The Secret of the Stones by Ernest Dempsey (reading fiction .TXT) 📕

house. Even though the guy was a mountain, he’d underestimated the strength the guard possessed.

As they forced the hostage back through the double doors, he took one last look up in the sky. Another space rock appeared, burning brightly as it soared through the blackness, then disappeared. Being dragged backward by his arms, Schultz didn’t struggle. Instead, he started laughing.

The whole time that he had spent searching for the chambers, Tommy believed that the ancient rooms might be located somewhere else in the world, that he’d been wrong to hope the magnificent find was near. Sure, there were a few clues scattered throughout Georgia, but surely a treasure of such amazing significance couldn’t be there. Yet he and others, like de Soto and Ponce de León, were convinced that the entire chambers were located somewhere in the southern United States. Now, after searching for so many years, the riddle was starting to come together. And Tommy started thinking that maybe, just maybe, de Soto had been right all along.

There was only one place that he could think of anywhere that could contain the description in the riddle. He just hoped that Sean would come to the same conclusion.

23

Cartersville

After serving the coffee, Joe had left his guests alone in the living room for a few minutes, not explaining where he was going. When he returned, he had a somber look on his face and was gripping something in his worn fingers. He opened his hand, revealing something that astonished both of the visitors.

“Is that what I think it is?” Sean couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“It is.”

“But how did you get it?”

“I received a package from Frank earlier today. This stone was inside.” Joe carefully handed the disc to Sean.

He continued while Sean inspected the medallion. “When you told me that Frank had been murdered, I was initially shocked. Frank and I have known each other a long time. But if Frank had figured out the code on this stone, it could be the first step toward finding the most incredible treasure in history. And if someone found out about this stone and that Frank was working on it, that certainly explains his murder and Tommy’s disappearance.”

Sean and Allison were both still looking at the ancient medallion.

“How much do you know about the chambers, Joe?” Sean looked up at his friend, trying to piece all the information together.

Joe’s lively eyes lingered briefly in thought then darted up, perched above a wide grin. “I’d be glad to tell ya. But first, I want to know what you know about them.” He wagged his rough finger at the air in Sean’s direction in a playful gesture.

“Well,” he replied, somewhat unsure of himself. He took a look at Allyson and then back at the curious face staring at him from a few feet away. “According to most of the mainstream legends, seven priests left their parishes in Spain when they came under attack by the Moors. No one is sure about the timeframe, but it could have been somewhere between 800-1000 CE. These priests sailed west and constructed a city of gold, El Dorado, Cibola, whatever you want to call it. Again, I’m not sure why. Down through the centuries from around 1150 CE to the present, explorers have searched for the lost city. Francisco Coronado was perhaps the most famous to try and find it. There were rumors that Cortez believed it to be Mexico. De Soto was relentless in his quest throughout the Southeastern United States. Ponce de León was also said to have been trying to locate it. Of course, Ponce de León’s more well-known search was for the fountain of youth, but some say that was only one of two reasons he came to the New World.”

McElroy smiled at the last statement.

“Anyway, the lost city was never found, so, throughout history it has simply been regarded as myth. To most historians, it still is.” He took a sip from his steaming cup of coffee as he finished.

“As well it should be regarded that way,” McElroy chimed in. “Even though the legend was originally a European folktale, the Indians learned that by retelling the story and embellishing it, the invaders were pacified, at least temporarily, by the thought of finding a city of unimaginable wealth.”

Joe took a gulp of coffee then went on, “There is another story that Tommy and a handful of others came across that bears a small resemblance but has different details.”

Allyson sat quietly, completely out of her element. All she could do was listen, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“Which is the story that I believe to be far more valid,” Joe added.

Sean nodded and went on, “A few people, Tommy being one of them, believe the core part of the story about large quantities of gold in several places is correct. So, to them, the question isn’t whether or not the gold exists. It is where and in how many locations. These researchers do not believe the part of the legend that talks about seven golden cities. They also don’t give any merit to the seven priests sailing west to escape Islamic persecution or that Europeans even built these mystical places.”

“But if the Europeans didn’t build them, who did?” Allyson found the topic spellbinding.

“Native Americans,” Sean answered in a matter-of-fact tone. “But some of the facts became twisted and removed so that the white settlers would never find the true locations. There were never seven cities built from gold, but there was a number that Tommy kept coming across in many places all over the Southeast. Through the years of his research concerning the lost cities of gold, he kept coming across the number four. He found many clues in