‘No.’
‘What then?’
Take a look at that.’ He handed me a teleprint.
Your plane urgently required Wunstorf to replace Tudor tanker missing stop Ministry Civil Aviation agree rush C of A stop Report Wunstorf soonest possible notifying your E. T.A. Signed Aylmer B.E.A. I handed it back to him. ‘I suppose you didn’t bother to see what the papers say about the crew of the plane?’
‘Can’t you get your mind off what’s happened?’ he demanded Irritably.
‘No,’ I said. ‘I can’t. Have you got the papers?’
‘Here you are.’ He handed me a whole bundle of newspapers. ‘They tell us nothing that we didn’t know last night.’
I glanced quickly through them as he went past me to get his breakfast. All the reports were the same. It was obviously a hand-out. The only difference was that in two cases the position at which the pilot had seen that single parachute was given. The position was two miles north of Hollmind.
When I entered the mess room again Saeton was already there, the teleprint beside his plate. He was making notes whilst he ate. I thrust the paper in front of him. ‘Have you seen that?’ I asked.
He nodded, looking up at me, his mouth full.
‘It means Tubby is alive,’ I cried. ‘He must have come to and pulled the release.’
‘I hope you’re right,’ was all he said.
‘What else could it mean?’ I demanded.
‘You remember I said I’d cable a friend of mine at Lubeck? I phoned it through that morning. This morning I got his reply. I’ll read it to you.’ He pulled a second teleprint out of his pocket and read it out to me. ‘Regret no trace of Carter or Fraser stop All aircraft ordered from dawn third to keep sharp lookout Hollmind area stop Routes staggered to cover limits of Corridor stop Visibility perfect stop Two parachutes reported near frontier belonging Westrop Field stop No wreckage, parachute or signal reported target area stop Sorry signed Manning.’ He pushed it into my hand. ‘Read it yourself.’
It doesn’t prove anything,’ I said. ‘He may have been hurt.’
‘If he were he would have made some signal — smoke or something.’ He turned back to his breakfast.
‘He may not have been able to. He may have been unconscious.’
‘Then his parachute would have been seen.’
‘Not necessarily. Hollmind airfield is surrounded by a belt of pine woods. His parachute could easily have been invisible from the air if he’d come down in the woods.’
‘If he’d landed in the woods his parachute would have been caught in the trees. It would be clearly visible.’
‘Then maybe he was seen coming down and picked up by a Russian patrol or some Germans.’ I felt suddenly desperate. Tubby had to be alive. My mind clung desperately to the slender hope of this report of a parachute near Hollmind.
Saeton looked up at me again then. ‘What time did Tubby drop?’
‘I don’t know. It must have been just near eleven-thirty.’
‘On the evening of the second?’
I nodded.
“Within a few hours all pilots had been ordered to keep a sharp lookout. That means that from dawn onwards there was a constant stream of aircrews overhead searching the area. Do you seriously suggest that in the intervening seven hours of darkness Tubby would have been picked up?’
‘There was a moon,’ I said desperately.
‘All right — five hours of moonlight. If Tubby pulled his parachute release, then he would still have been there on the ground at dawn. If he were hurt, then he wouldn’t have been able to do anything about his parachute and it would have been clearly visible from above. And if he wasn’t injured, then he’d have been able to signal.’ He hesitated. ‘On the other hand, if he never regained consciousness-’
‘My God!’ I said. ‘I believe you want him dead.’
He didn’t say anything, ignoring me as I stood over him with my hands clenched. ‘I’ve got to know what happened,’ I cried. I caught hold of his shoulder. ‘Can’t you understand? I can’t go through life thinking myself a murderer. I’ve got to go out there and find him.’
‘Find him?’ He looked at me as though I were crazy.
‘Yes, find him,’ I cried. ‘I believe he’s alive. I’ve got to believe that. If I didn’t believe that-’ I moved my hand uncertainly. Couldn’t the man see how I felt about it? ‘If he’s dead, then I killed him. That’s murder, isn’t it? I’m a murderer then. He’s got to be alive.’ I added desperately, ‘He’s got to be.’
‘Better get on with your breakfast.’ The gentleness was back in his voice. Damn him! I didn’t want kindness, I wanted something to fight. I wanted action. ‘When will the plane be ready?’ I demanded thickly.
‘Sometime tomorrow,’ he answered. ‘Why?’
‘That’s too late,’ I said. ‘It’s got to be tonight.’
‘Impossible,’ he answered. ‘We’ll barely have got the second motor installed by this evening. Then there’s the tests, refuelling, loading the remains of the old Tudor, fixing the-’
‘The remains of the old Tudor?’ I stared at him. ‘You mean you’re going through with the plan? You’ll leave Tubby out there another whole day just because-’
‘Tubby’s dead,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘The sooner you realise that, the better. He’s dead and there’s nothing you can do about it.’
‘That’s what you want to believe, isn’t it?’ I sneered. ‘You want him dead because if he isn’t dead, he’d give the whole game away.’
‘I told you how I feel about Tubby.’ His face was white and his tone dangerously quiet. ‘Now shut up and get on with your breakfast.’
‘If Tubby’s dead,’ I said, ‘I’ll do exactly what he would have done if he’d been alive. I’ll go straight to the authorities-’
‘Just what is it you want me to do, Fraser?’
‘Fly over there,’ I said. ‘It’s no good a bunch of bored aircrews peering down at those woods from a height of three thousand or more. I want to fly over the area at nought feet. And if that doesn’t produce any result, then I want to land at Hollmind airfield and search those woods on foot.’
He stood looking at me for a moment. ‘All right,’ he said.
‘When?’ I asked.
‘When?’ He hesitated. ‘It’s Tuesday today. We’ll have the second engine installed this evening. Tomorrow I’ll fly down for the C of A. Could be Friday night.’
‘Friday night!’ I stared at him aghast. ‘But good God!’ I exclaimed. ‘You’re not going to leave Tubby out there whilst you get a certificate of airworthiness? You can’t do that. We must go tonight, as soon as we’ve-’
‘We’ll go as soon as I’ve got the C of A.’ His tone was final.
‘But-’
‘Don’t be a fool, Neil.’ He leaned towards me across the table. ‘I’m not leaving without a C of A. When I leave it’s going to be for good. I’ll be flying direct to Wunstorf. We’ll call at Hollmind on the way. You must remember, I don’t share your optimism. And now get some breakfast inside you. We’ve got a lot to do.’
‘But I must get there tonight,’ I insisted. ‘You don’t understand. I feel-’
‘I know very well how you feel,’ he said sharply. ‘Anybody would feel the same if he’d caused the death of a good man like Tubby. But I’m not leaving without a C of A and that’s final.’
‘But the C of A might take a week,’ I said. ‘Often it takes longer — two weeks.’
‘We’ll have to chance that. Aylmer of B.E.A. has said the Civil Aviation inspectors will rush it through. All right. I’m banking on it taking two days. If it takes longer, that’s just too bad. Now get some breakfast inside you. The sooner we get to work, the sooner you’ll be at Hollmind.’
There was nothing I could do. I got up slowly and fetched my bacon.
‘Another thing,’ he said as I sat down again. ‘I’m not landing at Hollmind except in moonlight. If it’s a pitch black night, you’ll have to jump.’
I felt my stomach go cold at the thought of another jump. ‘Why not go over in daylight?’