Page 63 of Hold On

Both Dominic and Brett stared at him.

Ren shrugged. “I do know something about archaeology.”

“Not enough to know that the chance of deciphering that script is probably zero,” Brett said.

Dominic launched into an explanation of how the mixture of symbols and phonetic features without any cipher, made the chancesalmostzero of ever knowing what the Easter Island wooden paddles had to say. Which served Ren right. Brett and Dominic chatted for several minutes, and Ren felt a bit guilty because he’d wanted to avoid the chance of Dominic having to answer tricky questions, but he hadn’t counted on Dominic being as much of a nerd as all the rest of them, Brett in particular.

When Brett finally moved away, Dominic shot Ren a glance. “No way is your brother wasting his time on Rongorongo. It’s more for a linguist than an archaeologist, anyway.”

“He was obsessed in his teens. Tried to persuade our father to contact everyone who had one of the wooden paddles to take rubbings for him. Dad wouldn’t. There are none on Easter Island any more. They’re all in museums or private collections.”

“And I’m Nic now?”

“Maybe better?”

Dominic nodded. “Better tell your brother before he uses my full name.”

Ren texted.I’ll explain later but call Dominic Nic.

“Now we have to hope neither Col nor Theo turn up,” Dominic said.

“Text Col.”

“The marquess and his partner?”

“I’ll tell Col to text them.” Dominic hesitated.

“What?” Ren asked. “Who else?”

“It’s just that I suggested if any of us were ever under duress and needed to warn someone, then call me Dom.”

“Not a bad idea. Only Doms wouldn’t wear ball gags.”

Dominic’s lips curved in a smile.

Ren looked across as the tent filled with chatter. A group had been led in by his brother.

“Who are they?” Dominic asked.

“People who think it’s fun to spend the day on their knees playing in the dirt with a trowel. So much fun that they’re paying to do it. Will gets free labour, apart from having to feed them, and what they’re paying boosts his fieldwork budget. As long as no one breaks something important or steals an artefact, it’s a win-win.”

There were five women and four men. Most in their twenties and thirties, a couple older. Ren looked at each of them carefully, including the women. If only bad guys had a sign on their forehead.It’s me!

Will made a speech, thanking them, outlining what they had to do, how to do it and stressed how careful they needed to be. “My team will be on hand to supervise and make sure all your excavations and recordings are done correctly.”

“He doesn’t want anyone hacking stuff out,” Ren whispered.

“The finds specialists will be under that canopy over there to record and interpret what you uncover.”

“Maybe a Bevara,” Ren muttered. “That would be exciting. Proof that the Romans invaded Sweden.”

“What’s a Bevara?”

“An IKEA bag clip.”

Dominic had trouble stifling his laugh, so did the older woman standing in front of them.

“No matter how tempting it is to pull something out,” Will said. “Please don’t. Gradually brush away what surrounds the object. Tease it free gently.”

---