Sword in Sheath by Andre Norton

The war is now over, but for two members of it, Lawrence Kane and Sam Marusaki, they are set on a special task of tracking down an American flyer who disappeared in the South Pacific near the end of the war, after being shot down. He was last sighted over Indonesia, which is vast, with many islands too small to be on maps. Finding him there will be a thankless task, but since a rich relative of the downed fighter plane is paying for him to be found, they are being paid fairly well for her service.

They travel to Indonesia and arrange for passage to some of the smaller islands on the boat of a Dutch Captain named Van Bleeker. Van Bleeker is attempting to rebuild his shipping lines after they were disrupted by the war. He doesn't have a lot of money, but if he can find natives and others willing to trade with him, he can survive.

But someone apparently doesn't want the men to succeed. Shortly after arranging passage on Captain Van Bleeker's ship, someone searches and trashes their hotel room. They quickly board, only to discover that someone has laid an unusual native curse on the ship, apparently without anyone on board seeing anything. After covering up the cursed item and planning to get it taken care of by a shaman at their next port of call, a costly endeavor, Lawrence and Sam meet the captain's other passenger: Lorens Van Norreys, still recovering from his time in a Nazi concentration camp, but determined to rebuild the House of Norreys as a dealer in gems and fine jewelry. But more than that, Lorens and Lawrence know each other, as Lawrence Kane was Lorens' American Pen Pal from "The Sword is Drawn". However, Lawrence believed his friend was dead after he was thrown into the concentration camp, and is overjoyed to see that he is alive.

Strange incidents continue to befall them as they conduct their personal missions. Lorens has a meeting with a famous crook and gem merchant of the islands: Abdul Hakroum, who has long been thought retired but re-emerged at the end of the war to pursue the possibilities opened up by the withdrawal of the Japanese forces and the resulting chaos. Hakroum offers Lorens a necklace of fantastic mixed gems known as a Nararatna, which he wants to sell to Lorens, but Lorens declines. After the meeting, he explains that without provenance, it could kill the House of Norreys if they were caught selling gems or a necklace that belonged to someone else. But Lorens also had a meeting with a local merchant, and has gotten an utterly magnificent opalized fossil skeleton, which he agreed to sell on behalf of the merchant, splitting the profits with him.

They soon find that the fisherman who they hired as a guide is also the man who sold the Nararatna to Hakroum, and he claims it came from an island known as "The Forbidden Place", a tale from the South Seas of an Island filled with Treasure. Those who go to seek it, it is said, never return. But the fisherman also has several pearls on him whose color and luster are completely unseen before, which means they have found a new pearl bed. Convincing the fisherman to lead them there, they also discover that a plane engine is sunk into the coral so deeply that it cannot be removed. Could American flyers have crashed here, flyers such as the one they are searching for?

Exploration of the Island shows, however, that not *all* the Japanese troops are gone from the island, nor all the Nazi's, either. Caught in a fight between the Japanese, the Nazis, natives and grounded fliers, Lorens, Lawrence, Sam, Captain Van Bleeker, and the crew of his ship will find themselves fighting for their lives to get out alive and with the objects of their personal missions. But when Hakroum shows up, will he side with the Japanese and Nazis, or with the Americans and the Dutch?

This was another interesting book, in which we finally get to meet Lorens' American Pen Pal, Lawrence. Even though their names are similar, Lorens being the Dutch version of "Lawrence", we never get the two mixed up, even when they are working together. More than just the difference in names, the difference in attitude and character between the two sets them apart. But they are friends, even though they have never met, and get to share a glorious adventure together.

Even though their motivations are startlingly different, they both find the ending to their respective quests on the same small island. Together, they must come together with Captain Van Bleeker and an American Agent who also works for their boss, and fight against the Nazis and Japanese that still patrol and live on the Forbidden Island. In fact, it seems like everyone in the book, Hakroum included, all have something to gain from the island, and while at the end everyone comes together and is satisfied (showing that even criminal masterminds have a heart, I suppose), everyone also manages to profit.

I enjoyed reading the book, although it was less about Lorens alone; he became one of an ensemble cast in this book, where the two previous books were about his struggles alone against the Nazis/Axis forces. It lent quite a different air to the book, but it was not unwelcome. Being that this was the last book about Lorens Van Norreys (at least, as far as I am aware), it was a good ending to the series. Would I recommend this book? Well, for someone not afraid or turned off by reading what is now old-fashioned in writing style, I would. But it can also be a bit dreary to read for someone not used to the writing style of the 40's and 50's.