Bar Cordano - Lima, Peru7:05pm - Friday 18th March, 1921Larkin returns
Antoine's smile and says,
"Not at all Professor, please take a seat. I hope your journey from Paris was a pleasant one - you are not the last to arrive, and we are still ordering food anyway."
After staring at the professor as he approached,
de Mendoza nods in agreement with Larkin and returns to brooding.
Hughes meanwhile smiles broadly and transfers his pipe to his left hand while using his right to shake hands with Antoine,
"Pleased to meet you Antoine, I'm Jesse Hughes."***
As
Antoine takes his seat
Atauchi arrives, making his way to the table so abruptly that
Luis de Mendoza is half way out of his seat with a murderous look in his eyes, before Larkin puts a calming hand on his companion's shoulder
, "Hello Atauch, I'm glad that you could make it, I was worried for a minute that you may have been held up at the border. Please take a seat, we are about to begin."Atauchi Huaman's arrival, as well as signalling the beginning of the serious discussion about
Augustus Larkin's proposed expedition, seems to give de Mendoza another person to subject to his silent hostility. He alternates his attention between
Hughes and
Atauchi, and also looks angrily in the direction of both
Marcus and
Anderson from time to time. Other than that he just nods in agreement every time Larkin speaks. So far, he has not uttered a single word himself and he pays no regard to
Professor D'Estaing or either of the two ladies at all.
***
Once the food arrives things become much more pleasant, despite the air of hostility that
surrounds de Mendoza; all of the dishes are very well made and tasty - particularly the
escabeche that your host recommended. Once everyone has been served, and has made introductions to each other, Larkin begins to talk about his expedition.
"A few months ago, I purchased some interesting artefacts and information from an alpaca farmer near Puno, which lies on the edge of Lake Titicaca."
Larkin reaches inside a bag and places two items on the table: One is a pendant in the form of a man holding two rods or staves, embellished with rectangular shapes. The second is a golden cup carved with geometrical patterns and circles and inlaid with turquoise.
"The farmer told me that his grandfather had recovered the objects from beneath a pyramid high in the mountains. He explained that his grandfather claimed that many more treasures are still in those tunnels, but despite the obvious value of the items, his grandfather never returned to the pyramid due to superstitious fear.
"Although the farmer did not know the exact location of the site, my own research has indicated not only that the pyramid almost certainly does exist, but I have a very good idea of its exact location"
He looks around the table with a smile,
"If I am correct, then we can come out of this not only famous for discovering a lost archaeological wonder," Larkin pauses for effect,
"but also very rich."
