Wayne-
It was well past moonrise when the trio, two women and a man, at last struggled through the low brush and over the final rock ledge. With just enough light from the new moon they could see the mine opening, a blacker than black hole in the rock wall. Jill let out a little gasp then fell silent, only to then utter a stifled squeak as a lantern in the mine came suddenly to life and the clear sounds of pursuit came from below them, Jeff's hand clamped on her shoulder with urgency and............
Dan-
turned her toward a side shaft that led deep into the bowels of the mine and away from the pursurers behind them and the lighter of the lamp who was somewhere in the main shaft in front of them.As the trio rounded a bend in the side shaft they were met with pitch black darkness-so dark that it seemed to thicken the very air.Jeff produced a small flashlight that weakly iluminated the way ahead-the long unused shaft slanted downward and was littered with broken tools,long left manmade trash,and the remnants of small cave ins that had happened decades earlier.Jeff knew at this point they had no choice but to continue down the shaft-to turn around and face their pursurers would mean certain death.Going forward might mean the same,or it might give them a chance at the freedom they craved-freedom to live in luxury with new found riches in the form of century old gold coins-hundreds of thousands of dollars worth-that each carried evenly distributed among them - and for which the pursurers would not hesitate to kill them for. Grabbing a long discarded but still solid pick handle they headed deeper into the shaft.....
Royal-
They ran as fast as they dared but could hear the pursuers behind them. Jeff looked back and could see the beam of a flashlight bobbing against the far wall. He could hear his heart a thumping and was gasping for air. He looked at The girls and had to make a decision. One of them had to stay behind and try to delay the pursuit.
Sunny he says. You are the oldest and seem to be slowing us down. What do you think of taking this here pick handle and hiding in behind that column and covering for Jill and I. We promise to come back for you.
Well Sunny might be a bit long in the tooth but she ain't now dummy. She and Jill took off and left Jeff a standing there like a man in his right mind. In Sunny's mind he weren't.
They suddenly came to a solid wall. They felt along to the right and there was no opening and also checked to the left. Nothing but solid wall. Jill whispered, "They are still coming! Jeff! Why in the world did you do that to the Sheriff's dog! You know he loved that dang dog and you went and did that to it!
Jeff said, "I am sorry girls but the dang fool dog was gonna attack old Granny Tompson and ....
Ron-
Jill was panicking at the thought of that poor dog, Jeff was getting upset at Jill,shaking her frantically,trying to make her smarten-up. Sunny in the meantime was using her brains! She frantically was poking the walls,looking for the tiniest openings, On her hands and feet,now,she felt a slight breeze! Feeling the earth with with her hand,towards the breeze, she found a crawlspace,just about large enough for her and Jill to crawl through. The flashing beam was getting closer,and they could her more than one voice,one was the Sheriff. Sunny had a feeling that Sheriff was involved in this mess somehow! Sunny grabbed Jeff,and ordered him to start using that pickax or he ain't gonna fit through the crawl space, to hopefully,safety,with that gut of his,so get picking! Jeff started whacking at that crawlspace, and the three of them,just made it into a large open space,with a body of water in it. Jill and Sunny let out a little gulp.wen they tripped over a skeleton,with its left hand pointing to another opening, holding gold coins in the right! The three of them,quickly started piling rocks at the crawlspace to stop any one from entering........ Sunny started feeling around for a rock,but felt something ...it was a candle!
Dave VT-
Grasping the candle firmly in her hand, Sunny crept slowly forward till her foot nudged up against the wall. "Jeff, Jill, do either of you have a match?" Jeff searched frantically through the pockets of his damp jacket, Deep in a corner recess of his pocket, he felt a damp mass. "I got something but it's awful wet!" In the last beams of light from his failing flashlight, he realized that the wad of stuff in his hand was the crumpled papers served to him by the sheriff just hours before. Jill squeaked out that she didn't have any matches but she had a small lighter. "Quick, give it to me!" Sunny demanded. The three then heard the voices coming from behind the crawl space. Accompanying the excited voices was the ringing of steel tools on the rocks they had just come through............
Wayne-
The sound of Sheriff Scot swearing was clearly heard now and the three fugitives felt trapped until Sunny lit the paper. The sudden flare of light nearly blinded everyone but a new scene appeared to their eyes. With the clatter of iron and steel coming through the opening and their end near, they all saw the clear evidence that they were not the first to find this, next to the skeleton was a set of saddlebags clearly marked on top with the words Scot.Arnold, the Sheriff! Jeff also saw that the handle of the knife that protruded from the dead mans ribs was marked S.A!!!!!!!!! Time to go where their dead friend was pointing!
