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The guy with the eye patch knows where the gold is

Apparently, a couple of lucky guys have cashed in on the long-lost gold at the bottom of Delavan's Lake Comus -- at least according to a recent anonymous e-mail.

The e-mailer reported that he recently confronted the two men who had found the gold.

"They were walking along Terrace Street," he wrote, "with a big smile on their face. I asked them what they were doing. After a minute, they told me they were down by the lake.

"I noticed a pouch and asked them if there is gold in that pouch. They at first beated around the bush, but then showed me what they had.

"They then abruptly took off saying they were going to Ron's Barber Shop."

I plan to stop by Ron's this week and ask him if anyone's paid for a haircut with gold recently.

The guys should be easy enough to find. In an earlier e-mail the writer said one of the guys wears an eye patch.

In any case, there are supposedly photos of the gold, which I hoping the e-mailer will send to me.

If you haven't heard the story yet, the gold comes from Delavan's circus days, when the Barnum and Bailey Circus paid their employees with gold nuggets.

One hot August afternoon, a group of circus roadies got together and stole the payroll from P.T Barnum himself.

The feds were quickly called, and the roadies panicked.

They decided to toss the gold into Lake Comus, and retrieve it at a later date.

But a week later, the circus was in St Louis and the men were killed during an elephant rampage.

The gold has remained at the bottom of the lake for over a hundred years.

I asked local historian Gordon Yadon about the story, and he had never heard this one.

I realize P.T. Barnum famously proclaimed there's a sucker born every minute, and perhaps I'm a case in point by even responding to these e-mails, but I'd love to ask the guy with the eye patch to know for sure.