Penny and the Golden Elephant

The good news was that I’d finally found the legendary golden elephant statue of Hikh Saleum.  The bad news was that Professor Moon and several minions arrived just as I did.  Unfortunately, the Professor had numbers on his side and so I was quickly overpowered by his henchmen, who lost no time in securing me to the central dais while Moon stood there, gloating.

“My dear Penelope, I warned you not to get in my way.  Now look where it has got you.”  Moon sneered at me.  “Now you’ll just have to sit there and watch us take the treasures.”

“The museum paid a fortune for the rights to dig here and anything found belongs to them!”  I protested, struggling as his goons lashed me firmly against the dais.  “These treasures have spent long enough being hidden away.  The museum will share them with the world!”

“Not this time, Penelope!  I’ll take the golden elephant for the museum, perhaps a few of the lesser treasures so they don’t suspect me and the rest of the trinkets will be sold to the highest bidder.”  Professor Moon checked his phone.  “In fact, I’ve just received a bid for that diamond encrusted ceremonial bowl.  Hmm, they offered £600,000; not bad for an opening bid!“

“You’re nothing but a greedy …mpfff, mpfff, MPFFF!”  My words were cut off by the minions as they gagged me with my own knotted bandana.  Fuming, I glowered at the Professor as he organised his team; beginning the long job of removing the treasures from the temple.  All I could do was watch and struggle, wondering where the hell Patrick was!

---

Twelve days ago…

“Penny, the Professor is looking for you.”  Patrick, hired by the museum as our fixer, crouched at the edge of the trench.  

“He can wait till I’ve got this out.”  I was carefully sweeping the soil away from an exposed piece of pottery.  “This is delicate work and can’t be hurried.”

“I know, but he seemed quite insistent that you join him.”  Patrick scowled.  “Don’t know what the old buzzard wants but he seems quite smug.”

“Drat, that means he’s found something important.”  I took a photo of the pottery before resuming my careful digging and clearing.  “He’ll be insufferable.”

“More so than usual.”  

Patrick shared my loathing of Professor Augustus Moon, senior archaeologist of the Museum of Historical Records.  The professor had made his name years ago, finding priceless treasures that the museum had displayed but the finds had gotten less over the last few years and there were rumours circulating our industry that the museum directors were going to retire him from the exploration teams.  He was unpleasant to work with; rude, demanding and quick to claim credit for anything good, while laying blame away from himself whenever we had problems.  On the last dig, several crates of priceless pottery and gold statuettes had been lost when the professor didn’t pack them properly.  He had blamed Patrick, saying that our fixer had hired incompetents.  The museum had backed Patrick though and so they had been feuding ever since.

“I think I’ve got it … yes!”  I laughed as the piece of pottery came free of the soil, revealing itself to be whole.  Setting it down, I took more photographs then climbed out of the trench and began washing the dirt away, revealing a bowl with traces of paint and glaze on the outer surface.  “Hmmm, looks to be in good condition, though it’s not particularly valuable, as such.”

“Well, if it wasn’t valuable, you should have left it and come immediately!”  The professor’s booming voice made Patrick and I jump.  “Miss Logan, I expect you to follow orders.”

“Professor Moon, may I remind you that I am not under your command or supervision.  I am here to collect samples and items for the museum’s historians, the same as you.”  I scowled at him, taking in the white shirt and tan shorts, spotlessly clean, unlike my rather muddy garments.  “Unlike you, I take a hands-on approach and since you’ve seen fit to exclude me from the main dig, I came here to make myself useful.  Now, I take it your team has found something of interest?”

“Insolent girl.  My find is of great importance; the door to the temple of Hikh Saleum itself.”

“Really?”  I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from my voice.  “The research indicated…”

“Just come and see for yourself; I need your help with the translations.”  He walked away, leaving me to follow.  I finished recording the pottery find and packed it into a crate, before heading over to the Professor’s dig site.

