Page 112 (2/2)

Zavala chuckled softly

“Sorry,” he said “Thishaystack”

“Don’t be discouraged, Joe I like a challenge”

“Any chance the island ht have been noted on a British Admiralty chart?”

“It depends,” she said “The Admiralty charts were ahead of their tih the earlier ones were privately produced and had lots of errors The Admiralty certified some maps that shouldn’t have been”

“You’re saying that an island could be on some charts but not others?”

“Absolutely! The charts and atlases of the nineteenth century showed more than two hundred islands that never existed”

“How cou

ld that happen?”

“Many ways A land-starved ht mistake a cloud foritude was also a proble place Con et-rich-quick schehborhood looks at his chart and sees empty sea where an island should beNow, tell me what you know about your phantom island”

“I know that it was real,” Zavala said “An A ship stopped there in 1848 But the island is not on any h”

“I’ll start by looking for an 1848 chart or one close to it,” she said “Next, you’ll want to compare it to Pacific Chart 2683”

“What is so special about it?”

“It’s the gold standard of Adraphic Office knew that the Ad out of whack Accurate charts were essential for the Navy and coht in a chief hydrographer nae the phantoot rid of more than a hundred islands in the Pacific alone The corrected chart was designated with the number 2683”

“Then it’s possible that the island never existed?” he asked