CHAPTER 14 Shocking Discoveries

 

It was a pleasant flight over snow-capped mountains, green forests and blue lakes. Eventually they touched down on a grass landing-strip at the edge of a lake, near a very imposing log-built house. Beth and Doug Campbell came out to greet her. Both had aged a little since she had seen them, about three years previously, but they looked to be in good health and gave her a very warm welcome.

Mary was ushered into the huge log cabin, which was furnished in a simple but obviously expensive manner. She was very tired and jet lagged after her long journey and she was shown straight to her room which overlooked the lake. She slept for twelve hours and awoke as daylight was breaking.

As the lactic acid was building up in her body due to the long hours of inactivity, Mary decided to go for a run before breakfast. Leaving the house quietly, she stepped outside and, as she was doing her stretching exercises, a deep voice gave her a scare.

“Don't go too far Scottish lady, there is a she-bear with two cubs in the forest.”

Mary turned and saw a tall figure with a weather-beaten face. The man was a native American, dressed for the outdoors and with a physique that looked as if he had been hewn out of granite.

“You must be Max,” was Mary's startled reply, “I am Mary,” and they shook hands.

Mary ran to the edge of the woods and back to the house several times and did some circuit training, then a slow jog to the lake's sandy beach. Returning to the house, she had a shower and went down to breakfast which Beth was preparing. Doug was outside talking to Max and another woman, who was also a native American, and Mary was told that she was called Amy.

When breakfast was ready Doug, Amy, Max and everyone else sat down at the table and the conversation flowed easily.

After they had eaten, Mary, Beth and Doug retired to Doug's study and Mary gave her account of all that had taken place in New Zealand, even what had happened in Bruce Low's bedroom. That incident sent Beth and Doug into convulsions of laughter, much to Mary's embarrassment.

When all the details had been told, Doug congratulated her and said that she was a great asset to the company and that, as Mr McLean at the Glasgow office was due to retire, she was being promoted to head of the Glasgow office. On her return home she was to relocate immediately and as a reward for her efforts she was to choose a vehicle of her own choice for personal and business use. Mary was overwhelmed and sat there in a contented daze.

Doug went on to say that he was going to retire shortly and that he wanted the next AGM to be held in Scotland as he intended to play on some of the famous golf courses there before returning to America.

To change the subject, Mary asked about Max and Amy. She was told that they were caretakers on the estate. Max worked outside and Amy did much of the cooking and cleaning inside. Max and Doug did a lot of hunting and fishing together, and Beth and Amy went shopping in the nearest town which was twenty miles away, along a forest track. They stayed in a smaller log cabin set back in the wood and they were more like friendly neighbours than employees. Max had served in the marines in the second world war as a wireless operator in the conflict against the Japanese. They had two sons who were in the marines but were both killed in Vietnam. Max did not speak to many visitors, whilst Amy was a regular chatterbox.

Whilst Doug was busy on the phone dealing with various offices, Beth showed Mary round the house and grounds. What surprised Mary was the small, heated swimming pool and gym in an annex of the main building and the six-hole golf course at the rear. Beth wanted Mary to stay for a minimum of ten days but Mary was eager to get back and get up to Glasgow to take up her new position, find accommodation and get a brand-new motor vehicle. They compromised on five days which would give Mary time to refresh and contemplate all that she was planning to do. She realised that she was now firmly on the promotional ladder and, through hard work and diligence, she could climb even higher. Her potential earning capacity was colossal.

Mary spent the next two days keeping fit, running and swimming in the small pool. She and Beth went on a boat trip on the lake and she marvelled at the picture postcard scenery. When Beth took her in the pickup truck up the mountainside her camera went non-stop until her film was used up.

On the day before she was due to leave, she was invited to join Beth and Amy on their weekly shopping trip to the nearby town. There was a slight disagreement over who would sit in the back whilst Beth drove. Mary wanted to sit in the back but Amy insisted that as a guest, she should be in the front. They compromised by Mary saying that she would go in the front on the way back, which satisfied Amy. Beth could hardly keep from laughing.

