“Congratulations, Mr. Marcus, on your new property,” the realtor said as she shook my hand, the sun was setting in the west.
“Thank you, but as I already told you, it’s just Mark,” I replied.
“Well Mark, I still congratulate you on your land purchase. What do you plan on doing with all 200 acres?” The realtor asked as she hung the Sold sign underneath the for-sale sign.
“Build a bunch of luxurious rustic cabins and rent them out as Airbnb for glamping. People eat that crap up.” As the realtor left, I looked into the woods and took in a big deep breath of fresh mountain air. “Tomorrow,” I said aloud, though no one was around to hear me. “Tomorrow I’ll go into town, get some supplies and do a proper survey of the land, not just that walk around the realtor gave me. Yep tomorrow, but right now a rum and coke.” I walked back to my small camper and fired up the generator. The lights inside flickered on in a warm glow and I celebrated my new business venture. It was hard not to. I got this land for a steal. It was way below market value, and I’d be remiss if I did not say I celebrated way too hard.
I’m not going to bore you with all the details over the next few months, but the proper paperwork was filed, building permit acquired, and a well was dug. The only real snag was getting the zoning changed. It was zoned for commercial logging and before that for mining. It struck me as odd. Trying to get it zoned for residential use was about as easy as giving an octopus a manicure. I had to pay special fees and fill out mounds of paperwork all while the area where I wanted to build was cleared of trees and vegetation. The building material for three homes just layed around taking up space and work crews stood around all day costing me money.
I finally got in front of the zoning board and plead my case, and explained how it would bring tourists into the town and local businesses would get a boost in sales. I was denied a zoning change. From there it was playing the small town politics game. Greasing some pockets, a very expensive bottle of whisky showed up on the mayor’s desk. The president of the zoning board was suddenly able to afford that new pickup truck he wanted. You get the idea. The town was in an uproar when it got approved. Things started going missing at the construction site and heavy equipment was damaged. The chief of police got a new pool and all the issues stopped.
The first house was completed except for the solar panels that needed to be installed. The walls were going up on the second house and the concrete foundation was being poured for the third house. I had a survey crew out looking for a new location. It was early in the morning. I poured a hot cup of fresh coffee into my travel mug and was just about to go and inspect the work sites. I knew nothing about construction, I just wanted to make sure the crews were not slacking off. Then there was a knock on my trailer door. “Hey boss you in there” a voice said. I open up the door to see Sam, Survey Forman, at the door.
“What do you want, Sam?” I asked, with just a little irritation In my voice.
“Boss, we found something you should probably see,” Sam said. I stepped out of my trailer and was following Sam. He was going on about something, but I just tuned him out while we walked, and I took sips of coffee from my travel mug. I let the warm caffeinated drink work its magic on me. We walked for a while through the woods till we came to the edge of a cliff looking down into a small valley. Sam started back up, “See boss, me and the boys were out looking for a good spot to put the news houses you want up. We thought this would have a nice view of the land then we spotted that, down there.”
I looked to where Sam was pointing and to my shock there was what appeared to be a big single story log cabin that looked almost like a rectangle. Behind it were four smaller rectangular cabins spaced evenly apart from each other and almost equidistant from the main cabin in the middle. Each of the smaller cabins had what seemed to be a small wooden shed off to the left and another small shed behind them. Off to the left side and set father back was a two-story cabin. To the right about 300 yards away was a giant metal tower with exposed beams and support legs with metal lattice working all throughout about 100 feet high with two giant wheels that adorned the top with cables running to a smaller building behind it.
“This is all on my land?” I asked.
Sam replied with, “Yes, it barely is, but technically yes. You might have some issues with the mine tunnels.”
“W-w-what?” I stammered. “That’s a mine?! The realtor never mentioned a mine on the property. She said this land was used for logging and that there is a logging camp, though I never found it.”
“I asked some of the guys on my crew about that,” replied Sam. “My dad was a miner. I remember visiting him at work and seeing the same hulking tower. Now Steve, the new guy on my team, was a logger and explained that the big log cabin in the middle was the cook shanty where everyone ate. The buildings behind them were the bunk houses where everyone slept. Finally, the little sheds behind the bunk rooms were most likely the outhouses. My best guess is that the mine came first and then the logging camp,” Sam said.
