Hunter Killer

1 3 G R I D E – 1 3

A violent lurch, accompanied by an ominous rumble from below, jerked me out of my stunned reaction.

I crammed the transcript into my pocket, tore the headphones off Adele's head, picked her up and staggered out. The wild motion of the dying ship ripped the flesh from my hand as I hung on to the lifeline rope. Then, as she steadied, I made a half-sprint down the ladder and deck to the boat.

Peace had already eased it down about ten feet, but shouted to the others to stop when he saw me.

Semittante lurched again.

Keeping Adele over my shoulder, I grabbed a loose fall with one hand and wound my knees and ankles round it.

Faces in the boat, so small below, were turned towards me.

Underneath lay a maelstrom of death.

The rope burned hot on my torn palm. Eager hands reached up and pulled us into the cutter.

Semittante gave another wild lurch.

' Forward bulkhead gone!' shouted Peace. ' Pay off those falls-handsomely! We don't want to go down with her!'

Andre gestured seawards. I saw the cause of his alarm.

Half a mile away loomed a threatening bank of grey. There was a steady roaring like an express train. Sweating and cursing, we lowered the cutter, fending her off the rusty side while the angle steepened as Semittante went to her grave. We clawed and shoved. Now the boat hung a foot or two above the sea. I grabbed an oar and swung round. I felt I had been struck in the face by a grey fist. The cyclone hit us anew, throwing the cutter against the steel side. Above its scream was another noise-the frightening snap of planking.

Ragged rivets ripped the oilskin at my shoulder. Semittante rolled, towered above our stricken craft. I reversed my oar. It slipped helplessly and then lodged against a buckled plate. Peace knelt in the bows with another oar. I saw his muscles bulge. Simultaneously, I threw all my weight against the rough wood.

We were clear!

The wind snatched the cutter away like a feather. Water poured through her broken planking. I whipped off my sou'wester and baled. The others did the same. Andre snatched Peace's oar and used it to steer-the tiller was useless, she lay so far over on her beam ends. It was impossible to breathe facing the wind and speech was out of the question. We all baled frantically. Despite our efforts, the water rose.

Then suddenly the cutter slewed, stayed in mid-course, bumped, crashed-and we were thrown in a heap on to sand!

Peace picked himself up and gestured, ' Get her clear of the breakers!' His mouth formed the words, but I heard nothing in the gale. Adele raced forward and looped the bow painter over her shoulder. She, too, realized the danger of another sea hurling the boat on to the iron sand. Peace and MKG, Andre, Mac, Boz Blair's men, Trevor-Davis and I all threw our weight against the cutter. A long splinter ripped my torn hand, but I was unaware of the pain. MKG stumbled and fell, but he was up in a moment with Pete's help, hanging on to a rowlock.

The cutter slid forward. Andre shouted, pointing. Up a shallow gradient, I saw the stone structure I had spotted from the sea. Dragging, heaving, our backs breaking while the wind thundered and tore at our clothes and the sea at our feet, we inched the boat out of the breakers towards the hut. It seemed to be made of heavy squared coral blocks. We headed for a ruined doorway.

The cyclone's howl took on a new note, and I saw, outside the hut, a twisted metal grille, capped by two handcuffs like rowlocks. The lattice made the cyclone scream like the slaves who were lashed to death on it. This was the flogging-grating which gave the place its name, Vingt-Cinq Coups-Twentyfive Lashes. We manhandled the boat through the doorway, into shelter, away from the mad wind. As we up-ended the shattered hull and crept in under it, I pressed the crumpled Voice of America paper into Peace's hand. For four days the cyclone turned the sea to frenetic fermentation and the wind to a maniac which screamed its torment through the flogging-grating. Surf boiled like thunder against the reef. The high recurring note of the wind reminded me of the uninhibited keen which breaks into a shanty to cry the sailor's death-fear of the sea. It made speech impossible and sleep, exhausted though we all were, a nightmare. My dozing moments were punctuated by jerks into dazed wakefulness, as though I were goaded by the thought of the message I had given Peace. It seemed scarcely possible that the man who lay as if dead under the boat with us might by now be President of the greatest nation in the world.

And he did not know!

I salved my conscience by telling myself that it was impossible to communicate at all in the din of the cyclone and 190 that the whole question would have to be solved when it was over. Four days! What was happening constitutionally during those four critical days in the United States, where the highest office of the nation might by now be left unfilled? The searchers, like us, would be stormbound. I simply could not face up to it. Peace had taken up a position on one side of Adele and me, and Mac on the other. I sensed, though conversation was impossible, that we were under guard.

Our misery was made worse by the spray, salt and rain ' which percolated through the cutter's smashed planking over our heads. Boz carefully moved the DATICO gear, the vu firing radio and space-suits to the driest spots. Mac buried the jerrycans of petrol in the sand to deaden the smell of fumes. Since the tank of the cutter's auxiliary had been empty when we left Semittante-the reason why I had obtained the jerrycans from Mac-there was no need for us to worry about its standing upside down. We tried unavailingly to stanch the planking on the inside with our oilskins. Our mouths were raw with blown sand.