AuzeeSheila
'Clang . . clang . . klik . . clang . . clang . . klik . . ' the muffled sounds of human greed echoed behind the rock walls. It seemed that those who wanted fortune to smile on them without any sweat on their part, were quite willing to collect a few blisters along the way.
"Quick, light the candle Sunny," Jill whispered in terror, as she watched for chinks of light appearing in their only line of defense. Shakily snapping the tiny plastic lighter, Sunny held it to the candlewick , where it sputtered to flame and then died like the candle on a birthday cake. Three times the candle was lit and three times it died. Finally, in the fading torchlight, Sunny realized what was happening, and gestured to the others to form a circle around the instrument of their redemption.
Lighting the candle once more, the three fugitives slowly raised the candle until the flame started to waver. They watched it flicker and bend towards the wall behind them.
"Well," opined Jeff, "it looks like we have to head over there, directly opposite where we came in." Three pairs of eyes turned to peer into the darkness ahead, trying to discern what lay beyond the the small circle of light that encompassed them.
Jeff took Jill's hand, while she and Sunny did the same. Slowly, they made their way toward the source of the breeze, hoping to find freedom. With the resonating noise of their hunters gradually fading, they came to a halt when a stairway, cut into the rock wall, appeared like a mirage before them.
"Oh my, now what do we do?" Sunny gasped, as she looked at the primitive staircase. "One staircase up, one staircase down."
David TX
just as they were about to go in the direction the skeleton was pointing jeff reached down and found documents with the name of a local insurance agent/ATV dealer,the same insurance agent who was last seen over a year ago.this man was sheriff arnolds brother-in-law and he had vowed to find him,no MATTER WHAT!!!
Ron
The mystery was quite twisted! How did the Sheriff's brother-in-laws, end up dead in this hidden room? He could of barely fit thru the crawlspace. Something drew him into this cave. Sunny,Jill and Jeff heard those sounds of shovels,and picks getting alot closer.The rocks they had piled up,were starting to move,and they knew someone was gonna crawl through at at any moment!! Would they be shot? They were totally puzzled why they were being chased,and even been shot at! They all knew they shouldn't have been metal detecting or arrowhead hunting on the property to begin with, but Sunny had insisted it would be okay! Who would see them way out in this mountainous country? All they wanted to find was a coin or two! Although Sunny wanted to find so badly,a quartz arrowhead,like her friend Mikey had showed her,a few months ago,while she was visiting in Canada.
All these thoughts going thru there heads! Maybe somebody would find their metal detectors,they had abandoned when this crazy fiasco started! They had all marked their names on the shafts,in case they had been stolen. But,all three of them knew, no one would know they went hunting here! Maybe someone would find their car down in the ravine,and search for them?
What they didn't know,was the Sheriff had already found the car,and had moved it into an another abandoned mineshaft,where no one would ever find it!! The three of them had to act quickly! Death could be poking through any second! The Skeleton's finger pointed to the body of water! Why?? There was no exits to be seen! What about the gold coins in the other hand? Whats with the papers?
Jill had been examining the papers,and there was a note, on the Sheriff's stationary,barely readable,asking the now dead in-law to meet him here,dated about a year ago.? They had no choice! Sunny,grabbed Jill and Jeff's hands,and pulled them into the icey,dark water,just as the Sheriff stuck his head through the crawlspace!
There had to be an escape route! The water had looked calm,but the three of them were quickly scooped under the surface,being dragged down stream. Pitch black, feeling like they were going to die drowning, the three of them tried swimming,and holding there breath. All they could think of was hitting there heads on sharp rocks,or drowning.Would this be a better death,than being possibly shot? As they gasped out there last bit of air,still kicking,they suddenly were thrust up into a small air pocket,maybe 3 or 4 ft in diameter. This gave them a quick breath of air,before the current,dragged them under again....
Bill-
The current of cold water picked up speed and rushed them down the smooth black tunnel and soon they were once again at the limits of their last quick breath of air . This added to the panic they each felt having lost touch with each other on the old rushing dark water tunnel . Just as Sunny though this was how it would all end she bust to the surface of a cavern pool the current rushing her to the far side that looked like a gravelly beach with bits of flotsam bobbing in the foam rushing water at it's edge .Not long after both Jill and Jeff came to the surface and all three were pulled by the current to the beach but as the water became less deep so did the current and the dragged themselves on to the beach gasping for air and coughing out water. the ceiling of the cavern had a few creaks in it that let in light that gave what would have been a pitch black hole a defused light that after a bit they could make out a few details .
