Redfalcon, page 22
‘I suppose then that our friend Redfalcon found a natural tunnel system,’ I guessed, ‘and extended it, linking it up to key points on the surface.’
‘And that tablet you discovered,’ Yowney explained, ‘although the distances are compressed, will have all the entrances marked in the correct positions relative to each other. It’s like a map without which you’d have no idea where you’re going.’
‘If you don’t mind me asking, Thomas,’ said Jaikie, ‘where exactly are we going?’
‘Ah, now there’s the thing,’ said Yowney, rubbing his chin with one bony hand. ‘I can see pretty much what locations those tablet symbols represent, and they’re all churches or fortresses. There’s one, though, that’s not like the rest, the one like an upside-down letter U.’
‘Yes. It might be an arch,’ said Karrie.
‘Well, the puzzling thing is,’ Yowney went on, ‘that if the tablet is a map, then that symbol is on a spot where there’s no church or any other sort of building, just a barren stretch of land overlooking some cliffs.’
‘Then why would they have bothered extending their tunnels out there?’ I wondered.
‘That’s the question, isn’t it?’ said Yowney. ‘We’d better find out. It will be a bit of a trek.’
‘In that case we’d better just use one torch at a time,’ Jaikie suggested. ‘Otherwise the batteries might all run out and leave us stranded in the dark.’
We adopted Jaikie’s suggestion and pressed on with only one beam penetrating the tunnel ahead.
‘I hope we’re not going down into Hades,’ Dougal intoned grimly. ‘I hear things get a bit hot down there.’
Yowney’s smile was barely visible in the torchlight. ‘Just stay close and let’s hope we’re on the path of salvation.’
We were at the end of the second hour of our long trudge through the dark when the tunnel ahead began to widen into something much larger. We advanced into a vast yawning blackness and switched on all five of our torches to illuminate the space ahead. We had entered a huge cavern large enough to contain a cathedral or two. Our beams flickered across a smooth watery sheen, the surface of a long subterranean lake that stretched off far into the distance.
Overhead the arched roof was barely visible, but I could see limestone stalactites dangling like crude swords. The shore of the lake was scattered with rocks and broken shards that had over time fallen on to a surface of gritty sandstone granules.
‘This explains the symbol,’ breathed Karrie. ‘Not an arch but a cave.’
‘A cave and a half!’ said Dougal.
Having driven himself on to this awesome destination, Thomas Yowney finally became aware of his fatigue and slumped against the cavern wall.
‘Here, Thomas,’ said Jaikie, taking him by the shoulders. ‘You have a seat on this flat rock here.’
Once he was seated the chaplain waved away any further assistance. ‘I’ll be fine,’ he declared. ‘I’m just needing a wee breather.’
‘I think you’ve earned a rest, padre,’ I told him. ‘If not for you we’d still be blundering around up top without a clue. This cave is a bit of a puzzle, though.’
‘I see what you mean,’ said Jaikie. ‘What on earth has this place got to do with the defence of Malta?’
Karrie was making her way along the grey, rocky shore, probing the ground with her torch. After a minute or two she cast the beam far ahead, peering intently at the piles of stone littering the far end of the cavern, and suddenly uttered an excited cry. ‘I can see something over there! It looks like a carving – or even a statue.’
Without another word she set off at a run along the shore, leaping over rocks and dodging around stalagmites.
‘Where are you going, you daft lassie?’ Dougal called, darting off in pursuit. ‘You don’t know what’s out there!’
They disappeared into the shadows, leaving the rest of us to ponder the mystery of this subterranean chamber. Gazing out over the dark waters of the lake, I couldn’t help thinking of Jules Verne’s famous story in which the underground realm was inhabited by monsters from the days of prehistory. Turning my gaze upward, I beheld the vaulted roof of the cavern with its numerous spiked stalactites poised above our heads.
‘This tunnel system is a magnificent piece of engineering,’ said Jaikie, staring about him at the cavern walls, ‘but even if Ravenstein has tumbled to its existence, I still don’t see what good it would do him.’
