"A great song title," said Giordino. "I hate to dampen good news, but this time the people of the house are stirring about." He gestured at lights shining in the windows of the manor house.
"My father always rises before dawn," said Maeve. "He never allowed my sisters and me to sleep after sunrise."
"What I wouldn't give to join them for breakfast," moaned Giordino.
"Not to sound like an echo chamber," said Pitt, "but we need a way in without provoking the inhabitants."
"All rooms of the manor open onto interior verandas except one. Daddy's study has a side door that leads onto a squash court."
"What's a squash court?" inquired Giordino.
"A court where they play squash," answered Pitt. Then to Maeve "In what direction is your old bedroom?"
"Across the garden and past the swimming pool to the east wing, second door on the right."
"That's it then. You two go after the boys."
"What will you do?"
"Me, I'm going to borrow Daddy's phone and stick him with a long-distance call."
The atmosphere on board the Glomar Explorer was relaxed and partylike. The NUMA team and the ship's personnel that were gathered in the spacious lounge next to the galley celebrated their success in repelling the acoustic plague. Admiral Sandecker and Dr. Ames were sitting opposite each other, sipping champagne poured from a bottle produced by Captain Quick from his private stock for special occasions.
After further consideration, it was decided to reclaim the antenna/reflector from the water and dismantle it again in case Dorsett Consolidated's disastrous mining operations could not be terminated and it became essential to stop another acoustic convergence in order to save lives. The reflector shield was raised, and the hull below the Moon Pool was sealed off and the sea pumped from its cavernous interior. Within an hour, the historic ship was on its return course to Molokai.
Sandecker heaved himself out of his chair after being informed by the ship's communications officer that he had an important call from his chief geologist, Charlie Bakewell. He walked to a quiet part of the lounge and pulled a compact satellite phone from his pocket. "Yes, Charlie."
I understand congratulations are in order." Bakewell's voice came clearly.
"It was a close thing. We barely positioned the ship and dropped the reflector shield before the convergence occurred. Where are you now?"
"I'm here at the Joseph Marmon Volcanic Observatory in Auckland, New Zealand. I have an update for you from their staff of geophysicists. Their most recent analysis of the sound ray energy's impact cars Gladiator Island isn't very encouraging."
"Can they compute the repercussions?"
"I'm sorry to say the predicted magnitude is worse than I originally thought," answered Bakewell. "The two volcanoes on the island, I've since learned, are called Mount Scaggs and Mount Winkleman, after two survivors from the raft of the Gladiator. They're part of a chain of potentially explosive volcanoes that encircles the Pacific Ocean known as thèRing of Fire' and lie not far from a tectonic plate similar to the ones separating the San Andreas Fault in California. Most volcanic activity and earthquakes are caused by a movement of these plates. Studies indicate the volcanoes' last major activity occurred sometime between 1225 and 1275 A.D., when they erupted simultaneously."
"As I recall, you said the chances of them erupting from the convergence impact was one in five."
"After consulting with the experts here at the Marmon Observatory, I've lowered the odds to less than even."
"I can't believe the sound ray traveling toward the island has the strength to cause a volcanic eruption,"
said Sandecker incredulously.
"Not by itself," replied Bakewell. "But what we neglected to consider was Dorsett's mining operations making the volcanoes most susceptible to outside tremors. Even a minor seismic disturbance could trigger volcanic activity from Mounts Scaggs and Winkleman, because years of excavating diamonds has removed much of the ancestral deposits containing the gaseous pressure from below. In short, if Dorsett doesn't stop digging, it's only a matter of time before his miners uncork the central conduit, releasing an explosion of molten lava."
"An explosion of molten lava," Sandecker repeated mechanically. "Dear God, what have we done?
Hundreds of lives will be lost."
"Don't be in a rush to confess your sins," said Bakewell seriously. "There are no women and children known to be on Gladiator Island. You've already saved the lives of countless families on Oahu from certain extinction. Your action is bound to wake up the White House and State Department to the threat.