by G.K. Dickey

Created on: April 21, 2008   Last Updated: August 01, 2009

The Case of The Missing Mine Mogul

"Hey! Joe! Come quickly."

Cristina's petite body was shaking, causing the beam of the flashlight to bounce about unsteadily. Still, the light in the darkened cave exposed the source of her fright: A few feet in front of her was a human skeleton draped in what appeared to be a dust-covered winter jacket.

"Cristina? Whaddaya got?" Joe asked, scurrying to her side, hunched over due to the cave's low ceiling. He shined his own flashlight in the direction of Cristina's and saw for himself what she had discovered.

"Wow," he exclaimed, dragging the word out as he put his arm around Cristina's shoulder, trying to calm her down. By her shaking flashlight he could tell she was scared out of her wits. "Cash never told me about this. He's been in here a hundred times. Surely he would have seen this before. I wonder who it is or, should I say, was."

Nick "Cash" Camp was an old prospector who had lived in Goldville, Nevada, his entire life. Joe's uncle, Ed "Gibs" Gibson, joined up with "Cash" on a mining venture a couple of years back. They had another partner, Mack Johansen, the money man, and two mineworkers: a Shoshone native, Luckyeyes Jim, the explosives expert; and driller Billy Sims. Lucky was married to Mack's sister, a marriage that Mack despised.

Joe and Cristina were seniors in high school. Most everyone assumed they were an item. After all, they were always together. It so happens that Nevada's state birthday is Oct. 31, the same day as Halloween, so the schools in Elko were closed and they decided to head to Goldville to do some exploring on their day off. They certainly didn't expect to find the skeletal remains of a dead man.

Joe's uncle wouldn't talk about why the group of miners had suddenly abandoned their goal to "take a bundle" out of the mine. "Didn't work out" is all he would say. Once, Joe heard Cash complain angrily that Mack, who was the primary investor in their partnership, "disappeared." Joe figured he had skipped town. At the time, he also said Lucky was upset because he hadn't been paid what was due him.

"Let's get out of here," Cristina whimpered. "This is too spooky."

"Don't be scared," Joe said. "He can't hurt you."

"How do you know it's a 'he'?" she asked. "All I see is a skull and bones."

"Stands to reason, that's all," Joe responded, suddenly wondering if this could be how Mack disappeared. "I am going to take a closer look."

Joe got down on one knee and tucked his flashlight under his arm,

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