We, my wife, children, and grandchildren, go to Hillbilly Heaven, Ellis Roberts' 300 acres of Carroll County, for Thanksgiving lunch. We always have. Andrea, our daughter, had already texted me early Thursday morning and asked it I would take a walk with her. Of course I said yes since I had the same concern about eating too much and gaining weight.
So not long after our meal and a little lounging to let it settle, Andrea started in on me, not just to walk but to go to the cave (see "It Happened," 11/23/2017). I kept telling her we were not going to the cave, but she started saying I was a "fraidy cat" and teasing me and laughing out loud and all like that. At first I stood up to it pretty well, but then the grandchildren started in on me and after a few minutes some of the adults began to rib me as well. I told them I would draw them a map and they could knock themselves out, but the grand kids were staying with me. They were relentless and finally I said, "Show me some guns." Eventually, we had laid out on a table a twelve gauge shotgun, a .357 magnum revolver, an unscoped .30/.30 rifle, and a machete. Grudgingly, I relented. We would go, but we had to come up with some rules and everyone had to follow them.
Since everybody agreed and since Hodge Ski Lodge (where the cave is) is only a mere mile from Hillbilly Heaven, we set out on foot, all eight of us. When it was all said and done that day, the adults who carried the weapons absolutely forbade me to use their names in the account. Talk about fraidy cats. I guess they fear getting some ribbing of their own.
So we set out. If you remember, the day was grand with sunny skies and a bit chilly but not too cold. Everybody was happy, and a jovial jive followed us as we walked the road headed on a grand adventure. Zane, our grandson, skipped and sang and threw rocks. He was the one who I most distrusted to stay with the group. He has no fear. Seriously. This boy has been catching snakes and frogs since he could walk. By the grace of God he is still alive.
When we got to the entrance to the Hodge land, I was surprised to see that the gate was shut and locked. If you remember, it had only been two days when I left driving fast having forgotten to shut the gate and refusing to go back. Of course being on foot, we had no difficulty negotiating that. I just wondered who shut and locked the gate behind me.
A half mile more of walking brought us to the levee of the pond and now we were a mere 100 yards or so from the gully. This is where I had fired, in fear, two shots from my twenty gauge only two days before. Here is where I heard the yells, and the dogs had fought to sit on my shoes. Now the group with me was having a jolly good time, but inside my stomach churned, and I had some real misgivings.
I pointed ahead and slightly to our left. "The cave is over there," I said, "but the sides are too steep. We need to go up stream a bit, go to the bottom, and walk back." And that's what we did.
It was a slow process getting everyone into the gully. We headed downstream after we did. I knew the cave should not be far, but this is not how I had found it before, so I was worried about getting there, worried about the kids, and worried about what we might find. But like I thought, we only made a turn or three downstream before it was there. I stopped and pointed up.
"There it is, ladies and gentlemen."
I enjoyed the look on my daughter's face, on everybody's face. They were genuinely surprised. I felt like a winner, like I had delivered. Then I looked up and Zane was at the mouth of the cave!
"ZANE, GET DOWN! GET DOWN! GET DOWN! ZANE, GET DOWN NOW! GET DOWN NOW! ZANE, GET DOWN! GET DOWN!!"
I yelled as loud as I could until it felt like my vocal chords were going to go sailing out of my throat.
He slowly slid down while I almost hyperventilated. When his feet hit the bottom of the gully, he was crying and Andrea was looking at me like I was the worst sort of trash that ever walked the face of the earth. Nobody took it seriously, and they all thought I was out of line.
"Zane," I said grabbing his shoulders. 'I'm sorry for yelling at you, but you broke the rules. You were not supposed to do that."
The tension and embarrassment we so thick it seemed like you could reach out and touch it. Then his mom, trying to lighten the mood, I suppose, asked him if he had seen anything.
"There's dead bones inside," he said still sobbing some.
Andrea giggle a little at that. "All bones are dead," she said.
"They have blood on them. And they stink," Zane added.
The grin on Andrea's face faded.
"And something's in there. I heard it."
We left. When we climbed out, I had one armed adult go up first and stand guard, and I had another armed adult to be the last one out. We walked back to Hillbilly Heaven mostly in silence. Back at the house, Andrea pulled up the picture she took of Zane at the mouth of the cave.
"Dad, come look at this. Do you see what I see?" she somberly asked.
She handed me her phone. At first it simply seemed to be a picture of Zane at the cave. Then I noticed something in the darkness behind him. I expanded the photo to get a better look.
"Good gosh almighty! It's him!"
"Who? Who is it?" she implored.
I was in such shock I had to sit down.
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