06 Uncovering Hidden Treasure (21 page)

She shines the light in the crack moving it
from down low to up as high as she can see. She says, "Pick me up.
The crack is wider up higher. It looks really deep."

Stump gets down on his knees and Samantha
sits on his shoulders. Still not being able to see what she wants
she starts to stand. Sump asks, frightened by her actions,
"Samantha! What are you doing?"

Sam says, confused at his sharp tone, "I'm
going to stand on your shoulders so I can see more."

Stump asks, "Are you nuts? What if you
fall?"

Samantha says, "I am not going to fall. Move
closer to the wall and hold on to my feet. I'll be careful, I
promise!"

Stump does as she requests and then she says,
"Oh my God! Rance, this is it! This is the lost cave! Look Rance,
can you see the light reflecting off of that metallic item deep in
the crack?"

He looks in the crack and can see the light
reflecting off something metallic several yards away. "I can see
it! Wow, Samantha, do you really think this might be the cave?"

She says, "Help me down. Yes, I think this is
it! It fits right into everything I have read about it and the
light is definitely reflecting off something metallic far back in
the crack. We've got to let somebody know!"

Stump pulls her into his arms and says,
"Samantha, this is our honeymoon. Can't we at least wait until the
end of the week when we are going back anyway?"

Smiling coyly, Samantha says, "Well, maybe,
I'll let you try to convince me."

Grinning now, Rance lowers his head to hers
and dives deeply into her sweetness. She moans and he picks her up
and carries her back to the sleeping bags where he spends the rest
of the week trying to convince her to wait until they return to the
ranch to tell somebody about their discovery of the lost cave.

******

When Scoot and Goose pick them up on Friday
morning it is too much for Sam and she tells them all about the
cave on the way back to the ranch.

Scoot says, "Wow Samantha! That's great! How
long do you think it will be before you can verify that what you
found is the cave?"

Sam says, "I don't know. I'm going to go tell
Jeffrey Whitmore and leave all that up to him and the park
service."

When they arrive back at the ranch Samantha
is so excited she can hardly stand it. She has been worrying all
week who she should tell first about her discovery. Stump finally
convinced her that since whatever she found is going to belong to
the park she should tell Jeffrey Whitmore about it first. So they
shower and change and head back to the park in Stump's truck to
meet with Jeffrey Whitmore.

"Samantha, Rance, come in!" says Jeffrey
"Didn't you two just return from your honeymoon this morning? What
on earth are you doing here?"

Samantha is so excited she can't sit still.
She says, "Jeffrey, we found the lost cave!"

Surprised, Jeffrey says, "What? You're
kidding me, aren't you?"

Samantha shakes her head and says, "No! We
found it. That little cave where we spent our honeymoon is part of
the original cave. At the back is a long crack that extends from
above the top of the cave past the bottom. It is a classic example
of an earthquake raising a section of rock. When we used a
flashlight to shine in the crack we could see the beam reflecting
off something metallic in the back. It's got to be the lost
cave!"

Jeffrey Whitmore smiles and says, "Well,
we'll definitely get someone in here to check it out. Are there
roads are anything that lead up to it? What is the best way to get
to it?"

Stump says, "By air. There are no roads or
even a trail that lead to it. You either have to hike up through
the woods, or drop in by air."

Jeffrey asks, "Will you be available to lead
a group of experts to the site? Is there anywhere for them to camp
up there?"

"As far as I know I will be able to lead them
to the location. Finding enough flat terrain to make a camp is
going to be impossible and the cave is only big enough for two and
even then it's very close quarters," replies Stump smiling at
Samantha.

"Hmmmm, maybe I need to make a trip up to the
cave myself so I can determine what we'll need. Are you busy this
afternoon? Can we go up to the location?"

"Sure, I'll call Scoot to pick us up here." A
half hour later Rance and Samantha are on their way back to the
cave in the helicopter with Scoot, Goose, and Jeffrey Whitmore.

