Chapter 548: A Sign from God?
What could it be, and how was he supposed to get it out?
After searching the area, the Archbishop found two long, slender chime mallets. The shafts of these small metal musical hammers could fit into the gap beneath the statue's pedestal.
"Tap, tap."
He carefully cleared away the broken pieces of mortar one by one, making sure they did not fall deeper into the gap and block it.
Filled with a peculiar sense of anticipation, he spent more than ten minutes clearing away the fragments before the gap was finally clean.
The reflection inside became more distinct, but that very reflection still kept the Archbishop from seeing what was in there. Whatever it was, it had to be something shiny.
The metal mallets' shafts were long enough. With two of them, he should be able to try pinching it out.
Holding the two mallet heads, he gently inserted the shafts.
A clink made his heart tighten. Then the other shaft touched the object as well, producing the same clear sound.
I hope I haven't broken it!
He tried over and over. On his sixth attempt to lift it, he finally felt a distinct weight on the shafts. The object seemed to have stopped slipping free.
The Archbishop swore he had never been this nervous in all these years. Sweat covered his forehead, and his hands trembled slightly, though he struggled to keep them steady.
The gap, barely over thirty centimeters long, seemed endless. Several times along the way, he felt the object brush against the sides and nearly fall.
Nudging it out might have been easier, but the Archbishop did not dare gamble on whether friction against the stone would damage whatever was inside.
Ever since taking the title of Archbishop of the