Descendants of the Scythians - Страница 2

“And we did find four outcroppings of copper veins in the walls of the main gallery and two in one of the side corridors,” Artem heard as he became aware of Lida’s voice again. “They were real outcroppings. Ivan Semenovich, they really were! Won’t this cave be of great use to us?”

“So, they were real…” the geologist drawled. “Yes. Now the situation must be regarded from quite a different point of view. Dmitro Borisovich, don’t look at me so triumphantly! I’m of the opinion that the person who really has the right to be pleased with himself is Artem, for he first took an interest in the cave. By the way, why do you look so morose, Artem? What’s wrong? You are not unwell, are you?”

“Yes, quite a change has come over you,” Dmitro Borisovich joined in, turning his head to look at Artem.

“Our dear Artem must be daydreaming,” Lida said with a twinkle in her eye.

Artem slowly rose to his feet, his hands pushed deep into the pockets of his overalls. He approached the table without uttering a word, looked at the Lida’s sketch and made a wry face.

“Really, Artem, what’s come over you?”

“He’s probably got some news to break. Is that it?”

But Artem turned away without replying, walked back to his chair, sat down, and only then did he speak. His voice was filled with a deliberate indifference.

“I’ve got nothing new to tell you. Neither am I daydreaming, nor am I sick. I’m fine. I’m just wondering since when Lida got so excited about archeology? She’s been quite lackadaisical about it up till very recently. And as far as her sketch is concerned, it’s poppycock,” he pointed to the paper on the table. “It’s a… you can’t call it anything but…”

“Ah, now I see what’s wrong,” Dmitro Borisovich said cheerfully. “You’re not being reasonable, Artem. I took Lida along precisely to get her interested in my archeological affairs. And it seems I’ve succeeded, isn’t that so, Lida?”

Lida nodded her head in ready affirmation, and then looked out of the corner of her eye at Ivan Semenovich: what did he think about the matter?

“Here we have another deserter from geology,” laughed the geologist. “Now I realize, Dmitro Borisovich, that I should not have come here with you, no doubt about it. Honestly, you’re a veritable enemy implanted in our midst. You will lure everyone here into your field, the way I see it. It looks as if we’ll all turn into full-fledged archeologists! All right, let’s get back to what we were discussing. Maybe Artem’s mood will improve in the meanwhile. Is that likely, Artem?”

“I’m not in such a bad mood as it is,” snapped Artem.

“Oh sure, sure, that’s obvious… Now, my friends, in light of the new discoveries we’ll have to introduce changes into our plans. You must admit now that I’m not as unyielding as some people think… incidentally, it’s you I have in mind, Dmitro Borisovich. Though, to be quite frank, I still have my doubts and don’t care to hide them.”

“For example?”

“Well… the thing is that the veins could disappear inside the mount just as they do close to the surface… But that can be checked. Moreover since your desire to probe the cave for archeological finds is clear to everyone, Dmitro Borisovich, we’ll unite our two lines into a common effort — geological and archeological. Do you have anything to add?”

The archeologist stroked his beard and spoke, seemingly lost in meditation:

“What attracts me most, Ivan Semenovich, is the fact that the cave is, so to say, an unexplored area. No one has set foot there for quite a long time. Remember what the old man said? T know that there cave inside out, I remember all its nooks and crannies. Been some time since they found anything in there. Which means that at least two or three of the locals were impeded by the rockfall, thinking it was the natural end of the cave. Now, since we’ve managed to get beyond it, I have quite different ideas about the cave.”

“So you have, have you? I’m eager to hear about them.”

“More than likely, the old man was referring to ancient artifacts. We’ve got a chance now of finding a lot more since I’m of the opinion that the cave once stretched deep into the heart of the Sharp Mount, and was spacious, too. It is quite plausible that some ancient people lived there or used it as a refuge to hide from enemies. That would explain the finds… There’s even more to it, if you’ll allow me to make some conjectures, which, of course, will be open to criticism. Considering the nature of the finds and how the villagers described them, I’m inclined to think that we may be talking about a tribe of ancient Scythians…”

“Scythians?” Lida and Artem exclaimed simultaneously. “Yes, Scythians, one of their numerous tribes. It’s quite conceivable. There’s another idea that I have, though it’s of a purely archeological kind, if you know what I mean. And as such it would be of no interest to you as representatives of the science of geology…”

“There you go again, Dmitro Borisovich,” Lida said disgruntled. “As soon as you get to something interesting, you stop short and try to make us prompt you into continuing. Please go on, we’re all ears.”