What they first noticed was they they were not the first ones to be here for on the bank to their right was what looked like a shop of some sort almost like a black smiths shop of old . After resting and checking out the few cut and bruises from their wild swim they helped each other up and took a closer look at what they soon realised was not a blacksmiths shop but a forge complete with tools , molds and dies.
Sunny was the first to spot the stack of bars now visible for all to see from under a rotted cloth against the wall off the cave , light from on of the creaks in the ceiling gave each block a glint . In stunned silents both Jill and Sunny watched as Jeff hefted one of the bars ....Gold ....
On closer exam of the tools and other signs of mans activity in the cavern it was soon clear this was old ..very old the fact what looked like a match lock musket of European design was leaning against the wall of the cavern as if placed there in case of need beside a rumble filled opening told them alto . Much of the shop was in disarray from both time and the effects of water flowing in at different times and levels ,but they each came to the same conclusion the legend Of the Lost Spanish Mine and Gold Mint was true ...
As their eyes became more adjusted to the dim light and more details became apparent the most stunning was that what they thought was a just gravel beach of stone now took on a glow , that many of the smooth stones were in fact gold nuggets worn smooth by the water that rushed through this filter of rocks..Their whoops of joy and thoughts of instant wealth soon died out as they began to wonder just how they were to get out of what looked like a sealed cavern and the fact the sheriff was still after them.
Jeff was the first to voice the fact they may have a bit of time due to the fact just before they got separated he had felt them bump in to a side tunnel and how he had tried to hang on a bit , just enough to swing them in to the off shoot and away from the main flow so even if they were followed they may be safe for the time being . That left only to get out and back to town and get help ....
Linda
All of a sudden, Sunny stopped dead in her tracks? What was going on here? Was she just dreaming, or had all of the things above happened to her!
And who the heck are Jill and Jeff? How had she come upon these two people? They reminded her of some other people she thought to herself. She knew if she told her other two sidekicks, they would think she was a real nut case. All though they acted concerned about her, were they really? Or were just pretending so they could get rid of her and figure out how to get out of the cave and and keep the loot all to themselves???
Fred
Sunny was the first to spot the old flue of the forge going up through the ceiling of the cavern and how time and weather may have weakened it enough that they could use it to escape ..
Jeff looked at the flue and figured that Sunny was right, this was their only chance to escape. To ease her mind, Jeff and Jill decided to let Sunny go first, followed by Jill and then Jeff. Slowly but surely it appeared that they were heading for freedom, but then it happened. The rocks lining the flue started to crumble when Sunny attemped to get a hand hold while pulling herself through the flue. One of the rocks the size of a baseball slid pass Jill and hit poor Jeff square on the head. The pain was almost unbearable for Jeff as he groaned and farted at the same time. Moments later, Sunny shouted "My gosh Jeff, why did you do that, I can not breathe!" Jeff told Sunny that he was sorry and would not do it again. This satisfied Sunny and she started inching forward again.
Minutes slowly ticked by until at last, Sunny told them that she could see day light...they were on the verge of winning the battle of escaping sure death at the hands of that evil sheriff. As Sunny reached the end of the flue, she was excited and told Jeff and Jill that all that was left was removing a rock that was covering the opening to freedom. She could see day light around the rock covering the opening to the flue and could smell the fresh air. Sunny dug her heels into the flue tunnel and with both hands gave a mighty shove to push the rock aside. Nothing, the rock barely moved. She pushed again, same results. The rock would only rock back and forth. Sunny started crying, Jill said nothing, but Jeff came to the realization that the ball was in his court. Jeff realized that he was their only hope, but how would he squeeze past Jill and Sunny to get to the rock covering the opening?
Jill was a tiny lady and Jeff really had no problem squeezing past her. Now he had to squeeze past Sunny. Jeff told Sunny to press herself against the wall so that he could squeeze past her. It was difficult trying to squeeze past Sunny, several times he got stuck, but somehow he would inch forward again. Jeff had a difficult time and Sunny was not co-operating either. Sunny shouted "Don't touch me there!" This pizzed Jeff off and with one last shove, he was free of Sunny...he was now at the top of the line with Jill and Sunny below him. He paused for a moment and thought, how am I going to move the rock from the opening.
