書蟲5級《沙洲之謎》10. 最后一次航行

10. The last voyage

It was impossible to miss the way, and, helped by the wind and tide, I made short work of the journey. But where was the Dulcibella? Not where I had left her! I pulled feverishly into the harbour, and there – thank God! – I found her.

Who's that?' came from below, as I stepped on board.

Shh! It's me!'

We were both pleased to see each other again, and Davies asked anxiously, 'Are you all right, old man?'

Yes, are you? Quick, a match! What's the time?'

Ten past three. My God, Carruthers, what have you been doing?' I hadn't washed or shaved for two days, and must have looked quite wild.

It's the invasion of England! Is Dollmann at the house?' I asked urgently.

Invasion?' Davies repeated in astonishment.

Is Dollmann at the house?'

Yes, but what—'

How soon can we leave harbour?' I interrupted.

Ten minutes. First light is about five o'clock. Where are we going?'

Holland, or England.'

Are they invading it now?' said Davies calmly.

No, only rehearsing,' I laughed, wildly. 'We have an hour and a half. We must go and tell Dollmann we know his secret, and get them both aboard. It's now or never!'

While Davies was dressing, I told him what I had discovered. 'Are you being watched?' I asked.

I think so, by the men from the Kormoran. But they're not here now. Grimm came and collected them in a tug.'

Don't worry, they're all safely aground on the sands – Grimm, B?hme, von Brüning, and "he who insists".'

Once more we hurried through the little town, walking on air, I think; I remember no tiredness.

I was right,' said Davies. 'The channels are the key to the whole thing. We have no North Sea warships, no protection at all for our coastline. They'd land on one of the quiet, deserted sandy beaches on the east coast, far away from Chatham, our only eastern naval port.'

It seems rather a wild idea,' I remarked.

Wild? So is any invasion. But it's planned in such detail! No other country could organize it as well as that. I really think it could succeed.'

We arrived at the house, and rang the door bell loudly. An upstairs window opened, and I called up, 'A message from Commander von Brüning – urgent.' The window closed, and soon after, Dollmann opened the front door.

Good morning, Captain X,' I said in English. 'Stop, we're friends, you fool!' I added, as the door was nearly shut in our faces. It opened slowly again, and we walked in.

Silence!' he whispered. His hands were trembling, and his face looked hot, but there was a smile – what a smile! – on his lips. 'Well?' he said in English, when we were all in the living-room.

There's no time to lose,' I said. 'We sail for Holland, or perhaps England, at five o'clock at the latest, and we want the pleasure of your company. We promise you immunity, on certain conditions, which we'll discuss later. I'm afraid we only have room to take Miss Clara and yourself.'

His smile froze, and then suddenly he laughed. 'You fools,' he said. 'I thought I'd finished with you. My God, I'll give you five minutes to get away, or else I'll have you locked up as spies! What do you suspect me of?'

You're a traitor, working for the Germans,' said Davies. We were both discouraged by this unexpected attack.

A tra—? You stupid, crazy young fools! I'm in British service! You're destroying the work of years – and so close to success!'

For a second, Davies and I looked at each other in horror. He lied, he must be lying – but how could we make sure?

Very well,' I said, after a moment, 'we'll leave, as it seems we've made a mistake – silence, Davies! – but we should tell you we know everything. I was taking notes at Memmert the other afternoon.'

At Memmert? In the fog? Impossible!'

Difficult, but not impossible. I heard you reporting on Chatham, and B?hme talking about the German A to G plan of defence. Of course, all that doesn't matter, now we know you're on the right side!'

Not so loud!' Dollmann was lost in thought for a moment, and then said, 'I congratulate you, gentlemen, on your discoveries, but I shall have to have you arrested, or I myself may be suspected—'

I'm sorry,' I interrupted, 'we're short of time. At Memmert I heard your friends make an appointment behind your back, and I took the trouble to attend the meeting. It was a rehearsal for the invasion of England. No, don't touch that gun. You see, you can arrest us if you like, but the secret's in safe hands. My London lawyer has the facts.'

