your reading?' Indy asked as he ran his fingers over one of the tablets.
'I read a couple of hundred tablets yesterday,' she said.
'Why?'
'I haven't read any of them for years. It's good to refresh myself from time to time on the nature of the readings.'
Indy picked up one of the tablets, and translated the ancient Greek. It was a mundane reading regarding a merchant's plans to sell six hundred bales of wool to a new customer. The oracle had told him to hold firm on his price, then drop it slightly before sealing the bargain, and he would establish a strong, profitable relationship with the customer that would last years.
He laid the tablet down, wondering what Dorian could gain from reading such material. Maybe it was simply a way of relaxing after her breakdown. He was interested in hearing about her experience, but the only time he'd
broached the subject, she had said nothing to reveal her thoughts about the matter.
He watched her as she removed a shoulder bag from a locker, and carried it over to the table. She spread out six picks with heads of different lengths, and explained that all of them originally had been the same size, but were worn by use.
'Many archaeologists prefer to use trowels because they cause less damage to artifacts. But I've found that if you're careful, the pick is a much handier tool. Go ahead and take one.'
Indy ran the point of the one he selected over his palm. 'You sure I won't damage the tablet?'
'Not unless you hit it. Take your time and work around the base. From what's visible I'd say that about six to eight inches of it is buried. You don't have to go very close to it.'
'Why did they use large tablets sometimes, and smaller ones other times?' he asked.
'Most of the readings were recorded on small ones. But important readings that were not for one individual, but for everyone, were sometimes inscribed on larger tablets like the one you'll recover.'
Indy pointed to a set of brushes inside her bag, and asked if he would need one. She shook her head.
'The tablet will be cleaned after it is out of the hole.'
She reached into the bag, and picked up a brush with wiry bristles. 'But take , this one just in case you hit something unexpected. And before I forget here is a torch holder and a mallet to pound it into the wall.'
As Indy placed each of the tools into his knapsack, Dorian looked around as if she were missing something. 'Stephanos must have taken the ropes and net already. One rope goes around you, of course, and the other is for the tablet. Cover the tablet with the net as soon as you're down, and then attach the hooks at the opening to the loop at the end of the rope.'
'I think I can handle that.' The way she was treating him was annoying. Maybe he didn't have experience, but he wasn't an imbecile, and he knew how to attach hooks to a rope.
'Any questions?'
'Don't think so.'
She pursed her lips, he couldn't read her expression. 'This may seem very elementary to you, but what I've been telling you can make a difference between success and failure. I don't want you to get down there and not know what to do or worse, do it the wrong way.'
'How long should it take?'
'You're not going to be able to work comfortably dan gling at the end of a rope for very long. We'll pull you up after forty-five minutes. Then, if you're up to it, we'll send you down again after a fifteen-minute rest.'
'Maybe I'll finish the first time down.'
She grinned. 'Don't count on it. Working in that posi tion won't be easy. If you haven't finished by the second period, we'll wait until after the vapors have cleared, and try again around three o'clock.'
'So the vapors are dangerous?'
She zipped her shoulder bag shut. 'It would be difficult working in the vapors. Don't you think?'
She was hedging, he thought. 'Yes, especially if they are dangerous.'
She carried the bag over to her locker, and put it away. It was time to press her. 'What do you remember?'
She walked back, and stopped in front of him. 'Pardon me?'
'In the vapors. What happened?'
Her eyes shifted from him to the row of tablets on the table. 'I'm not sure, Indy.' Her was voice was suddenly weary. 'I guess I've been avoiding thinking too much about it.'
It was the first time she'd called him Indy since they'd arrived in Delphi. 'It might be a good idea to remember.'
She nodded, and slowly turned to face him. 'I remem ber entering the mist, inhaling and thinking that there was nothing mephitic at all about it. That it was harmless. In fact, now that I think about it, I felt good, better than I have for a very long time.'
'But you passed out.'
'I don't remember anything else.'
'Maybe you were reacting to your relief that the vapors were harmless,' he suggested. 'You were tired, you overworked yourself, and that's all it took.'
'That's possible, I suppose, but I'm not the fainting sort. The other explanation, of course, is that the vapors were the cause.'
Indy made a face. More than ever he suspected Dorian was prone to the same sort of fascination with the mystical that consumed his father. 'Think about it. If the vapors were dangerous, then the man who carried you out— Panos—would have suffered a similar reaction. I'm sure he didn't hold his breath like Nikos. He was in there too long.'
A floorboard creaked behind them, and they both turned. Doumas was standing inside the doorway. 'It's almost noon, Dr. Belecamus.'
Dorian straightened, and nodded. 'Yes. I think we're ready.'
Dorian watched the top of Jones's fedora vanish into the fissure as Doumas and two of his assistants slowly threaded the rope through their hands. Soon they would have the tablet. It might prove interesting, but was probably noth ing of consequence.
The excavation of Delphi, for all practical matters, was over. Anything that was found would probably only reaffirm
what was already known. Of course, she hadn't told that to Jones, and in his naivete he had followed her here thinking that he would be involved in a major discovery. But Jones
Alex's ally in the king's office had done his job perfectly. Everything had worked out fine. The king had been persuaded. If anything, she was surprised with the swift ness of the decision.
Yet, she was having a hard time focusing on Alex's mission. Which was exactly it, she thought. Alex's mis sion, not hers, not really.
The vapors had changed everything. By the time she had walked into the vapors, the mystery of the oracle had dominated her thoughts. That in itself was odd. She had never really thought of the oracle as a mystery. It was a phenomenon of ancient times, of a prescientific era. Yet now she saw it as something more, as a phenomenon with a future as well as a past.
But maybe this was all wrong. Was it really possible that she could be Pythia? She needed to talk to Panos. That was critical. But she had to make sure that no one saw them.
'Can I help?'
Dorian's head jerked around. Standing behind her and to one side was a young Greek she'd seen in the village. 'What are you doing here?'
'That's Panos's son,' Doumas said. 'Come on over here, Grigoris, and help with the rope.'
Dorian watched suspiciously. Suddenly, the rope went slack, and Doumas yelled down to Jones.
'He must be there by now,' Dorian said.
Doumas shook his head. 'No. He hasn't gone far enough yet.'
'Then pull it tight,' she barked, thinking that Jones must have wedged himself between the walls. 'Hurry
