circle until we publish our report.’
‘Agreed.’
‘How much do you know about minerals?’
‘As much as the average schoolboy.’
‘Do you know what nitrites are?’
‘Not really.’
Then we’d better start at the beginning. Nitrites are minerals which only occur in places where rain has never fallen.’
‘Never?’
‘Never, in geological time. There aren’t many places like that. The deserts of Africa and Tarapaca in Northern Chile, for instance. That’s where most of the world’s potassium nitrite comes from. This tiny patch of God’s garden happens to be another one. Rain’s pretty rare in these parts anyway. The maximum is around two good showers a year, which come across from Iran. They break on the djebel, and what water there is falls on the western coastal strip, where a bit of primitive farming goes on. It gives this patch a complete miss in baulk. All right so far?’
‘I think so. No rain, therefore potassium nitrite.’
‘Not potassium nitrite. Much more exciting. Ytterbium nitrite.’
Inspiration visited Hugo. He said, ‘Otherwise known as Smitherite.’
There was dead silence in the hut. Hugo looked up and saw that both men were staring at him.
‘If you know nothing about minerals,’ said Wandyke, ‘where did you hear that name?’
‘Colonel Rex – he’s my arms contact-man – certainly knew about it. But I’d heard it once before, too. I can’t remember if it was Taverner at the F.O. or the Ruler.’
‘Damn, damn and damn,’ said Cowcroft. The Ruler’s been shooting his mouth off. I was afraid something like that had happened when I saw those Yanks arrive.’
‘Is Ringbolt here?’
‘He got in on Friday with a private army. And he’s not the only one. Hammuz and that Iraqi jackal of his, Dr. Kassim, have been having a few unscheduled visitors in the last day or two. Envoys from flag, I imagine. Where there’s dirt, the dogs will roll in it.’
Seeing Hugo look blank, he said, ‘flag is the Federation for the Liberation of the Arabian Gulf. They’re backed by the Chinese, and their roots are in the Yemen, but they’re moving north. They’ve got a link with the Ba’ath party in Iraq, which is probably where Dr. Kassim fits in.’
Hugo remembered Lord Twinley saying something like: ‘If I was a cartoonist I’d draw you a picture of little Umran with three suitors, each with a bouquet in one hand and a bomb in the other.’ He said, ‘What is it about Smitherite that makes it so compulsively attractive?’
‘Ytterbium is a fairly rare mineral,’ said Wandyke. ‘In every other case where it’s been discovered it’s been in the form of ytterbium aluminium silicate. You can extract it, all right, but it’s a difficult and expensive process. Here you’ve got it on a plate. Because it’s in the form of ytterbium nitrite. That’s to say in large globules, which can be separated by centrifuging. Which simply means twirling the stuff round until the heavier particles shoot out to the circumference. It’s a simple and inexpensive operation which anyone can carry out. All right so far?”
Hugo said, slowly, ‘I understand that when you find ytterbium in this particular form you can get a lot more of it out, a lot quicker, and a lot cheaper. What I don’t follow is why it’s so important.’
‘Very simple. Scientists on both sides of the Iron Curtain have discovered that if you alloy titanium with ytterbium it increases its strength-weight ratio and it approximately doubles its melting point. Titanium’s the most important metal used in rocket construction.’
Chapter Ten
Casualty
They were halfway back to the Palace when the police driver braked suddenly.
‘What’s up. Sergeant?’ said Cowcroft.
The Sergeant pointed to a spot ten yards ahead of them where there was a re-entrant between two spurs into the djebel. When they were coming up the track it had been in shade, but the sun had moved across now, and the marks were quite
‘Agreed.’
‘How much do you know about minerals?’
‘As much as the average schoolboy.’
‘Do you know what nitrites are?’
‘Not really.’
Then we’d better start at the beginning. Nitrites are minerals which only occur in places where rain has never fallen.’
‘Never?’
‘Never, in geological time. There aren’t many places like that. The deserts of Africa and Tarapaca in Northern Chile, for instance. That’s where most of the world’s potassium nitrite comes from. This tiny patch of God’s garden happens to be another one. Rain’s pretty rare in these parts anyway. The maximum is around two good showers a year, which come across from Iran. They break on the djebel, and what water there is falls on the western coastal strip, where a bit of primitive farming goes on. It gives this patch a complete miss in baulk. All right so far?’
‘I think so. No rain, therefore potassium nitrite.’
‘Not potassium nitrite. Much more exciting. Ytterbium nitrite.’
Inspiration visited Hugo. He said, ‘Otherwise known as Smitherite.’
There was dead silence in the hut. Hugo looked up and saw that both men were staring at him.
‘If you know nothing about minerals,’ said Wandyke, ‘where did you hear that name?’
‘Colonel Rex – he’s my arms contact-man – certainly knew about it. But I’d heard it once before, too. I can’t remember if it was Taverner at the F.O. or the Ruler.’
‘Damn, damn and damn,’ said Cowcroft. The Ruler’s been shooting his mouth off. I was afraid something like that had happened when I saw those Yanks arrive.’
‘Is Ringbolt here?’
‘He got in on Friday with a private army. And he’s not the only one. Hammuz and that Iraqi jackal of his, Dr. Kassim, have been having a few unscheduled visitors in the last day or two. Envoys from flag, I imagine. Where there’s dirt, the dogs will roll in it.’
Seeing Hugo look blank, he said, ‘flag is the Federation for the Liberation of the Arabian Gulf. They’re backed by the Chinese, and their roots are in the Yemen, but they’re moving north. They’ve got a link with the Ba’ath party in Iraq, which is probably where Dr. Kassim fits in.’
Hugo remembered Lord Twinley saying something like: ‘If I was a cartoonist I’d draw you a picture of little Umran with three suitors, each with a bouquet in one hand and a bomb in the other.’ He said, ‘What is it about Smitherite that makes it so compulsively attractive?’
‘Ytterbium is a fairly rare mineral,’ said Wandyke. ‘In every other case where it’s been discovered it’s been in the form of ytterbium aluminium silicate. You can extract it, all right, but it’s a difficult and expensive process. Here you’ve got it on a plate. Because it’s in the form of ytterbium nitrite. That’s to say in large globules, which can be separated by centrifuging. Which simply means twirling the stuff round until the heavier particles shoot out to the circumference. It’s a simple and inexpensive operation which anyone can carry out. All right so far?”
Hugo said, slowly, ‘I understand that when you find ytterbium in this particular form you can get a lot more of it out, a lot quicker, and a lot cheaper. What I don’t follow is why it’s so important.’
‘Very simple. Scientists on both sides of the Iron Curtain have discovered that if you alloy titanium with ytterbium it increases its strength-weight ratio and it approximately doubles its melting point. Titanium’s the most important metal used in rocket construction.’
Chapter Ten
Casualty
They were halfway back to the Palace when the police driver braked suddenly.
‘What’s up. Sergeant?’ said Cowcroft.
The Sergeant pointed to a spot ten yards ahead of them where there was a re-entrant between two spurs into the djebel. When they were coming up the track it had been in shade, but the sun had moved across now, and the marks were quite
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