Page 41 of New Storm Rising
Riding ahead, I found Karim sitting on a quite unfortunate, depressed looking horse. Side-by-side, we set out into the night, towards…something that was just visible on the dark horizon. I squinted. What…?
Mountains. A line of mountains.
Soon enough, hills rose in the surrounding landscape. As the moon emerged from behind clouds in the sky, it cast a silvery light on a path leading up into the mountains ahead. We rode in silence. For how long, I did not know. But after a long, long time we came around a last bend in the path and, in front of me appeared…
“I’ll be damned!”
The entrance to a mine. Rough logs supported the ceiling of the tunnel. Heavily armed guards stood on either side, and wrought iron bars covered the entrance to the mine’s tunnel.
But wait a minute…
The entrance to a mine?
The mine was down in the town, wasn’t it? If there was another entrance up here, wouldn’t that mean…?
I stared at the mine entrance, then turned to stare at the distant glimmer of the town below. That distance was how many miles? Could it be that under all that land was…?
“Yes,” a familiar cool voice came from behind me. “Correct.”
I jumped. Then, leaping from my horse, I whirled around to face him.
“You! You really mean that under all that land is…is…”
Silencing me with a jerk of his hand, he waved to the crowd still gathered behind me. “Karim, have those men disperse and show them to their quarters. I have things to discuss with Mr Thriller Killer.”
The fact that he could say that with a straight face made me feel a whole new level of admiration for Mr Rikkard Ambrose. I would have to show him my appreciation later in the form of a fist to the gut.
“Come along.” Stepping past me, Mr Ambrose gestured for me to follow. “We have things to speak about that should not be discussed in public.”
“Oh, indeed, Sir,” I agreed, cracking my knuckles. “Indeed.”
Mr Ambrose led me around the foot of the mountain, past a gurgling little brook and into a small forest. Up here in the mountains, the air was far fresher and cooler. I breathed in the scent of flowers and pine needles, which couldn’t help but calm me a little. And yet, it also aroused my curiosity.
“So…is it true?” I enquired in a whisper. “Is there gold all the way from up here to down in the town?”
Holy…! If that were true…
“Why do you think I came personally to this place to ensure this operation proceeds smoothly?” His voice was hardly more than a wintery whisper. “Not that the Spaniards know this, however. So far, none but you and I do.”
I felt warmth rise in my chest. He trusted me!
Yes. Enough to throw you in prison and shove dynamite down your trousers.
Quiet, inner voice!
Mr Ambrose seemed to agree. He gestured for me to be quiet. “Now, silence. We shall be discussing this matter once we arrive.”
“Arrive? Arrive where?”
“You’ll see,” was the only answer I received.
Then, once again, silence descended over the midnight forest. And, for some reason, I decided not to argue. The air wasn’t filled with anger and the finely spun webs of plots anymore. Instead, it was alive with promise.
Why…?
Before I could finish the thought, the trees opened up in front of me, and we stepped into a clearing. My eyes widened, and I felt a lump in my throat.
There, among the flowers and trees, stood the most adorable little log cabin I had ever seen in my life. All right…it might also have been thefirstlog cabin I had ever seen in my life, but so what? There in front of me, the lovely little thatched cottage, surrounded by flowers gleaming white and blue in the moonlight, rose up on wooden supports. At the front, where the moss-covered roof sloped low over a small veranda, stood two hand-carved, wooden chairs, right next to each other.
