The Gift of Knowledge (The Gifts Book 2) by Jen Gentry

turned a little pale.
         “Don’t worry. Phoebe is a pro. She knows what to look for. I trust her to take care of you.”
          Emily prayed again to herself for the Lord to watch over her. She would put her trust in him.
          “After we eat, could you join me in the common tent? We have all our computer and electronic equipment in that tent, and it’s where we do most of our research. I’d like to show you the photos of the Spaniard’s journals I have up on my laptop. I’m hoping you can help me decipher them. It’s going to take more than one set of eyes on them to find what we’re looking for, I’m afraid.”
         “Sure, I’d love to help in any way I can.” Emily was glad of the change in subjects and happy to have something to work on.
     
     
         The camp required a team effort to keep organized and clean. Emily helped Mari with the dishes, and Phoebe and Gary cleared the tables as the others swept out the kitchen area. Ethan was noticeably absent. Emily assumed he’d gone on to the common area after breakfast, so she finished helping with the clean-up and headed to meet him there.
         In the work tent, Emily found Ethan hunched over his laptop at a long table, in the middle of the large canvas tent. There was one map covering the table and Emily noted the map had several red and black marks with lines and colored pins sticking up on it. There were several other smaller maps spread out around the table.
         “I wouldn’t mess with those. Russ and Gary have them in a specific order. The maps are kind of their own personal property. They can get bent out of shape if something gets moved. You should’ve seen the ruckus they made when we had to move the camp away from the Meleke tribe.”
         “Why do you think the tribe made you move away?” Emily asked and then explained that Gary, Cliff and Russ had filled her in on that part.
         “My guess is they got spooked by something.  Maybe we just pressed too hard for info about the Spaniards, or maybe Will overstepped himself when he asked about the lost cave or the giants. Who knows? The important thing is they allowed us to leave in peace. These tribes are very wary of outsiders. Will and I were the only team members allowed to come close. Still, we were restricted from actually going into their camp. Some of the men came to us first in our camp area.”
         “Strange. It’s hard to believe that there are still tribes out there that have virtually no contact with the modern world. So, will we be able to see the tribe again from here?”
         “Oh no, Emily. We cannot go near them or their homeland again. These tribes are a part of the eco system of this rainforest. They have no immunity to any common diseases. The common cold can kill them. Will and I had to be isolated and medically examined closely for six weeks to ensure we weren’t carrying any infectious diseases before the government would let us use local guides to come here. And even then we had to promise to share any research information we gleaned from the Meleke tribe with the government to help them protect all of the indigenous tribes here. The outside world is fast encroaching on these people, and some of the tribes have been decimated, either by a simple virus, or the loggers who are tearing down the forest. There is a strong movement in the Brazilian government to protect the lands and the people in it. It was a miracle we were allowed in to begin with. But Will and I somehow convinced the government officials that our purpose was genuine and that we had the experience and skill necessary to work with the natives without causing them any harm.”
         “So how did you get to meet the men from the tribe? Were they friendly?”
         “Anke and Mari have some ties to some of the other tribes in the area that are less isolated than the Meleke. They were able to help Will and me get an introduction. At first the