Читать книгу The Adventures of Anna Atom - Elizabeth Wasserman - Страница 17

Chapter 13

MAX KNOWS ALMOST EVERYTHING

Back on Earth, Anna couldn’t sleep. Finally, just after midnight, she took the dagger from underneath her pillow, slipped her feet into soft, rubber-soled shoes and sneaked out onto the veranda.

The tropical air was warm and humid. The lights in the hut above the laboratory were on – her mother was still working.

Anna knew that if she was to get any information out of Max that night, she’d have to do it without disturbing Sabatina. But she knew of a way! Anna went back into her bedroom, logged on to the laptop on her desk, and sent Max an email: Wake up, Max!

Max immediately activated the direct-communication programme on Anna’s computer that he used when helping with her science homework – now they could chat directly.

Max: Hello, Miss Anna. I never sleeps, you know. But why be you awakes? Little humans needs sleeps to grows. Why no growings, Miss Anna?

Anna: Because I found this in the sea yesterday!

She pushed the dagger under the nose of the laptop’s little webcam.

Max: Ah! A dagger, probably datings to the late 18th century, although I needs carbon testing to be sure. The blade be made of a metal alloy, probably a steel and copper mix, and the handle be decorated with precious and semi-precious stones. There be an interesting design on the handle, a symbol of an extinct bird. This be the symbol of the Hodoul family.

Anna: You’re right! It’s faded, but there’s a picture of a dodo in the crest. I didn’t notice that at first, Max – you are clever!

Max: Max be no dog you needs pat his head when he does a trick.

Anna: Don’t be so sensitive, Max! Can you tell me more? Do you know how it got to be in the sand next to my slug garden?

Max: The coordinates of Anna’s slug garden be here …

A map of Monpetit and the surrounding ocean popped up on Anna’s screen with a flashing arrow indicating her slug garden.

Max: Known shipwrecks be here, here and there.

Pictures of three little ships appeared. They were labelled ‘Felicity, 1768’, ‘Da Gama II, 1482’ and ‘Chivonne, 1802’. The wreck of the Chivonne was the closest to Monpetit. It was located on the sea floor about four kilometres from the bay below Anna’s house.

Anna: That must be it! The Chivonne is the name of the ship Monsieur Raymond Hodoul mentioned. But we know the water around the island well, and nobody has ever seen the wreck.

Max: Ah, but looks how the sea floor drops steeply just before the wreck. Sees, I draws you the tectonic lines on the map. The Chivonne was losts due to a freak wave caused by volcanic activity on the seabed. This, as you should knows, be rare arounds here. The Chivonne was very unlucky. She was dumped by a tsunami and sunk straight to the bottom, where she was immediately burieds by a swell of lava.

Anna: And she disappeared completely! That means we’ll never find her.

Max: There you be wrong, Miss Anna. Lava has preserves the ship perfectly. It be very easy to finds her with my subterranean sensors. Then it merely be a matter of breakings the lava around her with some ultrasonic vibrations. And then there stands the ship, almost good as new!

Anna: Can you really do that?

Max: Easy as pies! Max has all necessary equipment onboard the Submarine Explorer.

Anna: Max, how long have you known this?

Max: Max has always knows.

Anna: Why have you never told us this before?

Max: You has never asks.

Anna sat staring at her computer screen for a long time. Out there, barely four kilometres from her bedroom window, and probably perfectly preserved, was the wrecked ship of one of the most famous pirates to have ever sailed these waters, with all its secrets onboard, probably all intact and well preserved by a blanket of molten rock.

And only she and Max knew about it.