The Danger of Life

by Ken Lussey

  It was Petty Officer MacDonald who asked, ‘Where are you keeping those gold coins, sir?’

  ‘They’re in the right-hand breast pocket, of my uniform jacket,’ said Bob.

  ‘I don’t think a pair of gold coins will have protected the group captain from a high velocity rifle bullet,’ said Lieutenant Dixon. ‘But this might have done.’ He had unbuttoned Bob’s jacket to reveal the shoulder holster underneath it. Now he took the Walther PPK out of the holster. The pistol looked as if it had been hit, hard, with a heavy hammer, on the flat side of the slide above the hand grip.

  ‘You might want to keep this as a souvenir, sir. It seems to have saved your life. It’s not going to be much use for anything else in this condition.’

  As they cut his uniform jacket free, Bob remembered that it was less than a week old. At least he’d not had to pay for it, he thought. ‘Michael, can you look after the gold coins?’

  ‘Of course, sir,’ said Lieutenant Dixon. ‘It looks like the bullet hit the pistol then ricocheted off to one side, causing a flesh wound in your upper left arm. We’ll get your shirt and vest off, then bandage that. It doesn’t look too bad. Oh, wow! That’s a bruise to be proud of.’ He pointed at Bob’s chest as the vest was cut off. ‘You can almost see the shape of the pistol, set within a much larger area of bruising. I’d be surprised if you don’t have some rib injuries under that, sir, but there’s nothing obvious and on the whole I’m relieved by what we’ve found.’

  The commando corporal made a good job of bandaging what turned out to be a shallow wound on Bob’s upper left arm. He then looked at Bob’s head. ‘To be honest, sir, I’d be tempted not to dress that. I’ve cleaned the cut, and it’s not deep. We’ll find you a cap comforter to keep your head warm, and that should do. I could also bandage up your chest, but again there’s probably not much point. The medical officer will want to look at your ribs, but whether or not any of them are broken, a bandage won’t really help. The most important thing is to get you warm.’

  Spare garments were quickly produced, though Bob had no idea where from, and within a few minutes he was dressed in several layers of dry clothing, not without considerable pain from his chest as he donned shirt, a denim battledress blouse, and another Denison smock. He wrapped the shoulder holster in its strap, and placed it, still containing the damaged pistol, in one of the smock’s pockets.

  Dixon turned to Captain Sanderson who had re-entered the room, dripping wet. ‘It seems Group Captain Sutherland’s pistol deflected the shot. Is there any way we can get him back to Achnacarry tonight?’

  ‘Possibly later, Michael.’ He turned to Bob. ‘For the moment I think we’d be best keeping you warm and dry here, sir. You’ve probably guessed that Lieutenant Colonel White sent us out to look for you when it became clear you wouldn’t be returning before dark. Our lorries were able to cope with the track along the north shore of the loch as far as a place called Murlaggan, where it turns into more of a pony track, and proved impassable in the dark. We walked from there. Trying to get you out immediately would mean exposing you to a two mile walk in horrible weather, and then a very unpleasant and bumpy drive in the dark.’

  ‘What about Mallory and Quinlan?’ said Bob. ‘We need to start looking for them before they get too far. They’ve got what must be a four or five-hour lead on us by now.’

  ‘Tonight’s storm may work in our favour, sir,’ said Sanderson. ‘They are unlikely to get too far in this, and I doubt if anyone is putting out to sea tonight. I’ve got thirty men here, and another half dozen guarding the lorries at Murlaggan.

  ‘Lieutenant Colonel White hopes to join us before midnight with perhaps 200 more men, and will then push patrols out in the various directions Mallory and Quinlan might have travelled in. He has instructed me to remain here until he arrives. He is hoping to bring some of the men in lorries along the north side of the loch to Murlaggan and is also moving some collapsible boats from Loch Lochy to Loch Arkaig to transport more men along the loch that way. The weather is forecast to stay very poor until tomorrow evening at least, and if Mallory and Quinlan were hoping to get away by sea, they are going to have real difficulties until then.’

