The Secret of the Desert Stone (13 page)

The Stone echoed back with incredible clarity, “LILA!”

They crossed the grasslands while warriors continued to search to the north and south of them, then pressed on into the desert where rocks the size of houses and cars cluttered the sandy landscape as if they'd fallen from the sky. The afternoon sun was growing hot, and the desert was becoming like an oven. They wouldn't last long out here without shelter—but neither would Lila.

They spread out, the chief to the right, Bengati to the left, the Coopers and Dr. Henderson straight ahead. The terrain was getting rougher, rockier. Dr. Cooper, Jay, and Dr. Henderson had to start climbing over and working their way around massive rock formations.

When they reached the bottom of a rocky hollow, Dr. Cooper stopped. “She wouldn't have come this way looking for us. She knew we were surveying, and you can't do that from here.”

They started to turn back.

Three soldiers, rifles ready, leaped from behind the rocks and stood in their path. It happened so quickly it startled them, and Dr. Henderson almost lost her balance.

They heard a clattering on either side and saw more soldiers, at least twenty, popping up from behind the rocks, aiming rifles at them. They were surrounded, with no way to escape.

They raised their hands in surrender. The soldiers rushed in, shouting orders they couldn't understand, grabbing them, checking them for weapons, handling them roughly.

Dr. Cooper tried to explain their situation. “I'm Dr. Jacob Cooper and—”

An officer hauled back his arm as if to strike him.

Dr. Cooper shut his mouth and said no more.

Jabbing with their rifles, the soldiers forced them to walk, and they began the hazardous journey to the forbidding and treacherous hills that pressed against the Stone's north side.

The forced hike around the Stone and down into the desert to the east took several long, grueling hours. Prodded along by their captors, Dr. Cooper, Jay, and Dr. Henderson followed a twisting, winding, barely discernible path through the rock formations and boulders, up steep rock faces, over featureless, rocky shelves as hot as a griddle, and along narrow ledges with hardly enough room to walk. When Dr. Henderson lagged behind, the soldiers half-carried, half-dragged her to make her keep up.

Steadily, painfully, they made it out of the hills and down to the flat desert on the Stone's east side, their feet and ankles aching, their bodies exhausted, their throats dry and crying out for water.

Then came a sight all three had expected. Up ahead, among the large, scattered rocks, the armies of Idi Nkromo had pitched camp in the shadow of the Stone. His Excellency must have developed new boldness to venture this close.

They entered the army camp past the camouflaged, desert-colored tents where soldiers nervously cleaned their guns, sharpened their knives, and watched them pass with steely, cold expressions. All of Nkromo's trucks, tanks, and cannons were there, lined up in a row, facing west, as maintenance personnel swarmed over them quickly, frantically, like ants in a disturbed anthill. There was tension in the air, as tight as an overwound clock. And fear. The Coopers noticed how often the soldiers looked to the west to see what the Stone might be doing.

They reached the center of the camp and stood before an especially large tent. By all the colorful banners draped across its front, the rope fence stretched all around it, and the armed guards watching over it, they easily guessed that it was the field barracks of His Excellency, Field Marshal Idi Nkromo.

“Dad!” came a welcome voice.

Dr. Cooper's heart leaped as he saw Lila, safe, but in the custody of another band of soldiers. The soldiers released her to run to her father and brother, and she embraced them with tears in her eyes. “I went out to find you, and they grabbed me. I thought I'd never see you again!”

“It's okay, sis,” said Jay. “We're together now, no matter what else happens!”

There was a shout and the beating of a huge drum. Any soldier not occupied with the prisoners snapped to attention and all eyes went toward the field marshal's tent. The tent door flapped open. Some guards stepped out to take their places on either side. Then, with as big and impressive an entrance as he could muster, His Excellency stepped out of his tent wearing battle fatigues, a kettle-sized helmet, a saber in a scabbard, and several pounds of medals. He was most unhappy and glared at the prisoners with big round eyes as he stomped toward them.

“Well . . .” said Jacob Cooper, spotting Chief Secretary D. M. Mobutu following right behind Nkromo, also decked out in fatigues, gold braids, and medals.

Nkromo stopped abruptly just a few yards in front of them, planting both feet in the sand with a precisely timed military stomp. D. M. Mobutu marched up smartly and stopped alongside his boss. Mobutu was looking a little shaky and seemed to be avoiding Dr. Cooper's eyes.

