Adam pointed to the end of the chamber that had the porthole. “Your father is going to be in there,” he explained. “Leo and I will be in the other end, operating the chamber. There’s a sealed door between the two rooms. We’ll gradually increase the pressure in Ben’s chamber. It will be as if he’s going on a dive. We’ll take him down to a safe depth, so to speak, where the nitrogen will be forced back into his bloodstream. Then we’ll slowly bring him up, a little at a time, while the nitrogen off-gasses normally. Hopefully, when we’re done, he’ll be good as new.”

“Hopefully?” Hudson said.

Adam nodded. “It’s science,” he answered, “but it’s not an exact science. Sometimes there are residual effects.”

“Like what?” said Caddie.

“For now, let’s assume there won’t be any,” Adam said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Leo, are you almost ready?”

“Just about,” Leo called back.

“Excuse me,” Adam said. “If you want to see Ben, you can take a look through the window there.”

He walked to the door of the chamber and ducked inside. Caddie, with Hudson beside her, moved to the other end and looked through the round window. Inside, Ben was lying, sitting up, on a cot. He waved at them, but the motion seemed to cause him pain. He winced and put his hand on his lap.

“All right, Ben.” Adam’s voice came through a speaker in Ben’s chamber. “We’re going to start taking you down.”

Caddie heard something move through invisible pipes. Machinery hummed, and there was a slight vibration in the floor. She half expected a hatch to open up, revealing the ocean beneath their feet as the chamber was lowered into the water. But it remained where it was, with no obvious change to indicate that anything was happening within.

Adam came out of the chamber. He looked at Ben, whose eyes were now closed. “He should be feeling a little better already,” he said.

“How long does he have to be in there?” asked Hudson.

“We’re figuring about nine hours,” Adam replied.

Nine hours! Caddie thought. That was practically a whole day. Incongruously, she wondered what her father would do if he had to go to the bathroom. Even more, she wondered how she was going to get through the next nine hours until she knew her father was going to be all right.

“You’re welcome to stay here,” Adam told them. “There won’t be much to see, though.”

“But he can see us,” said Hudson softly. He reached out, putting his arm around Caddie. She let it stay.

CHAPTER 44

CHAPTER 44