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weird.”
    â€œWell the thing is now we need a shovel.”
    She was still having spasms of chill-like symptoms. “I’m too shaky to try and ride a horse. I’ll sit down here while you go get a shovel. I’ll be right here waiting.”
    He charged off on the gray, grabbed a shovel from the camp, and rode back to her in a hurry. When he got back, she was still seated hugging her arms and acting like she was freezing. The sun was too hot for that reaction.
    On her feet she ran to him and stood shaking her head in dismay. “Where do you think I got that power?”
    â€œYou always had it. The peach fork brought it out in you.”
    â€œI damn sure ain’t telling anyone but you about it. They’d lock me up if my story was exposed.”
    He dug for an hour in the soft sand. She began to speak discouragingly about the whole deal. “It probably was all a fluke. Nothing down there, is there?”
    Then his shovel struck something hollow.
    She jumped up. “What is it? What is it?”
    He was standing in the hole tossing the sandy material up on the ground beside her in a large pile. At last he unearthed a metal-bound chest. The dryness out there had preserved the wood from rot. A large lock swung on the hasp when he put the heavy box on the ground and climbed out.
    â€œOh my God.” Her hands pressed to her face, she stood shaking all over. “Looks just like I saw it brand-new.”
    Kneeling beside it, he used his pistol butt to bust the lock open. She joined him, mumbling about everything at once. The lid was stuck, but he finally pried it open, and the tarnished multiple-sided coins appeared.
    â€œThey ain’t worth nothing. No one in their right mind would take one of those old things. Shoot, we did all this work for a box full of goddamn junk.”
    He took out his rag and polished one of the coins in his fingers until a golden hue shone in the sunlight. He heard her suck in her breath.
    â€œAw sweet Jesus, they are sure enough real gold coins. Holy Christmas, we are rich. You crazy galoot, you found us a fortune.” She was hugging and kissing him like a wild woman. “Oh, I am going crazy. I can’t wait to get you in bed tonight. I’m going to really take you to the end.”
    He was covering the hole as fast as he could. “Go cut some sagebrush with my bowie knife. This needs to look like I never disturbed it.”
    â€œRight, we have to conceal all this, don’t we?”
    â€œRight.” His back muscles were beginning to ache from all the heavy digging.
    â€œWhere will we hide it?”
    â€œIn the false wagon bed under the floor in your wagon.”
    â€œGood, you show me. It will be safe there. Now tell me why was all this money way out here in the first place.”
    â€œBefore Thomas Jefferson bought this land, the Spaniards owned it. They may have been taking all of this to what is now St. Louis. The French got the land back, but Napoleon sold it to finance his wars.”
    â€œYou think there is more here?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œDo you think I could find it?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œThat really scares me worse than having bad dreams.”
    â€œWe need to be careful. There is enough here to be the target of a mutiny of men or a robbery.”
    â€œHow will we get it back?”
    â€œWe can sneak back to camp while all the men are gone hunting. I’ve heard several shots, so they have work out there. Meanwhile we will hide it.”
    â€œGood. You are so wonderful.” She hugged his neck and kissed him.
    He recovered the peach fork, then led the horse. Seated behind the cantle, she held the heavy box ahead of her on the saddle. They made it back undiscovered and hid the heavy loot in her wagon. He planned to bury the empty box later somewhere else. That would have to do for the time, but there were all sorts of things that bothered him about the safety of their treasure.
    Did anyone