"You are told to begin with a certain character and take the others in a circle 'in the way of the sun'—that is to say, from left to right, as with the hands of a clock. Before the main vault is a large lock, which works on the same principle as the modern Bramah lock—a very ancient device. It consists of nine enormous wheels. The outside, or tyre, of each of these wheels is adorned with hundreds of cuneiform characters, all of them quite different. Each wheel must be turned until the characters visible along a given line correspond with those upon the Sunstone. Not otherwise can the vault be opened."
There followed a silence of several moments. The Judge's discovery seemed so romantic and so astonishing that it was almost impossible to believe it was true. After a while, it was von Hardenberg who spoke.
"And now that you have made this discovery," he asked, "what do you propose to do?"
"I don't know," said the Judge. "I have no desire to pillage a sacred shrine. For the present I propose to keep the affair a secret whilst I continue my researches. There are several points upon which the historical world desires to be enlightened. Very little is known concerning the life of Zoroaster."
"But surely," exclaimed von Hardenberg, "you don't intend to keep this to yourself!"
"When I have the whole facts of the case at my finger-tips," said the Judge, "I will make the result of my investigations known to the authorities of the British Museum."
Soon after that they left the bungalow. Before they went to bed that night von Hardenberg took his cousin aside and looked at him intently.
"What do you make of it?" he asked.
"Of the Sunstone?" asked Harry.
"Yes," said the other. "It seems to me, if the old gentleman wanted to, he could make himself a millionaire."