Building on Dreams

Chapter 44 - Memorial Day Weekend

"Okay," Zackary agreed with a grin.

"Put your backpack in your room and meet me in the garage," Greg instructed as he gathered his notes and their camera, and prepared to go.

Zackary was climbing into the car beside Greg a short time later and Greg backed out of the garage.

"I would like to prepare you for a significant surprise," Greg said as they drove past the farmhouse and proceeded down the street on their way towards their property.

"What sort of a surprise?" Zackary asked. "Isn't the house coming out the way it's supposed to?"

"It is. However, do you remember the tunnel that goes into the hill from the bottom valley?" Greg asked.

"Yeah," Zackary said.

"Well Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Sato and I have figured out why it was there. There was once an opening to a cave in the area of the uppermost valley. The cave itself extends beneath the hill in the direction where the tunnel is. The cave itself is of course still there, but the original opening to it was buried by mudslides some one hundred and twenty-five or so years ago. We discovered it by accident while we were doing the boring work for our underground utilities, and broke through into the original mouth of the cave again while we were doing the grading and contouring work around the hill for our house," Greg said.

"There's a cave on our property?" Zackary asked.

"Yes. We think the purpose of the tunnel was someone's attempt to try to reach it again after mudslide covering the mouth occured," Greg explained.

"Why do you think that?" Zackary wondered.

"We found a few items suggesting someone was using it as a camp site at the time. It is probable they were using the cave as a form of shelter during a particularly heavy rain, which my architects believe is what triggered the slide. We believe their camp was buried quite suddenly during a storm about that time ... at least that is the era the items appear to be from," Greg explained.

"You found their camp?" Zackary asked in amazement.

"We did. There wasn't much there apart from one tent and somebody's personal things. Apart from their age we don't think the items have any value, but that is what gave us the clue."

"Does anyone else know?" Zackary asked eagerly.

"Neil does. He helped us explore it back in February when we first discovered it. I plan to show it to you today, but you must promise me you will be very careful ... and don't tell your mother about it, or Jessie," Greg said. "Do you promise?"

"Yeah ... yes, of course!" Zackary said enthusiastically.

The construction site really wasn't all that far from the house, and it didn't take them long to reach it. Greg pulled off the road onto the newly graded and graveled driveway then pulled up as he usually did to park alongside the contractor's shelter at the top of the valley. He stopped the car and they both got out. Immediately Greg handed Zackary a hard hat and donned one himself.

"What do we need this for?" Zackary asked.

"You will see," Greg told him as he guided the way to the top of the valley where they could see the beginnings of the bridge house. From where he was standing with Zackary, the opening to the cave was directly beneath them and couldn't be seen.

Zackary looked down into a valley that he hardly recognized. He could clearly see what looked like two buildings being built farther away from where they stood, parallel to and along opposite sides of the valley, then what looked like the bridge for a railroad crossing between them. It even seemed to have ties, holding the rails in place.