Austin didn't have to be reminded of the gruesome fate that awaited Skye and the others. Even if they had survived the flood, they faced a slow and uneasy death from lack of oxygen. He concentrated on the diagram and noticed that the main tunnel continued on for some distance beyond the observatory. “Where does this go?”

“It continues about 1.5 kilometers, rising gradually to another entrance.”

“Another culvert?”

“No. There is an opening like a mine entrance in the side of the mountain.”

“I'd like to see it,” Austin said. A plan was forming in his mind. It was based on conjecture and assumption, and would need a healthy dose of luck to work, but it was all he had.

“It's on the other side of the glacier. The only way to get to it is by air, but I can show you where it is from here.”

Minutes later, they were on the flat roof of the power plant. Lessard pointed to a ravine on the far side of the glacier. “It's right near that little valley.”

Austin followed the pointing finger with his eyes, and then glanced toward the sky. A big helicopter was lumbering toward the power plant.

“Thank God!” Lessard said. “At last, someone has answered my call for help.”

Hurrying downstairs, the two men emerged from the power plant as the helicopter dropped out of the sky. The truck driver and another man Austin assumed to be the plant's third shift were outside, watching the helicopter touch down on a landing pad a few hundred feet from the plant's front door. As the rotors whirled to a halt, three men emerged from the chopper. Austin frowned. This was no rescue party. All three men were wearing dark suits that had middle management written all over them.

“It is my superior, Monsieur Drouet. He never comes here,” Lessard said, unable to contain the awe in his voice.

Drouet was a portly man with a Hercule Poirot mustache. He hustled over and in an accusatory tone said, “What is going on, Lessard?”

While the plant supervisor explained the situation, Austin checked his watch. The hands seemed to be flying around the dial.

“What effect has this incident had on production?” Drouet said.

Austin's smoldering temper erupted. “You might be more interested in what effect it has on the people trapped inside that glacier.”

The man tilted his chin, managing to look down his nose at Austin even though he was shorter by several inches.

“Who are you?” he said, like the caterpillar addressing Alice from the mushroom.

Lessard intervened. “This is Mr. Austin with the American government.”

“American?” Austin could swear he heard the man sniff. “This is none of your business,” Drouet said.

“You're wrong. It is very much my business,” Austin replied in a level voice that cloaked his anger. “My friend is in that tunnel.”

Drouet was unmoved. “I have to wait for orders from my superior after I report to him. I'm not without sympathy. I'll order a rescue attempt immediately.”