The Mysterious Ambassador (2 page)

Diana left the happy men and walked through the village to the great house of the Wambesi chief. Men and women in the windows and doorways of huts smiled and called to her. Children ran at her side as she chatted with them in the sparse Wambesi vocabulary she had learned. The girl had become loved by these proud people, the largest and most powerful of all jungle tribes. She was quickly ushered into the presence of the high chief, supreme ruler of the Wambesi. Wambato was a large calm man, with shrewd eyes and a kind face, possessed of vast dignity and noble bearing as befitted the seventh generation of his family to rule the tribe. He smiled at Diana as she curtsyed to him. Like all the other Wambesi he had learned to love this sparkling girl who had worked so hard to drive out the sickness from his people.

She had come to ask a favor.

"I have seen your talking drums that send messages to the far ends of the jungle," she said. "Could a message be sent for me on the talking drums?"

He was glad to grant such a simple favor, and sent

for the drummers. When the three drummers joined them at the throne, he told them her request, and they smiled and bowed their willingness to do a favor for this good friend from the strange outside world.

"Tell them the message," said high chief Wambato.

"The message is—my work is finished here. May I visit you?" said Diana. Having no writing, the drummers closed their eyes to let the meaning sink into their heads. After a moment of silence, the drummers opened their eyes and smiled. The message was registered.

"Now, tell them who the message is for," said Wambato.

"For the Phantom, in the
Deep Woods,"
said Diana.

Wambato gasped with surprise. The drummers were startled. The warriors and women standing at the walls of the throne room showed their amazement with exclamations and gasps like their chief.

"The Phantom?" said Wambato after a moment. "Child, do you know what you are saying?"

"Yes, he is a friend of mine," said Diana, puzzled and surprised by this reaction to her simple request.

The Wambesi stared at her. A few of them had seen the Phantom with their own eyes on one of his rare appearances outside the
Deep Woods.
But they had heard about him all their lives, as had their fathers and grandfathers and their grandfathers before them. Even Wambato, a member of the council of chiefs who met frequently with the Phantom, knew him only as a remote figure.

"Child," said Wambato. "One does not send a message to the
Deep Woods,
save for dire emergencies. Otherwise it is forbidden. That is our custom."

"But I am a friend," said Diana helplessly. Without their help, how else could she ever reach him?

"The Phantom is the friend of all of us," said the high chief softly. And the Wambesi nodded together with a soft sigh. "But it is our custom to protect him from people, even of good intention, who only wish to see him."

All looked at her calmly now, no longer smiling, and Diana felt a slight edge of disapproval. Even in her desperation, she understood. They are protecting the Phantom from sightseers and tourists, she thought, almost laughing at the idea in spite of herself. She put her hands to her throat tensely. How can I make them understand, she thought as her fingers touched a medallion under her blouse. She sighed with relief. Of course! The gold medallion was on a light chain about her neck, but it had remained unseen until this moment. She pulled it from her blouse and held it up.

"He is my friend. He gave me this," she said softly.

The Wambesi stared. The medallion was a curious one. Round, with a motif of what appeared to be two crossed swords. A sign they all knew. The good mark of the Phantom.

The sign meant that the person or place that bore it was under the protection of the Phantom. Jt was a rare sign, known, loved, and sometimes feared by would-be evildoers, almost as feared as the mark of the Phantom, the Sign of the Skull. But that was another matter.

"He knows I'm here," continued Diana in the surprised silence. "I just wanted to tell him I've finished my work."

Wambato nodded to the three drummers. They rushed out of the great house.

"It will be done," said Wambato.

"Thank you," said Diana. She curtsyed and walked out as the high chief and the Wambesi watched with excitement in their eyes. It had been rumored for some time throughout the jungle that the Phantom—the Ghost Who Walks—had a loved one in some far place. Could this be Diana, their own angel of mercy?

The drums began to beat. As the code beats for Phantom and
Deep Woods
were heard—known to all, the Wambesi in their huts and in the fields listened alertly. Then they looked happily at each other and excitedly discussed the news. Their sweet beautiful Diana was a friend of the Phantom? Wonderful.

The talking drumbeats soared over fields and woods. The neighboring great tribe of Llongo, second only to the Wambesi in power and wealth, picked up the beat and passed on the message on their throbbing drums. Next were the smaller, proud Oogaan whose handsome

Prince Obiju was the champion in the recent jungle Olympics, a personal friend of the Phantom himself.

Next, were the Mori fishermen in their seaside village, these expert fisher folk who brought fish to the great cats of the Phantom's remote Isle of Eden (where all the animals of the jungle lived together in peace). And, finally, beyond a hidden waterfall in the feared and mysterious
Deep Woods,
land of the Bandar, the pygmy poison people, the message was received.

A reply was quickly forthcoming. Back it came, the same route—Mori to Oogaan to Llongo to Wambesi. The three smiling drummers brought the reply to Diana as she sat at lunch with Dr. Kirk and Dr. Luaga.

"Wait until I send for you," they said in unison.

Kirk and Luaga looked at Diana. Diana was shaking with excitement and delight.

"Please say it again," she demanded as the two doctors watched, Kirk puzzled, Luaga surprised.

"Wait until I send for you," repeated the three drummers, in unison. She leaped up and kissed each on the forehead. They laughed and darted away.

"What on earth was that?" asked Kirk.

"You actually know him?" said Luaga. Jungle-bred, Luaga had heard the drums and knew their meaning. Diana nodded.

"What are you two talking about?" said Kirk.

