Eye Of The Needle Part 35

"Captain, sir," said Sparks. "I just picked up an S.O.S. from the island."

The captain frowned. "Nothing we can do until we can land a boat," he said. "Did they say anything else?"

"Not a thing, sir. It wasn't even repeated."

"Nothing we can do," he said again. "Send a signal to the mainland reporting it. And keep listening."

"Aye, aye, sir."

IT WAS ALSO picked up by an MI8 listening post on top of a Scottish mountain. The R/T operator, a young man with abdominal wounds who had been invalided out of the RAF, was trying to pick up German Navy signals from Norway, and he ignored the S.O.S. However, he went off duty five minutes later, and he mentioned it to his commanding officer. picked up by an MI8 listening post on top of a Scottish mountain. The R/T operator, a young man with abdominal wounds who had been invalided out of the RAF, was trying to pick up German Navy signals from Norway, and he ignored the S.O.S. However, he went off duty five minutes later, and he mentioned it to his commanding officer.

"It was only broadcast once," he said. "Probably a fishing vessel off the Scottish coast-there might well be the odd small ship in trouble in this weather."

"Leave it with me," the C.O. said. "I'll give the Navy a buzz. And I suppose I'd better inform Whitehall. Protocol, y'know."

"Thank you, sir."

At the Royal Observer Corps station there was something of a panic. Of course, S.O.S. was not the signal an observer was supposed supposed to give when he sighted enemy aircraft, but they knew that Tom was old, and who could say what he might send if he got excited? So the air raid sirens were sounded, and all other posts were alerted, and antiaircraft guns were rolled out all over the east coast of Scotland and the radio operator tried frantically to raise Tom. to give when he sighted enemy aircraft, but they knew that Tom was old, and who could say what he might send if he got excited? So the air raid sirens were sounded, and all other posts were alerted, and antiaircraft guns were rolled out all over the east coast of Scotland and the radio operator tried frantically to raise Tom.

No German bombers came, of course, and the War Office wanted to know why a full alert had been sounded when there was nothing in the sky but a few bedraggled geese?

So they were told.

THE COASTGUARD heard it too. heard it too.

They would have responded to it if it had been on the correct frequency, and if they had been able to establish the position of the transmitter, and if that position had been within reasonable distance of the coast.

As it was, they guessed from the fact that the signal came over on the Observer Corps frequency that it originated from Old Tom, and they were already doing all they could about that that situation, whatever the h.e.l.l that situation was. situation, whatever the h.e.l.l that situation was.

When the news reached the below-deck card game on the cutter in the harbor at Aberdeen, Slim dealt another hand of blackjack and said, "I'll tell you what's happened. Old Tom's caught the prisoner of war and he's sitting on his head waiting for the army to arrive and take the b.u.g.g.e.r away."

"b.o.l.l.o.c.ks," said Smith, with which sentiment there was general agreement.

AND THE U-505 U-505 heard it. heard it.

She was still more than thirty nautical miles from Storm Island, but Weissman was roaming the dial to see what he could pick up-and hoping, improbably, to hear Glenn Miller records from the American Forces Network in Britain-and his tuner happened to be on the right wavelength at the right time. He pa.s.sed the information to Lieutenant Commander Heer, adding, "It was not on our man's frequency."

Major Wohl, who was still as irritating as ever, said, "Then it means nothing."

Heer did not miss the opportunity to correct him. "It means something something," he said. "It means that there may be some activity on the surface when we go up."

"But this is unlikely to trouble us."

"Most unlikely," Heer agreed.

"Then it is meaningless."

"It is probably probably meaningless." meaningless."

They argued about it all the way to the island.

AND SO it worked out that within the s.p.a.ce of five minutes the Navy, the Royal Observer Corps, MI8 and the Coastguard all phoned G.o.dliman to tell him about the S.O.S. it worked out that within the s.p.a.ce of five minutes the Navy, the Royal Observer Corps, MI8 and the Coastguard all phoned G.o.dliman to tell him about the S.O.S.

G.o.dliman phoned Bloggs, who had finally fallen into a deep sleep in front of the fire in the scramble room. The shrill ring of the telephone startled him, and he jumped to his feet, thinking that the planes were about to take off.

A pilot picked up the receiver, said, "Yes" into it twice and handed it to Bloggs. "A Mr. G.o.dliman for you."

"h.e.l.lo, Percy."

"Fred, somebody on the island just broadcast an S.O.S."

Bloggs shook his head to clear the last remains of sleep. "Who?"

"We don't know. There was just the one signal, not repeated, and they don't seem to be receiving at all."

"Still, there's not much doubt now."

"No. Everything ready up there?"

"All except the weather."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Bloggs hung up and returned to the young pilot who was still reading War and Peace War and Peace. "Good news," he told him. "The b.a.s.t.a.r.d's definitely on the island."

"Jolly good show," said the pilot.

35.

FABER CLOSED THE DOOR OF THE JEEP AND BEGAN walking quite slowly toward the house. He was wearing David's hacking jacket again. There was mud all over his trousers where he had fallen and his hair was plastered wetly against his skull. He was limping slightly on his right foot. walking quite slowly toward the house. He was wearing David's hacking jacket again. There was mud all over his trousers where he had fallen and his hair was plastered wetly against his skull. He was limping slightly on his right foot.

Lucy backed away from the window and ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs. The shotgun was on the floor in the hall where she had dropped it. She picked it up. Suddenly it felt very heavy. She had never actually fired a gun, and she had no idea how to check whether this one was loaded. She could figure it out, given time, but there was no time.

She took a deep breath and opened the front door. "Stop!" she shouted. Her voice was pitched higher than she had intended, and it sounded shrill and hysterical.

