One ship gone, a second slewing wildly to an uncontrolled stop, deep in the water by the head, and strangely disquieting and ominous in the entire absence of smoke, flame or any movement at all, a third heavily damaged but still under command.
Not one Condor had been lost.
Turner ordered the cease-fire-some of the gunners were still firing blindly into the darkness: trigger-happy, perhaps, or just that the imagination plays weird tricks on woolly minds and sunken blood-red eyes that had known no rest for more hours and days than Turner could remember.
And then, as the last Oerlikon fell silent, he heard it again-the drone of the heavy aero engines, the sound welling then ebbing again like breakers on a distant shore, as the wind gusted and died.
There was nothing anyone could do about it.
The Focke-Wulf, although lost in the low cloud, was making no attempt to conceal its presence: the ominous drone was never lost for long.
Clearly, it was circling almost directly above.
"What do you make of it, sir?" Turner asked.
"I don't know," Vallery said slowly. "I just don't know at all.
No more visits from the Condors, I'm sure of that.
It's just that little bit too dark-and they know they won't catch us again.
Tailing us, like as not."
"Tailing us!
It'll be black as tar in half an hour!" Turner disagreed. "Psychological warfare, if you ask me."
"God knows," Vallery sighed wearily. "All I know is that I'd give all my chances, here and to come, for a couple of Corsairs, or radar, or fog, or another such night as we had in the Denmark Straits." He laughed shortly, broke down in a fit of coughing. "Did you hear me?" he whispered. "I never thought I'd ask for that again... How long since we left Scapa, Commander?"
Turner thought briefly. "Five-six days, sir."
"Six days!" He shook his head unbelievingly. "Six days.
And-and thirteen ships-we have thirteen ships now."
"Twelve," Turner corrected quietly. "Another's almost gone. Seven freighters, the tanker and ourselves.
Twelve... I wish they'd have a go at the old Stirling once in a while," he added morosely.
Vallery shivered in a sudden flurry of snow.
He bent forward, head bent against the bitter wind and slanting snow, sunk in unmoving thought.
Presently he stirred.
"We will be off the North Cape at dawn," he said absently. "Things may be a little difficult, Commander.
They'll throw in everything they've got."
"We've been round there before," Turner conceded.
"Fifty-fifty on our chances." Vallery did not seem to have heard him, seemed to be talking to himself.
"Ulysses and the Sirens-' it may be that the gulfs will wash us down.'... I wish you luck, Commander."
Turner stared at him.
"What do you mean------?"
"Oh, myself too." Vallery smiled, his head lifting up. "I'll need all the luck, too." His voice was very soft.
Turner did what he had never done before, never dreamed he would do.
In the near-darkness he bent over the Captain, pulled his face round gently and searched it with troubled eyes.
Vallery made no protest, and after a few seconds Turner straightened up.
"Do me a favour, sir," he said quietly. "Go below.
I can take care of things-and Carrington will be up before long.
They're gaining control aft."
"No, not tonight." Vallery was smiling, but there was a curious finality about the voice. "And it's no good dispatching one of your minions to summon old Socrates to the bridge.
Please, Commander.
I want to stay here-I want to see things tonight."
"Yes, yes, of course." Suddenly, strangely, Turner no longer wished to argue. He turned away. "Chrysler! I'll give you just ten minutes to have a gallon of boiling coffee in the Captain's shelter... And you're going to go in there for half an hour," he said firmly, turning to Vallery, "and drink the damned stuff, or-or------"
"Delighted!" Vallery murmured. "Laced with your incomparable rum, of course?"
"Of course!
Eh-oh, yes, damn that Williamson!" Turner growled irritably.
He paused, went on slowly: "Shouldn't have said that... Poor bastards, they'll have had it by this time..." He fell silent, then cocked his head listening. "I wonder how long old Charlie means to keep stooging around up there," he murmured.
Vallery cleared his throat, coughed, and before he could speak the W.T. broadcaster clicked on.
"W.T.-bridge.
W.T.-bridge.
Two messages."
"One from the dashing Orr, for a fiver," Turner grunted.