Page 106 (1/2)

Weeks waited until he heard the bridge speaker coan trans

"To the ship-on an upriver course, bearing zero-one-seven degrees off Pointe-au-Pere This is the HMCS HuronPlease respond Over" His only reply was the muted static He called two more times, but there was still no reply

"Down to three knots and still closing Range tw

elve hundred yards

Weeks ordered a seanal for a ship at anchor Four blasts of the Huron's horn whooped over the black water: one short, two long, one short

The ansas a prolonged shriek that cut through the fog

Weeks stepped to the doorway, his eyes straining into the night The approaching intruder remained invisible

"He appears to be slipping between us and the Ocean Venturer," the first officer reported

"Why in hell don't they answer? Why don't the fools stay clear?"

"Maybe we'd better throw a scare into them"

A devious gleaht do the trick" He pressed the mike's transmit button and said, "To the ship off my port stem This is the HMCS destroyer HuronIf you do not identify yourself immediately, we shall open fire and blow you out of the water"

Perhaps five seconds passed Then a voice rasped out of the bridge speaker in a pronounced Texas drawl

"This is the USS guided missile cruiser PhoenixDrahen you're ready, pardner"

Local farmers may have welcomed the rain that poured onto the Hudson River valley, but it only further depressed the crew of the De Soto Their search for the Manhattan Li ree, which lay on the river bottom like the scattered bones of an extinct dinosaur

Hour followed hour, the crew keyed to the instrurids five and six tiht have overlooked Three ti up on underwater obstructions, creating delays of several hours before divers could work theain