Story of the Phantom (8 page)
Read Story of the Phantom Online
Authors: Lee Falk
And he climb a tree that grew by the elephants' trail, and he waited. Time passed. The Rope People watched from their village high above. And the girl and the old man watched because it was a long way to the ground, and they would die if he failed.
Now a large male elephant moved slowly through the bushes on the trail, now and then grasping a bunch of sweet grass and stuffing it into his red mouth. The Phantom waited, with the long vine in his hand. And as the elephant moved below him, he leaped upon its back. The great beast reared on his hind legs and trumpeted his rage and searched his back with his long trunk. But the Phantom moved quickly on the broad back and avoided the searching trunk that would dash him to the ground beneath the huge feet. And the elephant did all it knew to dislodge this being on its back. It rolled off
33
the grass, and on its back. And the Phantom hopped off and on again as it climbed back to its feet.
And when his chance came, he passed the vine between the big jaws and pulled it so that it was tight inside the great mouth and thrice fastened it so it would not be dislodged. Then, holding the loose ends, he quickly tied them around a huge wide tree, and lo and behold, the elephant was caught! For the mouth of this great beast was as tender as a baby, and as he tugged, the tough vine bit into the soft flesh, and he was helpless.
And the Phantom looked up at the trees and shouted to the watchers above, saying, "I have done the deed. I have captured the elephant without weapons." And they shouted down from the treetops, saying it was true. And the warriors of the Rope People grasped their spears and slid down the long ropes to the ground, for they prized the flesh of the elephant, and it was rare that they could satisfy their hunger, and now they would kill it and eat it. But before they could reach the beast, the Phantom had loosened the vine so that it was free, and the beast charged off into the bush. The Rope people cried in anger at him. "Why did you do that? Why did you free the elephant that we wished to slaughter and eat?"
"I agreed to capture it. I did not agree to kill it," said the Phantom. And even in their anger, they had to say that it was true.
Now, they led him to the second task. On a small hill there was a huge boulder partly buried in the earth. The warriors said, "If you are the Phantom you can move this as you did before." And he was perplexed, for this was a huge rock indeed.
("As big as a small house," said the Twentieth, as Kit stared at him with wide eyes. "I was perplexed.
I knew my father was a man of unusual strength. But how had he moved that?") Perplexed, he studied the great boulder, and indeed it was larger than any man or any ten men could lift. And the girl and her old father watched from high in the sky, and they were afraid, for it was a long fall to the ground, as from a cloud. And the warriors watched and grinned at each other, for if he failed, then he was not the Phantom, but an imposter. As he studied the boulder, he had an idea. He began to dig in the earth around the boulder. It was packed down hard, but he dug and dug with his hands like an anteater at an ant mound. And the hours passed. There were smaller rocks pressing against the boulder, and he removed them and dug deeper, throwing the dirt on either side until the great boulder was uncovered. Then he Went behind it and pushed. He pushed and pushed. But though the boulder was on the slope of the little hill, it did not move. And his time was growing short.
Then he lay on his back and put his feet against the boulder, and pushed. And he pushed. And the boulder moved, a little, then a little more, and more, until it rolled down the hill, smashing into a large tree and knocking it to the ground.
("A man's legs are stronger than his arms," said his father to Kit, who sat completely enthralled.) He turned to the watching warriors and said, "I have moved the boulder." And they had to say that this was true. Now the time had come for the third task, and dozens of warriors came down the long ropes with their weapons. Now they told him, "Our war party will hunt you until sunset, and you must escape us. If we find you, we will kill you, for you have no arms. You will hide now and we will not watch until the sound of the drums. Then our search begins," and they turned their backs and he ran into the bush. It was like a children's game of hide and seek, but this was no game for him and could end in his death. And the old man and the girl watched from high above, and they were afraid, for it was a long fall to the ground, as from a cloud.
He raced among the bushes until he found a stream, then waded through it to hide his trail, for he guessed the Rope People to be expert trackers. (The listening pygmies nodded. They knew this jungle stratagem.) Then he moved out of the stream and up a slope to a rocky place. Where could he hide? These Rope People knew the country as their home. He was strange to it. He looked at the 34
trees. No, not there. These people lived in the trees. Then came the sound of the drums and he knew the hunt was on. The woods were filled with the shouts of the warriors as they began the search. And the old man and the girl watched from high in the trees above, and they were afraid, for it was a long fall to the ground, as from a cloud.
