Chapter 18

The morning started early for the three women, but they were all refreshed and energetic. When they first got up Andy went into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. When she returned to the bedroom, she found Maria putting on her clothes while Brenda was in the shower. As Andy gathered what she planned to wear Brenda came out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around her hair.

Throwing the towel at Andy she said, “It’s your turn.”

Andy grabbed the wet towel, popped Brenda on her pert little ass, and replied, “Thanks.”

Andy climbed into the shower and increased the water temperature. At the new setting the mirror would soon be covered in condensation from the steam. For several minutes, Brenda just stood at the bathroom doorway rubbing where she got popped. Turning away, she muttered, “Of course, you know this means war!”

Maria had been watching the two. She’d heard what Brenda said, so she was prepared for almost anything. Moments later Brenda came back in the room holding a plastic tumbler full of ice water. She marched straight into the bathroom and poured the water over the top of the shower door.

Andy screamed loud enough to be heard in Tucson, and when she came out of the shower she had soap in her hair and fire in her eyes.

Maria got between them, and said, “Andy, calm down! Remember, you started it. Now, both of you. We need to get serious here. The others will be arriving soon, and we’ve got a big job ahead of us. It won’t be everyday we’ll be involved in pulling our men out of a hole instead of them pulling out of ours.”

That got the other two girls laughing and a truce was quickly declared. Andy gave Brenda a hug and apologized for popping her with the towel. Brenda accepted and hugged her back. Andy never caught the fact Brenda didn’t apologize for retaliating, but Maria did.

When they separated Andy saw Brenda was covered in soap from their hugs. Pointing it out she dragged Brenda back into the shower, where she carefully and lovingly made sure all the soap was gone. A few minutes later a glassy-eyed Brenda stepped out of the shower. After a moment, she shook her head to clear it, and said, “Thanks, Mom.

Maria, who was already dressed at this point said, “Brenda, Andy. Both of you need to get your asses in gear and get dressed. The others could be here in twenty minutes, and we’ve still got breakfast and sandwiches to prepare.”

Brenda was pulling up her jeans when she replied, “Yikes! I got too caught up in our little war. I’m sorry I got everyone off schedule.”

Brenda ignored her bra and just put on an ASU sweatshirt she’d borrowed from Maria. She quickly joined Maria in the kitchen to start getting things out for breakfast. In the meantime Andy exited the shower, put her clothes on, and made up the bed. When she finished straightening the room she joined the other two in the kitchen. Working together they had everything, including the sandwiches, prepared before the others arrived.

The breakfast itself was filling and enjoyable. At the same time the banter between different ones in the group kept all their spirits light and away from thoughts of potential disasters. Working together in a surprisingly comfortable manner, all the uneaten food was stored, the dishes were cleaned, and the journey was begun by 6:15 a.m.

Using the handheld radios Deke, Dennis, and Julian led the small convoy through the residential area down South Gilbert to the Superstition Freeway. This was a less direct route, but they’d have less potential of being separated by traffic lights or other cars. Turning west on Superstition they encountered surprisingly little traffic for the ten miles to Interstate 10.

There they turned north until they reached I-17. Traffic had increased some while they were on I-10, but they’d little difficulty staying together. Shortly after they turned onto I-17 the traffic began to thin again, and they made good time, all the way to Flagstaff. When they reached the exit for the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport Maria exited toward the airport while the rest of the convoy continued north. The plan was to meet at a ‘Mickey D’s’ up the road for coffee. It was 8:20 a.m. when they found the general aviation terminal. Maria parked and went inside to see if Dan had arrived. While she was gone Andy climbed into the back with Brenda.

While they sat there they observed a tan, brown, and white twin engine prop plane land and come close to the terminal. A man about thirty stepped from the plane carrying a small gym bag. He appeared to be over six foot, though it was hard to be sure with the boots and tan Stetson he was wearing. Moments later he walked though the front door of the terminal, stride for stride with Maria. While the two approached the car Brenda and Andy decided he seemed to be a fit one hundred and eighty pounds. When Maria introduced the three Dan removed his hat. They discovered he’d sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. With the introductions out of the way he and Maria climbed into the car and headed to join the others for coffee, and some last minute planning.

