by John Blaine
Instantly Rick grabbed the foreleg just under the claw with one hand, bracedhimself , and pulled. On the other side, Scotty did the same. Antell shoved his brace between the two forelegs, quickly adjusted the length, and locked the brace at the proper length. Then, moving swiftly and surely, he passed a line around both forelegs and pulled it tight, locking the forelegs in place against the brace. The giant lobster could not move its forelegs now, but the great claws were still menacing. It had dropped the crushed billets of balsa wood and had both claws open wide, ready to grab anything that came within reach.
Rick extended his steel tie-loop to its fullest and maneuvered it over the open claw. Antell took the upper side of the claw in one hand and the underside in the other and squeezed with all his strength. Like Page 76
an alligator’s jaws, the strength of the claws was mostly in gripping action. They were not made to resist a force pressing them together. Rick quickly levered his loop until it was tight. He let go and watched.
The claw was immobile. Antell did the same on Scotty’s side, and in a moment the lobster was weaponless.
The capture wasn’t over, though. With Rick pulling on one side and Scotty on the other, they hauled the lobster from its hole, the powerful tail threshing. The force of the beating tail turned them over, and Rick felt it strike with numbing force against his thigh muscle.
“Hold him,” Antell ordered.
“I’m trying,” Rick gritted. It wasn’t easy.
Scotty swung around and actually got on the lobster’s back, locking his muscular legs under the animal.
He pressed back with his fins against the flailing tail, hampering its movement.
Antell passed a line around the lobster’s middle and pulled it tight, tying it firmly on the back just behind the carapace. Then, with Scotty still riding his strange mount, Antell and Rick towed the lobster and Scotty to the submersible. Dick lashed the line to the steel arm, Scotty moving just enough to let the line pass under him.
“Hold him, Scotty,” Antell requested. “Stand by, Rick.”
Antell swam to the hatch, and Rick heard him say, “Hand me that biggest loop in the equipment box, Doc.The steel one. Can you find another? There should be one slightly smaller. Okay, thanks.”
Antell returned carrying the loops. He opened one, and while Rick pushed and Scotty squeezed, he got it around the flailing tail and the steel arm, reconnected it, and pulled it tight. With a sigh Scotty dismounted.
“That thing is stronger than a bull elephant,” he reported.
Dick Antell passed the other steel loop around the lobster’s carapace, just behind the eyes, and drew it tight. “That does it!” he said happily. “Only no one will believe it, even when they see it.”
Charley and Roger had been watching through the portholes. “My mouth is watering,” Charley said.
“Tell you what,” Rick offered. “I’ll cook it and get the meat out, if I can have the shell.”
“It’s a deal,” Antell replied. “We’ll eat and you work. Come on, gang. Let’s go home.”
“Only let’s untangle our lines first,” Scotty suggested. “I’m wound up like a kitten in a ball of yarn.” He grinned at Rick.“Happy, O Great Detective?”
“Joyful, O Great Eater.We return with eats and evidence. Who could ask for more?”
CHAPTER XX
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Color It Red
Decompression took nearly seventy-two hours. The divers and Dr. Hermann lazed inside the deck chamber, slept a great deal, conducted an elimination gin rummy tournament, ate copiously from excellent food passed through the lock, and read. Rick also played chess with Jan, looking through the porthole while she sat outside on the Sea Beast’s deck with the chess set on a table, making moves for both of them.
Rick first realized that the decompression time was coming to an end when he heard Scotty speak in almost a normal tone. Inside the chamber they didn’t use the communications channel, and their voices had the helium squawk. Now nitrogen was being fed in gradually; their air was returning to normal.
The cameras had been taken from the submersible chamber after the divers passed into the pressure chamber, and Mike had gone off with the film. The lobster had been taken from the claw and arm and was tethered to the Spindrift dock, where the Sea Beast was tied up.
The giant lobster was a big attraction. Photos had been taken by Seafaring Industries’ public relations men rushed to the island for that purpose. And, in the way of all publicity men, they had featured Jan and Barby with the Sea Horse even more than the lobster.
The divers had watched the proceedings through portholes, and after an hour of photography, Dick Antell had asked, “What is advertising?”
He answered his own question. “Advertising consists of lovely girls eating, drinking, buying, selling, or using something.Or, in this case, just looking at something.”
Rick laughed. “Would you have it any different, Dick?”
“Nope.I was just making a philosophical observation.”
Then came the moment when Dr. Hermann announced, “Back to normal. We can leave now. And thanks, all three of you, for being so cooperative.”
They had been given nearly hourly examinations, with blood and breath samples taken, and had answered questions until they were dizzy. Dr. Hermann was the only one who had been really busy, and his notes covered many pages. All the information would be compiled, translated into digital information to be stored in a computer, and finally compared with data from other dives. The end result would be a better understanding of diver physiology and greater safety for the deep divers.
The divers were greeted with hugs from the girls and a resounding welcome on their return to the great world from all those on Spindrift. They retired at once for prolonged showers and a change to normal clothing.
