Chapter 3
John was a little nervous with pursuing the information he learned from Mel. He finally got up the nerve after thinking about it all Sunday.
It was a beautiful cloudless blue sky that Monday morning in the Phoenix area. It was August 21st, 2006.
In John's apartment, he woke up all excited. He jumped out of his bed and grabbed his flip cell phone off his bedside table. He opened it up and made a call.
"Richard," his boss answered the call.
"Good morning, Richard. John Mathers here. I'm really sick today. I have a sore throat and a bad case of diarrhea," John said while he lied through his teeth.
"Okay, John. Get some rest, and I'll see you tomorrow," Richard responded.
"Yes sir," John said, then disconnected his cell phone call.
John clicked his heels while he rushed out of his bedroom.
Later that morning, John drove his Mustang east on the Superstition Highway, (U.S. 60) out of Apache Junction. While he drove down the Superstition Highway, he passed by a lovely red ranch house with red horse stable and a white fenced around an acre of yard for the horses to roam. The house belonged to Victor Lincoln, grandson of Mel Lincoln.
He eventually followed the signs for the Peralta Trailhead and drove through a housing development. The road eventually turned into a well-graded dirt road and drove to a dirt parking area at the dead end. He parked his car.
With the cowboy hat, he bought at the antique store, a backpack that had a shovel and handsaw tied to it and cell phone hung off his belt, John headed down Bluff Springs Trail.
He hiked this trail until it came upon Dutchman's Trail.
He headed down this new trail.
John walked through small streams.
He hiked by numerous Saguaro cacti.
He hiked by poppy flowers.
He hiked by spring desert flowers.
John eventually hiked along Dutchman's Trail until he saw Miners Needle. He removed the treasure map from his shirt pocket.
He looked at Miners Needle then back at his map. The temperature of the morning rose, and John was sweaty, and it gotten into his eyes. He removed his hat and used his shirt sleeve to wipe the sweat off his forehead.
He put his hat back on and continued his hike.
While John hiked farther down Dutchman's Trail in the direction of Miners Needle, he walked upon a section of some old rusted train tracks. They were once part of the old Southern Pacific rail line over one hundred years ago. Parts of this former rail line paralleled Dutchman's Trail as he walked in the direction of Miners Needle.
Twenty minutes later, he walked down the trail and got close to the base of Miners Needle. He looked at his map and looked back at Miners Needle, and no caves were visible.
He got curious when he saw a big rock approximately five feet tall by ten feet wide to the right of two big scrub bushes at the base of a rock wall at the bottom of Miners Needle.
He walked up to the big rock and laid his backpack down on the ground by the big rock. He walked up to the bushes and looked around. He peeked between the bushes.
"Hello," he said and immediately heard his voice while it echoed inside a cave.
John smiled with joy while he believed he found Crazy Hole.
He rushed over to his backpack and untied his handsaw.
He rushed back over to the bushes. He started to cut away branches from the left bush.
Twenty minutes later and more sweat, John tossed the bush to his left and saw the partial opening into Crazy Hole.
He rushed back over to his backpack and grabbed it. He rushed over to the big rock and laid his backpack and handsaw next to the rock. He untied his shovel from the backpack. He opened his backpack and removed a flashlight lantern.
He walked over to the cave opening when his cell phone rang with a cowboy ringtone of horses and gunfire. He removed his cell phone off his belt and answered his call.
"Hello," he answered his cell phone.
"John, I heard from Richard that you called in sick. You have diarrhea? Must be from that steak at The Outlaw restaurant. Another good reason never to eat there," Angie said from his cell phone.
"I'm not sick, Angie," John confessed into his cell phone.
"What? You shouldn't call in sick just to have a day off. That's not ethical," Angie scolded him from his cell phone.
"I know Angie. But why waste vacation time for a day off when I can call in sick?" he said.
"Whatever," Angie replied.
"I wanted to stay home because I went hiking and I found the cave, which I believe has the buried gold from one of Bart Stone' robbery," John told her.
"I hate to change this fascinating topic, but about this weekend, I called the golf course and reserved a ten o'clock tee time," Angie said.