Sunny
Now, with Jeff at the top, Sunny in the middle and Jill below the both of them, Jeff was yelling, "I'm trying to move it girls, I really am. Let me hear the love". What questioned Jill? What's he shouting Sunny? Sunny yelled down to Jill "He wants to hear the love, Jill,....I think he wants us to cheer for him, make him feel all important and all. So Sunny and Jill started shouting in unison, "Go Jeff Go, You're our man. If you can't do it, No one can" . They chanted this over and over, louder and louder, until suddenly, Jeff's ego was puffing him up, "I really am important" He said to himself. And with a final surge of pride in himself, and using all the strength he had, he pushed with all his might. He got the stone to move about a third of the way, where he could get his head,shoulders and one arm out. But there is where he got stuck again. Sunny and Jill started cheering again, but all they got this time were little pebbles raining down on their heads.
Jeff was straining and struggling with all his might, and since he was their only way out, Sunny tried to ignore poor Jeff and his awful flatulance problem. Suddenly, Sunny got close enough to Jill to discuss her plan. She told her Jeff's problem and told Jill "This is what we can do". The next time Jeff strains and more of his foul odor fills the air in the tight opening, she was going to use one more match that Jill still had.
They both agreed as Sunny climbed back up to her place below Jeff. Sure enough, tryiing to use all of his strength again, he pushed with all the strength he had, and sure enough, he passed some more gas. Sunny struck the match, and KA-BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!! The tunnel exploded, blowing Jeff right on thru the top. He shook his head a little, trying to clear it, and then saw what had happened. He looks over the side of the hole, smiling down at Sunny, apologized with his crooked smile, and reached down to give her a hand up.
Just as Sunny was about to grab it, she heard someone outside yell " HOLD ON THERE, Put your hands in the air buddy!"
All of a sudden...........................
Wayne.....
Albert aka "The Hermit" Johnson was in a foul mood! All his plans of retreiving the treasure and fleeing the country had been thwarted by the Sheriff who had followed him sneakily into the mineshaft a month or so before. There had been an argument when the Sheriff startled him as he gathered the gold that he had sought for so many years and Albert had made the mistake of pointing out the Sheriff's dead brother in law! The guns were drawn and thunder echoed hugely through the mine as both men scrambled for cover while firing wildly, both had doused their lights and now the silence and darkness reigned for a time as each desperate man planned murder!
Albert had moved slightly as he had landed on some sharp blast rock, the slight sound was joined with the thunder and flash of a 45 as the Sheriff "sound shot" and in return was nearly hit as a slug from Albert"s pistol tugged at his coat next to his ribs. Albert then wisely scrambled for better cover knowing that the neither of them would hear well for a bit and suddenly found himself falling! He hit water and nearly drowned and by sheer luck found his way out of the mine. Alberte had gotten away to hide in an old cabin he knew form his trapping days, he could not return to his shack as he was sure the Sheriff was fixing to pin the murder of his brother in law on Albert and was hoping he was dead, so he waited several weeks before sneaking around again to see if the Sheriff could be outfoxed. He also knew that the corrupt lawman could not suddenly show up rich and would likely keep the gold in the mine. Albert was greedy and not at all a good person, having escaped the Sheriff with several lbs of pure gold in his pockets when he should have drowned had made little impression. He wanted more!
Albert had approached the off side of the ridge after hearing noises and yelling, he had heard the Sheriff telling his men that the people they were chasing were killers and puzzled about that until it occured that the lawman was setting someone up. Just as this thought came a noise nearby startled him into jumping and drawing his pistol as a rock in front of him shot from the earth with a "whump" and a man followed the rock to land with a cry not 10 feet from Albert who leveled his weapon and ordered him to put his hands in the air! Before else was said, a high womans voice said......help us please! The Sheriff is trying to kill us! He recognised the voice with a start, Sunny! Sunny who was his hearts desire and although always pleasant had never responded to his advances, even when he had shaved, bathed, put on new clothes and gone to town, to the shock of the locals who had never seen him other than as a ragged looking loner, the Hermit!
Now Sunny's head popped from the hole and she exclaimed, Albert! Thank heaven! Help us please!?
The rest of the story is known well in that small town in the west. About how the Sheriff was taken down by the Rangers for his murder and misdeeds. About how the alleged gold had vanished and Albert had left the country, some say with a broken heart after spending weeks around town all cleaned up and unsuccessfully courting a married lady. It has become a legend now but some say it is true. What none ever knew was............
Albert thought again of the path that had brought him to be lying on a frozen river in the Yukon territory while a posse of Mounties, soldiers and trappers along with a WW1 flying ace had him pinned down. A pursuit lasting hundreds of miles and catching the attention of the world meant nothing to Albert as the bullets struck. He would only be known as the "mad trapper of Rat river", not as a man who had, for a few days renounced his lifelong aversion to people and authority to do the right thing. Love will do that but the loss of his dream had totally deranged him. He knew now as he died that it was his fault alone not that of the special lady who was kind..........
