Read Online The Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler - Free Book Online

place a stress on it higher than five thousand pounds. Because of this large safety factor NUMA has yet to have a single fatality on a project. Lives are more important to us than scientific discovery. Underwater exploration is a risky business and the list is long with the names of men before us who have died trying to pry new secrets from the seas.”
    â€œWhat was the safety margin when your cable parted?”
    â€œI was getting to that. It was nearly six-to-one. We only had a four-thousand-pound stress on it at the time. It was extremely fortunate that no one was injured from the whiplash of the cable when it snapped.”
    â€œMay I see the cable?”
    â€œYes, I’ve had the parted ends cut from the main sections and saved for your arrival.”
    A loud knock echoed from the door and a young red-haired boy, no more than eighteen or nineteen, entered the cabin, carrying a small bucket of ice. He sat it on the desk and turned and faced Gunn. “Can I get you anything else, sir?”
    â€œYes, as a matter of fact, you can,” said Gunn. “Run down to the maintenance deck and find the cable sections that broke recently and bring them back here to me.”
    â€œYes sir.” The boy did an abrupt about-face and hurried from the cabin.
    â€œOne of the crew members?” asked Pitt.
    Gunn dropped the ice in the glasses and poured in the scotch. He passed a glass to Pitt. “Yes, we have eight crew members and fourteen scientists on board.”
    Pitt swirled the yellow liquid around the ice cubes. “Could any one of those twenty-two men be responsible for your problems?”
    Gunn shook his head. “I’ve thought about that, I’ve even dreamed about it, and I’ve analyzed each man’s personnel record at least fifty times and I can’t see what possible motive any of them might have for hindering the project.” Gunn paused to sip his drink. “No, I’m certain my opposition comes from another source. Someone inexplicably wants to stop us from catching a fish that might not even exist.”
    The boy soon returned with the two halves of the broken cable. He handed the braided steel to Gunn and left the cabin, closing the door after him.
    Pitt took another drink from his scotch and climbed from the bunk. He set the glass on Gunn’s desk and lifted the cable in his hands, examining the ends closely.
    It looked like any other greasy steel cable. Each piece was about two feet in length and contained twenty-four hundred strands that were braided into a standard five-eighth-inch diameter. The cable was not broken in a compact area. The breaks were spread over a fifteen-inch distance that gave both frayed wires the appearance of a pair of uneven, unwound horse tails.
    Something caught Pitt’s eye, and he took the magnifying glass and peered through the heavy lens. His eyes glinted with intensity and his lips slowly spread into a grin of smug satisfaction. The old feelings of excitement and intrigue began to course through his veins. This might turn out to be an interesting operation after all, he thought.
    â€œSee anything?” asked Gunn.
    â€œYes, a great deal,” replied Pitt. “Somewhere along the line you’ve found yourself an enemy who doesn’t want you fishing around in his territory.”
    Gunn became flushed and his eyes opened wide. “What did you find?”
    â€œThis cable was purposely cut,” said Pitt. His voice was very cold.
    â€œWhat do you mean: cut,” cried Gunn. “Where do you see evidence of human tampering?”
    Pitt held up the magnifying glass for Gunn. “Notice how the breaks spiral down and bend inward toward the core? And see how the strands have a smashed appearance. If a cable of this diameter is pulled at each end until it snaps, the strands are clean and the ends have a tendency to point out and away from the core. That didn’t happen here.”
    Gunn stared at the