atlantis.found-第26部分

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　　　　　Pitt　appeared　dubious。　〃Your　people　can　distinguish　the　difference　in　dental　techniques　of　different　countries？〃
　　　　　〃A　good　forensic　pathologist　who　specializes　in　identification　through　dental　records　can　often　name　the　city　where　the　cavities　were　filled。〃
　　　　　〃So　they　were　foreign　nationals；〃　Giordino　observed。
　　　　　〃I　thought　their　English　was　a　bit　odd；〃　said　Pitt。
　　　　　Helm　stared　over　his　reading　glasses。　〃You　noticed？〃
　　　　　〃Too　perfect　without　an　American　accent；　although　two　of　them　spoke　with　a　New　England　twang。〃
　　　　　Little　scribbled　on　a　yellow　legal　notepad。　〃Mr。　Pitt；　mander　Gunn　has　informed　us　that　the　murderers　you　apprehended　in　Telluride　referred　to　themselves　as　members　of　the　Fourth　Empire。〃
　　　　　〃They　also　referred　to　it　as　the　New　Destiny。〃
　　　　　〃As　you　and　mander　Gunn　have　already　speculated；　the　Fourth　Empire　may　be　the　successor　to　the　Third　Reich。〃
　　　　　〃Anything　is　possible。〃
　　　　　Giordino　pulled　a　gigantic　cigar　from　his　breast　pocket　and　rolled　it　around　in　his　mouth　without　lighting　it；　out　of　consideration　for　the　people　at　the　table　who　didn't　smoke。　Sandecker　shot　him　a　murderous　look　at　seeing　that　the　label　advertised　it　as　one　from　his　private　stock。　〃I'm　not　a　smart　man；〃　Giordino　said　modestly。　The　Humble　Herbert　routine　was　an　act。　Giordino　had　been　third　in　his　class　at　the　Air　Force　Academy。　〃For　the　life　of　me；　I　don't　see　how　an　organization　with　a　worldwide　army　of　elite　killers　can　operate　for　years　without　the　finest　intelligence　services　in　the　world　figuring　out　who　they　are　and　what　they're　up　to。〃
　　　　　〃I'm　the　first　to　admit　we're　stymied；〃　said　FBI's　Helm　frankly。　〃As　you　know；　crimes　without　motives　are　the　most　difficult　to　solve。〃
　　　　　Little　nodded　in　agreement。　〃Until　your　confrontation　with　these　people　in　Telluride；　anyone　else　who　came　in　contact　with　them　did　not　live　to　describe　the　event。〃
　　　　　〃Thanks　to　Dirk　and　Dr。　O'Connell；〃　said　Gunn；　〃we　now　have　a　trail　to　follow。〃
　　　　　〃A　few　charred　teeth　make　for　a　pretty　faint　trail；〃　offered　Sandecker。
　　　　　〃True；〃　agreed　Helm；　〃but　there　is　the　enigma　of　that　chamber　inside　the　Pandora　Mine。　If　they　go　to　such　extremes　to　keep　scientists　from　studying　the　inscriptions；　slaughter　innocent　people；　and　mit　suicide　when　apprehended　well；　they　must　have　a　pelling　motive。〃
　　　　　〃The　inscriptions；〃　Pitt　said。　〃Why　go　to　such　lengths　to　hide　their　meaning？〃
　　　　　〃They　can't　be　overjoyed　at　the　oute；〃　said　Gunn。　〃They　lost　six　of　their　professional　killers　and　failed　to　secure　photographs　of　the　inscriptions。〃
　　　　　〃It's　bizarre　that　such　an　ordinary　archaeological　discovery　would　cost　so　many　lives；〃　Sandecker　said　expressionlessly。
　　　　　〃Hardly　an　ordinary　discovery；〃　Pat　said　quickly。　〃If　it　is　not　a　hoax　perpetrated　by　old　hard…rock　miners；　it　could　very　well　prove　to　be　the　archaeological　find　of　the　century。〃
　　　　　〃Have　you　been　able　to　decipher　any　of　the　symbols？〃　asked　Pitt。
　　　　　〃After　a　cursory　examination　of　my　notes；　all　I　can　tell　you　is　that　the　symbols　are　alphabetic。　That　is；　writing　that　expresses　single　sounds。　Our　alphabet；　for　example；　uses　twenty…six　symbols。　The　symbols　in　the　chamber　suggest　an　alphabet　of　thirty；　with　twelve　symbols　representing　numerals；　which　I　managed　to　translate　into　a　very　advanced　mathematics　system。　Whoever　these　people　were；　they　discovered　zero　and　calculated　with　the　same　number　of　symbols　as　modern　man。　Until　I　can　program　them　into　a　puter　and　study　them　in　their　entirety；　there　is　little　else　I　can　tell　you。〃
