I also find it very curious that, when I examine the drawings of the slaves, the Swastika symbol is not found among them anywhere.
§
TEN
Kelly finishes taking pictures, and puts her camera back in its case.
“This cave is so awesome; I was able to fill three rolls of film. We should have enough photographs to open our own museum. I think I am going to be a little sad when we leave this place.”
“That’s good. We’ll need some pictures to back up our story when we get back to The Herald. You know Lloyd; he is fanatical about having proof. Plus, it will be nice to give him something for all this lost time.”
“We can’t help being marooned in the middle of nowhere. It’s not like we planned it, and are having the time of our lives.”
“I know, but you forget, Lloyd does not necessarily believe in logic. His religion is based on time, money, and power. He is going to throw a fit over you and I being away this long.
I’ll just feel a little better, knowing we have something extra to give him while he is throwing a fit. It will make things just a little bit more tolerable for us when we get back.”
“If, we get back!” Kelly shouts back, sarcastically.
The sunlight now shines in through the cave entrance from the outside and makes the cave opening glow. The radiance produced becomes so bright that it gives the appearance of some kind of holy celestial event, about to take place.
Kelly bends over to tie her shoes, with her back toward the illuminated entrance. As she tightens the shoestring of her shoe into a bow, her head pops up, her mouth opens, and she is shocked to attention.
“What’s wrong?” I am taken back by her behavior.
Kelly abruptly stands erect and looks at me with her mouth agape. She looks as if someone just forced an ice cube down her back, and looks at me as if I am the guilty culprit.
“What in the world is wrong?”
“Shush Matt, I hear something.”
Her curtness comes as a surprise to me. Feeling a little wounded, I stand there quietly.
Gradually, Kelly’s face creates a smile. Her countenance turns slowly from astonishment to a toothy grin.
“Do you hear it? Do you hear it?”
I quietly listen for a moment, hearing nothing but the dead silence of the cave. About to tell Kelly she is hearing things, I detect a slight low-pitched humming noise.
Kelly suddenly bolts out of the cave, leaving me standing there holding the nearly extinguished torch.
“Come out here Matt, you can hear it better.” I watch Kelly as she excitedly begins to perform hopping maneuvers, just outside the cave entranceway.
“What is it Kelly, what do you hear?” I can hear nothing else now, except for Kelly’s fidgeting movements.
“Someone is coming; I hear a car coming. Let’s hurry over to the road so they’ll see us; come on.” Kelly is off, before I have a chance to respond.
Taking one last quick look around inside the cave, I then walk to the cave entrance, returning this antiquated discovery back to its shroud of darkness. I drop the torch on the ground, stomp out its flame, and leave the mysterious ancient world of the cave behind me.
I can only climb the steep embankment at a snail’s pace. Reaching the top, I start to run towards our camp, which is about a hundred yards away. Kelly has run far ahead of me, and is out of sight.
I am so out of shape; less donuts and more exercise, I tell myself. I look off to the horizon past our camp, and see a plume of dust rising. The continuous traveling cloud of dust suggests a vehicle cruising on a dirt road nearby.
Still running, and totally exhausted, I see our camp in the distance. Kelly is jumping up and down, ecstatically, at a Jeep that is driving by our camp. The Jeep pulls up next to our Land Cruiser and stops. As I run up to the Jeep, I recognize the driver right away.
“Jeremiah! You are a sight for sore eyes.” Grabbing onto his hand I shake it with elated enthusiasm.
“G-day mate! Miss Kelly! You liked our little country club out here so much; you decided to stay for awhile, did ya?” Jeremiah smiles, sitting there in his Jeep with his hat on, he looks like some kind of animal safari guide from TV.
“Yeah, it has been just like a holiday. But our little holiday turned into a nightmare.” I point over to the Land Rover’s deflated tires.
“Crikey, how did that happen?” With his mouth popped open and his hand on his chin, Jeremiah looks down at the vehicle’s tires with bewilderment.
