Langdon and Sophie moved slowly down the north aisle, keeping to the shadows behind the amplepillars that separated it from the open nave. Despite having traveled more than halfway down thenave, they still had no clear view of Newton's tomb. The sarcophagus was recessed in a niche,obscured from this oblique angle.
"At least there's nobody over there," Sophie whispered.
Langdon nodded, relieved. The entire section of the nave near Newton's tomb was deserted. "I'll goover," he whispered. "You should stay hidden just in case someone—"Sophie had already stepped from the shadows and was headed across the open floor.
"—is watching," Langdon sighed, hurrying to join her.
Crossing the massive nave on a diagonal, Langdon and Sophie remained silent as the elaboratesepulchre revealed itself in tantalizing increments... a black-marble sarcophagus... a reclining statueof Newton... two winged boys... a huge pyramid... and... an enormous orb.
"Did you know about that?" Sophie said, sounding startled.
Langdon shook his head, also surprised.
"Those look like constellations carved on it," Sophie said.
As they approached the niche, Langdon felt a slow sinking sensation. Newton's tomb was coveredwith orbs—stars, comets, planets. You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb? It could turn out tobe like trying to find a missing blade of grass on a golf course.
"Astronomical bodies," Sophie said, looking concerned. "And a lot of them."Langdon frowned. The only link between the planets and the Grail that Langdon could imaginewas the pentacle of Venus, and he had already tried the password "Venus" en route to the TempleChurch.
Sophie moved directly to the sarcophagus, but Langdon hung back a few feet, keeping an eye onthe abbey around them.
"Divinity," Sophie said, tilting her head and reading the titles of the books on which Newton wasleaning. "Chronology. Opticks. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica?" She turned tohim. "Ring any bells?"Langdon stepped closer, considering it. "Principia Mathematica, as I remember, has something todo with the gravitation pull of planets... which admittedly are orbs, but it seems a little far-fetched.""How about the signs of the zodiac?" Sophie asked, pointing to the constellations on the orb. "Youwere talking about Pisces and Aquarius earlier, weren't you?"The End of Days, Langdon thought. "The end of Pisces and the beginning of Aquarius wasallegedly the historical marker at which the Priory planned to release the Sangreal documents to theworld." But the millennium came and went without incident, leaving historians uncertain when thetruth was coming.
"It seems possible," Sophie said, "that the Priory's plans to reveal the truth might be related to thelast line of the poem."It speaks of Rosy flesh and seeded womb. Langdon felt a shiver of potential. He had not consideredthe line that way before.
"You told me earlier," she said, "that the timing of the Priory's plans to unveil the truth about 'theRose' and her fertile womb was linked directly to the position of planets—orbs."Langdon nodded, feeling the first faint wisps of possibility materializing. Even so, his intuition toldhim astronomy was not the key. The Grand Master's previous solutions had all possessed aneloquent, symbolic significance—the Mona Lisa, Madonna of the Rocks, SOFIA. This eloquencewas definitely lacking in the concept of planetary orbs and the zodiac. Thus far, Jacques Saunièrehad proven himself a meticulous code writer, and Langdon had to believe that his finalpassword—those five letters that unlocked the Priory's ultimate secret—would prove to be not onlysymbolically fitting but also crystal clear. If this solution were anything like the others, it would bepainfully obvious once it dawned.
"Look!" Sophie gasped, jarring his thoughts as she grabbed his arm. From the fear in her touchLangdon sensed someone must be approaching, but when he turned to her, she was staring aghastat the top of the black marble sarcophagus. "Someone was here," she whispered, pointing to a spoton the sarcophagus near Newton's outstretched right foot.
Langdon did not understand her concern. A careless tourist had left a charcoal, grave-rubbingpencil on the sarcophagus lid near Newton's foot. It's nothing. Langdon reached out to pick it up,but as he leaned toward the sarcophagus, the light shifted on the polished black-marble slab, andLangdon froze. Suddenly, he saw why Sophie was afraid.
