Death Trance

'I thought he was going to keep it quiet for a while.'

'He was. But now you've quit, and taken your father-in-law's money with you, he needs all the donations he can get. Mind you, he was thinking of going to your father-in-law behind your back, to see if he's still interested.'

'Oh, was he?' I demanded. I felt angry and upset. If there's anything worse than having a bitter row with somebody you hate, it's having a bitter row with somebody you like. I liked Edward, very much; but I knew now that the David Dark had broken up our friendship forever. I was going to have to salvage that copper vessel, no matter how much damage I did to the ship's historic hull, and I was going to have to do it quickly. Tomorrow morning, if possible. I would have to talk to Duglass Evelith about it. Maybe he could help.

Gilly said, 'No ghosts around here?'

'Not one,' I told her.

'Would Mr Evelith object too much if I stayed the night?'

I looked at her narrowly. 'I don't think so. He seems to be an understanding old buffer.'

'And you?' she asked. 'Would you object?'

'I wouldn't object. Object? Why would I possibly object?'

She shrugged, and then she came up closer and kissed me. 'Some men don't like to be pounced on.'

I kissed her back, and felt her breast through her cotton dress. 'Some men are crazy,' I told her.

Thirty-One

After dinner, when Gilly had gone upstairs, and Enid and Quamus had retired to the kitchen to deal with the dishes, I sat by candlelight with Duglass Evelith in his library. He showed me book after book, document after document, until the table was heaped high with them. Each related to Mictantecutli, and the demon's terrible power. By the time midnight struck, I was quite convinced that we were up against a force so cold and so malevolent that by comparison it made Satan seem positively cozy.

I said to Duglass Evelith, 'Bringing Mictantecutli up to the surface seems quite urgent now, doesn't it?'

The old man sniffed, and shrugged. 'It's difficult to say. This present activity may be caused by nothing more than exceptionally warm currents, flowing over the wreck. Mictantecutli responds to warmth, remember, and is rendered immobile by intense cold. Perhaps when winter comes, the manifestations will die down again. But personally I would rather not take the risk; quite apart from the desire that I have to free my ancestor from Tezcatlipoca. The interest that you and your friends have shown in locating the David Dark will prove to be a Godsend, I believe.'

'Mr Evelith,' I said, uncomfortably, 'I'm afraid to say that my friends and I have had a falling out.'

'Oh? This won't affect the salvage, I hope?'

'Well, I'm sorry to say that it might. You see, my friends, being professional museum archivists, are anxious to preserve the wreck itself in the exact condition in which it has been found. I know that's understandable, and probably admirable, too; or at least it would be if we were dealing with nothing more than an ordinary wreck. The problem is that if the wreck is going to be properly preserved, the process of bringing up the copper vessel is going to take considerably longer than I first believed. It might not even be brought up this diving season.'

'You mean Mictantecutli may be left lying there for another year?'

'More than likely. I argued against it, but the rest of them wouldn't budge. None of them have been haunted by dead wives, or ghostly brothers. They believe in Mictantecutli, for sure, but they don't really understand what they're up against. Their attitude is too academic. They can't see the urgency.'

Old man Evelith looked down at the heaps of books and papers. 'Perhaps they ought to come and see these,' he said. 'Maybe then they'd understand.'

'Mr Evelith, I don't think there's time. Miss McCormick told me this evening that Mr Wardwell proposes to register ownership of the wreck tomorrow, which would make it an offence for anybody else to damage it or exploit it; and that the coastguard are likely to start patrolling it to prevent anybody from diving there. Remember that Mr Wardwell works for the Peabody, which is heavy Salem establishment; and that the Salem authorities will give him all the protection and encouragement he needs. After all, the David Dark is going to be a big tourist attraction, once she's raised.'

'Not if they don't make every effort to control Mictantecutli,' said Mr Evelith, darkly.

'There's another point. Mr Wardwell isn't going to deliver Mictantecutli to you straight away, like he promised. He's decided to take a good look at it first, to see what it is that you want so badly.'

'He'll be torn to pieces,' said Mr Evelith. 'Is he mad?! He'll be torn to pieces! Doesn't he know what Mictantecutli is, even now? You must stop him! Mr Trenton, you must do everything you can to stop him!'

I shook my head. 'I've already tried, Mr Evelith. He's made up his mind. Wreck first, Mictantecutli second, open the copper vessel third. Gilly — that's Miss McCormick — Gilly says he won't be swayed.'

Duglass Evelith was extremely agitated. He walked around the table, and then back again, and then he closed all the books he had opened, one after the other, in a succession of snaps. At last he looked up at me and said, 'You must dive on the David Dark very first thing tomorrow morning. You must bring up that copper vessel at all costs. Otherwise, my God, the world will see such havoc as has never been seen in nine life-times.'

'That's what I was going to propose,' I told him. 'A quick dive, first thing tomorrow, with a couple of crowbars and a winch.'

'You think crowbars will be adequate?' Duglass Evelith asked me. 'Look here.'

He shuffled through his heaps of papers until he found a sketch-map of the Mary Rose which he had been studying in an effort to understand the problems that faced us with the David Dark. 'The copper vessel is in the hold,' he said. 'That means, even if the ship is lying at an angle of 30 degrees, you will still have to penetrate your way through three decks and God knows how many tons of silt before you reach it. I can understand why Mr Wardwell is so reluctant to bring it up in a hurry. The only way to reach it in anything like a reasonable length of time is to tear the decks wide apart. The copper vessel in fact is so long that it is quite possible that part of each deck was lifted at the time to accommodate it, and then fastened down again once it was securely stowed.'

Then how the hell am I going to get it out of there in one morning's diving?' I wanted to know.

'Simple,' said old man Evelith. 'I have an old friend who has a demolition business at Lexington. Quamus will drive over there now and collect two cases of dynamite, and some underwater fuses.'

'Dynamite? I've never used dynamite in my life. You mean you want me to blow the David Dark to pieces?'

'Can you think of another way to reach Mictantecutli before the wreck is registered, and the coastguard prevent anybody from going near?'

'I — ' I began, and then raised my hands in resignation.

'You mustn't worry,' said Duglass Evelith. 'Quamus is an expert diver, and he will swim with you. He knows Mr Walcott of the Salem Salvage Company; years ago they used to dive together. Mr Walcott will let us use his boat and all his equipment. I will ask Quamus to call him as soon as he returns from Lexington.'

'Do you think Quamus is up to it?' I asked. 'He must be at least 60 years old.'

'Quamus has been here at Billington ever since I was a child,' said Duglass Evelith. 'My father used to talk about the rides that Quamus gave him on his back when he was a child.'