It took Bell nearly ten minutes to struggle across the deck to the door leading to the stairs up to the wheelhouse. When he got to the wheelhouse, looking like the proverbial drowned rat, Boss stared at him in astonishment.

“Well, now, where did you come from?”

“I jumped on deck as you pulled away from the dock in Woods Bay. My name is Bell.

I’m an agent with Van Dorn.”

“You were lucky you didn’t go down with the others.”

“Yes,” he said softly. “I was lucky.”

“Who were those people?”

“Two were innocent members of the train crew who were held hostage. The other three were wanted for murder and robbery. I was going to arrest them when we reached port.”

“Poor devils. Drownin’ isn’t a good way to go.”

Bell was deeply marked by guilt and grief. His face was expressionless as he turned his gaze to the waters of the lake. The waves no longer looked deadly and were settling down to a mild chop. The chinook was moving east and the terrible winds had subsided to a stiff breeze.

“No,” he murmured. “Not a good way to go at all.”

UP FROM THE DEPTHS

book cover

book cover

APRIL 16, 1950 FLATHEAD LAKE, MONTANA

AFTER THE COAL TENDER WAS BROUGHT UP AND SET on the barge behind the big Pacific locomotive, the divers concentrated on running the steel lift cables under the bottom of the freight car and attaching them to a cradle so it could also be raised. Despite the muck and slime, the name SOUTHERN PACIFIC was still readable across the sides of the tender.

Late in the afternoon, the director of the salvage operation, Bob Kaufman, paced the deck impatiently, as the divers were lifted from the bottom on a platform that was swung onto the barge. He looked up at the clouds, which were dark but not threatening, and lit a cigar while he waited for the brass helmet to be lifted off the dive master’s head.

As soon as it was lifted from the diver’s head, Kaufman asked, “How’s it look?”

The diver, a balding man in his early forties, nodded. “The cables are secured. You can tell the crane operator he can begin the lift.”

Kaufman waved to the man who operated the big crane that rose skyward from the deck of the salvage barge. “All cables secure!” he shouted. “Lift away!” Then Kaufman turned and spoke to the tall, older, silver-haired man standing next to him on the deck of the barge. “We’re ready to raise the freight car, Mr. Bell.”

Isaac Bell nodded. His face was calm, but there was an expression of expectancy.

“All right, Mr. Kaufman. Let’s see what it looks like after all these years on the bottom of the lake.”