Aquifer: A Novel (28 page)

There, before them, stood two of the most glorious, the most magnificent trees the boys had ever seen.

The first tree majestically stood not more than twenty feet from the edge of the embankment. Dangling from its lofty branches, over forty feet up and hovering near the edge of the embankment, hung a grapevine. The inch-and-a-half in diameter vine was perfect for swinging and was so long that its end just cleared the ground.

The second tree grew right at the edge of the embankment and slightly to the left of the first tree. The eroded embankment, however, had eaten away much of the supporting soil, causing the second tree to tilt at an angle that jutted it out over the edge of the embankment. About fifteen feet up the trunk grew a limb that ran parallel to the embankment.

Twelve-year-old boys do not need a lot of encouragement to do some pretty foolhardy things. And there before the three boys loomed an opportunity that they simply could not resist.

Austin was the first to give it a try. He grabbed the grapevine about five feet up from its end and yanked on it several times to test its strength. Then he hung on it with his dead weight and asked the other boys to join him.

Satisfied that it was securely attached to the tree tops he backed-up about fifteen feet and then sprinted toward the edge of the cliff. At the edge he took a flying leap, swinging out over the stream below. It was exhilarating. He swung out much father than he thought he would and without even thinking about it he let go of the grape vine with his left hand and reached out to touch the second tree’s limb that grew parallel to the embankment. He tapped it with his knuckles then quickly grabbed the grapevine again and swung back to the embankment where his friends awaited. Letting go of the grapevine he dropped to the ground, laughing exuberantly.

Needing no coaxing, the other boys followed Austin’s lead in short order. All three of them spent the next several minutes taking turns swinging out and rapping the parallel limb. Nevertheless, the challenge was soon gone and the boys started looking for something a little more dare-devilish.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” shouted Johnny. He grabbed the grapevine and swung out toward the parallel limb as hard as he could. Only this time, instead of rapping the limb with the knuckles of his left hand, he let go of the grapevine with both hands. His body’s forward momentum sailed him through the air until he was within range. He then grabbed the parallel limb with both hands and hung there, dangling thirty feet above the stream below while the empty grapevine swung back without him.

“Okay Austin, it’s up to you! Come and rescue me!” shouted Johnny.

“All right, here I come!”

Austin grabbed the grapevine and ran as fast as he could, propelling himself from the edge of the cliff with all the force his legs could muster.

He swung out toward Johnny and came within inches of colliding with him. Johnny released his grasp on the parallel limb with his right hand and reached out to grab the grapevine. Clutching it tightly, he released his grasp on the parallel limb and grabbed the grapevine with both hands. Both boys swung back to safety.

“Hey, that was cool,” Austin laughed.

“My turn,” announced Frankie as he grabbed the grapevine and ran toward the edge of the cliff.

Frankie was considerably chubbier than the other boys and could not run nearly as fast. Reaching the edge of the embankment he lunged forward, swinging out over the stream. He saw the parallel branch coming closer and closer. Frankie released his grasp on the grapevine and reached for the limb. Only then did he realized that he wasn’t going to make it. He had miscalculated. Rather than letting go of the grapevine while he still had forward momentum, he had let go at the height of his swing, when his forward momentum had stopped. Now he was falling straight down. Frantically he grasped for the grapevine. Clutching nothing but air, he continued to fall. The contortions of his face registered pure terror.

Then to his amazement his right hand struck something solid. It had connected with the very end of the grapevine. He quickly grabbed the tip of the grapevine, holding on tightly with both hands as he began his swing back.

Although he had succeeded in rescuing himself from falling thirty feet into the shallow creek below, Frankie’s troubles were far from over. As his return velocity began to increase he realized that he was dangling below the bottom end of the grapevine and that the vine was so long that its end just cleared the rim of the embankment. He, however, would not.

No sooner did this realization sink into Frankie’s mind than his body slammed into the side of the embankment. The grapevine was ripped from his hands and he began to slide down the face of the embankment. He clutched for anything, trying to gain purchase, but the loose dirt and rocks gave way in his grasp and he continued his rapid descent down the embankment’s face.

Fortunately, the embankment was not perfectly vertical. It had a slight grade to it which cushioned Frankie’s fall to a degree. Nevertheless, he slammed into the shallow water at the bottom with a tremendous splash.

The empty grapevine swung past Johnny and Austin. They stared at each other momentarily then scampered to the edge of the embankment and peered over it to see what had happened to their friend. When they saw that Frankie was sitting in the water up to his shoulders, covered with mud and dirt, but unhurt, except for his pride, they burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“It’s not funny, guys,” Frankie yelled back, even though he too was beginning to see the humor in the situation.

Eventually Johnny and Austin regained their composure and they backtracked down the trail to the stream. They jumped from rock to rock to cross the stream in a shallow section, then made their way over to where Frankie had crawled out and was lying on the ground drying out in the brilliant sun. Except for a few scrapes and bruises, and a little damage to his ego, he was okay.

As they sat together on the gravel bar, the three boys laughingly recounted Frankie’s near-tragic experience. However, as boys often did, Austin and Johnny embellished and expanded it, making the experience even more comical than it actually was, and laughing at Frankie’s expense.

Embarrassed at being the brunt of a yet another joke, Frankie staunchly announced that it must be time to continue on with their trek to the cave.

Reluctantly, Johnny and Austin agreed and they all stood to continue their journey. Heading toward the stream, Johnny suddenly stopped and bent down to pick up an unusual looking rock. It was oblong in shape, about three-inches wide and six-inches long. The variegated rusty, cream-colored rock, was very smooth to the touch, even though its surface was very uneven, with several jagged edges.

