The River Mystery

The River Mystery

Produced for:	Fantomen 4/1981
# of pgs:	32
Writer:	Donne Avenell
Artist:	Heiner Bade
Original colorist:	N/A
Producer:	Semic Press

"The River Mystery" is a 1981 Team Fantomen story, written by Donne Avenell, with art by Heiner Bade.

Plot synopsis

The story begins with a ship trying to navigate the Bengali River, whose environs have been affected by a serious drought for weeks. Finally the ship runs aground in the shallows of the dried-up river, and the crew and passengers expect to be stuck for a while. One of the passengers, a jovial but down-on-his-luck company propietor by the name of Benny Cohn, decides not to wait around and jumps overboard, heavy suitcase and all, to wade to the river bank. However, he promptly gets stuck in the mud and is menaced by a hungry crocodile; but then Rex and Joomba happen to pass nearby, and seeing Benny in peril, Rex instructs Joomba to push down a tree, both crushing the crocodile and building a bridge for the ship's crew to reach the bank. When Rex mentions his adoptive uncle "Walker", the ship's captain wonders, since he has heard the name in some context before, but cannot place it yet.

Rex leads the men to a nearby Wambesi village, where they are welcomed by the chief, Wambatta, and the fanatic medicine man, Gombo, who claims that the drought was brought by the gods as punishment for the people turning their backs on the ancient ways. The very same night, however, the village is swarmed by ravenous crocodiles and hippopotami desperate for food. Just then, Phantom appears and instructs the tribe to use their new harvesting machines to drive the hungry beasts out of the village. From Wambatta, Phantom learns that the cause of the drought is likely connected with a group of white men having made camp at the river's source in the mountains, and he departs for the mountains. Benny, having had no luck in selling his merchandise to the villagers, decides to follow Phantom in hopes of making a sale, so he purchases a mule from a villager and follows.

Later, up in the mountains, Benny still sticks to Phantom's trail, but runs into and nearly falls victim to an explosive booby-trap set by the strangers. The blast brings Phantom and the strangers to the scene, who reveal that they are geologists sent by the government to prospect for valuable minerals. But as it is revealed as the men talk at the campfire, while the prospectors are not malevolent, it was their indiscriminate prospection blastings which upset the river's ecosystem. The next morning, Phantom climbs up the mountain to locate the source of the problem, followed by Benny, who has had no luck in offering his wares to the prospectors and is therefore determined to make a sale with Phantom.

At the top of the cliffside, Phantom is startled to discover a huge rift in the rock, caused by the explosives of the geologists. As he investigates the rift and a small, diamond-studded cave lying beneath, the cave's ceiling suddenly collapses under the pressure of the river's nearby underground water reservoirs. This has the effect of blocking the fissure, as well as inadvertently dumping Benny inside the cave as he tries to locate Phantom. Ending up unhurt, but buried alive, underground, Benny and Phantom team up to search for another exit.

Followng a tunnel, they find a shaft going down into the depths of the mountain, but its sides prove too smooth to allow them to climb down it. Fortunately, Benny's suitcase, which has been just a hindrance until then, suddenly proves very useful in their predicament: Among other merchanidse, Benny has been carrying miscellaneous expedition gear, including a rope which proves long enough for the two men to reach the bottom of the shaft. After abseiling down, Phantom and Benny follow another tunnel, which ends at a subterranean lake feeding the river. With its vast size, the lake appears uncrossable, but then Benny procures an inflatable raft from his case, allowing them to navigate it.

As they paddle through the waters in the dark, the two suddenly realize that the water level is rising, threatening to squash them against the ceiling, because the river's underground source was blocked by the geologists' explosives. They discover a small rift in the rockface which leads straight to the outside, but it proves too narrow to allow them passage. From his suitcase, Benny procures a pickaxe, allowing them to widen the opening just before the water pushes them against the ceiling.

Following their escape, Phantom realizes that the rising water level is linked to enormous pressure mounting inside the grotto, which will eventually bring down the mountainside, along with the geologists' camp. Rushing to reach the camp, they find themselves right above it on a cliff-face, but too far to relay a comprehensible warning. Benny then whips up one last ace in the form of a megaphone, which Phantom uses to warn the geologists. The men hastily evacuate the danger zone just before the accumulated waters rupture the mountainside and bury the camp under tons of rock and water. Chasticized by the consequences of their actions and their narrow escape, the geologists promise to advise the government against any mining in this area.

With the river's water free again, the ecosystem at the Bengali river swiftly returns to normal again. The prospecting expedition leaves on friendly terms with Phantom, and also promise, as a reward for his vital contributions, to become faithful customers of Benny's business. Ignoring the fanatical medicine man proclaiming that the gods have shown mercy, Benny and Phantom say good-bye and part as friends.