The hut, Adele had told me aboard Semittante, had been built by an eighteenth-century freebooter who had eloped with his mistress from Mauritius and been wrecked on LoveApple Crossing. They had waited fifteen years for a ship. It never came. She died. Her grave lay outside.

Previous cyclones had reduced the outlying parts to rubble, but the centre remained, made of substantial blocks of fourfoot coral. We could not stand up against the force of the wind; we could only crawl behind the shelter of the ruined walls. Whenever I did so, either Mac or Peace accompanied me, while the other watched Adele. We were evidently to be allowed no opportunity of telling what we knew. The rest of the island except the high-lying point where we were was completely submerged. On the second night, Adele lay in my arms in terror as the seas started to break into the shelter. MKG, his face caked with salt and stubble and his eyes red with sand, watched as the ocean reached out, sought our deaths, but could not quite touch us. A deep gloom fell over the launch team. We had eluded our pursuers, but the cost was plain: the stove-in cutter would never float again. I consoled myself with that thought in making bearable the secret inside the, which seemed to burn like fire whenever I looked across at the fine-drawn, tired features of the Vice-President. Radio reception was impossible with the storm and the blanketing effect of the walls and the boat. We could not have heard it, anyway.

Two days were left till the launch.

One afternoon, after I had lost count of time, something awoke me. Adele, her thin sweater stained with dried-out sea-water and her pants shrunk above her ankles, lay against my shoulder, the softness all gone from her fine, bleached hair. Andre's back was instinctively to the storm. Peace, his face gaunt, stubbled and dirty, sat propped up watching, the top of his black turtle-necked sweater caked with white salt. Mac lay sleeping on our other side. MKG, encased in an oilskin to try and keep out the file of the sand, slept under the decking aft with Boz, Trevor-Davis and the other scientists. The sand began its attrition the moment I opened my eyes on the grey, sleep-drugged, wet group-alive, but little more. We had eked out an existence on Andres sack of salted seabirds, although I wanted to gag every time I smelt one. Fire was out of the question; even the acetylene lamp would not stay alight, so we gave it up and lay in a twilight, uncaring state. Now, something touched my sailor's sense. Something, somewhere, was amiss.

The grating had stopped screaming.

I heard-heard-Adele's breathing against my neck. I lifted my head to speak to her, but the sand locked my tongue. Unceremoniously, I spat. The wind's dropped.'

My voice sounded like the crash of a shot in the confined space. Peace's eyes were alight. MKG and Boz started up, Boz letting out an oath as his head hit the planking above. By God!' exclaimed Peace. The salt caked the muscles of his face. Here-Mac MKG Andre!'

The others blinked unbelievingly and Adele pushed herself upright to a sitting position. Peace crawled across to MKG and clapped him on the shoulder. Let's get out of here we've still got today and tomorrow before the launch-'

MKG grinned back uncertainly. Let's get this damn' thing off our backs.'

Still acting like automatons, we threw our shoulders under the cutter and tipped her over. We got shakily to our. feet, staring over the low wall which had saved us.

Love-Apple Crossing had been sandpapered clean, except for a few snapped-off palm-tree trunks. Acres of white spume coated the lagoon and the shore. A sodden sea-bird lay snarled in the flogging-grating, pulped and smashed. The sun broke through as we stood in silent awe at the spectacle of devastation.

Peace said, ' If the cyclone is over at Love-Apple Crossing, it' s been finished in Tyler's area since last night.'

MKG said, The radio-'

The batteries are failing,' he said curtly. ' It will be used for operational messages only. There will be no time to listen to newscasts when we might miss a vital signal from either Tyler or Thornton. Only Adele operates the radio.'

Aw, gee,' objected Pete Allingham good-naturedly. I was looking forward to a little cha-cha-cha to brighten this tropical isle of beauty.'

There'll be enough music of another kind to face,' said

Peace cryptically.

Adele, anxious to steer the conversation away from the subject of the radio, said, Look, all the bois manioc has been washed away!'

Andre spoke. Andre says,' she translated, it is like the great cyclone of 1958-the landmarks are all gone.'

That may make it tougher for Tyler's men,' I added.

From a thousand feet up Love-Apple Crossing now probably looks more like a reef than an island,' Peace reflected. Except,' remarked Adele, indicating the grating and the hut, for this.'

That coat of spume will hide Little Bear if they come over the lagoon,' said MKG, screwing up his eyes.

Unless the boat is fixed, we can forget about the whole thing,' Boz Blair said gloomily.

MKG turned to Peace. Why don't we see if we can fix that cutter? You and Andre go take a look and the rest of us will scout for wood.'

Peace nodded reluctantly. I'll need John as well, and I want Mac to check the engine and Adele to see what the hunter-killers are up to.' Once again we were to be segregated from MKG. If there's any news of significance…' began MKG, but

Peace cut in quickly, Of course, Adele will note it down and we'll let you know. But I'm not going to waste precious power on hearing what Russia is up to, or whether Mrs Jones from Cardiff has murdered her six children.'

MKG looked unhappy. We've been completely out of touch for four days now, Commander.'

The sooner we can find some timber, the better for Little

Bear's chances,' he replied. I said, Adele can make a note of any significant news.'