It was a small town and the shopping area was the main street. Everyone seemed to know everyone else and no one seemed in a hurry. First stop was for a coffee and freshly made doughnuts, then, whilst Beth and Amy were getting the essential supplies, Mary browsed in the window of a gift shop and decided to buy something for her godchildren in Memus. She bought fur slippers for the children, then saw a deerskin jacket which looked to be in her size. She tried it on and it was a perfect fit but the price tag was making her think twice about buying it. As she was contemplating whether to buy it or not, she was joined by Amy and Beth. On hearing Mary's problem, they started having a good-natured haggle with the shopkeeper, much to Mary's embarrassment. The result was that Mary got a good reduction on all three of her purchases.

After a light lunch at the local diner, where the conversation never abated, they returned to the pickup for the journey home. On the way home, as they came to a straight bit of road on the forest track, the mother bear and her two cubs were ambling along the road quite unconcerned. Beth stopped the vehicle and Mary got some good photos of the local wildlife. As soon as the bears left the track, Beth continued the drive back to the cabin.

That evening, the five of them sat outside watching the sun set over the mountain on the other side of the lake. The conversation was about many subjects - Max and Doug's fishing trip, the shopping spree, world politics and Mary's next day departure.

When the sun set, the party broke up and Amy and Max said their farewells to Mary as the plane was arriving at first light next morning. Just as he was leaving, Max turned to Mary and said, in a very mysterious voice, “The man in your life who was a great warrior, you will meet again.”

Mary was puzzled by this remark and Beth and Doug explained to her that he does make these strange predictions from time to time and they have a habit of coming to pass. Mary was a bit sceptical about it and dismissed it from her thoughts.

The journey back to London was uneventful, everything going to plan as the timetable promised. On arrival at her flat she handed over her duty-free purchases to the concierge office. She had a long talk with Dusty Miller about leaving and about storing her possessions until she had got a flat in Glasgow.

The following two days were spent packing and visiting her office to say farewell and to clear out the office. Much to her surprise, she was presented with an expensive bottle of malt whisky, a crystal whisky decanter and glasses. Mary was sad to leave as she had made a lot of good friends. She telephoned Mr McLean at the Glasgow office and he arranged for her to have dinner with him and his wife on the night she arrived in Glasgow.

During that dinner, after the usual formalities of congratulations and discussions of what was taking place in Campbell Holdings, Mr McLean confided to Mary that all was not well at the Kinlochleven smelter plant. Production had fallen to an unacceptable level, they were in danger of losing out on lucrative contracts and there appeared to be disharmony in the workforce. Whenever a member of staff went to visit the smelter, everything appeared to be going like clockwork and it seemed as though they had been forewarned that a visit was going to be made. It was obvious that someone in the Glasgow office was telling them when a visit was due. Mr McLean was unable to ascertain who was leaking the information to Kinlochleven. Against his wishes the manager, trade union spokesman and several workers had been recruited from the Linwood car factory when it had closed and after that, shoddy work practices had set in. It was obvious that whoever warned them that a visit was due was using one of these new-fangled cell phones which were becoming very popular.

Mr McLean suggested to Mary that once she had her new accommodation and vehicle in order, she shouldn’t make an appearance at the office but should go to Kinlochleven incognito to try to find out just what was happening. He also suggested that she should visit a highly recommended private investigator, who the firm had used previously, to get help and advice on how to proceed with the proposed investigation.

For the next few days, Mary was busy looking at property and she decided on the newly built flats on the bank of the River Clyde where the docks used to be. It was a top floor flat with one bedroom and was her first step onto the property ladder. The front looked over the Clyde and as far as the Glennifer Braes while from the back she could see Ben Lomond, which brought back happy memories. Having secured the property, she bought a bed and a three-piece suite. Carpets and other furniture could wait. She contacted Dusty Miller to have her belongings sent to her new address.

Next day she had a look at various car sales and eventually bought a top of the range Land Rover. While she and the car salesman were discussing the final details, her attention was drawn to an old Ford Escort that was being traded in. It was remarkably similar to one that she used to drive. She asked if she could rent the Ford Escort for approximately two weeks until her new vehicle was ready for the road. The salesman was puzzled by this request but, owing to the big sale he had just made to her, she got it as a courtesy car.

The following day she visited the premises of George Young, the private investigator, who was a retired Detective Inspector with the City of Glasgow police. She liked his straightforward approach to the problem and the two of them hatched a plan of operation. Both would seek employment in the Kinlochleven smelter but would not contact each other until they had sufficient evidence of what was taking place. He also gave Mary a sound recorder that she could wear on her person and one of the new-fashioned cell phones.