As they hover above the location, Jeffrey
Whitmore says, "I see what you mean. This is going to take quite a
bit of money to even get to it. Can we get down to the cave so I
can see exactly what recovery will entail?"

Goose helps Stump, Samantha, and Jeffrey
Whitmore lower down on the cable. Stump shows Jeffry what he and
Samantha believe to be the lost cave. When Jeffrey shines the
flashlight into the crack he too can see it reflecting back off of
the metallic objects.

He says, "Well, Samantha, I'm quite sure you
are right and this is the lost cave. I would like verification of
that before we spend millions of dollars to open it up. What would
you suggest?"

Stump says, "We could check to see if there
is a camera small enough to slide in through the crack to see if we
can identify what is behind that slab of rock."

Jeffrey Whitmore smiles, "Excellent idea
Rance. Can your organization check into that for me? Once we know
for sure what is behind that rock, then we can make more informed
decisions. All right, I think I have seen all I need to. Let's fly
away."

Rance and Samantha share a secret smile. They
have flown away together from this cave many times over the last
few months.

Once they are back on board the helicopter
they discuss with Goose what they will need to access the hidden
treasure. Goose assures Jeffrey Whitmore they should be able to
have him answers in a few days.

******

Stump, Pinky and Goose spend the next several
days accessing the hidden treasure via camera. The first images
that they view of what is behind the slab of rock takes their
breath away.

Stump says, "Oh wow! That's unbelievable! I
can't wait until Samantha gets a look at these pictures! "

Goose says, "No wonder John Bracken was
willing to spend so much money to find this place! It looks like
thousands of different pieces in every size and shape!"

Pinky says, "Just wait until the world gets a
look at these pictures, this place will be crawling with treasure
hunters. That small cave contains more gold than Fort Knox!"

They take pictures from every possible angle
so that Jeffrey Whitmore can get a thorough understanding of what
has been found. Then they call Scoot to come and pick them up. When
they are all on board the helicopter, Goose says, "Scoot, you are
not going to believe what Samantha found. That place is
unbelievable!"

Pinky says, "I'll be honest, I am very
worried about what will happen when this find becomes public
knowledge. I'm afraid it will create the equivalent of the Gold
Rush."

Scoot asks, "Is there really that much of it,
I mean, that much gold?"

Stump says, "Yeah, probably more. Just wait
until you see the pictures. It's going to take an army to guard the
place."

Scoot asks, "Have you notified Jeffrey
Whitmore yet?"

Stump says, "No, I wanted to discuss it all
with you and Samantha first. I know we have to show him, but I
would like to have our recommendations lined out before we do.
Pinky's right, this is going to cause a huge influx of treasure
hunters."

When they land at the ranch, Stump calls
Samantha from the helipad to meet them at the office to review the
photographs. Samantha and Barry Farrady hurry across the ranch yard
to meet them. Samantha's heart is pounding with anticipation.

When Pinky brings the pictures up on the
computer screen, everyone sits silently as he pages through them
one by one.

Finally Samantha says, "Oh my! I never
dreamed the cave would contain so many different artifacts! What in
the world is going to happen now?"

Scoot says, "I can certainly understand your
concerns Pinky. This will definitely be a major news story and
people from all over the world are going to flock to the park
hoping to get a glimpse of it, maybe even a piece of it. Let's talk
about what we are going to recommend to Jeffrey Whitmore."

Pinky says, "I think we ought to forget
Samantha ever found the cave. That is the only way we're going to
be able to prevent a nightmare response."

Scoot responds, "That will probably work for
a while, but eventually someone else is going to stumble across it,
and they may not be as honest as we are."

Stump says, "If word gets out that Samantha
knows the location of that cave, she will be in grave danger. I
would rather we figure out how to get the stuff out of that cave
and moved to somewhere it will be protected."

Samantha interjects, "I agree with Stump. I
am really not comfortable knowing the location if it's kept secret.
I don't want to spend my whole life having to look over my shoulder
afraid someone is going to kidnap me again. I would virtually be a
prisoner on this ranch."

