"T rue . T he boy is lucky to be alive." then she suddenl y handed me a water bottle. "You look tired, thirsty. Come, si t over here and rest." t he woman led me to a spot a hundred yards to the right, d eeper in the pit, where there was a row of boulders . I sat an d a.s.sumed she would join me, but she excused herself .
"I cannot stay," she said, and quickly walked away . S itting inside the crater, I marveled at how much richer th e red-colored sand was here than on the rest of the job site . I t was then my hand brushed a piece of material stickin g out from beneath the ground . I t was as red as every thing else, b ut it was definitely cloth . T he more I pulled on it, the mor e came out. Finally I yanked it free-a thick sheet, about seve n feet long and four feet wide . I t was so completely coated wit h hard red dirt, I was surprised I recognized it at all .
Yet the instant I held it in my hands, my fingers trembled . I knew it was a carpet. A very old carpet .
Chapter Two.
t He HiKe tO tHe CrAter, and the effor t I had spent digging up the carpet, had exhausted me . I di d not want to interrupt Amesh during what was surely a joyfu l time, but I needed a ride back to the entrance. Particularly if I was going to carry the carpet. With all the dirt on it, the thin g weighed at least forty pounds . I took out my cell and dialed his number .
He sounded happy to hear from me. He sounded happy, p eriod! spielo was alive! Yet whatever joy he felt over his friend" s rescue vanished when he finally caught up with me and saw wha t I was carrying .
"You"re crazy! You can"t take that with you!" He and hi s moped were covered with red dust from the celebration in th e bottom of the pit. Again, I was struck by how well-muscled hi s legs were .
"Why not?" I asked innocently .
"I t"s dirty! no taxi"s going to give you a ride wit h that thing. "
" We"ll wash it off . I t"ll dry quickly in this heat. "
" Why bother? it"s a just piece of old cloth. "
"A mesh, get a clue! it"s a carpet! it might be a really ol d carpet."
He gave it a closer look, but was not impressed . "I f it is a relic, then there"s no way you can take it . T he guards at the gat e will stop you. "
"I already thought of that . I have a plan. "
"N o plan . N o way either of us is going to jail. "
" Would you at least listen to what I have to say?"
He wiped the sweat from his brow . "S ay it. "
" Help me wash it off and I"ll tell you," I said .
Only a handful of men were heading back toward the entrance . M ost were probably still in the pit. Amesh was able t o stow the muddy carpet on the back of his moped-he had a fair-size basket-but there was no room for me . I had to hurr y to keep up . N o one paid us any heed . N ot far from the gate, he veered behind an office buildin g that stood beneath an elevated water tank . T he tank"s hose wa s a s thick as a fireman"s . I ndeed, it was probably there in case of a fire . T he nearby office building had no windows. We appeare d to be alone .
Amesh tried shaking the dirt off the carpet, but it wa s too much a part of the material. He ended up laying the carpet on the ground and turning the nozzle on full strength . I had to stand on one end of the carpet to keep it from washing away. We worked on a strip of asphalt that could hav e fried eggs, it was so hot . T he cool water felt fantastic on m y bare legs .
"T urn it over, Amesh!" I shouted . T he "old cloth" wa s magically taking on color, and I was not the only one wh o was seeing it in a new light . E xcitement began to show o n Amesh"s face. "Let"s lower the water," I said . "I don"t want t o damage it. "
" We need the water on hard to wash it clean," he said, i gnoring me . T here were no two ways about it-Arab boy s didn"t like American girls telling them what to do . I knew w e weren"t going to get the carpet out of the complex withou t a fight .
When he was done hosing it off, I laid it on a dry piec e of asphalt . T he instant the scalding heat and damp materia l touched, a wave of steam rose .
One side of the carpet was almost supernaturally black . T he material was so dark it seemed to absorb light . T he othe r side was navy blue, decorated with an a.s.sortment of stars, p lanets, and dozens of tiny figures-some human, others mythological .
"I want to take it back to the hotel," I said .
"I f you"re right and this is a relic, then it belongs to th e government. We have to report it. Otherwise, it will be stealing." I called his bluff. "Fine, call your boss. Hand it in."
He blinked. "What? I thought you said you had a plan. "
"T hat was before you accused me of being a thief. "
"I didn"t accuse you of anything." I snorted. "You just said I was trying to steal it. "
"T ell me what your plan is. "
"N ot unless you apologize. "
" For what? "
" For the mean thing you just said."
He simmered. " I"m sorry . N ow what"s your stupid plan? "
"N ever mind. You"re right; it is stupid . T he carpet belong s to your government. "
"T he smart thing to do is hand it in," he said .
"Whatever. I"m too hot to argue. Go ahead and cal l your boss."
He took out his cell. "All right. "
"B ut be very careful which boss you call," I added .
