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"Munro can—"
"Uh-uh." I step up to him, so close that my arms brush against his chest. "Munro should stay here in case we need help."
Errol stares at me with a stern expression that I'm sure matches mine. I feel sternly determined, and he will not talk me out of this. Why do I want to go with him? Maybe I can't explain why I need to do this, but all I know is that I cannot stand out here waiting for his drowned body to float back to the surface. I'd rather die with him than live without him.
Finally, Errol sighs and gives in. "You're coming with me. But I won't be able to give you pointers once we're under the water. It will be dark in there, and you'll need to hold my hand at all times. Understood?"
"Yes."
He marches past me and Munro, heading for his mystery bag. Errol grabs the rope he'd attached to it and unties the end knotted to the bag. Then he retrieves another rope and brings all of that over here, offering the ropes to Munro.
"We'll tie ourselves to the ropes," Errol says. "We need you to keep hold of the other ends. If we're in trouble, we'll tug on the ropes. If they go slack, we're probably dead."
Gee, that makes me feel so much better. But I volunteered for this, and I will see it through to the end.
"How will you take the map with you?" Munro asks. "It will wash off the paper."
"The map only goes as far as the main cavern."
"Once you're in there, you won't have any landmarks."
"Aye. But we can handle it."
Munro grabs his cousin and gives Errol a quick, firm hug. Then he backs away and clears his throat. "Donnae get yourself killed. I don't want to explain to your mother why you drowned in the Grand Canyon." Munro glances at me. "And if you get Ashley killed, I'll batter you with the sharpest, largest rock I can find."
The rough tone of his voice convinces me he's not exaggerating. Munro will avenge my death if Errol causes it. But that won't happen. I trust Errol with my life and so much more.
We tie the ropes around our waists, and Munro grips the other end of each one. I ask if we should remove our shoes, but Errol suggests we shouldn't. We have no idea what the cave floor will look like, and we don't want to end up walking on sharp shards of rock. Now that we're ready, we climb under the overhang, take a big, deep breath, and jump into the water. Errol grasps my hand as we swim toward our destination.
As we swim further and further into the flooded cavern, I begin to see glimmers of light up ahead. Am I hallucinating? I hope not, because I don't think I can hold my breath for much longer. We hadn't anticipated underwater exploration as part of our mission.
The glow enlarges and grows brighter.
Um, wait. How can there be light in an underground cavern? I can't ask Errol. But I'm about to learn the answer because we've just reached a ledge, and the sun-like light streams down on us. Errol plants both hands on my bottom and pushes me up and out of the water. I slap my palms down on the ledge to give myself an extra boost, landing sprawled on the wet rock.
Errol surges out of the water to flop onto the ledge beside me. Once we've both caught our breath, he sits up and gives both our ropes a swift tug. That's the signal to let Munro know we've arrived safely. Errol then unties our ropes. He pulls some kind of metal clip out of his pants pocket, then uses his fist to hammer the clip's screw-like end into the rock. He tugs twice on the ropes.
"What's that for?" I ask.
"Munro and I came up with a plan while you were behind your 'girl bush.' I just gave him the signal to send my bag."
"How can he do that?"
"I had a hunch the cavern would have a slight downward slope, so I tested that by using my pocket level. It showed exactly what I expected—a downward slope, as evidenced by the water level."
"That's very clever."
He shrugs. "Not really. It's common sense."
Not sure I would've thought of that. Errol's mind works differently than most people's do.
A metal clip thingy races up the line to Errol. He unhooks it, hoisting his mystery bag onto the ledge.
"I know your bags are waterproof, but can that really protect the contents when the whole thing is submerged?"
"Probably not. That's why I put everything inside it into tightly sealed plastic bags."
"I see. You think of everything, don't you?" I tip my head back to gaze up at the natural skylight that casts its golden light into the cavern. "We haven't even found the treasure yet, and already I'm in awe of this place."
