Sleep had claimed Amelia. She lay face down on the mess table next to Lily. She wasn’t sure what awoke her; perhaps the roll of the ship, the crash of thunder outside, or some other unidentifiable thing that drags us back from the clutches of the sandman. But she sat up and rubbed her eyes, glad that her belly was still full and that she was out of the lifeboat. She looked around. Conrad Warner lay head down next to his empty whiskey bottle, Lily was leant in against Amelia’s shoulder, Busby and Connelly had curled themselves up on the deck and were snoring loudly. She looked around to check on Collins with a feeling of guilt that she had slept while he had suffered.
He was gone. The mess table where he had lain was empty. The blankets they had covered him with lay on a heap on the floor beneath the table.
Amelia slid out of the bench seat and looked around the hall. He couldn’t have got up – simply couldn’t have. The man had been more than half dead. Where the hell is he? Thought Amelia. The mess hall was dark and silent, her rubber soled shoes made little noise, enough that it was drowned out by her heartbeat, as she crept around looking for a sign of what had happened to Collins.
‘Do we send it?’ asked Hamilton.
Snell stayed silent. This decision could save them or see them prisoners of the Japanese. He stared out of the port hole at the lashing rain. He turned and looked at Putner.
‘You think anyone could find us in this storm?’
‘Not likely, afterwards maybe, and I don’t have our exact position – only the rough estimate that Connelly has given you.’
‘Send it, you think?’
Putner shrugged.
‘That’s up to you, sir, but in this storm no one will be getting to us until it breaks.’
‘Send it.’
Putner turned back and began to key in his Morse code signal.
…---…this is vessel Shinjuku Maru under British merchant navy control …---…assistance needed any other vessel please respond …---… this is vessel Shinjuku Maru under British merchant navy control …---…assistance needed any other vessel please respond …---…
‘I’ll keep sending and if anything comes back in I can vary it depending on who replies.’
‘Can you tell a Jap from his code?’
‘Maybe. There are ways to tell, ways they send messages and reply. I won’t give out our position until I get something back.’
Snell nodded, happy that he had done all that he could. He took a cigarette from the stock on the table next to Putner and lit it up. The radio operator continued to tap-tap-tap away on his Morse key. Hamilton sat and watched the young officer wondering what was going on in his head.
‘What next, sir?’
Snell turned and took a long drag on his smoke.
‘Next? Next, we ride the storm out and hope an allied vessel picks up our signal. Until then we look after each other and keep together. I’m heading back over – are you coming or staying here?’
‘Think I best come back with you and grab some shut eye before I get to thinking about cooking breakfast,’ replied Hamilton.
Snell smiled.
‘It’s good to be able to eat again. How do you reckon to the supplies?’
‘Reckon they’ve got more stashed but even with what we have I can stretch it for a week.’
‘Good, good,’ Snell extinguished his cigarette. ‘Let’s leave Putner to his work.’
Hamilton laid a hand on the radio operator’s shoulder. Putner nodded without looking away from his dials, and Hamilton left with Snell.
Amelia gently laid a hand on Connelly’s shoulder. He came awake in a second, clasp knife in his hand, blade extended with a simple movement of his thumb.
‘Easy, Professor.’
‘What is it?’
‘Collins is gone.’
‘Gone? How in the hell can he be gone?’
Amelia gave an exaggerated shrug.
‘That’s what I’d like to know – there is no way that he could be moving under his own steam. But he’s gone, look,’ she gestured at the empty table.
Looking up and down the mess hall, Connelly got himself up on his feet and tried to think.
‘Maybe, he has managed to wander off – I’ve seen men do some strange things when they’re hurting as bad as he must be.’
‘No. There is not a chance that that man could have got up and walked away. This isn’t adrenaline just after an accident. His body is ruined, destroyed. He hasn’t been on his feet in close to three weeks. Not a bloody chance. We need to wake the others.’
Connelly saw the certainty on Amelia’s face and he nodded.
‘Well, however he has managed it we still need to find him.’
He kicked Busby in the foot and the big man sat up and stared murder for a moment.
‘What?’
‘Collins has vanished.’
‘How the fuck has he managed that?’
‘Not a clue but we need to find him.’
‘Alright, let’s get the rest of them up.’
With Conrad and Lily roused they set about deciding how best they should search for the missing Collins. Snell looked confused.
‘How can he have gone anywhere?’
‘I think we’ll solve that when we find him, sir,’ replied Connelly.
Hamilton rummaged in one of the cupboards and produced a pair of lanterns.
‘Spotted these earlier, think they will help?’
‘How many parties do we send out?’ asked Snell.
Connelly thought for a moment.
‘Just one. Everyone else stays here and keeps it secure. But what about Putner?’
‘I could go and bring him back?’ said Hamilton.
Connelly nodded.
‘Alright, so if Mr Snell, me and Warner go out looking for Collins then Earl can go and get Putner and Busby you can keep Lily and Amelia company till we get back. Agreed?’
‘I’d like to come with you, it could be Collins will need help if we find him,’ said Amelia.
Snell nodded.
‘I agree with Nurse Starling; she comes with us. Warner, you and Miss Cecil keep this room secure and Busby, I want you to go with Hamilton and collect Putner. I don’t want anyone moving about alone. Then you return here. If we haven’t found Collins in an hour we come back here and you three can go out on a different route.’
Snell looked around and let out a quiet sigh of relief when there was no disagreement. While Earl lit the lamps, Amelia checked the small medical kit. Busby scooped out a handful of the leftover food and ate the rice and fish out of his palm with the axe cocked back on his shoulder.
‘How long till morning?’ asked Lily.
Connelly threw a look out of a porthole but broiling cloud covered the sky.
‘I’d reckon a good few hours yet.’
The ship shifted beneath them as it hit a heavy wave.
‘Don’t like being adrift like this,’ said Busby, ‘think I preferred it in the jolly boat.’
The others groaned at that.
‘Best we get to it then,’ said Snell, pistol in hand.
CHAPTER TEN
Beneath the hiss and crackle of the white noise, Putner was now convinced that he could hear voices, voices that chattered constantly. But still he struggled to make out individual words – was it in English? Who the hell would be transmitting like this? Without warning the radio waves went silent. Dead silent. Putner strained to hear amongst the nothing. Then he heard a voice; barely audible at first and then growing louder. His name whispered over and over again, first by one and then by a thousand voices speaking softly in unison.