Now he ran, and he climbed, and he hid. And he ran again, and he climbed again, and he hid. And sometimes the warriors saw him and they cried out, but he ran off and was gone. And sometimes they came close enough to throw spears, but he dodged and ran behind trees and boulders and was gone. But the Rope People were good hunters and, as the hours passed, they closed in on him from all sides. Now they were close upon him. It was almost sunset, but it appeared there would be no escape from the circle of armed warriors who closed in. Behind him was a cave. There was nowhere else to go, so he dashed inside. The warriors laughed for they knew there was no escape from this cave. It was a deep cave with stone spears growing from the ceiling and stone spears growing from the floors. And he hid among them as the warriors cautiously approached the entrance to the cave.
But he was not alone in the cave. Great eyes burned in the dark place. A low growl. It was a lion, a huge male lion that had also taken refuge in the cave. And now it heard the shouts of the approaching hunters and smelled the flesh of men, and with a mighty roar charged forward, first at the Phantom who faced the beast. But as it neared him, he leaped high into the air, grasping a stone spear, and held on so that the lion charged below him. And the lion rushed on just as the first warrior entered the cave. And it went through the war party like a storm, tossing them from side to side like leaves in the wind, and those that were not destroyed by the beast ran for their lives. And the lion pursued them until they could reach the safety of their trees. Now the light was red in the sky and it was sunset, and the Phantom came from the cave and shouted to the trees: "Your war party hunted me and it is sunset and I am alive." And they had to say that this was true.
And now came the last task. He was to face the champion of the jungle in a fight to the death. The Rope People had selected their champion. He was a giant who lived in a big stone hut. And the bones of men he had slain were heaped about the hut, as were the bones of animals he had slain and eaten.
And some said he had also eaten the men, but it is not known if this was true. But he was a giant indeed, as high as that sapling (said Old Man Moze pointing to a ten-foot tree), and as wide as that entrance (pointing to the six-foot opening of the Skull Cave.) He had killed great cats with his bare hands, and could uproot whole trees from the earth with the powerful embrace of his arms. And the old man and the girl watched from high in the trees above, and they were afraid, for it was a long fall to the ground, as from a cloud.
In a clearing beneath the village of the Rope People, the warriors brought the giant to meet the Phantom. He had a heavy club as big as a man over one shoulder, and with it he could smash the head of an elephant or crush the skull of a charging rhino, and this he had done. He laughed when he saw the man he was to face, for the Rope People had promised him much meat and drink if he fought the battle. And his laughter was like thunder on a dark night.
The Rope People climbed into their trees, and the entire village and their prisoners watched the battle below. The giant swung his huge club. The Phantom dodged it and the club struck a large tree cracking the trunk. The giant swung again and the Phantom dodged away. And the club struck the ground and made a hole big enough for a boy to hide in. (Kit's wide eyes grew even wider at that.) And then he laughed again as he raised his club a third time. For the Phantom had his back against a stone wall and there was no retreat. He swung and the Phantom dodged, as quick as a hummingbird, and ducked between the massive legs so that he was behind the giant. But the giant had swung his club, hitting the stone wall. And the club broke in his hands.
Roaring like a pride of lions, he turned on the Phantom, but now the Phantom swung with all his might and hit the giant hard in the belly. The giant-like many large creatures with big muscles-was soft in the belly, and he bent over in pain. This brought his jaw lower so that the Phantom could
35
reach it. And reach it he did, but not one blow but a dozen, one after another stinging as fast as a cloud of wasps with a fist like a rock. And the giant dropped to his knees, grasping the Phantom in his mighty arms that could crack and uproot a big tree or crush a lion. But the Phantom did not wait to be crushed like a lion or cracked like a tree. His hard fist hit under the chin of the giant, and again and again, then more blows in the soft belly, then more on the jaw. And this was more than even a giant could withstand and he slowly fell to the ground and stretched out on his back and stared at the sky. His lips moved but he could make no sound. He was like an exhausted animal that the hunters have run to the ground. And now by the terms of the battle, the giant must die, for this was a fight to the death. There were large rocks at hand with which to smash a skull, or sharp pieces, to slice and cut.
But the Phantom stepped back and called to the Rope People in the trees above. "I have defeated your champion of the jungle. The deed is done." And the chief called down from his treetop, saying,
"You have defeated him and he is helpless against you. Now kill him, for it is your right." But the Phantom replied, "It is not my wish to kill him, as it is not my wish to kill any man."
