‘We don’t want to be spotted by anybody else,’ said Travis. ‘Old Piebald was bad enough and next time it might be somebody who would remember us. We’ve got to get to Southampton by the morning and then see what the prospects are for smuggling ourselves on board a liner. It ought to be easy enough if we can find a big enough ship. I expect most of the crew will be on shore leave, and there will be a gangplank down. We need only wait our chance. I went over a big liner once with my father and there were simply dozens of places where we could hide. We’ll have to wait until the ship is too far out for the captain to put back and then they will give us some grub and tell us to work our passage. It’s always being done.’
‘Won’t they wireless the shore and say we’re on board?’
‘Oh, we’ll have to give false names and addresses, that’s all. The captain won’t know any different.’
‘How much further would you say it is?’
‘Oh, not far now, I reckon.’
‘What will happen if we don’t get a ship?’
‘We’ll have to hang on until we do. I can get money out on demand at a post office when I show them my savings book and we’ll just lie up somewhere in the docks area and watch and wait. It’s quite simple.’
‘If we go into the post office or buy grub, somebody will spot us. We’ll have been missed and they’ll be looking for us, the murderers, I mean, or our mothers or the police or somebody.’
‘Our mothers won’t worry. I put in the note we were staying Sunday night with my aunt.’
‘Well, what about the murderers? I bet they will find out we’ve left home.’
‘We’ll do the post office — that’ll be me — and the shop — that’ll be you — separately. We mustn’t be seen together more than we can help. The murderers will be looking for two of us, won’t they? I’ve read about people on the run and seen it on films. Usually it’s a man and a girl and so long as nobody actually sees them together it’s perfectly all right.’
They ate the biscuits they had left, and shared the cheese and then lay concealed until dusk. When they moved back on to the road, Maycock was limping.
‘I can’t go much further,’ he said. ‘I wish I hadn’t come.’
‘Would you rather be murdered, you ass? Come on!’
But Maycock’s luck was in. A long-distance lorry driver picked the boys up in his headlights and, having driven past them, he pulled up and told his mate to ask what they were up to at that time of night. Being informed by Travis that they were bound for Southampton, the mate said that the lorry was going there and reported back to the driver.
‘There’s a late coach behind me,’ said the driver. ‘I’ll stop him. He’ll be going back empty or near enough. I know him. He’ll take these kids, I daresay. Been out for the day and got lost in the forest, I wouldn’t wonder, young dunder’eads. Tell ’em to hang on a minute while I flash down the coach.’
Travis was too tired and Maycock too unhappy to argue or attempt to escape, so, while the driver’s mate waited on the roadside with them, the driver made signals with his rear lights to the oncoming coach and the boys soon found themselves on their way in comfort. The coach driver was not too pleased about it and told them that he would have to set them down before the coach reached the city centre.
‘You’ll have to find your own way from Totton,’ he said. ‘I can’t go out of my way. I’m late back from the tour already. Where do you live?’
‘Almost on top of the docks,’ said Travis. ‘We went for a day on our own in the New Forest and got lost. We’ve been walking for hours.’
‘You look like it.’ He was better than his word. He took them through Totton and as far as the central station. He had to wake them before he could set them down. ‘Here we are, then. Know where you are now, don’t you?’ he said. ‘Hop out quick. I’m not supposed to stop here.’
The boys went into the railway station. They were surprised to see by the station clock that it was still only a little after eight-thirty. The lights in the booking hall gave the impression that their surroundings were friendly and reassuring. There was a station buffet. They collected food and cups of tea. Later on, they went into the waiting-room and sat beside a motherly-looking woman who said, ‘Wasn’t it rough coming over?’ Not knowing what she was talking about, they agreed. The waiting room was warm, although the bench on which they were seated was rather hard. People came and went. A man came up to the motherly woman and said, ’Oh, here you are. I’ve got the car outside.’ She got up, smiled at the boys and went out with the man. Still later, a railway official came in and said, ’Hullo, what do you think you’re doing here at this time o’ night?’
‘Waiting for our mum. She’s gone to the Ladies,’ said Travis.
‘Oh, ah.’ He went away and, miraculously as it seemed, they were not disturbed again and managed to get some sleep. At seven the next morning they left the waiting room, bought food and tea again at the station buffet and then set out again.
‘We’d better ask how to get to the docks,’ said Maycock. ‘Your map doesn’t really show the way, does it?’
‘Near enough,’ replied Travis, dumping his rucksack and stooping to take his father’s Ordnance map out of it. He unfolded and they scanned the large sheet. ‘No, it’s not really much help,’ he admitted.
He had returned the map and shouldered the rucksack again when a thin, dark individual came up to Maycock and said, ‘Want to earn a bit of pocket money, sonny?’
‘His mother told him not to speak to strange men,’ said Travis in a high, mincing voice. The man took Maycock by the sleeve.
‘What about it, then?’ he said. Maycock kicked him hard on the shin. The man, with an oath, let go and both boys took to flight and almost collided with a policeman.
‘What’s all this, then?’ he said, gripping Travis.
‘Sorry,’ said Travis. ‘Choirboys and we’re late for early service.’
‘OK.’ He nodded and moved on. At the turning to the esplanade, the boys slowed to a walk. Both the man and the constable were out of sight.
‘What was that man’s game, do you think?’ asked Maycock, as they walked on again.
‘No idea, but I reckon he was a spiv. What job could he give you on a Sunday unless it was something fishy? Besides, his eyes were like Prouding’s and I wouldn’t trust Prouding further than I could throw him. He’s a wart.’
They followed the esplanade until, at the end of a left-hand turning, they could see the Bar gate. Travis led the way towards it and they halted to look at the structure and then to debate whether to turn right or left. Travis won, as usual, and they found themselves on the quay, in sight of the water and two long piers at one of which a ferry steamer was tied up.
‘Why don’t we do what we told Old Piebald we were going to do?’ asked Maycock.
‘Such as what?’
‘Cross to the Isle of Wight. It might be much easier than trying to get on board a liner and smuggle ourselves away. Nobody would think of looking for us on the Isle of Wight.’
‘What about Old Piebald himself, you ass?’
‘You said he’d never remember seeing us, and if anybody asks that lorry driver or the coach driver anything, they’ll be able to say they only spotted us going to Southampton.’
‘And how far is it from Southampton to the Isle of Wight? There’s a ferry from there same as from Lymington.’
‘They wouldn’t think like that. We told Old Piebald we were going from Lymington and that’s what we’d naturally do because it’s a much shorter crossing and nearer our homes. Well, they’d soon find we didn’t do that, so they’d never think of Southampton.’