After twenty minutes Marsh found two men back under the trees. They were sitting next to a fire smoking and drinking whiskey. In the dying light Robert noticed that the ground around them was littered with empty Vienna sausage tins and beer cans. When Marsh approached the campfire the two men almost fell out of their seats.
“What the fuck?” A man named Billy said. Marsh’s appearance had caused him to spill his drink down his shirtfront.
The other named Chester raised a gun and pointed it at Robert and Marsh. He was obviously drunk but trying his best to appear sober.
“Who the hell are you?” Chester demanded.
“It’s Marsh you dumbshit.”
Chester settled the gun at Robert. “And who’s he?”
“He’s the big winner. The one we get to trade for a fortune in gold.”
“Oh...” Billy lowered the gun and peered at Marsh. “What… What happened to you?”
“I got burned. What the fuck does it look like?”
“How’d it happen?”
“Long story Chester. One I don’t have time for now.”
The drunk shook his head in amazement. “Damn that’s got to hurt … You’re one hell of a crispy critter, aren’t you?”
Marsh didn’t reply. He turned away and grabbed something out of the fire. When he spun back around the end of a flaming branch appeared in Chester’s face. Chester jerked back and clutched at his singed nose.
“Why the fuck did you do that for?”
Marsh waved the branch in front of both men, until he was sure he had their full attention.
“We’ve got work to do gentlemen. A lot of work.”
Billy peered up, his bloodshot eyes watering. “It’s too late Marsh. Some people already got to the gold.”
“Why wasn’t I told about this?”
“We tried to call you. When you didn’t show up we thought maybe something had gone wrong.”
Marsh withdrew the burning branch and let the fingers of his free hand play in the flames. He couldn’t feel a thing. Nothing. The two men stared fearfully as they began to sober up.
“You wouldn’t be shitting with me now, would you?” Marsh said.
“It’s true,” Chester said. “These scientific types have been hanging around up there all week. We didn’t think they’d be anything to worry about. But we got up closer and watched them climb down inside the glacier today. It was like they knew what they were looking for.”
“We saw them raise up burlap sacks and pack them on a sled,” Billy added. “It just had to be the gold they was bringing up.”
“Are they still at it?”
“I think so. We never saw them go back to their base camp, don’t imagine they will until they’re finished cleaning us out.”
Marsh lowered the branch and helped himself to a bottle of whiskey sitting on a stump. Robert shook his head when he offered him a drink.
“Don’t drink Crain? You surprise me.”
“I’m a tequila man.”
Marsh grinned. “Sorry. It doesn’t look like the boys brought any up with them. Well I suppose we have no choice but go up and crash our thieves’ little party. No assholes are going to take what I’ve sold my soul for.”
Billy spit into the fire and frowned. “Come on Walker. We can’t go up there now. It’s not safe.”
Without warning Marsh jabbed the end of the branch against Billy’s face and it sizzled and smoked into his flesh. Billy thrashed wildly with his arms and screamed. When Marsh pulled the stick away Billy’s cheek had a hole almost all the way through it.
“You don’t seem to remember that you’re working for me. The next time you back talk me boy I’m going to jam this here firewood down your throat.”
Billy nodded and bit into his hand to keep from crying.
After packing up supplies, they headed for the trail Robert and his grandfather used to get near the glacier. The horizon glowed orange through the trees, but the moon was still hiding somewhere below the eastern haze.
A chill breeze came down from the mountain to welcome them. It’s going to be much colder up on the glacier, Robert thought. But at least it was still summer, and the moon would be full.
****
Will pulled the SUV behind some trees and they got out, careful not to make much noise. Nugget ran ahead, sniffing at the needle-packed ground. She caught something almost right away and led them through the woods. They found Marsh’s empty truck and then the campsite littered with sausage tins and empty beer bottles.
The campfire was now a bed of coals. Realizing they were in no immediate danger, Will told Peggy and Connor to help look for any clues they could find.
On an old log bench next to the fire, Peggy discovered a message written in charcoal. She recognized Robert’s shorthand from the shopping lists he always left himself on the refrigerator back home.
“What’s it say?” Will asked.
“He says he’s with three men and they’re all armed. They’ve headed for the glacier.”
“I was afraid of that.”
CHAPTER 57
“That’s them,” Chester said before handing his binoculars over to Marsh, “It looks like they’re almost done too.”
Marsh had untied Robert’s wrists so he could walk easier. Not because he cared much if Robert fell on his face, but he didn’t want him slowing them down either.
The full moon had finally risen—a giant anemic sun that soon turned blood-orange by the smoke of wildfires. It was the biggest lunar display Robert had ever seen. As it glided higher up into the sky, ice crystals on the snowy slopes glistened like red diamonds until the entire mountain was bathed in crimson.
They were climbing a red mountain.
****
“Maybe two to three bags left to go,” Carol told Marco over the radio.
“Excellent. I’ll wait to pull it all up. When I’m done I’ll come down and help the team put our outlaw back where he belongs.”
Marco finished fastening some bags to a sled, then waited for the next tug on the line to let him know the last load was ready to be hauled up. All told, the research party had collected eight bags of gold coin and many gold bars.
It had all been so easy. Marco sat down and opened his pack to check on something. Inside was a small explosive charge, a device he was quite familiar with. He stood up and walked back over to the edge of the crevasse. The upper ten feet of ice was mostly darkened by shadow although the red moonlight seeped in wherever it could. When he peered into the very bottom of the crevasse he could see the phantom blue of glow sticks set out to guide the crew across the treacherous shelf.
Almost done…
He checked the explosive device again. He tried to decide what to set the detonator clock for so he’d have enough time to get away in case of a cave in. Part of him didn’t want to leave Carol behind. Although he knew it would never last, he’d grown to like her. Except there was just one problem. Marco didn’t like to share. And he didn’t like loose ends either…
He was about to start the timer when he thought he’d heard something behind him. At first he didn’t see anything until he noticed a thin beam of light against the snow. He walked toward it and found a flashlight.
What the hell?
He checked to see if it was his own, but his was still attached to his belt. Someone must have dropped it and it rolled away, he thought. One more thing you don’t need to draw any attention. Especially not now. When he bent over to pick it up he noticed a long shadow flickering behind him.