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THE SUN BEAT DOWN, hot on his back as Rory stood with his left hand on the rock face, leaning and peering into the darkness of the opening in the cliff. After a moment, he reached down, took the flashlight that was clipped to his belt and turned it on, trying to illuminate the dark space ahead. He shook his head, his voice echoing off the walls and the high ceiling of rock, "I can't see much detail but it appears to go in about one hundred feet and then turns to the right." Looking back at Chet, Rory said, "And I don't see anything that could be a booby trap."
Chet stepped up behind him on the right, peering inside, "As you go in, keep an eye out for a red hand on the rock somewhere."
"A red hand?"
"Yeah. They used to paint a red-hand sign near a booby-trap."
"A red-hand sign?"
"Yeah."
"Okay."
"Assuming the paint is still there after all these years," Donna Lou said. She stood back behind the two men, a firm hand on Corry and Emma, making sure they didn't dart into the rock cleft. She glanced back over the view below and across the plain, her eyes looking for any sign of horsemen with rifles or vehicles approaching.
Chet looked back at her and nodded, "You're right. It might be faded after all these years. Like Rory said about the black powder, we can't assume anything." He noticed her looking out over the plain and glanced that way himself for a moment, knowing full well what she was thinking, "Anything...?"
Donna-Lou shook her head slightly, still not sure there was something...or someone...she just couldn't see.
Chet glanced out across the plain again and the then swallowed, looking back at Rory, "So...what do you think? You still want to go in?"
Rory chewed on his lower lip and then nodded, "Yeah."
"Be careful, Rory," Donna-Lou whispered.
"Yeah, I will. And since there could be some booby-trap on the right-hand side, I'll follow the left wall." He looked at Chet, "Sound about right?"
Chet swallowed and then gave him a faint nod, "Yeah...I guess."
Rory gave him a smile, "Thanks for the pep-talk."
A sheepish grin settled on Chet's lips, "I could go with you if you want."
"No. There's no need to put anyone else in danger. Everyone wait until I signal you to come in."
Chet put a hand on Rory's shoulder, "Just take your time and don't take any chances. There's always another day in treasure hunting."
Rory nodded and took his first step into the opening. He stayed against the left wall, his flashlight illuminating the way. Loose rocks crunched under his boot as he moved forward carefully. He flashed the light from the left wall to floor of the cave and especially to the right wall of rock, watching for any signs of danger. The coolness of the cave was a respite after the heat of the sun outside. It took ten tense minutes before he reached the corner, where the opening in the rock widened to about fifteen feet. He turned the corner and the light from the flashlight on his belt illuminated the opening ahead. The cave continued to widen out until it was at least sixty feet across at the far end, about two hundred feet away. The shadows at the far gave Rory the impression it split into two branches. The smell was clean and earthy, which meant there was nothing dead in here and no wild animal using it as a lair. At least, he hoped not.
"What do you see?" Chet yelled, his voice bouncing off the rock walls.
"The cave goes down that way at least another two hundred feet," he yelled back. "And it looks to me like there are two entrances down there, one to the left and one to the right." He shifted the beam of the flashlight around, examining the walls and ceiling of the cave. Halfway down the cave ahead, the ceiling disappeared into the shadows, like a massive crack under the Blue Ridge Mountains.
"Can we go in too?"Corry yelled.
Rory could understand his enthusiasm. He turned to light up the right-hand wall again, examining it closely. He couldn't see anything that looked dangerous leading down to the twin caves at the far end. He took a breath and let it out slowly, hoping he was making the right decision, "Okay. C'mon in," he yelled and waved for the others to join him. "Just stay to the left."
Chet led the way, with two excited kids and one nervous Donna-Lou Haney following them. Reaching the corner in the cave, everyone crowded in behind Rory and lifted their flashlights. Their combined illumination lit up the cave in full detail.
"Wow! A real treasure cave," Corry exclaimed.
"Don't get your hopes up too high," Donna-Lou said. "We haven't found any treasure yet. It could be just a big hole in the wall."
"But we will. I know it," Corry answered as he ignored his mother's pessimism. His voice was filled with excitement and wonder. He pointed ahead, "Can we go farther down there? Can we?"
Emma jumped up and down, "Yeah, let's go find the treasure. Me and Corry have been looking for it for a loooooong time."
Rory looked at Chet, "Considering the warning on that sign back there, I would assume we don't take the cave on the right-hand side either?"
Chet took a deep breath, thinking about it. He finally nodded, "Everything I ever learned about signs says that's true. Then again, I don't know of anyone who ever actually found something that was booby-trapped."
"And I never heard of anybody who ever found a real treasure cave like this before," Corry said from behind them.
"Or a booby-trapped treasure cave," Donna-Lou added.
The two men looked around at her.
"I'm just saying," Donna-Lou said as she shrugged his shoulders.
Rory looked back down the cave, "There's a first time for everything, I guess."
"Uh huh. Like having your leg blown off for the first time," Donna-Lou said.
Chet raised his eyebrows as he looked at Rory, "You can go first."
"You're such a gentleman, Chet Calhoun."
The sheepish grin settled on Chet's lips again, "Maybe I'm just willing to let you have all the fun."
"Uh, huh. You keep telling yourself that."