I shook my head and replied,” Makes sense to me, let’s go down there for a better look.”
We made our way down to the logging camp. ‘This is kinda cool. I’ve never done any exploring like this before,’ I thought to myself. As we walked through the camp and up to the big tower, ideas were racing through my head. ‘Oh man, I could turn this into a hunting log, or market the bunk rooms as eco-friendly logging. Hippies love that crap. I’m going to be so freaking rich.’
“Hey boss, what do you make of this?” I looked at where Sam was pointing. There were scratch marks all along the tower. They weren’t deep marks that marred the metal, but surface scratches as if someone was crawling around.
“Bears? Or maybe a mountain lion?” I surmised.
“Yeah, maybe. But the marks go up fifty feet. What would a mountain lion be doing up there? More importantly, how would it get up there to begin with?” Sam asked.
A plaque next to the elevator read, ‘Silver Head Mine.’ “Hey this used to be a silver mine,” I said out loud. The elevator appeared to be in decent shape from what I could see. The hole leading down into the mine had two massive sliding iron doors on tracks covering it.
“Hey boss, you want me to have my guys open it up?” Sam asked, as he walked to one side and gripped the handles on the door.
“No, let’s wait to do that. If the people before us sealed it with doors, they must have had a good reason. Let’s go check out the other building,” I replied. The inside of the bunk room seemed to be in rough shape with mold on the wood, and the bunk bed frames rusted out. The cook shanty had a lock on the door, but after giving it one good whack with a crowbar the old lock fell right off.
The inside of the cook shanty was in immaculate condition. Inside was a large open room with three tables and bench seating, all made out of solid oak. The walls had a few deep scratches on them as if some sort of animal got in. Two wooden doors led to the back where the kitchen had cast iron ovens and stoves, all wood burning. I was amazed to discover there was no rust and no ash. There wasn’t even a squeak when I opened the oven door. Shelves that lined the back side of the kitchen were where the dry goods would have been stored. The two story cabin turned out to be the mine boss’s office and lounge. The first floor had a beautiful stone fireplace, a smooth hand carved desk, a mounted deer head hung above a fireplace, and a painted portrait hung behind the desk. It portrayed a family of three: the father in a top hat, suit and a cloak, his wife on his left side wearing a bright yellow dress and an older daughter in the middle wearing a light green dress. Behind them on top of a hill sat a three story Victorian manor house. On the bottom of the painting, a small bronze plaque mounted to the frame which read, ‘The Ravenswood Family.’
The upstairs of the cabin had a small bar and a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. “Hey Sam, does this place have power?” I asked.
“Well boss, I’ve seen junction boxes outside all the structures but I don’t know if it’s hooked up to the grid,” Sam replied from the first floor of the cabin.
I pulled the chain on the light but nothing happened. Like an idiot, I pulled the chain a few more times as if I was expecting something to happen. I walked down the wooden staircase to the first floor and spotted Sam looking at something next to the door. “What are you looking at Sam?” I asked.
“The telephone is an old one. It even says’ Bell Telephone Company’ on the side of it,” Sam said. There were in fact two telephones. One was black and the other was a dull yellow with black spots where the paint chipped away from it. I reached for the yellow phone and picked it up. Nothing. I put the phone back on the receiver and tried the black phone. To my surprise I got an old fashioned dial tone as if the phone was still hooked up to the phone line.
I looked at Sam and said, “Well let me try to call my cell phone.” The phone had a rotary wheel just like my grandparents had. It took me a minute to remember how to dial out. The line rang once and I got my cell phone’s voicemail. I was lucky to get one bar of service out here. Anytime I had to make a phone call for any reason, I had to drive into town where I could get a signal. ‘Hmmmm maybe an underground phone line’ I thought to myself. “Well the phone works which is kinda weird but don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” I said.