"I sent a message. I got a reply, Doctor," said Diana. But before Kirk could ask more questions, there was an interruption. A delegation arrived to see Dr. Lamanda Luaga. After the radio messages and the drumming, this was the third amazing thing that happened that eventful day, just a week ago.

The three-man delegation was an unusual sight in this deep jungle village. They were dignified black meti, carefully dressed in tophats, cutaway coats, ascot ties, striped trousers, white waistcoats and shining leather shoes. It turned out that the three had come the long distance from the capital of Bangalla, Mawitaan, by car and mule pack, wearing work clothes. They had stopped to change into their finery near the Wambesi village.

Dr. Luaga greeted them with surprise and pleasure.

They were evidently friends. He introduced them to Diana and the doctors and asked them to join in the midday meal, still surprised at their unexpected appearance. The tallest man, a lawyer named Onata Omu, sharp-faced with an impressive deep voice, faced Luaga formally.

"It is our pleasure to officially inform you, Dr. La- manda Luaga, that you have been elected as first President of the free and independent nation of Bangalla."

Luaga staring at them speechless for a moment, then sat down. He was a tall, handsome man in his late thirties, with a slim athletic body and a keenly trained mind. He had visited the capitals of Europe, Asia, and the Western hemisphere, knew books, music, and sports. But with all his knowledge and experience, he was unable to speak at this moment. The, surprise had taken his breath away.

The medical team had been aware when they arrived in Bangalla that there had been many years of fighting before the people had thrown off the colonial yoke. Neighboring states had hired mercenary troops in an attempt to loot and divide Bangalla. Luaga and his friends, who were soldiers as well as politicians, had been leaders in these battles. With the wars finished, Luaga had seized the chance to return to his profession by joining the UN medical team sent from the United States. Remote from the capital during the past months, he was barely aware that an election was taking place as the young nation struggled to achieve democracy.

"President?" Luaga finally gasped. The three laughed.

"You remember, before you left, you agreed to put your name on the ballot," said the tall man.

"I didn't think there was a chance in the world for me," said Luaga. "I thought General Bababu would win easily with all the military supporting him."

The three laughed, not pleasantly. Evidently, Bababu was not a friend of theirs.

"So did Bababu think he'd win," said the tall lawyer. "But the people remembered your hospital and devotion to them, and they voted for you."

"Bababu won't like it," said Luaga thoughtfully.

"What does it matter? The election's over. You've won. What can Bababu do about it? The first congress is convening now, and will await your arrival for the inauguration."

Diana and the white doctors listened misty-eyed. They knew they were watching a young nation struggling to get on its feet and take its first few steps. Diana was the first to reach Luaga.

"Mr. President!" she said, bowing to him. The three white doctors sprang to their feet, standing at attention.

Luaga smiled.

"Please," he said. "I'm Lamanda here. Let's finish lunch; I'm starved."

Luaga was right about General Bababu. He didn't like it. And the tall lawyer was wrong. General Bababu could "do something about it," and was doing it at that very moment. That news was to land on the team like a bombshell within the week.

Now the team began to pack their equipment and prepare for the long trek through the jungle to the seacoast capital of Bangalla, Mawitaan. Most of the trip would be on foot with donkeys and bearers to carry their luggage. More radio news came from UN headquarters. An epidemic similar to the jungle fever had broken out on a Caribbean island. Because of the Kirk team's familiarity with this disease, they were needed as soon as possible for consultation in New York. After a two weeks' rest, they would go to the island. The team accepted it philosophically. Kirk was secretly delighted. He still had hopes about Diana and had been afraid she'd leave them, once at home. Now, with two weeks in New York and another stretch in the Caribbean, perhaps he'd have a chance with her.

But Diana was dismayed by the news. She faced Alec Kirk firmly.

"I'm not going back with the team. I'm staying here," she told him.

"You're leaving the team, Diana?" asked Kirk. George Schwartz and Chris Able listened quietly in the background as they packed.

"Not leaving," said Diana. "But I'm taking my two weeks' vacation here. I'll join you in the Caribbean."

Kirk looked around at the Wambesi village and the dark jungle beyond.

"Staying here?" he asked, unable to believe her words.

"Not here. I have a good friend who lives not too far away. I'm visiting him."

The doctors looked at each other. A friend in the jungle? Was this Diana's unknown attachment, and the meaning behind those mysterious drum messages? What kind of jungle man could this be? But Diana said no more. They were destined to find out for themselves, destined to be amazed.

During the last days, Luaga and his friends were busy planning the return to the capital. The men in the delegation would form an important part of Luaga's first cabinet, and they spent long hours discussing and arguing the make-up of their new government.

But all the plans and preparations came to a sharp halt with the stunning news that came over the shortwave radio. The newly elected government, only a month old, had fallen. General Bababu, the defeated candidate, had taken over, declared himself dictator and there was fighting in the streets and throughout the countryside. The three delegates swore violent Bangal- lan oaths, angry with themselves for not having anticipated Bababu's move. They looked to Luaga.

"We must leave at once for the capital. We can't let Bababu get away with this," he said firmly. However, scouting reports were not encouraging. The fighting had spilled over into the jungle. There were deserters looting and killing. It was too dangerous to travel and it seemed wiser to remain in safety with the Wambesi. But Luaga was adamant.

"We must leave. Every day I am away gives Bababu more time to kill our friends and destroy our victory. We must go at once," he added, indicating the delegation. "The medical team can remain with the Wambesi until the jungle is safer."

"We must go also," said Alec Kirk. "We are needed in the Caribbean."

So it was decided. The team and the delegation would go, taking their chances. Diana would remain with the Wambesi and wait for the Phantom. As it turned out, none of them got beyond the village gates.