Temptations of Pleasure Island (10 page)

Now Jacob began to try to comfort his friend. “Well, it is not yet the end of the world, Feanor.”

“It is for me. I’ve worked for years to have a nice house and a nice life for my family. And now we will live in one of those shacks that don’t even have running water. And you know what it’s like in the salt mines, Jacob. All of us will work from sunup until after dark. I will hardly see my wife and children.”

Josh sat watching the scene and listening. This was a side of Pleasure Island that he had not seen. After he and Mark went outside, he asked quietly, “Is it as bad as he makes it out to be?”

“Every bit as bad,” Mark said grimly. “That’s why I
hate gambling so much. It takes money away from people like Feanor and puts it into the pockets of the rich cheaters. Gambling addiction is like a disease. I’ve seen some people get addicted to wine and some to tobacco, but sometimes I think this gambling fever is as bad as anything else.”

“Is this happening a lot on Pleasure Island, Mark?”

“Look around you,” Mark said grimly. “Walk up and down the street. You’ll find that almost every family has in it somebody that’s gone crazy over gambling. Sometimes it’s the whole family. We’ve had a half dozen friends who have had to go to the mines.”

When Sarah stopped by the Fletchers’ house, she found Josh still there. She was horrified to hear what had happened to Feanor. “Maybe you should talk to the prince,” she suggested to Josh and Mark. “Perhaps he can do something.”

“We might try that,” Mark said. “Feanor is not a bad man. He’s just weak in that area.”

The boys put their heads together then and made plans to ask for the prince’s help. But late that afternoon, Mark came back after running an errand, looking very upset and frowning.

His father asked at once, “What is it, son?”

“I knew it would come to this sooner or later. I just knew it. Now I understand what Feanor was talking about. Have you seen any of the posters about the very latest contest, Father?”

“No, I haven’t been out today. What is it? A race between crickets this time?” Mr. Fletcher asked.

“This is serious, Father. Here—I ripped one down. I can’t stand to even look at it.” He threw a poster onto the table, and everyone crowded around to take a look.

Sarah read the announcement aloud. “‘Fight for your fortune! Pit your athletic skills against the professionals for a king’s fortune. Bet your life and win!’” She looked up from the poster then. “This is disgusting! It’s like a bad dream.”

“It’s no dream,” Mark said. “People are going crazy about it. They’re talking about nothing else.”

“Who are the people? What kind of men would risk their lives and their futures on a foolish thing like this!” Jacob exclaimed.

“Poor people, mostly. But anyone at all who’s addicted to gambling seems to be falling for it, too.” Mark flung himself into a chair, saying grimly, “It’s that Sylvan. That’s who it is. He staged this thing as soon as they let him out of prison. He was the biggest criminal we had and a national embarrassment. But he’s very good at fooling and cheating people. His contestants will be poor fellows who don’t know a thing about his wily ways. Sylvan will make the contests look honest, but they will all be rigged for his people to win.”

“And I fear this is just the beginning,” Mr. Fletcher said grimly. “These games will only get worse.”

“That’s the way it is with things like this,” Josh said thoughtfully. “Things start out maybe innocently enough—like a sport—and then it’s not exciting enough. So people have to do bad things to make it more exciting.”

“You are so right,” Mark agreed. “In this case, they’re not satisfied with just seeing a wrestling match. They want to be involved personally and make money for themselves by betting on how the match turns out.”

The week was a nightmare for the Sleepers. It began with Josh calling them together for a meeting.

“You know we were sent here for a ‘vacation,’” he said. “But I see now that Goél probably had more than vacation in mind.”

“It looks like you’re right,” Sarah said. “Do you think we can do anything about all this gambling fever?”

“I don’t know,” Josh said, “but I hope so. It’s bad stuff.”

“You really think Goél sent us here because he knew all this was going to happen?” Reb asked.

“He told us the king had a weakness, remember? I don’t know whether the king’s weakness has something to do with gambling or not. But I do know what Goél would have us do if we can. And that’s to give some relief to these poor people.”

“All you hear about anymore is those ‘You Bet Your Life’ contests,” Jake said in disgust.

