The Orinoco Uranium by Stephen O. Sears

Author:Stephen O. Sears
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Indigo River Publishing
Published: 2022-09-20T17:11:11+00:00

chapter sixteen

The Orinoco Delta, July 1944

The clearing crew rose at dawn, ate a cold breakfast, and picked up machetes, axes, and brush hooks to hack away at the high, thick grass and small trees. They were followed by four men placing the detectors—orange jugs that would detect the reflected sound waves bouncing off the subterranean layers of the earth. They planted them in the earth by pushing down on a steel stake and connected them with a black wire. A third team used an auger to drill four-inch holes at intervals about half a mile apart, planting charges of dynamite within the earth.

Jerry was satisfied with the work and pleased with the faster pace that the crew was able to achieve on the second line. They would finish shooting this line today and return to Trinidad on the Osprey, sending the data back to the Pride Oil office in New York. After the data was processed and the results used to construct a preliminary map of the Oficina Formation, he could determine the location of additional lines, probably four or five. The final product of the seismic shoot would be a detailed map of the subsurface structure, hopefully indicating a location where it would be worth the risk to drill a wildcat well.

Jan was supervising the emplacement of a dynamite charge as Jerry approached, walking with Maria. Debbie was pulling cable off a spool, handing it off to a man who lowered the charge down a hole in the earth.

“Morning,” Jerry greeted Debbie. “Glad to see you helping out. But I thought you were off somewhere working on your research project.”

“I finished,” she replied. “Got all the data I need. Thought I’d help with the survey as long as I’m here.”

Jerry turned toward Jan. “I need to talk to Tom Barber. Is he close by?”

“He’s setting jugs,” Jan replied. “I moved him and his companion up from clearing brush. They’re about half a mile north of here.”

“I’ll find him.” Jerry set off on the cleared path, leaving Maria behind with Jan. He had told Maria about the uranium cargo and Tom’s plan to seize it when it became evident that she would not be returning to Maracaibo on the plane, and that the unanticipated movement of the Estrella Blanca might precipitate the event while she was still in the camp.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner that you were involved in all this?” she had asked, irritated by the revelation of something he had known for weeks.

“I was told it is top secret, and I couldn’t. I shouldn’t even be telling you now. But I’m not going to put your life at risk, and I think you need to know so you can stay out of trouble.”

“You mean out of the way. I can take care of myself. You’d better do the same. Are you going to tell Debbie?”

“I can’t. Top secret is top secret. She’ll just have to wonder what’s going on when it happens. But I’ll make sure she’s out of the way.

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