Tunnels 03, Freefall

hadn't yet investigated. He sighed, thinking he didn't have many more to go before he'd have finished the whole lot. Clambering up on a few trunks so he could reach the top of the corner pile, he stretched across and took hold of a wooden casket. He lifted it down, placing it on a small patch of ground in the middle of the hut he kept clear for sorting the items. As he knelt before the casket and swung the lid up, Rebecca deigned to speak to him again.
    "Are you looking for something, Will?" she said.
    Will stopped what he was doing and stood up, wondering if Rebecca could see him through chinks in the side wall of her hut. The construction of the log store in which Martha had put the twin was the same as all the other outbuildings; ancient timber planks were so warped and worm-eaten that he guessed that she had found a crack to watch him through. How very like Rebecca. Always snooping . His resentment built. This was the one place he could get away from it all, and lose himself in the task of sorting through the trunks. The last thing he wanted to do was get into a conversation with the Styx girl.
    "Just leave me alone, will you?" he snapped.
    As he knelt down before the box again and turfed out some pieces of lead sheeting, he came across a small plastic container. Inside was what appeared to be a set of relatively modern graphic pens -- the type that draftsmen or cartographers use. There were five in the container, all with different nib sizes. He twisted the nib off one of them and tried it on his palm. The ink had long since dried out, and he immediately wondered if Martha had anything he might be able to use instead. "Finders keepers," he said as he put the set aside. Just then Rebecca called out again.
    "Whatever you're looking for, I guess it must be important if both you and Martha are hunting for it."
    "I told you to sh--" he started, but didn't finish the sentence. Getting up, he left his hut and strode over to where Rebecca was. "What did you just say?" he demanded brusquely.
    "Well, Martha's been in there too, rooting around. I thought--"
    "Nah," Will said, shaking his head. "Martha's not interested in that old stuff -- it's been there for ages." He began to walk away. "You're mistaken."
    "No, Will, I'm not," Rebecca insisted. "I swear she's been in there... oh, three or four times... moving things around, and even chucking some of it away."
    Will hesitated, turning his head to the twin. "Chucking it away?" he repeated. "What sort of things?"
    "I couldn't see exactly what it was, but I did hear clinking."
    "Really," Will said, thinking it was strange Martha hadn't mentioned anything to him about it. He gave a small shrug, telling himself that it all belonged to her anyway so she could do what she wanted with it, but his curiosity got the better of him. "Where did she take these clinking things?"
    "Up past Bartleby. I definitely saw her digging there, and she threw something into the hole."
    Will glanced to where Bartleby was rolling on his back, making a series of satisfied pig-like grunts. He'd had so many dust baths in the same spot that there was a large impression in the soil.
    "Past Bartleby," Will said thoughtfully.
    "Yes. I assumed she was giving you a hand with whatever you're doing."
    "Sure, that's right -- she's giving me a hand," Will mumbled, trying to pretend to Rebecca that what she was saying wasn't news to him. But as he ambled back towards his hut again, he knew he had to take a look for himself. He continued straight past it and towards the wriggling cat, trying to be as casual as he could because he suspected Rebecca's prying eyes were still on him.
    "Keep going -- it's a bit further," Rebecca shouted helpfully, confirming his suspicions.
    "Bloody hell, what am I doing?" Will grumbled under his breath, annoyed that he was allowing himself to pay any heed to what she'd said. Nevertheless, Will kept going, passing Bartleby whose head perked up as he saw him there.
    Reaching the area where Rebecca had indicated, Will stepped slowly round the bare ground, inspecting the surface. It felt firm underfoot, but then his heel sank into a loose patch. He immediately squatted on his hams and began to scoop away the soil. It had been dug recently and it wasn't difficult for him to re-excavate the hole.
    Will noticed that Bartleby was watching him intently, head on one side. "Just looking for my favorite bone," Will joked to the cat. "It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that Bartleby himself