“As you can see, this copy is handwritten, not printed,” Prescott added. “By none other than Thomas Jefferson, the man who was asked by the Continental Congress to compose the original document.” He placed both hands on the silver handle of his cane and leaned closer to me. “Jefferson wrote out another copy of the Declaration of Independence, added the signers’ signatures in his own handwriting, and gave the document to James Madison. Which makes this copy priceless.”

I stepped closer to examine the document. Under the low light, it was difficult to make out the words in the elegant script, but I could still read what was written and a shiver ran through me.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I looked up at Prescott. “Where in the world did you get this?”

“It was discovered in a box of documents in a farmhouse in Iowa by a real estate agent who was going through the owner’s possessions. Looking for items to sell and what to throw away. The provenance has been traced to James Madison as the original recipient and handwriting experts at Monticello have authenticated Jefferson’s handwriting.”

Now I knew why he’d said it was priceless.

“Have you ever looked at the signatures on the Declaration of Independence?” he asked.

I had a fuzzy memory of studying the document and who the signers were in a high school U.S. history class. “I can’t name them all, if that’s what you’re asking.”

He shook his head. “I’m not talking about who did sign it. I’m asking if you know which famous Founding Father did not.”

I dredged up my knowledge of the Continental Congress and a hot summer in Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson had drafted the document, as Prescott just said. So what was he getting at?

I took a guess. “James Madison didn’t sign it?”

“Exactly. Madison—who drafted the Constitution—didn’t go to Philadelphia during the summer of 1776 while the Declaration of Independence was being drawn up, nor did he sign it,” Prescott said. “But as I’m sure you know, Madison and Jefferson were great friends. And, of course, Monticello, Jefferson’s home, and Montpelier, Madison’s home, were not far from each other.”

“So Thomas Jefferson gave James Madison a copy because he didn’t attend the Continental Congress,” I said.