By Charles Towne
What do you think of when you hear of buried treasure?
For most people those two words conjure up visions of gold doubloons, pearl and diamond necklaces, and fistfuls of silver coins. But me? I think of bank loot, like thousands and thousands of dollars of green backs!
There were three of them in the gang, two men and a woman. Word was that they had successfully robbed several banks in Illinois, and then they held up a bank in Aurora, Illinois and got away with more than $40,000.
This happened back in the mid-forties, and back then that was a lot of money.
Shortly after the Aurora robbery, the gang was finally caught hiding out in a hunting cabin on one of the islands on the Fox River below Oswego, Illinois. But... the money was never recovered, and the gang didn’t have enough time to spend $40,000!
So, what happened to the money?
It was conjectured that the gang concealed their ill-gotten gains someplace near their hunting cabin hideout, and this is where Mrs. Towne's little boy came into the game.
It just so happens that the gang’s hideout was located on an island about ¾ of a mile down the river from my home.
I searched. Yes, I searched. There wasn’t a hollow tree that wasn’t probed. I looked in every animal den, turned over rocks, and looked under the hunting cabin, all to no avail.
Nope, no buried treasure.
If the horde of cash was there, either someone else found it, or perhaps the gang, when they were released from prison, retrieved it?
That all happened a long time ago. In the ensuing years I did discover a great treasure, though, what the bible calls, “a pearl of great price”! Yes my friend, the treasure I found is truly worth more than gold, diamonds, and rubies, for it is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Believe me, He is worth searching out!
Dear Papa God, what a joy you are to each of us that know you as our friend. Lead each of us to the treasure of your word and a deep relationship with you, today! Thank you oh holy friend. In Jesus' holy and beautiful name we ask it, Amen.
Charles Towne