It was well past moonrise when the trio, two women and a man, at last struggled through the low brush and over the final rock ledge. With just enough light from the new moon they could see the mine opening, a blacker than black hole in the rock wall. Jill let out a little gasp then fell silent, only to then utter a stifled squeak as a lantern in the mine came suddenly to life and the clear sounds of pursuit came from below them, Jeff's hand clamped on her shoulder with urgency and............
Dan-
turned her toward a side shaft that led deep into the bowels of the mine and away from the pursurers behind them and the lighter of the lamp who was somewhere in the main shaft in front of them.As the trio rounded a bend in the side shaft they were met with pitch black darkness-so dark that it seemed to thicken the very air.Jeff produced a small flashlight that weakly iluminated the way ahead-the long unused shaft slanted downward and was littered with broken tools,long left manmade trash,and the remnants of small cave ins that had happened decades earlier.Jeff knew at this point they had no choice but to continue down the shaft-to turn around and face their pursurers would mean certain death.Going forward might mean the same,or it might give them a chance at the freedom they craved-freedom to live in luxury with new found riches in the form of century old gold coins-hundreds of thousands of dollars worth-that each carried evenly distributed among them - and for which the pursurers would not hesitate to kill them for. Grabbing a long discarded but still solid pick handle they headed deeper into the shaft.....
Royal-
They ran as fast as they dared but could hear the pursuers behind them. Jeff looked back and could see the beam of a flashlight bobbing against the far wall. He could hear his heart a thumping and was gasping for air. He looked at The girls and had to make a decision. One of them had to stay behind and try to delay the pursuit.
Sunny he says. You are the oldest and seem to be slowing us down. What do you think of taking this here pick handle and hiding in behind that column and covering for Jill and I. We promise to come back for you.
Well Sunny might be a bit long in the tooth but she ain't now dummy. She and Jill took off and left Jeff a standing there like a man in his right mind. In Sunny's mind he weren't.
They suddenly came to a solid wall. They felt along to the right and there was no opening and also checked to the left. Nothing but solid wall. Jill whispered, "They are still coming! Jeff! Why in the world did you do that to the Sheriff's dog! You know he loved that dang dog and you went and did that to it!
Jeff said, "I am sorry girls but the dang fool dog was gonna attack old Granny Tompson and ....
Ron-
Jill was panicking at the thought of that poor dog, Jeff was getting upset at Jill,shaking her frantically,trying to make her smarten-up. Sunny in the meantime was using her brains! She frantically was poking the walls,looking for the tiniest openings, On her hands and feet,now,she felt a slight breeze! Feeling the earth with with her hand,towards the breeze, she found a crawlspace,just about large enough for her and Jill to crawl through. The flashing beam was getting closer,and they could her more than one voice,one was the Sheriff. Sunny had a feeling that Sheriff was involved in this mess somehow! Sunny grabbed Jeff,and ordered him to start using that pickax or he ain't gonna fit through the crawl space, to hopefully,safety,with that gut of his,so get picking! Jeff started whacking at that crawlspace, and the three of them,just made it into a large open space,with a body of water in it. Jill and Sunny let out a little gulp.wen they tripped over a skeleton,with its left hand pointing to another opening, holding gold coins in the right! The three of them,quickly started piling rocks at the crawlspace to stop any one from entering........ Sunny started feeling around for a rock,but felt something ...it was a candle!
Dave VT-
Grasping the candle firmly in her hand, Sunny crept slowly forward till her foot nudged up against the wall. "Jeff, Jill, do either of you have a match?" Jeff searched frantically through the pockets of his damp jacket, Deep in a corner recess of his pocket, he felt a damp mass. "I got something but it's awful wet!" In the last beams of light from his failing flashlight, he realized that the wad of stuff in his hand was the crumpled papers served to him by the sheriff just hours before. Jill squeaked out that she didn't have any matches but she had a small lighter. "Quick, give it to me!" Sunny demanded. The three then heard the voices coming from behind the crawl space. Accompanying the excited voices was the ringing of steel tools on the rocks they had just come through............
Wayne-
The sound of Sheriff Scot swearing was clearly heard now and the three fugitives felt trapped until Sunny lit the paper. The sudden flare of light nearly blinded everyone but a new scene appeared to their eyes. With the clatter of iron and steel coming through the opening and their end near, they all saw the clear evidence that they were not the first to find this, next to the skeleton was a set of saddlebags clearly marked on top with the words Scot.Arnold, the Sheriff! Jeff also saw that the handle of the knife that protruded from the dead mans ribs was marked S.A!!!!!!!!! Time to go where their dead friend was pointing!
