shattered gallery was overwhelming.
'It's totally destroyed,' she whispered. 'All those mar, vellous works
of art. I cannot believe that Taita wanted this to happen.'
'No,'Nicholas agreed ruefully. 'His plan was to give us a big send-off
along the road past the seven pylons to the happy hunting grounds. And
he damned nigh succeeded.'
'It's going to take a lot of hard work to clear up this mess,' she said.
'What on earth are you talking about?' He turned on her in genuine
alarm. 'We have saved the statues, and that's all we can hope for. Now I
think it's time to cut our losses and get out of here.'
'Get out of here? Are you crazy?' She rounded on him furiously. 'Are you
out of your mind?'
'At least the statues will pay our costs,' he explained, and there might
even be something left over to divvy up between us, in accordance with
our agreement.'
'You aren't dreaming of giving up now, when we are so close?' Her voice
rose sharply with agitation.
'The gallery is destroyed-' he began in more reasonable tones, but she
stamped her foot with agitation and shouted him down.
'The tomb is still there. Dammit! Nicky, Taita would not have gone to
those lengths if it were not. We are getting too close now - that is why
he fired that warning shot across our bows. Don't you see? We have him
really worried now. We can't give up with the prize almost in sight.'
'Royan, be reasonable.'
'No! No! You be reasonable.' She refused to listen.
'You have to start clearing the gallery right away. I know the entrance
is open now. All we have to do is clear this mess, and I am certain that
we will find the true entrance to the tomb behind the rubble that Taita
deliberately dropped on us.'
I think that bang on your head has loosened a couple of nuts and bolts.'
He threw up his hands in resignation.
'But what's the use arguing with a crazy woman? We will clear just
enough of the scree to prove to you that there is nothing more to
discover in there.'
'The dust is going to be our big problem.' Sapper eyed the blocked
gallery entrance when they told him what they intended. 'As soon as we
touch that rubble there is going to be clouds of it - more than our
little blower fan can handle.'
'Right,' Nicholas agreed briskly. 'We will have to wet it all down. Two
lines of men back down the tunnel to the sinkholes One chain passing up
water buckets, and the other chain passing back the rubble from the
cave-in.'
'It's going to take a lot of work.' Sapper sucked his bottom lip
lugubriously.
'You signed on to be tough,'Nicholas reminded him.
'No time to start whinging now.'
The monks, still convinced that they were engaged on the Lord's work,
accepted this new task cheerfully. They sang as they passed the chunks
of broken plaster and -rock in one direction and the clay pots of water
