4: Grave Encounters
By the time Tintin and the Captain - accompanied by Snowy - had driven down to the dig site, the field was a hive of activity. They parked up alongside the bus and Professor Fort's old car, clambered over the stile, and crossed the field to where the students had roped off one corner. Two of the students, supervised by Doctor Lindy, were running a trundle wheel through the uneven, mucky grass, while two others went ahead of them flattening the stalks down. Professor Fort had asked that the field remain as 'natural' as possible, so the Captain hadn't had the gardener cut it for the last month.
Behind the roped-off area, Professor Fort stood up and waved to the Captain and Tintin, who changed course and headed for him. "Grand morning for it!" the professor called happily.
"You must be joking," the Captain replied, pulling the collar of his coat up around his neck. The rain had become lighter, and was now a persistent misty drizzle.
"Perfect conditions!" Professor Fort dodged around a small, rectangular hole and hopped over to them. The students were already starting to dig, and were elongating the rectangular hole. "Not every dig takes place in the Valley of the Kings, Captain. Most students of archaeology are surprised when they spend their lives standing in shit and mud up to their knees. I try to give my students as realistic an experience as possible, and sometimes you have a week in the pouring rain to investigate a site. Sometimes you find something, and sometimes you find nothing. It is the way of the world."
"Er, yeah. Ok. So you found the place, then?"
"We did: the directions were concise and explicit. That is to say," he added, "they were easy to read and even easier to follow."
"Good, good. Well, good luck, and if you need anything let me know."
"Of course, my dear man, although I rather think you've been more than accommodating and obliging already. I hesitate to intrude on your good graces once more, Captain, but, er…"
"Yes?"
"Perchance there is a library in the House that contains records? Pertaining to the past and the rich history of the area?"
"There is," Tintin answered. "Most of them are very old, though."
"Fear not, dear boy, my research team will not remove them from their dusty reliquary. Rather, they will attend to them in their place of rest. That is to say, they will go to the library and do their best to leave the books in the same condition as they find them."
"That sounds fair," Tintin replied. "Please, remind your students that some of the books are irreplaceable."
"I shall endeavour to impress upon them the importance of delicacy," Professor Fort said with a neat bow of his head.
"What?" the Captain asked.
"He's sending students up to the library to research the history of the land," Tintin translated, "and he'll tell them to be careful with the books."
"Oh right. Fair enough."
"And now I fear I have imposed upon your time for long enough," Professor Fort said.
"He's telling us to leave him alone. Very politely."
"Oh. Oh! Right, yeah. Er, good luck, ship-mate." The Captain shook Professor Fort's hand and they escaped before the man could launch into another soliloquy.
"It's like listening to Shakespeare," the Captain muttered as they hurried back to the car.
"Oh, it's not that bad," Tintin replied. "He's a bit stuffy, but I'm sure as an academic he can be excused."
"Excused, pardoned or postulated?" the Captain asked with a laugh. "Come on; let's get those fairy lights strung up."