The Grave Robbers of Genghis Khan Read Online Free PDF Page A

clapped John on the shoulder. “This
is
a brave lad. And you should be proud of him. Very proud. Of course, it’s quite unthinkable that one could actually permit a boy to go down there to do a man’s work but —”
    “With all due respect, sir,” said John. “Now it’s you who’s talking nonsense. You said yourself it’s imperative you get more samples and that Dr. Kreimhingla was too heavy for the crater floor.”
    “Heimskringla,” said Axel, trying to conceal his irritation. “My name is Heimskringla.”
    “Well, if he can’t go, and you can’t go, and Nimrod can’t go, then that leaves me and my sister,” argued John. “And I’m not about to let a girl go down there when I can go myself.”
    “Sexist,” said Philippa.
    “Have you ever rappelled down a rope before, boy?” asked Axel. “It’s extremely dangerous. Rappelling is thehighest cause of fatality among mountaineers because it looks a lot easier than it is.”
    “But it’s a lot easier than climbing back up,” added the professor.
    “I can climb a rope,” insisted John. “I’m a boy. It’s what we boys do best. Sure, I wish I was a better climber.”
    And muttering his focus word, which was ABECEDARIAN, he was. For such is the power of a djinn that new skills and knowledge can be instantly learned.
    “But I think I know what I’m doing.”
    And now, of course, he did.
    John picked up a spare length of rope and began tying knots. “Here,” he said. “A three-wrap Prusik.” Untying the Prusik as quickly as he tied it, John began to tie another knot. “A French Prusik.” And then another: “A Munter hitch.”
    “Impressive,” said Axel.
    “A rolling hitch.” John was showing off now. “Can either of you do a rolling hitch?”
    Axel looked abashed. “Er, no,” said Axel.
    “And there are easier ways to climb a rope than what I saw you doing just now, Professor,” said John. “I would have assumed that knowing how to rappel, you would have brought some mechanical ascenders.”
    It was hard to tell if behind the mask the professor looked abashed or not; but he certainly sounded abashed. “
Nei
,” said the professor.
    “Then it’s fortunate I brought my own rig.” John dropped his backpack onto the ground and took out a Petzl Coraxharness, several carabiners, a handful of ascenders, fingerless climbing gloves, an ice ax, and a helmet.
    “I see you came prepared, bro,” said Philippa.
    “We can hardly argue with a man who brought his own harness,” said the professor. “Nimrod, you didn’t tell us the boy was so proficient.
Hann er alveg litla hetja
.”
    “Among all his other accomplishments, it quite slipped my mind,” said Nimrod.
    “As long as it’s the only thing that slips,” observed Philippa, “then he’ll be okay, I guess.”
    While John got into his climbing harness, she gave him a skeptical look.
    “Do you really know what you’re doing?” asked Philippa.
    “You know I do,” answered John. “You most of all.”
    Philippa nodded. Now that she stopped to think about it, she realized that her twin brother was right, for all twins, be they djinn or no, possess curious powers over nature and often have the true knowing of things that could not be known by means other than what might be called telepathy.
    “All right,” she agreed. “I guess you do know what you’re doing.”
    Only when John was secure on the rope and standing on the edge of the crater rim ready to rappel down onto the floor of the volcano almost a hundred feet below, did he start to feel a little nervous. Because of his wish
he knew
what he was doing; but knowing and feeling are two different things. And nearly all of his confidence was inside his brain rather than in his hands and his feet. This was hardlysurprising and probably just as well. For as the late Mr. Rakshasas once said, “A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned.”
    Axel clipped an asbestos-lined rock sample bag and telescopic scoop to