AuzeeSheila
'Clang . . clang . . klik . . clang . . clang . . klik . . ' the muffled sounds of human greed echoed behind the rock walls. It seemed that those who wanted fortune to smile on them without any sweat on their part, were quite willing to collect a few blisters along the way.
"Quick, light the candle Sunny," Jill whispered in terror, as she watched for chinks of light appearing in their only line of defense. Shakily snapping the tiny plastic lighter, Sunny held it to the candlewick , where it sputtered to flame and then died like the candle on a birthday cake. Three times the candle was lit and three times it died. Finally, in the fading torchlight, Sunny realized what was happening, and gestured to the others to form a circle around the instrument of their redemption.
Lighting the candle once more, the three fugitives slowly raised the candle until the flame started to waver. They watched it flicker and bend towards the wall behind them.
"Well," opined Jeff, "it looks like we have to head over there, directly opposite where we came in." Three pairs of eyes turned to peer into the darkness ahead, trying to discern what lay beyond the the small circle of light that encompassed them.
Jeff took Jill's hand, while she and Sunny did the same. Slowly, they made their way toward the source of the breeze, hoping to find freedom. With the resonating noise of their hunters gradually fading, they came to a halt when a stairway, cut into the rock wall, appeared like a mirage before them.
"Oh my, now what do we do?" Sunny gasped, as she looked at the primitive staircase. "One staircase up, one staircase down."
David TX
just as they were about to go in the direction the skeleton was pointing jeff reached down and found documents with the name of a local insurance agent/ATV dealer,the same insurance agent who was last seen over a year ago.this man was sheriff arnolds brother-in-law and he had vowed to find him,no MATTER WHAT!!!
Ron
The mystery was quite twisted! How did the Sheriff's brother-in-laws, end up dead in this hidden room? He could of barely fit thru the crawlspace. Something drew him into this cave. Sunny,Jill and Jeff heard those sounds of shovels,and picks getting alot closer.The rocks they had piled up,were starting to move,and they knew someone was gonna crawl through at at any moment!! Would they be shot? They were totally puzzled why they were being chased,and even been shot at! They all knew they shouldn't have been metal detecting or arrowhead hunting on the property to begin with, but Sunny had insisted it would be okay! Who would see them way out in this mountainous country? All they wanted to find was a coin or two! Although Sunny wanted to find so badly,a quartz arrowhead,like her friend Mikey had showed her,a few months ago,while she was visiting in Canada.
All these thoughts going thru there heads! Maybe somebody would find their metal detectors,they had abandoned when this crazy fiasco started! They had all marked their names on the shafts,in case they had been stolen. But,all three of them knew, no one would know they went hunting here! Maybe someone would find their car down in the ravine,and search for them?
What they didn't know,was the Sheriff had already found the car,and had moved it into an another abandoned mineshaft,where no one would ever find it!! The three of them had to act quickly! Death could be poking through any second! The Skeleton's finger pointed to the body of water! Why?? There was no exits to be seen! What about the gold coins in the other hand? Whats with the papers?
Jill had been examining the papers,and there was a note, on the Sheriff's stationary,barely readable,asking the now dead in-law to meet him here,dated about a year ago.? They had no choice! Sunny,grabbed Jill and Jeff's hands,and pulled them into the icey,dark water,just as the Sheriff stuck his head through the crawlspace!
There had to be an escape route! The water had looked calm,but the three of them were quickly scooped under the surface,being dragged down stream. Pitch black, feeling like they were going to die drowning, the three of them tried swimming,and holding there breath. All they could think of was hitting there heads on sharp rocks,or drowning.Would this be a better death,than being possibly shot? As they gasped out there last bit of air,still kicking,they suddenly were thrust up into a small air pocket,maybe 3 or 4 ft in diameter. This gave them a quick breath of air,before the current,dragged them under again....
Bill-
The current of cold water picked up speed and rushed them down the smooth black tunnel and soon they were once again at the limits of their last quick breath of air . This added to the panic they each felt having lost touch with each other on the old rushing dark water tunnel . Just as Sunny though this was how it would all end she bust to the surface of a cavern pool the current rushing her to the far side that looked like a gravelly beach with bits of flotsam bobbing in the foam rushing water at it's edge .Not long after both Jill and Jeff came to the surface and all three were pulled by the current to the beach but as the water became less deep so did the current and the dragged themselves on to the beach gasping for air and coughing out water. the ceiling of the cavern had a few creaks in it that let in light that gave what would have been a pitch black hole a defused light that after a bit they could make out a few details .
