When Eight Bells Toll Part 19

She took her arm away and looked at me without affection. "So you put me through the hoop," she said quietly. "You let me suffer like this for thirty hours while you knew all the time,"

"Fair's fair. You were doing me down, I was doing you down,"

"I'm very grateful to you," she said bitterly, "If you aren't you d.a.m.n' well ought to be," Uncle Arthur said coldly. This was one for the books, Uncle Arthur talking to the aristocracy, even if only the aristocracy by marriage, in this waspish tone. "If Calvert won't speak for himself, I will.

"Point one: if you hadn't kept on sending your little radio messages, Lavorski would have thought that there was something d.a.m.ned fishy going on and might well have left the last ton or two of gold in the Nantesville Nantesville and taken off before we got here. People like Lavorski have a highly attuned sixth sense of danger. Point two: they wouldn't have confessed to their crimes unless they thought we were finished. Point three: Calvert wanted to engineer a situation where all attention was on the and taken off before we got here. People like Lavorski have a highly attuned sixth sense of danger. Point two: they wouldn't have confessed to their crimes unless they thought we were finished. Point three: Calvert wanted to engineer a situation where all attention was on the Firecrest so Firecrest so that Captain Rawley and his men could move into position and so eliminate all fear of unnecessary bloodshed - maybe that Captain Rawley and his men could move into position and so eliminate all fear of unnecessary bloodshed - maybe your your blood, my dear Charlotte. Point four, and more important: if you hadn't been in constant radio contact with them, advising them of our impending arrival right up to the moment we came through those doors - we'd even left the saloon door open so that you could clearly overhear us and know all we were doing - there would have been a pitched battle, guns firing as soon as those doors were breached, and who knows how many lives would have been lost. But they blood, my dear Charlotte. Point four, and more important: if you hadn't been in constant radio contact with them, advising them of our impending arrival right up to the moment we came through those doors - we'd even left the saloon door open so that you could clearly overhear us and know all we were doing - there would have been a pitched battle, guns firing as soon as those doors were breached, and who knows how many lives would have been lost. But they knew knew they were in control, they they were in control, they knew knew the trap was set, they the trap was set, they knew knew you were aboard with that gun to spring the trap. Point five, and most important of all: Captain Rawley here was hidden almost a hundred yards away along the cross runnel and the detachment up above were concealed in a store-room in the castle. How do you think you were aboard with that gun to spring the trap. Point five, and most important of all: Captain Rawley here was hidden almost a hundred yards away along the cross runnel and the detachment up above were concealed in a store-room in the castle. How do you think they they knew when to move in and move in simultaneously? Because, like all commandos, they had portable radio sets and were listening in to every word of your running commentary. Don't forget your transmitter was stolen from the knew when to move in and move in simultaneously? Because, like all commandos, they had portable radio sets and were listening in to every word of your running commentary. Don't forget your transmitter was stolen from the Firecrest. Firecrest. It was It was Calvert's Calvert's transmitter, my dear. He knew the transmitting frequency to the mainland last night. That was after he had - urn - given you a little something to drink and checked yourtransmitter before using the one up in the castle last night." Charlotte said to me: "I think you are the most devious and detestable and untrustworthy man I've ever met." Her eyes were shining, whether from tears or whatever I didn't know. I felt acutely embarra.s.sed and uncomfortable. She put her hand on my arm and said in a low voice: "You fool, oh, you fool! That gun might have gone off, I - I might have killed you, Philip!" transmitter, my dear. He knew the transmitting frequency to the mainland last night. That was after he had - urn - given you a little something to drink and checked yourtransmitter before using the one up in the castle last night." Charlotte said to me: "I think you are the most devious and detestable and untrustworthy man I've ever met." Her eyes were shining, whether from tears or whatever I didn't know. I felt acutely embarra.s.sed and uncomfortable. She put her hand on my arm and said in a low voice: "You fool, oh, you fool! That gun might have gone off, I - I might have killed you, Philip!"

I patted her hand and said: "You don't even begin to believe that yourself." In the circ.u.mstances, I thought it better not to say if that gun had gone off I'd never have trusted a three-cornered file again.

The grey mist was slowly clearing away and the dawn coming up on the quiet dark sea when Tim Hutchinson eased the Firecrest Firecrest in towards Eilean Oran. in towards Eilean Oran.

There were only four of us on the boat, Hutchinson, myself, Mrs, MacEachern and Charlotte. I'd told Charlotte to find a bed in Dubh Sgeir castle for the night, but she'd simply ignored me, helped Mrs. MacEachern on to the Firecrest Firecrest and had made no move to go ash.o.r.e again. Very self-willed, she was, and I could see that this was going to cause a lot of trouble in the years to come. and had made no move to go ash.o.r.e again. Very self-willed, she was, and I could see that this was going to cause a lot of trouble in the years to come.

Uncle Arthur wasn't with us, a team of wild horses couldn't have dragged Uncle Arthur aboard the Firecrest Firecrest that night. Uncle Arthur was having his foretaste of Paradise, sitting hi front of a log fire in the Dubh Sgeir castle drawing-room, knocking back old Kirkside's superlative whisky and retailing his exploits to a breathless and spell-bound aristocracy. If I were lucky, maybe he'd mention my name a couple of times in the course of his recounting of the epic. On die other hand, maybe he wouldn't. that night. Uncle Arthur was having his foretaste of Paradise, sitting hi front of a log fire in the Dubh Sgeir castle drawing-room, knocking back old Kirkside's superlative whisky and retailing his exploits to a breathless and spell-bound aristocracy. If I were lucky, maybe he'd mention my name a couple of times in the course of his recounting of the epic. On die other hand, maybe he wouldn't.

Mrs. MacEachern wasn't having her foretaste of Paradise, she was there already, a calm dark old lady with a wrinkled brown face who smiled and smiled and smiled alt the way to her home on Eilean Oran, I -hoped to G.o.d old Donald MacEachern had remembered to change his shirt.