Mike phoned as all were assembling for dinner. Rick and Scotty both got on the line.
“The company lawyers have been at work, boys. They consider the evidence conclusive, but it will have to be backed by your stories in person. When can you meet with the lawyers?”
“Any time now,” Rick answered for both of them. “We’re through with decompression.”
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“Tomorrow morning? We’ll send a helicopter to deliver you to thePortAuthorityBuilding inNew York .
I’ll meet you there. How aboutten o’clock ?”
“That’s okay,” Rick answered. “What will this be, Mike?A civil action or a criminal action?”
“Both. The details aren’t worked out yet, and Biggs and Coastal Petroleum don’t even know about it.
They’ll get a surprise and they won’t be pleased.”
The publicity pictures, by previous arrangement, would be withheld until the insurance company had made its move.
“It couldn’t happen to a more deserving tug captain,” Scotty said. “I’d like to see that stone face when Biggs gets the word.”
“He’ll regret those blue sharks,” Rick agreed. “Come on. Let’s go eat. I’m starved.”
“And you call me the Great Eater,” Scotty jeered.
By the time the boys returned fromNew York on the following day, the chartered helicopter landing them on Spindrift, the insurance company had acted. Biggs and all principal officers of Coastal Petroleum had been served with summonses for preliminary hearings in a civil suit, and the New Jersey State Police had notifiedNew York authorities that the same men were wanted for criminal action. The sabotage had taken place inNew Jersey waters.
It was time for the Sea Beast, with the Sea Horse aboard, to move, first back toPhiladelphia , then to southern waters. But there was Charley and Roger’s lobster stew to be taken care of first.
Rick had already planned how he would do it. The principal problem was finding a container big enough for the lobster. He had found one in the barn, a tank that had been used for watering the cows before automatic pumps had been installed. Before going toNew York , he and Scotty had lugged it to the dock, where J
an and Barby had spent a good part of the day scouring it clean.
As soon as they were back the boys moved it to the picnic area, propped it up on rocks, and built a fire under it. The girls had collected seaweed and five gallons of seawater. Rick got his movie camera and documented the procedure. Scotty and Dick Antell hauled the lobster out of the water and carried it to the tank, and Rick recorded the moment when it went into the steaming water.
He wasn’t sure how long to cook the creature, but after consultation with his parents and a heated discussion with Scotty and the girls, settled on an hour. If it turned out to be undercooked, it wouldn’t matter. The lobster was to be turned into chowder, which meant more cooking.
While Scotty kept watch on the fire, Rick collected tools. His principal one was a saber saw with a hacksaw blade. He also had a chisel and hammer, heavy tinsmith’s snips, a coping saw, and wood gouges normally used on the lab lathe.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Brant, with help from Barby and Jan, got her largest cooking kettles ready. They were normally used for canning fruits. She had prepared by getting extra gallons of milk, and quantities of butter, spices, and vegetables. This was to be a gargantuan stew, and she planned that each of the Sea Beast crew should have a quantity to take home. When the entire Spindrift group was in residence, there were many mouths to feed, and it was customary to buy food in quantity. Now gallon jars that had once Page 79
held pickles, relishes, and similar foods would come in handy.
When the time was up, Dick Antell and Scotty, using loops of cable, brought the big lobster out of the tank. The cooking had turned it bright red. They carried it to the picnic table, fortunately made out of heavy planks, and deposited it upside down while Back continued his movie coverage. At his request, Barby and Jan stood behind the huge creature, knives and forks held at the ready.
“That’s going to be the silliest picture of the decade,” he observed. With claws outstretched, the lobster was actually longer than either of the girls was tall. “But Dick Antell says beautiful girls are a necessity in pictures.”
The girls advanced on him. Barby said, “Rick Brant! Do you know that’s absolutely the first time you’ve ever acknowledged that we’re anything more than passable in appearance?”
Rick grinned. “Have to watch my tongue.”
“Why?” Barby demanded.
“Well, if I say what I think, that you’re prettier than any sister has a right to be, and that Jan’s the loveliest girl I’ve ever seen, you’ll get swelled heads and become absolutely unbearable.”
Jan turned as scarlet as the lobster. Barby took her by the hand. “Come on, Jan. Let’s go help Mother.”
She smiled at Rick. “Besides, I want to tell her what a nice brother I have.”
Rick watched them go, grinning. He had seldom felt so good. Everything had worked out perfectly, even to the unexpected bonus of the big lobster. And he knew his words had made Jan and Barby feel good, too.
When the lobster had cooled enough, he got to work. Barby and Jan emerged from the house and called that they were going to pick up Mike Curtis. Rick nodded, and with Scotty helping, he used his saber saw to cut along the inner edges of the lobster tail, finally lifting off the entire inner surface, which he put carefully aside. The watching group exclaimed over the huge amount of pure-white lobster meat.