Scoot says, "All right, let's talk about the
best way to go about recovering the treasure."

Goose suggests, "I think we need to get
advice from someone in the oil well drilling business. They have
managed to drill oil wells miles below the ocean, this should be a
breeze for them."

Pinky adds, "Goose is right. It's going to
cost millions to build access roads. If they can drop the drilling
equipment on top of the mountain with a helicopter and only have to
build a platform or something to support it, it will cost a lot
less. Plus, it will prevent a lot of reporters from hanging around
the site during the recovery. We all know firsthand how persistent
those guys can be."

Barry interjects, "Let me throw an idea out
to you guys. What if we get a movie studio to film a documentary
about the recovery? They would foot most of the bill and it would
be a blockbuster at the box office. Of course, the park service
would have to agree. But once the movie is released any danger that
exists to Samantha would be neutralized."

Scoot says, "I like that idea Barry. I think
cost is going to be a major obstacle for the park service. This
recovery is unbudgeted, after all. A documentary shouldn't require
actors, just a narrator and cameraman. I'll present the idea to
Jeffrey Whitmore first thing tomorrow morning. Barry, you should
probably go with me. Stump, if you and Samantha want to go we'll
leave about nine. Jeffrey will probably have to get approval from
someone in Washington DC before he can agree to anything but I
think the documentary idea will fly."

******

At nine o'clock the next morning, Scoot,
Samantha, Stump, and Barry head to Yellowstone National Park to
meet with Jeffrey Whitmore. They are going to show him the pictures
of the hidden treasure and then present him with the documentary
idea for the recovery.

"Welcome Mr. Drake, Rance, Samantha, and I am
honored Mr. Farrady. What brings you all here this morning? Do you
have pictures of what's behind that rock for me?

Scoot says, "Mr. Whitmore, you probably
better have a seat. This is going to be quite shocking." He sets
the laptop on the table in front of Jeffrey Whitmore and opens the
file of pictures. He slowly pages through them.

Jeffrey Whitmore says, "Oh my goodness! I
never dreamed it would contain this much! Do you think all of this
solid gold?"

Stump says, "We don't have any way to know
for sure, but it looks that way."

Jeffrey asks, "What on earth are we going to
do with all of this? How will we protect it? It's going to cost a
fortune to recover and then we'll have to build a special vault to
protect it."

Barry interrupts, "Mr. Whitmore, I came this
morning because I want to propose a possible solution to at least
some of your issues. I feel sure I can arrange for one of the movie
studios from Los Angeles to finance the recovery of the artifacts
in return for being able to film and produce it as a
documentary."

Scoot interjects, "We believe the most cost
effective way to recover the artifacts will be to drill into the
cavern from above. We will need to partner with an oil drilling
company for their equipment and expertise. By drilling in from
above it should also help protect the gold during the recovery by
limiting access to the site."

Jeffrey Whitmore is staring at the computer
screen and then shakes his head and says, "I am just so shocked! I
like the documentary idea Mr. Farrady and you are probably right
about the cost effectiveness of drilling in from above, Mr. Drake.
I'll have to discuss all of this with my superiors in Washington DC
but I don't think we have very many options at this point. I have
one museum that is scheduled for remodeling this winter and we can
probably scrape together enough funds to install the vault during
the remodeling process. The snow will probably fly before the end
of next month so this whole recovery project will need to wait
until spring. Can you get the financing together by then, Mr.
Farrady?"

"That timing should be perfect Mr. Whitmore.
Please let me know as soon as you receive approval and I will
contact my associates in Los Angeles," replies Barry.

******

So, life returned to normal at the Rock
Springs Ranch. Samantha Wells Kincaid returned to her job as a park
ranger at Yellowstone National Park and the Drake Security team
moved on to their next assignment.

Rance and Samantha moved into their new home
just in time for Christmas. On their first night in the house,
Rance builds a crackling fire in the fireplace in the master
bedroom and pulls Samantha down on the bear skin rug where he makes
slow sweet love to her.