"That sounds good. I'll call you later, Angie," he interrupted Angie then immediately turned off his cell phone and hung it back on his belt.
Back at the Western Snack and Vending Machine Company, Angie sat at her desk in her office. She stared at her cell phone and was pissed John cut off their discussion.
Back at Miners Needle, John walked to the cave opening with his shovel and flashlight in hand. He removed the treasure map from his shirt pocket and looked at it, then shoved it back in his shirt pocket. He turned on his flashlight just as he stepped into the cave.
It was dark and spooky inside Crazy Hole.
John illuminated the tunnel inside Crazy Hole with his flashlight while he walked through the cave with a shovel in hand.
For five minutes, the path inside the cave snaked and curved underneath Miners Needle.
John stopped as something felt wrong. It dawned on him. "Ah, man, I forgot my backpack," John said, and his voice echoed throughout the cave.
John's echo spooked hundreds of bats that clung to the ceiling of the cave. He heard the echoing sound of the bats while they flapped their wings in fear of John. Within seconds, hundreds of bats fluttered over his head. He panicked, dropped his flashlight. He danced around, swinging his shovel over his head.
"Ahhhh!" screamed John in fear of the bats while he swung his shovel over his head.
A thud sound echoed inside the cave and down went a bat John whacked.
John continued to swing his shovel over his head. Another thud sound echoed in the cave, and another bat hit the dirt.
John continued this for another five minutes. The sound of the bats dissipated. The cave got quiet. John picked up his flashlight and illuminated the area inside the cave, and all the bats were gone.
John walked down the cave, relieved and forgot about his backpack.
He walked down the cave for another five minutes. The cave dead-ended with another larger tunnel to the right.
John shined his flashlight on the tunnel to the right. It still remained dark and spooky and the light from the flashlight, for some strange reason, wouldn't illuminate the inside of that cave.
He removed the treasure map from his shirt pocket and shined his flashlight on it. On the map, he saw the drawing of a priest to the left of the dark and spooky tunnel.
He shined his flashlight at the left of that spooky tunnel and saw a stone embedded in the cave wall with a carved image of a priest holding a cross.
John had a huge grin and strutted over to the priest carving.
He set his flashlight down, and it illuminated the ground under the priest carving. He grabbed his shovel and dug under the priest carving. He threw dirt in the vicinity of the spooky tunnel and didn't notice the blue plasma flash while some of the dirt flew inside.
John dug for three minutes then his shovel hit something soft. He cautiously shoveled some more dirt off this soft object. He saw brown leather in the hole. He cautiously shoveled more dirt off the soft brown object. It became apparent what was buried in the ground; an old leather saddlebag with the initials "B.S." branded into it.
"Yeah!" John cried out, and his voice echoed in the cave at the same time he threw his shovel unknowingly into the dark spooky tunnel to his right and didn't notice the blue plasma flash.
John dropped to his knees and dug around the saddlebag with his hands. He got a hold of the bag and tugged on the bag. It moved an inch. He pulled harder.
It moved some more.
He tugged harder, and it broke free from the bonds of the earth. John flew backward and landed on his back.
John got back up on his knees and quickly opened the one right side of the saddlebag. He grabbed his flashlight and shined it on the bag. Inside it, he saw hundreds of 1883s gold and silver coins still in mint condition.
He reached in and pulled out a handful of coins. He smelled them.
He kissed them.
He dropped the coins back in the saddlebag.
He opened up the left side of the saddlebag and shined his flashlight inside it and saw more numerous gold and silver coins in mint condition.
John stood up and danced around in the dirt for joy.
"I'm going to be rich! I'm going to be rich! With all these old western coins," John cried out, and it echoed in the cave while he in joy while he danced around the dirt.
He stopped and cringed in fear of his echoing scaring more bats. He shined his flashlight on the ceiling of the cave. No bats were visible, and he was relieved.
He glanced back at these pristine old coins. "Man, I would love to go back to eighteen eighty-three," he said while glanced at that old bag. "Maybe September 2nd, eighteen eighty-three," he said, picking out a date for fun.
John shined his flashlight around the ground and looked around the area. "Where did I throw my shovel?" John looked at the tunnel and figured it went inside it.
He walked over to the tunnel and entered it.
