discovered it five years ago."

"One of the three men I met last night?"

"The big man who was knocked unconscious."

"How's he getting along?"

"Despite a large purplish dome on his forehead, he swears he doesn't

suffer from headaches or dizziness.  When I left the hut he was roasting

like a turkey."

"Turkey?" Pitt repeated, surprised.  "You must have a firstrate supply

system."

"A vertical-lift Minerva aircraft, on loan to the university by a

wealthy alumnus, flies in once every two weeks from Thule."

"I thought excavations this far north were limited to midsummer when

above-freezing temperatures thawed the ground."

"Generally speaking that's true.  But with the heated prefab shelter

over the main section of the village, we can work from April through

October."

"Find anything out of the ordinary, like an object that doesn't belong

here?"

Lily gave Pitt a queer look.  "Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity.  "

"We've unearthed hundreds of interesting artifacts representing

prehistoric Eskimo lifestyles and technology.  We have them in the hut,

if you care to examine them."

"How's chances of looking at them over the turkey?"

"Good to excellent.  Dr. Gronquist cooks gourmet."

"I had hoped to invite you all to the ship's galley for dinner, but the

sudden storm messed up my plans."

"We're always happy to see a new face at the table."

"You've discovered something unusual, haven't you?" Pitt asked abruptly.

Lily's eyes widened suspiciously.  "How could you knowt' "Greek or

Roman?"

"Roman Empire, Byzantium, actually."

"Byzantium what?" Pitt pushed her, his eyes turned hard.

"How old?"

"A gold coin, late fourth century."

He seemed to relax then.  He took a deep breath and slowly let it out

while she looked at him in confusion and no small degree of irritation.

"Make your point!" Lily snapped at him.

"What if I was to tell you," Pitt began slowly, "there is a trail of

amphoras scattered along the seabed that leads into the fjord?"

"Amphoras?" Lily repeated in astonishment.

"I have them on videotape from our underwater cameras."

"They came." She spoke as in a trance.  "They really crossed the

Atlantic.  The Romans set foot on Greenland before the Vikings."

"The evidence points in that direction." Pitt eased his arm around

Lily's waist and aimed her toward the door.  "Speaking of direction, are

we stuck here for the duration of the storm or does that rope outside

the door lead to your hut?"

She nodded.  "Yes, the line stretches between the two buildings." She

paused and stared into the excavation where she had discovered the coin.

"Pytheas, the Greek navigator, made an epic voyage in 350 B.c. The

legends say he sailed north into the Atlantic and eventually reached

Iceland.  Strange there

are no records or legends telling of a Roman voyage this far north and

west, seven hundred and fifty years later."

"Pytheas was lucky: he made it home to tell the tale."

,,You think the Romans  who  came  here  were  lost  on  the return

voyage?"