rope and part
of a lift-block for supporting the ends of a yardarm, and what was
thought at first to be beads from a necklace, but turned out to be
sections of a parrel, a kind of bearing used where the yardarm joins
the mast.
Every small piece they found was another piece to a threedimensional puzzle. Slowly, bit by bit, they were resurrecting a
ship from the mud at the bottom of the sea. This was the fun of
archaeology, reconstructing the whole and finding the story.
Both Lewis and Trey were satisfied with the rate of excavation.
Some of the best news, however, was that there had been no new
incidents like the one that happened to Nate, no unexpected visitors, no concerns except what is normal for a dig. It was a good
day.
Trey didn't mention the letter from Evangeline Jones's lawyer or the letter of protest from King-Smith-Falcon. Of course, he
wouldn't have in a debriefing. Lindsay imagined those matters
were in Lewis's hands, and she didn't doubt Lewis's ability to take
care of them.
After they heard from the survey team and discussed all the
problems and issues relevant to the excavation, Lewis rose and
gave a brief summary about the television crew.
"They left very impressed with all of us," he said.
"Like that was hard," Gina whispered to those around her.
Lewis arranged for dinner on the barge that evening-boiled
shrimp, grilled hamburgers, roasted corn, and a keg of beer.
Lindsay, Bobbie, Sarah, Gina, Juliana, and Harper sat together,
shelling shrimp and eating it like popcorn. The sun had not yet set,
but hung red against the wall of a gold and orange sky.
"This is really good," Harper said, raising her voice over the
rock music.
"It's fresh, today's catch," said Sarah. "Lewis got it from one of
the shrimpers."
"I could get used to living like this." Bobbie sat cross-legged in
cutoff overalls and a sleeveless T-shirt, stripping the shell off her
shrimp.
"So could I," Harper agreed.
"How's the translation coming?" Nate sat down beside them
with two plates of food, one loaded with shrimp, another with corn.
"No archaeology talk allowed. This is a night for sensuous pleasures." Juliana stuck a shrimp in her mouth and chased it with a
swallow of beer.
"Did I pick the right group, or what?" said Nate.
The corn had been roasted in its husk. Lindsay stripped off the
shucks and bit into the yellow kernels. She thought it was about
the best thing she had ever tasted.
"How's the arm?" Gina asked Nate.
He raised it slightly, looking at the white bandage. "Fine. Doc
here did a pretty good job." Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Trey won't
let me dive or drive a boat until the doctor okays it. Until then, I
gotta work in the mud with you guys. I'm not quite sure of the
logic there."
"What kind of necklace is that, Sarah?" Harper leaned over and
picked up what looked to be a coin on a silver chain around
Sarah's neck.
"It's a quarter with a hole in it," Sarah said. "I found it on the
beach when we got here. It was tied to a fishing line and tangled
up in driftwood."
"Someone fishing for sand dollars?" Harper said, returning her
attention to shucking her corn.
"I found one of those, too," said Lindsay. "I wonder what
they're for."
"Well, I don't think it looks good for you to be wearing artifacts," Nate said.
Sarah frowned at him. "What artifacts? It's a 1974 United States
quarter I found on the beach. They're still in circulation."
Trey came and sat down beside Harper. "You guys look like
you're enjoying yourselves."
"The food's great," said Lindsay. "Can we do it again tomorrow?"
"Yeah," said Nate. "How about for lunch? It'd be better than
those sandwiches. I know, you could have shrimp boiling constantly and we could hop over to the barge anytime we were hun„
gry.
"How 'bout it, Chamberlain?" asked Trey. "Are you up to trying out some of your new diving equipment tomorrow?"
"Sure. When?"
"I'm taking Harper out, I thought you might like to go. Bobbie,
you want to
of a lift-block for supporting the ends of a yardarm, and what was
thought at first to be beads from a necklace, but turned out to be
sections of a parrel, a kind of bearing used where the yardarm joins
the mast.
Every small piece they found was another piece to a threedimensional puzzle. Slowly, bit by bit, they were resurrecting a
ship from the mud at the bottom of the sea. This was the fun of
archaeology, reconstructing the whole and finding the story.
Both Lewis and Trey were satisfied with the rate of excavation.
Some of the best news, however, was that there had been no new
incidents like the one that happened to Nate, no unexpected visitors, no concerns except what is normal for a dig. It was a good
day.
Trey didn't mention the letter from Evangeline Jones's lawyer or the letter of protest from King-Smith-Falcon. Of course, he
wouldn't have in a debriefing. Lindsay imagined those matters
were in Lewis's hands, and she didn't doubt Lewis's ability to take
care of them.
After they heard from the survey team and discussed all the
problems and issues relevant to the excavation, Lewis rose and
gave a brief summary about the television crew.
"They left very impressed with all of us," he said.
"Like that was hard," Gina whispered to those around her.
Lewis arranged for dinner on the barge that evening-boiled
shrimp, grilled hamburgers, roasted corn, and a keg of beer.
Lindsay, Bobbie, Sarah, Gina, Juliana, and Harper sat together,
shelling shrimp and eating it like popcorn. The sun had not yet set,
but hung red against the wall of a gold and orange sky.
"This is really good," Harper said, raising her voice over the
rock music.
"It's fresh, today's catch," said Sarah. "Lewis got it from one of
the shrimpers."
"I could get used to living like this." Bobbie sat cross-legged in
cutoff overalls and a sleeveless T-shirt, stripping the shell off her
shrimp.
"So could I," Harper agreed.
"How's the translation coming?" Nate sat down beside them
with two plates of food, one loaded with shrimp, another with corn.
"No archaeology talk allowed. This is a night for sensuous pleasures." Juliana stuck a shrimp in her mouth and chased it with a
swallow of beer.
"Did I pick the right group, or what?" said Nate.
The corn had been roasted in its husk. Lindsay stripped off the
shucks and bit into the yellow kernels. She thought it was about
the best thing she had ever tasted.
"How's the arm?" Gina asked Nate.
He raised it slightly, looking at the white bandage. "Fine. Doc
here did a pretty good job." Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Trey won't
let me dive or drive a boat until the doctor okays it. Until then, I
gotta work in the mud with you guys. I'm not quite sure of the
logic there."
"What kind of necklace is that, Sarah?" Harper leaned over and
picked up what looked to be a coin on a silver chain around
Sarah's neck.
"It's a quarter with a hole in it," Sarah said. "I found it on the
beach when we got here. It was tied to a fishing line and tangled
up in driftwood."
"Someone fishing for sand dollars?" Harper said, returning her
attention to shucking her corn.
"I found one of those, too," said Lindsay. "I wonder what
they're for."
"Well, I don't think it looks good for you to be wearing artifacts," Nate said.
Sarah frowned at him. "What artifacts? It's a 1974 United States
quarter I found on the beach. They're still in circulation."
Trey came and sat down beside Harper. "You guys look like
you're enjoying yourselves."
"The food's great," said Lindsay. "Can we do it again tomorrow?"
"Yeah," said Nate. "How about for lunch? It'd be better than
those sandwiches. I know, you could have shrimp boiling constantly and we could hop over to the barge anytime we were hun„
gry.
"How 'bout it, Chamberlain?" asked Trey. "Are you up to trying out some of your new diving equipment tomorrow?"
"Sure. When?"
"I'm taking Harper out, I thought you might like to go. Bobbie,
you want to
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