“Is that fog?"
“Another mystery. We have had the fans on all night and it doesn’t seem to have done much good,” Mac said.
“Mac, I will say this, when you present a mystery, you present a doozy,” Paul laughed.
They walked further and were enveloped by the dense fog.
“It’s not wet. It’s sure not smoke. What is this stuff?” Paul said as they carefully made their way forward.
“I don’t have a clue. It isn’t quite as bad as yesterday but we need to be really careful. By my estimate we should be pretty close to the end of BARD,” Mac warned.
They walked on in silence. The only sound was their footsteps echoing off the walls.
“Hold it,” Mac said, reaching out and stopping Paul.
“What?”
“I’m not sure but we should have come up on the machine before now. See that dark area?”
“The big round one?”
“Yeah, I think that's a hole. Be real careful. Small steps until we figure out what it is,” Mac said.
They both continued one step at a time with their hands out in front of them.
“What the…”
“It’s a hole alright but where is BARD?” Paul asked.
“Holy smokes,” Mac said dropping down to one knee, “It’s a hole alright and it goes straight down.”
“What? Like a sinkhole?”
“I don’t know but I’m guessing we will find BARD at the bottom.”
“Man, I don’t understand any of this. Nothing like this showed up on the site plot,” Paul replied.
“All I can say is there it is,” Mac told him.
“We need to get this fog out of here so we can see what is really going on. Flashlights only make it worse with the mist, fog or whatever the heck it is. Let’s get some ventilation down here and pump it out. It will take a lot flexible tubing but we can’t do anything like it is.”
“I’ll get a crew on it right away. I probably should have thought of that last night,” Mac said.
“Don’t start that again. You did the right thing. I would have done the exact same thing so relax would you?” Paul chided.
“I don’t think Barney is too happy with me.”
“Barney is never happy. It’s his personality. You have to let that stuff roll off your back. I’m still the major stock holder, it’s my company. Keep that in mind and stop worrying.”
“Okay boss.”
By noon three large ventilator fans were in place and over four miles of three foot diameter tubing was connected. It was still somewhat of a mystery because nothing appeared to be coming out the end that anyone could see. It was however, dissipating inside the tunnel.
By evening it was clear enough to really assess the damage. Peering into the cavern they couldn’t even see where the bottom of the pit was or the BARD.
“Man, this is off the scale of my weird-o-meter,” Mack said.
“So, did it fall in and keep running? I mean, is it eating its way through to China?” Alex asked.
“I hardly think so. I would imagine it is lying someplace in the bottom of the pit or whatever this is. We are going to have to find out how deep it goes. Paul is having a Doppler brought in so we can get a reading.”
“I guess we could lower someone down,” Pete added.
“Good plan. Thanks for volunteering. I’ll get a rope,” Mac said and the others cracked up.
Everyone knew Pete was the biggest chicken of the bunch.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Are you okay Mac?” Paul asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a headache and a little sore throat. Probably spending all that time in that fog caused it.”
“Look, nothing we are doing is so important that you need to come to work sick. BARD is going anyplace. The Doppler won’t be here until tomorrow anyway. There is really nothing we can do for now. Take the rest of the afternoon off,” Paul said.
“I can’t do that Paul. This is my area of responsibility.”
“What, you think I can’t handle operations?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I know but it would not help if you came down sick. Do me a favor and go home and rest up. I’m sure we will be plenty busy the next few days.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. Now go.”
“Okay. My muscles ache. Resting up would probably be good for me. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Paul watched as he walked off. He did notice that he seemed a little stiff in the way he was walking.
“Where is Mac?” Barney asked.
“Not here yet. I sent him home yesterday to rest up. I think he was coming down with something.”
“Well he should be here. Operations are his responsibility.”
“Easy Barney. He is stressed out enough. He feels he let the company down,” Paul replied.
“Having a one hundred million dollar machine just go off doing what it wants to do? Hell yes he let the company down. It’s his mess we are left with,” Barney said.
“Don’t forget Barney, I made the decision to buy the machine. Not Mac. Not you. But me. As the owner, I have the ultimate responsibility.”
Barney’s neck turned red but he didn’t say anything. He just headed to his office.
It was almost ten O’clock before Mac came into the office.
“Are you okay Mac,” the receptionist asked when he walked in.
“I honestly don’t know. I feel like someone beat me up. Every muscle in my body hurts. My throat is sore and I am just bone tired. I must be coming down with some bug.”
“Paul would like you to come down to the mine entrance. The guys with the Dropper showed up a while ago.”
“It’s a Doppler, not dropper. It is a measuring device. Cops use them to catch people speeding. Anyway. I’m on my way,” he said and headed back out.
When Mac got to the mine entrance it was apparent that they must have a gone on down the tunnel. He walked down, his legs hurting every step of the way. The first thing he noticed was that the fog was gone. He could see a group of men standing at the opening of the hole in the side of the cavern. They were all looking down.
“What have we got?” he asked as he walked up.
“Hey Mac. We are just… say are you okay? You don’t look like you feel very good.”
“It’s nothing. I think I’m getting a cold.”
“Look, if you’re coming down with something you should go see the doctor,” Paul said.
“I’ll be fine. So are they ready to see how deep the thing is?”
“Yep. Its seventy-one feet to the far side of the opening. You can see it now that the fog has lifted. The ventilators seem to have gotten it out overnight.”
“Seventy-one feet? Across? That doesn’t make sense. The topographical survey should have noted something that big,” Mac said looking puzzled.
“Tell me about it. Anyway, that’s what the Doppler is telling us.”
“So now they are getting ready to determine the depth?”
“That’s just what we were setting up for. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
“Doctor Townson, Amy Gearheart, and Howard Mulford, this is our Chief Operations Officer, Daren McDillon. We just call him Mac,” Paul said by way of introduction.
They did the usual ‘nice to meet you’ routine before getting back to business.
“We are ready to shoot. The first one will be a broad spectrum shot to get the general depth. Then we will recalibrate and get a dead on reckoning reading,” Doctor Townson told them.
“Amy, whenever you’re ready.”
It was anti-climactic. She pushed a button and a few seconds later the monitor she was sitting at showed the results.
“Hmm,” she said studying the monitor.
“What is it?”
“Well, it says it is 26,458 feet.”
“What?” the all said in unison.