alistairmaclean.bearisland-第35节
按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
Lonnie was the sole occupant； alone but not lonely； not as long as he had that bottle of Hince happily clutched in his fist。 He lowered his glass as I sat down beside him。
〃Ah！ You have assuaged the sufferings of the walking wounded？ There is a preoccupied air about you； my dear fellow。〃 He tapped the bottle。 〃For the instant alleviation of workaday cares…〃
〃That bottle belongs to the pantry； Lonnie。〃
〃The fruits of nature belong to all mankind。 A soupgon？〃
If only to stop you from drinking it all。 I have an apology to make to you； Lonnie。 About our delectable leading lady。 I don't think there's enough kindness around to waste any in throwing it in her direction。〃
〃Barren ground； you would say？ Stony soil？〃
I would say。〃
〃Redemption and salvation are not for our fair Judith？〃
〃I don't know about that。 All I know is that I wouldn't like to be the one to try and that looking at her I can only conclude that there's an awful lot of unkindness around。〃
〃Amen to that。〃 Lonnie swallowed some more brandy。 〃But we must not forget the parables of the lost sheep and the prodigal son。 Nothing and nobody is ever entirely lost。〃
I daresay。 Luck to leading her back to the paths of the righteous…you shouldn't have to fight off too much petition for the job。 How is it； do you think； that a person like that should be so different from the other two？〃
〃Mary dear and Mary darling？ Dear； dear girls。 Even in my dotage I love them dearly。 Such sweet children。〃
〃They could do no wrong？〃
〃Never！〃
〃Ha！ That's easy to say。 But what if； perhaps； they were deeply under the influence of alcohol？〃
〃What？〃 Lonnie appeared genuinely shocked。 〃What are you talking about？ Inconceivable； my dear boy； inconceivable！〃
〃Not even； say； if they were to have a double gin？〃
〃What piffling nonsense is this？ We are speaking of the influence of alcohol； not about aperitifs for swaddling babes。〃
〃You would see no harm in either of them asking for； say； just one drink？〃
〃Of course not。〃 Lonnie looked genuinely puzzled。 ‘You do harp on so； my dear fellow。〃
〃Yes； I do rather。 I just wondered why once； after a long day on the set； when Mary Stuart had asked you for just that one drink you flew pletely off the handle。〃
In curiously slow…motion fashion Lonnie put bottle and glass on the table and rose unsteadily to his feel？。 He looked old and tired and terribly vulnerable。
〃Ever since you came in…now I can see it。〃 He spoke in a kind of sad whisper。 Ever since you came in you've been leading up to this one question。〃
He shook his head and his eyes were not seeing me。 I thought you were my friend；〃 he said quietly and walked uncertainly from the saloon。
8
The northwest corner of the Sor…Hamna Bight； where the Morning Rose had finally e to rest； was just under three miles due northeast； as the crow flies； from the most southerly tip of Bear Island。 The Sor…Hamna itself； U…shaped and open to the south； was just over a thousand yards in width on its cast…west axis and close on a mile in length from north to south。 The eastern arm of the harbour was discontinuous； beginning with a small peninsula perhaps three hundred yards in length； followed by a two…hundred…yard gap of water interspersed with small islands of various sizes then by the much larger island of Makebl； very narrow from east to west； stretching almost half a mile to its most southerly point of Kapp Roalkvarn。 The land to the north and cast was low…lying； that to the west； or true island side； rising fairly steeply from a shallow escarpment but nowhere higher than a small hill about four hundred feel？ high about halfway down the side of the bight。 Here were none of the towering precipices of the Hambergfiell or Bird Fell ranges to the south： but； on the other hand； here the entire land was covered in snow； deep on the northfacing slopes and their valleys where the pale low summer sun and the scouring winds had passed them by。
The Sor…Hamna was not only the best； it was virtually the only reasonable anchorage in Bear Island。 When the wind blew from the west it offered perfect protection for vessels sheltering there； and for a northerly wind it was only slightly less good。 From an easterly wind； dependent upon its strength and precise direction it afforded a reasonable amount of cover…the gap between Kapp Heer and Makehl was the deciding factor here and； when the wind stood in this quarter and if the worst came to the worst； a vessel could always up anchor and shelter under the lee of Makehl Island： but when the wind blew from the south a vessel was wide open to everything the Barents Sea cared to throw at it。
