Part 5 (2/2)
”You are very kind, major,” she murmured, and crossed to the handset of the telephone
”This is Miss Ca the royal suite for me Please have a servant move his clothes to alternative accoasped Gareth, and she covered the mouthpiece and smiled at hier's voice ”Oh dear,” she said ”Well, if that's the only room you have vacant, it will just have to do then, I am sure the major has experienced more uncomfortable billets” When Gareth saw the room that was now his, he tried honestly to remember humbler and less comfortable billets
The Chinese prison in Mukden had been cooler and not placed directly over the boisterous uproar of the public bar, and the front line dugout during the winter of 1917 at Arras had been more spacious and better furnished
The next three days Gareth Swales spent at the harbour, drinking tea and whisky in the office of the harbourout with the pilot toin a ricksha along the wharf to speak with the skippers of dhows and Tuggers, rusty old coal-burners and neater, newer oil, burners, or rowing about the harbour in a hired ferry to hail the vessels that lay at anchor in the roads
His evenings he spent plying Victoria Cane for all of which she seemed to have an insatiable appetite and cohed with hiht excused herself prettily, and nimbly side-stepped his efforts to press her to his snowy shi+rt-front or get a foot in the door of the royal suite
By thea little discouraged He thought of taking a bucket of Tusker out to Jake's caenial co to adht off the temptation and took his usual ricksha ride down to the harbour
During the night a new vessel had anchored in the outer roads and Gareth exah his binoculars She was salt-fir ned and dirty, (Id and scarred with a dark nondescript hull and a ragged crew, but Gareth saw that her rigging was sound and that although she was schooner rigged with masts which could spread a mass of canvas, yet she had propeller drive at the stern probably she had been converted to take a diesel engine under the high poop She looked the most likely prospect he had yet seen in the harbour and Gareth ran down the steps to the ferry and exuberantly tipped the oarse the vessel seemed even more disreputable than she had at a distance The paintwork proved to be afroements were aboard The sides were zebra-striped with human excre was tight and sound beneath the execrable paint cover, and her bottoh the clear water, was clean copper and free of the usual fuzzy green beard of weed Also her rigging ell set up and all sheets had the bright yellow colour and resilient took of new hemp The name on her stern was in Arabic and French, HirondeUe, and she was Seychelles registered
Gareth wondered at her purpose, for she was certainly a ringer, a thoroughbredbronze propeller would drive her handily, and the hull itself looked fast and sea-kindly
Then as he caside he smelled her, and knew precisely what she was He had s humanity before in the China Sea He had heard it said that it was an odour that could never be scoured fro salt water would cleanse it They said that on a dark night, the patrol boats could smell a slaver from over the horizon
Aslaves would be unlikely to baulk at adecided Gareth, and hailed her
”Ahoy, HirondeLle!” The response was hostile, the closed dark faces of the ragged crew stared down at the ferry They were a ro and there was no answer to his hail
Standing in the ferry, Gareth cupped his hands to his ance that assuain
”I want to speak to your captain” Now there was a stir under the poop and a white man came to the rail He arthy, darkly sunburned and so short that his head barely showed above the gunwale
”What you want? You police, hey?” Gareth guessed he was Greek or Armenian he wore a dark patch over one eye, and the effect was theatrical The good eye was bright and stony as water-washed agate
”No police!” Gareth assured him ”No trouble,” and produced the whisky bottle from his coat pocket and waved it airily
The Captain leaned out over the rail and peered closely at Gareth
Perhaps he recognized the twinkle in the eye and the jaunty piratical smile that Gareth flashed up at him It often takes one to know one
Anyway, he seemed to reach a decision and he snapped an order in Arabic A rope ladder tumbled down the side
”Co to hide
On this leg of his voyage he carried only a cargo of baled cotton goods froe this here at Dares Salaa northwards to reat horn of Africa, there to take on hisas the e suirls of the Danakil and Galla, men like this would brave the British warshi+ps and patrol boats to supply theether and talk about reeted the Captain ”My name is Swales Major Swales” The Captain had trained his oiled black hair into a queue that hung down his back He seee
”My narinned for the first time
”And the talk of money is sweet like music” He held out his hand
Gareth and Vicky Caifts
”This is a surprise,” Jake greeted the set with the torch still flaring in his hand ”I thought you two had eloped”
”Business first, pleasure later” Gareth handed Vicky down fro hard” J can see that You look really worn out with your labours” Jake doused the welding torch and accepted the bucket of Tusker beer He broached two bottles -i the other to his own lips He wore only a pair of greasy khaki shorts
When he lowered it, he grinned ”But, what the hell, I was dying of thirst and so I forgive you”
”You have saved our lives, Major Swales and Miss Ca, and saluted them with the de wed bottle
”What on earth is this?” Gareth turned to inspect the , and Jake patted it proudly
”It's a raft” He circled the co of ti its finer features with the half-empty beer bottle
”Ar beach It's unlikely ill be able to get within a hundred yards of the shore We'll float the of Jake's shoulders and arms, at the flat belly and the dark pelt of hair that covered his chest, but Gareth was fascinated by the crudely constructed raft
”I was going to talk to you about landing the cars, and suggest so like this,” Gareth said, and Jake lifted an eyebrow at him in disbelief
”All we must make sure of is that the vessel that lands us has a derrick strong enough to swing the cars outboard”
”What do they weigh?”
”Five tons each”
”Fine, the HirondeUe can handle that”
”The Hirondelle?”
”The vessel that's transporting us”
”So you have been working”
Jake laughed ”I would never have believed it of you When do we sail?”
”Dawn, the day after to to advertise our cargo and ill sail at first light”
”That doesn't give me much time to teach Miss Camberwell to drive one of the cars” Jake turned to her now, and once again felt the thrill of looking into those speckled eyes of green and gold ”I' I've got plenty of at the moment” For Vicky the interlude in Dares Salaam had served to rest her tired and strained nerves her previous assign She had spent the last few days exploring the ancient port and writing a two-thousand-word filler on its origins and history She had enjoyed Gareth Swales's attentions and the by-play of avoiding hisaware of Jake Barton's sh, dangerous and forceful ht, and s Gareth Swales bridle and ive Vicky a bit of instruction on the jolly old machines, don't want to take you off important work” Vicky did not turn her head, but went on s at Jake