“How odd, I thought, that such a piece of wood could make its way into this part of the desert. I leaned over to lift it, and what a surprise I had to see a ladder leading down. As I leaned in and waved my flashlight around, all I could see was the floor immediately below the ladder, maybe five feet down. And then I had another surprise: a bright red Bedouin-style carpet lay on the floor. I realized that this must be someone’s house and that I was intruding. ‘As-salaamu alaykum!’ I shouted into the cave. No answer came, but I was not convinced, so I repeated my greeting and was answered by a faint echo. I felt a chill about me.

“I climbed down the small ladder and into the cave. My flashlight danced off the mud walls. There were several brass coffeepots and rugs piled in a corner. I went to unroll one of the rugs, just to look at it, and I felt that it was covering something. I lifted up carpet after carpet and found underneath a wooden crate. There was no lock on it and the lid lifted up easily. I will never forget the shock I felt as I shined my light on its contents: gold gold gold. This crate, large enough to hold a baby, was filled to the top with bracelets, necklaces, rings, and coins of gold, all twenty-two or twenty-four carat. I have never seen anything like it and I thought I must be dreaming, that I had taken leave of my senses and I was now hallucinating. But it was true. I put my hand in and the further I burrowed, the more spectacular the gold pieces became, covered with ornate carvings and twists and etchings.

“This was booty from the time of the Prophet himself, God bless him and grant him salvation. There is no such thing today. I began to think of all the things I could do with this gold.

“I decided to go back to my truck. God forbid someone should come along and steal it and leave me stranded. I took a large ring with me. It was large for my forefinger and I turned it round and round as if it were masbaha.