Ramirez went bleak, looking carefully at his scarred face. 'Ah, the brave and foolish Mr Wilkins,' he said insultingly.
'That's me,' said Geordie. He put out his hand and smeared it down the front of Ramirez's gleaming white jacket, leaving a dirty trail of black oil. 'You're dirty, Mr Ramirez.'
Ramirez was so shocked at the action and at the contempt which lay behind it that he just stood there, making no move -but the fury grew in his eyes.
Geordie said again, 'You're filthily dirty, Mr Ramirez. I think you need a wash – don't you, lads?'
They got the idea fast – faster than Ramirez. With a growl they were on to him, four of them. I saw Ramirez's hand go to his pocket as quick as lightning, but Danny was faster and his hand came down in a mighty chop. A pistol clattered on deck.
Then Ramirez was lifted helplessly off his feet and carried to the side. They swung him twice and then over he went, making a great splash. Geordie wasted no time in useless triumph. He turned, picked up Ramirez's pistol and began chopping out orders again. 'Gangplank in. Don't stand there gawking! Ian, get the wheel, and don't run him down. Cast off forrard. Engine slow ahead.'
Esmerelda got under way even while Campbell was still staring over the side. 'Well, I'm damned,' he said to no one in particular, while staring at Geordie. Geordie was oblivious, watching carefully out into the darkness and giving orders in a low, carrying voice. He conned us out past the sleeping vessels and the marker buoys and Ramirez's splashing progress fell astern.
As we drew level with Sirena, anchored in the harbour, there was a dull thump, not very loud, which carried over the water. At the same time there was a flicker of lights from a dinghy arriving alongside. The crew returning no doubt, to find a shambles. That would do her engine a bit of no good. Silence held us until we were well past all the shipping and abreast of one of the openings in the fringing reef, and then a babble of noise got up as everyone's tongue was loosened. Ian had to shout to make himself heard, giving orders to get some sail on her. The excitement on board was electric.
Geordie turned and grinned, his battered face alight with triumph. Raucously he began to sing at the top of his voice.
'Oh, we're off to see the Ozzard – the wonderful Ozzard of Whiz!' He looked very piratical because of the captured pistol dangling negligently in his hand.* Chapter Seven** 1*
'You pack of damned fools,' said Campbell. 'Whatever possessed you to do a crazy thing like that?'
Ian shuffled his feet, Geordie was clearly unrepentant and I suspected we were in for a tongue-lashing, and didn't relish the thought. The lights of Nuku'alofa were falling astern as Esmerelda ran at full speed. Danny Williams was at the wheel and Campbell had gathered the three of us together to take us to task.
'Well,' Geordie began. 'We thought it would be a good idea to go and get hold of either Kane or Hadley and'
'Kane! Hadley! You won't find them with Ramirez. Ramirez may be a son of a bitch but he has brains – he won't chance himself being linked with those two, not now he won't.'
I grinned at Geordie. 'Where did you put Kane, by the way?' I asked casually.
'We haven't a brig on the ship, but we're making one now. In the meantime he's under guard in my cabin.'
Campbell's jaw dropped. 'You mean you've got Kane?'
'Of course,' I said. I didn't say that it had been a near thing, or how close we came to not achieving our objective. 'We thought we'd hand him over to the Tongan police but circumstances – ah – preceded that.'
'What circumstances?'
'Ramirez's ship got a bit bent,' I said. 'I couldn't control the lads.' I gave Geordie a sly look – I was taking his argument and using it against Campbell.
'How bent?'
'One of us had an accident with some explosive,' I said.
'That thump we heard? As we left harbour? You blew up their ship?' He was incredulous.
'Oh no, nothing like that,' said Geordie placatingly. 'There's a bit of a hole in their engine crankcase, that's all. They won't be following us in a hurry.'
They won't have to,' said Campbell. 'What do you suppose Ramirez is doing now? He'll have got back to his ship -seething mad thanks to you fools – found it wrecked, and by now he'll be presenting himself at the nearest police station, still in his wet clothes, claiming assault and piracy. I should say that within an hour there'll be a fast patrol boat leaving Nuku'alofa and coming right after us. And we won't get out of it as we did in Tahiti – this time we are in the wrong.'
We looked at each other in silence.
'Or maybe he won't,' said Campbell slowly. 'Not after what I told him back there.' He jerked his head astern.
'What was that?' I said. I saw that Campbell's eyes suddenly held the same glint that I'd seen in Geordie's earlier that night.
'I said the Tahitian police were very unhappy. I said they knew about Hadley and Kane and that they had witnesses who'd seen Ramirez with them at Tanakabu, the first time they went there.'
'What witnesses?'
He grinned at us. That's what Ramirez wanted to know. I said three of the hospital patients and a couple of staff had seen him. He laughed at me, but it hit home.'
'I don't know anything about any witnesses,' I said.
'Mike, sometimes you're pretty slow on the uptake – there were no goddam witnesses, as far as I know. But someone had to think fast to get us out of this jam. I told Ramirez that the police were looking for more evidence, but that they already had him fairly linked with the events on Tanakabu, and that if he went to the cops in Tonga with any kind of story about us pirating his ship, and if we were picked up, then we'd make enough of a stink to get the Tahitian police down here fast.'
Geordie said, 'Now, that's interesting. We know he was at Tanakabu – Schouten saw him.'
'Exactly,' said Campbell. 'And how does he know that someone else didn't see him too? He can't take the chance -he'll have to lie low. As long as the suspicions of the Tahiti police remain just that – suspicions – he'll be happy. But he won't stir up anything that will give the cops a line on him. At least, I hope not. So I hope he'll dummy up about your stupid raid.'
I said, 'He won't go to the police while we have Kane. Kane is our trump card. Ramirez wouldn't dare let Kane get into the hands of the police.'
'Mike, he's a clever man. Clever and subtle when he has to be. I wouldn't put it past him to wriggle out of that one.'
'And something else,' I said. 'Maybe the raid wasn't as stupid as you think – a bit hare-brained, I'll grant you, but worth while. What we found on that ship was as subtle as a crack on the head with a hammer.' I gestured to Ian. Trot out your collection of ironmongery.'
Ian delved in various pockets and brought out the bolts he had taken from the rifles. Campbell's eyes widened as he saw the mounting pile they made on the deck.
'He had ten rifles?'
'Fifteen,' I corrected. The others were automatic action. We've smashed them and dropped them over the side. Plus four sub-machine guns and a lot of pistols.'
Geordie dug into his pocket and produced a hand grenade which he tossed casually. There were a few of these too. I hung on to a couple.'
'Not much subtlety about that, is there?' I asked.
'And he's got twice as many men as he needs,' said Geordie. 'He isn't paying that big crew to stand half- watches either.' Geordie, too, wasn't losing any opportunity to rub Campbell's nose in it.
Campbell's eyes flickered as he watched the grenade bounce in Geordie's hand. 'For God's sake stop that. You'll blow us all up. Let's go down to the saloon and have a drink -it's pretty damn late.'
It was in fact getting into the small hours of the morning but I felt wide awake, and everyone else seemed to share that feeling, even Campbell. Only Clare and Paula, after a brief appearance on deck, had vanished below again.
'No,' I said to Campbell's offer. 'I want to talk to Kane -now. And I want to be dead sober when I do it. Is he conscious, Geordie?'
