Nigel awoke with a start. Between wonderful dreams of Sydney corrupting
him and horrifying dreams of being hunted by their newly acquired shadow,
he felt like he hadn't slept a wink.
The sun wasn't up yet when he looked over at Sydney. She slept only a few feet away from him, but it was a few feet too many, in his opinion. She looked tense in her sleep. His desire to hold her, and ease her worries, was overwhelming. He knew she wasn't sleeping soundly. Her mind was always on the alert for any unwelcome visitors.
Nigel looked around the camp and saw that no one else stirred.
A sudden flare of green light in the sky caught his eye. A shooting star blazed across the western sky. Was this a harbinger of bad things to come - or of good? He just didn't know. Putting that thought aside, he glanced at his watch. Only 4:00 am... Knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep, he got up and went to sit by the dwindling fire.
By 4:30, Zach had joined him.
Before turning in for the night, Sydney and Nigel had decided to tell Zach their real reason for this trip. With the possibility of one or more people following them, and their belief that someone in their party was involved with the attack on Professor Anderson, they both felt that Zach had a right to know. Zach put a pot of coffee over the rekindled fire before Nigel broached the subject.
Nigel looked around the camp to be certain no one else was awake. "Zach, Sydney and I aren't here strictly for research." He kept his voice low so that they wouldn't be overheard.
"I know," Zach whispered back. He saw the surprise in Nigel's eyes. "With the attack on Joe, and his call asking me to help you both, I figured there was more to this than you were saying. You have a map, don't you?"
"Yes."
"And you think it might lead to the Dutchman's mine."
"Joe and Sydney do, but I'm not so sure." Nigel looked at Zach. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you about this from the start, and I don't want you to think that Sydney or I believe you were involved in what happened to Joe. We felt the fewer people who knew why we were here, the better."
"Never once crossed my mind." Zach replied. " I am concerned about a couple of things, though. I thought it was strange the way the others showed up right after the two of you left. Do you think someone in our little group here was involved in the attack on Joe?"
"That's a good possibility."
Zach looked at the fire, concern etched on his face. "I had feeling we were being watched yesterday."
"I know. Syd and I felt the same thing. If you want to head back we'll understand. I mean, you have other people to think about here."
"I thought about it, but if one or more of these people are responsible for what happened to Joe, and we turn back now, they might become suspicious. And that could make matters worse. I think the best thing to do is continue our trip. Between the three of us, I have the feeling we'll be able to handle whatever comes our way." Zach poured himself and Nigel some of the steaming coffee.
Nigel looked at Zach, a slight grin gracing his lips as Zach pulled a face after tasting his coffee. "Something wrong?" he asked, eyeing his own cup.
"Well, if you like tar for breakfast, then no."
Both men laughed.
Sydney woke about 45 minutes later. At first she was concerned when she saw Nigel's sleeping bag was missing. She quickly scanned the area, flooded with relief when she saw him with Zach, tending to the horses. Sydney smiled to herself as she got up. Nigel sure did love being around the horses.
Nigel knew Sydney was close by before he even turned around. "Good Morning."
"Morning yourself," Sydney said with a slight note of concern in her voice.
She noticed the shadows under Nigel's eyes. "Didn't sleep well?"
"How'd you guess?"
As she heard Zach approach, she whispered a near-silent, "Does he know?" to Nigel.
Nigel nodded.
"Good morning Sydney." Zach said with a smile.
"Morning Zach. Nigel told me you two spoke. So do we go on or head back?"
"We go on." Zach replied.
As the first rays of the sun colored the eastern sky, Andy, Lee and Amy joined them by the fire. Amy complained about her back, and how she would never understand why her brother liked camping out so much. Andy and Lee both rolled their eyes at each other as Amy went on and on, both thinking this was going to be a long day. Sydney, Zach and Nigel sat across from the others, quietly watching, each wondering what lay ahead as the new day began.
After breakfast, everyone helped clear the camp.
To Sydney's annoyance, her talk with Amy didn't appear to have the desired affect. Amy was staying closer than ever to Nigel, and he seemed to enjoy every minute of it. She knew it was payback for the Claudia thing, but Sydney still didn't like it.
"So Nigel, Sydney tells me your engaged?" Amy innocently asked.
Nigel glanced over at Syd. She quickly adverted her eyes. So she's jealous.
Nigel decided to have some fun at Sydney's expense, but he didn't want to hurt Amy in the process. He would play along with Sydney's little deception.
