“Maybe we should take him back with us to America. He’d love Colorado.”
“Or Wyoming.”
“In the meantime, we’ve got some more pressing issues to handle.”
Richard nodded. “Any ideas on how we’re going to find Wilhelm?”
“He knows where we’re staying,” David said.
“But surely he doesn’t think we’re going to stay here after that attack,” Richard said.
“Maybe, but he’s going to send someone over here to find out what happened to us,” David said. “But I’m not sure that we want to track him back.”
“Why not?”
“I think finding that treasure is obviously our priority, at least getting our hands on it before Wilhelm does.”
“What do you suggest we do next then?”
“I think we find a new place to stay and do whatever we can to find the treasure before he does.”
“You don’t think Wilhelm could lead us to the treasure?”
David shook his head. “It’s clear that he doesn’t have it yet, so I think that would be a waste of our time.”
“But we don’t know where to start,” Richard protested.
David’s eyes lit up. “I have an idea. Do you still have that map?”
Richard nodded and dug into his coat pocket. “This only had the city circled. I don’t know why you think you’re going to find the exact location on this.”
David grabbed a box of matches off the desk in the corner of the room and ignited one stick. Holding it near the map, a series of words came into focus, darkening as the paper heated up.
“Well,” Richard said as his eyes widened, “would you look at that?”
Chapter 16
THE NEXT MORNING, Richard and David awoke in the private residence of the hostel owner. He had generously offered to hide them away for the remainder of the night so they could get some much needed rest. Before sending his guests out the door, he dug up disguises for them. Decked out in navy-blue pagris with stylish white tunics, Richard and David blended in better than they’d imagined as they navigated the streets of Jaipur toward Fort Jaigahr.
Upon arriving at the ancient military installation, they surveyed the outside walls for a few minutes.
“Are you interested in learning more about the fort?” a man asked.
Richard looked around and almost missed the man, who was barely five feet tall. “Of course I would,” Richard said. “Do you know much about this place?”
“You’re in luck,” the man said. “I’m the perfect person to take you through this magnificent place. My father was one of the curators here, and I practically grew up on the grounds of Fort Jaigahr.”
Richard gestured forward. “Please lead the way.”
The man introduced himself as Vikrant and rubbed his hands together as he gave a brief overview of the fort. He explained its significance in Indian history and what efforts were being taken to preserve that for future generations.
“Come this way,” Vikrant said.
He meandered along a path leading inside to the Charbagh garden, which was divided into four quadrants and in full bloom. With a pool located in the center connecting all the sections together, Richard thought it resembled Eden as he imagined it.
Vikrant hopped on top of the ledge of the pool and continued. “Since northern India is drier than the rest of the country, generations of people from this part of the world figured out a long time ago than in order to not just survive but thrive they needed to create a way to capture and store water. The tanks located beneath the fort can store millions of gallons of water.”
Richard admired Vikrant’s showmanship, acting as if he were leading a crowd of several hundred instead of just two men.
“Any questions?” Vikrant asked.
Richard raised his hand, playing along with Vikrant’s oversold spectacle.
“You, sir,” he said, pointing at Richard. “You have a question.”
Richard nodded. “I’ve heard several rumors about the water storage as it’s related to this fort, and I’m hoping you can either confirm them or put them to rest.”
Vikrant jumped down from the pool ledge, landing smoothly on both feet a couple meters away from Richard.
“You’re treasure hunters, aren’t you?” Vikrant said with a chuckle. “I should’ve been more perceptive.”
“I prefer to think of myself as simply a curious person,” Richard said. “If I happen to find a treasure in my adventures, that’d be wonderful. But I’m far more interested in experiencing all the moment has to offer and all the culture and history affiliated with the places I visit so I can share the experience with others.”
“So you’re a writer?” Vikrant asked.
Richard nodded. “Your deductive skills are quite impressive.”
David shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “But can you answer the question?”
Vikrant shot David a look. “Are you in a hurry?”
“You might say that,” he said. “We’re just interested in getting some of these questions we’ve had answered so we can determine what next steps we should take.”
“Next steps for what?”
“Whether or not we should look for the treasure,” David said.
“You’re always welcome to search for it. In fact, just the other day, I met some other men from out of town who were looking for—”
“Were they German?” Richard asked.
“Yes, but—”
“Where did you send them?” David asked.
“I didn’t send anyone anywhere,” Vikrant said while stamping his foot. “I thought you desired a guide, but it’s clear that you had ulterior motives. I’m not inclined to waste any more of my time with you.”
Richard placed his arm around Vikrant. “We appreciate all the knowledge you shared with us, and we want to learn more about this beautiful piece of architecture. However, we are highly interested in confirming one way or another the true nature of the stories regarding the hidden treasure in this fort.”
Vikrant sighed and stared off in the distance for a moment before continuing the conversation with Richard. David then slipped their guide a couple pounds. He looked down at the money and smiled.
“What exactly do you want to know?” he asked.
David sighed. “Is it possible there’s a vast treasure hidden in the collection pools or holding tanks beneath the fort?”
“The collection pools have been drained several times over the years for maintenance purposes,” Vikrant said. “They’ve been repaired, painted, and cleaned, which all seem to happen with striking regularity. So, I would venture to guess that any treasure hidden there would’ve long since been extracted either by dishonest workers or by the officials in charge of preserving the structure. The holding tanks below, on the other hand, that’s another story.”
“Can you take us to them?” David asked.
“That area of the fort is forbidden,” Vikrant said.
David took out a five-pound note and playfully slapped it against Vikrant’s chest. “Just how forbidden of an area is it?”
Vikrant grasped the money and inspected it. He glanced around as if he were checking to make sure no one was watching him.
“Well?” David said.
“Follow me,” Vikrant said.
As Richard and David trailed behind their guide, the two Army Intelligence agents spoke in hushed tones with one another.
“Do you still have the paper with the inscription copied from the map?” Richard asked.
David nodded subtly. He dug into his pocket and produced a piece of paper before handing it to Richard, who read the note to himself beneath his breath.
“Falling from heaven and landing below,
Hidden forever and never to flow.”
“What is a more appropriate description when it comes to that riddle we found on this map?” David asked. “The holding tanks or the collection pools?”
“At first I thought the c
ollection pools, but that sounds like a dead end,” Richard said.
Now silent, they all plodded along a path before descending several flights of stairs. Vikrant ushered them over a rope designed to keep visitors out and guided Richard and David down a dimly lit corridor that was at least fifty meters long.
“I’m curious as to how many holding tanks there are,” Richard said. “Ten? Twenty? Fifty? A hundred?”
Vikrant took a hard right and swung open a pair of double doors, revealing a large room with dozens of circular tanks constructed out of stone. Richard estimated they rose about four feet off the ground and were approximately thirty feet in circumference.
“I’ve never counted them,” Vikrant began, “but I’ve been told they collectively can hold more than twenty-two million liters of water.”
Richard’s mouth fell agape, first from sheer awe of the size of the space then from the realization that if the treasure were hidden in one of the tanks, it would take quite a while to find it.
“Ready to get to work?” David asked.
Richard wasn’t. He was still trying to process not only the incredibly challenging task ahead of him but also wondering how long they had before either Vikrant was discovered or someone else wanted to have his coffers padded. Neither situation was idyllic.
“Did you bring the document in your bag?” David asked.
Richard nodded. “It’s right here,” he said as he pulled it out and handed it to David.
“We need to study this a bit more,” David said as he hustled beneath a skylight in one corner of the room. “We need to find some more clues to make our search easier.”
Both men surveyed the document several times, but were unable to come up with anything definitive.
“Did you bring your matches?” Richard asked David.
“You think there’s more that we didn’t find last time?”
Richard nodded. “Let’s try the back.”
“There’s nothing on the back,” David said. “Besides, any hidden messages would’ve shown up the last time we held a high heat near the paper.”
“Just bear with me,” Richard said as he struck a match and started to edge it closer to the document. After about a minute, no other markings became visible.
David sighed. “I don’t think this is going to work. I’m going to start looking.”
Richard and David both froze when they heard the sound of a brick smashing against the cobblestone floor followed by several men’s voice speaking quietly.
“Who is that?” Vikrant shouted.
The voice and the subsequent noise ceased. Vikrant hustled in the direction of the sound, frantically searching for the perpetrators. After a cursory glance, he found nothing. David joined him, scanning the room for any sign of where the men were. When David was unable to find something right away, Vikrant shuffled across the room.
Richard returned his attention to the old document and held it near the heat of another match. After several seconds of waving the small flame back and forth beneath the paper, another symbol appeared.
“Vikrant,” Richard began, waving his guide over, “what’s this?”
“It’s a Hindi symbol for a number,” Vikrant said. “Ashtadash, which is eighteen in English.”
Richard clenched his fists and let out an exuberant shout. “I found it,” he said.
“So did I,” David yelled back across the room. “Number eighteen, right?”
Richard sprang to his feet and sprinted across the room toward David.
“We did it,” Richard said as he skidded to a stop next to his partner and slapped him on the back. They crouched low and eyed the tank carefully, looking for any loose stones or apparent openings. But the structure appeared solidly built.
Richard suddenly noticed the room was eerily quiet. “Where’s Vikrant?”
David scanned the room before both men hustled down the aisles, looking for their guide. After a cursory search and repeated calls for him, they rejoined at the tank.
Richard sighed and shook his head. Their diminutive host was nowhere to be seen.
“He’s gone,” Richard said.
Chapter 17
RICHARD AND DAVID DECIDED to look for the treasure in the tank and worry about Vikrant later. However, Richard stressed the need to work quickly to unearth the fortune and secure it before the Reichswehr unit stumbled on them or worse—Vikrant alerted the Germans.