Sam and I left the cabin and made our way over to the metal shack that held the mine elevator system. Big thick cables on massive steel drums took up most of the room. A big green engine that said ‘Cummins’ on the side took up the remaining space. “Well boss there’s your power- big ass generator. Shoot, that thing looks like it’s from the 70s wonder if it even runs,” Sam said to me.
“This is a lot to take in Sam. I’m going to walk around the property. Why don’t you and your boys get back to work? I appreciate you letting me know about all this.,” I said to Sam.
Sam replied with, “Sure thing boss.” I spent the rest of the day exploring the buildings and the mine elevator. I looked at the two massive iron doors covering the mine with a heavy duty lock and chain wrapped around the handles. Both the lock and chain were rusted to hell and back. There was about a three inch gap between the doors, but it looked like the doors could be opened about six or seven inches before the chain would be good and tight. I gave the door a tug but it would not budge. ‘Hmmm, rusted shut. I’ll have to get some PB blaster and some WD-40 to unstick that later.’ I thought. I spent the rest of the day looking around and making a list of everything I would need to get this place back in shape.
The next day when the electrician showed up to install the solar panels I had him look at the logging camp instead. After testing the connection, junction boxes and fuse boxes on all the buildings in the logging camp, he said, “Well, it’s all hooked up and working properly. It’s older wiring but most of it is underground so the risk of a fire due to a short circuit is minimal. It should work once the generator is turned on, and that looks to be in good shape. I don’t know about liquids inside- oil, coolant, diesel fuel, and so on. If they’ve been sitting there a while, your liquids could be solids by now. I’ve got a buddy of mine who does diesel engines. Give him a call.”
Well I did call and he came out right away. He replaced all the fluids and we fired up the generator. It belched black smoke twice and then growled to life. I took a step
outside and saw the lights come on. The mine elevator tower’s low sodium flood lights came on and cast everything in eerie orange yellow shadows. The light stretched all the way up to the tree line of the forest. A warm glow came from the cabin windows. In the cook shanty, a light came from under the main double doors. The diesel mechanic explained to me that there is enough fuel in the internal tank for about 72 hours under a work load. The mechanic showed me how to operate the generator and what all the gauges and buttons do. As the sun set, I took a deep breath of the north woods air while the sound of the generator hummed from inside the metal elevator shack.
I walked back to shut down the generator and walked out of the elevator shack towards my truck. I was about fifty feet away from the mine when I heard a loud bang. I spun around and looked in the direction of the mine and heard another loud bang followed by the sounds of chains bouncing off iron. The sun was below the tree line but not quite to the horizon. It almost looked like something slammed against the doors to the mineshaft. I saw what looked like rust shaking loose and floating into the air like an orange color dust storm. I walked up to the edge of the doors right in the middle and shone my cell phone’s flashlight into the gap between the doors. I held the phone down low, just above the doors. I saw a quick flash of white move across the gap. The movement startled me and I jumped back, dropping my phone. Luckily it did not fall through the gap in the doors but instead bounced off the iron door with a thud and landed on the gravel next to it. When I bent down to pick up my phone I heard a soft hissing of a rattle emanating from the mine. I grabbed my phone and walked away while mumbling to myself, “That has to be a bat, a really really big ass bat to move a door like that. And a dumb bat to hit a door. Yep, just a bat. What else could it be? Nothing, that’s what. I need a drink. Time to hit the bar.” I got in my truck and drove towards downtown.
Monday morning came around and I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and squirrels playing in the forest. What I didn’t hear was the sound of construction workers working and heavy machinery moving. I quickly threw on pants and a shirt. My head was still pounding from the weekend’s drinking bender and I had to concentrate more than I would like to admit from keeping what was left in my stomach from coming up.
I opened up the door to my trailer and saw that no one was around all the equipment and building material. There were just no people. I checked my phone. No calls. But then again no service as well. I drove into town and stopped at a small mom and pop diner for breakfast. As soon as I got into town and had cell phone service, the phone exploded with texts and missed calls. There were over twenty-four of them. A lot of the missed calls were from the construction men saying my checks bounced. I checked my account and was shocked to see that almost all my money was gone. My crypto investment went belly up over the weekend, leaving me with hardly any money. All construction on the house came to a stop. ‘Stupid, stupid,’ I thought. ‘Why did I have the electrician look at that damn logging camp instead of installing the solar panels? I could have at least gotten people to stay there. No panels means no power. No power means no well pump. Without a well pump I won’t have toilets or showers. Stupid, stupid.’ I thought all these things while banging my head against the steering wheel of my truck.
