Lazar Read Online Free PDF Page B

already got that from the map. What I need to
know is whether the walls were made of stone or wood; was there water in the
dyke – that sort of thing.”
    “How would she know?”
    “Yeah, you’re right, she wouldn’t know.” Hal put his hands
together, as if in prayer, and rested them against his lips. He stared hard at
the screen. “Did you mention that they had a model of the old town in the
museum?”
    “No.”
    “Then I must have read something about it somewhere. It must
be in one of these.” Hal leant forward and shuffled through the pile of books
and leaflets on his desk. “I think it was in this one … Yeah, look, just there.”
    He turned the open page toward his cousin. She peered down at
a small black-and-white photo of a scale model of the town surrounded by its
city wall.
    “I don’t remember seeing that when I was there. But then I
didn’t go much further than the shop, there seemed to be everything we needed
in there.”
    Hal put the book back on the pile then looked up at his
cousin.
    “How do you fancy popping down there and taking some photos
on your phone? I need some close-ups, from all angles.”
    “What, now?”
    “Yeah, I’ve got to get on with this as soon as possible if
we’re to finish by the day after tomorrow.”
    “The day after tomorrow?”
    “Yeah, July 29th,” Hal confirmed in an offhand way. “It’s apparently
the day, every year, when Old Wickwich is supposed to rise up out of the sea at
midnight.”
    Jan frowned in puzzlement, then laughed and smiled broadly at
her cousin.
    “First ghosts, and now legends,” she teased. “What will you
believe in next?”
    “I don’t believe in
ghosts,” Hal retorted, “or legends. It just seemed like a pretty neat idea to
take a virtual tour around Old Wickwich on the day it’s supposed to rise up out
of the sea. OK?”
    Jan smiled, then leant forward and extracted The Legends of Old Wickwich from the
pile of books and leaflets.
    “I wonder why July 29th?” she pondered. “Perhaps it’s a
special day – like Hallowe’en – you know, like a Holy Day or
Saint’s Day or something. Where are the other things I brought back from the
museum? They’ll probably have the answer.”
    “I’ll race you.” Hal threw down the challenge. “Let’s see who
can find the answer first, me on the Internet or you in those books.”
    Jan went over and sat down on the edge of Hal’s unmade bed,
where the other books and leaflets lay, and began thumbing through their pages
while her cousin began frantically searching through the web.
    “Here you are,” she said, at exactly the same time as Hal
yelled, “Yes!” Their pronouncements caught each other by surprise.
    “What have you found, then?” Hal asked indignantly.
    “There was a great storm on July 29th,” Jan said, “in 1286. Three
parishes in the city were completely washed away in a single night. What have you
found?”
    “I Googled it. According to Wikipedia,” Hal read from the
screen, “‘Lazarus is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints on July 29’.”
    “So? What’s that got to do with anything?”
    “Well, wasn’t he the bloke that Christ raised from the dead? Seems
sort of appropriate, don’t you think? – the city rising from its watery
grave on his Saint’s Day.”
    “Goodness,” Jan smiled ironically, “are you beginning to show
signs of an imagination?” As soon as she said it she wished that she had not. A
momentary frown creased her cousin’s brow and his lips parted as if to protest.
    “It is an
interesting idea, though,” Jan conceded swiftly, “but will we be able to
collect all the data you need to feed into your CAD program in so short a
time?”
    “Goodness,” Hal retaliated, “are you beginning to show signs
of nerdiness?”
    “No such word.”
    “Bet there is,” he said and turned to Google the word.
    “Come on,” there was a hint of exasperation in Jan’s voice,
“we haven’t got time to waste on stupid words. If