"Oh Yes. I can't wait to get back to her, to hold her in my arms again and - " Nigel sighed as he looked at Amy sheepishly. "Well, um I just miss my little Scoochie"
"Scoochie?" Amy laughed.
Sydney approached Amy and Nigel, a deceptively sweet smile on her face.
"It's just a little nickname I have for Claudia. I know it's silly, but she loves it."
"Does she have a special name for you?"
Nigel knew Sydney was near, and leaned closer to Amy. "She does, but it's not one we usually use in - " Nigel stopped when he felt Sydney tapping on his shoulder.
"Sydney, hi." Amy saw a strange look flicker across Sydney's eyes. "Nigel was just telling me about Claudia, and the cute little nickname he has for her."
"Really. You never told me you had a pet name for Claudia. So what is it? Darling? Pigeon? Sweetheart?" Sydney's smile grew even bigger as she contemplated Nigel's demise.
"It's so cute. He calls her Scoochie." Amy was unaware of the unspoken words passing between Sydney and Nigel. The murderous glint in Sydney's eyes and the mischievous one in Nigel's spoke volumes. "Well if I don't get my stuff together soon, Zach will leave without me!" Before beating a hasty retreat, Amy placed her hand on Nigel's arm. "After we get going I was hoping you can tell me about the wedding plans. I just love weddings."
"Sure." Nigel watched as Amy strode away. He felt Sydney's fingernails bite into his shoulder. "If you're not careful, you're going to break a nail."
"That's not the only thing I'm going to break... Podge!" She released the pressure on his shoulder when he winced.
"Ooch! Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" He looked at her with puppy dog eyes. "Forgive me?"
"Stop that! You know I can't resist it when you look at me that way. Just don't do it again or I won't be held responsible for my actions." She gave him a little wink to let him know he was off the hook. "So how did you find out?"
"Your Dad accidentally let it slip. Don't be mad at him. He begged me not to let on that I knew."
"He has nothing to worry about." Sydney quickly scooted out of Nigel's reach and headed towards her horse. "Come on, Podge, Zach looks like he's almost ready to head out."
"Sydney!" Nigel growled as he followed her. She might not kill her father for telling him her nickname, but he would be more then happy to kill his brother for telling his.
The sun wasn't up yet when he looked over at Sydney. She slept only a few feet away from him, but it was a few feet too many, in his opinion. She looked tense in her sleep. His desire to hold her, and ease her worries, was overwhelming. He knew she wasn't sleeping soundly. Her mind was always on the alert for any unwelcome visitors.
Nigel looked around the camp and saw that no one else stirred.
A sudden flare of green light in the sky caught his eye. A shooting star blazed across the western sky. Was this a harbinger of bad things to come - or of good? He just didn't know. Putting that thought aside, he glanced at his watch. Only 4:00 am... Knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep, he got up and went to sit by the dwindling fire.
By 4:30, Zach had joined him.
Before turning in for the night, Sydney and Nigel had decided to tell Zach their real reason for this trip. With the possibility of one or more people following them, and their belief that someone in their party was involved with the attack on Professor Anderson, they both felt that Zach had a right to know. Zach put a pot of coffee over the rekindled fire before Nigel broached the subject.
Nigel looked around the camp to be certain no one else was awake. "Zach, Sydney and I aren't here strictly for research." He kept his voice low so that they wouldn't be overheard.
"I know," Zach whispered back. He saw the surprise in Nigel's eyes. "With the attack on Joe, and his call asking me to help you both, I figured there was more to this than you were saying. You have a map, don't you?"
"Yes."
"And you think it might lead to the Dutchman's mine."
"Joe and Sydney do, but I'm not so sure." Nigel looked at Zach. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you about this from the start, and I don't want you to think that Sydney or I believe you were involved in what happened to Joe. We felt the fewer people who knew why we were here, the better."
"Never once crossed my mind." Zach replied. " I am concerned about a couple of things, though. I thought it was strange the way the others showed up right after the two of you left. Do you think someone in our little group here was involved in the attack on Joe?"
"That's a good possibility."
Zach looked at the fire, concern etched on his face. "I had feeling we were being watched yesterday."
"I know. Syd and I felt the same thing. If you want to head back we'll understand. I mean, you have other people to think about here."
