"Your guess, sir. We"re not, unfortunately, inside the minds of the U-boat and Luftwaffe commanders in Trondheim. My guess is that they"re not going to try to finish us off and that"s not because they"ve been at great pains not to sink us so far. If they wanted to sink us, one torpedo from the U-boat I"m sure is out there would do the job nicely. Or, if they wanted to sink us from the air, they wouldn"t use a Condor which is really a reconnaissance plane: Heinkels, Heinkel Ill"s or Stukas with long-range tanks could do the job much more efficiently - and Trondheim is only about two hundred miles from here."
"What"s he after, then?" The Condor was two miles distant now and losing height rapidly.
"Information." McKinnon looked up at the bridge and caught sight of Naseby out on the port wing looking aft towards the approaching Condor. He cupped his hands and shouted: "George!" Naseby swung round.
"Get down, get down!" McKinnon made the appropriate gesture with his hand. Naseby raised an arm in acknowledgement and disappeared inside the bridge. "Mr Patterson, let"s get inside the superstructure. Now."
Patterson knew when to ask questions and when not to. He led the way and within ten seconds they were all in shelter except the Bo"sun, who remained in the shattered doorway.
"Information," Patterson said. "What information?"
"One moment." He moved quickly to the side of the ship, looked aft for no more than two seconds, then returned to shelter.
"Half a mile," McKinnon said. "Very slow, very low, about fifty feet. Information? Sh.e.l.l-holes, say, on the sides or superstructure, something to indicate that we had been in a fight with some vessel. He won"t see any holes on the port side."
Patterson made to speak but whatever he had to say was lost in the sudden clamour of close-range fire by machine-guns, in the cacophonous fury of hundreds of bullets striking the superstructure and side in the s.p.a.ce of seconds, and in the abrupt crescendo of sound as giant aero engines swept by not more than fifty yards away. Another few seconds and all was relatively quiet again.
Jamieson said: "Well, yes, I can see now why you told Naseby to get his head down."
"Information." Patterson sounded aggrieved, almost plaintive. "b.l.o.o.d.y funny way they set about getting information. And I thought you said they weren"t going to attack us."
"I said they wouldn"t sink us. Knocking a few of the crew off would be all grist to their mill. The more of us they can kill, the more they think they"ll have us at their mercy."
"You think they got the information they wanted?"
"I"m certain of it. You can be sure that every eye on that Condor was examining us very closely indeed as they pa.s.sed by fifty yards away. They won"t have seen the damage to our bows because it"s underwater but they can"t have helped seeing something else that"s underwater up for"ard - our load-line. Unless they"re completely myopic they"re bound to have seen that we"re down by the head. And unless they"re equally dense they"re bound to realize that we"ve either hit something or been hit by something. It couldn"t have been a mine or torpedo or we"d be at the bottom now. They"ll have known at once that we must have rammed something and there won"t be much guessing about what that was."
"Dear, oh dear," Jamieson said. "I don"t think I like this one little bit, Bo"sun."
"Nor me, sir. Changes things quite a bit, doesn"t it? Question of the German high command"s priorities, I suppose. A question of alive or dead. Is it more important to them that they take us more or less alive or do they take revenge for their lost U-boat?"
"Whichever they choose, there"s d.a.m.n-all we can do about it," Patterson said. "Let"s go and have lunch."
"I think we should wait a moment, sir." McKinnon remained still and silent for a few moments, then said: "It"s coming back."
And back it came, flying at the same near wave-top height. The second fly-past was a mirror image of the first: instead of flying stern to stem on the port side it flew stem to stern on the starboard side, again to the accompaniment of the same fusillade of machine-gun fire. Some ten seconds after the firing ceased McKinnon, followed by the others, left the shelter and went to the port rail.
The Condor was off the port quarter, climbing steadily and flying directly away from them.
"Well, well," Jamieson said. "We seem to have got off lightly. Bound to have seen those three sh.e.l.l-holes on the starboard side, weren"t they, Bo"sun?"
"Couldn"t have missed them, sir."
"They could be gaining bombing alt.i.tude before turning back to settle accounts with us?"
"He could bomb us from a hundred feet without the slightest bit of danger to himself."
"Or maybe he just isn"t carrying any bombs?"
