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Now Albrecht and Saan to examine the back wall of the man’s narrow berth carved into the rock Sam took out his pocketknife “Can I test it?”

“By all means,” Albrecht said “I think it should be a false wall made of plaster”

Sam prodded and scraped at the wall for a few seconds and then brought out a chunk about an inch thick “It’s a layer of plaster that hides a second stone”

“Let’s photograph it before we reraphed the plaster Then they carefully re them for paint or scratches

Albrecht leaned into the opening and stared at the piece of tufa fitted into the back beyond the plaster “It’s a second seal stone Oh, yes This is it!” he said “‘Sepulcrunus Oceanus’ The Great Ocean ‘Rex Hunnorum’ Ruler of the Huns”

The others applauded, probably the loudest sound heard in this spot in over a thousand years As it died down and stopped, Sam leaned close to Captain Boiardi “Was that an echo?”

Boiardi listened for a few seconds, then nodded “Let’s go see” He turned off his headlamp

The two stepped away from the side of the tohts turned off As they quietly walked back, from time to time one of them would stop and they would wait and listen for a few seconds, then continue As they ca that had been dug for a fa on his light to see where they were

Caught in the light were four rappled with the the in judo for most of his life, put the first man down in his initialpunch to his chest The secondto it Sam ran hard at the wall, pivoted and hurled himself into it The man slumped down the wall to the floor

Captain Boiardi was a police officer trained in hand-to-hand coer than either of his attackers He put the first one doith combination punches to the jaw and belly, then put the second out with a choke hold

As Saht Boiardi had dropped, he saw that to in a shadowy corner of the crypt

Boiardi shouted sohtened Both held their hands up “We don’t understand you”

“Don’t shoot just yet,” said Sam “I knoho they are”

“Who?”

“They work for a company called Consolidated Enterprises, based in New York”