Now the Rope People cheered and shouted, and they came down their many long ropes, the men and women and children, coming down the ropes from all the trees around him. And with them they brought the old man and the girl. And the chief faced the Phantom and handed him his guns and he said: "You are indeed the Phantom, our friend of old. For when you trapped the elephant you proved your courage and cunning; and when you moved the boulder, your proved your wisdom and good sense; and when you escaped all the armed warriors of our people, you proved your knowledge of the jungle; and when you defeated the giant champion, you proved your strength. But it was when you refused to kill him as he lay helpless before you that we knew you were indeed the Phantom, the Ghost Who Walks, the Keeper of the Peace. For in that, you showed mercy; and in this jungle, that is the rarest quality of all."
And after a great feast attended by all the Rope People and even the giant (who found it hard to chew), the Phantom and the old man and the girl were free to go, and they went. And that is how your father met your mother, Kit, and that is how the story ends," concluded Old Man Moze.
The pygmies snapped their fingers in approval and Kit clapped his hands. "And when did you and mother marry?" he asked, shouting in his delight at the story.
"Not for a year or more afterward," said his father glancing at the chain on the Skull Throne. "She took her father to their home because he was sick, and then returned to me."
Kit went to his father and embraced him.
"That was wonderful. The elephant and the big rock and all the warriors and the giant. Why didn't you ever tell me that before?"
"It slipped my mind. I forgot it," said the Twentieth.
"You know, Kit," said his mother, laughing and embracing him, "I believe he really did."
CHAPTER 5
As Kit neared his twelfth birthday, an enormous and unexpected change in his life was to occur. Also a new phase in his education began, as he was schooled in the secrets, traditions and responsibilities of the Phantom. For four centuries, each generation had gone through similar teaching at about the same age. At eleven going on twelve, Kit was tall, and unusually strong for his age. He had inherited 36
his father's physique, and his youthful muscles were becoming rounded, showing promise of the powerful development to come.
Now Kit was led into the cool musty crypt in the Skull Cave. Nineteen generations of his ancestors were buried there, and he read the inscriptions on the tablets; only the order of generations and their dates. Thus:
The First 1516-1566; The Second 1555-1609; and so on. Nineteen engraved tablets fronting stone caskets in vaults in the wall. In addition there were several tablets without dates, engraved only as The Twentieth, and The Twenty-First. His father explained that the former would be his own burial place; the latter would be Kit's. Kit laughed at this. Death is not a fact to an eleven-year- old going on twelve. "I engraved 'The Twenty-First' for you the day you were born," his father explained. "You may carve a similar tablet when you have your first-born son." Kit giggled at that.
The crypt became more than mere numbers and dates for Kit. His father brought out the large volumes of the Chronicles, and they sat before the vault and read the ancestors' adventures in their own words. In this way, each man became vivid and alive behind the anonymous mask and hood. Kit had already heard many of the tales, of the Sixth who had wed Queen Natala, and the Seventh, who had saved Emperor Joonkar, and there were more. Each Phantom had been an individual, strikingly different from all others.
The Third, for example, had tried to abandon the Phantom line for the stage, in his youth. This third Phantom-to-be-sent to England to be educated by monks- had run away from school to join the theatrical company at the Globe Theatre under the direction of the popular playwright-actor-director William Shakespeare. In those days all female parts were played by boys, and the Third- to-be had the honor of playing Juliet in the first production of "Romeo and Juliet." The black wig in the major treasure room was the very wig he had worn, placed on his head by the author. (It is reported that his father, the Second, had witnessed his son playing the girl's role and almost had a heart attack.) But when the time came, the actor could not resist the call of the Skull Cave and returned to the Deep Woods to become the Third.
"You mean he almost didn't become the Phantom?' said Kit.
"Yes, the line almost stopped right there, just after it had begun," replied his father.
"Wow, that was close," said Kit.
"That was close," agreed his father.
"If he had stayed to be an actor, what would have happened to all of them?" he asked waving his small hand at the vaults.
"Who knows?" said his father.
"Somebody must know," Kit insisted. "Where would you be, and where would we all be?"
"No one knows that, Kit," said his father, ending the conversation.
For the first time, Kit realized that life could be mysterious, and that, for some questions, there were no answers.
