Desmond Bagley - The Snow Tiger

‘What were his views on the supporting structures that he found?’

‘His report was unfavourable,’ said French. ‘I might add that he made a verbal report to me immediately after his inspection, and his remarks were unprintable.’

Ballard said, ‘I made a similar report to the board of the company. I request that it be introduced as evidence.’

Harrison leaned forward. ‘Mr Rickman, can that report be produced?’

Rickman conferred in whispers with Crowell for a few minutes, then he looked up. ‘I am instructed to inform the Commission that no such report has been received from Mr Ballard.’

Ballard was pale. In a controlled voice he said, ‘I can provide the Commission with a copy of that report.’

‘With respect, Mr Chairman,’ said Rickman. ‘The fact that Mr Ballard can provide a copy of a report does not necessarily mean that a report was sent to the board of the company. In point of fact, any report that Mr Ballard may present to the Commission may have been written post facto.’

Harrison looked interested. ‘Are you seriously suggesting that the report Mr Ballard has offered to me has been fraudulently written after the event?’

‘With respect, I am merely pointing out the possibility that it could have been written yesterday.’

‘An interesting suggestion, Mr Rickman. What do you think of it, Mr Ballard?’

Ballard looked at Rickman who looked back at him blandly. ‘Mr Rickman is imputing that I am a liar.’

‘Oh no!’ said Rickman with an ingenuous air. ‘Only that you very well could be.’

‘Mr Rickman is also not improving my present frame of mind,’ said Ballard. ‘I would delight in answering any questions concerning the safety of the mine from Mr French, from Mr Gunn, who represents the General Mining Union, or from any other interested person.’

The smile disappeared from Rickman’s face as Gunn seized upon the offer. ‘Mr Ballard, you have said the mine was not safe. Apart from this disputed report, did you mention the matter to anyone else at that time?’

‘I did. I talked about it in conversations with Mr Dobbs, Mr Cameron, and Dr McGill, both before and after the avalanche.’

‘Had you taken steps to right matters?’

‘I wrote the report and was preparing to follow it up.’

‘How long was it before the disaster that you took up your position with the company?’

‘Six weeks.’

‘Only six weeks!’ echoed Gunn in well-simulated surprise. ‘Then Mr Rickman, or even Mr Lyall, can hardly suggest that you were responsible for the state of affairs in the mine.’

‘I had no intention of suggesting it,’ said Lyall drily.

Rickman remained silent.

‘But someone must have been responsible,’ pursued Gunn. ‘What, in your opinion, was the reason for this scandalous state of affairs?’

‘The mine was teetering on the verge of profitability. If it was not to make an actual loss all margins had to be shaved. Any money that went into the mine went towards productivity — towards profit. Anything that did not conduce towards productivity went to the wall — and that included safety margins.’ Ballard moved in his chair and looked towards Rickman. ‘Now that a rich vein of conglomerate ore has been struck one hopes that more money will go to safety.’

Rickman leaped to his feet. ‘Mr Chairman, I must protest. The witness is giving away the very secrets of the company — secrets he acquired in the course of his duties. Is this the conduct of a responsible managing director?’

Pandemonium broke out in the Press gallery. Lost in the uproar was Ballard’s retort, ‘Don’t you mean ex-managing director?’

When the Commission of Inquiry reconvened in the afternoon Harrison said acidly, ‘I hope we do not have a recurrence of the behaviour which led to the adjournment of this morning’s session. Whether Mr Ballard was wise to say what he did is not for me to judge. However, I believe he was goaded into it by the adversary tactics I warned against at the opening of this Inquiry. Mr Rickman, I give you a final warning: you must not be over-zealous in the protection of your client’s interest. One more instance like that of this morning and I shall have to ask your client to find someone else to represent him.’

Rickman stood up. ‘I apologize to the Commission if I have offended in any way.’

‘Your apology is accepted.’ Harrison consulted his notes. ‘I would like to ask one further question of Mr Ballard. It will not take long and you may keep your seat. Mr Ballard, you say that you consulted with Mr Cameron. I have looked through your evidence most carefully and I find that Mr Dobbs, the mine manager and Mr Cameron’s superior, has figured little. Where was Mr Dobbs all this time?’

Ballard hesitated. ‘I don’t really know. Something seemed to have happened to him.’

‘Such as?’

‘Something psychological, I’d say. He seemed to retreat into himself. He relinquished all his duties into my hands. Naturally I was perturbed about this, so I sent Dr Scott to talk with Mr Dobbs to see if he could discover what was the matter. I think his evidence would be best. I am not a medical authority.’

‘Yes, that would be best. I will call him later, if it proves necessary.’ Harrison consulted his notes again. ‘Dr McGill seems to have effectively taken charge at this time. He was, as it were, the organizing force because only he had any idea of what was to come. I think we had better hear his testimony.’

McGill took his seat, and said immediately, ‘I think I can clear up a point that was worrying Professor Rolandson. The mist.’

Rolandson looked up. ‘Yes, I’d like to know about that.’

‘It worried me, too,’ said McGill. ‘Although I tried not to show it. I couldn’t see how there could be so much mist in a rapidly falling temperature. It was quite thick — almost to be classified as a fog — and was very troublesome to us. It was only after the avalanche that I got it figured out.’

He knew he would be giving evidence all afternoon so he made himself comfortable in his seat. ‘You may remember that the first avalanche blocked the river as well as the road. The river had been frozen, but of course the water flowed freely under the ice. When the river was blocked the water rose and broke the ice. That water was relatively warm and on contact with the cold air produced the mist. It was actually freezing out into frost all the time, but as the water spread over low ground there was a great deal of surface area presented to the air, and mist was being generated faster than it was frozen out.’

‘An ingenious theory,’ said Rolandson. ‘And no doubt correct.’

‘As I say, it gave us a great deal of trouble that day. It hampered our operations considerably.’

‘What was the prime consideration in your mind?’ asked Harrison.

‘The safety of the people,’ said McGill promptly. ‘And I had a great deal of co-operation once the gravity of the situation was made clear. I would like to say now that those who had already realized that gravity gave of their utmost. I would like especially at this time to commend John Peterson.’

Harrison nodded and made a note. ‘What steps were taken?’

‘It was important to communicate with outside. Two teams were sent to climb out of the valley as soon as light permitted. One team was to climb the avalanche debris blocking the Gap, while the other took a more circuitous route. Once that was set going, I had all the children rounded up and sent to Turi Buck’s house which was on the record as being safe. At this time I became worried about the vulnerability of the central, and I—’

‘The central?’ queried Harrison.