CHAPTER IX

Outmatched

Biff was taken aback by his uncle’s last statement.

“You mean if we don’t find Derek, you want me to substitute for him?”

“That sums it up, Biff.”

Biff shook his head. He knew he looked like Derek. But Uncle Charlie was really asking a lot.

“Gosh, Uncle Charlie. It’s one thing for me to substitute for Derek when it’s only a joke. Like at the airport. But to do this—this is for big stakes.”

“I know, Biff. But, considering the fact that you will actually be doing this so the just rights of a man will be established, I don’t think you would be doing anything morally wrong.”

“No, I guess not. We would be stopping Dietz from stealing what belongs to someone else.”

“That’s right, Biff.”

“Still—suppose I have to sign something? That would be forgery. I couldn’t do that, Uncle Charlie.”

“I know you couldn’t, Biff. And I wouldn’t ask you to. But I’ve looked into this affair as closely as I can. I don’t think you’ll be required to sign anything. The signing for the actual working permit to the claim will take place in Martinique.”

“I sure hope you’re right.”

“I’m rather certain that I am, Biff. Otherwise there wouldn’t have been much point in my having you come down here in such a hurry.”

“And my being here gives you more time to find Brom Zook.”

“Or Derek, now that he is here.”

“I wonder why he didn’t get here sooner,” Biff pondered.

“You can bet that really had me worried. I waited until just over three weeks ago before I cabled for Derek to come here. That would be plenty of time, now that the Atlantic can be crossed in hours instead of days.”

“Didn’t you get a reply to your cable?”

“No. That didn’t worry me too much. I just figured that Derek would know how serious things had become. His father must have given him a clear picture of the situation when he wrote him.”

“Why didn’t Derek come as soon as you cabled?”

“I got a cable about ten days after I sent for Derek. It was from his grandfather. The cable informed me that Derek was in the Swiss Alps for winter skiing. The grandfather had tried and tried to locate him. It seems Derek was off on a long cross-country ski race. You know, where the winner is the one who covers the most miles in a given number of days.”

“Be hard to locate someone on one of those jaunts, all right,” Biff agreed.

“So, being desperate, and not knowing if Derek would get here before the time limit expired, I cabled for you. And was I ever glad to see you come through the door of the terminal!”

“But you actually had the real Derek.”

Uncle Charlie laughed. “That’s right. But from the way things have gone, it’s a good thing I do have two Dereks.”

* * * * * * * *

The hands on the clock in the hearing room of the French consulate showed fifteen minutes of four. Seated in the first of the row of benches which lined the room were Herman Dietz and Specks Cade. Dietz wore a satisfied smile on his face. Things were going fine. Just fine. Fifteen more minutes, and Brom Zook’s claim would be worthless, voided by the expiration of the ninety-day time limit.

Specks’s feelings were just the opposite of Dietz’s. He was nervous. He kept shifting back and forth on the bench, looking at the entrance, watching the clock.

Ten minutes of four.

The claims referee finished some business with the only other person left in the room. He looked down from his bench at Dietz.

“You have business with the Claims Division?”

“Yes, sir. I have a claim to file.”

“Then let’s have it. It grows late,” the referee said impatiently.

“I will when it becomes four o’clock,” Dietz said. “It would not be proper for me to file my claim when there is still time for my friend Brom Zook to appear to ask for his.”

The referee looked down at the paper in front of him. He picked it up.

“Oh, yes. Brom Zook. I have it here.” He glanced at the clock.

Five minutes to four.

A dead silence came over the hearing room. Three men kept their eyes on the clock. Even Dietz fidgeted somewhat as the minute hand came nearer and nearer to the hour hand. Only three minutes and he would win.

The sound of feet striding briskly and firmly came from the rear of the room. Dietz swung around. His face went white. His heart pounded. It couldn’t be. It was impossible! Derek Zook was a prisoner guarded by Crunch. Crunch was a simple-minded soul, but a powerful man. Derek Zook couldn’t have escaped!

Biff Brewster came striding down the aisle.

The referee looked up. “And what is the matter concerning you that brings you before this Claims Division?” he asked.

“The matter of the claim to a pearl fishery, made by Brom Zook of Curaçao, sir,” Biff said.

The referee picked up some papers.

“You can establish your right to the claim?”

Biff nodded his head.

Charles Keene came down the aisle and stood by his nephew.

“I see by a letter which accompanies this claim that you must meet a certain requirement in order to establish your right beyond any doubt.”

Biff cast a quick glance at his uncle. Charles Keene said nothing. The clerk went on:

“Brom Zook has accompanied his filing of a claim asking to be granted the rights to fish for pearls in certain waters off the Island of Martinique, with an object which must be matched by any claimant other than himself. Since I know you are not Brom Zook, you must present this object to establish yourself as the rightful claimant to the grant. You have it, young man?”

Momentarily Biff panicked. Where had he put the pearl? Then he felt his uncle nudge him. “Your inside coat pocket, Biff,” Charles Keene whispered.

Biff’s hand shot into his coat pocket.

“The object referred to,” the referee went on, “is a pearl. A black pearl that must match perfectly the one I hold here.”

At these words, Dietz raised an eyebrow and smirked. He was positive no such pearl existed. If it did, Derek didn’t have it. He had searched Derek carefully. No pearl had been found.

Biff’s hand touched the small box. He pulled it out and stepped forward to the referee’s bench.

“Here, sir.” Biff said, holding the beautiful pearl in the palm of his hand.

The referee took it. Biff couldn’t resist turning around to see Dietz’s reaction. Dietz was grasping Specks’s arm. He seemed about to faint. He swallowed several times, shaking his head as if trying to remove from his vision something he couldn’t believe he was seeing.

The referee was examining the two pearls closely.

“Everything seems to be in order. There can be no doubt that these are matching pearls. Beautiful ones, too. My congratulations to you, young man, and to your father. He has truly made a discovery of great beauty and value.”

The referee placed the papers in a thick manila envelope and handed them over to Biff. “And now, seeing that no one else is here to present a claim, I declare the Claims Division closed for the day,” he said.

Biff joined his uncle, and the two strode happily toward the exit. At the door, they turned and looked back. Dietz was slumped back against the bench. Specks hovered over him like a nervous mother hen.