“By one of his land agents. Collected fees and rents that he never turned over to Fairfax. Rumor says it was hidden away until after any investigations could be done and the location was lost.”
“Lost and spent sound a whole lot alike,” Ty muttered under his breath. Zane jabbed him in the ribs, and Ty gave a soft grunt as he leaned closer to Zane and tried not to laugh.
“Some people believe that Union foraging party found it all those years later,” John was saying.
“And that’s the treasure that’s supposedly buried up here?” Earl asked doubtfully. “Why didn’t the Union army take it?”
“They did. That foraging party, they spirited it away, dumping out their supplies and using the sacks for the gold and silver they found. They even left their ammunition behind, blinded to the danger by the treasure.”
“That explains how they were captured in a skirmish and not killed fighting,” Ty muttered as he drew a circle in the dust next to him. Zane elbowed him again gently, and Ty bit his lip against a smile.
“When the Confederates went through their supplies, you can imagine what they thought. There was arguing over whether they should keep the money for themselves or send it to Richmond to finance the upcoming Gettysburg Campaign. They moved on to Purgitsville, where they themselves were attacked. The money changed hands again—”
“Before any official reports could be made about the money, of course,” Ty interjected cynically. There were never any written records to accompany these stories.
“Of course,” John agreed happily. “The Federals were then occupying Romney, and when the money reached the town, it was decided that the position wasn’t secure enough to keep it there. As often as the town changed hands, you can see why.”
Ty scrubbed his hand over his face. This was what being nice to people got him. Zane nudged him in the side yet again, and Ty was hard-pressed not to poke him back.
“The residents of Romney had been gradually taking their own valuables up into the mountains and hiding them, trying to keep them safe from the looting of the soldiers passing through. The man in charge of the Federal brigade, though, he had a sweetheart in Romney. The woman told him of the secret stash the town had hidden away, and one night just forty-eight hours before the town was attacked again, the Federals snuck all that gold and silver up into the mountains and hid it away.”
“Are you saying that even though a whole town of people knew where this super secret hiding spot was, that it still got lost?” Ty asked incredulously.
John smiled widely and nodded, as if that was his favorite part of the story. “Over the summer of 1863, Romney was constantly occupied and switching hands or being watched by scouts from both armies. As winter came around, the fighting died down, but as you well know, you don’t venture up into these mountains in winter no matter what kind of treasure is up here!”
Ty glanced at Zane and shook his head. Zane was trying hard not to laugh at him. Ty reached between them impulsively and squeezed his hand gently. It was nice to sit there with him and enjoy something physical that wasn’t even remotely sexual. He couldn’t really think of a time they’d even sat together like this, besides sprawling on the couch and watching post-season baseball to boo the Yankees together.
“So,” Deuce said slowly as he looked at John in confusion. “What happened? Why didn’t they ever go back for it?”
“The winter of 1863 was a harsh one,” John answered. “There were collapses of caves, mudslides, flooding when the snow began to melt. It changed the topography, and so did four years of heavy fighting. The soldiers who’d taken Fairfax’s gold and silver up there never returned to Romney. Those who’d been strong enough to drag the town’s treasures up there in 1861 had all been sent off to war. They told their families how to get there, using landmarks as directions. By the time the war ended, those landmarks weren’t there.”
Ty scowled heavily. He was hesitant to admit that that made a certain sort of sense. Still, he didn’t put much stock in treasure stories, much less the ones that had no proof of their existence.
“So it’s up there somewhere,” Earl concluded with a wave of his hand in the general direction of the peaks. He was smiling, obviously humoring the man.
“That’s the story,” John answered with a pleased nod. He shrugged. “It’d be quite a chunk of change, anyway!” he said as he pushed himself back onto his bunk and settled back.
Ty raised an eyebrow, hoping that was it for the history lesson. Beside him, Zane shivered slightly and reached into his pack to pull out a dry sweatshirt. He had a small hand towel draped over his knee; he’d obviously used it on his head because his hair was sticking up a little in a couple places. He was smiling too. He seemed pretty entertained. Ty turned to fiddle with the fire, stoking it and adding several more logs in the hopes they’d last long enough for him to get some good sleep. Then he sank back down beside his partner, his shoulder brushing Zane’s. He watched idly as the others moved to get their beds in order.
“Tired?” he asked Zane softly.
Zane blinked heavily and looked up from where he’d been staring at the floor, meeting his eyes and smiling slightly. “Fresh as a daisy,” he murmured.
“Yeah, you look it,” Ty drawled. “Little out of shape, huh, Garrett?” he teased gently.
“Maybe a little.” Zane played along, shifting back. “This isn’t exactly like working out in the gym.” He looked Ty over. “How about you?”
Ty patted Zane’s leg sympathetically. “Got a little out of breath earlier,” he answered with a quirk to his lips.
Zane chuckled. “I guess I don’t feel quite so bad then.” He started unlacing a boot.
“Get some sleep, gentlemen,” Earl told them as he climbed onto the top bunk. John was already snoring loudly in his bunk.
“I’m too tired to sleep,” Deuce muttered.
Zane started in on the other boot, and he turned his head to look over at Ty. “So this is your idea of a vacation, huh?” His voice was pitched very low.
Ty just smiled happily as he watched the shadows flicker around the cabin. He was in his element up here. He was happy up here, no matter how tired or cold or wet or hungry.
Apparently it was clear on his face, because Zane actually smiled genuinely. “So why not come up here more often?” he whispered as he pulled off the boots.