The Codex

51

Father’s still alive?” Philip cried out.

“Yes.”

“You mean he hasn’t been buried yet?”

“I finish story, please. After Father stay with Tara for year, my mother born me. But Father, he talk about White City, go up there for days, maybe weeks at a time. Chief say it is forbidden, but Father not listen. He search and dig for gold. Then he find place of tombs, open tomb of ancient Tara king and rob it. With help of bad Tara mans he escape down river with treasure and disappear.”

“Leaving your mother barefoot with a baby,” Philip said sarcastically, “just like he did his other wives.”

Borabay turned and looked at Philip. “I telling story, brother. You and flapper take five!”

Tom felt the shock of déjà vu. You and your flapper take five was a pure Maxwellism, one of his father’s favorite expressions, and there it was coming out of the mouth of this outlandish, tattooed, earlobe-stretched, half-naked Indian. His mind reeled. He had gone to the very ends of the earth and what had he found? A brother.

“I never see Father again — until now. Mother die two years ago. Then little while ago, Father come back. Big surprise. I very glad to meet him. He say he dying. He say he sorry. He say he bring back treasure he stole from Tara people. In return, he want to be buried in tomb of Tara king along with treasure of white man. He talk to Cah, chief of Tara people. Cah say yes, okay, we bury you in tomb. You come back with treasure and we bury you in tomb like ancient king. So Father go away and later come back with many boxes. Cah send men to coast to bring up treasure.”

“Did Father remember you?” Tom asked.

“Oh yes. He very happy. We go fishing.”

“Really, now?” said Philip, irritated. “Fishing? And who caught the biggest fish?”

“I did,” said Borabay proudly. “With spear.”

“Bully for you.”

“Philip—” Tom began.

“If Father had spent any time with Borabay,” Philip said, “he would have come to hate him just as much as he hates us.”

“Philip, you know Father didn’t hate us,” said Tom.

“I almost died back there. I was tortured. Do you know what it feels like to know you’re going to die? This was Father’s legacy to me. And now we suddenly have this painted Indian as an older brother, who goes fishing with Father while we’re dying in the jungle.”

Borabay said, “You finish being angry, brother?”

“I’ll never finish being angry.”

“Father angry man, too.”

“You can say that again.”

“You son most like Father.”

Philip rolled his eyes. “Here’s something new, a psychoanalyzing jungle Indian.”

“Because you most like Father, you love him most and he hurt you most. And now you hurt again because you find you not oldest son after all. I oldest son.”

There was a short pause and then Philip broke into a harsh laugh. “This is too much. How could I feel myself in competition with an illiterate, tattooed Indian with filed teeth?”

After a pause, Borabay said, “I continue story now.”

“Be my guest!”

“Cah arrange everything for Father’s death and funeral. When day come, there is big funeral feast for Father. Big, big feast. All Tara people come. Father there, too. Father enjoy his own funeral very much. He give many presents. Everyone get cooking pots and pans and knives.”

Tom and Sally looked at each other.

“He would love that,” said Philip. “I can just see the old bastard lording it over his own funeral.”

“You right, Philip. Father love it. He eat, drink too much, laugh, sing. Father open boxes so everyone can look at white man’s sacred treasures. Everyone love sacred Mother Mary holding baby Jesus. White man have beautiful gods.”

“The Lippi!” cried Philip. “Was it in good condition? Had it survived the journey?”

“It is most beautiful thing I ever see, brother. When I look at it, I see something in white man I not see before.”

“Yes, yes, it’s one of the finest things Lippi did. To think of it stuck in a damp tomb!”

Borabay went on: “But Cah trick Father. At end of funeral, he supposed to give Father special poison drink to make him die painless death. But Cah not do this. Cah give Father drink to make him sleep. No one know this except Cah.”

“This sounds positively Shakespearean,” said Philip.

“So sleeping Father is carried into tomb with treasure. They shut door, lock him in tomb. We all think he dead. Only Cah know he not dead, he only sleeping. So he later wake up in dark tomb.”

“Wait a minute,” said Vernon, “I’m not following this.”

“I am,” said Philip calmly. “They buried Father alive.”

Silence.

“Not ‘they,’ ” said Borabay. “Cah. Tara people know nothing about this trick.”

Philip said, “With no food and water… My God, how horrible.”

“Brothers,” said Borabay, “in Tara tradition, much food and water put in tomb for afterlife.”

Tom felt a crawling sensation in his spine as the implications of this sank in. He finally spoke. “So you think Father’s still alive, then, locked in the tomb?”

“Yes.”

Nobody said a word. An owl hooted mournfully in the dark.

“How long has he been sealed in the tomb?” Tom asked.

“Thirty-two days.”

Tom felt sick. It was unthinkable.

Borabay said, “This is terrible thing, brothers.”

“Why in hell did Cah do this?” Vernon asked.

“Cah angry that Father rob tomb long ago. Cah was boy then, son of chief. Father humiliate father of Cah by robbing tomb. This is Cah’s revenge.”

“Couldn’t you stop it?”

“I not know Cah’s plan until later. Then I try to save Father. At tomb entrance is giant stone door. I cannot move. Cah find out I go to Sukia Tara to save Father. He very angry. Cah take me prisoner and he going to kill me. He say I dirty man, half Tara, half white. Then crazy white man and soldiers come and capture Cah, take him to White City. I escape. I hear soldiers talk about you, so I come back for you.”

“How did you know we were here?”

“I hear soldiers talk.”

The fire flickered as the night gathered about the five silent people sitting on the ground. Borabay’s words seemed to hang in the air a long time after he had uttered them. Borabay’s eyes traveled around the fire, looking at each one of them in turn. “Brothers, it is a terrible way to die. This death for rat, not for human being. He our father.”

“What can we do?” Philip asked.

Borabay spoke after a long pause, his voice low and resonant: “We rescue him.”