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As they followed the well-worn trail, Connie enjoyed pointing out various caterpillars, mosses and mushrooms to Maddock, while Nelli asked Bones about the places he’d visited.
Eventually, the four reached the trail’s end. After taking some selfies and a timed snapshot photo with Nelli’s cell phone, Bones and Nelli explored the waterfall streaming down from a fissure between the rocks, splashing onto a flat boulder, while Maddock looked back the direction from which they’d arrived. Connie moved to stand next to him.
“If you look at it from just the right angle,” Maddock said, “everything looks pristine.”
“Most people like the waterfall better,” she said, “but I agree with you. This view is one of the best, even better when the sun is shining down.”
Maddock crossed his arms, looking up at the gloomy sky. “You know a lot about this park, and the surrounding area?”
Connie stared down into the shallow, grit and pebble-filled stream flowing from the falls. “Some. More than most visitors. Less than a lot of the locals.”
“But you never heard anything about a treasure?”
She looked up at Maddock, one eye squinted. “Not until Nelli found that journal entry. What’s your deal, anyway? Are you two as crazy as my sister?”
“Just a couple retired Navy SEALs, always looking for a little adventure.”
She smirked. “That’s why you two took down Derek and his friends so easily. For a second, I was kind of worried for your safety.”
Maddock laughed.
“So,” Connie said, “are you and Bones rich from your all treasure hunts?”
“No. Sorry to disappoint you, we’re not rich. Interesting to be around, sometimes, but not rich.” His face turned serious. “There are more important things in life than money.”
It was her turn to laugh. “I already figured that one out, or I wouldn’t be studying Natural Resources.” She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder. “Nelli, I’m not so sure. Heck, when she finds out Bones doesn’t spend his nights rolling around on a pile of doubloons, she might not find him so interesting.”
Bones glanced over his shoulder at Maddock and Connie, having caught some of the conversation. He looked like he was about to say something, but Maddock caught his eye and waved him off.
“So,” Maddock asked Connie, “where would you recommend we visit next?”
Without hesitation, she said, “Rock House.”
“Awesome,” Bones interjected. “If it’s anything like the Hard Rock Café, I’m all over it.”
––––––––
The trail leading down to Rock House was a narrow dirt path. Erosion and the roots of the maple trees that lined the path made the way perilous. Chipmunks skittered about and a few birds flew from tree to tree.
“The trail going out is better,” Connie said to Maddock. “And Rock House itself is pretty neat, right Nelli?”
A few yards ahead of them, Nelli was too engrossed in another of Bones’ tales, this one about him and Maddock scuba diving in some of Oak Island’s water-filled shafts and tunnels, to even hear a word her sister said.
“Keep an eye on my sister,” Connie whispered. “Before we climb up into the cave, it’s likely that for some reason unbeknownst to her, one or more of her shirt’s buttons will mysteriously become unbuttoned.”
Maddock chuckled. “That won’t bother Bones one bit.”
“I had a feeling.”
After climbing a set of carved stone stairs and making a short hike along a rim trail, the four reached Rock House. The layered sandstone was a faded yellow, mixed with grays and reds, many places covered by a thin layer of green moss. Climbing up and through one of the wide fissures in the Black Hand sandstone wall was easy enough. Nevertheless Bones helped boost Nelli up one of the high steps in. Maddock offered to help Connie. She just rolled her eyes and waved him off.
The cave inside had a high ceiling, about twenty five feet, hidden in shadowed darkness. East and west ends of the cave, spanning almost seventy yards between, each had a large opening that led to steep drops. There were several smaller openings along the north wall, which faced out above the rim trail. Since the cave was only about ten yards deep, the openings provided ample light, even on the cloudy day.
Rock House’s floor was damp and worn, with a few shallow puddles. Three couples and a family with three young children explored the cave’s small alcoves and climbed around on the worn rock ledges.
Maddock gazed out through the openings. What he saw was picturesque, especially to the west, where the drop off was both immediate and extensive. In places, small plants, vines and moss added their green to the cliff face that rose far above and below the cave. Entire oak trees that had fallen lay against the wall at the bottom, extending up only a fraction of the cliff’s height. Birds flitted among the leaves and crevices.
Maddock listened to rustling above, tucked somewhere in the ceiling and pointed out to Connie where the sound was coming from. All the people talking and the resulting echoes made the effort mildly challenging. The few areas of bird droppings confirmed his assessment.
