The Secret of the Stones by Ernest Dempsey (good e books to read .txt) 📗

the park was closing when Tommy had a thought. His eyes locked onto something in the picture. “Excuse me…Miss?”

“Yes, sir, can I help you?” The response from the frumpy woman was forced. She must have been tortured by the high-pitched voices of the youth all day. Her eyes had bags under them, and her hair was tangled like she’d been running her hands through it in frustration.

“I know you’re about to close, but I just have a quick question for you.” Tommy’s understanding seemed to ease her frustration momentarily. “This picture here, with the totem poles…where was it taken?”

He knew well that the ancient Mississippian Natives of the area had constructed many such monuments, but the ones he was looking at in the picture seemed different than most.

“Actually, it was taken just a few miles from here. If you look right here in this area,” she pointed to the map at a spot between the two bird formations. “There are eight totems here in a place the Indians used to call, “Khan Ug.” They are remarkably preserved, and scientists have dated them to before the time of Christ. The most interesting thing about them is that they are some of the only stone-made totems on the continent.”

“Did you say there are eight in this location, and they are made out of stone?”

“Yes. And another interesting point of fact is that the location is exactly three and a half kilometers from Rock Hawk and Rock Eagle. This demonstrates that ancient Indians who lived here might have actually been using the metric system long ago.” She looked at her watch, obviously done being courteous.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Tommy could hardly contain his excitement. “But how would we get there?”

She gave them an annoyed sigh and then a few quick directions before excusing herself to finish closing up.

Tommy nodded his head in the direction of the door, and the two men followed him back outside. The sidewalk area in front of the building was finally void of the noisy children.

“So we are going to the place on the map?” Ulrich asked as they neared the vehicle.

“Looks that way. I’d say the place is at least worth taking a look at. It’ll be getting dark in a little while, and that’s pretty much the only guess I’ve got at this point.”

Ulrich looked awkwardly at the prisoner. So far, Tommy had been right on with every guess. And, surely, they were getting close. It just seemed too easy. Still, he had no other choice.

The woman’s directions had been accurate, and it only took about five minutes to get to location she’d shown them on the map. As seen in the picture, eight tall stone carvings ominously stood in a small patch of grass. The setting was surrounded by an amphitheater of looming oaks and narrow pines.

Tommy slammed the door of the truck carelessly, unable to take his eyes off of the magnificent structures as he stumbled toward them.

Seven of the poles were similar in height, around fifteen feet from what he could tell. But the one in the middle was different in every way. First off, it was several feet higher than the others.

The differences didn’t stop with mere height. More intriguing was that each of the other seven totems displayed carvings of animal groups. One had birds, another showed cattle and other agricultural animals, and so it was with each monument. Though each one contained different animals, the animals were part of a similar species group. On the largest piece of stone was a representative animal from all of the other seven, like some kind of montage.

Moving slowly with both guards in tow, Tommy walked from one pike to the next, examining the intricate handiwork. He stopped at the largest one in the middle and ran his hand over the face of a fierce-looking cat, a cougar as far as he could tell. Then he stepped over to the other three, his face alight with admiration.

“Amazing,” he finally broke the silence. “It must have been an extremely painstaking effort to create them.”

The silent guard seemed to be slightly interested. Ulrich was less intrigued. He stood, arms crossed, with a stern demeanor.

Tommy stopped at the last sculpture and examined it closely. The animals on it were foxes, wolves, dogs, coyotes, and what looked to be something like a hyena. He traced the stonework with his finger, still amazed by what the ancients could do.

“What are you looking for, Mr. Schultz?” Ulrich’s annoyed voice interrupted his thoughts.

He’d been crouching over slightly and at the question, had stood back up straight. “I don’t know for sure.”

Ulrich motioned for the guard to start looking down at the other end.

Tommy finished inspecting the first pole and moved to the next, Ulrich staying close with him. They spent several minutes meticulously checking the surfaces of the stone without coming across anything out of the ordinary. He walked around the granite centerpiece, still hoping there was something there to be found. This had to be the place. Everything they had found thus far had pointed to it.

As he came back around to the front of the chiseled stone, he noticed it. Small, almost invisible at first glance, Tommy had not seen it before, even though he’d thought he was looking carefully. An owl stared at him, its eyes lifeless and eerie. The animal’s face contained amazing detail. Its mouth, in particular, caught his attention because unlike the other animal carvings, the beak was open.

He moved his finger up to the opening. “This is it.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yeah,” Tommy replied. “I’m sure. It makes so much sense now. In ancient Indian lore, owls were guardians to the other world. They