"I beg your pardon "

"Carry on "

"During the hour or so before the accident I took the three younger boys to the bridge and supervised them while they did some sketching there During this period I took them to the engine-room Stonley, one of the older boys, was there and I wanted to see how he was getting on with his work on the engines His was the most complicated task and I felt he needed the help I then returned to the upper deck with the three young lads They wanted to see inside one of the lifeboats and I had just lifted them in when " he looked across at Fleming again and some of the brusque-ness left his voice, "I heard David scream " His armpits were suddenly sour with sweat and he moved uncomfortably. "I didn't know what had happened – or how serious it was I couldn't leave the three young boys in the lifeboat, so I had to get them out before investigating " He looked towards the window "It's damnably airless in here "

The coroner let his sympathy show "It was a shocking experience! know how painful it is for you to have to go over it again Are you feeling unwell?"

"No I'm perfectly well It's just a very hot June da) and those curtains don't do much to keep the sun out "

The coroner nodded to one of the police officers who went and opened the slats If fresh air came in, it wasn't perceptible Fleming thought savagely, Bring on the sal-volatile -• bring him a recliner – cosset him – tell him how good and reliable he is wrap his bleeding conscience in bandage' and send him home He felt a heavy sense of defeat Hammond, on the face of it, was blameless The coroner prompted him "You heard the boy cry out. You got the three small boys out of the lifeboat And then?"

"Another of the older boys – Masters – was in the captain's cabin which was nearby I told Masters to keep an eye on the young ones while I went to investigate. Masters, himself, hadn't heard anything The only lad who had heard the cry was Durrant He was in the open air, on the fo'c'sle deck He arrived at the hatch fractionally before I did "

"What was the time lapse between the shout and your arrival on the scene?"

"A matter of minutes – three – four – perhaps five '

The coroner addressed Thirza "The evidence about the drawing was largely conjectural At this stage of the inquest we're dealing with facts As Mr Fleming's legal representative I don't want you to feel you're being restricted in any way If you want to confer with Mr Fleming on any point – then please do "

"Thank you, sir, but Mr Fleming and I had a full discussion before coming to court "

"Have you a question to ask this witness?''

"Please Mr Hammond, wouldn't you say five minutes was an unreasonably long time before you went to investigate?"

Hammond's adrenalin flowed even faster in the face of a new enemy A good-looking, suave, elegant little bitch "I didn't time myself with a stop-watch, it could have been less "

"When you heard the child cry out, how did you know which child screamed?"

"There was only one child in the region of the poop deck "

"Where the open hatch was?"

"Near where the open hatch was "

"When you arrived did you go directly to the poop deck or did you look down the hatch into the hold?"

"I looked down the hatch into the hold."

"You thought it probable that David had fallen down it?"

Hammond, aware of gin traps under soft undergrowth, trod warily. "Durrant – the older boy – was already there. He indicated that David had fallen."

"Indicated? Could you tell me more clearly what you mean? Did he say 'David has fallen down the hold' or 'I saw David falling down the hold'…?"

"I don't remember. I can't see that it matters what he said – or didn't say."

"There is rudder machinery on the poop deck. David was supposed to be there on an assignment. The accident could have happened there. You could have been expected to go there directly. The hold itself is fairly dark. If you went directly to the hold expecting to see the child there then you must have had a reason. If the boy, Durrant, told you to look there, then that is a reason. If he didn't, then you must have anticipated the accident. You must have been aware of the danger of the uncovered hatch. If you were and did nothing about it then you failed in your contractual duty of care."

Lessing was on his feet. "I don't like your imputations."

The coroner, who didn't like them either, liked Lessing's interruption even less. He told him to sit again. "Answer Miss Crayshaw's question, Mr. Hammond. Were you aware of the danger of the open hatch?"

"No, sir. If I had been I wouldn't have set the lad's assignment so near it."