‘There doesn’t appear to be any way up to the surface from here,’ I observed, ‘so I can’t see what use this part of the complex would be to the Knights.’
‘No, it wouldn’t be any use,’ Yowney agreed, ‘unless this pool connects to the sea. The Maltese, being an island folk, have always been braw swimmers.’
‘To the sea.’ As I repeated his words, an awful possibility arose in my mind, one almost too horrific to contemplate.
Just then I became conscious of a deep rumbling sound and from Yowney’s startled expression it was clear that he heard it too. Jaikie, who had advanced curiously to the water’s edge, now made a rapid retreat.
‘I think we might have walked into some serious trouble,’ he told us.
The noise had now resolved menacingly into the rhythmic throbbing of engines.
‘That’s either a loch monster,’ the clergyman murmured, ‘or . . .’
‘Or . . .’ I echoed.
Before I could complete the thought, lights appeared beneath the water, and then a conning tower broke the surface. Moments later the hull of a U-boat rose up from the depths, like a monstrous sea dragon erupting into its lair.
35
THE FACE OF THE ENEMY
Water sloshed over the rocky shingle that marked the shore of the lake as the raider vessel came to rest. I glimpsed Dougal and Karrie, a pair of distant shadowy figures, diving for cover among the rocks at the far end of the lake, snapping off their torches as they did so. Jaikie, Yowney and I swiftly withdrew into the tunnel behind us, covering our torches with our hands. Crouching low, I kept a furtive watch on the enemy vessel, realising that this secret infiltration behind our defences had been Ravenstein’s plan all along.
The hatch in the conning tower clanked open and the captain’s bearded face rose into view. Hauling himself up to stand atop his vessel, he removed his naval cap and wiped a braided sleeve across his brow before taking a good all-round look at his surroundings. Satisfied that they had the cavern to themselves, he began issuing orders to his men down below. In response a pair of hatches opened up in the deck and a group of seamen clambered out. They rolled out a gangway, connecting the boat to the lake shore, and began unloading supplies, having placed oil lanterns round about to provide illumination.
The next group of men to emerge from the bowels of the sea beast were a very different sort. They wore the uniforms of the elite Kriegsmarinen and had about them the hard-bitten air of veterans who had fought their way through hell and back on more than one occasion.
Yowney took a peek over my shoulder and muttered, ‘Damnably bad luck, Dougal and that Greek girl getting stuck at the other end of the lake.’
The unaccustomed strength of his language testified to the depth of his feeling where our comrades were concerned.
‘They could try swimming back to us,’ Jaikie murmured, ‘but it would be a mad risk.’
‘They’ll be safe enough so long as they keep out of sight,’ I told them quietly. ‘Those soldiers won’t stick around down here for long. They’ll be coming this way as soon as they’re organised, so that they can head up to the surface.’
The marines, about two dozen of them, were forming up on the shore and checking over their weapons. Well equipped with machine guns, pistols, grenades and mortars, they were big men, each one of whom looked more than capable of hefting his own personal arsenal. Only the most ferocious resistance would be capable of giving them pause, and that was something we were in no position to muster.
A single figure paced up and down the shore before them, issuing orders and checking the supply of ammunition. In his wide-brimmed hat and long leather cloak, even from afar I had no doubt that it was Ravenstein. Not content with devising this operation, he had come along in person to supervise the attack and glory in his triumph.
The sailors were now unloading cases of explosives, all of which looked ready for immediate use, and stacking them up beyond the stern of the submarine. The urgency of the captain’s commands made it clear how anxious he was to get this dangerous cargo well clear of his boat.
‘You two need to get topside as fast as you can and raise the alarm,’ I told my companions.
‘You go, Jaikie,’ Yowney said in a low voice, clapping his friend on the shoulder by way of a farewell. ‘I’ll stay here with the general and see if there’s any way we can stall these chaps until you bring us help.’
Jaikie gave a quick nod and set off back up the tunnel at a brisk trot. With his nimbleness and unwavering sense of direction, he was the best messenger we could possibly have hoped for, and yet, no matter how fast he ran, there was no way he could reach our people in time to stop the German attack force in its tracks.
