Pride and the Anguish by Douglas Reeman Read Free Book Online Page B

cat on hot bricks when the top man appears.”
    â€œOh there you are, sir!”
    They both turned as Petty Officer Masters, the yeoman of signals, clattered across the rough flooring and handed Trewin a crumpled signal flimsy. Masters was very overweight and sweating badly. He added, “For the captain, sir. Immediate.” He peered at the bar and sniffed.
    Mallory said, “Some sort of flap on?”
    â€œRecall to Singapore, sir.” He sounded vague. “We are to assume state
Medway.
” He shrugged. “The captain’ll know, sir.”
    The portly yeoman walked away and Mallory said slowly, “Hell, it looks like you may be right, Number One. State
Medway
is the bloody code for the squadron’s emergency!” He grabbed his cap. “I’d better go aboard and get things started. Will you tell the Old Man?”
    Trewin was staring at the crumpled signal. “Yes. I’ll tell him.”
    Leaving his second beer untouched Trewin walked out into the sun and along the dirt road. All at once the frustrations and disappointments of Singapore seemed unimportant and the green jungle walls were no longer inviting and tranquil. He quickened his pace, the sun fierce across his shoulders so that he almost walked right past a long, low-roofed bungalow building with a faded red cross painted on the roof.
    Several Malay women were washing clothes in big enamel troughs on the hospital veranda, and there seemed to be about thirty children playing noisily in the dust below. An orderly in a white coat bobbed his head and smiled. “You wish to see doctor?”
    Trewin nodded, and as he followed the little Malay into the shade of the entrance hall he saw rows of neat iron beds, mostly filled with native women and more children. In another ward hesaw some tough-looking Malays bandaged and splinted, and he guessed that they were injured workers from the new fuel dump.
    The orderly stopped by a door. “I go see if doctor is busy.”
    At that moment there was a crash of crockery from the ward and a chorus of indignant yells. The orderly frowned. “I go there first! Someone make trouble!” He hurried off clucking his tongue angrily.
    Trewin thought of the brief signal and without waiting further thrust open the door. The room was in complete darkness with the shutters drawn tightly across the windows. Trewin blinked, half blinded from the blazing sunlight outside, and in the few seconds which followed he got a vague impression of Corbett’s pale figure sitting in a chair, his head thrown right back and his eyes shining like blue stones in the beam of a small lamp which another man was holding barely inches from his face.
    â€œWhat the devil!” Corbett thrust the other man away and lurched to his feet, sending the chair crashing to one side. He saw Trewin and strode to the windows, where he flung back the shutters with a further crash.
    Trewin saw that the other man was a tall, distinguished-looking European with a neat dark beard. He had a calm, serious face, and as he turned his gaze from Corbett’s anger to Trewin’s uncertainty he said quietly, “I’m Dr. Massey. Do you mind telling me what you mean by bursting in here?” His voice was mild, but there was no mistaking the annoyance in his eyes.
    Corbett snapped, “This is my first lieutenant!” He turned on Trewin. “I might have expected something like this.”
    Trewin said, “I’m very sorry. I did not realise you were doing anything…”
    Corbett interrupted angrily, “You must forgive him, James. He imagines that he is the only one who has ever done anything worth while!”
    The doctor relaxed. “I was just examining your captain’s eye. I think there is a bit of inflammation, or maybe it’s dust there.” He looked at Corbett searchingly. “As I was saying when wewere interrupted.”
    Trewin said, “I have a signal, sir. It was