If thou offerst to touch the string.

agreed. "But there are no other Keith Mallorys. Keith Mallory," Jensen repeated rhetorically. "Who hadn't heard of Keith Mallory in the palmy, balmy days before the war? The finest mountaineer, the greatest rock climber New Zealand has ever producedand by that, of course, New Zealanders mean the world. The human fly, the climber of the unclimbable, the scaler of vertical cliffs and impossible precipices. The entire south coast of Navarone," said Jensen cheerfully, "consists of one vast, impossible precipice. Nary a hand or foot-hold in sight." "I see," Mallory murmured. "I see indeed. 'Into Navarone the hard way.' That was what you said." "That was," Jensen acknowledged. "You and your gangjust four others. Mallory's Merry Mountaineers. Hand-picked. Every man a specialist. You'll meet them all tomorrowthis afternoon, rather." They travelled in silence for the next ten minutes, turned up right from the dock area, jounced their uncomfortable way over the massive cobbles of the Rue Souers, slewed round into Mohammed All square, passed in front of the Bourse and turned right down the Sherif Pasha. Mallory looked at the man behind the wheel. He could see his face quite clearly now in the gathering light. "Where to, sir?" "To see the only man in the Middle East who can give you any help now. Monsieur Eugene Viachos of Navarone." "You are a brave man, Captain Mallory." Nervously Eugene Viachos twisted the long, pointed ends of his black moustache. "A brave man and a foolish one, I would saybut I suppose we cannot call a man a fool when he only obeys his orders." His eyes left the large drawing lying before him on the table and sought Jensen's impassive face. "Is there no other way, Captain?" he pleaded. Jensen shook his head slowly. "There are. We've tried them all, sir. They all failed. This is the last." "He must go, then?" "There are over a thousand men on Kheros, sir." Vlachos bowed his head in silent acceptance, then smiled faintly at Mallory. "He calls me 'sir.' Me, a poor Greek hotel-keeper and Captain Jensen of the Royal Navy calls me 'sir.' It makes an old man feel good." He stopped, gazed off vacantly into space, the faded eyes and tired, lined face soft with memory. "An old man, Captain best digital camera for travel Mallory, an old man now, a poor man and a sad one. But I wasn't always, not always. Once I was just middle-aged, and rich and well content. Once I owned a lovely land, a hundred square miles of the most beautiful country God ever sent to delight the eyes of His creatures here below, and how well I loved that land!" He laughed self-consciously and ran a hand through his thick, greying hair. "Ah, well, as you people say, I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder. 'A lovely land,' I say. 'That blasted rock,' as Captain Jensen has been heard to describe it out of my hearing." He smiled at Jensen's sudden discomfiture. "But we both give it the same nameNavarone." Startled, Mallory looked at Jensen. Jensen nodded. "The Vlachos family has owned Navarone for generations. We had to remove Monsieur Viachos in a great hurry eighteen months ago. The Germans didn't care overmuch for his kind of collaboration." "It washow do you saytouch and go," Vlachos nodded. "They had reserved three very special places for my two sons and myself in the dungeons in Navarone. . . . But enough of the Viachos family. I just wanted you to know, young man, that I spent forty years on Navarone and almost four days"he gestured to the table"on that map. My information and that map you can trust absolutely. Many things will have changed, of course, but some things never change. The mountains, the bays, the passes, the caves, the roads, the houses and, above all, the fortress itselfthese have remained unchanged for centuries, Captain Mallory." "I understand, sir." Mallory folded the map carefully, stowed it away in his tunic. "With this, there's always a chance. Thank you very much." "It is little enough, God knows." Viachos's fingers drummed on the table for a moment, then he looked up at Mallory. "Captain Jensen informs me that most of you speak Greek fluently, that you will be dressed as Greek peasants and will carry forged papers. That is well. You will bewhat is the word?self-contained, will operate on your own." He paused, then went on very earnestly. "Please do not try to enlist the help of the people of Navarone. At all costs you must avoid that. The Germans are ruthless. I know. If a man helps you and is found out, they will destroy not only that man but his entire villagemen, women and children. It has happened before. It will happen again." "It happened in Crete," Mallory