"You wouldn't have gone directly to it if young Durrant hadn't made it plain to you that the child had fallen there?"

"No."'.

"And you can't remember Durrani's words?"

"No."

"That's understandable. When you realised the child had fallen down the hatch into the hold, what did you do?"

Hammond felt the salt of sweat on his lips. It was caking at the corner of his mouth. He didn't want to remember the hold – or the climb down into it. He tried to disassociate the mental image from the words, but with no success. The words came out painfully.

"He was lying on his face. I had never seen anyone with a broken neck. I didn't touch him. I could see he was dead. I climbed out of the hold. I thought I was going to vomit. I went to the rail."

The coroner's voice was toneless. "You noticed that his eyes were bandaged?"

"Yes."

"His hands were free?"

"Yes."

"You didn't touch him at all?"

"No."

"What happened then?"

"Mr. Sherborne came over from the ship that was anchored close by. The doctor and police were sent for."

"And we have their evidence. Mr. Hammond, have you any ideas on how the child came to fall?"

"No."

"He was in your House at school?"

"Yes."

"So you knew him quite well?"

"As well as one can know any child."

"It has been suggested – again we're back in the realms of conjecture – that he might have been acting out a game, a pirate game perhaps, anyway some sort of fantasy that involved a blindfold. Does that sort of thing equate with what you knew of the child?"

"It's possible. He enjoyed acting. It could have happened that way."

The coroner addressed Lessing "And now, Mr Lessing, have you anything to ask?" The rebuke was implicit Lessing bounced up from under it "Yes Mr Hammond, has any child m your care ever had an accident before?"

"No "

"You are a conscientious man and you have an excellent reputation both up in the school and here in the town where we have a close liaison with the school I believe that the standard of care shown was first-class You couldn't have done more " He looked at Thirza "Some of Miss Crayshaw's questions were difficult and distressing but you answered them honestly The one other question I want to put to you is a very simple one – is your conscience clear on this matter?"

"Yes'

"Then that, ' said Lessing, "is good enough for me "

And nicely put the coroner thought, if the jury needed convincing – which it didn't The verdict of accidental death was already a foregone conclusion Even so, justice needed to be seen to be done The boy's father was sitting there as if he were witnessing a crooked dice game and was powerless to do anything about it If he didn't feel he had to do everything possible to give him a fair deal he wouldn't call the last witness He didn't like calling on juveniles to give evidence, but Durrant had been the first on the scene It was Durrant who had indicated (blast Miss Crayshaw's insistence on the interpretation of this) to Hammond where the boy had fallen He thanked Hammond for his evidence and told him he could stand down Durrant took the stand Today he looked a man and was in his glory The machine in his mind was functioning at high pilch and was fully controlled He saw the courtroom as a room full of sub-normal aliens from an inferior satellite – a pusil lammous, cretinous bunch of observers The only one there of any account was Fleming himself He dared to look at him and then dared to smile at him The smile he saw with satisfaction, needled him like a poisoned dart He wondered if he should ask to affirm rather than to speak the oath and then decided against it Shulter was sitting midway down the left aisle and if he affirmed now there would be long heart-searching sessions with him later He had dropped God together with his mother yesterday – not that God had ever figured very much He read out the oath and then turned his attention to the coroner Breddon who had not looked forward to questioning a nervous and probably sensitive fifteen-year-old was put a little off-balance by what he saw The lad was tall for his age and he was standing very straight with his shoulders back, almost a military stance Brannigan hadn't described him this way Brannigan's description had been sympathetic – something about a miserable home background, lack of confidence and so on This boy, now, was almost scornful m his attitude as if he dealt with a bunch of fools All the same, he was a child Breddon corrected himself – a child up to fourteen, a young person from fourteen to seventeen He was a young person of relatively tender years and must be treated as such He had already decided to use his Christian name, but found it didn't come easily to him "I'm sorry you had to be called today, Steven, but you realise how important this enquiry is?"