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Pitt leaned over Giordino and spoke into the satellite telephone that linked him with almost any point of the globe. "This is Pitt. You there, skipper?"
"Go ahead Dirk, I'm listening."
"Has Al filled you in on what we've found here?"
"A brief account. As soon as you can tell me there are no survivors, I will alert Argentinean authorities."
"Consider it done. Unless I missed one or two in closets or under beds, I have a body count of seventeen."
"Seventeen," Dempsey repeated. "I read you. Can you determine the cause of death?"
"Negative," Pitt answered. "The apparent symptoms aren't like anything you'd find in your home medical guide. We'll have to wait for a pathologist's report."
"You might be interested to know that Miss Fletcher and Van Fleet have pretty well eliminated viral infections and chemical contamination as the cause of death for the penguins and seals."
Everyone at the station vomited before they died. Ask them to explain that."
"I'll make a note of it. Any sign of the second shore party?"
"Nothing. They must still be on board the ship."
"Very strange."
"So what are we left with?"
Dempsey sighed defeatedly. "A big fat puzzle with too many missing pieces."
"On the flight here we passed over a seal colony that was wiped out. Have you determined how far the scourge extends?"
"The British station two hundred kilometers to the south of you on the Jason Peninsula and a U.S.
cruise ship that's anchored off Hope Bay have reported no unusual events nor any evidence of mass creature destruction. By taking into account the area in the Weddell Sea where we discovered the school of dead dolphins, I put the death circle within a diameter of ninety kilometers, using the whaling station on Seymour Island as a center point."
"We're going to move on now," Pitt notified him, "and make a sweep for Polar Queen."
"Mind that you keep enough fuel in reserve to return to the ship."
"In the bank," Pitt assured Dempsey. "An invigorating swim in ice water I can do without."
Giordino closed down the research station's communications console, and then they stepped lively toward the entrance; jogged quickly was closer to the truth. Neither Pitt nor Giordino wished to spend another moment in that icy tomb. As they rose from the station, Giordino studied his chart of the Antarctic Peninsula.
"Where to?"
"The right thing to do is search in the area selected by Ice Hunter's computer," Pitt replied.
Giordino gave Pitt a dubious look. "You realize, of course, that our ship's data analyzer did not agree with your idea of the cruise ship running aground on the peninsula or a nearby island."
"Yes, I'm well aware that Dempsey's brain box put Polar Queen steaming around in circles far out in the Weddell Sea."
"Do I detect a tone of conflict?"
"Let's just say a computer can only analyze the data that is programmed into it before offering an electronic opinion."
"So where to?" Giordino repeated.
"We'll check out the islands north of here as far as Moody Point at the tip of the peninsula. Then we'll curve east and work out to sea until we converge with the Ice Hunter."
Giordino well knew he was being baited and hooked by the biggest flimflam man in the polar seas, but he took the bait anyway. "You're not strictly following the computer's advice."
