Maddock froze in place as he stared at a recessed panel exposed when the eagle slid aside in the stone disc. He and Bones both shined their torches on it while Leopov swept hers in the opposite direction to see if anything had been triggered there. After a minute, when nothing had happened that they could tell, Maddock and Leopov advanced slowly on the dial while Bones hung back to keep watch over the wider area. The recessed panel contained three small dials, one on top and two on bottom, each numbered 0-9 like a combination lock. After a few seconds Maddock pulled back and explained what they were looking at to Bones. “Great, only 729 possible combinations. This could take a while unless one of you has got a better idea.” Leopov considered this in silence while Maddock continued to stare at the dials. Bones said, “I remember with the old bike combo locks you could put your ear on them and hear the tumblers fall into place as you turned the dial...”
