CURSE OF YAMASHITA’S GOLD

On the evening of the last day, as Barton stood to leave, Billy’s memory of the cave and the treasure kicked in. “We found it, Barton,” he announced. “Found it, William? Found what?” “The treasure, we found the treasure. I remember now. It was in the cave right where we thought it would be.” Barton returned to the bedside and sat down. “You found the twenty-million-dollar treasure?” “No, not twenty million, significantly less than that,” Billy said as he stared into space trying to remember details. After a few minutes the facts became clearer. “No, not twenty million…closer to five or six million.” “And your share was forty percent of the final amount?” Billy didn’t reply; his mind lost in thought. Barton sat quietly as a troubled look crept over Billy’s face. “They tried to kill me, Barton,” he blurted. “Kill you? What are you talking about?” “The explosion…they tried to kill me by blowing up the cave before I was out.” “Who are ‘they’?”