Treasure Too Far

By Susan B. Trimble and Richard W. Holmes

This is a story surrounding a geologist who struggled all his life to become financially free by working on only one project. The story begins on a ship off the continental shelf in the Pacific Ocean in Mexican waters. The ore body is found not to be a profitable venture, however the geologist continues all his life to try and market the project to some big mining company. A love story begins between the ship's captain and a lady geologist on the ship. Years pass and life goes on as they all struggle to become rich.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477271216

Susan B. Trimble

Richard Holmes spent over 35 years in corporate America holding various financial management positions. He was a licensed certified public accountant during his corporate career and was instrumental in launching startup companies in both the mining and manufacturing industries. In retirement, he spends his time writing books both fiction and non-fiction that relate to the many ventures he has been involved with during his lifetime.

Book preview

Chapter 1

July, 1967: Off the Western Coast of Mexico

It was 11:00 at night and the sea was still like glass with a bright phosphorus mystical glow. It was mid July ten miles off the Pacific continental coast of Mexico. The moon was full that night adding to the reflective light off the ocean’s surface. The air was warm with a slight breeze coming from the southwest. Bob Collins felt it surreal sitting on the edge of the deck of the converted World War II minesweeper, La Ciencia. He was looking down in the glowing water just at the right angle every so often catching a glimpse of a squid darting up to the surface or some other large fish flashing through the water only to dart back down into the ocean’s depths. His mind was between the beauty of the mystical night sea and what he planned to say at the meeting tomorrow at his tiny dirty office in Las Barrancas. They had agreed to meet at 10:00 in the morning to decide the fate of the project Bob had so diligently been working on for the past six months.

The ship had been collecting hundreds of core samples off the ocean floor for the past six months. Back at Global Marine Explorer Inc., the company that had been contracted for the ocean drilling work had been reviewing the data on the samples coming into the laboratories where the samples had been taken for analysis,the results were not promising. Bob had been contacted that day and had been advised that Jim Sorenson and Karl Blades were coming down for a meeting with Bob the next day. It seemed that the company wanted to stop the study as their results were showing the ore body not to be profitable. Bob wanted to finish the planned drilling program since they were already committed to the area. There were fifty more locations that he wanted to take vibracore readings from.

Bob was forty-five years old, blond, stood six feet tall and was rather good looking. He had received a degree in geology from the University of California in San Diego, got married to Betty when he was twenty five and had previously worked after leaving college for Arco Petroleum in Bakersfield for twenty years on various oil and gas projects in the Bakersfield, California area. He and Betty had purchased a house in Pomona near Los Angeles. They had no children. Their marriage was strained by the fact that as a geologist Bob was away from home so much due to the nature of his work. He had left Arco six months ago to work on this offshore mining venture in the hopes of getting a stake in finding a rich ore body of manganese nodules off the west coast of Mexico. Usually in finding new mineral bodies the head geologist gets a percentage of any new find and receives a future royalty when the minerals are sold.

When Bob first began work on the minesweeper six months earlier he struck up a tight friendship with Eric McCloud, captain of the La Ciencia. Eric was twenty-seven, divorced, and stood five feet eight inches tall with dark brown hair. He was a rough good-looking fellow and was always looking for a good time on the weekends. Bob was torn between trying to keep his marriage going, returning to his wife on weekends, and Eric’s desire to party when they were docked in port.

Promptly at 7:00 the next morning Bob came topside from his small tight dirty birth below deck and walked over to where Eric was sitting sipping on a cup of coffee and looking at the marine charts laid out on the forward hatch door.

Morning Eric, said Bob in a somewhat dejected mood.

Morning mate, came the return reply from Eric. Why are you looking so down in the mouth this morning? Let’s go into La Purisima tonight and get cheered up.

You have to take me into Las Barrancas anyway, Jim and Karl are coming out for an update on the project, said Bob.

Well, I wouldn’t think that would make you feel that low.

I have a feeling they are going to tell us to shut the project down.

Bob, we’ve been at it for six months, isn’t it about time we finish up?

According to the plan, we have fifty more holes to drill. Having spent all the money that has been laid out for this project I think we should complete what we came out here to do. My interpretive work is going to come up short if we don’t. That’s no way to end a project. It won’t cost the company that much more to finish the job.

Why end now, if you want a few more core samples? asked Eric.

Oh, they’ve already determined that based on the price of phosphate this project isn’t profitable even though the ore body is one of the largest anyone has ever seen in the world. I just want to finish the sampling we came out here to do.

Alright, I’ll start up the engine, pull up the anchors and turn her back to shore. You can have your meeting and then we can party all afternoon and tonight. How does that sound?