That weekend Mary got her flat in reasonable order although there was still a lot to be done. On Monday morning, she drove to Ballachulish and rented a caravan in Glencoe for four weeks. The journey there was a trip down memory lane, bringing back a lot of pleasant memories. Next day she drove to Kinlochleven to the smelter and found that there was a vacancy in the office. She applied and, after they had seen her fictitious CV, she was asked if she could start at once. This was readily agreed.

The following morning, dressed in her oldest and well-worn office clothes, she reported at nine o’clock prompt to the office. Mrs Mabel Grant, the office manager who had interviewed her the previous day, introduced her to the five other office staff. Mary was instantly aware of an atmosphere. As she was being instructed in her duties the telephone intercom rang. It was the manager requesting four coffees.

There was a marked hesitation from the office staff about who would perform this task, so Mary volunteered. There was a noticeable look of relief on all of their faces. As she was making the coffees, Mrs Grant came over and whispered to her, “Watch yourself in there. Don't be afraid.”

Mary was curious and carried the tray into the manager's office. She was taken aback by what she saw. Four men were sitting round the table, all scruffily dressed, all smoking and sharing out money. She could not distinguish who was the manager, or what the other men were supposed to be doing in the office.

“A new face in the office,” said one of the men. “A big improvement on the rest of them next door.”

“I am Joe McBride, the boss in here,” said another, “and this is Alex Rae, the trade union man and his two assistants, Frank and Bill.”

As Mary put the tray down and sorted out the cups to be filled with coffee, the man called Bill came over and she thought he was going to help her but, as she was bending down, she could feel his hand moving up her leg, fumbling with her underwear. Her blood ran cold and, without making a movement, she said in a low, threatening voice, “If you don't take your hand off my knickers now, I'll smash this hot coffee pot in your face.”

The hand was withdrawn in an instant and there was a hush in the room. Mary put the coffee pot down, turned around, adopted a fighting stance that she had learned in the gym and growled, “Come on then if you fancy a square go. Make a move and I'll break you in half!”

Bill was startled and stepped back, hands up in front of him, face bright red in embarrassment. “Alright hen, calm down. It won't happen again.” The other three men laughed aloud which added to Bill's discomfort.

Joe McBride said, “By Jove lass, you showed a bit of fighting spirit there. I’m impressed. What’s your name? Where are you from? You don't have a west coast Highland accent.”

Mary told them her name and that this was her first day in the office. “I’m from Bridge of Weir, in fact I was brought up in Quarriers Homes.”

Joe McBride thumped his hand on the desk and declared, “The four of us are from Linwood and all our laddies used to play five-a-side football at tournaments there, organised by Mr Baker. They absolutely loved going there. What brought you here?”

Mary had her cover story all prepared. “I was staying with my boyfriend at Chelsea Barracks in London as he was in the Scots Guards but he was fatally wounded in the recent Falklands War. We weren’t married so I had to leave the married quarters. The cost of accommodation in London is horrendous so I came up to Scotland to find work. This area suits me fine as I enjoy hill-walking and skiing and I’m training in karate in the hope of making the national team.”

The four men looked impressed, then Joe McBride spoke, “You have just been promoted to my personal secretary and I'll confirm that with Mrs Grant.” He laughed and said, “Two conditions. One, you don't beat up any of my staff and more importantly you keep quiet about what you see and hear about what goes on in this office.”

Mary was surprised but delighted with the arrangement. He went on a bit about what her duties would be and told her that there would be an increase in her wages.

When Mary went back to the office everyone stopped working and Mrs Grant asked, “What went on in there?” Mary told them exactly what had taken place and they all laughed and told her how they had all been subject to such behaviour for a long time, and some members of staff had actually resigned because of it.

Over the next few days Mary worked hard and kept a mental note of what was going on. It seemed that Frank and Bill did no work at all. Instead, they spent their time drinking, smoking and reading the newspapers. It appeared that they were henchmen for the trade union man, Alex Rae, and they only showed an interest when any of the workers called into, or were summoned, to the office. Once, when Mary was taking in a letter for Joe McBride to sign, a worker came in and asked if he could take Saturday off to watch the football in Glasgow. When it was agreed, the worker handed over twenty pounds to Alex Rae who wrote an entry in a small ledger. Later that day, when she was taking dictation from Mr McBride, another worker came in and asked to work overtime on Saturday and Sunday and take Monday off. He handed over thirty pounds to Alex Rae, who again wrote an entry in the book. She noted that quite a few men came into the office over the course of the day and similar transactions were conducted. No wonder the firm were behind in their production level concluded Mary.

