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

expert.” Wyatt motioned with this hand, telling his friend to go ahead.

“First of all, we need to ask ourselves, why would a group of people from such a far-off land come here to begin with?” He waited for a second before continuing. “Throughout history, there have been many reasons people left their home countries. However, persecution is one of the primary reasons. Heck, the United States is here because colonists from Europe wanted religious freedom. So, they loaded up their boats and sailed west.”

“Are you saying the Indians came here to escape religious tyranny?” Allyson interrupted.

“Not at all,” Joe stated quickly before moving on to his next point. “The other main reason that people have left their Native lands throughout history was to establish larger kingdoms. Empire expansion was a necessity. Manifest Destiny has essentially been the motto for every major nation since the dawn of time.”

“So, were the Native Americans settlers from an empire across the sea?” she continued the questioning.

“You got it. And it’s going to blow your mind which empire they came from.” Joe looked at Sean and then back at Allyson. “The crazy thing is, our biggest clue has been sitting right here in our back yard for nearly four thousand years.”

Turning back to the computer, he pulled up a website that apparently had information about the history of the ancient Native Americans. After entering a few words, a new page came up under the heading of Fort Mountain. “Now, this place is fascinating. Sean, I know you have heard of it.”

Wyatt nodded in agreement.

Joe pointed to a picture on the screen of a rock fortification, “This stone wall stretches for about 795 feet on the top of a mountain near the town of Chatsworth, Georgia. It isn’t a wall in the sense you might think because there was no mortar used; the rocks were just piled on top of each other.”

“Why is it there?” Allyson inquired.

“That’s the funny thing about it. It’s like our very own Stonehenge. For decades, no one has been able to understand its purpose. It isn’t a defensive wall because it’s linear.” Pointing at the computer screen, he showed the two of them an overhead diagram of the wall stretching like a crooked snake across the top of the mountain. “No one would build a wall like that if they wanted to defend themselves. With no cliffs or precipices on the sides, the enemy could just walk around behind it.”

“So, it had to be used in some kind of ceremony then,” Sean inferred.

“Well, that is one of theories. Some historians think that the wall was used as some kind of sun worship temple. Since it stretches from east to west, they supposed that it was built to track the movement of the sun.

“Others hypothesized that it was a sacred matrimonial place for Cherokee newlyweds. That story suggests that the couples would go there to spend their first night of marriage together.”

Stopping to zoom in the overhead picture, he went on, “Another oddity of this site is the two dozen pits that dot the landscape within the wall. Most of the experts agree that these exist as a result of looting or people excavating the area throughout the centuries.”

“Let me guess,” Sean said, “you don’t buy that. Do you?”

Joe smiled up at him from the desk. “Of course not, buddy. All right, getting back to the wall, you see the outline of it on this overhead, right here.” His rough-skinned finger traced the outline of the wall on the screen. “Now, when I first saw this, the pattern completely slipped by me. I never realized what it was until I was researching something on another website.” He opened up a separate window on the Internet and typed in the web address for the British Museum of Ancient Egypt.

Sean started to ask why the man was showing them something about Egypt when it suddenly hit him like a lead ball. On the museum’s intro page an outline of the Nile River appeared. His eyes grew wide at what his friend was implying. “No,” he stammered. “That’s not possible…” his words trailed off in disbelief.

“Not only is it possible, it’s exactly what you think it is.”

Allyson was unfamiliar with the geography of Egypt and didn’t seem to realize at what Joe was hinting. To make certain they both understood the implications of what they were looking at, Joe took the topside map of the wall at Fort Mountain, and flipped it vertically. Then, using an overlay transparency tool, he moved the outline of the wall over top of the window containing the map of the Nile. It was nearly a spot-on match.

Abruptly, she grasped the magnitude of what she was seeing. “I don’t understand though. Why would that wall in North Georgia match a map of the Nile River?”

Joe looked at her with patient, brown eyes. “Because Allyson...Egyptians built it.”

28

Nevada

The black-and-gold antique telephone rang loudly. The old man wondered who would dare call at this hour of the night.

Annoyed, he rolled over and clumsily pulled the device from its cradle, ceasing its painful noise. “Hello,” he answered in a sleepy voice.

“Sir, things are progressing as planned.”

Instantly, the gray head shook away the drowsiness. “What is your status?”

“We are holding for the moment, sir.” There was a pause. Then, “What would you like me to do?”

After a few thoughtful moments passed, he answered, “Wait until morning. Then eliminate the problem. Accidents happen all the time on country roads.” The final sentence was layered with insinuation.

“There are…other factors.”

No hesitation, “They are expendable.”

“Understood.” The younger voice on the other end was direct, methodical. “What about…the other asset?”

“For right now, simply observe.” The