her dad and Mr. Riggs, who pulled him through, and laid him on an ambulance gurney that was waiting for him. A paramedic gave Troy some insulin and gradually, he began to come out of his coma-like state.
When they left the cave, there was a large crowd of people who started cheering for them, when they saw Troy come out. Mrs. Kruse gave Mara a big hug and through many tears, she thanked Mara for saving Troy’s life.
Mara noticed that there were two television cameras pointed at them, and she quickly turned away from them. When one of the reporters insisted that Mara answer some questions, Mara reluctantly agreed.
“I will answer your questions on two conditions. First, you can only use my first name, and second, that you keep the interview short.”
The reporter agreed. “Mara, where do you live?” she asked her. “I live out of state” said Mara. Then the reporter asked; “Why did you come to Mark Twain Cave?” “I had a dream that I was needed here. I knew that a boy was in trouble and needed help,” said Mara. “Have you had dreams like this before?” asked the reporter.
Mara hesitated, and then explained. “I have been having these dreams and visions since I turned twelve, three years ago. Now, that’s the end of the interview.”
Mara quickly walked away. Troy had regained consciousness and walked over to Mara and gave her a big hug. He thanked her for saving his life. When Mara noticed that the television camera was pointed at them again, she put her hand over the camera lens and said, “Leave us alone. Please, Troy and his mother have been through enough today.”
A sheriff’s deputy escorted the camera operator and reporter away from Mara and Troy, and the two of them continued talking. Mara made Troy promise that he would never leave the group in the future and that he would always tell an adult where he was going.
Gradually, the crowds disappeared and the only ones remaining were Mara and her parents, Troy and his mother, and Mr. Riggs.
“I can never thank you enough for what you have done Mara” said Mrs. Kruse. If you had not been here, they would never have found Troy. They did not even know about the other tunnels. If there is anything that we can do for you or your family, just let us know.”
“You can thank God,” said Mara, because he is responsible for finding your son. I just helped God. However, there is a favor that I would like to ask of Mr. Riggs, though.”
“Just name it,” said Mr. Riggs.
“Could you meet us here at eight o’clock in the morning? And, please contact the public television station and have them bring a television camera.”
Mr. Riggs agreed to Mara’s requests, but when he started to ask a question, Mara held up her hand and said “Please, no questions.” Then Mara asked Mrs. Kruse if she would bring Troy back in the morning as well. She said that she would bring Troy, as well as his father who would return home from a business trip later that evening.
Mr. Riggs tried to pry more information out of Mara, but all she said was, “Trust me, Mr. Riggs, tomorrow morning will be one of the best days of your life.”
On the way back to the hotel, Mara’s parents asked her what that was all about. Mara replied; “Sorry, Mom and Dad, but you will have to wait as well.” Mara had a big smile on her face. “All shall be revealed tomorrow.”
That evening, Mara watched her interview on the news and even though she had not mentioned her last name, or where she lived, she wondered if it was a mistake to tell others about her special gift.
When Mara went to bed that night, she had another dream about the cave. This time, there were additional clues, which included a journal with the initials SLC on it, and a cloth bag with the words; ‘Bank of Kansas City’ stamped on it.
The next morning, Mara was up at six o’clock, writing down the additional clues in her notebook.
Mara and her parents arrived at Mark Twain Cave at seven-thirty. Soon afterwards, Mr. Riggs arrived, followed by Troy with his mom and dad, a few minutes later. Finally, a few minutes before eight, a camera crew from the local public television station arrived.
When everybody gathered around Mara, she began explaining what she had in mind.
“When I was in the newly discovered tunnels yesterday, I realized that I was not the first person to walk in them, and neither was Troy. Along the way to finding Troy, I saw names, initials, and dates carved in the walls. I believe that at one time, there was another entrance to that cave. Over time, it must have been buried, or covered over. While I was in the tunnels, I also had glimpses back into the past. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw people from past centuries. I also heard voices.”
“I would like to go back into the tunnels, with Troy as my cameraman and as he films the adventure; I can tell you what I see with my psychic sense. Is this okay with everyone?”
