66

You sit in companionable silence for a while as the sun dips ever down toward the western horizon. Eventually Esme broaches the subject that you had been deferring.

"So what will you do with it?" she asks, gesturing at the backpack at your feet. "The breastplate?"

"What do you think I should do?"

"You could sell it to the British. They are constructing a new antiquities museum in Jerusalem; the breastplate could be the star exhibit. And the museum is backed by Rockefeller money, so they could surely afford to pay you an astronomical finder's fee."

It's not a bad suggestion, but there are other possibilities too. You could take the breastplate back to the States with you and unveil it to the public at Tulane. That would do wonders for your fame and academic reputation.

However, it also occurs to you that the breastplate does not really belong to the British, nor at Tulane. It is a crucial artifact of the history of the Jewish people. Perhaps you could find a way to give it back to them. It's unlikely to win you as much in the way of fortune or glory, but perhaps doing the right thing is its own reward.