The Snow Tiger / Night of Error. Desmond Bagley
asked him when the power lines were cut, he answered, ‘Two minutes and seven seconds to midnight.’
‘How do you know?’ asked Professor Rolandson.
‘There is a recording device on the circuit breakers. When they kicked out the time was recorded.’
Harrison said, ‘What did you do?’
‘Established where the break was.’
From Rolandson: ‘How?’
‘I put a current on the line and measured the resistivity. That gave a rough idea of the distance to the break. I put it as a little short of Hukahoronui.’
‘And then?’
‘I rang my opposite number in Post Office Telephones and asked if he had the same trouble. He had, and he confirmed my findings. I then sent out an inspection crew.’
‘With what result?’
‘They rang me nearly two hours later to say that they had found the trouble. They said it was due to a fall of snow. A Post Office crew was also there and my men had used their portable telephone.’
‘They just said it was due to a fall of snow?’
‘Yes, sir. It didn’t seem reasonable to me that a fall of snow could cut the cables so I asked for further information. The entrance to the valley of Hukahoronui is by a cleft or gap, and my men said the gap was filled with snow to a height farther than they could see in the darkness. I know the place, sir, and I asked if the river which runs out of the valley was still flowing. My man said there was a little flow but not very much. I assumed there would be flooding on the other side of the snowfall so I immediately notified the police.’
‘Very quick-witted of you,’ remarked Harrison. ‘But why the police?’
‘Standard instructions, sir,’ said MacAllister stolidly.
‘Did you take further steps?’
‘Yes, sir. I went to the scene of the break in the cable. It was snowing quite heavily as I set out and conditions became worse as I proceeded. When I arrived at the break it was snowing very heavily – something like a blizzard. On my truck I had a spotlight but there was too much back reflection from the falling snow to show how high the blockage in the Gap was. I also investigated the flow of the river and found it to be minimal. I judged the situation serious enough to telephone the police again.’
‘And what was the reaction from the police?’
‘They noted the facts as I gave them, sir.’
‘Nothing more?’
‘They told me nothing more.’
‘You say you could not tell the height of the blockage. Obviously you could not tell the depth – how far back it extended into the Gap?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Did you take steps to find out?’
‘Not at that time. It was snowing heavily and it was dark. To investigate in those conditions would have been most dangerous. I would not climb up there myself, nor would I send anyone else. I judged it better to wait until daylight when we could see what we were doing.’
Harrison looked at Smithers. ‘It appears from the evidence of Mr MacAllister that this was the first occasion that anyone outside Hukahoronui had any inkling of trouble.’ He switched his gaze to Crowell who was sitting next to Rickman and amended his statement. ‘Or anyone who did something constructive about it, that is. Have you any questions, Mr Smithers?’
‘No, Mr Chairman. But I think the witness ought to be congratulated on the sensible steps he took – especially his quickness in passing on news of a potentially hazardous situation.’
‘I concur.’ Harrison turned to MacAllister. ‘To what time does your evidence take us?’
‘I made the second call to the police at three-thirty on the Sunday morning.’
‘Thank you. You may step down, Mr MacAllister, with the knowledge that you have done your duty well.’
MacAllister left the witness chair, and Harrison said, ‘I think it is time to get back to what happened in Hukahoronui after the lights were extinguished. We have just heard of a fall of snow which blocked the Hukahoronui Gap. I would like to hear Dr McGill’s professional views on that.’
McGill rose, walked to the witness chair, and set his briefcase on the floor. Harrison said, ‘You were present in the lobby of the Hotel D’Archiac when the lights went out?’
‘Yes, sir. As Mr Cameron said, there was a lot of confusion at that time. Mr Ballard was trying to talk to Mr Crowell and had difficulty in doing so because of the actions of Mr Charles Peterson. I went to his aid and it was about then that the lights went out. Mr Ballard said that the telephone had also gone dead.’
‘Did you hear the snow falling into the Gap?’
‘No. There was too much noise in the hotel.’
‘So what happened?’
‘The management of the hotel got busy and provided light. There were candles and kerosene lanterns ready for use. I was told that a breakdown of electricity supply was not uncommon, and there had been a similar occurrence only the previous month. Everybody took it as a matter of course. I asked about the dead telephone but no one seemed worried about that, either. The dance was over, anyway, so everybody went home.’
‘Including you?’
‘Yes. I went home with Mr Ballard and went to bed.’
McGill was woken from a sound sleep by Ballard. He awoke to darkness and automatically flicked at the switch of the bed-side lamp, but nothing happened. It was then he remembered about the power failure. Ballard was a deeper shadow in the darkness. McGill said, ‘What time is it?’
‘Five-thirty. Cameron just rang up with a funny story. It seems that one of his men, Jack Stevens, left early this morning to go to Christchurch to see his mother. He says he can’t get out of the valley.’
‘Why not?’
‘He says the Gap is closed off with snow. He says he can’t get through.’
‘What sort of car does he have?’
‘A Volkswagen.’
‘Well, it’s not surprising, is it? Look at what happened to those two Americans the other day. Is it still snowing?’
‘Very heavily.’
‘Well, there you are. It’s probably been snowing all night. I couldn’t guarantee to get through myself with a Land-Rover.’
‘According to Cameron, Jack says it’s not like that. He’s talking of a wall of snow so high he can’t see the top. I told Cameron to bring him here.’
McGill grunted. ‘Light that candle on the dressing-table, will you?’
Ten minutes later he was saying, ‘You’re sure, now. This is not just a deep drift across the road?’
‘I’ve told you it’s not,’ said Stevens. ‘It’s a bloody great wall of snow.’
‘I think I’d better go and look at it,’ said McGill.
Ballard said, ‘I’ll come with you.’ He looked at the telephone and then at Cameron. ‘If there’s no power how did you manage to ring me?’
Stevens said, ‘The exchange has a bank of batteries and an emergency diesel generator to top them up. We’re all right for local calls.’
McGill nodded. ‘Whatever happened at the Gap must have taken out the electricity cables and the telephone lines both.’ He picked up a heavy anorak. ‘Let’s get going.’
‘I’ll come, too,’ said Cameron.
‘No,’