“It’s the noise they make on hard ground,” he said, in a scared tone. “But there are so many. I never heard as many as that before! ”
“Can you see anything?” Laura said.
“On the grass…” he replied, peering out. “They seem to be moving away from the grass. Gathering. There must be dozens of ‘em!”
“We’re never going to get out of here,” Robert said, coming into the room. “It’s too late, like we said. Too late. There’s hundreds of ’em.” .
“They never made a noise like that before,” Laura said, with a feeling of sick horror.
“They kept to the sand and grass,” Sebastian said, dryly. “But now they don’t want their- marks to be seen.”
“That could mean that somebody’s watching!” said Laura, catching her breath to stop a sudden flare of hope.
“But there’s not a soul out there,” Sebastian said. “No one at all the whole length of the promenade.”
“But the blinds, John I” she said. “There must have been a reason why they pulled those blinds.”
“Don’t hope too much,” he said, turning away from the window. “If they were watching it would mean they suspected what’s going on. And if they did that, they’d be here. They’d be here! ”
“It doesn’t matter what you say, he damps it,” Robert said, glaring at Sebastian. “He doesn’t want us to get out of here. It doesn’t suit him. It hasn’t all along. Wc could have got away if we’d started in time.”
“If we’d gone last night, when the windows here were still open.”
Sebastian turned sharply to see Harris there, staring at him. And Jill, behind them, watching from the door, a curious light in her eyes now as she saw Sebastian. Sebastian had the sudden feeling that the reawakening of Joe had changed her.
‘‘You’re remembering the open windows as a symbol,” Sebastian said. “The memory means freedom. But there wasn’t any then. No more than there is now. They would not have let you go. Have another look at the man out in the hall there. They didn’t mean him to go.”
“It was a trick made up between you and them,” Harris said slyly. “A show put on to make us think you were right. To make us think you were a ruddy hero. But they never touched you. Oh no. They wouldn’t touch you, because you’re in with them. It was a stage show, that wonderful rcscue. A put-up job, one-night propaganda stand. You didn’t care about going out there because it was arranged between you and them!”
Laura bent her head suddenly and put her hands to her face.
Oh God, she thought: why am I beginning to doubt, too? Why, why? I don’t want to! He did rescue him. He did risk it. And yet, it could have been
“It doesn’t matter what you think about me,” Sebastian said. “I’ve told you that before. But what I warned you of was the truth.”
“Was it a trick?”
Sebastian turned suddenly to Jill at the open door.
“Was it a trick?” she repeated. “Did you chop him to pieces for a trick?”
Cold fear took his throat. For a moment he could not answer, and he shook his head.
“No,” he said, swallowing. “No, it wasn’t a trick. I would risk somebody to get us out of here, but not to keep us in.”
Jill said nothing but stayed there, looking at him.
“You locked the door of that bedroom,” she said slowly, almost mechanically, “but they could get in from outside and get that one that^s hurt.”
“For God’s sake! ” Sebastian cried. “I locked the door because I thought it was the best thing to do! Supposing it isn’t dead! ”
“Then they could get it back,” Jill said, still staring oddly.
“It wasn’t done for that,” Sebastian said, feeling the sweat gathering on his face again. “It seemed the best thing! God knows I’m not infallible! I thought it was the best thing. That’s all!”
“It’s unlucky you did it.”
He turned now to Elfrida standing very straight, looking at him almost with the sharpness of enmity. She held the cat as if it were some accusing symbol.
“Yes,” he said desperately. “Yes. Unlucky. All right. But that was all…” He looked at Laura, and his heart froze. She was looking at him, but her eyes were bright with tears. He knew what was happening inside her. He knew what was happening altogether. The heat was on again. It seemed to come in waves, growing strong, then receding, but he could feel the gathering strength of it now.
He could feel the sudden urge to smash aside all these people, to leave them to their fate and run out. He knew he would be all right with Them. He had been their agent. They would not hurt him. He could go out to them and there would be nothing to be frightened of. He could
He made a step forward and then it seemed all his blood ran into his face and he stopped, feeling its hot, insistent beating.
“Now! ” he gasped.
Suddenly he realised that he had moved; that he was standing at the French windows, his hand on the catch. He looked back at them, standing there, staring in silent anger at him. The heat in his head turned suddenly to ice, and he snatched back his hand.
“So it’s true, is it?” Robert said. “What we said all along. You’re going out to ’em, aren’t you? Going out and leaving us here. I had an officer did that once. We shot him and it saved us.”
“I was not going,” Sebastian said in a whisper. “I didn’t mean to go! ”
He moved away from the windows, watching them, one after the other, staring at him, hard, hot, hating. Laura had turned away and was standing there motionless as a statue.
“You were going!” Jill said, furiously. “You were actually going! So it’s true! It’s true! You got Joe cut to pieces to scare us. You did that, just to make us stay and be scared to go!”
She was stiff and straight, wildly accusing. The others just stood, watching him in a queer silence. The padding sound from outside had stopped.
“Kill him and throw him out, so that they can see,” Robert said very quietly. “They’ll see we know the trick. They’ll see we’re not going to be frightened. It’s time they saw we aren’t frightened.”
