“I can’t tell,” she said uncertainly. “It all looks so natural.” She paused. “Hold on.” She noticed a stone whose edges seemed to be sealed or coated with hardened mud. It was exactly the same shade of brown as the cave ceiling, so it blended seamlessly when seen from the ground. However, from this vantage point, the stone seemed to be mortared into place.
Glancing down briefly, she asked, “Griffin, you holding up OK?”
“Very well, thank you for asking,” he said through gritted teeth.
She knew that her knee must be digging into his collarbone, so she tried to hurry her inspection.
“I hope this isn’t glued in too tight,” she murmured. She gave the rock a strong shove with both hands. To her amazement, it cracked loose. The grout sealing its edges crumbled to dust and fell to the ground. Cassie was able to push the stone upward several inches and then slide it to the side. She concluded that it must be thin and flat on top, almost like a manhole cover, even though from below it appeared round and bulky.
“Guys, can you move those lights closer?” she called out.
Erik and John complied and illuminated the interior of the cavity which the stone had hidden. The cavern ceiling had been hollowed out about a foot above its natural height. In addition, a square niche had been carved in one side of the hidden compartment.
Cassie felt around in the man-made recess and her fingers immediately locked onto a small covered box. “Pay dirt!” she exclaimed triumphantly. “Somebody grab this.”
The box was small enough that she was able to pull it out with one hand. Erik reached up to take the container.
Griffin lowered her to the ground.
“Thanks, I couldn’t have done it without you,” she told him.
“I may hire myself out as a human ladder when we get back home,” he quipped, flexing his fingers to get the circulation going again. “Now let’s see what the Minoans left us.”
They all bent down to watch as Erik laid the alabaster container gently on the ground and lifted its cover.
“Oh, my!” John gasped.
“That about sums it up,” Cassie agreed.
Chapter 41—Cache Out
The truck cut across the flat desert landscape. There was no road—not even any tire tracks to guide the driver. It didn’t matter. He knew exactly where he was going. The sun’s last rays were retreating over the horizon. He wanted to get to the spot before dark. Burying things in the desert at night was easy. Finding those things after dark was far harder. His eyes scanned the landscape. He locked onto a low rise of hills in the distance. That was his marker. It shouldn’t be much farther now.
He slowed the engine. He couldn’t be sure. Yes, this was it. The truck came to a full stop. The driver got out. Nobody was around. He didn’t expect there would be. His two companions crawled out of the vehicle’s canvas-covered back. They all stood around waiting for the light to fade completely. It didn’t take long. The sun sank like a stone at this time of year.
There was going to be a moon tonight. A full moon. Just enough light to work by and no need for lanterns. They waited for the moon to rise a little higher—another half hour. Then, without a word, the two men reached into the back of the truck for shovels. They didn’t ask for instructions about what to do. They walked straight to the place where they had buried the box and went to work.
The driver leaned against the side of his truck. He lit up a cigarette and blew leisurely smoke rings into the air while his partners commenced to dig. One foot down. Two feet down. Then three. Then four. At a depth of five feet, the driver could hear a shovel hitting something solid—the wooden top of the crate. He smiled to himself. Everything had gone exactly as planned. He’d been patient. He’d waited until nobody was looking in his direction. The people who watched for such things had forgotten about this cache. By now they were off chasing another shipment somewhere else.
The two diggers were ready to disinter the heavy object from its grave. They grabbed the ends of the buried coils of rope which still encircled the crate and heaved themselves out of the hole. Then each one took a section of rope and pulled. They struggled with their cargo for several minutes, looking like contestants in a game of tug of war against an unseen opponent. Eventually, they succeeded in dragging the object to the surface.
The two diggers then rested for a few moments, breathing heavily.
The driver didn’t allow them much of a break.
“We need to get going,” he said curtly.
His men threaded a carrying pole under the knotted cords of rope that bound the crate and carried the object to the back of the truck. Straining, they tilted the box upward and shoved it inside. Before climbing in after it, one of the diggers asked the driver, “So, who’s the buyer?”
“Somebody new. A friend of a friend. It took me a while to find him.” The driver ground out his cigarette in the sand, then buried the residue. “He’s willing to pay twice the going rate.”
“Where’s the drop?” the other digger asked.
“The usual place,” the driver said, moving toward the cab.
“When?” the two diggers called to him in unison.
He turned, one foot on the running board. “Tonight.”
Chapter 42—Light at the End of the Tunnel
“Did you bring it?” Erik asked in a low voice.
“Yes, for the umpteenth time,” Cassie whispered back. “I’ve got it stashed in my backpack.”
The Arkana team was making its way cautiously up the northern slope of Jebel Barkal. It was long after sunset. The trio decided to wait until darkness concealed their trek up the mountain to place the duplicate artifact in the ceiling of the cave.
“We’re fortunate there’s a full moon tonight,” Griffin observed. “At least we won’t need