In spite of everything, I was curious about the find.  You see, we’d been here for three months and so far, I’d only been allowed into the primary dig site on three occasions; when he needed my specialist help with translations or recovery of a very delicate artefact.  Usually, I was banished to the lesser digs, to collect and catalogue the less important finds.  Being the more experienced archaeologist, he tended to take charge, rather than get his hands dirty through hard work.  So far I had found and catalogued a lot more than he had.

---

With my find safely packed in straw, we headed across to the main dig site to find the Professor waiting for us.

“Finally!  Well, Miss Logan, there you have it, the door to the temple of Hikh Saleum!”  He pointed proudly to some ruins that had been unearthed, revealing what looked like a heavily rusted door.  “There appears to be something carved near the door but I can’t make it out.”

“Okay, I’ll take a look.  Patrick, I’ll need my charcoal kit and some help, if you wouldn’t mind.”  

“Hmm, for a temple entrance, it seems to be awfully small and insignificant.”  Patrick mused as we approached the door.  “We’ve come down quite a way; why would a door be all the way down here?”

“Could be a basement storeroom.”  I pulled out my camera and set it to record, guiding it slowly around the door and surrounding wall, pausing over the engraving.  “This door is rather unimpressive, certainly not something I would expect to grace what is supposed to be an elegant temple.  I see evidence of internal stone walls and wooden floors.  This is probably a link door between two areas.  But why would they engrave near this door unless it was important?”  

“Here, your charcoal and paper.”  Patrick unrolled the paper and held it steady as I carefully rubbed the charcoal to record the markings.  I took my time, wanting to be sure I had everything.  By the time I was done, the sky was darkening.

As we climbed back up to the camp, I was dazzled by floodlights.

“Where do you think you’re going?  We have plenty of light, you can keep on working.”  The Professor called down.

“You can keep working if you want but I intend to study this back at camp, once I’ve had a meal and cleaned myself up.”  I brushed past the professor, who looked furious.

“It’s taken me months to find these ruins, young lady and …”

“… they will still be there in the morning.”  Patrick laughed.  “I could do with a meal too.”

We headed back to camp, leaving the Professor to fume.

---

A couple of hours later, clean and fed, I was feeling much more comfortable and more inclined to transcribe the writing.  I was sat with the charcoal rubbing, reference book, my notes and the camera spread across the makeshift desk when the Professor returned to camp.

“Well?”  He was carrying a bowl of stew that had been prepared by one of the locals that Patrick had hired.  It turned out they were good hunters and farmers and we had been treated to some local delicacies, though sometimes it was better not to ask what animal the meat had come from.

“This will take time.”  I didn’t look up; I was too busy cross-referencing the symbols against the reference book.  “Either the symbols have degraded or the reference list is incorrect.  The engraving seems to have been hurried and I believe parts of it have worn away.”

“Hmph.”  The professor sat down with a grunt.  “All this work and the only people who will benefit are the blasted museum directors.”

“Come on, Gusty, you know you’ll be able to retire off the fame and fortune if you find that golden elephant.”  Patrick grinned.

“I’ll thank you to address me properly!”  The professor snarled.  “And while I may get the fame, the fortune seems to elude me.”

“What about all those millions you made from TV and book deals?”  Patrick sniggered.  “Don’t tell me; you make some unwise investments.”

I sighed; the reason that Professor Moon had lost his money was well documented; he’d lost it gambling.  Patrick was only bringing it up to torment him, which would put the man in a worse mood than ever.

“Oh, and I suppose you’ve never made mistakes in your life.”  Moon spat back.  “Got plenty of money stashed away have you?”

“Yes, as it happens.  Being a fixer gets you good money without all the back-breaking work you do.”  Patrick smirked.  “I intend to retire by the time I’m forty!”

I began to gather my papers together; with these too acting like children, I was not going to be able to concentrate.

“What about you, Miss Logan?  Does researching make you rich?”  The professor looked smug.  I ignored him.

“Yes Penny, what about you.  How do you make money when this overbearing oaf steals all the credit?”  Patrick laughed and I felt my control slip.

