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steel-and-walnut weapon with a slack-jawed expression. "Where's Sunny Joe
Roam?" Remo said tightly. Woodenly the Indian pointed to the west.
"Yonder. Red Ghost Butte. He went up there two days back. He ain't been back
since." The Indian suddenly fell into a fit of coughing. "We think he's
dead."
"Dead?"
"The death hogap dust musta got him. He went up there to talk to the spirit of
Ko Jong Oh."
"You don't mean Kojong?"
"Forget it. Indian talk." The Indian fell to coughing again. "Damn this
plague. Steals all the breath from a man."
"Plague?" Chiun said from the shadows.
The Indian coughed again. "Yeah. They call it the Sun On Jo Disease."
"Sun On Jo?" said Remo. "Not Sinanju?"
"Yeah. I ain't never heard of any Sinanju tribe." Then the Indian got a clear
look at the Master of Sinanju. "Hey, don't I know you, old fella?"
"I was here when the Japanese sought to rain death on this land," Chiun said
gravely.
"Yeah. You came with Sunny Joe. You're a good guy. But I think you're too
late. We're all dying of this damn death dust."
"What's the best way to get to Red Ghost Butte?" Remo asked quickly.
"That jeep of yours will take you as far as Crying River."
"Crying River. Not Laughing Brook?"
"How do you know about Laughing Brook?" the brave asked.
"Never mind," said Remo, jumping for the open car door. "Thanks."
Remo turned to the Master of Sinanju. "You stay here."
Chiun's wispy chin lifted in defiance. "I am coming with you."
"That's your decision."
"Yes, it is."
They got into the Navajo and left the Indian choking on the dust kicked up by
their rear wheels.
The road gave out eventually. The Navajo climbed the sand, found traction for
a while, then got bogged down. They abandoned it.
The sand crunched softly under their feet. It was the only sound in the night.
Red Ghost Butte reared up before them like a grounded ship.
They came to a long depressed wash of sand that had formed a crust and passed
over it without breaking the crust. Hoof prints of a horse showed as broken
patches in the crust, so they were not surprised to find a horse loitering at
the foot of Red Ghost Butte.
The Master of Sinanju went to the horse and, prying open his mouth, examined
the inside.
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"He has known neither water nor food for two days."
"Must be Sunny Joe's horse," said Remo, looking up. Moonlight washed the
eastern face of Red Ghost Butte. Plainly visible on one side was a hole.
"Looks like a cave up there," Remo said.
The Master of Sinanju said nothing. His eyes sought the cave mouth and held
it.
"Does it remind you of the cave of your vision?" he asked.
"Can't tell from down here." And Remo started up. Picking his way through
brambles and brush, he ascended until he stood at the entrance to the cave. He
seemed to take his time, but in reality he reached the ledge before the mouth
cave very quickly.
There Remo hesitated. And in that moment he sensed a presence behind him.
Remo whirled. And there stood Chiun, his face stiff in the moonlight, his
hands tucked into the joined sleeves of his kimono.
"What are you doing up here?" Remo asked harshly.
"I have come this far, but I will go no farther. This is your quest. You must
see it to its end, no matter how bitter it is for both of us."
"You want me to go in here or not?"
"I offer no opinion," Chiun said, voice and eyes thin.
"Okay," Remo said thickly. And he stepped in.
The moonlight showed red sandstone for several yards. When he passed into the
dark portion, he stopped, letting the visual purple in his eyes adjust to the
blackness. His heart thumped, but he felt a strange calmness come over his
mind.
As his eyes adjusted, Remo began to see low shapes on both sides of the cave
and his mouth went dry.
THE MASTER OF SINANJI stood in the moonlight looking into the cave. He watched
the back of his pupil recede beyond the wash of pure moonlight and in his
heart bid a silent farewell to him. After this night nothing would ever be the
same again, he knew.
Then out of the cave came Remo's excited voice. "Chiun, get in here!"
"I will not," Chiun called back.
"You gotta. I need your help."
"For me to enter that cave is to die. Your own mother told you this."
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