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the reflection of his light in the water and come to investigate. He knew,
however, that his task would not take more than a couple of minutes at the
very most.
He unstrapped the limpet-mine and decided on a suitable place to fix it. A
straight smooth area of rock on a level with his own head and shoulders seemed
ideal. He pressed the suction pad on to it and tested it for firmness. It
held. With trembling fingers he set the dial of the timing device. One hour.
He began to make his way back to the open sea. The crabs had only a short time
left. Then the world would be safe.
'Well?' Grisedale wore an anxious expression on his face as Cliff was helped
on board the gunboat.
'OK,' said Cliff and grinned. 'I think that should do it. Now let's get going.
It may only be a limpet mine but I'd rather not be around when it goes off! It
could start an avalanche.'
An hour later Cliff heaved a sigh of relief. Of course, they would not hear
the explosion, but if everything had gone according to plan it should be all
over by now.
In his office in the Town Hall, Grisedale poured out two whiskies. Their
glasses clinked together. They looked at each other and smiled. Words would
have been superfluous.
'Well,' Pat Benson sighed as she sipped her coffee after dinner that evening,
'I guess it's all over now. That's the end of the crabs for all time, I hope.'
Cliff Davenport noted the regret in her voice. He understood. It wasn't that
she was in any way sympathetic towards the giant crabs. It was just that there
was no longer any common bond to hold them in Llanbedr. Now they could drift
apart at any time they wished.
'Telephone, Professor!' Mrs Jones poked her head round the dining-room door.
'That'll be Grizzly,' Cliff remarked and rose to his feet, scraping his chair
back. 'He said he'd give me a ring this evening. They've put a couple of
divers down to see what the result of our little explosion was. Be back in a
minute.'
When he returned to the table a few minutes later he was grinning and rubbing
his hands together in obvious glee.
'Bang on!' He put two spoonfuls of sugar into his cup. 'Not only has it
brought the roof of the tunnel down but the outer cave has also collapsed.
Nothing could get out of those caverns. It's an even bet that the inner cave
has fallen in too and crushed the crabs beneath millions of tons of rock.
Grisedale's back in London. He went by air.'
'So that really is it!' Pat lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. The case is
closed then?'
'Almost.' Slowly and carefully he stuffed tobacco into the bowl of his pipe.
'Except for us.'
Her heart leapt.
'You mean .. . ?'
'It's a beautiful evening,' he said, grateful for the opportunity to glance
out of the window. 'I was just thinking how pleasant it would be walking. It
won't be dark for another couple of hours yet.'
'Not on the island!' She rested her hand on his.
'No,' he replied. 'I've had quite enough of Shell Island for the time being.
Suppose we take the car along the coast road and walk from there.'
'I'd love that,' she said, stubbing her cigarette out in the ashtray. 'Come
on. What're we waiting for?'
'We can't just drift apart, Pat.' Cliff Davenport spoke the thoughts which had
been troubling him all evening. 'I mean ... I know it's been rough, meeting in
these circumstances, but as the old saying goes, it's an ill wind that blows
nobody any good. I... er... I.'
'Yes?' She moved closer to him and for some moments they stood on the cliff
path admiring the sunset, the golden rays reflected on the calmness of the
bay, the sea mist that had prevailed all day now having disappeared.
'I think the fine spell's going to continue,' he murmured.
'That isn't what you were going to say.' She squeezed his hand. 'You said
something about an ill wind... '
'Er . . . yes.' He was nervous now, far more so than he had been at the
prospect of meeting up with the giant crabs again earlier that day. 'There is
something positively terrifying in asking a woman straight out if she will
marry you,' he went on. 'Right now my knees are knocking and I feel as if I'm
going to faint'
'How soon?' She kissed him. 'Don't make me wait too long, Cliff!'
'As soon as we get back to London,' he promised, expelling a long sigh of
relief. 'I was thinking that maybe we might start back the day after
tomorrow.'
'I can't get back quick enough,' she sighed and then surrendered to a long
embrace.
They walked on. They felt as though they just wanted to keep on walking
forever. Their course took them along the cliff tops until in the gathering
dusk they could spy the lights of Bar-mouth in the distance.
'Maybe we'd better be getting back,' Cliff said as they stood watching a
colony of rabbits playing on a grassy part of the cliffs.
'I could stay here forever,' Pat murmured dreamily. 'Couldn't we just sit down
awhile and relax? We haven't relaxed once since we've been together.'
They sat down with their backs against a large rock beneath a grassy knoll.
