coastal populations of southern India and Sri Lanka. So tell me, Mr. Lucas, am I right?”
“Perhaps.”
“Are we back to that?”
“Perhaps.”
“It sounds like you’re bucking to become Chinese.”
Luke smiled. “I don’t have the chops, if you’ll pardon the pun. Besides, my ambitions fall into a different category altogether. But yes, you’re right, or at least I think you’re right.”
“Well, I suppose that’s better than nothing.”
Luke took on a serious tone. “If you don’t mind my asking, Dr. Wu, how do you know all this? I was told you were a linguist, not a historian.”
Dr. Wu sat back and smiled. “I grew up in museums. My grandfather used to be the documents curator for the Chinese Historical Society in California. My father was one of his pupils, and I grew up on stories of Zheng He and his treasure fleets. But to tell you the truth, I liked stories about Chinese pirates better, and believe me, we had some real corkers. One of our most successful pirates commanded an entire fleet of ships, and believe it or not, it was a woman. Her name was Ching Shih. In fact, she ran a very powerful and extensive crime syndicate. Even the mighty triads bowed to her wishes.”
Luke took on a slightly wistful expression. “Yeah, I used to like pirates too. My favorite was Henry Morgan. You don’t find many buccaneers with enough brass to talk themselves out of execution and then become royal governors.”
Dr. Wu grinned. “Maybe not then, but today it’s almost a prerequisite for the job.” Dr. Wu paused, and when he spoke again there was no humor in his voice. “But now I’d like to ask you a serious question.”
“Shoot. I’ll do the best I can.”
“Do you know where this marker stone is now?”
Luke paused for a second and smiled. “To tell you the truth, Dr. Wu, I don’t know where the stone is now. But to even begin a search, and not waste years on fruitless speculation and false claims, one would have to know where the stone isn’t.” Luke shook his head. “I work on the principle of diminishing perspectives. One small step leads to another, and another. Perhaps I’ll get lucky, but as far as I can see, the odds aren’t in my favor at the moment. I’ve hit a dead end for sure, but the maze still presents lots of other possibilities.” Luke shrugged with an air of disinterest. “But for now, I’ve got a master’s program to complete, and after that I’d like to take a stab at a doctorate. Zhou Man’s stone and the mystery of its whereabouts are little more than a speculative avocation right now. I suppose if I should come across a promising lead I would delve into it further. Besides, you were right, everyone loves a whopping good mystery, and this one has real legs from an academic point of view. Don’t you agree?”
“I’m Chinese, for Pete’s sake. Our whole existence is based on unsolved mysteries. As a matter of record, we invented the mystery story. But tell me, Luke, have you spoken about this material with anyone else?”
“No, not even my girlfriend.”
“So you’re going on this quest by yourself?”
“For now, yeah. I don’t dare trust anyone else just yet. Why do you ask?” Luke gave out a curious smile. “You wouldn’t be volunteering yourself by any chance, would you?”
“Of course I’m volunteering. Who could pass up a thing like this? A chance to rewrite history doesn’t come along every day. Besides, you’re going to need someone like me along.”
“And just why is that?”
“Well, unless you think you can master at least three dialects of Chinese in a few months, there’s no reason at all. Besides, you’ve already told me a great deal, and I don’t think you would have done that unless you suspected that I could be trusted. Remember we Chinese love secrets, and I truly believe I can find out a few things that you could not. Especially when it comes to dealing with the natural reticence of my people to answer questions posed by westerners. For instance, have you made any inquiries with any Chinese scholars at the important institutions on the mainland, or anywhere else?”
Luke nodded. “Yes, but the effort hasn’t proved very helpful so far.”
“So who have you contacted so far?”
Luke listed the various museums he’d e-mailed. “You see, I have reasons to suspect that there might have been a plot afoot to secretly return the stones to China sometime around 1906 or ’07. But all the Chinese institutions I’ve contacted say there’s no record that was ever the case. And since you Chinese have a tendency to be meticulous about such things, I’m half persuaded that the stones are still somewhere in California.”
Dr. Wu looked puzzled and surprised. “Stones? You mean there’s more than one?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes. There was something else buried with the stone tablet, but I’m not at liberty to discuss that just yet. If you are still interested in putting your oar in the water when you get back from Taiwan, come and see me.”
“Oh, I’m interested. There’s no doubt in my mind about that.” Dr. Wu waved the paper. “I’d like to take this with me if you don’t mind. I’ll be going to mainland China as well, just to visit with relatives, you understand. I might be able to run down a few rabbits while I’m there.”
Luke thought for a moment. “You may borrow the paper if you’ll sign a receipt, but it’s not much good without the rest of the inscriptions. Like I said, if you’re still interested when you get back, contact me.” Luke pulled a business card from his coat pocket. “You can reach me at these numbers. My e-mail address you already have.” Luke noticed the time, rose from his seat, and put out his hand. “I see that it’s getting late, and I’m sure you’ve a lot to do, so I won’t take up any more of your valuable time. Thank you for all your help so far, Dr. Wu. I look forward to hearing from you again.”
Dr. Wu got up, looked at the business card, nodded, and then shook Luke’s hand. “Not at all, quite the contrary. I’ll e-mail you if I stumble over anything interesting while I’m gone. But up, down, or sideways, you’ll be hearing from me again. And by the way, you can call me Robert if you like. Dr. Wu sounds so sentimental.”
