Conard County Watch. Rachel Lee

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СКАЧАТЬ elicited a laugh from him, a pleasant sound on the warming morning air. “A jackhammer, huh?”

      She lowered the camera, smiling. “Wouldn’t be the first time. You just have to take out huge slabs without troubling anything else. But this scene is so different, everything so close together. We’d better be able to use brushes and small tools or we’re just going to have to cover it with a protective sealant and study it from the face only.”

      “That would be disappointing.”

      “To say the least. Preservation first, however.” She paused, then added, “Speaking of stability, however, everyone needs to wear hard hats up here. While I was taking photos this morning, some small rocks fell from above. I’d hate for anyone to get beaned by something bigger.”

      “Of course. It’s a simple precaution.” He leaned back a bit, propping himself on one arm as she helped herself to more coffee. “I’m the historian, right? I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a whole lot about paleontology or archaeology. What I do know is how many travesties occurred in the past thanks to the first explorers around the world who saw these kinds of sites, and tombs and ancient cities, as a treasure trove to be taken and carelessly cataloged.”

      She nodded, liking him more by the minute. “Sadly true. Egypt is still trying to recover artifacts from private owners and museums.”

      “I know. Trying to reassemble an impressive history.” He smiled, his blue eyes bright. “So I’m glad to work with someone like you who understands how wrong that would be, sacred site or no. I saw enough looting in the Middle East to jam in my craw. I get people are poor, but the history they’re digging up and selling will never be replaced. And finding items in situ is so important to understanding them.”

      “Amen to that.” She turned a bit on her rock, looking toward the other side of the cleft. Considering the tall rock face behind it, it seemed odd there was just that thin wall of rock, maybe ten feet high, facing it. Small, but it might hold treasures. Some of the split must have tumbled downward to a stream some thirty feet below, which was lined on the far side with trees. More rock had probably crumbled into the fill layer on which she was sitting. The stream below would be useful in their attempts to screen for tiny artifacts, and of course they’d have to study the tumbled rock for remnants. But still the geography appeared odd. She’d have to ask Claudia about that when she arrived. The geologist could probably explain what had happened here.

      Maybe a cleft hadn’t really opened up. Maybe there’d been a rockfall on just this side only. But Gray Cloud had talked about it opening. As she sat there studying the terrain, she wondered briefly if Gray Cloud was right, if this was more than just a happy chance. Again the sense of the mountain looming over her tickled her deep inside, a sort of uneasy fluttery feeling.

      But no, she wasn’t about to go down that path. This whole expedition had to be based on science, not strange feelings.

      “You look troubled,” Cope remarked.

      She glanced at him, realizing she had forgotten about him for so long that the hot coffee in her insulated mug had begun to cool noticeably. The air had warmed from the rising sun as well. Not enough to make her shed her jacket yet, but it wouldn’t be long.

      “I’m not troubled, exactly,” she answered. “It’s just that this cleft is odd. I’ll need to ask Claudia about it when she gets here. Or maybe it’s nothing unusual at all, just a problem with my understanding of how Gray Cloud described it.”

      “That’s possible. Different cultures and all that.”

      He sat up and poured himself some more coffee, taking one of the remaining rolls.

      Curiosity about something besides old bones awoke in her. “How much did you immerse yourself in the local cultures when you were...over there?”

      “As much as I could.” His gaze grew distant. “Know your enemy and all that. Except most of the people weren’t our enemies at all. They were ordinary people who were trying to live an ordinary life in the midst of chaos. I was lucky to have a facility with languages so I could even make some friends.” He seemed to shake himself, then his gaze fixed on her again. “Ever seen a goat climb a vertical rock face?”

      The change of subject was startling. She guessed he was trying to shake off memories he’d awakened. “Can’t say I have.”

      “They’re amazing. They’d climb up and down those rocks as if they were level. Even the smallest of them are good at it. There was a day when I was an outpost, and I watched them for hours. Walking and jumping like it was nothing at all. A human rock climber wouldn’t be able to do it like that on his or her best day.”

      That turned her attention back to the rock face. “I wonder if the mountain goats will try that wall?” The idea worried her. So much possible damage.

      “I think they stay at higher elevations. Anyway, there’s nothing they’d want on that rock. Nothing growing, and probably not enough salt to make it appealing. It just reminded me of them.”

      She smiled at him, glad she’d allowed herself to invite him to join her team. They might not have a crying need for a historian, but he probably had a lot of good stories to tell, and his perspective on the past could be useful.

      Impatience began to tickle her again. God, how she wanted to start excavating those bones. It would be such a painstaking process, to do it correctly, that she couldn’t imagine being very far along by the end of the summer. Almost before she would know it, they’d be covering up all that history to protect it from snow, wind and rain. To keep it pristine. To prevent site contamination.

      It had survived the past winter with little protection, if any. No reason to get worked up about next winter. “Dang,” she said suddenly. “I’m such a worrywart. Already planning how we’re going to protect this face from next winter. Heck, it made it through the last winter.”

      “Unless the mountain decides to shake, I doubt it’s going anywhere.”

      She returned her attention to him. “You’re an odd man, Carter Copeland.”

      He flashed a charming grin. “Blame it on my past. I’ll never be ordinary again. So much the better if I deal with life with humor. So.” He paused. “Who all is going to be part of this team?”

      “Claudia Alexander I already mentioned. She’s a geology postdoc who’s curious to find out why there are so many fossils here.”

      “How come? Apart from a disaster happening all at once.”

      “Fossilization is a rare thing, believe it or not. Special conditions are required, and nothing can disturb them for a long, long time. That’s why we actually have so few fossils, although you probably wouldn’t believe it when you go to a museum. In fact, when you go to a museum and look at those big statues of, say, a tyrannosaur, you’re seeing a lot of fake bones. Partly because we don’t have complete skeletons, and partly because the real fossilized bones are usually radioactive from all the centuries buried in the ground. When we display a genuine bone, we give it a coating of lead paint.”

      Oh, she had his interest now. His gaze became piercing and she could almost sense the thoughts running around inside his head. “I never guessed that.”

      “Most people don’t.” She set down her cup, pulled the band from her ponytail, and scooped her long auburn hair СКАЧАТЬ