alistairmaclean.bearisland-第35部分

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