And quickly sixty of Robin Hood's men

his understanding smile began to replace the sadness in his eyes. So am I. Lars leaned forward to kiss her, gently at first and then with an urgency that showed Killashandra the depths of his apprehension for her. Then, with a spring in his step and a jaunty set to his shoulders, he went in search of food. Killashandra did have to endure the official apologies and insincere protestations of the Elders, all nine of them. She made the obligatory responses, consoling herself with the thought that their days were numbered, and she would shorten that number as much as possible. She pretended to be far weaker than she actually was, for once the symbiont began its work, her recovery was markedly swift. But, for official visits, she managed to assume the appearance of debility so that her convalescence had to be supervised by Nahia and Hauness, skilled medical practitioners that they were. This gave the conspirators ample time to plan an orderly and discreet exodus of people in jeopardy from Elderly tyrannies. Olav had smuggled his miniature detector unremarked into the Conservatory as a piece of Haunesss diagnostic equipment. At first they had been bitterly disappointed when it responded to Lars proximity, despite his pockets being full of white crystal shards. If Trag approached with Lars, the device remained silent, so Killashandras theory that crystal resonance confused the detector was correct. But her resonance was gone and, with the imminent arrival of the scout ship, there would be no chance for Trag to usher a few refugees past the security curtain at the shuttleport arch. Fortunately Lars also remembered that Killashandra had disrupted the monitors by singing the crystal fragments. These, resonating discordantly as the wearer hummed, fooled the detector. It was then only a matter of experimentation to discover just what quantity of crystal provided adequate shielding. Perfect pitch was actually a handicap, the more out-of-tune the note, the more the white crystal reacted, and deluded the detector. A week after the attack, Olav had no further excuse to stay at the Conservatory, and left, it was said, for the islands. He had been able to convince the Elders of his determination to send more islanders to the public concerts. Actually, he stayed in the City and made a few minor but important alterations to his appearance. The next day, he reported to Hauness and Nahia in Killashandras suite, bearing documents that proved him to be the qualified empath whom Hauness and Nahia had drafted from their hvl-f1000 digital camera flash clinic to attend Killashandra. Now that Killashandra was recovering, they wished to return to their other patients in Ironwood. Nahias the one who ought to be leaving, Lars had bitterly objected. Shes the most vulnerable of us all. No, Lars, Trag had said. She is needed here, and she needs to be here for reasons which you might not understand but for which I esteem her. Trags unstinted approval of the woman did much to placate Lars but he told Killashandra that, in leaving, he keenly felt himself the traitor. Then come back with the Revision Force, she said, more than a little irritated by Larss self-reproach on this and other issues. She immediately regretted the suggestion at the look of relief in Larss face. But it was a solution which could resolve many of Larss doubts, especially when she knew he loved his home world and would be happy enough sailing the Pearl Fisher around the islands. She was somewhat relieved that Lars would be happy on Optheria once the government had been changed. The Federation will need people with leadership potential. Trag says it usually takes a full decade before a new provisional government is appointed, much less ratified by the Federation. You might even end up a bureaucrat. Lars snorted derisively. Thats the most unlikely notion youve had. Not that I wouldnt like to get back here unprejudiced. Id like to make sure the change is going to be beneficial. And ensure that you had official permission to sail about in your beloved islands. She managed to keep the bitterness out of her voice for she could think of many things that a man with Larss abilities and talents could do, once free to move about the galaxy. It rankled that her body was not sufficiently mended to add that argument to verbal ones. Lars was treating her as if she were fragile. He was gentle and affectionate. His caresses, though frequent, were undemanding, leaving her frustrated. He was so solicitous of her comfort that she was frequently tempted to wreak a bit of violence on him. Although her jagged, red scars looked more painful than they were, a lover as considerate as Lars had always been would be reluctant to approach her. The symbiont couldnt work fast enough for her. But would it have repaired her before the scout ship brought them to the Regulus Federation Base? She tried to overcome her desire for Lars and to ignore the fact that time was running out for them both. It was too soon and not soon enough when Mirbethan communicated the

Nor with other men's wives have lain."