“For the record, I’m an archaeologist, not just a researcher and it pays well, especially as I’m free to publish my own books about my research and the finds we unearth.  While I’m no millionaire, I live quite comfortably, plus I’m paid to explore the world.” I stood up, my paperwork and camera in hand.  “Now, if you two ‘gentlemen’ don’t mind, I am calling it a night.”

I stalked off towards my tent, not looking back as the two men began to argue again.  

---

The following morning was wet and misty.  While the Professor went to find someone to berate for not rigging up something to protect the dig site from the weather, I spread my research out in the large tent we used as a main base and concentrated on translating the symbols.  

“How are you doing?”  A shadow crossed my notes as Patrick walked in.  “Know what the door is yet?  The old buzzard’s getting inpatient.”

“Still working on it.”  I scowled at Patrick.  “You’re blocking the light.”

“Sorry, I’ll go.  But just to warn you, Gusty is itching to open that door and if you don’t have a translation for him soon, he’ll have it opened anyway.  He says that, if those symbols are a warning, he needs to know.”

“Tell him I’ll have his translation when it’s ready and not before.  If he insists on opening the door, that’s his business; the primary dig is his responsibility so he can do as he wishes.”  I didn’t look up.

“Okay Penny.  Listen, about last night, I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”  Patrick stood quietly for a moment, clearly expecting a response.  

“Forget about it.”  I looked up; Patrick looked quite sheepish and I softened towards him.  “But please let me concentrate on this; there’s something here that doesn’t make sense and I want to check I have this right.”

“Alright, I’ll see you at the dig.”  Patrick waved and left the tent.  I turned back to my notes and the rubbing, trying to make sense of it.

---

“…well I say we just open the damn door!”  Professor Moon shouted.  

“It might not be safe.”  Patrick shrugged.  “Are you sure you won’t wait for Penny’s translation.”

“She’s had long enough.”  Moon waved to his team foreman.  “Gustav, get that door open.”

“Gustav, don’t touch that door!”  I yelled as I ran into the dig site.  

“Miss Logan, how dare you countermand my orders.”  Professor Moon growled.

“Professor, that tunnel is not safe.  The markings were a warning about an unstable roof; the passage was sealed because of it.”

“I see.”  The Professor thought for a moment.  “Gustav, get a digging team together, with the necessary props and carefully open that door.  You know what needs to be done.”

“You’re going in, despite the danger?”  I was shocked.

“No, they are.  I’m not risking my neck; I’m far too important.”  The Professor walked away, leaving myself and Patrick shaking our heads.

We tried to go down to the dig but the professor’s team stopped us; it seemed I was to be excluded once again.  From a distance, I saw the ancient door being pulled free, revealing piled rubble behind crumbling stone work.  As the professor ordered the rubble cleared, I walked away.

---

“They cleared lots of stone and rubble but once they’d made the tunnel safe and tried to explore further, they found the roof had collapsed completely.  All that work, for nothing.”  Patrick reported.

“I tried to warn him.”  We were sat having our evening meal.  The Professor had stormed back into the camp and retired to his tent, leaving us in peace for once.  I was going over the research and maps.  “Now that we’ve checked this area, I’m going to suggest a new dig site, one that should lead to the temple itself.”

“You knew the temple wasn’t here?”  Patrick looked shocked.  “Is this dig a waste of time?”

“No, the temple should be north of here but The temple’s lands spread quite a distance.  Going by what we’ve found, this area may have been a village allied to the temple.  I have quite a lot of information and items to take back to the museum.  They wanted us to check this area first, in case the initial reports were wrong.”  I grinned suddenly.  “I didn’t tell the professor all the translation; that passage was an old escape route for the temple.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”  Patrick looked shocked.

“Because he would have risked everyone’s lives to try and open the passage and it would have been a complete waste of time in any case.  Remember I said it didn’t make sense?  If I’m right, the passage was blocked deliberately.”  I showed him my map.  “The research I did before we flew out showed that this area is where the temple most likely stood.  Satellite photos show large ruins overgrown by the forest.  It should prove to be a worthwhile trip.”

