Legend of the Lost Read online

  Alex was so relieved to see Cindy that he didn’t want to turn her loose. “My foot is pinned by the block of gold that I pried from the wall,” he said as calmly as he could.

  “Oh, my! Is your foot broken?” Cindy quickly pulled away from his embrace to check his foot.

  “No, it isn’t hurt, but I can’t move it.”

  “Maybe I can move the block enough to free your foot.”

  “I doubt it, but if we both try, maybe we can move it a little.”

  They each took a gasp of air, held their breaths, and stuck their heads in the water. They pulled and pushed on the heavy block, but they couldn’t budge it.

  “It’s no use, Cindy. You’re going to have to get a pry pole to use as a lever.”

  “If the pole is big enough to move that block, it will be hard to pull underwater.

  How will I get it through the tunnel?” Cindy gazed at the amazing sight that lay before her. “Alex, this is beautiful! So this is the City of Cibola.” She quickly turned to Alex. “But we must get you loose. Look, Alex, light is coming through that opening right over your head. Maybe if I follow the light, I’ll find an opening large enough to get a pole through.”

  “It’s worth a try, but please be careful. Don’t disturb the rocks and cause them to fall, and don’t get yourself caught in a tight passageway somewhere. No one would ever find us.”

  “If you can lift me high enough, I can probably crawl through that narrow passageway and get to the opening that the light is coming through.”

  “I think you can reach the ledge if you stand on my shoulders.”

  Holding onto Alex’s hand, Cindy climbed up on his shoulders. “That’s enough,” she said as she braced herself. “I can step on the ledge from here. The outside opening is about ten feet farther up. I may have to enlarge the opening a little to crawl through.”

  “Don’t forget that the walls of that canyon are steep, so don’t hurt yourself.”

  “Okay, don’t worry. If I can find a proper pole, I’ll be right back.”

  Cindy clambered through the hole and disappeared. Alex heard her scrambling over the rocks, but when the sounds stopped, the quiet was disturbing. Then he heard the angry voices grumbling again. From where is it coming? Who is it? He surveyed the hundreds of gold blocks surrounding him. The cave held a wealth beyond description, but it was obvious that it couldn’t be removed easily.

  * * *

  The opening was so small that Cindy had to move a few rocks to crawl through. When she got out, she looked around and realized that she was on the opposite side of the lake. Only a few feet away, she saw what appeared to be an animal trail. She followed the trail and came upon a wooded area where she found a fallen tree branch. The branch was heavy, but after pulling away the smaller branches, she was able to drag it.

  Unexpectedly, and out of nowhere, a moaning echoed through the canyon, and she heard voices. Although she didn’t see anyone and couldn’t understand what they were saying, they surely sounded angry, and it frightened her. She remembered her mother saying that the voices were only wind in the trees, but no wind was blowing. A shiver ran up her spine. What can that be? she wondered. She hurried back to the opening and carefully lowered the pole into the hole.

  “Alex, watch out for the pole!” Cindy called out.

  “Okay, I’ve got it! Good job, Cindy, this might do the trick.”

  Cindy lowered herself into the cave. She wanted to tell Alex about the voices, but first she had to help him free his foot.

  “Is this strong enough?” she asked.

  “It looks strong enough. If you’ll roll me a rock, I’ll place it by the wall to use as a fulcrum.”

  Alex had to maneuver to make room for the pole. “Now, Cindy, if you’ll place the end of the pole against the block while I place this rock under the pole to give you leverage, and then if you’ll push down on the end of the pole, I think I can work my foot loose.”

  Cindy didn’t really understand the lever principle, but after a couple of tries she got the hang of it.

  “There, it worked!” Alex exclaimed with immense relief as he shook his foot loose. “Let’s make sure the rope is tied securely. The tie looks good, so if you’ll follow the rope through the tunnel to the surface, I’ll follow you.”

  They popped up to the surface at the same time, then scrambled to the basket, and began filling it with rocks. When the basket was about full, the rope began moving through the pulley. With one more rock, the pulley rolled steadily, and in no time, the gold block came to the surface, and it didn’t stop moving until Alex removed a rock from the basket. The balance between the basket of rocks and the gold block was perfect.

  “Well, we’ve got it. Now what do we do with it?” Cindy asked.

  “We can’t do anything with it right now. I’ve got to get you home. Your mother will be worried, and I’ve got to do the evening chores. But before we go, we’ve got to hide this gold block.”

  Cindy pointed to a hole near the tree. “Since the gold is balanced by the basket of rocks, we can move it easily, and that hole would be a perfect place to hide it. We can push the gold into the hole, and then cover it with the rocks in the basket.”

  “That’s a great idea!” Alex said as he moved the block into the hole. “That will free the ropes, so we can use them to get back down to the pond.”

  With the block securely hidden, Alex made a seat for Cindy by wrapping the rope around her legs and then tying it around her waist. Pointing over the cliff, he said, “You go first. I’ll leave this end tied to the tree and make sure you get down safely.”

