Chapter 31

A crowd was becoming a regular event around the cabin at meal times, and the big table was almost full this time. The three Latino women, Raul and five carpenters, the three university people, and the four metal detector guys joined me for lunch. The seventeen of us ate heartily, and thanked the ladies for preparing lunch for us. We had bean soup with chunks of ham that I know Mom had put on the stove yesterday evening. Sandwiches were made of warm ham on thick homemade bread. The women around here were learning to make some great bread. Mom is teaching everyone she can.

After lunch, the university trio read books from the historic package for an hour before heading back up the mountain. I followed in the road crew's ATV to do some more exploring. There were flags in the old wagon road, so I had to drive carefully up the trail. I could see the four men listening in their headsets while slowly sweeping the surface with their detectors, occasionally stopping to stick a little flag in the ground.

The university people were taking pictures of each marked site, making a number notation on a diagram, and then digging for the treasure. It was mostly buttons, a buckle, or a rifle ball, but it sometimes was a rifle or pistol barrel, or components.

I parked with the other ATVs and took my LED flashlight into the cave on the right side, making my way through the cave to the other side. I carefully looked over the side until I came to the ravine that I had encountered coming from the cabin side of the mountain, past the vineyard and Eliza's and Bud's graves. From above, the ravine looked really deep and I couldn't see the side of the rock directly under me. I followed the narrow path around the mountain until I reached the mouths of the two caves again.

I studied the areas that led from the cave to the right, looking for some kind of path or walkway that would lead me around the mountain. About thirty feet from the cave was a small group of what looked like stunted cedar bushes. When I walked between them and looked along the wall, I saw the ledge I had seen in my dream. What I didn't see was the hole.

The more I looked, the more confused I became until I realized that I really couldn't see around the mountain, or to the other side of the ravine next to the mountain. The curvature of the mountain hid some of the rock wall.

The ledge going around the rock didn't look very wide, and a lot of the wall leaned out, giving anyone on the ledge the feeling that he would fall off. Knowing I could easily fall, I looked for a way to secure a rope and toss it over the side for a hand hold. Before doing that, I decided to try to climb down the ravine on this side, since the wall wasn't as steep as on the other side. The trip down was slow due to the many smaller rocks that didn't want to give me a good foothold as I angled down the valley wall of the ravine.

I was almost to the bottom of the ravine when I realized that there was a small trickle of water flowing down in the bottom of the rock ravine. My eyes traveled toward the mountain searching for the source, when I saw a small opening at the base, and above that, the hole from my dream. I was excited that these two openings might give me some more answers.

I stumbled through the rocks while getting to the small opening where the water was trickling from. If I bent over and duck walked, I could get through the opening without crawling in the water, so I used my flashlight and went inside. The first thing that I saw was that this hole went all the way up to where the opening above was. As I swept the beam around the cave, there was a rock shelf about waist high that had more of the chests that I had found in one of the upper caves.

I actually staggered at the sight and had to sit on a rock in the cave to get my composure. I slowly used my flashlight to count the chests that were lined up in a row sideways on the rock shelf. Twenty-four, twenty-four chests full of something or nothing. If these chests contained the same treasures I had found earlier, it would be more than three times what I had found before. Should I give it to the university or even show it to the university people? I sure wasn't going to show it to the metal detector guys. One look inside one of the chests, and anything could happen. How could so much be hoarded in an area where slaves were being smuggled? Where could it have come from?

Now I was curious to see if there really could be so many chests full of bullion and coins. This much would almost have to have been the results of raiding Union banks in large cities and Union paymaster wagons.

I began inspecting the chests and found each one had a hasp over the ring for a lock, but there were no locks. The outside of the chests were rusted from the constant exposure to the moisture in the cave. I pulled the first chest on the left out to face me and slowly opened it, finding it full of coins.

If this was booty from raids of Union monies by Confederate troops, it could still belong to the federal government. That could be a problem. Would the feds claim it? Should I even worry about it or just attempt to get it out of here to somewhere secure?

My, oh my, this is exactly the same dilemma I had before. But this time, I had three historians that might know some answers. Realizing the magnitude of this, I began looking into each chest. There were no jewels, jewelry, or bullion. A lot of the coins were similar to the ones I had already taken from the upper chambers, but several of the chests looked to be full of coins with French and Spanish markings. That was really strange. I took a couple that looked to be French and a couple of coins that looked to be Spanish and closed all of the chests, sliding each one back into the slot where it had been stored for the last hundred and fifty years.

Using the flashlight, I checked the cave over thoroughly, looking for any other shelves or additional holes. Not finding any, I turned to leave the cave.

