Story
Written by: Jon Haeber
Story
Written by: Jon Haeber
"The California gold rush began in January of 1848 in this small saw mill," The teacher said in a monotone voice as he pointed at a picture of a rickety log constructed structure surrounded by grinning men with long beards, "It was here that Marshall made his first discovery of gold as he cleaning out the flume that used to move the timbers through the sawmill. He tried smashing the nuggets he had found, and when they had shown the true malleability it was then that he knew he had real gold"
"This sucks. I hate this class." Jeremy said to his friend Jason
"Yea, really. Hey, you want......." Jason was quickly interrupted by the teacher who was now glaring into his guilty eyes.
"Mr. Walker, I assume that you have something to contribute to the class"
"Uhhh, no sir. I'm sorry. I won't interrupt anymore"
"Good, because I would like to announce a project. A fun project." All the children gave a sarcastic surprised look on their faces as they heard the word "Fun" in Mr. Borner's class "Yes, although many of you don't think so; this old man still has fun in his classes. I want each and every one of you to have your parents sign these forms that I am handing out to you so I know how many can go and please don't forget to. These forms are for a trip. We are going to...."
"Where are we going Mr. Borner?" Mary said with a puzzled look on her face as she looked down at the permission slip.
"Yea, where are we going?" Jason said right after Mary's comment.
"That's what I was just going to tell you, if some of you actually listen. We are going on a field trip to the site of the first major discovery of gold at sutter's mill. Let me read to you a passage from this book called, Lost Treasures of the California Gold Rush ,
"Many of us know of the story of John Marshall's gold discovery at Sutter's Mill,"
"At least I hope you all know since that's all I've been talking about since 10:00 this morning" Mr. Borner said as he interrupted the reading.
"But you may not know the story of James Marshall's lost gold mine. The passage that follows is from Marshall's own diary, his description of the exact location of the mine is almost so simple and down to earth that it should have been found by now, but there is one problem The mine is not where it says it is, this should give a challenge to the treasure hunter looking for adventure."
"Brrrrrrrrrrringgg!!!!!!"
The children always looked forward to the sound of the bell. This bell marked the end of school, and the end of school meant the beginning of fun.
"Before you leave, pick up a permission slip everyone." Mr. Borner said as the kids left, paying no attention, but picking up the permission slips as if it were routine.
Now alone; Tim Borner, the history teacher at Auburn Middle school, felt a feeling of relaxation as he leaned back in his easy chair. Every day, Mr. Borner had done one thing as soon as school ended, and that one thing was... absolutely nothing. The kids were almost too hard too deal with these days. Approaching his 50s, Mr. Borner had never married, leaving him open to all kinds of rumors among other staff members. He was very unsociable, living a life of ease. His expectations of becoming an inspiration to all the middle school kids were almost inevitable. He knew that if he didn't do something, and something very soon; He would lose what little was left of his image. The field trip to go on this treasure hunt was one of his last and final chances.
I, _________________ hereby give my permission for my son/daughter ______________ to go on the field trip to the Marshall Gold Discovery Site. I understand that if for any reason my son/daughter is not able to go, he/she will have to make up this field trip in the form of one, ten page written report on The Gold Rush of California.
X_______________Jason was familiar with these field trip forms. As a middle scholar, he had gone on many field trips before. One thing that caught his attention though, was the ten page report needed to make up the field trip. Why had Mr. Borner wanted all the kids to go, to the extent of giving them the choice between a ten-page report, or a field trip? Jason knew that this trip had something fishy about it. He was about to find out why.
"Well, Jason, are you sure you want to go on this trip? You know, I've heard that Mr. Borner is quite a strange man. I mean, to be 48, and not having a wife? I just want you to be careful around him. You really never know these days." Jason's mom, had always been one of those careful and cautious mothers. Her face gave her away. Of course, his mom had her wild times. But now she never gets near alcohol, quit smoking years ago, and takes care of her son like he was her only child.
"Mom, I'm sure. I mean, what is the worse that could happen."