  ‘Hello, Bob, I gather you’ve had a close shave?’ Lieutenant Colonel White came into the cottage at about half past midnight, shaking the rain off his jacket as he did so. The sound of the wind and rain had steadily risen in intensity over the previous few hours, and the forecasts of a wild night appeared to be coming good.

  ‘That’s right, Edward, but I’m feeling a little more human now. Quinlan took a shot at me and it bounced off the pistol in my shoulder holster.’

  ‘I’ve always said that pistols are bloody useless, Bob. It seems I may have to change my opinion. Anyway, now I’m here, we need to get on and start looking for my two missing sergeants.’

  He accepted a cup of tea from Captain Sanderson and spread out a map on the floor in front of the fire. Bob and Lieutenant Dixon also gathered round. ‘The one-inch maps all come together in the middle of the area we are interested in so are no real use at all. This quarter-inch map lacks detail but gives a much better idea of what our options might be.’

  Bob said, ‘To my mind their best chance is still to leave by sea. It would be nice to be able to check, but earlier, just before I was shot, I saw an area of ground that had been dug up, just below the top of the slope beyond the old barracks. Some stones had been moved and there were two entrenching tools on the ground. My guess is that on Friday afternoon Mallory and Quinlan hid the gold there that they had already previously re-hidden near the old graveyard at Murlaggan. This time they chose what they thought was a safer spot by the barracks. There would be no reason for anyone to walk out beyond the barracks, and certainly not for them to start digging into the top of the slope.’

  ‘It sounds as if we caught them in the middle of digging up the gold, sir,’ said Lieutenant Dixon.

  ‘That’s my guess. They probably saw us approaching along the loch, or certainly along the track, and hid somewhere on the higher ground to the north. I guess they intended to let us return to the boat and sail away, just as they had let us walk past on the way to Strathan.’

  ‘But you walked close enough to the edge to see what they had been doing,’ said Dixon.

  ‘Yes, and that forced their hand,’ said Bob. ‘Thinking back to our earlier discussion, maybe it was never their intention to hide the gold here long-term. Or perhaps that was the intention, and the murders changed their minds.’

  Lieutenant Dixon took a pace back. ‘Or it could simply be that once they had handled the gold once, sir, the idea of trusting one another for an indefinite period into the future was no longer so appealing. Either way, it looks as if taking the lorry to Banavie was meant to be a diversion, and they travelled back overland to the head of the loch.’

  It was Lieutenant Colonel White who voiced the thought in everyone’s heads. ‘What really matters now is discovering which way they have gone and how they intend to escape.’

  Captain Sanderson ran a finger over the map. ‘There are three routes west from here, sir. Along Glen Dessarry to the head of Loch Nevis, along Glen Pean to the head of Loch Morar, and less directly, south to Glen Finnan, and then down Glen Shiel or west along the road or railway to Arisaig and Mallaig. The men we are looking for are experts in living off the land and concealing themselves in this sort of landscape. And both know the area extremely well. Sergeant Quinlan was previously based at the Special Training Centre at Lochailort and while there he could easily have helped setting up the training for the Special Operations Executive based at Arisaig House and in various places north of there. He probably knows the lie of the land in this part of the country better than anyone else alive.’

  ‘On the other hand,’ said Lieutenant Colonel White, ‘we believe that the two men we are looking for are burdened down with an unknown but possibly significant weight of gold coins. A
nd we know that they are unlikely to be able to make an escape by sea until this storm passes over, which isn’t due to happen until tomorrow night, I mean tonight, at the earliest.

  ‘After talking to Captain Sanderson on the radio earlier, I dispatched additional patrols to cover all the inland routes away from here. We can’t overlook the possibility that, having decoyed us once, Mallory and Quinlan might try to do it again. By now we should have men blocking off every conceivable route out of the area.’ The lieutenant colonel ran his finger in an arc from east to west across the map. ‘We’ve also alerted all military units in the area, and all naval units. As soon as the weather eases enough for them to get safely to sea, the Royal Navy will be patrolling the coastline intensively from Ardnamurchan in the south to the Sound of Raasay in the north. Incidentally, Bob, I should have mentioned that your Sergeant Potter came to see me earlier. It seems that although he comes from Liverpool, Quinlan has family in southern Ireland, so that sounds like a possible line of escape.’

