Pennsylvania Smith and the Secret of the Gold Coin

By: Lisa and Mickys411 Rated PG

It was a cloudy afternoon outside as the Monkees walked around the Museum of Natural History. In reality, none of them had much interest in old relics, but it was rent time and as usual, Mr. Babbit was hounding them for money. The museum seemed like a good place to hide.
They came to a section of the museum marked 'Meso-America' and inside the glass cases were bits of pottery, jewelry and other articles from the ancient Aztecs, Mayans and other cultures of central and south America.
"Wow, look at this." Peter said, "Gold plates."
"Must've been rich to have such things." Davy remarked. "To eat off of stuff like that."
Micky looked around and saw an object in the center of the room in a glass case all by itself. Walking over, he saw a gold disc inside propped up by a holder.
"Look at this, guys." Micky said, and the other three joined him.
"More gold stuff?" Mike asked, getting bored.
"The gold coin of Cookamonga." Peter read from the sign, "It's from Mexico."
"That's a coin?" Micky replied, "It's the size of a hockey puck."
Indeed, the coin they were looking at was about an inch thick and had the diameter of Micky's palm.
"I wonder what they used it for?" Davy wondered.
"Nobody really knows for sure." A female voice said behind him.
The Monkees turned and they saw a young woman with dark hair down to her shoulders. She was wearing a colorful red and white dress. It only took an instant for the guys to recognize her.
"Angelita!" The Monkees exclaimed, drawing looks from the guards.
"Hola, Monkees!" She said, holding out her hands.
The Monkees took her hands and shook them. They had first met Angelita when they had visited the Mexican town of El Monotono and had to deal with her evil boyfriend the bandito El Diablo.
"It's so good to see you again, Angelita." Davy said.
"And you too, Davy." She smiled. "It is good to see all you amigos again."
"What bring you here to California?" Peter asked.
"I'm here with my boyfriend, he's an archeologist." Angelita replied, "In fact, he just found that coin you were looking at." She looked around. "He should be back soon. He's at a meeting with the Museum curators."
"Your boyfriend?" Davy asked, a little disappointed.
Angelita smiled and said, "Yes, Davy. My boyfriend. We met when he was excavating near El Monotono and I was with him when he found that coin in an ancient temple ruin."
Suddenly, there were screams coming from another part of the museum. Gunshots were heard and voices in English and Spanish were heard.
"Get down on the floor!" Several men were shouting.
"What's going on?" Micky asked.
"Sounds like trouble." Mike said.
"And it's coming this way!" Peter put in.
Seconds later, several armed Hispanic men carrying guns charged into the room. They wore rough clothing and boots. The leader shot his gun into the ceiling.
"Everyone lie down on the floor and nobody gets hurt!" He yelled with a Spanish accent
The Monkees, Angelita and the other people in the room quickly complied. When all the visitors were on the floor, the leader strode over to the case containing the gold coin.
"Ah, here it is." He smiled, "Just waiting for us." He used the butt of his gun to break the glass.
"NO!" Angelita exclaimed, getting up and rushing over to the man.
"Angelita!" Davy shouted, getting up and going after her.
Angelita grabbed the man's arm. "That is a priceless artifact!" Anglita shouted, "You cannot have it!"
"Get back on the floor chica, before I knock you down!" The man snapped, pulling his arm away and raising his hand to her.
Davy stepped in front of Angelita. "That's no way to talk to a lady, mate." He said.
The man struck at Davy, but Davy dodged and kicked the man in the shin. He yelped in pain, then hit Davy with his other hand, sending him crashing into Angelita. They both went down, causing the other robbers to laugh.
"Now for the coin." The man said, turning back to the broken case.
He grabbed the coin from its stand...only to have his wrist snagged by the curved handle of an umbrella. The other end of the umbrella was held by a man in his early thirties wearing a bowler hat. He had walked into the room during the confusion.
"I suggest you put that back where you found it." The man said calmly.
"You gonna make me, gringo?" The robber sneered.
"If you insist." The other man said.
Quick as a flash, he pulled off his bowled hat and threw it at the robber's face, while pulling on the umbrella at the same time. Knocked off balance, the robber tottered and crashed to the floor. The coin began to roll toward the Monkees.
The other robbers, seeing this, started chasing after the coin, but Micky grabbed it first and covered it with his body. The man with the umbrella meanwhile, pressed a button on his umbrella handle and began firing small bullets at the robbers. The robbers returned fire, but the other man hid behind the case's base and was protected. Some of the robbers were hit and they ran out of the room, clutching their arms or legs.
Unfortunately, the man ran out of umbrella bullets and the first robber went after him. He didn't get far when a hit across the knees with the umbrella brought him down again. The Monkees got up and held the man down as the other robbers ran out of the building.
Angelita ran over to the first man as he picked up his bowler hat.
"Pennsylvania, are you alright?" She cried, giving him a hug.
"Right as rain, dear." He said, then bent down to look at the man the Monkees were holding.
"Who are you?" He demanded, "Why did you want that coin?"
The robber only cursed at Pennsylvania, who smacked him again with his umbrella.
"Watch you language around a lady, fella." He said, then looked at the Monkees.
"Thank you very much for you help, especially you, young man." He said, looking at Davy.
"These are my friends, Pennsylvania." Angelita said, "The Monkees. I met them a few years ago, and they beat El Diablo."
"Well met, my friends." Pennsylvania said, "My name is Pennsylvania Smith, archeologist, at your service."
Once they all were introduced, Pennsylvania invited The Monkees and Angelita into his office
The room was full of maps, boxes full of different items, photos and stacks of papers.
Despite the mess, Pennsylvania managed to make it to his desk, which was covered by more various items.
"What in the world was that all about?" asked Mike.
"You mean what just happened?" asked Davy.
"Yeah, exactly."
"Well, we know they wanted this, said Micky, holding up the coin.
"Very correct," said Pennsylvania.
"But why do they want it for?" asked Peter.
"It's very rare and valuable, but I will get some more information from looking it up in one of my many books.
Everyone then began to search the office for the book.
"Here it is," said Angelita, carefully taking the book off a pile of paperwork, and handed it to Pennsylvania.
"Thank you Angie," said Pennsylvania.
And with that, he began to look through the book.
"Unfortunately, there isn't much info about that coin." Pennsylvania said as he flipped through the book, "The only clue that it even existed in the first place was from old drawings." He turned the book around to show everyone. "Here's a reproduction of a drawing of the coin."
"What's that big thing next to it?" Peter asked, pointing to a stone block next to the coin. It looked about 12 feet high with three vertical wheels on top.
"That's another mystery, Peter." Pennsylvania replied, "The coin and this larger object are somehow connected since they share the same markings. I'm going back to Mexico soon and try and find it."
"Maybe it's near where you found the coin." Davy suggested.
"That's possible." Pennsylvania admitted. "The area around El Monotono has a lot of caves that haven't been explored yet."
"El Monotono?" The Monkees said in surprise.
"Yes, I've been excavating around there for a few years now." Pennsylvania said, "That's where I met Angelita."
"When I was a girl I used to explore the caves with my friends. Pennsylvania came to town and I told him about the caves." Angelita said.
"You seem surprised when I said 'El Monotono.’ You know the place?" Pennsylvania asked.
"Yeah, our car broke down there while we were on vacation a few years ago." Mike said, "Then Davy paid too much attention to Angelita and he was captured by El Diablo the bandit."
"I had to become El Dolenzio and challenge him to a duel to save the town." Micky added.
Pennsylvania chuckled. "I remember Angelita telling me that part. What a small world. At least El Diablo's in jail now. I wouldn't have been able to do any work with him around."
Just then there was a knock on the door.
"Come on in." Pennsylvania called out.
A policeman entered the office.
"I'm Sgt. Pepper from the LAPD." He said, "I'll need to get statements from you people about the attempted robbery today."
So the Monkees, Angelita and Pennsylvania told Sgt. Pepper what had happened in the museum.
"Did the man we caught tell you anything, Sgt?" Micky asked.
"Not a thing." Sgt. Pepper replied, "Won't tell us why he wanted the coin or who he worked for."
"Probably to sell on the black market. There's a multi-million trade in stolen artifacts. My guess is that a collector wanted it because it's most likely one of a kind and made almost entirely of sold gold." Pennsylvania replied, "Though there's lots of other objects they could've taken..." His voice trailed off.
"Well, I have to be going." Sgt. Pepper said, closing his notebook, "Thanks once again for all you did."
"We hope you get the other robbers soon." Peter said.
"Thanks, son." Sgt. Pepper smiled and left the office.
"Well, we're still no closer on solving the mystery around that coin, Pennsylvania." Mike said.
"Call me Penn. Like I said, I'll just have to go back to El Monotono and see what else I can find." Penn said.
Angelita looked at her watch. "Oh, I just remembered we have to meet my cousin Juan and his family for dinner, Penn."
"You go on without me, dear." Penn said, "I have to clean up, put the coin back in its case and do some more research."
"Okay. I'll see you later." Angelita said, giving Penn a kiss. "I'll meet you back here at the museum."
"Goodbye, Angelita." Davy said.
"Goodbye, Davy and all of you." She said, "It was so nice to meet you once again."
"You too, Angelita." Mike said.
Angelita left the office and the Monkees looked at each other.
"I guess we should be going too." Micky said, "Maybe Babbitt's given up looking for us."
"Who's Babbitt?" Penn asked.
"Our landlord." Mike said.
"Why don't you stay here with me for awhile?" Penn asked, a sympathetic look on his face, "Look around some more."
"Thanks, Penn." Davy smiled.
"I'm going to talk to the head curator." Penn said, "I've got to get this coin back under glass where it belongs." He picked up the coin from his desk and left the office, the Monkees following him.
Cleanup crews were already sweeping the floor of glass and debris. The Monkees watched them work as Penn talked to another man. Pretty soon another glass case was brought up from storage. Penn cleaned the gold coin with a cloth and then placed it on its stand. The crewmen gently placed the glass case over the coin and back on its stand. They then quickly sealed the case with cement.
"There. It's safe again." Penn said with satisfaction.
"Doctor Smith?" A man called out.
"Yes?" Penn replied.
"Call for you, line one." He said.
"I'll take it in my office." Penn said and excused himself from the Monkees.
Penn was gone for several minutes. When he did come out onto the museum floor, he was as white as a ghost.
"Penn, what's wrong?" Peter asked.
"I just got a call from Angelita." Penn said.
"What did she say?" Davy asked.
"She said she's been kidnapped and if I don't bring the coin down to El Monotono, she'll die."

