The schooner Karassia had been one of the largest vessels in the Djezian trade, larger, really, than was often called for. Now King Gamaliiu had closed the port of Haipoor l'Djezzer to Hrummean shipping, and though minor ports in Djez Gorrbul still were open, along with the ports of Djez Seechul of course, trade was down seriously.
Then, two weeks ago, the Karassia had been caught in a white squall while approaching the firth, driven aground, and the wind had stripped her of canvas and masts, though dropping soon enough that she hadn't broken up. Her owner had had her cargo lightered into harbor, leaving the wreck where she lay for the time.
With trade what it was, the government had been able to buy her cheaply. Shipwrights had patched her hull, then a salvage barge had dropped anchor hooks on the shelf a hundred yards offshore, and at floodtide, oarsmen rowed the barge to within fifty feet of the derelict's sternpost. A workboat took a line to her, and with it a cable was pulled across. Then eight burly oarsmen at the capstans had winched the barge seaward by the anchor chains, pulling the Karassia off the shoal.
They tugged her into harbor, where the navy jury-rigged two short spars on her. They'd bear enough canvas to take her down the coast not many miles. Thus rigged, and rocks loaded for ballast, a naval crew had sailed her back out of the firth by the first light of dawn, an hour when few or none would notice and talk. A light sloop trailed her to bring her crew back.
* * *
Elver Brokols and Reeno Venreeno had been intensely busy on the submarine mine project the past three weeks. Their days had been long, their nights short. Part of the time they'd been in the capital and part at Hidden Haven. Juliassa had worked with them, just as long and hard as they, and had ridden most of the courier trips.
To get manufacturing started, they'd had to finalize certain design features before they felt ready. The cylindrical casings were no thicker than thought necessary for sufficient strength. As designed, they'd hold forty pounds of gunpowder in the charge end if need be, but no more than that. With thirty pounds plus a weight added to approximate the fuse mechanism, the flotation chamber tended to float the mine to the surface, though two sullsi, or one for that matter, could easily hold it down while swimming underwater. Adding a couple of pounds gave neutral flotation. With forty pounds, two sullsi still could manage it easily.
With this established, several ceramicists began to make casings.
Meanwhile a clockmaker's shop had undertaken to produce reliable spring-driven clocks and firing mechanisms, and Reeno had assigned a man to test them in every position—rightside up, upside down, and sideways. The designs were successful. Test clocks proved accurate to within five minutes over a ten-hour period—quite good considering they were spring driven. Production was begun, with each day's production tested overnight.
The clockmaker and his workers had no notion of what the clocks were for. All they knew was that they'd been sworn not to tell that they were making clocks for the government.
Meanwhile Amaadio had found that gleebor excrement was another source of "saltpeter." They'd use nightbird dung as long as it lasted—it was more concentrated—but if the supply ran out, they now had a backup source, pre-dried for easy processing.
* * *
Followed by the sloop, the sturdy Karassia entered Hidden Haven and dropped the hook in the middle of the inlet. After unseating her spars and wiring them to cleats, the Karassia's crew was taken to the sloop, and they left the inlet.
Brokols and Reeno had decided the test should be at night—that's when the actual mining was planned for—so with Juliassa, Torissia, and Jonkka they mounted their kaabors and went riding on the plateau to relax. The military guard detail remained at the hamlet.
A breeze, cool and dry for the season, ruffled hair and brightened spirits as they rode; meadow flowers bobbed and danced in it. Birds called, swooped, darted at insects. Harriers sailed swift and low, stooped at rodents and rose again.
They were back in time for supper, then walked down to the beach. The three sullsi had arrived, and K'sthuump, and they waited together till dark, Juliassa asking questions and answering theirs. She was getting to know a lot about the sea people. Finally it was dark. Two of the sullsi (not including Sleekit, whose metamorphosis made his hands less dexterous and his strength greater than representative) swam out with a mine charged with thirty-two pounds of gunpowder.
They kept well below the surface, and rose beneath the hull. Even their excellent night vision was inadequate, so that they worked by feel and by their inborn sonar. Their short auger started the screw holes without difficulty, and they had no trouble attaching what they hoped was a ship-slayer.
Then they swam back to shore and, with the humans, lay around for a while; the timer in the mine had been set to allow for difficulties.
A muffled boom ended their wait. The sullsi hurried out to the Karassia, Brokols and Reeno following in a rowboat with Juliassa. The sullsi dove to examine the hole, and although the ship was settling notably before the humans got there, they boarded her and went below with a lantern to see how flooding was progressing. The hole was five feet wide; water was rising rapidly in the hold. Pumping would have been futile without quick and effective patching, and the ships of the fleet would hardly have patches prepared. Why should they?
The old schooner was doomed. The humans got hurriedly back into the rowboat and pulled away, then sat and watched the Karassia sink in fifty feet of water. When she disappeared, they exchanged quiet congratulations and hugs, more in relief than exhilaration.
"Well," said Venreeno, "we've got our ship-slayer."
"Yes, we do," Brokols answered. It occurred to him that the mines might slay more than ships. Some of the crew members might be below, close to an exploding mine, might be killed, or made unconscious so they'd drown. He felt no dismay at the thought—they weren't his countrymen anymore—and wondered at his lack of feeling.
Reeno looked at K'sthuump and the sullsi. "Juliassa," he said, "interpret for me. Are any of you familiar with the islands along the Djezian coast, and the first great harbor behind them? We call it Haipoor l'Djezzer, and it's where we expect the fleet to anchor to land the troops."
All three sullsi, and K'sthuump too, knew the harbor, knew the entire Inside Passage between the islands and the low mainland shore. Both species had well-developed curiosity, and few accessible places were unknown to them. K'sthuump, whose long neck provided an elevated viewpoint, had the best mental images of the place. With their help, Reeno and Brokols began to work out the details of just how the mission would be carried out.