"I don't know," Gunn said hesitantly. "You make it sound logical. Except for the submarines. No civilian can go to his nearest yacht broker and buy a submarine."

"The only way von Till could lay his hands on a sub without attracting attention would be to raise one that was sunk in shallow water during time of war."

"You're beginning to sound interesting," Gunn said quietly. He was tuned in on Pitt's channel now. He had the shrewd look of an old prospector who just discovered a map to a hidden gold mine.

Pitt went on. "This is a job for professional underwater divers. By the time INTERPOL could put together a team of their own it would be too late." The last was only a half-truth, but it served Pitt admirably to drive home the next point. "The time is now. And other than Cousteau you've got the finest divers and equipment in the Mediterranean. I'm not going to give you any crap about being the 'last hope of mankind' or that 'it's better to sacrifice a few to save millions.' All I'm asking you for is a few volunteers to help me explore the cliffs below von Till's villa. We may strike out and find nothing. On the other hand we may uncover enough evidence to impound the ship and the heroin and put von Till away for good. Hit or miss, we've got to try."

Gunn said nothing. His expression indicated deep thought and concentration. Pitt looked at him, considering, and then threw in the hook.

"It would be interesting if we could find out what happened to the yellow Albatros."

Gunn looked at Pitt across the cramped radio room and thoughtfully jangled some loose change in his pocket. A more hard-headed and determined man he had never seen. Gunn remembered that he had trusted Pitt's judgment on that Delphi Ea affair in Hawaii last year, and he hadn't been let down. If Pitt said he was going to kill every shark in the sea, Gunn mused, he would probably damn near do it. He studied the damp and, by this time, peeling bandages on Pitt's body, jangled the change in his pocket again, wondered what he would be thinking about this time tomorrow.

"OK, you win," he said wearily. "I'll no doubt regret this decision at my court-martial. It's a small satisfaction to know that I'll go out with a blaze of headlines."

Pitt laughed. "No such luck, my friend. Whatever happens, you merely ordered a routine hunt to collect marine specimens from a shelf under the cliffs. If we stumble into an embarrassing incident, you can say it was by pure accident."

"I hope Washington will buy that."

"Don't worry, I think we both know Admiral Sandecker well enough to be assured that he'll stand by us regardless of the consequences."