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stone had been mounted at the two-hundred-fifty foot level which is on the twenty-third landing. However, in order for the monument’s repairs to proceed, the stones had to be dismounted, photographed and catalogued, and stored in a special unit provided for that purpose. The ranger escorted me to that site.”
    He went on, “Now here is the interesting point of my tale. The ranger was particularly excited to show me the back of the stone.”
    “The back?” I asked.
    Binkie smiled broadly. He loved it that he had captured our attention so completely. “Yes, the back, Ashley dear. He had two crew members turn the stone so that we could view the back. The ranger had discovered an inscription, previously unknown, on the back. You see, the stone had not ever been removed since it was set in position in 1888. No one had ever seen the back once it was set in place.”
    “What was on the back?” Melanie wanted to know.
    “An inscription. Words had been carved on the back of the stone when the stone was created here in Wilmington prior to sending it to Washington.”
    “What did the inscription say?” Jon asked.
    Binkie dug down into Aunt Ruby’s tote bag and withdrew a file folder. “Here, I’ve brought photographs.” He passed the photographs around to us.
    Jon studied one picture. “I can’t make anything out.”
    I studied another. “I can’t either,” I protested.
    “No. No one can,” Binkie confirmed. “When the original adhesive was removed from the back of the stone, a sort of scarring took place. The adhesive had settled into the indentations of the inscription. The stone was cleaned but still the letters could not be rendered legible.”
    I studied the photograph. “I can make out some letters. A lower case ‘e.’ A lower case ‘o.’ And a partial of something that might be a capital ‘W.’”
    “That is precisely what the ranger and I saw.”
    “And that is all I can decipher as well,” Aunt Ruby said.
    I passed the photograph to Melanie. She scrutinized it. “But why did someone carve a legend on the back of the stone where it would never be seen? They couldn’t have anticipated an earthquake in the capitol and that the stone would be taken down.”
    “Just so,” Binkie answered. “You’re a clever girl, Melanie. Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer. No one does.”
    I said, “I’m guessing the craftsmen who installed the stones in the monument thought nothing of a stone with an inscription on the rear side as well. After all, our stone had been in storage for thirty-seven years before it was mounted.”

4

    On Saturday morning Aunt Ruby and Binkie returned to our house to babysit. Jon and I strolled over to Front Street to meet Melanie at Dalton Montjoy’s house.
    A pickup truck was parked in Dalton’s driveway. Evidently one of the tenants was moving out. Good news. Boxes had been loaded onto the open bed of the truck, while several remained in the grass, along with miscellaneous items of small furniture. Melanie waited for us on the front porch. She and Dalton sat at the corner of the porch at a round outdoor table.
    She got up when she saw us. “Hey, shug ,” she greeted. “Hey, Jon.” She moved closer. “If it’s OK with you, Dalton will just sit out here while you look around inside. He’s having a bad day.”
    “Of course,” Jon said, and walked over to shake hands with Dalton.
    Just then a beautiful, pale blonde girl hurried out of the front door, her arms filled with boxes which she promptly dumped onto the porch floor the moment she spotted Melanie. “Melanie Wilkes! I was hoping to run into you after Dalton told me you were handling his sale.”
    My sister knows everyone in Wilmington. And everyone knows her. High or low. Young or old. She’s sold houses to half the town. “Taylor, sweetie, how nice to see you.” She made kissy sounds in the air at Taylor’s cheek. “This is my sister, Ashley.”
    Taylor surprised me by giving me a hug too. “You