what it is.
It looks as though we still have to play children’s games against
Mark’s tortuous mind. I’ll tell you about it when we’re all
together.
Give me ten minutes to get dressed.” “There’s just one thing
first,”Geordie said, hovering in the doorway. “Kane went ashore and
sent a cable.” “Where to?” ‘ “We were lucky. I detailed Danny
Williams to trail him don’t worry, he’ll keep it dark – and he managed
to hear
Kane asking about cable rates to Rabaul.”
“Rabaul! But that’s in New Britain – in the Bismarck Archipelago. Why
in hell would he send a cable clear across the Pacific? Do you know
who he sent it to?, “Danny couldn’t find that out. He should have
bribed the counter clerk, but he didn’t. The boss says come to the
lounge first – it’s early for a meal. He wants to talk to us there
about that, I guess.” He pointed to the diary pages lying on my bed.
The Colombo was a modern American style hotel. We went to the
reception desk where I had signed in earlier and asked for Campbell,
and were told that he was in one of the lounges.
It was discreetly lighted and in one coiner a trio was playing soft
music. It was all very civilized and pleasant and a definite change
from life on board Esmerelda. Over drinks I asked Campbell to bear
with me in setting aside for the moment the matter of the diary, and
instead listen while I brought him up to date concerning manganese
nodules, to which he reluctantly agreed. He was at his most churlish
but I knew that mood would wear off as his interest sharpened. He had
already done some homework’so I was able to cove r the matter of nodule
formation and distribution fairly quickly, feeling pleased that I had
already brought Geordie up to that point as well. I came at last to
the matter of nodule dating.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that our nodule isn’t very old,” I said,
producing it from my pocket.
“How old?”Campbell demanded.
“He always talks in millions,” said Geordie wisely, but he was wrong.
“Not more than fifty thousand years,” I said flatly. “It could be
between thirty thousand and fifty thousand but not more than that, I’ll
stake my reputation on it. Somewhere in the Pacific these things are
growing at an explosive rate.” “Explosive,” said Geordie
incredulously.
“Do you call fifty thousand years explosive?” “From a geological
standpoint it’s very fast. It’s damned unusual ‘ though, and it’s very
important.” “Why so?”Campbell asked.
“Look, the whole damn Pacific is covered with these things which have
been growing slowly over millions of years. Now we have one which has
grown in a fraction of that time. There must be a specific reason for
it. My guess is that it’s the result of a purely local condition, and
if it is the chances are that this condition still exists – in other
words, these nodules are growing at the same rate even now.” “I can’t
see that that helps us much.” “It helps us this much. It means we can
cut out vast areas millions of square miles – where I know that no
peculiar conditions exist in the sea. I’ll go along with orthodoxy on
that one; the seabed is pretty regular, there are few changes of
climate for one thing. What we’ve got to watch for is the oddity.”
idea “Got any what’ kind of oddity?” I nodded. “I have vague ideas
that I’m not prepared to put into words just yet,” I said. “Maybe I’ll
get something from the diary translation. It may only need one word to
make the whole picture clear – like the last piece in a jigsaw
puzzle.”
“We’ll come back to that later,”Campbell said. “Meanwhile I’ve been
keeping tabs on Suarez-Navarro. Ramirez left London and joined that
ship of theirs.” “Where are they now?” Geordie asked.
“Still lying in Darwin – doing nothing. I don’t quite get it.” He
glanced up as he spoke and then got to his feet. Coming through the
lounge towards us was a young woman whom I recognized as his daughter,
and Geordie and I both stood up as she joined us.
_ Campbell introduced.
us. “Clare, this is Michael Trevelyan and this is our Captain,
George
Wilkins.” Geordie shook hands gravely and corrected his name. As I
took her hand she looked at me very carefully but did not react to my
name at all. I was on the point of reminding her that I had met her
once long before, with Mark, but took my cue from her and made my
greeting noncommittal. We all sat down once again, and during the few
minutes while drinks were being ordered I assessed her, as a man
assesses any woman.
When I had seen her in Vancouver I hadn’t been particularly
interested.
I couldn’t be bothered with Mark or any of his affairs.
But now I saw that she was really beautiful and wondered why I hadn’t
noticed it before. She was tall, with black hair and straight brows
over grey eyes. Her mouth was generous with mobile corners, a mouth
made for laughter but presently in tight control, as though she had
learned not to laugh. She was dressed with that deceptive simplicity
which means money, not surprising considering that she was Campbell’s
daughter. She wore, I noticed, no jewellery apart from a small ruby
brooch.
We all chatted for a short time about this and that, and I saw that
there was something wary and watchful about her, and felt that it
concerned me. I wondered how Mark had got on with her. When I saw her
with him she had seemed to have a lot more sparkle, and this present
introversion wasn’t Mark’s style at all – he always liked his women to
have some animation.
Presently Campbell brought us to the matter in the forefront of all our
minds. I was not altogether surprised when he said, “Gentlemen, you
had better know that I’ve told the whole story – so far as I can – to
Clare. She’s my right hand, you know, doubles as secretary sometimes,
and she’s always been involved in my affairs.
This one is no different.” I thought that burglary, forgery, espionage
and murder would certainly make it different in my eyes, but perhaps
she’d seen all that already, on other missions with her father.
“What’s more, when I join ship she’s coming along as well,” he
continued. He was the boss after all, but he seemed just a little
truculent as he said it, as if daring our opposition.
Geordie looked faintly dismayed and glanced at me for his cue.
“Why not?” I said evenly. “Lots of room – and we could do with an
extra hand in the lab from time to time. And if you can cook, Miss
Campbell-‘ “Clare, please. Are you Michael or Mike?”
“Mike, always.”
She smiled. “I can cook, but I wouldn’t want to be chief cookie. I’ll
spell whoever it is, though.” Geordie was on the edge of his chair,
and finally had his say.
“Have you been to sea before, Miss – er, Clare?” he asked sternly.
Clare bore it equably.
“Yes, Geordie, I have – for quite long trips too. I’ve got all my gear
and you’ll believe me when you see how worn out it all is. In fact I’m
much more familiar with what we’re going to do than Pop is.”
Geordie was routed.
Campbell broke in impatiently at this point. “What about the diary,
Mike? You’ve read through it, I suppose.” “There are interesting
possibilities opening up.” “How come?” “The diary was written partly
while Mark was with the I.G.Y survey. Now, he made a record of those
high-cobalt nodules, but the fact never came out in the open scientific
record. In other words, he suppressed the evidence.”
Campbell seemed perturbed. “I shouldn’t think your brother would do a
thing like that,” he said stiffly. And that told me that any
reservations he may have about Mark stemmed from Mark’s personal
affiliation with Clare, and that he had never plumbed the depths of
Mark’s personality. I would have to be careful, but it was time to
bring things out into the open.
I said, “Can you think of any other explanation?” He shook his head.
“I’m at a loss what to make of it – I have been giving it some thought
already. Are you serious when you said your brother would do a thing
like that? He struck me as a very fine scientist.” “Mark was never
too scrupulous,” I said. “He wanted sometWng from you and he was
showing his cleanest face.”
Campbell didn’t like that. My open distrust of Mark offended his sense
of fitness. Brothers should be brotherly and bloodis thicker than
water. I suspected he had a strong puritan streak in him, inherited