　　　　　〃Sounds　to　me　like　you've　done　extremely　well　with　what　little　you　have　had　in　such　a　short　time；〃　Helm　plimented　her。
　　　　　〃I'm　confident　we　can　crack　the　meaning　of　the　inscriptions。　Unlike　the　plicated　logosyllabic　writing　systems　of　the　Egyptians；　Chinese；　or　Cretans；　which　are　as　yet　undeciphered；　this　one　seems　unique　in　its　simplicity。〃
　　　　　〃Do　you　think　the　black　obsidian　skull　found　in　the　chamber　forms　a　link　to　the　inscriptions？〃　asked　Gunn。
　　　　　Pat　shook　her　head。　〃I　can't　begin　to　guess。　Like　the　crystal　skulls　that　have　e　out　of　Mexico　and　Tibet；　its　purpose　could　be　ritual。　There　are　some　people　not　accredited　archaeologists；　I　might　add　who　think　the　crystal　skulls　came　in　a　set　of　thirteen　that　can　record　vibrations　and　focus　them　into　holographic　images。〃
　　　　　〃Do　you　believe　that？〃　asked　Little　seriously。
　　　　　Pat　laughed。　〃No；　I'm　pretty　much　of　a　pragmatist。　I　prefer　hardcore　proof　before　I　advance　wild　theories。〃
　　　　　Little　looked　at　her　pensively。　〃Do　you　think　the　obsidian　skull〃
　
　　　　　〃Skulls；〃　Pitt　corrected　him。
　　　　　Pat　gave　him　a　queer　look。　〃Since　when　do　we　have　more　than　one？〃
　　　　　〃Since　yesterday　afternoon。　Thanks　to　a　good　friend；　St。　Julien　Perlmutter；　I　obtained　another　one。〃
　　　　　Sandecker　looked　at　him　intently。　〃Where　is　it　now？〃
　　　　　〃Along　with　the　skull　from　Telluride；　it　was　taken　to　NUMA's　chemical　lab　for　analysis。　Obsidian　obviously　can't　be　dated　by　conventional　means；　but　a　study　under　instrumentation　might　tell　us　something　about　those　who　created　it。〃
　　　　　〃Do　you　know　where　it　came　from？〃　asked　Pat；　burning　with　curiosity。
　　　　　Without　going　into　tedious　detail；　Pitt　briefly　described　the　finding　of　the　skull　inside　the　derelict　Madras　by　the　crew　of　the　Paloverde　in　Antarctica。　He　then　told　of　his　meeting　and　conversation　with　Christine　Mender…Husted；　and　how　she　graciously　gave　him　the　skull　after　accepting　Perlmutter's　offer　for　her　ancestor's　papers。
　　　　　〃Did　she　say　where　the　crew　and　passengers　of　the　Madras　discovered　the　skull？〃
　　　　　Pitt　tantalized　her　and　the　others　seated　around　the　table　by　taking　his　time　to　reply。　Finally；　he　said；　〃According　to　the　ship's　log；　the　Madras　was　bound　from　Bombay　to　Liverpool　when　it　was　struck　by　a　violent　hurricane〃
　
　　　　　〃Cyclone；〃　Sandecker　lectured。　〃To　a　sailor；　hurricanes　occur　only　in　the　Atlantic　and　Eastern　Pacific　oceans。　Typhoons　are　in　the　Western　Pacific　and　cyclones　in　the　Indian　Ocean。〃
　　　　　〃I　stand　corrected；〃　Pitt　sighed。　Admiral　Sandecker　loved　to　show　off　his　inexhaustible　reserve　of　sea　trivia。　〃As　I　was　saying；　the　Madras　ran　into　a　violent　storm　and　heavy　seas　that　lasted　for　nearly　two　weeks。　She　was　battered　and　driven　far　south　of　her　course。　When　the　wind　and　waters　finally　calmed；　it　was　found　that　their　water　barrels　had　been　damaged　and　much　of　their　drinking　supply　lost。　The　captain　then　consulted　his　charts　and　made　the　decision　to　stop　at　a　barren　chain　of　uninhabited　islands　in　the　subantarctic　south　Indian　Ocean。　Now　known　as　the　Crozet　Islands；　they　form　a　tiny　overseas　territory　of　France。　He　dropped　anchor　off　a　small　island　called　St。　Paul　that　was　very　rugged；　with　a　volcanic　mountain　rising　in　its　center。　While　the　crew　repaired　the　water　barrels　and　began　filling　them　from　a　stream；　one　of　the　passengers；　a　British　army　colonel　on　his　way　home　with　his　wife　and　two　daughters　after　serving　ten　years　in　India；　decided　to　go　on　a　little　hunting　expedition。
