turned back to Posidonius and tried again. “Seers,” she said, pointing at the three of them, hoping the term translated universally across all languages. “Seeeeeers.”
Simon shook his head. “That’s not working.”
“Scepter!” Walter said, miming a long baton. Then he wiggled his fingers like a campfire. “Of Fire.”
Posidonius’s frown just grew stronger. In fact, he looked rather irritated by the intrusion of the children. With a heavy sigh, he stood and swirled off away from them.
As she watched him go, Esther felt helpless. Why would Professor Amethyst have sent them to Rhodes, approximately in the year 51 BC, if not to speak to Posidonius? What other person might they be here to speak to?
“Look!” Walter cried. “Old Posidonius left something behind!”
He reached forward and grabbed a stack of papers that had been resting against the crate. They were definitely Posidonius’s. He must have forgotten he’d placed them there.
Esther was just about to run after him and hand them back, when she paused. Maybe whatever Posidonius had been sketching would provide some kind of clue.
She held up the first page. It was a rather detailed sketch of a building. There was a word written beneath it.
“Simon, do you know what that says?” she asked.
The boy leaned closer and squinted. “Ah, yes. That word means school.” Esther watched as his eyes quickly scanned the rest of the writing. “It appears that Posidonius is setting up a school on one of the surrounding island archipelagos.” Then he began to chuckle. “According to his notes, his Stoic philosophy is not welcome here.”
“Show-off,” Walter mumbled.
Esther turned to the next page in the stack. This time, the picture Posidonius had drawn was a map. Each island had been labeled.
Simon began to read them aloud. “Kos. Patmos…”
Esther recognized them all. But then one name Simon uttered made her pause.
“Cousteau?” she said, repeating what he’d just said. “There is no island called Cousteau.”
“You’re right,” Simon said. “It must have been renamed.”
But Esther’s mind was going into overdrive. “Why does that name sound familiar to me?” she said, tapping her chin contemplatively.
Simon continued. “Well, whatever it means, it appears to be the same island upon which Posidonius has drawn a large X for the location of his school.”
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