Teachers have always been thought of as actual arch villains by middle-school kids for years. Teachers were aliens, outcasts, freaks of nature, nerds, you name it and a kid knows exactly which teacher to compare it to. Every kid knew that as a teenager, Mr. Borner was fighting for the German army during World War II. (what the kids didn't know, was that Mr. Borner was born in 1944, the end of the actual war.) But because of this assumption, every middle scholar (aside from the sixth-graders, who were left out of almost everything), had their own theories of what Mr. Borner was trained in. Jason was positive that Mr. Borner was trained in the SS tactics, or otherwise called Secret Service. Jason also was positive that he needed to be just as smart as Mr. Borner was to pull this thing off.
"Hello Mrs. Horrel." Jason said as he walked up to the library desk.
"Why; hello Jason." Mrs. Horrel said as her coke-bottle thick glasses glistened in the sun, almost blinding Jason.
Mrs. Horrel was just like her mother. Mrs. Horrel had her wild days, just like his mom. Drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, all the usual. But Jason was always perplexed by one thing. How could such a wild woman, turn into such a fruitcake.
"Now Jason, this doesn't sound like you. These books: "All About the German Secret Service; Special Tactics in Spy Techniques; and Beginning to Learn the Many Facets of Martial Arts?"
"Uhhh, you didn't know Margie?" Jason always called her Margie, made him sound like an adult, "We have a new class during sixth period. Were learning all about World War II."
Of course that didn't explain the martial arts book, but Jason really needed that book. He'll Never know when he might have to defend himself in case Mr. Borner gets physical.
"Ohhhhhhh. Now I understand." Mrs. Horrel snickered in the most annoying sound an 8th grader could hear. Her Laugh reminded him of a pig's snout, scavenging the ground for any remnants of scraps.
At the same exact time, Mr. Borner was in his room. It was 8:45, and class didn't start for another 15 minutes, at least. He looked through the blinds of his office windows. Low and behold, Jason was walking towards his office door.
"Perfect timing." Mr. Borner said as he reached for the phone.
"5-5-5--4-9-4-9," Mr. Borner whispered as he pounded the small keys on the phone with his pencil eraser.
"Hello, Jethro?" Mr. Borner said in a quiet yet noticeable voice.
"Yes, I've got a job for you."
Was that Mr. Borner? Jason heard the quaint sound of a man talking on the phone.
"Yes, It has to do with the field trip to Marshall's Gold Discovery Site, and the American River."
It was him! He was talking about the field trip!! In a quiet voice, as if he didn't want to be heard!!!
Jason quickly ran to the cement wall separating him from the view of Mr. Borner, He crawled to the ground as he neared the black, dusty blinds of the window that Mr. Borner had so often looked out of during breaks. The excitement grew ever more as he listened on to the conversation.
"I want you to...."
"brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrirrrririririring" The bell. The bell that he had so often looked forward to, the bell that ended his day of boring work, the bell that always seemed to ring when he was just about to get into trouble; had just ruined his chance of finding out what Mr. Borner's diabolical plans were.
"O.K. all right. I'll call you back." Mr. Borner said as he hung up.
All the students scurried towards the classroom. The halls were crowded with seventh graders.
"Class; take your seats please." Mr. Borner said as he wrote some words on the green chalkboard. "Now, as all of you know, we are going on a field trip. And I am guessing that many of you are unsure as to what we are doing on this field trip." Pacing back and forth with his index finger and thumb pressed to his chin, Mr. Borner was anxious to present this surprise. "Last time, I told you of Marshall's gold discovery, and I told you about the even less well known mine of Marshall." The students looked at Mr. Borner with anticipation and excitement, "Well, we are going to find the lost mine of Marshall."
