Dennis Wheatley - They Found Atlantis

The Herr Doktor sipped his champagne and glanced across the table at his hostess. What did Slinger and his friends mean to do, he wondered, when they got this slim golden-haired young woman to his base in the Azores. The men of the party would endeavour to protect her, that was certain, and there were four of them—no three, the crooner could be counted out. Doktor Tisch did not take a good view of Nicky despite his Greek god profile: but the tall dark Roumanian appeared to have the strength and temper of a bull, the Swedish Count might prove a dangerous antagonist despite his frail scholarly appearance and the square-jawed British sailor looked the sort of person who would jump into a fight for the sheer love of the thing.

Slinger had promised faithfully that there should be no bloodshed but the little Doctor found it difficult to place much trust in his word.

Herr Doktor Tisch took another, longer pull from his big goblet and coughed a little. Then he endeavoured to solace himself with the thought that there were 1,600,000,000 men and women in the world's population so if the worst happened and there was a fracas, of what real importance was it that half a dozen of them might get hurt—providing that his epoch-making expedition was enabled to go on.

The McKay Meets Heavy Weather in a Bullo-carro

Shortly after, the party on the now moonlit terrace broke up once more. The two girls wished to dance again before the band stopped playing and the little Casino would be closing soon. Night life in Madeira is not prolonged into the small hours.

Nicky grabbed Camilla before Prince Vladimir Renescu could ask her, and Sally insisted on the McKay taking her for another turn. Doktor Herman Tisch excused himself on the plea of fatigue and Slinger decided to return with him to the Hotel so the Roumanian and Count Axel Fersan were left to keep each other company.

'It has been a day of excitements,' declared the Prince pouring himself another goblet of champagne.

'It has indeed,' Count Axel agreed politely. He had little in common with either of his rivals to Camilla's hand and millions, but while he regarded Nicky as a nasty little bounder, the transparently simple good nature of the broad-shouldered young giant opposite rather appealed to him. He smiled his lazy, faintly supercilious smile into the Roumanian's flashing black-velvet eyes and went on amiably:

'I consider this expedition to rediscover the lost continent of Atlantis a thing of quite exceptional interest.'

'By crikey! You cannot believe in this sunken continent except as a thing of the imaginations surely.'

'I certainly do.'

'MonDieu! Count, no! It is a story for cocks and bulls

only.'

'You think so? Yet you were as eager as the rest of us to32

persuade Camilla into financing this expedition after lunch today.'

The Prince threw back his dark curly head and gave a great guffaw of laughter. 'And for why not?' he asked spreading out his enormous hands. 'My bankers pester me ever with stupid cryings that I have not enough money. That would matter nothing if they would make remit—but they do not, pigs and liars that they are. This invitation from our so adorable Duchess come my anxieties for remits to relieve. Am I a half-bake that 1 say no. Besides—what opportunities! Before we reverse to harbour Camilla will be affianced to myself.'

'Aren't you rather counting your chickens before they are hatched?' observed Count Axel mildly.

'By crikey no!' exclaimed the Prince with cheerful boast-fulness, his dark eyes sparkling and his strong white even teeth flashing in a glorious smile. 'Myself I know. Our so adorable Duchess 1 know also. Behold then, it asks only time and place—you will see. When all is done I will make a great presentings to you, to show my esteems, for I like you Count. As for that Nicky I will give him a great kick in his so colourful pants.' Upon which declaration he happily tossed off a further ration of his so adorable Duchess' champagne.

'Thanks, that's nice of you,' Count Axel murmured, then he added with mild cynicism: 'Since Camilla will have to pay for it in any case 1 am delighted to promise you a similar gift should my own fortunes with her prove better than you are inclined to think.'

Vladimir shook his head. 'Ah Count, you are pleased to joke—but you will see. The wedding it shall be in my dear Roumania. There will be much dancing and many flowers. We will roast an ox for the people of my lands and get drunk ourselves on sweet sparkling wines—also the Tokay which my grandfather bring back when he was Ambassador to Vienna Court. This folly of Camilla's that she takes us all to seek a place that is not, in the Doctor's ship, is just what I have need to make settled my good plans.'

'You are quite convinced that Atlantis never existed then?

'No, no. Be wise—how could it?'

Count Axel had no intention of going over the longt.f.a.—b 33

exposition upon ancient languages to which he had treated the McKay. He doubted if this nice young giant had the brain to understand its importance, so he contented himself with saying:

'The assumption that it did is no more wild than that the Sahara was once a great inland sea, a fact upon which all the leading geologists are now agreed.'

'Ah, but that differs. If the coast barriers were broke down the desert Sahara might become sea again. Somewhere I have read that to be so—but it would alter no how the levels of the land. To make believe that great pieces of territory can all suddenly jump out of the ocean or fall down beneath it is a story for cocks and bulls.'

'Not at all,' declared Count Axel stung into argument despite himself. 'At one time the entire surface of Great Britain was submerged under water to a depth of at least 1,700 feet. Over its face was strewn thick beds of sand, gravel, and clay, which the geologists term "The Northern Drift". The land then rose again from the sea bearing those water deposits upon it. What is now Sicily once lay beneath the waters of the Mediterranean yet it subsequently rose to 3.000 feet above sea-level. Even in modern times there have occurred vast upheavals and subsidences. In 1783 Iceland sustained a colossal earthquake which killed one-fifth of its population and the disturbance in the whole area was thrown up near by. Its size was so considerable that the King of Denmark considered it worth claiming officially and he named it Nyoe. The Andes mountains in South America have sunk 220 feet in the last seventy years. The fort and village of Sindra on the eastern arm of the Indus were submerged by an earthquake in 1819 together with a tract of country 2,000 miles in extent. Such radical changes in the distribution of land and water have occurred throughout every century in the world's history and because the cataclysm that detroyed Atlantis chanced to be far greater than any disaster which has happened since that is no earthly reason for maintaining that the occurrence was a myth.'

The Prince shrugged his broad shoulders. 'Really Count, it would be an ugliness for me to make argument facing as I do your high knowledge. Atlantis did exist then if it please you. To myself it counts no how except that from the strong interest the fat German holds in fossils I am given opportunity to speak of my mind to our so adorable Duchess. Permit me to brim your glass.'

'You are incorrigible Prince.' Count Axel smiled as he pushed his goblet across the table. 'Almost you make me envious of your youth.'

'Ah my poor Count—how I understand that for you.'

'Almost, I said,' submitted Axel, 'but not quite. With age comes wisdom and experience and persons of my temperament are apt to value that—more than they should perhaps —but we are just made that way.'