"T rue . T he boy is lucky to be alive." then she suddenl y handed me a water bottle. "You look tired, thirsty. Come, si t over here and rest." t he woman led me to a spot a hundred yards to the right, d eeper in the pit, where there was a row of boulders . I sat an d a.s.sumed she would join me, but she excused herself .

"I cannot stay," she said, and quickly walked away . S itting inside the crater, I marveled at how much richer th e red-colored sand was here than on the rest of the job site . I t was then my hand brushed a piece of material stickin g out from beneath the ground . I t was as red as every thing else, b ut it was definitely cloth . T he more I pulled on it, the mor e came out. Finally I yanked it free-a thick sheet, about seve n feet long and four feet wide . I t was so completely coated wit h hard red dirt, I was surprised I recognized it at all .

Yet the instant I held it in my hands, my fingers trembled . I knew it was a carpet. A very old carpet .

Chapter Two.

t He HiKe tO tHe CrAter, and the effor t I had spent digging up the carpet, had exhausted me . I di d not want to interrupt Amesh during what was surely a joyfu l time, but I needed a ride back to the entrance. Particularly if I was going to carry the carpet. With all the dirt on it, the thin g weighed at least forty pounds . I took out my cell and dialed his number .

He sounded happy to hear from me. He sounded happy, p eriod! spielo was alive! Yet whatever joy he felt over his friend' s rescue vanished when he finally caught up with me and saw wha t I was carrying .

"You're crazy! You can't take that with you!" He and hi s moped were covered with red dust from the celebration in th e bottom of the pit. Again, I was struck by how well-muscled hi s legs were .

"Why not?" I asked innocently .

"I t's dirty! no taxi's going to give you a ride wit h that thing. "

" We'll wash it off . I t'll dry quickly in this heat. "

" Why bother? it's a just piece of old cloth. "

"A mesh, get a clue! it's a carpet! it might be a really ol d carpet."

He gave it a closer look, but was not impressed . "I f it is a relic, then there's no way you can take it . T he guards at the gat e will stop you. "

"I already thought of that . I have a plan. "

"N o plan . N o way either of us is going to jail. "

" Would you at least listen to what I have to say?"

He wiped the sweat from his brow . "S ay it. "

" Help me wash it off and I'll tell you," I said .

Only a handful of men were heading back toward the entrance . M ost were probably still in the pit. Amesh was able t o stow the muddy carpet on the back of his moped-he had a fair-size basket-but there was no room for me . I had to hurr y to keep up . N o one paid us any heed . N ot far from the gate, he veered behind an office buildin g that stood beneath an elevated water tank . T he tank's hose wa s a s thick as a fireman's . I ndeed, it was probably there in case of a fire . T he nearby office building had no windows. We appeare d to be alone .

Amesh tried shaking the dirt off the carpet, but it wa s too much a part of the material. He ended up laying the carpet on the ground and turning the nozzle on full strength . I had to stand on one end of the carpet to keep it from washing away. We worked on a strip of asphalt that could hav e fried eggs, it was so hot . T he cool water felt fantastic on m y bare legs .

"T urn it over, Amesh!" I shouted . T he "old cloth" wa s magically taking on color, and I was not the only one wh o was seeing it in a new light . E xcitement began to show o n Amesh's face. "Let's lower the water," I said . "I don't want t o damage it. "

" We need the water on hard to wash it clean," he said, i gnoring me . T here were no two ways about it-Arab boy s didn't like American girls telling them what to do . I knew w e weren't going to get the carpet out of the complex withou t a fight .

When he was done hosing it off, I laid it on a dry piec e of asphalt . T he instant the scalding heat and damp materia l touched, a wave of steam rose .

One side of the carpet was almost supernaturally black . T he material was so dark it seemed to absorb light . T he othe r side was navy blue, decorated with an a.s.sortment of stars, p lanets, and dozens of tiny figures-some human, others mythological .

"I want to take it back to the hotel," I said .

"I f you're right and this is a relic, then it belongs to th e government. We have to report it. Otherwise, it will be stealing." I called his bluff. "Fine, call your boss. Hand it in."

He blinked. "What? I thought you said you had a plan. "

"T hat was before you accused me of being a thief. "

"I didn't accuse you of anything." I snorted. "You just said I was trying to steal it. "

"T ell me what your plan is. "

"N ot unless you apologize. "

" For what? "

" For the mean thing you just said."

He simmered. " I'm sorry . N ow what's your stupid plan? "

"N ever mind. You're right; it is stupid . T he carpet belong s to your government. "

"T he smart thing to do is hand it in," he said .

"Whatever. I'm too hot to argue. Go ahead and cal l your boss."

He took out his cell. "All right. "

"B ut be very careful which boss you call," I added .