"Not quite. I haven't much hope from it, but I thought I might try the deductive reasoning act for a change. But before we can deduce, we have to have some facts we can deduce from. And we're very short on facts. That's why I asked you out hereto see if you could help me." "I'll do anything I can, you know that." She lifted her head as the aurora swelled and flamed to the incandescent climax of its performance, and shivered violently as its unearthly beautiful colourings struck a million sparks of coloured light, red and green and yellow and gold, off the ice spicules in the sky. "I don't know why, that makes me feel colder than ever. . . . But I think I've already told you everything I know, everything I can remember, Dr Mason." Tm sure you have. But you may have missed some things just because you couldn't see they mattered anyway. Now, as I see it, we have three big questions looking for an answer. How come the crash in the first place? How was the coffee spiked? How was the radio broken? If we can turn up anything that can throw a light on even one of these, we may be a long way towards finding out what we want to know." Ten freezing minutes later we were still a long way from finding out anything. I'd taken Margaret Ross step by step from the Customs Hall, where she'd met her passengers, to the plane where she had settled them down, flown with them to Gander, watched them go through the same process again, flown them out of Gander, watched her as she'd served their evening meal, and still I'd learnt nothing, turned up nothing suspicious, off-beat or abnormal that could even begin to account for the crash. Then, slowly, just as she was describing the serving of the meal, her voice trailed away into silence, and she turned and stared at me. "What's the matter, Miss Ross?" "Of course," she said softly. "Of course! What a fool I am! Now I see. "What do you see?" I demanded. "The coffee. How it was tampered with. I'd just served Colonel Harrisonhe was in the rear seat, so he was the last to be served -when he wrinkled his nose and asked if I could smell something burning. I couldn't, but I made some sort of joke about something burning on the galley hotplate and I'd just got back there when I heard the Colonel calling, and when I looked round he had the door of the starboard washroom open and smoke was coming out. Not much, just a little. I digital camera children c called the captain, and he hurried aft to see what it was, but it was nothing serious, just a few papers burningsomebody had been careless with a cigarette, I suppose." "And everybody rose out of their seats and crowded to have a look?" I asked grimly. "Yes. Captain Johnson ordered them all back to their seats -they were upsetting the trim of the plane." "And you didn't think this worth mentioning to me," I said heavily. "No importance at all?" "I'm sorry. Itit did seem unimportant, unrelated to anything. That was hours before the crash, so" "It doesn't matter. Who could have gone into the galley then -anybody in the front seats, I suppose?" "Yes. They all seemed to crowd down past the middle" "They? Who were 'They'?" "I don't know. Whatwhy do you ask?" "Because by knowing who was there, we might find out who wasn't." "I'm sorry," she repeated helplessly. "I was a little upset for a moment, then Captain Johnson was in front of me shooing everybody back to their seats and I couldn't see." "All right." I changed my approach. "This was the men's washroom, I take it?" "Yes. The powder room is on the port side." "Can you remember who went in there, say, any time up to an hour beforehand?" "An hour? But the cigarette end" "Do you believe now that the fire was caused deliberately?" I asked. "Of course." She stared at me, wide-eyed. "Right. And we're dealing, obviously, with hardened professional criminals. The whole success of their plan depended on causing this excitement. Do you for a moment believe that they were going to let the whole thing hinge on the mere off-chance of a smouldering butt-end setting some papers alightespecially setting them alight at the correct moment?" "But how" "Easy. You can get a little plastic tube with a central composition shield dividing it into two compartments. In one compartment you have a free acid, in the other a different acid enclosed in a

