As you already know, a Fisher CZ of any kind emits a bell tone when over a large metal object. When metal detecting at the beach, I usually go on past these signals thinking they are nothing more than beer cans, as most of the time that is what you wind up digging anyway.

One time I was detecting on the beach and came upon such a signal with my CZ6a. I had not dug one of these bell tone signals in quite some time. This one was the lucky one because there was something about the way it set off the detector. I dug five inches first, ten inches, then one foot but found no object. Hmmm. I knew something was down there and I was determined to prove to myself it was just another beer can and all the other signals I passed up so far, where the same. You know, it was like a way of accomplishing self gratification.

My pickup truck was just a few yards away so I walked to it and got a trench-type army shovel I had in the bed. When I got back to the hole there was a man standing over it looking in.

See anything down there, I asked him?

"Naw," he said, "but I saw you trying to dig something out with your trowel."

I explained to him it was probably just a deep buried beer can but curiosity spurred me onward to verify it.

"Can I help you?" the elderly gentleman asked. "I don't know how to use one of those metal detecting gadgets you got there but I have been watching you dig up coins down the way. Now you have me curious, too."

I let the guy take the shovel and he dug down two more feet. With a good thrust of the shovel downward, we both heard the thud.

"Yup, probably a beer can like you said."

Keep digging, I told him. Let's make sure.

He put the shovel down in the hole so as to pry up on the beer can but it was stubborn. It would not budge. I took the shovel and tried.

Yup, there's something there all right, I said, but it ain't no beer can.

We both took turns digging, digging all the way around the original hole so we could get under it--and finally after fifteen minutes of digging got it out--a whole toilet complete with the seat and hardware that was setting off the detector. The toilet is still sitting there to this day where we moved it next to the embankment by the wharf. The last time I went by and looked at it, someone had planted sea oats in the bowl.