“So we meet again, Dr. Cooper!” Nkromo growled. “You and your band of thieves and traitors and spies! How dare you try to flee the country with my airplane!”

“What?” Dr. Henderson squawked. “That's the biggest pile of baloney I ever heard! We got caught in a storm and crashed! We almost got killed!”

Nkromo cocked an eyebrow. “You look fine to me.”

Jennifer Henderson stuck out her injured leg. “Yeah, like I always walk around with a crutch!”

Dr. Cooper locked eyes with Mobutu. “Mr. Mobutu, you did tell him you provided us with that airplane, din't you?”

Mr. Mobutu maintained a straight, military posture as he said, “If His Excellency says you stole the airplane, then you stole it.”

Dr. Henderson had some choice words she wanted to share with Mobutu, but the president thundered, “You are traitors!” before anyone could say anything. “You were brought to this country to remove the Stone, and what do you do? You flee in a stolen government airplane and consort with the enemy!”

“The
enemy?”
Dr. Cooper reacted.

D. M. Mobutu stepped forward, looked to His Excellency to be sure he could speak, and then said, “You have consorted with His Excellency's enemies, the Motosas.”

Jacob Cooper was horrified. “You can't be serious! The Motosas, your enemies? They mean no harm to anyone! You should be proud to have such good people as citizens of your nation!”

The two guards on either side of Nkromo raised their rifles threateningly. Mobutu held up his hand to call them off and then cautioned, “Dr. Cooper, please, remember whom you are addressing and guard your tone of voice.”

Dr. Cooper calmed himself with great effort and spoke in a quiet, almost secretive tone. “Mr. Mobutu, just what is going on here?”

Mobutu shook his head with regret. “I warned you not to go into the land of the Motosas.”

Jay retorted, “Yeah. You said they were cannibals and headhunters!”

Mobutu held up his hand to beg their patience. “I was hoping that would be enough to keep you away from them. I knew it would be certain death for you to be seen with those people.”

Dr. Cooper guarded his tone as he explained, “Mr. Mobutu, really, we had no choice! We were caught in a storm and had to land!”

“That is not the way His Excellency sees it,” said Mobutu. “His army scouts saw you consulting with Chief Gotono, and they saw your children playing a game with the Motosa children.”

Dr. Cooper sighed. “We didn't know the Motosas were His Excellency's enemies. We saw no reason in the world why they should be.” Then he added forcefully, “And we still don't!”

Mobutu kept trying to play the role of Chief Secretary of the Republic of Togwana, standing straight and sounding official. Even so, his hands were shaking, and when he spoke, the emotions he tried to hide gave his voice a little quiver. “His Excellency has done much to purge our nation of undesirables and rebel groups so that we may be one nation under Nkromo. The Motosas . . .” He had to swallow. “The Motosas have been declared undesirable and must be eliminated.”

Lila gasped, incredulous. “No, you can't do that!”

Mobutu tried to explain. “The Motosas have a special kind of faith which the, uh, Republic of Togwana cannot tolerate.”

“Which
Nkromo
can't tolerate,” Jay whispered to Lila.

Mobutu drew closer and lowered his voice as if speaking in confidence. “Only weeks ago, His Excellency was about to launch a war of extermination against them. He and his armies were prepared to slaughter them all, burn their village, and wipe their memory from the face of the earth.”

“Until the Stone appeared,” said Dr. Cooper.

Mobutu nodded. “It blocked his way, planted fear in his troops, thwarted his plans. He could not reach the Motosas. His cannons could not remove the Stone, and neither could his witch doctors. So we sent for you.”

Dr. Cooper was insulted by the idea. “You wanted us to remove the Stone just so you could attack and kill a peaceful, virtuous people? You must be insane! Even if I could move the Stone, I would never—”

Mobutu shot up his hand in warning. “Do not say it, doctor. Your life hangs in the balance.”

“You are spies!” Nkromo bellowed, pointing his big, fat finger at them. “You are siding with the enemy!”

Dr. Cooper took a fleeting moment to observe the tension in Nkromo's face, the nervous trembling in his hands. The tyrant was not as brave as he tried to appear. Dr. Cooper spoke clearly and carefully, choosing his words for their effect. “We have learned much about the Stone, if His Excellency is interested.”

