Then Slinger will be able to leave the ship after all tomorrow.' Nicky's voice held grievous disappointment.
'Yes, but he'll have missed his boat for New York so he is stuck in the Azores for another week, and that, I take it, was the Count's principal object.'
'True,' the Count bowed, 'that I think we agreed, was our most immediate necessity.'
'But it won't prevent Kate coming out to us,' said Sally miserably.
'How?' asked the McKay. 'How can he, even if he wants to, and I've never seen any reason why he should.'
'We were all reported dead this afternoon. Fifty people will have been on the long distance to Camilla's lawyers by this time pressing for particulars of her will. Kate will get wise to it; somehow things aren't going to run as smoothly as he thinks for him. Then he'll come back here just as fast as he can. That's the sort of man he is.'
'But what are you afraid he is going to do if he does?'
'Heaven knows,' Sally dug viciously into her biscuit ice, 'I don't—but I've a feeling that he'll make things horribly unpleasant for us all.'
'Leastways,' Vladimir commented. 'If this defence you sit upon so forcibly is made by our so beautiful Duchess's lawyer why should we sad ourselves. For a week more her fortune is reserved and in that space Nicky our probation shall accept to give Slinger a blue-eye.'
'You missed it,' said Nicky, 'but the others saw. I hit him, didn't I—right on the nose.'
'How unfortunate,' remarked the Prince with a flash of his white teeth, 'that I was lying still in my cabin this time. Otherwise that poor Slinger's thick ears would now be standing out on the backside of his head.'
Bozo, sitting by the doorway of the dining room coughed. It was not that he had the least interest in Slinger's ears, in fact the conversation was almost unintelligible to him, but he did want his own dinner, and knew that he would not get it as long as the people at the table talked stupid nonsense instead of eating up their food.
The reminder of his presence, and that of his friend at the far end of the apartment stilled conversation and five minutes after coffee had been served he was able to stand up, cough again, and see his charges to their cabins. Vladimir taking the Kummel bottle with him as he said, 'To be a safe guarding against revisiting pains in the old knob.'
As they went below the McKay got next to Sally and murmured under his breath, 'Don't worry m'dear. Unless Captain Ardow's mad he'll have to get us towed to safe anchorage by a tender. When it comes alongside I'll chuck them my tin box with the letter to the Police. Then we'll have Mr. Slinger cornered and your friend Kate too if he turns up for the party.'
Sally wished him a loud good night but gave his hand a grateful squeeze as she turned with new cheerfulness towards her cabin.
Slinger had far more cause for worry than his prisoners that evening. He knew that his chief would not take at all a good view of this new situation and would call upon him to answer for not having kept his charges more closely under guard. Over dinner with Captain Ardow he aired his anxiety and the Russian was neither comforting nor helpful.
It seemed that despite his lack of knowledge of machinery Count Axel had succeeded in completely disabling the ship without injuring any member of the crew. A reconstruction of his sabotage showed that he must have managed to reach the after hold without being spotted while pretending to be ill in his cabin that afternoon; stacked his dynamite round the propeller shaft, waited until the bathysphere had been hauled up in case the force of the explosion wrecked the crane on the deck above; then lighted a time fuse and gone forward. The engine room remained unharmed and, as the hold was empty, the explosion was not sufficiently confined to blow a hole in the bottom of the vessel, but the propeller shaft was cracked and twisted so that they were now completely at the mercy of the ocean. Captain Ardow explained with brief and bitter feeling that only the kedge anchors that he had thrown out prevented the ship being washed up on the shores of Pico or drifting, completely helpless, down to the South Pole.
Slinger declared that he did not give a cuss what happened to the ship. The all important thing was that he should reach New York at the earliest possible moment.
'So,' said Captain Ardow. 'Well, I have already wirelessed Punta Delgarda for a tender.'
