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"It's not a steady sound," said Pitt. "I only notice it at intervals."
"I picked up on that too. It comes like a puff of breath for about ten seconds and then fades for nearly a minute."
Pitt nodded happily. "Could it be we're describing a vent to a cavern?"
"Let's see if we can find it," Giordino suggested eagerly.
"Better it come to us." Pitt found a rock that seemed molded to his buttocks and settled in. He leisurely wiped a smudge from one lens of his sunglasses, dabbed his brow with a banda
Like clockwork, the strange wail came and went. Pitt waited until he heard three sequences. Then he motioned for Giordino to move along the north side of the peak. No reply was necessary, no words passed between them. They had been close friends since they were children and had maintained close contact during their years together in the Air Force. When Pitt joined NUMA at Admiral Sandecker's request twelve years ago, Giordino went with him. Over time they learned to respond to each other without needless talk.
Giordino moved down a steep slope for about 20 meters (65 feet) before stopping. He paused and listened while awaiting Pitt's next gesture. The dismal wail came stronger to him than it did to Pitt. But he knew that the sound reverberated off the boulders and was distorted. He didn't hesitate when Pitt motioned him away from where it sounded loudest and pointed to a spot where the side of the peak suddenly dropped off in a narrow chute 10 meters (33 feet) deep.
While Giordino was lying on his stomach surveying a way down to the bottom of the chute, Pitt came over, crouched beside him, and held out a hand, palm down.
The wail came again and Pitt nodded, his lips parting in a tight smile. "I can feel a draft. Something deep inside the mountain is causing air to be expelled from a vent."
"I'll get the rope and flashlight from the chopper," said Giordino, rising to his feet and trotting toward the aircraft. In two minutes he was back with Sha
Her eyes fairly sparkled with anticipation. "Al says you found a way inside the mountain."
Pitt nodded. "We'll know shortly."
Giordino tied one end of a nylon line around a large rock. "Who gets the honor?"
"I'll toss you for it," said Pitt.
"Heads."
Pitt flipped a quarter and watched as it clinked and spun to a stop on a small, flat surface between two massive boulders. "Tails, you lose."
Giordino shrugged without complaint, knotted a loop and passed it over and then under Pitt's shoulders. "Never mind bedazzling me with mountain climbing tricks. I'll let you down, and I'll pull you up."
Pitt accepted the fact his friend's strength was greater than his own. Giordino's body may have been short but his shoulders were as broad as any man's, and his muscled arms were a match for a professional wrestler. Anyone who tried to throw Giordino, including karate black belt experts, felt as if they were caught up in the gears of an unyielding piece of machinery.
"Mind you don't get rope burn," Pitt cautioned him.
"Mind you don't break a leg, or I'll leave you for the gargoyle," said Giordino, handing Pitt the flashlight. Then he slowly paid out the line, lowering Pitt between the walls of the narrow chute.
When Pitt's feet touched the bottom, he looked up. "Okay, I'm down."
"What do you see?"
"A small cleft in the rock wall just large enough to crawl through. I'm going in."
"Don't remove the rope. There could be a sharp drop just inside the entrance."
Pitt lay on his stomach and wormed through the narrow fissure. It was a tight squeeze for 3 meters (10 feet) before the entryway widened enough so he could stand. He switched on the flashlight and swung its beam along the walls. The light showed he was at the head of a passageway that appeared to lead down into the bowels of the mountain. The floor was smooth with steps hewn into the rock every few paces.
A rush of dank air rushed past him like the steamy breath of a giant. He moved his fingertips over the rock walls. They came away wet with moisture. Driven by curiosity, Pitt moved along the passageway until the nylon became taut and he was stopped from venturing further. He-aimed the light ahead into the darkness. The cold hand of fear gripped him around the neck as a pair of eyes flashed back at him.
There, upon a pedestal of black rock, seemingly sculpted by the same hand as the demon on the mountain peak above, glaring toward the entrance to the passage, was another, smaller Demonio del Muertos. This one was inlaid with turquoise stone and had white, polished quartz for teeth and red gemstones for eyes.
Pitt thought seriously of casting off the rope and exploring further. But he felt it wouldn't be fair to the others. They should all be in on the discovery of the treasure chamber together. Reluctantly, he returned to the crack in the wall and squirmed back into daylight.
When Giordino helped him over the edge of the chute, Sha
"What did you see?" Sha
Pitt stared at her without expression for a moment, then broke into an elated grin. "The entrance to the treasure is guarded by another demon, but otherwise the way looks clear."
Everyone shouted in elation. Sha
At least that's what they thought they saw. But not Pitt. His eyes were sweeping the sky. Foresighted, intuitive, maybe just superstitious, he had a sudden vision of the seaplane that had followed them to the demon, attacking the Alhambra. For a moment he could see it as clearly as if he were watching television. It was not a pretty sight.
Sha
I may have," Pitt said darkly. "I very well may have."
Giordino returned to the helicopter and retrieved another coil of rope, a second flashlight, and a Coleman lantern from a storage locker. The rope he slung over his shoulder. He gave the flashlight to Sha
"The tank is full of gas, so we should have light for three hours or more."
Sha
Giordino shrugged. "Suits me. As long as somebody other than me sets off the Incas' booby traps down in the cave of doom."
Sha
Pitt laughed. "He overdoses on Indiana Jones movies."
"Give me a hard time," said Giordino sadly. "You'll be sorry someday."
"I hope it's not soon."
"How wide is the opening?" asked Rodgers.
"Dr. Kelsey might make it through on her hands and knees, but we boys will have to snake our way in."
Sha