His hunt was interrupted, not unpleasantly, by Nina, who emerged from the cuddy with two clinking glasses in her hands. “Purser's rum and juice,” she said.
She was dressed in a NUMA Tshirt and highcut white shorts that emphasized her long legs and buttery complexion. Austin was not oblivious to her charms, but he was intent on his task. He murmured his thanks and kept his eyes glued on the sea.
“Aha, my pretty,” he said like the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz. He picked up a pair of binoculars and focused on a graceful sloop with a white fiberglass hull, about twenty-five feet long. Like Austin, it was loafing along, main-sail and jib set wingtowing with the wind behind.
Austin sipped his drink, set it in a glass holder, then moved the tiller so that the catboat came up parallel to the sloop. He waved at the two young men in the other boat's cockpit, jerked his thumb like a hitchhiker, then veered off into a broad reach with the wind on his side.
The sloop's crew took up the goodnatured challenge for a race.
Austin pointed the bow closer to the wind, and the sloop followed suit. They were parallel now, maybe separated by a hundred feet, maneuvering for a start.
Austin tightened sail, putting the rail into the water.
The men in the sloop did the same with their main and jib, and soon the two boats were cutting frothy wakes across the bay. The sloop was sleek and fast, and the crew were good sailors, but before long Austin began to pass the other boat. He lay back against the rail, the picture of relaxation, sipping his juice until he left the sloop far behind.
“What did you just do?” Nina said with a smile.
“I taught a couple more sailors that just because this thing looks like a bathtub doesn't mean it sails like one.”
“I think it's a great boat. Big deck. It's amazing the space you have below for a boat only eighteen feet long.”
“I've overnighted quite often, and as you can see by the cooking and sleeping facilities, I like comfort and room to stretch. The catboat was originally built as a workboat. One person can handle the single sail, and it's big enough to catch a light wind at the end of the day. She's weatherly, too, in conditions that would sink another boat. Best of all, she's fast and doesn't look it. So I can sneak up on unsuspecting chaps like that sloop crew, and show them my dust. Here we are.”
They had sailed off the point of a small island. Austin threw out the anchor and they dug into the picnic basket, enjoying lunch while the boat rocked slightly in the gentle swell. After lunch Nina sat close to Austin and leaned against his shoulder.
“Thank you for inviting me for a sail.”
“I thought we both could use a pleasant diversion after the last few weeks.”
She stared thoughtfully into the distance. “I can't stop thinking about those terrible men, though. What a way to meet the end.”
“Don't feel sorry for them. Guzman had murdered hundreds of people in his lifetime, not to mention sinking the Andrea Doria. In a way, drowning was a fitting death for him. If Halcon's scheme had succeeded, thousands more might have died. Guzman was lucky Halcon would have had time to contemplate the error of his ways. The air in the burial chamber kept the water out for a while, but it was only a matter of hours before it gave out. Best of all, the Brotherhood died with him. I only wish he'd lived long enough to see what happened to his precious treasure.”
“My hat is off to Admiral Sandecker,” Nina said, eager to change the subject. “Suggesting that the treasure be put into an international fund to help rid the world of poverty and disease was an act of genius.”
“The alternative would have been years of legal wrangling with no winners. Who were the owners? The descendants of the Phoenicians? The Romans? The Mexicans? The Guatemalans?”
“Or Christopher Columbus.” Nina shook her head. “Ironic, isn't it? Like Halcon, his obsession with gold killed him.”
“He wasn't in very good health even before he set sail, according to the autopsy. He might have died soon even if he never took his fifth voyage. At least this way he's become more famous than ever, whether he deserved it or not. Besides, I owe Chris one. If not for his obsessions we might not have met.”
Taking Austin's hand in hers, Nina said, “If he only knew what would come from that voyage. Retrieving his body and the treasure will be the greatest archaeological project in history, with nations and governments all over the world cooperating. I can't wait to start work. He's done more in death to bring people together than he ever did in life. Too bad his legacy as the discoverer of America will be flawed.”
“It doesn't seem to matter. I've seen the plans for the lavish tomb they want to build him in Madrid. They're bidding for his body in Washington and San Salvador, too.”
“No one's suggested putting up a monument for those nameless Phoenicians and Africans who were the first to set foot in the New World,” Nina said.
“Maybe they weren't the first.”
She arched an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon. Do you have evidence to support that possibility Professor Austin?”
“Maybe. I took another look at the boat carvings. Do you remember the picture of the man hanging from a diamond-shaped object?”
“Yes. I thought it might be a god of some kind.”
“I came at it from a different way. I wondered how the Maya managed to get a bird'seye view when they were laying out the pointers to the jaws of Kukulcan. I think they used huge kites.”
“Flying Maya! That's a novel theory. Where would they have learned to do that?”
They were interrupted by the buzzing of Austin's cell phone. He dug it out of his waterproof pack and put it to his ear. His frown changed to a smile when he heard the voice on the line. He talked for a few minutes before hanging up.
“That was Angelo Donatelli calling from the hospital,” he said. “He'll be out in a few days.”
“It's a miracle he wasn't killed.”
“More than a miracle. His cousin Antonio threw Halcon's aim off when he went for him.”
“I'm glad. Mr. Donatelli sounds like a nice man from what you've told me.”
“You'll get a chance to see for yourself. He's throwing a big family clambake at his Nantucket house. You're invited. Paul and Gamay will be there too.”
“I'd love to come along.”
“Good then, it's a date. Now would you like to hear the rest of my kite theory?”
Nina nodded.
“I think the Maya learned from the best kite fliers in the world. The Japanese.”
She laughed. “I don't think I'll go there.”
“Where would you like to go, then?”
Nina picked up the cell phone. “Someplace where you won't need this.” She dropped the phone over the aide.
Then, removing her sunglasses, she smiled and her lush lips parted invitingly. Austin accepted the invitation, which was as warm and sweet as promised.
“How would you like to go below and, what did you call it? Stretch?” Nina whispered.
Without a word, Austin took her hand, led her to the spacious cabin, and shut the louvered doors on the world.. At least for a little while.
Clive Cussler, Serpent
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