And this was why the degree of unloading activity aboard the Morning Rose was increasing from the merely hectic to the nearly panic…stricken。 Even as we had approached the Sor…Hamna the wind； which had been slowly veering the past thirty…six hours； now began rapidly to increase its speed of movement round the pass at disconcerting speed so that by the time we had made fast it was blowing directly from the east。 It was now a few degrees south of east； and strengthening； and the Morning Rose was beginning to feel its effects： it only had to increase another few knots or veer another few degrees and the trawler's position would bee untenable。
At anchor； the Morning Rose could fortably have ridden out the threatened blow but the trouble was that the Morning Rose was not at anchor。 She was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty…neither iron nor wooden structures would have lasted for any time in those stormy and bitter waters…that had first been constructed by Lerner and the Deutsche Seefischerei…Verein about the turn of the century and then improved upon…if that were the term…by the International eophysical Year expedition that had summered there。 The jetty； which would have been condemned out of hand and forbidden for public use almost anywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere； had originally been T…shaped； but the left arm of the T was now all but gone while the central section leading to the shore was badly eaten away on its southward side。 It was against this dangerously dilapidated structure that the Morning Rose was beginning to pound with increasing force as the southeasterly seas caught her under the starboard quarter and the cushioning effect of a solid row of fenders consisting of blocks of softwood and motor truck tires was being increasingly nominal。 The jarring effect as the trawler struck heavily and repeatedly against the jetty was sufficient to make those working on deck stagger and clutch onto the nearest support。 It was difficult to say what effect this was having on the Morning Rose for apart from the scratching and slight indentations of the plates none was visible but trawlers are legendarily tough and it was unlikely that she was ing to any great harm： but what was ing to harm； and very visibly so； was the jetty itself for increasingly large chunks of masonry were beginning to fall into the Sor…Hamna with dismaying frequency； and as most of our fuel； provisions； and equipment still stood there the seemingly imminent collapse of the pier into the sea was not a matter to be viewed with anything like equanimity。
When we'd first e alongside shortly before noon； the unloading had gone ahead very briskly and smoothly indeed…except for the unloading of Miss Haynes's snarling pooches。 Even before we'd tied up the after derrick had the sixteen…foot work…boat in the water and three minutes later an only slightly smaller fourteen…footer with an outboard had followed it： those boats were to remain with us。 Within ten minutes the specially strengthened foreword derrick had lifted the weirdly shaped…laterally truncated so as to have a flat bottom…mock…up of the central section of a submarine over the side and lowered it gently into the water where it floated with what appeared to be perfect stability； no doubt because of its four tons of iron ballast。 It was when the mock…up conning tower was swung into position to be bolted on to the central section of the submarine that the trouble began。
It just wouldn't bolt on。 Goin and Heissman and Stryker； the only three who had observed the original tests； said that in practice it had operated perfectly： clearly； it wasn't operating perfectly now。 The conning tower section； elliptical in shape； m…as designed to settle precisely over a four…inch vertical flange in the centre of the midsection； but settle it just wouldn't do： it turned out that one of the shallow curves at the foot of the conning tower was at least a quarter…inch out of true； a fact that was almost certainly due to the pounding that we'd taken on the way up from Wick： just one lashing not sufficiently bar…taut would have permitted that microscopic freedom of vertical movement that would have allowed the tiny distortion to develop。
The solution was simple…just to hammer the offending curve back into shape…and in a dockyard with skilled plate layers available this would probably have been no more than a matter of minutes。 But we'd neither technical facilities nor skilled labour available and the minutes had now stretched into hours。 A score of times now the foreword derrick had offered up the offending conning tow
