Oliver ’ s shoulder and squeezed it gently . “ We can ’ t say we didn ’ t try .”
Oliver cast his gaze up at the clouds and let the fine layer of mist falling around them cool his exhausted eyes . He glanced at his students . All three of them were just as exhausted as he was . They stared at him with blank expressions . Dirt smeared their faces and ratty clothes hung from their tired bodies .
Oliver sighed . “ I guess we can add our names to the others who ‘ can ’ t say they didn ’ t try .’”
The demoralizing words had come from Jeremy , a large man who had dreams of discovering a new species of dinosaur after he had graduated from TU . He , as well as the two girls , Victoria and Janice , were the only three students willing to risk their future reputation to accompany Oliver . All the other students called the expedition a “ wild goose chase ,” and were adamant about making sure they had no connection to an assured failure .
Despite the outrageous conclusions of his dissertation regarding the existence of Excalibur , the review committee applauded Oliver ’ s thorough research and analysis of the history of the mythical King Arthur . When an anthropology professor unexpectedly died , Oliver was assigned as his short-term replacement and given a temporary professor ’ s position . Beloved by students and grounded in technical skills , the department turned a blind eye to his more outlandish claims . When Oliver secured private funding for his dig , the Chairman of the Archeology Department , Joseph McClane , reluctantly gave Oliver time off and loaned him the three grad students .
Janice wiped her brown stringy hair from her face . “ The only sword around here is the one found at Culloden . It ' s on display for the whole world to see it .” She walked away and uttered , “ I don ’ t know what bullshit clue brought us here , but whatever it was , it was just as full of shit as this excavation .”
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