"Who could do such a thing?" said Peter.
"Did the person give you a name?" Mike asked.
"No, which will make it even harder for me," Penn answered.
"But who ever kidnapped Angelita wants you to make a trade with her for the coin," said Micky.
"Yes, I better get home and start packing for Mexico."
"Us to, we're coming with you," said Davy.
"No, it's too dangerous," said Penn.
"I don't care, Angelita is our friend."
Penn let out a sigh and said, “Ok, I'm leaving early tomorrow so you better go home, back and get plenty of rest.
We have a big day ahead of us."
Penn gave the Monkees then time they would meet at the airport, then the guys headed back to the pad to prepare for their big trip.

The Monkees quickly went back to the pad. Fortunately, Mr. Babbitt was nowhere around so they were able to quickly pack.
"What should we take with us?" Peter asked Davy.
"We can't take too much." Davy replied, "We don't know what we'll encounter."
"I guess I'll leave my teddy bear at home then." Peter said with a frown.
The guys each packed up with a few shirts and shorts and suntan lotion. They then went to bed early to meet Penn at the airport.

Early the next morning, the Monkees ate breakfast and snuck out of the pad before Mr. Babbitt awoke. Fortunately, their landlord liked to sleep in.
When they got to the airport, they went to the Trans-Mex airlines ticket counter where Penn told them they would meet.
The guys waited and waited, but Penn didn't show up.
"What's happened to Penn?" Mike asked, "I hope he wasn't kidnapped too."
The other three Monkees were worried too. Finally, Micky went up to the airline ticket counter.
"Excuse me, senorita." Micky smiled.
"Yes sir?" The woman asked.
"Did a man come here to buy tickets for Mexico? His name is Pennsylvania Smith and he was probably wearing a bowler hat."
"Oh yes, there was a man by that name that came here hours ago." The woman replied, opening up a drawer under her counter and pulling out an envelope, "Are you a...Monkees?" She said, looking at the name on the envelope.
"Yeah, we are." Micky said, pointing to his friends, "That's the name of our group."
"Well, he asked to give you this." She replied, handing an envelope to Micky.
"Thank you very much." Micky replied, taking the envelope and walking away. The other three Monkees gathered around him.
"What is it, Micky?" Davy asked, pointing to the envelope.
"I don't know." Micky said, "Penn gave that lady this envelope to give to us."
"Maybe it's plane tickets." Mike said.
"Why would Penn give us plain tickets?" Peter asked Mike.
"Never mind, Peter." Mike said, "Open it, Micky."
Micky opened the envelope, but instead of plane tickets, there was just a folded piece of paper. He opened the paper and read the writing inside.
"Dear fellas,
"By the time you read this, I'll probably be in Mexico. I left with the coin a few hours after I got the call from Angelita. I'm sorry to have deceived you in this way, but I can't risk your lives. I've dealt with ruthless people like this for years and I have the best chance of rescuing Angelita if I go alone. I promise to call you once we make it back to U.S. I am grateful for your help and I apologize once again for lying to you.
Sincerely,
Penn
Micky crushed the paper in his hand, disappointed and a little angry.
"That's wasn't very nice of him." Peter frowned.
"So he's gone without us." Davy said quietly.
"Looks that way." Mike replied.
"Well...I guess we'll just have to drive to Mexico then." Micky said, a sly smile forming on his face.
"But...where would we go?" Peter asked, "Mexico's a big country."
"I think we should make a return visit to El Monotono." Davy said. "Penn said he found the coin nearby, so maybe those kidnappers will be there too."
"Yeah, those kidnappers can't be as bad as El Diablo." Mike said.
"They could be worse." Peter whispered.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Micky asked, pointing to the door, "To the Monkeemobile!"
"To the Monkeemobile!" The other three cried.
So the Monkees grabbed their bags, and headed out to their car for the long trip to El Monotono.

The Monkees soon began their long trip.
The ride in the car was not a pleasant one though, with Peter asking Are we there yet every 20 minutes, the ac in the car wasn't working well, and to top it off, they got a flat tire shortly after crossing the border.
Luckily for the guys though, there was a gas station near by.
"Well, according to the map we're about 10 miles away from El Monotono, said Mike, reading a map that he picked up at the gas station.
"I'll tell you what, when we get there, I'm going to give that Penn a piece of mind for what he did," said Davy.
"Hey man cool it, said Micky, I know you're worried about Angelita, but try to control your anger ok?"
"Ok sure."
Davy remained quiet the rest of the ride, as did Micky who fell asleep, Mike concentrated on his driving, it was only Peter who asked, "Are we there yet?"

Finally Mike said, "Yes, here we are, Peter." As he drove past a sign saying, "Benvinido a El Monotono".
"Micky, Davy wake up." Peter told the other two. "We're here."
The other two Monkees woke up and looked at the town.
"It looks a little better than the last time we were here." Davy remarked, looking at the painted houses.
"Yeah, there seems to be more life." Micky agreed.
"Where we gonna park?" Peter asked. "I don't think we should park where we can be spotted."
"Yeah, we don't want anyone to know we're here." Mike said.
"Let's go in here." Davy said, pointing to a small parking lot with a few cars on it. A small garage was off to one side.
Mike turned into the lot and as the guys got out of the car, a man ran over to them.
"Buenos Dias, Senors." The man said, then stopped as he recognized them. "Oh! The Monkees! Welcome back!" He exclaimed.
The Monkees looked at the man and instantly recognized him too.
"Lupe?" Micky asked.
"The very same, El Dolenzio." Lupe smiled. "It is good to see you and your amigos again!" He gave Micky and the others a big hug.
"It's nice to see you too, Lupe." Peter said, "You own this parking lot?"
"Si, and the garage too." Lupe replied, "When El Diablo was taken away, his group of banditos broke up. Tourists are coming again and they need a place to park their cars."
"Can we park here, then?" Mike asked.
"Si, but it is now one dollar per day, instead of fifty cents." Lupe replied.
"Fair enough." Mike said and gave Lupe a dollar.
"So, what brings you back here?" Lupe asked, putting the dollar in his pocket.
"Oh we're just traveling around." Davy said, "Thought we'd see if anything new was happening here."
"I guess you have not heard." Lupe said, getting serious.
"Heard what?" Davy asked, pretending not to know.
"Your old chica Angelita has been kidnapped." Lupe replied. "She was in america with her boyfriend the tomb explorer and someone grabbed her. Pedro her padre told me."
"Oh my." Peter said, "Any idea on where she may be?"
Lupe shook his head. "No, but I saw a few bad-looking hombres pass through here earlier today. They looked like they were heading up toward El Diablo's former camp. I don't know if that has anything to do Angelita. Poor little chica."
"Does Pedro still own the cafe in town?" Mike asked.
"Si, maybe he can tell you more." Lupe replied. "He is heart-broken over this."
"Thank you Lupe, for the information." Davy said. "And if you could do us a favor and not tell anyone we're here?"
"Of course." Lupe smiled, "El Diablo's gang is no more, but some of his banditos are still around. I will stay silent."
"Thanks, Lupe." Micky said.
"Do you need anything done with your car?" Lupe asked.
"Can you fix our air conditioner?" Peter asked, "It isn't working well."
"I will check it." Lupe promised.
"Thanks again, Lupe." Mike said, "We'll head over to Pedro's cafe now."
"Adios, Amigos." Lupe said.
The Monkees said goodbye, grabbed their bags and walked over to Pedro's cafe. It was getting toward evening and the sun was beginning to set. A short walk brought them over to Pedro's cafe, but there was a sign that said 'closed' on the front.
The four men looked at each other, then walked through the swinging doors. The place was deserted. A few seconds later, Pedro came charging out.
"Can't you read, I am closed!" He shouted, then stopped short when he saw the Monkees.
"El Dolenzio!" He cried, "Monkees!" He ran over and gave them a big hug.
"Hello Pedro." Mike told him. "We've heard about your daughter."
"Si, my poor chica. I pray she is alright. Oh it is good to see you again!" He exclaimed, "Do you have a place to stay?"
"No, we just got here. Just traveling." Peter said.
"I have some spare rooms you can stay in for free." Pedro said, "Come, I'll show you them." He then looked around and said quietly, "And then we can talk."