Come on, fellers!' Pete Allingham gave a whoop and jumped over the wall. The others followed, grinning like schoolboys. Their carefree air seemed to drive away MKG's dark thoughts. He put his hand on the coral wall to vault over it, then he, too, grinned and said, Think the astronaut of the day after tomorrow had better get back into training.

I'll trot round the beach a couple of times.' He followed the others at an easy lope.

Peace went back into the hut and fetched the radio. This was the small set we had used in the cutter before. The VLF set was purely for firing Little Bear and could not be used for normal reception.

As Peace put it down, I asked, ' How long are you going to continue with this lie?'

His voice was controlled, but the emotion behind it was tight-packed. For as long as I think necessary,' he replied. Don't you see how this enhances the value of the spaceshot? MKG may be the first President of the United States to step into space.'

You're perpetuating the biggest fraud in history,' Adele protested. It was bad enough when the President was fully in control of the situation, but now.

I looked at the hard eyes, alive with dedication to Little Bear. I knew in my heart that Peace would stop at nothing. I had noticed his kinship with the DNI before; it was ablaze in his face now.

What you are doing is not only madness, but criminal,' I said heatedly. For four days now the President of the United States has been critically ill. Suppose he dies? He may be dead already. You know as well as I do that quick continuity is vital in the Presidential succession. When John F. Kennedy was shot, Lyndon Johnson was sworn in within an hour and a half.'

I'm glad you mention President Johnson,' Peace replied. He was sworn in in a plane; there is no reason why MKG cannot be sworn in at Space Station One, if need be. Where the foot of the American President treads, that is American soil.'

I turned helplessly to Adele and looked into her troubled eyes.

Mac,' Peace said crisply, I want you to fetch the Remington and the Colt and get the sand out of them. Get 'em in good working order-soon as hell.' He spoke to us. If the

President dies, the Speaker of the House can act until the new President is sworn in.'

This is no argument-' I began, but he waved me quiet.

' I'm not interested in arguments. If Tyler and Thornton don't catch up with us, I intend MKG to be shot to Sante Fe. I also intend to have your silence-at any cost.'

Mac had reappeared with the two weapons. Andre was engrossed in examining the boat.

There was a long pause. I mean, at any cost,' Peace repeated. This is madness,' I said.

Are you prepared to keep quiet?' he demanded, ' Two days-that's all I ask.'

I shrugged and turned to Adele, who made a hopeless gesture.

Good,' said Peace. Mac or I will be watching you all the time. Now get the radio going.'

Mauritius Radio came through:

The White House announces that the Seventh Fleet in the

Sea of Limuria has resumed its intensive search for the person of Marvin K. Green, Vice-President of the United States, and the missing French freighter Semittante. Admiral Thornton's heet has been strengthened by two more carriers from the United

States Eastern Fleet. Long-range vr-5 maritime reconnaissance aircraft will fly southwards from the Seychelles tomorrow in co-operation with the Seventh Fleet. Fears for the safety of Semittante have been expressed in view of the violence of the cyclone, which was the worst recorded this century at the meteorological stations at Chagos and St Brandon. The cyclone is, however, now moving eastwards out of the search area. Captain du Plessis, the shanghaied master of the Semittante, is rendering all possible assistance in the search and is at present aboard Admiral Thornton's flagship. Meanwhile, as anxiety about the President's condition deepens, the United States is torn with the biggest constitutional crisis in its history. As listeners already know, the Speaker of the House, Mr. Donald Langley, was sworn in as pro forma President until some clarification has been received regarding the whereabouts of Marvin K. Green. Speaker Langley has appealed publicly to the kidnappers to hand over the popular Vice-President, with the promise of a full pardon. There has been no response to this appeal. There was a violent scene in Congress last night when a group of Southern senators sought to bring in a motion applying the disability clause to Marvin K. Green, whose popularity with the manin-the-street now appears to be higher than it ever was. The Congress reaction is stated by observers to be a reflection of the nation's state of nerves. Commerce has reported a serious decline in trade and Wall Street has fallen to its lowest level in twenty years. Speaker Langley has appealed to the nation to remain calm in this time of crisis.'

Peace had been scribbling while the broadcast progressed. 195

What are you doing?' asked Adele.

I'm faking a broadcast for MKG'S benefit,' he said brutally. It'll be quite harmless. Routine sort of thing. None of this.'

We remained silent.

Try the Seventh Fleet,' he ordered.

The waveband was crowded with traffic.

… Grid position E-7 negative,' said an American voice.

Will commence search Grid position E-8. Over.'

One of the carrier search planes,' muttered Peace. ' I wish I knew where Grid position E-7 was.'

Weather clearing rapidly from east and north,' reported another plane.

Then came a code signal, which Adele deciphered.

GIG to combined Red and Blue Force x carrier aircraft and helots to search area between Saya de Malha and Agalega according to predetermined grid pattern x VP-5's ex Seychelles will carry out similar grid search south and south-east from Seychelles to St Brandon x all surface ships to take part x report contacts immediately x The heat is on,' said Peace. They're coming at us from the east and the north.'

As he spoke MKG, Boz and the other scientists came up the slope towards us.

