“Trying to speed up the process before the air in here gets too scarce. I’ve cleared a few inches of space so we can slide the slab into it and make a bigger opening on the other side.”
The three stood about a foot apart and pushed the slab the other way with their shovels. The slab moved on its rollers, first closing the narrow opening they’d made, then going another few inches. A much wider opening appeared on the other side of the slab, and the dirt sifted in much faster than before.
“Let’s rest for a while,” Sam said. The others sat down while Sam spread the dirt around. The rate was much faster now, and when they were within four or five feet of the ceiling, the flow stopped. Sam pushed his shovel up into the opening and it broke through the last of the dirt above it. A shaft of sunlight shone through, illuminating particles of dust floating in the chamber.
They all took off their infrared goggles, blinking in the light. They listened but heard no sound of men above them. There were random chirps of birds, flitting from one row of grapevines to the next. Fresh air flooded in.
They gathered beneath the opening and worked to clear more room above that side so they could push the slab into the newly cleared space. When they rolled the slab back, there was enough of an opening to allow Remi to slip out. She climbed up, then called down, “It’s still early morning. I don’t see anyone. Pass me a shovel.”
Sam pushed the shovel up through the opening and she worked for a few minutes. “Okay, push the slab another few inches.”
Sam and Albrecht moved the slab again, and now there was enough room for them to slip through too.
“I can hardly believe this,” Albrecht said. “We’re out.”
They used the shovels to cover the iron slab, but they didn’t have enough dirt left aboveground to level it with the surrounding land. Sam looked around. “Hear that?”
“A car,” said Remi. They all ducked low in the depression. Remi raised her head and peered out. “Wait. It’s Tibor’s car.”
The car sped up and stopped and then Tibor got out. “Why didn’t you call?” he asked. “Didn’t you find it?”
“We’ll explain later. Just get us out of here,” said Sam. “And not toward Szeged.”
They all climbed in and Tibor drove off. “I’ll go the other way, toward Budapest.”
“Perfect,” said Sam. “We need to figure out what that message meant. We’ve got a head start. When those men dig their way into the chamber, they’ll be expecting to find a tomb, just as we did.”
“It wasn’t a tomb?” Tibor said.
“It’s more than that,” Albrecht said. “Much, much more. How far is it to Budapest?”
“About fifty miles. Maybe an hour, if I push it.”
“Then push it,” Sam said. “We’ll try to fill you in on the way.”
THE ROAD TO BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
TIBOR DROVE FAR ABOVE THE SPEED LIMIT, BUT IT WAS early in the morning and they saw few other cars. Albrecht sat in the passenger seat beside him and the Fargos were in the back.
Sam said, “Remi and I plan to go after the five treasures. How do you feel about joining us?”
“This is my life’s work,” Albrecht said. “Of course I’m in.”
“Five?” said Tibor. “Five treasures? I’m in five times.”
“But how do we want to proceed?” asked Albrecht.
Sam said, “I’ve given it a little thought. First, we need to decipher the message that Attila left us and be sure we understand it.”
“Fortunately, it’s only Latin.” Albrecht took the newspaper Tibor had left on the seat, then used his pen to write out his translation. “‘You have found my secret but have not begun to learn it. Know that treasures are buried in sadness, never in joy. I did not bury treasure once. I buried it five times. To find the last, you must reach the first. The fifth is the place where the world was lost.’ In this section he tells us where the most recent treasure is.”
“Where can that be?” asked Remi. “When was the world lost?”
“There are a couple of good candidates for that description,” Albrecht said. “Remember that, to Attila, the world meant the land between the Ural Mountains and the Atlantic.”
“Let’s call Selma,” Remi said. “Maybe she and Pete and Wendy can help us sort this out.” She pressed a key on her cell phone. There was a ringing s
ound and then Selma’s voice on the speaker.