Pedro lead the Monkees to the back of his cafe, where there was a flight of stairs.
The five then went the stairs and ended up in a hallway.
"There just small apartments, not much but to some including Angelita and myslef, we call it home," said Pedro.
He took out a set of keys from his apron pocket and opened on of the doors.
Pedro then invited the Monkees inside.
"Very nice," said Mike.
"All the comforts of home," said Peter.
"Thank you boys, I appreciate your kind words," said Pedro, with a sad look on his face.
"Don't worry Pedro, we'll find Angelita," said Davy.
"I sure hope so; she's all I have ever since my wife, my sweet Rosa Ann is gone."
Pedro sniffed, and then took a tissue out of his pocket.
"So, when do you start our search for Angelita and Penn?" Micky asked.
"Let's settle in our rooms first," said Mike.
"I hope you boys like the place," said Pedro.
"We do thank you for letting us stay," said Peter.
"You're quite welcome."
"And I'm sure Angelita is ok where ever she is," said Davy.
"I really hope so; I told her that being with that Penn Smith would lead her to trouble.
"You met Penn?" asked Micky.
"Yes, and I will tell you about the first time I met him, and why that gold coin seem so important."

"First freshen up and then come into the kitchen." Pedro said.
So the guys washed the dry Mexican dust from their hands and faces and joined Pedro in his kitchen.
"Would you like something to drink?" He asked. "I have some Tequila."
"Lemonade would be fine, Pedro." Mike said.
So Pedro poured four glasses of lemonade for the Monkees and a glass of beer for himself. They all settled around the little table.
"Now, let me tell you about Penn." He said, "A few months after El Diablo was arrested, Penn showed up in town. He asked about the caves in the area, and Angelita volunteered to guide him. As a girl she liked to explore the caves, much to me and my wife's horror."
"She and Penn did mention that." Micky said.
"I offered him a room up here, but he mostly stayed in his camp outside town." Pedro continued, "So Angelita and I would visit him when we could and he would show us the things he had found. Mostly it was pottery and arrowheads, not much. I asked him why he stayed here when it seemed like there wasn't anything valuable."
"What did he say?" Peter asked.
"He showed Angelita and me some drawing of a large coin and another large object. Penn said he thinks the two were somehow connected to each other, but he wasn't sure how."
"Was it a big block with wheels on top?" Mike asked.
"Si, so he showed you it too?"
"Yes, but he didn't know what it was." Davy said.
Pedro took a sip of his beer and said, "Not long after he found the coin, I overheard Penn saying 'Maybe this will open the gates'."
"What did that mean?" Micky asked.
Pedro shook his head. "I asked him the same thing, and he just said he was muttering to himself. He did not speak about it again, but Angelita told me Penn became more and more interested in that large stone object with the wheels. He studied the coin and the picture of that object, comparing the writings. I asked him what the writing meant, but all he would say is that it said 'chance'."
"Doesn't make a bit of sense to me." Davy said. The other Monkees agreed.
"Did Penn ever find the other large object?" Mike asked.
"If he did, he never said." Pedro replied, taking another sip of his beer, "Later on, he told me he was going to take the coin to America for safe keeping while he looked for that large stone object. He invited Angelita to come with him and she agreed..." His voice trailed off.
"Penn will get her back." Peter said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "That's why we had come here. To see if he needed help."
"You boys took care of El Diablo, so I have no doubt you can help Penn take care of these kidnappers." Pedro smiled.
Suddenly, there was a noise from the cafe below them.
"What's that?" Peter whispered.
Pedro rose from his chair. "Stay here, I will see what is going on."
With that, Pedro left the kitchen.
"Should we see what's going on?" Davy whispered.
"Yeah, but let's be quiet about it." Mike said. "And stay hidden."
The Monkees quietly tiptoed out of the kitchen and followed Pedro.

The Monkees crept out of the apartment, and headed downstairs to the cafe.
When they reached the cafe, the saw not only a very upset looking Pedro, but also broken glass for the windows had been smashed opened, chairs and tables fallen over and broken. The guys couldn't believe their eyes of what they were seeing.
"What happened?" asked Davy.
"I don't know, I found the place like this," Pedro answered.
"Who could do such a horrible thing?" asked Peter.
"I don't know," Mike simply said.
Just then, Lupe entered the cafe.
"Pedro, are you ok?" he asked.
"Si Lupe, I was upstairs with the boys when it happened.” Pedro answered, "Looks like they did some serious damage."

“I must go check my garage to make sure it is not damaged too.” Lupe said, running off.
"Has this happened before?" Micky asked.
"No, never," Pedro answered.
"Then someone must know we're back in town." Davy remarked.