"I thought you said nobody could find it?" Jeremy said
"Ah yes, but we are." Mr. Borner said with confidence, "Yes, we're going to find this treasure, because there's one thing that nobody else knows. I never told you that I lived in an old house within half a mile from the discovery site as a child. Being the adventurous kid that I was, I would often tromp around in the hills around my house. Well, one day I discovered a very old miners cabin. It was almost eerie because it seemed as if the owner had left in a big hurry. The coveralls were still hanging from the ceiling, the pick and shovel were still leaned up against the wall. In an old drawer was a small book. Blowing the dust off of it and turning through the moth eaten pages, I found it to be the diary of James Marshall. I heard of the famous settler in history books and I knew that this diary was an important part of our American heritage. So, doing the only thing that my good conscience would allow, I brought the book to the county museum. On my way into the museum a small piece of paper had fallen out of the book. Thinking nothing of it, I picked up the paper and stuffed it in my jacket pocket." Turning towards the students Mr. Borner now asks a perplexing question, "What do you think was on that paper?" The whole class shrugs their shoulders. "Mr. Marshall was a smart man; a very smart man. For he knew that If you bury your gold in one place, it's almost sure to be found. But if you bury your gold in two places, then the searchers will be thrown off by searching for the gold in the first spot. Class; I have in my hand today, the directions to Marshall's second spot." The whole class looked at the paper in Mr. Borner's hand. Each one examined the crumpled paper and gave their full attention to the black charcoal lines that were drawn on the brown paper. On the bottom-right hand corner of the small map were the words: Jason in particular was studying the map carefully. Writing down the date written on the map down after concluding that the crumpled map was nothing more than a torn piece of a grocery sack.
"You think your mom will mind if I came over tonight?" Jeremy said to Jason as he walked out of the halls of Auburn Middle school.
"What..... Oh yeah, sure. You can come over tonight."
"Can you believe that we are actually going on a treasure hunt for the field trip. Hey Jason, you don't suppose that if we find any treasure that Mr. Borner will take it from us? I mean; he's not trying to make us do all the grunt work while he sits back and watches us find the treasure for us?" Jeremy was trying to keep up with Jason's quick paced walking, he followed him with annoying persistence. Jason turned around to an abrupt stop.
"There is no treasure Jeremy, there's something strange about him. He's lying, and I don't think he even knows what he's talking about. For instance, when he was talking about the coveralls still hanging from the ceiling. They wouldn't be hanging there still. They would be all rotted away. The cabin would barely be standing. And that map; it looked like he crumpled up a piece of paper and drew on it with a #2 pencil. It's all a setup I tell you. He's got all of you under some deceitful trance." Jeremy looks up at Jason with a concerned expression.
"What is wrong with you? Ever since the beginning of the school year you have had something against that man. Mr. Borner is a great guy, and even if he is making all of this up; the class is learning more about the gold rush than ever before. Did you see the expressions on the class's faces the second that he mentioned that we were going on a field trip? I've never seen such excitement. I have to admit, I was excited myself."
"This isn't about me, Jeremy. Something just tells me deep down inside, that this stinks to high heaven. And I'm going to find out why."
"Oh hello, Jeremy! How are you doing?" Jason's mother was always ready to welcome his friends to school.
"I'm doing wonderful Ms. Ramirez, looking beautiful as usual."
"Oh thank you Jeremy, you've always known how to charm a girl"
Jason guided his friend to the familiar "do not enter", "Extreme Hazard", and "KNOCK: This Means YOU!" signs that decorated the once white painted door of his room.
"You're such a suck up." Jason said in the safety of his room.
"It's important to keep good PR with the parents. It builds a sense of trust between the parent and the friend of their child"
"Yea, whatever."
"Now; as regards to that little problem you have with Mr. Borner. I'm going to prove that he's telling the truth." Jeremy takes out a book from his backpack. Jason recognized the familiar title, "Lost Treasures of the California Gold Rush." Jeremy thumbed through the pages one by one, "Ah, here it is: 'Special thanks to Tim Borner for providing the diary of James Marshall to the county museum.' I told you so. Here it is in ink. Now, what are you going to say 'bout that, huh?"
"Where'd you get that book?" Jason reaches for the green cover, Jeremy pulls it farther away.
"Mr. Borner gave it to me. I'm going to use it to study up on the treasure. I have a proposition, if you quit acting so weird and start helping me find where the treasure is I'll split the treasure with you."
