Voices From Within (Book 2)

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-One

Bags of Gold

The next morning was warm, and the snow was melting. Roman was up early with the buckboard backed up to the hog barn. The boys from the barn helped to catch and select the healthiest pigs, making sure they only load one boar and the rest females.

The sows raised a ruckus in the yard as they walked around, snorting at the intruders. They placed the pigs on the new wagon bed with a few scoops of corn tossed in to keep them content.

The trunks were set on the end and covered with a tarp. The two teams of horses were harnessed and ready to go. When Roman and Talia said their goodbyes, they could hear the pigs squealing as they fought over the food.

"I hope we don't have to listen to that all the way home," said Talia.

"Don't worry, lass. Once we are on the road, they will settle down."

.The young couple waved as they left the yard, and the pigs could be heard all the way down the driveway, making everyone laugh.

When Roman left, Reggie went to his room and gathered his supplies. He grabbed a lantern and matches, along with a hammer and a chisel that he put in his saddlebags. Edith had packed him a lunch for the day, and he filled his canteen.

"Rupert, I am going over to Ivan's. I'll be back before dark."

Rupert looked at him with curiosity, but he saw the determined look on his face, and it added to his worries. Reggie rode his horse, Jack, out to the back pasture, followed the path to the river, and crossed the bridge onto his land. He followed the path that cattle took, which was trampled down and melting.

He rode to the wooded area and then looked at the map. It showed the path from the other direction. He wound his way, looking for a path as he headed towards the rock outcropping.

When he came to the point of the rock, he dismounted and tied the horse to a tree branch. For the next half hour, he walked around the rock face and tried to match the drawing to the landscape. Finally, he walked closer, looking at the ground for worn spots. He had walked by the opening that was covered by brush.

He pulled back the bush, and he saw the narrow opening. He lit the lantern and slid through the opening. When he entered, he held up the light and followed the tunnel until he came to a wooden frame bracing up the opening. He moved the blanket and stepped through the opening. There were several well-worn steps that led down to a cavern.

There it was. A gold mine. The cavern had Ivan's touch everywhere he looked. The water came out of the rock and dripped onto a canvas tarp. In the middle of the tarp, there was a small mound of gold dust. Ivan had built up the settling pool, and the water ran out a pipe and the water from there continued into the underground channels to the river.

The water dripped from icicles today as melting was taking place above ground. He held up his light and examined the walls and ceilings. The gold veins had long, stretched finger veins, and Ivan had chiseled out several small tails of the vein.

He had built an adjustable table with a drape of canvas over the top to catch what he chiseled off the wall. A hammer and an overused chisel laid in the tray. There were pie tins for sifting and leather bags neatly stacked on the shelves of wooden boxes. A milking stool sat near one of the rock walls.

Reggie tried filling the leather bag with the gold dust that laid in the first tarp, hoping the water would bring more flakes down this spring. He scooped and spooned in the dust until it was full. He pulled it tight and filled a second bag.