"You were seen to leave this boat in a black rubber dinghy about five o"clock this evening." I"d heard of icy fingers playing up and down one"s spine but it wasn"t fingers I felt then3 it was a centipede with a hundred icy boots on. "You went out into the Sound. Mr. Mcllroy, the postmaster, saw you." it was a centipede with a hundred icy boots on. "You went out into the Sound. Mr. Mcllroy, the postmaster, saw you."
"I hate to impugn the character of a fellow civil servant but he must have been drunk." Funny how an icy feeling could make you sweat. "I haven"t got a black rubber dinghy, I"ve never owned a black rubber dinghy. You just get out your little magnifying gla.s.s, Sergeant, and if you can find a black rubber dinghy I"ll make you a present of the brown wooden dinghy, which is the only one we have on the Firecrest," Firecrest,"
The wooden expression cracked a little. He wasn"t so certain now. "So you weren"t out?"
"I was was out. In our own dinghy. I was just round the comer of Garve Island there, collecting some marine samples from the Sound. I can show them to you in the after cabin. We"re not here on holiday, you know." out. In our own dinghy. I was just round the comer of Garve Island there, collecting some marine samples from the Sound. I can show them to you in the after cabin. We"re not here on holiday, you know."
"No offence, no offence." I was a member of the working cla.s.ses now, not a plutocrat, and he could afford to thaw a little. "Mr. Mcllroy"s eyesight isn"t what it was and everything looks black against the setting sun. You don"t look look the type, I must say, who"d land on the sh.o.r.es of the Sound and bring down the telephone wires to the mainland." the type, I must say, who"d land on the sh.o.r.es of the Sound and bring down the telephone wires to the mainland."
The centipede started up again and broke into a fast gallop. Cut off from the mainland. How very convenient for somebody. I didn"t spend any time wondering who had brought the wires down - it had been no act of G.o.d, I was sure of that.
"Did you mean what I thought you to mean, Sergeant?" I said slowly. "That you suspected me------"
"We can"t take chances, sir." He was almost apologetic now. Not only was I a working man, I was a man working for the Government. All men working for the Government are ipso facto ipso facto respectable and trustworthy citizens. respectable and trustworthy citizens.
"But you won"t mind ,if we take a little look round?" The dark-haired customs officer was even more apologetic. "The lines are down and, well, you know . . ." His voice trailed off and he smiled. "If you were the hi-jackers - I appreciate now that it"s a chance in a million, but still - and if we didn"t search - well, we"d be out of a job to-morrow. Just a formality."
"I wouldn"t want to see that happen, Mr. ah"
"Thomas. Thank you. Your ship"s papers? Ah, thank you," He handed them to the younger man. "Let"s see now. Ah, the wheelhouse. Could Mr. Durran here use the wheelhouse to make copies? Won"t take five minutes."
"Certainly. Wouldn"t he be more comfortable here?"
"We"re modernised now, sir. Portable photo-copier. Standard on the job. Has to be dark. Won"t take five minutes. Can we begin in this laboratory of yours?"
A formality, he"d said. Well, he was right there, as a search it was the least informal thing I"d ever come across. Five minutes after he"d gone to the wheelhouse Durran came aft to join us and he and Thomas went through the Firecrest as Firecrest as if they were looking for the Koh-i-noor. To begin with, at least. Every piece of mechanical and electrical equipment in the after cabin had to be explained to them. They looked in every locker and cupboard.. They rummaged through the ropes and fenders in the large stem locker aft of the laboratory and I thanked G.o.d I hadn"t followed my original idea of stowing the dinghy, motor and scuba gear in there. They even examined the after toilet. As if I"d be careless enough to drop the Koh-i-noor in there. if they were looking for the Koh-i-noor. To begin with, at least. Every piece of mechanical and electrical equipment in the after cabin had to be explained to them. They looked in every locker and cupboard.. They rummaged through the ropes and fenders in the large stem locker aft of the laboratory and I thanked G.o.d I hadn"t followed my original idea of stowing the dinghy, motor and scuba gear in there. They even examined the after toilet. As if I"d be careless enough to drop the Koh-i-noor in there.
