by Bill Myers
Ignoring the water, Anna kept digging. But she wouldn't be able to dig much longer. The tide was coming in fast, and waves were starting to circle the pit.
As the sand around the top of the pit became soaked, it began to crumble and slide down around Anna's feet.
"Anna, you need to get out of there. The tide is coming in pretty fast."
"Two more minutes! That's all I need."
A large wave crashed over the pit, splashing a slurry of wet sand down onto Anna. She ignored it and kept digging.
Grabbing our detectors, I carried them up the beach away from incoming tide. Then I came back to haul Anna out of the pit, whether she wanted to come out or not.
As I reached the edge of the pit, Anna stood up, triumphantly holding gold coins in her clenched fist.
"Got them! Now help me out."
I reached for her and we locked arms, wrist over wrist.
The walls of the pit were saturated and the wet sand under Anna's feet collapsed with each step as she tried to climb her way out.
The harder she scrambled, the faster the sand filled in the hole. It quickly covered her feet, then her ankles. The heavy, slushy mix inched up toward her knees with each fresh wave.
If wet sand filled to her waist, the suction would make it impossible to get her out of the pit. In minutes, her head would be underwater.
We both knew this. I planted my feet and leaned back, struggling to pull her out.
I realized that each time a wave washed over us, there was a moment when the water would soften the sand enough to pull Anna a few more inches further out of the pit.
Timing our efforts with these waves, me pulling with both arms and her pushing with both feet, I finally dragged her over the edge and onto the beach.
Almost immediately, the pit collapsed and filled in with wet sand. Just a few feet away, Anna lay sprawled on the beach, her breath ragged.
She looked up at me and smiled. Then she opened her tightly closed fist revealing three gold coins and said, "We found treasure!"
I helped Anna stand, and we gathered up our detecting gear. Based on the speed of the incoming tide, Anna reckoned we had less than thirty minutes before the entire beach would be under water.
We were both soaking wet, covered with sand, and weighed down with detecting gear and treasure. We knew the walk back to the Cruiser would be slow and difficult.
But our spirits were lifted by the treasure we had found, and we quickly made our way down the beach. After twenty minutes, Anna pointed at something high up on the dune ahead.
The wooden skeleton of a Spanish Galleon.
43
I stared in disbelief. There was no way a Spanish Galleon should be here on the beach. The wood would have rotted away long ago.
Anna shook her head, "It's not what you think. It's a replica. Put there by the people who run the McLarty treasure museum.
"That ship tells us we've reached the walkover to the museum. And that's where I parked the Cruiser."
I was too tired to reply. And happy that we were leaving the incoming tide and beach behind.
When we reached Anna's Land Cruiser, we unloaded our gear into the back, wiped the sand off our clothes and got in.
Anna spoke first, "Where to?"
"How about this," I replied. "Let's go back to the campground and clean up. And then we can get something to eat."
Anna smiled, "Sounds good to me."
Back at the park entrance, we were greeted by a ranger who advised us that the park power was back on and that we could move back to our riverfront site whenever we wanted.
I was happy to hear this. Even though our new campsite by the restrooms offered protection from the wind during the storm, it also had distinct outhouse odor.
When we got back to the motorhome, Bob greeted us at the door with a very loud "Meoooow." He was either happy to see us, or wanted food.
I went back and checked his bowls. They were both nearly full. I guess he was just happy to see us.
Back up front, Anna had spread a layer of paper towels on the dining table. On top of the towels she was arranging her finds for the day.
Three gold coins, eight silver coins, the broken silver fork, and a small silver cross.
I nodded, "Pretty impressive."
She smiled, "We did good today. We found gold and silver coins. And Spanish artifacts. All from that one honey hole. Pretty amazing!"
I smiled. "Yeah, thanks to Jake."
Anna looked at me and said, "Do you really think Jake knew there was treasure there? Or was it just a lucky coincidence?"
I shook my head, "I don't know. He was pretty insistent I dig in that one spot. He acted like he knew there was something there.
"So I guess it's possible. Dogs have been trained to find lots of things. Maybe Jake has a nose for gold and silver."
Anna smiled, "If he does, I'd sure like to follow him around."
"Yeah," I said. "Me too!"
Anna sorted her treasure and carefully wrapped each item in a paper towel, then put them in her overnight bag.
When she was done, I put out fresh paper towels and laid my treasures on top.
I'd found three gold coins, two stacks of Spanish silver coins, and the big gold ring with the green stone.
