like a successful thief. To Albert, the entire experience of being in the room with Carlos had become unpleasant, but now, with this new information, Albert was revived.
âYes, Carlos. I think it could be worth something.â
Carlos caught his breath. âHow much?â he asked.
âWeâll see, weâll see,â said Albert.
âI think,â said Carlos, âthat I can persuade this man to do business with us. For a price.â
Albert immediately set forth on an expedition to the high plateaus to find the sacred tuning forks and unlock their secrets. Carlos arranged for a translator/guide to accompany them.
For weeks they climbed and searched, enduring hardships of every description to reach the hidden village.
Albert gathered plant specimens as he went, amazed at the dizzying number of varieties. He discovered a giant flower that greatly resembled the Papaver somniferum , or opium poppy. The seedpods had grown to twice their normal size. Albert named the new discovery Papaver somniferum gigantus Beaumond , and collected as many pods as he could fit in his specimen bag.
This discovery alone could pay for the expedition, he thought.
When at last Albert discovered the backward, isolated Stone Age tribe, he went about trying to obtain the tuning forks.
Like most twentieth-century men, Albert grossly underestimated the power of the spirit world and blindly called forth the power of evil as if he were placing a long-distance phone call.
Thatâs when his problems really started.
It began the first night he was in the tribal village. The high priest, whom he had made an instant effort to patronize, invited him to watch as he used the summoning devices to conjure up the Snake God.
The tuning forks were not kept hidden. In fact, they were kept in a hut in the center of the village, in the open, where everyone in the village could see them. No one, not even the enemies of the tribe, dared touch them except the high priest. Fear could be one hell of a deterrent, Albert decided.
The living conditions within the village were deplorable, yet the hut that housed the tuning forks stayed clean and well maintained.
The sacred objects seemed to be the center of village life.
Albert got his first look at the tuning forks as the sun faded over the ridge behind the village. It illuminated the square in front of the hut with golden twilight.
The high priest removed the forks from their leather pouches and held them over his head for all to genuflect.
The people of the village became very excited at their unveiling, and, although Albert could not know what they were saying, he sensed their fear and reverence.
The people bowed down with their foreheads to the ground. They chanted and prayed, whispering like leaves in the wind.
Albert stepped forward and examined the two objects with the appraising eyes of a scientist.
The sun exploded off the polished metal surfaces with the intensity and brilliance of fire. They were, without a doubt, the most curious antiquities he had ever seen. They resembled two tuning forks, the type used by musicians. One was slightly larger than the other, the bigger of the two being about two feet in length. The other appeared to be a scaled-down version of the first, about fifteen inches in length.
Both forks were of the same design, a matched set of two U-shaped silver bars, roughly one inch in diameter, bent in the middle. The two prongs ran parallel, separated by an inch of space. At the top of the elbow there was a perforation through which a leather strap had been threaded. The tuning fork was thus hung so that it might vibrate freely.
At the four ends were unusual designs that caught Albertâs attention. There, sculpted intricately by hands of talent, were four snake heads, accurate in every detail. The heads all seemed to be the same. They were all baring fangs.
These tuning forks appeared to be constructed in a manner inconsistent with the level of skill of
âYes, Carlos. I think it could be worth something.â
Carlos caught his breath. âHow much?â he asked.
âWeâll see, weâll see,â said Albert.
âI think,â said Carlos, âthat I can persuade this man to do business with us. For a price.â
Albert immediately set forth on an expedition to the high plateaus to find the sacred tuning forks and unlock their secrets. Carlos arranged for a translator/guide to accompany them.
For weeks they climbed and searched, enduring hardships of every description to reach the hidden village.
Albert gathered plant specimens as he went, amazed at the dizzying number of varieties. He discovered a giant flower that greatly resembled the Papaver somniferum , or opium poppy. The seedpods had grown to twice their normal size. Albert named the new discovery Papaver somniferum gigantus Beaumond , and collected as many pods as he could fit in his specimen bag.
This discovery alone could pay for the expedition, he thought.
When at last Albert discovered the backward, isolated Stone Age tribe, he went about trying to obtain the tuning forks.
Like most twentieth-century men, Albert grossly underestimated the power of the spirit world and blindly called forth the power of evil as if he were placing a long-distance phone call.
Thatâs when his problems really started.
It began the first night he was in the tribal village. The high priest, whom he had made an instant effort to patronize, invited him to watch as he used the summoning devices to conjure up the Snake God.
The tuning forks were not kept hidden. In fact, they were kept in a hut in the center of the village, in the open, where everyone in the village could see them. No one, not even the enemies of the tribe, dared touch them except the high priest. Fear could be one hell of a deterrent, Albert decided.
The living conditions within the village were deplorable, yet the hut that housed the tuning forks stayed clean and well maintained.
The sacred objects seemed to be the center of village life.
Albert got his first look at the tuning forks as the sun faded over the ridge behind the village. It illuminated the square in front of the hut with golden twilight.
The high priest removed the forks from their leather pouches and held them over his head for all to genuflect.
The people of the village became very excited at their unveiling, and, although Albert could not know what they were saying, he sensed their fear and reverence.
The people bowed down with their foreheads to the ground. They chanted and prayed, whispering like leaves in the wind.
Albert stepped forward and examined the two objects with the appraising eyes of a scientist.
The sun exploded off the polished metal surfaces with the intensity and brilliance of fire. They were, without a doubt, the most curious antiquities he had ever seen. They resembled two tuning forks, the type used by musicians. One was slightly larger than the other, the bigger of the two being about two feet in length. The other appeared to be a scaled-down version of the first, about fifteen inches in length.
Both forks were of the same design, a matched set of two U-shaped silver bars, roughly one inch in diameter, bent in the middle. The two prongs ran parallel, separated by an inch of space. At the top of the elbow there was a perforation through which a leather strap had been threaded. The tuning fork was thus hung so that it might vibrate freely.
At the four ends were unusual designs that caught Albertâs attention. There, sculpted intricately by hands of talent, were four snake heads, accurate in every detail. The heads all seemed to be the same. They were all baring fangs.
These tuning forks appeared to be constructed in a manner inconsistent with the level of skill of
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