They spent most time of all in the engine-room. It was worth examining. Everything looked brand new, and gleamed. Two big 100 h.p. diesels, diesel generator, radio generator, hot and cold water pumps, central heating plant; big oi! and water tanks and the two long rows of lead-acid batteries. Thomas seemed especially interested in the batteries.
"You carry a lot of reserve there, Mr. Petersen," he said. He"d learnt my name by now, even though it wasn"t the one I"d been christened with. "Why all the power?"
"We haven"t even got enough. Care to start those two engines by hand? We have eight electric motors in the lab. - and the only time they"re used, in harbour, we can"t run either the engines or generators to supply juice. Too much interference. A constant drain." I was ticking off my fingers. "Then there"s the central heating, hot and cold water pumps, radar, radio, automatic steering, windla.s.s, power winch for the dinghy, echo-sounder, navigation lights------"
"You win, you win." He"d become quite friendly by this time. "Boats aren"t really in my line. Let"s move forward, shall we?"
The remainder of the inspection, curiously, didn"t take long.
In the saloon I found that Hunslett had persuaded the Torbay police force to accept the hospitality of the Firecrest. Firecrest. Sergeant MacDonald hadn"t exactly become jovia! Sergeant MacDonald hadn"t exactly become jovia!3 but he was much more human than when he"d come on board. Constable Mac-Donald, I noticed, didn"t seem so relaxed. He looked positively glum. Maybe he didn"t approve of his old man consorting with potential criminals. but he was much more human than when he"d come on board. Constable Mac-Donald, I noticed, didn"t seem so relaxed. He looked positively glum. Maybe he didn"t approve of his old man consorting with potential criminals.
If the examination of the saloon was cursory, that of the two forward cabins was positively perfunctory. Back in the saloon, I said: "Sorry I was a bit short, gentlemen. I like my sleep. A drink before you go?"
"Well." Thomas smiled. "We don"t want to be rude either. Thank you."
Five minutes and they were gone. Thomas didn"t even glance at the wheelhouse - Durran had been there, of course. He had a quick look at one of the deck lockers but didn"t bother about the others. We were in the clear. A civil good-bye on both sides and they were gone. Their boat, a big indeterminate shape in the darkness, seemed to have, plenty of power.
"Odd," I said.
"What"s odd?"
"That boat. Any idea what h was like?"
"How could I?" Hunslett was testy. He was as short of sleep as I was. "It was pitch dark."
"That"s just the point. A gentle glow in their wheelhouse - you couldn"t even see what that was like - and no more. No deck lights, no interior lights, no navigation lights even."
"Sergeant MacDonald has been looking out over this harbour for eight years. Do you need light to find your way about your own living-room after dark?"
"I haven"t got twenty yachts and cruisers in my living-room swinging all over the place with wind and tide. And wind and tide doesn"t alter my own course when Fm crossing my living-room. There are only three boats in the harbour carrying anchor lights. He"ll have to use something to see where he"s going."
And he did. From -the direction of the receding sound of engines a light stabbed out into the darkness. A five-inch searchlight, I would have guessed. It picked up a small yacht riding at anchor less than a hundred yards ahead of it, altered to starboard, picked up another, altered to port, then swung back on course again.
""Odd " was the word you used," Hunslett murmured, "Quite a good word, too, in the circ.u.mstances. And what are we to think of the alleged Torbay police force?""
"You talked to the sergeant longer than I did. When I was aft with Thomas and Durran."
"I"d like to think otherwise," Hunslett said inconsequentially. "It would make things easier, in a way. But I can"t. He"s a genuine old-fashioned cop and a good one, too. I"ve met too many. So have you."
"A good cop and an honest one," I agreed. "This is not his line of country and he was fooled. It is our line of country and we were fooled. Until now, that is." not his line of country and he was fooled. It is our line of country and we were fooled. Until now, that is."
"Speak for yourself."
"Thomas made one careless remark. An off-beat remark. You didn"t hear it - we were in the engine-room." I shivered, maybe it was the cold night wind. "It meant nothing-not until I saw that they didn"t want their boat recognised again. He said: " Boats aren"t really in my line" Probably thought he"d been asking too many questions and wanted to rea.s.sure me. Boats not in his line - a customs officer and boats not in his line. They only spend their lives aboard boats, examining boats, that"s all. They spend their lives looking and poking in so many odd corners and quarters that they know more about boats than the designers themselves. Another thing, did you notice how sharply dressed they were? A credit to Carnaby Street."