Eric, all you think about is women.

Well, what else is there? They smell so good!

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Back on shore they both got into Eric’s old 1942 Willis Jeep and headed north ten miles to Bob’s small dirty one room office in Las Barrancas. As they pulled up in front of the old building where Bob had rented office space for the past seven months, stood Jim Sorenson and Karl Blades and a very

pretty young lady in tight travel pants, a bright yellow blouse, and sporting a beige jungle hat.

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The three of them had flown in that morning from Mexico City in a private four-passenger Cessna. Due to the remoteness of Las Barrancas the pilot stayed at the airport with his airplane to insure that no one would try to vandalize it while the others were having their meeting in town that day. They had previously arranged to be met at the airport by the only taxicab in the town for transportation to Bob’s office.

Hi fellows, who is the young lady with you? in a welcoming manner by Bob.

This is Clara Sweet a new field geologist we just hired. We thought we would bring her along and let her have a look at your project, Bob, said Jim.

Both Bob and Eric had met Jim and Karl on previous trips to Mexico. Eric, not to go un-noticed stepped forward and introduced himself before Bob had a chance to introduce the both of them.

Yes, Miss Sweet, and I am your ship’s captain ready to take you on your life’s journey. My name is Eric and this is my sidekick Bob Collins.

Oh come on, Eric, leave the lady alone, they just got here, chided Bob.

Well fellows and lady, let’s get out of this hot sun and go into my humble office. I have a small fridge in there with some cold drinks. That’s all I will be able to offer you there, said Bob.

Bob’s office contained an old scratched up wooden table with six wooden chairs that creaked when anyone sat in them. There was a small desk and old swivel chair in one corner of the room with a beat-up file cabinet beside both piled with maps and disheveled papers covered with dirt blown in from the partly opened window and the unlocked loosely hung door of the room. An old wooden coat hanger stood in another corner of the room and the only picture on any of the walls was that of the previous president of

Mexico. The old scratched up refrigerator sat in another corner of the office. A rusty fan sat on the floor by the swivel chair.

They all sat down around the old table.

Bob, you know why we are here, the corporate office wants to shut this project down. The test results on the samples you have sent into the lab show that the phosphate is not of a high enough quality to make this a profitable operation, said Jim.

I understand what you are saying, but we agreed in the beginning to finish this drilling program. We have drilled two hundred and fifty holes and have fifty remaining in an area I believe may show better results. The equipment is in place and the ship is ready to complete this project. It just doesn’t make sense not to finish this drilling program, said Bob.

Well, look, the money has been allocated for this project. We brought Clara down here to get some experience with your offshore drilling program. As a field geologist she needs to start somewhere. I think this project is a good one to get her feet wet, chided Jim.

They all laughed at Jim’s comment, even Clara thought it was funny.

Let’s go over your maps and see what you are considering regarding the remaining fifty drill holes. Maybe Karl and I can go back to corporate and explain that we should finish the program. I am not encouraged about this project, but if the price of phosphate was ever to rise, we might be able to sell the geology to someone else even if the company doesn’t care to pursue it further. I agree not finishing the drilling program we set up on this ore body would make it very difficult trying to sell it to someone else. Let’s look at the maps. When we go back to the plane you can get Clara’s bag as she had planned to stay down here with you guys for at least a week. That’s assuming you can find accommodations on the ship for her? questioned Jim.

Eric, not to let an opportunity pass chimed in, We will set Clara up with the bridal-suite on the ship. She will find it quite cozy.

Yeah, right. Just treat her well. She is a new recruit and we don’t want to lose her on the first job, added Karl with a snarl.

I’ll be alright. These boys don’t seem that tough, and I speak fluent Spanish so I don’t think they can have anyone pull a fast-one on me, stated Clara with confidence.

Look miss, we have to be honest with you, stated Eric with some sincerity,

This is a very tough place. People here have very little and live a desperate life from day to day. If you get cornered and they think you have a little money on you they will quickly cut your throat and take whatever you have. Also, you got the local drug cartel to watch out for. If you are a stranger, they would just as soon shoot you rather than find out what you are doing in such a retched place.

Look boys, I hear what you are telling me. I grew up on my Father’s cattle ranch in Wyoming with two older brothers and my Father’s rancheros. I worked right along side of them branding cattle and breaking wild horses. I think I can shoot a gun with the best of them. I carry a knife in my boot and a Colt 45 in my bag along with some pepper-spray.

Alright, alright, enough said. We just want to let you know what you’re in for down here, no surprises. Also, we sleep on the boat for protection. We have two hired Mexicans with rifles, one at each end of the boat for protection. Their job is to stay awake at night and make sure we don’t get boarded. We have found, sometimes it can get a little tense around here, added Eric.

