Nearly every state has had discoveries ignored or put aside as “fakes” because they do not conform. It would appear that several hundred people over a century of time had devoted much energy to planting evidence to confuse scholars whom they would never know, and from which they would never profit. If runes or other inscriptions were found that did not conform to scholarly standards, no allowance was ever made for the fact that there were few men in any country who could write, let alone write well. Whatever was found was simply that left by men often poorly educated but trying to leave a record.
Wanderers and seafarers were rarely scholars or even possessed of anything but rudimentary education. They would attempt to mark their progress with what signs they possessed. It was time men abandoned the ridiculous assumption that two great continents dividing the great seas of the world, and surrounded by seafaring peoples, had remained isolated for thousands of years. What was the percentage, Mike wondered, of people living in the Scandinavian countries who could write runes correctly?
Raglan rolled to his back, staring wide-eyed into the darkness. It was time white men understood that most of the Indians found in possession were latecomers, and all too little was known about who had preceded them.
It would be good to have Volkmeer with him. He knew the man, had worked with him long ago, and had been lucky to find his name in the telephone directory. He was a man who would stay with him when the going got rough, and from his brief experience with the Varanel, it could become very rough indeed.
First, though, he must see Eden Foster. If he could negotiate the return of Erik Hokart, all would be well. How much authority, if any, did she have? Dared she take? And how much was she prepared to risk her own position to ensure the security of her people?
The picture he had been putting together might be mistaken, but his impression was of a small, tightly held civilization, strong in itself but desperately afraid of ideas penetrating from beyond the veil. No doubt they considered this world to be evil and wished to protect themselves from it.
Tazzoc …
Tazzoc was a man of knowledge, and no man of knowledge was ever content with what he knew. He always wished to know more. No doubt Tazzoc had questions for which he wanted answers, and if so, he might be induced to trade.
Tazzoc did not believe, for example, in the existence of Kawasi’s people. No doubt that information had been carefully kept. He believed, or seemed to believe, that He Who Had Magic was a fable. Yet no doubt in those stone and clay tablets there might be a clue, or even a history of the events that led to the exodus of He Who Had Magic and his people. Somehow he must see Tazzoc again, must find some way of meeting Kawasi and, of course, Johnny.
It was daybreak when he opened his eyes. Volkmeer was already dressed and combing his gray hair. “Let’s have some breakfast,” Raglan suggested. “Maybe Gallagher will come in.”
As he was slipping into his boots he said, “I haven’t talked about how to pay you, Volk, but I intend to.”
Volkmeer glanced at him. “Did I ask? You need help. That’s all that’s important.”
“But I have to pay you for your time,” Raglan protested. “It isn’t fair to take you from your work and not pay you.”
Volkmeer shrugged. “I never like to talk about money until I’ve et. Let’s get with it.”
The air was cool, the sky overcast. Their boots grated on the gravel as they crossed to the restaurant.
The place had just opened, and the girl at the cash register glanced around at them. “Hello, Mr. Volkmeer! It’s been a long time!”
Volkmeer grunted and walked across to a table and sat down. “I guess you get over here once in a while,” Raglan suggested.
“Been a while, like the lady said. Mostly I’m over at Monticello or North from there.”
They were drinking coffee when Gallagher came in. “Mr. Volkmeer!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”
“Been years,” Volkmeer said. “He found me in the directory.” He excused himself and walked to the counter to buy a cigar.
Gallagher leaned closer and spoke in a low voice. “You sure do get around! Why didn’t you say you knew Mr. Volkmeer?”
“Volk? I pulled him out of a collapsed mine tunnel once. Haven’t seen him for years.”
Gallagher stared at him. “Mr. Volkmeer,” he said, “is one of the biggest ranchers and landowners anywhere around. He’s got a home you just won’t believe. He’s one of the most respected men in the state!”
XXIII
Mike Raglan closed the car door and locked it, dropping the key into his pocket. Then he walked up the path to the door. It was shady and cool on the wide veranda and the flowers were as beautiful as he remembered them.
It was Mary, the Navajo girl, who answered the door. “I’d like to see Eden Foster,” he said.
She stepped back, her large dark eyes on his. “I will tell her,” she said. “Won’t you be seated?”
She drew back a chair, brushed some invisible spot of dust from the cushion, and whispered, “Be careful!”
He did not sit down but stood glancing around the room. All seemed to be the same except that one of his books was on the table, his book on a visit to a long-lost monastery in the Taliangshan Mountains, near Tibet.
He heard a low murmur of voices from the direction in which Mary had gone, and looked around again. There were two doors leading to other parts of the house, another door into the garden, and a fourth that went out to an empty lawn bordered by trees.
Looking again, he thought he glimpsed a shadow on the grass, as of someone near the lawn door. Crossing the room, he turned a chair ever so slightly so that it blocked that door. Now the chair must be moved before the door could be opened completely.
Eden Foster came into the room, suddenly and silently, but with a smile of greeting. “Mr. Raglan! How nice! I was hoping you would call.”
Today she was wearing sea-green, and it suited her. Her necklace was turquoise and coral, as were her bracelets. “May I get you a drink?”
“Coffee will do. It’s a bit early for a drink.”
“Of course.” She gestured to the table. “I have been reading your book. What a strange place it must have been! Is it true that even the Chinese know little about the area?”
“It is true, but I doubt if they would agree. The people are related to the Khamba of Tibet, but have managed to maintain a sort of independence in their mountains.”
“You visit many strange places, is it not so?”
He smiled. “And I am prepared to visit others. It has become a way of life for me.”
Her smile vanished, and she took a cigarette from the box on the table. Oddly, she was nervous. Was she wondering why he was here? Or had his suggestion that he was prepared to visit other strange places alarmed her?
She seated herself and he did likewise. Mary brought coffee and they talked of the weather. When Mary had gone he said, “In going to strange places it is always a help if one knows someone who has been there, or someone who lives there who can be of help. One avoids so many mistakes.”
“I suppose that is true.”
“You heard about my friend? The missing man?”
“Miss—? Oh, you mean Erik Hokart? Yes, I have heard of him. But then, everyone has. This is a small world, after all.”
“I have been hoping he would be found before the government becomes involved. It would be much easier for everyone if he could be found, and found quickly. The government can be very persistent indeed.”
“And you?”
“As I have said, he is a friend.” Raglan tasted the coffee. “I shall begin my search on the mesa where he planned to build. In that kiva, in fact.”
“A kiva? It is just a round room, is it not? Were they not places of ceremony? What can be mysterious about them now?”
Raglan smiled. “This one has a window. My dog has been through that window, and Erik tells me there was a woman, a very beautiful woman who came through that same window.”
“He spoke with this woman?”
“She wanted him to come with her, and according to Erik, even her walk was an invitation. He did not trust her.”
“And you? You do not like beautiful women?”
“On the contrary, I like them very much. But there are times and places.”
“She might have taken him to a very nice place.”