‘Well, padre, you have a well-earned reputation as a bit of a bright spark,’ I told him, ‘so I’m open to any suggestions you can come up with.’
Yowney’s eyes took on the blank look I had seen before, as if all his thoughts had turned inward to review every possible option. After a few moments of contemplative silence he said softly, ‘Perhaps if they could be persuaded to believe we’re several steps ahead of them, that the tunnels behind us are already guarded by our troops . . .’
I considered the notion. It was a long shot, to be sure, and would probably buy us only a minute or two at best before Ravenstein and his men called our bluff and mowed us down. Then I spotted something which gave me hope that a minute or two might be all we needed.
Out at the far end of the lake, beyond the lights of the U-boat, I could just make out a pair of shadowy figures slithering through the rocks unseen by the enemy. Instead of withdrawing well out of sight, or even taking the chance of swimming under the water to rejoin us, Karrie and Dougal were edging ever closer to the Germans’ supply of explosives.
Back in Casablanca Karrie had described to me how she had grown up watching her father use dynamite in his mining operations. Knowing this, I felt certain that she would attempt exactly what I would do if I were in her place. So long as there were detonators among those supplies, there was a slim chance that she might pull it off. But she and Dougal were going to need time and a distraction to ensure they weren’t spotted.
‘Padre, you keep out of sight and follow my lead,’ I ordered.
Leaving Yowney under the cover of darkness, I stepped forward into the light and presented myself before the face of the enemy. Spotting me at once, Ravenstein advanced on me and whipped out his pistol.
‘Hannay!’ His mouth twisted into an expression of undisguised malice. ‘Why is it that wherever I go, there you are, dogging my tracks?’
‘It strikes me, Ravenstein,’ I retorted with all the bravado I could muster, ‘that you’re the one who keeps dropping in without an invitation. This time you’ve taken a step too far and there’s no way out for you.’
The battle-hardened men at his back seemed amused to see a lone civilian standing in their way, though I could also hear murmurs of unease that their arrival had been detected so soon. The important thing, as far as I was concerned, was that their attention was fixed solely upon me and not upon whatever might be going on behind them. Ravenstein impatiently waved them to silence.
‘I don’t know how you managed to find your way down here, Hannay,’ he sneered, ‘but you are far too late to stop me.’
‘Oh, I know what you have planned,’ I informed him coolly. ‘You aim to move unseen through these tunnels, striking at our command and communications centres and preparing the ground for your airborne troops. Very bold, but it’s not going to work.’
‘Why not? Because of you?’ He snorted. ‘You may have stumbled down here by chance, still blinded by your own ignorance, but you are quite unprepared. Look at you – you are not even armed.’
‘Did you really expect me to swallow that rot about a magical prayer?’ I retorted. ‘No, while we were stuck in Tangier, my friends and I put our heads together and figured out that what we had in our hands was a map to this underground maze. From then on it was perfectly clear what you had in mind and we’ve been streets ahead of you all the way.’
Ravenstein’s pale eyes were as hard as steel. ‘You’re lying. You had no clue, not even the slimmest conception.’
‘On the contrary, old man. The tunnels behind me are well guarded by our troops, as are all the entrances to this complex. You haven’t the remotest chance of reaching any of your targets.’
‘And yet, here you stand,’ said Ravenstein, waving his pistol at me, ‘one lone man, armed with nothing but empty bluster.’
‘There’s a whole squad behind me,’ I warned him. ‘They’re ready to storm this place at my command and wipe out your little crew.’
The German barked out a short, dry laugh. ‘Wipe us out, eh? So why haven’t you done so?’
‘Because we believe in something called civilisation, which means we have to show a degree of mercy even to our enemies. That’s why I’m giving you this chance to surrender.’
I heard angry growls among the German soldiers and the harsh clatter of guns being cocked for action.
‘Surrender?’ sneered Ravenstein. ‘I was right all along, Hannay. Your much vaunted courage is mere stupidity. You are quite mad.’
