tie as rakish as any of Cardin's fantasies.
Duncan turned that fine leonine head and looked directly at Nicholas
again. This time Nicholas saw the deep angry glow in his eyes as when a
vagrant breeze fans the coals of an open fire. Then Duncan turned his
face back towards the President, and he balanced his thrusting square
chin on the clenched, carefully manicured fingers of his right fist,
Furthermore, we have taken into consideration the transportation of the
survivors from the site of the striking, to the nearest port of succour,
Cape Town in the Republic of South Africa. The President was summing up
strongly in favour of Ocean Salvage. It was a dangerous sign; so often
a judge about to deliver an unfavourable decision prefaced it by
building a strong case for the loser and then tearing it down again.
Nicholas steeled himself, anything below three million dollars would not
be sufficient to keep Ocean Salvage alive.
That was the barest minimum he needed to keep Warlock afloat, and to put
Sea Witch on the water for the first time. He felt the spasm of his
stomach muscles as he contemplated his commitments - even with three
million he would be at the mercy of the Sheikhs, unable to manoeuvre, a
slave to any conditions they wished to set.
He would not be off his knees even.
Nicholas squeezed Samantha's hand for luck, and she pressed her shoulder
against his.
Four million dollars would give him a fighting chance, a slim margin of
choice - but he would still be fighting hard, pressed on all sides. Yet
he would have settled for four million, if Duncan Alexander had made the
offer. Perhaps Duncan had been wise after all, perhaps he might yet see
Nicholas broken at a single stroke.
Three. Nicholas held the figure in his head. Let it be three, at least
let it be three. This Court has considered the written reports of the
Globe Engineering Co., the contractors charged with the repairing and
refurbishing of Golden Adventurer, together with those of two
independent marine engineering experts commissioned separately by the
owners and the salvors to report on the condition of the vessel. We have
also had the benefit of a survey carried out by a senior inspector of
Lloyd's of London. From all of this, it seems apparent that the vessel
sustained remarkably light damage. There was no loss of equipment, the
salvors recovering even the main anchors and chains - Strange how that
impressed a salvage court. We took her off, anchors and all, Nick
thought, with a stir of pride.
Prompt anti-corrosion precautions by the salvors resulted in minimal
damage to the main engines and ancillary equipment - It went on and on.
Why cannot he come to it now? I cannot wait much longer, Nicholas
thought.
This Court has heard expert opinion and readily accepts that the
residual value of the Golden Adventurer's hull, as delivered to the
contractors in Cape Town can be fairly set at twenty-six million US
dollars or fifteen million, three hundred thousand pounds sterling, and
consideration of the foregoing, we are further of the firm opinion that
the salvors are entitled to an award of twenty percent of the residual
