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Stories from the Verse
A Dozen Verses
Chapter 69: Cooper 95
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Kondor 278
Just as his questioner was about to come over to see what Cooper had found, Angle was heard to say, “Hey, guys, look at this,” and everyone headed his direction--everyone except Cooper, who was flexing his fingers and trying to understand this glove. In the background he heard the others talking about what was apparently a stash of stones that had some value--he thought maybe someone called them Venusian diamonds. They were helping themselves.
He hesitated. He did not really think he wanted to be a grave robber. Of course, the lady was not dead--but did that make it worse? On the other hand, he had not noticed a stash of gems, so maybe it was another gift, one intended for the group. He also recalled some of Derek’s stories, about someone named Joe Kondor taking treasure from a sinking pirate ship, and a Bob Slade getting it from a djinni. Absently he walked over to the group, took a small handful in his right hand and stuffed them in his pants pocket. He didn’t really need a lot of money; God had always seen to his needs. But then, this might well be how God intended to see for some of them in the future, so he shouldn’t ignore it now.
As he turned away, he noticed one of the wall carvings he had examined before. He had previously noticed the hand in the center, just about shoulder height, and had been trying to figure out how it fit the story. Suddenly it occurred to him that it might not be primarily to fit the story. It was an indentation of a left hand. He raised his gloved hand and settled it into the space.
The wall opened--it didn’t swing open or slide open or fall open, it simply dissolved. Beyond it was a ramp, dimly lit and sloping upward.
“It appears,” he said, “that I found the key. This might be our exit, gentlemen, and we should take advantage of the opportunity while it is here.” Having said that, he stepped onto the ramp and drew the sword for light.
The space was narrow. He would not have said it was cramped, but it was not wide enough to accommodate two abreast. It was not steeper than many switchbacks he had trod, but he would not have wanted to negotiate it in a wheelchair. It spiraled upward, counterclockwise in a circle he guessed might be five yards across. After rising possibly as much as a hundred feet it came to a dead end--but again he saw a carving with an indentation of a hand, and placed his hand into it. The wall dissolved again, and he stepped through into a large but lit room. Glancing around he saw other explorers in the space, and an open arch to sunlight off to the left.
They were out.
There is a behind-the-writings look at the thoughts, influences, and ideas of this chapter, along with eleven other sequential chapters of this novel, in mark Joseph "young" web log entry #529: Characters in Action. Given a moment, this link should take you directly to the section relevant to this chapter. It may contain spoilers of upcoming chapters.
As to the old stories that have long been here:
