The Lost Treasure Map Series (88 page)

Once he hanged up the phone he instantly
dismissed the other solider, who left moaning about him not
allowing him to speak.

“
I want to ask you some
questions!
”

Cameron stood straight and copied one of the
soldiers he had seen saluting and he waited.

“
Why did you join the army,
Dave?
”
he
asked, studying him with great confusion and annoyance, while
sipping tea from a cup.

“
I can
’
t remember!
”

“
You can
’
t remember why you
’
re in the
army!
”
he
gasped, blowing out all the tea in his mouth, in a massive spray,
covering the table.

When Cameron offered to clean it, he
shouted,
“
Leave it!
”

“
Of course, you lost your memory
...
”
he
spoke, recalling the occurrence.

“
Why do you think people
join?
”
he
finally asked.

“
To get out and about! To see the
universe!
”

“
Wow! The whole
universe!
”

“
Or visit places one normally never
sees!
”

“
Let me explain!
”
he explained, staring into
his face, staggered by something, and putting his elbow in a large
ashtray.
“
In the old days, a century ago, people joined
the French Foreign Legion to forget things! Problems! Things they
wanted to escape from! Escape from weary existences! Even hide away
from crimes they had committed!
”

“
Well, I
’
m sure I
’
d have gone further
away!
”

“
Really! How do you
know?
”

“
I have no recollection of anything!
So I can
’
t
answer that!
”

Suddenly it struck him that he was trying to
suggest something and he realized he could have done something and
that he could have found out about it! Then he gasped as he
realized his mind was blank and he had no memories of anything of
himself!

“
Have you done something to
me?
”
he
gasped, recalling waking up in the pool of mud in the field.
“
I
’
ve no memories ...
”

He thought of all the things used by the
military on prisoners and if they could have done it.

Malone made strange faces, as though in deep
pain, and bent over and put his face in his hands, and his
shoulders quivered as though he were sobbing, and he remained doing
it for minutes until he recovered, and Cameron watched the top of
his head shuddering and rise and him calmly return to normal.

“
Just leave!
”
he moaned firmly, no longer looking
at him, and Cameron left confused and realized his goal was to find
out who the hell he was no matter what!

“
I
’
ve another question!
”
he quickly asked before he
left.

“
What?
”

“
What the hell are we doing out here?
Surely the military doesn
’
t need anyone out here?
”

“
We
’
re searching for a killer
lion!
”
he
replied, now amused at Cameron
’
s face expression changing to
horror.

“
A killer lion is roaming about here!
Why are we in tents and out in the open? How the hell did it get
out here?
”

“
We
’
ve guns! It escaped from a nearby village
circus I think! We
’
ve not confirmed anything yet
though!
”

Cameron realized some of his memory was
returning and he considered how dangerous the lion was and wondered
what a circus was doing with a killer lion! He was sure it was
illegal to have such an animal!

“
What proof is there that it
exists?
”

“
Farmers have reported seeing the
thing to the police! We
’
ve just arrived and are to investigate the
incident!
”

A shiver ran up his spine as he considered
the danger he had been in out in the field in the pool of mud and
he considered if it had anything to do with how he ended up
there.

Chapter 2

The Treasure

Cameron
’
s gaze went out into a field through
the small group of trees, searching for any disturbances and signs
that the lion was about. The thing would surely give itself away
there, and he took comfort in there being no signs from the crows
flying overhead reacting to anything!

Malone said he was going to visit one of the
farmers that had witnessed the killer lion and he wondered what the
hell they were talking about! The whole incident seemed strange
now!

His gaze returned to the well, and its large
circular hole at his front, going deep into the ground.

The top had clearly been recently dug
away from being buried under rotten wooden planks and soil, hidden
away in the middle of the small group of trees, and he studied
Simpson who had a rope and harness tightly attached around him as
Fogler and Hanks arrived and brought a torch, from the road on the
edge of the trees, on Floors Road, and Cameron wondered why the
hell they thought there was anything there! Then he realized
that
Rudolf Hess
had parachuted down there or at the other side of the road,
at the farm!

His close inspection of the tunnel showed it
clearly had been an ancient well and had been covered over a long
time ago, and he wondered why they had not used a nearby stream and
if it were something else.

“
What
’
s the hell
’
s there?
”
he conclusively moaned, after
waiting for them to say something, with him almost screaming for
them to tell him! They refused to give him anything about anything,
and what they had been doing there before he had lost his
memory!

They had secretively left the army camp when
the others had not been around, and all four of them were at the
mysterious hole searching for signs of what was there.

“
Am I the only one going down
there?
”
Simpson moaned, sadistically.

Seeing the other two were not interested in
going down, Cameron decided he would like to see what was there.
Anything that could give him anything on what he had been doing
before he had lost his memory was of more value than anything
else!