Adele,' Peace commanded, 'ask Andre what hope there is of his fixing the cutter?'

He says it is badly damaged,' she replied. ' Two bottom planks must be completely replaced before she will float. He has an axe, but, as you can see for yourself, there is no timber. If there were but one tatamaka tree or one bois mangue to be found, we could do something.'

What about those coconut stumps?' Peace demanded.

We use coconut for making oars,' replied Adele. The cutter is of best tatamaka, which is hard. The stumps will be useless, he says.

The general gloom on the faces of the scientists indicated that their hunt for timber had been unsuccessful. Peace handed mica the faked newscast. He read it without interest. Why not simply rip off some of the cutter's decking and patch the planks?' I asked.

When Adele had passed it on, Andre went and fetched the axe. He stood with his feet apart and went through the gestures of chopping, shaping, fitting. He shook his head.

The deck is bois mangue, not tatamaka like the hull,' she explained. He is very proud of his boat. Even Chepe, who is a master shipbuilder, admires it. He explains that he shaped every piece of decking with an adze so that they all 196 fit-each one has its own particular place and will be useless elsewhere. Becides, the decking is much too short for the hull, even if he reshaped it.'

Axe,' corrected MKG. He shaped the planks with an axe.'

No,' replied Adele. R is an adze, a shipbuilder's tool. It looks like-a garden hoe. They stand on a log and chop towards their toes. The adze is as sharp as a razor. But

Andre says that the axe will do for a patch-if we had some timber.'

Andre gestured towards the spit of sand, now looming whiter as the sky cleared and the wind dropped.

He wants to walk over to the western side of the island where there used to be a small pocket of bois mangue, but he warns you, it is most likely to have disappeared in the storm.'

The radio began with Morse and Adele decoded while the rest of us waited around. Peace looked anxious. She handed him the signal first, and he read it out:

' Interrogation Captain du Plessis of French freighter Semittante now complete x helos to search grid pattern east and west of Semittantes last estimated position in Grid E-10 x estimates place Semittante west of this position following cyclone x'

As the signal had come in, I noticed Mac move up unobtrusively with the Remington, pretending to clean it with a scrap of cloth. The move was not lost on Adele, either.

As Peace explained the earlier search messages to MKG and the others, Andre, Adele and I set off. We stumbled through the sand piled high in drifts at the base of VingtCinq Coups; farther away the gale had stripped away the topsoil down to the coral bedrock.

Of the pocket of timber, nothing remained but a few untidy sockets in the earth. Andre gestured hopelessly and then indicated the low northern slope of the island. Adele and I walked hand in hand.

Adele said, I thought Geoffrey Peace was your friend. We're virtually prisoners. And that awful engineer!' She shuddered.

I think Mac would do anything for Peace,' I said slowly. Even to shooting us?' she asked. Little Bear means-well, I don't have to say it,' I said. '

Peace has side-stepped what is the main issue as far as we and the world are concerned, namely, MKG's position as VicePresident. His single-mindedness is something frightening.'

And deadly,' she said. If MKG had the slightest suspicion, he'd call the space-shot off. All we can hope is that one 197 of Tyler's planes finds us-quickly. I feel ashamed every time I look at MKG:

' It may solve itself,' I said. ' We can't tow Little Bear without a boat. Even if we could, the searchers-'

Instinctively I looked seawards. Even now, Tyler and his hunters might be lying off Love-Apple Crossing.

Andre let out an exclamation. Adele wheeled on him. He was pointing to the lagoon.

' There!'

In the lagoon, maybe a hundred yards away, was a long, dark object. There was a rapid-fire of Creole from Andre, who started towards Vingt-Cinq Coups at a shambling run. I turned to Adele and stopped in amazement. She was stripping off her clothes! In a moment the whole loveliness of her sun-tanned body stood in sharp relief against the pure white sand.

` Come on!' she called. Quick! Help me!'

She raced into the surf, breasted it, paused and signalled me on with her upraised arm. I, too, pulled off my clothes in bewilderment and followed her. Beyond the breakers; Adele hung on to something. In a few strokes, I was at her side.

She clung to a dark log whose top branches only remained.

`Bois mangue! It's a whole tree of it! Andre's eyesight is uncanny.'

She squirmed on to the floating log like a seal and sat astride, laughing. For that moment the massive search, the great Presidential drama, the whole outside world, seemed to recede. Her joy and her laughter were-for me.

' Don't look so serious, my darling..

Her naked loveliness caught me by the throat as she sat there, her eyes dancing. I trod water and looked up at the firm curve of her breasts and the wild loveliness of her wet hair. I said, ' When we're married, we shall come back to Love-Apple Crossing.'

She leaned down and kissed me, sweet and salt together. `

Love-Apple-Crossing,' she murmured. ` Yes, back to

Vingt-Cing Coups-our happiness will make up for all the unhappiness of those old lovers.'

Adele-' I began, but she kissed me again and pushed me away. She slid off the log. ` Come, we must get the log ashore before the others arrive and see me like this!'

