White Heat by Pamela Kent Page B

noisily, there would be no chance of restful sleep when the sun was up, and the rocking of the boat was as soothing as a lullaby, the man closed his eyes again and drifted into a completely tranquil state of slumber, which was a little surprising when he had been on his way to visit his ‘Sarah’, and now the voyage was interrupted and he might not see her again for a very long time, if ever!
    In the morning all three opened their eyes at about the same time. Karin rubbed hers, because they were smarting badly after the heat of the day before, and at first she thought the heat and the trying circumstances of the day before were responsible for the pleasing hallucination of a green, cool island with larkspur blue water lapping the golden sand that was undoubtedly a beach, since it ran down to the water’s edge, and there were two other arms of land that enclosed a kind of blue lagoon, that was as transparent as glass.
    And then, as she went on staring at it, she realized it was not an hallucination, and she made the discovery at the same moment that Rolands threw off a piece of sailcloth that had provided him with a certain amount of protection during the night and let out a hoarse, incredulous shout.
    ‘It’s land!’ he cried.
    Willoughby sat up beside Karin. He blinked at first in the brilliant sunshine, and then his green eyes narrowed and grew quite expressionless, although he smiled faintly.
    ‘What did I tell you?’ he said. ‘You surely both remember that I predicted we w ould strike it sooner or later?’
    Rolands was the first ashore, wading through the water with the eagerness of a Cockney schoolboy, and when he reached the shelving strip of sand that was as golden as a wedding ring he turned and waved to the others as an indication that there were no sharks in the water. There were lots of bright fish, swimming incessantly amongst gardens of coral and weed, but nothing more menacing to life or limb.
    Willoughby plied the oars and brought the boat as near to the strip of sand as possible, and then Rolands waded back into the water and helped to drag it up on to the beach. But before that he held out his arms for Karin.
    ‘I’ll take Miss Hammond,’ he said. ‘No need for her to get her feet wet.’
    But Kent waved him away.
    ‘I’ll make certain Miss Hammond doesn’t get her feet wet,’ he replied a little curtly, and the manservant gave way with a shrug.
    ‘As you say, boss,’ he replied, and somewhat to Karin’s surprise he winked at her. As Willoughby lifted Karin and waded with her to shore, being particularly careful to ensure that her short linen skirt was not so much as splashed by the water, he added a trifle inconsequently: ‘But she’ll have to get her feet wet sooner or later, and with no H & G this here lagoon’s as good as anything I can think of as a substitute for a bathroom. The water’s as soft as silk and as warm as a baked potato. I think I’ll have my morning dip straight away,’ and without waiting to make certain that his employer approved he retired behind a screen of bushes that overhung the water and stripped off his clothes and dived into the lagoon well away from the spot where he was likely to be overlooked.
    Willoughby frowned.
    ‘I should have thought the first thing he would have considered it necessary to do would be to make certain this island is uninhabited ,’ he remarked acidly, glancing at the rising mass of foliage inland. ‘For all we know it isn’t.’
    Karin drew nearer to him, even going so far as to clutch at his arm.
    ‘You don’t mean ...’ she said.
    He smiled.
    ‘Not in this day and age. They’re all civilized nowadays, or so we’re given to understand. But there are other things besides humans that are not always pleasant to encounter.’ With her hand still nestling in the crook of his arm he continued to study the strange, conical shape that rose behind them, and with the whole island steaming in the warmth of the sun after the