CHAPTER NINETEEN
When they’d gone, Howard speared Jake with a look. “Now what was this you wanted to tell me that was so important, Son?”
Jake met Penny’s gaze then his father’s. “Not me, Dad. Penny has something to share with you. Give her a chance to finish before you pass judgment.”
Howard stared at her as if he expected her to confess to murder and burying bodies. “Go ahead, Young Lady.”
“Don’t scoff until you’ve heard all I have to say, please.” Penny took a deep breath and launched into her tale.
Howard’s eyes grew round as dinner plates. By the time she’d finished, he’d leaned back in his chair and looked from her to his son. “You believe this fairy tale?”
Jake glanced at Penny then nodded at his father. “Dad, this is hard to wrap your head around but I know it’s true. Come with us and I’ll show you where the land grant was hidden. You can’t deny that was a surprise.”
“No, you have me there.” He stood. “All right, lead the way.”
Sally tossed her apron on a chair. “I’m coming too.”
In her room, Penny opened the secret place at the side of the mantel. “Jake, you’d better put the land grant back in here.”
He did as she asked.
Howard examined the fireplace and mantel. “How do you know there’s not another safe on this side?”
Penny and Jake exchanged glances. Carefully, Jake explored the identical area opposite where Penny had shown him her safe.
“Looks as if there might be something here.” Jake opened his pocket knife and cut through the layers of paint. “Penny, you know how the other spring works. Would you see if there’s one here.”
She touched the place where she thought a trigger would be. A door sprang open. “Well, I’ll be hornswoggled. I never suspected that was there. Reckon the same key works?”
After pulling out her key, she tried the lock. Sure enough, the key unlocked the second door.
Jake leaned over her shoulder. “What’s in there?”
She reached into the safe and extracted a box. “This was Daddy’s all right and it’s heavy.”
She opened the lid. “Silver? Heavens, look at this gold bar. No wonder the box weighs so much.”
Penny took a small notebook from the box and opened it. “This is Daddy’s writing.” She sat on the bed and read, happier to have something from her father than to find the minerals.
Jake stood in front of her. “Penny, what does it say? Where did he get the silver and gold?”
She thumbed through the book. “I’ll skip to the last pages and read what he’s written there. ‘I’m sure I’ve found a huge silver and gold horde. I have a theory about where it came from and know the treasure is valuable.’
Later on he says, ‘Someone is watching me. I feel the prickles on my neck. I reckon it’s my worthless nephew Charlie. Knowing how greedy he is causes me worry. I sure don’t want Penny caught up in a struggle for riches. I don’t aim to do anything with the treasure until I figure what is safest for Penny and me.’ That’s the last entry.”
She couldn’t stop tears from flowing. “My daddy’s last thoughts were of protecting me. I reckon he didn’t fall after all. That rotten Charlie must have killed him with that rock.”
Jake handed her a handkerchief. “I’m sorry, Penny. Now we know why Miller wanted this ranch. He knows about the treasure. Does your father say how to find the place?”
She sniffed and nodded. “He drew a map. I reckon we can find it easy enough.”
Howard said, “Wrong place for Bowie’s treasure, but not for the Old El Paso Trail cache.”
Jake shook his head. “You told me that was just a myth. Do you remember when Bart and I got shovels and were digging holes everywhere?”
His father chuckled. “Do I ever? Like to have broken a leg from stepping into one. Made you fill them all in, didn’t I?”
Penny glanced up from the notebook. “Daddy told me it was a legend, too, and that there wasn’t a speck of truth to it.”
Howard waved a hand dismissively. “Maybe it’s more than a myth. After what I’ve heard today, I wouldn’t discount anything, including leprechauns and fairies.”
Jake rubbed at his jaw. “Makes you wonder. We’ve driven and ridden and walked over every inch of this ranch. How could we have missed a hiding place large enough to hold what’s supposed to be in the treasure?”
Penny looked exasperated. “Well, are we gonna stand around jawing or are we gonna go look for the treasure?”
Howard bowed to her. “You’ve got the map, Little Lady. You lead the way.”
With Penny holding the directions, they filed down the stairs and out of the house.
She peered closely at the map. “He says it’s within walking distance. Looks like he’s leading us to the other side of the cemetery.”
Sally said, “That’s a good place to bury something.”
