When Eight Bells Toll

'Calvert is just guessing at my part in this,' he said dully.

'For God's sake!' I said. 'You knew those customs officers were bogus. You knew they had no photo-copier with them. You knew their only object in coming aboard was to .locate and smash that set - and locate any other we might have. You knew they couldn't have gone back to 'the mainland in that launch - it was too rough. The launch, was, in fact, thetender - which is why you left without lights - and no launch left the harbour after your departure. We'd have heard it. The only life we saw after that was when they switched on their lights in the Shangri-la's wheelhouse to smash up their own radio - one of their own radios, I should have said. And how did you know the telephone lines were down in the Sound? You knew they were down, but why did you say the Sound? Because you knew they had been cut there. Then, yesterday morning, when I asked you if there was any hope of 'the lines being repaired, you said no. Odd. One would have thought that you would have told the customs boys going back to the mainland to contact the G.P.O. at once. But you knew they weren't going hack there. And your two sons, Sergeant, the boys supposed to be dead, you forgot to 'close their accounts. Because you knew they weren't dead.'

'I forgot about the accounts,' MacDonald said slowly. 'And all the other points - I'm afraid I'm not good at this sort of thing.' He looked at 'Uncle Arthur. 'I know this is the end of the road for me. They said they would kill my boys, sir.'

'If you will extend us your full co-operation,' Uncle Arthur said precisely, 'I will personally see to it that you remain the Torbay police sergeant until you're falling over your beard. Who are ' they'?'

'The only men I've seen is a fellow called Captain Imrie and the two customs men - Durran and Thomas. Durran's real name is Quinn. I don't know the others' names. I usually met them in my house, after dark. I've been out to the Shangri-la only twice. To see Imrie.'

'And Sir Anthony Skouras?'

'I don't know.' MacDonald shrugged helplessly. 'He's a good man, sir, he really is. Or I thought so. Maybe he is mixed up in this. Anyone can fall into bad company. It's very strange, sir.'

'Isn't it?  And what's been your part in this?'

'There's been funny things happening in this area in the past months. Boats have vanished. People have vanished. Fishermen have had their nets torn, in harbour, and yacht engines have been mysteriously damaged, also in harbour. This is when Captain Imrie wants to prevent certain boats from going certain places at the wrong time.'

'And your part is to investigate with great diligence anda total lack of success,' Uncle Arthur nodded. 'You must be invaluable to them, Sergeant. A man with your record and character is above suspicion. Tell me, Sergeant, what are they up to?'

'Before God, sir, I have no idea.'

'You're totally in  the  dark?'

'Yes, sir.'

'1 don't doubt it. This is the way the very top men operate. And you will have no idea where your boys are being held?'

'No, sir.'

'How do you know they're alive?'

'I was taken out to the Shangri-la three weeks ago. My sons had been brought there from God only knows where. They were well.'

'And are you really so naive as to believe that your sons will be well and will be returned alive when all this is over? Even although your boys will be bound to know who their captors are and would be available for testimony and identification if the time came for that?'

'Captain Imrie said they would come to no harm. If I co-operated. He said that only fools ever used unnecessary violence.'

'You are convinced, then, they wouldn't go to the length of murder?'

'Murder!   What are you talking about, sir?'

'Calvert?'

'Sir?'

'A large whisky for the sergeant.'

'Yes, sir.' When it came to lashing out with my private supplies Uncle Arthur was generous to a fault. Uncle Arthur paid no entertainment allowance. So I poured the sergeant a large whisky and, seeing that bankruptcy was inevitable anyway, did the same for myself. Ten seconds later the sergeant's glass was empty. I took his arm and led him to the engine-room. When we came back to the saloon in a minute's time the sergeant needed no persuading to accept another glass. His face was pale.

'I told you that Calvert carried out a helicopter reconnaissance to-day,' Uncle Arthur said conversationally. 'What I didn't tell you was that his pilot was murdered this evening. I didn't tell you -that two other of my best agents have been killed in the last sixty hours. And now, as you've just seen) Hunslett. Do you still believe, Sergeant, that we are dealingwith a bunch of gentlemanly law-breakers to whom human life is sacrosanct?'

'What do you warn me to do, sir?' Colour was back in the brown cheeks again and the eyes were cold and hard and a little desperate.

'You and Calvert will take Hunslett ashore to your office. You will call in the doctor and ask for an official post- mortem

-  we must have an official cause of death.   For the trial. The other dead men are probably beyond recovery.  You will then row out to the Shangri-la and tell Imrie that we brought Hunslett and the other man - the Italian - to your office. You will tell them that you heard us say that we must go to the mainland for new depth-sounding equipment and for armed help and that we can't be back for two days at least. Do you know