The Gloaming Dawn

Chapter Seven

Excerpt from the Chapter Seven

July 7, 1956

Earlier in the day, word had reached David's ears that the French had unearthed the remnants of what once might have been a sub-basement to a larger edifice. There, they had uncovered a trove of almost perfectly preserved ceramic pots of various sizes, with an additional two cast from bronze. And more significantly, bearing Greek-style motifs cast upon their surfaces. The excitement was palatable, along with the customary academic envy.

Thus far, nine days into the dig, the British team had discovered little to offset their diminishing enthusiasm. Dr. Radford had ordered half the dig sites abandoned and an equal number of new ones begun: those which had been initially designated as secondary locations. True, one team had uncovered a single course of stone work, a foundation. Efforts were being directed to unearth more of it, but it would not be an easy task. A good eight feet of sand had been removed to discover what they had. It would require extensive digging, and David didn't like the idea of just removing the overlying strata without doing so carefully. Who knew what might be within that matrix of sand, gravel, and other aggregates that would be missed, or worse, damaged in a rapid excavation? But in this, he had to follow his orders...those specifically laid out by Dr. Radford. No doubt, David mused, the man was feeling the pressure.

So he was surprised when Dr. Cerise Martens bounded in, under the canopy where he was in the midst of journalizing the day's work. "David? You must come with me! And quickly, before the word spreads. I want you to take a look at it."

"What? Has your team discovered something?"

"Not here. And I don't want to take a moment to discuss it with you." She snapped her fingers at him and was bold enough to yank at his arm, even as he was rising to his feet. "You'll understand soon enough. Trust me. Now, don't forget your sunglasses. And I hope you're as fast on your feet as I suspect of other things about you."

She took off at a sprint, only looking back once to ensure he was following behind her. It only took moments for him to appreciate that the American woman, apart from her academic accomplishments, was a remarkable runner. She dodged about the various groups of labourers until she had a clear path ahead of her, leaving the various men scratching their beards and shaking their heads in either wonder or disgust. David followed more carefully, aware of the scene he was making, in essence chasing after the lissome woman. He had thought her of an age somewhere between twenty-five and thirty but now he was less certain of that. Nonetheless, once she broke free of the dig areas, she increased the gap between them, heading not for the American portion of the site but much further afield, right out beyond the perimeter of the estimated settlement.

Thankfully, the terrain was so flat and barren that David had no fear of losing sight of her. He slowed down, feeling himself heating up, and wanting to keep his safari hat fixed firmly atop his head. He believed he had more or less accommodated himself to the heat, but he knew it would not take too great an exertion to become prostrated by the high temperatures. Apparently that wasn't a concern for Professor Martens. Her own hat was bouncing off her back, her long, straight hair working itself free from whatever she employed to keep it under control.

David jogged along, noting that she had slowed down, finally coming to a stop to turn about to observe him close the distance between them. Even as he reached her, he could see no clear indication of a discovery. "Here?" he gasped out as a question as he came to stand in front of her.

"No, but nearby," she replied with hardly a trace of heaviness in her breathing. "I couldn't hear you behind me so I stopped to let you catch up."

"You run like a proverbial gazelle."