It was early morning and the air was cool with a slight breeze. Far below, the rolling hills and ravines looked small and serene, devoid of life... but wait, what is that movement two ravines left of where I was looking.
They looked like people walking around - I need my field glass to get a better look. Yes, they are people and they are carrying something from that hill to a smaller hill farther away. I cannot see where they are coming from because a larger hill is blocking my view, but I can clearly see the smaller hill where they are going into. When they come out, they are not carrying anything. Together, they head back toward the hill that I cannot see and another group passes them carrying something toward the smaller hill. I wonder why they would be out here miles from nowhere. Gold? Treasure? They must have found a cache of gold treasure and are moving the treasure to another location.
I watch them all day until darkness makes it impossible to see. Let's see, this many men and they are divided into two groups. They made this many trips... that figures to be about 1,500. I sit there in the darkness for another hour but I see no light or campfire. They must have gone inside a cave in that hill that I cannot see and made their fires for fear of being seen. I must come back here tomorrow.
Early the next morning, I return to the spot I had watched them from, but I see no movement. I sit there for four hours and still no movement. They could have left the area sometime during the night. I'll go down there to have a look around. Arriving at the location, I remain hidden for some time.
I hear no sounds of movement or talking. I decide to make my way to where I saw the men carrying something from. There were no signs of foot traffic in the direction that I saw them coming from. I decide to head to the other hill where I saw them carry something into. It too had a pile of rocks where the entrance must have been. I make a mental note of the location and leave the area for fear that they could have left someone to watch for intruders.
I return day after day to my mountain vantage point, but I see no movement below. After a month, I return two times a week. Six months past, then twelve and by this time, due to my age, I am barely able to make the climb to the top of the mountain. I need to make another trip down below to see if they came back when I was not on top of the mountain. Should I tell someone or say nothing? Who can I trust? I decide to say nothing.
It has been several years now and time is getting short for me. I must tell my trusted friend and together we will go to the location of the stored cache. My mind is still clear and I have no problem finding the hill. I tell my friend to wait near the vehicle while I look around. I inspect the piled rocks covering the entrance and they look undisturbed. A mesquite tree had grown on top of the rock pile. It doesn't look like anyone has returned to this area. Could they all be dead, by now? Did they kill each other because of greed?
It is now 1997 and we are taken to the area. Arriving on top of the hill and using our device, we quickly locate the chamber with four rows of gold bars and one row of gold nuggets, and three dead bodies (skeletons). Each row is approximately 10 feet in length and 1 1/2 feet in width. The entrance is at the bottom of the hill and the mesquite tree is still there. For now, we will leave this alone until our schedule permits us to return to dig.
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