***** Vol.3 Chap.54 The key *****

After five minutes of rest, his spirit was slightly refreshed.

As He was about to try punching in the circles again, another idea suddenly came into focus. What if all the circles must be pushed simultaneously?

He looked at the circles; the carvings were too far apart for his hands. A key must be constructed with the right protrusions at the proper location for this to work. He looked around his backpack and decided that he could carve up his water bottle to make the key.

Taking out his pocketknife, he quickly went to work.

First, he fashioned a key for the first two carvings and would use his fingers for the other two carvings.

When the makeshift plastic key was made, he gently placed them on top of the carvings. After satisfying himself that the protrusions were on the proper locations, he was ready. Gently, he placed the plastic key on top of the two carvings, holding the plastic with his mouth. Then he positioned his finger on the other carvings. It was an awkward position, and He practiced a few times pretending to push the circles. Then he told himself that on the count of three, he would push the circles.

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“Three, two, one, push.”

Nothing happened.

He adjusted the position of his key and tried again.

“Three, two, one, push.”

Nothing happened.

He adjusted the position of his key and tried again.

“Three, two, one, push.”

Nothing happened.

He was getting very frustrated. He paused and reviewed the entire line of reasoning. The reasoning was correct. He examined the key, and it seemed that one of the protrusions was a little bent requiring some straightening. He made a quick repair.

He was reasonably confident about the first two squares, but was a little uncertain about the answer to the last two squares.

Undaunted, he tried again. He tried pushing the four buttons on the top of the square. Then he tried pushing the four buttons on the bottom of the square. Frustrated. He sat down to rest. He must be methodical and logical and tried every combination.

It took quite a few trials. He could not remember what the last combination was. But suddenly, the plastic gave way and the tiny circles also gave way. He looked at his key, and he looked at the carvings. Then he thought he heard a tiny hissing sound.

Slowly, he saw the crack at the edge of the stone slab got wider. The stone slab was moving. He jumped aside.

He rubbed his eyes. No, this was not a trick. He put his hand on the crack and felt a rush of fresh air coming from beneath.

Steadily, the stone slab rose from the ground on one side. The other side must be hinged and fastened to the ground. It took the slab a good five minutes to become erect. At that posture, the stone slab looked exactly like the stone structure depicted in the mural on the wall.