“For Gusty, perhaps.”  Patrick sighed.  “He’ll let you do the work then claim the credit.  You’ll never be able to become the senior archaeologist with him stealing your thunder.”

“I will once this dig is finished; he is being retired by the museum.”  I sat back, smiling.  “They have had enough of him.  They told me before we left that I’d get promoted when we get back.”

“But you won’t get rich.”  Patrick sighed.  “Don’t you ever get tempted to sell some of the finds to a collector?  I bet Gusty’s been doing that his whole career.”

“The museum has its suspicions but unfortunately we’ve never been able to prove it.    In any case, being rich doesn’t have the same appeal to me as it does to the professor.  Why let a collector lock these treasures away?  They haven’t been viewed in centuries, so why should they be dug up, only to be hidden away again?”  I shrugged.  “I’m happy as I am, thank you.”

“I wish we could do something about the professor though.”  Patrick grumbled.

Patrick looked like he wanted to debate this further but a low rumble of thunder stopped him.  One look at the massing clouds had us scurrying to protect the camp from the coming storm.

---

The storm lasted several days, with heavy rainfall, strong winds and periods of thunder and lightning.  The upside of this meant I had time to finish cataloguing our current finds and Patrick could make plans to move the camp.  We didn’t see the professor, who had taken to sulking in his tent; another bonus of the storm.  

Once the storm passed, Patrick organised the move to a new dig site.  A week later, we had shipped out our current finds back to the airfield and moved the camp several miles north.  The vehicles took us most of the way, but nearer to the ruins, the only way in was on foot.  The professor had complained, as usual, but once he saw the first ruins, his mood brightened.

“…the width and shape of those towers!  Even as ruins you can see they stood proud above the forest.”  Professor Moon pointed to the nearest tower.  “Look at the way it was built; some of its original splendour remains.  A pity the arch has fallen and, are those the remains of iron gates?”

“Yes, I believe so.  There is a tiled floor in that tower.”  I had been for a look earlier, while the Professor was still complaining about the camp conditions.  “It’s more or less intact; I’ve got a team working to extract it as whole as possible.”

“I know the museum likes that sort of thing but the real finds are the temple’s treasures.”  Moon sneered.  “That fabled golden elephant would be priceless!”

“So would any ceremonial artefacts.”  Patrick checked his map and directed a team to one of the minor dig sites.  “Steady at the bottom, it’s a bit slippery, even with the boards down.”

“The museum will do well out of this dig.”  I climbed carefully over some rubble, pushing back some long vines to reveal some crumbling stone steps winding through the trees.  Turning the first bend, I stopped.  “Professor, Patrick; we’ve found it!”

---

We must have stood there for ages, just gaping at the temple.  We had been expecting ruins, but hoped that some areas would remain largely intact.  We hadn’t been prepared to see a pair of large, ornate doors set into an architecturally magnificent structure.  While the towers and outer building looked weathered, with some crumbling away, the main structure of the temple remained, though it was overgrown and the domed roof was damaged.

“How has so much survived all this time?”  Patrick wondered.

“This area is sheltered by the mountains to the north, plus it’s hard to get to so the ruins shouldn’t have been too badly disturbed.”  I took several shots of the temple, then filmed it as we approached.

“This is where we’ll find that golden elephant.”  The professor was already rubbing his hands with anticipation.  “Plus more than enough treasure to make us all rich.”

“The museum will offer good bonuses if we bring back a lot of artefacts; they make a lot of money through their exhibitions and are most generous if we find something special.”  I glanced over at Patrick, who shrugged.  He pointed to the doors, which shone in the morning light.  

“Those doors look like they are covered in gold.  That’s a fortune in itself before we even get inside.”

“Enough chatter, get to work!”  The professor shouted.  He began issuing orders to the dig teams, with Patrick following him, trying to prevent insult or offence by the professor’s aggressive tone and lack of diplomacy.

I sighed and walked away from them, following the broken paths and stairs towards the main temple.  I photographed the area, then filmed an intact tower, letting the camera track from the ground up.  I was lost in the detail of the design and decoration, which is why I wasn’t watching where I put my feet.  I felt the stone give way to soft vines, which snapped under my weight, pitching me down into a dark hole.

