Sister Ruth and Kid Cole were taking a walk along the beach in San Francisco.

Ruth stopped to watch a ship come in. There was something about the vastness of the ocean that was mesmerizing, especially when one considered that the Lord was so much more infinite that the earth was but His footstool. She watched until the bobbing boat started making her queasy.

When she turned to speak to Kid, she found him crouched down in the sand just a little ways off.

"Honey, you alright?" she called, running to catch up with him. She feared the worst.

But he wasn't having a coughing spell. Instead, he held up a flat, circular disc that flashed yellow in the sunlight. "A Spanish coin. Most likely belonged to some buccaneer from last century."

"Well, goodness! What's it doing just lying there in the sand?"

"Must have washed up from an old ship wreck."

"Well, I'll be. You ain't thinking about going on some kind of treasure hunt, are you?" She could see the interested gleam in his eyes and was afraid his imagination was going to run away with him. "Cause you're supposed to be taking it easy. Doctor's orders."

"Nah, I'm not, but if I was even 10 years younger, I know what I'd do. I'd go grab me a shovel and hunt down some pirate gold."

June 1845

As the Coles rode up to the small town of Dry Gulch, a strange sight greeted them. There were large round holes everywhere that made it impossible for their wagon to go any further. Kid brought the horses to a halt.

"It's like the town's been infested with giant groundhogs," Ruth said, her voice full of wonder.

"What's a groundhog?" 4-year-old Isaiah asked from inside the covered wagon.

"Like a gopher," his 8-year-old sister, Mercy, explained. "They dig holes, but I've never seen any critters make holes this big."

"I believe humans made these," Kid said.

"Well, why on earth would they do that?" Ruth asked as 1-year-old Gideon squirmed in her lap. Ever since he'd learned to walk, there was no holding him back. He wanted to see everything and be in everything. No doubt he'd make a beeline for a hole if she'd let him. "Down, Momma, down," he was pleading with her.

"I don't think so, son," Ruth answered.

Before they could wonder any more about the holes, a large gathering of people made their way towards the wagon.

"Are we glad to see you, Sister Ruth," one of them said, their elected leader from the prominent way he stood out in front.

It was no lie. There were smiles and excited looks on most everyone's faces. These were about the most welcoming people she'd ever seen. No one had ever wanted revival as much as these people seemed to or at least so badly that they came out and met her at the wagon. Maybe there was an epidemic going on, but those didn't look like holes for burying people unless they had some strange kind of burial custom. "Really?" she asked, hoping they'd provide the reason.

"You're an answer to a prayer. We saw you while you were still in the distance and we knew you could help us." He held a document of some kind in his hand. He offered it to her for her to read.

She passed Gideon, who was already trying to take the paper, off to Kid, so she could look at it.

Out loud she read, "In the name of God, Amen. I, Eunice St. Martin, being in bodily health and of a sound mind-"

"That was debatable," someone snickered.

She ignored that sentiment and continued to read, "-do declare this to be my last will and testament.

"First, I recommend my soul unto God that gave it and my body I commit to the Earth. I leave my worldly estate to the building of a church in Dry Gulch and a home for widows and orphans with the leftover proceeds to fund the salaries of a minister and the director of the home." This wasn't making any sense. Did they want her for one of the positions?

"Keep reading," the man urged.

"To the town of Dry Gulch, I leave my most prized treasure. To be shared among the residents equally. With the hope that it will be productively searched for and found, I leave only a clue to where it's buried."

With the word buried, the mystery of the holes was solved. The rest of the will was just about the witnesses and the date, but it ended with the clue.

"Come, follow me. Go where the wind bringeth forth the rain to the place where they gave sweet fragrance to all their idols." Ruth handed the will back. "Huh. That sounds like words from the Bible."

"We think so to, especially since Ms. St. Martin was so religious. Every member of this town that can read and some that can't has been pouring over their Bibles trying to figure out what it means."

"And digging up the town too from the look of things," she added.

"That's why we need your help. You're the closest thing to a concordance we got. You think you can figure out the clue?"

"I'm almost certain." She looked to Kid to see what he thought. It wasn't why they'd come to town to seek after buried treasure, but she'd be preventing the people and horses in the town from getting hurt due to all the manmade potholes and maybe once she'd helped them find earthly treasure, she could focus on helping them find heavenly treasure.

"I say go for it, baby. It sounds kind of fun," Kid said.

"Then a treasure-hunting we will go, I reckon." She laughed at the excited sounds coming from the back. The idea obviously appealed to Mercy and Isaiah.