Cuttlefish (18 page)

“W
hat you've said about the nitrates seems fantastical to me, ma'am, but obviously not to the British Empire or, it would seem, the Americans,” said Captain Malkis as they stood on the bridge. Tim felt very awkward being there, but it was at the captain's instruction. The captain gestured towards Tim. “Barnabas here confirms that the Americans were interested enough to send some of their marines and agents to fetch him. If they're taking it seriously, well, then I know I should be too, ma'am. I was not briefed as to your exact significance, before you and your daughter boarded the
Cuttlefish
. I was told only that you were the daughter of one of our founders, and the wife of one of the Irish Revolutionary leadership, and that you were a scientist.”

Tim was a bit stunned by the “leadership” part. He'd bet no one had ever told Clara that. He grinned inwardly, trying to keep a straight face. He was going to enjoy telling her that! The part about the nitrates didn't mean much to him. Of course that was one of the things they transported with the submarine. He knew that much.

The captain took a brief turn about the floor while gathering himself to speak. “I'm afraid I didn't grasp all the implications, or why the Americans would be so eager to give you refuge. But it seems that they are very keen to get their hands on you. It makes sense of this frantically intensive pursuit we have suffered. I realised that there had to be more to it than I'd been told, but not that such a thing could change the world's power structures entirely. I honestly don't know what level of trust you can repose in the Americans.
They may be acting in good faith, but their shooting and the use of explosives does not inspire trust.”

Dr. Calland looked as if the cares of the world were all on her shoulders. “My daughter is of the same opinion. She behaved extremely foolishly but—”

“She had no idea of the risks she took, or the dangers she faced, Dr. Calland,” said the captain, gently. “She's an innocent young girl, unaware of the ways of the wider world, and of places like Rivas. She felt that she had a debt to repay. Unwise, but honourable, and with no real idea of the dangers to a young girl alone here.”

Tim nearly said something in Clara's defence. He felt he ought to. But you didn't just interrupt the captain. Well. Not yet, anyway. He would if they didn't let him speak.

Clara's mother sighed. “She has ideas, but a great deal of foolishness and idealism too. She takes after her father.”

The captain hid his mouth briefly by sliding his hand down his beard, to hide the smile. “Not like her mother, at all.”

The idea seemed to almost startle Dr. Calland. “Oh, no. It'd be easier to stay angry with her if she was more like me. Anyway, to return to the Americans. It seems to me they voided any chance of my trusting them by trying to capture this young man,” said Dr. Calland, waving a hand at Tim.

It made Tim feel very awkward. Clara had come to rescue him, and they hadn't. That brought back the memory of the very English-sounding man who had offered him money to capture Clara.

“And, by the lack of response to our Marconi wireless calls, and from our examination through binoculars, they've destroyed our smuggler contact's villa, if not him as well. I'm afraid, Dr. Calland, they have either decided to cooperate with the British Empire or they—”

“Can't be relied on to keep their word,” finished Dr. Calland. “They offered me refuge, assistance to continue my work, and strictly no coercion or militarisation of that work. I asked for that, and they agreed. I should have been more suspicious, demanded
some guarantees, but I was at a loss as to how to. I'm…still at a loss, Captain. If I could just broadcast my mother and Fritz's work—maybe even post the methods and results they achieved and the work I've done, to the whole world. That's what I was trying to do—to get it published in a paper on experimental chemistry. The two peers I consulted were Russian…and that's where it all started. And now I literally don't know where to go.”

“Well, that's why I asked you to come up and talk to me, Dr. Calland. You see, I thought we might take advantage of their new canal before the Royal Navy attempts to put it out of use. The Americans have of course camouflaged it with netting, set up anti-airship guns, and set mine fields to protect it, but it's only a matter of time before spies get a very good idea of its route and airships are used to bomb it, and naval guns pound much of it. We have received coded shortwave instructions relayed from London, about our own course. We are to go and collect our cargo of caliche from Peru, and then head for Western Australia. We pick up the drogues at sea off the Galapagos, and Peru is probably not a safe country for you. But the Republic of Westralia would be. Besides the fact that they'd be, I would think, grateful for the knowledge you have, it's also a republic which resents the fact that it was abandoned by the British Empire and values its independence. The Big Dry has forced them to be a very clever and forward-looking people. When the Swan River dried up and the British governor-general ordered the territory abandoned…well, those who stayed had to learn fast.”

Dr. Calland looked as if she might burst into tears. “We cannot impose further on you, Captain. But I am so very appreciative and grateful for what you've done, both for my daughter and for me. You and your crew have been wonderful. I am so sorry for the danger and the trouble we've brought to you. I would like to go to Westralia, of all things, but it is far too much to ask of you.”

The Captain bowed. “Ma'am, that will now be our destination, and feeding two more people is no particular hardship.” He smiled.

Tim did too. And while he managed to stop himself from cheering—or even saying “Yes!”—by biting his lip, he couldn't help but nod.

