Hammond Innes: Air Bridge

‘No,’ the other said obstinately. ‘I’ll say what I’ve got to say here.’

‘We’re going back to quarters,’ Saeton said gently. ‘We’ll talk about it over a cup of tea.’

‘No,’ the other repeated, still in the same obstinate tone. ‘We’ll talk it over here and now if you don’t mind. I’m not going to have you rowing Diana for something that isn’t her-’

‘Diana!’ Saeton’s voice was suddenly harsh. ‘You haven’t brought her back-’

‘She’s down at the quarters now,’ the other said stolidly.

‘At the quarters! You bloody fool! This is no place for a woman. They can’t keep their mouths shut and-’

‘Diana won’t talk. Besides, she’s nowhere else to go.’

‘I thought she was sharing a flat with a friend in London.’

‘Damn it, man,’ the other shouted, ‘can’t you understand what I’m trying to tell you? We’re broke. I’m overdrawn by twenty quid and the bank has warned me I’ve got to settle my overdraft within three months.’

‘What about your wife? Didn’t she have a job?’

‘She got fed up and chucked it.’

‘And you’re supposed to throw up all you’ve worked for just because she’s bored. That’s typical of a woman. If you can take it, why can’t she? Doesn’t she understand-’

‘It’s no good kicking at Diana,’ the other cut in. ‘She’s not to blame. She’s stuck it pretty well if you ask me. Now it’s come to this — either I find a job that’ll bring us in some money so that we can live together like normal human beings, or else-’

‘I see.’

‘You don’t see at all,’ the other snapped, his voice rising on a note of anger. ‘All you can think of is the engines. You’re so crazy about them you don’t behave like a human being at all. Well, I’m not made that way. I’m married and I want a home. I’m not busting up my marriage because of your engines.’

‘I’m not asking you to go to bed with them, am I?’

Saeton snarled. ‘Well, all right. If you’re so in love with your matrimonial pleasures that you can’t see the future that’s within your grasp-’

‘I think you’d better withdraw that remark.’ The man’s voice was low and obstinate.

‘Oh God!’ Saeton exploded. ‘All right, I withdraw it. But for Christ’s sake, Tubby, stop to think what you’re doing.’

It seemed to me it was about time I showed myself. I slammed the toilet door and stomped across the steel-sheeted floor of the plane. From the open door of the fuselage I could see them standing, staring up at me. Saeton’s companion was dressed in an old pair of grey flannels and leather-patched sports jacket — a round, friendly little man with a shock of unruly hair. His fresh, ruddy complexion contrasted oddly with Saeton’s hard, leathery features. By comparison he looked quite boyish though he was about my age. Little creases of fat crinkled the corners of his eyes giving them a permanent twinkle as though he were perpetually on the verge of laughter. ‘Who’s this?’ he asked Saeton.

‘Neil Fraser. He’s an engineer, and he’s come up here to work with us on that last engine.’

‘My successor, eh?’ the other said quickly. ‘You knew I’d be leaving.’

‘Don’t be a fool. Of course, I didn’t. But I knew time was getting short. With an extra hand-’

‘How much are you paying him?’

‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ Saeton exclaimed angrily. ‘His keep. That’s all.’ He turned to me. ‘Fraser. This is

Tubby Carter. He built the engine I’ve just shown you. Did you fix that toilet door?’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘It’s all right now.’ I got down and shook Carter’s hand.

‘Fraser is an old friend of mine,’ Saeton explained.

Carter’s small, button-brown eyes fixed themselves on my face in a puzzled frown. ‘You look as though you’ve been in a rough house.’ His eyes stared at me, unwinking, as I searched desperately for some reasonable explanation.

It was Saeton who supplied the answer. ‘He got mixed up in some trouble at a night-club.’

But Carter’s eyes remained fixed on my face. “Neil Fraser.’ He seemed to be turning the name over in his mind and my heart sank. Suppose the police had discovered who Callahan was. After all, I’d only seen one of the daily papers. ‘Are you a pilot by any chance?’

I nodded.

‘Neil Fraser.’ His face suddenly lit up and he snapped his fingers. ‘101 Bomber Squadron. You were the type who made a tunnel escape from prison camp and then pinched a Messerschmitt and flew it back to England. We met once — remember? At Mildenhall.’ ”He turned to Saeton. ‘How’s that for a photographic memory, eh? I never forget a face.’ He laughed happily. v Saeton glanced at me with sudden interest. Then he turned to Carter. ‘You stay here with Fraser and talk over your boyhood memories. I’m going to have a word with Diana.’

‘No, you don’t, Bill.’ Carter had caught his arm as he turned away. ‘This is between you and me. You leave Diana out of this.’

Saeton stopped. ‘It’s all right, Tubby,’ he said and his voice was almost gentle. ‘I won’t upset your wife, I promise you. But before she forces you into some deadend job she must be given the facts. The situation has altered since you left on Saturday. With Fraser here we can still get on to the airlift on schedule.’

‘It took us six months to build that one.’ Carter nodded to the completed engine.

‘That included tests,’ Saeton answered. ‘And we came up against snags. Those have been ironed out now. Damn it, surely she’ll have the sense to give you two months longer. As for money, leave that to me. I’ll wring some more out of Dick if I have to squeeze it out of him with my bare hands. It’s a pity he’s such a — ’ He stopped abruptly, his lips compressed as though biting on the words. ‘You stay here. I’ll talk to Diana. She’s no fool. No woman is when it comes to looking to the future. We’ve got all the metal and castings. All we’ve got to do is build the damned thing.’ His eyes swung towards the plane. ‘Then we’ll have ‘em all licked.’ He stood staring at it as though by mere effort of will he could get it into the air. Then almost reluctantly his gaze came back to Carter. ‘You can have that front room that used to be the office. It’ll work out. You’ll see. She can do the cooking for us. That’ll keep her busy, and it’ll give us more working time.’

‘I tell you, her mind’s made up,’ Carter said wearily.

Saeton laughed. It was a slightly cynical laugh. ‘No woman’s mind is ever made up,’ he said. ‘They’re constructed for the purpose of having their minds made up for them. How else do you imagine the human race survives?’

Carter stood quite still watching Saeton as he left the hangar. Then he turned and went straight over to the end of the workbench by the telephone and took down a pair of overalls. As he got into them he glanced at me curiously. ‘So you’re an engineer?’ He zipped up the front of the overalls. Then he went over to a small petrol engine and started it up. ‘We’re working on the pistons at the moment.’ He pulled a big folder towards me across the bench and opened it out. There were sheaves of fine pencil drawings. ‘Here we are. Those are the specifications. You can work a lathe?’ I nodded. He took me down the bench. The lathe was an ex-R.A.F. type, the sort we’d had in the maintenance hangar at Kenley. The belt drive was running free. With a quick movement of his hand he engaged it and at the same time picked up a half-turned block of bright metal. ‘Okay, then, go ahead. Piston specifications: five-inch diameter, seven-inch depth, three-ring channels, two to be drilled for oil disposal, and there’s a three-quarter inch hole for the gudgeon-pin sleeve. And for the love of Mike don’t waste metal. This outfit’s running on a shoe-string, as you’ve probably gathered.’