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“The usual ways, I guess We start with the things that were already here in 452”

“The toas founded in the first century, so it was already three hundred years old when Attila arrived”

“It was just a little village along the shore Without , out of the north coe army of horsemen He had just devastated much of northern Italy on his way here”

“The people were probably too busy running to look at him closely,” said Remi “I knoould have been”

“Me too That’s how Venice was founded People running from Attila as he came down from the north hid on the islands When he left, they didn’t”

“Okay, sed But the place where the river leaves the lake must be the same”

“That’s logical”

Remi said, “So Attila and about fifty or a hundred thousand warriors and their horses and wagons came this far south, loaded with the plunder of northern Italy They camped south of here where the Mincio ran into the Po Then the Ro of Pope Leo, the Consul Avienus, and the Prefect Trigetius, arrived What the two sides said to each other was never revealed All the accounts are guesswork What we know is that because Italy was in the middle of a famine, there was not much food for the Huns to steal There was also an epidemic, and many of the Huns already had fallen sick Marcian, the new e on the Danube, which would threaten the Hun strongholds For whatever combination of reasons, Attila and hisup his chance to rescue Honoria f

roain control of the Roman Empire”

“Let’s think ahome But he hopes to come back in a year or two and conquer Rome He’s loaded doith loot from northern Italy So he leaves a treasure to resupply his troops on his next attempt Where would he leave it?”

“At the place where he stopped to caot That’s the place where he could safely and secretly bury whatever he wanted to And if he was going to use it to resupply his army, the road to Rome is the place to do it”

“Right”

“So we agree It’s where the Mincio meets the Po?”

“I think so The place where he turned back has got to be where the world was lost”

“Let’s start with the west side of the Mincio If you’re co down Lake Garda, that’s the less mountainous side, so it’s the most sensible way to travel”