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"It would be all right as long as the engine held out," the girl said slowly. "I'd certainly be willing to take a minor chance like that, for something this important we might be able to borrow the Paukes' Vaevae, if they're not using it now. We'd have to go out by the cha
"How about it, Doc? What's PFI policy in this situation?"
"Pretty tolerant," replied Seever. "If it weren't for the Hunter, you'd be in bed for a week, and certainly off work."
"If it weren't for the Hunter I'd be well on my way to being stiff by now. But never mind, and pardon the interruption; I know what you mean. Go on."
"Of course I can't report all your injuries, partly because they'd be unbelievable and the Hunter has made them improvable. The arm should be an excuse for a few days, though; I think you can count on some search time."
"If the weather doesn't get any worse," amended Je
It didn't, though it got no better for several days. The Paukes were willing to lend their boat with the understanding that Maeta would be in charge of it, and for several more days the search went on.
By Wednesday the wind had dropped, and it was possible to use Maeta's outrigger again; Je
They were farther out now, and the water was deep enough to restrict Maeta's bottom activities even when she wore a weighted belt, so the operation had been slowing down. Morale, even for the quietly determined | Teroa girl, had been deteriorating. Je
They had another paddle, as Mrs. Seever had been helping for most of the week, but the work was getting more exhausting for the diver all the time. The detector could not be left unchecked for more than a very few minutes at a time; the bottom was so irregular that it was likely either to get tangled in coral or be so far from the mud as to be ineffective.
Consequently, when the strong signal came and had been carefully verified, they decided to stop and buoy the area and then, though it was still early in the afternoon, bring the canoe back to North Beach and get word to Bob and the Hunter. Je
Part way down the road, she discovered that the brake of her bicycle was not working. It was a minor inconvenience, since the road was fairly level, but it caused all of them to think.
The group broke up at the Seever home-hospital. Mrs. Seever stayed there, Je
"There's a place about thirty-five feet long and ten wide where the detector buzzes when it's within a foot of the bottom," she started. "That's at the edges. It sounds off two or three feet up when it's near the center of the area."
"That sounds good," the Hunter answered through Bob. "The ship I was chasing was about twenty-five of your feet long and four in diameter-much larger than my own."
"It could also be one of those midget Japanese subs from the big war," Bob pointed out. "I never heard of their operating in this area, though. Old Toke has always said that his own secrecy measures back in the thirties, arranging for wrong 'corrections' to maritime charts and that sort of thing, kept them from sending a task force here to get the oil source. I'd doubt it myself. I know the published charts don't show Ell but I'd be very surprised if the navy of any major nation didn't know about the place. I just don't think we were a big enough target early in World War II handy as we were for our own folks. Anyway, even if a sub is a possibility, this has to be checked out. Thanks a lot, Mae."
"There won't be time today," Maeta pointed out,nodding toward the low sun. "It'll be dark almost as soon as we could get out there."
"That's all right. I'm off tomorrow anyway," Bob said happily. "We'll let the Hunter down to feel it over and make sure, and then-well, he can tell us what sort of sign or note to make and leave down there for his people when they come back. Maybe he'll even be able to tell us when they're likely to come."
"You're very sure of that, aren't you, Bob?" the girl said softly.
"Of course. We're sure they've been here, from what happened to that generator shield you found."
"Couldn't the other one-the one the Hunter was chasing years ago-have done that?"
"You mean if the doc's right and he wasn't killed after all? I suppose so, but why should he?"
"Why should anyone else? The doctor asked that, and I don't think you gave him much of an answer. I agree with him that it's a very weak spot in your whole picture."
"Well, I agree with the Hunter. He knows his own people best, and who am I to argue with him? I feel like celebrating."
"You mean you will feel like celebrating if what we've found actually turns out to be one of the ships."
"Yes, of course. Right now, though, I just feel certain that it will be-it must be-and it's a darned good feeling."
"I can believe it must be. I just hope I never hear you say, in a belittling sort of tone, that wishful thinking is a feminine trait I wish I could feel as sure as you seem to."
"The Hunter calls it a human trait. Why not be human, Mae?"
In spite of the slightly pejorative remark which had just been attributed to him, the Hunter was sharing his host's feeling at the moment. He, too, felt un-reasonably sure that the object the girls had found would turn out to be one of the ships. He knew that there was an excellent chance that it was something else shed by Earth's metal-wasting culture, but fully expected, to be feeling around inside a more or less damaged faster-than-light flyer in another thirteen or fourteen hours.
As they reached the shore end of the causeway, Bob looked off to his right along the beach. Je
"Maybe she's finished already," Maeta answered the unuttered question. "She's had a couple of hours, and it was just a matter of cementing a patch."
"Likely enough," Bob admitted. Maeta had not mentioned Je
"I thought you weren't coming at all!" she exclaimed. "I suppose you just got away from your work, Bob. Look, you're both to go to Je
Bob and Maeta started to ask the obvious questions together, but the woman held up her hand to stem them.