They reviewed the first few paragraphs. Gage paused and looked around.
“This is the harshest country we’ve encountered so far.” His gaze ran over the barren landscape, just boulders and cactus and dirt. “On the surface, there isn’t much to distinguish this place from a hundred others. Read the next passage.”
Abby looked back at King’s notes. “‘Find the low stone wall at the base of the arroyo. If you study it closely, you’ll see it’s not part of the natural landscape. It’s man-made.’ ”
It took thirty minutes of intense searching to locate a stone wall that was only a foot high and so worn it simply looked like a pile of rocks. Abby’s excitement swelled the moment she recognized it as the place in King’s notes. Though she had read the notes a dozen times, it was different now that they were actually there.
“I found it!” she called out to Gage, who turned and strode along the narrow path at the base of the arroyo until he reached her side.
“There!” She pointed. “That’s the wall.”
Gage crouched next to the pile of rocks, surveying the fit of the stones, which was too perfect to be an accident of nature. “Once you see the pattern, you can tell this was part of a larger structure.”
Abby looked down at King’s notes. “‘Looking east from the stone wall, dig down two feet to an old wooden ammunition box. Inside the box is what you’ll need to find the treasure.’ ”
“I’ll get the shovel,” Gage said and returned a few minutes later with the handle gripped in his hand. Placing a big boot on the head of the blade, he drove the shovel into the ground and started digging.
Abby’s heart raced faster with each load of dirt he scooped out and tossed aside. Her mouth felt dry but her palms were damp.
“Please . . .” she whispered softly.
The low stone wall was about six feet long. The first hole yielded nothing. Gage moved the blade, dug down a couple of feet, and found nothing. With the ground so dry and hard, it wasn’t easy work. A third dry hole. Gage moved the shovel and started digging again.
Abby’s tension built. Maybe there was another group of stones that formed a wall. Maybe she should re-read the notes, check for something she’d missed.
She looked at Gage, who had stripped off his shirt. A fine sheen of perspiration covered his heavily muscled body. Even with her mind fixed on the treasure, desire slipped through her.
It wasn’t fair. Not when she had so little effect on his iron control.
The shovel dug in, and Abby’s thoughts returned to the treasure. With a soft thunk, the blade hit something solid. Gage dropped to his knees, and Abby dropped down beside him. As they scooped out the dry, powdery earth, she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a piece of wood.
They scooped out more dirt, and the top of an old wooden box appeared.
Gage dug around it, then reached down to lift it out. His muscles strained. The box was heavy. Gage took a more solid grip on the box, hefted it out of the hole, and set it on the ground. In faded red letters, SHURSHOTREMINGTONARMSappeared on the side of the dovetailed box.
“Looks like this is it,” Gage said. “You ready?”
She swallowed and nodded, her long braid moving against her back. “I’m ready.”
Gage slid out his big knife and pried open the lid, set it aside. The box was filled with sand.
Gage growled something she couldn’t quite hear, but Abby was already digging through the sand, scooping handfuls out of the box.
Abby sucked in a breath at the quick glint of gold. Her heart thumped so hard a pain throbbed beneath her breastbone.
Reaching into the box, she sifted down and pulled out a shiny chunk of ingot much like the one she’d left in Denver. Next to it was a folded sheet of paper, clearly a letter. Abby handed the gold to Gage and opened the letter with trembling hands.
“What’s it say?” Gage asked.
She took a breath and started to read. “‘If the person who found this note is my granddaughter, then I am no longer on this earth.’ ”Her eyes suddenly welled. She glanced up at Gage, blinked to clear her vision, then went back to reading.
“‘Do not grieve for me, Abby. I was blessed with a long life filled with Excitement and glory. I do not regret a single day. I have left you my few worldly possessions, but in leaving you the map, I gave you the gift you wanted most in the world—a grand adventure.’ ”
Her heart sank. Sending her out on a wild trek through the desert—fulfilling her lifelong dream of adventure—was something King would do.
“Keep reading,” Gage said darkly.
“ ‘Do not despair, sweet girl. The Devil’s Gold is real.’ ”She couldn’t resist a quick look at Gage. He was frowning. Abby kept reading. “ ‘If you are here, you know about the Peraltas. You’ve learned everything you need to know and have proven yourself strong Enough to go after the treasure.’”
