The Wailing Octopus

by John Blaine

“Yes.Including one with a spear through his leg. The last one is just being hauled aboard now. He tried to get to the island.”

  Jimmy Kelly and a group of frogmen joined them. Jimmy asked, “How about the

  sounding gear, Steve?”

  “We’ll ask now. How about that octopus cave? Where is it?”

  “We’ll take you,” Rick said. “Let us get tanks from our boat. There should be a pair fully charged by now.”

  Steve shot a look at the doctor. The officer shrugged,then nodded. “Okay, if it’s a short dive. They’ve had plenty for today.”

  “Chief?Where are you?” Kelly called.

  A frogman stepped from the rear of the group. “Here, Sir.”

  “Check their regulators, please. If they’re okay, hook up fresh tanks. If not, loan them complete outfits.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Thanks, Chief. Then get set to come with us. Danny, Jonesy, Mike, and Dick come along, too. Bring still and motion-picture cameras. When we get down, split into two-man teams and search the area. You know what we’re looking for. It’s just like the one we found offSt. Croix .”

  Rick stared at the frogman officer.Another brass ball offSt. Croix? But there wasn’t time for questions.

  “Quick dive, please,” Zircon requested. “These boys have had enough.”

  “They’re through as soon as they show us the cave,” Steve agreed. “Come on, gang.

  Let’s get to it.”

  Rick carefully checked his equipment, something that no diver can ever take for granted or leave to someone else, while Scotty did the same. Then they put the equipment on and

  adjusted face masks. Their knives, Rick’s camera, and Scotty’s spear and gun were somewhere near the wreck. They would have to get them another time.

  The group entered the water. Rick looked around and oriented himself by the position of the Water Witch, then led the way with Scotty, Steve, and Jimmy swimming along with him while the Navy frogmen stayed closed behind.

  It was a thrill for Rick to be swimming with the famous UDT frogmen. He looked to the side and saw that Steve was perfectly at home in the water, and he marveled at the adaptability of the JANIG agent. Steve hadn’t been joking when he said he would be an expert by nightfall.

  At the reef Rick turned northward and led the way toward the level of the cave. A few moments later he hooted for attention and with pointed finger showed it to Steve and Jimmy. The octopus was still there.

  A frogman swam over and picked the little creature up. The octopus spurted away, leaving a blob of ink behind. He came to rest above the cave, poised for further flight.

  Rick swam down to the sandy floor of the cave and began to search for the brass ball.

  Scotty beckoned, and they swam together toward the spot where Scotty had last seen it.

  The frogmen swam to the bottom with them,then fanned out, searching.

  A few moments later someone hooted, and a tanned, muscled frogman swam over, holding the object triumphantly.

  Steve Ames pointed to the surface and Jimmy hooted an order. The group swam

  leisurely up through the murky layer, oriented themselves by the sleek shape of the destroyer escort hull, and emerged at the landing. The frogman who had found the ball handed it up to Hobart Zircon.

  Steve Ames motioned to one of the frogmen. “Run these fellows over to the beach, please, then wait and bring them back.” He turned to the boys. “Put on dry clothes. Then come on back. We need to talk.”

  An hour later the boys, the scientists, Steve, and Kelly were seated at a table in the destroyer escort’s tiny wardroom, noses twitching over the savory steaks that were being served. The boys ate like starved men, talking a steady stream between bites.

  Rick sighed and let out his belt. “Well, that’s our story. What’s yours?”

  Steve stirred his coffee thoughtfully. “I can make it short. We don’t know the whole

  story yet, but we will by the time I get back toSt. Thomas . Have you two any idea what these brass-ball gadgets are?”

  “We decided that they were probably sonar equipment of some type,” Scotty said. “But we couldn’t figure out what they were for.”

  “Easy,” Steve said.“Although you couldn’t know, of course. They were for spotting submarines.”

  Rick stared.Submarines?

  Steve saw his look of bewilderment. “It happens that our new atomic-powered

  submarines are conductingmanuevers in this area. Does that help?”