Working carefully, Rick and Scotty cut the meat free and lifted it out. By slicing it into sections, they managed to fit it on three large turkey platters. Dick Antell and Roger Pryor helped Hartson Brant to carry the platters into the house, where the meat was to be cut into bite-size lumps with an electric carving knife, and put in the stew.
Rick went to work on the lobster’s body, carefully cutting it open and cleaning it out. Then, using a bent piece of wire, he fished as much meat as he could out of the legs along each side of the lobster.
Only the claws and forelegs remained. He used the chisel to punch holes in the underside of the claws and leg joints, then cut out sections of shell with his saber saw. That made it easy to extract the meat, which he put on a smaller platter his mother had provided. As he finished, the girls returned, bringing Mike Curtis.
“Some lobster,” Mike said. “I had word just before I left, boys. Biggs and company have waived extradition, and I’ll bet that the skipper’s face is redder than this lobster. He never expected to have the Spindrift twins chase down his secret at the bottom of Tansey’s Trench.”
“We didn’t quite get to the bottom of the trench,” Rick corrected.
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“Don’t be so literal.”
“Red is the color of the day,” Scotty observed.“Red lobster, red-faced Captain Biggs, and a pair of blushing girls.”
Barby and Jan had at once gotten busy cutting up the lobster claw meat and were passing tidbits around.
“I didn’t blush,” Barby protested.
Jan had turned scarlet again.
Barby observed her friend critically. “Never mind,” she amended. “Scotty was right in principle. Jan’s blushing enough for both of us.”
The lobster shell dried, and the cleaning was finished by an assortment of ants at the edge of Pirate’s Field. The process took over a month, and the leaves were turning when Rick got ready to complete operations on the shell. He replaced the sections he had cut out, using epoxy glue. The underside wouldn’t show, anyway. Then he sprayed the reassembled shell, which now looked exactly like the original lobster, except for color. The protective spray dried, and he gave it several more coats. It gleamed redly , a giant among lobsters, a perfect souvenir of the deep dive.
He obtained a sheet of heavy plywood and cut out a six-by-four-foot piece in the shape of the Sea Horse. Then he sanded it and gave it three coats of white paint. When it was dry, he mounted the lobster shell, claws widespread and reaching for prey.
One touch remained. He had ordered a brass plaque inscribed: CAPTURED BY DICK ANTELL
DON SCOTT
RICK BRANT
DIVERS ABOARD THE “SEA HORSE,” IN
1300 FEET OF WATER TWO MILES OFF
SPINDRIFTISLAND
In smaller type were the date and the lobster’s dimensions.
Rick picked up the plaque on the way home from the preliminary hearings held inNewark . He, Scotty, and Dick Antell had testified as witnesses for the prosecution, and would have to give further testimony at the trial.
At one point, the Prosecutor had asked Rick, “Wasn’t it unusual for two young men to show so much determination in getting evidence on an act of sabotage that didn’t concern them directly?”
Rick had replied, “That’s true, sir. But, you see, we were involved indirectly. Captain Biggs isn’t on trial Page 81
for deliberately luring sharks to where we were diving, or for wrecking our boat, but we’re convinced he did both deliberately, and we intended that he should pay for it.”
The Defense Counsel had yelled, “Objection!”
“Sustained,” the judge had said, and ordered Rick to stick to pertinent matters. But Rick had made his point, and when Captain Biggs had stared at him, stone-faced, Rick had merely smiled.
The brass plaque was screwed into place, and Rick and Scotty hung the big lobster on the wall of the gear room, a permanent memento of their first deep dive.
On a Saturday afternoon Dick Antell, Roger Pryor, and Charley Martin came to Spindrift. After the three had admired the finished lobster display, Rick kept a promise he had made by teaching Dick Antell to use the rocket belt.
The big submersible pilot landed from his first free flight grinning from ear to ear.
“It’s great!” he announced.
“Does it beat piloting a submersible, Dick?” Jan Miller asked.
“They’re not comparable,” Antell returned. “Each to its own element, I’d say. I like both.”
“Maybe I’d like both, too,” Rick said.“If I could get a chance to pilot the submersible, that is.”
Roger Pryor chuckled. “I think he
’s trying to tell you something, Dick. When are you going to let him try the controls of the Sea Horse?”
Antell smiled. “When we go after the rig again, this time to put on air lines and salvage it.”
“When will that be?” Scotty demanded.
“Next spring.We’ve just negotiated a contract with the new owners of Coastal Petroleum. Want to dive on the job with us?”
Rick and Scotty replied with an enthusiastic affirmative just as Mrs. Brant rang the dinner bell.
As the group walked to the big house, Rick looked seaward. The ocean was calm, and glinting with gold from the setting sun. There was no indication that the big drill rig rested in darkness a quarter mile deep.
There it would stay, while myriad sea organisms coated the steel with a living patina, until spring came around once more and the Sea Horse returned to Spindrift.
THE END
DANGER BELOW!
A RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE STORY, no. 23
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BY JOHN BLAINE
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