“No problem,” Cala said with a wide grin and a chuckle.

It would take a lot more than getting hit with a chunk of vines to get the Bolivian’s spirits down.

“I have been on dozens of excavations,” Cala said, peering up at Andy, “but this, my friend, is something very special indeed.”

“Yeah,” Andy agreed. “It’s freaking amazing.”

Andy cut away another section of vines until the rectangular stone—three feet wide and two feet high—was fully exposed. It was reddish tan—basalt or sandstone, if he had to venture a guess. He shouted down to Cala, “Where do you suppose they found these stones?”

“There could be a quarry hidden somewhere nearby,” Cala said. “And who knows? That river could have once been bedrock. The entire landscape of the jungle could be drastically different than it was five centuries ago.”

The yellow walkie on Andy’s shoulder squawked, and Bernita’s voice rang out. “I think you’re all going to want to see this!”

Andy climbed down five of the large stones and joined Cala on the ground. The pair snaked their way through the surrounding foliage to the pyramid’s opposite side. They found the others kneeling beside Bernita, their heads shaking back and forth in awe.

Bernita had cleared a circular foot of earth and was brushing off the top of an exposed clay artifact. It appeared to be a shallow cup. Dirt was caked in the grooves of an intricate pattern carved into its sides.

“Wow!” Nathan Buxton exclaimed.

“Here’s another one!” cried Roth. “And another! They’re scattered everywhere!”

A whistle blew and everyone stopped. It was Farah. “Everyone, take a step back!” she yelled. “Don’t touch anything!”

“We have to get the cameras in here,” Roth said.

“Actually,” she said. “We need to preserve the integrity of the site.”

“But—”

“Um, guys.” Libby stood near Darnell and Sean and their cameras. “There’s something silver over here,” she said, pointing down.

Andy was the first to reach it. He fell to his knees and brushed aside a large swath of leaves. Only a small portion of the silver statue was exposed, but Andy recognized the figure.

An alpaca.

Andy’s jaw went slack. Several precious metals could be found in the Amazon, but silver wasn’t one of them. The silver alpaca couldn’t have come from these parts. It likely originated in the Andes.

“¡Ay, Dios mío!” Cala shouted just feet from Andy.

Andy thought Cala’s exclamation was at the sight of the silver alpaca, but it wasn’t. It was a different statue. This one gold.

“What is it?” Roth called from above.

“It’s a golden mask,” said Cala. “Inti, the Inca god of the sun.”

Roth began jumping up and down. “We’ve found it! We found Paititi!”

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