Dolphin Island - Arthur C. Clarke [15]
"Sit down, Johnny," he began. "Dr. Keith radioed about you while I was over on the mainland. I suppose you realize just how lucky you've been?"
"Yes, sir," answered Johnny, with considerable feeling.
"We've known for centuries that dolphins sometimes help humans to shore—in fact, such legends go back for over two thousand years, though no one took them very seriously until our time. But you weren't merely pushed to land; you were carried a hundred miles.
"On top of that, you were brought directly to us . But why? This is what we'd very much like to know. I don't suppose you have any ideas?"
Johnny was flattered by the question, but could do little to answer it.
"Well," he said slowly, "they must have known that you were working with dolphins, though I can't imagine how they found out."
"That's easy to answer," Dr. Keith interjected. "The dolphins we've released must have told them. Remember, Johnny recognized five of them from photographs I showed him when he first arrived."
Professor Kazan nodded.
"Yes—and that gives us some valuable information. It means that the coastal species we work with and their deep-sea, cousins speak the same language. We didn't know that before."
"But we're still in the dark about their motives," said Dr. Keith. "If wild dolphins that have never had any direct contact with men go to all this trouble, it suggests that they want something from us—and want it badly. Perhaps rescuing Johnny meant something like, 'We've helped you—now help us.'"
"It's a plausible theory," agreed Professor Kazan. "But we won't find the answer by talking. There's only one way to discover what Johnny's friends were driving at—and that's to ask them."
" If we can find them."
"Well, if they really want something, they won't be too far away. We may be able to contact them without leaving this room."
The Professor threw a switch, and once more the air was full of sound. But this time, Johnny soon realized, he was not listening to the voice of a single dolphin, but to all the voices of the sea.
It was an incredibly complex mixture of hissings and cracklings and rumblings. Mingled with these, there were chirps that might have been made by birds, faint and distant moans, and the murmur of a million waves.
They listened for several minutes to this fascinating medley of noises; then the Professor turned another switch on the huge machine.
"That was Hydrophone West," he explained to Johnny. "Now we'll try Hydro East. It's in deeper water, right off the edge of the Reef."
The sound picture changed; the noise of the waves was fainter, but the moanings and creakings from the unknown creatures of the sea were much louder. Once more the Professor listened for several minutes, then he switched to North, and finally to South.
"Run the tapes through the analyzer, will you?" he asked Dr. Keith. "But I'd be willing to bet, even now, that there's no large school of dolphins within twenty miles."
"In that case, bang goes my theory."
"Not necessarily; twenty miles is nothing to dolphins. And they're hunters, remember, so they can't stay in one place. They have to follow their food wherever it goes. The school that rescued Johnny would soon vacuum clean all the fish off our reef."
The Professor rose to his feet, then continued:
"I'll leave you to run the analysis; it's time I went down to the pool. Come along, Johnny, I want you to meet some of my best friends."
As they walked toward the beach, the Professor seemed to fall into a reverie. Then he startled Johnny by suddenly and skillfully producing a string of rapidly modulated whistles.
He laughed at Johnny's surprised expression.
"No human being will ever speak fluent