He stopped. "What do you mean? "

"I f this is a relic, then it's worth a fortune. Whoever yo u give it to- they'll probably keep it for themselves, at least unti l they can sell it on your black market."

"What do you know about our black market?" h e demanded .

"I know it exists and that many precious relics ar e sold there."

Amesh shook his head. "this is turkey. We don't have th e corruption you have in America. "

"I was just going by how your taxi drivers behave. "

" Huh? "

" You had to fight with the last one so he wouldn' t rip us off. "

"I f you think all turks are liars and thieves, then you don' t know us. "

" You're right, what do I know?" I muttered .

"We're a muslim nation. People have high morals here. "

" Call mr . T oval. He's your boss, right? tell him about th e carpet. "

"T hat's true, but . . ." Amesh considered . "M aybe we shoul d call your father. "

" Why?" I did not want to call my dad. He would never le t me study it. He would hand it in immediately .

"He's well respected. He'll know what to do," Amesh said . I shrugged. "You can do that if you want, but I have t o warn you, my father's an engineer. He doesn't like to get involve d in administrative affairs. He'll probably give the carpet to mrs . S teward, and she's not even a muslim."

Amesh looked as if I had just punched him in the gut .

"I don't want some rich American stealing it," he swore . I was sympathetic. "the carpet would probably make he r super-rich."

Amesh stopped and studied me. "Do you really think it' s worth a lot of money? "

"I f it's been buried beneath this desert for thousands o f years-then yes, it's worth a fortune. Look at it; it's in perfect shape."

Amesh looked puzzled. "How can it be so old an d look so new? "

"T he dry sand mummified it . T hat doesn't just happen t o dead bodies . I f it was buried deep enough to escape the rain, t hen I'm not surprised it kept its original colors. "

"B ut you dug it up near the surface. "

"I dug it up after tons of heavy machinery brought it t o the surface. Amesh, for all we know, it was buried near the bottom of the pit. "

"I see what you're saying." He frowned, worried. "But if w e try to smuggle it out of here-that would be like stealing." i t would not be like like stealing; it would stealing; it would be be stealing, but I didn't bother to point that out to him. " I don't plan to keep it," I said, not sure if I was being 100 percent honest. " I just wan t to check it out, you know, back at the hotel. " stealing, but I didn't bother to point that out to him. " I don't plan to keep it," I said, not sure if I was being 100 percent honest. " I just wan t to check it out, you know, back at the hotel. "

" Why?"

I reached down and touched it . I t was incredible. Already, i n the short time we had talked, it had begun to dry. "there' s something strange about it . I t feels almost magnetic."

Amesh reached down and touched it . "I don't feel anything. "

"T hat's because you're tired and you've been workin g all day."

He wiped his sweat away again. "Okay, what's your plan? "

"I 'll call another taxi and leave the site . I'll wait for you o n the other side of that sand dune we saw when we drove up. "

"S o you want me to sneak it past the guards? "

" Yes. "

"T hey're not going to let me take a carpet out of here. "

"N o. But they will let you take a nicely wrapped Fede x package out of here. "

"I s that your secret plan? "

" Yes. And it's a good one. "

"T hat's what you think . I don't know if we have a Fede x box that can hold something this big. "

"I t doesn't have to be an official Fedex box. Just put lot s of Fedex stickers on it. Heck, you're their number one gofer .

You're always running around with packages. Do you forge t how we met? "

"I usually deliver smaller packages. "

" Like the guards care . T hey see you every day . T hey'll tak e one look at you and wave you through. Also, remember, you'r e l eaving the job site, not trying to enter . S ecurity is tighter on th e way in than on the way out. "

" Who told you that? "

"N o one! it just makes sense."

Amesh considered. "We can ride back to your hote l together? "

"A s long as you can get out of work. "

"I can make up some excuse." the logic of my plan wa s slowly changing his mind, but Amesh continued to stress. He began to pace back and forth. He was starting to make me ner vous .

"I f I get caught, it'll be my life on the line, not yours," he said .

"I doubt they'll take you out and shoot you."

He glanced back toward the pit. A shadow crossed his face .

When he spoke next, his voice was frightened. "they could .

Arab countries are more strict than Western countries. You hav e no idea." t he change in him was dramatic. He looked scared . I t made me wonder, just a tiny bit, if I was being reckless .

"I f you get caught, I'll tell them it was my idea," I said .

He shook his head. "You say that now . . . "

"I mean what I say . T hat's one thing you've got to lear n about me. "

"I f I get it out of here, then I'll own a bigger piece."

Boy, did my blood boil then, in two seconds flat .

"Gimme a break! I'm the one who found it!" I yelled .

"You found it by chance . I t doesn't belong to you. You'r e not even from this country. You're . . . "