MAYA COSMIC NUMBER PUZZLES VOLUME 237 MAYA COSMIC NUMBER PUZZLES VOLUME 237 | Page 12

Now, years later that day had finally come to be a reality. Upon returning to the city
of Oaxaca, Juan and Jorge, along with their new partner Thomas Abrams, paid a visit
to Guillermo’s home. There around the kitchen table, Guillermo once again related the
story of first finding the Maya treasure. The reunion of family members was joyous, and
Guillermo, despite his advanced years was eager to join the quest. It took little time to
find a group of able bodied men and equip them with picks, shovels, ropes, food, medical
supplies and other things they thought they might need to improve their chances of success. Within days, the new expedition set off on its journey, traveling through the cities to
the farmlands, from the grasslands to the mountains, seeing fewer and fewer pueblos,
fewer and fewer people. Civilization gave way to dense jungle, with its different shades
of green, its bright highlights and deep shadows; its hot, humid days, and seemingly hotter, more humid nights. Several of the workers wanted to turn back, afraid of what would
try to eat them in the impossibly black night as they slept, or poison them to death as
they hacked through the dense foliage. Thomas offered them more money to keep them
working, but the fear was great and hovered like a cloud of mosquitoes over the group.
Time had not diminished Guillermo’s memory of the earlier expedition; the tragedy
was painfully etched in his mind. He led the group through a twisting and turning path,
up one incline and down the next. Good luck was with them, or perhaps a benevolent
Maya Spirit, for they seldom had to backtrack. After twenty grueling days, around noon,
the party stood at the base of the ancient pyramid, the peak lost in the tops of the trees.
Guillermo pointed to the entrance of the previous expedition’s collapsed tunnel, which
the jungle had reclaimed. A silent prayer was offered, but the men couldn’t suppress a
grim smile, for it meant the tomb had not been disturbed since Guillermo escaped the
cave-in all those years ago. The team found the old campsite and spent the remainder
of the day clearing away the jungle. They salvaged what equipment they could. Then the
men set up their own camp before eating a hearty, well-deserved meal, and turning in for
the night. The next day, the real work began.
Early the next day, one group of men began reopening the collapsed tunnel entrance. Another group took to cutting trees, making planks and posts to shore up the
tunnel roof. This time the soft soil would be fortified with plenty of support to keep the
previous disaster from happening again. Within hours, human bones were unearthed.
Some of the workers refused to go into the deepening tunnel, fearing God’s wrath would
befall them. The three leaders took turns digging to reassure the other men it was safe.
Once they had pulled the last of the eight men’s remains from the old tunnel, Thomas
knew they were close. The day was ending and so it was agreed to wait till tomorrow to
resume the final assault to reopen the King’s Chamber.
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