He stood up and began to pace, his hands behind his back. Heuss watched him carefully, his dark eyes following von Steiger’s shadow across the small cabin.

  ‘We shall be there in three days, all being well. There is a lot to do. Boats to be made ready, anchor cables to be well greased and above all, Heuss, a good leadsman for the chains. We shall have to feel our way in there, and I have no wish to leave our keel on the reef!’

  Heuss leaned over the chart and stared at the tiny cluster of broken rocks. It would be difficult to get the Vulkan in there by day. In the darkness it would be a test indeed. His voice guarded, he asked quietly: ‘Should not the First Lieutenant be here, sir? It would be of more interest to him, surely?’ He thought of Dehler’s frantic, miserable face and wondered how much von Steiger knew.

  ‘You are the next senior officer, Heuss. You will be the one who has to go ashore.’ His voice suddenly became harsh. ‘And if I am killed or seriously disabled, you will have to take command!’

  Heuss stared at him as if he had been struck. ‘But, sir! That is hardly fair to Lieutenant Dehler!’

  He crossed to Heuss’s side and stood looking down at him. ‘Forget your little textbook of etiquette, Heuss! I am no fool, and I know who can and cannot be trusted. I want a possible successor, not just somebody to take over command! Think, man! Try to see the difference!’ He resumed his pacing, his face bleak. ‘We have been sent to do a job. It shall be done. When things were easy, everyone wanted my position of command and the honour it implied. But now that our task grows more complex, I am alone! Dehler is a good seaman, a reliable navigator, and that is all. But if he were to be left in command, and the choice was his, what would he do? Stand and fight, or run for a neutral port and be interned?’

  Heuss stood up, his face hot. ‘How can you say that about a brother officer? He should be allowed to answer that slur!’

  Von Steiger laughed softly. ‘Well, well, Heuss! How you have changed! A month or so ago you would have been the one to sneer at such old-fashioned codes of honour and tradition! I thought you were above such sentiment!’

  Heuss writhed in the neat trap. ‘I agree with Dehler, sir! We are facing great danger, and the odds mount day by day. But, like him, I would fight if required!’

  ‘You have not understood a word! Fighting is not enough! It is as empty as committing suicide and as craven as collecting duelling scars to impress young women!’

  ‘I think I have proved my reliability in battle, sir, I . . .’

  Von Steiger waved his hand. ‘Sit down, Heuss! I want no heroics! I know that you dislike me, but that is also unimportant. I am the commanding officer of this ship, and you will listen to me!’

  Heuss glowered at him, his mouth a tight line.

  ‘You are intelligent and not easily diverted by others. You think for yourself, and that, God knows, is rare enough with some officers! For those reasons, if none other, I trust you. Personal differences are unimportant. If we were back in peaceful times, Heuss, I would come halfway to you, and listen to your ideas.’ He smiled with sudden sadness. ‘You might have found me more of an idealist than yourself! But those days are over, gone perhaps for a lifetime. Even if I believed in your way of thought I could not say so. And I do not believe! Things will not be right because we want them to be. Men will not love one another because we think it is nicer that way! Men must be driven and battles must be won if they are to be any use at all!’

  ‘Even if the end is unchanged?’

  ‘Even so! The British have a saying that they lose every battle but the last one. But, Heuss, that last one is not the only battle which counts in the end. The record and behaviour of every man is just as important for the loser as for the victor. It is a foundation on which to build anew!’

  ‘And what of Dehler, sir?’ Heuss felt unsure of himself.

  He shrugged. ‘I have spoken to him. He is too old for this sort of war, Heuss. Like the poor Vulkan, he should be carrying bananas!’

  Heuss stood up, his features controlled. ‘Is that all, sir?’

  ‘See that the wounded men are got ready to leave. The agent can arrange for immediate medical care and proper surgical treatment. The poor devils have earned it.’

  ‘And the prisoners?’

  The eyes rested on his face searchingly. ‘They must stay. The officers are good hostages, and the man Gelb is quite a valuable prize in his way. Or so he seems to think!’