Jake held out an arm to stop them. “Shouldn’t we take shovels?”
Howard said, “Durn tootin’. Good thinking, Son. Let’s go by the barn and grab a couple plus flashlights, rope, whatever else we see that might be handy to have.”
When they had equipped themselves, they followed Penny past the cemetery. Rascal must have sensed an adventure because he dashed in circles around them.
She stopped at the top of the rise and turned around as if lost. “From his map, I’d say we’re right on the spot but I don’t see an opening. Reckon how he concealed it?”
“Danged if I know.” Jake leaned on his shovel. “Let’s split up and walk like they do on those TV crime shows.”
Four feet apart, they walked carefully down the rise toward the river. A curious calf came to see what they were doing. His mother bawled for him and he went scampering to her.
Three-fourths of the way down, Howard stopped. “Over here. I don’t remember this being here but it sure looks a likely place.”
The other three rushed over to see what Howard had found. Under a large live oak tree, roots extended like a grille over an opening partially hidden by a spreading prickly pear cactus.
Jake bent to examine the space. “Don’t imagine the tree was here a hundred and twenty years ago nor was that cactus. I guess the opening would have been more prominent. Maybe the ground settled some with rains and floods after all these years.”
While he spoke, Jake used his shovel to break off pads of the cactus then hacked at the tree roots until there was an opening wide enough to enter.
“Let me go first and make sure it’s safe.” He used the shovel to push his way into the maw.
Once Jake was inside, Howard prepared to follow.
Jake called, “I can stand up now. This doesn’t look very stable. Penny and Sally, please stay outside in case this caves in on us.”
Howard looked back at the women and rolled his eyes. “That’s real encouraging. Protect the women but it’s all right to endanger good old Dad.” He pushed through the opening.
Penny hugged her arms. “This scares me. I remember finding Daddy right over there.” She pointed about twenty yards above them.
“You really believe your cousin killed him?”
“I’m sure of it now. He was in good shape and only fifty-two. Molly and I couldn’t understand how he could have fallen hard enough to kill himself. Charlie insisted he probably had a heart attack and that was why he fell.” She swiped at tears on her face.
“If your cousin was like his descendant we met today, I can believe he would have killed for a lot less than this treasure. Assuming there really is a treasure.”
“It would fit. Here’s a newspaper clipping Daddy stuck in his notebook.
“Old El Paso Trail Treasure
When Spanish priests and conquistadors found a large amount of gold and silver to be mined inside what is now known as Enchanted Rock, they set up a presidio and employed local Apache and the few remaining Tonkawa Indians to mine the ore. Once Comanche moved into the area and mining became too dangerous to continue operations, the Spaniards hauled smelted bars of both of the precious metals by wagon to join the road to El Paso and planned to continue on to Mexico City. Near the Medina River, they feared they were going to be overcome so they buried the treasure and escaped toward Mexico. There is no record of the burial location. Only one padre reached Mexico. He reported that his companions were killed by the Comanche and he could not identify the spot where their precious metals were hidden.”
Sally read the piece and gave it back to Penny. “Well, I swan, I never dreamed that was more than a tall tale. There are so many stories of lost treasure and buried robbers’ cash and what have you. I always thought if there was any truth to them the loot had been dug up by now. I figured whoever found them had kept quiet and the money was long gone.”
That sounded reasonable to Penny. “Letting people know you’d found the treasure would be kind of dangerous, wouldn’t it? What will we do about this if it pans out to be real?”
Sally appeared sad. “I don’t have any right to express an opinion on that subject.”
“Of course you do. You’re a part of the family even if you’re not blood kin. Jake told me you’ve been like a mother to him, much more than his real mother. I can tell Jake and Bart and Caleb all love you.”
“I know they do and I love them, but I’m not their kin. Looks like I never will be.”
Realization hit Penny like a blow. “Sally Rogers, you’re in love with Howard.”
Sally wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Have been for twenty years. You see how much good it does. I don’t think he knows I’m around unless he’s hungry. That man loves my cooking.”
Penny hugged the other woman. “Have you ever let him know how you feel?”
Sally shook her head. “Not in so many words. You’d think the man would have caught on by now, though.”
“You can’t be subtle with that man. I can tell that from only knowing him a few hours. We have to come up with a plan.”