CHAPTER THIRTY
One day ran into another. Maria searched new areas and then came back to old ones, but nothing indicated that a treasure of untold wealth was near.
Stripped to the waist, using a torch made of wood and burlap for a beacon, Flynn went deep into the earth, ever watchful of the rotten timbers that held tons of earth that could come crumbling down at any time. He climbed up the face of the cliffs to test various shafts. At times, when it seemed that something of importance might be a few feet beneath the surface, he swung the pick, swelling the muscles in his arms and shoulders, but the holes were empty. At the end of each long, weary day, there was nothing to show for their efforts.
The lovemaking, once so much a part of every evening, had stopped. The past three nights, Ma