The rabbits kept on playing. Either they were unaware of them or else they had
no cause to fear them.
Suddenly, as if at a given signal, a dozen or more white tails bobbed in the
air and then the rabbits were disappearing down the entrances to a nearby
warren.
'Goodness!' Pat frowned. 'What on earth's up with them? We've been here for
nearly half an hour. We didn't frighten them.'
Cliff Davenport's eyes were scanning the sky. Maybe a sparrowhawk ... A couple
of seagulls lazily flew over their heads on their way out to roost on the
mudflats. Otherwise the sky was empty of bird life. Perhaps a stoat or a fox
...
As his sharp eyes searched the sloping ground in front of them, down as far as
the hollow a hundred yards away and then upwards to the rocky peaks on the
skyline, he caught a movement. It was becoming dark by now and whatever it
was, it was hidden by the shadows of the towering crags. Just a patch of
deeper darkness. He watched it carefully. It definitely moved. Of course, the
nearby farmers took advantage of this type of hilly ground to graze a few
extra sheep. This was bigger than a sheep though. Maybe a pony that had broken
its tetherings and frolicked forth in search of freedom.
It moved on to some lighter ground and then he could see it clearly.
'My god!' he hissed. 'What in the name of... Pat! It's one of the crabs!'
'Oh, no!' She followed his gaze. It was true enough. A giant crab squatted
amidst a patch of rough mountain grass and bracken. Suddenly it was joined by
a second. Then a third appeared behind and above the first two.
'Where the hell are they coming from?' Cliff breathed. 'They can't have scaled
the cliffs. Not even they could do that. There's nowhere else though. It's as
if they're just appearing out of the ground!'
'It's impossible!' Pat wailed, hoping against hope that she would wake up and
discover that they had fallen asleep in the grass and dreamt it all. 'They
couldn't. You said yourself they couldn't get out of that cave! '
Cliff Davenport was silent. He just could not accept that these creatures were
free ... even that they were alive!
But it was true enough. More and more crabs were appearing on the hillside
opposite. They just seemed to materialise out of the ground, grouping
together, hardly moving. Waiting. For what?
'King Crab!' the Professor cursed. 'See the devil? Twice as big as any of the
others. He's more cunning than any human being. Somehow he's got them out of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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the reflection of his light in the water and come to investigate. He knew,
however, that his task would not take more than a couple of minutes at the
very most.
He unstrapped the limpet-mine and decided on a suitable place to fix it. A
straight smooth area of rock on a level with his own head and shoulders seemed
ideal. He pressed the suction pad on to it and tested it for firmness. It
held. With trembling fingers he set the dial of the timing device. One hour.
He began to make his way back to the open sea. The crabs had only a short time
left. Then the world would be safe.
'Well?' Grisedale wore an anxious expression on his face as Cliff was helped
on board the gunboat.
'OK,' said Cliff and grinned. 'I think that should do it. Now let's get going.
It may only be a limpet mine but I'd rather not be around when it goes off! It
could start an avalanche.'
An hour later Cliff heaved a sigh of relief. Of course, they would not hear
the explosion, but if everything had gone according to plan it should be all
over by now.
In his office in the Town Hall, Grisedale poured out two whiskies. Their
glasses clinked together. They looked at each other and smiled. Words would
have been superfluous.
'Well,' Pat Benson sighed as she sipped her coffee after dinner that evening,
'I guess it's all over now. That's the end of the crabs for all time, I hope.'
Cliff Davenport noted the regret in her voice. He understood. It wasn't that
she was in any way sympathetic towards the giant crabs. It was just that there
was no longer any common bond to hold them in Llanbedr. Now they could drift
apart at any time they wished.
'Telephone, Professor!' Mrs Jones poked her head round the dining-room door.
'That'll be Grizzly,' Cliff remarked and rose to his feet, scraping his chair
back. 'He said he'd give me a ring this evening. They've put a couple of
divers down to see what the result of our little explosion was. Be back in a
minute.'
When he returned to the table a few minutes later he was grinning and rubbing
his hands together in obvious glee.
'Bang on!' He put two spoonfuls of sugar into his cup. 'Not only has it
brought the roof of the tunnel down but the outer cave has also collapsed.
Nothing could get out of those caverns. It's an even bet that the inner cave
has fallen in too and crushed the crabs beneath millions of tons of rock.
Grisedale's back in London. He went by air.'
'So that really is it!' Pat lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. The case is
closed then?'
'Almost.' Slowly and carefully he stuffed tobacco into the bowl of his pipe.
