Hammond Innes: Attack Alarm

The corporal looked us up and down. His eyes were sharp and close-set. ‘Name and number?’ he demanded.

‘Hanson,’ I said, and gave him my number. Micky also gave the information he wanted. He then checked our papers and aerodrome passes.

‘Right,’ he said. Then, turning towards the pill-box, ‘Guard, turnout!’

They tumbled out, bleary-eyed and half awake, putting their tin hats on as they came.

‘McGregor and Baird, march these men down to the guardroom.’

I cleared my throat — I felt nervous. ‘Excuse me, Corporal,’ I said, ‘but — ‘

I got no further. ‘Anything you have to say, say it to the duty officer when you come on charge in the morning.’

‘I would like to see my sergeant before going to the guardroom.’

‘I will see him. If you really belong to the site, I will let him know that you have returned.’

‘But I must see him. It’s of vital importance — ‘

‘Don’t argue. March ‘em away.’

‘God in heaven, man,’ I cried, ‘do you want the Germans to land on the ‘drome without anyone having a chance to prevent them?’

‘Speak when you’re spoken to, Gunn,’ he barked.

‘You’re under arrest. Try to remember that. You’ll have a chance to think up all your crazy excuses for breaking camp in the guardroom. You,’ he said to the two Guardsmen detailed as escort, ‘take ‘em away.’

I broke free of them as they closed in on me. My sense of frustration was so great that I lost control of myself. ‘Listen, you fool!’ I began.

‘Don’t adopt that tone with me,’ he cried.

‘Shut up.’ I spoke quietly. And perhaps because there was a ring of authority in my voice, he did not interrupt me this time. ‘If you don’t let me see Sergeant Langdon, I can almost certainly guarantee that you will pay for your denseness with your life. At dawn this morning this and other fighter stations are going to be invaded from the air. Normally a landing on the ‘drome wouldn’t succeed. At this moment, three, possibly four, R.A.F. lorries manned by Nazi agents are approaching Thorby. They carry smoke containers. The wind is northeast.’ I glanced at my watch. ‘The time is now three-fifty. At any moment now those lorries will enter the camp and drive along the tarmac here. They will take up a position somewhat to the north of us. A smoke screen will then be laid across the ‘drome. Under cover of that smoke screen troop-carriers will land. And under cover of that smoke screen the ground defences will be stormed.’

I had shaken him. I could see it in his face. In my desperation my voice had probably carried conviction.

‘And how would the troop-carriers land if the runways were screened by smoke?’

They will land blind,’ I said. The start and finish of the runways will be marked by captive balloons flown at a definite height. Probably they will carry lights. There’s very little time if the other ‘dromes are to be warned. That’s why I want to see my sergeant.’

‘Why don’t you want to see the ground defence officer — eh?’ He was still suspicious.

‘Because by the time I had got him out of bed and convinced him that I wasn’t crazy, it might be too late to stop the smoke screen.’ I didn’t tell him that I was afraid the ground-defence officer might not believe me and that I wanted sufficient proof to leave him in no doubt of the position. ‘All I want to do is to have five minutes’ talk with Sergeant Langdon. That’s not an unreasonable request, surely?’

He hesitated. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘it can’t do any harm.’ Then, with a resumption of his previous sharpness: ‘All right. March ‘em over to the hut yonder. Lance-Corporal Jackson, take charge.’

We were half way to the hut when I heard the sound of engines approaching from the direction of the square. A sudden excitement surged through me. An instant later the first of four R.A.F. lorries appeared from behind the low bulk of the hut. They lumbered past us along the tarmac, dark, cumbersome shapes against the moon. I turned to the corporal. ‘That’s them,’ I said.

‘They look all right to me,’ he said. But I could see that he was impressed.

I went in by the back entrance of our hut, the corporal following close on my heels. The door of the sergeant’s room was on the right. I went straight in. A hurricane lamp turned low stood on a table beside Langdon’s bed. I shook his shoulder. He mumbled and turned over with his eyes tight shut. I shook him. again. ‘What is it?’ Unwillingly he opened his eyes.

‘Good God, Hanson!’ He sat up in bed with a jerk. ‘Where the hell have you been? Is Micky with you?’

‘Before I could say anything the Guards’ corporal said: ‘This is one of your men, is he, Sergeant?’

‘Yes.’

‘We caught the two of them entering the camp over the wire just below your site.’

‘What’s going on here?’ It was Bombardier Hood’s voice. He pushed past the corporal into the room. ‘Oh, so you’re back, are you? I just came in to wake my relief and heard voices in here,’ he added by way of explanation. He was fully dressed with gas mask at the alert and he carried a rifle and bayonet.

‘Sergeant Langdon,’ I said.

‘Yes?’

‘I want you to give Bombardier Hood instructions to get everyone up and dressed as quickly as possible.’

‘But why?’

‘What the devil are you talking about?’ cut in Hood. ‘Do you realise that you’ve done a very serious thing, breaking camp. Your absence was reported to Mr. Ogilvie.’

‘There’s no time to waste,’ I told Langdon urgently. “There’s going to be an air invasion of the ‘drome at dawn. Four lorries carrying smoke containers have been got into the camp. They passed the site just before I woke you. The smoke will screen the landing.’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ demanded Langdon, swinging his feet out of bed. ‘How do you know this?’

‘I’ve just watched Vayle superintending the loading of the lorries and issuing his instructions. It was at an isolated place called Cold Harbour Farm in Ashdown Forest. They caught us but we killed two of the guards and got away.’ I pulled the revolver I had taken from our guard out of my pocket and tossed it on to the bed.

‘There’s a revolver we took off one of them. I’ll give you the details as the others are getting dressed.’

Langdon hesitated. His face wore a puzzled frown. Suddenly he glanced up at Hood. ‘Have four lorries passed the pit?’

‘Yes, just before I came in to wake my relief,’ he replied. ‘But they were perfectly ordinary R.A.F. lorries. You’re surely not going to take any notice of this ridiculous story. Personally I think Hanson is trying to screen his own rather peculiar activities. You remember, just after he arrived here there was that business of a plan of the ground defences being found on a Nazi agent. Then he talked with that German pilot and later he was identified — ‘

‘Give a “Take post”,’ Langdon cut in.

‘But it’s a ridiculous story. R.A.F. lorries with smoke containers! It’s-‘

‘Give the “Take post”,’ Langdon cut in.

Hood went out sullenly. A second later came his shout of ‘Take post’. It was followed almost immediately by the sound of men scrambling out of bed and into their clothes. The thin partition wall only slightly muffled the noise, and the hut itself shook to the sudden burst of activity.

‘Now then, tell me the whole story,’ said Langdon as he slipped his trousers over his pyjamas.

Briefly I outlined the events of the night, with some reference to the things that had led up to them.

‘And what do you suggest this detachment does?’ he asked when I had finished.

‘Surrounds the lorries,’ I replied. ‘No officer is going to send out an urgent warning to all the other fighter ‘dromes unless this ridiculous story of mine is backed up by some concrete evidence. If you find these lorries are harmless, I don’t care what happens to me. Anyway, I know they’re not harmless.’