Mr. Carter tentatively stepped into the downward-sloping tunnel, and we all followed single file. Everyone but Glo had a flashlight. The tunnel was tight, and the man in front of me had to stoop. I had the diamond in my jeans pocket and could see its glow through the denim fabric.
We shuffled along in the dark for what seemed like forever, and then almost like a mirage there was light in front of us. Not enough light to make me believe we were going to be standing in an open field, but enough light to make me think we were coming to the end of the tunnel. Minutes later we stepped out into a massive cavern with a vast underground lake. Vents in the rock ceiling high above us beamed down shafts of sunlight.
Wooden pilings and a few rotting boards jutted out into the water, the remnants of an old dock. Beyond the boards I could see an outcropping of rock and the tip of another dilapidated structure. The diamond was blinking and flashing in my pocket, and I could feel the heat it was generating.
“We’re close,” Rutherford said. “My goodness, this is a thrill.”
I walked along the edge of the lake to the small mountain of rocks and stopped. The diamond had begun to hum, but I was at a dead end.
“It’s on the other side of this jumble of rocks,” Rutherford said to me. “Climb up on it.” He gestured with his hands. “Up, up, up.”
Glo had her Magic 8 Ball out. “?‘Signs point to maybe,’?” she said.
“Maybe what?” I asked her. “Maybe only a mountain goat could climb up on those rocks?”
“Mr. Carter will help you,” Rutherford said, cheerfully. “He’s quite the athlete. Mr. Carter was a marine.”
I clenched my teeth and followed Carter as he picked his way over the rubble. Glo followed me, and everyone else followed Glo. The chunk of solid granite and loose rock was twenty to thirty feet high, and progress was slow. When we finally reached the top of the mound we looked down on the remains of a tall ship that had been beached in a small alcove. It was tipped on its side, the masts were broken off and resting on the shore, and much of the timber was rotted. It was like discovering the bones of a giant prehistoric beast.
We inched our way down to the shore, slipping and sliding on loose rock, and crawling over the larger boulders. I approached the ship, and the diamond continued to hum and blink. Still no sign of Diesel or Wulf, and I was feeling some anxiety. I felt certain that they were safe. I’d been told many times that they were hard to kill. My anxiety came from the fact that we were close to the stone, and I had no way to stop Rutherford from taking it. I could refuse to cooperate any further, but Glo was here now, and I suspected Rutherford might use her to make me stay on target. I suspected behind all the annoying, smiling good cheer, Rutherford was an insecure toad who would do anything to gain favor with his boss. If he had to slit my throat I was sure he would wipe his sweaty hands on his pants, plaster a smile on his face, and do it.
Rutherford sent two of the armed men up the underside of the ship, over the keel, and into the bowels of the wreck. We lost sight of them, but we listened to the wood creaking under their weight as they progressed through the ship. We heard a board snap, and there was silence. Rutherford looked at his watch. I looked at my watch, too, but I’d scratched the crystal on the slide down and it was difficult to read. After a couple beats we heard faint scuffing sounds. The men were back at work.
“What does your Magic 8 Ball say now?” I asked Glo.
“?‘Tinkle tinkle little star I wonder where the bathrooms are,’?” Glo said.
One of the men on the ship popped into sight.
“We found the treasure,” he called down to us. “It’s scattered around the captain’s quarters.”
“Up and over,” Rutherford cheerfully said to me.
I stared at the keel looming above my head.
“Not gonna happen,” I said. “There has to be another way to get on.”
“Yes, yes, of course. We can find another way,” Rutherford said. “I would have difficulty with that route as well.”
We walked around the ship to where a gunwale was resting on the mix of sand and stone. A lot of this part of the ship was rotted, but I managed to climb around the rot on the slanted deck. I dropped through the hatch and into the salon, with the help of the man who was already in place. Everyone else followed. The interior was all sideways and cattywampus. The stairs were on the wall and the hallway led downward to an intricately engraved door. I made my way to the door and stepped into the captain’s cabin. The ornate furnishings were tumbled over, but the elegant carving and gold inlays were intact. Light filtered into the room from the large bay window that filled the stern wall. We all looked up at the name carved above the window. GANJI-I-SAWA.
“This is the Gunsway,” Rutherford said. “At one time there must have been a way to sail into here. We’ve circled the island several times in the past and never found an entrance.”
“In the movies they blow up the entrance after they sail in so no one can find it,” Glo said.