“Cool, look at this flint rock!” Johnny announced.

His friends gathered around and examined the flint covetously.

“That one’s a keeper, man. You never know when you might need a good flint rock,” proclaimed Austin.

Johnny removed his backpack and placed the flint inside. Slinging the backpack over his shoulder, he and the boys continued their trek upstream.

Within five minutes the boys arrived at the mouth of
Fears Cave
. It had a rather small opening compared to many Ozark caves, being only about eight feet high and arching to about fifteen feet wide. The stream they had been following flowed out of the right side of the cave’s entrance, where it formed a pool about six feet deep.

The mouth of the cave was sealed shut with a lattice work of iron bars forming a grid of vertical and horizontal bars about every eight inches preventing anyone from entering. There was a door, also made of the latticed iron work, that had a padlock and chain keeping it closed. The padlock was old and rusty. Johnny immediately began attempting to pick the lock with his pocket knife.

Near the top of the door there was a sign attached to the latticed grillwork announcing that the cave had been closed to the public because of an endangered species of bat that inhabited the cave. Many of the non-commercialized caves in the Ozarks had been similarly sealed by the Environmental Protection Agency. They had even sealed up caves located on private property against the wishes of many of the land owners. Below the notice on the sign, and in smaller print, was a telephone number to arrange for a guided tour.

“I’m sure glad we called ahead to make our reservation,” Austin snickered as he pointed to the sign. Johnny and Frankie joined him in nervous laughter, stealing glances over their shoulders for fear that someone would catch them, but that was part of the excitement of the adventure.

“I’ve heard that almost all of the caves around here are barred up like this. Why did they do that?” asked Frankie.

“I think they just don’t want kids to have any fun,” Austin concluded.

Apparently officials at the E.P.A. believed that bats inhabiting the area could only be protected by preventing entrance to the cave by curiosity seekers, even though three hundred years of spelunkers, as well as extensive mining operations during the Civil War, had not significantly impacted either the bats or their habitat. Many of the locals questioned the invasiveness of the E.P.A. and distrusted their motives.

Johnny finished picking the lock. It snapped open and the boys entered the cave, closing the door behind them. From inside they replaced the chain around the latticework and placed the hasp of the lock through the links, but they did not snap the lock shut.

Once inside the cave the boys lit their Coleman lanterns. Austin and Frankie switched on their flashlights to check their batteries, then put them in their pockets for backup. Picking up their lanterns, they started walking into the cave’s tunnel.

“Wait, I almost forgot,” exclaimed Johnny.

He reached into his backpack and took out his “J
OHNNY
E
XPLORER
” hard hat, turned on the light and placed it upon his head. Then the three boys proceeded into the darkness, making their way along the passageways using their Coleman lanterns. The water in the stream they followed had deepened considerably though its gentle current was hardly perceptible. The glassy smooth surface before them reflected the formations hanging from the cave’s ceiling, making the cavern appear much larger than it actually was.

The boys passed some wondrous things in the cave, stalactites, stalagmites, flow-stone and many other types of drip-water formations. They were in awe as they viewed these sights. After a quarter of a mile they came to a room where the ceiling was covered with bats. A few of the bats dive-bombed the boys.

“Let’s get out of here, quick! I don’t like bats,” yelled Frankie.

“Oh, come on, Frankie, they’re just flying mice,” explained Austin.

“I don’t care what they are, I don’t like them,” Frankie protested.

“There’s nothing to fear in Fears Cave except fear itself,” Johnny retorted.

Acquiescing to Frankie’s unfounded request, the boys quickly left the bat room and pressed deeper into the cave, teasing Frankie about his fear of bats as they went.

The trio followed the stream for another half-mile, avoiding the temptation to explore the numerous side passageways and merging streams that took off in inviting directions. They finally entered a large room where the passageway abruptly stopped. The stream flowed from the ground, like a spring, at the base of the wall where the cave dead-ended. Twenty feet from the stream’s origin it widened to form a deep pool with a glassy surface about fifty feet across. A small rock outcropping jutted out into the subterranean lagoon forming a narrow peninsula.

“Looks like the creek starts here,” observed Frankie.

“Yeah,” Johnny agreed. “I’ve never been this far into the cave before.”

“Okay, Frankie, it’s time to make a believer out of you. This is where you get hypnotized. Now lay down,” announced Austin.

“Right here in the dirt?” protested Frankie.

“Yup,” Austin replied.

The boys dimmed their lanterns as Frankie lay down on the cave floor. Austin produced a very small flashlight from his backpack with a shoelace through the end loop. He turned on the flashlight and began speaking very softly and slowly:

“Frankie, I want you to watch the light,” Austin instructed.

Austin slowly swung the light back and forth. Frankie followed it with his eyes.

“Frankie, the light is your friend. You feel comforted by it. Keep looking at the light. Just relax. . . . Concentrate on the light and the sound of my voice. You can trust the light. You’re getting very, very relaxed. You can feel the weight of your body sinking into the ground. You’re getting very relaxed.” Austin spoke to Frankie in a very slow, soft, low, monotone voice. Frankie appeared to become drowsy. “Your eyelids are getting very, very heavy. Let them close.”

Frankie’s eyelids fluttered several times, then slowly closed.

“Just relax and listen to my voice. My voice will be your guide. Just listen to my voice. I’m going to count backwards from ten to one, and as I do so you will feel yourself becoming more and more relaxed. As I say each number you will sink deeper and deeper into a restful state, and you will hear only the sound of my voice.”

Austin slowly began to count backwards while continuing to assure Frankie with his soft, low, monotone voice. When he completed the backwards countdown he addressed Frankie more directly.