Shout at the Devil - Smith Wilbur - Страница 105

"That shelf." Kyller turned away from Sebastian and crossed the magazine. He went directly to the shelf on which Sebastian had placed his time charge, and he patted the cordite cylinders that Sebastian had handled. They were slightly awry. "Have it repacked immediately,"

said Kyller.

"Right away, sir," said the fat guard.

Again Kyller's eyes rested on Sebastian. It seemed that he was about to speak, then he changed his mind. He stooped through the doorway and disappeared.

Sebastian stood stony still, appalled by the order that Kyller had given. The fat guard grimaced sulkily.

"Christ, that one is a busy bastard." And he glared at the shelf."

He crossed to the cordite shelf "There's nothing wrong it and fiddled ineffectually. After a moment he asked the guard at the door, "Has

Kyller gone yet?"

"Yes. He's gone down the companionway into the sick,

bay.

"Good" grunted the fat one. "I'm damned if I'm going to waste half an hour repacking this whole batch." He hunched his shoulders, and screwed up his face with effort. There was a bagpipe squeal, and the guard relaxed and grinned.

"That one was for Lieutenant Kyller God bless him!" darkness was falling, and with it the temperature dropped a few degrees into the high eighties and created an illusion that the faint evening breeze was chilly. Sebastian hugged his cloak around his body, and shuffled along in the slow column of native labourers that dribbled over the side of the German battle cruiser into the waiting launches.

He was exhausted both in body and in mind from the strain of the day's labour in the magazine, so that he went down the catwalk and took his place in the whaler, moving in a state of stupor. When the boat shoved off and puttered up the channel towards the labour camp on the nearest island, Sebastian looked back at Blucher with the same dumb stare as the men who squatted beside him on the floorboards of the whaler. Mechanically he registered the fact that Commissioner

Fleischer's steam launch was tied up alongside the cruiser.

"Perhaps the fat swine will be aboard when the whole lot blows to hell," he thought wearily. "I can at least hope for that." He had no way of knowing who else Herman Fleischer had taken aboard the cruiser with him. Sebastian had been below decks toiling in the handling room of the magazine when the launch arrived from up-river, and Rosa

Oldsmith had been ushered up the catwalk by the Commissioner in person.

"Come along. We will take you to see the gallant captain of this fine ship." Fleischer puffed jovially as he mounted the steps behind her. "I am sure there are many interesting things that you can tell him." Bedraggled and exhausted with grief, pale with the horror of her father's death, and with cold hatred for the man who had engineered it, Rosa stumbled as she stepped from the catwalk on to the deck. Her hands were still bound in front of her so she could not check herself

She fell forward, letting herself fall uncaring, and with mild surprise felt hands hold and steady her.

She looked up at the man who had caught her, and in her confusion of mind she thought it was Sebastian. He was tall and dark and his hands were strong. Then she saw the peaked uniform cap with- its golden insignia, and she jerked away from him in revulsion.

"Ah! Lieutenant Kyller." Commissioner Fleischer spoke behind her.

"I have brought you a visitor a lovely lady."

"Who is she?" Kyller was appraising Rosa. Rosa could not understand a word that was spoken.

She stood in quiet acceptance, her whole body drooping.

"This..." answered" Fleischer proudly, is the most dangerous young lady in the whole of Africa. She is one of the leaders of the gang of

English bandits that raided the column bringing down the steel plate from Dares Salaam.

It was she who shot and killed your engineer. I captured her and her father this morning. Her father was the notorious O'Flynn."

"Where is he?" Kyller snapped.

"I hanged him."

"You hanged him? "demanded Kyller. "Without trial?"

"No trial was necessary."

"Without interrogating him?"

"I

brought in the woman for interrogation." Kyller was angry now, his voice crackled with it.

will leave it to Captain von Kleine to judge the wisdom of your actions," and he turned to Rosa; his eyes dropped to her hands, and,

with an exclamation of concern, he took her by the wrist.

"Commissioner Fleischer, how long has this woman been bound?"

Fleischer shrugged. "I could take no chances on her escaping."

"Look at this!" Kyller indicated Rosa's hands. They were Swollen, the fingers puffy and blue, sticking out stiffly, dead looking and useless.

"I could take no chances." Fleischer bridled at the implied criticism.

"Give me your knife," Kyller snapped at the petty officer in the barge of the gangway, and the man produced a large clasp knife. He opened it and handed it to the lieutenant.