"No. He"ll be carrying bombs all right Only the Focke Wulfs on the big half-circle from Trondheim to Lorient in France round the British Isles, or the ones who patrol as far out as the Denmark Strait don"t carry bombs. They carry extra fuel tanks instead. The ones on shorter patrols always carry bombs - 250-kilo bombs, usually, not the smaller ones that Lieutenant Ulbricht used. The pilot of the Condor is, of course, in direct radio communication with Trondheim, has told them why they"re not hearing from the U-boat any more, but still has been told to lay off us. For the meantime, anyway."
"You"re right," Patterson said. "He"s not coming back. Funny. He could have spent all day - till nightfall at least - circling us and reporting our position. But no, he"s off. I wonder why."
"No need to wonder, sir. The Condor"s exit is all the proof we require that we are being tailed by a U-boat. No point in having a U-boat and a plane tailing us at the same time."
"Isn"t there anything we can do about that d.a.m.ned U-boat?"
"Well, we can"t ram him because we don"t know where he is and we can be certain that there"s no chance that he"ll surface because he"s bound to have heard by now - or will hear very soon - what happened to the other U-boat. We can, just possibly, shake him off but not at this moment. Sure, by shutting off our engines and generators we could make him lose contact but that wouldn"t be for very long -he"d just raise his periscope, traverse the horizon and nail us again."
"Not at this moment - you mean, after it gets dark?"
"Yes, I thought we might try then. We lie doggo for half an hour, then steam away on a new course at very low engine revolutions - the less racket we make the less chance there is of our being picked up. Might take us the better part of an hour to reach full speed. At the best, it"s only a gamble and even if we do win that gamble it"s still no guarantee that we"re free and clear. The U-boat will just radio Trondheim that they"ve lost us. They still know approximately where we are and a Condor with a few dozen flares can cover an awfully big area in a very short time."
"You do my morale a power of good," Jamieson said.
"Their tactics puzzle me. Why do they have a Condor fly out here, fly back again and then, as you suggest, fly out here at dusk? Why doesn"t it stay out here all the time and have another Condor relieve it. It doesn"t make sense to me."
"It does to me. Although we"re still a long way from Aberdeen the German bra.s.s-hats in Norway may well be making a decision as to whether or not to try to stop us again. My feeling - it"s no more than that - says they will. No way a Condor can stop us without sinking or crippling us. It"s become quite clear that they have no wish to sink us or cripple us to the extent that we can no longer proceed under our own steam. The U-boat can surface about a mile off, watch carefully for even a couple of degrees deviation in our course - and they"ll be watching for that very, very carefully - then proceed to pump sh.e.l.l after sh.e.l.l into the superstructure and hospital zone until we run up the little white flag."
"You"re a great comfort to me, Bo"sun."
As McKinnon entered the bridge, Naseby handed him a pair of binoculars.
"Starboard door, Archie. No need to go outside. A bit for"ard of midships. Near enough west, I would say." No need to go outside. A bit for"ard of midships. Near enough west, I would say."
McKinnon took the gla.s.ses, studied the area indicated for about ten seconds, then handed the gla.s.ses back.
"Mile and a half, I would say. Looks like a mirror only, of course, it"s not a mirror, it"s a U-boat"s periscope reflecting the sun. We, George, are being subjected to psychological warfare."
"Is that what you call it?"
"Meant to see it, of course. By accident, of course. Carelessness, of course. Slowly, very slowly, George, round to port until we"re heading more or less due east, then keep it on that bearing. While you"re doing that I"ll call up the Chief Engineer and ask his permission."
He located Patterson in the mess-deck, told him the situation and asked for permission to head east.
"Whatever you say, Bo"sun. Doesn"t exactly get us nearer home, does it?"
"That"s what will make the Germans happy, sir. It"s also what makes me happy. As long as we"re heading for Norway, which is where they want us anyway, and not to Scotland, they"re hardly likely to clobber us for doing exactly what they want us to do. Come darkness, of course, it"s heigh-ho for Scotland again."
"Satisfactory, Bo"sun, very satisfactory indeed. Do we make the news public?"
"I suggest you tell Mr Jamieson and Lieutenant Ulbricht, sir. As for the rest, any more talk about U-boats would only put them off their lunch."
TEN.
"Have I the ward sister"s permission to have a few words with the Captain?"
"The Captain is only two beds away." Margaret Morrison eyed the Bo"sun speculatively. "Or do you have another secret session in mind?"
"Well, yes, it is rather private."
"More U-boat ramming, is it?"
"I never want to see another U-boat in my life." McKinnon spoke with some feeling. "The only thing that heroics will get us is an early and watery grave." He nodded towards the bed where Oberleutnant Klaussen was lying, moving restlessly and mumbling to himself in a barely audible monologue. "Is he like this all the time?"