"Customs officers don"t usually go around in oil-stained overalls."
"They"ve been living in those clothes for twenty-four hours. This is the what - the thirteenth boat they"ve searched in that time. Would you still have knife-edged creases to your pants after that lot? Or would you say they"d only just taken them from the hangers and put (hem on?"
"What else did they say? What else did they do?" Hunslett spoke so quietly that I could hear the note of the engines of the customs" boat fall away sharply as their searchlight lit up the low-water stone pier, half a mile away. "Take an undue interest in anything?"
"They took an undue interest in everything. Wait a minute, though, wait a minute, Thomas seemed particularly intrigued by the batteries, by the large amount of reserve electrical power we had."
"Did he now? Did he Indeed? And did you notice howlightly our two customs friends swung aboard their launch. when leaving?"
"They"ll have done it a thousand times."
"Both of them had their hand a free. They weren"t carrying anything. They should have been carrying something."
"The photo-copier. I"m getting old."
"The photo-copier. Standard equipment my ruddy foot. So if our fair-haired pal wasn"t busy photo-copying he was busy doing something else."
We moved inside the wheelhouse. Hunslett selected the larger screw-driver from the tool-rack beside the echo-sounder and had the face-plate off our R.T.D./D.F. set inside sixty seconds. He looked at the interior for five seconds, looked at me for the same length of time, then started s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the face-plate back into position. One thing was certain, we wouldn"t be using that transmitter for a long time to come.
I turned away and stared out through the wheelhouse windows into the darkness. The wind was still rising, the black sea gleamed palely as the whitecaps came marching in from the south-west, the Firecrest Firecrest snubbed sharply on her anchor chain and, with the wind and the tide at variance, she was beginning to corkscrew quite noticeably now. I felt desperately tired. But my eyes were stilt working. Hunslett offered me a cigarette. I didn"t -want one, but I took one. snubbed sharply on her anchor chain and, with the wind and the tide at variance, she was beginning to corkscrew quite noticeably now. I felt desperately tired. But my eyes were stilt working. Hunslett offered me a cigarette. I didn"t -want one, but I took one. Who Who knew, it might even help me to think. And then I had caught his wrist and was staring down at his palm. knew, it might even help me to think. And then I had caught his wrist and was staring down at his palm.
"Well, well," I said. "The cobbler should stick to his last."
"He what?"
"Wrong proverb. Can"-t think of the right one. A good workman uses only his own tools. Our pal with the penchant for smashing valves and condensers should have remembered that. No wonder my neck was twitching when Durran was around. How did you cut yourself?"
"I didn"t cut myself."
"I know. But there"s a smear of blood on your paten. He"s been taking lessons from Peter Sellers, I shouldn"t wonder. Standard southern English on the Nantesville, Nantesville, northern Irish on the northern Irish on the Firecrest. Firecrest. I wonder how many other accents he has up his sleeve - behind his Iarynx I wonder how many other accents he has up his sleeve - behind his Iarynx3 I should say. And I thought he was running to a little fat. He"s running to a great deal of muscle. You noticed he never took his gloves off, even when he had that drink?" I should say. And I thought he was running to a little fat. He"s running to a great deal of muscle. You noticed he never took his gloves off, even when he had that drink?"
"I"m the best noticer you ever saw. Beat me over the head with a club and I"ll notice anything." He sounded bitter. "Why didn"t they clobber us? You, anyway? The star witness?"
"Maybe we have have moved out of our cla.s.s. Two reasons. They couldn"t do anything with the oops there, genuine cops as we"ve both agreed, not unless they attended to the cops too. Only a madman would deliberately kill a cop and whatever those boys may lack it isn"t sanity," moved out of our cla.s.s. Two reasons. They couldn"t do anything with the oops there, genuine cops as we"ve both agreed, not unless they attended to the cops too. Only a madman would deliberately kill a cop and whatever those boys may lack it isn"t sanity,"
"But why cops in the first place?"
"Aura of respectability. Cops are above suspicion. When a uniformed policeman shoves his uniformed cap above your gunwale in the dark watches of the night, you don"t whack him over the head with a marline-spike. You invite him aboard. All others you might whack, especially if we had the bad consciences we might have been supposed to have."