  Heuss still faltered, and von Steiger’s hand moved to the bandage on his chest. ‘And the woman? Was that what you wanted to know?’ He stared unseeingly through the scuttle. ‘I shall see. If it is safe I shall put her ashore. I may leave it to her to decide.’

  ‘Is that fair, sir?’

  ‘No. Perhaps you had better ask her what she wishes.’

  ‘I shall be sorry to see her go, Captain.’ Heuss could have bitten off his tongue because of the smile which hovered around von Steiger’s mouth.

  ‘You have made that rather obvious, Lieutenant!’

  * * * * *

  She watched Heuss’s face change from apprehension to puzzled anger as he moved restlessly round the wide cabin, his fingers unconsciously touching the furniture and fittings.

  ‘What are you trying to say, Lieutenant?’ Her voice was soft and husky, and yet Heuss stared at her with surprise. It was as if she, too, was mocking him. As if she shared some secret that he could not understand.

  ‘The Captain wishes to know if you desire to be landed at this port. If you say that you want to leave, then he will arrange it, and you can contact the British Consul at the nearest town.’

  ‘Is there an alternative?’

  Heuss felt the sweat prickle at the neck of his tunic as he watched her parted lips and the firm, rounded curves of her body. ‘You could wait aboard until you can be put in a neutral ship.’

  ‘We have not met one yet. From what I have heard, it seems more likely that we shall meet a British cruiser!’

  He spun round, his face bitter. ‘Then you would be pleased! But who can blame you, after all this!’

  He sat heavily on a chair and stared down at his hands. ‘But perhaps when we are blown to hell you will no longer think so harshly of us. We are individuals, now, not just a foreign flag!’ As his face was lowered, he did not see the brief spasm of pain in her wide eyes.

  He tried to laugh. ‘Perhaps my conscience is troubling me, eh?’

  ‘Is that so bad?’

  ‘They say that conscience can make cowards of us all. It is hardly appropriate!’

  She moved nearer to him, so that he could feel the warmth of her body.

  ‘You have been kind to me. I shall not forget,’ she said simply. ‘It has made things bearable for me, and all the other survivors, too.’

  On a sudden impulse he seized her hand and held it tightly against his cheek. ‘My God, that it should end like this! What a damned waste it has all been! To come all this way and be cheated of something worth while!’

  Gently but firmly she withdrew her hand. ‘Have you no faith in your commander? Surely the danger of defeat is worse for him?’

  Heuss felt the sting of her words like a taunt, and he staggered to his feet, his face flushed. ‘What do you care for von Steiger? How can you pretend to understand a man like him?’

  Her cheeks seemed to lose their colour, but her eyes flashed back at him scathingly. ‘Why do you ask? Because I am only a woman, a prisoner? Or because I am not good enough for a high-bred German?’

  He fell back before her anger. ‘So I was wrong! You are like all the rest, and set your cap at the highest available!’

  Her mouth trembled. ‘At least your Captain is a man! I cannot see him whimpering just because he cannot have his own way!’

  She cried out as Heuss’s palm struck her cheek, but did not falter. Only her eyes were misty, and her fingers were clasped into the folds of her skirt so that the knuckles gleamed white.

  Heuss stood dazedly staring at his hand. ‘Forgive me, I do not understand what I have done!’

  Her voice sounded different, controlled and flat. ‘Will you leave, Lieutenant? Or shall I call the sentry?’

  As the door closed her hand flew to her cheek, feeling the force of Heuss’s anger and despair. I should hate him, she thought. But at least he made me say what was uppermost in my thoughts. No, I wanted him to hit me!

  She stared at her face in the mirror and was frightened by the look in her eyes.

  14

  WITH THE ENGINE at dead slow the Vulkan slid smoothly through the black water, the gentle thrust of her sharp stem hardly making a ripple to disturb the reflections of a million bright stars. The night air was heavy and humid, and on the bridge every man felt the quickening of his heart as the scent of invisible land moved inquisitively around the wheelhouse.

  Von Steiger’s shadow moved from the port door until his small beard shone wickedly in the binnacle light. ‘Steer south-west by south!’

  Lehr, the Coxswain, repeated the order, and the silence was broken by the discreet creaks of the wheel’s spokes being eased over.

