"A woman who would deny a dragon its proud heritage is capable of anything," Chiun said in a bitter tone.
Chapter 13
Word travels fast in the bush.
By the time the train rattled toward the shantytowns that lay scattered outside of Port Chuma, the rails were lined with curious Gondwanalanders.
They cheered the locomotive's chugging approach. Cheers of delight, awe, and surprise attended the sighting of the great flatcar and its saurian cargo.
At each point, the Master of Sinanju waved to the admiring crowds. They waved back with enthusiasm.
"It is good to find a land that appreciates us," Chiun told Remo. They were seated in the passenger car now. Nancy sat in a facing seat.
"I think they're excited about the dinosaur," Remo told him.
"Pah!"
"Of course, I could be wrong," Remo admitted.
"We will know when we reach the capital. Where no doubt the king waits to greet me."
"Gondwanaland is ruled by a president, not a king," Nancy pointed out.
"When he is seen in my company," Chiun sniffed, "his subjects will demand that he be crowned, for it is well known in these lands that he who befriends the Master of Sinanju sleeps serene in his castle."
Nancy leaned forward and whispered to Remo. "Have you given thought to committing him?"
"Only if I want to watch men in white coats being dismembered before my eyes."
Nancy, remembering how Chiun had made short work of Colonel Mustard, said, "I assume he knows some kind of exotic martial art."
Remo nodded. "Bruce Lee taught him everything he knows."
Chiun spat noisily out the open window.
"What brought that on?" Nancy asked Remo.
"Ritual purging. I'll explain later."
"Don't bother."
Skip King came back from consulting with his Burger Berets, who had decided to ride on the roof when Chiun came on board at a water stop. He clutched his walkie-talkie, and his face was worried.
"I've been in touch with Port Chuma. Word's already reached the capital."
"Is that good or bad?" Nancy asked.
"Not good. The rabble are demanding that Old Jack stay in Africa. We're going to have to run the train straight to the docks and load him aboard the ship."
"What kind of a ship hauls dinosaurs?" Remo asked.
"A fabulous one. If there's time, we might let you see it."
"Gee, can we?"
"Ingrate," sniffed Chiun.
"What's his problem?" King asked Remo. "We let the two of you hitch a ride with us after your shocks died-even though you screwed things up."
"He likes grateful people," Remo said of Chiun.
"Who doesn't?"
"Especially grateful people who are free with their gold."
"No chance. The board would have paid him to stay away. Do you realize the archival footage we lost?"
"I keep thinking of the blood that wasn't spilled." Nancy said dryly.
"Women don't understand these things."
"King, there are problems taking Old Jack to America," Nancy said.
King grinned. "And I solved every one of them."
"I doubt it. What about the long ocean crossing?"
"It won't be long. Less than twelve hours. He'll probably sleep through the whole thing."
"What kind of a ship can cross the Atlantic in twelve hours?" Remo asked.
"A fabulous one," King said.
"Like the one that brought King Kong to New York?" Remo asked.
King made a disdainful face. "This is the nineties. We don't do boats in the nineties. But we have to be ready to move fast. There are cranes waiting to make the transfer. We'll do the press conference with that as a backdrop."
"Press conference?" Remo asked. "What happened to moving as fast as possible?"
King looked injured. "I said fast, not panicked. This is a great opportunity for the Gondwanaland people. We're going to open up Burger Triumph franchises all over this backwater as a gesture of the corporation's eternal gratitude for the president's help."
"Selling what?" Nancy asked dryly. "White-nosed monkey burgers?"
King started to frame a comeback. His fox face froze, and his beady eyes took on an inward look.
"You okay?" Remo asked suddenly.