Sunk chill on my brow--

shoulder of Mount Kostos, looked at the few scattered rocks and shallow depressions that barely dimpled the smooth convexity of the slope. He took a second quick look round the rock as the rifles of the W.G.B. opened up once more, saw the same encircling manoeuvre being executed again, and waited no longer. Firing blindly downhill, he half-rose to his feet and flung himself out into the open, finger squeezing on the trigger, feet driving desperately into the frozen snow as he launched himself towards the nearest -rock-cover, forty yards away if an inch. Thirty-five yards to go, thirty, twenty and still not a shot fired, a slip, a stumble on the sliding scree, a catlike recovery, ten yards, still miraculously immune, and then he had dived into shelter to land on chest and stomach with a sickening impact that struck cruelly into his ribs and emptied his lungs with an explosive gasp. Fighting for breath, he struck the magazine cover, rammed home another charge, risked a quick peep over the top of the rock and catapulted himself to his feet again, all inside ten seconds. The Mauser held across his body opened up again, firing downhill at vicious random, for Andrea had eyes only for the smoothly-treacherous ground at his feet, for the scree-lined depression so impossibly far ahead. And then the Mauser was empty, useless in his hand, and every gun far below had opened up, the shells whistling above his head or blinding him with spurting gouts of snow as they ricochetted off the solid rock. But twilight was touching the hills, Andrea was only a blur, a swiftly-flitting blur against a ghostly background, and uphill accuracy was notoriously difficult at any time. Even so, the massed fire from below was steadying and converging, and Andrea waited no longer. Unseen hands plucking wickedly at the flying tails of his snow-smock, he flung himself almost horizontally forward and slid the last ten feet face down into the waiting depression. Stretched full length on his back in the hollow, Andrea fished out a steel mirror from his breast pocket and held it gingerly above his head. At first he could see nothing, for the darkness was deeper below and the mirror misted from the warmth of his body. And then the film vanished in the chill mountain air and he could see two, three and then half a dozen men breaking cover, heading at a clumsy run straight up the face of the hilland two of them had come from the extreme right of the line. Andrea lowered the mirror and relaxed with a long sigh of relief, eyes crinkling in a smile. f2 nikon slr digital cameras He looked up at the sky, blinked as the first feathery flakes of falling snow melted on his eyelids and smiled again. Almost lazily he brought out another charger for the Mauser, fed more shells into the magazine. "Boss?" Miller's voice was plaintive. "Yes? What is it?" Mallory brushed some snow off his face and the collar of his smock and peered into the white darkness ahead. "Boss, when you were in school did you ever read any stories about folks gettin' lost in a snowstorm and wanderin' round and round in circles for days?" "We had exactly the same book in Queenstown," Mallory conceded. "Wanderin' round and round until they died?" Miller persisted. "Oh, for heaven's sake!" Mallory said impatiently. His feet, even in Stevens's roomy boots, hurt abominably. "How can we be wandering in circles if we're going downhill all the time? What do you think we're ona bloody spiral staircase?" Miller walked on in hurt silence, Mallory beside him, both men ankle-deep in the wet, clinging snow that had been falling so silently, so persistently, for the past three hours since Andrea had drawn off the Jaeger search party. Even in mid-winter in the White Mountains in Crete Mallory could recall no snowfall so heavy and continuous. So much for the Isles of Greece and the eternal sunshine that gilds them yet, he thought bitterly. He hadn't reckoned on this when he'd planned on going down to Margaritha for food and fuel, but even so it wouldn't have made any difference in his decision. Although in less pain now, Stevens was becoming steadily weaker, and the need was desperate. With moon and stars blanketed by the heavy snowcloudsvisibility, indeed, was hardly more than ten feet in any directionthe loss of their compasses had assumed a crippling importance. He didn't doubt his ability to find the vifiageit was simply a matter of walking downhill till they came to the stream that ran through the valley, then following that north till they came to Margarithabut if the snow didn't let up their chances of locating that tiny cave again in the vast sweep of the hillsides . . . Mallory smothered an exclamation as Miller's hand closed round his upper arm, dragged him down to his knees in the snow. Even in that moment of unknown danger he could feel a slow stirring of anger against himself, for his attention had been