Reb nodded. “I remember it was the same back before we came to Nuworld. Some people even started betting on the weather forecast.”

“I know they did. And then there was the danger thing. Like in ski jumping. Some people were only interested in seeing a skier lose control and go rolling head over heels down the slope. There’s just something in some people that wants to see things like that.”

They talked much but came to no solution. When the first day of the contests came, most of the Sleepers wondered whether they should even go to the arena.

“Well, I’ve got to go whether I want to or not,” Reb said. “I’ve agreed to ride a horse for the princess.”

Sarah nodded unhappily. “I’ve got to go, too. They’re having an archery contest before the big wrestling match. If it wasn’t for that, I’d stay home. But I promised Her Majesty I’d go.”

“We’ll all go,” Josh said. “We might as well see the worst of it.”

The arena was packed. There appeared to be not an extra seat in the entire structure. People even stood in the aisles and around the top deck.

Reb spoke quietly to Lightning, who seemed to be more nervous than usual.

“It’s all right, boy. All you have to do is run.”

Prince Derek was standing close by. The two were not in the same race, but they stood together in the stalls, talking about the horses and their opponents.

Derek tilted his head. “Listen to that roar out there. They don’t care at all that some people are about to be wiped out financially and forced to become slaves.”

“It’s a sad thing,” Reb said. “When we first came to Pleasure Island, it seemed like a nice enough place. People seemed a little bit too frivolous maybe, but that’s no crime.”

“Things have changed, Reb,” the prince said. “And it’s getting worse all the time. I see where this idea of fun being everything can take over a country. It’s not good.”

Josh watched the events in the arena move along as the crowd cheered wildly. Reb won his race. So did the prince. Sarah took second in the archery contest. One poor man had chosen to wager for the grand archery prize. He lost and was carried off by the sheriff’s men. His property was to be seized by the kingdom, and the man would become an indentured slave—in the royal salt mines.

And then the crowd in the stands began to scream, “Wrestle for the money! Wrestle for the money!”

Josh Adams and the other boys were sitting with the royal family and Abbey and Sarah in the king’s box. Josh thought Sarah wore a sick expression on her face.

“Just listen to them,” she said. “Just listen.”

Abbey and Cosima just looked at her, seemingly a little surprised.

The princess said, “I think you don’t understand, Sarah. If this man beats the professional wrestler Kapo, he’ll get a fortune. He can live out his life in comfort and luxury.”

“I don’t care,” Sarah said. “I don’t care. Mark tells me that the poor fellow doesn’t have a chance.”

Abbey said nothing.

Then Kapo came into the arena and stood awaiting his opponent.

Princess Cosima rose and cried, “Crush him, Kapo!”

The huge wrestler looked up and grinned broadly. He raised his massive arm and called up to her, “I dedicate this victim to you, Princess.”

“Oh, isn’t that exciting!” Cosima said.

“Not very,” Sarah answered coldly.

The gate opened, and another man came into the arena. He was small in contrast to Kapo, although he did look to be muscular and quick. He was smiling, just as Kapo was.

“What’s he got to smile about?” Jake asked. He was sitting between Josh and Dave.

“He thinks he can win,” Dave said. “I’ve heard all about him. He’s won some local wrestling matches but never a match against a professional.”

“He doesn’t have any more chance than I do,” Wash muttered. “Look at him. He’s got nothing to take on Kapo. Unless he’s a faster runner.”

Josh thought that was probably true. The challenger was fit looking, but he possessed none of the muscle build of a professional such as Kapo. All he had was enthusiasm.

“He’s a dead man,” Jake said under his breath. “I feel sorry for the poor guy.”

The contest began, and it was obvious at once that the challenger had some training.

For several minutes, Kapo seemed to be simply playing with the man, as if to make the match last longer and entertain the crowd. He even allowed the challenger to get in a few good holds, if only for a few seconds.

“Kapo’s taking his time,” the king said to his wife. “But he’ll win. You’ll see. He’s a smart wrestler.”

The queen said, “I suppose you’re right, husband.”

King Leo smiled at her. “Things will be so much better when you are on Soma,” he said. “Then all we have to do is convince Derek to use it, and we’ll be a happy, united family.”