He stopped. "What do you mean? "
"I f this is a relic, then it"s worth a fortune. Whoever yo u give it to- they"ll probably keep it for themselves, at least unti l they can sell it on your black market."
"What do you know about our black market?" h e demanded .
"I know it exists and that many precious relics ar e sold there."
Amesh shook his head. "this is turkey. We don"t have th e corruption you have in America. "
"I was just going by how your taxi drivers behave. "
" Huh? "
" You had to fight with the last one so he wouldn" t rip us off. "
"I f you think all turks are liars and thieves, then you don" t know us. "
" You"re right, what do I know?" I muttered .
"We"re a muslim nation. People have high morals here. "
" Call mr . T oval. He"s your boss, right? tell him about th e carpet. "
"T hat"s true, but . . ." Amesh considered . "M aybe we shoul d call your father. "
" Why?" I did not want to call my dad. He would never le t me study it. He would hand it in immediately .
"He"s well respected. He"ll know what to do," Amesh said . I shrugged. "You can do that if you want, but I have t o warn you, my father"s an engineer. He doesn"t like to get involve d in administrative affairs. He"ll probably give the carpet to mrs . S teward, and she"s not even a muslim."
Amesh looked as if I had just punched him in the gut .
"I don"t want some rich American stealing it," he swore . I was sympathetic. "the carpet would probably make he r super-rich."
Amesh stopped and studied me. "Do you really think it" s worth a lot of money? "
"I f it"s been buried beneath this desert for thousands o f years-then yes, it"s worth a fortune. Look at it; it"s in perfect shape."
Amesh looked puzzled. "How can it be so old an d look so new? "
"T he dry sand mummified it . T hat doesn"t just happen t o dead bodies . I f it was buried deep enough to escape the rain, t hen I"m not surprised it kept its original colors. "
"B ut you dug it up near the surface. "
"I dug it up after tons of heavy machinery brought it t o the surface. Amesh, for all we know, it was buried near the bottom of the pit. "
"I see what you"re saying." He frowned, worried. "But if w e try to smuggle it out of here-that would be like stealing." i t would not be like like stealing; it would stealing; it would be be stealing, but I didn"t bother to point that out to him. " I don"t plan to keep it," I said, not sure if I was being 100 percent honest. " I just wan t to check it out, you know, back at the hotel. " stealing, but I didn"t bother to point that out to him. " I don"t plan to keep it," I said, not sure if I was being 100 percent honest. " I just wan t to check it out, you know, back at the hotel. "
" Why?"
I reached down and touched it . I t was incredible. Already, i n the short time we had talked, it had begun to dry. "there" s something strange about it . I t feels almost magnetic."
Amesh reached down and touched it . "I don"t feel anything. "
"T hat"s because you"re tired and you"ve been workin g all day."
He wiped his sweat away again. "Okay, what"s your plan? "
"I "ll call another taxi and leave the site . I"ll wait for you o n the other side of that sand dune we saw when we drove up. "
"S o you want me to sneak it past the guards? "
" Yes. "
"T hey"re not going to let me take a carpet out of here. "
"N o. But they will let you take a nicely wrapped Fede x package out of here. "
"I s that your secret plan? "
" Yes. And it"s a good one. "
"T hat"s what you think . I don"t know if we have a Fede x box that can hold something this big. "
"I t doesn"t have to be an official Fedex box. Just put lot s of Fedex stickers on it. Heck, you"re their number one gofer .
You"re always running around with packages. Do you forge t how we met? "
"I usually deliver smaller packages. "
" Like the guards care . T hey see you every day . T hey"ll tak e one look at you and wave you through. Also, remember, you"r e l eaving the job site, not trying to enter . S ecurity is tighter on th e way in than on the way out. "
" Who told you that? "
"N o one! it just makes sense."
Amesh considered. "We can ride back to your hote l together? "
"A s long as you can get out of work. "
"I can make up some excuse." the logic of my plan wa s slowly changing his mind, but Amesh continued to stress. He began to pace back and forth. He was starting to make me ner vous .
"I f I get caught, it"ll be my life on the line, not yours," he said .
"I doubt they"ll take you out and shoot you."
He glanced back toward the pit. A shadow crossed his face .
When he spoke next, his voice was frightened. "they could .
Arab countries are more strict than Western countries. You hav e no idea." t he change in him was dramatic. He looked scared . I t made me wonder, just a tiny bit, if I was being reckless .
"I f you get caught, I"ll tell them it was my idea," I said .
He shook his head. "You say that now . . . "
"I mean what I say . T hat"s one thing you"ve got to lear n about me. "
"I f I get it out of here, then I"ll own a bigger piece."
Boy, did my blood boil then, in two seconds flat .
"Gimme a break! I"m the one who found it!" I yelled .
"You found it by chance . I t doesn"t belong to you. You"r e not even from this country. You"re . . . "