  From the forward deck the silvery chimes of two bells rang out with unexpected suddenness, and von Steiger cursed in the darkness. ‘For God’s sake send a man down there! Do you want every damned Brazilian to hear us coming!’

  He tried to relax and concentrate on the impenetrable black curtain ahead of the ship. He could almost feel the great mass of land beyond the bows, but instinct and training made him stand quite still and control his anxiety. There was no moon, and although this helped their stealthy approach, it made the actual navigation a nightmare.

  Behind him by the chart he could hear Dehler’s heavy breathing as he bent over a small pool of light, his thick fingers working with parallel rule and dividers. Poor Dehler, he thought absently. Second in command in name only. He had taken the news of von Steiger’s choice with surprising calm, his heavy face devoid of expression. Von Steiger had looked for relief, anger or even open disagreement, but the man’s eyes had been blank.

  He heard the scrape of metal as the machine-gun crews on either wing of the bridge swivelled their oiled weapons and clipped the long belts into place. Every other gun was still covered, and as she moved so quietly towards the land the Vulkan was more like her true self than she had been since leaving Germany. All the false deckhouses had been either removed or completely modified, and a hastily applied layer of white paint had once more transformed her upperworks. She wore neither flag nor name, and was ready for instant action should she be challenged.

  Von Steiger watched the pale blobs of white on the distant fo’c’sle head where Sub-Lieutenant Seebohm and his anchor party waited to let go. He could see the triangular shape of Seebohm’s arm-sling as he gesticulated to the rating with the hammer who would, with luck, knock away the slip and let the great anchor go plummeting to the bottom, for the first time since leaving Kiel.

  ‘Start sounding!’ He could sense the excitement in Damrosch’s voice as he repeated the order. Every man aboard was keyed up to the limit. It only needed them to be pinned down by a Brazilian searchlight or challenged by a gunboat, and all hell would be let loose.

  Far out on his small platform on the ship’s side the burly figure of the leadsman ran the long line through his hands and tested the fourteen pounds of lead on its end. When he heard the order he lowered the lead slowly over the edge of his platform and allowed the slender chain rail to take the weight of his body. Slowly, rhythmically, he began to swing the line back and forth, the heavy lead almost touching the gurgling bow-wave on each downward stroke. Then, as the arc lengthened he jerked the line towards him, so that in a few seconds he had the lead swinging in a complete circle. Then, with one final mighty heave, he cast it from him, feeling the line with its telltale markings snaking away through his fingers. Forward and down into the clear water, its passage making a gay commotion of green phosphorescence. He waited, felt it strike the bottom and called, over his shoulder, ‘By the mark ten!’

  Von Steiger grunted. They were right in the narrow approach to Corata. A cable or so either way could be the finish of the Vulkan. It hardly seemed worth the risk. He shook his head angrily. He was committed now, and, in any case, the risk was more than justified. It had to be.

  Heuss moved silently to his side. ‘All watertight doors closed, Captain! Wounded on deck, and boats swung out as ordered!’

  ‘Good. I am not expecting trouble, but one cannot be sure.’

  ‘You have been here before, sir?’ Heuss spoke coolly, but von Steiger could sense the tension in his tone.

  ‘Yes. Nearly two years back. When Brazil was still neutral. It was one of the places shown in the Intelligence Log supplied to all commerce raiders. Reliable then, but a lot of water has flowed in that time.’

  ‘And blood, sir.’

  Von Steiger smiled grimly. How like Heuss to find double meanings in everything he said.

  ‘This man Fleiuss, his attitude may have changed, too.’

  ‘I shall tell him his attitude, Heuss! Make no mistake about that!’

  ‘By the mark ten!’ The leadsman’s chant floated eerily up from the darkened deck.

  ‘Good. It will not be long now.’ In a sharper tone he added: ‘In a few moments we shall be sighting the first of the islets. Fine on the starboard bow it should be. Coxswain, when we have found it I want you to bring her head up to the eastern tip and steer as close as you can! The channel is no more than half a cable wide at that point!’

  ‘I understand, Captain!’ Lehr hunched his massive shoulders and sniffed at the air through the open window in front of him.

