In Search of Goliathus Hercules (23 page)

T
he air in Kuala Lumpur was thick with humidity and exotic scents. Nothing in Malaya was dull, Henri noticed. People wore flowing garments in a rainbow of colors. The vegetation was the most dazzling bright green, and trees were laden with fruit so enormous that one would have thought they were grown expressly for giants.

They were all relieved now that they’d arrived in the capital of British Malaya. Still, Henri had trouble sleeping at night. Just south of Bangkok in Siam they had lost track of Agatha Black. He awoke again and again from nightmares of Mrs. Black’s horrific crimes. Billy had taken to wearing binoculars around his neck and was constantly scanning the horizon for any sign of “the old hag,” as he referred to her. Maestro Antonio put his energy into recording their journey and making notes on the landscape, plants, and animals they encountered.

It was clear that Mrs. Black was heading to British Malaya like they were, though the maestro wondered why she didn’t just rush ahead and find
Goliathus hercules
herself. “She’s obviously capable,” he remarked. “And wickedly smart. She could have all the fame and glory to herself.”

“Lots of people have tried to capture
Goliathus hercules
before, but no one has succeeded,” said Billy. “Maybe she wants to ride our coattails into the jungle and snatch him right up from under our noses.”

“I think it’s more than that,” said Robin. “She doesn’t just want to capture it. Maybe she needs Henri to speak to it. But why?”

“I think Robin’s right. She needs me for some reason, but at the same time she’s trying to wear me down. That’s what all this torment is about.”

They decided to start in Kuala Selangor, which was north of Kuala Lumpur and near the coast. Henri felt drawn to the area because it is the one other place in the world where synchronous fireflies can be found. Having worked with the fireflies in the circus, he was keen to meet their cousins. If they found nothing there, they would keep traveling inland to a vast, uncharted jungle to the west where the oldest rainforests in the world could be found.

As they waited for the rainy season to end, they looked for a reliable guide to hire in Kuala Lumpur. Foreign explorers and adventurers like themselves tended to congregate in a few restaurants and social clubs around the city. In one such place, a restaurant called the Golden Horse Palace, they met a well-known explorer named George Maxwell. He had written a book called
In Malay Forests
. He was just the man to help them find a guide. Mr. Maxwell was intrigued as he listened to Henri describe their mission.

“There seems little doubt that
Goliathus hercules
is a member of the beetle family, order
Coleoptera
,” Henri said. “And physically it’s one of the most intimidating-looking insects to walk the earth. Its head is crowned with shiny, black horns tipped with gold!”

“You’re a tad late,” said a rather belligerent-looking, red-faced man sitting nearby with a group of men dressed in safari khaki.

“Excuse me?” said Henri.

“I said you’ve missed the boat!” replied the man. He smirked at his friends, and they laughed in return.

Maestro Antonio spoke up. “Are you saying that someone has announced the capture of a live specimen?”

“Well, a few weeks ago,” said the red-faced man with emphasis. “A tall woman…What was her name?” The man turned to his friends.

“Was it Blackburn?” asked Robin.

“Yes! That’s it, but she should be called Mrs. High and Mighty! She waltzes in here announcing that she’s on an expedition to capture
Goliathus hercules
. Says she’s even got the blessing of Her Royal Highness Queen Victoria! She was waving around a piece of paper and showing it to anyone who would look. I didn’t bother looking, myself, because, after all, would the queen really send someone on such a fool’s errand? Mrs. High and Mighty is flapping about in her black dress and starched petticoats like she’s on her way to the British high commissioner’s funeral, not off into the jungle!” He let out a hardy laugh. His friends chortled along with him.

Henri turned to his companions. With his elbows on the table, he rested his head in his hands. He felt defeated.

“Cheer up, Henri,” said Billy resolutely. “They didn’t say she had caught
Goliathus hercules
, although I have to admit she’s got a head start on us.”

“I take it that she is your rival in this venture?” asked George Maxwell. They all nodded. “Every explorer has a rival, a competitor with whom they are racing against to reach their destination or goal. Sometimes it is a friendly rivalry—”

“Not in this case!” interjected Billy.

“I gather that. Bitter adversaries have been driven to despicable acts, including slandering the competition, sabotaging the other’s equipment, and even murder!”

“All excellent ideas,” muttered Billy under his breath. He received a sharp elbow from Robin.

“But I caution you not to lose sight of what’s important. Don’t concern yourself with Mrs. Blackburn. She is a distraction. In order to successfully complete your mission, it will require your complete attention and all of your energy. Don’t let her needling divert you from your goal.”