The misted early mornings will be cold;

But youd have to bring the entire population of the Archipelago if you named Lars Dahl abductor. When Trag turned to Lars for affirmation. he nodded. I hadnt planned on leaving Optheria, Lars said, with a slightly embarrassed grin, and Im sure my father is more than willing to, but youd need an entire liner to remove those whod be vulnerable. The Optherian Elders have been waiting for years for an excuse to search and seize the adult population of the islands. Theyd all end up in rehab. Unless, of course, you also have the authority to suspend every government official on this charge. Trag was silent for a long moment, regarding Lars steadily. Then he exhaled slowly. I was given broad powers by the Federated Council but not that broad. His lower jaw jutted out slightly. Had there been any suspicion of this. He paused, his contempt for once visible in his expression. Let us not reveal this knowledge prematurely. Carefully they removed every trace of their entry. Neither man had touched the cabinets or files, so covering their tracks took little time. Meanwhile, Killashandra repositioned herself at the door panel, listening for sounds of approach. Trag reexamined the cables he had clipped, checking from all angles to be sure the incision would escape all but the most critical inspection. He gave the room a thorough survey and then, apparently satisfied, looked expectantly at Killashandra and Lars. Well, close it! Killashandra gave a burst of puzzled laughter, more shrill than amused. How? Lars chuckled as he took the hammer from her nerveless hand. Find something he likes He tapped out the Beethoven sequence again. The wall immediately responded by closing, giving the barest thunk as the panel met the ceiling. Trag gave the cable housing a final glance and dismissed it with a shrug. I suggest you eat something, Killashandra. Youre too pale. Probably the effect of combining both assignments for your Guild. Lars Dahl, set the next bracket. Chapter 21 It was well that they had completed their investigations, for Elder Ampris returned twice, the first time issuing an unrefusable invitation to a quiet dinner with several of the Elders who were most anxious to meet the Guildmember. Which means youd better eat before you go, Killashandra told Trag when Ampris had left them. Especially if Elder Pentrom, a medical man with interesting views on motion detector for digital camera nutrition, is attending. She made a very small circle thumb and forefinger overlapping to indicate the size of the portion. Trag, do you drink? Trag peered up at her. Why? The worthy Elders, Pentrom in particular, are currently under the impression that members of our profession must daily consume alcohol in substantial quantities to assist their unusual metabolism. Trag slowly straightened from the manual. His expression bordered on the incredulous. Oh? They are so frail, these Elders of Optheria Lars made a derogatory comment that I should dislike causing any of them distress. Prematurely, that is. Or exposing yourself as a calculating fraud! Lars suggested. Occasionally it is useful to spawn a helpful myth about our profession. Otherwise well be stuck with water which, despite its high mineral content, is not purified because of the Optherian lust for nature untampered. It tastes as if it was decanted from the tank of the first long-range starship. The beer here is not bad. A flicker crossed Trags usually inscrutable face. Yarran beer? Unfortunately no. Trags preference raised him further in her estimation. The Bascum brew is potable while the better beer is illegal. She shot a knowing glance at Lars who grinned back at her. They generally are. Your advice is timely, Killashandra, Trag said, then appropriately sounded the B-flat. Thirty-four crystals were in place when Elder Ampris appeared for the second time late that afternoon. There was no disguising the elation in his eyes at their progress. He was seething with the most excitement she had yet seen an Elder exhibit. Had he despaired of running up this years dose of indoctrinal conditioning on his subliminal program? We will finish this tomorrow, Trag told Elder Ampris, with a further day to tune the new manual into the system, and to check the other three manuals for positive feedback. One minor detail on which Killashandra was unable to reassure me: Was the organ in use when the manual was destroyed? I believe it was, Ampris replied, his lids dipping to conceal his brown eyes. I will of course confirm this. After the deplorable desecration, I myself conducted an inspection of the other manuals to be sure they were undamaged. Elder Ampris,

