The prosecuting officer leaned forward. “I want you to be very careful on this point. Was the rifle cocked?”
“Yes,” Rankin answered. “I distinctly saw the Corporal work the bolt of his rifle.”
There was a little murmur in the court-room. The President of the Court looked up and then made a note. Rankin smiled. He reminded me of a fat, white cat, that has just found the cream. The swine was enjoying himself.
The prosecuting officer nodded in a satisfied way. “Thank you,” he said. “That is all.”
The Judge Advocate looked across at Captain Jennings. “Captain Jennings, do you desire to cross-examine?” he asked.
Jennings rose to his feet. He had a rather bored, off-hand manner. We had talked it all over with him. He was going to try to show that we had no confidence in Rankin. But in the face of that evidence I felt he had been given an impossible task. His manner almost suggested that he felt it too. “There are just one or two points,” he said in a mild, rather tired voice. Then, as the President nodded his permission he turned to Rankin. “Mr. Rankin, you were in charge of this guard?”
“That’s right, sir.”
“Did you do guard duties yourself?”
“No, sir. It’s not customary for a Warrant Officer in the Royal Navy to do guard duties.”
Bert nudged me. I could almost hear him imitating Rankin’s voice.
“Quite so,” Jennings agreed. “But this was an unusually small guard—that made no difference as far as you were concerned?”
“No, sir.”
“I see. But naturally you slept with the cargo you were guarding and were there most of the time?”
“No, sir.” Rankin’s hands fluttered up to his tie. They were very white against the dark blue of his uniform. They looked soft and well-cared for, like a woman’s. “The Captain gave me a cabin. I messed with the ship’s officers.”
“Oh?” Jennings’ voice was mildly surprised. “You didn’t think that your duties were such as to necessitate your being with the cargo—a cargo which had been described to you on your own statement as a special cargo?”
“No, sir,” Rankin answered. Jennings was clearly not pressing the point. “The Corporal was there. I had given him written orders. And I inspected the guard regularly.”
“How regularly?” The question was put mildly, almost without interest.
“Well, at different times of the day, sir—so they wouldn’t get slack.”
And then suddenly Jennings’ voice became sharp, precise. “How many times a day?”
“Well, sir—I don’t know exactly.” Sudden nervousness had crept into Rankin’s voice.
Jennings seemed to relax. “Well, just roughly,” he encouraged the witness. “About ten or twelve times a day—or more often?”
“I don’t remember.” Rankin answered woodenly.
“Would it be right to say that you did not visit the guard more than four times from the moment the Trikkala sailed until she was sunk?” Jennings asked.
Rankin saw the trap opening before his eyes. “I couldn’t say, sir,” he replied.
Then Jennings struck. He leaned forward. “You couldn’t say?” he repeated in a tone of amazement. And then with damning emphasis. “You mean you don’t want to say. I suggest that you took a very light view of your duties.” He turned to the Court. “I shall later bring a witness to show that Mr. Rankin spent most of his time playing cards and drinking, and that on two occasions—two occasions in just over forty-eight hours—he was drunk.” Jennings took off his glasses, polishing them abstractedly. The slight stoop of his tall, rather scholarly figure seemed more pronounced than ever. He put his glasses on again and looked at the witness. “Now,” he said, and his voice was quite mild again, “I am going to put a question to you and I want you to answer it very carefully. Did you know what it was that you were guarding? You had been told, I understand, that it was a special cargo. But did you know what it actually was?”
“No, sir.” Rankin had recovered himself, but his little eyes looked at his questioner warily like a hedgehog wondering whether to curl up. “Not at the beginning,” he added quickly. “Later I found Gunner Cook, in the presence of the Corporal, had prised open one of the cases.”
“And that was when you realised that it was silver bullion?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And what special precautions did you take when you discovered the nature of your charge?”
