Dennis Wheatley - Black August

The sailor made an angry noise; half grunt, half laugh. 'What rot! Besides they wouldn't be able to use the Admiralty code even if they had!'

'Oh? What about the mutineers in the fleet?'

'We're not all fools, you know; they will have been dealt with by now.'

'All right then; in that case your new orders can only be the result of some blunder on the part of Higher Command.'

'Thank you, they are quite plain, and in these waters it would be difficult to get higher authority than C. in C. Nore.'

'Perhaps.' Gregory rose slowly to his feet and stood, passing the tip of his tongue backwards and forwards between his lips while he eyed the sailor with a queer meditative look; then he added suddenly: 'But he's not quite high enough for me. I don't want trouble but I intend to carry out my mission.'

'Trouble?' the Lieutenant Commander picked him up: 'I shouldn't advise you to start it! I left instructions with the officer of the watch exactly what to do if I failed to return to the bridge ten minutes after I left him.'

'Did you? How thoughtful.' Gregory was almost purring now. 'Well, time is nearly up so you had better beat it, hadn't you?'

'I'm going all right but you and your party will kindly remain here until we get in.'

'Am I to understand that you are placing us under arrest?'

'Understand what you like, but I am in command of this ship and those are my orders.'

'All right; Rudd!' Gregory's voice was curt. 'The door, for the Commander.

'Yes, sir.' Rudd's eyes had never left Sallust's face, now he forced his way quickly in front of Fanshawe and gripped the knob of the wardroom door; as the sailor turned he was between them.

The whole thing was over so quickly that the others, seated at the table behind Gregory, hardly saw what happened. His arm seemed to shoot out with a vicious jab, his fist thudded on the flesh below the naval officer's ear, and Rudd, with a muttered 'easy now,' caught the body as it fell.

'You brute!' Veronica was on her feet, her eyes blazing, but Ann was first beside the unconscious sailor, kneeling by him and pillowing his head in her lap.

'Shut up!' snapped Gregory. 'You didn't want me to shoot him, did you? Rudd, nip into the pantry quick, and get that steward out of the way; send him forward to get some rum or some damn thing. Fane, take charge of the two men in the passage, let no one pass. Harker, give me a hand to get this bird on the settee.'

Between them they carried Fanshawe over to the side of the wardroom and propped him up with cushions. Gregory rolled up one of his eyelids and gave a grunt of satisfaction. 'He won't give us any trouble for a bit.' Then he stood thoughtfully rubbing his own knuckles while the girls fussed over the unconscious man.

'What about the officer on the bridge?' asked Harker. 'That ten minutes is back with Omar Khayyam's seven thousand years by this time.'

'I know; we've go to do something pretty quick. Slip up on to the bridge will you, Harker; tell Broughton that Fanshawe sent you; that we are discussing the situation quite amicably down here and that he is to take no action for the moment.'

'Do you think he'll believe me?'

'Got to chance it; come back as soon as you can and let me know how he takes it. If they try to arrest you, you must use your gun; we've gone too far to turn back now.'

Silas opened his round eyes with a comically rueful look, then shrugged and left them.

Rudd reappeared in the door of the wardroom. 'I sent the steward to find the brandy out o' Mr. Gibbon's stores,' he reported.

'Brandy? I didn't know old Gibbon had a licence?'

'Nor 'e 'ad, sir; that's why 'e lorst most of 'is customers to 'Arrods.'

'Then ?' Gregory frowned, his mind on the bridge with Silas.

Rudd grinned at him. 'Finding that there conyak's goin' ter take the steward a bit of time!'

'Good boy. I wish to God though that we had got a bottle of good brandy, especially as I've got to be up all night!'

'Plenty o' whisky in the pantry, sir; can I get you a peg?'

'Yes, do; then take over from Lord Fane in the passage and ask him to come in here.'

While Rudd was getting the whisky Gregory paced slowly up and down, ignoring the two girls whose whisperings by the sailor was for the moment the only sound other than the hissing of the waters, as the destroyer ran on into the night. He gulped the drink down when it arrived and drew a deep breath of satisfaction. A moment later Kenyon appeared; his face was unusually grave and he spoke sharply. 'Look here, Sallust, I've had about enough of this business; outing Fanshawe like that was a rotten trick.'

'Swallow a camel and strain at a gnat! Is that the idea?' Gregory swung round on him with an angry look. 'Don't be a fool, Fane. I haven't hurt him seriously and it was the only thing to do. Anyhow I'm not going to argue about it with you now.'

Suddenly Ann gave a quick, nervous laugh.

'What is it?' snapped Gregory.

'I was only thinking how funny it is to hear Kenyon lecture you after his own performance in Gloucester Road.'

'All right,' Kenyon's mouth tightened grimly. 'We're all in it up to the neck now, so I suppose we'd better get on with it. What's the next move?'

'We've got to deal with the other officers before they have a chance to start in on us with the crew; knock them out or lock them up somewhere. Once they're out of the way I'll manage the men.'

'How can you?' cried Veronica. 'Your Napoleonic act was great fun in its way, my dear, but even Boney would have found himself up against it if he had tried to run a ship!'

Sallust raised his only movable eyebrow. 'A poor comparison, I fear, unjust to both Bonaparte and myself. I could never have drafted the Code Napoleon, but I can certainly navigate a ship.'

'You don't really mean that, do you?' said Ann.

'I do; it happens that I was educated in the Worcester, so although my navigation is a little rusty, I shall manage well enough with the aid of common sense and the Admiralty charts.'

'Darlings! the man's a genius!' exclaimed Veronica.

'No, only a jack of all trades; and your sincere admirer, Madam!' he countered quickly.

Veronica lowered her eyes and fumbled with the matches. She had caught him studying her with a queer look on his face twice that day, and this quick, half humorous compliment left her for once without an apt reply.

'You'd have to have help,' remarked Kenyon.

'Of course, I must sleep sometimes; however, I can stick it for another twenty four hours, till I get her clear of the Channel. Then you and Harker will relieve me turn and turn about.'

'Good Lord, man! I don't know the first thing about a ship; it would be madness to give me such responsibility.'

'Not a bit of it. Once we are out in the open sea it will be the simplest thing in the world. I shall set the course before turning in so all you will have to do is to keep an eye on the helmsman; see that he sticks to it, and watch out for any other shipping. I will sleep in the bunk in the chart house, so in any emergency you'll only have to bellow down the voice pipe and I shall take over again immediately.'

A groan from the settee drew their attention back to Fanshawe; he showed signs of coming round.

'We'll have to truss him up,' said Gregory, 'and put a light gag over his mouth so that he can't shout for help. Come on, Fane.'

They tore the table napkins into strips, and before the sailor regained consciousness he was neatly bound. Then Gregory got hold of him under the armpits. 'Take his feet, Fane; we'll put him in the pantry, he'll be out of sight there.'

'What are you going to do about the engine room?' Kenyon inquired when they had deposited their victim.

'I'll fix that somehow. They must know that if the ship ceases to be under power it is only a matter of hours before we become a wreck, and none of us want to drown!'