Scrawled on the sarcophagus lid, at Newton's feet, shimmered a barely visible charcoal-pencilmessage:
I have Teabing.
Go through Chapter House,out south exit, to public garden.
Langdon read the words twice, his heart pounding wildly.
Sophie turned and scanned the nave.
Despite the pall of trepidation that settled over him upon seeing the words, Langdon told himselfthis was good news. Leigh is still alive. There was another implication here too. "They don't knowthe password either," he whispered.
Sophie nodded. Otherwise why make their presence known?
"They may want to trade Leigh for the password.""Or it's a trap."Langdon shook his head. "I don't think so. The garden is outside the abbey walls. A very publicplace." Langdon had once visited the abbey's famous College Garden—a small fruit orchard andherb garden—left over from the days when monks grew natural pharmacological remedies here.
Boasting the oldest living fruit trees in Great Britain, College Garden was a popular spot fortourists to visit without having to enter the abbey. "I think sending us outside is a show of faith. Sowe feel safe."Sophie looked dubious. "You mean outside, where there are no metal detectors?"Langdon scowled. She had a point.
Gazing back at the orb-filled tomb, Langdon wished he had some idea about the cryptexpassword... something with which to negotiate. I got Leigh involved in this, and I'll do whatever ittakes if there is a chance to help him.
"The note says to go through the Chapter House to the south exit," Sophie said. "Maybe from theexit we would have a view of the garden? That way we could assess the situation before we walkedout there and exposed ourselves to any danger?"The idea was a good one. Langdon vaguely recalled the Chapter House as a huge octagonal hallwhere the original British Parliament convened in the days before the modern Parliament buildingexisted. It had been years since he had been there, but he remembered it being out through thecloister somewhere. Taking several steps back from the tomb, Langdon peered around the choirscreen to his right, across the nave to the side opposite that which they had descended.
A gaping vaulted passageway stood nearby, with a large sign.
THIS WAY TO:
CLOISTERSDEANERYCOLLEGE HALLMUSEUMPYX CHAMBERST. FAITH'S CHAPELCHAPTER HOUSELangdon and Sophie were jogging as they passed beneath the sign, moving too quickly to noticethe small announcement apologizing that certain areas were closed for renovations.
They emerged immediately into a high-walled, open-roof courtyard through which morning rainwas falling. Above them, the wind howled across the opening with a low drone, like someoneblowing over the mouth of a bottle. Entering the narrow, low-hanging walkways that bordered thecourtyard perimeter, Langdon felt the familiar uneasiness he always felt in enclosed spaces. Thesewalkways were called cloisters, and Langdon noted with uneasiness that these particular cloisterslived up to their Latin ties to the word claustrophobic.
Focusing his mind straight ahead toward the end of the tunnel, Langdon followed the signs for theChapter House. The rain was spitting now, and the walkway was cold and damp with gusts of rainthat blew through the lone pillared wall that was the cloister's only source of light. Another couplescurried past them the other way, hurrying to get out of the worsening weather. The cloisterslooked deserted now, admittedly the abbey's least enticing section in the wind and rain.
Forty yards down the east cloister, an archway materialized on their left, giving way to anotherhallway. Although this was the entrance they were looking for, the opening was cordoned off by aswag and an official-looking sign.
CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONPYX CHAMBERST. FAITH'S CHAPELCHAPTER HOUSEThe long, deserted corridor beyond the swag was littered with scaffolding and drop cloths.
Immediately beyond the swag, Langdon could see the entrances to the Pyx Chamber and St. Faith'sChapel on the right and left. The entrance to the Chapter House, however, was much farther away,at the far end of the long hallway. Even from here, Langdon could see that its heavy wooden doorwas wide open, and the spacious octagonal interior was bathed in a grayish natural light from theroom's enormous windows that looked out on College Garden. Go through Chapter House, outsouth exit, to public garden.
"We just left the east cloister," Langdon said, "so the south exit to the garden must be through thereand to the right."Sophie was already stepping over the swag and moving forward.