"And told the bad guys the news." Micky said.
"I think I can guess who." Mike stated, looking out the café’s door.
The other three Monkees looked at him and nodded.
"Lupe." They said.
"You're probably right." Another voice said behind them.
The Monkees and Pedro jumped and turned to see Penn standing behind them, leaning against the doorframe. He was wearing his bowler hat, had his umbrella on his arm and a small canvas sack in his hand.
"Penn! We were wondering where you were!" Peter exclaimed.
"I thought I told you four to stay home." Penn said, ignoring Peter's comment.
"Angelita's our friend too." Davy replied, "We had to try and help you."
"Help me?" Penn said, "You four have complicated things. I was hoping for a simple exchange, the coin for Angelita, but by now the man who took Angelita no doubt knows you're here. He obviously sent men here looking for you." He pointed at the damage around him.
"How have we complicated things?" Micky asked.
Outside, the town clock rang eight. Penn looked back out the door and then back to the Monkees.
"I don't have time to explain things now. Go back upstairs and stay hidden."
"But Penn..." Mike said.
Penn pounded the tip of his umbrella down on the floor.
"Do what I say!" He shouted, "And we just might all come out of this alive!"
The Monkees quickly ran back up the stairs and through the door, though they stayed just inside it. Below them, there was the sound of several men walking into the cafe, pushing away the broken furniture.
"So you came on time." A man with a deep voice and a Spanish accent said.
"That voice sounds familiar." Davy whispered to his friends.
"Shh!" Mike whispered back.
"How observant of you." Penn replied, "Where's Angelita?"
"Where's the coin?" The man with the deep voice asked.
"That can't be who I think it is." Davy whispered, heading toward the stairs.
"Davy, get back here!" Micky whispered.
"I gotta see who that man is." Davy whispered back. "I'll stay hidden."
Davy crept over to the stairs, keeping his head down. Micky followed him, also keeping low. The two Monkees then peered through the railing to look at the scene down below. Their mouths dropped open when they saw who Penn was talking to:
El Diablo.
He still looked the same evil man as before. El Diablo still wore a beard and mustache, but instead of the lambs-wool vest and bandoliers around his broad chest, he had on a simple brown button-down shirt. A battered fedora sat on his head.
"The coin is in here." Penn said, holding up his bag, "But you don't see it until I see Angelita."
El Diablo motioned with his hand and two of his men brought Angelita inside.
"Angelita!" Pedro cried.
"Papa!" Angelita exclaimed, and tried to run to him, but El Diablo's men held her back.
"Here she is, safe and sound." El Diablo smiled, "Now, let's see the coin."
Penn pulled the Coin of Cookamonga out of its sack and held it up for El Diablo to see.
"Here it is." Penn said, "Now let Angelita go, as we bargained."
"Not so fast, Amigo." El Diablo replied, "The bargain was that you were to come alone, but one of my spies tells me some Americanos have come to town. Americanos that I know." He motioned with his hand and Lupe was shoved into the room. The bandito turned looter turned to him.
"You said El Dolenzio and his friends were staying here, so where are they?"
"I don't know, boss." Lupe said, shaking. "I was sure they would come here."
"What are you talking about?" Penn demanded, "I came to El Monotono alone."
"Did you now?" El Diablo said. "I saw their car, I know they are here. I know they are friends of Anglita, and perhaps yours too. Coincidence, eh?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Penn said calmly, "I have the coin, you have Angelita. Let's trade, and you can look for your phantom Americans later."
"We will trade, Senior Penn." El Diablo said, but the price has gone up. I want El Dolenzio and that pequeno Jones as well."
There was a squeaking noise above them as Micky and Davy shifted uncomfortably on the stairs.
"That's not what we agreed to." Penn said quickly, hoping El Diablo didn't hear the noise. "I don't know who you're talking about."
"I think you do." El Diablo replied, then looked up at the stairs behind Penn.
"Get them!" He ordered, pointing at the stairs.
Penn brought his umbrella down and jabbed El Diablo in the foot, then punched him in the face. Quick as a flash, Penn grabbed a broken table top and threw it at El Diablo's men, knocking them down. El Diablo quickly recovered and threw a punch at Penn, who just managed to duck in time.
"Penn needs help!" Micky yelled.
"We gotta get Angelita out of there!" Davy told Micky. He ran over to the wall where the chandelier rope end was tied.
"Get out of here!" Penn shouted at Micky and Davy.
But Davy already was untying the chandelier rope from the wall. He climbed on top of the banister.
"What are you doing?" Mike shouted at him.
"Don't worry, I saw this in a movie once." Davy smiled, then jumped off the railing.
He gracefully swung down toward Angelita and the men holding her...who moved out of the way in time. Davy crashed into the wall. Stunned, he let go of the rope...and the chandelier fell on top of Penn, knocking him unconscious.
"That's not good." Peter said.
El Diablo's men started up the stairs after the other Monkees.
"Let's split!" Mike shouted.
"But Davy and Penn..." Micky began.
"We can't help them now." Mike said, grabbing Micky's arm. "Let's go!"
But Micky shoved Mike and Peter into the room and slammed the door. He then slid down the banister past El Diablo's men. They stopped and ran down the stairs after him.
Micky grabbed a table leg and went after El Diablo. He swung at the bandito, but El Diablo grabbed the table leg from Micky's hand and hit Micky with it. He went out like a light.
"Bring them over to me." El Diablo said.
Davy and Angelita were dragged over to El Diablo.
"So, this is a good day." El Diablo laughed, "Not only do I have two of my enemies, but also Angelita and Coin of Cookamonga as well."
"Let them go, El Diablo." Pedro pleaded with him. "You have the coin."
El Diablo kicked the unconscious Penn in the ribs, "Si, but with these three with me, I'm sure Senior Penn will not get the authorities! Ha ha!"

Sometime later, Penn woke up on the couch of the apartment that the Monkees were staying at.
"How did I get here?" he asked.
"The boys and I carried you up the stairs to the apartment," Pedro answered.
"How are you feeling?" asked Peter.
"A bit sore, but I’ve had worse," said Penn.
Mike then entered the living room from the kitchen, holding a glass of water and some asprin.
He handed the items to Penn and said," These will help with the pain, but for not what we are about to say."
"What is it, what's wrong?"
"El Diablo kidnapped Davy and Micky," said Peter.
"He did?"
"And he still has Angelita to even though he got the coin," said Pedro.
"This is terrible!" Penn tried to get up, but he was in a lot of pain from his fight with El Diablo, so he carefully sat up on the couch.
"Did El Diablo mentioned where he was taking Angelita and your friends?"
"No," said a very sad Pedro.
"I sure hope Micky and Davy are ok," sniffed Peter.
"Me too Pete, me too," sighed Mike.
Penn felt terrible, not with the soreness and bruises of his battle with El Diablo, but how guilty he felt about that now two more people are in the hands of a very dangerous person. He looked up at Mike and Peter.
"Micky and Davy should've used their heads." He said, "Now they've made things worse."
"Davy tried to save Angelita." Mike replied, "And Micky led El Diablo's men away from me and Peter. They didn't use their heads, but their hearts were in the right places."
"I thought El Diablo was gone from here." Peter said.
"He was, but not for long." Penn replied, "After I came to the area, so did he. But instead of banditry, he and his men now rob tombs and temples, then sell the artifacts on the black market to collectors."
"Can you make money that way?" Mike asked.
"Yes, depending on how rare or how old something is, you can get hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a single pot or statue." Penn replied.
Suddenly, there were footsteps on the stairs leading up to the door. Penn motioned for Pedro to shut the lights and for Mike and Peter to stay quiet. He then stood behind the door.
The door opened slightly, and Penn yanked it open. He then grabbed the figure and threw him to the ground. Pedro turned the lights on again.
It was none other than Lupe on the floor. Pedro fell on the other man, hitting, kicking and cursing the other man in Spanish. Neither Penn, Mike or Peter made a move to stop him.
"Please stop, let me talk!" Lupe begged Pedro, as he tried to shield himself from the blows.
"Why, all you'll do is lie!" Pedro yelled, kicking Lupe in the ribs once more.
Penn put a hand on Pedro shoulder and glared down at Lupe.
"Spying for El Diablo again, right?" He asked.
"No, Senor Penn." Lupe whined, "I want to help you all."
"Help us?" Mike shouted, coming over to stand over Lupe as well, "You work for El Diablo!"
"Only because he says he'll burn down my garage and destroy my cars!" Lupe said, sitting up.
"We can't trust you." Peter said, "And why should you help us now?"
"I don’t want anything bad to happen to Angelita.” Lupe replied, grabbing the wall and climbing to his feet. "I didn't really know if you four were at the cafe or not. Please, let me help you. I swear on the grave of my mother that I will help you get Angelita and your friends back."
"How can you help us?" Pedro said. "Do you know where El Diablo has taken my daughter and their friends?"
"Si, El Diablo has probably taken them back to his old hideout in the hills for the night, and then he'll go to his secret camp in the jungle where he does his looting."
"Do you know where this secret camp is located?" Penn asked.
"Si, I will tell you how to get there." Lupe replied.
"No, Lupe." Penn said, jamming the tip of his umbrella up Lupe's nose, "You're going to take us there."

As Lupe had said, El Diablo took his prisoners by jeep to his old hideout in the hills. Angelita sat with El Diablo in the front of one jeep while Micky and Davy were tied up in the back of another.
When the group arrived, Angelita was taken toward the tents, while Micky and Davy were taken to a tree a short distance away. Davy recognized the tree as the same one he had been tied to when El Diablo had captured him the first time.
The tree truck split into two branches to form a V. Micky and Davy were tied with their hands above their heads to each of those branches. When they were tied, El Diablo came over to them.
"Get some sleep, amigos." He sneered, "Tomorrow we go on a treasure hunt...and tomorrow maybe you die." He laughed and turned toward the camp. He then stopped and looked back at his captives. "Or perhaps you'll die tonight if the coyotes find you! HA HA!"
El Diablo and his men laughed, and then left the two Monkees alone in the dark.

