MAYA COSMIC NUMBER PUZZLES VOLUME 235 MAYA COSMIC NUMBER PUZZLES VOLUME 235 | Page 14

turn 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 future as they confidently 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 were no signs of the men who
stole it. An hour after breaking camp, when the group of men were walking up a steep
hill, a deep snarl was heard up ahead. With machetes ready, the men cautiously advanced up the trail. There, not two meters off the path, lay one of the five men who had
deserted days before. He was lying face down, and his left leg was missing. Terror raced
through the men. How had he died? It looked as if an animal, perhaps a large cat, had
been feeding on him recently. They stopped and buried the remains in a shallow grave.
They now knew why the burro had returned.
Thomas began to wonder. Why, with his adventure nearing its end was it turning
sour now? He wiped his sweaty head on his sleeve. Was he feeling sick? Was it the
dead body of one of his men that was causing his upset stomach? The group continued
to press on through the dense jungle. Juan and Jorge were also troubled with the unexpected dead man turning up. They asked themselves. Why did the group of five men
leave one of their own dead at the side of the trail? Why had he not been buried? There
was no machete lying around and the blood seemed confined to the point of severance.
PAGE 14