What they first noticed was they they were not the first ones to be here for on the bank to their right was what looked like a shop of some sort almost like a black smiths shop of old . After resting and checking out the few cut and bruises from their wild swim they helped each other up and took a closer look at what they soon realised was not a blacksmiths shop but a forge complete with tools , molds and dies.
Sunny was the first to spot the stack of bars now visible for all to see from under a rotted cloth against the wall off the cave , light from on of the creaks in the ceiling gave each block a glint . In stunned silents both Jill and Sunny watched as Jeff hefted one of the bars ....Gold ....
On closer exam of the tools and other signs of mans activity in the cavern it was soon clear this was old ..very old the fact what looked like a match lock musket of European design was leaning against the wall of the cavern as if placed there in case of need beside a rumble filled opening told them alto . Much of the shop was in disarray from both time and the effects of water flowing in at different times and levels ,but they each came to the same conclusion the legend Of the Lost Spanish Mine and Gold Mint was true ...
As their eyes became more adjusted to the dim light and more details became apparent the most stunning was that what they thought was a just gravel beach of stone now took on a glow , that many of the smooth stones were in fact gold nuggets worn smooth by the water that rushed through this filter of rocks..Their whoops of joy and thoughts of instant wealth soon died out as they began to wonder just how they were to get out of what looked like a sealed cavern and the fact the sheriff was still after them.
Jeff was the first to voice the fact they may have a bit of time due to the fact just before they got separated he had felt them bump in to a side tunnel and how he had tried to hang on a bit , just enough to swing them in to the off shoot and away from the main flow so even if they were followed they may be safe for the time being . That left only to get out and back to town and get help ....
Linda
All of a sudden, Sunny stopped dead in her tracks? What was going on here? Was she just dreaming, or had all of the things above happened to her!
And who the heck are Jill and Jeff? How had she come upon these two people? They reminded her of some other people she thought to herself. She knew if she told her other two sidekicks, they would think she was a real nut case. All though they acted concerned about her, were they really? Or were just pretending so they could get rid of her and figure out how to get out of the cave and and keep the loot all to themselves???
Fred
Sunny was the first to spot the old flue of the forge going up through the ceiling of the cavern and how time and weather may have weakened it enough that they could use it to escape ..
Jeff looked at the flue and figured that Sunny was right, this was their only chance to escape. To ease her mind, Jeff and Jill decided to let Sunny go first, followed by Jill and then Jeff. Slowly but surely it appeared that they were heading for freedom, but then it happened. The rocks lining the flue started to crumble when Sunny attemped to get a hand hold while pulling herself through the flue. One of the rocks the size of a baseball slid pass Jill and hit poor Jeff square on the head. The pain was almost unbearable for Jeff as he groaned and farted at the same time. Moments later, Sunny shouted "My gosh Jeff, why did you do that, I can not breathe!" Jeff told Sunny that he was sorry and would not do it again. This satisfied Sunny and she started inching forward again.
Minutes slowly ticked by until at last, Sunny told them that she could see day light...they were on the verge of winning the battle of escaping sure death at the hands of that evil sheriff. As Sunny reached the end of the flue, she was excited and told Jeff and Jill that all that was left was removing a rock that was covering the opening to freedom. She could see day light around the rock covering the opening to the flue and could smell the fresh air. Sunny dug her heels into the flue tunnel and with both hands gave a mighty shove to push the rock aside. Nothing, the rock barely moved. She pushed again, same results. The rock would only rock back and forth. Sunny started crying, Jill said nothing, but Jeff came to the realization that the ball was in his court. Jeff realized that he was their only hope, but how would he squeeze past Jill and Sunny to get to the rock covering the opening?
Jill was a tiny lady and Jeff really had no problem squeezing past her. Now he had to squeeze past Sunny. Jeff told Sunny to press herself against the wall so that he could squeeze past her. It was difficult trying to squeeze past Sunny, several times he got stuck, but somehow he would inch forward again. Jeff had a difficult time and Sunny was not co-operating either. Sunny shouted "Don't touch me there!" This pizzed Jeff off and with one last shove, he was free of Sunny...he was now at the top of the line with Jill and Sunny below him. He paused for a moment and thought, how am I going to move the rock from the opening.