---

“Hello?  Anyone hear me?”  I had been shouting now for several minutes but received no reply.  Luckily, while the hole was deep, it had been overgrown with vines and other plants, which broke my fall.  The walls of the hole were too sheer to climb without gear or assistance.  

“What’s that?”  I realised something on the floor was glowing faintly.  Carefully, I brushed aside plants to reveal my camera; the light was coming from the power button and was strong enough to cast a soft glow around.  I panned the camera around the whole, seeing falling rocks to one side of me but felt hope rise as one area revealed a dark passage.  Using the camera as a light source, I carefully made my way down the passage.

---

A few minutes later, I began to see light head of me.  Resisting the temptation to speed up, I reached the end of the passage, squeezing through the damaged wall to emerge in a small chamber.  I immediately began taking photographs, forgetting my current predicament as I sought to record what I was seeing.

The room was a chamber that looked as though it had been used as a workroom.  A stone block acted as a bench, on which I could see bowls, pestles and mortars, goblets and a large gold ceremonial bowl, covered in scrollwork and small diamonds.  Around the room I could see the remains of ceramic containers.  A sniff in some of the containers told me they were various herbs.

“This may have been medicinal preparation area.”  I mused as I explored.  “Hikh Saleum’s worshippers had one near the entrance to every temple, so they could easily tend the faithful.”

Small amounts of daylight were penetrating through cracks in the wall.  I could see a wider space through one arch, and an engraved sign near the passage I had just travelled down.  It was another warning about the escape tunnel, how.

“The escape route; it started here and ended in the village.”  I photographed the sign and crossed through the archway, where I stopped in shock.

Before me lay the main chamber of the temple; high roofed, circular in design, with a dais in the centre of the room, which shone in the light steaming through the broken dome.  There on the dais stood the Golden Elephant of Hikh-Saleum.

---

As I crossed the temple floor, I was wary.  It seemed incredible that the legendary treasure would be stood out in plain view like this.  Reaching the dais, I gently blew away the dust and checked for traps before lifting the statue.

“This is the statue?”  I sighed.  Picking it up had revealed that it was hollow and while it was still worth a small fortune for the gold and jewels that adorned it, it wasn’t what I’d been lead to expect.    As I turned it over, I felt something shift inside and caught the object before it fell.  

“What is this?”  Moving nearer the light, I found the object was a roll of material, held closed by an ornate ring.  Looking closer, I could see Hikh-Saleum’s symbol on the ring.  “A seal ring; most likely carried by the head priestess!”

I quickly photographed the ring and elephant, as well as a few shots of the temple.  The excitement of being the first to set foot in here for hundreds of years, was intoxicating.  To add to the excitement, I had got here before the professor.  I have to admit to feeling rather smug about that!

Unrolling the cloth, I realised it was a message.  Holding it nearer the light, I recognised the language it was written in; the same as I had found on the engraved warning plates.  

“Treachery, blasphemy and corruption.  Those of us who stayed true to your teachings have sealed the temple and collapsed the underground village passage against the unbelievers and warmongers, though they outnumber us greatly and may yet break through the main gate.  We will endeavour to move through the northern passage to lead them away once the temple’s riches are hidden from those who would rob you.  We pray that we live to serve you once more when you return.”  

“The legend is true.”  I read the note slowing, double checking my translation as the words sunk in.  “Their leader is said to have undergone a spiritual journey, but vanished without trace, leaving her high priestess to run the temple till she returned.  Could be that the followers stopped believing, or got greedy and tried to take the temple’s treasures.”  I put the note in my pocket then headed to the doors, intending to surprise the professor.  

The doors were stuck fast; hardly surprising considering how long they had stood here.  Instead, I used the decayed furniture and statues to climb up to the window.  I tell you, the likes of Laura Croft and Nathen Drake make it look so easy, but this relatively short climb was exhausting.  I stopped to rest for a moment and became aware of voices.

“Any sign of her?”  It as the professor and he sounded angry.