"All the time. Never stops rambling on."
"Does any of what he says make sense?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
McKinnon guided the Captain into a chair in the small lounge off the crew"s mess.
"Mr Patterson and Mr Jamieson are here, sir. I wanted them to hear what I have in mind and to have your permission to - perhaps - carry out certain things I have in mind. I have three suggestions to make.
"The first concerns our destination. Are we absolutely committed to Aberdeen, sir? I mean, how ironclad are the Admiralty orders?"
Captain Bowen made a few pointed but unprintable observations about the Admiralty, then said: "The safety of the San Andreas and of all aboard her are of paramount importance. If I consider this safety to be in any way endangered I"ll take the San Andreas to any safe port in the world and the h.e.l.l with the Admiralty. We"re here, the Admiralty is not. We are in the gravest danger: the biggest peril facing the Admiralty is falling off their chairs in Whitehall."
"Yes, sir." The Bo"sun half-smiled. "I did think those questions rather unnecessary but I had to ask them."
"Why?"
"Because I"m convinced there"s a German espionage network in Murmansk." He outlined the reasons he had given to Lieutenant Ulbricht less than an hour previously. "If the Germans know so much about us and our movements, then it"s nearer a certainty than a possibility that they also know that our destination is Aberdeen. Maintaining any kind of course for Aberdeen is like handing the Germans a gift from the G.o.ds.
"Even more important, from my way of thinking, anyway, is why the Germans are so very interested in us. We probably won"t know until we arrive in some safe port and even then it might take some time to find out. But if this unknown factor is so very valuable to the Germans, might it not be even more valuable to us? It is my belief-I can"t give any solid grounds for this belief-that the Germans would rather lose this valuable prize than let us have it. I have the uncomfortable feeling that if we got anywhere near Aberdeen the Germans would have a submarine, maybe two, loitering somewhere off Peterhead - that"s about twenty-five miles nor"-nor"-east of Aberdeen - with orders not to let us move any further south. That could mean only one thing -torpedoes."
"Say no more, Bo"sun," Jamieson said. "You"ve got me convinced. Here"s one pa.s.senger who wants Aberdeen struck right off our cruise itinerary."
"I have a feeling you"re right," Bowen said. "Maybe one hundred per cent. Even if the chances were only ten per cent we wouldn"t be justified in taking the risk. I have a complaint to make against myself, Bo"sun. I"m supposed to be the captain. Why didn"t I think of that?"
"Because you had other things on your mind, sir."
"And where does that leave me?" Patterson said.
"I"ve only just thought of it myself, sir. I"m sure that when Mr Kennet and I were ash.o.r.e in Murmansk we missed something. We must have. What I still don"t understand is why the Russians pulled us into Murmansk, why they were so prompt and efficient in repairing the hole in the hull and completing the hospital. If I had the key to answer that question I"d know the answer to everything, including the answer to why the Russians were so helpful and cooperative, in marked contrast to their standard behaviour which usually ranges from unfriendliness to downright hostility. But I don"t have that key."
"We can only speculate," Bowen said. "If you"ve had time to consider this, Bo"sun, you"ve obviously had time to consider alternative ports. Safe ports. Bolt-holes, if you like."
"Yes, sir. Iceland or the Orkneys - that is, Reykjavik or Scapa Flow. Reykjavik has the disadvantage of being half as far away again as Scapa: on the other hand, the further west we go the more we steam out of the reach of the Heinkels and Stukas. Heading for Scapa, we should be within easy reach, practically all the way, of the Heinkels and Stukas based in Bergen and there"s the other disadvantage that ever since Oberleutnant Prien sank the Royal Oak up there, the mine defences make entry impossible. But it has the advantage that both the Navy and the RAF have bases there. I don"t know for certain but I should think it very likely that they maintain frequent air patrols round the Orkneys - after all, it is the base of the Home Fleet. I have no idea how far out those patrols range, fifty miles, a hundred, I don"t know. I think there"s a good chance that we would be picked up long before we"re even near Scapa."
"Tantamount to being home and dry, is that it, Bo"sun?"