“Bats?” she asked.
“Birds. See, a pigeon,” he added when one of the birds roosting dropped into the light, flapping its wings, and flew from the cave.
A little boy wearing a harness and strap shouted, “Bird, Mommy. Look!” He shot away from his mother, pointing up and chasing after the bird.
The mom, who was tying her daughter’s shoes, looked up and shouted, “Billy, Stop!”
Billy didn’t listen. She grabbed for the strap but was a fraction of a second too slow. He raced after the bird, looking up, unaware of the danger ahead of him.
Both Maddock and Bones saw what was about to happen—the boy running right off the cliff.
“Holy crap,” Bones said, even as he sprang into action. Both he and Maddock were sprinting toward the west end of the cave.
The mother screamed, “Stop, Billy—Billy!”
There was no way they were going to make it. Maddock was a half stride ahead of Bones. He dove, right hand outstretched in an effort to reach the trailing strap.
The boy kept running, looking up, but he slowed to look back at his mom just before tumbling over the edge. Maddock’s fingers were three inches short of the strap when it flicked away, following the young boy over the ledge.
Horror-filled screams, like those from a crowd watching a suspenseful slasher film, echoed throughout the cave.
Bones made it to the edge and peered down. Maddock got to his feet and looked over his shoulder. Connie restrained the mother who was fighting to go after her son.
“I see him,” Bones said. “His harness caught. He’s okay.”
“Everyone stay back,” Maddock ordered. “Connie, Nelli, keep everyone back, while I climb down and get him.”
By the time he turned, Bones was already lowering himself over the edge.
Just then, it started to rain. Not a torrent, but well beyond a sprinkle.
“You couldn’t wait for a port-a-potty, could you, Maddock?” Bones called.
“Just concentrate on what you’re doing,” Maddock called.
He looked over the edge, spotting the boy and immediately seeing the path Bones had to take. The little boy had only fallen fifteen feet. His harness strap had caught between a small crack in the sandstone and a small shrub of a tree that was growing out of it. It was another seventy feet to the rock and boulder strewn bottom, a fall that the boy wouldn’t survive. Neither would Bones. His friend was an expert climber, but a free climb was always a risk.
The boy, initially battered and shocked, was becoming aware of his peril and began to cry.
Cords of muscle stood out on Bones’ shoulders and arms, showing the strain of the climb, as his feet sought what little purchase there was so that his hands could move lower, allowing him to descend until he could reach the boy.
“Maddock,” Bones said, his voice strained as he moved his left hand to a purchase eight inches below where it had been. “Tell those freaking tourists to do something useful.”
Maddock shot a glance over his shoulder. Nelli was talking to the mother trying to reassure her. Some of the observers were crying.
“Like what, Bones?”
“Tell them to sing ‘Rain, Rain Go Away,’ or something.”
Maddock almost laughed. “Right, Bones. You come back up here and lead the chorus, and I’ll go down.”
“Hey there, little dude,” Bone said, dismissing Maddock’s offer. “Don’t move. I’m coming to get you.”
How the Velcro and plastic clips of the boy’s harness had managed to hold, Maddock didn’t know. How long they would hold the dangling child was even less apparent.
Behind Maddock, the crowd had grown, as evidenced by the hushed murmurs. He heard Connie demanding that everyone give up their shoelaces. Nelli sounded like a company CEO as she once again ordered everyone to stay back. Give them room to work. The echo within Rock House only added to the effect.
Bones was about two-thirds of the way down to the boy when he suddenly exclaimed, “Holy crap.”
“What is it?”
“Tell you later, Maddock.”
The little boy started to cry louder and tried to grab ahold of the wall, causing him to slowly spin.
“Kid, I’m almost there, but I need you to watch me. Keep an eye on me.” Bones slid his right-hand’s finger tips into a vertical crack and lowered his left boot from its precarious perch, seeking another. Despite the sandstone’s porosity, wind was beginning to whip the rain, making his descent more and more difficult. “Tell me if I’m doing something wrong, because I want to get to you faster.”
To Maddock’s amazement the little boy looked up, despite the rain striking is face and silently watched Bones descend to his level. Finger tips holding him in place, almost like a spider clinging to a wall, Bones assessed the situation. The boy had stopped spinning, but the wind was causing him to swing five or six inches, back and forth. How was he going to get the kid back up?
