Of My Eyes

Of My Eyes Part 3

Digging deeper into the archives, I was able to locate a rough map of the tunnels that were opened up when the mine was in production.
I also managed to find a surveyor's map of the town and its outlying area.
Overlaying the surveyors map with that of the tunnel system, I discovered that the tunnels did indeed run near the house.
While the maps weren't a perfect match, it was clear that the crew that drilled our well most likely broke through to the old mine tunnel.

Ok, now that I have this information, what am I to do with it?
My first thought was that I needed to visit the tunnels in question.
My second thought: I must be crazy if I thought I was going to go spelunking in an abandoned mine.
I have no experience whatsoever in this.
The closest I came was a visit to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky years ago.

Before leaving the library, I did two things. First, I made photocopies of both maps to study before I did something really stupid like going into a closed mine system.
Second, I did a search on the internet for any company nearby that might have some experience in mining, and for that matter, anyone who had been in that mine.
Due to the fact that there was a history of mining in this area, there were three companies nearby that had people experienced in mine exploration.

Packing up my papers, I went home to make some calls to the closest company to see if they had any information about the mine on my property.
I couldn't very well tell them that I was looking for creatures that might inhabit the mines in question.
The story I came up with was that I was a writer doing research on a book about the civil war period and the mining industry that sprung up to support the war effort.

Unfortunately, the first company I spoke to was relativity new to this area and had no knowledge of the tunnel system I inquired about.
Along with that, they were primarily a drilling company, without any experienced tunnel surveyors, explaining to me that a tunnel surveyors was a very specialized skill.
My second call failed to turn up any help also, however, three times a charm, so they say.

The company that was last on my list was "James & Sons."
I ended up talking with Thomas James, grandson of the founder.
They have been in business since 1910 and had a series of maps covering the mine in question.
They were hired twenty years ago to do a survey of the tunnels of this mine and to see if there was any value in reopening the mine.
The newest methods of extracting valuable materials from ore might make reopening this mine profitable.

Thomas was the first person into the mine after they unsealed the entrance.
Tom, as I was asked to call him, told me that the first thing they did when he opened the entrance was to install giant air handling equipment to vent any unhealthy gases from the mine while supplying fresh air to anyone who was going to enter.

Two days later, they made their first attempt to enter after their test equipment indicated that there were no dangerous gases detected.
Tom was a very cautious person; one of the things they did was bring in a giant reel of nylon rope and a bag of sidewalk chalk, the kind that kids use to draw with.
Along with the rope, they would mark the directions they had gone, as well as the way back to the entrance.

I was reluctant to ask him if he had seen or encountered anything odd or unusual while he was exploring.
I didn't want him to feel that I was there under false pretenses and was not doing research pertaining to the topic of my book.
During our conversation, I asked him if there was a chance that he would give me a tour of the tunnels while under his guidance.

Tom was reluctant at first, citing the cost of setting up the air handling gear as well as the logistics of getting everything in place.
When he informed me what the cost would be, I was surprised by the figure he quoted.
The total was well within my budget, and after informing him that I was willing to go ahead with this project, we set up a time to meet.
In the end, Tom gave me directions to the mine entrance and said that he would meet me there the next morning.
Now that I had a plan in place, my mind was beginning to relax from the constant worrying about what I was going to do.

Checking my watch, I decided to pick the girls up from school rather than have the bus bring them home.
I stood outside the school while waiting for the girls, during that time I had the opportunity to chat with their homeroom teacher, Julie Marks.
Miss Marks, hovering somewhere around 5 ft tall, with black hair that fell to her shoulders.
Her looks were of a nature that you were drawn into the gleam that resided in her eyes when she spoke, how it made her light up.
When she found out I was the girls father, she spent long minutes gushing about both girls and how well they had adjusted to their new school, as well as how they were doing in class.

While it was a bit early for report cards to be sent home with them, Julie told me that they were doing well and there was no need for concern.
Julie also thanked me for being such a hands-on parent; she applauded me for spending extra time tutoring them in their math and science classes.

In the midst of our chat, there came the sound of rolling thunder that could only mean that the girls were headed this way.
This premise was proven true seconds later when they ran full speed into me while wrapping their arms around my torso, dragging me to the grass below, while laughing their heads off at my discomfort.
Their laughter was contagious because Julie was doubled over laughing at my predicament.
With great effort, I peeled the girls Velcro like adherence away from my broken down body while attempting to herd them into the car.
This was far easier said than done, the girls insisted that they say goodbye to each and every one of their classmates.

Once in the car I headed into town, this was not unnoticed by the girls, who wanted to know where we were going.
Keeping my mouth shut, they badgered me all the way into town.
This treatment ended only when they saw
me pull up in front of the ice cream shop.
Next came the clapping and the cheering, along with a thousand kisses thanking me for the special treat.

While I had the girls in a good mood, I began to explain to them what I had been doing all morning.
My idea was to turn this into a grand adventure, thereby turning their fears into a search for the answers.
Over the next thirty minutes, I explained my reasoning about the fact that whatever these things were, they had not caused anyone any harm.
At the worst, I just freaked out some people who didn't have a single adventurous bone in their body.

I knew that this approach would intrigue them, one thing the girls loved was a good adventure.
They loved exploring the area around the house and would often bring back things they wanted to study or learn more about.
By the end of my dissertation, they were eating up the idea, I had turned their fears into rabid curiosity.
When they learned that there were tunnels that needed exploring, they began listing all the things we would need to go on the expedition.

At this point, I didn't have the heart to tell them that they would not be allowed to go into the tunnels with me and Mr. James.
I figured that when the time came, I would find a way to break the bad news to them.