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Authors: Alistair MacLean
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hour."
"You're going to be very quick about it, aren't you?"
"I don't expect him to be hiding from us, sir. Whether he's sick or hurt himself, or had some urgent reason for leaving the passengers'
quarters, I expect to find him in some place pretty obvious." he grunted and said, "nothing I can do to help?" half question, half statement. "No, sir." the sight of the captain searching about the upper deck or peering under lifeboat covers would do nothing to increase the passengers' confidence in the campari. "Right then, mister. If you want me, i'll be in the telegraph lounge. I'll try to keep the passengers out of your hair while you're getting on with it." that showed he was worried all right, and badly worried; he'd just as soon have gone into a cage full of bengal tigers as mingle socially with the passengers. "Very good, sir." I hung up. Susan beresford had recrossed the cabin and was standing near, screwing a cigarette into a jade holder about a foot in length. I found the holder vaguely irritating as I found everything about miss beresford irritating, not least the way she stood there confidently awaiting a light. I wondered when miss beresford had last been reduced to lighting her own cigarettes. Not in years, I supposed, not so long as there was a man within a hundred yards. She got her light, puffed out a lazy cloud of smoke, and said, "a search party, is it? should be interesting. You can count on me."
"I'm sorry, miss beresford." I must say I didn't sound sorry.
"Ship's company business. The captain wouldn't like it."
"Nor his first officer, is that it? don't bother to answer that one." she looked at me consideringly. "But I could be uncooperative too. What would you say if I picked up this phone and told my parents i'd just caught you going through our personal belongings?"
"I should like that, lady. I know your parents. I should like to see you being spanked for behaving like a spoilt child when a man's life may be in danger." the colour in the high cheekbones was going on and off like a neon light that evening. Now it was on again, she wasn't by a long way as composed and detached as she'd like the world to think.
She stubbed out the newly lit cigarette and said quietly, "how would it be if I reported you for insolence?"
"Don't just stand there talking about it. The phone's by your side." when she made no move towards it, I went on: "quite frankly, lady, you and your kind make me sick. You use your father's great wealth and your privileged position as a passenger on the campari to poke fun, more often than not malicious fun, at members of the crew who are unable to retaliate. They've just got to sit and take it, because they're not like you. They have no money in the bank at all, most of them, but they have families to feed, mothers to support, so they know they have to keep smiling at miss beresford when she cracks jokes at their expense or embarrasses or angers them, because if they don't, miss
beresford and her kind will see to it that they're out of a job."
"Please go on," she said. She had suddenly become very still.
"That's all of it. Misuse of power, even in so small a thing, is contemptible. And then, when anyone dares to retaliate, as I do, you threaten them with dismissal, which is what your threat amounts to. And that's worse than contemptible, it's cowardly." I turned and made for the door. First i'd look for benson, then i'd tell bullen I was quitting. I was getting tired of the campari anyway. "Mr. carter."
"Yes?" I turned but kept my hand on the doorknob. The colour mechanism in her cheeks was certainly working overtime; this time she'd gone pale under the tan. She took a couple of steps towards me and put her hand on my arm. Her hand wasn't any too steady. "I am very, very sorry," she said in a low voice. "I had no idea. Amusement I like, but not malicious amusement. I thought well, I thought it was harmless, that no one minded. And I would never dream of putting anyone's job in
"You're going to be very quick about it, aren't you?"
"I don't expect him to be hiding from us, sir. Whether he's sick or hurt himself, or had some urgent reason for leaving the passengers'
quarters, I expect to find him in some place pretty obvious." he grunted and said, "nothing I can do to help?" half question, half statement. "No, sir." the sight of the captain searching about the upper deck or peering under lifeboat covers would do nothing to increase the passengers' confidence in the campari. "Right then, mister. If you want me, i'll be in the telegraph lounge. I'll try to keep the passengers out of your hair while you're getting on with it." that showed he was worried all right, and badly worried; he'd just as soon have gone into a cage full of bengal tigers as mingle socially with the passengers. "Very good, sir." I hung up. Susan beresford had recrossed the cabin and was standing near, screwing a cigarette into a jade holder about a foot in length. I found the holder vaguely irritating as I found everything about miss beresford irritating, not least the way she stood there confidently awaiting a light. I wondered when miss beresford had last been reduced to lighting her own cigarettes. Not in years, I supposed, not so long as there was a man within a hundred yards. She got her light, puffed out a lazy cloud of smoke, and said, "a search party, is it? should be interesting. You can count on me."
"I'm sorry, miss beresford." I must say I didn't sound sorry.
"Ship's company business. The captain wouldn't like it."
"Nor his first officer, is that it? don't bother to answer that one." she looked at me consideringly. "But I could be uncooperative too. What would you say if I picked up this phone and told my parents i'd just caught you going through our personal belongings?"
"I should like that, lady. I know your parents. I should like to see you being spanked for behaving like a spoilt child when a man's life may be in danger." the colour in the high cheekbones was going on and off like a neon light that evening. Now it was on again, she wasn't by a long way as composed and detached as she'd like the world to think.
She stubbed out the newly lit cigarette and said quietly, "how would it be if I reported you for insolence?"
"Don't just stand there talking about it. The phone's by your side." when she made no move towards it, I went on: "quite frankly, lady, you and your kind make me sick. You use your father's great wealth and your privileged position as a passenger on the campari to poke fun, more often than not malicious fun, at members of the crew who are unable to retaliate. They've just got to sit and take it, because they're not like you. They have no money in the bank at all, most of them, but they have families to feed, mothers to support, so they know they have to keep smiling at miss beresford when she cracks jokes at their expense or embarrasses or angers them, because if they don't, miss
beresford and her kind will see to it that they're out of a job."
"Please go on," she said. She had suddenly become very still.
"That's all of it. Misuse of power, even in so small a thing, is contemptible. And then, when anyone dares to retaliate, as I do, you threaten them with dismissal, which is what your threat amounts to. And that's worse than contemptible, it's cowardly." I turned and made for the door. First i'd look for benson, then i'd tell bullen I was quitting. I was getting tired of the campari anyway. "Mr. carter."
"Yes?" I turned but kept my hand on the doorknob. The colour mechanism in her cheeks was certainly working overtime; this time she'd gone pale under the tan. She took a couple of steps towards me and put her hand on my arm. Her hand wasn't any too steady. "I am very, very sorry," she said in a low voice. "I had no idea. Amusement I like, but not malicious amusement. I thought well, I thought it was harmless, that no one minded. And I would never dream of putting anyone's job in
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