Many of the costumes of these ancestors hung in airtight closets. Kit examined them, putting his finger through tears in the cloth caused by knives and bullets, some of which had been fatal. From the men's own words in the Chronicles and the very clothing they wore, Kit felt that he knew them
37
and loved and admired them. For they were all good men, trained from childhood to dedicate themselves to their fellow men.
As Kit examined the costumes one day, one caught his attention. It was like the others, but was much smaller. The Phantom males were big men, and tended to marry tall women, though an occasional small beauty had found her way to the Skull Cave. There had even been one small Phantom-small that is, by comparison. That Phantom, the Thirteenth, had been of average height, but as stocky and powerful as a bull. To compensate for his size, he had wed a woman a head taller than himself, and he was known affectionately to his descendants as "The Runt." For the most part, they were big men like Kit's father.
Whose costume had this one been? It was smaller than the Runt's-Kit had seen that one-and was shaped differently. It was narrowed in some places, wider in others. He asked his father about it. He laughed.
"That belonged to my great great Aunt. She would be your great great great Aunt," he said to Kit.
Kit's mother, carrying a basket of laundry, paused at the entrance.
"Your family tree makes me dizzy," she said.
"Want to know something? It makes me dizzy, too," said his father.
"This costume?" asked Kit impatiently. "Did she wear it?" His father nodded. "A female Phantom? Is that possible?" asked his mother.
"For a short time, she was the Phantom ... an unusual case," said the Twentieth.
"Tell me about it," said Kit excitedly.
"Wait until I hang up the wash, in the sun. I want to hear this," said his mother, hurrying off.
When his mother returned, they moved to the chamber of Chronicles. His father took a volume from the shelf and glanced through it. "Just to refresh my memory," he said, and began the tale.
THE FEMALE PHANTOM
The Seventeenth Phantom (great grandfather to Kit's father), was born with a twin sister. The brother and sister grew up in the Deep Woods and their life there was much the same as Kit's. From generation to generation, there was little change here. Brother and sister learned to ride and swim and hunt together. They learned the lore and ways of the jungle, and, at the age of twelve, were sent together to Rome for their education. During their years in the Eternal City, the remarkable pair amazed the patrician Romans; the boy with his physical skills, the girl, Julie, with her beauty.
The time came when the brother, grown to manhood, was called back to take his place on the Skull Throne. Julie, turning down marriage offers from four counts, three dukes, and a prince of the royal family, returned with the brother. This was a surprise to him. He thought she should stay and make a life in the civilized world. But she found the people and life on the Continent effete and dissolute and longed for the jungle. So they returned to the Skull Cave and he assumed the place and duties of their late father who had died violently: the usual lot of the man who wore the Skull Ring.
After a few months of this, Julie began to wonder if she had made a mistake. She loved the Deep Woods, but she was lonely now, since her twin brother was frequently away on his missions. He had a few violent scrapes but thus far had returned unhurt. But while he was at home, they would ride and hunt and swim together, Julie in her sarong, her brother now in the garb of the Phantom.
One night, there was a hurried call for help to the Skull Throne. Bandits had stopped a rich caravan 38
at the edge of the jungle, robbing, and killing. The Jungle Patrol had reached the scene too late and followed the tracks of the bandits to a lake. The bandits had taken a large houseboat by force and were anchored in the crocodile-infested waters. They had taken a hostage with them, a young missionary traveling with the caravan, and threatened to kill him if the patrol tried to attack them.
The new Seventeenth Phantom-Julie's twin, in his role as commander of the patrol-sent word for them to withdraw. Then he went out to rescue the missionary himself. But not alone. Julie made up her mind to go along. The bandits were a cruel and dangerous lot. The odds were heavy, but she could shoot as well as her brother, so she insisted on going along to help. Time was short, too short to argue with a determined female twin, so she rode along, after promising she would do as he ordered.
When they reached the lake, Julie remained hidden in the reeds near shore, and watched through binoculars as her brother quietly approached the houseboat. Then Julie saw the captive missionary tied to a post. He was young and handsome, and she could see that he looked tired and hungry, and needed a bath. Bandages on his head and arm were evidence that he hadn't been taken without a struggle. Julie's heart went out to him. Missionaries weren't supposed to know how to fight, even young, handsome ones.
