by Bill Myers
It wasn't gold or silver. But definitely was old, and perhaps even from the Spanish fleet.
My spirits buoyed by the discovery, I put the spike in my finds bag, filled the hole, and continued along the grid Anna had laid out for me.
Over the course of the next hour, I found several small objects, mostly iron flakes about the size of a potato chip. I also found a few heavily encrusted square headed nails.
As I reached the end of each hundred yard path, I'd turn around, move six feet closer to the waves, and head back in the direction I had just come.
This meant half of the time I could see Anna in the distance, and the other half I was facing away from her.
During the times I could see her, I watched as she swung her detector. Her motions were fluid, even graceful, much different than my own jerky, erratic swings.
Every few feet she would stop, swing the detector over a small area, then use her scoop to recover an item from the sand.
Based on the number of items she was retrieving, it looked like she was having a lot better luck than I was.
Other than the iron spike, I hadn't found anything of much interest. And my right elbow was starting to get sore from constantly swinging the detector.
At the end of one of my Anna facing grids, I turned back to the north and could see that the incoming tide was reducing the amount of remaining beach I needed to cover.
This made me happy. It meant we'd soon be taking a break as we repositioned for our next grid.
As I slowly detected up a grid line, I felt someone nudge me from behind. Thinking it was Anna, I turned with a smile, hoping she was announcing we were going to take a break.
But it wasn't Anna. It was something else. Something totally unexpected.
39
Anna was still far in the distance, walking a grid line away from me.
And in front of me sat a dog.
A big black Labrador Retriever.
He had come up and nudged me from behind, then he stood still, wagging his tail, waiting for me to pet him.
The strangest part was I had seen the dog before.
It was Jake. The black lab from the car we had rescued during the storm.
And if Jake was here, his owner should be close by.
I scanned up and down the beach, but the only other person I could see was Anna. She was about a hundred yards south, detecting a grid line away from me.
I turned back to Jake, rubbed his head, and said, "You lost?"
He backed up a few feet, then dipped down on his front legs and barked at me. Like he wanted to play.
That was fine with me since I needed a break from swinging the detector.
I found a piece of driftwood and tossed it over his head. As it sailed over, he sat motionless, staring at me.
Apparently he didn't want to play stick. He wanted to play something else.
Jake got down on his front legs with his rear end up in the air, his tail wagging wildly. He barked at me, then jumped up and ran twenty feet down the beach and sat.
I said, "Sorry, Jake. I don't know that game." I picked up my detector, and started back on my grid line.
Jake didn't like this. He got up and ran back to me and barked. He wanted my attention.
"What is Jake? Has Timmy fallen in the well?"
Jake looked at me, cocking his head to the side, as if he were trying to figure out what I had said.
Then he barked, turned and ran to the same spot he had before. But this time, instead of sitting, he used his front paws to dig a small hole.
He barked at me again, and I swear he nodded at the hole.
"Okay, I get it. You want me to dig in the hole."
I walked to the spot where Jake was sitting, and ran my detector across the hole he had dug. Nothing. Not even a peep.
"Sorry, Jake. There's nothing there, buddy."
Turning around, I headed back to my grid line.
But Jake wasn't going to let me off that easy. He jumped up and barked at me again.
I turned and could see he was digging furiously in the hole. Then he stopped and sat. Waiting for my return.
"Okay, Jake. I'll give it another shot."
I walked back and swung the detector coil over the deeper hole that Jake had dug. And this time, I got a beep.
There was something metal in the hole.
I scooped out the first six inches of sand, and swung the detector over the hole again. A louder beep this time.
Definitely something down there.
Using the scoop, I dug down another twelve inches. Then swung the detector over the hole, and it beeped louder.
The readout on the detector's LCD display showed the target had the potential of being silver, and was at least twelve inches below the detector coil.
The hole was now twenty inches deep, and the wet sand on the sides was starting to cave in. To get to the buried item, I'd have to widen the hole, then dig deeper.
I unhooked my detector and laid it on the sand. Using my sand scoop like a shovel, I started enlarging the hole. I continued until the pit was about three feet across and two feet deep.
I picked up the detector and swung it in the bottom of the pit. This time it beeped much louder.
Jake barked again. I was getting closer.
