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He spun it back to the original configuration.
Paige pointed down at the bottom. “This didn’t fall. It was cut!”
Dewey flew closer to inspect the pole’s bottom. A clean slice made it obvious Paige’s assertion was correct.
“You’re right.”
“So it’s entirely possible this didn’t fall in the same way the sign was supposed to point,” Paige said. “I’ll bet the saboteur twisted it around so we’d go the wrong way. So we should go to the left.”
Paige let the sign fall back into the weeds and took a step to the left.
“Or,” Dewey said, stopping her, “the saboteur thought we’d think that so he…or she let the sign fall the way it was so we’d go in the opposite direction, so we should go right.”
Paige considered it for a moment before flinging her hands in the air. “We can never figure this out.”
“Wait,” Dewey said, raising a finger in the air. “I wonder if we can match any splintering on the base of the sign with what’s left in the ground.”
“Worth a shot, I guess.” Paige hauled the sign up and set it on the stub sticking from the ground. “Does it match?”
“Yeah,” Dewey answered as he studied where the two pieces met. “So, we go left like you said.”
“Wait, let’s try this way just for kicks and giggles.” Paige groaned as she shimmied around with the sign. “How’s that look?”
“Crap,” Dewey said.
“What?”
“It looks the same. A match.”
Paige let the sign flop into the high grass again and ran a hand over her hair. “So, we go right or left. We still have no idea.”
Dewey flew up to her eye level. “Nope. What do you want to do?”
Paige glanced back and forth before she made her case again. “I say we go left. The person who destroyed this sign meant to throw us off the trail. They’d try to mess us up.”
“Though what if they wanted us to think they were trying to mess us up, and so they put the sign the right way knowing we’d think it was the wrong way? Also, your luck stinks, so I’m not sure we should follow your advice.”
Paige pressed her lips together and huffed out a breath. “You’re right. We’ll go right.”
“Wait,” Dewey shouted as she stepped right.
“Now what?”
“What if right is wrong because they knew we’d think they’d think we thought they were trying to mess us up? So, they did put the sign the right way knowing we’d think they’d think putting it the wrong way was what they intended to do and realize they put it the right way.”
Paige stared at him, stunned into silence for a second. “Wait, we’d think they’d think that we think…” She swung her finger back and forth as she worked through the logic. “Okay, I’m totally confused. So, do we go right or left?”
“I don’t know,” Dewey answered.
Paige blew out a frustrated sigh, her shoulders sinking toward the ground. “Okay, we’re going to have to just make a decision and go with it.”
“Okay, on three, we’ll both say our choice, and if they match, we go with it,” Dewey proposed.
Paige nodded and began the countdown. After she counted to three, she said, “Left,” while Dewey said, “Right.”
They both wrinkled their noses at each other.
Paige held her hands up in the air. “Okay, we’re just going to have to flip a coin.”
