The Last Gospel Read Online Free PDF Page B

‘Okay. You’ve sold me. And now that I look at it, that cleft in the cliff face beside us, your marker for the wreck site. Have you noticed how it also looks like the Greek letter chi? Like a cross?’ Costas grinned. ‘While we’re on the subject of leaps of faith, don’t tell me you’re above a little sign from on high.’
    Jack squinted at the rock, then grinned. ‘Okay. I’ll go with that. Twenty years on, you see things with different eyes.’ He leaned back on his elbows, and shook his head. ‘I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to put all these pieces together.’
    ‘You’ve had a few other projects on your mind.’
    ‘Yes, but this could be the biggest of them all.’ Jack sat up and leaned towards Costas, his face ablaze with excitement. ‘Anything, anything at all, that identifies this shipwreck with St Paul would make it a treasure trove like we’ve never seen before. Nobody has ever found anything so intimately linked with the lives of the evangelists, with the reality behind the Gospels. We’re looking at a time when a few people truly believed in a kingdom of heaven on earth, a dream that pagan religion didn’t offer the common people. A time before churches, before priests, before guilt and confession and inquisitions and holy wars. Strip away all that and you go back to the essence of what Jesus had to say, what drew so many to him.’
    ‘I never knew you were so passionate about it.’
    ‘It’s the idea that individuals can take charge of their own destiny and seek beauty and joy on earth. That seems to be about as uplifting as you can get. If we can find something that will draw people back to that, take them back to the essence of the idea and make them reflect on it, then we’ll have done humanity a service.’
    ‘Holy cow, Jack. I thought we were just treasure-hunters.’
    Jack grinned. ‘Archaeology isn’t just about filling up museums.’
    ‘I know. It’s about the hard facts.’
    ‘A shipwreck could be a time capsule of the period like Pompeii and Herculaneum, only with a direct connection to the most potent figures in western history. It would capture the imagination of the world.’
    Costas shifted and stretched. ‘We still have to find it yet. And speaking of excitement, we’ve got company.’ He jerked his head towards the cascade of bubbles now erupting on the surface, and they watched as the two divers came into view a few metres below them. They surfaced simultaneously and both gave the okay signal. Jack noted down the time in the log and then glanced at Costas. ‘This place was a fulcrum of history,’ he continued. ‘Whatever we find, we’d be adding to a story that’s already pretty fantastic. In 415 BC the Athenians landed at this spot to attack Syracuse, a key event in the war with Sparta which almost destroyed Greek civilization. Fast-forward to another world war, July 1943, Operation Husky. My grandfather was here, chief officer of the armed merchant ship Empire Elaine , just inshore from the monitor HMS Erebus as she bombarded the enemy positions above us with fifteen-inch shells.’
    ‘This place must be in your blood,’ Costas said. ‘Seems like a Howard was present at just about every famous naval engagement in British history.’
    ‘If many English families knew their background, they’d be able to say the same.’
    ‘Anything left to see?’
    ‘The Special Raiding Squadron, an offshoot of the SAS, parachuted on to the cliff above us and forced the Italian coastal defence battery to surrender, throwing their arms into the sea. When we first dived here the site was strewn with ammunition.’
    Costas rubbed his hands. ‘That’s what I like. Real archaeology. Beats bits of old pot any day.’
    ‘Let’s keep our eyes on the prize. You can play bomb disposal later.’
    Costas grinned, and held up the feed hose from his rebreather. ‘Lock and load.’ He clicked it home, then watched Jack do the same.
    ‘Done.’ Jack angled his neck down