“Somebody cut them for us Jeremiah; they put a knife to all four tires.” Jeremiah shakes his head back and forth in silence.
“I don’t understand this at all, mate. There ain’t a living soul around here for twenty-five miles, except for my campin’ blokes back at Mesozoic Park. Did you see a truck or vehicle of any kind?” Jeremiah asks, visibly stunned.
“Jeremiah, I haven’t seen any cars or trucks or boats or planes. The only human being we have seen since we’ve been here was a guy in a hat and coat yelling for help, and he up and disappears on us. I don’t know if he is the vandal or if it was someone else.”
“Blimey mate! That sounds pretty peculiar all right. I can’t imagine someone wearing a coat out here. I can understand wearin’ a hat yes; but not a coat. You better put your gear in the back here mate, and come with me. How are you doing Miss Kelly? Are you doing OK?”
“I’m doing all right Jeremiah, now that you’re here. I’m just tired, dirty, and a little hungry; nothing that a shower, good food, and a good night’s sleep wouldn’t cure.”
“Well, I’d be proud to give you a ride to your heart’s desire. Hop in little lady.” He motions an invitation to her with his hand.
“And as you Yanks say... Let’s hit the road.”
“Hold on Jeremiah, I have to show you something important,” I hold both hands up in excitement.
“Can it wait mate? We best be getting on the road,” he objects kindly, as he shades his eyes from the morning sun.
“It will only take a few minutes, Jeremiah, and I’m sure it’s something you would want to see,” I try to sound convincing.
“Can we drive there mate? Then Miss Kelly won’t have to walk.” Kelly smiles and enjoys the special attention.
“Sure, it’s only a hundred yards or so, that way.” I point towards the area where the unknown cave is hidden.
Kelly and I gather our stuff and hop into the Jeep. We drive until we once again come upon the little bluff, with the cave hidden beneath it. Jeremiah and I jump out, but Kelly seems reluctant to come with us.
“Do you want to stay here in the Jeep? I’ll be all right here for awhile. It feels good to have a soft place to sit.”
“All right then. We’ll go down just long enough for Jeremiah to take a quick look, and then come right back. You just sit here and relax and look beautiful; okay.” Kelly’s big brown eyes twinkled.
Jeremiah brings his flashlight and we proceed to the cave. After about twenty minutes we reappear at the Jeep. Kelly has her head tilted back on the seat rest, and her eyes are closed.
“I am going to make a few phone calls. If I’m not mistaken, you have stumbled onto something pretty big here. If it turns out to be as big of a discovery as I think it will, I’ll make sure you and Miss Kelly receives the credit for it, plus anything else that comes from it.”
“I’m not really worried about getting my name in the paper, Jeremiah. I get my name in the paper every time I write an article for The Herald. I’m mainly interested in getting some experts down here to see what this is all about.”
“You never know mate, you never know. This little discovery may make you both rich and famous.” Jeremiah smiles so big, I can see one of his gold teeth shining.
“All I care about right now is a shot of Jack Daniel’s, a bath and a gigantic steak, and in that order.”
“Right mate, let’s get this bloody rescue on the road.”
I jump in the back of the Jeep, Kelly puts her seat belt on,
and we are off. Next stop… Red Rock, Montana.
As we pull around onto the main dirt road, I look up and see a figure standing on the sand dune above where we camped, far away. It looks like the same character that I had chased after before. Jeremiah and Kelly are involved in a friendly conversation, talking and laughing, so I say nothing of the sighting.
All the events that have transpired in the last couple of days swirl around inside my head, colliding into one another.
Who is the sand dune stranger? Is he the same one I saw at Jeremiah’s dinosaur dig? Is he the same I saw outside my apartment building? What’s his interest in me? Is he the same one who wrote that threatening message on parchment and left it on our windshield? Is he the one that slashed our tires?
I found more parchment with similar writing on it in the cave. Did this stranger live or work in the cave? What about the cave wall picture drawings, surely he had nothing to do with those? I find no answers, only more questions. My head hurts from trying to piece this bizarre puzzle together.