Except for the stars in the sky the night was pitch dark.
Mike, Peter, Lupe, Pedro, and Penn, rode in the monkeemobile in search of Micky, Davy and Angelita. Luckily the car had bright lights, so they were able to see where they were going.
“Stop the car, we're here," said Lupe.
Mike, who was driving the car, did just that.
"Are you sure?" Penn asked.
"Si," Lupe answered.
Everyone got out of the monkeemobile and began to look around. They shown their flashlights around to see if they could find anything. It was then Peter noticed to objects up ahead.
Though he was nervous he walked up a bit more to get a closer look and was happy to see what the objects were.
"Davy! Micky!" Peter cried out with a happy glee.
"SHHH!" Davy and Micky went at the same time.
Peter then signaled the others to come over, which they did.
Mike and Peter then began to untie their friends.
"Are you boys ok?" asked Pedro.
"Yeah, we're ok," Davy answered.
"Now that you guys are here," Micky finished.
"Where's Angelita?" asked Penn.
"We saw her go into one of those tents," said Davy, pointing to the tents. He then saw Lupe. "Haven't you cause enough trouble?"
"It's ok he's helping us," said Pedro.
The group then began to search for Angelita. Everyone hoped that El Diablo and his men were fast asleep as they began to appoarch the tents.
The Monkees, Penn, Lupe and Pedro poked thier heads into a tent and to their luck, they found Angelita, who was tied up but unharmed.
"Angelita," Penn whispered in the tent.
She looked up and yelled, "Penn, Monkees, Papa!"
"SHH!"
Penn then crept into the tent, and appoarched Angelita. He untied her and she hugged him.
The two the wlaked out of the tent and met with the others.
"Papa!" Angelita cried hugging Perdo.
"My sweet Angelita," said Pedro hugging his daughter back.
"I hate to break up this family reunion but we better get out of here," said Mike.
"I don't think so," said a voice.
The gang looked to see that El Diablo and his men were right in front of him.
"Well, what do we do now?" asked Davy.
"We split!" said Micky.
Everyone agreed to that plan and they all began to run in all sorts of directions to confuse the villains.
Luckily then all found their way to the car, most of them anyway.
But they didn't noticed until they drove away from the area.
"Where's Penn?" asked Angelita.
"I bet El Diablo got him," said Mike.
"We have to go back for him."
"Yes, after all he saved my daughter," said Pedro.
"It's too risky senor," said Lupe.

"I don't care!" Angelita shouted at Lupe, grabbing his hair. "We're going back!"
"But El Diablo will have guards all around now, we won't be able to get near his camp." Lupe replied.
Everyone looked at each other, realizing Lupe was right. Then Mike spoke up.
"Lupe, you said something about El Diablo having a secret camp in the jungle?" He asked. "And that El Diablo will probably head there next?"
"Si, but it we can't go there in this car." Lupe replied, "The jungle has no roads to drive on."
Pedro thought for a moment. "Perhaps you have some better cars in your garage, Lupe." He said. "Something that can handle the jungle trails?"
"But..."
"Do you, Lupe?" Davy insisted.
Lupe nodded, "Si, I have something that might get you into the jungle."
"You mean WE, don't you, Lupe?" Micky asked, poking Lupe in the back.
Lupe gulped and nodded his head.
"Then let's get back to Lupe's garage, Mike." Peter said.
Mike put the car in high gear and roared back to El Monotono.

When the group arrived at Lupe's garage, Lupe got out and let everyone inside. A flip of a light switch revealed several cars of various manufacturers in a row. At the end of the row were two army jeeps with wide tires, perfectly suited for rugged terrain.
"I think these might do." Pedro said approvingly.
"They are El Diablo's jeeps." Lupe said, "He sends me his cars to fix."
"Do these jeeps work?" Angelita asked.
"Si, they will get us into the jungle." Lupe replied, hanging his head.
"Good. Angelita and I will go back to my cafe and get food and water. You will make sure the tanks are full." Pedro said. He and Angelita walked out of the garage.
Lupe nodded and then he and the Monkees filled up the jeeps' gas tanks, then rummaged around for supplies. Soon, they had loaded the jeeps with machetes, rope, flares and extra gas.
Not much later, Pedro and Angelita came back to the garage. They had sacks of food with them, plus canteens of water. Angelita had changed out of her dress and was wearing a brown pantsuit.
"Are we ready to go?" Pedro asked.
"Pedro, you don't have to do this." Davy said, "It will be very dangerous."
"Angelita said the same thing." Pedro replied with a smile, "But I said I owe Penn one for saving her, and I want to try and stop El Diablo once and for all. However, I did call my brother Juan and told him to call the police if we do not return in two days."
"Well Lupe, it's up to you now." Micky said.
"Si, I will take you to El Diablo's secret camp." Lupe said resignedly.
"First, let's go to Penn's camp." Angelita said, "It's possible El Diablo took him there first to gather up any notes he had about the coin."
"Good idea, Angelita." Mike said, climbing into the driver's seat of one of the jeeps.
Lupe got in the driver's seat of the other jeep and the two jeeps left the garage. The sun was just beginning to come up over the horizon as the group left El Monotono.

About a half hour’s drive over increasing rough terrain brought the group to Penn's camp. Angelita told Lupe to stop and Mike stopped his jeep behind him.
"What's wrong, Angelita?" Mike asked.
"Penn's camp is on the other side of this hill." Angelita replied, "We should check around first to make sure El Diablo isn't there."
The others agreed that that was a good idea. Quietly, they got out of the jeeps and walked over to the camp, keeping to the trees and rocks. When they could see no sign of anybody around, they walked into Penn's camp.
It was instantly clear that El Diablo had been to the camp first. Tents were torn down, equipment was smashed and Penn's jeep was missing.
"What a mess." Davy said, "What do you think El Diablo was looking for?"
"Probably Penn's notes about the coin." Micky said. "And any useful equipment."
"Well, it looks like he did." Peter said, indicating a knocked over table with papers strewn about.
"Perhaps not." Angelita said. She walked over to two trees on the side of the camp that formed a V. "Good! It was not discovered!"
"What wasn't discovered?" Pedro asked, as he and the others walked over.
"Penn told me he kept his important papers hidden in a box right here." Angelita said, pointing to the ground with her toe. "Lupe, see if you can dig it out."
"Si, Angelita." Lupe said. He grabbed a shovel from the camp and dug down.
It didn't take long for Lupe to hit a box in the ground. He quickly uncovered it and brought it up. Angelita opened the box and brought out a small leather diary.
"I'll bet El Diablo was looking for this." She said, looking through it, "These are notes and drawings of that big object that is connected with the coin."
"El Diablo must know about it too." Davy said, looking at Lupe.
"I did not know about this, senor." Lupe said quickly, "I only told El Diablo when any visitors came to El Monotono."
"In any case,” Mike said, getting the discussion back on topic, "Do the notes say where this big thing is located?"
"Penn always thought it would be close to where he found the coin." Angelita replied. "And from these notes, it seems to be where he was digging."
"Then let's go there." Micky said.
"Where is the object supposed to be?" Lupe asked.
"About ten miles further into the jungle, Lupe. Why?" Angelita asked.
"That is also where El Diablo's camp is." Lupe replied, "So he may be closer than we think to what ever El Diablo is looking for."
"Then we should get there first." Mike said.
"No, we should go after Penn first." Pedro put in.
"My father is right." Angelita said, "We must rescue Penn, and then find what everyone's looking for."

"Take us to El Diablo's camp, Lupe." Pedro ordered.
Lupe nodded and the group made their way back to their jeeps. Micky drove one of the jeeps this time as Mike looked over Penn's notebook.
After almost an hour of hard driving, Lupe pulled off to the side and motioned for Micky to do the same. The occupants of both jeeps got out.
"Are we there, Lupe?" Peter asked.
"El Diablo's camp is about a ½ mile from here." He said, "We'll have to walk in order to get around the guards."
"Lead the way, Lupe." Pedro said, motioning the other man forward with his machete.
Everyone got their gear and followed Lupe deeper into the jungle. Mike put Penn's notebook into his shirt pocket. It quickly grew hot and damp inside the thick vegetation and soon everyone was sweating. They took a break and drank some water, then continued onward.
After awhile, they saw carved stone statues almost covered over with vegetation and moss.
"We are getting close to his camp." Lupe whispered.
"Is it a big camp?" Micky whispered back.
"Si, it is inside the remains of an old temple. Much of it is gone, but enough remains to provide shelter." Lupe replied.
The group continued on, until they nearly stumbled upon a sleeping guard. He was resting against a rock and was snoring slightly. Very carefully, they walked around him and continued forward.
Soon, they came upon a low stone wall. Peering over it, they saw a stone courtyard in front of a pyramid-shaped temple that was about two stories high. Scattered around it were El Diablo and his men, all asleep, enjoying a mid-afternoon siesta.
"Where's Penn?" Angelita whispered.
"Over there." Davy whispered back, pointing to the far end of the courtyard.
Penn was standing up, his arms and legs tied spread-eagle to two stone pillars near the temple entrance. His head was hanging down and he had a gag in his mouth.
"My poor Penn." Angelita whispered, tears coming to her eyes. Pedro put his arm around her shoulders.
"This looks like our best chance to rescue Penn." Micky said. "Any ideas?"
"We could just walk down there, untie him and bring him out before El Diablo wakes up." Peter suggested.
"That's a crazy idea, Peter." Mike said, "But it just might work."
"I'll go." Davy said, "I'm the smallest and quickest."
"I'll go with you." Micky volunteered.
"No, Peter and I will go." Mike said, "You and Davy tried to rescue Angelita before and look what happened. C'mon Peter...and be quiet."
Slowly, the two Monkees climbed over the wall and down into El Diablo's camp.