On the Friday afternoon, the four men were drinking whisky and were in good spirits. There was a lot of laughter coming from their office. When it was time for finishing work, the four of them got into their own cars and drove off. They were obviously over the limit to drive. When Mary remarked about it to Mrs Grant, she was informed that it took place every Friday afternoon. She then said that she thought she recognised Mary from somewhere previously but couldn't recollect where. At that remark Mary felt a bit uneasy, hoping that her cover was not going to be exposed.

That weekend Mary went hill-walking and did the Ballachulish Horseshoe Walk, which was famous for the three Munros and its views across the surrounding area. The strenuous walk allowed her to clear her head and plan the next move in her strategy to solve the problems at the troubled smelter. Her memory of Jock Stewart was kindled yet again when she came down through the huge conifer plantation at Glenachulish and when she passed through the village and saw Fern Villa.

On the Sunday she telephoned George Young and they arranged to meet at a lonely lay-by on the far shore of Loch Leven to exchange information and plan their next move.

Arriving for work on Monday morning, she had just taken her jacket off when she was summoned to the manager's office. As usual, Frank and Bill were reading a newspaper and Alex Rae was writing in the small ledger. Joe McBride was listening to what appeared to be an important phone call. He indicated to Mary to come in and sit down. When he put the phone down, he spoke to the other three men in a worried tone. “We've got a problem guys that has got to be sorted. That was Harry on the phone from the Glasgow office saying that old McLean and a new gaffer are coming up from the London office and according to Harry, he’s a smart cookie and as straight as a die.”

“As long as Harry keeps us posted we'll be alright,” exclaimed Alex Rae.

Mary mentally noted the name Harry as the mole in the Glasgow office. She knew that it was crucial information and that he would be easy to identify.

Joe McBride dictated a letter for Mary to send to the firm who supplied cleaning material and office stationery, asking the representative to call as soon as possible. He asked her to bring in the morning coffee.

For the next couple of days Mary noted the usual workers’ appearances at the office, the money being handed over and the carefree attitude to punctuality by the workforce. On the Tuesday night she again arranged to meet George Young at the usual rendezvous, where he informed her that the former trade union official, Ken Dow, had stood up to Joe McBride when he had first arrived and had been so severely beaten up on his way home from work that he had never returned to the smelter. Two other cases of a similar nature, where men had complained and then been beaten up, had taken place. The chief suspects were Frank and Bill, but there was no proof of this.

Later that night Mary phoned Mr McLean at his home and told him everything that she had found. She asked him to book the village hall for the following Monday evening when a representative of Campbell Holdings would address the workforce and their wives, if they cared to attend.

On Wednesday morning, the phone rang while Mary was in the office getting tea for the four men in there. It was Mr McLean from Glasgow, informing Joe McBride about the meeting which was to be held the following Monday evening and asking him to notify all the staff. This caused a bit of consternation among the four men and a heated discussion broke out as Mary left the office.

Later that morning, she was summoned to the office again and was instructed to type a letter to all employees to tell them about the meeting in the village hall and to put it into their wage packets for that week. She was also told to write out a cheque for five thousand pounds to a Tommy Arthur and send it to a Glasgow address which he provided her with. When she enquired which department the amount was to be filed under there was a pause in the conversation in the office. Joe McBride said in a puzzled voice, “I really don't know. Anybody got any suggestions?” All the men laughed as it appeared to appeal to their sense of humour.

“Just put it down to consultancy fees,” ordered Alex Rae and again they all laughed. Mary was curious.

On Thursday morning, as all the office staff were helping to make up the wage packets, the meeting in the village hall was the main topic of conversation. It was all doom and gloom with everyone expecting that the smelter would close. Somehow the news had filtered through to the workforce and there was a steady stream of visitors to the manager's office.

That evening, outside her caravan, Mary spoke on the cell phone to George Young and told him about the cheque to Tommy Arthur in Glasgow. Normally the private detective was cool, calm and collected but, when Mary mentioned Tommy Arthur, he got excited. He told Mary that Tommy Arthur was the biggest crime lord in Glasgow and somehow always managed to stay one step ahead of the law. He said he would be more than happy to pass this information to his former colleagues in Glasgow CID.

