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“They would have stolen whatever’s on the other side.” “No, ‘wonderful things’ are on the other side. Still.” Halstead turned back to one of the two foremen, who stood at the ready with a candle. “Light that and let me have it.” The man nodded, struck a match against a wall of the tunnel, lit the candle, and placed it in the shaking hand of his employer. Halstead had meanwhile taken a stand on a tiny mound of rubble in a corner between tunnel wall and plaster, and had made a tiny breach in the upper-left-hand corner of the doorway. He raised the candle to the opening, and watched as escaping hot air caused the flame to flicker. Halstead waited several moments before peering through the breach to observe the other side. “What do you see?” Albright asked with a reverent hiss. “‘Everywhere the glint of gold,’” Halstead replied as he looked back into the tunnel and grinned. “Mein Führer!” Hess shouted down into the descending passageway. “Ja?” Halstead asked, automatically reverting to German when dealing with Hess. “I see a dust cloud down the valley!” Halstead smiled at Albright. “Looks like the British are right on time. Give me the camera.” Williams held the camera against his chest. “I wouldn’t advise taking any pictures, Mister Hitler. The flash—” Halstead handed the candle back to the foreman, ripped the box out of Williams’s hands, and stepped up to the breach once again. “This is no time for archeological niceties.” He raised the camera to the opening and took a picture of the space beyond. “We’ll need some evidence of our discovery.” |