David Golemon - Legend

Jack ordered Snoopy brought aboard.

"Well, I suppose you want me to take Teacher through there?" Jenks asked.

"It would probably take us over a day to hack our way through there, maybe get a couple of people hurt seriously with that falling water," Jack said as he leaned in closer to view the falls ahead.

"Wouldn't the vines and plants be more damaged if Professor Zachary had come this way less than three months ago?" Carl asked.

"Bubba, this is South America; the growth rate of plants down here can be measured in minutes, not days or months," Jenks said.

"Well, let's go then," Danielle urged.

"Unless you don't think the old girl has the wherewithal to punch her way through it, Chief," Carl said without looking at Jenks.

The master chief clamped his jaws down on his cigar. "You officers think you can play me like that? You think you can use that shit you learned at officers' school," he turned around and stared at Jack, "or West Point, in Psyops, to goad me into taking her through there?"

"Not at all," Jack replied quietly.

Jenks looked at his digital controls on the panel in front of him and said nothing. While the others thought he was thinking it over, he was actually figuring the stress tolerances of Teacher 's composite hull. He was silent for two full minutes.

"Major, Toad, get some help and lower the sail tower and jackstay; we're riding too damned high to get her through that opening. We're also going to put a lot of weight onto this girl's ass." The master chief saw the expressions of confusion from Jack and Danielle. "We have to take on one hell of a lot of ballast; we have to ride low, dangerously low, to get her through whatever that is up ahead," he explained. "And it's still no fucking guarantee we can do that. We may get through the opening and find a dead end fifty yards into it."

"Or, on a brighter note," Carl said as he squeezed out of the copilot's chair, "we just may fall off the edge of the world."

Two hours had passed since the order was given to lower the radar tower and jackstay. Collins, Mendenhall, and Everett were on the upper deck of section four, bolting down the retractable tower that was now laying along two whole sections, while the rest of the crew was below making ready for a rough ride in case they ran into something other than a tunnel leading to the mysterious east end of the Rio Negro.

Jack had been the first one to notice, but he kept working. It was Mendenhall who cleared his throat.

"I see it, Sergeant," said Jack. "Just stay busy like you don't see them."

"How long have they been there?" Carl asked as he lashed down his last tie to the tower.

"About twenty minutes that I know of; wouldn't have noticed it at all if I hadn't caught the sun gleaming off their glasses."

"With the tower down, so is our radar, so we won't be able to confirm who they are," Carl said, straightening.

"Probably that boat and barge we saw on the river coming in this morning. Can't you feel our friend Farbeaux close by?"

"I sure can," Mendenhall said.

"Come on, let's get this show on the road," Jack said as he headed for the hatch.

"Stand by," Jenks said into the intercom as he fired up both of the Cummings diesels. "Is our board green, Toad?"

Carl checked the status of all hatches and windows. The companionways in between sections all read green — closed and secured.

"Board is green, Chief."

"Major, pull down that jump seat in the aft bulkhead and strap yourself in; this could get bumpy and I don't need you in my lap at the wrong time," Jenks said as he lit his cigar and started Teacher forward toward the falls. "Everyone, strap in at whatever station you're at. You can follow our progress on the nose camera at the bow; it promises to be the must-watch TV show of the year." He laughed loudly as he throttled forward to two knots.

In the sciences compartment, Sarah looked at Virginia and cringed. "That guy makes me a little nervous," she said.

"A little?" Virginia asked.

"Here we go," the master chief said as he eased back on the twin throttles and let Teacher 's forward momentum carry her into the falling water. Suddenly the boat rocked violently from side to side, just as Snoopy had done two hours earlier. The sound of water striking the hull was deafening, and all the while Jenks had a smile from ear to ear as he edged Teacher into the darkness.

Carl reached out and flipped on the exterior running lights as water covered the acrylic windows in the bow. Jack flinched as the first of the water struck; he thought the nose glass would cave in. But the boat slid neatly through the falls. The roar slid down the entire length of Teacher as the crew felt every inch of her entry. Then the bushes and vines snagged her and she bounded to a stop. The chief bit down on his cigar and throttled her engines forward. Teacher lurched into the water plants and undergrowth, making a screeching sound as her hull came into contact.

"There goes the paint job," Jenks said loudly as he goosed the engines again.

"Low ceiling!" Carl called loudly above the din of water striking the hull.

"Give us another three thousand pounds of ballast," calmly ordered the master chief.

Carl turned on the ballast pumps. Although he couldn't hear them engage, he was satisfied as he saw on the digital readout that the distance between keel and the bottom was decreasing.

"She's down a full three feet, Chief," Carl reported.

Outside their windows the crew could see the greenish waters lapping six or seven inches above the sealed frames.

Jenks applied more power as Teacher strained to break free of the under-growth. Her engines were churning up water as she struggled for momentum. "Going to fifty percent power, hang on!"

Teacher seemed to be stuck in place. As they viewed the situation in their monitors, the crew each willed her either forward or for their pilot to back off.

"Going to seventy-five percent power," Jenks called out and pushed the throttles forward to the three-quarters mark, but still the bushes, roots, and vines clung to the hull like tentacles of an octopus, refusing their advance.

"Engines are overheating," Carl shouted.

"No news is good news. Can that shit, mister, going to redline!" Jenks shoved the dual throttles all the way to their stops.

Strapped into their seats, Mendenhall and Shaw were standing by in the engine compartment, sweat rolling down their faces. The heat was overpowering the air-conditioning, and the section was slowly becoming unbearable. The diesels were so loud that the two men couldn't converse. Suddenly something popped and a small fire broke out as a gasket failed and diesel fuel sprayed out onto the deck.

"Fire!" Mendenhall shouted but Shaw had his ears covered and couldn't hear him. The sergeant unsnapped his harness and ran for the fire extinguisher. He emptied the extinguisher, momentarily smothering the flames. Mendenhall threw away the empty and grabbed another, as the engines seemed to strain even louder as they went to full power.

Suddenly and very slowly the vines started to separate with loud popping and tearing sounds. Still the master chief kept full power to the engines. Then all at once they were through. Outside the view ports of the cabin, they saw the vines and bushes suddenly slide by as Teacher was sling-shot into the giant cave. Her lights picked out rock walls and sides as she sped into the void.

"Engine shutdown!" Jenks cried. "Toad, hit the forward jets, stop this goddamned thing before we slam into a wall!"

Carl engaged the two forward water-jet thrusters and applied full throttle to them both. Teacher started to slow. Then before they knew it, the large boat was at a standstill. All was silent except for the forward thrusters. Carl reached out and shut them down. The voyagers found themselves in a giant cave sitting in the middle of a slow-moving underground grotto, with the river leading out to the east.