Next morning, Mary took the usual mid-morning refreshments to the four men in the office. She entered without knocking and saw that there was a worker in the office who was looking decidedly worried. It appeared that he owed money to the office and, if he did not have it in the office by Monday morning, Frank and Bill would pay him a visit. The man left the office in a state of distress, followed by some rude comments from Frank and Bill.

Just before lunch, Mary admitted a sales representative into the office, who she had sent a letter to earlier in the week. He was carrying a case containing twelve bottles of expensive malt whisky. “About time!” Mary heard Alex Rae exclaim as the man put the whisky on the office desk. Mary discreetly closed the door.

Later that afternoon, Mary could see that the four men had partaken freely of the whisky and were really intoxicated. Leaving work, they got into their respective cars and, as soon as they drove onto the main road, they were stopped by a police cordon. All four men were arrested. Mary watched the whole incident from the office window. The first part of this operation has been a hundred percent successful thought Mary.

In the evening, she contacted George Young and congratulated him on his co-operation with the local police force. He informed her that the police had confiscated Alex Rae’s ledger, that enquiries were continuing and that the four men would be in custody until Monday morning. He also told Mary that the Glasgow CID were making discreet enquiries about Tommy Arthur and he was on an undercover surveillance team's radar.

Mary packed up all her belongings and drove to Glasgow where she spent the night relaxing and planning her next move.

Next morning, she returned her courtesy car to the garage and took possession of her new Land Rover. That evening she dined with Mr and Mrs Mclean in an upmarket restaurant where she explained everything in detail. Mr Mclean agreed to visit Kinlochleven early on Sunday morning with the firm's accountant, lawyer and head of security.

On Sunday, Mary tried to get her flat into some order and write her speech for the meeting in the village hall. Late that evening she was contacted by George Young who told her that on the Monday afternoon, a minibus with several of Tommy Arthur's 'friends' on it would be going to Ballachulish to interrupt the evening meeting. It was arranged that the police would stop them on Rannoch Moor and it remained to be seen what would transpire from that encounter. George seemed quite excited about the whole escapade.

On Monday, feeling a bit apprehensive and nervous, Mary left her flat. Instead of booking into a hotel, she decided, for sentimental reasons, to stay in Fern Villa. As she drove past the Bridge of Orchy, she saw a lot of flashing blue lights and police cars taking the occupants of a minibus into custody. Everything is going to plan, thought Mary. A

Arriving at Ballachulish, she booked into Fern Villa and as she unpacked she wondered if this was the room that Jock had slept in. As previously arranged, she joined Mr Mclean and his staff at the Loch Leven Hotel for her evening meal. George Young and a man called Ken Dow, the former trade union representative at the smelter who had agreed to become the new manager, were also present.

George Young told everyone present about the latest developments. All four men from the smelter office had appeared at Fort William Sheriff Court on drink driving offences. All had been refused bail and remanded in custody pending further enquiries by the police. The occupants of the minibus had been taken to Oban police office. Two of them were wanted on outstanding warrants, the driver was charged with having no driving licence and three others were charged with having offensive weapons. The only one not charged with anything was Slim Jim, the nickname for Tommy Arthur’s son. Apparently Tommy Arthur was extremely angry as it seemed that he had lost face in the eyes of the Glasgow criminal fraternity. The minibus owned by the hire firm, which was one of Tommy Arthur's legitimate business ventures, was confiscated until a court ruling. There was no sign of the cheque from the Kinlochleven smelter and the postman refused to give a statement but, more importantly, it hadn't been cashed. It was a pity that it had not been sent as a recorded delivery but that was the only failure in their plans. The four men in custody in Fort William were dreading the consequence of Tommy Arthur's wrath and the fact that Alex Rae was going to turn Queen's witness to avoid prosecution.

After George Young left for Glasgow, Mary and the other men discussed how the meeting would take place. It was agreed that Mary would address the meeting and introduce all the guests, especially Ken Dow who was a popular figure in the village.

When they entered the village hall, it was filled to capacity, with many women in the audience. Mary had butterflies in her stomach as she climbed the stairs and took hold of the microphone. Without being asked, the hall became silent.