Faced with his hardening scepticism, I knew he was on the point of gunning me down. I did not dare to peer into the darkness beyond him to see what progress Karrie and Dougal were making, and there had not yet been time for Jaikie to organise any sort of resistance. Ravenstein’s elite strike force, with the advantage of surprise and moving invisibly beneath our defences, might cause untold havoc. And then, once they had reached their initial objectives, I was quite certain he would send the signal that would bring an airborne invasion down on our heads. I had only one card to play and I would have to count on Yowney to back me up.
‘Captain Jenkins!’ I called into the tunnel behind me. ‘Tell your men to prepare to attack!’
‘They are ready and eager, sir,’ the unseen parson called back in a voice bristling with military efficiency.
‘Sergeant Higgins!’ I added, pressing my luck. ‘Bring up the Bren guns.’
‘Fully loaded and awaiting your command, suh!’ Yowney answered in the belligerent tones of a bullish sergeant major.
The hesitation in Ravenstein’s face was barely a flicker, and his men were straining at the leash to charge into action. My heart was hammering and my insides were twisted into knots with sheer tension. Every second I could buy for Karrie and Dougal was worth the risk and it was vital that I keep the eyes of the Germans focused entirely upon me, even at the cost of my life.
‘I’m afraid I have even more bad news for you,’ I informed Ravenstein. ‘Two of our submarines are now guarding the entrance to this place, so there’s no retreat or escape for you and your men.’
At that moment I saw one of the commandos at the very rear of their formation glance back and spot the would be-saboteurs at work among the explosives. Even as the man turned and unslung his machine gun, Dougal launched himself at him. His momentum carried them both over the edge of the shore and down beneath the dark, freezing waters.
The rest of the squad were now looking round for the source of the disturbance and I knew I could not let them spot Karrie.
‘Captain Jenkins, order your men to attack!’ I yelled at the top of my lungs.
The whole German force swung about to face me and beyond them I saw Karrie slip down into the lake unobserved. Ravenstein aimed his pistol directly at my face.
‘There is no army, Hannay,’ he spat. ‘All you have at your back is a couple of your foolish young Scottish friends. At least you will have the satisfaction of dying together.’
I braced myself for death, hoping that Karrie had succeeded in setting the detonators. If so, then my life was not given in vain.
Ravenstein began to squeeze the trigger and raised his hand to signal the advance. At that exact moment the entire cavern exploded.
36
SAFE HARBOUR
I was knocked off my feet by the force of the blast and engulfed in a choking cloud of smoke and dust shot through with flashes of flame. My ears were ringing as I wrapped my arms protectively round my head and pressed myself flat to the ground until the shock had passed. For a moment I wasn’t even sure if I was alive or dead, but with an effort I pushed myself up on my elbows and peered through the flaming murk.
Most of the men who were assembled on the shore, hardened warriors all, were killed outright by the blast. Those who were not howled in agony as they were consumed by the swelling inferno. Grenades, mortars and bullets exploded amid the fire, adding to the man-made storm that was already bringing the walls of the cavern tumbling down in crashing sheets of rock.
The U-boat lay tilted on its side, its hull gashed open by the blast. Its engines were ablaze, flames belching from its innards as a series of detonations boomed through its tortured length. Even through the thunderous din, I could hear the dying screams of trapped sailors.
Ravenstein, on his knees, struggled to shake off his concussion. Leaning on one arm, he stretched out a hand towards the pistol he had dropped. I watched him turn the weapon towards me, preparing to take a final revenge for the utter ruination of his plans. With one eye closed, he took careful aim, and I had not the strength to move.
All around us, smoke swirled while rocks pattered down on to the bodies of the dead and the dying, and made splashes all across the surface of the lake. Then, in the midst of the debris dropping from the cavern roof, a spiked stalactite broke loose to plunge downward like a giant dagger. As though guided by the hand of some higher justice, the pointed rock drove itself right through the body of my enemy. With an astonished grunt and a last convulsive shudder, Ravenstein died. The thought flashed through my mind that while some men in time might find their Jerusalem, he had surely found his hell and been consumed by it.
