* * * * *
Deputy Director Paxton squinted up at the ceiling, in puzzlement.
"Phillips; Phillips. Why does that name sound so familiar?"
As he had no other clue to go on, he had one of his administrative aides contact the Library of Congress for anything they could find on an archeologist named "Howard Phillips."
The information was in his hands in less than an hour-and-a-half.
The beige folder he had been given contained photocopies from THE DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY series. And, according to them, Howard Ashton Phillips had been born on July 4, 1859, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, to Aaron and Amanda Phillips.
A Quaker missionary couple from Pennsylvania, their son's religious upbringing proved somewhat more liberal than that usually found in the Protestant faiths of the New England-bred missionaries they encountered. Such being the case, they had not only _not_ regarded it as "potentially blasphemous," when their son became curious about the pre-Christian history and cultural beliefs of their Hawaiian neighbors. They encouraged it as perfectly normal!
Furthermore, when Chinese and Japanese immigrants began arriving in the islands, his fascination with them prompted him to major in Oriental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Which was followed, in turn, by his post-graduate attendance of Doshisha University in Japan.
By the time he was forty, he had not only earned his doctorate in archeology. He had also caused some controversy with one of the articles he had been contributing to THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine for ten years. Specifically; the article which basically suggested that the conical hats worn by the Nootka Indians (of the North American Pacific Northwest) might be indicative of pre-Columbian contact with Chinese seafarers!
Paxton could not help half-smiling at that part before he resumed reading.
"When the United States declared war on Germany in April, 1917, Phillips immediately and patriotically offered his services to Army Intelligence as a translator of German (having learned the dialect spoken by his Amish maternal grandmother). Despite being almost twice the maximum age limit for conventional conscription, they accepted. After the Armistice of 1918, he resumed his archeological research. Ultimately disappearing on an expedition to the Central Indo-Pacific region in 1923."
That last sentence made Paxton frown with uneasiness. So, he reloaded the microfilm back on to his reel-to-reel reader, and fast-forwarded to where he had left off.
* * * * *
"16 Apr. 1923:
Today, I finally met this Matthew Lancer. He is about fifteen years older than Howard. And, despite his frequent use of contemporary American slang, the phrasing of his colloquial English indicates extensive higher education. He also has a swarthy complexion that is not merely the result of being a soldier-of-fortune in tropical climes."
"I would wager that he is of partial Hispanic descent. But, I will not say so to his face. He might be over-sensitive about that. And, despite his left leg being braced, I would also wager that he is not a total invalid."
"The cane he half-pretends to lean on so heavily, with his right hand, is of the type that usually conceals...a sword!"
tbc
Giantess World
