Chapter Ten

Hannah was singing to herself as she carried the brown wicker basket full of dirty sheets and her spare dress down the back steps of her rickety old home, a home she refused to leave no matter what anyone said. She was supposed to have done her laundry the day before only to be interrupted when a stranger stopped by; he was looking for an odd job-just enough to get some food. She'd fed him and then, after he'd left, allowed herself to get sidetracked with other things. She started to set the basket down by the wash tub when the sound of approaching horses made her take her eyes off the laundry and looked up to see who was coming. "Heath!" She cried out in excitement; it had been too long since he'd stopped by. All right, it had only been three months, but it seemed like an eternity to her.

Heath, who had stopped his horse and dismounted, quickly closed the space between him and Hannah. "Hello, Hannah." Heath embraced her and then stepped back. He then motioned to Nick and Eliza, who had both dismounted their horses. "This is my brother Nick and our friend, Eliza. We were hoping you could help us."

A smile as wide as California spread over the old black woman's face. There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for Miss Leah's golden haired child, and she said as much. "Anything, Mister Heath, anything at all,"

Heath smiled back as he introduced Eliza and explained why Nick had traveled with them to Strawberry, the whole time praying his mother would forgiving him for passing Eliza off as his actual fiancé. He then told his dear friend that they hoped to include looking at the old Seamon Mine on their list of things to do. "I was hoping you could save us all some time and give us a better idea of where to look." He, Nick and Eliza were astonished as Hannah's eyes grew wide, and she took a step backwards.

"No, no; that's a bad mine, bad luck, it's not a place to go. Stay away from that place. " Looking very much upset, she turned around and hurried back inside her home, muttering to herself as she did so. Naturally, Hannah's reaction had all Heath, Eliza and Nick looking at each other.

"I told you; you don't have to go inside." Eliza reiterated.

"And as Nick told you," Heath said as he watched Nick nod his head slightly, "we have every reason to go with you." Heath then excused himself, saying he told them he was going to talk with Hannah.

A few weeks earlier…

Charles Crown-the man many people knew simply as Crown- stood in front of a huge bay window that set in his spacious San Francisco penthouse. He had just returned from a trip to New York, and was not happy to learn of Mr. Adam Klampton's imprisonment. His contact was supposed to be handing him the exact location of the old mine and the hidden coins, not doing time behind bars. If that wasn't bad enough, Crown had just learned that the man had been killed in a brawl inside the prison just that morning. Mr. Crown knew he was going to have a man or two to go look for that mine. As wealthy as he was, as much money as Hannibal Jordon had, they didn't have enough to start another fight against the farmers in the San Joaquin Valley. That is, not with their money tied up in their current endeavors. However, that Spanish gold would enable them to try for the land yet again.

"Excuse me, Mr. Crown." Tyler Kinkaid, Crown's faithful butler who was tall, wiry and sporting no hair at all, opened the door to his employer's study. "You have a visitor."

"Who is it?" Crown asked with an uninviting edge to his voice; he did not have time to waste on just anybody, especially with the latest development in his quest for the missing Spanish coins.

"Mr. Bryce Cannon." His butler answered flatly; he'd never cared for Mr. Cannon and was thankful he'd never had to do any sort of business with the gentleman.

Bryce! Just what he needed at the moment, someone to remind him he was no closer to helping Mr. Jordan getting what he wanted from the farmers. "Show him in." Crown said as he turned back towards the window, not caring if Bryce called him an ungracious host.

Bryce, who had never been one to side step any issue, and was as blunt as a dull ax, walked in and started demanding to know if Crown still needed the use of Bryce's hired guns. "You said you would have the money to back another effort to get the farmers' land, and I haven't seen a thing since you came back from New York! My men are growing restless, and I'm losing my patience." Not that Mr. Cannon ever had any patience, he didn't; he just lied to himself and said he did.

"I was supposed to have!" Crown related the story of the hidden Spanish coins and the area they were supposed to be. "Only I have no idea where the mine is except a general area, and the man who knew is dead."

"So, send some men to search for it? I mean, who's going to be around to stop them locating and getting that treasure?" Bryce asked as he pointed out what he figured was one important fact. "It's not like they have to worry about anyone of the Barkleys' caliber being around." He said as he thought about the wealthiest family in the valley and how they were constantly fighting against men like his boss.

Slowly, a snake like grin spread over Crown's face. "I'll send Jake and Mark." He said as he thought on the two stocky men who both stood over six feet tall; they never stopped looking for something once they had it in their heads the particular item needed to be found. "Tell them to turn over ever stone looking for that mine. I want those coins found!"

"Yes, sir," Bryce turned around and left the room, leaving Crown thinking there was nothing to stop his men from finding the hidden treasure.