Not bad for a morning on the beach.
Anna looked over my finds and said, "That ring is unbelievable. No telling what it's worth."
Then she asked, "You ready for lunch?"
I was. As I wrapped up my treasures, Anna rummaged through the fridge and came out with everything she needed to make us turkey sandwiches.
After eating I asked, "So, what about the rest of the day? We going back out on the beach?"
Shaking her head, she said, "According to the tide charts, high tide won't be for another three hours.
"That means the beach will be pretty much under water until around seven this evening. So, unless you want to go back out after dark, detecting is over for the day."
I nodded. "That's okay with me. I'm a little tired. Not sure if I want to go out again.
"And since the ranger said we can move back to our original campsite, maybe we ought to do that. Then if you want, we can go into town and get some more supplies."
Smiling, Anna said, "Sounds like a good plan to me."
Then she asked, "How long you plan on staying here in the campground?"
I thought a moment, then replied, "My original plan was to stay through Saturday. Today is Tuesday, which means at least four more days. How about you? How long are you staying?"
She smiled, "It depends. How much longer are you going to let me sleep on your couch?"
44
After lunch, I cleaned up and took the trash bag outside to the nearest container. While outside, I checked the campground showers and was happy to see that the water had been turned back on.
Back inside, I announced my findings and told Anna I was going to take a hot shower in the campground bathroom, then move the motorhome back to the original campsite.
Anna said she too would be taking a shower, and suggested I lock the motorhome while we were out, since we both had treasures worth stealing.
I agreed, and before heading to the showers, I put my treasure finds in the small safe I kept under the bed in the back. The same place I kept my gun.
With our treasures secure, I locked the motorhome and we headed toward the showers, agreeing to meet back at the campsite in twenty minutes.
The men's side of the campground bathroom had two shower stalls with locking doors. Both were empty, so I took the far stall and locked the door behind me.
Stripping down, I turned on the water and stepped into the shower. At first, the water was cold, but soon warmed up and turned hot.
It felt great, relieving some of the aches in my elbow and shoulders I'd gotten from swinging the detector all morning.
I took my time in the shower, letting the steaming water rinse away the dirt and sand I'd accumulated during our morning
adventure.
After about ten minutes, I turned off the water and grabbed a towel. As I was drying off, Anna called from the bathroom door, "Walker, you still in there?"
"Yep, be out in a minute."
She shouted back, "If you like, I could come and join you."
I hesitated, then said, "Sure, come on it. I don't know how the other guys in here would feel, but it's fine with me."
I was bluffing. While taking a shower with Anna sounded like fun, I wasn't sure it'd be the right thing to do. Not until I knew where I stood with Sarah.
Instead of waiting for her, I quickly dressed and headed out the door.
She was standing outside, drying her hair with a towel.
I smiled and asked, "How was your shower?"
"Lonely. How was yours?"
"Mine was great. The water was hot and it felt good to finally wash off all that sand."
I turned toward the motorhome, "You ready?"
"You bet!" she replied.
After unlocking the door, Anna followed me into the motorhome and we hung our wet clothes on the shower rod in the bathroom.
Back up front, I asked, "You ready to move back to our original campsite?"
"Sure, if you are."
"I'm ready. But I need to bring the slide in. Think you can hold Bob for a few minutes?"
Bob was already at Anna's feet, rubbing against her ankles. She bent over and picked him up.
Once the slide was safely in, I did a quick check to make sure everything inside was secure. I didn't want anything crashing to the floor once I got the motorhome moving.
While I made these preparations, Anna sat at the dinette table, petting Bob and watching me.
When I was finished, she asked, "Are you mad at me?"
"No, not at all. Why do you ask?"
"Well, since our shower, you haven't said much. I hope I didn't embarrass you."
"Anna, it's nothing like that. I'm just tired from swinging the detector all morning. But I'm looking forward to our trip into town, assuming you still want to go."
Anna smiled, "Yes, I still want to go. I need to get some food. And a new tent. Mine blew away in the storm."
I shook my head, "Anna, you don't need a tent. You can stay here as long as you want."
"I know, but it's better if I have my own place. You might be getting tired of me."
"Not a chance. I like having you around. And so does Bob."
She smiled, "That's nice to know. But I still need to replace my tent and sleeping bag. I'll need them after you leave."
I nodded, "I guess you're right. But you're welcome to stay here, even if you get a new tent."
She walked over and gave me a hug, then headed for the door. "I need to move the Land Cruiser before you can move the motorhome. I'll meet you at the old campsite."