  Cindy looked over the cliff. The pond at the base of the waterfall looked small and far away.

  “Hold onto the rope with your hands, Cindy, and push away from the cliff with your feet. You can’t fall; the rope is tied to your waist. I’ll lower you down, and then when you get to the bottom, untie the rope so I can use it.”

  Cindy scraped her knee on the way down. It didn’t hurt much, so she untied the rope and called up to Alex. “I’m down! Come on when you’re ready.”

  Alex was down in no time and found Cindy examining the scratch on her leg. he looked to see how badly she was hurt. It was bleeding a little, so he washed her leg in the stream and dried it with his shirt. Her leg felt soft and warm, and it created a startling response. They quickly stood up, and Alex kissed her. Cindy felt Alex’s firmness as he pressed his body tightly to hers, and she clung to him for a moment, and then a little embarrassed, she pushed him away, turned, and started down the trail. Before Alex could follow, he noticed the broken piece of gold Cindy had placed in his back pocket, so he quickly buried it at the base of the cliff rather than take the chance of losing it or having to explaining how he found it.

  * * *

  It took them about fifteen minutes to get home, which should have been enough time to regain their composure after experiencing a sexual feeling unknown to them both. Tingling sensations deep inside caused Cindy’s face to turn beet red.

  Their mothers were sitting on the porch quilting. They took one look at Cindy, exchanged glances, and smiled. Cindy knew that they sensed that something had changed between her and Alex. Marian’s suspecting something, was going make it difficult to be alone with Alex from now on. Alex, however, noticed nothing. He said, “Good-bye, Cindy, see you tomorrow,” waved at the women, and hurried off to do his chores.

  * * *

  Alex usually read for a couple of hours before going to sleep, but tonight, he had to figure out how to change the gold blocks into coins so that they could be used as money. He couldn’t get Cindy off his mind. All he could think about was how good she felt when he kissed her, and he wondered if she had enjoyed the kiss as much as he did.

  Cindy’s night was different also. Her mother hugged her a little tighter than usual and asked if she would like to sit in the porch swing for a while and talk. They loved to sit in the swing and listen to the whippoorwill.

  They sat quietly for a while, and
then her mother asked, “How did your day go? Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

  So many things had happened that she didn’t know where to start—the lioness had attacked her, she and Alex had climbed the wall of the canyon, and they had found the gold hidden in the cave at the bottom of the lake, and then Alex had kissed her. She couldn’t tell her mother about scaling the canyon wall, she couldn’t tell her about the gold, and she sure didn’t want to tell her about Alex kissing her, so she told her about the lioness.

  “Where was Alex when the lioness attacked?”

  “He had come back to the barn to get something, but when he returned he chased the lioness away. It was a little frightening, but it turned out all right. Afterwards, we were enjoying the swim so much that the time slipped by without our noticing. I’m sorry we came home late. We’ll watch the time a little better in the future.”

  “Cindy! That lioness could have killed you! Thank God Alex returned when he did. Don’t ever allow yourself to be alone in that canyon again. You’re a young woman now, and things can happen to a young woman when she’s alone. I’m proud of Alex, and I know you must be, too. That was a brave thing he did. How did you show your appreciation?”

  Cindy realized she was being interrogated and resented it.

  “What do you mean? I said thank you, of course. Alex has protected me all my life. he didn’t expect me to reward him in some way.”

  “Did anything different happen between you and Alex today?”

  The darkness was a blessing. She was thinking about Alex examining her leg and knew she was blushing. She didn’t know how to answer, so she asked, “Why do you think something happened?”

  “Cindy, I’m your mother. Women can tell. Something was different between you and Alex when you returned. Both Eva and I saw it in your eyes as you watched Alex walk away. If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand, but if you ever do, let me know. Women are kind of scarce in these parts, and there are a lot of men who will see you differently now that you’re grown up. How you respond to their inquiring looks is important, both to you and to them.”

  Marian got up from the swing. “Let’s go to bed now; your father will be waiting. I could tell by the way he looked at me while I was making supper that he needs me tonight. You’ll soon learn that men have needs that only a woman can fill.”

  Her mother’s sharing something that personal was a bit shocking. Cindy kept thinking about it as she prepared for bed. Although she was physically and emotionally exhausted, she had trouble going to sleep. Her mind was churning. Finding gold was exciting, but somehow Alex kissing her was all she could think about. His kiss had caused a warm glow deep inside her, and as a farm girl, she had seen animals mating and understood what was going on. When he kissed her and held her, her body reacted in ways she couldn’t explain. Maybe she did need someone to talk to, but not her own mother. That would be too embarrassing.

