“That’s a lot to swallow,” Carter commented.
“I am open to alternate explanations.” Fewick leaned back. “The ceiling is twenty feet higher than before. I wonder where we are.”
“In one of the caves reached by one of the other two openings?” Ashwood suggested.
Da Rimini shook her head. “We tried them first. Both were dead ends.”
“Or better sealed,” Ashwood argued. “Don’t y’all think you ought to see if there’s a way out?” She was smiling wolfishly. “If there ain’t we could be trapped in here forever. That’d be nice an’ cozy.”
“Shut your mouth.” Da Rimini was clearly unnerved as she turned to yell at her companions. “We need to find the exit, you idiots! There’ll be plenty of time for play later.”
It occurred to Carter that he could ram the preoccupied Da Rimini from behind and knock her to the floor. The Fernández brothers were busy swimming in their gold. Unfortunately that plan required that Fewick, as the only one with his hands free, recover his pistol from the Amazon and use it if necessary. Which meant, Carter decided sorrowfully, that it was no plan at all.
If he could only get one hand free.
Everyone waited while the brothers explored the cave. Two hours later they returned, considerably less animated than they had been earlier. Manco shook his head.
“We could find no way out.”
“There are big tunnels but they all lead downward,” Blanco added with a slight shudder. “We did not go very far into any of them.”
“There has to be a way out,” the frustrated Da Rimini exclaimed.
“Not necessarily.” Fewick sat quietly by the lantern, stroking Moe. The cat lay contentedly in his lap. “What better hiding place for a great treasure than a cave with only that as the way in and out?” He nodded in the direction of the ovoid.
Ashwood made a noise. “Are you thinkin’ of tryin’ to use that whatever-it-is again?”
“Why not? If it was used to bring this gold here, then people had to be moving back and forth. We have no reason to suppose it only operates in one direction.”
“Then we could take some of this gold with us.” Da Rimini looked thoughtful.
“Hey,” said Carter warningly, “whose side are you on, Fewick?”
The archaeologist eyed him noncommittally. “Why, the same side I have always been on, my thespianic friend. The side of knowledge.” He glanced at Da Rimini. “This is a primitive site. If there is another way out of here I am the individual most likely to find it. However, if you wish my help I must ask that you return my pistol to me.” He paused. “I would decide quickly. The batteries in these lights will not last forever.”
Da Rimini hesitated, glanced at her partners. Manco Fernández nodded. “Very well. But if you try anything you die.”
“Concisely put.” He smiled and set Moe aside.
“Bastard,” Ashwood muttered.
“I beg to disagree,” he responded. “I am legitimate, if not popular.” He accepted his pistol from Da Rimini, made sure the safety was off, and slipped it back into his holster.
“Get up,” Da Rimini told her three remaining prisoners. “You are coming with us. I don’ trust leaving you alone.”
So much for him and Igor working on each other’s bonds, Carter thought disappointedly. They stumbled up the tunnel, following their captors.
Sure enough, Fewick found a path where no one else would have thought to look. It began beneath a half-collapsed lintel and led off to the right. In spite of the fate which probably awaited them, Carter found that he was eager for fresh air and the sight of the sun again. If they had to die he much preferred to do so out in the open. And if they were lucky an opportunity to escape might yet present itself.
The paved path ended in a solid rock wall.
Fewick made no attempt to conceal his disappointment. “This is not what I expected.”
“It not very useful, either,” growled Da Rimini.
“That’s because your eyes ain’t no sharper than your brain.” Ashwood stepped forward and nodded at a corner of the wall.
Set in a small carved recess was a miniature of the mysterious ovoid. It sported a much duller sheen than its larger relative and was no more than a couple of inches tall. Only two grooves marred its otherwise perfectly smooth surface.
Manco reached for it, only to find that it was fastened securely into the stone. He glanced back at Da Rimini.
“Try it,” she said.
He nodded, considered for a moment, then ran two fingers down the pair of engravings. His effort was rewarded by a grinding noise that made everyone retreat several steps.
A portion of the wall slid aside, creating an opening just wide enough for one person to slip through. Accompanied by a cool breeze, evening light poured into the passageway. They filed out under Manco Fernández’s watchful eye.
The jungle was gone.
They found themselves standing on a rocky hillside. Brush and small trees grew in isolated clumps, hiding the well-concealed entrance from view. Not that there was anyone around to notice it.
Spread out before them lay a vast barren plain. To the north they could make out a few cultivated fields scattered around a small river. A single smoky tendril curled through the clear air, marking the location of some unseen habitation. Other than the smoke, the only sign of life was a small single-engine plane which was slowly circling the plain at high altitude.
The sharp-eyed Igor was the first to notice what the plane’s occupants were examining. As soon as he pointed it out, Manco Fernández let out a startled oath in Spanish.
“Nazca. Por Dios, we’ve come to Nazca!”
“What’s that?” Carter asked him. Fewick looked at the actor and shook his head sadly.