He announced it, searching them for any sign
of disagreements.

He was surprised that they all nodded in
agreement and one removed another harness and rope for him and he
realized that he might have been down the hole already, going by
their reactions, and he had become aware earlier that they had been
down the hole searching for treasure.

The hole was large with more than enough
room to fit both of them at the bottom and when Simpson left and
vanished into its darkness he started attaching the harness to him,
and gasped at how he knew how to fit it, and not know why, and he
realized that he had to have done it recently.

He swiftly entered the hole once he was
ready as he did not want to miss anything, and the action, even
though they had been there before, and he wondered again what
exactly they were doing.

“
What exactly will I be doing down
there?
”
he
asked Fogler casually, desperate for anything, and any
clue.

But again they totally ignored his request
and insisted in not saying a thing, leaving him dazzled, but more
determined to get to the bottom of all the mysteries.

What were they after? What in the hell would
soldiers want?

He had to leave it and gasped as he released
the rope, edging him downwards into the deep abyss, inhaling gasps
of air, eagerly seeking the unimaginable and what was hidden
away.

As he went down he chuckled as he
recalled a story a young soldier had told them in their tent and
that
a teacher had once
asked their class what organ of the body could expand itself ten
times its size when stimulated.

When nobody
had put up their hand she had asked a girl, and she had stood up
blushing furiously, and had shouted, “How dare you ask such a
question! I going home and I will have my parents report you to the
headmaster and the police ...!”

The teacher
had ignored her reaction and had asked the same question over, and
a boy had stood and replied with, “The correct answer is the iris
of the human eye!”

“
Very
good!” she had replied, and had turned to the girl and had
announced, “I have three things to say to you! Firstly, it’s clear
you never did your homework! Secondly, you have a dirty and vicious
mind! Thirdly, I fear someday you’re going to be disappointed in
willies expanding!”

“
What the hell are you
doing?
”
Fogler hollered down, staring at him, and Cameron realized
that he had stopped lowering himself, and had been laughing to
himself, and he watched his distant face studying him as though he
now thought he had gone mad!

He yearned to explore so he quickly
continued, while he tried to grasp shapes buried away down in the
dimness just below, and he could not figure out what could be
there! There was not any suggestion and it reminded him of his
memory of himself! What could cause such an occurrence?

He recalled once watching archeologists at
work at the top of a construction but he could not recall what he
was doing there and certain other things, and it confused him and
left him staggered at the dangers he could confront.

Suddenly he flew down the shaft
uncontrollably and crashed into the ground and immediately jumped
to his feet as the rope above him fell on top of him.

The fall had been a large one and he was
staggered at the impact, but he was even more staggered that he had
not broken anything and he seemed to have no damage to his
body.

The end of the rope, where it had broken,
had clearly been worn away for a long time and he could not believe
that they had not even seen it, and going by the two soldiers above
they had not even noticed.

Simpson examined him in the dim
torchlight gasping at him crashing into the ground where he had
been earlier, and that he would have been flattened by it, and to
Cameron
’
s
amazement he found another thick metal torch smashed into pieces
where he had landed on his back, and he examined his back unable to
find a bruise or sore.

How could he have fallen so far and not be
injured? He surely should have broken bones!

He considered it as he tested areas of his
body but there were no signs of anything!

“
That was some fall,
Dave!
”
Simpson eventually replied, focusing the beam of light from
the torch up the shaft to where he had been, and Fogler and Hanks
showed themselves at the top of the well and shouted
down.

It looked as if they had been examining the
surrounding fields, away in the distance.

Even though
Cameron was not sure what would be accomplished anywhere it was
mysterious and fascinating now! They were clearly searching for
something of value down in the tunnel, and he could not even
imagine what!

Cameron removed objects about him that had
been dug up from the muck at the bottom of the well and he played
with them seeing what they were or if he could find anything, while
Simpson dug away with a spade with some expertise, clearly from
being at work there for a while.

In the corner he spotted an old rolled
up jacket, and asked Simpson,
“
Whose is that?
”

“
Yours!
”
he replied firmly, while stopping
digging.
“
Has none of your memory returned
yet?
”

“
Nothing about myself! I wondered what
happened!
”

Simpson continued and started chipping away
at a giant boulder with chisel and hammer to break it up, and
shoved it over into the muck that he was throwing out at this
side.

Cameron played with jacket wondering why he
could not imagine wearing the old tattered thing, and decided to
check the pockets to see if there was anything.

He groaned in despair and shoved the remains
of the rope away from him and he dug his hands deep into the side
pockets of the jacket and found nothing, but he felt a hole in one
where he could shove his hand into and played around in the lining
and finally felt a piece of paper and removed it.

It had smudged lines and writing and he
could not see it properly in the dimness and shoved it into his
trouser pocket to examine when he could see it properly in normal
light, and considered how long the torches would last.