"'And you have definitely ruled out sabotage?'
"He nodded, and looked grim as he supped again at his ale.
"'These are hand-picked men this time, Carnacki. I've crewed with them all in some damned rough ports and rougher storms. I'd trust them all with my mother's life. No, I've got a hunch that I am right on this one. This is definitely in your line of work.'
"And you know what? I had to agree, for I knew something that Gault did not about the vessel he was attempting to raise. It was something hinted at in a book I had read years before, and I still had the same tome in my library in Chelsea. When I told this to Gault, he decided he had to see it forthwith, and by that time I most definitely had the scent of an adventure in my nostrils and so was quite happy to oblige him."
*
"An hour later we were back here in Chelsea, drinking my scotch, smoking my cheroots, and looking over the book I'd taken down from the shelf. It was handwritten rather than printed, and more in the nature of a journal than a book. Purportedly, it had been written after the tragedy that befell the King's Barge. The language was in broader Scots than either of us were used to, but we got the gist of it well enough.
"The writer was one Alexander Seton, an alchemist, some say sorcerer, of some note in the annuls of Scotland's occult history. I have several of his journals and notebooks in my library, for his field of study has several overlaps with my own. This particular entry was dated the year of the barge's sinking, and he had been there, on a boat behind the very vessel that Gault was now seeking on the seabed.
*
"'I telt the King's man he should be more circumspect, that there was something brooding in the waters beyond Burntisland that was best avoided, but he widna listen to me. I was telt that the King's treasure had to get to Edinburgh by the fastest route possible, a show of wealth for the London parliament to take note of. Politics and nonsense is all that it was, and it damned near got us all killed, for politicians and kings are not the only things on land or sea to covet shining silver and gold trinkets.
"'I hae long kent there is something down there. The monks of Lindisfarne mention it in their manuscripts, and there are dark mutterings in Roman scrolls in the Vatican, stories about an eater of boats in the Forth. But as I hae said, the King's man widna listen. And now he is deid, along with a hunner others.
"They were twa hunner yairds ahead of us when it happened, and all that we saw was a boiling froth of water unner the ferry before it went down. But I felt it. I felt it in my bones and in my water. It is a dark thing, huge and black and formless, and it is hungry, as hungry for gold as any King.
"'I hae telt the new King's man to keep his boats well away from the spot.
Mayhap this wan will listen tae me.'"
*
"'I was right, then?' Gault said when I closed the book. 'This is definitely in your line of expertise?'
"'It certainly appears so,' I replied. 'Although on reading that, I am not so sure you would not be best served by leaving things well enough alone.'
"Then he told me how much money he thought was involved, and I knew why he would not be taking a backward step unless it was absolutely necessary. The figure he quoted to me would, I believe, pay for the running of the whole country for a good few months, if not an entire year.
"There was another factor at play too; our good captain had already sunk most of what he owned into the venture, and he owed the banks a bit more on top of that, so he would not listen to any of my protestations.
"Besides, I will admit that the whole bally thing intrigued me and had me more than a tad curious. I had always written old Seton's tale off as another Highlander's sea monster story but the fact that there might be something to it meant that I would have to go and see for myself.
"So it was that Gault and I made our way by carriage to Kings Cross Railway Station that very afternoon, and thence to points north. I took my larger box of defenses with me. I had a feeling they might be needed."
*
"Gault proved to be a most amiable companion on the train journey to Edinburgh, keeping me regaled with tales of skullduggery and adventure on the high seas in remote climes. He has a distinctive way with a story. Indeed, if I ever get the chance, I shall invite him to one of our evenings, and you can enjoy his company for yourselves.
"We partook of afternoon tea on the train, and what with that, and a couple of stiff brandies in the dining carriage, the trip was as comfortable as such a journey could ever be.
"The remainder of our journey after changing trains in Edinburgh was, unfortunately, rather less pleasant. It was a filthy evening, of the kind that only Scotland seems to be able to provide. The rain lashed hard against the carriage windows, and a snell wind whistled through the train.
