I hesitated. Two things were occupying my mind. One was the information that at some period of the war Farnell had been up at Finse. The other was that Jorgensen was no longer dictating terms to B.M. & I., but seeking them. I glanced for'ard for an excuse to break off the conversation. Dick was hoisting the tops'l again and it was jammed. 'Hold it,' I called out to him. 'You haven't cleared the topping lift. We'll talk about this later,' I said to Jorgensen and hurried for'ard to give them a hand.
As soon as the tops'l had been set and everything made fast I took my watch below for food. I needed time to think over Jorgensen's change of attitude. Dahler was seated in the saloon when we came down. Jill poked her head in from the galley. 'Four is it?' she asked.
I nodded. I was looking at Dahler. He was rocking gently backwards and forwards with the movement of the ship. 'Bit hard on Jorgensen, weren't you?' I said.
'Hard?' He gave a mirthless laugh. 'Knut Jorgensen is-' he hesitated and then said, 'He's a business man.' He leaned towards me across the rocking table. 'I tell you, Mr Gansert, the only dangerous Norwegian is a Norwegian business man. I'm a Norwegian and a business man. I know. We're an open-air, easy-going, comfortable people — until it comes to business.'
'And then?' I asked.
He fastened on to my sleeve with his sound hand. 'And then — anything is possible,' he replied. The way he said it made me feel cold inside. Jill came in then and immediately everything seemed normal. But after the meal, when I had gone to my cabin to sleep, the scene between Dahler and Jorgensen came back to me. I lay with my eyes open, listening to the movement of the ship, sensing the violent antagonism of the two Norwegians, and wondering what the hell to do about it. To keep them apart was out of the question on a small ship. To let them come together… They'd have to be watched, that was all. I swung myself out of my bunk and went up on deck to find Jorgensen at the wheel and Dahler seated in the cockpit watching him. Jorgensen looked paler than usual under his rather leathery skin. His gaze alternated between the binnacle and the burgee at the mast-head — anywhere but in the direction of Dahler. The tension between them was noticeable, even up there on deck, with the wind blowing and Diviner lifting and surging with each wave.
'Mr Dahler,' I said. 'Now you're recovered, you'll join my watch, please.'
'Good,' he said.
'We're the watch below now,' I added pointedly.
He smiled. 'I like it very well up here,' he answered. 'My stomach is happier.'