  Von Steiger fretted with concealed impatience. They all accept my word without question, although we might be right off course. A bead of sweat formed beneath the rim of his cap at the thought of Vulkan’s twenty-two feet of draught moving towards what might in reality be one of the outlying reefs.

  ‘By the deep eight!’

  ‘Damn!’ he swore softly. ‘Bring her head up half a point!’

  A few agonising moments, then, ‘By the deep nine!’

  That’s more like it, he breathed.

  ‘Well, Heuss, you know exactly where you have to go? If there is anything else you wish to know, let me have it from you now. There will be no time at all in a moment!’

  Heuss seemed to relax slightly. ‘Take both boats and make for the beach. The beach is at the south-western end of the anchorage and is at the bottom of a giant cleft in the rock cliffs.’

  Von Steiger interrupted: ‘The beach is nothing at all really, so watch for those two pinnacles of rock on either side of the cleft. Just think of two great book-ends, and there you are!’

  Heuss nodded. ‘Up the path from the beach, and right at the top of the gully. Through the coffee plantation, and straight on to the house. It is the only one there?’

  He grunted. ‘Intelligence reports so!’

  ‘See this man Fleluss, and bring him to the ship.’

  ‘That is about all there is to it,’ said von Steiger wryly. ‘But do not forget to deploy your men right round the cove and up on the rocks above. When dawn breaks they will be able to see miles out to sea, so I shall be relying on them to a great extent. The ship will be invisible from a seaward approach, but then, too, will any intruder be invisible to me!’

  ‘I have arranged all that, Captain.’ Heuss refused to respond to the Captain’s humour. ‘They are all picked men, and Lieutenant Kohler is in charge of the beach party.’

  ‘By the mark seven!’ The chant was like a dirge.

  Damrosch’s voice broke in on his thoughts. ‘There it is, Captain! At green four-five! Look, sir, land!’

  Heuss lowered his glasses, and stared at the Captain. A quick glance had verified Damrosch’s report. There was no mistaking the faint white line of breaking waves and the imperceptible darkening beyond. Land, after all this time. The last glimpse for him had been a nightmare vision of snow-capped mountains and screaming winds in the Denmark Strait. He felt himself sweating slightly and trembling with furious admiration. How did he do it? He had willed the ship here, that was the only explanation he could find. Nothing else fitted. No wonder that girl admired him. He felt the pain reawake in his breast. Two people like Caryl Brett and Felix von Steiger, a nation—a war—apart, and neither a stranger to pain and hatred, yet both so similar it was uncanny.

  He wondered if she had reported him to the Captain for his behaviour. He felt the shame burning his cheeks as he recalled her face and the crimson mark where he had struck her.

  ‘Bring her round, Coxswain!’ Von Steiger’s voice was terse. ‘She won’t bite you!’

  Heuss followed his captain’s ghost-like figure on to the starboard wing and stared past him at the black mass of land. No cheerful buoys, no lighted houses, not even a nodding fishing boat to guide them in. Just the calm sea, broken at the far edge by a writhing line of pure white breakers.

  The engine was so muffled that they could not hear its pounding rhythm. Only the persistent vibration and rattle of glass and instruments showed that it was still alive.

  Von Steiger placed his hands on the teak rail and breathed deeply. ‘That smells good! Peace must smell like that!’

  ‘By the mark five!’

  ‘Christ!’ said von Steiger calmly. ‘That coxswain is so nervous of losing his pension he is still holding her head round! I imagine that new depth will change his mind for him!’

  Heuss heard the wheel spin round, and saw the black wedge of the bows sidle nearer to the whitecaps on the shore.

  ‘I shall get below, Captain. The landing party must be ready to get away as soon as you give the order!’ He saluted, and moved to the top of the ladder. He faltered, the nagging question bursting from him. ‘What if he will not come to the ship, sir?’

  ‘Persuade him, Heuss. You should be good at that!’ His white-clad body turned at the rail, his face hidden in the darkness. ‘If anything goes wrong, and it is the fault of this agent, shoot him!’ He added, half to himself, ‘He has got fat enough at our expense!’