Let’s get back to the maps and give you an update as to where we plan to finish the drilling, said Bob.

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As they sat there for several minutes not saying a word, you could hear each squeaking in his chair from time to time. Karl for whatever reason seemed to be tapping his foot on one of the legs, a nervous twitch. Clara had taken out a note pad and pencil making some notes

and drummed her pencil on her note pad from time to time. Air was blowing in through the open window and the only door in the room giving a feeling of the nearby breeze from the west coming off of the ocean.

Finally, Jim broke the silence, Look folks, we can stare at this map all day long but until you drill those holes Bob, and get your samples, and test the samples, and do your interruptive work, we have no idea what we are looking at.

In recognition of what Jim had just said to the group, Karl added, Yeah Jim, your right, let’s get out of this place and get back to Mexico City before it gets dark. Eric, do you have room for all of us in that old Jeep of yours to haul us back to the airport?

Not a problem Karl, it will be a little tight for five of us, we don’t have that far to go.

Great, enough said. Let go.

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All seemed eager to end the meeting and be on their way. They were out to the airstrip in ten minutes. It was a short dusty bumpy road rather undefined with no signs just a bare strip of land with their Cessna sitting at one end and the pilot standing in the shade on the left side of the plane.

Clara was first to jump out of the jeep and headed toward the pilot. You could see her asking the pilot to get her bag out of the plane. The four men all climbed out of the Jeep, shook hands with Jim and Karl offering Bob good luck in finishing up what he had started on the drilling program.

Bob and Eric stayed near the Jeep. As Clara returned with her bag both Jim and Karl on their way to the plane, stopped and expressed comments of good luck on her new adventure.

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Eric grabbed Clara’s bag and threw it in the back of the Jeep. Bob climbed in the backseat leaving Clara to occupy the front passenger seat.

On their trip away from the plane, over the roar of the Jeep and the road noise from the tires hitting the dirt pavement Eric said in a half-shouting voice, Clara, I think rather than stop for a drink in town, we should get you back to the ship, meet the crew, and get you settled on board. Other than one small dirty bar, there isn’t much in this place.

In response Clara replied also in a raised voice, Fine with me, that’s what I’m down here for.

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Nothing else was said for the next fifteen minutes until they reached the La Ciencia that was tied up to an old broken-down pier. There was enough of the pier there such that the old minesweeper could be tied both at the bow and stern. Also tied to the rotting pier were a couple small fishing boats with very little paint on them and looked as if they had seen their last trip out to sea.

As Clara, Bob, and Eric got out of the Jeep, Eric said, Clara, the first thing I will need to do is introduce you to the crew. We have a bare-bones group. If we get in trouble and need more people, I can have deckhands down here in one day from Long Beach. Since we are just a short way out in the ocean, parked and drilling holes, we don’t need a full complement of a crew for the size of this ship. We have a cook, two deck hands, two men to man the vibracore drill, and two fellows with rifles at each end of the ship as guards.

As the three approached the ship the crew were sitting or standing at the aft end of the ship. Seeing Clara, several heads turned catching glances of her walking towards the ship.

Once on deck, Eric called out to the crew, Fellows, gather around I want to introduce you to our latest crew member.

At that point a couple hoots came from the men with a shrill whistle added in.

Now fellows, take it easy, Clara is coming on board to help Bob with the geology. Treat her right, she is here at the direction of Global Marine. Alright, lets start the introductions. Clara, this is Bennie, our cook.

Bennie was a short skinny fellow with a white cooks hat wearing a white dirty short sleeve shirt, dirty torn blue jeans, and black boots that came half-way up the lower part of his legs. He had a toothpick in his mouth and was missing a couple of his front teeth. He tipped his cook’s hat at Clara and made some form of grunting noise in recognition of Clara’s presents.

These two fellows here with the rifles are Ramon on the left and Carlos there on his right. They are here to make sure we don’t get boarded by strangers in the night.

With that remark several of the fellows make small snickers. Both Ramon and Carlos looked their part. They were Hispanic by background, spoke little English, wore dark brown dirty shirts, dirty kaki pants, and rough large heavy cotton hats displaying rips and tears showing years of use.

George, here is our ship’s mechanic.

Glad to meech you mam, replied George with some kind of South American draw and a big grin.

Out of the group of six men it was easy to spot George as the mechanic. He was wearing a grease torn white shirt, dirty blue jeans, and what appeared to be old worn out tennis shoes.

This fellow is Harry and his sidekick Ben, they run the vibracore drill.

Harry and Ben, both about forty-five years old, were wearing old colored cotton shirts rolled to the elbows, dirty kaki pants, and old canvas deck shoes.