  It did! Light slowly dawned. “Then these were scanning our subs! But I still don’t see why it would be any problem to find them. The subs must have equipment that will tell when sonar beams hit them.”

  “They do. And that’s a big part of the story.”

  Steve sipped his coffee for a moment. “These sonar devices are a new type, and very cleverly designed. They don’t send out a continuous beam. Instead, they operate in bursts, in a random pattern. They might send out a beam twice in a minute, or wait an hour between bursts. The beam is a powerful one. It’s effective for an extraordinary distance.”

  “The wail, of course, was the beam operating,” Zircon interjected. “You didn’t hear the beam itself, since that’s ultrasonic. But you did hear the mechanical vibration of the brass ball. It had a kind of sub-harmonic effect that was audible.”

  “That’s right,” Steve agreed. “Anyway, there were several different stations, in different locations. Some were on islands, some on fishing boats. Since they operated only in short bursts in a random pattern, the subs-and the special teams we sent out-were never able to get a bearing that meant much.”

  “They must be self-recording,” Rick said thoughtfully, “otherwise the enemy couldn’t get the information out of them.”

  “They are. Whatever echo they get makes a tracing inside the box they’re mounted on.”

  Scotty objected, “But what kind of information is it? How can anyone tell anything about the subs from such recordings?”

  “By putting all the recordings together and running a rather complex analysis.The analysis will give speed, depth of operation, maneuverability-if the spies are lucky to have beams operating at the right time-and number of torpedoes fired, with the same information on thetorps . That’s enough information to make it worth an enemy’s while.”

  “I’ll say!” Scotty turned to Zircon. “And what were you doing, Professor?”

  “I’m afraid I arrived on the scene too late to do much good,” Zircon boomed.

  “However, I believe we can be useful in preventing such occurrences in the future. I have an idea for an improvement in our scanners that will allow a fix to be made on such beams.”

  There was a pause when dessert arrived. Theboys savored excellent apple pie smothered in a generous helping of ship-made ice cream.

  “We thought Zircon might help us work out a system of getting fixes on the

  transmitters,” Steve said. “As it happened, we got a lucky break. The subs happened to have their devices pointed atSt. Croix simultaneously when a beam scanned them. They got a fix on it. We flew a team of frogmen down in a Navy amphibian right in the middle of the second storm. They found it, and got the men who were handling it. One of them talked.”

  Jimmy Kelly picked up the story, “You arrived with Zircon at about the same time theSt. Croix team took off from our base, and headed right into the storm. They didn’t get back until late last night, and it was nearly dawn before we got the story from the man who talked. Then we loaded on this DE and headed here.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t wait ten minutes longer,” Rick said fervently. “They foxed us. I kept listening for their boat, but they didn’t use it.”

  “They probably decided to swim out and sneak up on you,” Zircon stated. “After capturing Tony last night, their suspicionswere probably aroused somewhat. Even if they swallowed his story entirely, it would be only good sense to check up.”

  Tony looked hurt. “I’m sorry you don’t thin
k my story was enough to allay their suspicions entirely. But speaking of listening for their boat, why didn’t you hear this ship coming? And why didn’t the fancy frogmen?”

  Rick thought that one over. “We wouldn’t have heard the ship until it was very close because of the noise our bubbles make. But we should have heard it about the time it left

  the reef opening near our cottage. I don’t know why we didn’t.”

  “And I don’t know why we didn’t see it,” Scotty added. “It’s big enough to be spotted at horizon distance.”

  Jimmy grinned. “We pulled a fast one. We had enough steerageway to drift over your position after a few turns of the screws down by the reef passage. You see, we didn’t know what was going on, so we took no chances. Then, when we got into position, we got into the water without waiting to anchor. We dropped anchor right after we got both of you out, but you probably didn’t notice.”

  “I couldn’t have cared less, at that point,” Rick said, and Scotty echoed the sentiment.

  “The reason why you didn’t see us coming is that we came from the other side of the island. It’s safer for a ship that draws as much water as this one. Tony spotted us as we approached the southern point.”