I saw a flash; an almost audible moment of what I thought was a flash of light. I thought I saw Ben, then Eliza, but all I saw was the opening to the cave. I felt the presence of many as I exited the cave opening, being careful not to get my boots wet. I looked around and didn't see anyone or anything out of place.

When I looked up the side of the ravine, close to the rock wall, I saw a perfectly sculpted stairway leading up the side of the bluff where the ATVs were parked. Thinking this was too good to be true, I followed it up the side and stepped out from behind more dense stunted cedar trees that grew from the crevices in the rock. I went back and forth a couple of times, and then, when on the outside, I looked at the natural path that led to the way I had gone down the side of the ravine. I wonder if there were steps on the other side.

That was too much of a question for me to not follow up on. I went down the steep steps and moved across the rocky bottom of the ravine to the other side. There, next to the rock wall, were more roughly hewn steps that went up that side as well. I followed the steps up to an area that was covered by the overhang that had fallen. I wonder if the weight of the cannon had made that overhang fall.

I went back down and up again, trying to figure out what to do about my find. I knew I didn't need the money, but I also knew the problems that much treasure could cause. I thought I could trust the university people, but I really didn't know Jimmy's cousin, or the men with him. If I used law enforcement to guard the treasure and help get it out, it would quickly be all over the local, regional, and possibly even the national news. My whole mountain would by invaded by treasure hunters. No quantity of fences would keep them out. I would wait and talk to Bert privately. If he was difficult to deal with, I just wouldn't show him where the treasure was.

I had another idea and checked my watch to make sure I had enough time to look.

I drove my ATV back down the old wagon road until I reached what was realistically the bottom of the mountain. Using some dead reckoning, I followed the state road until it turned away from the base of the mountain. The woods were not so thick I couldn't use the ATV, so I moved through the brush, constantly moving upward and around until I came to a small creek. This had to be about where that water would come from the ravine. Following the creek upward, I discovered there were other small springs in small outcroppings of rocks along the way. I was almost two miles in, when I came to what appeared to be the lower end of the ravine.

The area was much broader, but just as rocky. I very slowly went up the rocky ravine until I had the hole in sight. There it was, a way to get the treasure off the mountain. It would take some effort, but it could be done without having to carry it up those steps. I kept debating on how to handle this as I traveled back down the bottom of the ravine, back through the woods to the main road, then back up the wagon road to get to the path leading to the Jorgenson place. This was going to take some serious consideration. I wondered how Mom was going to take this.

I stopped in front of the area where Millie's old cabin was built in front of a cave and looked inside. Considering the time that had passed, the place was in remarkable condition. A little work, the addition of electricity, and maybe the place would be livable. Actually, in this modern day and time, hot water and indoor facilities would be a requirement and maybe easy to install. It could be done if someone wanted to live down here. With the roads that led either down to the highway or up to my place, this homestead wasn't that remote any longer.

It took only a few minutes to get up to the Finnerty homestead, and I stopped to see if there was anything left besides growth in the ashes of the original home.

There was a chimney and fireplace still standing, along with the stone footings of the former walls. Almost all of the old charred wood had rotted away, with the only remaining evidence of the fire being a few large logs that might have been rafters. The outhouse was still standing, but one door hinge was broken. There was a good flow of water from the rock wall behind where the structure had been, that now flowed around the outer part of the foundation, then toward a pool that obviously let the water travel into the mountain and on down to come out again lower. This mountain must almost have a lake inside it. I'd bet there is a large spring of water under pressure in the mountain that lets so much out.

Back up at the house, I encountered four of the road guys loading the Jeep onto one of the equipment trailers. Jimmy walked over and told me, "Your mom asked me to take this and fix it up before you get involved with it. She said you were going to be too busy with the spring planting to become preoccupied with it. Anything you want us to do to it? She said you would probably be the one to drive it."

I didn't laugh, but came close. I said, "Nothing yellow or red. How about doing the body in camo, and if that's disagreeable with Mom, make it white or blue. I want one of those fiberglass cabs that cover the whole seating area and a heater. I suppose a radio would be nice, but not necessary. This thing needs to have some bigger tires and a wider track, but it doesn't need chrome wheels. As a matter of fact, I would prefer no chrome. That's it for me. I'll use it with or without the rag top in the summer, but it needs the heater and defroster to work inside the fiberglass cab during the winter."

"That's about what I thought, Mike," Jimmy said as the guys were tying the axles down. "Your mom already got with me and we ordered all of the fiberglass body parts and some of the new waterproof Wrangler seats. She already told me you were going to want it painted in camo. I'll do it in the mountain colors. It won't match your fatigues or BDUs, so you're going to have to hunt for some new ones."

