Part I, Big John: Chapters 16 - 17 Summary

Dirk Pitt and Plunkett are making excellent and steady progress to their destination, the flat topped mountain summit of Conrow Guyot. Their desperate escape from the mud and silt caused by the avalanche apparently caused a tiny scrape to the exterior of Big John. As time passed, the defect became worse and now, with a loud bang, the warning indicator signals that they have a pinhole leak. At the great depth of five thousand meters below the surface, a pinhole leak can cause a stream of water to have the power of a laser and cut off a man's hand. Very, very carefully, Pitt creates a makeshift repair patch that slows the leak, but he is unable to stop it entirely. Twenty-two hours after entering Big John, Pitt and Plunkett make it to...