Rankin’s tongue flicked across his lips. “I—I told the Corporal to ensure that his guard——”
“His guard!” Captain Jennings’ voice was sharp again. “Surely you mean—your guard?” He turned to the Court again. “Later I am going to show that all the Warrant Officer did on discovering that he was responsible for a huge quantity of silver bullion was to go to the Chief Engineer’s cabin and get drunk over a game of cards.”
At that the prosecuting officer jumped to his feet. “Sir,” he said, addressing the President, “I object. Mr. Rankin is giving evidence.”
The President stroked the left side of his cheek. The gold of the signet ring flashed in the sunshine. He glanced at the Judge Advocate, who said, “I agree.”
Jennings hurried on: “I am trying to show the background to this affair—to show the Court that the two accused had no confidence in their superior officer and felt themselves justified, therefore, in taking the action they did.”
He turned back to Rankin. The Warrant Officer’s face was white—white as the spotless collar he wore. His eyes were restless as though they were scared of meeting the gaze of any of those present.
“Mr. Rankin,” Jennings continued, leaning forward with both hands on the table top, “I suggest that, knowing you were guarding a very valuable cargo of bullion, you still considered that the Corporal should bear full responsibility for the task you had been given?”
“He had full instructions for his guard, sir.”
“I see.” Jennings looked down at some notes he had uncovered. “Now, Mr. Rankin, we come to the night of the sinking. The Trikkala was struck, I understand, at 0236 hours on 5th March. Did Corporal Vardy come to you at about 2030 hours on 4th March to report that Number Two boat was unseaworthy?”
Rankin hesitated. “Yes, sir.” And then hurriedly: “He came to me with some story about loose planks. Sills, the third member of the guard, had apparently got into the boat for shelter. I told him that Sills had no right in the——”
“Just a minute,” Jennings interrupted him. “What were you doing when the Corporal made this report to you?”
“I was playing cards, sir.”
“Anything else?”
“I don’t follow, sir.” Rankin was nervous again.
“What I am trying to discover,” Jennings said,” is whether you had been drinking?”
“Well, me and the Chief, we’d had one or two, sir. But we weren’t——”
“You weren’t drunk is what you were going to say, I suppose,” Jennings put in. And he added quietly, “The person concerned is not always the best judge of that.”
“Well, we’d only——”
He was interrupted again. “By we, you mean you and the Chief Engineer?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Were you often with the Chief Engineer?”
“We got on well, sir, and we both liked cards.”
“And drink, eh?” Jennings was wiping his glasses again and peering at him through short-sighted eyes. Then he put on his glasses and turned to the Court. “Sir, I should like to say that I shall be calling another witness, Miss Sorrel, a passenger on the Trikkala, to show that the Chief Engineer was known as a drunk among his fellow officers, and in fact, was the cause of Miss Sorrel requesting that her meals be served in her cabin.” Then to Rankin. “Now, back to the matter of the boats,” he said brusquely. “What action did you take on the Corporal’s report?”
“I didn’t take it very seriously,” Rankin answered, but he was unsure of himself. “The Corporal was hardly
likely to know as much about boats as the ship’s officers,” he hurried on. “The Chief told me they were inspected regularly. However, I said I’d have a look at the boat in the morning when it was light.”
“Did the Chief tell you that Mr. Hendrik, the first mate, had been working on the boats with one of the seamen whilst the Trikkala was in Murmansk?”
“I believe he did.” Rankin’s voice sounded surprised.
Jennings nodded. “I shall refer to that point with another witness,” he told the Court. Then to Rankin, “You didn’t think it worth while reporting this matter to the Captain right away?”
“No, sir.”
“Do you remember Corporal Vardy saying he’d been sailing all his life and knew as much about small craft as any man on the ship?”
“He said something of the kind.”
“But you still did not think it worth while investigating his report at once?”
Rankin was twisting one of the buttons of his jacket. “It was dark,” he said.