"I felt damp and cold even before we came to a halt. When we finally disembarked from the rickety, rattling carriage in Burntisland, we had to carry our luggage, and my box of defenses, in the dark, down across an exposed shoreline to the pier where Gault had a rowboat moored up. Out beyond the moorings I saw nothing but more rain, a heavy swell, and a pitch-black darkness from horizon to horizon. If there was a boat out there, I could not see it.
"I complained long and bitterly about taking to the sea in such conditions, but Gault merely laughed at my soft landlubber ways. He was already down in the rowboat, and looking up at me expectantly.
"'This? This is nothing but a drop of rain, man. Get aboard. We'll be aboard in ten minutes and you'll be fine after some coffee and scotch.'
"I finally relented and joined him in the small rowboat, which, to my surprise, was quite sturdy and seaworthy and barely rocked or rolled even when we left the harbor and headed into the blackness beyond.
"To his credit, Gault was as good as his word, although I do believe the ten minutes he spent rowing us out to The Mary Anne might have been the most miserable of my life, for although the swell was just about manageable, the rain did not relent. By the time his men helped us aboard, I was soaked all the way through my suit to my skin and feeling more than a little delicate in the gut.
"A change of clothes, a plate of hot stew, a coffee and two glasses of his fine scotch did much to revive me. By the time I felt ready to try a pipe I finally had time to consider the scale of his operation out here in the open Firth.
"The Mary Anne was an old schooner, a three master that had been converted to steam, with a wide handsome upper deck belying the rather cramped quarters below.
"'She was built a few miles up the coast,' Gault informed me. 'She's a local lassie, from Dundee, although she's seen the world since then. I got her for a song from a chap in the Carib who was down on his luck, but before that she saw service from the Antarctic all the way to the Baltic, as a scientific vessel and then little more than a coal trawler. She can handle all weathers, and as much cargo as we can cram into her.'
"He spoke lovingly, as if describing a sweetheart, which, in a sense, I suppose she was."
*
"I sat in the wheel house with Gault while his crew scurried to and fro in the rain, making sure everything was secure as the wind got up a notch and we started to roll and sway. This did not do my delicate stomach that much good, and Gault laughed at my obvious discomfort.
"'Give it an hour, man,' he said. 'You'll see, you'll find your sea legs soon enough.'
"Surprisingly, he was right, for after more scotch and another smoke, I started to feel almost normal, although I do not think I shall ever prefer the deck of a boat at sea to the feel of solid ground underfoot.
"By this time the crew had all retired to drier quarters below decks. Gault and I shared drinks from his whisky bottle. We played chess, on a fine scrimshaw set with pieces that splendidly depicted whales, dolphins and other cetaceans, and we smoked some of his rather acrid, dark, pipe tobacco while the rain lashed ever harder on the windows of the wheel house.
"Gault proved to be a fine player, with a quick style of play and an attacking
flair I was hard pushed to defend against. I was considering a risky, but potentially game-winning move, when Gaunt went still and quiet, and a strange hush fell around us. I was about to speak when he put a finger to his lips, and mouthed a single word.
"'Listen'
"I did as requested, and at first I only heard the rain. Then it came to me, distant and faint, like a massed choir singing in the wind, a chorus of voices raised in a hymn. The words were clear enough, although they made little sense to me at the time.
"'She sleeps in the deep, with the fish far below,'
"'She sleeps, in the deep, in the dark,'
"'She sleeps, and she dreams, in the deep, in the deep,'
"'And the Dreaming God is singing here she lies.'"
"The wind rose again, and the song faded away, until it was as if it had never been there. I looked over at Gaunt and he smiled grimly.
"'Yes, Carnacki. It was all too real. I heard it too. We all hear it. It comes mostly at night, and mostly in the wind. The crew says it is the spirits of the King's dead barge crew, lost in the deep, down in the cold dark, calling us down to join them. And I am not sure as I disagree with them on that score.