“None whatsoever.”  Patrick responded impatiently.  “I have a team looking for her.”

“She is out to steal my glory!”  Moon complained.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”  Patrick snapped back.  “She’ll can’t have gone far away.  What if she’s hurt?”

“I’m not waiting for her.”  The professor grunted.  “Gustav, get these doors open.”

“I’m going to look for her.”  Patrick sounded concerned.  “She could be in trouble.”

“As you wish.  Gustav, once those doors are open make sure there are plenty of packing boxes ready for my treasure.  I will be rich!”

“Your treasure, professor?”  I hissed as I slithered back down to the floor.  “He really does intend to steal these treasures from the museum.”

As the first thuds came from the temple doors, I was already working quickly.  The hollow elephant was back on the dais, partially covered with sand and vines.  The ceremonial bowl was replaced in the side chamber, again made to look like it hadn’t been moved.  My camera was set to record and I had wedged it in the vines where it wouldn’t be obvious.  The message and seal ring were in my pocket and I was hiding in the side room, covered in dust and dirt.  

With a splintering crash, the great doors buckled and snapped, allowing the Professor to enter the temple.

“Glorious!”  The professor was beaming.  “This is it, men.  This is the result of our long search.  Now, carefully collect and pack any treasures you may find.”

“Professor!”  One of the team held up the hollow elephant.  “Look, we found it!”

“Give me that!”  Professor Moon snatched the elephant from the worker and looked close.  “Hmm, I thought it would be solid gold, not a hollow piece.”  

“Perhaps it was a container for something more precious.”  The man replied.  “Something like that could have been used to hid important items.”

“Spare me your theories, Tomlinson.  You’re here to find treasure, so get on with it.”  The Professor walked away, still turning the statue over in his hands.  “Hmm, he might have had a point.”

I could see a couple of the team coming in my direction so quietly moved to the crack in the wall and lay on the floor.  When they entered the room, I was just raising myself up.

“Miss Logan!”  The two researchers hurried forward and helped me up.  “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m okay; just a little winded.”  I let them help me into the temple, where the Professor glowered at me.

“Miss Logan?  Where did you spring from?”  He looked suspiciously at me and clutched the elephant closer to him.  It was all I could do not to laugh.

“I fell through the floor; I was taking pictures of the structures and the floor gave way.  I slid down a passage and crawled out into the antechamber.”  I brushed some of the dust away.  

“Where’s your camera?”

“Must have dropped it when I fell.”

“That is most annoying.  I have found the legendary treasure and you don’t have the means to record it for posterity?”  The Professor was turning red with anger.

“I have other cameras.  Patrick will have them with the rest of the gear.  Where is he, anyway?”

“Wasting his time looking for you.  Next time, be more careful.”  The Professor strode off while I went to find another camera.

---

When I returned to the temple, the professor’s team were already packing up treasures.  He had found the ceremonial bowl already; or rather, his team had.  They had also uncovered quite a few other treasures from around the main temple and antechamber.  The professor’s shirt was still a pristine white, showing he had done nothing but strut about the place.  I busied myself taking photos of the finds, cataloguing them and photographing the professor with the elephant.

“This is excellent!  I can afford to retire and live in comfort for the rest of my days.”  The professor beamed as another treasure, this time a jewelled figurine was put in front of him.”

“The museum should pay a large bonus for these, that’s true.”  I replied.  I was still hoping I was wrong, but what happened next proved my instincts had been right.

“Oh Miss Logan, your naivety is so refreshing.  You may be content to travel the world and allow the museum to take ownership of the treasures you find, but I’m through with that.  I know they plan to retire me; they’ve made it quite clear that they don’t want my expertise.  Therefore, I’m making sure I’m able enjoy my retirement to its fullest.”

“You’re going to steal the treasures.”  I scowled at him.

“Don’t try to stop me, Miss Logan.  It will be all the worse for you.”  The Professor snarled.

“I won’t let you steal them.  I … hey!”  I jumped as strong hands grabbed my arms and dragged me to the central dais.  They began to bind my wrists then upper body to the heavy stone, leaving me no room to wriggle free.