'The devil you have,' exclaimed Slinger. 'That's a mighty risky thing to have done. The radio about the Duchess's death only went out this afternoon and we made no request for assistance then. It was not suggested that there had been an accident in the ship but stated clearly that the bathysphere had suddenly caved in under the immense pressure a mile below the water. Don't you see that the news of a second big calamity in the space of a few hours may make people suspect that there's something fishy going on.'
Ardow shrugged. 'There was no alternative. The ship must be towed to safe anchorage otherwise we perhaps become a wreck. Later the tender can run you in to Horta.'
'How long d'you think she'll take to reach us?'
'It is an unusual call upon the resources of so small a port so it is unlikely that they will be ready to leave before midnight. Then it is from a nine to twelve hour trip.'
'She may be here any time from nine o'clock on then, but that's too late for me to catch the Horta boat. Even if the tender left you to run me in I'd not get there before midday. God! How livid Kate's going to be when he hears about this mess. It means a week's delay and he's depending on my personal testimony to quash any suggestion of contesting that will.'
'When the tender has towed me to a safe anchorage you can return by her to Punta Delgarda,' Ardow suggested. 'There you might catch a cargo boat calling before it proceeds to an American port, and perhaps save yourself a day or two.'
'Yes, that's an idea, but what are you going to do? It's impossible now for you to run these people down to the Falklands as planned.'
'My engineer has not yet reported the full extent of the damage. It may be that we shall have to go into dry dock before we can fit a new shaft. If not so bad and repairs are possible we shall lie up and wait delivery of new pieces from the States, refit ourselves and proceed south.'
Slinger angrily stubbed out his cigarette and stood up. 'We're in a fine mess either way as far as I can see. I think the best thing would be for Kate to charter a new hooker, have it handed over to you and your crew in Horta or Punta Delgarda then you could collect the passengers and guards off this one and abandon it. The cash doesn't matter if only we can carry the big deal through, but Kate must decide himself, of course.'
'Yes. Kate will decide. I have already reported in our code to him and anticipate a wireless at any time. I have said too that the accident makes it impossible for you to catch the Horta boat—so also he will direct if you are to wait or try Punta Delgarda.'
'Nice of you to let him know before I had a chance to think things over,' remarked Slinger sarcastically. 'If you want me I'll be on deck.'
The night was peaceful and starlit. The only sound was the gentle lapping of the water against the vessel's sides. She was rolling slightly having no cruising speed to steady her, but Slinger was used to that from their frequent dead stops in the last week to operate the bathysphere. His nose was still a little sore and uncomfortable from the blow
Nicky had landed on it the day before and as he paced up and down chewing the butt of his cigar he brooded unhappily upon the unpleasant possibilities of Kate's cold hard rage when he heard of the way in which his carefully laid plans had been temporarily but very seriously disorganised.
Slinger was still brooding, an hour later, when Captain Ardow sent to tell him that a message had been received. They decoded it together in the chart-room and it ran:
'Allow no one from tender on board. Keep passengers below. Order tender to tow you to safe anchorage south of Pico and leave you there. Slinger to remain on board. Leaving midnight by amphibian to join you.
k:
Slinger's hand trembled slightly. 'So he's coming to take charge himself, eh? Well, I wish to God I was safely through tomorrow. He'l
l create merry hell for all of us the moment he sets foot on board the ship.'
'He has pluck,' said Captain Ardow. 'To fly two thousand miles of water from New York to the Azores is a thing for which I would not care.'
'Oh, he's got pluck enough for ten,' Slinger replied abruptly. 'But he retains a first class pilot and that amphibian of his is specially built to cover long distances. Good night, I'm off to bed.'
He was awake and about again early next morning. At seven o'clock he invaded Captain Ardow's cabin and asked anxiously, 'Look here, what are we going to do with the passengers all day? It's vital that they shouldn't get any message to the people on the tender when she turns up.'
The Russian yawned sleepily. 'Kate has said keep them below. Do so then. Let them remain locked in their cabins.'
