alistairmaclean.seawitch-第20章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


ds　are　barred。　To　think　that　it　should　e　to　this　before　you　had　incontrovertible　proof　that　I　am　indeed　under　siege。　Unforgivable。　To　have　left　my　daughters　unguarded　was　wholly　unforgivable。　Why　didn't　I　have　the　sense　to　leave　Mitchell　and　Roomer　on　guard？〃　He　looked　at　his　now…empty　glass　and　the　stenographer　took　it　away。
　Benton　was　faintly　skeptical。　〃But　against　five　armed　men？〃
　Lord　Worth　looked　at　him　morosely。　〃I　had　forgotten　that　you　don't　know　those　men。　Mitchell；　for　example；　could　have　taken　care　of　them　all　by　himself。　He's　lethal。〃
　〃So　they're　your　friends；　and　you　respect　them。　Don't　take　offense；　Lord　Worth；　but　is　there　any　way　that　they　could　be　implicated　in　this？〃
　〃You　must　be　out　of　your　mind。〃　Lord　Worth；　still　morose；　sipped　his　third　brandy。　〃Sorry；　I'm　not　myself。　Sure；　they'd　like　to　kidnap　my　daughters；　almost　as　much　as　my　daughters　would　like　to　be　kidnaped　by　them。〃
　〃That　the　way　it　is？〃　Benton　seemed　mildly　astonished。　In　his　experience；　billionaires'　daughters　did　not　normally　associate　with　the　likes　of　private　investigators。
　〃That's　the　way。　And　hi　answer　to　your　next　two　questions：　yes；　I　approve　and　no；　they　don't　give　a　damn　about　my　money。〃　He　shook　his　head　wonderingly。　〃It　is　extremely　odd。　And　I　shall　forecast　this；　Mr。　Secretary。　When　Marina　and　Melinda　are　brought　back　to　me　it　won't　be　through　the　good　offices　of　either　the　local　police　or　your　precious　FBI。　Mitchell　and　Roomer　will　bring　them　back。　One　does　not　wish　to　sound　overly　dramatic；　but　they　would；　quite　literally；　give　their　lives　for　my　daughters。〃
　〃And；　as　a　corollary；　they　would　cut　down　anyone　who　got　in　their　way？〃
　For　the　first　time　since　the　phone　call　Lord　Worth　smiled；　albeit　faintly。　〃I'll　take　the　fifth　amendment　on　that　one。〃
　〃I　must　meet　those　paragons　sometime。〃
　〃Just　as　long　as　it's　not　over　the　wrong　end　of　Mitchell's　gun。〃　He　rose；　leaving　his　drink　unfinished；　and　looked　round　the　room。　〃I　must　go。　Thank　you　all　for　your　kindness　and　consideration；　not　to　say　forbearance。〃　He　left　with　the　Secretary　by　his　side。
　When　the　door　closed　behind　him　General　Zweicker　rose　and　poured　himself　a　brandy。　〃Well。　What　may　be　the　kidnaping　of　the　century　pales　into　insignificance　pared　to　the　likelihood　of　the　Russkies　starting　to　throw　things　at　us。〃　He　took　some　brandy。　〃Don't　tell　me　I'm　the　only　person　who　can　see　the　hellish　witches'　brew　Lord　Worth　is　stirring　up　for　us？〃
　It　was　clear　that　all　three　listening　to　him　had　a　very　sharp　view　of　the　cauldron。　Howell　said：　〃Let's　give　Lord　Worth　his　due。　He　could　even　be　right　when　he　says　he's　glad　he's　got　a　British　passport。　The　stirrers…up　are　our　own　patriots；　the　holier…than…thou　major　American　oil　panies；　who　are　willing　to　crucify　Lord　Worth　and　put　their　country　at　jeopardy　because　of　their　blind　stupidity。〃
　〃I　don't　care　who's　responsible。〃　The　stenographer's　voice　was　plaintive。　〃Does　anyone　know　where　I　can　get　a　bomb　shelter　cheap？〃
　Benton　led　Worth　down　one　flight　of　stairs　and　out　onto　the　sunlit　lawn；　where　the　helicopter　was　waiting。
　Benton　said：　〃Ever　tried　to　find　words　to　tell　someone　how　damnably　sorry　you　feel？〃
　〃I　know　from　experience。　Don't　try。　。But　thanks。〃
　〃I　could　have　our　personal　physician　acpany　you　down　to　Florida。〃
　〃Thanks　again。　But　I'm　fine　now。〃
　〃And　you　haven't　had　lunch？〃　Benton；　clearly；　was　finding　conversational　gambits　heavy　going。
　〃As　I　don't　much　care　for　plastic　lunches　from　plastic　trays；　I　have　an　excellent　French　chef　aboard　my　plane。〃　Again　a　faint　smile。　〃And　two　stewardesses；　chosen　solely　for　their　good　looks。　I　shall　not　want。　〃
　They　reached　the　steps　of　the　helicopter。　Benton　said：　〃You've　had　neither　the　time　nor　opportunity　to　give　me　that　list　of　names。　For　the　moment　that's　of　no　consequence。　I　just　want　you　to　know　that　my　guarantee　of　protection　remains　in　force。〃
　Lord　Worth　shook　his　hand　silently　and　climbed　the　steps。
