Good Christ! whispered Nick, as he saw the cliff of ice begin to change
shape. Slowly sagging outwards, it seemed to fold down upon itself.
Faster and still faster it fell, and the hissing splinters of bursting
ice formed a dense swirling cloud, while the cliff leaned further and
further beyond its point of equilibrium and at last collapsed and lifted
pressure waves from the green waters that raced out one behind the
other, flinging Warlock's bows high as she rode them and then nosed down
into the troughs between.
Since Nick's oath, nobody had spoken on the bridge.
They clutched for balance at the nearest support and stared in awe at
that incredible display of careless might, while the water still churned
and creamed with the disturbance and pieces of broken jagged ice, some
the size of a country house, bobbed to the surface and revolved slowly,
finding their balance as they swirled and bumped against each other.
Closer/ snapped Nick. Get as close as you can. Of - the yellow
life-raft there was no longer any sign.
jagged shards of ice had ripped open its fragile skin and the grinding,
tumbling lumps had trodden it and its pitiful human cargo deep beneath
the surface.
Closer, urged Nick. If by a miracle anybody had survived that
avalanche, then they had four minutes left of life, and Nick pushed
Warlock into the still rolling and broiling mass of broken ice - pushing
it open with ice strengthened bows.
Nick flung open the bridge doors beside him and stepped out into the
freezing air of the open wing. He ignored the cold, buoyed up by new
anger and frustration. He had paid the highest price to make this
rescue, he had given up his chance at Golden Adventurer for the lives of
a handful of strangers, and now at this last moment, they had been
snatched away from him. His sacrifice had been in vain, and the
terrible waste of it all appalled him. Because there was no other
outlet for his feelings, he let waves of anger sweep over him and he
shouted at David Allen's little group on the fore-dec.
Keep your eyes open. I want those people! Red caught his eye, a flash
of vivid red, seen through the green water, becoming brighter and more
hectic as it rose to the surface.
Both engines half astern, he screamed. And Warlock stopped dead as the
twin propellers changed pitch and bit into the water, pulling her up in
less than her own length.
in a small open area of green water the red object broke out.
Nick saw a human head in a red anorak hood, supported by the thick
inflated life-jacket. The head was thrown back, exposing a face as
white and glistening with wetness as the deadly ice that surrounded it.
The face was that of a young boy, smooth and beardless, and quite
incredibly beautiful.
Get him! Nick yelled, and at the sound of his voice the eyes in that
beautiful face opened. Nick saw they were a musty green and unnaturally
large in the, glistening pale oval framed by the crimson hood.
David Allen was racing back, carrying life-ring and line.
Hurry. God damn you., The boy was still alive, and Nick wanted him. He
wanted him as fiercely as he had wanted anything in his life, he wanted
