The Wreck Of The Mary Deare

Higgins pursed his lips, then shook his head. ‘No, I can’t say I ‘ave.’

‘Take the flooding of the for’ard holds. You say you didn’t think it was an explosion of some sort.’

‘I didn’t say nuthing of the kind. I said I didn’t think about it, not at the time. There was a lot of other things ter think aba’t. Anyway, I wasn’t on the bridge.’

‘And what’s your opinion now?’

Higgins shook his head. ‘I don’t know wot ter think.’

‘And what about the fires? Were they natural outbreaks?’

‘Ah, the fires — that’s different.’ His cunning little eyes darted a glance to where Patch sat, watching him with a tense face.

‘You think they were started deliberately?’

‘Yes, I reckon so.’

‘You suspect somebody then?’

‘I don’t know about that. But,’ he added, ‘I knew we was in fer trouble as soon as ‘e come aboard.’ And he nodded his hard bollard of a head towards Patch. ‘Stands ter reason, a man wiv ‘is record don’t get the job fer nuthing — and then the skipper dying so convenient-like.’

‘Are you blaming somebody for Captain Taggart’s death?’ There was a note of censure in Holland’s voice.

‘I ain’t blamin’ anyone. But somebody swiped the poor devil’s liquor and all I say is it only did one man any good.’

An excited buzz ran round the court as Holland sat down. Fenton was immediately on his feet. It was a disgraceful allegation, made without a shred of evidence to support it. And the Chairman agreed, leaning forward and asking Higgins whether it wasn’t true that Taggart had accused several of the officers. And when Higgins admitted that it was, he said, ‘Yourself as well?’

‘The poor devil was ravin’,’ Higgins declared angrily.

‘So he’s raving when he accuses you, but not when he accuses Mr Patch, is that it?’ Bowen-Lodge’s voice was icy.

‘Well, it didn’t do me no good, him dying,’ Higgins muttered.

‘I put it to you that Captain Taggart just ran out of liquor.’

But Higgins shook his head. ‘There was a lot of stuff brought off to ‘im by a ship’s chandler in Aden. ‘E couldn’t ‘ve drunk it all in the time. It weren’t ‘umingly possible.’

‘What did you think about it at the time? Did you take his accusations seriously?’

‘No, why should I? When a man’s ravin’ the way he was, you don’t know wot ter believe.’ Higgins had a baffled look as though he wasn’t sure where the questions were leading. ‘Mebbe ‘e ‘ad liquor, an’ mebbe ‘e didn’t,’ he muttered hoarsely. ‘Mebbe somebody pinched it — I dunno. All I know is, we searched the ‘ole bloomin’ ship fer ‘im, jus’ ter make ‘im ‘appy, ‘an we didn’t find a single bottle wot belonged to ‘im.

‘Course,’ he added, ‘if we’d known as ‘ow ‘e was goin’ ter die fer lack of the stuff, there’s some of us, as was plannin’ ter smuggle the odd bottle through the Customs, who’d ‘ve chipped in ter ‘elp ‘im, as the sayin’ is.’

Bowen-Lodge nodded and Fenton started to question Higgins, trying to get him to admit that Patch had never given the order to stand by to abandon ship, trying to confuse him and break him down over little details. But Higgins was a dangerous witness to cross-examine. He made it clear with every answer that he didn’t trust Patch, and he didn’t budge an inch from his original testimony.

But with Sir Lionel it was different. His interest was the cargo. What had led the witness to believe that the cases loaded at Yokohama contained explosives? Had he discovered something whilst he was loading the cases? But when the Chairman put the question, Higgins said he hadn’t been a member of the ship’s company at the time the cases were loaded.

‘When did your employment as second officer commence then?’ Bowen-Lodge asked.

‘The day before the ship sailed,’ Higgins answered. ‘By then she was all loaded up, hatches battened down an’ lying out in the fairway.’

‘You were shown the manifest?’

‘No. I never saw the manifest, not till later.’

‘Then what gave you the idea that the cargo contained explosives?’

‘There was rumours around the docks.’

‘And amongst the crew?’

‘Yes.’

‘Have you ever known explosives packed in cases clearly marked as aero engines?’

‘Not exactly. But I’ve heard of explosives bein’ packed and marked as other things, to avoid the regulations as you might say.’

‘But you had no definite indication that the cases might contain other than what was stated on the manifest?’

‘No.’

‘And you did your utmost to scotch this rumour?’

For the first time Higgins showed uncertainty. ‘Well no, to be honest I can’t say I did.’

‘Why not?’

The muscles along Higgins’s neck thickened. ‘Well, if it comes ter that, why should I? Wasn’t none of my business.’

Bowen-Lodge glanced across at Sir Lionel with one eyebrow raised. The next question concerned the four days the ship was moored in the Rangoon River. Yes, Higgins admitted, he had gone ashore with the rest. Well, why not? it wasn’t every day the owners gave a ship’s company forty-eight hours ashore, expenses paid. The reason? Mr Dellimare was a good bloke, that’s why — knew how to treat a crew, believed in a happy ship.