bursting with the news.
“ Did they cash your cheque, Uncle Harry?”
“ Ah, no. They didn’t, Jeremy. But Mister Cezar, in light of the
circumstances, was kind enough to advance me some money. We’ve done
business before, and he will wire an inquiry to the bank in
Caracas. As you may recall, I went even further up the big river,
ah, four years ago. In the meantime, we’re not going anywhere. No
steamers due for another couple of days.” It was late in the day,
telegraph and telephone lines were always uncertain, and such
inquiries often took a while.
“ What do we do in the meantime?”
“ Eat your steak, Jeremy. It’s getting cold. Hmn. In the
meantime, we could sleep in the tents—”
“ Professor. What happened to Mister Syrmes?”
She’d
been silent so far, face low over the plate and seemingly unengaged
after their lucky escape from the jungle.
“ Ah, yes. About that. Well. Let’s wait for our coffee and then
I shall tell you.”
***
They
were running out of patience as Harry stirred his coffee
maddeningly, and at length. Lighting up the one cigar he allowed
himself on any given day, he puffed at the blue smoke
contentedly.
“ So. Here’s how it went. They were having trouble with the
motor. According to Mister Cezar, who seems to know everything in
this place, it was a simple fuel leak. Rather than stop and try and
fix it, Mister Syrmes was out of control, yelling and shouting. The
natives were just trying to please him, which is their way. No skin
off their noses, right? They kept pouring fuel into it, and kept
going as fast as they could. Bear in mind, Syrmes was alone, with a
good eighty pounds of some of the finest and most valuable
artifacts, certainly, that I’ve ever seen. He must have gone
slightly mad. He was probably afraid of them to some extent,
although I’ve never had a lick of trouble. Foaming at the mouth,
actually, which is no way to deal with the local people. He told
Paolo to get the boat downstream any way he could, leaving the
pay-box and showing them that he wasn’t just deserting
them.”
“ Wait a minute, wait a minute—”
“ I’m getting to it. He was holding a gun on them by this point.
Just mad. Insane, really. He made them run the boat up on the
beach—just the odd, narrow little strand, which we did see along
that stretch.”
It must
have been right close to town, or he never should have attempted
it.
“ And then?” Jeremy prodded further.
“ And then, according to the natives, the biggest snake they’d
seen in some time, came up out of the water and grabbed him before
he even saw it. They say they were all yelling and screaming and
trying to warn him, but of course he was too wrought up to even
listen. According to them, he’s dead. Just dead.”
“ And—and the gold?” Mister Day was aghast. “The
artifacts?”
“ Swallowed. He was wearing the backpack. The snake had wrapped
itself around him. His arms were pinned. There was nothing anyone
could do—” Syrmes had tried to break free, but it was all to no
avail.
Once
he’d blacked out due to constriction, it was game over.
Uncle
Harry was staring at Melody O’Dell, silent so far and with her head
down.
“ And so he’s gone. However, we have made a major discovery. As
I believe I said earlier, our temple may very well be part of a
larger complex. There may be tombs, other buildings and
game-courts. There may be official and ceremonial buildings of all
sorts, although the homes of the common people have probably left
little trace.” He studied the tip of his cigar. “Anyways, that’s
just the way it is—”
In
Harry’s words, Mister Syrmes had gotten exactly what he deserved, a
bag of gold and then eaten by his own kind. As for himself, this
was the dream, and the opportunity, of a lifetime.
They
were still alive, and still together.
There
were always going to be setbacks. A bit of sensational publicity
couldn’t hurt the book sales, either.
His
fellow members, the
“ Did they cash your cheque, Uncle Harry?”
“ Ah, no. They didn’t, Jeremy. But Mister Cezar, in light of the
circumstances, was kind enough to advance me some money. We’ve done
business before, and he will wire an inquiry to the bank in
Caracas. As you may recall, I went even further up the big river,
ah, four years ago. In the meantime, we’re not going anywhere. No
steamers due for another couple of days.” It was late in the day,
telegraph and telephone lines were always uncertain, and such
inquiries often took a while.
“ What do we do in the meantime?”
“ Eat your steak, Jeremy. It’s getting cold. Hmn. In the
meantime, we could sleep in the tents—”
“ Professor. What happened to Mister Syrmes?”
She’d
been silent so far, face low over the plate and seemingly unengaged
after their lucky escape from the jungle.
“ Ah, yes. About that. Well. Let’s wait for our coffee and then
I shall tell you.”
***
They
were running out of patience as Harry stirred his coffee
maddeningly, and at length. Lighting up the one cigar he allowed
himself on any given day, he puffed at the blue smoke
contentedly.
“ So. Here’s how it went. They were having trouble with the
motor. According to Mister Cezar, who seems to know everything in
this place, it was a simple fuel leak. Rather than stop and try and
fix it, Mister Syrmes was out of control, yelling and shouting. The
natives were just trying to please him, which is their way. No skin
off their noses, right? They kept pouring fuel into it, and kept
going as fast as they could. Bear in mind, Syrmes was alone, with a
good eighty pounds of some of the finest and most valuable
artifacts, certainly, that I’ve ever seen. He must have gone
slightly mad. He was probably afraid of them to some extent,
although I’ve never had a lick of trouble. Foaming at the mouth,
actually, which is no way to deal with the local people. He told
Paolo to get the boat downstream any way he could, leaving the
pay-box and showing them that he wasn’t just deserting
them.”
“ Wait a minute, wait a minute—”
“ I’m getting to it. He was holding a gun on them by this point.
Just mad. Insane, really. He made them run the boat up on the
beach—just the odd, narrow little strand, which we did see along
that stretch.”
It must
have been right close to town, or he never should have attempted
it.
“ And then?” Jeremy prodded further.
“ And then, according to the natives, the biggest snake they’d
seen in some time, came up out of the water and grabbed him before
he even saw it. They say they were all yelling and screaming and
trying to warn him, but of course he was too wrought up to even
listen. According to them, he’s dead. Just dead.”
“ And—and the gold?” Mister Day was aghast. “The
artifacts?”
“ Swallowed. He was wearing the backpack. The snake had wrapped
itself around him. His arms were pinned. There was nothing anyone
could do—” Syrmes had tried to break free, but it was all to no
avail.
Once
he’d blacked out due to constriction, it was game over.
Uncle
Harry was staring at Melody O’Dell, silent so far and with her head
down.
“ And so he’s gone. However, we have made a major discovery. As
I believe I said earlier, our temple may very well be part of a
larger complex. There may be tombs, other buildings and
game-courts. There may be official and ceremonial buildings of all
sorts, although the homes of the common people have probably left
little trace.” He studied the tip of his cigar. “Anyways, that’s
just the way it is—”
In
Harry’s words, Mister Syrmes had gotten exactly what he deserved, a
bag of gold and then eaten by his own kind. As for himself, this
was the dream, and the opportunity, of a lifetime.
They
were still alive, and still together.
There
were always going to be setbacks. A bit of sensational publicity
couldn’t hurt the book sales, either.
His
fellow members, the
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