"I thought about it, but if one or more of these people are responsible for what happened to Joe, and we turn back now, they might become suspicious. And that could make matters worse. I think the best thing to do is continue our trip. Between the three of us, I have the feeling we'll be able to handle whatever comes our way." Zach poured himself and Nigel some of the steaming coffee.
Nigel looked at Zach, a slight grin gracing his lips as Zach pulled a face after tasting his coffee. "Something wrong?" he asked, eyeing his own cup.
"Well, if you like tar for breakfast, then no."
Both men laughed.
Sydney woke about 45 minutes later. At first she was concerned when she saw Nigel's sleeping bag was missing. She quickly scanned the area, flooded with relief when she saw him with Zach, tending to the horses. Sydney smiled to herself as she got up. Nigel sure did love being around the horses.
Nigel knew Sydney was close by before he even turned around. "Good Morning."
"Morning yourself," Sydney said with a slight note of concern in her voice.
She noticed the shadows under Nigel's eyes. "Didn't sleep well?"
"How'd you guess?"
As she heard Zach approach, she whispered a near-silent, "Does he know?" to Nigel.
Nigel nodded.
"Good morning Sydney." Zach said with a smile.
"Morning Zach. Nigel told me you two spoke. So do we go on or head back?"
"We go on." Zach replied.
As the first rays of the sun colored the eastern sky, Andy, Lee and Amy joined them by the fire. Amy complained about her back, and how she would never understand why her brother liked camping out so much. Andy and Lee both rolled their eyes at each other as Amy went on and on, both thinking this was going to be a long day. Sydney, Zach and Nigel sat across from the others, quietly watching, each wondering what lay ahead as the new day began.
After breakfast, everyone helped clear the camp.
To Sydney's annoyance, her talk with Amy didn't appear to have the desired affect. Amy was staying closer than ever to Nigel, and he seemed to enjoy every minute of it. She knew it was payback for the Claudia thing, but Sydney still didn't like it.
"So Nigel, Sydney tells me your engaged?" Amy innocently asked.
Nigel glanced over at Syd. She quickly adverted her eyes. So she's jealous.
Nigel decided to have some fun at Sydney's expense, but he didn't want to hurt Amy in the process. He would play along with Sydney's little deception.
"Oh Yes. I can't wait to get back to her, to hold her in my arms again and - " Nigel sighed as he looked at Amy sheepishly. "Well, um I just miss my little Scoochie"
"Scoochie?" Amy laughed.
Sydney approached Amy and Nigel, a deceptively sweet smile on her face.
"It's just a little nickname I have for Claudia. I know it's silly, but she loves it."
"Does she have a special name for you?"
Nigel knew Sydney was near, and leaned closer to Amy. "She does, but it's not one we usually use in - " Nigel stopped when he felt Sydney tapping on his shoulder.
"Sydney, hi." Amy saw a strange look flicker across Sydney's eyes. "Nigel was just telling me about Claudia, and the cute little nickname he has for her."
"Really. You never told me you had a pet name for Claudia. So what is it? Darling? Pigeon? Sweetheart?" Sydney's smile grew even bigger as she contemplated Nigel's demise.
"It's so cute. He calls her Scoochie." Amy was unaware of the unspoken words passing between Sydney and Nigel. The murderous glint in Sydney's eyes and the mischievous one in Nigel's spoke volumes. "Well if I don't get my stuff together soon, Zach will leave without me!" Before beating a hasty retreat, Amy placed her hand on Nigel's arm. "After we get going I was hoping you can tell me about the wedding plans. I just love weddings."
"Sure." Nigel watched as Amy strode away. He felt Sydney's fingernails bite into his shoulder. "If you're not careful, you're going to break a nail."
"That's not the only thing I'm going to break... Podge!" She released the pressure on his shoulder when he winced.
"Ooch! Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" He looked at her with puppy dog eyes. "Forgive me?"
"Stop that! You know I can't resist it when you look at me that way. Just don't do it again or I won't be held responsible for my actions." She gave him a little wink to let him know he was off the hook. "So how did you find out?"
"Your Dad accidentally let it slip. Don't be mad at him. He begged me not to let on that I knew."
"He has nothing to worry about." Sydney quickly scooted out of Nigel's reach and headed towards her horse. "Come on, Podge, Zach looks like he's almost ready to head out."
"Sydney!" Nigel growled as he followed her. She might not kill her father for telling him her nickname, but he would be more then happy to kill his brother for telling his.