In the past few weeks of my life, I have received two life-threatening messages. One such message came from the man who posed as a Forest Ranger, the same man I saw at the airplane crash in Portland. Now we get another life threatening message left on our windshield.
Both messages have warned me to stop finding out information, or to stop uncovering some carefully guarded secret, or it would mean my life. Could these two threatening messages be from the same source? Could they have come from the same person or persons?
Somewhere ahead of us is the little town of Red Rock, Montana. On this winding red dirt road full of ruts, it will take us a little over an hour to get there. Giving my mind rest, I set these unanswered questions aside temporarily, and think only of the steak and shot of Jack Daniel’s awaiting me in civilization.
In a little desert valley, about two miles in front of us, we see the town of Red Rock, Montana. The jostling and shaking of the Jeep traveling on this rugged dirt road, has made it impossible to relax. We have been on the dusty road for about an hour, and it will feel good to sleep on a real bed between two sheets tonight.
Feeling a little uplifted by the sight of civilization, I decide to tell Kelly that I would like to take her out to a special dinner in Great Falls tonight. Before I can get the words out of my mouth, surprisingly my cell phone rings. I stare at the phone, stunned that it actually is ringing; it rings one more time before I pick it up and push the button.
“Hello, this is Matt.”
“Yes Matt, this is Lloyd.” Only frigid unfriendly silence follows Lloyd’s greeting.
“So Lloyd, how’s everything at The Herald?”
“Fine.” Lloyd is such a conversationalist, I think to myself.
“What’s up Lloyd?”
“Well, for one thing Matt, I am waiting for an explanation.”
“What do you mean explanation?”
“I expected you both back here yesterday. I expected a story in my hands this morning, in order to put into print for this afternoon’s paper. I would like an explanation, why those things didn’t happen?”
I begin to feel like a small horse is galloping up and down inside my stomach now. Before this conversation is done, I know that one little horse in my belly will turn into a large corral of angry wild stallions. I will try my best to be civil.
“Somebody slashed our tires half-way back to Red Rock, Lloyd. We had to camp in the middle of the Montana badlands last night. The head paleontologist at the dinosaur dig, Jeremiah James, rescued us only this morning.”
“Now why would anyone slash your tires in the middle of nowhere, Matt?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it Lloyd?” I’m exhausted and am beginning to really get ruffled at his questions and probable insinuations.
“Like I said, I was really counting on having this story today.”
“Did you hear what I just said? It was not humanly possible to make it there by today. Anyway, Kelly and I have been through a lot. We are going to need a couple of days of rest, when we finally do get back.” A few seconds of dead silence comes in reply.
“Matt, it sounds like you and Miss O’Hara have had plenty of time to rest; sounds as though you had a little mini vacation over there.”
I remember what my father had said to me not long ago, ‘even if you hate your boss, look for things your can learn from him’. I know that this is good advice, especially when it comes from my father. I wonder though, if learning how to be cold-blooded and cold-hearted was what my father had in mind. At this point, it seems these attributes are the only things Lloyd Hatch has the ability to teach. He definitely is well-versed and well-educated in them. I take a deep breath. I grit my teeth so that my tongue will not find a way to escape.
“It wasn’t a vacation I assure you; it was hell. Like I said, we look forward to a couple of days to recuperate.”
“I know that is what you would like, Matt. Right now it isn’t possible. I have a very important assignment for you and Miss O’Hara to pursue.”
“Why do you have to approach every situation in such a ruthless and cold-hearted manner Lloyd?” I reply as calmly as I can muster.
“I endeavor to approach every situation in a straightforward professional manner, Matt. I think it’s only fair to expect the same from you and Kelly.
In fact that is what I am paying for; professional journalists. I need two professionals to go to Seattle and make a report on the new Historical Museum Exhibition, at the Seattle Center. Do you and Miss O’Hara want the job, or do I hire a couple of other professionals to take your place?”
