MAYA COSMIC NUMBER PUZZLES, VOL. 106 MAYA COSMIC NUMBER PUZZLES, VOL. 106 | Page 10

a long, rubber hose which, when attached to bellows, could be used by one man on the outside
to force fresh air inside. There, on a half-meter raised bed, were the bones of a King. A gold mask
covered the skull, and a few fragrant pieces of hand-woven cloth covered the skeleton. Emerald
stones, once proudly worn, were strung on a necklace of gold. There were two more skeletons on
lower beds, and judging from their relative sizes, appeared to be that of a woman and a child. Juan
said they were probably the queen, and one of their children. Thomas shined his lantern on the far
wall, and there lined up in stacks were the other fabled leaves of the Maya book, the sheets of gold
reflecting enticingly. Thomas knew that any museum would be thrilled to acquire these ancient
relics. What knowledge, Thomas wondered, could these plates contain? As so much of the Maya
culture was lost when the Spaniards melted the gold artifacts and sent the bullion to back to Spain.
Thomas moved around slowly and took some photographs while Jorge began counting the
book leaves. The total came to two-hundred and fifty-nine. With the one in Oaxaca, that made
two-hundred and sixty, a number of special significance to the Maya, it being the length of a tun,
a period of time in one of their many calendars.
The desertion of the men in the night, and the theft of the burros, presented a problem: could
they carry the remainder of the book leaves with them on their return to civilization? It was going
to make the return trip very treacherous. There were other precious artifacts too valuable to simply leave behind, so the men backfilled twelve feet of the tunnel to prevent animals from using the
tomb as a home, and to protect it against the elements. Then Thomas carefully climbed the heights
of the steep pyramid where he took sextant and compass readings. He wrote them down in his
journal to make the return trip faster and easier. After discarding equipment, not necessary for
the return trek, and spending another night in camp; the remaining team members, with smiles
on their faces and dreams in their minds, left the tomb behind and set off for home.
The explorers talked about the fu ture as they walked back to civilization. Two new problems
developed: who would they sell the artifacts to, a museum or a private collector, and would they
get a good price? That night the men were very tired. They camped by a small stream. As they ate
the evening meal, Thomas noticed the mosquitoes were especially numerous and biting everyone.
Even the campfire smoke could not keep the men free of bites. Looking the men over he noticed
two of them were sweating heavily. The two workers assured him they were fine. They were very
happy to be returning to their families with an exciting story to tell and money in their pockets.
As the men talked about the golden book, Jorge wanted to know what the price of gold was in
the United States. Thomas told him it was about $35.00 an ounce in American money. The U.S.
government controlled the price of gold and kept the price stable. The real worth of their find, he
told Jorge, was in its value as a national treasure. However, Mexico, Juan told the men, didn’t hold
the Maya civilization in high regard. It was soon realized the treasure that they had discovered
might take months, or even years, to sell at a good price. As they went to sleep, everyone wondered
if the hardship was worth it.
When morning arrived the group discovered one of the stolen burros had returned, and was
standing calmly next to the others. But, there was no signs of the men who stole it. An hour after
breaking camp, the men were walking up a steep hill when a deep snarl was heard up ahead. With
machetes ready, the men advanced up the trail. There, not two meters off the path, lay one of the
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