Timecachers (40 page)

“I have come across many prospectors during my recent travels. You know that many have been conducting mining operations. The promise of our removal seems to have encouraged even more to head into the more remote areas to search for gold. In fact, when I first met Tom and his friends I thought that was what they were doing. You will have to keep a guard for the gold hunters who may come across your hiding place.”

“There is only a single approach to the entrance to the caverns, so anyone coming could be seen well in advance,” said Guwaya. “In exploring the cavern, I discovered a small rear exit which could be used to escape in an emergency. The exit is nearly impossible to see from the surface, and is not visible from the front entrance to the cave.”

John was less worried about accidental discovery of their location than he was about the militia. “The Georgia government knows of your presence here. If they enforce removal, they will know that you have gone into hiding when they discover your abandoned home. If they send out militiamen to search for you they will be looking for areas like the one you have chosen.”

“That was something I have considered,” Guwaya said. “I have made it known to several merchants and traders with whom I occasionally do business that I am planning to relocate voluntarily, and have said that I intend to join with a group heading west. I realize that ruse will fool no one for long, nor protect me from search parties looking for others in hiding, but it may give me a slight advantage.”

Guwaya told them he had already been provisioning his hideout, and he had made many trips to supply the cavern, being careful to take circuitous routes and avoid being observed. He said that there was fresh water nearby, and between his stockpile of supplies and whatever fresh game he could provide, he and his family could hold out for several months.

“Then what will you do?” asked Tom.

“My hope is that in time our leaders will prevail. If they are not successful preventing this madness entirely, they will surely not abandon those of us who have tried to remain close to our lands. If I run out of provisions before that, I hope we can find others who have taken the same course of action and join with them.”

John Carter was still uneasy with Guwaya’s plan, but saw no reason to disrespect him with further criticism. Frankly, as concerned as he was, he had no better alternative to offer him.

It was decided that all three men would go to Guwaya’s cave in the morning, to bring additional supplies and disclose the location to John, who would be the only other person to know where they were.

The remainder of the evening was spent in more lighthearted conversation. John relayed other news of social events in the Cherokee community, informing them of council decisions, new farming ideas from the more progressive folks like Jimmy Deerinwater, elders who had passed on, and babies that had been born. Tom was at first confused when someone asked if the baby was “ballsticks,” but it was explained to him that it was a customary way to refer to a male baby. He was aware of the Cherokee love of their stickball game, but he still thought the reference was amusing, and a little embarrassing.

There was, as always, more food, and the usual storytelling. Ahni told a story, speaking in Cherokee, about a place along the Tennessee River known as “The Suck.” John translated for him as she told the story, although Tom was enchanted by the silky-soft euphonious sounds of Ahni’s voice speaking in Cherokee. It was the first time he had listened to the language being spoken other than a few short words at a time. He expected to hear harsh sounding words, but was surprised at the melodious sound her voice made as she put together each syllable, and it made him anxious to learn more Cherokee words.

Tom had heard of The Suck from friends who had kayaked the river and he thought he remembered it mentioned in an old Johnny Cash song. The Suck was a particularly dangerous place just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the river currents created turbulent whirlpools. In the old days, according to Ahni’s story, the whirlpools were intermittent, the maelstrom disappearing and reappearing at the most inconvenient times. She said the place was haunted, and travelers who tried to navigate that part of the river without taking the proper precautions could find themselves caught in the swirl of the whirlpool, which opened up to a room at the bottom of the river where the people who lived there would beckon the doomed travelers to come and join them.

The Wards prepared a place in the loft of the barn for John and Tom to spend the night, as the tiny cabin did not have much extra room. That was fine with both of them; it was a pleasant evening and the loft was well padded with sweet-smelling spring hay. As he lay down to sleep, Tom thought about the situation he was putting himself in by agreeing to stay with the Ward family. He knew what was coming, and wasn’t at all convinced that history would play out any differently than the one he knew. He could understand why it was important for John and the other Cherokee to cling to the hope that things would work out for them, but he didn’t believe it would do him any good to deny his own version of reality. Just being in 1838 was far enough from reality for his liking.

He had to admit that other than the time-travel ordeal, everything else about this place seemed more real to him than did much of his “normal” life. He could hear the soft nickering from the horses stabled below, and from where he was lying he had a view of the spectacular night sky through the open loft door. He could see a section of the glowing band of the Milky Way across the coal-black sky, and remembered the story Benjamin told of how it was formed by a giant dog spilling his stolen cornmeal as he ran away from the angry millers. Looking at the edge of the galaxy tonight with so many bright and clear stars, he could easily understand how that story was conceived. He thought about the strangely gruesome story Adam told, and the humorous animations of Alice’s tale, and how they all became so close to Benjamin and his family in such a short time. He was surprised how much he had learned about his companions in the last several days. They had been together for years, and had taken plenty of trips together before, but this extraordinary adventure was providing them with not only an incredible insight to this period of history, but also some revelations about each other. He thought that once they returned to their own time, these experiences would probably bond them even more tightly, like the bond that forms between soldiers in battle. He wondered if they would ever get home to find out. He remembered the closeness of his own family, and it took a great effort to dispel the disquieting thought that he may never see them again. He was not going to let those thoughts cause him to panic; he would keep his mind focused on the situations he could deal with. He would draw strength from his knowledge of the great explorers, those men and women who had been first to enter new territories on land, sea, and space. They had chosen to put themselves at risk to open new horizons to the rest of their fellow men, and he would feel honored if he could even approach the bravery of those great persons. He only wished he had gotten to choose his path, rather than have it thrust upon him.

