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“See,” Seichan mumbled.
“Try the other,” Gray said.
Xue nodded and did just that. The key fit there, too. As he turned it, the ornate bronze panel snapped open on a concealed hinge. The secret door revealed seven more holes behind it, each with a tiny window next to it. Enameled letters could be seen behind the yellowed glass.
Gray held out his palm. “May I?”
Xue passed him the key. He tested the row of smaller holes. Only the tip of the key fit the tinier openings, but it was enough to turn the hidden dials. Individual letters spun across the windows.
Gray sat back. “I wager we’re supposed to line up those seven letters to form a word.”
Seichan counted on her fingers. “What about Stamford’s last name?Raffles. It’s seven letters.”
“I’ll try, but Stamford was no fool. Using his own name would be like someone usingpasswordfor their password.” Still, Gray twirled the letters. “That’s odd.”
“What?” Xue asked.
“Each dial only hasfiveletters. The top dial runs from L to P. The middle four cover the first letters of the alphabet, and the bottom two show the last letters.” Gray turned to Seichan. “So, there’s no way to spellRaffleswith those limited letters. It’s got to be another word. One, I wager, that’s tied to the path we’re following.”
“Maybe you missed something written on those pages,” Seichan suggested. “On their backsides or hidden in their drawings.”
“I don’t think so. Stamford wouldn’t risk burying that code in pages that could be lost?”
“Then what?” Heng pressed him. “What could the word be?”
Xue pointed to the etching on the bronze door. “That has to be representative of Mount Tambora’s eruption.Tamborais seven letters, too, but you can’t spell that name either.”
Gray sat back on his heels. He took a deep breath, concentrating with his eyes half closed. Seichan imagined the gears churning in hishead, struggling to form a seven-letter word out of those limited letters. The possible combinations were still astronomical.
Xue looked as deeply contemplative.
Heng paced around them in a circle. “If there had been numbers on those dials, the combination could’ve been the date when Tambora erupted?”
Both men jerked straighter.
“Of course,” Gray said. “That’s it.”
Xue nodded, clearly getting it, too.
Seichan did not.
Gray looked to Xue for permission and got a nod. He reached and dialed a letter into each slot. “It’s not aword,” he stated as he worked and nodded his thanks to Heng. “It’s adate—like you said—the year of the eruption.”
Gray finished and sat back.
Seichan read the letters revealed down the row: MDCCCXV.
“It’s 1815 in Roman numerals,” Xue explained. “When Tambora blew.”
Seichan stared between Gray and Xue. Plainly these two shared the same strangeness of mind. Both seemed equally capable of shaking order out of chaos.
Gray respected his counterpart enough to hand back the key. “I’ll let you do the honors.”
Xue dipped his head in thanks, then leaned over and inserted the key into the left hole again—this time, it turned with a loud snap of gears. The tight seal of the door released.
“You did it,” Heng gasped.
Working together, Gray and Xue pulled the heavy door open and let it drop to the side.
