He came to the fourth jeep, which had only one occupant.
'Corporal B-Butler?'
'Sir.' Butler gripped his Sten with one hand and saluted with the other. 'Sergeant Purvis sent me down ... to be your driver, sir.'
'Righty-ho. Climb aboard, then, Corporal.'
Butler stood his ground, at a loss to know how to say what had to be said.
'What's the m-matter, Corporal?' Audley sounded worried.
'Sir'—Butler despised himself—'I can't drive, sir.'
Audley sat back. 'Oh, is that all? Well, that's no problem—I'll drive. You come round this side and I'll move over.'
When they had rearranged themselves they sat in silence, Audley lounging comfortably, Butler sitting stiffly. He felt he ought somehow to apologise for his incapacity, except that apologies usually made things worse. Also it was possible that Audley already knew about his disgraceful performance of the Price, Anthony - [David Audley 08] - The '44 Vintage
previous night—from the tone of that first worried question and the relief implicit in his reaction to the answer that seemed more than likely.
The thought made him squirm inside with shame. Then his resolve hardened: if Audley didn't know it would be better to tell him—and if he did know there was nothing to be lost in the telling. 'Sir—'
'Yes, Corporal?'
'I got drunk last night, sir. On wine, sir.'
Audley was silent for a moment. 'Tricky stuff, wine.'
'Yes, sir.' Relief suffused Butler.
Audley was silent again. Then—'But you haven't drunk anything since last night?' he inquired casually.
'Sir?' Butler was puzzled by the question.
The young officer turned towards him. 'Have you had anything to drink this morning, Corporal?' he asked.
'No, sir.' Butler heard his own voice rise. 'Except water from my water bottle.'
'No wine?'
'Sir?' Butler frowned in the half-light. 'No, sir—of course not. I—I couldn't stand the sight of it.'
Puzzlement gave way to a quick, cold suspicion. 'Has someone—' he broke off, appalled and confused at the same time by the suspicion.
Audley looked away. 'No, I didn't somehow think you had been.' Then he turned again towards Butler.
'And . . . yes, Corporal Butler, someone has.'
They stared at each other in silence. Away somewhere, far to the north, there came a distant drone of aircraft engines.
'In fact, for the last hour I have been regaled with a c-catalogue of your . . . vices, Corporal,' continued Audley. 'Including a ... warning that you were probably on the b-bottle again by now.'
Butler was outraged. It was Corporal Jones, for sure it was Corporal Jones.
'That's a lie, sir,' he spluttered. 'A rotten lie!'
Price, Anthony - [David Audley 08] - The '44 Vintage
And it must have been Jones who had given Sergeant Purvis the bottle, too; which was a filthy trick, though perhaps understandable as revenge for what he'd done the night before. But what wasn't understandable—what was unforgiveable—was that Jones should then have betrayed him to an officer.
'Yes, I rather think it was,' said Audley.
The drone of the engines was louder now. And there was activity along the shadowy line of vehicles.
One of the men in the jeep just ahead of them had lifted a small, square box from the back of the vehicle.
He bent over it and for an instant his face was illuminated with a ghastly green light.
'Now that's interesting,' said Audley. 'Marker lamps.' He swivelled in his seat to stare up into the lightening sky. 'I think we have friends up above.'
The drone had turned into a steady beat. It seemed to come slightly from the right now, but as the green lamps went on it appeared to turn towards them.
In a flash Butler understood. 'The river's just ahead of us, sir,' he said. 'They're going to cover the sound of our engines with the plane, I think, sir.'
Someone in the distance shouted 'Start up!' and the call was taken up ahead of them.
'I think you're right, Corporal,' said Audley. 'Full marks. And it is rather comforting to know that somebody's got himself properly organised.'
'That'll be Major O'Conor, sir,' said Butler.
'Yes, I think you're right again. The major did strike me as being'— Audley started the jeep—'a downy