Together we floated the log to the beach, pulling it well clear of the surf above the highwater mark. Adele barely had time to drag on her clothes before the others, led by Peace and MKG at a run, reached us. Andre panted out a flood of Creole. Boz gave a whoop of joy when he saw the log

and seized the big Texan. Together they did an impromptu war-dance on the sand. Andre grabbed MKG'S hand and even Trevor-Davis was moved to clap his American counterpart on the shoulder. Only Mac had not bothered to come. Andre put a foot on the log like a trophy hunter and burst into Creole, while the rest of the scientists stood round grinning like kids.

Adele and I alone did not share in the general rejoicing.

She translated Andre: He says bring the axe right away and he'll have the cutter ready by midday tomorrow.'

Boz looked concerned. That leaves the afternoon only to check her over.'

Sorry, Boz,' replied Peace. "That missile is staying down until the last moment-and that means until only a few hours before the launch itself.'

Boz turned in protest to MKG. I gotta check-'

MKG said quietly, ` Commander's right, Boz. I know you'd like to go over every rivet, but the risk is too big.'

Boz drew his fellow-scientists in with him. See here, MKG, I know we checked and re-checked everything before she was stowed, but that is nearly six weeks ago now.'

She was fine then, and there's no reason to think she isn't fine now,' replied MKG. You set the stable table yourself.'

The same goes for SNAP,' added Peace. ` She also should be fine. We haven't pulled rods since she went aboard.'

Boz remained dubious. ` Sure, sure. We went over everything with a toothcomb before. Everything jim-dandy. But what if-'

' How long does it take to start the nuclear power plant?' I asked.

Boz smiled, despite his preoccupation. Pull-rods,' he corrected. That's what it's called. Till she's fully activated, two hours. You've also got to spin up her gyros and stabilize the stable table.'

You're making a lab job out of it instead of a field test,'

MKG chided him gently. You know that's part of the countdown routine, Boz.'

Data and compensations-' Boz started to say, but MKG waved a hand. You know it can be done without all the trappings, Boz. Let's stick to the essentials, especially since Tyler will be just over the horizon.'

Boz and the scientists looked unhappy. I think they would have liked to strip down the entire missile.

MKG's remark about Tyler was with me still. Can't the

Seventh Fleet interfere with you once Little Bear's in flight?'

Boz and MKG exchanged amused glances. ' No, Little Bear 199 has no radio or radar acquisition. Once Boz presses that " fire " button, nothing can stop me.'

Peace nodded at the log. The sooner we get this up to

Vingt-Cinq Coups, the sooner Andre can start.'

MKG said, I feel I want that next to me, even when I sleep.'

Tonight will be a lovely night, after the cyclone,' said Adele. ' Clear, with stars and a moon.' MKG caught the strange note in her voice, but Peace said quickly, Searchers' moon. I'd prefer it pitch-black.'

Half an hour later, gasping and stumbling, we brought the log to Vingt-Cinq Coups. Andre barely gave himself time to recover his breath before he took the axe and, barefooted, his toes gripped the rough timber, he started a long, slow, rhythmical chopping stroke.

Peace ordered Adele to check the Navy waveband; immediately she asked for a pencil. She decoded the signal and handed it to him.

Listen to this, MKG, John,' he said. ' Love-Apple Crossing is Grid Position E-13. Fifty miles to the immediate east is Grid 1-12, and to the west is 1-14. Northwards 1-11 and southwards E-10.'

They would first search a band only 50 miles south of us! It seemed impossible that we could escape detection, I told myself, perhaps in mitigation of my surrendering to Peace's threats.

' Hear that, Boz!' exclaimed MKG. When they don't find anything there, they'll turn north-here.'

It's one hell of a risk,' said Boz.

We're being squeezed between the risks and the deadline,' replied MKG. He turned to Peace. By heavens, Commander, I wish I knew the reason why the President hasn't called off the Seventh Fleet's search. Maybe it's even a giant cover on his part because the secret was outing anyway. I don't know. I' ve thought and thought it over. But with only two days to go, this thing has really gotten into me and it'll take a hell of a lot more than Tyler and Thornton to make me turn back now.'

I saw the elation in Peace's face as he turned to meet my eyes.

' What we need is some real liquor for a celebration to night,' the big Texan said, laughing.

Celebrate when I'm on the way in Little Bear,' replied

MKG. And don't toast me only-toast the Commander here.'

The secret hammered in my mind until I wanted to shout it out to the whole of Limuria. Adele must have felt the same 200 as I did for she went over to Andre's log and came back with one of the shavings.

She held it out to me. ' Smell! There's no smell like bois mangue in the world.'

It was pungently aromatic-perhaps it owed something to a common ancestor with camphor in the. East Indies-with a hint of cinnamon which lingered.

Until it was too dark to see, Andre swung his axe, refusing assistance. Peace declined to switch on the radio. Mac grunted over the cutter's engine, but I noted that the Remington was close in the stern locker near his hand. The wind dropped and the sea merely grumbled now against the reef. We lit a fire of bois mangue chips and grilled fish which Trevor-Davis had speared in the lagoon. The tiny fire etched the sinister black grating above us with scarlet; the moon rose; under its softness the sea resumed its long, languid Limurian lope, a sigh instead of a snarl. Limuria returned to her gentleness. We sat with our backs to the coral wall, smoking, looking across the lagoon. MKG was in the middle-scruffy, unshaven and nondescript, but we were drawn to his personality like moths to a flame. He seemed to have put his questionings behind him and his eyes were bright. We all had too much to say for words.

