Desmond Bagley - The Snow Tiger / Night of Error

‘And because the members of the council were not technical men do you think that excuses their dilatory conduct?’

‘No,’ said Cameron heavily. ‘We were all guilty to a greater or lesser degree. It does not excuse our conduct, but it goes a long way towards explaining it.’

Harrison was silent for a long time, then he said gently, ‘I’ll accept that, Mr Cameron. What happened next?’

‘Mr Ballard and I stayed at our table talking and doing a little drinking. If Mr Ballard did any drinking that night it was then that he did it. He hadn’t had more than two drinks up to then.’

Cameron talked with Ballard for some time, maybe twenty minutes, and then they were joined by Stacey Cameron. Ballard cocked an ear towards the dance floor; it was late enough for the jigging rock rhythms to have been replaced by the night-club shuffle. ‘Dance?’ he suggested.

Stacey grimaced. ‘Thanks all the same, but no thanks. I’ve been danced off my feet tonight.’ She sat down and flexed her toes, then looked up at him. ‘Liz Peterson wants to know if you think she has smallpox.’

He blinked. ‘What!’

‘She seems to think that you’re ignoring her. She could be right, at that.’

Ballard smiled slightly. ‘I’d forgotten she existed until tonight.’

‘Well, you know she exists now. Why don’t you ask her for a dance? She’s sitting this one out.’

Ballard’s jaw dropped, and then he smiled. ‘Well, for God’s sake, why not?’ He drained his glass and felt the lump of whisky hit bottom with a thud. ‘I’ll give it a whirl.’ He left, heading for the dance floor.

‘Are you crazy?’ demanded Cameron. ‘Don’t you know that Ballard and the Petersons get on like the Hatfields and McCoys? What are you trying to do – start a war?’

‘They’ve got to start talking to each other reasonably sometime,’ said Stacey. ‘Huka isn’t big enough for them to ignore each other forever.’

Cameron looked unconvinced. ‘I hope you know what you’re doing.’

‘Dad, what’s all this about an avalanche?’

‘What avalanche?’

‘Don’t talk to me as though I were a half-wit,’ said Stacey. ‘The avalanche you were discussing over dinner.’

‘Oh, that one!’ said Cameron with an ill-assumed air of surprise. ‘Nothing to it. Just some precautions McGill wants us to take.’

‘Precautions,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘That’s not what I understood by the way Ian was reaming out Houghton.’ She looked past her father. ‘Here’s Mike now. How’s the weather, Mike?’

‘Heavy snow setting in.’ McGill checked his watch. ‘Nearly midnight. How long do these shindigs go on?’

‘The dancing will stop dead on midnight,’ said Cameron. ‘Very religious guys, these New Zealanders. No dancing on Sunday.’

McGill nodded. ‘I won’t be sorry to get to bed.’ He stretched. ‘What did the Civil Defence crowd have to say?’

‘Houghton didn’t call.’

‘He didn’t! ’ McGill grabbed Cameron by the arm. ‘What have you done about it? Did Ian try?’ Cameron shook his head. ‘Then he’s a goddamned fool – and so are you. Where’s the telephone?’

‘There’s one in the lobby,’ said Cameron. ‘Look, Mike, there’ll be no one there at this time of night qualified to tell you anything.’

‘Tell me – hell!’ said McGill. ‘I’m going to tell them. I’m going to raise the alarm.’

He walked away rapidly with Cameron on his heels. As they skirted the dance floor there was a shout and a sudden disturbance. McGill jerked his head sideways and saw Charlie Peterson with his hand on Ballard’s shoulder. ‘Just what we need,’ he said disgustedly. ‘Come on, Joe,’ and crossed the floor to where the two men bristled at each other.

Ballard had been dancing with Liz Peterson when he felt the heavy thud of Charlie’s meaty hand on his shoulder and felt himself spun round. Charlie’s face was sweaty and his eyes were red-rimmed. Alcohol fumes came from him as he whispered hoarsely, ‘Stay away from my sister, Ballard.’

Liz’s face flamed. ‘Charlie, I told you …’

‘Shut up!’ His hand bore heavily on Ballard’s shoulder. ‘If I catch you with her again I’ll break your back.’

‘Take your hand off me,’ said Ballard.

Some of the ferocity left Charlie and he grinned genially. ‘Take it off yourself – if you can.’ His thumb ground viciously into the muscle at the top of Ballard’s arm.

‘Stop this nonsense,’ said Liz. ‘You get crazier every day.’

Charlie ignored his sister and increased the pressure on Ballard. ‘What about it? You won’t get into trouble with your momma – she’s not here.’

Ballard seemed to droop. His arms hung down in front of him, crossed at the wrists, and suddenly he brought them up sharply, hitting Charlie’s arm at the elbow with considerable force and thus breaking free.

Charlie lunged forward but Cameron grabbed one arm and twisted it behind Charlie’s back. It was done with expertise and it was evident that Cameron was no stranger to a rough house.

‘Break it up,’ said McGill. ‘This is a dance floor, not a boxing ring.’

Charlie pressed forward again but McGill put his hand flat on Charlie’s chest and pushed. ‘All right,’ said Charlie. ‘I’ll see you outside when you don’t have your friends to help you.’

‘Christ, you sound like a schoolboy,’ said McGill.

‘Let the bastard speak for himself,’ said Charlie.

In the distance a voice was raised. ‘Is Mr Ballard around? He’s wanted on the telephone.’

McGill jerked his head at Ballard. ‘Take your call.’

Ballard shrugged his shoulders into his rumpled jacket and nodded briefly. He walked past Charlie without so much as looking at him. Charlie twisted in Cameron’s grip and yelled, ‘You’ve not changed, you bastard. You still run scared.’

‘What’s going on here?’ someone demanded.

McGill turned to find Eric Peterson at his elbow. He took his hand off Charlie’s chest, and said, ‘Your kid brother has gone off his rocker.’

Eric looked at Liz. ‘What happened?’

‘The same thing that happens every time I get too close to a man,’ she said wearily. ‘But worse than usual this time.’

Eric said to Charlie coldly, ‘I’ve told you about this before.’

Charlie jerked his arm free of Cameron. ‘But it was Ballard!’ he pleaded. ‘It was Ballard.’

Eric frowned. ‘Oh!’ But then he said, ‘I don’t care who it was. You don’t make these scenes again.’ He paused. ‘Not in public.’

McGill caught Cameron’s eye and they both moved off in the direction of the lobby and found Ballard at the reception desk. The desk clerk was pointing. ‘There’s the phone.’

‘Who’d be ringing you?’ asked McGill.

‘Crowell, if I’m lucky.’

‘After you with the phone – I want to ring Christchurch.’ McGill turned to the desk clerk. ‘Have you a Christchurch telephone book?’

Ballard picked up the telephone as McGill flipped through the pages. ‘Ballard here.’

A testy voice said, ‘I have half a dozen message slips here asking me to ring you. I’ve just got in so it had better be important.’

‘It is,’ said Ballard grimly. ‘We’re in a bad situation here. We have reason to suppose that the mine – and the town – is in danger of destruction by avalanche.’

There was a blank silence broken only by a surge of music from the dance floor. Crowell said, ‘What!’

‘An avalanche,’ said Ballard. ‘We’re going to be in dead trouble.’

‘Are you serious?’

Ballard put his finger to his other ear to block out the noise of the music. ‘Of course I’m serious. I don’t joke about things like this. I want you to get on to the Ministry of Civil Defence to let them know about it. We may need help fast.’