Pompeii's Ghosts (A James Acton Thriller, #9) Read Online Free PDF Page B

There’s a
buried ship.”
    “A ship?
Buried?” Hamid’s eyes narrowed as if he didn’t believe what he had just heard.
    “You
doubt me?” exclaimed Birhan, immediately regretting his loud outburst. If there
was one thing he couldn’t stand it was being called a liar. His life was so
simple and pathetic, what could he possibly have to lie about? His temper was
something he always ended up regretting, the beatings he had put his poor wife
through on numerous occasions shames he still lived with to this day.
    He took
a deep breath and lowered his voice.
    “It
looked old. Very old. Probably shipwrecked centuries ago.”
    “Oh.
That makes more sense.”
    “What do
you mean?”
    “Well, I
thought you meant somebody buried a ship in the sand. That would be
ridiculous. Ships are huge! A boat maybe, but a ship?” Hamid poked the cane at
his friend playfully. “I thought you were playing a joke on me,” he grinned,
his gums on full display.
    Birhan
shook his head, unable to stay mad at his companion of so many years. “I’ll
take you there as soon as we’re finished tending to the herd. But you must
swear not to say anything to anyone.”
    Hamid
grinned again. “I promise.” He looked away. “How many of them are there?”
    “Huh?”
    “Gold
bars. How many?”
    “Hundreds.
Thousands. I don’t know, I can barely count my herd!”
    Hamid
laughed. “Then there’s more than enough for both of us!”
    Birhan
nodded in agreement, suddenly realizing his friend was assuming his intention
was to split his find between the two of them. He felt his blood boil at the
arrogance. The thought had never occurred to him to share the find. Certainly
he would give him some—there was more than enough to take care of the entire
village if he wanted to. But he didn’t. The more he thought about it the more
he realized he just wanted to marry off his daughter to a good husband, then
move to America where he could live in a big city like New York. He had seen a
picture of it once and couldn’t believe his eyes.
    It
must be wondrous.
    There
were so many people, so many buildings, he had to admit he had asked what it
was when he first saw it. To think that humans could live in such a place was
almost unfathomable.
    Where
do your goats graze?
    The question
he had felt was perfectly reasonable but had elicited laughter from all who had
gathered to see the picture. He had stormed off, irate, after decking Semere, a
particularly annoying asshole who Birhan knew damned well was wondering the
same thing.
    Follower!
    As he
stewed in the indignation of the recalled memory they arrived at the farm, the
handover uneventful, Sheshy the enforcer his usual camel shit self, then after
a few casual pleasantries with the other herders, he and Hamid left, the sun
low on the horizon. As he looked at the sky he debated if he should put this
off until tomorrow. He and Hamid could simply take their herds to the same area
then look at the boat in the light of day.
    But
what if someone else finds it?
    The
thought had his heart racing a little faster and his pace quickening as he
decided they must return now, and carry as much of the gold back to their
houses as they could, just in case.
    “Is it
far?” asked Hamid as they plodded forward, their weathered bare feet gently
slapping the dirt path, undeterred by the long shadows hiding countless places
to turn an ankle.
    “No,”
replied Birhan, shaking his head as he pointed up and to the right. “It’s just
over that rise.” They covered the distance quickly, almost at a jog, then
scrambled over the rise and back down the bank, the gentle flow of the river
the only sound. Birhan dropped to his knees and began digging at the sand,
quickly finding his buried discovery.
    Hamid
gasped, dropping and helping his friend.
    “See, I
told you I wasn’t lying!” muttered Birhan.
    “I
should never have doubted you, my friend,” replied Hamid as he scooped at the
sand with a furry Birhan couldn’t match.