"And the last two fellows here are Sam and Charlie. They are both ex-navy and were part of the crew on the La Ciencia before the Navy released it for commercial use."

One could easily tell that Sam and Charlie had been in the Navy, while they were in their mid-thirties they had a clean and crisp look to them. They were wearing Kaki Navy fatigue shirts as well as what looked to be old Navy Kaki pants. Both men had dark tans from exposure to the sun and looked very fit.

Fellows, the men from Global Marine told Bob we could finish up the fifty holes we have yet to drill.

Yes, I’m glad they said we could finish the project drilling program. It wouldn’t make much sense not to finish the last pattern in the field, added Bob.

Well, Clara let’s show you to your bunk for the next few weeks.

At that point all the men seamed to disappear on different sections of the ship.

Watch your head, you’ll get use to these close quarters. Here is your room. It’s the best we have on the ship, after all this was a Navy ship used in the Pacific Theater during the war. I’ll check in with you later about dinner and then maybe show you around the ship.

Clara dumped her duffel bag on the bunk bed, thinking, this is a bridal suite? With bunk beds? Oh, well, I am here to work. Gad, I hope I don’t get seasick.

She pulled a small notepad and jotted down a note to mail to her Dad. She wrote, Hi, I just flew in a small plane from Mex City to a small town on the west coast of Mexico. I am now on an old WWII minesweeper. We head to sea tomorrow and start collecting ore samples. The Captain is a Mr. Casanova, ha-ha. You taught me well, Dad. Other guy here is married. Love to Mom. She flipped shut the notepad and thought, I will have to find some stamps and envelopes. She looked about her. One porthole, one small table, and bunk beds. Enough for me, she thought. She remembered the campfires and nights on the range in Wyoming, when she slept under the stars. Now I am in Mexican waters. It’s been a long haul. Four years of college and saying no to marrying Joe back home. I am me, and proud of it! She was pleased with herself and began unpacking her duffle bag, two pants, three tops, windbreaker, and pajamas.

A hard knock on the door jolted her. Hey! your captain speaking. Open up!

No, she said. Boy, is he cocky, she thought. I’m busy. I will be up in a bit, she called out.

Eh? He sounded surprised.

Sorry, I am busy right now. See you up top.

Why? I want to see how you like your new digs. He was gruff and wiggled the door handle. You know there ain’t no locks on doors around here.

Really, she answered. Maybe, I need to make one, she grinned. a big one! This is going to be fun, she thought. Silence.

Oh, forget it, just trying to be polite, Eric mumbled, as he turned and stumped up the stairs. He slammed down his beer can on a deck hatch near the top of the stairs, Darn kid, straight out of some u-nee-ver-see-tee!

Clara heard him. I was right, she thought, full of himself, cocked to fire, and no place to go. If he only knew. The likes of him are a dime a dozen. They were on the ranch, the cattle drives, the bunkhouses, even disguised as profs at the university. Daddy gave me the best advice, get your degree, and then choose your man, in that order. Now I got the degree and with it a reputation of no messing around and getting the job done. I’m sure not going to mess up this first assignment. Even if he has a flat stomach and blue eyes. He’s definitely not my type.

She thought about Eric and Bob. She lay on the bunk. Hmm, feels good, she thought. I could really fall asleep right now. Another knock on the door, faint this time, almost hesitant.

Clara? Hate to bother you, I mean, if you are busy…It’s me, Bob.

Hey, Bob, well, I am sort of in the middle of something.

Oh, sorry, I’ll talk to you later.

Wait a minute, you’re alone right?

Yah, no one is here. I don’t know where Eric is.

Clara opened the door. Bob was backing up, but holding out a roll of maps.

I don’t know if he is topside, Clara interrupted him. Let’s go on deck. What’s up?

Here are the maps. I want to go over them with you and see what you think.

Sure, she said, throwing her hair out of her face. Let’s see what you got. More than we saw earlier?

She was glad to get down to business. She loved pouring over maps. And Bob was a geologist, her type of partner, and all business. She felt comfortable with him; they had a job to do.

Clara and Bob sat opposite each other in the forward hatch and leaned over the maps looking over the waters off the Pacific coast. A circle marked the locations of three possible drill sites.

I would like to drill here and here tomorrow, pointing to

positions on the map marked as K432, K433, and K435.

Clara nodded. She hoped it would be calm weather. I just can’t get seasick, she thought. It was one disadvantage of being raised in Wyoming, not many big lakes to get seasick on.

These are in shallow waters, Bob continued, only one hundred twenty-five feet. But if they turn up rich samples, these would be the sites to convince the investors. We have to find