I glanced up at Dahler. His face was white. He looked utterly exhausted. But there was a strange gleam in his eyes. ‘Yes, I am sorry.’ His voice was quieter, almost apologetic. ‘I talk too quickly4 am upset.’ He sank down on to the settee beside me. ‘So Jorgensen has not paid you, eh?’ He laughed softly. The sound was cold, almost gleeful. ‘And you like money, do you not, Lovaas?’ He leaned quickly forward. ‘I wonder if you realise what there is in this for the man who knows where the metals are to be found? I will tell you, Lovaas. There is a fortune. Jorgensen has gone to Bergen with your samples of ore. From there he will fly to Oslo. By tomorrow his experts will be examining those samples. In a day, two days perhaps, he will know. You have realised that. And so you are here to discover what there is in this for you. Is not that right?’
Lovaas nodded. His eyes were fixed on Dahler. There was a cold, avaricious gleam in them.
‘Mr Dahler,’ I said. ‘Will you please leave this to me?’
He cocked his head on one side as he peered into my face. ‘You need not be afraid,’ he said softly. ‘I am finding an ally for you — an ally — for — us — both.’ He switched to Lovaas. ‘Find the man who escapes from your ship this morning, Kaptein Lovaas. That is all you have to do. But you will have to be quick. Jorgensen will not stop at anything once he knows about those metals.’
Lovaas smiled. ‘You do not like direktor Jorgensen, eh, herr Dahler?’
His emphasis on the direktor was like a goad to Dahler. ‘Like him!’ he almost screamed. ‘If I had-’ He stopped abruptly, smiling secretly to himself.
Lovaas laughed. Then he turned quickly to me. ‘Now, Mr Gansert — do we work together, or not? What is your offer?’
‘At the moment, there is no offer, Captain Lovaas,’ I answered. ‘But if you can produce Schreuder — then we might perhaps talk again.’
Lovaas smiled. ‘I understand. That is what you English call C.O.D.’ He rose to his feet, ‘Very well, Mr Gansert. When I have the man, we will talk again.’ He paused in the doorway. ‘Don’t forget the diver, Mr Gansert.’
‘He has gone to Bovaagen,’ I said.
‘Ja, he was in Bovaagen. I had some speak with him.’ He smiled. ‘That was very good Scotch. It has make me warm in here.’ He slapped his huge belly. ‘Warm and friendly, Mr Gansert.’
We watched him go in silence. His heavy footsteps sounded on the deck. He bellowed an order in Norwegian. Then all was quiet. The saloon seemed almost empty without him.
‘Did he really have a talk with Sunde, do you think?’ Dick asked.
I didn’t answer. I was wondering whether I could use Lovaas or not.
Dahler struggled to his feet. ‘I am going on deck,’ he said. ‘I must have some fresh air.’ He pushed passed me. His face was deathly pale. He staggered slightly as he went through the door.
‘Follow him up,’ I said to Curtis. ‘Don’t let him see you. But just make certain he comes to no harm. He’s so full of liquor he’s just as likely to walk into the sea as on to the quay.’
Jill sighed. ‘Poor Mr Dahler,’ she said. ‘Life hasn’t been very kind to him.’
A moment later Curtis was back in the saloon. ‘Dahler all right?’ I asked.
‘Bit unsteady. But sober enough to get on to the quay and go on board Hval Ti.’
‘Hval Ti?’ I cried.
He nodded and picked up his drink. ‘That’s right. He went straight along to see Lovaas. What do you make of that, skipper?’
I sat back trying to think it out. ‘He might have some son of hold on Lovaas,’ Dick suggested. ‘It’s clear Lovaas hasn’t spent all his life catching whales.’
‘Jorgensen is more likely than Dahler to have a hold on him,’ I answered. ‘We’ll have a little chat with our friend when he comes back.’
It was over an hour before Dahler returned. And then we had to put him to bed. He was completely drunk. ‘Aquavit on top of whisky,’ Curtis said smelling his breath. ‘We’ll get nothing out of him for an hour or two.’
Back in the saloon Curtis said, ‘Sunde is the man we want to see.’
I nodded. ‘If anyone knows where Schreuder is, he does.’
‘Would he have told Captain Lovaas, do you think?’ Jill asked.
‘No,’ I replied. ‘I don’t think so.’ I was thinking of the scene at the midday meal with Sunde nervously trying to avoid Lovaas’s questions. ‘And if Lovaas had known then he would have adopted a different attitude when he came on board this evening. Lovaas knows something. But it isn’t the whereabouts of Schreuder.’
Curtis refilled his glass. ‘The way I see it,’ he said, ‘Sunde could be made to talk.’
‘How do you mean?’ I asked.
‘He wouldn’t tell Lovaas anything at Bovaagen. He was safe there in the village. But if he returns here-’ He looked at me significantly and raised his glass. ‘After that little pep talk from Dahler, Lovaas will stop at nothing. He’ll get hold of Sunde and wring the truth out of him somehow.’
