"Well, what do you think, Lynn? Was it worth the trip?" I asked.
"Didn't know there were so many bats in the world," he replied.
"The size of that cave is unbelievable," was Andy's comment. "How big do you suppose that cave really is, anyhow?"
"That's anybody's guess. Maybe we saw it all today, and maybe we saw only a small part of it," was my humble answer.
"Bet that entrance is a busy place at sunrise and sunset," Lynn observed. It was clear to see he was more interested in the millions of bats than the size of the cave. "I'd like to get more torches and see more of that bat cave."
"Some day we will," I replied. "Right now we're heading back to Carlsbad. I'm not going to waste any time filing a mining claim."
And with that the three of us climbed aboard the wagon and headed down the hill.
4
The First Guano Is Mined
News spreads fast. Soon everyone in Carlsbad had heard about the big cave that Lynn, Andy and myself had been describing. Many of the people thought it was just a story we had cooked up and wouldn't believe us. Of course it was known there were caves in the Guadalupe Mountains in that area of the state, but no one thought the cave we described could be as large as we claimed it was.
My first job was to take care of my claim and I promptly attended to this important matter. I got the necessary papers in Carlsbad and returned as soon as I could to the big cave. I filled out one set of papers and placed them in the monument Andy and I had built. The duplicate set was taken back to Carlsbad and filed with the County Clerk.