difference we had operatives in the sultan's palace long before he died his death merely made it simpler now well don't think it's been a pleasure now if you get one of your knife happy bell boys to show me out i'll leave you go ahead take him the original sultan hadn't wasted any time or expense when he'd built the cell they tossed me into both its ventilation and light was supplied by the quarter inch crack at the bottom of the heavy door i lay there and rationed my breaths for a black immeasurable period of time the first inkling i got a someone's approach was the break in the weak ray of light under the door as somebody's feet passed through it i got to my feet with the idea of making a try against whoever it was but the first thing i saw as the door opened was the cold shine of a knife blade the guard behind it motioned me forward you'll come you speak english i make you here this thirsty knife you come you're no fight he no drink on you i don't fight i come behind you walk where do we go we go up a room sultan hero you come sultan rule other white man come to other one ego sultan he no rule come then only sultan in upper room no only sultan number one sultan number two sultan also many gods with thirsty knives you not talk you go the upper room was large rich with rugs and draperies furnished with the treasures of gold and silverware necessary to serve a sultan with food and drink musicians to soothe his ears luxurious low feather padded couches for the comfort of his body on one of these lounged kamalul hakayam the third looking like an arabian night style man of distinction with his sharply bearded chin and the jewels flashing from his turban and his languid fingers he was as handsome as the setting into which he nestled two couches on either side of him held his sultanas the one of lower rank was all beauty with a coloring that tinged from like tanned ivory number one was weasel like in her receding chin quivered with impatience as she waited for her lord to greet me so she could open up my guest perhaps finds it more pleasant in this portion of my palace was only at your request the unworthy will bow before my lord he is not good your answer captain i only came here at your request the pig has a fork tug my lord the honored guest roi pope speaks that you and one kujikang were enemies of my father and even now our enemies to his memory and to me his son he is not good did your father ever speak to you about kujikang the unworthy questions my lord no my father spoke of little to me roi pope spoke that you and kujikang were greedy for that which my father possessed he prophesied that you alone would come to basilan to take it from this palace and the pig came roi pope spoke truth yes i asked only one thing the inferior one does not ask he begs he grovels before my lord he shrivels like a weed before the burning eyes of my lord my highest star i your face takes the color from a troubled sunset he's not read the color of fear your request will it bring us pleasure i beg for the good of all concern that you send me back to myself send him back my lord that i may order servants to wash the floor when he is stood now what you know make love talk no make sound you come what's the honor this time you know talk in way this way the distance was short in the new direction but the result was heart stopping the ivory colored number two saltana arose from a couch as i went in she was smiling she held out her right hand and she met me in the middle of her own my name is sangha captain come and sit down yeah thanks captain i was so proud of you in the upper room earlier this evening i tried so hard i can't take this all at once i'm lost you're a little surprising i'm sorry i forget my effect on people who don't know me i'll keep it brief i was the adopted daughter of kamalu hakayam the second he bought me from my family when i was nine years old and he was returning here from his pilgrimage to the holy city of mecca my education has been in british schools in the audience and finally i spent the war period in the school in the united states that brings me almost back to normal so you sprung me out of my cell how'd you handle it i've learned it by holding the love of the servants one can wield even greater power in the palace than the linear rulers himself this place needs more like you all right i'm here why captain carney i want you to help me help you that's great help you do what my lord the salt i like that cell better every time i'm out of oh please listen to me i know you have every right in the world to hate him for what he did to you but believe me it isn't his fault he's weak i'll admit but a little love and understanding would help him i know it would he's never had any and he needs it sound more like a woman than a number two saltana worried about herself i wasn't going to let myself because now i'll sound like a cat when i put the blame for everything on latima was that her name she's a greedy grasping woman she's a liar and a cheat but she should she feeds my lord vanity and needs him around like a puppy what a sucker why does he put up with no choice for many years she has connived to gain control of the palace she's the cause of everything even your trouble here what do you mean she's been paid money for a long time to spy on my stepfather to read letters from kutcher kang to steal a very important chart that my stepfather was to give to you know about that chart when my stepfather knew he was dying he honored me by saying that i was the only person he could trust with the secret and his promise to kutcher kang than neither latima nor pope has the chart latima thinks she has not knowing one chart from another and realizing more and more the value she thinks is behind her chart she has set a very high price upon it i'm dead so high in fact that mr. constantino himself is arriving tomorrow to bring the money so don't you think we should settle all our problems tonight so that i can show my lord what a horrible woman she is here here is the true chart but it's in your