A. Belyaev - Classics fantasy – 4

– This is fish – Makovsky quietly told.

Azores stared hard at a magic box.

– Well? – the entered Ginzburg asked.

– Look itself – the captain answered.

That only looked and cheerfully told:

– Is.

– But why it is so vague? – Azores asked.

– Because fish it is far from the TV. We, obviously, about contour borders.

Azores already heard the term “jamb okonturivaniye”. When Ginzburg turned away to give the order by phone to the assistants, Azores looked at the screen again and screamed, joyfully surprised. He saw expressive outlines of the fish who flashed sideways and disappeared in the left corner of the screen. After the first the second appeared, then the third image of fish, more and more…

– To lower a trawl!

From the deck the excited voices, noise, a winch roar were distributed. Sailors developed the huge trawl hanging on a mast and lowered it in water. It lasted several minutes. Trawling fishing by means of the TV began.

In forty five minutes the trawl was lifted. He was full of fish and nearly broke from weight. Azores and Ginzburg ran away down, on the deck. Seamen shouted “hurrah” to the inventor.

– To swing, swing! – they shouted. Then seized Motya and threw.

– Devils! Already swings. Still overboard drop! – the happy inventor shouted.

The captain stopped this game, but did not make the prevention for misconduct. He understood mood of crew and itself was glad not less sailors.

Fishing went perfectly. The underwater eye faultlessly performed the work. Sometimes the screen suddenly grew stiff, a game of spots stopped – means, the trawler left a jamb. New searches were started, then the screen over again came to life. The skilled captain quickly defined “contour” of a jamb and now could conduct fishing until holds are filled to the full.

Trawlers left on trade for long time and wandered by the sea for months. Now the “able to see” trawler could perform a task for several days. What economy!

People, having forgotten about fatigue, about a sharp north, caught fish, filling holds. Fish was undressed and salted here, on the trawler – it was the real floating plant.

On the way back, as hurried, Ginzburg asked the captain to reduce the course to lower once again the TV in shallow water and to look at a bottom. The captain agreed, and the TV was lowered. Ginzburg watching the screen screamed and turned pale.

– What is? – the captain with alarm asked.

– We, apparently, found one of our dead of trawlers – Motya said.

– Backing!

The captain looked at the screen. Yes, there the stern of the trawler lying upside down accurately was seen.

Iron acquired small seaweed as if a moss. Everywhere five-pointed starfishes, crabs were seen, the fishes attracted with searchlight fire flashed… The inscription “Peak…” flashed.

– It is “Haddock” – the captain told. – The diesel trawler, it died together with “Perch” during a storm under December thirtieth, 1931. And so where “Haddock” died! And the last signals were accepted almost from Medvedki’s width.

– Could carry “haddock” on the South already overturned – Ginzburg stated a guess.

– A sad find – the captain sighed. He nearly died during that awful storm. – But for you, Ginzburg, of course, and suitable… Well, well, do not wave a hand. We understand each other. We found the trawler, and it lies superficially. Epronovtsa will lift him. At the bottom of the Barents Sea many trawlers – and ours, both German, and Norwegian, and English are buried. By means of your eye we will find and we will lift them.

News of the found “Haddock” scattered on the trawler. Seamen remembered the died companions, storm, storms. But unless all life not fight?

Cleared up. However, by the sea huge waves still went, but wind calmed down, clouds disappeared, in the sky the moon shone. Silvery reflections of moonlight danced on waves.

Azores approached a board and, rocking in a step to the steamship, stared in one point.

– What you look narrowly at? – Ginzburg asked.

– You see, shines as an asterisk – Azores answered, specifying afar.

– I see: the moon is reflected in waves.

– No, not the moon – Azores answered. – That shines a bottle.

– Well and that?

– And the fact that if it did not drown, so it was corked. In such bottles there are letters crashed, here that. It is necessary to catch this bottle.

Azores hurried to the captain. Makovsky listened to him without special pleasure. To catch a bottle in which, perhaps, there is nothing and – to waste time. On the other hand, sea traditions oblige: the bottle has to be caught. And it gave the command. The trawler reduced the course and stopped. Rolling amplified. Azores was strongly pleased with a new adventure.

Sailors estimated how to catch a bottle. It is inexpedient to lower a trawl: cells of its network were wide and the bottle would slip through them. The small network with small cells was found, it and caught a bottle.

Azores was not mistaken: the bottle hermetically was corked rubber up and in it paper was seen. The bottle was delivered in the captain’s cabin. Makovsky carefully took out a stopper and got the leaf curtailed into a tubule from a bottle. In a note widely it was written in English:

“On a case of death of the steamship “Leviathan”. I ask to deliver this note to Argentina, Buenos Aires, Litl Street, 344. To Zhuan Hurges.

Blasco Jurgues”.

Further there was a ciphered text – continuous rows of the letters printed on the machine. Right at the end, after the code – an addition:

“In the letter extremely important data. I ask to deliver with the courier. Costs of journey will be paid on the place.

If it is impossible to send with the courier, I ask to report on a bildapparata”.

Makovsky turned a leaf in hands and burst out laughing.

– Some odd fellow – he told. – Thinks that there will be people who will give up the business and will go at own expense to South America to find for the addressee and to transfer it the letter in hope for payment of expenses.

– And the addressee, perhaps, already died or left in the unknown direction – the navigator added.

– It is possible to photograph the letter and to send a picture – Ginzburg advised.

Azores before listening silently unexpectedly told:

– For me it is absolutely clear that Blasco Jurgues who died together with well-known “Leviathan” wished that his letter was transferred without publicity. The letter is ciphered not for nothing and if to transmit this code through many countries by telegraph or bildy, then, naturally, secret polices and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of a number of the countries will become interested in it. Jury encoders will lose a dream and appetite, will not decipher this letter yet. Jurgues, obviously, was confident in ingenuity and nobility of into what hands its bottle will get. He asked to resort to a bildapparat only as a last resort. The last will of tragicly died person has to be executed.

– And suddenly this document contains weapon against us, the USSR? What if Hurges is an agent of the imperialistic power planning tricks against us? – the captain asked.

All stopped.

– Fears are sober. Everything is possible – Azores answered after reflection. – However it is improbable that official diplomatic couriers or spies threw into the ocean of a bottle with the ciphered documents. How the code was cunning made, there will always be a meticulous rasshifrovshchik. Deciphered the Egyptian hieroglyphs. The governments always have an opportunity to direct classified documents with diplomatic mail. If by steamship the state document died, its copies would remain in the ministry. Instead of the died Hurges other person would be sent if Hurges was a diplomatic courier; on that would business also came to an end. Here something other. I believe, Hurges – whoever he was – worked, as they say, at own risk. Perhaps, it is one of the adventurers who opened a placer or something like that. In the death hour he decided to reveal a secret to the relative – Zhuan Hurges, probably, his brother, the father or the son. – Azores took a view of seamen. All were silent, and it continued: – My plan is as follows: the newspaper editorial office in which I work suggested me to go to South America. There now are interesting events. I will go there and I will take the letter with myself. Just in case we will make the copy. And I, having arrived to Buenos Aires, first of all carefully I find out who such Hurges. If it not from our camp, I… hold the letter until we decipher it and we will be convinced that it is safe for us.