Whiteout!

I nodded.

'So all of a sudden it's polluted.'

'How badly?'

'Bad enough. Looks to me now as though our friendly maniac must have dropped something down the well.'

I said, 'Sergeant Vernon went down. He didn't see anything.'

'Don't mean a thing. You could let go any of a hundred things down there. Chemical salts, cleaning fluids, metal dust -there's a whole lot of ways - and the stuff's either so dispersed or dissolved nobody'd see anything. You'd need a real good lab to isolate what it was.'

I said, 'The top of the well's open. It wouldn't be difficult. But how many people are likely to know that the reactor could be disabled as easily as that ?'

He shrugged. 'Hell, anybody would know. All the reactor people anyway. There'd be plenty who'd know.'

'I didn't.'

He gave me a dismissive glance. 'You haven't read the manual.'

'Perhaps our friend has. Where is it?'

'Plenty around. There's copies here in the camp library.'

Still no word from Allen. As we talked, we read the worry in each other's faces. Kelleher's feelings matched my own: frustration at our confinement and consequent helplessness, a resentment that was the stronger because it was, in a way, voluntary; we were confined only by orders, and they were orders neither of us much respected.

The Tannoy came on then, with a click, and Coveney's voice boomed out of it. 'This is the Acting Commander, Camp Hundred,' he began, in one of those sharp military voices that snap and crackle like Rice Krispies. He sounded a bit like Field Marshal Montgomery with an American accent. The instructions came pouring out. Hundred was a shambles and must be cleaned. The men were scruffy and had been letting themselves go in the last few days. Starting now, all empty huts were to be fumigated and thoroughly cleaned and then the sick were to be transferred into them. Starting next morning, there would be an inspection parade in Main Street and he expected everything and everybody to be clean, pressed and shiny. And so on and so on.

I said, 'There'll be a bloody mutiny!'

Kelleher cocked art eyebrow at me. 'Don't bet on it. But you can bet there's gonna be chaos.'

'Opportunities for the maniac'

He nodded. 'Sure. For us, too.'

Chapter 14

'Coveney will be back,' I said.

Kelleher gave me a tight little smile. 'I got a contract. It says a whole lot of things, and one of them is that I'm in no way attached to the Corps of Engineers for discipline, right?'

'I'm not talking about afterwards. At the moment he's in a mood to mount guards.'

'Don't worry. I got it figured.' His voice took on urgency. 'First thing is to find Allen. Get going.'

'What about you?'

'I got a little ole trick to set up here. Then I'll go to the reactor trench, okay? See you there in twenty minutes.'

I nodded, wondering about the little ole trick, then decided not to wonder any more. As I began to slip on my parka, Kelleher said: 'Take one of the others. Those guys in the ward sure won't be needing parkas.'

So I borrowed one that belonged to a sleeping victim called Douglas - the name was on a strip of tape above the breast pocket - put the hood up and pulled the drawstring tighter to conceal as much of my face as was reasonable. To have drawn it really tight would have attracted, rather than diverted attention. It wasn't much of a protection, but I wasn't going far and if I kept my head down it ought to suffice. As I stepped down into the tunnel, closing the door behind me, I looked carefully around, but the long, ice-walled trench was deserted. Walking briskly, 1 turned into Main Street, heading for the command hut. There was nobody about and I wondered cynically whether they were already busy with razors and furniture polish. The command trench was two along and I made directly for it, but stopped as I passed the entrance to the ablution block. Could it be that Allen, struck by a further bout of nausea, had gone in there and perhaps collapsed?

But he hadn't. Or if he had, he'd left. The ablution block was deserted, the shower stalls and baths empty, the long line of unscreened lavatory pans unoccupied - probably for the first time in hours. As I left, three men came hurrying in, too preoccupied with speed and discomfort even to glance at me. The command hut was manned through the whole twenty-four hours : by Smales and Allen during the day and then by the duty officers. But it wasn't manned now. There was no sign of Allen and no duty officer, but the lights were on. It occurred to me that Coveney, having moved in, must now be making a tour of inspection. Probably a thorough one. And a time-wasting one, too: his own time and everybody else's. In that case, I might not be disturbed for a few minutes. I went into Barney's office, just to be sure. Allen wasn't in there, and the room was empty. So where the hell was Allen ? There was a kind of certainty and assurance about the man, and I'd been fairly sure I'd find him here. My stomach tightened suddenly. Allen had left the medical block to come here, intending to get the keys and come straight back. But I hadn't passed him and he wasn't here. So ...

There was one of those flat key cupboards on the wall. I opened it quickly and began inspecting the labels. Beneath the blue and white plastic strip that said 'Medical Block Duplicates' was an empty hook. I gave a little sigh of relief. At least Allen had been here. Then 1 corrected myself. It didn't mean that, at all. He might have been here, that's all it meant. And if he had, if he'd taken the keys and left, why hadn't he come back to the medical block?

I closed the cupboard doors, turned to leave and swore softly to myself as a foot sounded suddenly on the wooden step outside. The door swung open and Sergeant Vernon came in. A ridiculous impulse made me turn my back on him to hide my face. I must have looked as guilty as a dog caught with the Sunday joint in his mouth.

'Okay, who is it?' Vernon said.

I turned, reddening.

'Mr Bowes? What are you - ?'

I said quickly, 'Have you seen Master Sergeant Allen ?'

He was looking at me levelly. Did he know about Coveney's orders ? He knew all right. 'Sir, you are under orders to remain in the medical block.'

'Allen,' I insisted. 'Have you see him?'

'Sure I've seen him. He's in the medical block.'

'No,' I said. 'He left, half an hour or so ago, to come here. He hasn't come back. I came to look for him.'

Vernon nodded. 'I heard the Tannoy. What did he want?'

'I don't know. Didn't ask.'

Vernon said, 'You shouldn't have let him go. Allen's sick.'

'Also determined. And I lack authority. But he's got to be found. He might have collapsed somewhere.'

'Okay, Mr Bowes.' Vernon nodded. 'I'll handle it. I'll get some guys out looking. Now I have to ask you to return to the medical block.'

'I'll go,' I said. There was nothing else I could say. 'But Allen's ill. It's important to - '

Vernon 's sternness relaxed a trifle. 'Joe Allen's a friend of mine,' he said. 'I'll comb the whole goddam camp. Don't worry.'

'Right.' 1 moved past him towards the door.

'How are those guys in there ?'

'Smelly,' I said. 'A bit more peaceful now. But Mr Coveney hasn't exactly made a friend of Kelleher.'

He gave a little shrug, expressive for all its economy. It reflected wry patience, long experience of the curious ways of officers. 'We got a slipping situation. He's got to hold it tight. Better get back there, Mr Bowes. I'll get things moving here.'

'One more thing. How's Major Smales?'