accusations which would ruin his reputation as a medical man.
You were told that someone would take steps to verify your
vilifications, but that was not good enough for you. You cleared
Papeete with the stated intention of sailing westward, but instead you
went to Tanakabu.” I listened in silence, in spite of my resolve.
“You got to Tanakabu and evidently had a quarrel with Schouten and you
murdered him. To cover your tracks you set fire to his house, and the
entire hospital caught fire resulting in many deaths. Your crew is
implicated in this as well – you are all guilty men.” I blinked and
sank down in the chair, stunned by the rage in his voice and the whole
messy situation. a ma a very fast return trip to Papeete and as far as
I knew there were no radio-telephones on Tanakabu, so there was only
one way the police could know what had happened. I seized on a couple
of things he had said and decided to make the best use of them that I
could.
“Can it be that you don’t know exactly how many were killed? Have you
had any direct contact with the island?” I asked rapidly. I didn’t
know how much time I would have before he had me silenced.
He hesitated and I knew I was on the right track. “M “How did you get
the information? Was it, a man called Hadley – off a ship called the
Pearl?” That went straight to the mark – a bullseye. He coughed,
oddly hesitant, and said, “I do not see that it makes any difference,
but you are correct. Mr Hadley described the!
reign of terror on Tanakabu very circumstantially. He state ..
that he barely escaped with his own life and that you attempted to run
his ship down.” Good! I had him on the defensive already. It was I
who should be doing the talking, not he. I sensed already the faintest
thread of doubt in his voice and pressed on.
“You say I “evidently” quarrelled with Dr Schouten. What evidence” is
there? I left him after a long talk, none the worse for it. There was
a witness to that, an islander called Piro. He drove me from my
ship.
He will also attest that we came to save the hospital when it was
already burning-and sol will many others there. You have no right to
arrest me. Or any’ of us!” He was listening intently and did not
interrupt me. Behind me the policemen stood like statues. I didn’t
understand why things were going my way but I was feeling stronger by
the minute.
u study that file, M – Chamant? You’ve got it “Why don’t you go down
in black and white – Hadley was the man who is supposed to have found
my brother, but whom I say was his murderer – and Schouten told me
so.
I can’t prove that now, but I can prove everything else.” I remembered
another fact and produced it triumphantly.
“took photographs. Develop my film. it will tell you everything.”
“M.
Trevelyan, I am listening carefully. Of course we will check your
camera, and we have already sent a police patrol boat to Tanakabu. But
you still have a great deal to explain,” and you are not yet released
from arrest.” I said, “I’ve got plenty to tell you!
That damned bastard and, his mate Kane – they’re the ones you want.
They murdered Sven Norgaard, they murdered my brother, they murdered
that poor bloody Schouten and they killed fourteen patients in his
hospital – burnt them alive, do you hear – they burnt those poor
wretches alive!” Chamant was gesturing to the two policemen who heaved
on my shoulders. I had lost all restraint in my anger, and was trying
to climb over the table in my frenzy of trying to make Chamant see the
truth. I slumped back, shaking a little and fighting for
self-control.
There was silence for a moment as we all contemplated my words.
“Where is Hadley now?” I asked him, trying to stay on the offensive.
He regarded me closely in silence still, then nodded gravely. He gave
instructions to one of the men in rapid French, and the officer left
the room smartly. Then he looked at me. “I am not yet ready to
believe you. But we will speak again with M. Hadley, I assure you.
Meantime, I ask you to explain this, if you can.” He pointed to a
small box on a side-table and one of the remaining policemen brought it
to his desk. Opened, it revealed four guns and a little pile of boxes
of ammunition. I recognized two of the guns immediately.
“Four guns with enough ammunition to start a war, M.
Trevelyan. Not a cargo for a peaceful ship, a scientific
expedition.”
“Where did you find them?” But I could guess, and I was troubled.
This was going to set back the progress I’d made.
“Three in the cabin of your M. Campbell. One in the possession of M.
Wilkins, your captain.” I made a weak gesture. There didn’t seem to
be much to say.
“You have seen them before?” I said, “Yes, two of them. Mr Campbell
gave me that one when we discovered that Kane had gone from our ship.
I must tell you the whole story, in sequence you understand.
This other one he had himself. But-‘ “But?” “Neither of us fired a
shot! If you exhume Schouten you’ll see he was shot three times, I
think.”
“Only the other two were fired.” “Yes, on our ship – when Hadley was
getting away. We did try to ram him, to stop him – to bring him to
justice.” That phrase sounded melodramatic enough even for a Frenchman
to gag on it, I thought.
“You will tell me the story.” So I did, leaving out all references to
our search for manganese nodules, to Ramirez and Suarez-Navaffo. I
thought that made it all far too complicated. I said only that Hadley,
once chartering a boat for my brother and Norgaard, had quarrelled with
them for reasons unknown, had murdered both of them and had implicated
the Dutch doctor in his crime. I had come to seek the truth and had
run into a hornet’s nest. It was circumstantial and very tidy. He
made notes from time to time but said little.
When I finished he said, “You will write all this down and sign it,
please. I am going to allow you to return to your ship, but you will
see that you and all your crew are confined to quarters on board.
There will be a police guard.” He was interrupted by the return of the
officer he had sent out, who came straight to his side and whispered
agitatedly to him. They both got up to look out of the window and went
on speaking in urgent undertones, in French. And somehow I guessed
what they were talking about.
“It’s Hadley, isn’t it? He turned to face me.
“You’ve let him get away, haven’t you? You’ve let that murderous thug
walk out of here!” He nodded heavily – “Yes, he has apparently left.
You must understand that there was no reason to hold him, after he
placed the information and made a deposition. We would not expect him
to leave here – it is his home port.” Something about the way he spoke
told me that he was deeply troubled, to the point of forgetting that he
was speaking to a man under arrest. I could guess why. Hadley was
surely known here as a tough and a trouble-maker. The police may well
have had him under surveillance already, for his connections with Mark
and Norgaard, and for all I knew for a score of other things. And in
letting him get away M.
Chamant had blotted his own copybook rather badly. I was furious and
exultant at the same time.
He got himself in hand and gave instructions to take me back to
Esmerelda, and I was only too happy to go. House arrest seemed
insignificant compared to being locked up in a cell. I went on board
and was not particularly bothered by the sight of armed police dotted
about, a couple on deck and more on the quayside, and a little knot of
spectators shifting about as if waiting for a show to begin. In fact I
managed a grin and a half-wave at them as I was ushered below, to their
delight iind the guard’s disapproval.
There was a babble of voices at my return and the same air of tense
expectancy as on the dockside, only here it was tinged with anxiety and
bafflement. They all crowded around me and started firing questions.
“Wait up!” I held them off goodnaturedly. “Plenty of time too much,
if anything. First, I want a wash-up and about a gallon of coffee and