Allenby made an interrogative sound at the chief. The chief squeaked and pointed at the ground. We looked. He was pointing at his shadow.
Randolph stirred uncomfortably.
"Hold still," Allenby warned him, and again he made the questioning sound.
The chief pointed up the street. Then he pointed down the street. He bent to touch his shadow, thumping it with thin fingers. Then he pointed at the wall of a house nearby.
We all looked.
Straight lines had been painted on the curved brick-colored wall, up and down and across, to form many small squares about four inches across. In each square was a bit of squiggly writing, in blackish paint, and a small wooden peg jutting out from the wall.
Burton said, "Looks like a damn crossword puzzle."
"Look," said Janus. "In the lower right corner—a metal ring hanging from one of the pegs."
And that was all we saw on the wall. Hundreds of squares with figures in them—a small peg set in each—and a ring hanging on one of the pegs.