Ian said, 'Ach, Mike, it's all laid on. It'll be as easy as lifting a trout from the stream when the keeper's having a dram in the pub.'

'Oh, it's all laid on, is it? Would you mind telling me what the pair of you have been up to?'

Ian looked at Geordie, who said, 'Well, it's like this, Mike. I thought a guard was all very well in its way, but a bit negative, if you know what I mean. So I sent a couple of boys ashore to scout around. They found a lot of the crew of that hooker in a pub, drinking themselves silly. A tough-looking mob, true, but they're almost out of it already. All dagoes.'

'And no Kane or Hadley?'

'No one spotted them. Anyway with your lot at the hotel, there are precious few bodies left on Ramirez's ship.'

I said, 'They'll be keeping a watch too. Ramirez isn't a damn fool, and he knows we're here.'

'Right enough,' agreed Geordie. 'But I've gone into that too. I sent Taffy and Bill Hunter out in a boat to have a look. Bill's the best swimmer we've got, and he had a good look at that ship.' He chuckled suddenly. 'Do you know what he did? He swam right round her first, then he hauled himself aboard on the port side, had a good look round the deck, then let himself into the water on the starboard side and came back to report. That's the sort of watch they're keeping over there.'

'It would have to be done very quietly,' I mused.

'Ach, that's no trouble,' said Ian. 'We're a quiet lot.'

'Just about as quiet as a bunch of sharks. They don't make much noise either.'

'Well, what about it?' said Geordie imploringly.

There would have to be no guns. No killing. Just bare fists.'

'Or maybe the odd belaying pin,' offered Ian gently.

'You're a bloodthirsty lot. It's a damn silly idea, but I'll agree to it – conditionally.'

Geordie grinned delightedly. 'I knew you had something of your father in you, Mike!'

I said, 'Dad would have had you court-martialled for disobedience and subordination, and you damn well know it. All right, here are the conditions. One – if you find Kane or Hadley we hand them over to the police intact to the last hair of their heads. We don't want to ruin our own case. Two – if we don't find them you get back here fast. We'll have to get the hell out of Nuku'alofa anyway – Ramirez will be looking for us and maybe the cops too. That means, three – that Campbell and the girls will have to be got aboard.'

Geordie's face fell. 'That means the whole thing's off. He'll never stand for it, not with the girls along.'

'He doesn't have to know about it too soon – if we time it right. You send someone up to the hotel and get him aboard at just the right time.'

'The right time being when it's too late to stop us,' said Geordie. 'Mike, laddie, you're going to have a hell of a time explaining to the old man what we're doing.'

'I'll leave the explanations until afterwards,' I said. 'I've got another condition, number four – I'm coming with you. I've got scores to settle myself.'* 4*

The timing was a bit tricky. We didn't know how long Ramirez and company were going to stay in the hotel, nor even if they intended returning to their ship that night. We didn't want to bump into them because then there certainly would be noise.

Again, Campbell and the girls had to be got out of the hotel under the nose of Ramirez, another tricky bit. So we made a plan.

Geordie had picked Nick Dugan to bring Campbell from the hotel. 'He's probably the best scrapper of the lot of us,' he said. 'But he's never quiet in his fighting. It's best we keep him out of the main operation, and he'll not take it well.'

I had a word with Nick and sent him off immediately. 'You've got two jobs,' I told him. 'The first is to keep an eye on Ramirez. If any of them make a move to go back to their ship, you nip down to the waterfront and flash a signal to us. Then the operation is definitely off. Got that?'

'Right.' As it turned out he was surprisingly meek.

'We'll be starting off at eleven-thirty. At exactly that time you get into Mr Campbell's room and give him a note which I'll write. No sooner and no later than eleven-thirty – that's important.'

'I understand,' said Nick.

'Have you got a watch?'

He showed me his wrist watch and, as we synchronized, I wondered how many times my father had done the same before an operation.

'I settled their bills along with mine – they don't need to stop at the desk. No porters. Get them back here as fast as you can, and as quietly – and don't let Ramirez or any of his crowd see you.'

I also had a word with Bill Hunter. 'What sort of watch are they keeping over there, Bill?'

He smiled. 'I suppose they think they're keeping a good one – by their standards. It's nothing to worry about, though. It'll be a piece of cake.'

'Geordie tells me you're the best swimmer, so you'll go first. But you must be quiet about it or the balloon will go up. Your job will be to find the quietest spot on board to get the rest of us up.'

'Not to worry,' he said easily. 'It'll be like the old times.'

As I turned away he said, 'Er – Mike…'

'Yes, Bill?'

'It's good to work with a Trevelyan again.'

I was touched. 'Thanks, Bill. You don't know how I appreciate that.'

At last we were ready. Six of us were going – Geordie, Ian, Taffy, Jim, Bill Hunter and myself. Danny Williams was left in command of the ship and the rest of Geordie's non-commando crew, and I said to him, 'Danny, if anything goes wrong, get the hell out of here as fast as you can, once Mr Campbell and the girls and Nick are back on board, even if it means leaving us behind. Mr Campbell mustn't be involved in this, you understand?'

'I gotcha,' he said. 'But you'll be all right.'

Geordie was fussing. 'Jim, got all your bits and pieces?' 'I'm okay,' said Jim. 'Stop binding, skipper.' I stepped over to Geordie. 'What are these bits and pieces?' 'Nothing much,' he said airily. 'A few tools. Belaying pins and stuff like that. What time is it?'

I looked at the luminous hands of my watch. 'Eleven-twenty-eight.' It had been a rush to get ready but the last few minutes crawled.

'Let's go,' he said. 'It'll be a doddle.' We dropped into the larger of our two dinghies, Ian and Taffy took the oars and pulled quietly, and the boat moved out. We rounded the stern of Esmerelda and Ian steered us across the harbour.

I was thinking of all the things that could go wrong and what Campbell would say when we got back, and damning myself for an idiot. I leaned over to Geordie and whispered, 'If Taffy's got that damned knife of his, tell him to leave it in the bottom of the boat. We don't want even the possibility of him using it.'

'It's all right,' he said in a low voice. 'He left it aboard – I told him to.'

It wasn't long before Ian and Taffy stopped pulling and the boat glided to a stop, rocking gently. Bill was dressed in dark clothing and all I saw of him was the flash of his teeth in the moonlight as he slipped over the side.

'Are you sure the torch is waterproof?' Geordie murmured.

'It's okay,' Bill replied. 'I'll give you a flash as soon as I'm ready.' He moved away without a single splash and we sat quietly waiting for his signal. It seemed a long time coming and as I sat there I wondered what I was doing in this Pacific harbour, contemplating an act of piracy. It seemed a long way from my office at the Institute. I said to Geordie, 'He's a long time, isn't he?' 'Stop worrying,' said Geordie. 'We're professionals.' I let out my breath and tried to relax on the hard thwart, never taking my eyes off Ramirez's ship. Suddenly there was a flicker of light, so faint and so quickly doused that I wondered if I'd really seen it or whether my eyes were playing tricks.

'That's it,' said Geordie softly. 'Pull together. Gently now.'

We moved on under the measured slow strokes of the oars until the side of the ship loomed above us. Something hit my face and I started violently. Geordie said in my ear, 'Be still, for God's sake.'