Free Jane by Robin Maxwell Page A

pile of gravel. It looked as if the kings from later dynasties had come in and used it as a quarry for nearby temples.”
    “How horrible for him.”
    “He’s been haunted by it ever since. Now there’s an obsession with an unhappy ending.” He held my gaze. “That’s not going to happen to your father. Not if I have anything to do with it.”
    I felt my eyes stinging with gratitude and turned away before he could see such naked emotion.
    When Father arrived a few moments later, we showed Ral Conrath around the laboratory. Every bit of it was solidly appreciated by the man. The library, the maps and globes, the skeletons, the great drawers of fossil specimens. Even the “pantry” with its gruesome exhibits evoked oaths of awe and numerous well-conceived questions.
    I found myself, rather bemusedly, caring very much what he thought of us.
    Then Mr. Conrath unrolled his own map—that of Gabon, the coastal cities of Libreville and Port-Gentil, the spidery line of the Ogowe River, and the great uncharted areas that he said few whites had penetrated, no less explored. South of the river and less than two hundred miles inland he poked his finger.
    “I took a hunting party down here. I found limestone caves. My employers came for the ivory and couldn’t have cared less.” Conrath fished around in his oversized pocket and removed a small wooden box. He placed it on the table between us and opened it. “Look at this.” He pushed the box toward Father, who squinted in surprise at its contents. Father held the pale, rounded, and clearly fossilized bone fragment up to the light. I, too, was riveted to the piece.
    “Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” Father asked.
    “Please examine it more closely,” Ral graciously suggested.
    But Father stood suddenly and, moving to his wall of large specimen drawers, pulled one open. Finding what he was after, he brought a long slender bone to the table and set it down next to the fragment.
    “What we have here is the femur—a thighbone—of an antelope. See how long and skinny it is? For fast running. The big bump here on the base of the femur is where the muscle, a very powerful muscle, attaches it to the lower leg.” He set the fragment and the bone on the table next to each other. “The two bones are not identical but extremely similar.” He looked up at Ral Conrath and me and said with almost boyish wonder, “This species became extinct in the border period between the Pliocene and the Pleistocene epochs, three to four million years ago.”
    “And where did you say you found this, Mr. Conrath?” I asked. Truly, I was mesmerized by the sight of the fossil.
    “The Enduro Escarpment caves. Gabon.” Ral turned to my father. “There are no guarantees, Archie. I’d be a liar if I said so. But I’ve been to the riverside Trinel site, and I saw the place your friend found his ape-man. I’ve been to Spy as well, where the limestone gave up Neanderthal fossils. I questioned a native near the Enduro Escarpment—needed a translator, of course—but as far as I can see, the caves there are as good as anyplace on earth to find your missing link.”
    Father was quiet, his eyes closed in contemplation. I saw the jaw begin to clench. I did not dare look at Ral Conrath.
    “There’s something else,” our visitor said. “I’m loath to say it, as it’ll probably get me kicked out of your house.”
    Father nodded for Ral to go on.
    “Miss Porter here needs to go on the expedition with you. This is a dense jungle, and the dig site will be large. You’ll need another set of eyes, another mind—one that thinks the way you do—if you want to make the most of the months we have between the two rainy seasons. You’ll have me watching both your backs every minute of every day. It’s a dangerous undertaking, all right, but there’s nobody better than me to get you both home in one piece. There, I’ve said it.” He gave Archie a crooked grin. “You going to kick me