The next morning, Tom awoke feeling refreshed and anxious to begin doing his part for the Ward family. After enjoying a copious southern breakfast prepared by Woyi and Ahni, Tom, Guwaya, and John Carter began loading the supplies to bring to the cavern hideaway. The two extra men and horses would allow Guwaya to expedite the stocking of his hideout, although they would need to be especially cautious to avoid detection—three men with horses loaded with supplies would certainly draw questions if they happened to be seen.

Guwaya used a stick to draw a crude map in the dust, illustrating the route he would take to reach the cave, referencing several natural landmarks. They planned to travel together with Guwaya leading the way, so the directions were only a precaution if they happened to get separated. Guwaya explained that they would take an indirect route using lesser known trails to avoid happening upon another traveler. That prospect seemed unlikely to Tom; even the most direct route involved copious twists and turns due to the mountainous terrain. The area was so remote he could not imagine crossing the path of anyone by chance.

Leading the heavily loaded horses, they set off on an equestrian trail leading from the far side of the farm. The Ward’s rustic mountain homestead was situated deep within the mountains of Georgia, and they didn’t travel far before the trail turned into a steep mountain path. The narrow switchback snaked up the mountainside, a sheer rock face on one side and a steep drop-off on the other. Falling rocks, knocked loose by the horse’s hooves, hollowly clacked as they tumbled down the slope.

The horses appeared to be undaunted by the precarious trails. They reminded Tom of the extreme mountain bike trails he had ridden in West Virginia. He didn’t mind bicycling on steep, single-track trails, but horseback riding on such a steep trail where he had to depend on an animal’s surefootedness rather than his own biking abilities made him uneasy. He was relieved to be walking on this trail rather than riding.

After crossing the first ridge, the trail became even more rugged. They were essentially following deer paths barely wide enough to accommodate the horses. Guwaya led them up scree littered slopes, across ridge tops, and down through ravines. He pointed out the landmarks he had indicated on his map as they passed each of them; a huge moss-covered boulder, a small creek, a uniquely twisted tree, and so on.

Tom wondered about the man’s familiarity with these trails. What reason would he have had to be this deep in the mountain wilderness; hunting trips, perhaps? Then again, when he recalled some of the remote places he had ventured while growing up in Virginia—he probably could follow a path using some of the same sort of landmarks in his home stomping grounds, though not quite as deftly as Guwaya was able to.

It took them about three hours of fast-paced hiking, as fast-paced as the terrain allowed, to reach the caverns. They were standing at the edge of a precipice when Guwaya announced their arrival. From the cliff edge, Tom could see a broad panorama of the mountain range they had just hiked through, but saw neither a cave nor any place where there could be an entrance to one.

“It is easy enough to climb down to the entrance, but I brought along a ladder to make it easier for us to unload the supplies,” Guwaya said as he unpacked a rope ladder and anchored it to a sturdy tree near the edge of the cliff.

Tom looked down over the edge. It was a drop of several hundred feet with nothing more than treetops below. The cliff was very steep, the rocks smooth and rounded with no obvious footholds for climbing. He closely examined the place where Guwaya’s rope ladder dangled, about twenty feet below the cliff’s edge. He could barely make out a tiny ledge that appeared to be nothing more than a ripple of rock on the cliff side.

Guwaya hoisted one of the smaller bundles onto his shoulder and headed down the ladder. “With three of us, we can relay the supplies to the cave. I will take this bundle, and you two can pass the rest down to me.” When he reached the bottom of the ladder, he stepped effortlessly onto the tiny ledge, disappeared from view for a few moments, then reappeared and said, “I am ready when you are.”

“That’s certainly a well hidden entrance to his cave,” said Tom.

“Most well hidden,” John agreed. “It is a wonder that he found it.” He stepped off the cliff and onto the ladder. “I will go halfway down to be the relay if you will unpack the supplies and hand them to me.”

Tom nodded his agreement, and then began unpacking the supplies. He piled some of the items next to the cliff edge, then lay on his stomach at the top of the ladder and passed the bundles one at a time to John. It was only necessary for John to move a few rungs up and down the ladder as he relayed the bundles to Guwaya, who disappeared and reappeared from Tom’s view as he took the supplies into the cave.

When the last bundle had been relayed, Tom led the horses several hundred yards from the cliff, into the woods where they could not be easily seen, and hobbled them so they could forage freely without wandering too far. He then returned to the ladder. Looking down, he saw John’s head poking out from the side of the cliff. He gestured with a wave of his hand. “Come.”

Tom was an experienced rock climber, and had no fear of heights or aversion to climbing down a rock face. He would have preferred to be equipped with some basic climbing gear, like a harness and safety rope, rather than a rope ladder tied to a tree. He set aside his safety concerns and climbed down the ladder.

Reaching the ledge, Tom could see that the foothold was merely a slight indentation in the rocky face of the cliff. Carefully stepping off the ladder, he took John Carter’s offered hand and swung himself onto the cliff side to a wider ledge which had been hidden from view. From here he could see the opening to the cave, an oblong hole only about five feet high. The cave immediately angled sharply to the right, making it appear to be no more than a shallow depression in the rock. Once inside however, he could see that the cave opened up quickly to a large room-sized cavern expanding in all directions. A burning torch revealed the ceiling to be over ten feet high, and the cavern extended into the darkness beyond the reach of the torchlight. Guwaya had placed the supplies in a small alcove which was already extensively stocked with hanging joints of meat and an abundance of jugs and stacks of wooden casks, apparently containing food and drink. Another part of the cave had sleeping mats and a rustic table and chairs where he and John were seated. Tom sat down at the table and Guwaya filled a wooden cup with water from a jug for each of them.