About 6:45 a.m. Hawk’s watch alarm woke both men. Jason had slept pretty good on the floor, but Hawk hadn’t slept well at all. He’d missed several doses of medicine, and his leg was hurting a lot. Also, he was stiff, his joints ached, and since he’d tried to sleep sitting with his back to the mine wall his ass was almost as sore as his leg. To top it all off he felt grungy, and he hadn’t had his coffee yet. He was as grouchy as an old bear with a thorn in its paw. Shortly after 7:00 a.m. Jason and Hawk began the final preparations for their morning rescue. The previous night they’d gotten the remains of the canvas tarp from the water room and had taken it to the underground stream. They’d weighed it down with rocks and left it to soak overnight. Jason had decided even though it was more effort this way they’d be able to keep the drinking pool from being polluted.

This morning, assisted by the light that filtered down the air-shaft, they opened the wooden boxes Jason had used the previous afternoon to climb the shaft. Setting aside the tops they removed the contents, and set them out of the way. This was to protect them from heat and the potential of the boxes themselves catching on fire.

They scavenged for any burnable items, including the rest of the bunks and the chair Jason had broken. A small mound of these pieces was arranged for the fire that had to be started closer to 10:00 a.m. The rest of the wood was broken into smaller pieces, and placed where it could be easily reached by whoever was tending the fire. If this extra was all burned the wooden box tops could also be broken up and used.

Next they rebuilt the tower of boxes around the small mound of wood prepared for the fire. They left one area open to enable Jason to get inside. Shortly before 10:00 a.m. they retrieved the three small kegs of gunpowder from the tunnel, as well as the wet tarp from the stream. Using his pocket knife Jason cut the tarp into pieces that covered the lower boxes. It was his hope this would prevent the wooden crates, or boxes, from igniting from the heat of the fire in the center. Finally, when everything else was ready he started the small fire and climbed back over the boxes, waiting for the sound of shooting.

Overhead the group had arrived in the general area around 9:15 a.m. They’d all parked their cars along the side of the forestry service access road. Exiting and locking the cars they gathered in a group. Zed checked to make sure everyone was armed and their radios worked. When everyone was ready he used the GPS to lead them to the general area. While marking their trail with small strip of yellow material they soon arrived at the co-ordinates Jason had given Andy. Here they found a rock covered ridge-line interspersed with Ponderosa Pines, hardwoods and cacti.

Since it was only a few minutes before 10:00 a.m. Zed sent half of the group down the ridge in one direction, and the rest in the other direction. When everyone was in place they were lined up about a hundred paces apart. At exactly 10:00 a.m. he signaled, and everyone fired one shot at the same moment.

Below, the muffled sound of a shot seemed to echo the entire length of the tunnel. Jason took a small handful of gunpowder and threw it into the fire. There was a bright flash and smoke moved up the chimney made by the empty crates and into the air-shaft. Then, for the next couple of minutes he repeated the process every thirty seconds. Dan had been standing near a pile of rocks looking back toward Zed. Suddenly an excited Andy screamed on the radio, “Dan, behind you!”

Dan quickly turned, and saw the remains of a small cloud of smoke emerging from the rock pile. Seconds later another cloud appeared, followed every few seconds by another. In accordance with their previous planning Zed, Deke, and Julian headed back to the vehicles while the others regrouped around the rocks. Dan walked over to the spot where the smoke was still emerging from the rocks, and fired three shots. Hearing the shots Jason and Hawk quickly removed some of the stacked boxes. and threw a wet piece of canvas over the remains of the small fire. Standing directly under the vent, Jason shouted, “Hello up there!”

Dan yelled back, “Hawk! Jason!”

“We’re here!”