"Maybe. It"s arguable. And the second point?"
"They took a big chance, a desperate chance, almost, with Durran. He was thrown to the wolves to see what the reaction would be, whether either of us recognised him."
"Why Durran?"
"I didn"t tell you. I shone a torch in his face. The face didn"t register, just a white blur with screwed-up eyes half-hidden behind an upflung hand. I was really looking lower down, picking the right spot to kick him. But they weren"t to know that. They wanted to find out if we would recognise him. We didn"t. If we had done we"d either have started throwing the crockery at him or yelped for the cops to arrest them - if we"re against them then we"re with the cops. But we didn"t. Not a nicker of recognition. n.o.body"s as good as that. I defy any man in the world to meet up again in "the same night with a man who has murdered two other people and nearly murdered himself without at least twitching an eyebrow. So the immediate heat is off, the urgent necessity to do us in has become less urgent. It"s a safe bet that if we didn"t recognise Durran, then we recognised n.o.body on the Nantesville Nantesville and so we won"t be burning up the lines to Interpol" and so we won"t be burning up the lines to Interpol"
"We"re in the clear?"
"I wish to G.o.d we were. They"re on to us."
"But you said------"
"I don"t know how I know," I said irritably. "I know. They went through the after end of the Firecrest Firecrest like a TrebleChance winner hunting for -the coupon he"s afraid he"s forgotten to post. Then half-way through the engine-room search - click! - just like that and they weren"t interested any more. At least Thomas wasn"t. He"d found out something. You saw him afterwards in the saloon, the fore cabins and the upper deck. He couldn"t have cared less." like a TrebleChance winner hunting for -the coupon he"s afraid he"s forgotten to post. Then half-way through the engine-room search - click! - just like that and they weren"t interested any more. At least Thomas wasn"t. He"d found out something. You saw him afterwards in the saloon, the fore cabins and the upper deck. He couldn"t have cared less."
"The batteries?"
"No. He was satisfied with my explanation. I could tell. I don"t know why, I only know I"m sure."
"So they"ll be back."
"They"ll be back."
"I get the guns out now?"
"There"s no hurry. Our friends will be sure we can"t communicate with anyone. The mainland boat calls here only twice a week. It came to-day and won"t be back for four days. The lines to the mainland are down and if I thought for a moment they would stay down I should be back in kindergarten. Our transmitter is out. a.s.suming there are no carrier pigeons in Torbay, what"s the only remaining means of communication with the mainland?"
"There"s the Shangri-la." Shangri-la." The The Shangri-la, Shangri-la, the nearest craft to ours, was white, gleaming, a hundred and twenty feet long and wouldn"t have left her owner a handful of change from a quarter of a million pounds when he"d bought her, "She"ll have a couple of thousand quids" worth of radio equipment aboard. Then there are two the nearest craft to ours, was white, gleaming, a hundred and twenty feet long and wouldn"t have left her owner a handful of change from a quarter of a million pounds when he"d bought her, "She"ll have a couple of thousand quids" worth of radio equipment aboard. Then there are twos maybe three yachts big enough to carry transmitters. The rest will carry only receivers, if that." maybe three yachts big enough to carry transmitters. The rest will carry only receivers, if that."
"And how many transmitters in Torbay harbour will still be in operating condition to-morrow?"
"One."
"One. Our friends will attend to the rest. They"ll have to. We can"t warn anyone. We can"t give ourselves away," We can"t warn anyone. We can"t give ourselves away,"
"The insurance companies can stand it." He glanced at his watch. "This would be a nice time to wake up Uncle Arthur."
"I can"t put it off any longer." I wasn"t looking forward to talking to Uncle Arthur.
Hunslett reached for a heavy coat, pulled h on, made for the door and stopped, "I thought I"d take a walk on the upper deck. While you"re talking. Just in case. A second thought - I"d better have that gun now. Thomas said they"d already checked three boats in the harbour. MacDonald didn"tcontradict him, so it was probably true. Maybe there are are no serviceable transmitters left in Torbay now. Maybe our friends just dumped the cops ash.o.r.e and are corning straight back for us." no serviceable transmitters left in Torbay now. Maybe our friends just dumped the cops ash.o.r.e and are corning straight back for us."