The split second he entered inside the tunnel, blue plasma light flashed and illuminated all around him. It stung his whole body.
"Ahhhh!" John cried out in pain while he walked through the tunnel.
Within a split second, John was back outside the cave where the dark overcast sky with a definite hint of rain, and it was a little cooler.
John looked around and saw his shovel three feet away.
He walked over and picked it up. He looked around a little confused. Then it dawned on him that he was now back outside the cave opening he entered. But the cave opening looked different. The other bush that blocked the cave entrance to the right was gone. He noticed a four-foot gap between the big rock and the rock wall that the other half of the bush hid from his view.
He walked over to the big rock and peeked behind it.
"Where's my backpack?" he asked while he looked around the base of the big rock.
He looked back at the cave opening. "How did that other bush disappear?" he asked while he got even more confused.
He heard the sound of horses while they galloped nearby about twenty feet away.
John looked in the direction of that sound and saw four, rough-looking, cowboys on horses while they raced in his direction.
Two of those cowboys turned around and fired their pistols behind them.
That scared John, and he squeezed behind the big rock into that four-foot gap.
He peeked over the top of the rock and watched the cowboys while they raced by him on their horses.
He heard other horses that galloped from the direction those cowboys came from. More gunfire and a couple of bullets ricocheted off the rock wall above John's head. John immediately ducked down. No more gunfire was heard, so John peeked over the top.
He saw Clint Bartley, a twenty-eight-year-old handsome man with a long scar on the left side of his face and a Marshal's badge pinned to his shirt, as he covered the Phoenix area for enforcing the law. He galloped his horse after those cowboys. Clint fired his pistols at the four cowboys that raced away.
Clint raced his horse past the rock and was soon out of sight.
He looked so familiar. John thought while he watched Clint race his horse after the cowboys.
It was quiet with no more gunfire or horses, so John cautiously stepped out from behind the rock. He looked around confused as to what just happened.
"A cowboy show with real bullets?" John looked around. "Maybe they're shooting a movie?" John looked around some more and didn't see a movie crew with cameras.
A train whistle was heard.
John looked and saw black smoke that billowed from an old western train off in the direction of the Dutchman's Trail. He looked baffled when he saw a Southern Pacific train while it raced north down the rails that he hiked over earlier. But he hiked over rusty old tracks that were abandoned one hundred years ago.
John got even more confused while he watched the Southern Pacific train while it raced north up the tracks.
The bottom of the sky opened up, and it poured on John. He knew he wasn't back. But where and when was he? He wondered. "I better get back," he said while he grabbed his shovel and ran back inside the cave.
He cried out in pain while the blue plasma light illuminated inside the tunnel and stung the hell out of him.
John rushed out of the tunnel in pain and stood still to collect his thoughts.
What the hell just happened? And where was I? John thought to himself as he looked back at the tunnel.
He looked and saw old saddlebag still on the ground. He walked over and picked it up and slung it over his shoulder.
He illuminated the cave and walked down the path away from the dark and spooky tunnel.
While John walked down the cave, he didn't know what to expect when he would get to the cave entrance; or the other cave entrance. Or would he ever get out of this cave alive?
John exited the cave opening and stepped outside. He was shocked to see a cloudless blue sky, and it was hot. That bush still blocked the right side of the cave opening was still there. The bush he cutaway was still on the ground. His backpack and handsaw were on the ground by the big rock.
He looked around the area still confused with what just happened.
The memory of Mel's voice while he said "strange land and people" echoed in John's head.
John tied his shovel and handsaw to his backpack. He grabbed it and walked away towards Dutchman's Trail with Bart's saddlebag slung across his shoulder containing his loot.
It walked to the old rusted section of the former Southern Pacific train tracks. He looked back at Crazy Hole.
He rushed away down Dutchman's Trail and started to believe he might have made a mistake.
John continued his trek down Dutchman's Trail, and the past events of being inside Crazy Hole ran through his mind.
Later that day, he finally hiked back to the parking area and got to his car. He put his stuff inside and drove away.
While John drove his Mustang down U.S. 60, he thought about Crazy Hole. He thought about what Mel told him.
He thought about the train he saw, and it was a train that doesn't exist today.