Dan and the others excitedly started moving the smaller rocks away from the opening. By the time Zed arrived with the ATV the primary obstacle was a large flat rock laid over the shaft with one end elevated by some smaller rocks under its edge. At first Zed thought that he could just drag the rock away, but the wheels of the ATV just spun. Next, he tried using the winch, but it pulled the ATV toward the rock rather than the other way around. In frustration, Zed shouted down the shaft, “Jason, I can’t budge the rock. Any suggestions?”

“I assume you’ve tried pulling it off with the winch?”

“Yes, and with the ATV. The ATV isn’t heavy enough.”

“Have you tried anchoring the ATV, and then using the winch? Also, isn’t there some way to set up the block and tackle to get a multiplier effect?”

Zed replied, “I’m not sure.”

Dan shouted, “Jason, I know how to do it.”

Zed turned to Dan, and said, “Good. Then I’ll have to run back to the truck and get the pulleys. Anything else I need?

“How many pulleys do you have?”

“I’ve two, but I’ve never used one except to shift direction.”

Dan looked around the area, and asked, “Do you have an ax?

“Yes, as well as a chain saw.”

“We’ve already made a lot of noise, but hopefully, the forestry people won’t come to investigate, due to thinking were approved hunters. However, a chainsaw would definitely bring them. So let’s just stick to the ax right now. Bring it, both pulleys, the rope, and the chain.”

Zed took off in the ATV, and Dan turned to Deke and Dennis. “See these two trees about twenty feet apart. See if you can find a tree, besides pine, that’s fairly straight, about that length, and about six to eight inches in diameter. If we can tie a cross beam between the two trees, it will make it easier to lift stuff out of there.”

Dennis asked, “What else do we have to get out of there but them?”

“I don’t know, but they wouldn’t have requested such a heavy-duty truck unless Hawk’s gained a hell of a lot of weight, or they’ve something to bring out.”

“That makes sense,” replied Dennis.

Dan shouted down to Jason and Hawk, “Guys, get comfortable, as it looks like it’ll be awhile.”

About ten minutes later Zed was back. He and Dan were assembling everything when Dennis reported they’d found nothing that would work. Dan asked, “Zed, I can handle this. I need you make a trip to Flagstaff?”

“Sure, what do you need?”

“Did you bring a charged battery operated drill?”

“Sure, along with a selection of driver bits and drill-bits. I even have an inverter in the truck that will run the charger, along with an extra battery. What are you thinking?”

“If we got two, two by sixes, twenty-four feet in length. Plus two, four by fours, eight feet long, and one four by four, ten feet long, we could build a frame to simplify the lifting of whatever is down there.”

“From what I can picture that would work, except I doubt you can get twenty-four foot lengths except by special order from the lumber mill. Do you think we could get by with twenty feet instead”

“Do you have a tape measure?”

“Does a farmer wear overalls? Let’s check that bad boy out.”

On one tree they found a perfect branch about eight feet up. On the second, the best spot was closer to ten feet. The distance between the two spots was slightly less than nineteen feet. Dan quickly went over the basic design with Zed in more detail, soon a list of materials and tools was prepared. Zed unhooked the utility trailer and headed into town.

While everyone looked on Dan took the hook of the winch cable and attached the chain to it. He used the cable, which had already been worked around the rock, to pull the chain underneath and back around. After fastening the chain tight he used part of the rope to attach one of the blocks, or pulleys, to a tree, and another part of the rope to fasten the ATV to another tree. He attached the hook end of the second block to the chain that was wrapped around the rock. Finally he made several back and forth loops of the ropes through both pulleys and attached the rope to the winch hook. When he walked back to the ATV Andy asked, “Now, for us stupid people, what did you just do?”

Dan laughed, and replied, “It’s about time I was able to do something practical from all the physics courses I’ve taken. When set up this way each loop through the pulley doubles the pull of the winch. Therefore, in using a hundred pounds of pull from the ATV we exert four hundred pounds of force against the rock.”

To read this story you need a Registration + Premier Membership
If you have an account, then please Log In or Register (Why register?)

Support the author's future writing by purchasing this book from Bookapy

The Hawk and the Chipmunk

Mike Lowe aka The Scot

$5.95