52 pages • 1 hour read
Kim Stanley RobinsonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The boys join Mr. Hexter, Vlade, and Idelba, on the Sisyphus, Idelba’s tugboat. A black man named Thabo pilots the boat to the site where the metal detector had pinged. Thabo and Idelba maneuver the barge’s equipment until they are able to move the abandoned underwater diving bell out of the way. Then they begin drilling into the asphalt. Idelba turns on the vacuum and the dredge, and mud and gunk begin spewing into a large box at one end of the tube. After about an hour, the dredge brings up a wooden chest. Thabo opens it with a crowbar, revealing gold coins inside. They eventually find another chest, with the same result.
On the way back, Mr. Hexter inspects the coins—they are most likely the coins stowed aboard the Hussar. Vlade decides to ask Charlotte how to proceed since they do not want the government to take the gold. The group Mr. Hexter dubs the “Hussar six” (310) agree to split the coins fairly.
Idelba shows Vlade a screenshot she took during the dredging. It shows what appears to be a large container near the opening of the underwater Cypress subway station.
By Kim Stanley Robinson