“Don't say I didn't warn you,” he said. “Okay,” he began. “I retired from teaching college a few years ago and bought a lobster boat in Rocky Point, my hometown.”

“Aha! A fisherman,” Reed said. “I knew it.”

Jenkins smiled, then resumed. “You probably read about the tsunami that hit there not too long ago.”

“Yes, it was an awful tragedy,” Reed said.

“It could have been worse.” Jenkins explained his role in warning the town.

“Lucky you were there,” Yaeger said. “Something puzzles me, though. First time I've heard of something like that happening. New England isn't at the edge of a major fault like Japan or California.”

“The only comparable precedent I found was the big wave caused by the Grand Banks earthquake in 1929. The quake's epicenter was under the ocean on the continental slope south of Newfoundland and east of Nova Scotia. The tremor was felt in Canada and New England, but the source was two hundred and fifty miles from the nearest land, so damage was negligible. Roads were blocked by landslides, chimneys broken and dishes rattled. Otherwise, the shock had little impact. The biggest effect was on the sea.”

“In what way?” Reed said.

“There were two ships near the epicenter. The vibrations were so violent they thought they'd lost a propeller or hit an uncharted wreck or sandbar. The quake created a great wave that struck the south coast of Newfoundland three hours later, running up into rivers and inlets in the little fishing villages along sixty miles of coastline. The worst damage was at a wedge-shaped bay on the Burin Peninsula. The tsunami rose to thirty feet at the apex of the bay, damaged docks and buildings and killed more than twenty-five people.”

“Very similar to what happened at Rocky Point.”

“Almost a mirror image. The fatality and injury rate was lower in my town, thank goodness. There was another important similarity. Both waves seem to have been caused by huge underwater slides. There was no doubt that an earthquake caused the Grand Banks disaster. The oceanic cables were broken in dozens of places.” He paused. “Here's where they were different: The Rocky Point slide seems to have been caused without a quake.”

“Interesting. Were there any seismic readings?”

“I checked with the Weston Observatory outside of Boston. The Grand Banks quake had a magnitude of 7.2. So we know something of that magnitude will cause a tsunami. The Rocky Point readings were more muddled.” He paused. “There was a shock, but it didn't fit the classic pattern for a quake.”

“Let me see if I'm clear on this. Are you really saying the Rocky Point slump was not from an earthquake?”

“I think that can be fairly well established. What I can't say is what actually caused the landslide.” Yaeger looked over the tops of his granny glasses. “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”