"Maybe. But those yachts are smaller than the Firecrest. Firecrest. Apart from Apart from us, us, there"s only one with a separate wheel-house. The others will carry transmitters in the saloon cabin. Lots of them sleep in their saloon cabins. The owners would have to be banged on the head first before the radios could be attended to. They couldn"t do that with MacDonald around." there"s only one with a separate wheel-house. The others will carry transmitters in the saloon cabin. Lots of them sleep in their saloon cabins. The owners would have to be banged on the head first before the radios could be attended to. They couldn"t do that with MacDonald around."
"You"d bet your pension on that? Maybe MacDonald didn"t always go aboard."
"I"ll never live to collect my pension. But maybe you"d better have that gun."
The Firecrest Firecrest was just over three years old. The Southampton boatyard and marine-radio firm that had combined to build her had done so under conditions of sworn secrecy to a design provided by Uncle Arthur. Uncle Arthur had not designed her himself although he had never said so to the few people who knew of the existence of the boat. He"d pinched the idea from a j.a.panese-designed Indonesian-owned fishing craft that had been picked up with engine failure off the Malaysian coast. Only one engine had failed though two were installed, but still she had been not under command, an odd circ.u.mstance that had led the alert Engineer Lieutenant on the frigate that had picked her up to look pretty closely at her: the net result of his investigation, apart from giving this splendid inspiration to Uncle Arthur, was that the crew still languished in a Singapore prisoner of war camp. was just over three years old. The Southampton boatyard and marine-radio firm that had combined to build her had done so under conditions of sworn secrecy to a design provided by Uncle Arthur. Uncle Arthur had not designed her himself although he had never said so to the few people who knew of the existence of the boat. He"d pinched the idea from a j.a.panese-designed Indonesian-owned fishing craft that had been picked up with engine failure off the Malaysian coast. Only one engine had failed though two were installed, but still she had been not under command, an odd circ.u.mstance that had led the alert Engineer Lieutenant on the frigate that had picked her up to look pretty closely at her: the net result of his investigation, apart from giving this splendid inspiration to Uncle Arthur, was that the crew still languished in a Singapore prisoner of war camp.
The Firecrest"s Firecrest"s career had been chequered and inglorious. She had cruised around the Eastern Baltic for some time, without achieving anything, until the authorities in Memel and Leningrad, getting tired of the sight of her, had declared the career had been chequered and inglorious. She had cruised around the Eastern Baltic for some time, without achieving anything, until the authorities in Memel and Leningrad, getting tired of the sight of her, had declared the Firecrest persona non grata Firecrest persona non grata and sent her back to England. Uncle Arthur had been furious, especially as he had to account to a parsimonious Under-Secretary for the considerable expense involved. The Waterguard had tried their hand with it at catching smugglers and returned it without thanks. No smugglers. Now for the first time ever it was going to justify its existence and in other circ.u.mstances Uncle Arthur would have been delighted. When he heard what I had to tell him he would have no difficulty In restraining his joy. and sent her back to England. Uncle Arthur had been furious, especially as he had to account to a parsimonious Under-Secretary for the considerable expense involved. The Waterguard had tried their hand with it at catching smugglers and returned it without thanks. No smugglers. Now for the first time ever it was going to justify its existence and in other circ.u.mstances Uncle Arthur would have been delighted. When he heard what I had to tell him he would have no difficulty In restraining his joy.