"You stole that book, didn't you?" he waits for an answer, none is given, "How many times do I have to tell you; there is no treasure! Mr. borner set that book on the table so you would take it; it's part of his master plan."
"Think whatever you want to think, Jason, but you're never going to stop me from finding that treasure. Somewhere in those mountains is millions of dollars of gold, and I would have to be stupid to not even give it a try."
Jason began to have his own doubts. He thought about the matter overnight, but the very next day, Jason couldn't help but continue to dig right into the heart of the matter.
"Hello Ms. Horrel!" Jason said as he walked into the dingy smelling library room. The smell was one that was always branded in his memory.
"Why hello, Jason. What are you here for, I never knew you to be one of those studious young people, but people always change."
"There goes that laugh again" Jason thought as Ms. Horrel let out a long succession of those strange sounds. "Mrs. Horrel, I am in search of something for...." he thought for a minute, " ....For history class. I want to know more about James Marshall."
"Ha, yes; the Gold Rush of 1849 was an important part of our history.... I remember studying it as a young girl. The subject interested me very much," Ms. Horrel always seemed to carry on a long conversation. Besides her laugh, her perpetually-open mouth was another thing that annoyed him very much, "James Marshall was a particular interest of mine. Why, if it wasn't for him, history would never be the same."
"That is all very interesting Ms. Horrel, but I want you to do a search for his name. I want to know all about him."
"Of course, let's see here. J__M-A-R-S-H-A-L-L." Ms. Horrel said as she typed out the command on the old dusty computer. An occasional beep could be heard coming from the small box on the desk as the computer searched through all the possibilities in the library. Jason peeked over Ms. Horrel's shoulder.
"O.K., we have three possibilities." Mrs. Horrel said, as Jason came closer with anticipation and excitement.
Mrs. Horrel now looked back at Jason, "That couldn't be the James Marshall that we're looking for, he was in California during that time."
"What's the other one say?" Jason said"That couldn't be him either, James Marshall died before the 20th century ever came around" Mrs. Horrel said as she turned around. "I'm really sorry we couldn't find anything."
"Oh that's all right. I only needed to know when he die..... Wait, did you just say he died before the 20th century came around?"
"Yes, he died on August 10th, 1885 to be exact."
"Thanks Ms. Horrel." "Wait! you forgot your...." But before she was done, Jason was out the door. She now looked down at the paper that he left laying on the computer desk. Opening the crumpled fold she studied the chicken-scratch letters that were written on it.
"Hmmm, that's strange. I wonder what map he's talking about?" Ms. Horrel now said to herself as she sat down in the stool.
****************************
"Now where did I put that paper" Jason was now frantically searching through his bedroom closet for the one important piece of evidence that he had obtained against Mr. Borner, "I knew that I put it somewhere around here"
"Jason, what are you doing? I just cleaned up this place, why must you always mess it up right behind me?"
"Mom, have you seen a paper."
"What kind of paper, Hun?"
"I don't know, just a small piece of paper. It was for uhhh.... History class. The words, 'James Marshall' were on it."
"When are you going to learn to keep things organized, I don't know how many times I've told you. If you had maybe listened to me, you wouldn't of lost your homework." "It's not for homework, mom." Jason stopped talking. He had just realized that his mom was becoming suspicious. She would never understand his mission to expose Mr. Borner, "I mean, it was a study guide, I was using to study for our test next Friday." "It's not one of those cheat sheets is it?" Jason's mom now looked over to him with a concerned expression on her face. "I know how it goes in Jr. High. You need to remember, that I was once a mischievous little rebel in my young years. I don't want to see you cheating, Jason. It brought me nowhere, it will bring you the same." "Mom, look at me. Do I look like a rebel to you?" "I don't know....." His mom showed a face of many doubts, she then broke out with a smile and left the room.Jason was tired of his detective work, it was almost impossible to expose the devious plans of Mr. Borner. Perhaps Jeremy was telling the truth; perhaps Mr. Borner really did find a map, and really believes in a treasure.Jason now fell upon the soft covers of his bed. He propped the pillows under his head. He could see his eyelids close, and then open once again in a vain attempt at staying awake. He now let his thoughts drift away with his sleep.
