After finishing his research at the museum he and Sydney headed over to a steakhouse for a quick lunch. Since it was a public place they were careful about what they discussed. Sydney aside from getting the cowboy hats for sun protection had gotten hiking and camping supplies as well as water and food packs.
With supplies in hand they went over to the local tour outfit recommended by Professor Anderson, he advised them that to go into the Superstitions without an experienced guide would be foolish and deadly. They discovered they had choices of jeep, horse, and hiking tours. To their luck they found out that no excursions had gone into the mountains during the last few days due to inclement weather so unless whoever had stolen the map was an expert on the mountains and a survivalist they would have been held up also.
Zachary Solza was all Professor Anderson had said he would be, he was a expert guide and knew the Superstitions like the back of his hand. Anderson had told them he was completely trust worthy, the man did not have a greedy bone in his body, he just loved the outdoors and this was a way for him to make a living doing what he loved. Without showing him the map they told him they were doing research on the Lost Dutchman’s mine and wanted to explore the area and if they happen to find the lost mine all the better.
Zach was a excellent judge of character and even thought he felt there was more to it then they were saying Joe Anderson was a old and trusted friend, who had called and asked him to help them in anyway he could. The weather report for the upcoming week looked great and he did not foresee any problems. They decided to leave first thing in the morning, driving in as far as they could and proceeding from there on horseback, Zach felt this was the best way to go since some of the areas could not accommodate vehicles.
Sydney and Nigel returned back to the hotel and poured over notes, books and the map. Reading through one of the books on the mine Nigel came across clues attributed to Waltz .
"No miner will find my mine. To find my mine you must pass a cow barn. From my mine you can see the military trail, but from the military trail you can not see my mine. The rays of the setting sun shine into the entrance of my mine. There is a trick in the trail to my mine. My mine in located in a north-trending canyon. There is a rock face on the trail to my mine." Nigel read the clues he had found to Syd. He could not help but still feel this was going to be a waste of time, he had found similar maps to the one they were looking at now at the museum and thought this one will someday end up on that wall, yet another failed attempt to find the mine.
They studied all the information for hours and decided to call it a night, they had to be up early the next day. Nigel wanted nothing more than to stay the night with Syd, but he reluctantly said his goodnight after she had kissed him in a way that told him she had wanted the same, but both knew if he stayed they would not get any sleep. As he drifted off to sleep he thought how hard this was sometimes, having to hide his relationship with Sydney, but she was worth it, and with that thought he drifted into a dreamless slumber.
Go to Part Six.