“But you had a torch.” Jennings was leaning forward again. “I suggest that you were too blind to your responsibilities to pause in your card playing and your drinking. Had you taken your duties less lightly, it is possible that the lives of a dozen men—perhaps more—might have been saved—and your Corporal might have retained some vestige of confidence in you.” He gave a quick nod. “That is all.” He sat down.
Rankin was told he could stand down. He manœuvred his big body awkwardly through the huddle of seats to the door. He was like a whipped cur. He did not know where to look, his eyes trying desperately to avoid everyone’s gaze. He passed quite close to me and I swear he was trembling. Certainly his broad, white forehead glistened with sweat. I saw it shine in a patch of sunlight. I got the impression that he was scared.
I looked at Jennings. His long face with the rather aquiline nose was bent over the table as he glanced through some notes. He had a confident air. We were lucky to have got such a good defending officer. He knew his stuff and he knew how to cross-examine. The way he had handled Rankin had impressed the whole court-room. I sensed a stir of excitement all round me. Bert nudged me and surreptitiously raised a thumb. His brown eyes gleamed and he was grinning. For the first time since we had been arrested I felt we had a chance.
CHAPTER V
DARTMOOR PRISON
ALL THAT MORNING the Court sat. I thought the case would never end as witness after witness was called by the prosecution—Halsey, Hendrik, Jukes. My mind was in a daze. I remember the details of Rankin’s cross-examination because I disliked him personally and I was excited—and therefore more receptive—by Jennings’ handling of him. Of the other witnesses for the prosecution, I only remember the high lights of their cross-examination. This, chiefly because it did little to help our case, though Jennings worked hard enough. He was endeavouring to build up something that was essentially insubstantial, whereas the prosecution dealt in fact all the time. And as the evidence of each fresh witness corroborated previous evidence for the prosecution I felt our chances fading.
Halsey, for instance—Jennings made little impression on the stocky, bearded Captain. The man was solid as a rock, immovable, and his personality dominated that dreary court-room. His little black eyes darted from officer to officer, not uncertainly and restlessly like Rankin’s, but meeting each fresh gaze with sharp, aggressive mien. He had the confidence of a man accustomed to command. That confidence impressed itself on everyone—even, I think, on Jennings.
I remember Jennings tried to make a point out of the fact that Halsey had heard from Rankin that I had discovered loose planks in Number Two boat before he gave the order to stop me from having the raft cut adrift.
“Captain Halsey,” Jennings said. “Would you tell the Court why you did not want that raft cleared?” Halsey’s black eyes looked sharply at his questioner. “Certainly,” he said. And then he turned and addressed his reply to the Court. “In an emergency there can only be one man in charge of an operation. Otherwise all is confusion. You, as experienced officers, will appreciate that.” His voice was mild but forceful. “Those rafts were for use in emergencies. I needed them in reserve in case one or other of the boats was dashed to pieces.”
“But at this particular time surely both boats had been cleared?” Jennings said.
“They were both in the water,” Halsey replied. “But not necessarily clear of the ship.”
“I see.” Jennings looked down at his notes. “Number Two boat had just been launched—that’s correct, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Now supposing you had been informed that it was not seaworthy—would that have affected your action?”
Halsey met Jennings’ gaze across the court-room. “There was no question of that,” he said. “One of my officers inspected the boats daily, usually Mr. Hendrik.”
“Quite,” Jennings said in a soothing voice. “But I am asking you for your opinion. If you had suddenly heard that Number Two boat was not seaworthy, wouldn’t you have encouraged rather than tried to prevent Cook and Vardy clearing that raft?”
“I cannot reply to that,” Halsey replied shortly. “Actions in an emergency are taken on the spot. It is impossible to say what one would or would not have done had the circumstances been different.”
I could see Jennings was a little nettled by Halsey’s obstinacy on this point. But he persisted. “Captain Halsey, I put it to you that had you been aware of the state of that boat—as Vardy and Cook were, or thought they were—you would have encouraged them to cut the raft clear.”
