En route to the Superstition Mountains, Nigel was impressed by the stark
beauty of the area. It was so different from England.
After checking in at the hotel, they took a short drive to the Superstition Mountain Lost Dutchman's Museum, located in the Gold Field Ghost Town. The museum and the surrounding buildings made Nigel feel like he had stepped back into history. As he studied numerous hand-drawn maps and records in the museum, Sydney told him she was going to head over to some of the shops in the area.
When Sydney returned to the museum, she found Nigel still studying the map wall and taking notes. He didn't know she was behind him until he felt the hat drop onto his head. When he turned around, he saw her smiling at him, a brown cowboy hat on her head.
"I couldn't resist."
Nigel removed the hat from his head to look at it. The cowboy hat she had gotten him was black, circled by a leather hat band with a diamond pattern.
"Black, huh? I thought only the bad guys in westerns wore black," he said with a smirk. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"No. Little Joe wore a black hat for a while on Bonanza. So did Adam and Candy. Even James West and Maverick wore black hats." She looked around to make sure there was no one was watching as she moved closer. "Anyway, I think you look mighty sexy in that hat. Maybe I should start calling you Little Nigel!"
He also scanned the room and saw they were now alone, then moved in closer to whisper into her ear. "Little Nigel? That's not what you said the other night!" Before heading toward the Peralta exhibit, he landed a playful swat on her behind. "You can call me whatever you want, Scoochie."
"What? How do you - Did my father tell you?" Her voice gradually increased in pitch as she turned to follow him.
He just flashed her a wicked smile before turning back towards the exhibit, clapping his new hat onto his head.
*****
After finishing his research at the museum, Nigel and Sydney headed over to a steak house for a quick lunch. Since it was a public place, they were careful about what they discussed. Besides getting the cowboy hats for sun protection, Sydney had acquired hiking and camping supplies, along with water and food packs.
Supplies in hand, they made their way to the local tour outfit recommended by Professor Anderson. He warned them that trekking into the Superstitions without an experienced guide would be foolish and potentially deadly. They discovered that they had options. There were jeep, horse, and hiking tours available. Luckily they found that there had been no excursions into the mountains during the last few days, thanks to inclement weather.
Unless the thief with the map was an expert on the mountains and survival, he or she would have been unable to pursue things, either.
Zachary Solza was all Professor Anderson had said he would be. He was a expert guide and knew the Superstitions like the back of his hand. Anderson assured them that Solza was completely trust worthy. The man didn't have a greedy bone in his body, he loved the outdoors, and this was a way for him to make a living doing what he loved. Without revealing the map, Syd and Nigel told Solza that they were doing research on the Lost Dutchman's mine and wanted to explore the area. If they happened to find the lost mine, all the better.
******
Zach was a excellent judge of character. And while he felt there was more to Sydney Fox and Nigel Bailey were saying, Joe Anderson was a old and trusted friend. And Joe had called and asked Zach to help the relic hunters in anyway he could. The weather report for the upcoming week looked great and he didn't foresee any problems.
They decided to leave first thing in the morning, driving in as far as they could, then proceeding on horseback. Zach knew it was the best way to go, since some of the areas couldn't accommodate vehicles.
Sydney and Nigel returned back to the hotel and pored over notes, books and the map. Reading through one of the books on the mine, Nigel came across directions attributed to Waltz . He read aloud: "No miner will find my mine. To find my mine you must pass a cow barn. From my mine you can see the military trail, but from the military trail you can not see my mine. The rays of the setting sun shine into the entrance of my mine. There is a trick in the trail to my mine. My mine in located in a north-trending canyon. There is a rock face on the trail to my mine." While he continued to read, He couldn't help but still feel this was going to be a waste of time. He'd found maps at the museum which were similar to the one possessed. To his way of thinking, their copy might well someday end up on that wall, too - yet another failed attempt to find the legendary mine.
