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"He was probably crushed to death in his sleep"

"What did you le?"

"A forty-five-degree list to starboard would put cabin forty six in the riverbed," Heidi replied "The interior must be buried in silt

"Back to square one The silt would preserve the treaty's covering but make it almost impossible to find"

Heidi sat silently watching Pitt as he slowly tapped his fingers on the table, his reen eyes took on a faraway look

She reached over and touched his hand "What are you thinking about?"

"The Empress of Ireland," Pitt said quietly "It's the ship the world forgot A tomb of a thousand souls

God only knoe'll find e get inside her"

"I hope you don'tme on such short notice," said the President as he strode from the elevator

"Not at all," replied Sandecker without fanfare "Everything has been constructed Please step this way"

The President motioned his Secret Service men to wait by the elevator Then he followed the ade cedar double door Sandecker opened it and stood aside

"After you, Mr President"

The room was circular and the walls were covered by a dark purple fabric There were no s and the only piece of furniture was a large kidney-shaped table that stood in the center Its surface was illuhts The President approached and stared at a three-footlong object resting on a bed of fine-grained sand

"So this is how it looks," he said in a reverent tone

"The grave of the Eed "Our miniature craftsman worked from video pictures relayed by the Ocean Venturer"