'That's all right maybe but the trick they played us yesterday has made me nervy. The tender will have to come pretty close alongside, won't it?'
'Yes.'
'How close?'
'So near that they can throw a line by which we shall pull up their hawser.'
'Exactly, Slinger nodded. 'Then what's to prevent Count 174
Axel or one of the others throwing something out to them from a cabin porthole. A promise of a big reward for help or a message to the Punta Delgarda police. They could weight it with coins or any old thing so that it doesn't flutter down to the water.'
'You must prevent them then.'
'But how? We can keep them all together under Bozo's eye in the dining saloon while the tender is alongside, but one of the men might chance a bullet and chuck something out of the port before the guards could stop him. The tender's deck should be just about that level so there will be plenty of temptation if they do think of trying something of that sort.'
Captain Ardow scratched the bristly stubble on his unshaven chin while the two men regarded each other thoughtfully for a moment, then he said slowly, 'Why not send them all down in the bathysphere.'
'Damn it! You took that straight off my tongue,' Slinger exclaimed, 'and it's a great idea. I'll go and have them knocked up now so that they're safe under water before there's any likelihood of the tender putting in an appearance.'
Orders were issued through the stewards and by 8.15 Camilla's party were assembled in a sullen group to learn Slinger's latest decision.
"You don't get me going down in that infernal thing,' the McKay growled angrily. 'I've never been yet and I'm not going now.'
'You are,' said Slinger firmly. 'And if you won't go quietly my men will tie you up and push you inside it head first— so you can take your choice.'
The McKay's weatherbeaten reddish face went a good three shades deeper in colour and his eyes began to pop below the beetling brows. Sally thought he almost looked as if he was about to burst and quickly placed a restraining hand on his arm.
'Please,' she whispered, her grey eyes frightened and pleading, 'please don't make a scene—I implore you not to.'
'All right, m'dear,' he grumbled touched by her concern. 'But I'd love to have a cut at 'em.'
'Perhaps, but you'd only get shot if you did,' Slinger said 175
evenly, 'so you'll be wiser to keep your temper and do as
you're told.'
'I—I don't want to go,' Camilla stammered. 'It may turn rough again.'
'The weather is all set fair. It is unlikely that we shall be caught in so, twice,' Vladimir sought to comfort her.
'And Atlantis is to be seen beneath us,' chipped in the Doctor cheerfully. 'For the ship can have drifted little in this glassy sea.'
That certainly was a thought of sufficient interest to intrigue most members of the party in spite of their first reluctance to go on this enforced descent, so without further protest they followed Slinger aft.
The McKay guessed the reason for Slinger's decision to order them all into the sphere and he was furious at it; for he knew that with the ship in its crippled condition Captain Ardow would have been compelled to wireless for assistance and had counted on being able to get his letter to the tender even if he had to go overboard and swim with it. However, he endeavoured to console himself with the thought that there were many fresh possibilities to talk over since the explosion; in the bathysphere they would at least be clear of their guards and so able to do so freely.
The same thought had occurred to Count Axel, but both were disappointed. Slinger announced that he had no intention of giving them the whole day to plot fresh trouble for him and in consequence Bozo had agreed to go down as a check on any scheming.
One by one they climbed into the sphere. The McKay was last and before he entered it he gave a long look at the sky. It was serene and cloudless but there was no unnatural stillness and as far as he could judge they had no need whatever to fear an unexpected return of bad weather. Actually he was not really afraid. He had often made trips in submarines without the least anxiety and the bathysphere had now been proved capable of withstanding pressure equally well even at the great depths to which it descended. He had only refused before from a natural caution and the feeling that some time or other the sphere would meet with a totally unexpected accident. However, it might well go down a hundred times before that happened and therefore the probabilities were all against this proving its unlucky day.
'Nelson Andy McKay, where are you?' called Sally from inside the big ball in sudden fear that he had remained outside with the intention of endeavouring to smash up Slinger after all.
