“You've been a short shaggy beast for as long as I've known you,” Thurston said. “We're down here for three-week stints, and I agree that we do seem a bit mole like But even Bernie will agree that we're lucky. Most glaciologists only observe an ice field from above. We can walk right up and tickle its belly.”

“What exactly is the nature of your experiments?” Rawlins asked.

“We're conducting a three-year study on how glaciers move and what they do to the rock they slide over. Hope you can make that sound more exciting when you write your article.”

“It won't be too hard. With all the interest in global warming, glaciology has become a hot subject.”

“So I hear. The recognition is long overdue. Glaciers are affected by climate, so they can tell us to within a few degrees what the temperature was on earth thousands of years ago. In addition, they trigger changes in the climate. Ah, here we are, Club Dormeur.”

Four small buildings that looked like trailer homes sat end to end within a bay carved from the wall.

Thurston opened a door to the nearest structure. “All the comforts of home,” he said. “Four bedrooms with room for eight researchers, kitchen, bath with shower. Normally, I've got a geologist and other scientists, but we're down to a skeleton crew consisting of Bernie, a young research assistant from Uppsala University and me. You can dump those supplies here. We're about a thirty-minute walk from the lab. We've got phone connections between the entrance, research tunnel and lab room. I'd better let the folks at the observatory know we're back.”

He picked up a wall phone and said a few words. His smile turned into a puzzled frown.

“Say again.” He listened intently. “Okay. We'll be right there.”

“Is there anything wrong, professor?” LeBlanc said.

Thurston furrowed his brow. “I just talked to my research assistant. Incredible!”

“Qu'est-ce que c'est?” LeBlanc said.

Thurston had a stunned expression on his face. “He says he's found a man frozen in the ice.”