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"Incredible," he said, fascinated Then he grinned impishly "I wonder if any ancient state secrets will be found too?"

Shaw grinned back "Better a hoard of treasure"

Under the direction of the archaeologists the crew of the Polar Explorer cut their way down to the ice-locked ship, layer by layer, until the top deck was laid bare from bow stern to sternpost

Everyone in the fjord was drawn to the site, hypnotized by curiosity

Only Pitt and Lily wereThey remained on board the icebreaker to study the wax tablets

A coists, joined by the air-crash investigating teae of the excavation They stared down at the partially cleared vessel as though it were a hidden tomb of ancient royalty

Hoskins and Grahath of just under twenty meters, with a beam of seven meters TheThe re snaked over the weather deck and sides as if wadded up and dropped by a giant bird A few shredded pieces of canvas were all that remained of the once broad, square sail

The deck planking was tested for strength and found to be as solid as the day the ship was launched frootten Mediterranean shipyard The artifacts strewn about the deck were photographed, tagged and carefully lifted to the surface and carried to the Polar Explorer, where they were cleaned and catalogued Then each object was stored in the ship's ice locker to prevent decay during the voyage to a nation that was not in existence when the old e

Gronquist, Hoskins and Grahaalley Slowly, alo hatch and propped it half-open

Gronquist stretched out on his stoap until his vision ranged beneath the deck beams

"Are they there?" Graham asked excitedly "Are they as Pitt described them?"

Gronquist stared at the ghastly white faces, the frozen masklike expressions It seemed to him that if he scraped away the ice and shook them, their eyes would b and they'd come alive

He hesitated before answering The bright daylight above gave hilile of the bow that Pitt had missed

"They're just as Pitt described," he said soberly, "except for the dog and the girl"

Pitt stood in the shelter of a deck crane and watched as Giordino jockeyed the NUMA helicopter over the stern of the Polar Explorer