Jack Higgins - Cold Harbour

There was a long pause. Hare turned and looked out across the garden to the city. It was quite dark now and he shivered, for no accountable reason remembering Tulugu. When he reached for a cigarette, his hand shook and he turned and extended it to Munro.

‘Look at that and you know why? Because I’m scared.’

‘So was I in the belly of that damned bomber flying over,’ Munro said. ‘I’ll be just as bad when we fly back tonight though this time it’s a Flying Fortress. I understand they have a little more room.’

‘No,’ Hare said hoarsely. ‘I won’t do it.’

‘Oh, but you will, Commander,’ Munro said. ‘And shall I tell you why? Because there’s nothing else you can do. You certainly can’t go back to Harvard. Back to the classroom after all you’ve been through? I’ll tell you something about yourself because we’re both in the same boat. We’re men who’ve spent most of our lives living in the head. Other men’s stories. All in the book and then the war came and do you know what, my friend? You’ve enjoyed every golden moment.’

‘You go to hell,’ Martin Hare told him.

‘Very probably.’

‘What if I say no?’

‘Oh, dear.’ Munro extracted the letter from his inside pocket. ‘I think you’ll recognise the signature at the bottom there as being that of the Commander-in-Chief of the American Armed Forces.’

Hare looked at it in stupefaction. ‘Good God!’

‘Yes, well he’d like a word before we go. What you might call a command performance so be a good lad and get into your uniform. We haven’t got much time.’

At the White House, the limousine stopped at the West Basement entrance where Munro showed his pass to the Secret Service agents on the night shift. There was a pause while an aide was sent for. He appeared after a few moments, a young naval lieutenant in impeccable uniform.

‘Brigadier,’ he said to Munro, turned to Hare and saluted him as only an Annapolis man could. ‘It’s a great honour to meet you, sir.’

Hare acknowledged the salute, faintly embarrassed.

The boy said, ‘Follow me, gentlemen. The President’s waiting.’

The Oval Office was shadowed, the lamp on the desk which was littered with papers the only light. President Roosevelt was in his wheelchair at the window staring out, a cigarette in his usual long holder glowing in the darkness.

He swivelled round in the chair. ‘There you are, Brigadier.’

‘Mr President.’

‘And this is Lieutenant Commander Hare?’ He held out his hand. ‘You’re a credit to your country, sir. As your President, I thank you. That Tulugu business was quite something.’

‘Better men than me died sinking that destroyer, Mr President.’

‘I know, son.’ Roosevelt held Hare’s hand in both of his. ‘Better men than you or me are dying every day, but we just have to press on and do our best.’ He reached for a fresh cigarette and put it in his holder. ‘The Brigadier’s filled you in on this Cold Harbour business? You like the sound of it?’

Hare glanced at Munro, hesitated, then said, ‘An interesting proposition, Mr President.’

Roosevelt tilted back his head and laughed. ‘A neat way of putting it.’ He wheeled himself to the desk and turned. ‘To wear the enemy uniform is totally against the terms of the Geneva Convention, you understand that?’

‘Yes, Mr President.’

Roosevelt stared up at the ceiling. ‘Correct me if I get my history wrong, Brigadier, but isn’t it a fact that during the Napoleonic Wars, ships of the British Navy occasionally attacked under the French flag?’

‘Indeed it is, Mr President, and usually when sailing French ships taken as prizes of war and recommissioned into the British Navy.’

‘So, there is precedence for this type of action as a legitimate ruse de guerre?’ Roosevelt observed.

‘Certainly, Mr President.’

Hare said, ‘It’s a point worth making that in all such actions, it was customary for the British to hoist their own flag just before battle commenced.’

‘I like that.’ Roosevelt nodded. ‘That, I understand. If a man must die, it should be under his own flag.’ He looked up at Hare. ‘A direct order from your Commander-in-Chief. You will at all times carry the Stars and Stripes on this E-boat of yours and if the day ever dawns that you find yourself sailing into battle, you will hoist it in place of the Kriegsmarine ensign. Understood?’

‘Perfectly, Mr President.’

Roosevelt held out his hand again. ‘Good. I can only wish you Godspeed.’

They both shook hands with him and, as if by magic, the young lieutenant appeared from the shadows and ushered them out.

As the limousine turned down Constitutional Avenue, Hare said, ‘A remarkable man.’

‘The understatement of the year,’ Munro said. ‘What he and Churchill have achieved between them is amazing.’ He sighed. ‘I wonder how long it will be before the books are written proving how unimportant they really were.’

‘Second-rate academics out to make a reputation?’ Hare said. ‘Just like us?’

‘Exactly.’ Munro looked out at the lighted streets. ‘I’m going to miss this town. You’re in for a culture shock when we reach London. Not only the blackout, but the Luftwaffe is trying night bombing again.’

Hare leaned back against the seat, closed his eyes, not tired but aware of a sudden fierce exhilaration. It was as if he’d been asleep for a long time and was awake again.

The Flying Fortress was brand new and on its way to join the American 8th Air Force in Britain. The crew made Munro and Hare as comfortable as possible with Army blankets and pillows and a couple of Thermos flasks. Hare opened one as they crossed the New England coast and moved out to sea.

‘Coffee?’

‘No thanks.’ Munro positioned a pillow behind his head and pulled up a blanket. ‘I’m a tea man myself.’

‘Well, it takes all kinds,’ Hare said.

He sipped some of the scalding coffee and Munro grunted. ‘I knew there was something. I forgot to tell you that in view of the peculiar circumstances, your Navy has decided to promote you.’

‘To full Commander?’ Hare said in astonishment.

‘No, to Fregattenkapitän actually,’ Munro told him, hitched the blanket over his shoulders and went to sleep.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.