Richard Granville is an amateur archaeologist who moved to a small Peruvian mining town in the Andes with his family. He and his best friend Todd are spending the summer searching the mountain wilderness for ruins when they come across an ancient road built by the Inca long ago. This leads them to an Incan cave and ruined chasqui station where they decide to explore further. As they afternoon grows late, they head towards home. For the mountains hold many hidden dangers. They soon find this out personally as Todd falls into a pit that has been covered by branches. Luckily, he is uninjured and the boys realize that he has fallen into an abandon mine shaft. Only the mine shaft is not quite abandoned. It contains pick and shovels that have been recently lain against the wall. Evidence Is present that someone has been digging. Knowing that this is an area of the mine where recent cave-ins have occurred, they decide that they must report it to Richard's father who is an employee of the mining company. Upon leaving they catch a glimpse of a man who will later become their nemesis.
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They return to the Granville home and report the incident to Richard's father. After some contemplation, Mr. Granville decides that the situation must be investigated and he calls his supervisor to arrange a search party. When the search party arrives, all evidence has been removed and the boys are discredited. Richard is angered and frustrated by this so he sets his mind to prove that he and Todd were telling the truth. His buddy Todd is more than willing to go along with the adventure.
As they unravel the clues of the missing equipment, they come across many interesting native characters such as Corporal Sanchez, the town policeman, Aya, the town gossip and potter, and Deza, a poor traditional doll maker. Each contribution leads them closer to the identity of the thief and the danger present in catching him. When the perpetrator is actually revealed it will be a surprise for all.
The review of this Book prepared by Talea