This time the silence is on my side of the phone.
Right now I feel like opening my mouth and letting all those corralled horses out, all at once. Yes, let them out and have them trample over Lloyd’s little weasel head, over and over again.
I must have very strong jaws, because I seem to have been successful at holding back such a substantial stampede of pent-up fury.
“We’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Fine Matt. It will probably take a couple of days to get the complete scoop. I’ll expect you on Monday with the lowdown on the museum exhibition, along with the dinosaur story you undoubtedly already have. See you then.”
I push the OFF button on the cell phone. I feel like I am in shell shock. Lloyd blasted me to kingdom come, and it seems like I didn’t even defend myself.
I sit there stunned, in the back of the pitching and shaking Jeep. I toss the cell phone, and it lands next to my feet on the rusting floorboard of the bouncing vehicle.
I look at Kelly as she happily talks to Jeremiah. I don’t have the heart or the will to tell her of our next immediate assignment. It can wait, I decide. I can only hope that after a full belly and a good night’s sleep, I will be more optimistic.
When we arrive in Red Rock, we say our good-byes to Jeremiah. He reassures me that he will make sure the right people are contacted to investigate the cave and interpret what it contains. He will get back to me later, after the investigation and research is completed.
Kelly and I sit in the little hangar café and order the biggest hamburgers they’ve got. The pilot packs all our belongings into that little 8-passenger twin prop plane, once again and we fly back to Havre, Montana. There, we catch a flight to Great Falls.
As our plane makes its approach to the Great Falls Airport, I decide now is as good time as any, to tell Kelly of the immediate and pending assignment Lloyd has given us.
“How are you feeling? Kelly looks at me curiously.
“Oh, I’m doing fine I guess. I am a little exhausted, but after a day or so of rest and relaxation, I’ll be as good as new.”
“I hate to tell you this; I really do.”
“Tell me what?” Kelly knows something is coming now.
“Lloyd called when we were on the road to Red Rock. He wants us to go to Seattle to cover an opening of a museum exhibition at the Seattle Center.”
“You mean after we ha
ve a few days to catch our breath, don’t you?”
“No, he made it quite plain that we are to go before we come back to Portland.”
“That’s absurd.” Kelly cannot believe it.
“Lloyd is a cold-hearted callused man. Unless you or I want to quit our job; like it or not, I guess we will have to go to Seattle. We’ll go to Seattle like professionals, take some pictures, and come back with a story. I think Lloyd is going to try and press us, as far as he can press us, just to see if we quit.
What do you say we prove him wrong one more time?” I make an appeal, using our dignity and self-respect as a weapon of incentive, hoping we both can rise to the challenge. Actually, without Kelly by my side, I don’t think I even want to try and rise to the occasion. Kelly looks into my eyes, considering my words seriously, then replies.
“I would love to prove Lloyd wrong. And I don’t want to let you down either. I think more importantly, I don’t want to let myself down. Let’s go to Seattle.”
I smile and gaze at her admiringly. I lean over and hug her tight, then peer into her eyes.
“Kelly; You are quite a woman. It has been very nice to work with someone like you, and it has been very nice to have you for a friend.”
The words come easy, even though I feel a little uneasy saying them.
“You are a good friend too, Matt. Let’s just forget how tired we are, go to Seattle, and give Lloyd the best darn story he has ever had,” she seems to be inspired now with warm-blooded zeal.
“I’m with you.”
§
ELEVEN
It is four o’clock in the afternoon. SeaTac International Airport outside of Seattle is full of people, with everyone rushing somewhere. Kelly and I hail a cab to the curbside, the yellow car screeches to a halt before us. It is pouring buckets of water, so we cover our heads with newspapers as we step down into the cab.
“To the Olympic Hotel,” I direct the cabby.
“Yes sir, to the Olympic it is.”
“Matt! The Olympic Hotel? That’s kind of an expensive hotel, isn’t it?”
Wyatt, Richard Page 10