“You’d have to open a window/’ Harris said. “They might get in.”
“Not if he’s going out,” Robert said, staring at Sebastian steadily. “We did it to a spy once. Tobruk, that was.”
“Why not just make him go out, and see if he’s still in with them,” Jill said. “That would be better!”
“But he’d just get away,” Robert said. “He’s with them.”
Sebastian felt the eyes on him, the grim stares of his last judges. The tenseness went from his body. His arms dropped limply to his sides.
“I’ve said all I can say,” he said. “I can’t explain any more. You can’t understand. That’s all there is to it.”
Laura turned, her hands pressed to the sides of her head as if trying to force out thoughts that hammered there.
“Don’t give in!” she said with sudden awful vehemence. “Don’t give in! ”
He shrugged.
“What’s the good?” he said. “Why keep on trying to fight it? It’s coming—coming in waves. You can feel it. But it isn’t coming to me any more. It doesn’t have to, does it?”
“You tried to go to them,” Elfrida said, stonily. “Dreadful! Dreadful! And we believed you.”
She turned away, tall, thin, regal in the silent offering of her verdict.
“No!” Laura gasped. She turned and faced the others, but Robert and Harris did not seem to see her. They stared at Sebastian with frightful intensity. “You can’t! ”
“If they see he’s dead they’ll know there’s nobody left in here to help them any more.” Harris’s voice was cold and clipped.
“All right, then,” Sebastian said. “If that’s what you think, you might as well get on with it. There’s nothing I can do.” “No! ” Laura cried out again.
“Keep out of the way,” Robert said savagely. “Out of the way, I say.”
Harris deli
berately pushed himself in front of her, and she felt his hard, tense body against hers and the feel of it frightened her more. She had a sudden feeling of utter helplessness, that she fought against something too strong for any single person now to overcome.
She turned in desperation to the girl at the door, then ran to her.
“You can’t ” she gasped. “You can’t let them. Remember what you told me. Remember what you said.”
“I remember what he said,” she replied, bitterly. “He loves you. Why should I do anything? It can’t make any difference to me if he’s dead or not.”
“But you said you’d stay no matter ”
“I didn’t know he’d fixed Joe,” she said. “I didn’t know that.” “He didn’t! ” Laura said between her teeth. “Joe came of his own accord. Nobody fetched him here. He came to the beach aud he met these things. You know that! ”
“They cut up Joe, but they didn’t touch him,” Jill said, inflexibly. “I don’t care what you say. It’s obvious. If they hadn’t been with him they would have chopped him, too. You can’t argue about that. But you don’t want to argue. You just want to keep with him. All right! You love him so much, why don’t you prove it? Why don’t you stick by him? Why don’t you walk out there with him and prove it one way or the other?”
“Don’t be crazy,” Sebastian said, in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I’m not crazy,” Jill said. “If Joe risked it, why can’t you? What’s the matter? You’re their friend. All right, well let’s see what they do when you take her out there. Alaybe they’ll let us get out too, if they let her.”
Harris looked round quickly.
“By God, you’re right! ” he said. “You’re right! If he can get one through, he can get us. all through! ”
“I can’t I I can’t do anything now! ” Sebastian shouted in a voice that hurt his throat. “I can’t do anything. I’ve told you ”
“You’ve told us a lot of lies,” Robert said. “We know that. Well, now let’s see the truth. If she gets through, you can get us all through. That’s it.”
“All right!” Laura said, her face streaming with tears. “Yes, I’ll do that. But leave him alone now! Leave him alone, for God’s sake. Leave him alone.”
“You can’t do that, Laura,” Sebastian said. “I won’t agree
“It doesn’t matter whether you agree,” Robert said. “Wc said that’s what you’re going to do.”
“There are dozens of them out there,” Sebastian said. “They know I’ve cheated them already. What do you think they’re going to do? Listen”—his voice cracked with desperation,
—“I’ll go out alone. I’ll go and see if I can talk —”
“They won’t listen, you know that! ” Laura said.
“Not you alone,” Robert said, levelly. “That’s too easy. You take her. She says she’s willing, so she must know as much as you do about getting away.”
“You don’t believe that, do you?” Sebastian said. “You wouldn’t give me the chance to get away. That wouldn’t suit you… ”
“If you get her through,” Robert said very slowly, “you can get us all through.”
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CHAPTER X
1
Judy came back to the little boy with his head in the gate. She kicked her scooter to a stand and went to him.
“Bearing up, man?” she asked. “I called the fire bugs/’ “Mum! ” said Billy, half sobbing. “I want my Mum.”
“I don’t know where she is,” Judy said, and looked down towards Beach End with a little frown on her painted features. “I thought there was somebody coming. Did you hear somebody coming, man?”
“I want Mum! ” said Billy, in a scared little whisper.
“There’s nobody—Oh!” Judy remembered. “It must be the ghouls. That’s it. Funny in the daytime, man. Must be real cool characters. Can you hear?”
A sudden wave ran along a hedge a hundred yards away, as if something brushed along it. The green leaves rippled gold in the sunshine. Judy put a hand between her little breasts and her mouth opened a little.