You lie!' He was right, but he could not know it. He fell into an armchair, and seemed to grow older and greyer as we watched.

What did you say about immunity, and Clara?' he whispered.

We're friends – we're friends!' burst out Davies, with a break in his voice. 'We want to help you both.' Through a sudden mist over my eyes, I saw him walk over and lay his hand on Dollmann's shoulder. 'Come with us. Wake her, tell her. It'll be too late soon.'

Tell her? I can't tell her. You tell her, boy.' His shoulders were bent and his head was in his hands.

Davies turned to me. 'You go up, Carruthers,' he said.

Look at me! I'll frighten her like this. You must.'

Well, I – I don't like to.'

Nonsense, man! We'll both go then.' We left Dollmann in his misery, and went quietly upstairs. A bedroom door was half open, and in the doorway stood a white figure.

What is it, father?' she called in a whisper.

I pushed Davies forward, but he would not say anything.

Don't be afraid,' I said. 'It's Carruthers, and – Davies. May we come in, just for a moment?' I gently opened the door wider, while she stepped back and put one hand to her lovely throat. 'Please come downstairs,' I continued. 'We're going to take you and your father to England in the Dulcibella, now, at once.'

She had heard me, but her eyes were on Davies. 'I understand not,' she said, with such puzzled sadness that I found it hard to look at her.

Clara!' said Davies, 'will you not trust us?'

I heard a little gasp from her. Suddenly she was in his arms, crying like a tired child, her little white feet between his great clumsy sea-boots, and her rose-brown face on his rough seaman's jacket.

Suddenly Clara was in his arms, crying like a tired child.

I went downstairs, to find Dollmann putting some papers on the fire. He did not seem to have noticed that the fire was almost out. 'You must be ready in half an hour,' I said, quietly picking up his gun, which lay on the table.

Take her to England, you two boys. I think I'll stay.'

Nonsense, she won't go without you.'

Half an hour later, the four of us were hurrying away from the house and down to the harbour. Luckily, Frau Dollmann was away in Hamburg, so there had been no question of her coming with us.

Once on the Dulcibella, we hid Clara and her father in the cabin, and sailed straight for the open sea. Nobody seemed to notice our departure. Far away to the south, I thought I saw two dark shapes on the sandbanks. Whether I saw them or not, I knew they were there, and that by the time they were able to move, we would be safe in Holland.

Davies decided to take the route between the islands and the shore, and asked Clara to help him on deck. She was far more useful than I could have been, in my exhausted condition. When I went down to the cabin to fetch the Dutch chart, as we were getting close to the first of the Dutch islands, Dollmann sat up. He seemed in a dream. 'Where are we?' he cried. There was a strange look in his eyes, which I didn't understand at the time, but remembered later.

Off the coast of Holland,' I replied. I fell asleep soon afterwards, with the yacht rolling and the waves splashing all around me. I did not witness what happened next, since by the time I had heard Davies's cry and climbed up on deck, it was all over. This is his account of the event.

X came up on deck soon after you went below. He offered to take the helm and show me a short cut, but I knew that one, so I didn't accept his offer. He said nothing, and sat behind us, safe enough, then, to my surprise, he began to talk very sensibly to me about the channel and the buoys and so on. Well, we came to a difficult bit, where I had to concentrate on the helm and the chart, and Clara was busy with the sails, and well – I happened to look round, and he was gone. I think the last thing I heard him say was something about a "short cut" again. He must have slipped over quietly. He had a thick coat and his heavy sea-boots on.'

We sailed about the area for a time, but we never found him.

That evening, we arrived at a small Dutch fishing village on the mainland. We put some fishermen in charge of the yacht, and returned to London by road, rail, and ferry, to lay our information before the government with all possible urgency.

I returned to work at the Foreign Office, where in spite of my best efforts to persuade him, my boss never really believed that I had not received his second letter.

And Davies and Clara? Well, I think I can safely say that Clara has no wish to return to her adopted country, and Davies no longer has any wish to look for adventure on the sands of the North Sea.