Free Ark by K.B. Kofoed Page B

Bible. I looked up the conversion tables. I think it’s in my notes. Isn’t it, Gene?”
    Gene nodded.
    “The exact converted number escapes me at the moment,” Jim continued, reaching for the coffee pot. “It was all written in the Old Testament with all the other details.”
    “You don’t remember?” asked Lou, pressing for an answer.
    “Well, all the weights and measures are from the time — cubits, talents, shekels. Suffice to say that it took a lot of gold and silver.”
    “Gold’s cheaper by the shekel,” offered Gene with a grin.
    Lou looked at Gene blankly. Then his attention returned to Jim. “Are we talking millions of bucks?”
    “Oh yes indeedy,” said John. “About six to ten million for the gold alone. Which reminds me of something I wanted to tell you all.”
    John Wilcox now had everyone’s full attention. Even Claire was eager to hear more. He got up from the table and walked to a glass door that led to an outside patio. He slid it open. “Look, it’s a lovely day, nice and warm. Why don’t we go out to the patio?”
    The entire group got up wordlessly and followed their host. Once outside, they arranged themselves on white wrought iron chairs and benches. It was almost ten o’clock and the morning sun was beginning to burn off the mist that still clung to the hills in the distance. The air was brisk and invigorating.
    Wilcox took a deep breath and sighed. “You’d never know we were only forty miles from Manhattan,” he said. “Smell that air.”
    “So, what was it you wanted to tell us?” asked Gene.
    “It’s about the gold,” said John. “With so much gold around we don’t want too much publicity. So I’m sure you’ll understand that I have to insist on confidentiality. In short, I want this project to be kept top secret. You’ll find me to be a very reasonable and open person, but I insist you all keep a tight lip.” John was looking right at Claire when he finished. She shifted uneasily in her chair.
    “Why are you looking at me?” she said with a nervous laugh.
    John smiled. “I’m saying this to all of you, Claire. I just happened to look at you at that moment. Does anyone have a problem with this?”
    “Certainly not,” answered Claire. “My lips are sealed.”
    Lou laughed out loud.

    #

    By the afternoon John, Gene and Jim had broken away from the group and returned to the field where John hoped to recreate the original tabernacle.
    The field was remarkably flat compared to the average terrain. Westchester County, at the foot of the Catskill Mountains, is mostly rolling wooded hills rich with tall pines and deciduous forests. Walking through the field, Jim smelled the scent of sweet new grass and molding winter leaves. Spring was showing as a blush on the trees, and the redbuds that dotted the area were pink with blossoms. A cool breeze, still damp with morning mist, pushed at them from the West.
    “This land must have been cleared and graded,” said Gene. “That’s the thing about these lands. They seem do primeval, so untouched. Then you stumble onto an old wall. If you notice the stones that dot the landscape you’ll see the reason this area is so hard to farm. Big round boulders are everywhere, left here by the glaciers of the last ice age.”
    John Wilcox nodded. “This is where a farmhouse stood, maybe fifty years ago. Since then it’s been graded, filled, fertilized and farmed. The land’s been fallow for at least thirty years. When I bought the place I was attracted to the main house and the cottage, but I fell in love with the woods with its streams and hollows and, of course, the little canyon. It may be that this flat field will end up being the most important place on the property.”
    “May be,” said Jim, wondering what the property would fetch on the open market.
    Wilcox turned to face Jim and Gene.
    “What do you say we go ahead and do it?” he said. “I mean, if you’re satisfied with the plans, then what are we waiting