‘I know! But I was awfully sick on the boat—’ It didn’t sound the sort of problem that she’d need to talk about to Bastian while he was cooking chicken carcasses but it was the best she could do.
‘Oh, me too!’ said Austin. ‘But don’t worry, kid. We’ll get on a plane. There’ll be one quite shortly, I’m sure. There are important people here who want to get off Dominica.’
Bastian looked from Cass to Austin, his expression inscrutable.
Just then, Ranulph appeared. ‘Oh, Austin! There you are! Just the man I need. Can I borrow you?’
Austin seemed reluctant to move.
‘I really need an archaeologist,’ said Ranulph.
Cass knew that Ranulph was one – or at least had studied it at university – but hoped Austin wouldn’t remember that fact, if he’d ever known.
‘It’s hard to find someone with the right experience. Having you here is a real stroke of luck,’ Ranulph went on.
Cass was beginning to see the funny side. At last, after a couple more compliments from Ranulph, he managed to draw Austin away.
Bastian smiled. ‘That was well done of Ranulph. I’m glad I told him about the archaeological site that the hurricane uncovered on the beach. Signs of Dutch pirates co-operating with early indigenous people have never been recorded before. It’s important.’
‘Good,’ said Cass. ‘But now we’re alone, I have something to tell you.’ She took a breath. ‘I saw the petroglyph.’
‘What? When?’ Bastian was extremely excited. ‘Yesterday?’
‘Yes!’ Cass’s enthusiasm returned. ‘I’d deliberately drawn the map wrong – I really didn’t want Austin knowing where the petroglyph was – but there was a river—’
‘But we had the map with us – even if it was wrong. How did you know where to look?’
‘When you trace something you copy it several times, so I had it in my head. I sat down and was still for a bit. I closed my eyes and pictured the map and then I heard running water.’
Bastian nodded. ‘The river had become a stream.’
‘Then there was a little gust of wind which partedthe trees. The sun was suddenly shining down on the rocks. I opened my eyes and there they were. I saw the faces.’
‘That’s amazing, Cass! But you didn’t have your camera, did you? How will we ever prove that the petroglyph is there?’
‘I marked the place with a shoelace, and I did a drawing,’ Cass offered tentatively. ‘Shall I get it, while Austin is out of the way?’
Bastian indicated his patient dog. ‘I’ll just finish up here,’ he said. ‘I can’t keep Friendly waiting any longer. I’ll come in when I’m done here and make some coffee. I’ll call you when it’s ready.’
‘But hurry! We don’t know how long Ranulph will be able to keep Austin out of the way.’
‘Oh, Austin will be fascinated by the site, have no fear. He may be … not our favourite person but he is a serious archaeologist.’ Bastian smiled. ‘Meet you on the veranda.’
‘But this drawing is amazing!’ said Bastian, looking intently at it. ‘Can I keep it?’
‘Of course.’ Cass was utterly delighted at his reaction. ‘I did it for you. But will it work as proof the petroglyph exists?’
‘Probably not, but you’ve put in so much background detail, even without the shoelace, we could probably easily find it. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.’
‘I did it for my dad, really. He felt he let your father down and wanted to make amends. He’s genuinely too busy to do it himself now so he sent me.’
‘And you’ve done a terrific job.’ He paused. ‘But you realise you won’t be able to come with me to find the petroglyph, although you’d be so useful.’
Cass nodded. ‘Austin would know something was up. I’m disappointed but I knew I wouldn’t be able to go again.’ She smiled at the memory. ‘I’ll never forget seeing it though. The sun shone down like a torch, showing it to me. I felt I was looking at it for my father, and yours. A glimpse of history.’
They sipped the rest of their coffee in companionable silence.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
