Chiun's body meanwhile was moving up and down as if he were jumping in joy, while keeping his feet planted firmly on the sidewalk. His long saffron robe looked like a pillow case into which shots of air were being jetted, causing it to rise, then deflate, rise, then deflate.
"I love Disneyland," said Chiun. "How many rides can I go on?"
"Four," said Remo.
"Six," said Chiun.
"Five," said Remo.
"Agreed. Do you have money?"
"Yes."
"Do you have enough?"
"Yes."
"For her too?"
"Yes," said Remo.
"Come, child. Remo is taking us to Disneyland."
"First, I've got to make a phone call."
Ferdinand De Chef Hunt drove slowly back into San Francisco. The city confused him with its mazelike streets that seemed to run from hill to hill and then vanish.
With help he found Union Street and with more help found the building that housed the San Francisco Divine Bliss Mission. If these two targets, this Remo and Chiun, were looking for Dor around San Francisco, they had probably stopped at the mission.
They had.
"They were here. They were here," said the arch-priest Krishna. "He had a badge," he said.
"Where are they now?"
"They just called. They're at a carnival down near Fisherman's Wharf."
"Do they know where Dor is?"
"Man, how could they know? I don't even know."
"If they should return tonight, don't let them know that I was here," said Hunt. "With luck, they won't be returning."
"Am I supposed to be taking orders from you?" asked Krishna.
Hunt extracted a folded piece of paper from his wallet.
Krishna opened it and read the handwritten message from Dor, introducing Hunt as his chief emissary.
"Heavy, man," said Krishna, handing back the note. "Have you seen him?"
"Yes."
"Hail to his Blissful perfection."
"Sure, sure, sure. When did they leave?"
"An hour ago. If you see the Blissful Master again, tell him our mission joyously awaits his presence in our city."
"Right. He'll really be impressed," said Hunt.
Hunt went back down the high stone stairs of the building. In a parked car across the street, Elton Snowy watched him carefully.
"What do you think, Elton?" asked one of the two men in the back seat.
"I don't know, Puling, but I think we ought to follow him."
Hunt got into his old MG and pulled smoothly away from the curb.
"Well, then, let's follow him," said Puling. "If it turns out that he's nothing, this here building'll still be here."
"All right," said Snowy, starting the car and pulling into the street.
"Follow that car," giggled Puling. The man next to him let out a Dixie war whoop.
"We gonna stomp that kidnapper." said the man next to Snowy.
Snowy sighed and drove.
Hunt saw the big black car behind him but attached no significance to it. His mind was busy with the prospect of what was ahead, and he felt a pleasurable tingle of anticipation suffuse his entire body. He was on his way to a carnival to do what his family had done so well for so many years, and he looked forward to it. It seemed as if his whole life had been pointed toward just this moment.
"I want to go on the boats."
"You can't go on the boats. That's a kid's ride."
"Tell me where it says that," said Chiun. "Just show me where it says that."
"Right there," Remo said, pointing at a sign. "Kiddy Village. What do you think that means?"
"I don't think it means that I may not ride on the boats."
"Aren't you afraid of looking foolish?" said Remo. He looked toward the boats, four of them, bathtub length, in a circular moat, two feet wide and holding six inches of water. The boats were connected by iron pipes to the motor in the center of the moat. A carnival worker with a dirty, ripped T-shirt and a leather band around his thick right wrist operated the motor from the gate four feet away, at which he also doubled as ticket seller and collector.
"Only a fool looks foolish," said Chiun, "and only a fool twice over worries about it. I want to ride on the boats." He turned toward Joleen. "Tell him I can ride on the boats. You two are both white, maybe you can make him understand."
"Remo, let the Master ride the boat."