He thought about the cowboys on horses shooting real bullets and how one of them looked like Marshal Clint Bartley.
He had a weird eerie feeling.
"Did I go back in time?" he cried out loud in his car. That was the only explanation he could think just happened.
John parked his Mustang at his apartment complex parking lot.
He rushed to his apartment with his backpack and Bart's saddlebag.
Inside his apartment, John rushed over to his computer.
He dropped his backpack and saddlebag on the floor by his couch.
He turned on the computer, and while his old Dell booted up, John rushed over to the coffee table and grabbed his "Outlaw and Lawmen of Arizona" book. He opened the book and thumbed through it. He stopped at a page, and his eyes lit up.
"I knew it," he cried out excited.
The page had a picture of Clint Bartley the Town Marshal of Oak Creek and his sixty-year-old Deputy Elmer Filson along with a short story.
"Clint Bartley was Town Marshal of Oak Creek from eighteen eighty-one until eighteen eighty-five. He was killed along with his Deputy, Elmer Filson on September 25th, eighteen eighty-four when they tried to arrest Bart Stone and Charlie Chandler after they robbed the stagecoach in route from Oak Creek to Phoenix," John read from the book.
John's Dell finally booted up, and he rushed over to it. He opened up Yahoo, and he typed in "Time Travel in the Superstition Mountains" in the search block.
The first page had results for the Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club, guides for tours of the Superstition Mountains, visiting Apache Junction, the Superstition Mountain museum and other similar hits. John clicked on the next pages of search results.
At the end of the sixth page, John found a link for a website about time travel stories. It was called "I Traveled In Time." John opened up the site. He scrolled down the links of stories and found something of interest. It was titled "Phoenix Man Claims He Traveled in Time To Old West." He clicked on the link, and it opened up. It was an old Phoenix Herald article dated August 18th, 1950.
"Phillip Yoemans, age twenty, made a claim of time traveling back to eighteen eighty last week while hunting for buried gold in a cave in the Superstition Mountains. Authorities discounted Mister Yoemans claim of time travel and requested an immediate psychiatric examination," John read the Internet article.
There was a black and white picture of Phillip Yoemans while he was being interviewed by Phoenix Detectives. John got a huge smile on his face, as he knew Phillip was related to Peter Yoemans. He was the son that Mel mentioned in the library.
John's cell phone rang. He answered it while he stared at the article. "Angie," John answered
"Why did you disconnect my call? Do you know how rude that is? What's wrong with you?" she yelled at him from his cell phone, and she was so loud he had to hold his cell away from his ear.
"I'm sorry, Angie! Really sorry! But you'll never believe what happened! I went hunting for Bart Stone buried treasure, and I found it! He buried gold and silver coins, and they're in mint condition. But the coolest part is, when I went after my shovel inside another tunnel, I found myself back in the old west! I actually traveled back in time. Exactly what time, I don't know. But I actually traveled back in time to the old west. I saw the old Southern Pacific train as it ran down the tracks by Miners Needle," John said and waited for a response from Angie.
There was silence from his cell phone. "Angie? Are you there?" he asked. Nothing but silence and John realized she hung up.
He shrugged her off and set his cell phone by his computer while he continued to read Phillip's article.
In her kitchen in her apartment, Angie slammed her cell phone down on the counter. She stormed out of the kitchen, furious with John.
Back in John's apartment, he searched for the address of Phillips Yoemans on the Internet.
One address for a Phillip Yoemans showed up in the results with a phone number. John grabbed his cell phone and punched in Phillip's phone number.
"Hello," Phillip answered from the cell phone, and his voice sounded like he was an old man.
"Mister Yoemans, my name is John Mathers. I would like to talk to you about your experience you had way back in nineteen fifty," John said into his cell phone.
"Leave me alone!" Phillip yelled from John's cell phone.
John disconnected his call and knew he had the right Phillip Yoemans. He turned off his Dell by pressing the power button.
He walked over to Bart's saddlebag and opened up one of the bags. He reached inside and removed eight gold and silver coins. He placed them in his pocket.
He rushed over to his coffee table and grabbed Peter Yoemans journal. He rushed to his apartment door and left.