“Yes,”she went on quietly. “I do think I’ll go home. I always boasted
that I wouldn’t go back until I was a success. I guess they’d call me
a success now, Mike?”There were tears in her eyes.
“You’ve always been a success,” I said gently, and held her
shoulders.
She sniffed a bit and then said, shaking her head briskly, “This isn’t
getting the glassware washed. I’d better go back to work. But
thanks.”
I watched her walk along the deck and for the thousandth time I damned
Mark’s soul to hell. At a touch on my elbow I turned to find
Geordie.
“I didn’t want to bust up the tete-aWe,” he said, “so I waited a
bit.”
He nodded along the deck.
“Falling for her, Mike?” “Nothing like that,” I said amusedly,
thinking how very off target Geordie’s guesses were. “But there are
times when I wish Mark had never been born.” “Gave her abad time, did
he?” IC uriously enough, he made her very happy. But he broke her
heart by getting himself killed. Not that that matters he’d have found
some way of doing it, sooner or later. What’s on your mind,
Geordie?”
“I want to talk to you about our next move,” he said. “We can’t stay
out here much longer, Mike. The winch and its components really
desperately need attention. We’re a little low on water – we hadn’t
had time to top up completely in Nuku’alofa and that goes for fuel
too.
And we’ve been using an awful lot of that for station-keeping.
We’ll have to into port somewhere pretty soon.” “Yes, my lab stocks
are running low too. Look, Geordie, we’re really finished here – I’ve
got loads of data to work on.
already. Let’s put it to the boss again.” Campbell said, “How soon
can you finish here, then?” “I am finished, virtually. This last
dredge today could be it otherwise I could go on tinkering forever.”
“That’s it then. But we don’t go back to Nuku’alofa, in case Ramirez
is still there, or hunting for us in that area. We’ll go to Fiji – to
Suva.” I hesitated. “That’s fine, but I’d like to have a look at
Falcon.” “What for?” I said, “Well, it’s responsible for all this.”
“A scientist to the last, eh? You’re not content with finding anything
you want to know when and how and why.”
I was desperately keen to visit the island – or the site of it. I
added, to give force to my argument, “It could well give us a lead to
other high-cobalt areas hereabouts.
Maybe concentrations of other metals – once we find out something about
the mechanism of this thing.”
He laughed. “Okay, Mike, I guess you’ve earned it. If Geordie gives
the go-ahead we’ll go to Suva by way of Falcon.” Geordie wasn’t too
certain. He pulled out his charts, measured distances, and grumbled.
“How long are you staying there?” “Only a day or so, if that.” “Will
you be dredging?” “There’ll be no need to dredge. It’s very shallow
over the site. A good switmer like Bill Hunter could go down and
collect the samples I want by hand – it won’t be more than a few
fathoms. And he’s dying to show off his talent. We could be away
again in just a few hours.” “It’s cutting it a bit fine,” he
complained. “We’ll be damned low on water by the time we get to Suva
and it’s a good job you don’t want to dredge because I really think
this one was our last. We have to keep enough fuel od for manoeuvring
and for emergencies – I can’t spare any more for the winch motor.”
“Away with you, Geordie. You know you hate sailing under power.” But
I got him to agree in the end.
We finished with the dredge and stowed the cable for the last time.
The dredge bucket was secured on deck and Geordie set a course
northward for Fonua Fo’ou.
That evening in the saloon I said, “I’d like to summarize what I’ve
found. Can you stand another short lecture?” We were moving briskly
along with a helpful wind, the treasure had been found and any danger
seemed infinitely remote and unlikely. My seminar settled down to hear
me out in a state of contentment.
Campbell said, “I’m getting used to being lectured to- by scientists;
it’s sometimes boring and usually profitable.” I laughed.
“This time it’s very profitable.” I produced my charts and notebook.
“The high-cobalt nodules seem to be concentrated in a valley or
depression, twenty miles wide and a hundred miles long. The nodules he
in varying degrees of richness and density.”
Clare, whom I had discovered to my pleasure to be a quick natural
mathematician. said in astonishment, “But that’s two thousand square
miles.” “Quite an area,” I agreed. “The richness varies roughly with
the depth of the water, from about two percent at the top of the ridges
to a peak of ten percent in the valley bottom – an inverse curve, if
you like. On the other hand, the density varies in a different way.
At the extreme north of the valley the density is only half a pound per
square foot.
At the other end it peaks out at fifty pounds per square foot.”
Campbell said, “Still at ten percent cobalt?” “On the valley bottom,
yes.” “Hotdiggety!” he exclaimed. “A quarter of a billion bucks per
square mile!”
He and Clare were smiling in delight. Geordie looked dazed – the
figures were so fantastic that he couldn’t absorb them. Paula looked
petrified.
I consulted my notebook again. “I’ve worked out some rough figures. I
reckon the overall average density over the entire area of two thousand
square miles is about eight pounds to the square foot. The overall
richness is about six percent. Considering some of the higher figures,
though, you’re in for a very fine haul wherever you begin, so
systematic mining will pay off.”
Campbell said, “Those average figures of yours a damn thing, Mike.
What do I care if the average is eight pounds when I know of a place
where it’s fifty. That’s where we start – we take the rich stuff.” He
shook his head in wonder. “This is fantastic – this is the damndest
thing. We can prove every pound of our resources before we even
start.
We’ll need a detailed survey, though with you to head it up.” “I’d be
proud to,” I said. I thought of the advanced equipment and systems I
could use and rejoiced inwardly.
“I’ll give you the finest survey vessel ever built – with no disrespect
to Esmerelda, Geordie. But then – you may not want to do this. You’ll
be a rich man.”He got up to pour us all drinks as he spoke.
“I won’t be until that survey has been made and the operation started,”
I pointed out. “But you couldn’t stop me even then.”
Campbell – said, “I’ve been thinking this thing out. I’m starting a
corporation and I’m reserving five percent of the stock for the crew.
Three percent goes to you, Mike, and two to Geordie. I’ll sell twenty
percent to those two guys I know that I mentioned, for twenty million
dollars and let the Government – any or all of ’em – have fifty percent
for another twenty million. That starts to take care of the working
capital.” Clare exclaimed, “Pop, I’m disgusted at you. Don’t think I
C can’t add up percentages! You come out with twenty percent for
yourselfand you’ve discovered nothing. All you’ve done is put up a
measly million dollars or so for this expedition.” “Not quite, Clare,”
he said mildly.
“There’s your cut another five, I think. And I have ideas concerning
the remaining fifteen. For centuries people like me have been taking
metals out of the earth and putting nothing back. We’ve been greedy
the whole of mankind has been greedy. As I said the other day, we’ve
been raping this planet.” His voice grew in intensity. “Now we’ve got
hold of something different and we mustn’t spoil it, like we’ve spoiled
everything else that we’ve laid our greedy hands on. I’m keeping five
percent for myself, sure – but the other ten will go into an
independent, nonprofit making organization which will push my ideas a
little further. We have to find a way to take that stuff out of the
sea without disturbing the environment more than we can help, and to
put something back – somewhere – by way of recompense.” “There’s one
way that I can think of immediately,” I said.
“There are phosphorite nodules as well. You can make good fertilizer
out of them, but so far no one has thought of a way of dredging them
commercially. We could get them up with the rest, and you could be
doing agriculture a bit of good.” “That’s what I mean,”Campbell
exclaimed.”You’ve gone to the heart of it – research is what’s