“Yes, sir.”
Artem did not crack any more jokes. Even now, though he was still a long way from becoming a real scholar, he understood that the “moments” Dmitro Borisovich had been speaking about so earnestly, did in fact occur. If he, Artem, was so excited himself, then what a great effect this remarkable find must have had on the accomplished scholar who realized only too well the importance of this extraordinary discovery!
They were on their way out. The tall archeologist was walking in front of Artem, carefully watching his step, carrying in both hands the mysterious bronze chest that had been lying hidden for many centuries with its secret contents. Dmitro Borisovich said there could be jewels inside or anything else imaginable. Artem was itching to know what in fact it contained. What treasure, what unexpected things did this small chest with half-effaced embossing on the lid contain?
Artem was extremely anxious to get back to the others and show it to them and open it! The romantic youth was already seeing with his mind’s eye the exotic things that they’d be sure to find in the chest. There surely must be something especially precious in it — otherwise why should it have been hidden so thoroughly by the ancient Scythians?…What if it was the… the gold crown of a Scythian chieftain? This thought sent Artem’s heart racing madly. A gold crown!
But did Scythian chieftains wear gold crowns? What a pity he knew so little about Scythians! Well, perhaps it wasn’t a crown but some expensive headgear made of gold and studded with precious stones — it didn’t make too much difference, did it? One way or the other, the chest was sure to contain something extremely rare and valuable, there was absolutely no doubt about it!
But how slowly Dmitro Borisovich was walking! The chieftain’s crown! It would surely make a most worthy contribution to the famed collection of Scythian gold in the Hermitage Museum, the one Dmitro Borisovich had been talking so much about. And who had found it after all? Whose modest person would be for ever linked with the discovery of this extraordinary thing?
Artem couldn’t stand the torture of expectation any longer. His heart was about to burst with impatience. What was inside the mysterious chest, what secret was locked in it?
CHAPTER THREE
Lida is nonplussed, the chest is opened and a piece of parchment with writing on it is discovered inside, but it turns to dust upon contact with the air; the testament of Pronis is read and Artem makes another discovery
“It’s a wonderful morning, isn’t it, Diana?”
The dog gave a short but expressive bark in reply and looked quizzically at her companion, so full of joie de vivre. The dog’s short ears were pricked, the muscles of her strong legs taut, ready for jumps and capers. Diana was waiting for the command to start frolicking as it always happened during outings with Lida. But this time the girl was slow to start the fun, standing on a hillock, filling her lungs with fresh, fragrant air.
“Oh, how wonderful!”
She was knee-deep in luxuriant green grass and thistles; the warm rays of the July morning sun were caressing her face, the light wind seemed to be cuddling her, embracing her lithe, supple figure; it was stroking her neck, touching her hair with its invisible fingers. Everything was wonderful indeed! The girl surveyed her surroundings.
Once impenetrable forest thickets had covered the area, or at least that’s what Dmitro Borisovich said. Such a pity they were all gone! It would be so pleasant to wander through them! There must have been a plenty of wild animals living here, and the river must have been wider and deeper… And what now? No forests at all, only occasional small bushes. The river was narrow and the current slow, one could swim across in no time. It meandered like a snake, making a turn every ten meters or so, twisting this way and that, so if one swam for speed, one couldn’t see how far behind the rest were lagging; that was what had happened the day before when Lida challenged Artem. It wasn’t really any fun… Then she realized she had not seen Artem this morning yet.
“Do you know, by any chance, Diana, where our Artem is? He was sulky yesterday, all worked up. For no reason really. What made him boil was my visit to that cave with Dmitro Borisovich. Yes, we went there, so what? But he flew into a temper, he did, he was real mad… Very foolish of him! But where did he go today, so early in the morning? I should have talked to him… But I can’t stand it when somebody’s pouting… Maybe he’s gone swimming. Hey, Diana, let’s race to the river! Who’s faster?”
The river was situated beyond the hillock. Lida raced downhill, waving her arms, jumping over high thistles, laughing irrepressibly. Diana, glad that the long-awaited fun had at last begun, seemed to have decided to demonstrate her sprinting ability. She leaped over the thistles, quick as lightning, in one jump getting ahead of the girl, hid for a moment in the grass only to spring out and try to catch the edge of Lida’s skirt in her teeth. The girl waved her arms, wriggled, and tried to run away, but Diana easily caught up with her, barking happily, and gently nipped at Lida’s hand. She would release it only to nip it again a moment later, enjoying the game immensely. This continued for several minutes, then Diana stopped abruptly and froze to the spot.
“What is it, Diana?”
Diana gave a short bark, in quite a different way than before. It was, no doubt, a signal to draw the girl’s attention to something.
“Oh, what’s happened, Diana? What’s there? Oh, yes, I see, those two men must be from our party. Where are they coming from?”
Two men, their dark silhouettes clearly outlined against the blue sky, came into view on a distant hillock. The one walking in front of the other made strange gestures as if he were moving the thistles apart to clear the way for the other. As they got closer, Lida saw it was Dmitro Borisovich. It even seemed to her that she could make out his pointed beard every time he turned to the other man. The archeologist turned round very frequently, practically every other step. And the man who was walking behind him was no doubt Artem…
“Aha, so, they must have made their peace!” she cried out, pleased.
But why is Artem walking with two left feet? Oh he’s carrying something, a sort of a suitcase or a chest, right in front of him at arms’ length. Is that the way to carry things, Artem? Oh, aren’t you funny! And look at the way he’s walking — very carefully, watching his step, selecting a place to secure a sure footing…
He stumbled, and Dmitro Borisovich rushed to him gesticulating violently. Then he took Artem’s load from him. They exchanged roles. Now Artem was at the head, and Dmitro Borisovich was carrying a suitcase or whatever it was in the same strange manner as Artem had been just a little while ago.
“What is it they are carrying, I wonder?” Lida said pensively. “The path they are walking along runs from the Sharp Mount. They are definitely heading home… But what is that strange thing they are carrying with such a great caution?”
Then a thought flashed through her mind which made her jump high into the air, and shout at the top of her voice:
“Artem! Artem! Where’re you going?”
At first Artem did not seem to hear her; then he looked back, caught sight of Lida and pointed in an indifferent gesture to the Sharp Mount.