pocket where it will be safe sanga it is the chart i'm lost again i i don't know what to say to you or do phil would this sound silly nothing would sound silly from you what would you but you're nice and you won't laugh at me ali you may go aren't you and now with a guard going you and i are the only ones who will know that it's silly phil the last time i was kissed was the night of june 16th 1945 on the ferris wheel at long beach california there now is it silly silly look let's not waste time denying anything now that's what i wondered how many things i miss about the good night and the likeness went out of the evening as suddenly as she brought it in two guns materialized probably through love of the servants and we started out to save the sultan through her organization of the palace staff our espionage was perfect we received split second reports on the movements of pope latima and the sultan i didn't know why it was so important till the three were reported together in the upper room and sangha left me she was back in 20 minutes her soft eyes not so soft her soft mouth set a little grimly and the tanned ivory skin over her cheekbone slightly fleshed with excitement her grasp on my arm was spring tight as we walked through the long corridors her plans were well laid and successful until we entered the upper room latima and the sultan were pleased expressions and pope swung his automatic toward me and more than a threatening movement i pushed sangha sideways and hit the floor two slugs took a base just above me no no mr pope no you see sangha we were warned of your visit by the few servants who aren't working with you but i've come to help you really you must believe me captain carney has the true chart hidden she lies what's this sangha it's true i can prove it to you mr pope the chart you bargained for is false i can prove it she lies my lord send her away as you went from my presence without ever mind helping him all right sangha carney leave your gun on the floor and get up here you too sangha you can drop your gun certainly i have no need of a gun if you will listen to me there's only one thing i want i would approve to my lord and to you latima is a liar and a deceiver sangha you dare send her from here you accuse the first sultan i don't care about me family squabbles stay on your couch sultan i'll handle this all right sangha what's this talk about the charts latima has been lying to my lord and he's been trying to deceive you by selling you a false chart she lies my lord you're not to believe my lord would not know who lies but mr pope would here it was hidden in her room the chart she had ready for sale to mr concentino tomorrow some islands in the band of sea thousands of miles south that show is true look at it mr pope well mr pope is this the one we were paying 10 000 pesos for tomorrow it is the one it is the one that came from kuchi karni this is your party pope all right sangha i've had enough of this where's the true chart latima has already sold it to captain karni latima she lies i sold no chart to the p captain karni give me the chart there there is a celibate his chart never mind the gun latima latima you believe her then my lord will believe her hope made his first mistake in arming his royal accomplice the second was in shouting at her latima made her first rush out and cocking the weapon with clumsy fingers he didn't wait for her to make it his two slugs jolted latima backwards and knocked her to the floor i understood sangha's stand when she threw herself to her knees and scooped up her gun as i faded the other way after mine but hope was in action go down i felt flat on my gun grabbed it and rolled into a new position i came up against the table and turned but i didn't have to fire sangha had raised herself partway up with her left arm and her wavering gun muzzle was still following pope as he settled silently to the floor she sank back held up a reaching hopeful hand as i bent over things went all wrong yeah they got a little mixed up didn't they i hate the act the way i did you thought i was foolish i love him didn't you i wanted to give him love and more i hope you know why my wish was that one of them would not die which one sultan well that is no problem now since both of them are dead now in spite of my wishes i find myself lonely is that all sultan which is a great burden it is no small task to find wives i will be lonely so help me sultan i gotta let go it won't do her any good nothing will do you any good but maybe it'll help me just a little bit now come on get up off that you're lonesome log up to date put my signature under a day that i pay five of my own years to buy and bring back so that i could work out a better finish for it but the new day brought us wind and we cut the motor to use it guys against the rising sun stood at their stations in the sad postures of the newly awakened and looked vacantly at red the mizzen spread its expanse off my right shoulder the scarlet queen bowed to the morning in her finest manner flirted half heartedly with a native lager that flopped past us bound for basilan and then settled into her run across the celibacy are we in a big hurry skipper or is this all right now this will do red your spirit's still in the bilge skipper yeah that's the truth red it's a good way to go nuts but i keep wanting that day back i have been looking at the chart yeah well i don't want you to think i'm acting funny about this but there's a blood stain on it i think it could be hers couldn't be anyone else's red why well it's not much of a chart for size so i don't suppose it's much of a coincidence but the stain covers the x that kang marked the position of the prize with maybe she'll give us a hand red yeah i guess we don't have to talk about it scarlet queen 5 30 p.m miles traveled from san francisco 20,858 wind brisk and rising sky overcast mainsland mason reefed ship secure for night signed philip carney master invite you to sail into further adventure on the voyage of the scarlet queen next week at the same time