“All right, I’ll continue,” the archeologist said with a smile. “There’s a chance that we might find something in that cave that would tell us how the Scythians mined copper ore and how they extracted copper from it. It is known that they were excellent metal workers — copper, bronze, and especially iron. That’s the archeological side of it. But since I know only too well that our dear Ivan Semenovich cannot be tempted to take an interest in any archeological questions no matter how hard I try, I’ve thought of yet another reason to study the cave. And it’ll be a purely geological one.”

“Namely?” the geologist said, with evident interest.

“Well, when we have established that the Scythians…”

“Wait, you said you were not sure it was the Scythians who inhabited these parts.”

“Of course, you’re right, Ivan Semenovich,” the archeologist agreed. “Let’s put it this way — when we establish beyond doubt that the ancient tribe that lived here extracted ore from the cave, it would necessarily mean that the tribe knew of the local deposits, am I right? And, consequently, a geologist could draw his own conclusions from this fact, couldn’t he?”

I’ll give you one conclusion straight away,” Ivan Semenovich said. “If your ancient tribe did use the local ore, this ore must have been of a very high quality because the ancient people could hardly have known any methods of working low-grade ore. Yes, you’ve scored a point, Dmitro Borisovich. What a shame you’re not a geologist. You’d have made an excellent one if you hadn’t spoiled it all by enrolling at an archeology school.”

Dmitro Borisovich said with a smile:

“I’m most honored to hear such a refined compliment addressed to my humble person… I’ve laid down my reasons as to why I believe the cave should be explored quite thoroughly. Now I’ll try to put forward another convincing argument as I’ve… er… saved the most interesting part for the end…”

“Of course! You’re incorrigible. Pray continue.”

“Here it is. You’ll see.”

Dmitro Borisovich slowly unbuttoned his overalls, pulled something out of his inside pocket, and froze. He turned his head toward the door and was apparently listening to sounds coming from outside: there was slight but persistent scratching at the door.

“Diana, is that you?” called Ivan Semenovich.

The scratching was intensified. Lida got up and went to the door to open it. A big fawn-colored boxer dashed into the room yelping. She. ran round the room, muzzled everyone’s knees, then stretched out beside Ivan Semenovich, and quieted down, eyes half-shut. Only the stump of a tail wagged persistently.

“I’m glad you’ve come home,” Ivan Semenovich said, stroking the dog’s back. The tail wagged with renewed vigor. “Now, Dmitro Borisovich, please tell us what it is that you’ve saved for the end.”

“These drawings.”

The archeologist spread out a sheaf of papers torn from an ordinary school exercise book. A short sword, a horse’s head, and a sort of covered wagon were drawn in rough, broken lines on the sheets. The last bore an awkwardly drawn human head. Everyone looked attentively at the drawings for some time. Artem was the first to speak:

“Were they done by a child?”

The archeologist burst into hearty laughter.

“What a compliment, Artemi Everything you see here was drawn by me.”

“By you?”

“Absolutely. But it was not I who carved the originals of these images in the rock. In my drawings I’ve tried to be as faithful as could be to the carvings done by ancient people. So far I’ve been lucky enough to find four such carvings. These are just copies. I don’t belive I’ll be stretching the point too far if I say that these are of Scythian origin!”

The archeologist fell silent, carefully folding the papers. Then he said:

“Tomorrow I’ll photograph them. They are extremely interesting, extremely! They bear a certain resemblance to pieces in the wonderful Scythian gold collection in the Hermitage Museum. That’s my story,” he concluded solemnly, raising his hand.

A profound silence fell in the room. Only the hissing of the miner’s lamp and the geologist’s drumming on the table was audible in the silence. One had to admit that the archeologist was very good at putting forward very convincing arguments and sound ideas. At last Ivan Semenovich looked up and saw how Lida was eyeing him imploringly and how Artem, who had even forgotten his sulkiness, was waiting impatiently for his decision. Ivan Semenovich’s face broke into a wide grin: