Chapter Fifty-Four
It was less than an hour before they made it to the well.
Hamed had provided them detailed directions, not using a specific heading but a course charted through the sand and using the stars.
Once the Bedouin family moved on, Nate checked the location against his hand-drawn map.
The distance and direction appeared accurate, and using his compass he knew they were going in the right direction.
The well itself was ordinary, a simple hole in the ground surrounded by stacked stones two feet high.
There was nothing of significance to distinguish it from any other well in the desert, although any well that provided lifesaving water in this environment was remarkable all on its own.
Still, Nate knew better, and it was why he stared at it in fascination while Tim looked at him like he was crazy.
“You doing okay there, buddy?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Nate replied. “It’s just…”
“A well?” Wally added helpfully.
“A treasure well,” he mumbled to himself. “Downstream from the city.”
“Who are you talking to?” Shane asked him, looking around at the empty desert as he took off his pack.
“Sorry,” Nate said more loudly. “This is the well that Hamed told us about, where he found the lamp. But it’s also similar to the one in which Ahmed’s ancestors found his ancient coin.
And maybe even where someone found that Akkadian medallion you have hanging around your neck like you’re in some shitty Arab rap video,” he said, nodding in Shane’s direction.
Everyone stopped to look at the former UFC fighter, noticing for the first time that he was wearing the medallion. He instinctively covered it with his hand. “What? It’s badass.”
“Right, then, let’s find out if this is a dry hole or not,” Wally said. He walked over to the well and pulled out a SureFire flashlight. The rest of them quickly followed and peered down the hole as Wally illuminated the interior with the click of a button.
“I don’t see anything,” Tim said.
“Me neither,” Nate concurred.
“Well, that’s not unusual,” Ana said. “Many of these water systems are deep underground. Even in daylight you would be unlikely to see it.” The geologist in her was shining through again.
She walked over and scooped up a stone the size of her fist before returning to the well.
She reached her hand over the edge and released it.
Everyone held their breath and silently counted. After five seconds they heard a faint splash.
“The water level must be at least sixty feet down,” Ana said. “Maybe more.”
“But how deep?” Nate asked.
Ana shook her head. “There’s no way of telling.”
“Well, I’ve got several hundred feet of 550 cord, so we can at least fill these water jugs up,” Shane said. Paracord, or 550 cord, was a lightweight nylon rope used in parachute suspension lines.
He tossed it to Tim, who went about tying the cans off. When he was finished, they laid one of the rifles down across the well to act as a pulley to prevent the rough stone on the sides of the well from fraying the rope.
Tim slowly lowered the first can down. It took a full minute before he finally said, “I think we have water.”
The line went taut, and Tim strained against it.
“Damn, we’ve got a live one here!”
Nate ran over and grabbed the cord. Together they yanked with all their strength and were able to ease the tension on the rope. They quickly and carefully retrieved the line and the can rose to the top, full of water.
“Any treasure in there?” Shane asked.
“Just liquid gold,” Tim commented. “It was like deep-sea fishing getting this bad boy out of there, though.”
“The current,” Nate said.
“It’s a river!” Ana exclaimed excitedly. “The amount of water under there must be substantial.”
“It’s ice cold too,” Tim said, refilling his water bottles.
“It must be very deep,” Ana noted.
“Well, I’d say this is a promising sign, then,” Tim noted.
“We’re certainly on the right track,” Nate agreed, checking his Garmin GPS and adding the location of the well in his journal. “St. John Philby found a well with a strong current farther to the north of here. It must be the same system.”
“Amazing,” Ana remarked, staring at the well. History and treasure aside, the hydrological feature had stunned her into silence.
“Let’s fill up and get these jerry cans topped off,” Nate said. He looked over at Shane. “And who knows? Maybe we’ll find some rings to go with your chain.”
“You joke, but I’ll wear that shit too,” Shane replied.
They topped off on water and loaded up their gear.
“We’ve got about another fifteen miles to go. The sun should be up in a few hours, so we should be getting there around the same time,” Nate said.
“Where there? Ubar?” Wally asked.
“Yeah,” Nate affirmed. “Ubar. I’ve charted these subterranean water systems on the map.
The addition of this well gives us two separate points along the line of the underground river, and we’re going to follow it the entire way up.
When it intersects with the ancient camel trails, then X marks the spot. ”