Faber smiled pleasantly and kept on walking.

Lucy pointed the gun at him, holding the barrel with her left hand and the breech with her right. Her finger was on the trigger. "I'll kill you!" she yelled.

"Don't be silly, Lucy," he said mildly. "How could you hurt me? After all the things we've done together? Haven't we loved each other, a little...?"

It was true. She had told herself she could not fall in love with him, and that was true too; but she had had felt felt something something for him, and if it was not love, it was something very like it. for him, and if it was not love, it was something very like it.

"You knew about me this afternoon," he said, and now he was thirty yards away, "but it made no difference to you then, did it?"

That was partly true. For a moment she saw in her mind's eye a vivid picture of herself sitting astride him, holding his sensitive hands to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and then she realized what he was doing- "Lucy, we can work it out, we can still have each other-"

-and she pulled the trigger.

There was an ear-splitting crash, and the weapon jumped in her hands, its b.u.t.t bruising her hip with the recoil. She almost dropped it. She had never imagined that firing a gun would feel like that. She was quite deaf for a moment.

The shot went high over Faber's head but all the same he ducked, turned, and ran zigzagging back to the jeep. Lucy was tempted to fire again but she stopped herself just in time, realizing that if he knew both barrels had been emptied there would be nothing to stop him turning and coming back.

He flung open the door of the jeep, jumped in and shot off down the hill.

Lucy knew he would be back.

But suddenly she felt happy, almost gay. She had won the first round-she had driven him off....

But he would be back.

Still, she had the upper hand. She was indoors, and she had the gun. And she had time to prepare.

Prepare. She must be ready for him. Next time he would be more subtle. He would surely try to surprise her somehow.

She hoped he would wait until dark, that would give her time...

First she had to reload the gun.

She went into the kitchen. Tom kept everything in his kitchen-food, coal, tools, stores-and he had a gun like David's. She knew the two firearms were the same because David had examined Tom's, then sent away for one exactly like it. The two men had enjoyed long discussions about weapons.

She found Tom's gun and a box of ammunition. She put the two guns and the box on the kitchen table.

Machines were simple, she was convinced; it was apprehension not stupidity that made women fumble when faced with a piece of engineering.

She fiddled with David's gun, keeping the barrel pointed away from herself, until it came open at the breech. Then she figured out what she had done to open it, and practiced doing it again a couple of times.

It was surprisingly simple.

She loaded both guns. Then, to make sure she had done everything correctly, she pointed Tom's gun at the kitchen wall and pulled the trigger.

There was a shower of plaster, Bob barked like he'd gone mad, and she bruised her hip and deafened herself again. But she was armed.

She must remember to pull the triggers gently so as not to jerk the gun and spoil her aim. Men probably got taught that kind of thing in the army.

What to do next? She should make it difficult for Henry to get into the house.

Neither of the doors had locks, of course; if a house was burgled on this island, one would know that the culprit lived in the other house. Lucy rummaged in Tom's tool box and found a shiny, sharp-bladed axe. She stood on the stairs and began to hack away at the banister.

The work made her arms ache, but in five minutes she had six short lengths of stout, seasoned oak. She found a hammer and some nails and fixed the oak bars across the front and back door, three bars to each door, four nails to each bar. When it was done her wrists were in agony and the hammer felt as heavy as lead, but she was still not finished.

She got another handful of the shiny four-inch nails and went around to every window in the house, nailing them shut. She realized, with a sense of discovery, why men always put nails in their mouths: it was because you needed both hands for the work and if you put them in your pocket they stuck into your skin.

By the time she had finished it was dark. She left the lights off.

He could still get into the house, of course, but at least he could not get in quietly. He would have to break something and thereby alert her-and then she would be ready with the guns.

She went upstairs, carrying both guns, to check on Jo. He was still asleep, wrapped in his blanket, on Tom's bed. Lucy struck a match to look at his face. The sleeping pill must have really knocked him out, but he was an average sort of color, his temperature seemed normal and he was breathing easily. "Just stay that way, little boy," Lucy whispered. The sudden access of tenderness left her feeling more savage toward Henry.

She restlessly patrolled the house, peering through the windows into the darkness, the dog following her everywhere. She took to carrying just one of the guns, leaving the other at the head of the stairs; but she hooked the axe into the belt of her trousers.

She remembered the radio, and tapped out her S.O.S. several more times. She had no idea whether anybody was listening, or even whether the radio was working. She knew no more Morse, so she could not broadcast anything else.

It occurred to her that Tom probably did not know Morse code. Surely he must have a book somewhere? If only she could tell someone what was happening here...She searched the house, using dozens of matches, feeling terrified every time she lit one within sight of a downstairs window. She found nothing.

All right, perhaps he did did know Morse. know Morse.

On the other hand, why should he need it? He only had to tell the mainland that there were enemy aircraft approaching, and there was no reason why that information shouldn't go over the air...what was the phrase David had used?...au clair.

She went back to the bedroom and looked again at the wireless set. To one side of the main cabinet, hidden from her previous cursory glance, was a microphone.

If she could talk to them, they could talk to her.

The sound of another human voice-a normal, sane, mainland voice-suddenly seemed the most desirable prospect in the world.

She picked up the microphone and began to experiment with the switches.

Bob growled softly.

She put the mike down and reached out her hand toward the dog in the darkness. "What is it, Bob?"

He growled again. She could feel his ears standing stiffly upright. She was terribly afraid-the confidence gained by confronting Henry with the gun, by learning how to reload, by barricading the door and nailing down the windows...all evaporated at one growl from an alert dog.