  Steve grinned. “Anyway, it’s a good idea to move in on an objective as quickly, silently, and invisibly as possible.”

  “Have you captured the rest of the stations yet?” Rick asked.

  “No. But we have teams out, and they know where to go and what to look for, thanks to the man who talked last night.”

  “Who are these people?” Scotty demanded.

  Steve scratched his chin. “Well,” he said finally, “you might put it this way: they’re people who have no business knowing what they’re trying to find out.”

  Rick hid a grin. He knew perfectly well they would get no more information out of Steve. The essence of security is to give information only to people who have a need to know it. The Spindrifters had no reason for knowing the identity of the enemy, apart from their own curiosity. One thing was certain, though, it was another nation that wanted the information.

  “You’re probably tired of answering questions,” Rick said, “but I’ve got one more. How did you happen to arrive right in the nick of time?”

  “Nothing very mysterious about it,” Jimmy Kelly answered. “We steamed up to the island and sent a boat ashore, with Professor Zircon. Dr. Briotti had seen us approach, and he met the boat. He told us you were diving. Zircon had assumed as much since we

  could see your boat anchored on the reef.”

  “I told them about last night,” Tony added.

  “Yes, and we sent a party of men to the house up the beach to capture these fancy frogmen of yours. The house was empty. Since their boat was tied up, we made a quick assumption that they were out on the reef with you. We did a fast run out . . .”

  “And got the fright of our lives,” Steve finished. “We knew there were three of the enemy and two of you down below, and we could see only three sets of bubbles. We thought you were done for.”

  “It was remarkable the way Lieutenant Kelly and his men got ready to dive,” Zircon said. “I’ve never seen people move so fast.Steve, too. Then, just as they were about to go over the side, we saw two more bubble trails and knew at least that you were still alive. But in a moment the entire pack of bubbles merged.”

  “We hit the water,” Jimmy Kelly said, “and were about to dive when one of the enemy skyrocketed up. He was blue in the face and scared witless. We hauled him out and then started to dive again. And along came Scotty, half dead and babbling about you. I started straight down to get you, but you met me halfway.” He grinned. “You weren’t in very good shape, either, for a few minutes.”

  “How about the men?Where are they?” Scotty asked.

  “Down below.Locked up, with an armed guard at the door.”

  Steve Ames finished his coffee and sat back with a sigh of satisfaction. “I’m happy,” he announced.

  The boys grinned. He looked it.

  “Glad you wound this up so fast,” Zircon boomed. “When will you return toCharlotte Amalie ?”

  Steve looked at Jimmy Kelly.“You in a hurry?”

  “Not particularly. Now that this case is over we go back to some pretty dull routine.

  Why?”

  “Oh, I thought your boys might like a little recreation.”

  Jimmy looked suspicious. “Any sailor likes recreation.The more the better. The UDTs enjoy it more than most. What’s on your mind?”

  Steve’s wave took in the four Spindrifters. “It wasn’t their fault one of the gang talked his head off last night. If he hadn’t, their work here would have given us a lead we couldn’t have gotten in any other way. Suppose we repay ‘em.”

  Jimmy sighed. “Get to the point.”

  “Keep the ship here tomorrow. Turn your boys loose to help find the treasure they’re after. You’ve got equipment they need. Besides, I’m sure your gang can find some nice souvenirs if they put their minds to it. Old cutlasses, cannon, cannon balls- things like that.”

  “It’s a deal.” The UDT lieutenant chuckled. I’ll try a little souvenir hunting myself. Of course, since it’s unofficial, I’ll have to ask for volunteers.”

  “Think you’ll get many?” Rick asked anxiously.

  Steve and Jimmy laughed. The lieutenant said with a chuckle, “If one of them doesn’t volunteer I’ll turn him over to the doctor, because I’ll know he’s sick. TheUDT’s volunteer because they like to swim. It isn’t often they get a chance like this, to dive just for fun.”

  “If we don’t find the treasure,” Scotty said with satisfaction, “it’ll be because it isn’t there!”