40
"Well Jake, I don't know how you did it, but it looks like you may have found treasure."
Jake looked up at me and started wagging his tail. I stepped over and patted him on the head.
"You're a good dog, Jake."
He leaned into my hand and had what looked like a smile on his face. If you've had a dog, you've probably seen that look.
"Jake, where's your owner? He's probably looking for you."
Once again, Jake cocked his head as if he were trying to understand what I was saying.
Then Jake's ears came to attention, like he was hearing something in the distance. He swiveled his head and apparently seeing the source of the sound, he took off like a shot, kicking up sand as he ran north.
Watching Jake, I could see he was heading toward someone up the beach. About two hundred yards away, a man with a metal detector had stepped out of the dunes.
I couldn't be sure, but from this distance the man looked like he might have been the same one we had rescued the day before.
When Jake reached the man, he stopped and sat. The man gave Jake a pat on the head, then looked at me, waved, and gave me a thumbs-up signal.
He and Jake then turned and walked north. Away from me.
I figured that by giving me the thumbs up, Jake's owner was saying it was okay to detect this part of the beach.
After they walked out of sight, I returned my attention to the pit I'd dug with Jake's guidance.
Using my scoop, I carefully removed six inches of sand from the bottom of what was now a three foot deep pit. Then I swung the detector coil inside the pit.
The detector responded with multiple tones. It's LCD display showed several target items below.
Fearing that using the metal scoop might damage the targets, I stepped down into the pit and started removing sand with my hands.
After digging for about a minute, I felt something solid. Perhaps the treasure I'd been looking for.
Using my fingers, I drew an outline around the edges of the object buried below. This would be my guide to how much sand I needed to remove before I could retrieve it.
The outline showed that the object was larger than I expected. About the size of a softball.
I continued to brush away the sand until I got a better look at what I was dealing with.
At first glance it looked like a bone, but after removing more sand, I could see the telltale outline and ridges of a large clam shell.
Finding shells on the beach is not unusual. In fact it is to be expected. But finding shells that cause a metal detector to sound a tone? That's different.
I removed more sand, and saw that instead of finding a single shell, I'd found a circle of large clam
shells, all face down.
The way the shells were arranged seemed to suggest they they had been put this way on purpose.
Maybe there was something under the shells.
I sure hoped so.
Using my hands to dig a small groove around the largest shell, I reached under and carefully nudged it out of its resting place. To my surprise, rather than being just the top of a clam shell, it was the top and bottom. Creating a protective cover around whatever was inside.
Opening the shell, I found a clump of dime sized coins that had corroded together.
I shook my head in disbelief.
I had found Spanish treasure.
And judging by the number of shells in the pit, there was more.
I carefully put the clump of coins into my finds bag, and returned my attention to the other shells in the pit.
Removing the top of the second shell, I found another clump of silver coins. Almost the same size of the first clump.
I carefully put these in my finds bag with the first clump.
Back down in the pit, I removed another large shell. This one held three gold coins, each about the size of a quarter. They looked newly minted. No signs of wear or corrosion.
If these were truly gold, they would worth quite a bit.
I wrapped each of these coins with tissues from the packet of Kleenex I carried in my belly pack, then put them in my top right shirt pocket.
Back in the pit, I removed the final shell, and inside it I found a large gold ring with a bright green stone in the center.
The ring appeared to be hand hammered, with carved initials on one side, and a family crest on the other.
As with the gold coins, I carefully wrapped the ring in tissues, then put it in my other shirt pocket, making sure the pocket was securely buttoned.
From what I could see, it appeared that someone had dug a deep pit on the beach, placed a layer of large clam shells in the bottom of the pit, and then placed something of value in each of the shells.
They then covered each shell with a matching top, either to hide the treasures from prying eyes, or to protect them from the elements.
Whatever the reason, the two layers of shells had worked surprisingly well to keep the treasure in good condition for however long it had been buried here.
Looking into the pit, I wondered if there could be another layer of shells in the sand below the first.
To find out, I grabbed my detector and swung it into the pit. The detector responded with multiple tones. That meant there were still metal objects buried below.
As I turned to put my detector back on the sand, I saw that Anna was coming my way. She had her head down watching the sand in front of her feet as she followed her grid line.
