by Marjory, age 15
When Ellie and I got home from our last day of school, we found Pa in the barn cinching a saddle on King. Silver and Copper stood nearby, saddled and bridled. Wanderin’ Willy had stayed the night before and regaled us with gold stories. He’d even given us a map to the buried treasure he’d told us he’d never go back to, so my mind ran to maybe Pa was going to go look for the treasure.
“What’s
goin’ on Pa?” Ellie asked.
“Yeah.
What’re you doing?” I seconded.
“Quit
askin’ questions and pack what you’ll need for a couple days trip,” Pa replied.
I
turned and raced to catch up with Ellie. Our things were soon packed. I grabbed
a canteen and Ellie grabbed the lantern.
Pa
was up for an adventure every now and again, and besides, we had a map for
where the gold was buried.
For
two days we traveled, nearing the gold. We made camp next to a quiet stream and
while Pa made supper, Ellie and I took care of the horses. I slept peacefully
after I studied the map and figured we were camped on the creek that came from
the waterfall.
After
a quick breakfast we saddled the horses and continued on up the creek. The way
soon became rocky and steep. Pa dismounted. “We’ll leave the horses here. They
should be fine.”
The
horses nickered after us as we continued the climb. The excitement pushed me
faster and soon I couldn’t see Ellie or Pa. But that didn’t worry me. I had
Nugget.
The
trees seemed to get closer and I felt as though they were reaching out to touch
me. I stopped for a moment and just listened to the birds chirping, the
squirrels chattering and the wind in the pines. I loved being high in the
mountains. Pressing on, I broke through a thick line of trees and heard the
sound of a waterfall. Breaking into a run, I crossed the small clearing and
collided with a big ponderosa tree a few feet from the edge of a deep canyon
with the stream at the bottom.
The
waterfall was at the other end, sending diamond-colored spray high into the
air. I stared at it, soaking in the beauty and waiting for Pa and Ellie to
catch up.
“So
it’s true, it’s really true!” I breathed. I’d learned the hard way that
everything you hear isn’t exactly the gospel truth. Pa and Ellie then arrived.
“Oh!
It’s so pretty!” Ellie exclaimed. “Did ya find the gold?”
“Shucks
Ellie, I just got here. I haven’t had time to look,” I replied, exasperated.
Ellie was a great companion, but she didn’t always think before she blurted
what came to mind.
Pa
had the map out and was studying it, comparing it to the surroundings. Soon he
handed me the map and started walking toward the cliff face. Eagerly I glanced
at the map. I found where we were right off and realized the gold was probably
hidden behind the falls.
Ellie
had deserted me for Pa and when I looked for them I saw them climbing the rock
face toward a dark spot. As I watched, Ellie disappeared into the cave. A split
second later I heard her yell in a disgusted tone.
“There
ain’t nothin’ here.” As I was running to meet them, I looked up and next thing
I knew I was lying on a cold damp floor littered with rocks the size of my
fist. I opened my eyes and got a drip of water in one. Boy, did it sting.
Blinking vigorously I glanced around the dark cave. Struggling to my feet, I
noticed a gleam of something. Stumbling that way, my foot hit something that
fell with a metallic clink into a small trickle that ran through the cave.
Instantly I was down on my knees feeling around and found some small round coins.
Gold! The long-lost treasure! I had found it!
“Jem!”
Came faintly from above. I quickly slipped a couple coins into my pocket before
answering.
“I’m
in here!” I replied, my voice echoing hollowly through the cave.
Ellie’s
face appeared in the opening. “Jem! What happened?”
“I
fell in here and, Ellie, you’ll never believe this! I found the treasure!”
At the word treasure, Ellie fell through the
hole. “Where is it?”
“It’s
over by the trickle.” I pointed as Ellie bolted for the spot.
“Ya’ll
right son?” Pa asked, slipping through the hole. “Ellie said you found it?”
“Over
there.” I had a hard time keeping the pride out of my voice. After all, I’d
found it. Pa came back with a coin and boosted Ellie and me out before
following. I watched Pa’s face close as he examined the coin. Pa had no
expression on his face whatsoever. Finally he looked up.
“Jem,
Ellie, I’ll admit I wanted to find that gold just as much as you two did. But
I’m afraid this isn’t gold. It’s pinchbeck gold.”*
“But—”
Ellie started before taking the coin Pa handed her. Astonished, I took mine out
and looked at it closely. Pa was right. They definitely weren’t gold. But why
would you waste the time to mint pinchbeck gold?
Ellie
asked the question. Inwardly I thanked her.
“My
guess is the Frenchmen wanted to throw their enemies off track by making them
think they’d buried the treasure, but they actually took it with them.” Pa
speculated. Crestfallen, Ellie and I, along with Pa, headed back for the
horses. No richer, but wiser in the knowledge of gold.
On
the ride home, Ellie spoke. “I’d rather have my implicit trust in Jesus than
all the gold in the world.”
Pa
smiled. “That’s my girl.”
I
nodded, agreeing with Ellie’s statement. A saviour who died for everyone’s sins is
worth more than all the riches this world can offer. ‘A little that a righteous
man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.’ Proverbs 37:16
*Pinchbeck is a high-quality
imitation gold alloy made of copper and zinc.
Good job!
ReplyDeleteI like it!
ReplyDelete