“Hm,” Simon said, “maybe we’ll just categorize it under shipping supplies.”
Temi had finished tying the whip, so I grasped the handle. Even with its aid, the climb wasn’t easy. I struggled to pull myself up, hand-over-hand until I was high enough that I could thrust my feet against the walls to reduce the strain on my arms. Given how physical our workdays had been of late, Simon and I might have to add gym memberships to our tax deductions too.
“What happened up here?” I asked while Simon worked on Rope Number Two. “Did you have any warning that those guys were climbing out, or did they see you?”
“Your rope started smoking, then burst into flames,” she said. “I took that as a warning.”
“Er, I would too.”
“I rushed over there and hid.” Temi pointed toward a couple of thick-trunked trees growing from the bank. “I’d barely reached the spot when one climbed out, with the other right after.”
“Wait, they climbed out after they torched the rope?”
She nodded. “They seemed quite agile.”
My mind boggled at the idea. I’d barely made it out with the whip.
“One of them was carrying something too,” Temi said.
“Oh?” I hadn’t seen a thing in the dark down there, aside from those eyes.
“It was bundled up, but a handle or maybe a hilt stuck out of the end. If I had to guess, I’d say it was a sword.”
“A sword? What would that be doing down there? Nobody in North America had swords until the Spaniards showed up.” An image of an Aztec Macuahuitl came to mind, but that was more like a sharpened club than a sword.
“It can’t be a Spanish sword?” Temi asked.
“Well, I guess it could if the cavates aren’t as old as I thought. Or... I don’t know. They dug under the caves, didn’t they? For something buried... when? Before the cavates were dug? It’d make even less sense for a sword to be in there, then, don’t you think?” I was puzzled, but I was fascinated. I really wanted to talk to those riders again. And figure out a way to convince them to provide answers to my oodles of questions.
“I don’t even know what a cavate is,” Temi pointed out.
“My rope’s ready,” Simon called up. “Can someone catch it?”
“Yes,” Temi and I said together.
Something slapped the side of the hole, then splashed into the water below. “Oops, just a second. This is going to take a few tries.”
A distant roar sounded from farther up the valley. Motorcycles starting up.#p#分页标题#e#
I grimaced. “Not that there was much room for maneuvering, but I wish we’d hidden Zelda.”
“We’ll have to hope they thought incinerating the rope was enough of a delaying tactic,” Temi said.
A wad of braided duct tape flopped out of the hole. I caught it before it could fall back in, then tied the end around the stump. “If they incinerated the van, Simon will be devastated.”
“I didn’t get the sense that they felt that... angry toward us,” Temi said.
“What gives you that idea?”
“I thought I was pretty quiet in moving toward my hiding spot, but they both looked toward my trees before they jogged off up the riverbed.”
“They saw you?” I asked, then leaned over the hole. “You’re set, Simon.”
“Thanks, coming now,” he called up.
“I can’t be positive, but it seemed so,” Temi said. “After eyeing my hiding spot, they exchanged looks with each other. I thought their expressions were more... exasperated than murderous.”
“It’s true that I didn’t get a murderous vibe when I talked to the chatty one either,” I said. “Though I definitely don’t think we should consider them buddies.”
“Which one is the ‘chatty’ one?”
“Uh, the younger one. I guess I can’t be sure if he’s younger, but he seems more innocent. Less hard and chiseled. That’s Eleriss. Blue Eyes.”
Scuffs and pants drifted up from below. Simon was having as much fun with the climb as I’d had.
“What’s the other one’s name?” Temi asked. “He was more... striking.”
“Jakatra.”
Simon’s head popped up, then he stuck his hands out on either side of the hole. The worried crease on his brow didn’t seem to have anything to do with the climb. He was frowning at Temi, though she was gazing off in the direction the riders had gone.
“Who’s striking?” Simon mouthed to me.
“It’s not important.” I stood and helped him the rest of the way out of the hole. Even if Temi thought Jakatra was a handsome cat, she’d reassess any attraction once she saw those eyes on a dark night. I shuddered. I told myself it was because of my soaking clothing, but I wasn’t certain that was the truth.