The Digger's Rest Read Online Free PDF

involved. We all agree that it’s over a thousand
years old, and from the look of it probably more than half buried.
There’s no telling what treasures and knowledge may be under that
lovely greenery. Now think about it. The timeframe, the location…”
Jack said, his eyes gleaming with the kind of excitement Mitch
hadn’t seen in years.
    “ The location?” Mitch asked, still
stumped.
    “ Think about it, my boy. Clear your
head from last night and think. Tintagel, Glastonbury? The time,
the place…it all fits, or could fit at any rate.”
    “ Oh, you’ve gotta be fucking kidding
me!” Mitch said, throwing his head back incredulously. Jack shook
his head seriously. He was not kidding.
    “ Let me get this straight. You’re
sending me to England in the hope of finding proof of King Arthur?
Jesus Christ, Jack. I’ll be the laughing stock of our
world.”
    “ Or the next Howard Carter,” Jack said
in a tone that left no room for equivocation. He was not in the
least kidding. “If we can date the original underlying structure to
anywhere near the 5th century and if it’s in any way provable that
this place was even remotely connected to Arthur—a coin, a scroll,
a carving, anything to prove the existence of Arthur—then whatever
else lies underneath that turf becomes historically and
artistically priceless, not only in ticket dollars around the
world, but in prestige for the Museum and lasting academic fame and
security for you. It’s a gamble, but no one has to know what we’re
looking for but us. It would be my legacy to both of
you.”
    “ Come on, Jack, you’re talking like
you’re gonna fucking die, again. Don’t scare me like that,” Mitch
said with a deep sigh as he flopped back down in his chair,
winded.
    “ I am going to die someday, my boy.
Please do this for me, Mitchell. Do it for us, and everything we’ve
worked toward all our lives,” Jack said, looking deep into Mitch’s
dark green eyes, the outside corners turned slightly upward giving
them an oddly feline shape. His mother’s eyes.
    “ You are un-fucking-believable,” Mitch
answered, shaking his head and throwing up his hands in
surrender.
    “ Yes, I am,” Jack said, smiling like
the cat that just ate the canary, thinking to himself, And so will you be, my boy , as they
sat in silence for a few moments to consider the
possibilities.
    Outside, the soon-to-be new Dr. Simon Holly
couldn’t stand the suspense of being shut out any longer and
scrambled for a reason to get back in there. He decided the helpful
approach would be best and knocked on the office door.
    “ Yes, come in,” Jack called out. Simon
opened the door slightly and stuck his head in. “Is the slide show
working alright, Dr. Edgeworth? More coffee maybe?” he asked
innocently.
    “ No, we’re fine, Simon, but come in
anyway. I’d like to talk to you,” Jack said, waving him in. Simon
went in slowly, self-consciously trying to keep his braced leg from
coming into contact with anything hard to prevent another…mishap.
Jack looked back at Mitch. “I expect you’d like to take our Simon
with you to document the project?” he asked, already knowing the
answer.
    Mitch and Simon were almost inseparable, like
an intel-lectual Batman and Robin ever since Mitch had discovered
Simon seven years earlier as a high school senior. Wherever
Mitchell Bramson was, one could be completely confident that Simon
Holly wouldn’t be too far away.
    Mitch just nodded, still not quite having
absorbed all that he was agreeing to. Simon’s eyes went wide with
wonder; the implication of the question was more than he could have
conceived before knocking on the door.
    Jack looked at Simon. “I’m sending Dr.
Bramson on an important excavation project, so it looks like you’ll
be going along to help and to keep an eye on him,” Jack said,
looking slyly from one to the other to ensure that the gist of his
comment wasn’t lost on either of them. “Ever been to England?” Jack
asked