"'It is all I can do to keep the men here at all. And some nights, nights much like this one, I'm of a mind to turn tail and flee with them.'
"'So what keeps you here in this foul weather?'
"'It is not always like this. You'll see for yourself in the morning. And the money, man; think of the money!'
"He checkmated me some five minutes later, for I had quite lost my concentration and enthusiasm for the game. It was not the money I was thinking of when I finally found my way to the small cabin I had been allocated. I climbed into the bunk with my head almost up against the outside keel, and as I drifted into a fitful sleep, it was as if I heard the chorus again, faint and distant, but most insistent.
"'Where she lies, where she lies, where she lies, where she lies,'
"'The Dreaming God is singing where she lies.'"
*
"Gault had been right about one thing; the weather was markedly improved in the morning. I woke to bright sunlight streaming in the porthole above my bunk, and any apprehension I had been feeling after hearing the singing in the night was quite washed away by the loud cawing of the herring gulls and the soft lap of wavelets on the outer hull.
"I made what ablutions I could manage in the cramped conditions of the cabin and then went up on deck. Gaunt was already in the wheelhouse, and had a pot of coffee on the go. I took to it gratefully. It was strong and black and tasted exactly how I needed it to taste to get my morning going with a jolt to the system. Indeed, I was starting to feel at home, and felt even more so when the ship's cook arrived with a plate of eggs, ham and toast that looked large enough to fortify me for the rest of the day.
"The crew were already hard at work on the main deck. When I finished my breakfast and went out for a smoke I could see they were making preparations for a dive.
"Two of the men had already climbed into heavy rubberized suits and were being helped in affixing the large copper helmets and air tubes. The tubes themselves were attached to large pumps on the fore-deck that were hooked up to a generator to keep air circulating even when the divers were at some depth.
"'How deep do they have to go?' I asked as Gault came to my side.
"'The seabed's about a hundred feet below us here, no more,' he replied. 'The suits can handle twice that, or so the German manufacturers tell me. You asked about my advantage yesterday? Well there it is, Carnacki; we have at our disposal the finest diving equipment that money can buy. I am hoping that with these new suits, and your expertise, we can get this job underway properly from today onwards, be over and done with it quickly, and back to the gaudy lights of London together to enjoy the spoils.'
"I was still rather unsure as to what help I might be, but I held my peace and watched the divers complete their preparations. I saw tension in the captain before the dives started, and worry for the fate of his men. He chewed on the stem of his pipe hard enough to leave the impression of his teeth on the ebony. As the men went down into the water in their cages and the chains clattered and clacked, I realized his tension was contagious; I felt my heart leap and flutter, as if it were I and not the crewmen who were heading down, all alone, into the cold dark.
"And the damnable thing about it was that there was nothing we could do; there was no choice but to wait and see what transpired. I had some more of Gault's rough tobacco, and more of his almost as rough coffee, and the minutes passed ever so slowly while we waited.
"Finally the chains stopped clattering, and there was only the thud and thump of the pumps to be heard.
"The men were on the bottom."
*
Carnacki paused there. He has an almost preternatural knack of knowing the exact point to leave a story to build the maximum amount of tension, and no little frustration, in his audience. Arkwright in particular seemed fit to burst, and hurried to refill his glass with brandy and get a fresh smoke lit.
"Dash it man, hurry yourself up," he said as Carnacki smiled and, deliberately I thought, took his sweet good time in lighting his pipe.
Finally, with our host puffing happily, we were all ready again, and he took up the tale where he had left off.
*
"The next five minutes were jolly hard on our captain.
"'Is this an especially fraught moment?' I asked, realizing even as I said it how naïve a question it was when two men were so many feet of water away below us in the cold, silent, dark. But if Gault took any umbrage, he was too good a chap to show it.