Sunny
Now, with Jeff at the top, Sunny in the middle and Jill below the both of them, Jeff was yelling, "I'm trying to move it girls, I really am. Let me hear the love". What questioned Jill? What's he shouting Sunny? Sunny yelled down to Jill "He wants to hear the love, Jill,....I think he wants us to cheer for him, make him feel all important and all. So Sunny and Jill started shouting in unison, "Go Jeff Go, You're our man. If you can't do it, No one can" . They chanted this over and over, louder and louder, until suddenly, Jeff's ego was puffing him up, "I really am important" He said to himself. And with a final surge of pride in himself, and using all the strength he had, he pushed with all his might. He got the stone to move about a third of the way, where he could get his head,shoulders and one arm out. But there is where he got stuck again. Sunny and Jill started cheering again, but all they got this time were little pebbles raining down on their heads.
Jeff was straining and struggling with all his might, and since he was their only way out, Sunny tried to ignore poor Jeff and his awful flatulance problem. Suddenly, Sunny got close enough to Jill to discuss her plan. She told her Jeff's problem and told Jill "This is what we can do". The next time Jeff strains and more of his foul odor fills the air in the tight opening, she was going to use one more match that Jill still had.
They both agreed as Sunny climbed back up to her place below Jeff. Sure enough, tryiing to use all of his strength again, he pushed with all the strength he had, and sure enough, he passed some more gas. Sunny struck the match, and KA-BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!! The tunnel exploded, blowing Jeff right on thru the top. He shook his head a little, trying to clear it, and then saw what had happened. He looks over the side of the hole, smiling down at Sunny, apologized with his crooked smile, and reached down to give her a hand up.
Just as Sunny was about to grab it, she heard someone outside yell " HOLD ON THERE, Put your hands in the air buddy!"
All of a sudden...........................
Wayne.....
Albert aka "The Hermit" Johnson was in a foul mood! All his plans of retreiving the treasure and fleeing the country had been thwarted by the Sheriff who had followed him sneakily into the mineshaft a month or so before. There had been an argument when the Sheriff startled him as he gathered the gold that he had sought for so many years and Albert had made the mistake of pointing out the Sheriff's dead brother in law! The guns were drawn and thunder echoed hugely through the mine as both men scrambled for cover while firing wildly, both had doused their lights and now the silence and darkness reigned for a time as each desperate man planned murder!
Albert had moved slightly as he had landed on some sharp blast rock, the slight sound was joined with the thunder and flash of a 45 as the Sheriff "sound shot" and in return was nearly hit as a slug from Albert"s pistol tugged at his coat next to his ribs. Albert then wisely scrambled for better cover knowing that the neither of them would hear well for a bit and suddenly found himself falling! He hit water and nearly drowned and by sheer luck found his way out of the mine. Alberte had gotten away to hide in an old cabin he knew form his trapping days, he could not return to his shack as he was sure the Sheriff was fixing to pin the murder of his brother in law on Albert and was hoping he was dead, so he waited several weeks before sneaking around again to see if the Sheriff could be outfoxed. He also knew that the corrupt lawman could not suddenly show up rich and would likely keep the gold in the mine. Albert was greedy and not at all a good person, having escaped the Sheriff with several lbs of pure gold in his pockets when he should have drowned had made little impression. He wanted more!
Albert had approached the off side of the ridge after hearing noises and yelling, he had heard the Sheriff telling his men that the people they were chasing were killers and puzzled about that until it occured that the lawman was setting someone up. Just as this thought came a noise nearby startled him into jumping and drawing his pistol as a rock in front of him shot from the earth with a "whump" and a man followed the rock to land with a cry not 10 feet from Albert who leveled his weapon and ordered him to put his hands in the air! Before else was said, a high womans voice said......help us please! The Sheriff is trying to kill us! He recognised the voice with a start, Sunny! Sunny who was his hearts desire and although always pleasant had never responded to his advances, even when he had shaved, bathed, put on new clothes and gone to town, to the shock of the locals who had never seen him other than as a ragged looking loner, the Hermit!
Now Sunny's head popped from the hole and she exclaimed, Albert! Thank heaven! Help us please!?
The rest of the story is known well in that small town in the west. About how the Sheriff was taken down by the Rangers for his murder and misdeeds. About how the alleged gold had vanished and Albert had left the country, some say with a broken heart after spending weeks around town all cleaned up and unsuccessfully courting a married lady. It has become a legend now but some say it is true. What none ever knew was............
Albert thought again of the path that had brought him to be lying on a frozen river in the Yukon territory while a posse of Mounties, soldiers and trappers along with a WW1 flying ace had him pinned down. A pursuit lasting hundreds of miles and catching the attention of the world meant nothing to Albert as the bullets struck. He would only be known as the "mad trapper of Rat river", not as a man who had, for a few days renounced his lifelong aversion to people and authority to do the right thing. Love will do that but the loss of his dream had totally deranged him. He knew now as he died that it was his fault alone not that of the special lady who was kind..........