I picked up my sand scoop and began swinging it wildly over my head. Hoping to get her attention.
41
At first, Anna didn't see me.
I was standing above my treasure pit, trying to get her attention and hoping I didn't attract the attention of others on the beach. I didn't need strangers knowing I had found a pit filled with lost treasure.
Finally, she looked up and saw me. She smiled and waved. Then realizing that I was trying to get her attention, she cocked her head to the side, as if questioning what I was trying to say.
Using my right hand, I motioned for her to come join me. She understood immediately. Taking her headphones off, she walked quickly toward me.
As she got close enough for me to hear her, she asked, "You find something?"
I grinned and said, "You're not going to believe this."
I reached into my bag and retrieved the small clump of silver coins.
She stepped closer and said, "Wow! That's pretty good."
Still grinning like a fool, I said, "There's more."
I retrieved the second stack of coins and held them out for her to see.
Her eyes widened. "You found these, too? Where?"
I pointed to the pit behind me. "Down there. But that's not all I found."
Reaching into my shirt pocket I retrieved one of the gold coins.
"You found gold? Gold?"
I nodded. "Yes, and not just the one coin. I found three."
I put the gold coin back into my pocket, and retrieved the ring I'd found and held it out for Anna to see.
"And I found this."
Anna leaned over to get a closer look at the ring. "Can I hold it?"
I nodded yes.
She picked it up, felt it's weight, and then turned the ring so that the green stone caught the light of the sun.
Looking at me she whispered, "Do you know what this is? It's an emerald."
Handing the ring back she said, "Walker, you did really, really good. Where did you find all this?"
I pointed to the pit behind me, "Right there. Thanks to Jake."
42
"Jake? Who's Jake?" asked Anna.
I smiled. "You remember the car we pulled out of the sand yesterday during the storm?"
"Yes . . ."
"Well, Jake was the big black dog that was in the car."
Anna looked confused, "So what does the dog have to do with this treasure?"
I told her the story.
"Jake showed up earlier, and herded me over to this spot. He made me dig here."
"He made you dig? How'd he do that?"
"I was detecting my grid line, and Jake came and sat in front of me. And when I tried to get him to move, he wouldn't. Then he barked kind of like he was saying 'follow me'. "
Anna nodded.
"Then he came over to this spot and dug a small hole. He seemed to be telling me to dig here. So I dug. And I found the treasure."
Anna rubbed her head, "So you're saying that the dog led you to treasure?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying. And more importantly, now that you're here you can take your turn digging in this pit."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I dug the first layer and retrieved all this. But according to my detector, there's more down there.
"I've found my treasure. Now it's your turn."
Anna smiled, then looked at the ocean. "The tide's coming in pretty fast. This pit will be under water in less than an hour. We've got to hurry."
She swung her detector in the pit and smiled when the resulting tone indicated gold below.
But instead of climbing down into the pit, she paused and said, "I don't feel right about this. You found this treasure, so you should be digging it, not me. It's rightfully yours."
I shook my head, "That's not the way I see it. Jake found this. And since we were both involved in Jake's rescue, you deserve whatever you find down there.
"And you better hurry, the tide's coming in fast."
Anna nodded, "Okay, as long as you're sure."
I pointed to the ocean, and then pointed to the pit. "Dig!"
Anna climbed down into the pit and started removing the layer of shells below the ones I'd already dug out.
Sifting her hands through the softly packed wet sand, I could see that she'd found something. Gently she retrieved the object, brushed off the sand, and held it up for me to see.
It appeared to be half dollar sized coin. The sea water had tarnished it to almost solid black in color, but it was clearly silver. A Spanish silver coin.
Anna kept digging, and over the next thirty minutes, she found seven more silver coins, a badly bent silver fork, and a heavily encrusted silver cross.
The incoming tide was bringing the waves closer and closer and seawater was starting to spill over into the pit.
"Anna, we don't have much longer before the waves reach us. You need to get out of there soon."
"Not yet. Hand me my detector. I want to be sure we've gotten everything."
I handed her the detector and she swung it in the pit. It beeped.
"It's showing there's still gold down here. I'm going to find it."
Anna handed me the detector, then she crouched down in the pit, digging with b
oth hands. As she dug, small streams of water from the incoming tide began filling the bottom of the pit.