MKG turned to Adele and pointed with the glowing tip of his cigarette to a bright constellation in the south. Pity Love-Apple Crossing is so far south. I would have liked to show you Little Bear in his own place in the firmament.'

' Why can't we see him?' asked Adele in a small voice.

Perhaps the thought was eating her, too-what if Little Bear did not go according to expectation?

There was a lightness in the Vice-President's voice, by -contrast. ' You can't spot Little Bear in the southern hemisphere,' he told her. Nor Polaris, which is in Little Bear's tail.

Orion's Belt was a jewel above our heads; on the right the Southern Cross hung over the limitless ocean. The silence was immense. In my heart I knew that if ever MKG came back, he would bring with him something of the incalculable horizons which lay before our eyes to add to a personality so full and strong that I, for one, had never encountered anything like it before. Could the end justify the means in this fantastic space-journey? I hastily stopped my thoughts; I was beginning to think like Peace, without considering the vast consequences of the act. 201

I said, breaking the spell, 'How long will your flight to

Santa Fe take, MKG?'

A few hours,' he replied. ' I'll orbit a couple of times to get the automatic docking computer lined up on its target, which is the space station. We know Santa Fe's orbital position exactly at any time. It's a relatively easy thing since we developed the locking beam which Acton and Davis used so successfully.'

Boz came and squatted on his haunches in front of MKG. ` Can't we float up Little Bear as soon as the cutter is ready, MKG? That check-'

MKG flicked away the glowing end of his cigarette. Sorry, Boz. The longer she's out of sight the safer. It'll louse up the whole project if she's spotted at the very last moment. And it's getting that way, time-wise.'

Tyler's fliers will be over Love-Apple Crossing tomorrow,' said Peace flatly.

Guessing's fine-' objected Boz.

' I'm not guessing, Boz,' answered Peace. ' The helos and carrier planes will have sanitized Grid E-12 east of us by tomorrow. Then-Love-Apple Crossing, Grid E-13. That's the way it goes; one grid finished, the next grid begun.'

MKG said, It's as relentless as… as..

A countdown,' said Peace.

I gotta have more time,' insisted Boz. I can't risk a failure.'

Peace said quickly, Can you work in the dark on Little

Bear, Boz?'

` No.'

` See-there's one hell of a moon,' went on Peace. What if I go down at sunset, cut Little Bear free?'

Boz swung excitedly on Peace. ` You're sure an ideas man,

Commander.'

It will leave Little Bear completely vulnerable for the two hours it takes to pull rods and fully activate the SNAP motor,' said Peace. Maybe not completely, for it'll be dark and there'll be enough moon for Boz and his team to work by.

There's Andre's acetylene lamp until they can draw their own power from the missile's power plant.'

Jeez I' exclaimed the Texan. ` That'll give us a whole night to test her, Boz!'

When Peace spoke, I detected the real reason for his concession. You'll want to help the boys for a while, won't you, MKG? Don't get short on sleep, though-you and Boz and the others can rest up here tomorrow afternoon.'

In other words, Peace would keep the radio well out of the way until it was too late to retract.

Boz and the scientists were enthusiastic. See here, Commander,' said Boz. As soon as the power starts coming through from the reactor, we'll submerge her up to the capsule. We'll have power then to operate the ballast pumps.'

The Americans and Trevor-Davis crowded round MKG, squatting like Boz on their heels.

Boz turned to Trevor-Davis. Can do, fellah? That SNAP is your pigeon.'

The thought of getting back to mechanics seemed to animate the silent Englishman. Can do,' he replied. I'll want light, though, from the acetylene.'

We'll have to risk it,' said Peace.

It's not such a big risk,' said Adele. ' All the fishing boats in Limuria will be out now that the storm's over-I expect everyone is as hungry as we are. Tyler's men will see hundreds of fishermen's acetylene lights at sea tonight and tomorrow.'

Good!' breathed Peace.

Adele jerked up and pointed south. Look at that light!

What a meteor!'

A distant stain of red, followed by brilliant white, blotted out the Southern Cross for a moment.

It isn't a meteor,' said Peace grimly. That's a flare dropped from a plane.'

Adele gave a shiver and a silence fell upon us. Would Tyler discover Little Bear-with a flare like that tomorrow as the missile lay immobile on the surface of the lagoon?

Peace broke the silence. Tyler's driving his men into the ground. Anything that floats, they'll find.' His voice became hard. Tomorrow we-that is, Mac, Andre, John and Adele and I-will play at island fishermen in the lagoon. Boz, you and your boys will need all the sleep you can get if you're going to work right through the night. We'll bury the DATICO gear, the VLF radio and the space-suit here in the sand of the hut in case we have some nosey helo overhead. The dunking helos will come first, then the vP-5's.'

It sure looks as if we're on the hook,' remarked the big

Texan.