"I hae been to the wild wood; mother, make my bed soon,

became intensely sad. Oh, Killa. Be different! Do as I ask! Now! Before its too late! Then, her customary composure restored, she released the arm and seemed to draw the intensity back into her straight, slim body. Because I assure you, she said as she took the last few steps into the catering area, that once your brilliant wit and repartee become as banal and malicious as theirs, she jerked her thumb at the silent trio, Ill seek other company at lunch. Now, she said, her fingers poised over the catering terminal, what are you having? Yarran beer. Killashandra said the first thing that came to mind, being slightly dazed by Antonas unexpected outburst. Antona raised her eyebrows in mock surprise, then rapidly dialed their orders. They were served quickly and took their trays to the nearest banquette. As Antona tackled her meal with good appetite, Killashandra sipped her beer, digesting Antonas remarkable advice. Till then, Killashandra had had no opportunity to appreciate the viewpoint of a colleague who would not lose her memory as an occupational hazard. Stubbornly, Killashandra preferred to forget certain scenes in her life. Like failure. Well, you dont have long to wait for a fresh supply of cluttered minds, Killashandra said at last, blotting the beer foam from her upper lip and deferring conversation on Antonas unsettling advice. A new class? How did that privileged information seep out? You are only just out of an Infirmary tank. Well, you wont be allowed to brief them if thats what you had in mind, Killa. Why not? Antona shrugged and daintily sampled her nicely browned casserole before replying. Youve no injury to display. Thats an important part of the briefing, you see the visible, undeniable proof of the rapid tissue regeneration enjoyed by residents of Ballybran. Irresistible! Antona gave Killashandra a sharp glance. Oh, no complaints from me, Antona. The Guild can be proud of its adroit recruiting program. Antona fastened a searching glance on her face and put down her fork. Killashandra Ree, the Heptite Guild is not permitted by the Federated Sentient Planets to recruit free citizens for such a hazardous profession. Only volunteers Only volunteers insist on presenting themselves, and so many of these have exceedingly useful skills She broke off, momentarily disconcerted by Antonas almost fierce glance. What concern is that of yours, Killashandra Ree? You have benefited immensely from the selection process. Despite my nikon slr digital cameras unexpected inclusion. A few odd ones slip through no matter how careful we are, Antona said all too sweetly, her eyes sparkling. Dont fret, Antona. Its not a subject that I would discuss with anyone else. Particularly Lanzecki. Im not likely to get that sort of an opportunity, she said, wondering if Antona knew or suspected their relationship. Or if her advice to remember loves and emotions had merely been a general warning to include all experience. Would Killashandra want to remember, decades from now, that she and Lanzecki had briefly been lovers? Advise me, Antona, on which of our nearer spatial neighbors I should plan a brief vacation? Antona grimaced. You might just as well pick the name at random for all the difference there is among them. Their only advantage is that they are far enough away from Ballybran to give your nerves the rest they need. Just then a cheerful voice hailed them. Killa! Antona! Am I glad to see someone else alive! Rimbol exclaimed, hobbling out of the shadows. He grinned as he saw the pitcher of beer. May I join you? By all means, Antona said graciously. What happened to you? Killashandra asked. Rimbols cheek and forehead were liberally decorated by newly healed scars. Mine was the sled that did a nose dive over the baffle. It did? You didnt know it was me? Rimbols mouth twisted in mock chagrin. The way Malaine carried on youdve thought Id placed half the incoming singers in jeopardy by that flip. Did you rearrange the sled as creatively as your face? Rimbol shook his head ruefully. It broke its nose, mine was only bloody. At that itll take longer to fix the sled than for my leg to heal. Say, Killa, have you heard about the Optherian contract? For the fractured manual? That could pay for a lot of repairs. Oh, I dont want it, and he flicked his hand in dismissal. Why ever not? Rimbol took a long pull of his beer. Well, Ive got a claim that was cutting real well right now. Optherias a long way away from here and Ive been