I spent the next three days and what little money I had drinking my problems away at the local bar, ‘Corgis Mcshorty’s Irish Pub.’ Why is there a corgi themed Irish pub way up in the north woods? Who knows. I was sipping on my second glass of whisky. The amber liquid was doing its best to help me forget my woes. I overheard a group of people talking and laughing. They were on their way out of the pub when I heard one of them say, “We better turn in if we want to get to the cave early tomorrow.”
I downed the remainder of my drink and ran after the group. I caught them in the parking lot. “Hey wait, hold up, you guys said something about cave exploring?” I asked. In front of me was a group of five in about their mid twenties. A woman stepped towards me. She was about 5’9,” athletic build with the words ‘CrossFit’ running down the length of her yoga pants. She had blonde hair, blue eyes and very perky assets.
She stuck out her hand and said, “Hey, I’m Samantha and this ball of sunshine next to me is Jessica.” Jessica was about the same height as Samantha. She wore baggy jeans and an oversized black hoodie. Her jet black hair hung just past her shoulders. She had the most intense green eyes. There was a look of suspicion on her face when I approached. It was obvious that Jessica has stepped in to stop Samantha form making dumb decisions more than once.
Samantha continued, “The tall guy in the back is Eric.B but we just call him Burns.” Burns was in fact tall, over six feet. He just got out of the army only seven months ago. He was built like a house but since his time out, you could just start to see a small amount of fat forming over his physique. Samantha finally finished with, “And those two love birds in the back are Josh and Dakota.” Josh was an average person with little defining features, the kind of person who can walk into a room and just hide in plain sight. Dakota was just a head smaller than the rest with long blond hair. Her clothes were worn out and the faded colors gave off the sense of someone whose family did not come from money. “And yes we are cave explorers,” Samantha said with a matter of fact tone.
“Spelunking. It’s called spelunking,” Burns said from the back.
“Oh right. Thank you Burns. Yes we are amiture spelunkers, why do you ask?” replied Samantha.
“I have a cave on my property, well it’s a mine. The Silver Head Mine. The mine shaft is closed but I’m about to open up tours. I’d love to have someone who knows what they are doing to have a peek down there first,” I explained. Everyone in the group looked excited except Jessica who looked skeptical.
“How much?” Samantha asked.
‘Crap,’ I thought. ‘They want to get paid for this don’t they? Well there goes your free explorers.’ I was about to open my mouth with a response when Samantha said again, “How much does it cost to go into the mine? it’s around $300 dollars just to get a climbing permit to explore the caves around the national park.”
“Ummm $200 dollars,“ I blurted out without thinking about it.
“Sold,” Samantha said and continued with, “We are exploring some caves today and will be back in two weeks. Can we do half now and half later?”
“Absolutely!” I said with a bit too much enthusiasm. The group started reaching into pockets and purses for the cash. All but Jessica and Dakota that is. Jessica just crossed her arms with a serious look on her face and Dakota just kinda fidgeted with a look of sadness. Dakota whispered something into Josh’s ear.
Jessica spoke out, “Ok everyone, can we all just chill out for one minute? We don’t know this person and you guys are ready to just hand him money? We need your name and an address. Just how safe is this mine?”
“My name is Mark. I can write down the address and you’re more than welcome to check out the mine before you leave this weekend. There is an elevator to get down. To be honest with everyone, I don’t know if it works. We can always repel down the shaft. I used to rock climb so I have the rope for it. I’ll be going with you of course. If it makes you feel better, we can do half of the payment now and half later.”
Satisfied with this answer, even Jessica could not hold back a smile. These kids love action and adventure, not to mention they would be the first to explore the mine in who knows how many years. Everyone gave me $100 bucks, I gave them the address, shook everyone’s hand and happily walked back into the pub.
End of part one