Page 10 (1/2)

"Too dangerous Youup and trapped"

"Not if I keep fro my safety line," Pitt said easily

On the surface, Giordino studied his watch "You've been down sixteen minutes How's your air?"

Pitt held his pressure gauge in front of his face h the maelstrom of silt "Good for another twenty minutes"

"I'll give you ten After that, at your present depth, you'll be looking at decompression stops"

"You're the boss," Pitt careeably

"What's your situation?"

"Feels like I' pulled into a narrow tunnel feet first I can touch the walls closing around me

Lucky I have a safety line Ie"

Giordino turned to Miller "Sounds as if he may have a lead on what happened to your divers"

Miller shook his head in anger "I warned the their dive in shallow depths"

Pitt felt as though he was being sucked through the narrow slot for an hour when it was only twenty seconds The silt cloud had faded slightly, an to see his surroundingscarried in a southeasterly direction

Then the walls suddenly opened out into one enorht thethe silt-diht It was an abandoned air tank Nearby was a second one He swaes The needles were pegged on e to see dead bodies floating in the darkness like phantom demons

The cool bottoth and he could feel his h Giordino's voice still ca next to him, the words seemed less distinct Pitt switched hisout instructions to check data gauges, safety line, and buoyancy compensator as if there were another Pitt inside his head

He mentally sharpened his senses and forced hie, he thought, he could easily pass the but a pair of discarded swiht upward and saw the reflective glitter of surface water that indicated the upper dome of the chamber contained an air pocket