Dennis Wheatley - They Found Atlantis

Slinger, accompanied by his gunmen, had stepped through the doorway unobserved by the little group gathered round the excited Doctor. Suddenly he spoke:

'I'm sorry. It's real hard lines now the Doctor's proved his fairy story to be true after all, but this time tomorrow you'll all be the best part of two hundred miles from here.'

They swung round on him and the Doctor stuttered: 'You cannot—you cannot. Think please what this discovery means for science—and for the whole world. There is gold also—much gold. Take that if you like—but my exploration must go on.

Slinger shook his head. 'I'm sorry but our plans are made and I couldn't upset them if you promised me a million. I radioed the announcement about the bathysphere having burst at four o'clock this afternoon and ten minutes later every wireless station in the world will have known of the Duchess's death and that of her whole party except Sally.'

'Please—please,' moaned the Doctor. 'Think what this means for science.'

'Come on, Slinger,' urged the McKay. 'Now the Doctor has proved his point you might give him a chance. You know we are completely helpless against your men. If we had thought there was any chance of upsetting your apple cart we should have started something long before this.

What's it matter giving him a few days anyhow before running us down to the Falklands.'

'It's no good,' said Slinger firmly. 'I've got to catch the weekly boat from Horta tomorrow morning, so as to see things through in New York. We are sailing right now.'

Count Axel's head appeared above the banisters of the companion-way. His headache had apparently disappeared. He smiled a lazy indolent smile.

'I'm afraid you're mistaken Slinger. This ship is not sailing anywhere for some considerable time.'

He gave a quick glance at his watch, grabbed the banisters with both hands, and shouted:

'Hang on everybody and be ready for the shock.'

Nobody but the McKay heeded his warning and for thirty seconds there was a tense silence as they tried to grasp his meaning.

Then the deck seemed to rise up and hit them, the whole ship shuddered violently and, as they were flung off their feet a deafening explosion shattered the silence like the crack of a twelve inch gun.

The McKay Makes a Grand Slam

The first to recover was one of Slinger's gunmen who fell sprawling in the doorway. Quick as a cat he rolled over on his stomach, fired a warning shot through the skylight before the reverberation of the explosion had died away, and bellowed:

'Put 'em up all of you—Put 'em up or I'll drill you!'

The McKay was still standing and, as he raised his arms under the threat of the pistol, he whipped round on Count Axel:

'God man! Have you holed the ship?'

A confused shouting and the sound of people clattering down ladders came from the outside on the deck.

Slinger staggered to his feet and glared in the same direction. 'What the hell have you been up to—what have you done eh?'

'I don't quite know yet,' the Count admitted, lifting his hands to the level of his head. 'We were a little anxious that you should not leave us so I took steps to ensure that the ship would be quite unable to proceed to Horta.'

'Damn you, what have you done?' snarled Slinger.

The Count smiled with considerable enjoyment. 'I've had no chance to investigate the extent of the damage but I stole half a dozen of the good Doctor's depth charges when I was helping him in the bathysphere yesterday and, this afternoon, I inserted them in the machinery. Unfortunately, I know very little about engines but I trust you will find that the propeller shaft is beyond repair.'

'Hell!' exclaimed Slinger to the doorway. 'Here Bozo, keep these people covered and let them have it if they play any monkey tricks. Then he dashed below to find out what had happened.

The ship had steadied, the whole party were on their feet again but Bozo and his companion held them motionless under the muzzles of their guns.

Suddenly the McKay began to hum with quiet enjoyment:

'What shall we do with a drunken sailor? What shall we do with a drunken sailor? Put him in a boat until he's sober, Early—in the—morn—ing.'

Sally giggled and joined in the chorus:

'Hi! Hi! up she rises Hi! Hi! up she rises Hi! Hi! up—she—rises Early—in the—morn—ing.'

Nicky stared angrily at the gunmen. 'I wish to God you birds would go away so we could have a drink.'

'Keep 'em up,' said Bozo, without the shadow of a smile.

The clamour outside had died down and a silence fell which became monotonous. Camilla broke it by turning the battery of her limpid blue eyes on Axel and saying softly:

'I always knew you had brains, Count. I think you're simply marvellous.

He gave his elegant little bow. 'Madame, it is a half measure only, but I hope that it will serve our purpose for the moment.

'Why the deuce did you go and say that it was you who'd done it?' asked the McKay.

'My dear Captain, they were bound to know that one of us was responsible and, if I had not admitted it, they would probably have suspected you.'

'Oh—ay! Very decent of you,' the McKay nodded his appreciation. 'I only hope they won't bear too much of a grudge. It was a thunderin' good idea.'

'Well—anyway I hit him—didn't I? Right on the nose,' Nicky muttered in an endeavour to recapture some of his fast vanishing glory.

'My arms,' sighed Camilla. 'They'll drop off if I'm not allowed to lower them soon.'

'Better keep 'em up, sister,' the muscular looking thug who answered to the name of Bozo advised her seriously, 'or its you who'll be dropping.'

To their relief Slinger came panting back up the companion-way a moment later.

'It would serve you damn well right if I had you put in irons,' he snapped at Axel. 'Anyhow I'm not trusting any of you an inch after this. My two men will keep you company from now on and none of you are to move out of the lounge until you go down to dinner. You can put your hands down now.'

'Aren't we to be allowed to change?' asked Camilla. 'We're late tonight as it is.'

'No you'll dine as you are and be locked in your cabins immediately afterwards.' With a worried frown Slinger stamped angrily away to find Captain Ardow.

'Well—that's that,' said the McKay, moving over to a wheeled tray which one of the stewards had brought in just before the explosion. Two of the bottles on it had fallen over but all were corked and only one glass had been smashed. 'Anyone like a drink?'

'Thank you—I would,' Sally replied as she flopped down on a settee.

'Nicky darling, will you do things for us,' Camilla said sweetly as she took the opposite corner to Sally.

Under cover of the rattle made by the ice in Nicky's cocktail shaker the McKay remarked to Count Axel: 'It was a darn fine idea, but why by all that's holy didn't you tell us what you meant to do—we might have jumped the gunmen if we'd had a little warning.'

The Count shook his head. 'That would have been dangerous and useless. For one thing I did not know that these two would be here and even if the four of us had succeeded in gaining possession of their weapons there are so many more of them outside. They have a machine gun in the wireless house and another on the bridge. What could be easier than for them to push the machine guns through the skylight and massacre us all.'

'True,' the McKay agreed taking the glass of froth-topped mixture that Nicky offered him, 'but we might have held Slinger and these two birds as hostages.'

'I doubt if that would have had much effect. No one of them is more than a cog in Oxford Kate's machine. I have prevented the ship from leaving this area and Slinger from reaching Horta by tomorrow morning so I am content—for the moment.'

'Yes, it was a good show and you're mighty lucky to have escaped being put in irons in my opinion.'