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"One knot! We'reat one knot!"

It was not illusory With crawling awareness, it became apparent that the distance between Ocean Wanderer and the frenzied coastline was slowly but steadily widening

There would be no death or disaster on these rocks this day

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Sea Sprite strained against thewildly beyond liners No one on the stern deck was looking at the ered hotel All eyes were locked on the capstan and the big roaned under extreme stress If they snapped, the shoas over There would be no saving the Ocean Wanderer and all those within her glass walls

But inconceivably in everyone'scables remained in one piece just as Pitt had calculated

Very slowly, almost imperceptibly, Sprite worked up to a speed of two knots, her bow bucking the great clouds of spray that swept the length of the ship Only after the hotel had been towed nearly two miles off the cliffs did Barnuines The danger di rocks and the wild sea had been solidly cheated out of a major catastrophe

The crew of Sea Sprite waved back at the joy

ous passengers of Ocean Wanderer, ildly waving and cheering behind the glass walls With all fears of death lifted, pandemonium broke loose Morton ordered the wine cellars opened and chahout the hotel To the passengers and his euests constantly surrounded and thanked hi them from a horrible death, fully deserved or not

Stealing away from the joyous bedlam, he returned to his office and sat at his desk in happy exhaustion As waves of relief swept over hih he hated to leave his position as er of the Ocean Wanderer, he knew that any relationship with Specter was a thing of the past He could never work again for the mysterious character who abandoned so many people ere fundamentally his responsibility

Morton thought long and hard There wasn't an international luxury hotel chain in the world that wouldn't hire hi known and respected for his achievement was a problem

It didn't take a Nostradamus to predict that once Specter realized the hotel had survived, he would order publicity and public relations people to grind out press releases, set up news conferences and arrange television interviews for the story of how he, Specter, had masterminded the rescue and was the savior of the famed hotel and everyone in it

Morton decided to grasp his tie and leap first With the hotel phones back in service without interference froe rooton, DC, and gave hi credit to NUMA and the ineered the tow, nor did he fail to mention the brave acts of Emlyn Brown and his maintenance crew Morton's description of his direction of events during the excitement, however, was not exactly modest

Forty-five minutes later, he set the receiver back in its cradle, placed his hands behind his head and smiled like the famed Cheshire Cat Specter would counterpunch, to be sure But once the lead story swept the ers were interviewed, any folloould be diluted

He downed another glass of chane and promptly fell asleep