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Authors: Alistair MacLean
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searching cabins "you don't know benson, miss beresford. He has never in his life left the passenger accommodation before eleven p.m. We couldn't be more concerned if we'd found that the officer of the watch had disappeared from the bridge or the quartermaster had left the wheel.
Excuse me a moment." I opened the cabin door to locate the source of voices outside and saw white and another steward some way down the passage. White's eyes lit up as he caught sight of me, then clouded in disapproval when he saw susan beresford emerging through the doorway behind me. White's sense of propriety was having a roller-coasts ride that night. "I was wondering where you were, sir," he said reprovingly.
"Mr. cummings sent me up. No luck down below, i'm afraid, sir. Mr.
cummings is going through our quarters now." he stood still for a moment, then the anxiety came to the foreground and erased the disapproval from his face. "What shall I do now, sir?"
"Nothing. Not personally. You're in charge till we find the chief steward, and the passengers come first, you know that. Detail three stewards to be at the forward entrance to the 'a' accommodation in ten minutes time. One to search the officers quarters forward, another for the officers quarters aft, the third for the galleys, pantries, storerooms. But wait till I give the word. Miss beresford, i'd like to use your phone, please." I didn't wait for permission. I lifted the phone, got the exchange, had them put me through to the bo'sun's cabin, and found I was lucky. He was at home. "Macdonald? first mate here.
Sorry to call you out, archie, but there's trouble. Benson's missing."
"The chief steward, sir?" there was something infinitely reassuring about that deep, slow voice that had never lost a fraction of its lilting west highland intonation in twenty years at sea, in the complete lack of surprise or excitement in the tone. Macdonald was never surprised or excited about anything. He was more than my strong right arm; he was deck-side the most important person on the ship. And the most indispensable. "You'll have searched the passengers' and the stewards' quarters then?"
"Yes. Nothing doing. Take some men, on or off watch, doesn't matter, move along the main decks. Lots of the crew usually up there at this time of night. See if any of them saw benson or saw or heard anything unusual. Maybe he's sick; maybe he fell and hurt himself; for all I know he's overboard."
"And if we've no luck? another bloody search, sir, I suppose?"
"I'm afraid so. Can you be finished and up here in ten minutes?"
"That will be no trouble, sir." I hung up, got through to the duty engineer officer, asked him to detain some men to come to the passenger accommodation, made another call to tommy wilson, the second officer, then asked to be put through to the captain. While I was waiting, miss beresford gave me her smile again, the sweet one with too much malice in it for my liking. "My, my," she said admiringly. "Aren't we efficient?
phoning here, phoning there, crisp and commanding, general carter planning his campaign. This is a new chief officer to me."
"A lot of unnecessary fuss," I said apologetically. "Especially for a steward. But he's got a wife and three daughters who think the bun rises and sets on him." she coloured right up to the roots of her auburn hair, and for a moment I thought she was going to haul off and hit me. Then she spun on her heel, walked across the deep piled carpet, and stood staring out through a window to the darkness beyond. I'd never realised before that a back could be so expressive of emotion.
Then captain bullen was on the phone. His voice was as gruff and brusque as usual, but even the metallic impersonality of the phone couldn't hide the worry. "Any luck yet, mister?"
"None at all, sir. I've. A search party lined up. Could I start m five minutes?" there was a pause, then he said, "it has to come to that, I suppose. How long will it take you?"
"Twenty minutes, half an
Excuse me a moment." I opened the cabin door to locate the source of voices outside and saw white and another steward some way down the passage. White's eyes lit up as he caught sight of me, then clouded in disapproval when he saw susan beresford emerging through the doorway behind me. White's sense of propriety was having a roller-coasts ride that night. "I was wondering where you were, sir," he said reprovingly.
"Mr. cummings sent me up. No luck down below, i'm afraid, sir. Mr.
cummings is going through our quarters now." he stood still for a moment, then the anxiety came to the foreground and erased the disapproval from his face. "What shall I do now, sir?"
"Nothing. Not personally. You're in charge till we find the chief steward, and the passengers come first, you know that. Detail three stewards to be at the forward entrance to the 'a' accommodation in ten minutes time. One to search the officers quarters forward, another for the officers quarters aft, the third for the galleys, pantries, storerooms. But wait till I give the word. Miss beresford, i'd like to use your phone, please." I didn't wait for permission. I lifted the phone, got the exchange, had them put me through to the bo'sun's cabin, and found I was lucky. He was at home. "Macdonald? first mate here.
Sorry to call you out, archie, but there's trouble. Benson's missing."
"The chief steward, sir?" there was something infinitely reassuring about that deep, slow voice that had never lost a fraction of its lilting west highland intonation in twenty years at sea, in the complete lack of surprise or excitement in the tone. Macdonald was never surprised or excited about anything. He was more than my strong right arm; he was deck-side the most important person on the ship. And the most indispensable. "You'll have searched the passengers' and the stewards' quarters then?"
"Yes. Nothing doing. Take some men, on or off watch, doesn't matter, move along the main decks. Lots of the crew usually up there at this time of night. See if any of them saw benson or saw or heard anything unusual. Maybe he's sick; maybe he fell and hurt himself; for all I know he's overboard."
"And if we've no luck? another bloody search, sir, I suppose?"
"I'm afraid so. Can you be finished and up here in ten minutes?"
"That will be no trouble, sir." I hung up, got through to the duty engineer officer, asked him to detain some men to come to the passenger accommodation, made another call to tommy wilson, the second officer, then asked to be put through to the captain. While I was waiting, miss beresford gave me her smile again, the sweet one with too much malice in it for my liking. "My, my," she said admiringly. "Aren't we efficient?
phoning here, phoning there, crisp and commanding, general carter planning his campaign. This is a new chief officer to me."
"A lot of unnecessary fuss," I said apologetically. "Especially for a steward. But he's got a wife and three daughters who think the bun rises and sets on him." she coloured right up to the roots of her auburn hair, and for a moment I thought she was going to haul off and hit me. Then she spun on her heel, walked across the deep piled carpet, and stood staring out through a window to the darkness beyond. I'd never realised before that a back could be so expressive of emotion.
Then captain bullen was on the phone. His voice was as gruff and brusque as usual, but even the metallic impersonality of the phone couldn't hide the worry. "Any luck yet, mister?"
"None at all, sir. I've. A search party lined up. Could I start m five minutes?" there was a pause, then he said, "it has to come to that, I suppose. How long will it take you?"
"Twenty minutes, half an
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