They studied all the information for hours before deciding to call it a night, knowing they had to be up early the next day. Nigel wanted nothing more than to stay the night with Syd, but he reluctantly said his goodnight. Her kiss told him she wanted the same thing. But they both knew that if he stayed, they wouldn't get any sleep. As Nigel drifted off to sleep, he thought how hard this was sometimes, having to hide his relationship with Sydney. But she was worth it. With that thought, he drifted into a dreamless slumber.
Sydney woke and instinctively reached over for Nigel. To her disappointment, he was not there. She dreamed he'd ridden up on magnificent stallion, coming to her rescue. Smiling to herself, she got up and took a quick shower. Nigel, a cowboy with black hat and British accent - the dreams she had sometimes! Dressing quickly, she gathered up her things and placed them in the backpack she bought for the journey. A soft knock sounded at her door. When she answered it, she saw her dream standing in front of her. Nigel wore the cowboy hat she'd given him, plus hiking boots, a white tank top beneath a lightweight shirt, and black denim jeans. Okay not quite her dream - no cowboy boots! - but damned close enough!
"Morning," he said with a smile. "Miss me?"
"What do you think?" She looked him up and down. "Nice jeans. You should wear them more often." She locked the door behind and scooted him out of the way.
"I'll keep that mind. Come on. Let's go get a good breakfast before heading out. My treat."
After breakfast, they headed over to Zach's place. To their surprise, they found not only Zach, but three other people they had not seen before. Zach quickly explained that after they left the previous day, this trio appeared and signed up for the outing. Since they couldn't disclose the true reason for their excursion, Sydney and Nigel they couldn't really say anything about the additional people. Zach was just a man conducting business. The new arrivals were a mixed bunch: one a woman in her early- to mid-twenties; and two men. One of them looked like he was barely out of high school, while the other had to be in his late thirties to early forties. With the new arrivals, Zach said it would be better to just go out on horseback. He asked Syd and Nigel if they minded. Both said no.
Moving off to the side, Nigel could see Sydney looking over the new additions with a critical eye. "Well, this complicates things, doesn't it?"
Before Syd could answer, he answered for her. "I know exactly what your going to say. 'Go with the flow Nigel.'"
After checking in at the hotel, they took a short drive to the Superstition Mountain Lost Dutchman's Museum, located in the Gold Field Ghost Town. The museum and the surrounding buildings made Nigel feel like he had stepped back into history. As he studied numerous hand-drawn maps and records in the museum, Sydney told him she was going to head over to some of the shops in the area.
When Sydney returned to the museum, she found Nigel still studying the map wall and taking notes. He didn't know she was behind him until he felt the hat drop onto his head. When he turned around, he saw her smiling at him, a brown cowboy hat on her head.
"I couldn't resist."
Nigel removed the hat from his head to look at it. The cowboy hat she had gotten him was black, circled by a leather hat band with a diamond pattern.
"Black, huh? I thought only the bad guys in westerns wore black," he said with a smirk. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"No. Little Joe wore a black hat for a while on Bonanza. So did Adam and Candy. Even James West and Maverick wore black hats." She looked around to make sure there was no one was watching as she moved closer. "Anyway, I think you look mighty sexy in that hat. Maybe I should start calling you Little Nigel!"
He also scanned the room and saw they were now alone, then moved in closer to whisper into her ear. "Little Nigel? That's not what you said the other night!" Before heading toward the Peralta exhibit, he landed a playful swat on her behind. "You can call me whatever you want, Scoochie."
"What? How do you - Did my father tell you?" Her voice gradually increased in pitch as she turned to follow him.
He just flashed her a wicked smile before turning back towards the exhibit, clapping his new hat onto his head.
*****
After finishing his research at the museum, Nigel and Sydney headed over to a steak house for a quick lunch. Since it was a public place, they were careful about what they discussed. Besides getting the cowboy hats for sun protection, Sydney had acquired hiking and camping supplies, along with water and food packs.
Supplies in hand, they made their way to the local tour outfit recommended by Professor Anderson. He warned them that trekking into the Superstitions without an experienced guide would be foolish and potentially deadly. They discovered that they had options. There were jeep, horse, and hiking tours available. Luckily they found that there had been no excursions into the mountains during the last few days, thanks to inclement weather.
Unless the thief with the map was an expert on the mountains and survival, he or she would have been unable to pursue things, either.
Zachary Solza was all Professor Anderson had said he would be. He was a expert guide and knew the Superstitions like the back of his hand. Anderson assured them that Solza was completely trust worthy. The man didn't have a greedy bone in his body, he loved the outdoors, and this was a way for him to make a living doing what he loved. Without revealing the map, Syd and Nigel told Solza that they were doing research on the Lost Dutchman's mine and wanted to explore the area. If they happened to find the lost mine, all the better.
******
Zach was a excellent judge of character. And while he felt there was more to Sydney Fox and Nigel Bailey were saying, Joe Anderson was a old and trusted friend. And Joe had called and asked Zach to help the relic hunters in anyway he could. The weather report for the upcoming week looked great and he didn't foresee any problems.
They decided to leave first thing in the morning, driving in as far as they could, then proceeding on horseback. Zach knew it was the best way to go, since some of the areas couldn't accommodate vehicles.
Sydney and Nigel returned back to the hotel and pored over notes, books and the map. Reading through one of the books on the mine, Nigel came across directions attributed to Waltz . He read aloud: "No miner will find my mine. To find my mine you must pass a cow barn. From my mine you can see the military trail, but from the military trail you can not see my mine. The rays of the setting sun shine into the entrance of my mine. There is a trick in the trail to my mine. My mine in located in a north-trending canyon. There is a rock face on the trail to my mine." While he continued to read, He couldn't help but still feel this was going to be a waste of time. He'd found maps at the museum which were similar to the one possessed. To his way of thinking, their copy might well someday end up on that wall, too - yet another failed attempt to find the legendary mine.
They studied all the information for hours before deciding to call it a night, knowing they had to be up early the next day. Nigel wanted nothing more than to stay the night with Syd, but he reluctantly said his goodnight. Her kiss told him she wanted the same thing. But they both knew that if he stayed, they wouldn't get any sleep. As Nigel drifted off to sleep, he thought how hard this was sometimes, having to hide his relationship with Sydney. But she was worth it. With that thought, he drifted into a dreamless slumber.
Sydney woke and instinctively reached over for Nigel. To her disappointment, he was not there. She dreamed he'd ridden up on magnificent stallion, coming to her rescue. Smiling to herself, she got up and took a quick shower. Nigel, a cowboy with black hat and British accent - the dreams she had sometimes! Dressing quickly, she gathered up her things and placed them in the backpack she bought for the journey. A soft knock sounded at her door. When she answered it, she saw her dream standing in front of her. Nigel wore the cowboy hat she'd given him, plus hiking boots, a white tank top beneath a lightweight shirt, and black denim jeans. Okay not quite her dream - no cowboy boots! - but damned close enough!
"Morning," he said with a smile. "Miss me?"
"What do you think?" She looked him up and down. "Nice jeans. You should wear them more often." She locked the door behind and scooted him out of the way.
"I'll keep that mind. Come on. Let's go get a good breakfast before heading out. My treat."
After breakfast, they headed over to Zach's place. To their surprise, they found not only Zach, but three other people they had not seen before. Zach quickly explained that after they left the previous day, this trio appeared and signed up for the outing. Since they couldn't disclose the true reason for their excursion, Sydney and Nigel they couldn't really say anything about the additional people. Zach was just a man conducting business. The new arrivals were a mixed bunch: one a woman in her early- to mid-twenties; and two men. One of them looked like he was barely out of high school, while the other had to be in his late thirties to early forties. With the new arrivals, Zach said it would be better to just go out on horseback. He asked Syd and Nigel if they minded. Both said no.
Moving off to the side, Nigel could see Sydney looking over the new additions with a critical eye. "Well, this complicates things, doesn't it?"
Before Syd could answer, he answered for her. "I know exactly what your going to say. 'Go with the flow Nigel.'"