Nothing happened – I had forgotten to release the safety catch.
Campbell squatted in a half-crouch and took aim with his curious
pistol, then straightened up and shook his head.
“Too far. I wish I had a rifle “But we can’t let them get away,” I
raged.
Campbell shook me roughly by the arm. “Come on!” I took one last look
at the boat disappearing into the darkness in the direction of the
schooner Pearl and then raced up the beach after the others, who had
already dispersed to’ join the rest of our crew from the launch. I
heard someone shouting. “You can’t put those fires out – save the
people!” and I ran across to Schouten’s house.
it was no use. The place was enveloped in fire, a roaring mass of
flames shooting up fifty feet into the night sky. I wondered if it was
Schouten’s funeral pyre, and whether he had been mercifully dead when
the fires started.
I ran round the house to see what it was like at the back and stumbled
across a woman sitting in the path. I recovered my balance and looked
back to see that she was cradling Schouten’s head in her lap. Her
wails rose above the crackle of the flames. “Aaaah, le pauvre docteur,
lepauvre docteur!” I bent down and saw that her dress was scorched and
torn.
She had probably dragged Schouten’s body from the house’.
When she saw me she gave a cry, scrambled to her feet and ran away
screaming into the darkness beyond the hospital.
She must have thought I was one of Hadley’s bunch.
I dropped to one knee beside Schouten. He wasn’t a pretty sight
because he had been shot through the head more than once. His jaw was
torn away and there was a small blue hole in the left temple. The
right temple was gone – there was a Tagged gap big en enough to hold a
fist and his brains were leaking out onto the path.
I rose and stumbled away, catching on to a tree for support.
Then I vomited my guts out until I was weak and trembling, pouring
sweat.
I had barely recovered when Nick Dugan rushed up to me, his face
blackened with smoke, and took my arm to help me to my feet. “You all
right?” “I’ll – do.” “Look, Mike – there’s the Esmerelda. They’ve
been quick.” I looked across the water and saw Pearl getting under way
and, beyond her, Esmerelda coming up at a hell of a lick under power,
her bow wave flecked red by the reflections from the burning shore.
Pearl was still moving slowly and I could see from the changing angle
of
Esmerelda’s bow that Ian meant to try and stop her by coming hard
alongside or even ramming.
But the schooner was picking up speed under her engine and slid out
from Esmerelda’s threatening bows. Ian changed course again to
converge but just at the moment of impact Pearl seemed to spin
smartly
sideways and Esmerelda’s bowsprit only grazed her side. As the two
ships passed one another there was a fusillade of shots from Pearl and
an answering staccato rattle from our ship. I wondered who had guns
and who was using them.
Then Pearl was safely out of reach, heading across the lagoon for the
pass in the reef, tights springing up on board as she went.
Esmerelda gave up the chase and turned towards the shore, and I heard
her engines stop. Saving the hospital had priority and it was too
dangerous to follow the fleeing schooner in the dark.
They’d got clean away.
Dawn revealed chaos. Trickles of smoke still spiralled skywards from
the gutted buildings and the patients – the survivors huddled together
on the beach with friends and the remaining hospital staff.
Piro had done a count, and the death roll numbered fourteen, not
counting Schouten himself.
We were all weary, scorched and depressed.
Campbell looked about him at the scene of that damned atrocity and his
face was grey. “The bastards,” he said savagely. “The murdering
sons-of-bitches. I’ll see them hanged for this.” “Not if I get them
first,” I said.
We were crouched over a couple of benches with hot coffee’ in our
hands, brought ashore from the brigantine. We didn’t have enough on
board to provide adequately for everyone but we had distributed what we
could, and the villagers had brought food of their own for the shocked
survivors. The few men whom Schouten had trained were performing
heroic feats of first aid but much more was needed. And we had,
received a bad shock of our own – the morning light revealed that our
ship’s radio had been smashed, presumably by Kane before he jumped
ship. There was no way to send for help, save by going for it in
person. Ian, who had done wonders by bringing Esmerelda down the coast
at night, was castigating himself for.not having the radio guarded, but
we persuaded him that itwouldn’t have been thought necessary at the
time.
I hadn’t even been on board to see Geordie yet, though I was assured
that he was doing all right, if still confined to his bunk.
Campbell said, can’t see Suarez-Navarro going in for this.
They’re a rotten crowd, as I’ve told you, but this is unbelievable.” I
wasn’t impressed. “Know any English history?” His head jerked up.
“What’s that got to do with it? “There was an English king Henry II, I
think it was – who had a bishop as his conscience, Thomas A Becket.
The legend is that the king was at dinner one day and said, “Will no
one rid me of this turbulent priest?” So four of his knights went off
and murdered Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.” I scraped with my foot
in the sand. “When the king found out he was horrified. He abased
himself before the Church and did his penances – but he came out on
top, after all – he didn’t have Becket on his back any more.” I
pointed to the burnt-out hospital. “Suarez-Navarro have a board
meeting and some plump, stuffy director says, “I wish we could do
something about Campbell and this interfering chap Trevelyan.” So
someone like Ramirez goes out and does something, and if everything
gets done – and Campbell and Trevelyan get stopped – he gets a bonus
paid with no questions asked. And the dividends of Suarez-Navarro pile
up, and that director would faint if he saw a cut finger so he doesn’t
enquire too closely into how the job was done in case he gets sick to
the stomach.” “But they didn’t attack us.” “Not directly. This has
more Hadley’s trademark, sadistic revenge in the meanwhile. But don’t
think we’re not in danger now.” Campbell looked up the beach to the
patients sitting in their forlorn group. He said slowly, “Then this
wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t come here.” There was a coppery
taste in my mouth. “No. Schouten was afraid of what would happen, and
I told him he’d be all right. I said he’d be protected. What a bloody
mess I’ve made of everything.” We both fell silent. There was too
much that could be said.
Clare came along the beach towards us, carrying a first aid kit.
She looked drawn and pensive, but I was more attracted to her than
ever. I would have liked to take her in my arms but something
prevented me and she guessed my intention and saw why I couldn’t carry
it out.
“Mike, your hands are burnt raw. I’ll bandage them.” I looked at my
hands. I hadn’t really noticed before but now they were beginning to
hurt.
She got busy with my hands and spoke with her head down as she
worked.
“Pop, I guess this is where you get busy with your cheque book.” I
said harshly, “A cheque book isn’t going to bring fifteen people back
to life.” “You men are damned fools,” she said and her voice was
angry.
“What’s done, is done, and you didn’t do it, though I guess you’re both
blaming yourselves. But the hospital is gone, and what’s going to
happen to the poor people here?
Somebody has to do something – we can’t just go away and say, Well, we
didn’t start the fire, even if it’s true.” “I’m sorry, Clare,” I
said.
“But what can we do?” Campbell dug his hands deep into his pockets.
“There’ll be another hospital – a good one. And doctors, and good
equipment. I’ll endow the whole damned thing.” His voice became
harder.
“But Suarez-Navarro will pay for it one way or another.” He walked
away down the beach as Clare smeared a cool emulsion on my hands.
“What’s that stuff ?” I asked. I had to discuss something less
painful, though my throbbing hands weren’t the best choice of subject
in that case.
“Tannic acid jelly. It’s good for burns.” I said,”No one else has had