Mike and Peter slowly walked across the courtyard, being very careful to avoid the sleeping men. As they passed El Diablo, he rolled over on his side and faced them, but did not wake up. Mike and Peter froze in their tracks. El Diablo began to snore. With a sigh of relief, the two Monkees continued over to Penn.
Finally getting past the sleeping bandits, Mike and Peter climbed up the steps and over to Penn. He looked up as they approached.
"Penn, are you okay?" Mike whispered.
Penn frantically began to shake his head, since he was still gagged.
"Don't worry; you'll be free in a second." Peter said, as he began to cut Penn's bonds with his machete. Mike worked on Penn's other side.
A few seconds later, Penn's hands were free, and he ripped the gag out of his mouth.
"Get out of here, it's a trap." Penn said fiercely.
Just as he spoke, a heavy rope net fell on top of Mike and Peter, knocking them down. Attached around the ends of the net were bells, which created a huge ruckus. When Mike and Peter had cut Penn's ropes, it also had let loose the net. El Diablo and his men quickly woke up and ran over to Mike, Peter and Penn.
"Ah ha!" El Diablo laughed, "I knew you would come and try to rescue your friend!"
"Let them go, El Diablo!" Penn shouted, "They don't know anything about the treasure!"
"Perhaps not," El Diablo replied, rubbing his chin, "But they will come in handy when we need someone to test for traps."

The other two Monkees plus Pedro, Angelita and Lupe, saw Mike and Peter get captured.
"We gotta get out of here." Micky told the others.
"I agree, let's vamoose." Pedro said.
Everyone turned around...and found themselves facing the guard they had snuck around earlier. He had a rifle in his hand a smug smile on his face.
"You will vamoose, that way." The guard said, pointing to the courtyard with his rifle.
But Lupe began to speak to the guard in Spanish. After several minutes of back and forth. The gaurd pointed his weapon away from the group and motioned for them to follow him.
"What did you say to him, Lupe?" Davy asked.
"I recognized him as someone who owes me mucho dinero for fixing his cars." Lupe said, "I told him I'd forget what he owed me if he would help us and lead us over to the temple by a different route."

Meanwhile, El Diablo's men took off the net over Mike and Peter. The bandito quickly spied the notebook in Mike's pocket and reached for it. Penn tried to grab it first, but couldn't reach over far enough because his legs were still tied.
"What is this?" El Diablo said, grabbing the notebook and flipping through it, "It looks like all your notes, Senor Penn."
"Give that to me." Penn snapped, trying to grab the notebook again, but El Diablo walked out of his reach.
El Diablo stopped at one page, which was a drawing of a temple. He looked up at the temple before him and back to the drawing.
"Ay, carumba!" El Diablo said in awe, "This picture matches this temple! The stone object is somewhere in this temple!"
"Yes, you've been camping here all this time and it's been right under your big nose!" Penn laughed.
"Untie him!" El Diablo snapped, "And let's find the treasure."
With that, he stormed into the temple, with some of his men following him.

Penn, Mike and Peter were shoved into the temple after El Diablo. Once they had caught up with the bandito, he turned to them and shoved the notebook in Penn's face.
"Where is that object?" El Diablo demanded.
"I don't know." Penn said, "I didn't know this place even existed until now. I've never explored it."
"Now you will." El Diablo said, shoving the notebook into Penn's hands. "And you will lead us to it, or something bad may happen to your friends."
With a sigh, Penn opened the notebook and then looked at Mike and Peter.
"You just had to find my book, didn't you?" He asked sourly, "You Monkees had to play hero once again, had to get involved."
"Sorry Penn." Mike and Peter said, looking at the floor.
"Let's go." Penn told El Diablo and the others, "The object 'might' be in this direction."
With that, he led the group deeper into the temple.

Several of the rooms they explored at first were already in use by El Diablo and his men for storage. The temple wasn't very big and the first floor seemed to be arranged in a square, with one room leading to the next. Penn frequently stopped and examined the writings and drawings carved into the walls, and stopped at a large mural covering one wall. El Diablo noticed this and questioned the archeologist.
"What is all this?" He asked, "What does this mean?"
"From what I can make out," Penn replied, "It seems to be a history of the people that once worshiped here. I'll need time to decipher it."
"I'll give you five minutes." The bandito said.
"Five minutes?" Penn exclaimed, then laughed, "It could take five years to properly figure out what went on here, who worshiped here, what God they..."
"Five minutes!" El Diablo roared in Penn's face. "Or do I kill one of your friends now?"
Penn angrily grabbed a torch from one of El Diablo's men and went over to the mural. Starting at the far left corner, he looked at the drawings intricately painted onto the stone. Some of the drawings were worn away by time, but many others were still visible. Penn was only half-way through the mural when El Diablo walked over again.
"Well, your time is up." He said, "What does it say, where do we go from here?"
"I was right." Penn replied, "This mural gives the history of the people that once lived here."
"Where is that object?" El Diablo mentioned.
"I'm getting to that." Penn said, "According to the drawings, a meteorite crashed in this area and exposed a rich deposit of gold hidden in the Earth."
El Diablo's eyes lit up. "Go on."
"The pictures show craftsmen making objects from the gold and storing it, perhaps waiting for the God who sent the meteorite down to Earth to come again and pick up the gold objects they had made." Penn continued.
"How does this object we are looking for fit into this?" The bandito asked.
Penn pointed to another drawing. It looked roughly like the object in Penn's notebook.
"Here's the object, and it looks like it is some kind of door, but I still can't be sure without more research." Penn said.
"Does it say where the object is?" El Diablo demanded again.
"No, and it doesn't appear to be in this temple either." Penn replied, "We've searched this whole bottom floor."
"There's got to be more here, Senor Penn." El Diablo said menacingly. "Perhaps a secret door?"
"If there is, I don't know about it." Penn replied, "Remember, I've never explored this temple before. We should try someplace else, I know of another more promising site..."
Suddenly, Mike and Peter, who had been standing across the room, leaned against a wall. It turned sideways, knocking the two Monkees onto the floor.
"Nice job, guys." Penn muttered to himself as he and El Diablo walked over. Mike and Peter got up off the floor, while Penn and El Diablo looked into the room. It turned out it was a set of stairs leading down.
"Very good, gringos." El Diablo laughed, "You are proving your worth already." He turned to his men, "Give them torches, they shall lead us from now on." Mike and Peter were given torches.
"After you, senors." El Diablo smiled.
With an apologetic look at Penn, the two Monkees began to lead the way down the stone stairs.

Meanwhile, Micky, Davy, Angelita, Pedro and Lupe were following the guard through a path around the temple. The path led downward after awhile and a few minutes later, they came upon a cave.
"Is this the temple?" Micky asked, but the guard didn't answer him.
Lupe asked the question again in Spanish, but the guard simply smiled and motioned for them to follow him inside.
The cave entrance was low and everyone had to duck their heads to get inside. Once they walked inside the cave opened up more and they were able to stand up straight. The guard continued to walk deeper into the cave and the others followed him. Finally the guard stopped near a wall and turned to the group.
"End of the line, senors and senorita!" He smiled.
"What are you talking about?" Davy asked.
"This is where your journey ends." The guard replied, raising his rifle at the group.
"We had an agreement!" Lupe shouted at the man.
"True, but when we were walking I realized that if I killed you, I would not have to pay you any money either, so..." He took aim at the others.
"But you don't owe us any money!" Micky shouted, "Why kill us?"
"It's nothing personal, senor." The guard said with a shrug.
"El Diablo will kill you if you hurt Angelita!" Pedro exclaimed, holding his daughter.
"If he finds her in this cave." The guard said, bringing the rifle up to his eye again and taking aim...
Suddenly, the wall behind him swung out, knocking him to the floor unconscious. On the other side was Mike, Peter and Penn!
"Mike, Peter!" Micky and Davy exclaimed.
"Micky, Davy!" Mike and Peter exclaimed.
"Penn!" Angelita shouted.
"Angelita!" shouted Penn.
Everybody rushed over to each other and gave each other a hug.
"What are you people doing here?" Penn asked.
Micky's answer was cut short as El Diablo and his men pushed their way through the open door and into the cave.
"Ah, we are all together again!" El Diablo laughed, "Bueno! Now Senor Penn will have even more reason to help me!" He pointed at the Monkees.
"You gringos will lead the way now!" He commanded. "Vamos!"
The Monkees looked at each other, but realized that they had no choice. They started down the cave passageway, with Penn and El Diablo right behind them. Angelita, Pedro and Lupe were in the back with the rest of El Diablo's men.
As they walked, the cave walls and floor became more smooth and even and soon Penn was able to make out drawings on the walls once again.
"Are we going the right way, Senor Penn?" El Diablo asked.
"As far as I can tell." Penn replied. "The passageways here seem to have been carved out of the rock. Gentlemen..." He continued, speaking to the Monkees, "Be careful where you are walking now. It's not unusual for traps to be set to deter robbers."
"What kind of traps?" Peter asked, gulping.
"Deadly ones." Penn said seriously.