Smart ass; just what I needed, more people ribbing me about wearing BDUs. It's funny though that all of the road crew also wore BDUs most of the time.

The guys didn't leave, so I knew that we were going to have the road guys eat supper with us. I wonder what they would think if they knew there were millions of dollars up on the mountain waiting to be taken?

Inside the house, Mom had all of the Civil War stuff out on the little table and was reading one of the books. She looked up and said, "Hope you don't mind, but I had the guys come for the Jeep to begin working on it. I doubt you're going to have time to do anything on it for a while and the guys said they weren't busy."

She waved at the table, "I got this stuff out to show the guys. Get the two pistols out as they will love those, too. I'm going to have to read all of this before I'll let the university people have it. This is all too valuable. They can have the uniform, but not this stuff yet."

I heard ATVs and other traffic coming up the drive. The guinea hens were making a racket, so I knew it was a stranger.

After putting my shoes back on, I walked out and saw the university people and the metal detector guys pulling up. Jimmy was talking to his cousin, and I heard that the four men were heading up to Mount Sterling for the evening.

The strange vehicle coming up the lane was the other road guys, followed by a car with a Kroger emblem painted on the door.

After greeting the rest of the road crew, I went to the two men in the white Ford Explorer. It was George Dirk and Sam Green, who both immediately stuck their hands out to greet me.

"How are you two doing? You're a little early for planting, aren't you?"

George took the lead, "We're not that early. The long range forecast is for continued warming, so you'll be planting in a week or less. We just wanted to be early to get you what we promised and to know if you will plant as much sweet corn as you did last year, and whether we can influence you as to what else you might plant in your garden. Is it going to be as big as last year?"

I nodded and motioned for them to follow me to the house. "I'll plant as much sweet corn as you want, but I need a little more hay this year over last. I have a plan for some extra, but I have yet to see how that works out. Let's get some coffee and I'll fill you in. You're probably in time for supper, if you'll stay."

The two men looked at each other and grinned. "Sounds good to us. We're staying in town tonight before heading farther east. You were important to us last year, and we wanted to follow up on our promise of seed."

I introduced the two men to Mom, Millie, Marita, Karen, the university people, and the road guys. I asked the Kroger men, "Coffee, or would you like a beer, or maybe even a glass of our wine?"

The two looked at each other again, and Sam said, "Let's have some coffee now. I would like to taste your wine. Some of the local wines are really good."

Ezra was standing in the doorway and told the two men, "You have no idea how good some of Mike's stuff is. Wait until you have tasted some."

I had to introduce Ezra, and once again marveled at how many people were in the house. The four women in the kitchen were buzzing around, with Mom giving directions and doing her magic with food.

I sat the two guys at the big table and had some coffee with them. "The garden is going to be a little bigger than last year because I cleared some brush from the outer edges. I've already fertilized and plowed it under last fall, but will do it again before we prepare to plant. I think I'll have enough manure for all the fields, including the new field I now have. It's about seventy acres, so my crop size potential is a lot higher. If this weather continues to warm up, we're going to begin planting early, possibly starting next week."

We began figuring on how much sweet corn seed it was going to require, along with the acreage we would plant, and in what order, so it all wouldn't be ripe at the same time. Next we made up a diagram to figure what it would take for vegetable seed, and the order we wanted to plant it. I knew Mom would want to be a part of this, so I asked them to wait until after supper so we could include her.

I poured the two men and myself a small glass of wine for them to taste. They really enjoyed the wine and said it was an excellent quality. Sam said, "It tastes like the wine we had up in Mount Sterling at that Italian restaurant."

"Glad you recognized the taste. I supply their wine. I'm happy to hear you ate there, as it is a great place, with excellent food."

Mom had a huge roast and had me slice it up for tonight and in smaller slices for tomorrow's sandwiches. There was a second roast out in the summer kitchen that Mom said would also be for tomorrow's lunches and for stew tomorrow night. Oh boy, I loved Mom's stew.

After a great supper and a piece of pie, I poured some grappa for the two men. They sipped the liquor and George commented, "You sell this to that restaurant too, don't you? The man up there couldn't sing your praises any better, but also told us that he had a secret vintner who made him some exclusive product."

"Thanks, that's a hell of a compliment. Hopefully, I'll have more grapes this year and the wine will be just as good. I hope so."

