Waste Not, Want Not Chapter XXIV

Paul took a seat in the porch swing,felt the cool breeze and soon fell asleep. There he napped until he was roused by the footsteps on the steps as Conrad returned from his walk.
“Oh…hey,” Paul said drowsily as he regained wakefulness.
“Hey,” answered Conrad.
“So did you have a nice walk?”
“Yes,” said Conrad, “I did. You know this is really a nice place. It’s great out there in the brush land. I saw a deer and a turkey. Pretty neat.”
“Yes, it is always good to get out of the city,” said Paul.
Conrad asked “So what do we do now?”
“We’ll go back and try it again soon. I opened it once, it will open again I think,” said Paul.
The two men passed the day relaxing, reading and Paul, as usual, working.
“Let’s go out and give it a try before supper,” said Paul.
They drove both vehicles back to the stone and once again rigged up their cables.
“Check the rock with the Geiger counter again,” said Paul.
Conrad passed the instrument’s receptor over the stone. There was a marked decrease in the radiation level this time.
“Let’s give it a pull now,” said Paul.
They pulled tight on the winch lines. The stone moved slightly. They then put the trucks in gear and gave the engines some gas and inched forward and then the rock came loose and it slid away from the hole.
“Alright!” said Conrad as they got out of the trucks and peered into the opening. As before, a rush of foul smelling air emitted from the hole.
“Whew! That stinks!” said Conrad.
They peered into the hole.
“Well, do we go in?” asked Conrad.
“Yes, let’s take a peek,” said Paul.
They dropped down a rope ladder, which was tied off to one of the trucks. Both men grabbed a flashlight and they climbed in. The sun was now low on the horizon and they light was dim in the hole. They stepped onto the ledge inside the hole and shined their lights down into the inky blackness.
The stench was overwhelming, a putrid smell of decay and mold.
Their lights revealed an opening in the stone and a narrow pathway descending from into a darkness. They had to get on their knees and just squeezed through. Once through the hole was a bit higher and they could walk, hunched over, on down into the cave.
They could hear sounds, highly amplified, such as dripping water and occasionally a flutter of wings as bats whizzed by. Their powerful flashlights so far revealed nothing ahead nut more darkness. Their forced posture and the close confines made their walk most strenuous but they pressed on. They pressed on without speaking, each man’s senses keenly acute, muscles tense from the strain and some degree of nervous strain as well. Neither man liked closed, dark, cramped spaces so this was not an easy trek. After what seemed a considerable period the two emerged into a large, open subterranean room.
“Let’s take a break,” said Paul.
“I’m for that!”
They sat on a large, flat rock and Paul took a drink from his canteen. He shined his light into the room. Revealed before them was a fantastic scene of incredible stalactites and stalagmites and other incredible crystalline formations. Each man had visited the famous caverns of Carlsbad, New Mexico and Sonora, Texas. This previously unknown spot compared well with those.
There was more. On the wall before them were ancient inscriptions similar to those Paul had seen at Chichenitza and other locations in the Yucatan.