Mary introduced everyone in her party and when she announced Ken Dow as the new manager a huge round of applause ensured approval of the appointment. Her next words were, “If good men remain silent, evil will triumph.”

There was a hushed silence in the hall then she told everyone about how, standing in the line for the ski lift at Glencoe, she had heard how the smelters at Kinlochleven and Fort William were struggling to make a profit and the difference when Campbell Holdings had taken over. She also told them about how she had met the local boy, the late Jock Stewart, who had saved the life of the grandson of Olaf Petterson, the Swedish businessman, in Majorca.

By this time, Mary had the audience eating out of her hand. She continued with how she had capitalized on that incident by bringing in a huge order from the SAAB motor manufacturer and the Swedish army. She told of how, when she had related at the last AGM of Campbell Holdings in New Zealand, that companies not making a good profit would be discarded, a sense of foreboding swept over the hall. Mary then explained that she had gone undercover in Kinlochleven to find out what was going wrong and to investigate how a successful business venture could suddenly become a loss-making failure. Her solution was the proposal of some changes over the next four weeks. There would be a new manager appointed, a free cooked breakfast every day from quarter past six until quarter to seven, a free lunch every day from twelve noon for forty-five minutes, no tea break in the forenoon but a fifteen-minute tea break in the afternoon and twelve-hour shifts, seven to seven, six days a week. If all this was agreed to, and the books were in the black by a good margin, then management and an elected body of workers would discuss a wage rise and working conditions. Failure to agree to these proposals would mean that the smelter would close, with the hope that a new buyer could be found.

A burst of animated conversation flooded the hall. Mary held up her hand for silence and it eventually trickled down to a gentle hum of muted voices. It was then that she asked if there were any questions and if so to raise their hands.

A forest of hands was raised. Mary pointed to a big woman in the front row who stood up, turned to face the body of the hall and, in a loud and demanding voice, announced, “It takes a woman to make you men see sense. My man will be going to work under these conditions, or he'll be sleeping in the shed!” This remark was greeted with a burst of cheering from the women and laughter from the men. Mary had to wait a bit longer to regain order.

She pointed to a man for the next question. He stood up and spoke in a very serious tone. “Miss Stewart, you spoke of our local boy as the late Jock Stewart, who lived at Fern Villa and with whom I went to school, but I can assure you that you are seriously mistaken. Jock was playing shinty for Kingussie against Kyles Athletic at the Camanachd cup final at Bught Park, Inverness in September and last February there was an article in the newspaper about him being saved by his dog in a skiing accident in the Cairngorms last winter.”

Mary was shocked, her legs felt like jelly and she had to sit down. Ken Dow, seeing Mary in such distress, rose to his feet and announced that he would answer all further questions and beckoned the man to come forward to speak to Mary who, by this time, was trying to gather her composure. Mr McLean escorted her off the stage and left her to talk to the man who had just given her that shattering information. Mary and the man sat down to talk in the room that served as a kitchen when there was a function in the hall.

The man introduced himself as Ian Grey and said that he knew Jock Stewart very well. He told her that the day the final took place, on the way to Inverness, the Kingussie team bus was involved in a road accident and several of the first team's players were injured but the final went ahead anyway. He said that Jock had come on as a sub fifteen minutes from the end and had run the Kyles defence ragged. It was only the performance of Big McDonald, the Kyles goalkeeper, that prevented Kingussie from scoring. Indeed, he won the man of the match award for his goalkeeping skill. In the dying minutes of the game Jock scored the winning goal.”

Seeing how shocked and interested Mary was, Ian offered to go home and bring the newspaper article about Jock's skiing accident, which he had kept as he was a member of the Glencoe Mountain Rescue and he kept a scrapbook of all mountain rescues from the Scottish hills. When he left the room, Mary sat in a confused daze, her world turned upside down.

There was a sound of cheering from the hall and Mr McLean came to Mary with a big smile. “They have accepted your terms starting from tomorrow. Congratulations,” he said. “Mary that was a job well done. I am so proud of what you have achieved.”

Mary followed him back into the hall and shook hands with Ken Dow, thanking him for conducting the rest of the meeting. She was approached by Mrs Grant from the office at the smelters. “I knew I had seen you before, “she said. “I was standing next to you when Jock Stewart gave you the shinty trophy he had just won. It's your wonderful red hair that gave you away.”

