The Snow Tiger / Night of Error. Desmond Bagley
out with preparations for evacuation right there and then.’
‘What position did the mine management take?’
‘Mr Ballard agreed with Mrs Samson. Mr Quentin said he didn’t think there was any danger – he said it was all a lot of hot air. Mr Cameron tended to go along with Mr Ballard.’ Peterson clasped his hands before him. ‘You must realize that any decision concerning the town had to be made by the council. It wasn’t up to the mine management to tell the town what to do. Dr McGill had told us there was no immediate hazard from the west slope, and to some of us there seemed to be no reason for going off half-cocked on a project that might cost the town a lot of money and wasted time.’
‘And lose votes if nothing happened,’ remarked Edwards cynically.
‘Well, as I said, there was a lot of talk and we went round in circles for some time. Eventually Matt Houghton came up with an idea. He said that maybe there was something in what McGill had said, but he’d like a second opinion. He said he’d telephone Christchurch and get some advice.’
‘To whom was he going to speak?’
‘That was the rub. He didn’t know and neither did anyone else. Mr Cameron suggested he talk to someone in the Forestry Department – he said they’d probably know about avalanche conditions. Someone else, I forget who, suggested the Department of Civil Defence. It was decided he’d try both. Mrs Samson said the police should be notified and that was agreed to.’
‘Did the mine management make any concrete suggestions?’
‘We had the offer of transport – trucks and suchlike. Also bulldozers.’
‘Who made that offer?’
Peterson glanced sideways at Ballard. He hesitated, then said, ‘I don’t remember. It may have been Mr Cameron.’
Ballard smiled thinly.
‘And what happened then?’
‘The meeting broke up and it was decided we’d meet at eleven the next morning, even though it was Sunday.’
‘I see.’ Harrison looked around. ‘Has anyone any further questions to ask Mr Peterson?’
Smithers raised his hand. ‘I represent the Ministry of Civil Defence. Was a telephone call in fact made to the Civil Defence authorities?’
‘Not to my knowledge.’
‘Why not?’
‘I talked with Matt Houghton after the meeting. He was a bit wavery about things. He said he’d do what he always did before making a decision. He said he’d sleep on it.’
‘And the police – were they notified?’
‘That was a bit difficult. Arthur Pye was away; he was up at the head of the valley investigating a case of sheep worrying.’
‘Who is Arthur Pye?’
‘Our policeman. Hukahoronui is only a small place – we just had the one policeman.’
‘Do you mean to tell me that when you discussed notifying the police it was your intention to tell Constable Pye?’ said Smithers incredulously.
‘Well, he’d know what to do about telling his superiors,’ said Peterson defensively.
‘So nobody outside Hukahoronui knew of the situation?’
‘I suppose that is correct.’
‘And in Hukahoronui the knowledge was confined to a handful of people.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Smithers consulted his note-pad. ‘You say that when it was decided to get a second opinion on Dr McGill’s diagnosis of the situation nobody knew whom to consult.’ He lifted his head and looked at Peterson with an air of disbelief. ‘Did no one on the council read the directives which were sent out by my Ministry?’
‘We get a lot of stuff from the Government.’ Peterson shrugged. ‘I didn’t read it all myself.’
‘Apparently no one on the council read it.’ Smithers took a deep breath. ‘Mr Peterson, you were a councillor and a responsible official. Would you not agree that preparations for a crisis in your community were conspicuous by their absence? I am not speaking of avalanches only – we do live in an earthquake prone country, a major reason for the existence of the Ministry of Civil Defence.’
‘May I object?’ said Lyall quickly.
Harrison looked up from his notes. ‘What is your objection?’
‘I would like to point out that the township of Hukahoronui was relatively new and the population was largely composed of recent immigrants to the valley. In such a situation the degree of community spirit would naturally be less than in a longer established community.’
‘Mr Lyall, is that your objection? You seem to be answering for the witness.’
‘It is not my objection, Mr Chairman. My objection is that it is improper for Mr Smithers to ask such a loaded question of Mr Peterson. He is usurping the function of this Commission, which is to decide whether the state of affairs implicit in his question was actually the case.’
‘A thin point, but valid nevertheless,’ conceded Harrison. ‘But it would have come better with the accompanying speech of extenuation. Mr Smithers, your last question was out of order. Have you any further questions?’
‘None that I would care to ask this witness,’ said Smithers curtly.
‘Then you may step down, Mr Peterson, on the understanding that you may be recalled.’
Peterson left the witness chair with an air of relief, and Harrison bent forward to have a word with Reed. He then sat back in his chair, and said, ‘Mr Cameron, the engineer of the Hukahoronui Mining Company, has been hospitalized for many months due to the injuries he received in the disaster. However, he has notified the Commission that he feels well enough to give evidence at this time and he is now present. Will you come forward, Mr Cameron?’
There was a low murmur as Cameron limped across the hall leaning heavily on the arm of a male nurse. He had lost a lot of weight and was now almost emaciated; his cheeks were sunken and his hair, pepper and salt at the time of the avalanche, was now quite white. He looked an old man.
He sat in the witness chair and the male nurse drew up another chair behind him. Reed said, ‘What is your full name?’
‘Joseph McNeil Cameron.’
‘And your occupation, Mr Cameron?’
‘I was a mining engineer,’ said Cameron flatly. ‘Specifically for the Hukahoronui Mining Company at the material times under investigation by this Commission.’ His voice was strong if slow.
‘Mr Cameron,’ said Harrison, ‘if at any time you feel unable to continue, please do not hesitate to say so.’
‘Thank you, Mr Chairman.’
‘I understand that you have evidence to give about the events of the evening of the day you had the meeting with the council. That would be the Saturday evening, would it not?’
‘Yes, sir,’ said Cameron. ‘There was a dinner-dance at the Hotel D’Archiac that night. I had invited Mr Ballard and Dr McGill to be my guests. My daughter, Stacey, was also present – she was on vacation from the States at that time and was due to go back the following week. There was a certain amount of table-hopping during the dinner and it was then I learned that the mayor had not made the telephone calls. That, combined with a new and most disturbing report from Dr McGill, worried all of us very much.’
‘Could you go into that in more detail?’ said Harrison.
‘Why, yes. We were just starting dinner …’
McGill inspected the menu. ‘Colonial goose,’ he said. ‘That sounds good.’
Ballard