Trail Head and Parking: N35 10.882 W080 54.461
The Old House: N35 11.113 W080 54.556
All points averaged.
As the man walked up the path, it was obvious that he knew where
he was going. Hesitant at first, he had a swagger as his head moved
first to one side and then the other. He was cautious and crafty
and he had the look of a fox just before he entered the hen house.
If you looked closely, you could see the crude black tattoo that
covered the whole inside of his left arm. The letters spelled out
“Done my Time”, black because that was the only color you could
make in prison with burnt and ground rubber and it was on his left
arm because he did it himself with his right hand. “Done my time”
became a mantra to him and he was called “done” by other inmates in
prison but the authorities called him by his number 143562778. He
didn’t recognize the turns in the path as it had been a little over
twenty three years since his last visit. He had put in twenty years
at Joliet plus three years more for some bad behavior. He knew he
was close when he passed the two “settin stones”, as Aunt Cora
called them. Immediately he saw the house, or what was left of it
about 70 yards to the left. Also to the left was the smokehouse,
also in bad shape. It looked as if it was packed with old peach
crates. To the right was the well, still open to the elements and
he wondered if Jose (or what was left of him) was still down there.
The well deserved only a cursory glance.
He and Jose had such a sweet deal until Jose got greedy and hid
the money. Then one night, twenty some years ago, he accosted Jose,
held the knife to his throat as he bent him backwards over the well
and forced him to tell where the map of the treasure was. “Al lado
de la casa”, He screamed and choked as he tumbled down the well to
the water. Night closed in over the gurgling water and the grinning
man as the windlass whined and the wooden bucket banged on the
sides on its fall to the water below. He didn’t have a flashlight
and he didn’t understand too much Spanish so he decided to wait
until the next day to hunt for the loot. That’s when the Feds
caught him and now he is starting all over again.
Did the former prisoner understand the clues? Did he discover
the treasure after 23 years or is it still there waiting to be
discovered? PLEASE BE CAREFUL AROUND THE OLD HOUSE. IT IS QUITE
DILAPIDATED AND UNSAFE. LOTS OF NAILS, BROKEN BOARDS AND ITEMS TO
SNAG YOURSELF ON. THE OLD WELL IS NOW CLOSED AND THE ONE REMAINING
WALL LOOKS AS IF IT WILL FALL DOWN NEXT WEEKEND. AS THERE IS NO
SAFE PLACE TO AFIX THE CO-ORDS FOR THE CACHE, I AM JUST GOING TO
GIVE THEM TO YOU AS THEY WERE FIRST PRINTED ON THE WALLS. ^11.171
<54.321 STILL NEED HELP? GO BACK TO THE FIRST TWO SENTENCES IN
THE DESCRIPTION.......HAPPY TRAILS AND HOPE THAT YOU FIND JOSE'S
TREASURE...