'Coming m'dear,' he sang out with reassuring cheerfulness and began to wriggle through the small circular opening. The door was clamped on and at 8.45 the bathysphere went under water.
Slinger joined Captain Ardow on the bridge to wait for the tender to turn up and, at the same time, he began to keep a nervous eye on the sky towards the west to sight the approach of Oxford Kate's big plane.
They had their breakfast sent up to the chart-room and discussed Kate's possible reactions on his arrival, in a desultory, gloomy sort of way. Both knew that Mr. Kate was capable of being not only extremely unpleasant but definitely dangerous when his plans had gone awry. The Russian spoke little except to impress upon Slinger that the prisoners had not been committed to his care so that the lawyer was alone responsible and should be prepared for all the blame—which he would undoubtedly receive.
Ten o'clock came—eleven, and eleven-thirty. The bathysphere party had reached bottom and although they could not be towed in any direction, owing to the disablement of the ship, they had already asked once to be pulled up 300 feet, and then let down again, so obviously they had struck some portion of the sunken city and began blasting operations without delay. At eleven-forty a wisp of smoke was reported by the look out on the eastward horizon then, two minutes later Captain Ardow himself drew Slinger's attention to a speck in the sky to the west north westward. There could be little doubt that it was Kate's plane and, after circling overhead the big amphibian swooped down, cut the calm surface of the water, churning it into creamy foam and came to rest fifty yards from the ship.
Ardow had already given orders for a boat to be lowered and stood by the rail ready to receive his Chief. Slinger hovered near him, nervous and unhappy. He knew that his fears had not been without reason the moment Kate's head appeared over the side.
The plane being enclosed, the broad shouldered elegant Mr. Kate had no need of airmen's helmets or leather jackets. He was wearing a light grey lounge suit today and an experiment in violet shirting with socks to match. The 'old school tie' still adorned his neck but the face above it was as smooth and hard as the prow of a battleship.
Captain Ardow instinctively touched the peak of his uniform cap, and Slinger, forcing a pale smile to his lips, murmured, 'Well Chief—how's everything?'
Kate's cold eyes held him for a second. It was not his way to discuss business before the crew and he only asked quietly, 'Where are the passengers?'
'On the sea floor in the bathysphere. I thought it best to get them out of the way as we're expecting the tender
from Punta Delgarda any moment. That's her you can see coming up in the distance.' Slinger pointed to the smoke stack, now grown larger, on the horizon.
'Right, we'll go up to the chart-room then.' Without another glance Kate led the way and the others followed.
As Slinger shut the door behind them his Chief swung round upon him. 'Now! What have you two been up to?'
'No responsibility for this rests on me,' declared Ardow boldly. 'For me the crew to discipline. For Slinger the passengers to guard. That was the arrangement.'
'Well, Slinger?' Kate's voice was quietly menacing.
'Damn it all I couldn't help it,' Slinger began to bluster. 'Count Axel—the Swede—you know, swung the lead yesterday. Pretended he was ill, pinched some dynamite from the Doctor's store, sneaked down into the hold while we thought he was in his cabin and blew the propeller shaft to blazes.'
'You think it a sound thing to leave dangerous explosives in the hands of your prisoners, eh?'
'Oh have a heart Chief, this stuff was intended for blasting operations under water.'
'Under water!' sneered Kate with icy contempt. 'Is that any reason to suppose that it would fail to explode in the air. The Count must be soft witted I think not to have blown the bridge up while he was at it and sent the two of you with half my men to Hell!'
'We didn't lose a man,' pleaded Slinger. 'Not even one of 178
the engine room hands received a scratch, and we had the whole party cold within thirty seconds of the explosion.'
'Why should you take credit for that? It was merely their own incompetence.'
'But Chief there's never been any question of their escaping or securing help. The whole bunch are every bit as much under your thumb as they were this time last week.'
'It's lucky for you they are, since I made this trip to see them. Ardow! get them pulled up at once.'
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