Chapter 18
In the morning, after Remo had explained it all, the Master of Sinanju did not say, "I told you so." His eyes said it, but his mouth only whispered, "I did not know." His tone was strange.
"Know what?" wondered Remo.
"That they still lived."
"Who does?"
Chiun shook away the clouds in his hazel eyes. They cleared. "I have never told you of the Spider Divas," he said solemnly.
"Spider Divas?"
"They were great rivals of ours in the days of the Mogul emperors."
"In India?"
"Yes."
"Nalini told me she was from Sri Lanka."
"Which was once known as Ceylon. The Spider Divas came from the island of Ceylon."
"Why are they called Spider Divas?" asked Remo.
"Because it is said that they could speak the language of the spiders and make them do their wicked bidding."
"Spiders don't speak."
"And ants do not hop. Yet we have seen ants do just that."
They were in Remo's room. The Master of Sinanju was examining the crushed bodies of the dead antlike things. Remo had flushed most of them down the toilet. One or two mashed dry corpses remained.
"They look like ants to me," Remo said.
Chiun frowned. "I can make nothing of them, but it is possible it is true."
"What's true?"
"Although the Spider Divas were seen, their assassins were not. That was the mystery Master Sambari failed to fathom."
"I detect a legend coming on."
Chiun pointed to a spot on the rug. "Sit."
Obediently, Remo sat, first checking the rug for vermin.
The Master of Sinanju sat too. They faced one another, their legs tucked in the classic lotus position.
"Master Sambari," Chiun said, "is a Master of whom I never before spoke."
"Another black sheep?"
Chiun's tiny nose wrinkled slightly. "No. I tell you these stories of my ancestors so that you may learn. The lesson of Sambari was never necessary for you to learn because Sambari vanquished the last of the Spider Divas in the days of the Mogul emperors."
"So how come we have them in this country? Sambari was before Columbus, right?"
"Who is to know?" Chiun said dismissively. "When we return home, I will have to revise the scrolls that extoll Sambari's achievement. The man was a bungler. He let one get away."
"Nalini looked a little young to be this Eldress," Remo pointed out. "Or a long-lost Spider Diva."
"She is obviously a descendant of that unclean clan. There can be no doubt that it was she who dispatched Theodore Soars-With-Eagles, possibly by sending one of her spiders to his toupee."
"Tepee," said Remo absently. "Still, the Harvesters did say that a strange Indian girl had been hanging around Magarac's tent."
Chiun's face gathered up in annoyance. "Indian! You told me a squaw."
"I know I did," Remo said heatedly. "I was told Indian. I thought that meant squaw, not East Indian."
"If you had repeated to me the word Indian, I would have guessed the truth instantly!"
"You'd only have jumped to a conclusion."
"A correct conclusion. One that would have spared you the terror of this night."
Remo folded his arms stubbornly. "So what's the story?"
The Master of Sinanju's bony fingers found their opposite wrists and his kimono sleeves came together, hiding them from sight.
"The Spider Divas were assassins," he said. "Exceedingly cunning temptresses who seduced their victims and left them to sleep the sleep of eternity with their unclean creatures. This is known."
"You're losing me."
"You almost lost yourself through ignorance and lust. I will begin at the beginning."
Chiun looked down at his ivory white sleeping kimono and began speaking. His squeaky voice grew stern in timbre.
"The days of which I speak were the days of the Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb. These were glorious days, although not as glorious as the days of the Egyptians or the Romans or especially the Persians. Still, the Mogul emperors of India had much to offer Sinanju, for they presided over a fractious empire, in which Hindus and Sikhs and unimportant others were persecuted. For the Mogul emperors of India followed the Prophet Mohammed."
"Lotsa enemies to be killed, huh?"
Chiun shrugged. "Enemies exist to be crushed. Aurangzeb knew this and so offered good gold to insure that the House of Sinanju stood by his throne. In time, his enemies waned. But a foe is often more dangerous when his power wanes, for when he recognizes his fate approaching, he often lashes out with no regard for his own life. It was so here, Remo.
"Now one of the more tenacious foes were the Rajputs, who were Hindus. They revolted often. They were in truth revolting inasmuch as they ate with their right hands only. They did this because-"
"Can it, and move on."