Read Online Absolute Pressure by Sigmund Brouwer - Free Book Online
Authors: Sigmund Brouwer
Tags: JUV000000
Ads: Link
slapping of water against the boat; laughter from parties on other boats. But on Uncle Gordâs boat, all I could hear was my own breathing.
Then I heard Uncle Gordâs footsteps as he walked to the controls. He started the engine blowers. Boat engines are beneath the deck. Air doesnât move much under there. If there are any gasoline fumes around the engines, the fumes could explode when the engines start.A blower fans the old air out to make it safe.
A few minutes later, Uncle Gord started both engines. They roared as he gave them gas. Once they were warm, he let them drop to a steady chug. He yelled out instructions to the three guys to untie the ropes that held the boat to the dock.
Then he backed the boat from the dock. He turned it and slowly pulled out of the marina. The boat rocked a little in the smooth water.
It took a few minutes to get to open water. Finally, he was able to give the engines some gas and take the boat to full speed. It bounced harder against the waves. The wet suits slapped me as the boat moved up and down.
Uncle Gord ran the engines hard for another twenty minutes. Then he shut them down, and the boat slowed to a stop.
I heard clanking. Uncle Gord had hit the switch to drop the anchor. There wasa small motor that unwound the anchor chain. The motor whined, and the chain clanked as the anchor fell through the water. I counted the seconds. When the clanking stopped, I guessed we were in about eighty feet of water.
Through the crack of the open door, I saw the beams of flashlights as they got their equipment ready. I wondered why Uncle Gord didnât turn on any lights to help them.
Then I noticed I didnât see any of the small running lights that were supposed to let other boaters know where we were. In a way, it was unsafe. But in another way, no problem. As long as they were alert to the lights of other craft on the water, they could stay invisible and avoid a collision.
At first, though, even this small risk seemed strange. Uncle Gord always does things the safe way.
Then I figured it out. They were here to look for three hundred milliondollars in piratesâ gold. They had spent every weekend searching in secret. They didnât
want
anyone to know where they were. So why should this weekend be any different?
But it was.
Two people were on board the boat who didnât belong there.
chapter twenty-six
I nearly fell asleep. I was standing in the locker, but the wet suits pressing against me kept me from falling. Nothing had happened for at least an hour.
It was weird. None of them had even gone into the water yet. The boat just sat in darkness. The four of them just sat without talking. If this was a search for treasure, why werenât they underwater?
Were the four of them waiting? If so, for what?
Judd Warner had been just as quiet as the rest of us. Wherever he was hidden, he was deciding to wait too.
I nodded off. My face hit a wet suit. It woke me.
I heard the faint sound of another engine.
A boat?
A few minutes later, I decided it was an airplane.
The sound grew louder.
I decided to risk poking my head out of the locker.
Suddenly, the boatâs lights flashed on.
Then off.
Then on.
Then off. This time, the lights stayed off.
The airplane passed over us low and loud. It kept going.
I didnât get it. What had just happened?
Whatever it was, it meant action. When I heard scrapes of movement on the deck, I pulled my head back into the locker. Good thing. The three lawyers from Miami weremoving around to get geared up. One of them passed so close to the locker I heard his breathing through the crack in the open door.
Then they were gone again. I heard splashing. One splash. Two splashes. Three. They had all just entered the water.
I pushed open the locker door just enough to see the dark shadow of Uncle Gord standing at the edge of the boat. Far away were the faint lights of the shoreline.
What was happening?
I opened the door a little
Then I heard Uncle Gordâs footsteps as he walked to the controls. He started the engine blowers. Boat engines are beneath the deck. Air doesnât move much under there. If there are any gasoline fumes around the engines, the fumes could explode when the engines start.A blower fans the old air out to make it safe.
A few minutes later, Uncle Gord started both engines. They roared as he gave them gas. Once they were warm, he let them drop to a steady chug. He yelled out instructions to the three guys to untie the ropes that held the boat to the dock.
Then he backed the boat from the dock. He turned it and slowly pulled out of the marina. The boat rocked a little in the smooth water.
It took a few minutes to get to open water. Finally, he was able to give the engines some gas and take the boat to full speed. It bounced harder against the waves. The wet suits slapped me as the boat moved up and down.
Uncle Gord ran the engines hard for another twenty minutes. Then he shut them down, and the boat slowed to a stop.
I heard clanking. Uncle Gord had hit the switch to drop the anchor. There wasa small motor that unwound the anchor chain. The motor whined, and the chain clanked as the anchor fell through the water. I counted the seconds. When the clanking stopped, I guessed we were in about eighty feet of water.
Through the crack of the open door, I saw the beams of flashlights as they got their equipment ready. I wondered why Uncle Gord didnât turn on any lights to help them.
Then I noticed I didnât see any of the small running lights that were supposed to let other boaters know where we were. In a way, it was unsafe. But in another way, no problem. As long as they were alert to the lights of other craft on the water, they could stay invisible and avoid a collision.
At first, though, even this small risk seemed strange. Uncle Gord always does things the safe way.
Then I figured it out. They were here to look for three hundred milliondollars in piratesâ gold. They had spent every weekend searching in secret. They didnât
want
anyone to know where they were. So why should this weekend be any different?
But it was.
Two people were on board the boat who didnât belong there.
chapter twenty-six
I nearly fell asleep. I was standing in the locker, but the wet suits pressing against me kept me from falling. Nothing had happened for at least an hour.
It was weird. None of them had even gone into the water yet. The boat just sat in darkness. The four of them just sat without talking. If this was a search for treasure, why werenât they underwater?
Were the four of them waiting? If so, for what?
Judd Warner had been just as quiet as the rest of us. Wherever he was hidden, he was deciding to wait too.
I nodded off. My face hit a wet suit. It woke me.
I heard the faint sound of another engine.
A boat?
A few minutes later, I decided it was an airplane.
The sound grew louder.
I decided to risk poking my head out of the locker.
Suddenly, the boatâs lights flashed on.
Then off.
Then on.
Then off. This time, the lights stayed off.
The airplane passed over us low and loud. It kept going.
I didnât get it. What had just happened?
Whatever it was, it meant action. When I heard scrapes of movement on the deck, I pulled my head back into the locker. Good thing. The three lawyers from Miami weremoving around to get geared up. One of them passed so close to the locker I heard his breathing through the crack in the open door.
Then they were gone again. I heard splashing. One splash. Two splashes. Three. They had all just entered the water.
I pushed open the locker door just enough to see the dark shadow of Uncle Gord standing at the edge of the boat. Far away were the faint lights of the shoreline.
What was happening?
I opened the door a little
Similar Books
