Halfhyde Outward Bound

not falling back. As the days passed towards the Australian landfall, he was ever there, their constant companion. There was no exchange of signals between the ships; they might have been total strangers, merely following the same course. Halfhyde lifted a telescope towards the German cruiser, as though even a distant sight of the ship could give him some clue as to what von Merkatz intended to do. The German would face any amount of difficulties if he continued the chase, not least among them a need to watch his bunkers. Coal didn’t last for ever; and it might be possible, if the naval authorities at Garden Island in Port Jackson could be contacted and told a thing or two, for bunkering facilities to be refused in all Australian ports. Then von Merkatz would be in a nasty jam, with much to explain away to the German naval command in Kiel. And what, in all conscience, could he hope to do about achieving his objective of getting Halfhyde aboard his ship? Most certainly the Australian authorities would not connive at that, and once the Tacoma was in port…on the other hand, if the coast of Queensland offered anonymity to McRafferty’s passenger and his haul of diamonds, then it also offered a high degree of opportunity to von Merkatz in regard to his own quarry.

Halfhyde lowered the telescope, snapped it shut and turned to Graves. He said, “I believe you may be standing into danger, sir.”

Graves cocked an eye at him. “You don’t mean navigationally, of course.”

“Yes.” Halfhyde put forward his anxieties about the area of the Brisbane River and the southern fringes of the Great Barrier Reef. “I would put nothing past Admiral von Merkatz—that’s where the danger lies. If it suits his purpose, he’ll not hesitate to put your ship in hazard off the Reef.”

Graves laughed. He said in mock reproof, “You, of course, never once thought of doing the same thing to his ships!”

“Touché!” Halfhyde returned the smile. “But at least I’m British!” he added, tongue in cheek.

“A somewhat chauvinistic sentiment, surely?”

“Yes. It’s a legacy from one Captain Watkiss under whom I served on a number of different occasions. Captain Watkiss was a very patriotic officer, one who often expressed his view that it was unfortunate that foreigners couldn’t all be British. I confess I often found myself appreciating his point.”

BULLOCK HAD had a word with Jesson. Jesson was not going to be taken to Sydney; he was putting his head into no noose. “Try McRafferty again,” he said. “I’m willing to pay more.”

“I’ve told him that. It’s no use. He’s made up his mind and that’s that. There’s no one more obstinate than McRafferty when he wants to be.”

“Right, then,” Jesson said harshly. “There’s only one thing we can do, isn’t there?”

Bullock looked at him narrowly. “What’s that?”

“You take the ship north for Queensland.”

“How?”

Jesson snapped, “By taking over command.”

“I can’t do that!”

“You can if I say so,” Jesson said.

“Only by using force on McRafferty. And once I do that, I’d never get another berth. No, you can count me out.” Bullock spoke with determination. “I’m not taking part in anything that involves actual force, so help me God! You’ll have to think of another way.”

Jesson sneered. “You’re yellow, Bullock.”

“Just prudent. You’re not paying enough to keep me the rest of my life, you know.”

“Why not come in with me, leave the sea?”

Bullock shook his head. “You’d not stick to that sort of bargain once we were ashore. I’m no use to you after that and I know it. So do you. Anyway, without McRafferty we might never make it. They’re tricky waters off the Barrier Reef.”

“Lost your self-confidence, Bullock?”

Bullock shook his head. “It’s not that. It’s that you need more than just one man who knows what he’s about, aboard any ship, anywhere, let alone off the Reef. McRafferty’s needed and you’d best not forget that. To put it at its simplest…we’ve a while yet to go, and I can’t do watch on, stop on all that time and still be wide awake when it comes to a difficult job of navigation and ship handling.”

Jesson nodded, slowly and thoughtfully. “That makes sense, I suppose. Well, there’s got to be another way, that’s all. And there is. And this time I don’t want any of your damned objections, Bullock. Because if you don’t go along with me, I just might decide that I can’t stand the sight of you any longer.” He reached into a pocket and brought out a revolver. “McRafferty doesn’t know I carried two guns, Bullock. I’ll use this the moment I see the need. Now, just you listen to me.”

THERE WAS no knock at the door of the girl’s cabin: a man entered, grinning, with a revolver aimed and Fiona McRafferty gave a sharp cry.

“Keep your mouth shut,” Jesson said in a low voice. He was across the cabin in an instant and had pressed a hand over the girl’s lips, tightly. With his free hand, he pushed the snout of the revolver into her side. “One sound and I’ll shoot. Then I’ll shoot your father when he comes down from the poop.” He paused. “I hope you’ve got that, Miss McRafferty, because I’m going to let go of you now and by God, if you don’t do as I said and keep quiet, you’ll make the last sound you’ll ever make. Understood?”

She nodded. Jesson let go, then indicated the bunk. “Lie down on it,” he said. She did so. From beneath his jacket Jesson produced five lengths of codline, thin but strong. Looping a length round ankles and wrists, he tied the girl down to the bunk; the fifth length went round her mouth and a twisted curtain that Jesson had removed from his cabin port. It made an effective gag. This done, Jesson stood back. He said, “Just behave, that’s all, and you’ll be all right.” She stared up at him, and he laughed at the fear in her