Hostage by Geoffrey Household Page B

from the house and told that there was no through road. After expressing indignation and insisting that I wanted to see Sir Frederick Gammel on business I was allowed to go on. I felt more confident. After all there must be quite a number of innocent callers, some of them coming to lend support to an old friend as Ian Roberts had wished.
    Within sight of the millpond and the blacksmith’s shop I was stopped again. This time I was more nervous than on half a dozen more dangerous operations. I identified myself as Herbert Johnson, offered my business card and driving licence and gave Ian Roberts as a reference. They had a telephone by the wayside and called him up. Meanwhile I am pretty sure that I was secretly photographed. After Roberts had vouched for me I was asked why I was using a hired car. I explained that mine had broken down on the Evesham road. Where was it? I had to lie without a moment’s hesitation and I was afraid they might keep me waiting while Gloucester police confirmed my story. But they didn’t. I was allowed into Roke’s Tining and shown into Gammel’s study by, I think, a policewoman.
    He was surprised to see me. I said at once that Mr Roberts hearing he was in trouble had asked me to go up and see if he or I could help. News from Nowhere was of no importance. What on earth were all the police doing?
    ‘I am accused of allowing Dr Shallope, whom I believe I mentioned to you, to manufacture bombs on my premises. A nuclear bomb I suspect, though my interrogators have not actually said so.’
    ‘He can’t have done!’
    ‘I believe because it is incredible, Mr Johns. I am very much afraid he did.’
    ‘Are you under arrest?’
    ‘No. I should describe it as house arrest if such a thing were known to English Law. I appear to be allowed out as far as they can see me.’
    I said that it was a pity and that one of my reasons for calling had been to inspect the gearing of his waterwheel again. When I described it to an engineer friend of mine he had said that it was impossible.
    Gammel only hesitated an instant.
    ‘We’ll go and look at it. I don’t think they can object. I wish you could see it working but everything is shut down. Fortunately Roke’s Tining has a diesel generator in reserve.’
    As soon as we were safely out in the courtyard I warned him that his study might be bugged; if it was not, it ought to be. I had to explain the word which was unfamiliar to him.
    ‘I think you have rather more for me than Ian Roberts’ kind message,’ he said when we were in the wheel-house.
    ‘Not here. We mustn’t stay more than a minute or they’ll get suspicious. Stroll back with me to somewhere in the open where we can talk.’
    He led me to a seat in the garden under a splendid yew where we were in full view of anyone watching us. I told him at once that I was not police or police agent or newspaperman and that I needed his help quickly.
    ‘Shallope did construct a nuclear bomb,’ I said. ‘It was taken away from here inside an apparent drain pipe. It is now in London.’
    ‘What are you?’
    ‘I will call myself a Libertarian Communist. That’s not unlike a Christian Anarchist but without the religion.’
    ‘There could be no profounder difference, Mr Johns.’
    ‘You may be right, Sir Frederick. It depends what one means by religion. Outwardly I am a publisher’s salesman – Herbert Johnson, not Johns. I helped to land Shallope’s fissile material without knowing what it was. If you saw his crate arrive here you will remember that it was marked Graphite. For various reasons I cannot go to the police. In any case I could only give them the names of certain people who would get long sentences but could not help them – people who don’t know anything at all about the bomb, let alone where it is. I must find out where it is hidden. What I need from you first is the name of your club, a list of members and any other information you have been able to give the police. You can tell me to