  Cindy laid awake wondering what Alex would do next, and how should she react if he wanted to do more than kiss? She liked the way she felt when he kissed her and didn’t want him to stop. She had had her first period several months ago, so she could get pregnant. Of course, their parents would have a fit, but she had fallen in love with Alex. The events of the day flashed through her mind. The adventure of climbing the cliff, and then finding the gold, were the most exciting things we have ever done. The gold will make it possible for our parents to buy their land. I heard angry voices when I went into the woods. Maybe we should have listened to Talking Drum, but if we had, we wouldn’t have the gold. Oh, it’s all so confusing. She tossed and turned. It doesn’t matter now. We already have the gold, and if we can turn it into coins, our parents can use it as money. I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but Alex is smart and he’ll find a way. With her mind more at ease, she fell asleep.

  * * *

  Alex got up early to harvest hay. Harvesting hay was nothing new—he had done it ever since he was a boy— but today was different. Today he had other things on his mind. he had a lot to do before nightfall, and he had to figure out what to do with the gold.

  Tonight he would talk to Cindy. he knew that she wouldn’t tell him what she had thought about the kiss, but she might tell him if there was any trouble between her and her mother.

  The way Alex’s mother looked at him at the supper table gave him the feeling that she knew something. She didn’t seem angry—perhaps proud, and maybe a little concerned. Alex’s father was a big man, firm in manner, but he was kind and loving,

  so he sat quietly doing his bookkeeping.

  Chapter 2

  While Alex and his father were harvesting hay, Alex kept thinking of ways to turn the gold into money. He remembered the gold coin that Talking Drum said his ancestors found in the dry cave. Alex and his father had spent hours searching the dry cave for more coins without success. They did, however, find a tunnel that extended farther back, but the cave was too small for a person to slip through, so they didn’t go any further.

  Alex was impatient to get the haying done so that he could see Talking Drum and ask him if he could borrow the coin. Alex was sure that by heating clay, he could make a mold large enough to make a hundred coins at one pouring. He and Cindy could pretend to have found the coins in the dry cave and then give the coins to their parents so they could buy their land. As owners of the land, they could keep ranchers’ cattle from wandering in and destroying their crops. The way it was now, there was nothing they could do. Although Vard was good with guns, he didn’t want to cause trouble and wouldn’t use force.

  Vard had a blacksmith shop on the farm, and Alex had learned the trade. So Alex had all of the knowledge and tools he needed to melt the gold and make the coins. Having molded lead before, he knew he could mold gold the same way—it would just take a hotter fire.

  If he and Cindy had everything ready, they could turn the gold block into coins while their parents went into town to buy supplies.

  First, he had to borrow the coin from Talking Drum and then get pack mules to haul the gold block to the blacksmith shop. The block would have to be cut into smaller pieces, and then he and Cindy would have to mold the coins and hide them in the dry cave. But before they could do all that, he had to enlarge the small opening in back of the cave. If they buried the coins in the dry cave, their story of finding the coins would be believable. Tonight he would talk to Cindy and arrange for her help.

  Besides, he had to know how she felt about being kissed. He wanted to kiss her again—even thinking about her caused him to have trouble going to sleep.

  * * *

  Alex and his father harvested hay until mid-afternoon, and then it started to rain. Alex took advantage of the rain and rode over to the Indian village. When he got there, his old playmates, Gray Wolf and Soaring Eagle, thought he had come to see them. He had to explain that he needed to speak to their medicine man.

  Talking Drum was sitting with two elders. Alex didn’t want to interrupt, so he stood and waited. After a moment, the medicine man looked up at Alex, patted the ground beside him, and said, “Sit, young warrior.”

  It was an honor to sit with the elders. Indians never discussed business right away, so he talked about the rain and about the vanishing buffalo, while he chewed on the piece of jerky they had given him.

  It was customary for a visitor to bring gifts, so Alex gave each of them a cartridge from his gun belt. The Indians had no guns, but they could use the gunpowder to build a quick fire.

  Finally, Alex asked to see the gold coin. Talking Drum went into his tent and returned with the coin inside a decorated leather pouch, which he handed to Alex. The coin wasn’t like other coins in that it had no engraving—it was a gold disk with what appeared to be a mountain design on it.

  "May I borrow this coin?” Alex asked. “I promise to return it in three days.”

  Since Talking Drum knew that white men placed great value on gold, he hesitated. The coin had been in their tribe for generations, and to them
it was sacred.

  “Why do you need the coin?” Talking Drum asked while looking intently at Alex.

  “I want to make copies of it,” Alex replied. “I’ll give the original back to you, and then I’ll give each of you a copy.”

  “If you make copies, how can I be sure you’ll give me back the original?”

  “You can watch me make the coins if you want, but you must swear to never tell anyone what you saw. If you promise not to tell, I’ll give you my father’s long knife to hold as security until I return the coin.”

  The elders had seen the sword and believed it to have strong medicine. Alex saw that they were wavering. “I’ll bring the long knife with me when I come back tomorrow to pick up the coin.”

  Talking Drum spoke. “Young warrior always speaks truth. We’ll let you use the coin, but you must remember to return it in three days.”

  “It is agreed,” Alex said as he rose to his feet. he took each host’s hand, looked straight into their eyes, and bowed. The meeting was over, and he walked away feeling good about having accomplished his mission.