When Penn had said this, everyone began to walk a lot slower. El Diablo and his men hung further back behind The Monkees and Penn.
Soon, Peter noticed the floor had small holes in it.
"Penn, what are these holes for?" He asked.
The archeologist quickly looked at the floor and the walls around them. The walls also had small holes in them, about an inch in diameter and about a foot apart. In around that time, Penn heard a snapping sound.
"Everyone get away from the holes!" He shouted.
The words were barely out of his mouth when sharp wooden spikes about two feet tall came out of those holes in the floor and walls! Penn, the Monkees, Angelita, Pedro, Lupe and El Diablo managed to jump out of the way in time. A few of El Diablo's men weren't so swift and they received slashes on their arms and legs.
"That was close, too close." Davy breathed.
"Thanks, Peter." Penn said, patting him on the back.
Angelita ran over to Penn.
"Are you alright, my love?" She asked.
"Yes, but go back with the others, it's too dangerous up here." Penn replied.
"No, I'd rather face danger with you than be back there with him." Angelita said, shooting an ugly look at El Diablo.
"Keep moving, Senor Penn." El Diablo ordered, now even further back than before.
Penn took Angelita's hand and, with the Monkees, continued down the passageway.
Futher down there was another trap, but this time it had been already activated, as the skeleton with arrows sticking between its ribs testified. The group carefully moved around the unfortunate explorer and continued on.
Without warning, the passageway opened up into a large cavern, at least two stories high. The torches the group carried did little to dispel the darkness so they could not be sure.
"Where are we now?" El Diablo demanded.
"Without proper lighting, I can't be sure." Penn replied. "Look to see if there are any torches along the wall that can be lit."
El Diablo ordered his men to look for torches. One man found a bowl carved into the rock and put his torch into it.
The bowl lit up...and the flame traveled around the wall to light other bowls, slowly lighting up the cavern.
"Very clever." Penn approved, "There must still be oil in the channels between bowls."
Soon all the bowls around them were lit and it turned out the place they were in was not a cavern at all but a large room, covered from floor to ceiling with elaborate paintings. What got everyone's attention however, was not the paintings but the object sitting against the far wall.
It was the large stone object that Penn had been seeking!
The drawing Penn had in his notebook did not do the object in front of them justice. It was almost twenty feet high, not measuring the three wheels on top, and looked to made of solid gold! It was about ten feet wide and about four foot in depth. There was a handle-shaped object sticking out from the side, and what looked like a chute in front.
"The gate of Cookamonga." Penn said in awe, walking closer.
In seeing the object, El Diablo had lost his fear and joined Penn.
"If this is a gate, where does it lead?" The bandito asked, looking up.
Penn didn't answer right away, he was studying the writings on the object.
"Answer my question, senor Penn." El Diablo said impatiently.
"It leads to the tresure of the Cookamonga people." Penn said finally, "But I suppose you already guessed that."
"How does the gate open?" El Diablo insisted, getting agitated.
Penn walked around the front of the object, looking at the writings carved into its surface.

Tapping his chin with his finger, Penn studied the writings on the gate. As he continued to decipher what was written, Penn began to frown. El Diablo was becoming more impatient by the minute and finally walked over to the archeologist.
"Well, Senor Penn?" He demanded, "What does it say? How do we open the gate?"
"Oh do shut up." Penn said absently, "If I'm reading this right, it would seem the old notes I have were wrong."
"What do you mean...wrong?" El Diablo insisted.
"This is a gate all right." Penn said, turning to the bandito, "But not the usual kind."
"Get to the point!" El Diablo shouted, his voice echoing in the large chamber.
"I think the treasure is IN here." Penn said, spreading his hands toward the gate. "We don't go any further."
"Then all we need is dynamite." El Diablo smiled.
"And take a chance of destroying everything?" Penn asked.
"Then find a way of opening this thing!" The bandito shouted, "Remember I have your friends here."
Penn glared at El Diablo for a long moment then said, "Give me the coin."
El Diablo pulled the coin out of the sack and handed it to him. Penn studied it carefully, comparing it with the writings on the gate. He then calmly took the coin, and before anyone could stop him, pushed it into a slit in the front side of the gate. Everyone could hear the coin rolling down inside the gate and coming to a stop.
"What did you do?" El Diablo said in shock.
"What does it look like I did?" Penn snapped. "The gate and that coin go together so maybe that coin is really a key."
"Nothing's happening." Micky remarked.
Indeed, the gate stayed the same as before. Nothing moved inside or outside the gate.
"It seems you were wrong, Senor Penn." El Diablo growled, "And now my valuable coin is lost. If I could not get the treasure at least I would have been able to sell that coin."
"I did what the coin said to do." Penn said calmly, "It said, 'take a chance'."
"And you lost." El Diablo said, then turned to his men, "Put them all against the gate. They all die now because of Senor Penn's foolishness."
The Monkees, Penn, Angelita, Pedro and Lupe were forced to stand in a row, with their backs against the gate. El Diablo's men lined up paralell to them and raised their guns, ready to shoot the group in a firing squad.
"Any last words?" El Diablo asked the group.
"Not to you." Angelita spat.
"Spare Angelita at least." Penn said, "She's innocent."
"What about us?" Mike asked.
"Angelita does not love me so she dies too." El Diablo said, then turned to his men, "Get ready to shoot."
Peter was on the far right end of the gate. As he moved back against the gate, his arm hit the handle-shaped object on the side. He pushed down on the object and to his surprise, it moved.
A creaking noise was heard from within the machine, accompanied by the sound of stone grinding.
"Up there!" Davy called out.
Everyone looked up to see the three vertical wheels on top of the gate slowly start to spin. They went faster and faster, then after a few seconds they slowly ground to a halt. The group could now see that carved into each wheel was a figure of a man. Other figures were also visible on each wheel as well.
"What was that all about?" Micky asked, puzzled.
"I think I understand now." Penn said.
Suddenly out of the chute came a small pile of gold coins like the one Penn had put into the gate! El Diablo and his men pushed the others aside and greedily grabbed at the coins.
"What happened, Penn?" Angelita asked. "Why did all those coins come out?"
"The Cookamonga people loved to gamble." Penn said, "I noticed that in a lot of their drawings. They used this ancient slot machine to guard their treasure." Penn replied, "You have to rely on chance to get anything. This time we were lucky."
"What do you mean by lucky?" Pedro asked.
El Diablo pushed his way over to Penn before the archaeologist could answer that question.
"I see now that this is a one-armed bandit." El Diablo laughed, "Something I can understand. Tell me, can I do it again?"
"Yes, but you have to be careful." Penn warned, but El Diablo was already over at the slot machine. He put a coin into the slot and pushed down the handle.
The machine creaked and groaned and the wheels on top spun once again. This time, three hearts in a row lines up on the wheels.
After several seconds, an even bigger pile of coins, large and small, came out of the chute, followed by gold jewelry and small statues. El Diablo and his men went crazy, grabbing what they could and stuffing it into their pockets. Fights broke out as El Diablo's men tried to grab more for themselves. Lupe even managed to grab some gold for himself, while everyone else tried to keep out of the fray.
El Diablo picked up another large coin and made to put it into the slot once again.
"El Diablo, no!" Penn shouted, running over to him, "You already have enough gold, don't be greedy!"
But the bandito pushed him aside. "I will empty this machine out! I will be the richest man in all Mexico!"
He put the large coin into the slot and pushed the handle once again.
Once again, the slot machine creaked and groaned and the three wheels spun around. This time however, the wheels did not match up. They lined up as a an X, a lightning bolt, and a dagger. The bandito and his men looked expectantly for more gold to fall, but nothing came out.
"What is wrong?" El Diablo said, "Where is my gold?"
"Just like any slot machine, you put in your money and take your chances." Penn replied, looking up at the three wheels, "You won't be a winner each time...in fact, you've been quite lucky."
"I want all the gold NOW!" El Diablo shouted, kicking the machine.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Penn warned, "Those wheels are lined up in the Cookamonga symbols for death and if you try to get anything by force..."
Penn's words were cut off by loud scratching noises, coming from inside the machine...
Everyone looked at the machine's chute, wondering what would come out next. It didn't take long for that question to be answered. After a few seconds, large black hairy spiders dropped out of the machine! El Diablo's kick had disturbed their colony and they were not happy about it. Each spider was the size of a saucer and had red eyes. They came out slowly at first, then much faster. Angelita screamed and El Diablo and his men moved back.
"Spiders. It had to be spiders." Penn said, wiping his face, "I hate spiders."
El Diablo's men began to shoot the spiders and knock them away with their gear. The large spiders soon became the least of everyone's worries as the machine began to make more grinding noises. The whole room began to shake and the ceiling began to come down on them. Then, the oil lamps went out, leaving the room in darkness.
"Let's get out of here!" Mike yelled.
Nobody needed to be told twice. Several of El Diablo's men were already heading for the door, only to be caught in the crush as everyone tried to get through the door at once.
"One at a time!" Penn yelled, but nobody paid attention.
Suddenly, one of the wheels on top of the machine came loose. It fell off the machine and rolled toward the door. The Monkees and Penn got out of the way in time, but several of El Diablo's men weren't so lucky. Many of them were smashed by the heavy stone wheel. It embedded itself in the doorframe, further narrowing the only escape.
The shaking became worse, so bad it was hard to stand upright. The Monkees, Penn, Angelita and Pedro made their way to the door and Davy managed to pull himself through the narrow opening...only to have El Diablo grab his foot and begin to pull him back.
"If I die, you die too!" He shouted.
The others grabbed El Diablo and forced him away from their friend. Davy pulled himself out of the room and began to pull Angelita out. When she was free, she helped Davy get the others out as well. They looked for Lupe, and could see him still trying to pick up the gold.
"Come on, Lupe!" Pedro shouted.
Lupe finally seemed to notice the danger he was in and made his way to the door. He was starting to climb through the door when El Diablo pulled him back into the room. The bandito then tried to pull himself through the opening, but he was too large. Lupe tackled El Diablo and knocked him away from the door.
"Go! Get out of here!" He shouted to the others.
"We can't do that!" Angelita shouted.
Just then, another wheel on top of the machine came loose. It rolled across the floor, over El Diablo and slammed against the doorframe, completely blocking the door.
The Monkees, Penn, Angelita and Pedro looked at the sealed door in shock. The rumbling also suddenly stopped.
"I guess that's it." Peter stated.
"Yeah, I guess it is." Mike said.
The group turned and began to walk down the corridor again...just as another jolt shook the area. What the group didn't know is that the third wheel had just come loose from the machine and was rolling across the room. This wheel was heavier than the other two and it smashed the other two wheels, smashing the door wide open and causing all three wheels to began to begin rolling down the corridor toward the group!
The Monkees and Angelita screamed and they, Penn and Pedro ran as fast as they could down the corridor. There were no side corridors, no niches to hide in as the three wheels rolled after them. The smooth floors and walls made it easy for the wheels to roll. Penn would've admired the Cookamonga's foresight if he hadn't been running for his life.