“Where do you want to start?” David asked.
Richard eyed the structure for a moment. “Let’s just check everywhere to see if can find an opening where they might have stashed the jewels.”
The tank walls were constructed of stone that was about a foot thick. While the outside seemed like an unlikely place to store the treasure, Richard felt like it was necessary to begin there before diving into the water.
As the two men methodically tried to cajole and jiggle any stones loose, they didn’t find any readily apparent opening.
“Ready to get wet?” Richard asked.
David furrowed his brow. “I thought you were the expert swimmer here.”
“That doesn’t mean I want to get wet for just any reason.”
“Well, I still nominate you.”
“Fine,” Richard said as he rolled up his sleeves. “But I want to know what I’m getting myself into here.”
He leaned over the side and reached down into the tank to feel for the bottom. His fingers reached it before the water covered his elbow. Rushing over to the adjacent tank, he plunged his hand inside and repeated the process.
“What is it?” David asked.
“Just as I thought,” Richard said as he brought his arm out of the tank. “Tank number eighteen has an elevated bottom.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that it looks the same from the outside but there’s a vast amount of room underneath that could be used to hide any enormous amount of treasure.”
“Now we just need to figure out a way to pump the water out of there,” David said.
“There has to be some way that they efficiently moved the water out of the tanks instead of by hand,” Richard said.
“At least, we hope so,” David agreed.
“I need to think for a minute,” Richard said as he settled onto the ground and leaned back against the stone. He closed his eyes, tired from their journey yet excited that they were almost able to put their hands on an ancient treasure everyone believed to be lost.
“While you think, I’m going to see if I can find some lever system that operates this room.”
David darted down the main aisle nearby and disappeared into the darkness.
Meanwhile, Richard climbed onto the ledge and circled the water. He stopped and stared out at the vast storage tanks. When he returned his attention to the one he was on, he noticed the water ripple slightly. He looked up to see a drainage pipe hovering overhead, not only near his position but over each tank.
That explains how they move the water.
“But why does this one look as if it was recently turned on?” Richard asked aloud.
As Richard was pondering this, more ripples spread across the water, this time from below as the level dropped rapidly. Just as the last portion disappeared down a drainage hole at the edge, David returned. He huffed as he leaned over the edge and inspected the now-empty tank.
“It worked,” he said as a wide grin spread across his face.
“How did you do that?” Richard asked.
“I think the Moghuls were far more advanced than we know,” David said. “There’s a complex aquifer system in this fort.”
“Where did the water go?” Richard asked.
“Beats me, and to be honest, I don’t care. Let’s get a move on.”
Richard and David climbed inside the tank still damp in spots with small pools of standing water scattered across the bottom. They tackled the tedious job of searching for the hatch leading to where treasure could’ve been stored. Efficiently inspecting each possibility, the
y had covered about half the area before voices came from the entrance to the room. He noticed several flaming torches bobbing up and down in the distance.
“We’ve got company,” Richard said.
They scrambled out and hid behind the wall of a nearby tank to assess the situation. Richard watched Vikrant lead three other men to number eighteen. With the exception of Vikrant, they all carried swords. Vikrant bounced around as he spoke quickly in Hindi. He waved his hands demonstratively as he appeared to explain how the special tank was identified.
“What do you want to do?” David asked.
“Are you suggesting that we just walk away and let this group of ragtag thieves plunder Man Singh’s treasure?” Richard whispered.
“Why not? The point of our expedition is to ensure that the Germans don’t get their hands on this, both for posterity’s sake and to keep them from amassing such a fortune.”
Richard scowled. “If we let these men take it, are we ensuring anything? Who’s to say they wouldn’t turn around and sell it to the Germans for next to nothing? And then what?”
“I think you’re just itching for another fight.”
Richard whipped his dagger out of his pocket. “I don’t like this part of the job, but I’ve found it to be a necessary evil. And in this case, I don’t see any other way.”
David held his arm out, gesturing for Richard to proceed. Richard placed his index finger to his lips before he crept out into the open.
Sporting traditional Indian garb consisting of an achkan paired with a sherwani, the bandits were all peering over the edge into the empty tank when Richard eased up behind a man on the far end. David took a position behind a man on the opposite end from Richard and signaled with a nod. Both Army Intelligence agents grabbed the man in front of them and slammed his head against the stone. The thieves toppled to the ground, knocked out from the blunt hit. The result was a fight with even numbers.
Richard took on the other hulking man with a sword, while David squared off with Vikrant.
The sword-wielding thief took a big swipe at Richard, who drew back and narrowly avoided the blade. However, the attacker was off balance, allowing Richard the opportunity to strike. He slashed at the man’s arm, forcing him to drop his sword as he clutched the wounded area. Richard continued his assault by kicking the man in the face. He teetered for a moment and then collapsed.
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