And they only had four thousand feed bags. Dante checked the levels in the harvester and the truck next to him with the camera and saw he was doing fine for now. He pulled out his cell phone and speed dialed the farm and feed store. He got the manager on the phone right away and asked if they had more feed bags in stock. The manager had gotten a store-to-store transfer, and the next week they could get some more from their corporate distribution center.
“Any chance I can put in an order for next week for another six or eight thousand bags?”
“Sure. We can get that done for you. Will you be driving the farm’s truck when you come?”
“I’m sure we will,” Dante said. “I just grossly underestimated how many bags I’d need this year.”
“Happens to all of us. I’ll have that ready for you when you pull in. Want me to write it up as a ‘will call’ so you can pay when you come in, or would you like to pay with a card over the phone?”
“How about I pay when I come in?”
“That sounds good. Thank you for the business!”
“Appreciate the order. Will you call us when it comes in? We’re in the middle of harvesting right now.”
“I sure will. Thank you, Mr. Weaver.”
“Thanks boss. Bye.”
Dante hit the end button on the call and grinned. Mr. Weaver. He’d spent so much of his adult life being Dr. Weaver, that he loved the way Mr. Weaver sounded. He hadn’t introduced himself as Doctor Weaver… His musings were interrupted by the radio.
“Wake up, sleepy head. I’m about full,” Steven said.
“I’m about 75% myself. How about we both head to drop your load and I’ll refuel before filling you up from what I got here?”
“That sounds good,” Steven told him.
Eighteen
Luis returned with the metal detector. It had been removed from the box and the batteries in it were charged and ready to go. When he’d asked Leah if he could borrow it, she’d been happy to tell him where it was in their cabin. Now, he was heading back to the berry patch with it. Ranger saw him coming first and gave a greeting bark and ran up to him, his tail wagging.
“Were you keeping an eye on those two for me?” Luis asked him.
Ranger let his tongue hang out the side of his mouth in a doggy grin.
“Good. That little boy needs you right now. More than ever.”
Ranger chuffed, and rubbed against Luis’s leg before running back to Harry.
Goldie turned to watch him come and Luis could see both their buckets were nearly full now. She was planning on making a pie and some preserves with the canning gear. Harry was kicking at the hole in the ground where they had found the first box.
“You found it,” she said with a grin.
“Si, and I also have the wand they ordered as well. I think this might be fun.”
Luis seemed familiar with the equipment and fired it up. He started going over the area where they had found the ammo can.
“Now this is like being a real pirate,” Harry said excitedly.
They worked through the area, even pushing into the thorny branches and bushes around them. Then Luis went back over the spot where they’d found the first ammo can. Ranger looked at the humans and was ready to go. If they found a hole they wanted dug up more, he was the pup for the job. Ranger understood he had to take care of the little one while his big alpha was away, but he also wanted something else to do. Digging would be amazing. Ranger loved to dig and bury.
“Do you guys need any help?” Leah asked, startling them.
She’d come up with a spade in one hand, and her phone in the other.
“I think we’re striking out,” Luis said with a sigh.
“I’ve done threatened that old coot to take a rest, but does he listen to me? Lord no, and he keeps asking me to spank him with my spoon. In my day—”
“Grandma,” Harry laughed, “you threatened more, but I don’t know what some of those words meant. I heard it when you were having your coffee.”
Goldie’s face turned an alarming shade of red and Luis looked at the ground, his body shaking with restrained laughter.
“Would a map help out?” Leah asked them.
“Like a treasure map?” Harry asked.
“Maybe it’s just like a treasure map,” Leah said. “It’s Dewey’s wife’s map. I uh…” she looked at Harry and Goldie, “got a copy sent to my phone when the picture of it was taken. When you and Mr. Owens went to the cave.”
“Yeah?” Luis asked. “I thought we couldn’t figure out any point of references or scale.”
“I don’t know. I just had a crazy idea though. What if we now do have a point of reference now? In fact, two?”
“What do you mean?” Goldie asked.
Leah explained. There was one cave identified on the map. The property had many, so that hadn’t been significant. But one of the points on the map was near a cave. They weren’t too far from the cave where Lyle’s wife’s bones had been found.
“So, what if the cave and this spot, where we found the ammo can—”
“I found it,” Harry interrupted.
“Where Harry found the pirate treasure,” she said softly, seeing him smile, “what if these two points correlate with the map? Then we can find the other points that are marked off. What if the map had nothing to do with the caves and bodies, but for
