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. I kept,i.
that lock. I had that piece of pouch leather chew®i
down to nothing, so I cut off another. I worked until I i
chewed that down to nothing, and another, and a.-'-
other, until I'd eaten my whole map pouch. And still
that lock wouldn't open.
"Then, suddenly, all in a flash, the answer hit me.
Since that lock was invisible, I could see my pick inside
it. That didn't do me much good because I couldn't see
the lock. But in my tool pouch I had a tiny tube of pow-
dered lead. Putting the tube into the keyhole, I blew
into the exposed end and shot just the tiniest bit of lead
into that lock. Lo and behold, for just a second, before
that lead powder turned invisible like the rest of the
lock, it outlined the tumblers! I could see how that lock
worked, and oh, it was a beauty. It took 'old number
three' two flicks and a nudge, and that lock popped
right open."
The crowd of kender stared, their mouths hanging
open, breathing in every word. Undoubtedly they had
all heard this story dozens of times before -- many of
them mouthed the words along with Gelfig -- and they
would hear it dozens of times again, and each telling
would be as exciting as the first.
"What was in the box?" asked Damaris, unable to
stand the anticipation any longer.
"When that lid sprang open, the enchantment was
broken and the whole thing turned visible again. My
hands had already told me what the box looked like; a
smooth pine box with an arched lid reinforced by thick
iron bands. Inside it was a single item: A fine, steel
chain necklace, with a steel triangle suspended from it
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