Dennis Wheatley - They Found Atlantis

'Warship coming up on our port quarter, Captain,' he reported, and slammed the door again.

Instantly the three men in the chart-room were startled into activity. Captain Ardow grabbed his glasses, but Kate was the first to tumble outside. They stared in the direction where the smudge of smoke had first appeared on the horizon half an hour before. It was not the tender that they had expected but a long trim destroyer cleaving the water dead towards them at thirty knots.

Even without glasses they could see that she flew the White Ensign and she was approaching at such speed that in another moment they could see the faces of the men on her decks.

'Hell!' muttered Kate, 'I thought the U.S.N, might send a ship out to investigate, what with your radio for a tender and the lawyer's questioning the will all within a few hours of the Duchess's death being reported—but they couldn't have got here under three days and even if they'd sent a plane it wouldn't have started till this morning. But how have the British rumbled us? This can't be coincidence.'

'We can neither fight nor run,' said Ardow, 'and if we were under steam that thing could catch us in ten minutes. Look there's another smoke stack about three degrees to the left. That's the tender I expect.'

'Never mind the tender,' Kate snapped. 'Stop that bathysphere coming up. I don't want the party here if we've got to face an inquiry.'

'They'll not be anywhere near the surface yet,' demurred Slinger.

'You heard me. Do as I tell you. Then get the men together. Ardow have a boat got out on the starboard side.

The destroyer can't have been near enough to have seen my plane when it came down and its concealed now by the bulk of the ship. Then gun squad are to be sent off to her without a second's delay. We'll remain for the moment and attempt to bluff things out. Say the sphere caught in the rocks on the bottom when it burst and that's why we can't get it up. With the passengers and guards clear of the ship there'll be nothing suspicious to give us away even if they search it from stem to stern. Sally Hart will have to have been in the bathysphere too, when it burst, after all, so she'll lose her hundred thousand if we do succeed in forcing our version of the will through the courts. Her heirs will get it instead but I can't help that. It's her unlucky day. Immediately the two of you have got the men away you'll receive the visitors. I'm only a curious idler who was staying in the Azores and flew out this morning to see the scene of the tragedy.'

Slinger shouted hoarsely down the bridge telephone for the bathysphere to be halted on its upward journey, then shot down the inside ladder to get the men, while Ardow dashed aft to order out a boat.

With what seemed incredible swiftness now the destroyer leapt towards them. It made a graceful curve and came to rest about two hundred yards to port. The shrill pipe of a whistle sounded and, by the time Slinger came panting up the ladder again to report that the gunmen were safely in the boat, the blue jackets had begun to lower a whaler with swift efficiency from the destroyer's side.

'By Jove, they're smart, aren't they—and just to think that I might be commanding that if I'd gone to Dartmouth as the Governor wanted.' Kate spoke with a whole-hearted admiration which left Slinger in open-mouth amazement then, as Ardow appeared, he snapped, 'Down you go—both of you. There's nothing to be scared of. You've got a watertight story and it should be easy to pull the wool over the officer's eyes.'

He stepped out on to the port side of the low bridge where he would be able both to see and hear what passed at the interview, while Slinger and Ardow hurried down to the deck. A ladder was lowered and then they stood waiting with nervous impatience to learn the meaning of this visitation.

The destroyer's boat was gently fended off and a Naval Officer came up the ladder followed by a dozen men all armed with short rifles. He carefully dusted his coat, saluted the quarter deck, and took in Captain Ardow with a glance that was almost as steely as Kate.'

'You are the Captain of this ship?' he asked.

'Yes, Captain Ardow at your service,' the Russian replied.

'You have a Captain McKay sailing as one of your passengers?'

'We had until this terrible tragedy. You will have heard

I-—'

'You have I said,' the Naval Officer repeated icily, 'and you will send this message to him. "Lieutenant Commander Landon Macy presents his compliments to Captain McKay and would be grateful for a word with him at once." '

'But that is impossible,' Ardow protested. 'Did you not hear over the wireless last night-'

'Yes, I heard,' Landon Macy interrupted grimly, 'but the game's up my man. Captain McKay was too smart for you. He's been morsing with his cabin light each night in the hope that some ship would pick up his signals. Last night he was successful although he got no reply because he kept on sending out a warning that his signals should not be acknowledged in case you tumbled to what was happening. The whole story was relayed to Gib and we were wirelessed to pick you up, so you'll send my message at once.'

Slinger had gone deadly white. 'We—we can't,' he stammered. 'The accident did happen and the bathysphere's stuck on the bottom with them dead in it.'

The Naval Officer swung round on him. 'They're no more dead than I am, but I suppose you sent them down in it to get them out of the way. You'll get that bathysphere up, blast you, and be quick about it or I'll know the reason why.'

Kate had been listening on the low bridge above. His hands began to tremble with fury when he realised that the McKay had outwitted him and that his entire scheme had been blown to smithereens. Now he slipped down a ladder and ran swiftly aft.

Landon Macy caught sight of him out of the tail of his eye.

'Who's that?' he snapped.

'A—a visitor,' Slinger stuttered uncertainly.

'Visitor be damned!' exclaimed Landon Macy swinging round to a Petty Officer. 'Stevens keep a couple of men and arrest these two. The rest of you follow me.' Then drawing his revolver, he dashed after Kate.

Kate reached the open sided crane house thirty seconds in advance. White hot with rage he had determined that the skilful manoeuvres of Camilla and the McKay to outwit him should cost the whole party their lives.

The machinery was silent. The bathysphere dangling, halted on its upward journey in accordance with his last instructions. A group of seamen lounged idly by, waiting for fresh orders. Kate pushed his way past them and leapt into the crane house, thrusting the engineer aside.

For a second he stared at the machinery then he seized the big lever and pulled it right over. The cable began to run out at lightning speed. 'That's done it,' he thought. 'When the cable comes to an end it will snap off the drum or if they reach bottom first the damn thing will be smashed upon the rocks.'

'Shove up your hands!' yelled Landon Macey, bursting in through the port door.

Kate threw him one swift contemptuous glance, then in a flash he had bounded out of the starboard entrance on to the deck.

Landon Macy followed. His pistol cracked. Kate lurched wildly just as he reached the ship's rail then recovered and leapt over into the sea.

The bluejackets, their rifles at the ready, dived through the maze of winches, hose coils, and cable drums which crowded the stern of the vessel, following their officer as he ran towards the ship's side.

Kate's head had already appeared above water and he was swimming strongly towards his amphibian. They raised their rifles to take aim.

Suddenly a machine gun began to stutter from the plane. A hail of bullets spattered the machinery and the deck. One sailor fell, hit in the stomach—another in the legs. The rest dashed for cover.