AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Munro clears his throat and turns away from the remains. "What now? We found the treasure, but I'm not clear on what happens next."
"We document the discovery," I say. "Then we make our way back to civilization and report it to the proper authorities."
"Aye, but we'll need to be careful," Errol says. "I don't think the US government looks favorably on treasure hunters."
I smile. "We are not treasure hunters. We're a couple on vacation who stumbled onto the greatest hoard in history, with the help of our river guide."
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Errol
"Maybe we should contact a lawyer," I say. "Chance Dixon is a mate and a lawyer, living in New Hampshire these days. He used to live in New York City, so he's been in America for quite some time. He could advise us on which laws we might've broken."
"Ashley's idea is better," Munro says. "Pretend we're ignorant. Just a guide and his barmy clients who insisted on exploring a hidden canyon. Then we stumbled onto a place where the rock had collapsed, opening up a passage into the secret hoard."
"I suppose this plan also involves claiming the slab door had already fallen over long before we found the cavern."
"Aye. And we haven't taken any artifacts. We're documenting them with the intention of reporting the find to the authorities."
"Let's forget about the legal issues for the moment," Ashley says. "We need to document everything, meticulously."
"Aye, you're right."
I take the laser-mapping device and scan every room and corridor we've seen so far. I go beyond the already explored region too, uncovering more artifacts in caverns we hadn't discovered yet. Ashley and Munro photograph everything. The three of us make a better team than I would've expected when I first signed on for this expedition. Munro seems like a grumpy sod who has no interest in anyone else, and Ashley had harassed me mercilessly. But once we came together, our individual strengths and skills merged into a strong team.
We've just finished searching for additional chambers, and have decided no more exist, when I feel a draft tickling my arm. I turn toward the wall, but I don't notice any sort of seam, like the one I blew open to get us inside the cavern complex. Still, I feel the draft.
"Ashley," I say, "come here for a moment. I need your opinion."
She doesn't ask why. The sweet lass just hurries over here to help me. "What is it?"
I take her hand, pressing it to the wall. "Do you feel a draft here?"
She holds still for a few seconds. "Yeah, I do feel that."
"But where is it coming from? There's no seam that I can detect."
Ashley runs her palm up and down the wall.
"Try the floor," Munro says. "Maybe it's coming from below."
Cannae hurt to try his idea. I lie down on the floor and press my cheek to the cold stone. The draft tickles my lips. "Aye, it's down here. The seam must go all the way across the passage."
"A seam for what?" Ashley asks.
"Not sure."
Munro offers me his hands to help me up. Though I don't really need his help, I appreciate that my cousin is making an effort to participate. Actually, he started doing that not long after we reached the Grand Canyon.
I plant my hands on my hips, gazing down at the floor. "The draft is coming from the floor, so we need to try to pry up the slab so we can see what's beneath it."
"Maybe it's not movable," Ashley says.
"Haven't you learned anything from me? Where there's a Scot, there's a way."
She shakes her head, smiling. "I don't think that's the correct formation of that colloquial expression."
"For me, it is."
