tortoise. He gestured to it, and the cameraman panned in for a full-frame shot.
‘Professor Lourds.’ Rory, his patience exhausted, trailed after the cameraman. ‘Please. That camcorder battery is only going to last a little while longer. It takes hours working a hand generator to charge them.’
Ignoring the director, Lourds continued.
‘Why make the tortoise with a flat back? I kept missing that. I mean, it was apparent. It looks like a serving dish. Or maybe a table.’ He pointed to the extremities. ‘Then it came to me. This tortoise was used as a staging platform.’ He whirled and pointed at the surrounding figures. ‘If you look at them, you’ll quickly realize that each and every one will fit on the back of this turtle .’
In the back of the crowd, Brother Shamar smiled proudly and nodded. The old man hadn’t known the secret before, but he was catching on quickly.
‘If this tortoise is a staging platform, as I believe, then there has to be a support mount for a rope to run through somewhere on the ceiling of this cavern.’
Lights swiveled toward the cavern’s ceiling. Hooking his fingers and toes into the craggy rock, Lourds climbed. The going was rough, and he wasn’t nearly as graceful as the monks, but he reached the ceiling nearly twenty feet above the stone floor. Some of the monks and BBC crew climbed with him, and Gloria followed as well. They all held on one-handed and shined their flashlights around the uneven ceiling.
For a long few minutes, Lourds feared his hypothesis was incorrect.
Then Thompson shouted. ‘There! Do you see it?’
He waggled his light over a thick stalactite, and the beam jumped through the hole that had been augured through the stone.
Lourds grinned.
Upon closer inspection – done while hanging from a climbing harness attached to pitons driven into the ceiling by the Sherpas – Lourds determined that the hole had been used for hauling.
‘The lips and inside are worn smooth.’ He hung upside down while talking to the cameraman. ‘If you’ll pass that camera up here – ’
‘He most certainly will not.’ Rory stepped protectively toward the expensive equipment.
Lourds laughed and took a small digital camera from his shirt pocket. ‘Your loss. These digital images will have to suffice.’ With a quick, practiced pull on the ropes, he righted himself and took pictures of the hole. It was wide enough that he could have thrust both arms in and had room left over. And it was at least four feet deep. There had been plenty of leverage for the ropes.
At the top of the cavern, Lourds looked down. He had that much of the puzzle figured out, but where had the rocks come from? Then, on the eastern wall, he saw a crack near the top.
When he climbed up to the top of the eastern wall, Lourds found the gap he’d spotted. It was only a few inches wide, nothing that would have been seen from the ground or by anyone not looking for it. Upon closer inspection, he found a seam that had been mortared into place. Cool air and the sound of rushing water sounded beyond.
A sandblaster couldn’t have peeled the smile from his face.
‘Wall is false.’ Gelu pounded on the section of the wall with his pickax.
The rock sounded empty.
‘Hollow on other side.’
Lourds turned in the climbing harness and shouted down to Rory. ‘If your cameraman has a stout heart, now would be the time to get him up here. Otherwise you’re going to miss that big reveal you’ve been waiting so impatiently for.’
When the cameraman was lashed securely in place to pitons, with a pair of Sherpas watching over him, Lourds and Gelu attacked the false rock with crowbars. Shamar had given his blessings to the endeavor.
‘Rock made good.’ Gelu growled as he shoved. ‘Put into place much good.’
Lourds silently agreed and leaned more heavily on his borrowed crowbar. The rock broke, and he had to find a new leverage place. In the end, though, the mortar gave way to the crowbars. Lourds
‘Professor Lourds.’ Rory, his patience exhausted, trailed after the cameraman. ‘Please. That camcorder battery is only going to last a little while longer. It takes hours working a hand generator to charge them.’
Ignoring the director, Lourds continued.
‘Why make the tortoise with a flat back? I kept missing that. I mean, it was apparent. It looks like a serving dish. Or maybe a table.’ He pointed to the extremities. ‘Then it came to me. This tortoise was used as a staging platform.’ He whirled and pointed at the surrounding figures. ‘If you look at them, you’ll quickly realize that each and every one will fit on the back of this turtle .’
In the back of the crowd, Brother Shamar smiled proudly and nodded. The old man hadn’t known the secret before, but he was catching on quickly.
‘If this tortoise is a staging platform, as I believe, then there has to be a support mount for a rope to run through somewhere on the ceiling of this cavern.’
Lights swiveled toward the cavern’s ceiling. Hooking his fingers and toes into the craggy rock, Lourds climbed. The going was rough, and he wasn’t nearly as graceful as the monks, but he reached the ceiling nearly twenty feet above the stone floor. Some of the monks and BBC crew climbed with him, and Gloria followed as well. They all held on one-handed and shined their flashlights around the uneven ceiling.
For a long few minutes, Lourds feared his hypothesis was incorrect.
Then Thompson shouted. ‘There! Do you see it?’
He waggled his light over a thick stalactite, and the beam jumped through the hole that had been augured through the stone.
Lourds grinned.
Upon closer inspection – done while hanging from a climbing harness attached to pitons driven into the ceiling by the Sherpas – Lourds determined that the hole had been used for hauling.
‘The lips and inside are worn smooth.’ He hung upside down while talking to the cameraman. ‘If you’ll pass that camera up here – ’
‘He most certainly will not.’ Rory stepped protectively toward the expensive equipment.
Lourds laughed and took a small digital camera from his shirt pocket. ‘Your loss. These digital images will have to suffice.’ With a quick, practiced pull on the ropes, he righted himself and took pictures of the hole. It was wide enough that he could have thrust both arms in and had room left over. And it was at least four feet deep. There had been plenty of leverage for the ropes.
At the top of the cavern, Lourds looked down. He had that much of the puzzle figured out, but where had the rocks come from? Then, on the eastern wall, he saw a crack near the top.
When he climbed up to the top of the eastern wall, Lourds found the gap he’d spotted. It was only a few inches wide, nothing that would have been seen from the ground or by anyone not looking for it. Upon closer inspection, he found a seam that had been mortared into place. Cool air and the sound of rushing water sounded beyond.
A sandblaster couldn’t have peeled the smile from his face.
‘Wall is false.’ Gelu pounded on the section of the wall with his pickax.
The rock sounded empty.
‘Hollow on other side.’
Lourds turned in the climbing harness and shouted down to Rory. ‘If your cameraman has a stout heart, now would be the time to get him up here. Otherwise you’re going to miss that big reveal you’ve been waiting so impatiently for.’
When the cameraman was lashed securely in place to pitons, with a pair of Sherpas watching over him, Lourds and Gelu attacked the false rock with crowbars. Shamar had given his blessings to the endeavor.
‘Rock made good.’ Gelu growled as he shoved. ‘Put into place much good.’
Lourds silently agreed and leaned more heavily on his borrowed crowbar. The rock broke, and he had to find a new leverage place. In the end, though, the mortar gave way to the crowbars. Lourds
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