The captain, unfortunately, noticed. So did Clara's mother. But other than raising his eyebrow, Captain Malkis said nothing, just continued as if he hadn't seen it. Tim knew that was worse. “I know this as the cook—who is from Western Australia himself—took the unusual step, for him, of coming to see me, and suggesting it. And he wouldn't have done that if he didn't want to feed you. Besides, your daughter did save all of us when we were trapped in the net in the Wash. And she freed my young crewman. Of course”—and here he looked directly at Tim—“we'll have to take steps to see that she doesn't engage in any more madcap schemes.”

At this point Clara's mother did start crying. The captain patted her awkwardly. “Thank you so very much,” she said, after a determined sniff. “It's such a relief. And I'll see that Clara stays out of any more trouble. It…it isn't really like her.”

The captain looked at Tim again. “Yes. I suspected so, ma'am. Which is why I thought we needed to have a word with young Master Barnabas here. I did make it clear to all the submariners that…you were all to stay at arm's length from Miss Calland, did I not, Master Barnabas?”

Tim felt himself blush. “Yes, sir. I have. Well, I've done my best to, sir. Really.” She'd kissed him. Not the other way around. He'd never even touched her otherwise, except to stop her falling over or washing away. And that kiss was only to stop them being caught, really. No matter how he might like it to be otherwise.…“I've not disobeyed your orders on the boat, sir.” That was true. Questions about what he'd done in an alley, in a village outside Rivas, were a different matter. He'd decided that you might as well kiss back if you were going to be caught. The tongue bit was a bit confusing.

“I believe him, Captain,” said Clara's mother, although Tim felt the glow from his face made him out to be a total liar. “I…um…asked Clara the same sort of questions.”

To Tim's surprise, Captain Malkis seemed happy to accept this. “Nonetheless, I think we need to see to it that the two of them interact as little as possible. For the sake of the smooth running of the boat,” said the captain, “I think we'll have to see that Miss Calland is abed while Tim is at work, instead of having them awake on the same watch.”

Tim's heart sank. Lieutenant Ambrose was all right, but Mate Werner frightened him a bit. “Um, sir…”

“I'm aware that you're a good lad, Barnabas,” said the captain. “I believe you've kept to the rules, although you two are the youngest on the boat and have been in difficult circumstances together. I also understand just how Dr. Calland's daughter feels that she owes you a debt. That could lead to trouble, for her, for you, and in my crew.”

“She doesn't owe me anything, sir. Never. She paid me back in spades. But sir, what I wanted to say is…we must have a spy on the boat. That's the only way all of this could have happened. That's how they're onto us all the time.”

The captain shook his head. “Barnabas, any spy would be risking their own life. In the ports, yes, there are spies and informers. Almost certainly here in Rivas where everything is for sale, it seems. We're aware of that. That is why our destinations are secret. I'm entrusting you with a great deal, but you've proved yourself reliable.”

“Well,” said Tim, knowing it actually made it worse for both him and Clara, but knowing it had to be said. “Someone tried to bribe me while I was in that jail, sir. Someone who knew I was…friends with Miss Calland. That could only be known to someone on the boat, sir. They must be getting information from inside the crew.”

“It's not possible,” said the captain with finality. “Now get along with you, Barnabas. You'll have to swap duties and bunks with Standard. And young man, you'll have no further contact with Miss Calland. Understood?”

So Tim had to salute and leave, pack his kit and move. He had no
part to play in the crew who were sent topside to strap piles of cut reeds and rushes onto the deck-brackets. He did have to listen to the mate complaining about how they affected the buoyancy later, though.

During his watch the submarine was under way, and soon the “all quiet” light came on. Then a little later, the light went off, but the engines did not restart. Tim—now on the same watch as Big Eddie, and doing dishes again, saw him when he came into the mess, demanding tea. “Water out there is like brown soup,” he said cheerfully. “I hope I've got us under the right ship, and not a tramp steamer heading for Cuba.”

“What?” asked Tim, puzzled.

“The sub is hanging like a leech underneath a gunboat about to go down the canal,” said Big Eddie. “We've got magnetic grapples hooked to the catfish-feelers. The reeds and rushes on the deck act as buffers, and now all we have to do is hope the water is deep enough, and the mate can keep us lined up underneath, and next thing we'll be out in San Juan del Sur bay and no one any the wiser. Mind you, the water out there is so dirty, we hardly need a boat to hide under, except to get through the locks.”

In the hot little cabin Clara was angry. Yes, she'd known there'd be trouble. It was just the kind of trouble that she'd not guessed at. She'd not even imagined it could happen this way! Huh. So now they were punishing Tim, who really hadn't done anything wrong. Because he was a boy. Honestly, her mother talked about women and equality, but didn't believe that if one of the two of them was keen on what mother called “initiating physical contact” in that tone, it was her. If there was one thing she liked more about Tim than any of the others, it was that he hadn't even tried to touch her. It was…rather why he was more interesting in that sort of way. Safer. And now, to add to that injustice, the captain didn't believe him, any
more than her mother believed her, that somehow there must be a traitor on the submarine.

On the other hand, they had a long journey still, halfway around the world, on the submarine. She'd sort it all out. Somehow.

But it wasn't fair.