Читать книгу Komatke Gold - Benjamin Vance - Страница 15

On the way to the safety deposit box Preston and I talked about how Parker had grown, how beautiful the land between Parker and the river had become thanks to irrigation, and how the reservation tribes were prospering thanks to water allocations. Still, the plague of diabetes always reared its ugly head during most conversations, mainly because of Myra.

I wanted Preston to see the contents of the safety deposit box as my witness, so if it was opened by Lew Lew, at least he would know what was in there. The signature card would be my proof of the times it had been entered, and today was the second time I’d opened it since my arrival in Parker.

We went through all the formalities and went into the private room to open the box. Preston saw all the trinkets my father had saved and he wanted to handle each one. I humored him. He said he remembered there was “medicine” in some of them. We opened the old leather map and his eyes went wide. He took it and handled it gingerly, with obvious respect. He asked me where my father got it and of course I told him I had no idea, and I never asked him because I thought it was junk like most of the other stuff he owned. Preston said it might be, but I could tell by his change in demeanor he didn’t believe it was worthless.

We rode in silence with the map all the way back to the coffee shop. It was time for another cup of coffee, but this time I needed iced tea. Preston was uncharacteristically quiet and I just let it ride and sipped my tea. Finally he said, “There’s a good copy place in town run by a tribal member and he can enhance copies or do just about anything … with anything.”

I said, “So?”

“So I think we need to go see him.”

“Why don’t you let me in on your plan?”

“Sorry, I been thinkin’, and I think that map could be real old. Your father never told me about it though. I can’t understand why”

“Why do you think it’s old?” I asked, cocking my head.

“Well, if I’m not mistaken, and I may be because I’m old, that symbol in the lower right corner is a Pima symbol.”

“So?” I found myself asking again.

“So, the Pima are the ones that kicked Spanish ass down around the Gila River, and if that’s a Pima symbol it may be from when the Pima kicked ‘em out. Maybe some of the more educated ones thought that map might be important. I did see what must be the Sierra Estrella Mountains on the map, but the damn Spanish put so much garbage on a map it’s hard to tell. That’s why we need to get a good copy of it.”

On our way to the copy store, between stops for coffee, Preston was quiet but asked me if I knew what Tohono O’odham meant in Pima. Of course I bit like a sucker and said I didn’t. He said it meant, “Home of the Spanish Ass Kickers.”