Ancient Shores
Chapter One
Pretty in amber, to observe the forms
Of hairs, or straws, or dirt, or grubs, or worms;
The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare,
But wonder how the devil they got there.
-- Alexander Pope, "An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot"
"If that ain't the damnedest thing. " Tom Lasker had to raise his voice to be heard over the wind. Will paused with his spade full of black earth to see what had drawn his father's attention.
A triangular plate, not unlike a shark's fin, stuck out of the ground. it was tough. Metal, apparently, but not corroded.
They were on the low ridge that bordered the west side of the farm, working late under a string of lightbulbs, trying to put in a system that would pump water uphill from the well. Lasker played his flashlight over the object, and Will pushed at it with the tip of his boot. The night smelled of approaching winter. A cold wind chopped across the rise and shook the lights. Lasker knelt and brushed the soil away with gloved fingers. The object was bright red. Smooth and hard. When he pulled, it had no give ... read full excerpt from Ancient Shores ebook