  CHAPTER XX

  The Buried Secret

  At first, the captured frogmen were defiant. They insisted that the Navy had nothing on them. The brass ball wasn’t theirs. They were only sport divers having some fun.

  Then, faced with the unassailable fact that Rick had taken motion pictures of their activities, they lapsed into sullen silence and refused to talk.

  Rick and Scotty watched Jimmy Kelly check the diving equipment of the frogman teams lined up on the destroyer escort’s deck. Beyond the teams they could see the three enemy frogmen, taking the air under the watchful eye of a shotgun-armed sailor.

  “I wonder if we’ll ever get the full story,” Rick mused.

  “We’ve got all we need,” Scotty answered. “What pieces are missing?”

  “Well, I’m curious about the chicken. I think we hit it when we decided they wanted to scare us out of the octopus-cave area, but it would be nice to know for sure. And why did they take the sonar equipment to the eastern reef during the storm?”

  “Probably to make a recording as a routine check.They couldn’t assume all sub activity was taking place to the west.”

  “But how can we be sure?”

  “We can’t. We can only try to figure out what happened,based on what information we have. For instance, there must have been a sonar unit near where we swam atSt.

  Thomas . It’s the only thing that could have got the shadow so excited. But what difference does it really make? We know most of the story, and we can guess the rest.”

  “Steve may be able to fill in some pieces later,” Rick observed. He liked to have a thing wrapped up neatly, with no loose ends hanging. Still, that was almost impossible in a case like this.

  Jimmy Kelly called, “You boys ready to go?”

  “Whenever you are,” Rick called back. He picked up his heavy three-tank block from where it rested against the rail and handed it to Scotty. While his friend held the rig, Rick got into it. Then he performed the same service for Scotty. The tanks were heavy.

  Tony and Zircon, similarly equipped, came out of the amidships cabin with Steve Ames.

  Jimmy had loaned equipment from the frogmen’s supplies, to enable the group to work around the wreck longer.

  The search party assembled on the landing stage.
<
br />   Jimmy had split his teams into two groups. They would dive in relays.

  “We’ll look the situation over,then get to work,” Jimmy instructed. “How many have wrecking bars?”

  Four of the UDT gang held them up.

  “All right.Turn and turn about. Work for ten minutes then pass them to your mates.

  Watch your hoses, especially when working inside. Okay. Let’s go.”

  They slipped into the water four at a time, Rick and Scotty in the first four. Once in the water, the weight of the heavy tanks vanished. The boys had removed weights from their belts to allow for the extra tanks and for more than ten additional pounds of air on the descent.

  A pair of frogmenpayed out a heavy rope, taking the reel down with them in order to provide a direct link from wreck to ship.On the way up the divers would pause at knots in the rope to decompress, allowing time for compressed nitrogen to get out of their blood streams.

  With the boys and the scientists, Jimmy went over all visible portions of the wreck. He summed up his attitude with an elaborate shrug and spreading of his hands that said he didn’t know where to begin. For his frogmen, he made a sweeping gesture that told them to tackle the wreck anywhere. The frogmen moved in, operating in pairs. The water clouded rapidly with silt, particles of marine growth, and fish eggs. The top of the captain’s cabin came off. Rick swam in through the murk and picked up the chair that had seemed to be in good condition. He carried it to clear water and placed it on the sand. Now that it was out in the open, it could be seen thatteredos -shipworms-had feasted on it and burrowed into it until it was nothing but a chair-shaped shell.

  The same was true of the cabin interior. It collapsed soundlessly under the prying bars of the frogmen. Under their enthusiastic attack the water was soon so roiled that visibility at the wreck was reduced to almost zero. Jimmy sounded the signal for ascent and the group surfaced without decompressing. They had just about exhausted a single tank.

  On the landing stage, the lieutenant said, “No use continuing until the water settles.Any ideas, Chief?”

  Sanders, the group’s chief petty officer, replied, “I think we’re going to need a sand hose, Sir. Most of the wreck is buried.”