  ‘What will you do with the men you have here?’ asked Bob.

  ‘They are currently sheltering in the other room of this cottage and in the other two buildings. But I’d like to win back some of the lead that Mallory and Quinlan have on us. There are 220 men here, and another ten guarding the boats. I will send strong patrols out immediately to take up positions at the east end of Loch Nevis and Loch Morar, here and here,’ he pointed at the map, ‘and to Loch Hourn further north. Then at first light we’ll use the rest of the men to mount sweeps along Glen Dessarry and Glen Pean to see if they can pick up any traces of Mallory and Quinlan.’

  ‘Do you have men who are able to track fugitives?’ asked Bob.

  ‘You’ve been watching too many Saturday morning westerns, Bob,’ said White. ‘And if we did have trackers, I’m sure that anything very subtle would be swept away in the weather out there tonight. But Mallory and Quinlan might have left some sign of their passing, perhaps by lighting a fire, and if they have we ought to be able to find traces of them in the morning.’

  ‘Is there any way I can return to Achnacarry tonight, Edward?’ asked Bob.

  ‘That may be a good idea,’ said White. ‘I’d like to have the medical officer check you over. The least uncomfortable option, and the quickest, might be to take you in one of the boats currently down at the pier at this end of Loch Arkaig.’

  The walk to the head of the loch wasn’t a happy one for Bob, partly because of the storm, but also because of the intense pain he felt in his chest every time he breathed. Lieutenant Dixon and Petty Officer MacDonald walked with him and the company helped.

  Bob paused to catch his breath where the track passed the gable end of the old barracks. He looked over at Lieutenant Dixon, who was huddled into his smock for protection from the weather.

  ‘I know what you are going to say, sir,’ shouted the lieutenant over the wind. ‘I think it would be better if I went. Andrew can stay with you on the track.’

  ‘Fair enough, Michael,’ said Bob, ‘but one of us needs to look.’

  Lieutenant Dixon switched on a torch, and Bob watched as he made his way past the walls of the barracks and over to the place where Bob had been shot. The beam from the torch flickered around the landscape for a few minutes, and then Dixon made his way back to the track.

  ‘I didn’t imagine it, did I?’ shouted Bob, as they began the downhill walk towards the loch.

  ‘No sir, there’s a hole there, with debris down the slope beyond. I’m not sure how much gold you’d be able to hide there, but it is a significant hole. There was no sign of the entrenching tools you saw. Maybe they plan to bury the gold somewhere else?’

  ‘Don’t even joke about that, Michael,’ said Bob, groaning as he stumbled on a pebble and another wave of pain shot up his left side.

  ‘I’m not sure I was joking, sir,’ said Dixon, leaning in towards Bob’s ear as he tried to make himself heard.

  ‘We’ve not met, sir. I’m the medical officer here at Achnacarry, Captain Hugh Harrington. Lieutenant Colonel White radioed to say that you were returning and needed checking over. I don’t get to treat many men who have survived being shot in the chest with a .303 rifle bullet at fairly short range.’

  When they had returned to Achnacarry, Captain Harrington had been waiting for Bob, and showed him directly into what Bob assumed was a consulting room. Bob had stiffened up over the previous few hours, so getting undressed was no easier than it had been in the cottage at Strathan.

  ‘What do you think, Captain?’ asked Bob, after Harrington had spent some time looking at the back of his head, and then his arm, before finally feeling the side of his chest.

  ‘I think you’ll live,’ said the captain. ‘And I think you are one of the luckiest men I’ve ever met. The odds against the rifle shot hitting the pistol were very high, and you even got away lightly with the arm wound that followed. It’s very superficial. The head will also heal without any problems, but I’d avoid driving or excessive exercise for the next couple of days. If you feel dizzy, sit down. As for the bruise on your chest, well, it will hurt like hell for a few days, but I’m pretty sure there are no broken ribs and no internal damage in there. As I said, you are very lucky.’

