Liza and the Chest

Liza does not want to talk to the man. She is not thinking clearly. She just wants to get into a corner of the cave where she can gather her thoughts. She sneaks past the man quickly and quietly. He does not notice her.

In the area beyond, the light is dim, but she can make out a large chest. On the floor there appears to be a plaque in a language that she cannot understand. She does pick out what she thinks are some numbers in the instuctions. She sees
.. (maybe a 0?),
.- (1?),
-. (2?), and
-- (3?).
As she examines the chest more closely, she sees two little brass wheels with a single dot exposed. If these work similar to the numbered locks that she has on one of her attache cases, then she should be able to push one of the brass wheels in a bit and see a dash. She does so on the first wheel, and this is indeed the case. The chest is now set to -. . But there does not appear to be any way to open the chest.

She looks again. The chest is covered in leather that is riveted into place by metal studs. She fiddles with the studs, and two of them can be moved horizontally about a centimeter, toward the middle of the chest. She hears a click.

Liza now wonders whether what she is doing is a good idea. The chest may be trapped. On the other hand, she cannot think of any alternatives to going into the dark areas of the cave or crossing the path of the strange man.

Liza decides to

1. open the chest anyway. Maybe there is a torch or something there.
2. set the dials differently, and nudge the lid a little without opening it all the way.
3. let well enough alone and sneak back out of this part of the cavern, back toward the man.

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