We've Come a 'Fer Piece

After more encouragement on our part, coupled with a bribe of a large part of the treasure proceeds, Chris agreed to the plan. Man, what a mistake that was. At first, everything went according to plan. The Mastermind tied Chris’ feet together with this best Boy Scout shear lashing and then tied a length of rope to the lashing. Chris positioned himself at the edge of the hole and started down. Second big mistake! The three of us on top took a strain on the rope and lowered him down into the hole. “A little more. A little more. It's dark down here. I can't see anything. Here's the bottom. Okay, I've got it. Pull me up.” The three of us pulled. Nothing. We pulled again. Still nothing. “Hey, c'mon guys. Pull me up. I'm not kiddin'. It's dark down here.” “Stuff a sock in it, Chris. Turn on the stupid light and look for treasure.” An excellent stalling tactic while we tried not to panic. “Oh, yeah. I forgot. It's kinda scary down here. Okay, I can see. No treasure here. Pull me up now.” The three of us really put our backs into it. Nothing. “He's stuck!” The Mastermind whispered the obvious none too softly. Trying to fight down the rising panic, I offered “Naw, let's try again.” “Hey, c'mon guys. I said there's no treasure down here. Pull me up.” “Uh, Chris. We're tryin' man. I think you’re stuck.” The Mastermind called out. Well, that got the old panic juices boiling down in that hole with Chris. It was probably a good thing that the hole was so small that he didn't have enough room to swing around or he'd have really hurt himself with all of that thrashing going on. “Calm down, Chris.” I called. I remembered my Mom telling me things like that when I'd gotten into jams before. It seemed like the thing to do, but it didn't seem to have the same effect though. “One of us has to get his Dad.” The Mastermind said. He and Jerry looked at me expectantly. “This is all your idea (Man, was I getting to hate hearing that.), Steve. You go get him.” The Mastermind said flat out. “But, it was Jerry's idea for Chris to go into the hole. He should get Sergeant Stonebreaker.” I pleaded to no avail. “I can't breathe down here!” Chris cried. “Sure you can. There's lots of air down there.” The Mastermind said, furiously motioning for me to get my buns in gear. Fortunately for us, not to mention Chris, that was a true statement; there was plenty of room for air to get past his back, chest, and shoulders to his wide open mouth. Of course, at the time, we didn’t know that. With a sense of foreboding urgency, I trotted off to get Sergeant Stonebreaker, a man who was not known among the neighborhood kids as one having a great sense of humor. After pounding on the Stonebreaker’s back door, Mrs. Stonebreaker answered. “Oh, hello, Steve. Chris isn't here right now. He's out playing somewhere.” “I k-k-k-n-n-now where he is.” I stammered. “Is Sergeant Stonebrealer home?” I asked. “Yes he is. Is something wrong? You look awfully pale. Rocky!!” “Great!” I thought. “Rocky Stonebreaker.” I had never known Chris’ Dad had any other first name other than Sergeant. This wasn't going like I'd hoped. “Rocky! Come here quick. Something's wrong with Chris.” “How'd she know?” I wondered to myself. “What’s all the noise about?” Sergeant Stonebreaker appeared. “What's goin' on? Where's Chris?” “I, uh, well, we, uh, ya see...” “C'mon, kid. Out with it!” “Easy Rocky. He's scared. Nothing will happen to you. Where's Chris, Steve?” “Well, uh, he's stuck.” “Stuck? Where? In a tree somewhere? I've told that boy about getting into trees he can't get out of.” Sergeant Stonebreaker boomed. “Uh, no. He's not in a tree. He's in a hole.” “Shrieeeeeek! In a hole!” Mrs. Stonebreaker cried. “Whaddya mean in a hole?” roared Sergeant Stonebreaker. Hurriedly, I explained. Sergeant Stonebreaker and I started running down toward the ill fated expedition. Arriving on the scene, Sergeant Stonebreaker immediately and correctly sized the situation up. Hearing Chris’ muted sobbing from in the hole, Sergeant Stonebreaker reached down into the hole, grabbed onto the shear lashing between Chris’ ankles and gave a mighty jerk. Chris popped out of the hole like a cork out of a wine bottle. Chris and Sergeant Stonebreaker landed in a heap on the ground. “You okay boy?” “Y-y-yeah. I guess so.” “Just you wait till I get you home, boy. What the Sam Hill were you doin' down that hole? You gone plumb crazy?” “It was Steve's idea . . .” I saw my life pass before my eyes. “You Sergeant Arner's boy?” “Uh, y-y-y-yes sir.” “I'll have a talk with your old man.” Well, to sum it up, the day hadn’t gone exactly as planned. Sergeant Stonebreaker indeed had a little chat with Dad and although I don’t know exactly what was said, it was enough to get Dad’s juices up and running. And once again, my Mom's angelic “Now Red, remember, he's just a boy.” probably saved my life. Looking back on the whole thing now with the cool logic of a seasoned adult and father of three boys and a daughter, Chris was very lucky to get out of that hole in one piece. I was very lucky to get out of that day with my hide intact. Looking at it like that, I guess it was a successful day after all. Like I said that the beginning, treasure comes in many forms. Although the treasure we found in that hole wasn't exactly what we thought we'd find, a group of boys have a memory that will last several lifetimes. I wonder what the value of that treasure is?