But as they were riding the forrest along,

" 'Peter' it shall be. Come on, Helene, into your clothes as fast as you like." Fifteen minutes later we were back in the cabin. Jackstraw went to unharness the dogs and secure them to the tethering cable, while Joss and I helped the two women down the ice-coated steps from the trap-door. But I had no sooner reached the foot of the steps than I had forgotten all about Marie LeGarde and Helene and was staring unbelievingly at the tableau before me. I was just vaguely aware of Joss by my shoulder, and anger and dismay on his face slowly giving way to a kind of reluctant horror. For what we saw, though it concerned us all, concerned him most of all. The injured wireless operator still lay where we had left him. All the others were there too, grouped in a rough semi-circle round him and round a cleared space to the left of the stove. By their feet in the centre of this space, upside down and with one corner completely stove in on the wooden floor, lay the big metal RCA radio transmitter and receiver, our sole source of contact with, our only means of summoning help from the outer world. I knew next to nothing about radios, but it was chillingly obvious to meas it was, I could see, to the semi-circle of fascinated onlookersthat the RCA was smashed beyond recovery. CHAPTER THREEMonday 2 A.M.3 A.M. Half a minute passed in complete silence, half a minute before I could trust myself to speak, even bring myself to speak. When at last I did, my voice was unnaturally low in die unnatural hush that was broken only by the interminable clacking of the anemometer cups above. "Splendid. Really splendid. The perfect end to the perfect day." I looked round them slowly, one by one, then gestured at the smashed transmitter. "What bloody idiot was responsible for thisthis stroke of genius?" "How dare you, sir!" The white-haired man whom I had mentally labelled as the Dixie colonel took a step forward, face flushed with anger. "Mind your tongue. We're not children to be" "Shut up!" I said, quietly enough, but there must have been something in my voice rather less than reassuring, for he fell silent, though his fists still remained clenched. I looked at them all again. "Well?" "I'm afraidI'm afraid I did it," the stewardess faltered. Her brown eyes were as unnaturally large, her face as white and strained as when I had first seen her. "It's all my fault." "You! The one person here who should know just how vital radio really is. I don't underwater digital camera great uk deals believe it." "You must, I'm afraid." The quiet controlled voice belonged to the man with the cut brow. "No one else was anywhere near it at the time." "What happened to you?" I could see he was nursing a bruised and bleeding hand. "I dived for it when I saw it toppling." He smiled wryly. "I should have saved myself the trouble. That damned thing's heavy." "It's all that. Thanks for trying anyway. I'll fix your hand up later." I turned to the stewardess again, and not even that pale and exhausted face, the contrition in the eyes, could quieten my angerand, to be honest, my fear. "I suppose it just came to pieces in your hand?" "I've told you I'm sorry. II'was just kneeling beside Jimmy here" "Who?" "Jimmy Watermanthe Second Officer. I" "Second Officer?" I interrupted. "That's the radio operator, I take it?" "No, Jimmy is a pilot. We've three pilots -we don't carry a radio operator." "You don't" I broke off my surprised question, asked another instead. "Who's the man in the crew rest room? Navigator?" "We don't carry a navigator either. Harry Williamson iswas -the Flight Engineer." No wireless operator, no navigator. There had been changes indeed since I'd flown the Atlantic some years previously in a Stratocruiser. I gave it up, returned to my original question and nodded at the smashed RCA. "Well, how did it happen?" "I brushed the table as I rose andwell, it just fell." Her voice trailed off uncertainly. "It just fell," I echoed incredulously. "One hundred and fifty pounds of transmitter and you flicked it off the table just like that?" "I didn't knock it off. The legs collapsed." "It's got no legs to collapse," I said shortly. "Hinges." "Well, hinges, then." I looked at Joss, who had been responsible for the erection of the table as well as the radio. "Is it possible?" "No." His voice was flat, definite. Again the silence in the cabin, the hush, the tension that grew from the merely uncomfortable to the all but unbearable. But I was