People of Babel (Ark Chronicles 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

turn back,” rumbled Uruk, who sat in the middle of the reed matting.
    Ham chuckled . “The sight of a real sea wets your breeches, eh? Now imagine what it’s like when you’re out there and a storm roars over you.”
    They glanced at the old man with leathery skin . He swayed with each swell, perfectly at ease as he laughed.
    “ What do you think lies beyond the horizon?” Nimrod asked.
    Ham shrugged . “We’re not going to explore like that, straight across the sea. No, my boy, we’re going to hug the land like lubbers.” Ham pointed to his right, at a sandy shore. “To oars!”
    The young men scrambled to obey as Ham drew Nimrod aside. “Here’s your first lesson as captain. Whenever things look bleak or your men grow panicked, give them something to do. It takes their minds off trouble.”
    That night , as the sun went down, they made landfall on the sheltered southern shore of an island. They explored it the next day and found nothing of note. So they set sail again on the Bitter Sea, as some of them called it, or the Sea of the Rising Sun, as Ham said. For several days, they bobbed along the ocher shores, occasionally landing to search for gold or malachite or salt licks. Mostly, they found salt marshes, desert and crawling sea turtles.
    On the fifth day on the open sea, Ham checked their water supply before telling Nimrod, “Either we find fresh water in the next few days, or we must turn back.”
    They had gained their sea legs by now, and the sun had bronzed each of them. They often marveled at fat sea cows, laughed at sporting dolphins and shivered when the dark shape of a shark glided under the boat. Hundreds of various fish lived in the Bitter Sea and coral reefs near shore never failed to amaze them.
    The next afternoon , limestone cliffs and dusty, green date palms stood out to sea. They rowed to what Ham called an island, albeit a large one. On a sandy beach, they drew the ship ashore. Unlike the salt marshes and deserts, this island abounded in date palms and lush vegetation.
    “ It doesn’t make sense,” Nimrod said. “Why is this place different?”
    Gilgamesh found an artesian spring. It bubbled out of clean rocks. The water was cool and created a small stream to the sea.
    When shown, Ham stood transfixed.
    “It’s just like you told us how it used to be in Antediluvian times,” Gilgamesh said. “How fresh water bubbled out of the earth.”
    “ I thought the Deluge destroyed such things,” Nimrod said.
    Almost reverently Ham cupped his hands into the water, drinking . “This is the Blessed Land,” he intoned. “I name thee, Dilmun.” He told them about an island in the Old World that had been known for its Eden-like gardens.
    For several days, they trampled through tall flower fields and park-like groves of palm trees. Uruk discovered wild onions better than he’d ever tasted. He filled a sack with them to grow in Babel.
    On a sandy shore, many leagues from the boat, men dug up leathery eggs bigger than two fists pressed together. That night, they ate their fill of eggs.
    Stars shone and logs popped in the fire . The Hunters leaned against rocks or lay on grass, full.
    “ What do you suppose laid those eggs?” lean Gilgamesh asked.
    “ A giant turtle,” Nimrod said.
    Ham didn ’t think so. Some sort of giant sea-beast certainly, but one he hoped they didn’t meet. He pondered on the situation between Gilgamesh and Uruk. He liked Gilgamesh. Uruk bragged too much and laughed coarsely at rude jokes.
    The next day he took aside Gilgamesh, Enlil and Anu . “Gather rocks,” Ham told them, “about this big, and load them into the boat.” When they asked him why, he said as an experiment.
    So as the others marched about the island, the four of them manhandled the ship into the water. By dint of hard rowing and careful use of the sail, they brought it over a coral reef a quarter league from shore.
    “ Below lies treasure,” Ham said, “treasure to help Gilgamesh win his