Nkromo gazed up at the Stone, trying not to look too interested. But he was very interested. “What have you learned?”

“We discovered it to be chiseled out, but not by human hands. The Stone is not of this world, Your Excellency.” Dr. Cooper paused, considered, and then delivered the punch line. “We have concluded that the Stone can only be removed by the
God
who put it there.”

“The God who—” Nkromo's eyes looked like they would pop, and he clenched his fists in rage. “You dare to speak to me of God?
Idi Nkromo
is god in Togwana!”

Dr. Henderson muttered to Dr. Cooper, “Your gift for diplomacy boggles the mind.”

Nkromo took several steps toward Dr. Cooper and locked eyes with him. “God cannot stop Idi Nkromo! Idi Nkromo is not afraid!”

Dr. Cooper stood his ground, not flinching, not breaking his gaze with the ruthless tyrant, and finished his thought. “It is our conclusion, Your Excellency, that whoever challenges the Stone challenges
God!”
Dr. Cooper could see Mr. Mobutu out of the corner of his eye, and could tell his words were not being wasted on the Chief Secretary. Good.

As for Nkromo, he looked stunned for only a brief moment but then spoke defiantly, “We can go
around
the Stone! We will go
around
God!” Nkromo's eyes darted about, looking at all the soldiers watching him. “I sent soldiers to search, and they found a way, so we will go. The trucks and tanks and cannons cannot go, but my men can go.” He paused and looked around the parade ground. Dr. Cooper could tell Field Marshal Nkromo was performing for his troops, giving them a show of courage. “So it is the Motosas your God has hurt, not Idi Nkromo! Without the tanks and cannons, the Motosas will not die quickly.” Nkromo was so amused by that thought his anger even subsided. He shouted more to his troops than to Dr. Cooper, “The Motosas will suffer before they die!”

The soldiers raised their rifles and cheered.

Mr. Mobutu cringed.

Dr. Cooper shot a glance at the Stone, now a towering silhouette in the afternoon sun, cold and silent—for now. “Mr. Nkromo, given the research data we have, I'm not sure God placed the Stone there just to block your path and protect the Motosas. He may have put it there to teach them— and you—a lesson.”

“Your God will teach
me
nothing!” Nkromo snapped his fingers and the soldiers guarding them started shoving and yanking them along, moving them toward a large rock at the far end of the camp.
“I
will teach
you!
You are spies, and spies we shoot!” Nkromo waved his hand, and ten of his special guards came forward, rifles ready.

Lila, Jay, Dr. Cooper, and Dr. Henderson were shoved up against the big rock at gunpoint. The squad of ten soldiers lined up in a neat, straight line just thirty feet away, at attention, rifles at their sides, ready to hear the order to fire.

Nkromo came forward, ready to deliver that order, but first he drew a deep breath and pasted on a phony, gracious smile. “Dr. Cooper, I am merciful. I want you to live. Do you want to live?”

Jacob Cooper could hear some kind of deal coming and hesitated to answer.

Dr. Henderson spoke right up, even raising her hand. “Count me in!”

Nkromo extended his hands, palms up. “Then make the Stone go away, and I will know you are my friend! I will let you live.” He shrugged. “Don't make it go away, and you will die.”

Dr. Henderson sighed, her shoulders drooping.

Dr. Cooper remained resolute. “Your Excellency, I strongly advise you to listen to me. The power that lies behind the Stone is greater than any of us can begin to understand—”

“Ready . . .” Nkromo shouted. The ten riflemen raised their rifles, ready to shoot.

ELEVEN

H
ere's a fine mess you've gotten us into!” Dr. Henderson moaned.

Lila touched her brother's hand. “I love you, bro.”

He looked back and smiled. “I love you, too, sis.”

But then, a thought, a feeling, came to her. “Wait a minute.” She crinkled her face as she considered it. “Something's going to happen!”

“Aim . . .” Nkromo yelled.

Dr. Cooper could see straight down the barrels of the ten rifles when he shouted, “Your Excellency! You hired us to study the Stone, and I have not finished giving you my report!”

The word
fire
was just on Nkromo's lips, but he didn't say it. He looked Dr. Cooper in the eyes, then raised his hand to hold back the riflemen. They relaxed, holding their rifles across their chests. Nkromo stepped forward impatiently. “What now?”