Read Goliath for Free Online Page B

the names of electrikal parts and concepts to each other.
    Alek watched with bemusement. He’d always wondered how Dr. Barlow had expected these creatures to keep the Ottomans out of the war. They were charming enough but hardly likely to sway an entire empire toward Darwinism. He half suspected they had been only a ruse, an excuse to take the
Leviathan
to Istanbul, and that the real plan had always been to force the strait with the behemoth.
    But was there more to these lorises than met the eye?
    Finally Bovril reached out a hand toward Dr. Barlow, who only frowned. But the beast on her shoulder seemed to understand. It slipped its tiny hands behind the woman’s head and unclasped her necklace.
    Dr. Barlow raised an eyebrow as the creature handed her jewelry over to Bovril.
    “What in blazes—,” Dylan began, but the lady boffin waved him silent.
    Bovril held the necklace close to one of the glass spheres, and a trickle of lightning leapt out, creating a shivering connection between the pendant and the glass sphere.
    “Magnetic,” Bovril said.
    The creature swung the pendant, and the tiny finger of light followed it back and forth. When Bovril pulledthe necklace away, the lightning seemed to lose interest, retreating back into its glass sphere.
    “God’s wounds,” Alek said softly. “That’s quite odd.”
    “What’s that necklace made of, madam?” asked Klopp.
    “The pendant is steel.” Dr. Barlow nodded. “Quite ferrous, I should think.”
    “So it’s for detecting metal.” Klopp pushed himself to his feet, then brought his cane up. As its steel tip drew close to one of the spheres, another trickle of lightning leapt out to meet it.
    “Why would you need such a thing?” Dylan asked.
    Klopp fell back into his chair. “You might use it to discover land mines. Though it’s quite sensitive, so perhaps you could find a buried telegraph line. Or a buried treasure! Who knows?”
    “Treasure!” Bovril declared.
    “Telegraph lines? Pirate treasure?” Dylan shook his head. “Those hardly sound like things you’d find in Siberia.”
    Alek took a cautious step closer, squinting at the machine. The three glass spheres had settled into a jittering pattern, each tiny finger of lightning pointing in a different direction. “What’s it detecting now?”
    “One’s aimed straight back at the stern,” Dylan said. “And the other two are pointed up and toward the bow.”
    The two lorises made a rumbling sound.
    “Of course,” Hoffman said. “Most of the
Leviathan
is wood and flesh. But the engines are full of metal.”
    Dylan whistled. “They must be two hundred yards away.”
    “Yes, it’s a clever machine,” Klopp said. “Even if it was designed by a madman.”
    “I just wonder what he’s looking for.” The lady boffin stroked Tazza’s fur as she contemplated the device, then turned and walked toward the door. “Well, I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. Mr. Sharp, see that all this is hidden away in a locked storeroom. And please don’t mention it to the crew, any of you.”
    Alek frowned. “But won’t this . . . boffin fellow be wondering where it is?”
    “Indeed.” Dr. Barlow gave him a smile as she slipped through the door. “And watching him squirm with curiosity should prove most interesting.”
    Alek headed back toward his stateroom soon after, wanting to get an hour’s sleep before they arrived at their destination. He should have gone straight to Count Volger, he supposed, but he was too exhausted to endure a barrage of questions from the man. So instead Alek whistled for a message lizard when he reached his room.
    When the creature appeared, Alek said, “Count Volger,we shall arrive at our destination within the hour. But I still have no idea where that is. The cargo contained a Clanker machine of some kind. More later, when I’ve had some sleep. End message.”
    Alek smiled as the creature scuttled away into its tube. He’d never sent Volger a message lizard before,