In an endeavour to break the Captain’s confidence, Jennings said, “Perhaps your reluctance to express an opinion which would have been helpful to the prisoners’ case arises out of the fact that at the time you ordered them to stop cutting the raft clear, you did know that the boat was unseaworthy. When you were informed by Warrant Officer Rankin that the prisoners had refused to enter the boat, you told him to report to the bridge. Correct?”
“Yes.” Captain Halsey’s black eyes watched his questioner warily.
“What reason did he give for their refusal?” was the next question.
Halsey did not hesitate. “He said they thought it was unseaworthy,” he replied.
The members of the Court exchanged glances.
“But you paid no attention to that?” Jennings went on.
“No,” Halsey answered. “A lot of men not accustomed to the sea get panicky when told to get into the boats. You must remember there was a gale blowing and a fairly big sea running.”
“Did the Warrant Officer say whether he believed what the Corporal had told him?”
“I did not enquire.”
“Did he tell you they preferred a raft?”
“I believe so.”
Jennings leaned forward. “Did you stop to consider that if those boys were afraid to embark in a boat, it was strange that they should be willing to take a raft? Surely that must have struck you as strange?”
“I didn’t consider it.” Halsey glanced at the Court. “You must remember,” he said, and his voice was quiet and reasonable, “that the ship was settling and I had a lot on my mind. I had no time to worry about two men who were getting panicky. I told the Warrant Officer that, boat or raft, he was to get them off the ship.”
Jennings left it at that. To Halsey we were just a couple of soldiers who were getting panicky. His view was impressing itself on the Court. He was, after all, the master of the Trikkala. He had appealed to the Court as experienced officers and they could understand his point of view.
Jennings asked him why he had taken Rankin in his boat and made Miss Sorrel go in the raft. Again his answer was reasonable. “It was her choice, not mine. There were things to be done before I could leave the ship. I saw no reason to endanger her life by having her wait for me. I knew she would be perfectly safe on the raft, though perhaps not very comfortable. I expected to be able to pick her up in the morning when it was light.” As regards Rankin, he point
ed out that as he was a Naval Warrant Officer, he had no hesitation in having him wait on board.
Jennings then asked him why it was that he had failed to pick Miss Sorrel up in the morniug. “It’s hard to say,” Halsey replied. “Some freak of the gale, maybe. We were being driven in a notherly direction for a time. I believe the raft was being blown in a south-easterly direction. That happens sometimes. Also, visibility that morning was bad. We could have been within a mile or two of the raft and not seen either it or the corvette that picked it up.”
“I have reports here from the Admiralty,” Jennings went on, “that suggest that the wind to the south of the Barents Sea between the time you took to your boat and the time you were picked up off the Faroes three weeks later was mainly northerly. This would suggest that by using your sails you could have been in the neighbourhood of the Dogger Bank within a week of the Trikkala being sunk.”
Halsey shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever the Admiralty may say about the winds at that time, all I can say is that we experienced varied winds. At one time we were as far south as latitude 68 and then we were blown as far north as the seventies. You are surely not suggesting that we enjoyed staying in an open boat half frozen and with insufficient food?”
I saw that the President of the court was no longer taking notes. Once or twice he looked at his watch. He was getting restive. Jennings put a question about the Chief Engineer. “Warrant Officer Rankin spent a lot of time in his cabin playing cards—would you describe your Chief Engineer as a drunk?”
Halsey replied, “A lot of sailors drink. All I can say is that he was an efficient officer.” And he muttered, “God rest his soul.”
That was the first time in the course of the evidence that I knew that Halsey was lying. But lying to save the reputation of a dead officer. If Jennings had proved that point it would not have helped us.
“I have only two more questions,” Jennings said. “At about midnight on the first day out you were on the bridge with your first officer, Mr. Hendrik. Hendrik said it would be dirty the following day. Do you remember what you replied?”
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