What made the Firecrest Firecrest unique was that while she bad two screws and two propeller shafts, she had only one engine. Two engine casings, but only one engine, even although that one engine was a special job fitted with an underwater bypa.s.s exhaust valve. A simple matter of disengaging the fuel pump coupling and uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g four bolts on top - the rest were dummies - enabled the entire head of the diesel starboard engine to be lifted clear away, together with the fuel lines and injectors. With the a.s.sistance of the seventy foot telescopic radio mast housed inside our aluminium foremast, the huge gleaming transmitter that took up eighty per cent of the s.p.a.ce inside the starboard engine casing could have sent a signal to the moon, if need be: as Thomas had observed, we had power and to spare. As it happened I didn"t want to send a signal to the moon, just to Uncle Arthur"s combinex office and home in Knightsbridge. unique was that while she bad two screws and two propeller shafts, she had only one engine. Two engine casings, but only one engine, even although that one engine was a special job fitted with an underwater bypa.s.s exhaust valve. A simple matter of disengaging the fuel pump coupling and uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g four bolts on top - the rest were dummies - enabled the entire head of the diesel starboard engine to be lifted clear away, together with the fuel lines and injectors. With the a.s.sistance of the seventy foot telescopic radio mast housed inside our aluminium foremast, the huge gleaming transmitter that took up eighty per cent of the s.p.a.ce inside the starboard engine casing could have sent a signal to the moon, if need be: as Thomas had observed, we had power and to spare. As it happened I didn"t want to send a signal to the moon, just to Uncle Arthur"s combinex office and home in Knightsbridge.
The other twenty per cent of s.p.a.ce was taken up with a motley collection of material that even the a.s.sistant Commissioner in New Scotland Yard wouldn"t have regarded without a thoughtful expression on his face. There were some packages of pre-fabricated explosives with amatol, primer and chemical detonator combined in one neat unit with a miniature timing device that ranged from five seconds to five minutes, complete with sucker clamps. There was a fine range of burglar"s house-breaking tools, bunches of skeleton keys, several highly sophisticated listening devices, including one that could be shot from a Very-type pistol, several tubes of various harmless-looking tablets which were alleged, when dropped in some unsuspecting character"s drink, to induce unconsciousness for varying periods, four pistols and a box of ammunition. Anyone who was going to use that lot in one operation was in for a busy time indeed. Two of the pistols were Lugers, two were 4.25 German Lilliputs, the smallest really effective automatic pistol on the market The Lilliput had the great advantage that it could be concealed practically anywhere on your person, even upside down in a spring-loaded clip in your lower left sleeve - if, that was, you didn"t get your suits cut in Carnaby Street.
Hunslett lifted one of the Lugers from its clamp, checked the loading indicator and left at once. It wasn"t that he was imagining that he could already hear stealthy footsteps on the upper deck, he just didn"t want to be around when Uncle Arthur came on the air. I didn"t blame him. I didn"t really want to be around then either.
I pulled out the two insulated rubber cables, fitted the powerfully spring-loaded saw-toothed metal clamps on to the battery terminals, hung on a pair of earphones, turned on the set, pulled another switch that actuated the call-up and waited. I didn"t have to tune in, the transmitter was permanently preset, and pre-set on a V.H.F. frequency that would have cost the licence of any ham operator who dared wander anywhere near it for transmission purposes.
The red receiver warning light came on. I reached down and adjusted the magic eye control until .the green fans met in the middle.
"This is station SPFX," a voice came, "Station SPFX."
"Good morning. This is Caroline. May I speak to the manager, please?"
"Will you wait, please?" This meant that Uncle Arthur was in bed. Uncle Arthur was never at his best on rising. Three minutes pa.s.sed and the earphones came to life again.
"Good morning, Caroline. This is Annabelle."
"Good morning. Location 481, 281." You wouldn"t find those references in any Ordnance Survey Map, there weren"t a dozen maps in existence with them. But Uncle Arthur had one. And so had I.
There was a pause, then: "I have you, Caroline. Proceed."
"I located the missing vessel this afternoon. Four or five miles north-west of here. I went on board to-night."
"You did what, Caroline?"
"Went on board. The old crew has gone home. There"s a new crew aboard. A smaller crew."
"You located Betty and Dorothy?" Despite the fact that we both had scramblers fitted to our radio phones, making intelligible eavesdropping impossible, Uncle Arthur always insisted that we spoke in a roundabout riddle fashion and used code names for his employees and himself. Girls" names for our surnames, initials to match. An irritating foible, but one that we had to observe. He was Annabelle, I was Caroline, Baker was Betty, Delmont, Dorothy and Hunslett, Harriet. It sounded like a series of Caribbean hurricane warnings.
"I found them." I took a deep breath. "They won"t be coming home again, Annabelle."
"They won"t be coming home again," he repeated mechanically. He was silent for so long that I began to think that he had gone off the air. Then he came again, his voice empty, remote. "I warned you of this, Caroline."