　　　　　〃The　only　real　game　on　the　island　were　elephant　seals　and　penguins；　but　the　colonel　in　his　ignorance　thought　the　island　might　teem　with　four…legged　game。　After　climbing　nearly　a　thousand　feet　up　the　mountain；　he　and　his　friends　came　upon　a　footpath　laid　with　stones　worn　smooth　with　age。　They　followed　the　path　to　an　opening　hewn　in　the　rock　in　the　shape　of　an　archway。　They　entered　and　saw　a　passageway　that　led　deeper　into　the　mountain。〃
　　　　　〃I　wonder　if　the　entrance　has　been　found　and　explored　since　then；〃　said　Gunn。
　　　　　〃It's　possible；〃　Pitt　admitted。　〃Hiram　Yaeger　checked　it　out　for　me；　and　except　for　an　unmanned　meteorological　station　set　up　by　the　Aussies　from　1978　until　1997　and　monitored　by　satellite；　the　island　has　been　totally　uninhabited。　If　their　weathermen　found　anything　inside　the　mountain；　they　never　mentioned　it。　All　records　are　purely　meteorological。〃
　　　　　Little　was　leaning　over　the　table；　spellbound。　〃Then　what　happened？〃
　　　　　〃The　colonel　sent　one　of　his　party　back　to　the　ship；　and　he　returned　with　lanterns。　Only　then　did　they　venture　inside。　They　found　that　the　passageway　was　smoothly　carved　from　the　rock　and　sloped　downward　for　about　a　hundred　feet；　ending　in　a　small　chamber　with　dozens　of　strange　and　ancient…looking　sculptures。　They　went　on　to　describe　unreadable　inscriptions　etched　on　the　walls　and　ceiling　of　the　chamber。〃
　　　　　〃Did　they　record　the　inscriptions？〃　asked　Pat。
　　　　　〃No　symbols　went　into　the　captain's　log；〃　answered　Pitt。　〃The　only　drawing　is　a　crude　map　to　the　entrance　of　the　chamber。〃
　　　　　〃And　the　artifacts？〃　Sandecker　probed。
　　　　　〃They're　still　on　the　Madras；〃　explained　Pitt。　〃Roxanna　Mender；　the　wife　of　the　captain　of　the　whaler；　mentioned　them　in　a　brief　entry　in　her　diary。　She　identified　one　as　a　silver　urn。　The　others　were　bronze　and　earthenware　sculptures　of　strange…looking　animals　she　said　she　had　never　seen　before。　Under　the　laws　of　salvage；　her　husband　and　his　crew　intended　to　strip　the　Madras　of　anything　of　value；　but　the　ice　pack　began　to　break　up　and　they　had　to　make　a　run　for　the　whaler。　They　took　only　the　obsidian　skull。〃
　　　　　〃Another　chamber；　this　one　with　artifacts；〃　Pat　said；　staring　as　if　seeing　something　beyond　the　room。　〃I　wonder　how　many　others　are　hidden　around　the　world。〃
　　　　　Sandecker　eyed　Giordino　waspishly　as　the　little　Italian　chewed　on　his　immense　cigar。　〃It　seems　we　have　our　work　cut　out　for　us。〃　He　drew　away　his　eyes　from　Giordino　and　trained　them　on　Gunn。　〃Rudi；　as　soon　as　you　can；　expedite　two　expeditions。　One　to　search　for　the　Madras　in　the　Antarctic。　The　second　to　check　out　the　chamber　found　by　the　ship's　passengers　on　St。　Paul　Island。　Use　whatever　research　vessels　are　nearest　the　areas　in　question。〃　He　turned　to　the　men　farther　down　the　long　table。　〃Dirk；　you　head　up　the　search　for　the　derelict。　Al；　you　take　St。　Paul　Island。〃
　　　　　Giordino　sat　slouched　in　his　chair。　〃I　hope　our　bloodthirsty　little　friends　didn't　get　to　either　place　first。〃
　　　　　〃You'll　know　soon　after　you　arrive；〃　Gunn　said；　with　a　straight　face。
　　　　　〃In　the　meantime；〃　said　Helm；　〃I'll　keep　two　agents　on　the　hunt　throughout　the　U。S。　for　any　leads　to　the　organization　that　hired　the　killers。〃
　　　　　〃I　must　tell　you；　Ad