"Hey, hey!" A burly old man with a long beard was pushing on Jason's shoulders; prodding and poking at him, trying to get his attention, "Wake up kid. C'mon; git on up""Huhhh... What? Where am I? What happened?" Opening his eyes, Jason noticed that he was in a log cabin. Golden rays of sunlight were poking through the dusty curtains."Been tryin' to wake yeh up for hours," The burly man handed Jason a cup of black coffee, "never seen such a sleeper in my life.""What am I doing here?" Jason took a drink of the coffee. He swallowed the bitter liquid in one gulp. Although the drink tasted like his mom's ginseng tea, it warmed him up and helped him to relax.
"The derndest thing. I found yeh out an' the woods. Had the cussedest wound on yer head, I thought yeh had met yer maker, son. It was a good thing I found yeh. You'd be sure dead by now, I reckon."Jason now looked around the house to examine his whereabouts more carefully. Hanging from the wall was a pair of coveralls. In a small corner of the room sat a pick and shovel. Jason now felt a strange feeling that he had been here before, but where?"Well, I s'pose I best be gettin' to work. 'Let he who does not work, not eat' thus says the holy bible itself." The old man now looked over at Jason, "Hey, what do yeh say to helping me out. I s'pose I could afford to provide you with some room an' board, I'll even give yeh ten percent commission on all the gold that we find."
Jason was still trying to figure where he was. He only listened to one word out the old man's mouth, "Did you just say gold?""Sure I did, son. Why, don't you know that we're sitting on the newest discovery of gold in the whole dern U.S. of A. Why I wouldn't be surprised if it was the biggest either. So what do yeh say? Yeh in or out?"Jason took another look at the old man, he carefully observed the facial profile. The man was somewhere in the back of his mind. He knew that it was someone he had seen before, but where? In school?Yes! Now he remembered. He'd seen the man in a history book! He had something to do with the Gold Rush of 1849. He looked once again at the man.
"What're yeh staring at son? Yeh look as if yeh seen a ghost?" The man then let out a smile. It was him! It was James Marshall, "You're James Marshall, aren't you?"
"Of course I am. Do I know you from somewhere, son? It ain't everyday that I meet someone out here in the wilderness. In fact, the last time I seen a man was a month ago, t'morrow to be exact. I don't ever recollect meeting you though son, and believe me, I would know. Not to be offensive or anything, but yeh seem t'be dressed quite strange." Jason now looked down at his clothes in curiosity, "I best be going now, If yeh ever want t'change your mind you can find me here. Best of luck t'ya son." The old man now began to walk out of the cabin. Jason now looked around the quiet cabin. The sound of a crackle in the fire startled him, a fiery coal hit him in the back. Jason ran out the door, and the old man noticed his quick departure from the small door, "What's a matter son? Yeh look like yer hurt." Jason now rubbed the burn on his back, he quickly moved his hand away trying to hide the pain.
"Mr. Marshall, I think I'll reconsider your offer."Jason now pondered over the predicament that he was now in. Was he still dreaming or was this really happening. Of course, he was one that didn't dream that often. When he did though, it was so vague, unrealistic, and distorted that he wouldn't think it being real. This was different though; he could smell the stew cooking on the stove. He could see colors in such vividness that it was even more real than real-life. He could taste the blood that was flowing out of his cracked lips as he came back from the semiarid mountains of the Sierra Nevadas.
"Yer food's gittin as cold as a miners butt, son. There's no use eatin' it if yeh goanna let it git cold." The miner now looked at him with the same look his mother gave him when she told him to eat his vegetables, "C'mon kid, let'r out. What's the matter?" The old man now looked at him with even more curiosity."I..... I...... I'm lost!""Is that what yer so worried about? Of course yer lost; I'm lost." The old man now looked at Jason, knowing that Jason would ask him to tell more. "Lost? You're not lost Mr. Marshall. You are sitting here on the richest deposit of gold in the United States, and possibly even the world, and You're saying you're lost?"NEXT PAGE