Sole Survivor. Derek Hansen

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СКАЧАТЬ been wrong. Red groaned as Rosie reached for the bucket as soon as they cleared the lee of Selwyn Island. She needn’t have bothered. The combination of wind and tossing sea made the bucket an impossible target. He began to have second thoughts himself. He’d expected the going to be rough, but nowhere near as rough as it was. The sea would test the fillings in their teeth until they’d rounded Miners Head, and still be uncomfortable until they’d cleared Aiguilles Island. At least they weren’t in any danger. His boat was more than a match for the seas, and his Cummins diesel was boringly reliable. He thought he ought to say something to reassure his passenger, then thought better of it. That would defeat the object of the exercise. Get her sick and get her frightened. Then leave her on her own. It sounded good in theory, but putting their plan into practice was something else. What he was doing just wasn’t right. It went against everything he’d learned in Burma. It was one thing to be unhelpful, something else to be deliberately cruel. Yet what he was doing was cruel and indefensible. He heard Rosie retch violently once more and gritted his teeth. It was wrong but it was necessary. Wrong but necessary! Acknowledging the necessity didn’t make him feel any better. He sensed Archie up under the bow deck, gazing back at him reproachfully, and felt doubly guilty. Guilty and disgusted with himself. At least he should have left Archie at home.

      Once they’d rounded Aiguilles Island, Red began to feel more at ease. He stayed close in to the shore, out of the wind where the black surface of the water was barely ruffled, so that his passenger could recover. A quarter moon sat low on the horizon, touching the shore with a wan and watery light. Rosie had stopped throwing up, possibly, Red surmised, because there was nothing left to throw up. His boat was a mess, but he accepted that he only had himself to blame. He smiled grimly. That was another of Col’s predictions that had proved accurate. She’d thrown up her dinner, lunch, breakfast and the previous night’s dinner as well. But she hadn’t moaned or groaned or uttered a word of complaint. He respected her for that. He felt he should break the silence.

      “You okay?”

      “Why wouldn’t I be?”

      “We’re just coming into Wreck Bay.”

      “What? So soon?”

      Red couldn’t help himself. He smiled. In the darkness with his back to her it was okay to smile. She’d never know.

      “And wipe that smile off your face.”

      Red stiffened.

      “Don’t think you’re clever, mister. That was nothing. Until you’ve puked out on Pernod you don’t know what puking’s about.”

      Red’s face flushed with embarrassment. There was something about her that reminded him of Yvonne. His mind drifted back to the Alexandra Hospital in Singapore when the Japanese came. He recalled the nurses standing up to the Japanese soldiers, defying them by shielding their patients, and having their faces slapped for their audacity. They never voluntarily took a backward step. He could sense that Rosie was from the same mold, somebody who wouldn’t take a backward step either. It hadn’t done the nurses any good. Ultimately, it wouldn’t do her any good. He slipped the gear shift to neutral and let the boat glide gently on its own momentum up onto the beach.

      “Hop ashore and I’ll pass your things out.”

      Rosie got slowly to her feet, praying that her legs could still support her. It had been a long time since she’d felt so sick and been so scared. But she was damned if she’d give him the satisfaction of knowing. She walked gingerly along the length of the boat, transferring her weight from hand to hand along the gunwale. Her legs threatened to buckle under her. She knew that if she jumped down onto the beach she’d just fold up into a heap. She needed time to pull herself together. Up ahead, two eyes watched her every move.

      “Hello again, Archie.” She pushed past Red and was gratified to hear the dog’s tail thump, thump, thump against the bow planks. “What sort of a man takes a dog out on a night like this?”

      “Archie goes where I go.”

      “Who’s talking to you?” She reached as far forward as she felt she could without toppling over and let Archie sniff her hand. “It’s a good thing dogs can’t talk, because I do believe he’d say things you wouldn’t like to hear.”

      Red ignored her. What did she know about Archie? “Got a torch?”

      “A torch?”

      “So you can see where you’re going.”

      “Right.” The moment of truth had come. She sat her bottom down on the bow deck and swung her legs over the side. She peered into the darkness to try to judge her height from the sand. A straight drop was out of the question. She twisted, put both hands firmly on the side of the boat and jumped. Her legs buckled as she hit the beach, but her hands held her upright. She straightened. “Give me the box of supplies. Col probably put a torch in there.”

      “Probably?”

      It was Rosie’s turn to flush with embarrassment. It simply hadn’t occurred to her to bring a torch. What had she expected? Street lighting where there were no streets?

      “Let’s hope he probably put batteries in as well.”

      Rosie took the box from him and carried it up the beach. She started to rummage through, wishing to hell she’d thought to go through the box when Col had given it to her. Any smart person would have. She heard one of her bags thud into the sand behind her and rushed to get it before an incoming wave beat her to it.

      “Here’s another.”

      She reached up and grabbed the second carryall.

      “How are you going with the torch?”

      “Give me a chance!” she snapped.

      Give her a chance. Yes, Red thought, he should give her a chance. But what if he did and what if she stayed? Oh Christ! Old Bernie had a lot to answer for. Red waited until she’d dumped both bags by the box of supplies. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t let up on her.

      “Don’t forget the diesel.”

      “Who could forget the diesel?”

      Red reached for the jerry can, not daring to smile. “While you’re here, I’ve got something else for you.”

      “What?”

      “My clothes.”

      Red peeled off his oilskins and handed them to her. Then his woolen sweater, shirt and trousers. He was determined to do things the way he always did, woman or no woman.

      “What am I supposed to do with them?”

      “Just keep them dry. Now let me push her out. C’mon, Archie.” Red jumped naked onto the sand, followed by Archie, and began to push his boat off the beach sternforemost.

      “Where are you going?”

      “To the mooring.”

      “Oh.”

      Red grimaced. There’d been a touch of anxiety in her voice when she’d thought he was leaving her all alone. It was enough that their plan worked without having to feel the hurt it caused. He started the motor and ran up to the buoy. The deck was slippery with vomit, and it seemed no part СКАЧАТЬ