Jack Higgins – Wrath of the Lion 1964 The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God. WILLIAM BLAKE

“He’s remarkably talented,” de Beaumont said. “He’ll make a name for himself with little difficulty.”

The General turned his head as Jagbir came in and handed round drinks from a tray. “Any sign of Mr. Mallory yet?”

“No, General.”

The General opened a silver box at his elbow and took out a long black cheroot. “I wonder what’s happened to him?”

“Probably something to do with the boat,” Anne said. “And he is walking, remember.”

De Beaumont fitted a cigarette into a silver holder and said carefully, “Have you known him long?”

Hamish Grant shook his head. “Anne picked him up in Southampton. As a matter of fact, he got her out of a rather nasty scrape.”

“And this is the basis upon which you hired him?”

“His papers were all in order. He’d only just signed off a tanker from Tampico a day or so before. Why do you ask?”

De Beaumont stood up, paced restlessly across to the French windows and turned. “This is really most difficult for me. I don’t want you to think that I am interfering, yet on the other hand I feel that I should speak.”

“You know something about him?” the General said. “Something to his discredit?”

De Beaumont came back to his chair and sat down. You’re aware, of course, that during the latter part of my army career I was commanding officer of a parachute regiment in Algeria. During the first few months of 1959 I was seconded to the general staff in Algiers and placed in charge of military security.”

“How does this concern Mallory?”

“We kept a special file on people who were thought to be working for the F.L.N. or the various other nationalist or-ganisations. Neil Mallory was in that file. He was captain of a sea-going motor-yacht berthed in Tangiers. He was a smuggler, engaged in the extremely profitable business of running contraband tobacco into Spain and Italy. He was also thought to be running guns for the F.L.N.”

Hamish Grant emptied his glass, placed it carefully down on the table at his elbow and shrugged. “In other words he was a tough, rather unscrupulous young man who’d make a pound wherever there was one to be made. You’ve told me nothing I hadn’t already worked out for myself.” He pushed his glass across to Anne. Tour me another, my dear.”

“It was the years before Tangiers I found most interesting when I read this file,” de Beaumont said. “That’s why I re-called him so easily. Remember a book you loaned me about a year ago? A War Office manual entitledA New Concept of Revolutionary Warfare? You told me it had been written by a brilliant young officer in 1953 during the months following his release from a Chinese prison camp in Korea. I believe it caused quite a stir at the time.”

The General stiffened, one hand tightening on the handle of his walking-stick. “God in heaven,” he said, “Mallory! Lieutenant-Colonel Neil Mallory.”

“What was it they called him after that unpleasantness in Malaya?” de Beaumont said gently. “The Butcher of Perak?”

The glass into which Anne Grant was at that moment pouring whisky splintered sharply against the floor. She stood gazing fixedly at de Beaumont, a puzzled expression on her face, then crossed quickly to her father-in-law.

“What does he mean?”

Hamish Grant patted her hand..You’re sure it’s the same man?”

De Beaumont shrugged. “The circumstances can hardly be coincidental, Admittedly, until today I had only seen his photograph, but it’s a distinctive face. Not the sort one forgets easily.”

“But what is it, Hamish?” Anne demanded.

De Beaumont was clearly embarrassed. “Perhaps it would be better if I went. Forgive me for having cast a shadow on what otherwise has been a truly delightful evening, but as a friend I felt that I had no choice but to tell you what I knew of this man.”

.You were quite right.” Hamish Grant got to his feet. “I’m very grateful to you. We’ll see you again soon, I hope?”

“But of course.”

The General sat down again and de Beaumont and Anne moved into the hall. “I’ll get Jagbir to run you down to the jetty in the station wagon,” she said.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *