The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Outlaws
By: Sapphire
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Chapter Six: The Treasure of Jesse James
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"Hey, that looks like Fireball," Anne called as they drove the pickup and Quest van toward Buffalo Cave. When they realized Buffalo Cave lay east of the stopped train, the very direction the outlaws had run, they had been half way back to the farm. The Hadleys had been with them, at Sheriff Tomlin's request. The sheriff had wanted them all in one place so it would be easier to get a hold of them when Maggie and Davy were found. They had quickly unloaded the wagon, handing it and the team over to Howard, the hired hand, and piled into the van and pickup.
"But where's Jared?" Jonny asked as the two vehicles stopped. Anne and Hadji jumped down from the back of the pickup to retrieve the horse. Hadji scanned the surrounding vicinity, turning a circle near the horse, but saw nothing else of consequence.
"I do not see anyone," Hadji called to those in the van.
"Hadji," Race called from the driver seat of the Quest van. "You and Anne ride Fireball to the cave. Keep an eye out for Jared. He could have been thrown. We'll go on ahead." Hadji called an affirmative, and the pick-up and van moved on.
Jessie and Jonny stood holding tight to the gun rack on the top of the pick-up's cab as they sped toward the cave. From their vantage point, they could see a good distance ahead. Both kept their eyes trained on the horizon ahead.
"What's that?" Jonny yelled to Jessie over the wind.
"Looks like dust," Jessie replied.
"From horses?"
"Maybe," Jessie shrugged. "There's the mouth of the cave." The van and pick-up rolled to a stop. Jonny jumped down to look around.
"There are hoof prints all over the place," Jonny said. "And cowboy boot tracks all around the entrance."
"They were here all right," Race said, joining Jonny.
"It's a good bet that dust was kicked up by the horses then," Jessie said. Jonny and Race carefully scanned the ground as they circled the area.
"Looks like they came from the west, and left going north," Race said. Jonny and Jessie exchanged a glance.
"That was the horses we saw," Jonny said. Jessie nodded.
"What do you suppose they wanted here?" Dr. Quest asked, walking toward the cave's entrance, Mary and Dr. Malloy close behind him. "And who left the harness attached to the pulley?" Race looked up.
"We didn't leave a harness," Race said. "I double checked before we left for lunch. We had everything."
"Hey!" They froze. "Hey, we're down here!" Jonny and Jessie made a bee line for the cave's opening. They dropped to the ground, their heads hanging over the edge.
"Maggie?" Jonny called. "Is that you?"
"Jonny!" she called back up. "Yeah! Jared and Davy are down here, too." Jane Hadley nearly went into hysterics when she heard the reply. It was all her husband could do to keep her from hurling herself down the hole to get to her sons.
"Is everyone all right down there?" Jessie called down.
"Fine. But I want to get Davy up there right away. He's been down here a long time, and it's cold." Jessie and Jonny got up from the ground and went to work. Jessie checked the harness to make sure it was rigged properly, and Jonny threw the switch, activating the pulley system at her say-so.
"Davy!" The moment the little boy appeared through the cave opening, Jane Hadley had him in her arms. For the second time in two days, Davy didn't object to the coddling. He was cold, and scared, and wanted his mom.
"Ready for the harness again?" Jonny called down the hole, as soon as Davy was removed from it.
"No, you come down. Bring Race, lights, and the back-up pulley," Maggie replied. Jonny and Jessie looked at each other quizzically.
"What for?" Jonny asked.
"I found it!" Maggie shouted. "I found the treasure!" At once the Quest team was in action. The back of the van was opened up, the table and maps were set out, equipment was pulled from the back of the van and pick-up for use.
Jessie pulled off her dress and petticoats, stripping to her old fashioned underwear. Then she unhooked the old shoes and pulled them off. She grabbed a set of coveralls from the van and stepped into them.
"What in Sam Hill are you doing?" Race asked when he saw his daughter getting undressed.
"I can't go down in a dress," she replied. Race laughed.
"I guess not, Ponchita." During the flurry, Hadji and Anne rode up, riding double on Fireball.
"What is going on here?" Hadji asked.
"We found Maggie, Davy, and Jared," Jonny said, quickly filling Hadji in. "The outlaws left them in the cave. And guess what? Maggie found the gold!" Hadji stared back in amazement.
"I am hearing it, but I am not believing it," he said. After his momentary shock, he and Anne dismounted, joining in the excitement.
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Maggie accepted the communications headset Jessie handed her down in the cave's first cavern. She put it on, securing it tightly, then took a battery powered flashlight to replace the spluttering lantern they'd previously been using.
"So where is it?" Race asked, allowing Maggie to lead the way. "How'd you find it?"
"That arrow you found yesterday," Maggie began, "Frank James admitted he and Bob Younger put it there. The actors, not the real ones, of course."
"I thought it was funny we didn't see it the first day," Race said.
"That's because they made it that night after we went back to the farm," Maggie explained. "That explains why I found the wax drippings. If the mark had been made by the real James Younger Gang, the drippings wouldn't still have been there."
"Are you getting this, Benton?" Race asked into the headset.
"Loudly and clearly," Hadji's voice answered. He was playing lifeline for the impromptu expedition.
"The James Younger Gang was responsible for that armored car robbery Dr. Malloy read about in the paper. I found that out on the train when I saw money inside the prop strongbox. There was only about twenty thousand there, and I remembered Dr. Malloy telling Anne over a hundred grand had been taken."
"They hid the money down here in the cave," Jessie surmised, following along as she walked behind Jonny and her father.
"Right," Maggie said. "We'd have found it this morning if Race and I had gone across the pit. And I suspect, if Jessie and Hadji had kept going after they found the blood stain, they'd have found it, too."
"How can that be?" Jonny asked. "They weren't anywhere near the pit, they were up near the entrance of the caves."
"Dr. Malloy says it makes perfect sense," Hadji cut in. "He's looking at the maps and says it is possible the new cave we found connects up with that tunnel. Putting Jonny and Race's movements from the first day together with Jessie's and mine from this morning, it appears the two cave branches meet, making a circle."
"That's what I think," Maggie said. "When Bob and Frank hid the money from the armored car robbery, they dropped a sack down the pit. They heard it hit bottom. They weren't going to waste the time going down to get it, but Davy threw two more bags in just to spite them. They made me go down on the end of a rope and bring it all up. We came in from this side of the hole. When I was down there, I found the money resting on a shelf. There was a second shelf opposite it, and a crevice in between. On the other shelf was the strongbox printed with 'Wells Fargo Co.' on the side."
"How does that tell you the cave makes a circle?" Jared asked. He was following close behind Jessie, completely caught up in the discovery.
"The real James gang would have used a simple rope to lower the box. If so, they had to lower it from the far side of the pit because the strongbox was resting on the shelf on the far side. They wouldn't have hauled the box over the hole and then sent it down. They had to have come from the back side. I remembered the new branch Jessie and Hadji found, and it made me wonder."
"Good thinking, Maggie," Hadji complimented.
"There's the pit," Jessie said, pointing ahead. And it was. Carefully the back-up pulley was set up over the hole. It was secured, and the ropes and safety harness put in place.
"How deep is it?" Race asked. Maggie thought a minute.
"According to Frank James' guesses, between thirty and forty feet." She looked down into the dark hole. "I wasn't sure about the stability of the shelf, so I didn't put any weight on it."
"Smart girl," Race said. "I'm glad one of you kids has some common sense." He looked between Jessie and Jonny. "Jess, you'll go down and secure the strongbox. Jonny, I want you to feed her the second line for the strongbox. Maggie, you and Jared just keep back." Jessie started cinching herself into the harness while Jonny and Race got to work rigging. Maggie stood back with Jared, watching with excitement as the strongbox was secured, and it and Jessie were hauled up out of the pit.
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"Here it comes," Dr. Quest announced as he oversaw the strongbox's return to the surface. He and Dr. Malloy secured it and pulled it away from the cave's opening. Hadji lowered the pulley cable, and the strongbox was set onto solid ground. It sat right there while the others were pulled out of the cave. Maggie came up first, having been down the longest. Dr. Quest was waiting for his niece, open arms ready for his half-sister's daughter. Maggie, dirty but no worse for wear, was only too glad to return his welcoming hug. "You're as cold as ice," he said, brushing dirt from her cold and clammy cheek.
"I'm fine," Maggie replied. Dr. Quest ignored her and took off his jacket, draping it over her shoulders. Davy found her, and held onto her hand as they watched Jared appear through the opening. Once released from the harness, Jared walked over to his little brother, messing his hair, then crouched down beside him to watch with the others. Jonny, Jessie, and finally Race come up out of the cave.
"Let's open her up," Jonny said, eyes agleam.
"Dr. Malloy, you open it," Maggie said. "It's your dream, and you deserve it." Dr. Malloy actually blushed as he stepped up to the box. Jessie finished pulling the rope lines away, and Dr. Malloy took a crowbar to the old lock. It was rusted and decayed, and the lock broke away with ease. Holding his breath, Dr. Malloy opened the cover of the strongbox. Surprised gasps responded to what they saw.
"It's a small fortune," Jane Hadley said in awe.
"A fortune, yes, but small, no." Dr. Malloy said. Inside were stacks of very old, and very fragile paper bills in several denominations. Beneath them were small sacks. Dr. Malloy opened a few, revealing gleaming gold coins in twenty and fifty dollar denominations. Buried beneath the bills and sacks of coins, Dr. Malloy unearthed three bricks made of solid gold with the US Treasury seal stamped in the top.
"Wells Fargo will sure be glad to get that back," Race said with a low whistle.
"I can't believe it," Dr. Malloy said, looking up at his family and friends. "It really did exist. I almost stopped believing…"
"But you never gave up," Mary said. "Not since you were a boy. Persistence and determination, Rueben. Persistence and determination make dreams happen. That's what mother said." Dr. Malloy just beamed, basking in the glow of success.
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Maggie left the bathroom after a hot shower and headed for the room she shared with Jessie. The men had taken the recovered gold into town to be placed under lock and key by the Sheriff until an armored car could be sent for it. Mary had insisted Maggie get a hot shower and fresh change of clothes. When she stepped into her room, Anne and Jessie were waiting for her with a surprise.
"You, Davy, Jared, and Dr. Malloy are being hailed heroes," Anne exclaimed. "The law caught up with those outlaws five miles north of the cave. It seems you kept them busy long enough that the sheriff was able to create a net of law enforcement around the whole east side of the county. If you hadn't kept them down in the cave so long, they'd have been long gone."
"The whole town's planning to celebrate tonight, in your honor, old west style." Jessie gave her friend a grin, and Maggie grinned back. "We went on a rummage in the attic and found you a new dress to wear, complete with fresh underclothes and shoes to match." Maggie took one look at the pale yellow and blue dress and fell in love.
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Mary and the girls' arrival in town was met with cheers. They were ushered right to the old, defunct jail where the treasure was being kept. The Hadleys and the boys were waiting for them there. A local photographer was there, clicking away. After the newspaper got the exclusive photos of the four heroes, the horse that was fast as lightning, and the legendary treasure, they left the jail to join the crowd outside. As they were swept up with a cheer toward the awaiting feast and celebration, Maggie saw the members of the new James Younger Gang as they were loaded into police cars to be taken to the county jail twenty miles away.
Frank James caught her eye and they stared at each other for a long moment. Maggie smiled, knowing he was the one who had saved them from becoming caught in the middle as hostages. Frank gave her one of his nearly imperceptible nods. Unless they were watching for it, no one else had seen it. Maggie smiled again, and then Frank was pushed into the waiting car. She knew she'd never see him again, but she was satisfied knowing he knew her gratitude.
"Maggie," Davy said, tugging on the sleeve of her dress. "Can I dance with you first?" Maggie looked down at him, pushing all thoughts of Frank James far from her mind. "Can I?"
"Sure," Maggie said, letting the little boy lead her toward the dance floor, still set up by the gazebo on the Common.
"I get a turn next," Jared spoke up as his little brother wove through the crowd. Maggie laughed as she heard the band start to play.
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MattPeru: So you actually found it?
Flyboy: You found Jesse James' gold?
MagNolie: Yes, I did.
Flyboy: And Frank James protected you from the rest of the gang?
MattPeru: I don't think I like outlaws going sweet on my sister…
MagNolie: It wasn't like that.
Hotshot: Frank James wasn't the only one sweet on Maggie…
MagNolie: Jonny! Get off this chat right now!
Flyboy: Oh, reeeeaaaalllllyyyy…
Hotshot: Jared Hadley danced with her almost all night at the party.
MagNolie: He did not.
Hotshot: The only person he let cut in was Davy, and Davy is seven.
MattPeru: Yep, he likes her.
He's not another outlaw, is he?
Hotshot: Nope, a rodeo rider. He won the horse race the other day.
MattPeru: What do you think, Jonny? Should I let her date him?
MagNolie: I'm not going to date Jared!
Hotshot: He was really polite when he escorted her to the train.
I think it would be okay.
MagNolie: Jonny, you're dead this time…
Hotshot: Gotta go, guys. Maggie's coming after me.
Iris: Hotshot has logged off.
Maggie ran up to the attic where Jonny and Hadji were sharing a room. The moment she opened the door and stormed in both of them looked up from the computer screen.
"You're both in on this!? How could you, Hadji? I expect this from Jonny, but not from you!" Hadji gave her an apologetic look, but Jonny grinned at her mischievously.
"You're so easy to tease," Jonny said. Maggie flew at him, grabbing a pillow off Hadji's bed as she went. "Ow!" Jonny yelped. She kept attacking until Jonny cried for mercy. With a satisfied sniff, Maggie unplugged the laptop and took it with her when she left. Back in her room, Jessie grinned at her sleepily.
"Did you get him?" she asked.
"You bet," Maggie replied.
"Goodnight, then," Jessie said with an amused, but sleepy, chuckle. Maggie stuffed Jonny's laptop under her bed and picked up her own, plopping down to finish her conversation. As she scanned the recent conversation text, she froze.
MattPeru: You've been hanging out with Claudia a lot.
Flyboy: I know. She's really great.
MattPeru: Come on, you can tell me. I'm your brother.
It's more than friendship, isn't it?
Flyboy: Yeah. I really like this girl.
MattPeru: I guessed as much.
Flyboy: I'm actually dating her.
MattPeru: When did this happen?
Flyboy: The last week or so.
MattPeru: So she's your girlfriend now, huh?
Flyboy: Yeah, she is. You should come out sometime.
Maggie didn't read anymore. She lay back against the pillow and just stared blankly at the wall. How did this happen? The question just kept echoing in her head over and over. Before she realized it, it was morning. She glanced at the laptop screen. Matthew and Price had logged off long ago. Maggie shut down the computer, set it on the floor by her bed, turned her face into the pillow, and willed sleep to come. When it did, she was haunted by dreams of Price and a faceless woman named Claudia.
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To be continued in… Continental Divide.
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