“My dear Penelope, I warned you not to get in my way.  Now look where it has got you.”  Moon sneered at me.  “Now you’ll just have to sit there and watch us take the treasures.”

And now we’re all caught up!

---

An hour later, I was no closer to being free.  I scowled at the Professor, who was enjoying showing me the treasures they had unearthed from another antechamber, hidden by the vines.  He kept gloating about how much he thought they’d bring at auction.  The whole time, the golden elephant never left his sight and he wouldn’t allow anyone to touch it.  A few times, Gustav came to speak to him and at one point I heard Patrick mentioned.  I hoped he was alright; he hadn’t put in an appearance in ages.

I watched as he moved away to inspect the packing of these finds.  Behind my gag, I grinned.  He was in full view of my camera, which should still be recording his antics.  It was amusing me too; while I’d been stuck there, I’d had time to think.

“That statue was supposed to be around four feet high.”  I considered my research as I watched the teams working.  “It would have been on a plinth at the back of the temple’s main chamber.  I let my head loll to one side so I could look at the area directly opposite the doors.  “It would have stood there, but something so heavy would need a lot of people to lift it so how could they remove and hide it before being overrun with unbelievers?”

Sitting where I was had perhaps given me a different perspective, but the answer came clearly to me.  The piles of rubble that lay everywhere, the broken dome and caved in escape route; all done by the priestesses to protect the temple.  Since the dig team were finding so many precious items, the follower’s plan had obviously worked.  While the dig team had uncovered another antechamber and a hidden area near a statue, they hadn’t attempted to clear the rubble off the plinth.  It was piled high and covered in vines and flowers, which wound through the rubble.  Unless they looked closely or, looked from my vantage point, they wouldn’t see the tiny flash of gold shining through the debris.  Now I just hoped the professor would leave before finding it.

“Professor Moon, the crates are full.”  Gustav held out a list.  “We’ve begun loading the vehicles and should be ready to go in another hour.”

“I want to be out of here sooner.”  The Professor reluctantly placed the hollow elephant in a box and sealed it shut.  “This goes in my vehicle.”

“Of course, sir.”  Gustav pointed to me and grinned.  “What do you want to do about her?”

“Since she loves spending time in these old ruins, we’ll leave her here to rot.”  The professor sneered at me.  “Thanks for finding the temple for me, Penelope.”

“Mpfff!”  I screamed into my gag.  

“Come on, time to go.”  The professor followed his team out of the temple.  It didn’t seem to be long before I heard the vehicles start up and drive away, leaving me with just the noises of the forest.

I began to struggle but found very little play in the ropes.  I could reach any of the knots or overbalance the dais.  I tried rubbing the robes against the stone but the dais was still quite smooth and I was doubtful that it would help.  I ceased my struggles and rested, trying to think of a way out of this. The light was dropping and I really didn’t fancy being stuck here without any light.

“Penny?  Are you in here?”  

Patrick!  About time!  I started to shout into my gag and struggled as much as I could.  Thankfully he heard the commotion and came running over to me and loosened my gag.

“Penny, are you alright?”  He pulled a knife and started cutting through my ropes.  

“Just stiff.”  I stretched as soon as I was free and accepted Patrick’s hand to help me up.  “Not that I’m ungrateful but where have you been?  You went looking for me hours ago!”  

“I hunted all over, couldn’t find you so came back here.  The Professor told me you’d gone to another dig site and sent me on a wild goose chase.  I saw his vehicles leave as I was heading back.”  Patrick looked around at the mess.  “He stole the lot, didn’t he?”

“Not quite.”  I quickly related what had happened and we both went to the plinth.  Carefully pulling back the vines and moving a couple of smaller rocks, we began to laugh.  There on the plinth, made from gold and decorated with rubies, we saw the bottom of an elephant’s foot.

---

Three days later

“Welcome back Professor!”  Herbert Proud, the museum’s curator has been waiting near the freight runway, ready to oversee the unloading.  “Any news on Miss Logan?”