Her brother, meanwhile, was making his way to the houseboat in those dangerous waters. Julie's heart sank as the snout of a crocodile appeared near him. The jaws snapped loudly, but missed as the Seventeenth dived and veered away. A quick movement of her binoculars assured Julie that he was safe and no one on deck had noticed. Now, in the twilight, he reached deck, and, waiting his chance, climbed up. The bandits were below deck eating and drinking boisterously. The young missionary stared as the strange masked figure climbed onto deck. By the stealthy approach, he guessed this was a friend, a rescuer despite his forbidding appearance. But in spite of his caution, the Seventeenth hadn't boarded unseen. A hidden sentry had watched and waited to see what this stranger was up to.
When he saw the masked man starting to cut the prisoner's bonds, he pressed the trigger of his rifle.
The Seventeenth fell to the deck and the feasting bandits rushed up from below at the gunshot. On shore, Julie watched, terrified for her twin.
He was badly wounded, and the bandits looked at him curiously. They knew him by his costume, and his reputation. One bandit even bore a skull mark on his jaw, from a previous encounter years before.
This would have been in the fight with the twins' father, but, to these ruffians, the Phantom was the Phantom.
The bandit bearing the mark kicked the fallen masked man, then kicked him again, and tramped on him. On shore, the watching Julie shuddered, feeling the pain herself.
"I've waited twenty years to get back at you," the bandit shouted, hurling obscenities at the helpless figure.
"Stop that, you miserable cowards," cried the young missionary, straining at his ropes. A bandit struck him hard in the face to silence him.
The bandit leader was a large, fat, bearded ruffian. He laughed at the missionary.
"Some hero . .. tried to save you ... couldn't save himself. Phantom, Ghost Who Walks! Man Who Cannot Die!"
The bandit with the skull mark on his jaw aimed his pistol at the unconscious Phantom's head.
"Cannot die? Let's see if it's true!"
39
Story of the Phantom
The leader stopped him.
"Of course it's not true, stupid," he said. "That's too easy. Tie his hands and legs."
This was done. The bandits looked at their leader. What now?
"Let the crocodiles have a taste of this ghost, this Man Who Cannot Die." The bandits roared their approval, and shouting and laughing lifted the unconscious man and hurled him overboard.
"Wait, not yet," shouted the leader, but it was too late. The figure disappeared below the surface. The leader had intended to delay this until dawn so they might watch, for it was now dark. They watched for a time. A few crocodiles moved through the water, then dived under the surface. Most of the bandits returned to their feast, but a few, including the leader, remained on deck, staring into the dark, hoping to see some action in the water.
The moment her brother went overboard, Julie dived into the dark lake. On a belt at her waist was a long knife, her only weapon. Both twins swam like fish, and she moved swiftly through the lake, coming briefly up for a gulp of air, then going under again.
She reached her brother quickly near the lake bottom where his slight movements told her he was still alive. She moved him along a short distance from the boat, then carefully brought his face to the surface. He was half-conscious and gasped for air. The bandits at the railing strained their eyes. What was going on at the bottom? Had the crocodiles reached their feast? One had, almost. His cold snout grazed Julie's leg, and the huge jaws gaped wide. Julie instantly released her brother, and grasping her knife, dived under the twelve-foot saurian. The twins had hunted crocodile before, for the pygmies considered their meat a delicacy, and Julie knew what to do. She attacked the soft underbelly and drove her knife into its heart. The crocodile threshed and slapped the water, churning and foaming, and the bandits at the railing grinned. The crocs were tasting the ghost.
Julie dragged her brother ashore into the reeds, then onto the bank, and using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as their father had taught her to do, brought air into his lungs. He was almost gone. It had been a close thing. There was a bullet wound in his back, and his body was bruised and torn from the kicks and trampling. Julie was weeping and shaking with fury as she bent over her beloved brother. He was still unconscious but his heart sounded strong. She tore off most of her wet sarong to bind his back. She glanced back at the houseboat on the lake. Shouts of laughter and revelry sounded across the dark water, and, in the feeble lamplight, she could just make out the faint figure of the young missionary slumping in his ropes, still tied to the post.
Then she slowly pulled her brother through the grass back among the trees where their horses were tethered. Julie was wiry and strong, but her brother was a big powerful young man, like all of his breed. It took all her strength to lift him up upon his horse so that he lay across the saddle. Then, mounting her mare, she slowly led him back to the Deep Woods.
