74 chapter xxxiv
chapter xxxv 75
Mor al-Az
An Irrawaddi Flotilla Company Steamer
Burmese call them ‘Saviour Kings.’ Benevolent seeming, these Burmese Robin Hood figures are chancers. Soon after our arrival we heard of one, known as Mor al-Az, who was active nearby. The District Commissioner was after him. Word had it he could change shape but no witness would confirm rumours he favoured shark-like looks. This was noted by Mr Karnicki, suggesting his former colleague and bitter enemy, Mauricio Morales, was up to no good. Cold panic seized everyone on the bus as it rolled out of Kemmendine. A child screamed, the driver braked and looked about. For what? Passengers eyed each other in silence for an instant. Then, as suddenly, the feeling went. The bus lurched off. Below a catalpa tree a frog burst unseen.
The wide sluggish river. At first only a ripple was visible, then the head and shoulders of a loping figure slowly walking out of the water up the shelving shore toward a group of startled Irrawaddi fishermen. Dripping he stood eyeing them. ‘I am Mor al-Az. I come to save you. Your ancestors send me. Here is their sign.’ He turned and gestured at the river. To their horror a shark fin the size of an Irrawaddi paddle steamer surfaced in midstream. The monster moved in a leisurely circle, awesome, and was gone. The boatmen stood aghast, obedient.
The Escape for Pureprint.indd 74-75
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