“You heard me. The divers found a stone all right, but it was an old flagstone roughly the same size and weight as Zhou Man’s plaque. And instead of the jade seal, they came up with a crude clay figurine of something that looked more like a long-necked duck than a giraffe. Both items still showed trace remnants of the waxed silk that they were originally wrapped in.”
Luke was more than surprised. “But how did the tong think they could get away with the switch like that? The fakes were bound to be discovered when the crate was unpacked at its destination, and then there would have been hell to pay all around.”
Robert chuckled. “But don’t you see? Those cagey old fishermen knew that, so they arranged to destroy the launch before the switch could be discovered. They never believed that anyone would recover the wreck, and so they were home free.”
Luke was perplexed and shook his head. “But why would they do that? It doesn’t make sense. What did they have to gain?”
Robert smiled. “They must have had their reasons, because the whole scam took some sharp planning to be sure. The tong obviously didn’t want to give up the artifacts, but they knew that if they refused the Three Corporations’ offer, the treasure would most likely be taken by force or outright theft. But whatever their motives were, they got away with the deception very handily. And if we hadn’t found what was left of the burned launch, everyone would still believe the treasures were lost at sea.”
“So where are the stones now?”
Robert laughed. “Your guess is as good as mine, but after all this time I don’t believe there’s anybody left alive who could tell us. I’m afraid the whole thing will have to remain a mystery until someone accidentally stumbles across them again.”
“How does your father feel about all this?”
“Well, he’s disappointed to be sure, but like everything else, he seems to be taking the whole thing in stride.” Robert grinned. “Though in fact, I think he’s secretly rather impressed with those canny old fishermen. After all, they not only got their money, but they kept the treasure as well.”
Luke just shook his head. “I think I’ll have that beer after all, if you don’t mind.”
Robert retrieved an imported beer from the minibar, and when he returned he handed Luke the beer and an envelope. Luke took the beer, but looked confused about the envelope. “What’s this for?”
“It’s that bone you were talking about. My father was so impressed with the search program that he decided that you deserved it now. It’s a check for ten thousand dollars. He said you could expect more later if everything works out with the Rodriguez brothers.”
“That was very generous of him.”
Robert laughed. “Not really. You probably saved him many times that amount, and besides, he’s already convinced several important salvage companies to buy into the marine search program for big bucks. It’s the Rodriguez brothers and Skipper who will probably see the lion’s share, but that’s only as it should be.”
“So what do we do now, Dr. Wu?”
“I suppose we go ahead and publish what we have. I’ll let you know next week when you can expect my end of the work. In the meantime, I guess we go back to what we were doing before all this happened. Though I’m somewhat persuaded that after we publish our papers, we’re going to be busy enough covering our butts. The pros and cons are going to jump off the dog like hungry fleas, and come after us instead.”
LONG BEFORE HE’D FINISHED HIS paper on Zhou Man’s artifacts, Luke went back to the Hopkins storeroom to make sure that Dr. Gilbert’s small trunk was where he had hidden it. He was very pleased to discover that the lab’s housecleaning chores hadn’t progressed any further than they had some months before. The trunk was still there behind the file boxes where he had hidden it. At the first safe opportunity, Luke returned Dr. Gilbert’s papers to the bottom of the trunk. Then he moved the trunk to a place where it easily could be found by anybody looking for it. Luke had no intention of having his work tainted with the charge that he had purloined university property to accomplish his ends. On the other hand, there were no rules against research secrecy. That kind of thing was commonplace in the academic world. If the Stanford dons didn’t know what was in their own possession all along, it was not his problem. As a credentialed postgraduate student in good standing, Luke had every right to use university files for his own research. He and Robert knew only too well that before publication would be allowed, the first question asked by their faculty advisers would be where and how they came by their source material. Once that was answered, the university would rush to secure Dr. Gilbert’s papers for its own library, which was exactly what Luke and Robert wanted. Once the papers had been properly examined, and their authenticity verified by the university archivists, Luke’s work would be defended by competent authority. And that is precisely what happened.
———
WHEN LUKE AND ROBERT AT last published their work, it caused an international tremor that would ripple through academic circles for years. And, of course, they got more than their fifteen minutes of fame. They were hounded for interviews by every conceivable news organization and invited to lecture about their discoveries everywhere. The Chinese press, both mainland and otherwise, camped out at their doors, and they were even invited to go to China to deliver lectures to university scholars, which they did, if only to avoid the domestic breed of hyenas.
Then, as might be expected under the circumstances, all kinds of people came out of the woodwork with claims of knowing where the treasures were hidden. But they were proved wrong in every instance. The whereabouts of Zhou Man’s stone testament and his beautiful jade seal were never discovered, but Dr. Gilbert’s papers became world famous. Luke hoped that somehow this turn of events would have pleased the old scholar.
LUKE WENT ON TO CREATE another sensation with his shark-repelling surfboards, and he profited far beyond his expectations. But his greatest reward came in knowing that perhaps he’d saved the lives of many of his fellow surfing enthusiasts around the world.
Robert Wu garnered two more doctorates before he became totally bored with academic achievements. He at last bowed to his father’s desire to have him join the firm. He went on to be voted his father’s successor, and thus found he’d become immensely wealthy and powerful, which bored him even more. But in the end, Robert’s father didn’t get everything his own way. To everyone’s surprise, and especially Luke’s, Mr. Lawrence H. Wu’s only son fell for, courted, and eventually married the lovely Francoise Nuygen, and they soon produced twin boys. This turn of events made his father relatively happy, though he had really wanted his only son to marry a nice Chinese girl.
And every May 10, which they counted as the anniversary of their first meeting, Luke and Robert met for dinner