The road guys knew the deal, so the dishes were quickly bussed from the tables, and the guys were having a good time getting everything washed, dried, and put away. It was a small price to pay for the good food. The university people even helped out, as it became evident that it was a ritual for visitors who eat with us to also help clean up.

Mom and Millie joined me with the two Kroger men and we made up a more exact diagram of what we were going to plant where and when. She told the men that her almanac said we were not going to have any more freezes, so we would be planting this next week if I could get the ground ready. She did say that she and Millie would be helping with the tractor work, since I might be busy with my other responsibilities.

Jimmy overheard Mom and came over, "You know, Mrs. Grayson, we're not real busy yet, so if we can help, we want to. I think only two of us didn't come from a farm, so we all know what to do. You tell us where and we'll do it."

Mom grinned and told the guys, "You boys can call me Bea like all of my friends. You'll still be my boys, but I'm only Mrs. Grayson to the kids Mike drags home." She was grinning, "He used to bring his friends home for supper all the time. Nothing has changed."

George told me, "We'll have all of your seed out here by Thursday, day after tomorrow. We'll include some seed potatoes so you won't have to go buy them either. If we can get about half to two thirds of your garden produce, this is going to be a good year for us. I know you folks barter a lot at the market, and I think you should continue, but try to save us at least half."

Mom was smiling when she said, "If we can get the same quantities as last year, you'll get plenty. We barter for canned goods so that we don't have to can as much. We supply the vegetables and they do the canning. It works out." Millie nodded her head in agreement.

Sam asked, "How do your orchards look? You supplied a great deal of our organic demand last year. We're adding some other varieties this year, but we will still need as much as you will let us have. Maybe we can help with some more of the harvesting this year. Labor is usually the highest cost."

Mom told the two men, "We're lucky that we have a group of men who are willing to work at just about anything we have for them to do. We help them and they help us. It's a good relationship."

I noticed Marita and Jet returned from outside, and that Jet was wearing a crooked smile and Marita's hair was a little messed. No stains on Jet's knees or straw stuck in Marita's hair, so they must have just been smooching. Mom saw it and winked at me.

Karen was sitting with Jimmy, but they weren't being overly friendly. The guy in the wheelchair on the other side of Karen had her interest. If Bernie kept getting that kind of attention, I reckoned he would start wearing his prosthesis.

George and Sam left, shaking hands all around with Mom, Millie, and me. The road guys all received hugs from the women and left smiling. I figured those ten men would do just about anything for the women of this house.

When they left, I told Mom, "You know, you should have Raul and Jose expand the dining room for a bigger table or maybe two tables. We're having a lot of people here at one time lately."

Mom grinned. "You know, I just might. We could have the dining room go all the way out to where the deck is now and have a big back porch across the whole back of the house. That would be good."

Me and my big mouth.

Bert, Marjorie, and Marsha were still here, and Bert said, "You folks are the most accommodating people I've ever run into. That you feed us supper is nice, but breakfast and lunch, too? That is amazing, but very welcomed. I hate to leave these artifacts, but we need to go to the motel for some rest. I think we will eat at the Kitchen in the morning. The detector guys have us convinced that it's a great treat. We'll see you on the way to the caves in the morning."

Whew, we were alone, or at least as alone as you can be with four women. That reminded me, "So when is the bed going to be delivered? Did you guys get everything you wanted up there?"

Millie hugged me and said, "Come look, you'll be surprised."

I hadn't gone into the bedroom yet this evening, so I was amazed when I looked into the doorway. There was a big bed in place of the double. It fit well, and really didn't take up much more room. There was still plenty of room for the reading chairs and lamp, and also for John's crib. Millie said, "It's almost big enough that if we feel the urge, the others won't even know we are taking care of it."

I laughed, "I don't think it works like that, Honey. The amount of movement we make will wake anyone up, and I don't want to have an audience with a bunch of women taking numbers."

Millie looked at me funny, "Taking numbers? Why would people who are watching us take a number? Where would the number come from?"

I had to hug the innocence of my sweet wife. It took a while to explain to Millie what I meant. The attempted explanation continued while we were going back into the living room area, and when asked by Marita and Karen what we were talking about, Millie willingly explained what I had said and that she didn't understand how a number came from some magic place and why the women would need a number. Marita smiled and said, "I want a number. Jet hasn't asked anything of me, or for a number, yet."

Karen slyly smiled and said, "How about me? I'm legal, you know; how about a number for me?"

I had closed my eyes at the teasing and when I opened them, Mom was about to join in, but I raised my finger and shook it at her. She grinned while not saying anything. That's just what I needed; my mother wanting a number to take care of her urges. She should go see Ezra.