He hesitated before touching it, heart pounding with the uneasy knowledge that someone had deliberately hidden it here. Still, his hands moved on instinct. With effort, he cleared the last of the soil from the top and sides, revealing a lid that looked sealed for several decades at least.
Summoning courage, Walter wedged his shovel under a corner and pried. The latch snapped with a brittle crack, and the lid groaned open. Inside lay a handgun, ammunition belts, tarnished metal, and several grenades wrapped meticulously in brittle oilcloth. Walter recoiled, breath ripped from his lungs. “Oh, God!” he muttered.