The Snow Tiger / Night of Error. Desmond Bagley

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СКАЧАТЬ dangerous. I would not climb up there myself, nor would I send anyone else. I judged it better to wait until daylight when we could see what we were doing.’

      Harrison looked at Smithers. ‘It appears from the evidence of Mr MacAllister that this was the first occasion that anyone outside Hukahoronui had any inkling of trouble.’ He switched his gaze to Crowell who was sitting next to Rickman and amended his statement. ‘Or anyone who did something constructive about it, that is. Have you any questions, Mr Smithers?’

      ‘No, Mr Chairman. But I think the witness ought to be congratulated on the sensible steps he took – especially his quickness in passing on news of a potentially hazardous situation.’

      ‘I concur.’ Harrison turned to MacAllister. ‘To what time does your evidence take us?’

      ‘I made the second call to the police at three-thirty on the Sunday morning.’

      ‘Thank you. You may step down, Mr MacAllister, with the knowledge that you have done your duty well.’

      MacAllister left the witness chair, and Harrison said, ‘I think it is time to get back to what happened in Hukahoronui after the lights were extinguished. We have just heard of a fall of snow which blocked the Hukahoronui Gap. I would like to hear Dr McGill’s professional views on that.’

      McGill rose, walked to the witness chair, and set his briefcase on the floor. Harrison said, ‘You were present in the lobby of the Hotel D’Archiac when the lights went out?’

      ‘Yes, sir. As Mr Cameron said, there was a lot of confusion at that time. Mr Ballard was trying to talk to Mr Crowell and had difficulty in doing so because of the actions of Mr Charles Peterson. I went to his aid and it was about then that the lights went out. Mr Ballard said that the telephone had also gone dead.’

      ‘Did you hear the snow falling into the Gap?’

      ‘No. There was too much noise in the hotel.’

      ‘So what happened?’

      ‘The management of the hotel got busy and provided light. There were candles and kerosene lanterns ready for use. I was told that a breakdown of electricity supply was not uncommon, and there had been a similar occurrence only the previous month. Everybody took it as a matter of course. I asked about the dead telephone but no one seemed worried about that, either. The dance was over, anyway, so everybody went home.’

      ‘Including you?’

      ‘Yes. I went home with Mr Ballard and went to bed.’

      McGill was woken from a sound sleep by Ballard. He awoke to darkness and automatically flicked at the switch of the bed-side lamp, but nothing happened. It was then he remembered about the power failure. Ballard was a deeper shadow in the darkness. McGill said, ‘What time is it?’

      ‘Five-thirty. Cameron just rang up with a funny story. It seems that one of his men, Jack Stevens, left early this morning to go to Christchurch to see his mother. He says he can’t get out of the valley.’

      ‘Why not?’

      ‘He says the Gap is closed off with snow. He says he can’t get through.’

      ‘What sort of car does he have?’

      ‘A Volkswagen.’

      ‘Well, it’s not surprising, is it? Look at what happened to those two Americans the other day. Is it still snowing?’

      ‘Very heavily.’

      ‘Well, there you are. It’s probably been snowing all night. I couldn’t guarantee to get through myself with a Land-Rover.’

      ‘According to Cameron, Jack says it’s not like that. He’s talking of a wall of snow so high he can’t see the top. I told Cameron to bring him here.’

      McGill grunted. ‘Light that candle on the dressing-table, will you?’

      Ten minutes later he was saying, ‘You’re sure, now. This is not just a deep drift across the road?’

      ‘I’ve told you it’s not,’ said Stevens. ‘It’s a bloody great wall of snow.’

      ‘I think I’d better go and look at it,’ said McGill.

      Ballard said, ‘I’ll come with you.’ He looked at the telephone and then at Cameron. ‘If there’s no power how did you manage to ring me?’

      Stevens said, ‘The exchange has a bank of batteries and an emergency diesel generator to top them up. We’re all right for local calls.’

      McGill nodded. ‘Whatever happened at the Gap must have taken out the electricity cables and the telephone lines both.’ He picked up a heavy anorak. ‘Let’s get going.’

      ‘I’ll come, too,’ said Cameron.

      ‘No,’ said McGill. ‘I’ve just been handed an idea. Do you have diesel generators at the mine?’

      ‘Sure.’

      ‘Then you see that they’re in working order. I have a notion that we’re going to need power before long.’

      ‘That means me,’ said Stevens. ‘I’m the mine electrician.’ He winked at Cameron. ‘Do I get double time for Sunday work?’

      Ballard left to put on ski pants and an anorak and then he joined McGill in the garage. He got behind the wheel of the Land-Rover and pushed the self-starter; it whined but the engine did not fire. ‘She’s cold,’ he said as he pushed again. He tried several times but still the engine did not take. ‘Confound the bloody thing.’

      ‘Take it easy,’ said McGill. ‘You’ve flooded her. Wait a couple of minutes.’ He pulled the anorak about him and then put on gloves. ‘What’s between you and Charlie Peterson? Last night he acted like a bull moose in rutting season.’

      ‘It’s an old story,’ said Ballard. ‘Not worth repeating.’

      ‘I think I’d better know. Look, Ian: the Petersons are forty per cent of the town council and that fool of a mayor, Houghton, will do whatever John Peterson tells him to do.’

      ‘John’s all right,’ said Ballard.

      ‘Maybe. But Eric is steamed up about the mine and he hates your guts. As for Charlie – I don’t know. There seems to be something else sticking in his craw. What did you do? Take away his girl or something like that?’

      ‘Of course not.’

      ‘If an old quarrel is getting in the way of co-operation with the council I’d better know about it. Charlie did enough damage last night.’

      ‘It goes back a long way.’

      ‘So tell,’ said McGill. ‘The snow in the Gap won’t go away if what Stevens says is true. We have the time.’

      ‘I never knew my father,’ said Ballard. ‘I was born in the January of 1939 in England, and I was brought here as a babe in arms. Something else also happened in ‘39.’

      ‘The СКАЧАТЬ