On the hook, but not landed,' Peace replied. Everyone will play absolutely dumb if a helo comes over-in the boat we don't speak, except Adele, if she wishes, in Creole. If a helo comes over the hut, act like sleeping fishermen. Andre's safe anyway. None of us look too zazzy in our present rig.

We'll pass for islanders.'

MKG laughed and assumed a Southern drawl. For them kind words, Commander, I thank you from the bottom of mah cotton-pick'n' heart.' His easy confidence broke the tension. Peace went on, ' While we're playing round in the lagoon tomorrow, I'll put a marker over Little Bear so that we know exactly where to look after dark.'

What if the fliers spot Semittante?' I asked.

The water will be as clear as glass,' added Adele.

They will,' said Peace. ' They will. But until a vP-5 can get here with MAD gear, they won't know whether the wreck is new or old. The Sea of Limuria hasn't only got one wreck,' he went on. Look at 'em all on the St Brandon reef. I think it's unlikely that they'll divert a vp-5 specially to investigate yet one more wreck. Most likely it will be logged for routine investigation when a vP-5 comes to case Grid E-13. We can only watch and pray.'

Boz, carried away with enthusiasm, asked, How long do you reckon it'll take to get Little Bear into her firing position, Commander?'

Two-three hours, maybe,' he replied. I'll have Mac check over the engine again tomorrow. It hasn't been used in ages, but it looks okay. I'd like to start out of the lagoon before daybreak.'

I asked, Once Little Bear is submerged at the firing point, there's one hour to go?'

T minus sixty-yeah,' Boz corrected me. ' Sure, you got it. The countdown routine's pretty simple-mKG gets my messages via the radio buoy on the surface. He gives us a count every few minutes-T minus fifty-nine, T minus fifty, and so on down to zero. At T minus one I start the DATICO checkout. But forget it, fellah-that's what me and Pete and Trev are all here for. You got yourself a ringside seat-no work'

Peace added quietly, And as you count, every helo, every plane, every surfaced sub in Grid E-13 will hear you?' Sure.'

– ' When Little Bear is on the surface, a helo, a sub, a plane anything with search radar or sonar-could pick her up?' •

Yeah.'

And when her generators get going, any nuclear sub within sonar range will hear them?'

' Sure-twenty thousand yards. Nearly twelve miles.'

' So from tomorrow evening until MKG is launched, Little Bear is wide open?'

` Wide open as the prairie, Commander. If Tyler and his merry men pal around Grid n-13, then-' Boz shrugged.

The mounting tension and the burden of our secret overlaid any satisfaction there might have been when we dragged the repaired cutter to the water's edge next afternoon. MKG and the American team slept. Peace, on the grounds that the radio batteries were failing, had kept it assiduously out of the way during the morning. Mac hovered like an evil presence. I had a restless night; I fancied I heard a helicopter's rotors and I started upright. It was noise, but not of rotors. At dawn I saw: the shoreline was thick with grey noddies, blackand-white terns and little love-terns which had returned to their home after the cyclone. A squadron, not of Tyler's men but of steel-eyed frigate-birds, hung over the lagoon, divebombing shoals of fish. Adele hitched the painter over her shoulder and paddled into the wavelets.

But Andre stood back, muttering.

Peace said sharply. Slap it about, Andre-the sooner we see whether she's seaworthy, the better. Mac also wants to try the engine.'

Andre says every ship must have a life. She cannot go into the water like this.'

An echelon of frigate-birds circled low, eyeing us.'

' Say, the cutter has served us wonderfully and so has he,' answered Peace.

Adele translated, but Andre gestured defiantly. In' the islands we have strange gods. Perhaps you will not approve. But without it, the cutter cannot go into the water.'

For God's sake! What does he want?' began Peace, but

Adele cocked her head to the radio and turned it up. A voice said : Red Force reporting to CIC x Grid E-10, E-12 negative x am commencing search Grid E-13 and E-11 x' The reply came back:

CIC to Red Force x report likely contact and vector in VP-5's for MAD investigation x'

Peace stiffened. You hear that? They'll be here any moment now. What the hell is wrong with Andre, Adele? Tell him the birds will be here soon-'

The old man looked sullen. ' He says the birds are here. That's what he's talking about.

The radio said:

Red Force helo FX-6 reporting now entering Grid posi- tion E-13 x helos FX-5, FX-7 and FX-8 at intervals 20 205 miles north x will co-ordinate reports from FX-6

Marilyn's Dream x'

The carrier was brief:

' Keep that dream going, fellah x'

Andre gestured at the circling birds, spoke to Adele, and then pointed at the new planks in the hull. Peace's mouth tightened and he went to the sternsheets, where the Remington was kept.

No! Geoffrey, no! Not Andre!' I burst out.

Adele said helplessly, ' The boat must have a life. The new planking must have a life. One must die in order that the ship may live. Without it, there is no life for his boat.'

There was a volley of Creole from Andre. In my father's day, he says, the islanders used to make a human chain of rollers to the sea, and a new or a repaired boat was launched over them. It took life, for only the strong survived. Now there are not enough strong young men any more. But there must be a life.'

For a long moment Peace paused. Then he grabbed the

Remington. He slid back the bolt.

Geoffrey! For God's sake!' I rushed forward.

