Dark Side of the Street - Jack Higgins [54]
"Well, I'll be damned," he said, looking down into Vaughan's unconscious face as he sprawled on the deck. "Our old friend Dr. Mackenzie."
"Or Smith or whatever his name is," Chavasse said. "He was just coming out of Bragg's place. I thought it might be nice to ask him along for the ride."
"Stick him in one of the cabins for now," Youngblood advised. "We can have words later. I won't be happy till we're out of here. Molly can give you a hand."
Chavasse went down the companionway holding Vaughan under the armpits and Molly took his feet. They put him on a bunk in one of the three cabins and Chavasse found a length of cord and tied his wrists and ankles securely.
When he turned from locking the door, the girl looked pale and wan as if suddenly, everything was too much for her and he put a hand on her shoulder.
"There should be a galley along here somewhere. Why don't you make us some coffee?"
She brightened a little as if this was something she could at least understand and moved along the passageway. Chavasse watched her go, a frown on his face. A lot had happened and so fast that he'd had little time to speculate about the outcome of things. But what about the girl for whom the events of the past couple of days must have seemed like some dark nightmare? What on earth was going to happen to her? However things turned out she was in for a whole lot of heartbreak.
The poor ugly little bitch. He turned with a sigh and went up the companionway as the Pride of Man drifted away from the side of the jetty.
The wind had increased, scattering the rain in silver clouds through the navigation lights and when he went into the wheelhouse, Harry Youngblood turned and grinned at him, his head disembodied in the light of the binnacle.
"Here we go," he said with a grin and boosted power suddenly, taking the Pride of Man round in a long sweeping curve and out through the harbour mouth.
The masthead started to buck as they met the swell and spray scattered across the windows. A couple of points to starboard, the red and green navigation lights of a steamer were visible and Youngblood reduced speed to ten knots and they pushed on into the dark.
"Everything all right?" Chavasse said.
"Bloody marvellous!" There was sheer delight in Youngblood's voice. "This is the life, eh? With any kind of luck we should have a clear run."
It was just coming up to midnight when Chavasse went below to check on Vaughan. When he opened the door and switched on the light, he was at once conscious of the dark eyes staring at him fixedly.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"How do you expect me to feel?" Vaughan said in a surprisingly strong voice. "The back of my skull crushed in or something very close to it and blood all over my best shirt."
"You're breaking my heart." Chavasse pulled Vaughan into a sitting position and took the mug of coffee that Molly handed to him. "Drink this."
Vaughan swallowed, then gasped. "It'll never replace tea. From the motion, I presume we're on our way across the Channel?"
"That's right."
"What time is it?"
"Round about midnight--why?"
Vaughan started to laugh weakly. "Which means we've passed the point of no return."
Chavasse frowned. "What in the hell are you talking about?"
"It's really rather ironic," Vaughan said. "You see I knew you were on your way to Upton Magna because I had words with friend Pentecost after you'd left."
"And you beat us to it? Bragg was putting on an act, wasn't he?"
"I'm afraid so. I stuck a limpet mine to the hull just before ten o'clock, timed to blow you all to hell in exactly four hours."
"You included."
"To be perfectly honest, that wasn't in the plan at all."
Chavasse untied his ankles and pulled him off the bunk. "Up on the deck and be quick about it."
The Pride of Man was lifting well over the heavy swell that scattered spray in a great cascading sheet as they moved along the deck to the wheel-house. Youngblood turned in surprise as Chavasse pushed Vaughan in ahead of him.
"What's all this?"