The boy’s harness rig was oversized, the buckles and Velcro pulled to their tightest setting. The fact that it was made for a five year-old instead of a two year-old was what saved him, for the moment. How long the strap would remain caught, the plastic clip holding it to the harness, and the Velcro and clips holding the kid within the harness, was anyone’s guess.
––––––––
Bones figured the kid wasn’t strong enough to hold onto him. Nor could he be relied upon to remain calm. He knew there was little chance he could climb with only one hand, especially now that the cliff face had become slick with rain. He’d have to attach the kid to him with his harness somehow, maybe through his belt?
The next thing Bones knew, Maddock was lowering a rope to him, one ending with a belt attached so that it could be looped around the boy and tightened. Where had Maddock gotten a rope? Then he noticed, it wasn’t a real rope, rather a cord of...shoe and boot strings, twisted and knotted together.
Dubious as it looked, it was the only solution at hand. “Maddock, you didn’t cheat to earn your knot-tying merit badge, did you?”
“Connie gets the credit,” Maddock replied. “She says she’ll send down a hangman’s noose next, if you don’t get it in gear.”
“Might be preferable to riding back in that dinky car with you, Maddock.”
The boy was shivering now, starting to whimper and kick.
“Hold still, kid.” While Bones spoke he slid the belt up along the boy’s legs and cinched it tight under his arms, and used the slack Maddock gave him to loop and secure the boy against what he expected to be a rough ride up.
The fingers in Bones’ left hand were beginning to cramp. He knew that soon his calf and shoulder muscles would begin to burn, making the task more difficult. Despite this, he kept his voice steady. “We got this, kid.”
Bones heard and saw the harness’s Velcro straps begin to give.
Seemingly oblivious to his peril, the boy asked, “Did you see the bird?”
This kid was a cool customer, Bones thought. Or he freaking loved birds.
“Sure did. Now, grab your belt with both hands, and hang on.”
The rig was janky as hell, but all that was available. He glanced at the belt one more time. It was a woven flexible one and should hold even if the kid let go. The rest of the rig gave him an added measure of insurance, the best available.
“Uh huh,” Billy said, scrunching his face, holding his breath and hanging on to his belt as if for dear life—which he was.
“Go to it, Maddock,” Bones said, holding on and keeping out of the way as best he could.
Bones watched, hoping the harness strap would lift out of its snag as Maddock and a heavily bearded African American man worked to gently lift the boy.
As soon as the kid was safe and over the side, cheers erupted.
“They better give me twice that,” Bones muttered, the greater measure of his strength already spent. He had enough strength and skill, but the rain and wind wasn’t helping. And no way was that dinky rope going to be of any help.
Bones exhaled and prepared to begin his ascent when Maddock said, “Heads up, Bones.”
A multi-colored rope made up of a dozen or more shirts dangled next to him in the gusting wind.
“I suppose it’s too much to hope that a bunch of Hooters girls donated these,” Bones said.
A rousing round of cheers and applause met Bones after he clambered back into Rock House. To his disappointment, only men had donated their shirts to the cause. And half of them were old, wrinkled white dudes.
Someone with a local carrier had managed to get a cell signal and contact the ranger station. After Maddock and Bones assured themselves that Billy was okay, and declined several requests to pose for cell phone photos, they made their way out of Rock House.
The trail down was narrower, often requiring single file hiking. The trail and steps were more challenging for the ladies to navigate, with Maddock and Bones often offering them a hand as they wound their way back up toward the parking area.
“You thought pretty quick on your feet,” Maddock said to Connie.
She grinned and turned away, blushing. “You guys did the dangerous stuff.”
Nelli took Bones’ arm as the trail widened. “You took the biggest risk.” She smiled up at him. As her sister had predicted, a few buttons on her shirt had magically come undone.
“He’s the most expendable,” Maddock joked.
“Screw you, Maddock. Besides, your white-dude eyes would’ve missed what I saw.”
The rain had slowed to a drizzle as they made their way across the parking lot. A few people sat in their vehicles, waiting for the rain to subside, while others sat in the shelter house area.
“And what would that be?” Maddock asked.
Bones looked around, conspiratorially. “Tell you in the car.”