Without the sunlight, it was hard to judge time passing. When the camp stopped for the night, no one complained. Cookie dragged a large kettle on wheels over to the fire and began serving up chunky sand-colored substance.
"If yer hungry, you best eat now! I ain't makin' more until breakfast," he hollered into the mass of people. Many of the men passed on eating, even after a hard day of work. Even the hardest working among them weren't hungry enough to try Cookie's strange food.
The core group - the men and women that Eleanor herself had helped to pick - sat around the fire talking. They had spread themselves so that there were no empty seats. Eleanor and Milo stood close by with their plates.
"Do we dare ask to join them?" Eleanor asked skeptically.
Milo shook his head and sat down on a rock not far from the vehicles. He immediately opened the journal. He flipped to a page that Eleanor had seen him read at least four times during the tow.
"When I was reading today, I stumbled across something interesting and a bit confusing," he began.
Audrey called out from the fireside, "Hey, Milo! Eleanor! Why don't you come sit with us?"
Milo and Eleanor exchanged glances. Why would Audrey of all people invite them over?
"This isn't a trick, is it?" asked Eleanor. Milo heard fear in her voice, but she put on her best 'couldn't care less' face.
"I don't know, but I'm willing to give it a try," he replied. He turned to the group. "Really? You don't mind?"
"Nah. Park it here," said Audrey. Milo sat between Audrey and Dr. Sweet. Eleanor hadn't introduced herself to the latter, but he was struggling to get his spoon out of Cookie's slop so she decided to wait.
There was no room next to Milo, which set Eleanor into a minor panic. Her eyes scanned the circle for a friendly face. She found Sylvia, who gestured to share the rock she was perched on. Graciously, Eleanor joined her.
Eleanor looked at the faces around the circle. These people were real explorers. They joked with each other and talked easily despite the long hours and hard work they had put in. She and Milo…well, perhaps she shouldn't speak for Milo. She at least was exhausted and she had only sat in a truck. She glanced at Audrey, who for the first time today was smiling.
Eleanor understood why the girl resented her so much. Eleanor was probably 8 or more years older than Audrey, yet she was as useless as a child. Audrey was a skilled mechanic, but Eleanor offered nothing more than moral support. She had to prove herself to Audrey and the rest of the crew.
"Hey, Milo, don't you ever close that book?" asked Audrey.
"Yeah, you must've read it a dozen times by now," Dr. Sweet chimed it.
"I know but this," Milo shrugged. "This doesn't make any sense. See, in this passage here, the shepherd seems to be leading up to something."
Milo turned the journal toward the group like he was showing them a picture book. The page showed a group of people lifting their hands to a line of ovals, which were hovering above a city. On the other page was a closer look at one of the ovals.
"The heart of Atlantis," Sylvia read.
"Yeah," Milo agreed. "It could be the power source the legends refer to. But then it just…it cuts off. It's almost like there's a missing page."
Eleanor was captivated by the mystery. Surely Milo was reading the journal correctly this time. Who could have taken the page? Thaddeus?
"Kid, relax," Vinny said, breaking the spell. "We don't get paid overtime."
"I know, I know. Sometimes I get a little carried away," Milo replied. He laughed quietly, but Eleanor saw that he was losing his confidence.
"But hey!" Eleanor said. The faces turned toward her. "That's what this is all about, right? I mean, discovery, teamwork, adventure?" She was grinning now, but no one else reacted. "Unless maybe…you're just in it for the money."
Milo had suggested as much when they were in the truck hours ago. The words echoed in her mind.
They didn't come because they believed me. They came because your grandfather paid them.
A chorus of "money" came from the group and Eleanor's heart sank. Milo chuckled quietly from across the fire. She thought she saw him wink as she sighed, "Well, I guess I set myself up for that one."