  As Bob approached the task of getting dressed again, Captain Harrington said, ‘The lieutenant colonel asked me to dig this out for you. He thought you might like one that will work if you need it to. We have all sorts of weapons here, our own and the enemy’s, and finding this wasn’t difficult.’

  The captain held out a Walther PPK. It wasn’t as pristine as the one Bob had originally been issued with in London, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, he thought.

  ‘I’m extremely grateful, thank you.’

  Bob’s shoulder holster was still in his jacket pocket, and he put the weapon the captain had given him in the other pocket. ‘How long do you think the bruising will take to go down, captain?’

  ‘It could be up to a week, sir. We get all sorts of injuries here, as you can imagine, but the only time I’ve ever seen anything quite like that, it took about a week to begin to fade.’

  ‘How did that happen?’ asked Bob.

  ‘Have you ever heard of the Boys anti-tank rifle, sir?’

  ‘Vaguely,’ said Bob.

  ‘It’s a beast of a rifle that’s used to attack tanks. The weapon itself is over five feet long and very heavy. It’s not popular and not very effective, and we are promised a replacement next year. But the thing that really sets it apart is the powerful recoil. We had a trainee a few months ago who decided that the way to ease the impact was to pack his cap comforter inside the top of his tunic, between his shoulder and the stock of the weapon. It worked well, until the time he forgot he was wearing his regimental beret rather than his cap comforter. The result was a perfect impression of a Royal Tank Regiment cap badge imprinted into his shoulder. The surrounding bruising wasn’t quite as bad as yours, but it was impressive. It’s not a mistake he’ll make again, I’m sure. Look, sir, are you going to take any notice if I suggest that you need some rest?’

  ‘Yes, I am,’ said Bob. ‘I’ve asked my team to reconvene at 7 a.m., so we’ve all got time for a couple of hours of sleep.’

  ‘How are you, Bob?’

  Monique had been standing outside the doctor’s office. Bob thought she looked as drained as he felt.

  ‘Hello, Monique. If you want the truth, I’ve been far better, but thank you for asking.’

  ‘Michael came to my room to tell me you were back and what had happened. I wanted to see how you were. I thought I was having a bad day. The storm made the roads very difficult on the return journey, and we ran out of daylight. Then the car’s electrics decided they didn’t like rain, and to top it off, the ferry south of Fort William wasn’t working and we had to take a long detour. I got back to Achnacarry so late that Lieutenant Colonel White had already left, after they’d found y
ou. I can’t believe you got yourself shot!’

  Captain Harrington emerged from his office and looked quizzically at them before bidding them goodnight and walking down the corridor.

  ‘Since you’re asking, yes,’ said Bob, ‘I was shot, by a rifle, at short range, in the chest. The shot hit my holstered pistol, which saved my life.’

  ‘Surely that sort of thing only happens in the John Buchan novels you talked about.’

  ‘I’ve got the Walther PPK-shaped bruise to prove it.’

  ‘I’ve been waiting for news since I returned. I was relieved when Michael told me you were back.’

  ‘Thank you, Monique. I appreciate it.’ Bob found, to his surprise, that he was telling the truth.

  ‘What happens now?’

  ‘In what sense?’

  ‘I hear that the killers are two instructors based here. I imagine that the job now is to find them?’

  ‘Yes. Lieutenant Colonel White has men blocking all the routes out, and despite the storm he is trying to track the men from their last known position. I’ve not had a chance to work out how we can usefully add to what he’s doing. I think we’ll probably head west first thing in the morning to see if we can help, as it looks likely they are heading for the coast. That will give us a few hours of sleep.’

  ‘My colleague, the man who drove me up, is staying overnight. Given how things have developed today, I think I’ll get him to drive me back to Glasgow first thing in the morning. I’ll simply tell Matthew Sloan that I’ve done all I can here, and that I’m much more needed there. If he doesn’t like it, well, to hell with him.’

  ‘You’ll have had a wasted journey tonight, then.’

  ‘Not really. At least I’ve seen for myself that you’re still alive. Sorry, I know I’m keeping you up, Bob. I just wanted to say that I wish that things had worked out differently.’