How to get her away from her family presented a problem that seemed to defy solution. At least he could thank his gods that a British ship lay in the harbour and, if only he could get Lisala on board, he felt sure that Captain Jackson would give her passage with him to England. But how could that be done?
If the de Pombal ladies had made frequent excursions into the town, he could have hired a band of desperadoes to help him kidnap Lisala; but, as far as he knew, since the beginning of the horrible Fiesta, except on one occasion to pay homage to Don Joao, they had never left the house. And they might not do so again for another week or more. In the meantime, the odds were that the Phantom would have sailed. To make sure of her sailing with them he must have Lisala in his keeping within forty-eight hours.
There was only one thing for it. He must abduct her from the house. Already he had racked his brain in vain for a way to get up to her room. That could only be done by raising the heavy ladder, and he could not do that without help. His first thought was to take Mobo with him; but he promptly dismissed it. The Negro was barely capable of brushing his clothes and running small errands. As a companion in a dangerous undertaking he would prove a liability rather than an asset. The penalties for slaves who broke the law were so terrible that they did so only when driven by dire necessity. When Mobo's dull brain grasped the fact that he was being used in an illegal act, he would first take the opportunity to do a bolt, and chance his luck in coming upon one of the numerous encampments of runaway slaves who were scraping a living in the depths of the jungle.
Looking up, Roger's glance settled on Baob, who was standing silently in the doorway, waiting to know whether he was to take back an answer to Lisala's letter.
Baob was a very different type of man from Mobo. He was intelligent, self-confident, and was well acquainted with the layout of the de Pombal property. Moreover, he was already accepting money to act as the carrier of a secret correspondence between Roger and Lisala.
After a moment's thought, Roger asked him, 'Would you like to earn enough money to buy your freedom?'
The ivory teeth of the big black flashed again, and he replied in bastard Portuguese, 'Yes, lord. To do that I's your man.'
Roger nodded. 'Then tell the Senhorita Lisala to have no more fears. I will do as she has asked. Later today—say between seven and eight o'clock—return to the town and meet me on the foreshore below the square.'
Salaaming deeply, the Negro said, 'Will do, lord.' Then he turned and went down the stairs.
Thinking matters over, Roger could not decide whether this unexpected development was-a good thing for him or not. The thought of again enjoying Lisala, after not having done so for so many weeks, held an allure that, as he contemplated it, made his heart beat faster. But he was nearly twice her age, and she was extremely highly sexed. In fact she was nearer than any woman he had ever known to being a nymphomaniac. Uneasily, he wondered whether he would prove capable over a prolonged period of satisfying her cravings. Again, enchanting though she was as a companion, he knew her to be utterly selfish, that on occasion she displayed a most evil temper, and that in her character there was a vicious streak.
But she was now carrying his child; and in him lay her only hope of any happiness in the future. So fate had clearly ordained that, for better or for worse, a link existed between them which he could not ignore.
During the siesta hours he thought out in detail what had to be done to succeed in carrying off Lisala. Then he had himself rowed out to the Phantom. To Captain Jackson he gave a version of his situation which was very near the truth. He said that he was in love with a Portuguese lady who returned his love; but her father would not consent to their marrying. He had, therefore, determined to abduct her. He then asked the Captain if he would consent to receiving the lady on board and conveying her with him back to England.
After a short hesitation, Jackson replied, ‘I should like to oblige you in this, Mr. Brook, and in these troubled times it occurs not infrequently that ladies must be accepted as passengers in British men-of-war. But I am averse to letting myself in for trouble with the Portuguese. If you can bring her aboard without their knowledge, well and good. But should they come after her and her father demand her return, I'll have no alternative but to let him have her.'
This was as much as Roger could expect. Having thanked the Captain, he raised the question of money. Although he had been repaid by de Pombal for his original outlay on the house, his nine weeks in Brazil had made heavy inroads into the sum he had brought with him. He had also had an unpleasant surprise when he had endeavoured to dispose of a few of his stock of small diamonds. Only then had he discovered that Brazil was one of the few countries in the world that produced considerable quantities of diamonds, and the sum he had been offered was so paltry that he had rejected it. Now he produced the bag of stones, emptied it out on the cabin table and said to Jackson:
'I have another favour to ask. To carry through the enterprise I intend to undertake I need gold to bribe a man to give me his assistance. In England that little lot would fetch at least three hundred guineas. Would you oblige me by taking them as security for a loan of a hundred?'
The Captain prodded the stones with his finger and replied, ‘I do not doubt your word, Mr. Brook; but I know nothing of the value of precious gems. However, I will do as you wish if you are willing to back the transaction with your note of hand.'
'By all means,' Roger agreed; upon which Jackson produced for him pen, ink, paper and a sand-horn, then unlocked an iron-bound chest. Ten minutes later, having told the Captain that he expected to bring the Senhorita aboard at about one a.m. the following morning, Roger was being rowed ashore, with the gold in his breeches pockets.
On the stony, wreck-strewn beach he found Baob waiting for him. He had decided that it could only prove dangerous to mislead the big Negro about his intention; so he told him that he needed his assistance not only to get up to Lisala's room, but that he meant to carry her off. He then outlined his plan. It was to arrive the following night at midnight on horseback, and with a led horse for Lisala. Having tethered the horses at the back of the big barn, he would go round to its entrance. Together they would raise the heavy ladder to Lisala's window. While Baob kept watch in case any of the slaves in the loft were aroused and possibly came out to see what was happening, he would go up and bring Lisala down. Baob was to tell Lisala what was planned, so that she would be fully dressed in travelling clothes and have a single valise ready packed with only a change of attire, fresh underclothes and her most precious possessions.
The African showed no surprise at Roger's revelation that he had in mind much more than a secret meeting with Lisala, and displayed his intelligence by asking several shrewd questions. Roger than produced a handful of guineas from his pocket and said:
'Fifty of these are for you if you are willing to do all that I require of you: twenty-five before we leave, if I can get safely away with the Senhorita.'
For a slave the sum offered was a fortune. As Baob stared down at the gold, his eyes opened wide, their whites contrasting sharply with the black skin of his face. Roger picked five of the guineas from the top of the pile in his palm and offered them to the Negro as an earnest of good faith. Eagerly Baob accepted them, bowed to the ground and swore on St. Balthasar, the patron saint of the slaves, to follow Roger's instructions to the letter.