Bagley, Desmond - The Snow Tiger by The Snow Tiger

Author:The Snow Tiger [Tiger, The Snow]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

NINETEEN

Eric Peterson was giving evidence.

'It must have been somewhere between half past six and seven o'clock on the Sunday morning when my brother, John, came and woke me. With him were Mr Ballard and Dr McGill. They said there'd been an avalanche. At first I didn't believe them. I'd heard nothing, and according to the scare story the town would be blotted out if they were right. But John said the Gap was blocked and that no one could get in or out.'

He shrugged. 'I still didn't really believe it, but John was very convincing. Then he said that if the Gap could be blocked like that then perhaps Dr McGill was right about the danger to the town from the west slope. My brother got busy on the telephone and called an emergency council meeting. It was getting on towards eight o'clock by then and beginning to get light. We held the meeting in the Supermarket.'

There was no cold glare from the overhead fluorescent tubes that Sunday morning. Two oil lamps gave a warmer glow which paled as the sky grew brighter. There was no sunlight yet; the sun had to rise high to clear the eastern slope of the valley and to burn off the mist which hung heavily.

Eric Peterson stoked up the old-fashioned pot-bellied stove with billets of wood, and commented, 'I'm glad we didn't get rid of this relic.' He jerked his thumb towards the back of the store. 'Back there I have two thousand gallons of fuel oil that's good for damn all. The central heating system needs two electric motors to drive it.'

'What's keeping Matt?' asked Mrs Samson fretfully.

'He'll be along,' said John Peterson. 'You know Matt-slow but reliable.'

Eric put the lid back on to the stove. 'Then there are the fridges and the cold room, all with no power. A good thing this didn't happen in summer.'

'For Christ's sake!' said John irritably. 'Use your bloody brains for once. How in hell could it happen in summer?'

Eric paused in surprise. 'I was forgetting. What I meant was...'

'To the devil with what you meant. If you can't talk sense, shut up!'

Tempers were becoming uncertain. McGill said calmly, 'I think we ought to begin without waiting for Mr Houghton. We can fill him in later.'

'No need,' said Phil Warrick. 'He's here now.'

Houghton walked up the aisle towards the group around the stove. 'I know we agreed to meet this morning, but this is beyond a joke. Do you know the time?'

John Peterson raised his hand. 'There's been an avalanche in the Gap, Matt. It's blocked completely. There's so much snow in there you can't see the top.'

'You mean we can't get out?'

'Not in cars,' said McGill.

Houghton looked about uncertainly, and John Peterson said, 'Sit down, Matt. When there's been one avalanche there can be another. I suggest we apologize to Dr McGill and listen to his suggestions.'

'No apology needed-and here's my first suggestion.' McGill surveyed the small group. 'There aren't enough of us here. I want more men brought in; strong men who don't scare easy.

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