She walked out the door, leaving me and Bob behind. He looked up a me, blinked his eyes and said, "Murrph."
Apparently Bob didn't like seeing Anna leave. He liked having her around. I guess I did too.
I said to him, "Bob, we're going to be moving in a minute. You might want to get somewhere safe."
Seeing me sit down in the driver's seat, Bob ran to the back. I started the motorhome and drove down to our original campsite, then carefully backed onto the parking pad.
Going outside, I connected the power and water hookups, and made sure there was plenty of room for the slide-out.
Back inside, I grabbed Bob, and while holding him, I ran the slide-room out. Bob was always fascinated when the slide went out, especially if it meant the windows above the couch gave him a perch where he could watch birds and squirrels.
Today was his lucky day. Birds fluttered in the small oaks that lined the side of our campsite. Bob was soon on the top of the couch, watching them.
His little bump of a tail would flick when a bird came tantalizingly close. Even though Bob was an inside cat, his instincts were still from the jungle.
As I was admiring Bob, Anna knocked on the door.
"Come on in."
I pointed to the dinette and said, "Sit."
She sat.
"Anna, let's clear the air. I don't want there to be any bad feelings between us. Especially on the day we both found amazing treasures on the beach."
She smiled uncertainly.
"So here's the deal. I may have a girlfriend back in Englewood. I may not. I guess I won't be sure until I get back."
"Until then, I'm not going to fool around and risk losing her. I hope you understand."
Anna nodded, then said, "What makes you think I'm interested in fooling around with you?
"If it's because of that comment back at the showers, you can just forget it. Because that was a joke.
"And anyway, I'm not the kind of girl that fools around with someone I just met."
I nodded. Then smiled big.
"Okay then. It's settled. No fooling around."
Then I said, "We found treasure today. Let's go into town, get some food, maybe something to drink, and come back here and celebrate."
She grinned, "I can't believe how lucky you are. You get rescued by a beautiful woman. Then a stranger gives you a valuable silver coin. Then a dog leads you to a horde of gold and silver treasure.
"You've got be the luckiest guy on the planet."
I nodded, "Yeah, I've heard that before."
She smiled, "Okay, Mr Lucky. Let's go to town, get some supplies, then come back here and celebrate."
And that's what we did.
45
Before we left for town, Anna retrieved her gym bag and took it out to the Land Cruiser. Still inside, I checked on Bob, then locked up the motorhome. Didn't want anyone breaking in to steal my Spanish treasures, or bothering Bob.
Out in the Land Cruiser, Anna was ready to go. I jumped in, and we headed out.
We were both pretty happy. We'd found treasure. Gold and silver. And the day had gone well.
Anna drove the eighteen miles down A1A toward Vero beach, then turned right toward the highway 60 bridge that crossed the intracoastal waterway and the Indian River.
We caught the red light, and while stopped, Anna said, "Looks like the bridge is open. That's good."
I nodded.
When the light turned green, Anna headed over the bridge. From my side, I could look down over the bridge railing and see several boats that had broken their moorings and ended up beached on the sandbars below.
I was happy not to have been in a boat during the storm. It wouldn't have been pleasant.
At the bottom of the bridge, Anna turned left, then followed highway 60 through the city of Vero.
As she slowed for another stop light she said, "There's three places I want to go.
"WalMart to get a tent and sleeping bag. Publix to get food. And right up here, Ken's Coins."
Anna pulled into a small strip mall and parked in front of a store with black metal security grates on the windows and doors.
A small overhead sign read, "Ken's Coins. We buy gold and silver."
Anna grabbed her gym bag and got out of the Cruiser. Turning back to me she said, "Come on in. You'll find this interesting."
I got out and followed her to the store's front door. A sign on the door read, 'ring buzzer for service.'
Above the door, a small security camera was mounted so that it would capture the image of anyone pressing the buzzer.
Anna buzzed and a few moments later a man's voice came from the speaker above the door.
"What can I help you with?"
Anna looked up toward the camera and said, "Ken, it's me, Anna. I've got a coin I want to show you."
There was no response from the speaker, but the door buzzed and we heard the bolt unlock.
Anna opened the door and we went in. The door closed behind us, and the deadbolt locked electronically.
Inside, the store was narrow, probably no more than fifteen feet wide. A glass display case at the back, separated the public area from the employees. Behind
it, a wall of mirrors, with a doorway leading into a small office.