"'If anything is to go wrong, it will be about now,' was all he would say, then he chewed so hard on his pipe I thought he might break it in two pieces.
"The pumps kept up their solid thumping, and after an age, the chains started to clank and rattle once more. I'm not a seafaring man, but even I knew what that signified.
"The men were coming up.
"I thought I could discern more strain on the cables and chains on the ascent. Gault patrolled the deck, barking orders and ensuring the raising of the cages would be as smooth as they could manage, but it still took an interminable time and the strain on the cables had them screeching and wailing all the way up.
"We saw the reason why when the cages were finally raised up onto the deck. The divers waved and gave thumbs-up to indicate that they had returned safely in one piece. More than that, it was soon apparent that they had brought with them what appeared to be a King's ransom in treasure.
"There was silver plate, tarnished of course after its stay on the sea bed, a stout wooden chest, only partially rotted, filled to the brim with gold pieces, and a stiff burlap sack that, when emptied proved to be full of jewel-studded bracelets, necklaces and headpieces of obvious antiquity.
"Gault grinned, and clasped me on the shoulders.
"'You're our lucky charm, man.'
"'He certainly is, Cap'n,' one of the divers said as he was helped off with his helmet. 'For there's more where that came from; there's a damned sight more. It's murky and dark and cold all right, but the stuff's lying on the bottom waiting to be brought up.'"
*
I sat in the wheelhouse, drinking too much coffee and smoking Gault's rough tobacco while the salvage team went into full operation through the morning and early afternoon. The sound of the great pumps thudded and echoed across the water and reverberated all through the hull. I felt every beat in the soles of my shoes, and it pounded, like incessant drumming, in my head. What with that, and the clatter of chains, the shouts of the crew and the screeching of excited gulls, it was all one bally long commotion that gave me quite a headache and had me wishing for the peace and quiet of my little library back here in Chelsea.
The only saving grace was the excitement brought on every time a fresh load of items was delivered up from below, the anticipation of which had us all behaving like children anticip
ating a present. By the time the sun started to sink over the rolling hills of Fife, the deck was covered in a bewildering array of wondrous items. Some of it was treasure, some was little more than rotted garments that had once graced a King's fine wardrobe but were now home to colonies of barnacle, crab and weed. But all of it was almost spellbinding in what it showed us of the history that had lain on the seabed all these long years.
"Gault had most of the crew working full stop on cleaning up anything that was thought to be of value. He showed me a leaded crystal goblet on a wrought silver base that he estimated was worth over a hundred guineas on its own, and he was clearly delighted with the fruits of the day's labor.
"The last dive was still on the bottom as the final red-gold rays of the sun kissed the keel of the boat and the sky darkened quickly from the east. Despite the riches strewn on the deck, I sensed a growing apprehension in the crew, and the steady thump of the pumps developed a stammering stutter, almost failed then started up again. But the steady rhythm we'd been keeping all day had been broken, and Gault caught the change in mood.
"'Fetch them back up, right now,' he called out. 'We've had a good enough day so far, there's no need to spoil it by over reaching ourselves. We’ll get at it again first thing in the morning; it'll still be down there waiting for us. It's not going anywhere, and neither are we.'
"As for myself, I too was now taken by a growing foreboding, a sense that something was coming, a pricking of my thumbs if you like. I went so far as to fetch my box of defenses from the cabin, and opened it up in the bridge, preparing should the need arise to move swiftly.
"The process of bringing up the divers was still ongoing, and took an age. Darkness was falling fast, and the lights of the mainland were twinkling bright against the dark hills beyond. The gulls had abandoned us now, shadowy and fleeting as they made their way off to their nightly roosting spots. The only sound was from the machinery on the deck. The generator whined as the pumps thudded and chains rattled. It no longer felt smooth and effortless. The equipment shuddered, sending vibrations running through The Mary Anne that shook me to my bones and rattled my teeth.
Carnacki: The Edinburgh Townhouse and Other Stories Page 10