"I wouldn"t quite say that, sir. There are always the U-boats." McKinnon paused and considered. "As I see it, sir, four things. No British pilot is going to attack a British hospital ship. We"d probably be picked up by a patrol plane like a Blenheim which wouldn"t waste much time in calling up fighter support and no German bomber pilot in his senses is going to risk meeting up with Hurricanes or Spitfires. The patrol plane would also certainly radio Scapa to have them open a minefield pa.s.sage for us. Lastly, they"d probably send out a destroyer or frigate or sloop - something fast, anyway, with enough depth-charge to discourage any U-boat that might be around."
"Not a very enviable choice," Bowen said. "Three days to Scapa, you would say?"
"If we manage to shake off this U-boat which I"m pretty sure is following us. Five days to Reykjavik."
"What if we don"t manage to shake off our shadower? Aren"t they going to become very suspicious indeed when they see us altering course for Scapa Flow?"
"If they do succeed in following us, they won"t notice any course alteration for a couple of days or more. During that time we"ll be on a direct course to Aberdeen. Once we get south of the lat.i.tude of Fair Isle we"ll alter course southwest or west-south-west or whatever for Scapa."
"It"s a chance. It"s a chance. You have any preference, Mr Patterson?"
"I think I"ll leave my preference to the Bo"sun."
"I second that," Jamieson said.
"Well?"
"I"d feel happier in Scapa, sir."
"I think we all would. Well, Bo"sun, suggestion number one dealt with. Number two?"
"There are six exits from the hospital area, sir, three for"ard and three aft. Don"t you think it would be wiser, sir, if we had everybody confined to the hospital area, except, of course, for those on watch in the engine-room and on the bridge? We know our latest Flannelfoot is still with us and it seems a good idea to confine his sphere of operations - if he has any left, which we don"t know - to as limited an area as possible. I suggest we seal up four of those doors, two aft, two for"ard and post guards at the other two doors."
"Weld them up, you mean?" Jamieson said.
"No. A bomb might hit the hospital. The two doors not sealed off might buckle and jam. Everyone would be trapped. We just close the doors in the usual way and give them a couple of moderate taps with a sledge."
Patterson said: "And maybe Flannelfoot has access to his own private sledgehammer."
"He"d never dare use it. First metallic clang and he"d have the whole ship"s company on his back."
"True, true." Patterson sighed. "I grow old. YOU had a third point?"
"Yes, sir. Involves you, if you will. I don"t think it would do any harm if you were to a.s.semble everybody and tell them what"s going on - not that you can get across to Captain Andropolous and his crew - because I"m sure most have no idea what"s going on. Tell them about Dr Singh, the transceiver and what happened to Lima.s.sol. Tell them that another Flannelfoot is at large and that"s why we"ve closed all four doors so as to limit his movements. Please tell them that although it"s not a very nice thing, they are to watch each other like hawks - it is, after all, in their own survival interests - and to report any suspicious behaviour. It might just cramp Flannelfoot"s style and it will at least give them something to do."
Bowen said: "You really think, Bo"sun, that this - the sealing off of the doors and the warning to the ship"s company - will keep Flannelfoot in check?"
"On the basis of our performance to date," McKinnon said gloomily, "I very much doubt it."
The afternoon and the early evening - and even although they were now more than three hundred miles south of the Arctic Circle early evening in those lat.i.tudes was still very early indeed - pa.s.sed away as peacefully as McKinnon had expected. There was no sign of the U-boat but he had been certain that the U-boat would not show itself. There was no sign of any reconnaissance Condor, which only served to confirm his belief in the enemy concealed below, nor did any Heinkels or Stukas appear over the eastern horizon, for the hour of the coup de grace had not yet come.
Half an hour after sunset the night was as dark as it was likely to become on the Norwegian Sea. Cloud cover was patchy and the rest of the sky hazy although a few pale stars could be seen.
"Time, I think, George," McKinnon said to Naseby. "I"m going below. When the engines stop - that should be in seven or eight minutes" time - bring her round 180 till we"re heading back the way we came. You should be able to pick up our wash even though it is dark. After that -well, we can only hope that you"ll pick up a star. I should be back in about ten minutes or so."
On his way down he pa.s.sed the Captain"s cabin. There was no longer anyone there to guard the s.e.xtant and chronometer: with two of the for"ard exits from the hospital area closed off and the third under guard it was impossible for anyone to reach the upper deck and so the bridge. On the deck it was so dark, the Bo"sun was pleased to note, that he had to use the guideline to find his way to the hospital. Stephen, the young stoker, was there, acting the part of sentry: McKinnon told him to join the others on the mess-decks. When they got there McKinnon found Patterson waiting for him.
"Everybody here, sir?"