“Oh man,” she muttered. “I never did. What…?”
“I want Mum! ” Billy suddenly screamed and tried to jerk his head out of the railings. It hurt and he cried as he repeated “I want Mum. Mum!”
“Shut up!” Judy said breathlessly. “I can’t hear!”
Billy stopped yelling, but another sound prevented her catching the weird, oncoming paddling sound. She jerked her head round so fast her pony tail flicked round her neck.
“It’s the engine,” she said huskily. “Oh man! I’m glad, too.” The red engine slid up, shining red and brass in the sunlight. The running line of golden leaves on the hedge stopped where it was.
The firemen got off the engine and regarded Billly with good humour and a faint weariness. One of them brought tools, formidable crowbars, wrenches, a saw and hammers. The man in charge picked up the crowbar and it was then that something hit him in the back of the head, smashing his helmet over his face and sending him headlong into the hedge.
“What the…?” Another man said, turning. “Did you…”
A great blow smashed down on his helmet. He reeled back against the engine. Judy screamed, put her hands over her mouth and stayed in the danger zone, eyes near falling out.
“It hit him! Something hit him!” she shrieked. “There’s nothing there! ”
The confusion, amongst the firemen was complete until the man in the hedge turned, staggered upright and snatched his hatchet from his belt. He ran forward and struck out with it.
“It’s something I ” he shouted, his hatchet stopping with terrible sounds on the apparently empty air. “It’s something! For Christ’s sake get back! ”
‘‘Stand by the boy!” the Commander said and grasped the side of the engine as he poked into the empty air with a stick.
Everybody became suddenly still, silent. The golden air of the day made horror more complete. The Commander swallowed, then raised a hand from the engine side.
“Listen! ” he hissed.
From along the promenade the padding sound was multiplied now almost with anger.
“Jesus! ” the driver said. “What is it?”
“God knows!” the Commander said. “Call back. Quick! We want the police. A lot of them! This is something ”
A blow struck him so that he felt nothing and died into a blackness that was for him complete.
Four of the firemen gathered round the boy, their backs to him, the little hatchets held ready, staring, determined, but bewildered. There was a fearful crack, one helmet was tom off and the man went down. The man next to him_ struck out with his axe, hit something, withdrew and stayed still.
The sound of the driver’s voice calling rapidly on the radio filled the pause that followed. But the padding went on, seeming to be spreading around them, so that it was more difficult to tell whence it came.
The fireman turned and patted the boy’s head.
“Okay, sonny,” he said hoarsely. “Okay.” He turned back and crossed himself with the hatchet.
Judy crouched back into the hedge, her lips moving soundlessly, her eyes searching desperately for a sign of the death that surrounded them.
It was then that die car turned into the promenade. For a moment, both men who knew the truth, stared at the fantastic scenec by the fire engine.
“It’s on! ” Maclaren said. “It’s started, man! They’ve found some of them! ”
Darrow stopped in the middle of the road, tyres squealing. He looked at his watch.
“Three minutes, God help us! ” he said and took up the telephone from the dashboard.
“Three minutes to go,” Maclaren said. “They’ll never last it! ”
Three of the firemen sprawled on the pavement in grotesque attitudes, their blood shining in the noon sun. Here and there queer marks stamped the blood on the pavement, but these withdrew swiftly, and for a while nothing happened, as if the blo
od maks represented a risk the invisible had not thought of. finished the alarm call and began to drive forward
“It’s still—for the moment,” Maclaren said. “What are we to do?”
“Stay in the car,” Darrow said. “Two and a half minutes, and the vans will be down here by then.”
“I’ll leave those laddies…” Maclaren said, nodding towards the little band of the desperate firemen.
“Somebody has to be first,” Darrow said, his voice rasping in throat. “No good driving in. We’re the only ones who really know”
A shape moving at the edge of the headland caught Darrow’s eye. It grew larger, as the bows of the cruiser, Shropshire, came into view with two tugs in attendance.
The seconds ticked by, and still the action by the fire engine paused. But it could not be long, for clearly the police car would be seen, and almost certainly the engine had radioed back.
Action began suddenly. A fireman was taken and thrown bodily from the pavement, out across the road and into the sand of the beach beyond. He went rolling up and over, sand flying him. There was a crash of metal as something began to smash at the engine itself, where the radio was. The driver jumped down out of the engine and crouched by the side of it.
“Use an extinguisher man! ” Maclaren cried uselessly.
Darrow got out into the road and turned as two police vans came swinging down into the promenade and turned towards im. He signalled them to stop by him, and as they drew up he heard the smooth racket of a light aircraft engine.
Maclaren yelled something from the car. Darrow looked desperately at the sky and then saw the little biplane appear over the headland.
It turned slightly and came down to within a hundred feet of the promenade. It sped along the length of the road, silver wings brilliant in the sun, and passed away along the dimes beyond die last house. It turned with painful slowness, banking tight, almost against the face of the cliff heights, and headed back, the sound of its engine temporarily lost.
The Coming of The Strangers Page 18