“That’s exactly what she’s been trying to do,” said Robin with vehemence.

“We haven’t come all this way to give up now,” said Maestro Antonio. “Remember, Henri, capturing
Goliathus hercules
is just one part of our goal.”

“You lot must be those circus people Mrs. High and Mighty said were on her tail,” the red-faced man chortled.

“Just what else did she say?” asked Henri sharply.

“She said you’re a bunch of sideshow freaks, and I have to say that you, young man, look rather peculiar. I predict your little party won’t last a week in the jungle.”

Henri, Billy, and Maestro Antonio stood up. “Don’t let him goad you,” implored Robin.

The red-faced man continued laughing and then said, “You know, once you capture
Goliathus hercules
, you could head south to the Dutch East Indies. You can pick yourselves up a garuda—half man and half bird. Put them both in your sideshow!”

“After that, they can go to Tibet and capture the yeti!” said one of his companions who wore a monocle.

“I think it’s time we departed,” said Mr. Maxwell.

The party gathered their possessions and moved toward the door without a word to the jeering table of men. Henri paused. “I’m sorry, I think I left my notebook at the table. I’ll just be a moment. You can wait outside for me.”

“Make it quick, Henri,” instructed Maestro Antonio as he ushered the others out the door. Henri turned back to the table, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt as he walked. He stopped briefly at the vacated table and then moved to stand in front of the red-faced man and his companions.

“Gentlemen, we never formally introduced ourselves.” He held out his hand to the red-faced man who reluctantly took it and then Henri shook the hand of the monocled man. “I’m Henri Bell.”

“Harry Staunton,” said red-faced man.

“Albert Perkins,” said the monocled man.

Henri turned to the other two men in the group. “And you two?” he asked. With lightning speed, another set of arms with clawlike hands emerged from Henri’s shirt and grabbed their hands. All the men screamed, jumping up and knocking down chairs and drinks, and the two in Henri’s grasp wrestled to remove his viselike grip.

Henri released them at last. “Oh, well. Another time, then,” he said. “Perhaps I’ll see you gentlemen when we return with
Goliathus hercules
. I know you’ll want to be the first to congratulate me. And thank you for the suggestions of other adventures, but you must understand that insects are my passion.”

Henri retracted his extra set of limbs, quickly buttoned his shirt, and with a little bow, turned and exited the Golden Horse Palace.

Henri did not mention the hand-shaking incident to his companions. There was no denying it: in Henri’s present form, he was half man and half insect. His fully formed antennae were usually tucked under his hat, his eyes were the size of saucers, and he had sprouted another set of limbs out of his chest. “Who couldn’t use an extra set of hands?” Billy joked, but still, it was terrifying.

Unless he was alone with Robin, Billy, and Maestro Antonio, Henri kept these extra limbs concealed under his shirt, although he had to make a conscious effort not to reach out to grab things with them. His hands were becoming more clawlike than anything else. Even Maestro Antonio could no longer explain away his deformities with hushed whispers of “thyroid problem combined with an extreme case of arthritis.” Henri’s days in public seemed numbered.

“Don’t listen to those blowhards at the Golden Horse Palace, Henri,” Mr. Maxwell had told Henri. “Great scientists and explorers must possess imagination. It’s what allows them to speculate and theorize. Those four dullards are men of means who call themselves adventurers, but all they do is hire others to track big game, and then from their lofty, comfy perch atop an elephant, shoot the creatures. Hardly sporting! They’re fools. I believe
Goliathus hercules
exists because where there’s smoke, there’s fire, Henri. So many learned men couldn’t have just dreamed up this creature.”

He suggested that Henri’s party hire its very own jungle guide. Mat was from one of the jungle tribes and knew the rainforest environment well. While he made no claim to have ever seen
Goliathus hercules
, he knew the stories and tribal legends of the creature. “There is usually some measure of truth to such tales,” George Maxwell pointed out.

Once hired, Mat helped recruit the other men, including cooks, more guides, and porters to carry the supplies. At last they were ready to begin the walk to Kuala Selangor. No one had ever thought the quest would be easy, but even before the expedition party had reached the jungle, they were already miserable. It was beastly hot, and the rain continued daily, even though the rainy season was officially over. Often it was hard to tell whether they were wet with rain or perspiration. No one complained, but no one looked happy either.

The tents, which had often seemed a cozy refuge, were now stifling hot, damp, and smelly. It was Maestro Antonio who broke first. “Ugh!” he yelled one night. “I can’t get a moment’s peace because of this infernal buzzing!”