“Of that much anyway,” said Sam. “We’ve seen it happen. Priceless artifacts were taken before they could be indentified, walls undermined and broken, human remains thrown aside and exposed to the elements.”

“And what if it did happen? We own it, not you. Anything from the old days belongs to the people of Mexico. It’s ours by law and by moral right. These people were our ancestors.”

“You’re absolutely correct,” Sam said. “Every Mexican citizen owns one hundred thirteen millionth of what we found. We’d like to see those citizens all get their share, and that means turning him over to the Mexican authorities.”

Christina said, “José, don’t be a donkey. This is a piece of Mexican history. Of course we’ll preserve it.”

“You’re awfully friendly with Sam Fargo, aren’t you? That ride on the yacht must have been very pleasant.”

Sam said, “The doctors came with us because the roads were out and they needed to get here to help the injured. Please don’t insult them by implying it was anything else.”

Maria said something very rapidly in Spanish through clenched teeth.

José Sánchez looked shocked and a bit ashamed. “I’m very sorry I said that. Please accept my apologies, all of you. I’ll go along with everyone else and do my part to preserve what’s here.”

“Thank you, José,” said Remi. “What we need to do now is set up a camp for the night. It should be a bit away from this site so nobody sees it and gets curious.”

“I’ll look for a spot,” said José. He walked off alone, exploring the plateau. After a minute, he disappeared around the curve of the mountain.

The Mendoza brothers looked after him, seemingly tempted to follow and have a say in choosing the site.

“I’d leave him alone for a while,” said Sam. “He’ll be back when he’s gotten over it.”

“All right,” said Raul.

Sam turned to the doctors. “Christina and Maria, I think Remi and I may have caused a problem by opening the lava seal on the entrance to the shrine. The man who’s lying on the floor in there was probably preserved by his airless environment, and now we’ve changed it. He’s exposed to the atmosphere. Do you have any advice?”

“The best thing would be to freeze him, which we can’t do,” said Christina.

Maria said, “I think you were right about the conditions up here on the mountain preserving him. The dry, cool days and cold nights above ten thousand feet are ideal. So, for the moment, he’ll probably be fine. It’s taking him down to sea level to a tropical forest that is the risk.”

Sam said, “Maybe we can improvise a container that’s cold and airtight and carry him down.”

“That’s our best hope,” said Maria.

“Where’s the nearest ice?” asked Christina.