Before I could reach him, Peace fired. One of the circling mass of frigate-birds fell, flopping into the water at our feet. Delight and astonishment spread over old Andre's face. He crashed his rough fist between Peace's shoulders, grabbed the axe, and splashed after the wounded bird. In a moment he was back, holding the bucking thing clear as it struck at him. He gestured to us. The boat-get it on its side-the bird must not die before-'

Peace, MKG and I heaved the cutter over. Andre yanked the kicking bird to his new planks and shoved its neck against them. With a deft stroke he severed the bird's neck and, as the blood gushed, he made the sign of the Cross against the boards. He went to Peace and took his forearm in a curious grip.

Adele said, 'He says, only a man of the sea would know.

I recovered my wits. ' Geoffrey, in the name of all that's not holy..

It's as old as time-or the sea,' he explained. ' When he spoke of a life for a life I remembered: ancient Mediterranean shipwrights used to demand a human sacrifice at the time of launching. The custom's mutated somewhat, but it still survives among these backblocks of the sea. Come on now!'

He glanced at the sky. There was nothing. We eased the cutter into the water. The new planks held. Smiling and gesticulating, Andre hoisted the sail. We headed for Semit- tan tes grave.

' Quick!' yelled Peace. For God's sake-quick! Get those hats on! Here they are!'

There was no mistaking the roar of rotors. The helicopter flew towards the lagoon entrance from the open sea.

Switch off that radio!' hissed Peace. Under the decking quick!' He threw the Remington after it and pulled on a big hat.

The helo came at us wave-top level.

No English!' breathed Peace. MKG'S face was drawn under its stubble. Adele was wide-eyed. Andre's astonishment was genuine-he had never seen a plane before.

The helo swung low and hovered over us with a downrush of air. Look up! Look up at her! Play it!' ordered Peace.

We stood up, shouting incoherently and waving. The observer looked into our faces from thirty feet up. A loudhailer clicked on, so that we overheard his conversation with the pilot.

Hell, Pete, this looks a pretty beat-up bunch'

So would you be, if you'd been out in a cyclone in that boat,' replied the other. Jeez, it was bad enough in the flat top.'

I ain't no horse-player, but I'd lay money none of these guys is Vice-President of the United States!' said the observer. The harsh metallic laughter echoed over the lagoon. The helo swung and I caught a glimpse of a pin-up girl with the legend '

Marilyn's Dream ' near the horse-collar winch.

That goddam' ole ship is at the bottom of the sea,' said the pilot. We're wasting our time, I say.'

This business sure gripes ole Revs's ass,' the other said, laughing. Jesus!'

This is the first land I seen,' commented the pilot.

' Nothing but sea, sea, sea,' rejoined the other. There ain't a thing for us here, brother. Say-' he peered down' there's a dame in that boat.'

Listen, fellah, if you want a dame you can get one nice and cosy back in the Seychelles without flying a thousand miles to some goddam' spit of land.'

Sure, sure,' replied the observer. I just sort of like the idea of a dame out here-dancing girls, soft music, tropical lagoon ..

You sound like you got a couple of sheets to the wind right now,' said the pilot. Call 'em up, fellah. Ask what we' re supposed to ask'

Okay, okay,' replied the observer.. I got it written down,'

There was a pause. Then he called, 'Bateau?'

I shuddered at his French.

`Ship-bateau? Nau-naufrage-wreck?'

Andre spoke to Adele. They laughed and pointed upwards.

Aw, cut it out-can't you see they're just a bunch of dumb islanders? Let's get the hell outa here.'

' I guess so. First let's mosey around the lagoon. Report back, willya?'

Sure. FX-6 Marilyn's Dream reporting x Love-Apple Crossing- sounds like a first-run movie-house title-negative x sighted boat with islanders x called 'em up-negative x l a g o o n – '

' Negative,' added the other. Well, 'bye from Marilyn's Dream, folks.'

The loudhailer cut and the helo whirled upwards. Sweat stood out under Peace's eyes. Adele was very still. My knees were weak.

Put on that radio, Adele,' ordered Peace. Look!'

The helo came to a hovering stop above the place where

Semittante lay. The observer's voice was recognizable on the set as Adele held the Navy wavelength:

Helo FX-6 to Red Force x Grid position E-13 x Love- Apple Crossing investigated x negative x island boat in inner lagoon x negative x wreck in lagoon x refer for routine investigation VP-5 MAD x wreck probably old x lies inside reef x'

I saw a ball with a cable attached fall from the helo's winch into the sea to mark the wreck. We waited, breathless. The observer's voice went on:

' Routine dunking check x negative no contact x'

Peace gave a great sigh of relief. In less than a minute the helo swung the sonar ball back into position with the winch and, following the reef, disappeared westwards.

Peace said quietly, At least we know exactly where

Semittante lies.'

We glided across the lagoon, silent with our own thoughts.

Andre, with his uncanny sense of place, brought the cutter to rest over the wreck. Her outline was clear; Little Bear's long crate lay on deck. Without speaking we dropped the cutter' s anchor cable attached to a length of line and a chunk of bois mangue.

Then we stole back across the lagoon through the lengthening shadows, waiting for the night, waiting for the morning.