“Oh, I’m sure we will eventually,” the queen said. But when Josh glanced at Tamsin, the queen’s face was twisted and she was obviously trying to restrain herself from weeping.

The two opponents kept circling each other warily. Several times it appeared as though the challenger was about to spring toward Kapo. But each time, Kapo moved swiftly for such a huge man, and he refrained.

Finally, and almost with desperation, the smaller wrestler lunged for Kapo’s feet, attempting to trip him. Kapo almost fell, but he rolled to one side so that the challenger himself hit the mat. Kapo sprang forward at once and pinned him down with his whole body. The referee made his count and declared Kapo the winner.

Even then, the giant seemed content to keep the beaten man pinned, as if to squeeze more than just his life savings out of him. But at last Kapo stood up.

He lifted his massive arm in a gesture of triumph, as the crowd roared. Then he grinned up at Cosima. “For you, my Princess!” he said.

The king was highly pleased with the victory. He had won a large wager, he said, not to mention another free laborer for the royal salt mines. As one of the servants ran to collect his winnings, the king turned toward Derek, who was standing silently over to one side, his face stiff.

“What’s wrong with you, son?” he said. “Why do you have to be so standoffish? Why can’t you join in with the fun?”

“You call it fun to see a helpless man crushed and made penniless?”

“Crushed?” Sudden rage seemed to come over the king. “A helpless man? We were giving him a chance to win a fortune!”

“He had no more chance of winning a fortune and freedom than I have of flying! If you were in your right mind, Father, you would know that!”

A shocked silence fell over the royal box, and Josh thought he saw Lady Maeve smiling behind her hand. Perhaps she was thinking that things were going exactly according to plan.

In any case, the king looked confused for a moment, and then his rage burst forth. “You’ve been spoiled! Well, there’s an end to that! Leave the palace! Go out and make your own way! You’ll come back!”

“You mean that, Father?”

“Do I mean it? I command it! Get out of my sight!”

Derek immediately stepped over and kissed his
mother. Then he turned and left the royal box without another word.

“Leo, call him back!” the queen cried.

“Call him back? He’ll come back soon enough—and on his hands and knees.”

“I believe you have done the right thing, Your Majesty,” Lady Maeve said in a low voice. “Indeed, he needs to learn discipline.”

Josh, who had been close enough to catch this, turned away, sickened. He told Sarah what he had overheard.

She said, “It’s terrible, Josh. What will Derek ever do?”

“What will the country do with that woman in control? If she can cause the king to throw his only son out, what will happen next?”

S
arah noticed that the posters proclaiming the next “You Bet Your Life” wrestling match dominated the walls of all the buildings. Everywhere there were notices saying that the event would take place on the following day. All citizens were urged to come, and the odds of the challenger against the huge Kapo were posted.

Walking along and shaking her head with disgust, Sarah caught snatches of conversation from the people going by. All were talking about betting their life’s fortune. She turned in at the palace gate, where she was greeted by the guard, who was familiar with all of the Sleepers by now. Looking across the green palace lawn, she saw Dave and Abbey in the distance, walking with the princess.

I might as well have another try
, Sarah thought grimly.
It hasn’t done any good so far. But one of them just might listen to reason
. As she hurried to catch up, she had little hope of Princess Cosima’s listening. It was a different matter with Dave and Abbey, though, for the three of them had become very close. At times she and Josh would get very angry at the behavior of their two friends, but Sarah now thought,
It’s just that they’re not themselves. Both of them are very sweet people when they’re not on that terrible drug. We’ve got to get them off of Soma somehow
.

“Hello, Sarah.” Princess Cosima beamed at her. “Do you want to come with us?”

“Where are you going?” Sarah asked, falling into step with them.

“Abbey and I are going to buy new gowns for the ball that’s after the wrestling match tomorrow. Dave is just keeping us company.”

Sarah said nothing, and Cosima laughed a little. “I forgot. You don’t care much about dresses. It’s a good thing there are girls like Abbey and me in the world, or the dressmakers would go bankrupt.”

Sarah said, “I don’t really think I need to go shopping. But I do need to talk to you for a minute, Dave.”