After running what seemed like miles, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The group burst through the tunnel and into the main cavern. Still, the wheels shown no signs of slowing. As they as ran through the cavern, they encountered El Diablo's man who had led them down there in the first place. He had just regained consciousness.
Seeing them, he raised his rifle again...but saw the huge wheels rolling down. He screamed, dropped his rifle and ran too.
One wheel hit a rock and veered away to slam into the cavern wall and smash into several pieces. The group was still in danger from the other two wheels baring down on them.
Finally, they reached the end of the cavern and threw themselves off to the side. The two wheels rolled past, and embedded themselves into the soft dirt of a nearby hillside.
The Monkees, Penn, Angelita and Pedro looked at each other, all glad to be alive.
"Everyone okay?" Mike asked, panting for breath.
"Si, Mike." Angelita said.
El Diablo's man rolled to his feet and tried to run, but Penn grabbed his foot and sent him sprawling. Penn then threw himself on top of the bandit.
"Going somewhere Raul?" Penn asked. "Not so brave without a gun in your hand are you?"
"Please, Senor Penn!" Raul begged, "I am sorry I mistreated you earlier!"
"Save it." Penn snapped, pulling Raul to his feet, "We're going back up through those secret steps and you're going to show me where your former jefe kept his radio."
Raul led the group into the cavern and up the secret stairs into the temple again. Once there, Raul showed Penn the room where the radio was kept.
While Pedro and Angelita tied up Raul, Penn called the authorities and told them what had happened.
"How long until they come?" Micky asked Penn as he handed him a canteen of water.
"A few hours at least." Penn replied, taking a gulp, "Fortunately, I'm friends with the president of the Mexican Archaeological Institute. We're not too far into the interior, but the area around here is rough. Still, this will give me an opportunity to examine what El Diablo had been stealing."
While Penn looked over the stolen artifacts, he explained what happened with the machine down below.
"Obviously, there was some sort of timer on that machine." He said, "To prevent anyone from taking too much gold at one time."
"And to prevent thieves from getting too much as well." Pedro said, "They sure had a deadly trap waiting for us."
Penn didn't answer, just kept looking at all the ancient relics. With an angry look on his face, he turned to his friends.
"El Diablo sure was busy these last few years." Penn said disgustedly, "There's artifacts stored here from the Olmecs, Aztecs, Incas, Mayans and every other civilization that lived in Mexico and South America over the last several thousand years. It's going to take years to document these things and almost impossible to know exactly where they came from."
"So much could have been learned from these objects." Angelita said, shaking her head, "But they were stolen for money."
"At least El Diablo's operation is no more." Davy said, "And these statues and such won't end up in the wrong hands."
"That's true, Davy." Penn said, "But no doubt someone else will be stepping into El Diablo's shoes soon. As long as people want these things and are willing to pay big money for them, the looting will continue."
Just then, the group could hear the sound of jeeps coming closer. They went out to meet their rescuers so that they could finally put an end to this whole affair.

Penn, Angelita, Pedro and the Monkees came out to meet the jeeps. Inside the jeeps were several soldiers from the dept. of the interior, plus the National director of Antiquities, Javier Valdez. He gave Penn a big hug.
"I am glad to see you again, Senor Penn." Javier said, "It seems you have found trouble once more."
"Not by choice, Senor Valdez." Penn replied, and then quickly filled in the director on what happened.
Javier sent half the soldiers into the temple and down into the secret passages, and the other half to start packing up the boxes. The soldiers took Raul into custody and began piling the boxes of looted goods into their jeeps.
The soldiers that went down into the secret passages and into the machine room found a disaster area. Most of El Diablo's men were dead, including the bandito himself, crushed by the stone wheels. A few men, including Lupe, were still alive, though Lupe had two broken legs. It took several hours for the soldiers to carry out the injured men and send them to the hospital. The dead were covered with tarps and left for removal later.
Despite their protests, Angelita, Pedro and the Monkees were sent back to El Monotono before it became dark. Penn stayed overnight with Javier and the soldiers to try and catalog the treasures as best they could.
Penn returned to El Monotono the next afternoon, though he would spend little time with his friends. The town became a way station for all the looted artifacts being brought out of the jungle, and Penn and Javier spent a lot of time trying to organize everything for shipment back to the Archeological Institute. It was only after the Monkees literally dragged Penn away from his desk that he would even eat and take a break.
After several days, the artifacts were finally loaded up and on their way to safety. The Monkees watched as the trucks moved out of town.
"Well, that's that." Davy said.
"Our adventure is finally over." Peter replied.
"Not quite." Penn's voice said behind them.
The guys turned to see Penn and Angelita walking hand in hand toward them.
"What do you mean?" Mike asked.
"I mean I've asked Angelita to marry me, and she said yes!" Penn replied happily.
"And we would like you four to play at our wedding!" Angelita added.
The Monkees happily agreed and gave the happy couple a group hug.

A few weeks later, Penn and Angelita were married at a little church in El Monotono. The whole town turned out for the festivities, including Lupe, who sat in a wheelchair, his legs in a cast. The Monkees played on a stage set up in the center of town. A great time was had by all.
Penn introduced the Monkees to his family; his sisters Florida and Georgia and his brothers Indiana and Montana. The guys made sure they sang the song they played the first time they were in El Monotono, "What Am I Doing Hanging 'Round?"
"What am I doing hanging 'round?
I should be on that train and gone.
I should be riding on that train to San Antone...
What am I doing hanging 'round?"

THE END