　By　this　time　Conde；　aboard　the　Roomer；　had　arrived　at　the　S&awitch；　and　the　big　derrick　crane　aboard　the　platform　was　unloading　the　heavy　weaponry　and　mines　from　the　Louisiana　arsenal　It　was　a　slow　and　difficult　task；　for　the　tip　of　the　derrick　boom　was　two　hundred　feet　above　sea　level　and；　in　all；　the　transfer　was　to　take　about　three　hours。　As　each　dual…purpose　antiaircraft　gun　came　aboard　Larsen　selected　its　site　and　supervised　Palermo　and　some　of　his　men　in　securing　it　in　position：　this　was　done　by　drilling　holes　in　the　concrete　platform；　then　anchoring　the　gun…carriage　base　with　sledgehammer…driven　steel　spikes。　The　guns　were　supposed　to　be　re…coilless；　but　then　neither　Larsen　nor　Palermo　was　much　given　to　taking　chances。
　The　depth　charges；　when　they　came；　were　stacked　together　in　three　groups；　each　halfway　between　the　three　apexes　of　the　triangle。　That　there　was　an　inherent　risk　in　this　Larsen　was　well　aware：　a　stray　bullet　or　shell…or　perhaps　not　so　stray…could　well　trigger　the　detonating　mechanism　of　one　of　the　depth　charges；　which　would　inevitably　send　up　the　other　charges　in　sympathetic　detonation。　But　it　was　a　risk　that　had　to　be　taken　if　for　no　other　reason　than　the　fact　there　was　no　other　place　where　they　could　be　stored　ready　for　immediate　use。　And　when　and　if　the　time　came　for　their　use　the　need　would　be　immediate。
　The　drilling　crew　watched　Palermo　and　his　men　at　work；　their　expressions　ranging　from　disinterest　to　approval。　Neither　group　of　men　spoke　to　the　other。　Larsen　was　no　great　believer　in　fraternization。
　Things　were　going　well。　The　defensive　system　was　being　steadily　installed。　The　Christmas　tree；　the　peculiar　name　given　to　the　valve　which　controlled　the　flow　of　oil　from　the　already　tapped　reservoir；　was　wide　open　and　oil　was　being　steadily　pumped　to　the　huge　storage　tank　while　the　derrick　drill；　set　at　its　widest　angle；　was　driving　even　deeper　into　the　substratum　of　the　ocean　floor；　seeking　to　discover　as　yet　untapped　oil　deposits。　All　was　going　well；　there　were　no　overt　signs　of　attack　or　preparation　for　attack　from　air　or　sea；　but　Larsen　was　not　as　happy　as　he　might　have　been；　even　despite　the　fact　that　they　were　still　receiving　the　half…hour　regular　〃on　course；　on　time〃　reports　from　the　^prbello。
　He　was　unhappy　partly　because　of　the　non…existence　of　the　Tiburon。　He　had　recently　learned　from　Galveston　that　there　was　no　vessel　listed　in　naval　or　coast　guard　registries　under　the　name　Tiburon。　He　had　then　asked　that　they　check　civilian　registrations　and　had　been　told　that　this　was　a　forlorn　hope。　It　would　take　many　hours；　perhaps　days；　to　carry　out　this　type　of　investigation；　and　private　vessels；　unless　fully　insured；　would　show　up　neither　in　official　registries　nor　in　those　of　the　major　marine…insurance　panies。　There　was　no　law　which　said　they　had　to　be　insured；　and　the　owners　of　the　older　and　more　decrepit　craft　didn't　even　bother　to　insure：　there　are　such　things　as　tax　write…offs。
　Larsen　was　not　to　know　that　his　quest　was　a　hopeless　one。　When　Mulhooney　had　first　taken　over　the　Tiburon　it　had　been　called　the　Ham…mond；　which　he　had　thoughtfully　had　painted　out　and　replaced　by　the　name　Tiburon　on　the　way　to　Galveston。　Since　Cronkite　had　since　replaced　that　by　the　name　Georgia；　both　the　Ham…mond　and　the　Tiburon　had　ceased　to　exist。
　But　what　concerned　Larsen　even　more　was　his　conviction　that　something　was　far　wrong。　He　was　unable　to　put　a　finger　on　what　this　might　be。　He　was　essentially　a　pragmatist　of　the　first　order；　but　he　was　also　a　man　who　relied　heavily　on　instinct　and　intuition。　He　was　a　man　occasionally　given　to　powerful　premonitions；　and　more　often　than　not　those　premonitions　had　turned　into　reality。　And　so　when　the　loudspeaker　boomed　〃mander　Larsen　to　the　radio　cabin；　mander　Larsen　to　the　radio　cabin；〃　he　was　possessed　of　an　immediate　certainty　that　the　hour　of　his　premonition　had　e。
　He　walked　leisurely　enough　toward　the　radio　cabin；　partly　because　it　would　never　do　for　mander　Larsen　to　be　seen　hurrying　anxiously　anywhere；　partly　because　he　was　in　no　great　hurry　to　hear　the　bad　news　he　was　convinced　he　was　about　to　hear。　He　told　the　radio　operator　that　he　would　like　to　take　this　call　privately；　waited　until　the　man　had　left　and　closed　the　door　behind　him；　then　picked　up　the　telephon