'Except for us.'
Her heart leapt.
'You mean .. . ?'
'It's a beautiful evening,' he said, grateful for the opportunity to glance
out of the window. 'I was just thinking how pleasant it would be walking. It
won't be dark for another couple of hours yet.'
'Not on the island!' She rested her hand on his.
'No,' he replied. 'I've had quite enough of Shell Island for the time being.
Suppose we take the car along the coast road and walk from there.'
'I'd love that,' she said, stubbing her cigarette out in the ashtray. 'Come
on. What're we waiting for?'
'We can't just drift apart, Pat.' Cliff Davenport spoke the thoughts which had
been troubling him all evening. 'I mean ... I know it's been rough, meeting in
these circumstances, but as the old saying goes, it's an ill wind that blows
nobody any good. I... er... I.'
'Yes?' She moved closer to him and for some moments they stood on the cliff
path admiring the sunset, the golden rays reflected on the calmness of the
bay, the sea mist that had prevailed all day now having disappeared.
'I think the fine spell's going to continue,' he murmured.
'That isn't what you were going to say.' She squeezed his hand. 'You said
something about an ill wind... '
'Er . . . yes.' He was nervous now, far more so than he had been at the
prospect of meeting up with the giant crabs again earlier that day. 'There is
something positively terrifying in asking a woman straight out if she will
marry you,' he went on. 'Right now my knees are knocking and I feel as if I'm
going to faint'
'How soon?' She kissed him. 'Don't make me wait too long, Cliff!'
'As soon as we get back to London,' he promised, expelling a long sigh of
relief. 'I was thinking that maybe we might start back the day after
tomorrow.'
'I can't get back quick enough,' she sighed and then surrendered to a long
embrace.
They walked on. They felt as though they just wanted to keep on walking
forever. Their course took them along the cliff tops until in the gathering
dusk they could spy the lights of Bar-mouth in the distance.
'Maybe we'd better be getting back,' Cliff said as they stood watching a
colony of rabbits playing on a grassy part of the cliffs.
'I could stay here forever,' Pat murmured dreamily. 'Couldn't we just sit down
awhile and relax? We haven't relaxed once since we've been together.'
They sat down with their backs against a large rock beneath a grassy knoll.
The rabbits kept on playing. Either they were unaware of them or else they had
no cause to fear them.
Suddenly, as if at a given signal, a dozen or more white tails bobbed in the
air and then the rabbits were disappearing down the entrances to a nearby
warren.
'Goodness!' Pat frowned. 'What on earth's up with them? We've been here for
nearly half an hour. We didn't frighten them.'
Cliff Davenport's eyes were scanning the sky. Maybe a sparrowhawk ... A couple
of seagulls lazily flew over their heads on their way out to roost on the
mudflats. Otherwise the sky was empty of bird life. Perhaps a stoat or a fox
...
As his sharp eyes searched the sloping ground in front of them, down as far as
the hollow a hundred yards away and then upwards to the rocky peaks on the
skyline, he caught a movement. It was becoming dark by now and whatever it
was, it was hidden by the shadows of the towering crags. Just a patch of
deeper darkness. He watched it carefully. It definitely moved. Of course, the
nearby farmers took advantage of this type of hilly ground to graze a few
extra sheep. This was bigger than a sheep though. Maybe a pony that had broken
its tetherings and frolicked forth in search of freedom.
It moved on to some lighter ground and then he could see it clearly.
'My god!' he hissed. 'What in the name of... Pat! It's one of the crabs!'
'Oh, no!' She followed his gaze. It was true enough. A giant crab squatted
amidst a patch of rough mountain grass and bracken. Suddenly it was joined by
a second. Then a third appeared behind and above the first two.
'Where the hell are they coming from?' Cliff breathed. 'They can't have scaled
the cliffs. Not even they could do that. There's nowhere else though. It's as
if they're just appearing out of the ground!'
'It's impossible!' Pat wailed, hoping against hope that she would wake up and
discover that they had fallen asleep in the grass and dreamt it all. 'They
couldn't. You said yourself they couldn't get out of that cave! '
Cliff Davenport was silent. He just could not accept that these creatures were
free ... even that they were alive!
But it was true enough. More and more crabs were appearing on the hillside
opposite. They just seemed to materialise out of the ground, grouping
together, hardly moving. Waiting. For what?
'King Crab!' the Professor cursed. 'See the devil? Twice as big as any of the
others. He's more cunning than any human being. Somehow he's got them out of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]