Mr. Riggs agreed, and Mr. and Mrs. Kruse agreed to let Troy assist Mara. The camera crew gave Troy a small hand held camera and showed him how to use it. They set up a camera monitor outside the opening in the wall, so that the adults could see what Troy filmed.
After Mara and Troy were lowered through the opening into the new cave, the camera was passed in to Troy. The first thing Mara did was to place her hands on the walls of the cave. She closed her eyes and said, “These tunnels were used from the 1700’s until 1906, when a small earthquake collapsed the entrance of the cave. It was never found again.
When Mara opened her eyes again, she began walking along the tunnel, with Troy behind her, focusing the camera on her. Five minutes later, she came up the first names carved into the walls. Mara touched the carved letters and closed her eyes. “These names were carved here in 1875 by the James-Younger gang”, she said. Troy pointed the camera at all of names on the cave wall. There were eleven names in all; “J. James, F. James, C. Younger, Jim Younger, John Younger, B. Younger, C. Pitts, J. Jarrette, and B. Chadwell.” The date, “June 3, 1875” was also carved into the wall.
Outside the opening in the cave, Mr. Riggs was shocked. He was a history buff and knew a lot about the James-Younger gang. “That’s the entire gang alright,” he said.
Inside the cave, Mara closed her eyes and when she opened them, she walked over to a pile of rocks in the corner. She got down on her hands and knees, and began removing rocks from the pile. Finally, she found what she was searching for. From a hole in the ground, Mara removed a cloth sack. Troy pointed the camera at the writing on the bag, which spelled out ‘Bank of Kansas City’. Mara reached inside and pulled out some old paper money as well as some silver and gold coins. Mara also found a note that said ‘Empty the safe quickly or we’ll shoot you where you stand.’
“This money was stolen by the James-Younger gang from the Bank of Kansas City, Missouri, on May 29th, 1875,” said Mara. The adults, who were watching the monitor, were very excited about the discovery.
As Mara and Troy continued walking through the tunnels of the cave, Mara pointed out more names, initials and dates that were carved in the walls, explaining who had carved them, including HST-July 2nd, 1903(President Harry S. Truman), GC-March 16, 1900(George Washington Carver), ONB-June 21,1906(General Omar Bradley), and TSE-May 14, 1900(poet T.S. Elliott).
After walking further, Mara found a tunnel with much older initials, names and dates, which excited her as well as the adults who were watching. The carvings included; D. Boone and D.M. Boone-October 11, 1803(Daniel Boone and his son; Daniel Morgan Boone), W. Clark-March 3, 1807(explored William Clark), and M. Lewis-May 17, 1810(explorer Meriwether Lewis).
A few minutes later, Mara found a name that literally astounded her; Sam L. Clemens-July 29, 1849 age 14.This was one of Mara’s favorite authors, better known to the world as Mark Twain. Mara sensed that there was something else of value near the carving. As she walked around, she was drawn to a large rock against the side of the cave wall. She looked behind the rock and saw something. She reached down and pulled up a notebook. She recognized
it from her dream. On the front of the cover, were the initials SLC; which stood for Samuel Langhorne Clemens.
Mara carefully opened the notebook, which was more than one hundred fifty years old. It was a journal describing Mark Twain’s cave explorations and adventures from 1847 to 1849. There were also; a few short stories he had written as a teenager. To Mara, this notebook was worth much more than the bag of money. She carefully placed it in her backpack where she had also placed the bag of money.
As Mara had explored each tunnel, she had been looking for the original entrance. In the tunnel where she found Mark Twain’s journal, she also saw a huge pile of rocks and dirt at one end. Mara sensed that it was the opening, and she began to move the rocks. She had Troy stand off to one side, as she rolled the larger rocks away from the pile.
After twenty minutes, Mara was starting to get tired. She rested for a few minutes and then continued working. Finally, she started to reach gravel sized rocks and sand. She took a collapsible size shovel from her backpack and started digging away at the pile. After ten more minutes, Mara saw some light coming into the cave. Using her feet, she began pushing on the pile. Finally, the pile of dirt and rocks gave way and it collapsed outside the cave, revealing the opening.
Mr. Riggs was
Mara Louis; Girl of Mystery Page 44