“I’m sorry, Herbert.  Patrick is still over there; he has the local guides searching for her but so far they haven’t found a trace of her.  As I said on the phone, some of the finds that she had catalogued have also gone missing and I suspect foul play.”

“I think so too.  That’s why I have asked for security to be present while we unload the artefacts.”  Herbert motioned to several large guys in black jeans and shirts who fanned out around the cargo plan, waiting for instruction.

“Herbert, there’s no foul play here, you fool!”  The Professor spat.  “For all we know, Miss Logan is nothing more than a thief.”

“I doubt that very much.”  Herbert growled.  “She is beyond reproach.  Now, what have you brought me?”

“Here, this is the legendary golden elephant of Hikh Saleum.”  He handed over the box containing the hollow elephant.  “I warn you though, it’s not what we expected.”

“I see … yes, it does seem much …ah, smaller than we anticipated.  But, no matter; I’m sure you found plenty of other treasures for us.”

“A few ceremonial items, plus a lot of pottery.  Miss Logan found a complete pottery piece which she unearthed at the first dig site, plus an almost complete tiled floor which is in excellent condition.  We also have plenty of photographs and footage of the area; more than enough to please your sponsors and patrons.”

“After all the time you spent over there, this is all you brought me?  I had expected more … of course, you said some of the items had gone missing.  Such as shame.”  Herbert waved to his team, who began unloading the plane.  If you’ll excuse me, Professor, the security team need to get this lot off the plane and somewhere safe.”

“With all due respect, Herbert, I should supervise the unloading.  These items are rare and delicate; they need to be handled with care.”

“Professor, you became retired the moment you landed.  Please, go and relax.”

“No!  I insist on finishing what I started.”

“Herbert, let him stay by all means.  He should see this.”

Both men turned to see Patrick and myself step down from the cargo plane.  Herbert grinned and waved, while the Professor turned a deathly white.

“What…how…what’s going on?”  The Professor stuttered as we unfolded a ramp and guided the security team to a large covered trolley, which they began to roll out of the plane.

“Well, it’s quite simple, Professor.  You see, after leaving me for dead at the temple, you were so busy finding buyers for the more priceless artefacts we uncovered that you left Patrick’s team to load the cargo.  It was quite easy for them to smuggle us on board.”

“Left for dead?  Miss Logan, we looked all over for you!  Herbert, you don’t believe this girl’s ramblings, surely.”

“I do, dear Professor.  You see, Patrick kindly emailed me a video shot by Miss Logan, which shows you stealing the treasures and leaving Miss Logan bound and gagged at the temple, so she couldn’t report you.  Thankfully Patrick was able to rescue her and arrange for you to be met before anything could be lost forever.”

“This is preposterous!”  The Professor started moving towards me with his fists raised, but Herbert’s team grabbed him and held him back.  He saw police officers heading across the tarmac and sagged.

“Oh yes, you’re not getting away with stealing treasures this time, Professor.”  I grinned at him.  “But before you are escorted to jail, perhaps you would like the see the real legendary golden elephant of Hikh Saleum?”

As I took one corner of the trolley cover, Patrick took the other and, with a flourish, we revealed the golden elephant in all its glory.  Free of the debris and dirt that had covered it, the elephant was a splendid solid gold statue, decorated with gems of all types and worth several fortunes of anyone’s money.  There were several whistles of amazement from the security team and Herbert looked ready to cry with happiness as he viewed it.  The only person not smiling was the Professor, whose look of sorrow had me feeling sorry for him.  Well … almost.

---

A few hours later, Patrick and I were relaxing in style at an expensive restaurant.  Herbert had generously given Patrick and myself a huge bonus and our next commission.  I had been promoted to Lead Archaeologist and Patrick had been offered a permanent job as researcher/fixer, assigned to my team.  

“Thank you for coming to my rescue, Patrick.”  I raised my glass.  “And thank you for stopping the Professor’s little scheme.”

“Thank you for putting in a good word for me with your boss.”  He grinned and raised his own glass.  “Here’s to our next adventure!”

“Cheers!