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“Right.” The waterman heaved hard and they picked up speed, even against the tide.
They moved around the wide curve of the Blackwall Reach as far as the Point, Monk staring at the muddy shore with its low reeds, and here and there the occasional driftwood floating, old mooring posts sticking above the tide like rotted teeth. Mudflats shone in the low sun, patches of green weed, and now and then part of a wreck settling lower and lower into the mire.
Beyond the Blackwall Point were the remains of two or three ancient barges. It was difficult to tell what they had been originally; too little was visible now. It might have been one barge, broken by tides and currents, or it might have been two. Other odd planks and boards had drifted up and stuck at angles in the mud. It was a dismal sight, the falling and decaying of what had once been gracious and useful.
The waterman rested on his oars, his face creased in a frown.
“What is it?” Monk asked. “Isn’t this too shallow a lane for an oceangoing ship? It would have to stand far out, or risk going aground. It can’t have been here. What about farther down?”
The waterman did not answer, seemingly lost in contemplation of the shore.
Monk grew impatient. “What about farther down?” he repeated. “It’s too shallow here.”
“Yeah,” the waterman agreed. “Just tryin’ ter ’member summink. There’s summink I seen ’ere, ’round about that time. Can’t think on what.”
“A ship?” Monk said doubtfully. It was more of a denial than a question.
A yard-long board drifted past them towards the shore, submerged an inch or two below the surface of the water, one end jagged.
“What kind of a thing?” Monk said impatiently.
Another piece of flotsam bumped against the boat.
“More wrecks than that,” the waterman answered, gesturing towards the shore. “Looks different. But why would anyone go an’ move a wreck from ’ere? Ain’t worth nothin’ now. Wood’s too rotten even ter burn. Ain’t good for nothin’ ’cept gettin’ in the way.”
“Another …” Monk started, then as his eye caught the jetsam drifting away, an extraordinary thought occurred to him-daring, outrageous, almost unprovable, but which would explain everything.
“Is there anybody else who would know?” His voice was surprisingly hoarse when he spoke, urgency making it raw.
The waterman looked at him with amazement, catching the sharp edge of emotion without understanding it.
“I could ask. Ol’ Jeremiah Spatts might a’ seen summink. Not much as gets by ’im. ’E lives over t’other side, but ’e’s always up an’ down. Mind yer’ll ’ave ter be careful ’ow yer asks. ’E’s no time fer the law.”
“You ask him.” Monk fished in his pocket and pulled out two half crowns and held them in his open palm. “Get me a careful, honest answer.”
“I’ll do that,” the waterman agreed. “Don’ need yer money, jus’ wanner know what yer guessed. Tell me the story.”
Monk told him, and gave him the half crowns anyway.
That evening Monk called upon Philo Trace, and fortunately found him in his lodgings. He did not ask him why he was still in London, whether it was in the hope of purchasing guns for the Confederacy or only because he was loath to leave because of his feelings for Judith Alberton. The trial was over; he had no legal or moral duty to remain.
He recalled Trace’s having mentioned diving in the Confederate navy, and he needed to speak to him about it now, urgently.
“Diving!” Trace said in disbelief. “Where? What for?”
Explaining his reasons, and briefly what he had seen, Monk told him why.
“You can’t go alone,” Trace agreed the moment Monk was finished. “It’s dangerous. I’ll come with you. We’ll have to get suits. Have you ever dived before?”
“No, but I’ll have to learn as I do it,” Monk answered, realizing how brash it sounded even as he spoke. But he had no alternative. He could not send anyone else, and the look in Trace’s eyes betrayed that he knew that. He did not argue.
“Then I’d better explain some of the dangers and sensations you may feel, for your own safety,” he warned. “There must be divers somewhere along the river, for salvage at least, and to mend wharfs and so on.”
“There are,” Monk agreed. “The waterman told me. I’ve already made enquiries. We can hire equipment and men to assist us from Messrs. Heinke. They are submarine engineers in Great Portland Street.”
“Good.” Trace nodded. “Then I’m ready when you wish.”
“Tomorrow?”