Mary laughed and shook her hand. “Believe it or not but I've still got that trophy on my dressing room table,” she replied.

As they were leaving the hall, Ian Grey returned and handed Mary an earmarked scrapbook about Jock's accident when he was skiing in the Cairngorms several months previously.

When Mary returned to Fern Villa, she sat on the edge of the bed and read the article. It appeared that Jock had been ski touring on the lower slopes of Braeriach and was heading home as blizzard conditions were expected later that night. He was accompanied by his terrier dog called Rambo. He took a tumble on a sheet of ice and discovered that he had broken his left leg. Aware of the approaching storm, he made a rough sledge with two halves of his skis, which he had broken in two with his Swiss Army knife. The two flat pieces he used as a splint. He then cut his poles to a small size and slid a bit down the mountainside. At the approach of darkness, he dug a snow hole and he and his dog slept in it with only a survival bag and a sheet of foil for warmth.

During the night, there was one of the worst snowstorms for decades and all the roads in the area were blocked with drifting snow. He could not raise a signal on his new cell phone. The first night he ate the remains of a cheese sandwich and half a cup of weak tea from his small flask. The dog got the cheese and one dog biscuit but the heat that came from the dog when they were snuggled up was his saving. It was about noon the next day when the storm abated and the wind chill factor was almost minus twenty degrees. That day they slid downhill for about three hours until the approaching darkness made him dig another snow hole. All he had to eat was a bar of chocolate and the dog had four dog biscuits. All they had to drink was melted snow.

Next morning, they slid down the mountainside by way of the Land Rover track and again, at the approach of darkness, they spent the night in a snow hole. All he had left to eat were three barley sugar sweets and the dog had two dog biscuits. Again, they managed to melt some snow for drinking water.

The next morning, weak from hunger and the cold, he reached the foot of the glen and by nightfall managed to struggle to the bothy at Aiteachain. This, without a doubt, saved their lives. He managed to get a fire going and found a tin of beans and odds and ends of food which someone had left there. These sustained man and dog for two further days.

On the fifth day after his injury, two men, who were cross-country skiing, came to the bothy. One of them went down the glen to get help, whilst the other stayed to add fuel to the fire and give Jock and Rambo the food which he had been carrying. Two hours later the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue team came with a sledge as the snow was still deep but was hard-crusted with the severe frost. The ambulance was waiting for them at Achlean and took Jock to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. The dog was handed over to one of Jock's neighbours further down the glen. Some of the mountain rescue team decided to check out Jock's story and verified that it all tallied up and they were incredulous as to how man and dog had survived such appalling conditions for so long.

Mary put the scrapbook down and sat quietly in solitude, indulging in a lot of pleasant memories which had suddenly come flooding back.

The following morning, she got up early and was in the canteen of the smelter at Kinlochleven for half past six. She went across to the table where Ian Grey was sitting with two other men. As she handed the scrapbook back to Ian, she noticed that the men were eating ham and eggs which smelled delicious. After thanking him she remarked that the breakfast smelled very appetising. “Sit down hen. I'll go and get a plate for you and a mug of tea if you care to join us.”

“That's very kind of you, I accept your offer, no sugar in the tea.”

The conversation at the breakfast table was mostly about the future of the smelter and how bad the working conditions had been under the previous management.

Just before the men left for work, Mary asked Ian Grey about Jock. “He has changed since he left Ballachulish. There is a hardness and a bit of sadness about him too, perhaps with what he saw or did during the Falklands war, I don't know, he was very subdued and that is not like Jock Stewart.”

As Mary was starting to clear away all the plates she was joined by Mr Mclean who had come to see if everything had gone to plan. A little surprised to see Mary in the canteen at this early hour, he again congratulated her on how she had set the smelter back on track. He suggested that Mary take the rest of the week off and come to the office the next Monday morning. Mary readily agreed to this kind offer.

As she was walking towards her car a mad idea crossed her mind and the more she thought about it, the more feasible it became. She would go to Kingussie and see Jock.

As she drove to Fern Villa to collect her holdall and pay her account, a feeling of excitement began to build. The fear of rejection, the joy of seeing him again, the idea that he might have a girlfriend or be married with a family, all added to the knot of anxiety that was building inside her.

However, driving from Fort William to Kingussie was a pleasure, the road was quiet and the scenery just too wonderful to describe.