As they hurried down the dark corridor, the sounds of the wind and rain from the open cloisterfaded behind them. The Chapter House was a kind of satellite structure—a freestanding annex atthe end of the long hallway to ensure the privacy of the Parliament proceedings housed there.
"It looks huge," Sophie whispered as they approached.
Langdon had forgotten just how large this room was. Even from outside the entrance, he couldgaze across the vast expanse of floor to the breathtaking windows on the far side of the octagon,which rose five stories to a vaulted ceiling. They would certainly have a clear view of the gardenfrom in here.
Crossing the threshold, both Langdon and Sophie found themselves having to squint. After thegloomy cloisters, the Chapter House felt like a solarium. They were a good ten feet into the room,searching the south wall, when they realized the door they had been promised was not there.
They were standing in an enormous dead end.
The creaking of a heavy door behind them made them turn, just as the door closed with aresounding thud and the latch fell into place.
The lone man who had been standing behind the door looked calm as he aimed a small revolver atthem. He was portly and was propped on a pair of aluminum crutches.
For a moment Langdon thought he must be dreaming.
It was Leigh Teabing.
兰登与索菲沿着北边的侧廊缓缓而行，他们的身体一直隐没在将侧廊与空旷的教堂正殿分开的诸多石柱后面的阴影里。虽然他们沿着正殿已经走了大半的距离，但还是没能看到牛顿坟墓的踪影。他的石棺隐藏在壁龛里，从这里斜眼看过去，显得模糊不清。
"至少那边应该没人吧。"索菲低声地说。
兰登点点头，轻松了许多。在教堂正殿靠近牛顿坟墓的那整块地方，现在是人影全无。"我先过去看看，"他小声对索菲说："你最好还是躲起来，万一有人--"
索菲已经从石柱的阴影里走了出来，从开阔的地面向对面走去。
"--在盯梢的话。"兰登叹了口气，急忙跟上了她。
他们沿教堂正殿的斜对面走去，当他们看到那造型精致的坟墓一下子冒出来时，彼此都保持着沉默。黑色大理石的石棺、牛顿爵士斜着身子的雕像、两个长有翅膀的孩童像、巨大的金字塔……还有一只庞大的圆球。
"你知道那东西是什么吗？"索菲关切地问。
兰登摇了摇头，也有点惊讶。
"它们像是刻在上面的星球。"索菲说。
他们朝壁龛走去，这时，兰登的心逐渐下沉。牛顿的坟墓上布满了各种各样的星球--有恒星、彗星、还有行星。"你们寻找的圆球，本应在这位骑士的墓里？"这看起来有点像是在大海里捞针呐。
"星球，都是星球，"索菲满脸关切地说："有很多呢。"
兰登皱起眉头。他能想起来的行星与圣杯的唯一联系，就是金星（Venus）的五角星形，况且他在去圣殿教堂的路上已经试过"Venus"这个词。
索菲径直向石棺走去，然而兰登却在几步之后的地方畏缩不前，他将身边的教堂巡视了一遍。
"《论神性》，"索菲歪着头，读着牛顿倚靠着的那些书的名字。"《论运动》、《光学》以及《自然哲学中的数学原理》？"她转向他说："你听出什么来了吗？"
兰登走上前，仔细斟酌着。"我记得数学原理跟行星之间的引力有点关系。老实说它们也是球体，但总让人觉得有点牵强。""那黄道十二宫呢？"索菲指着圆球上的星体说。"你刚才说的是双鱼和宝瓶星座吧？"
是世界末日，兰登心想。"双鱼座的尾和宝瓶座的头据说是郇山隐修会计划将《圣杯文献》公开给世人的历史性标志。"然而新的千年来了又去了，却平安无事，让历史学家们不能确定真相何时能够大白。
"这有可能，"索菲说："郇山隐修会计划将真相泄露出去也许跟诗的最后一句有关系。
""它道破了玫瑰般肌肤与受孕子宫的秘密。"兰登不禁打了个冷战。他以前还没有这样想过呢。
"你以前告诉过我，郇山隐修会计划将"圣洁的玫瑰"以及她怀孕的实施泄露出去的时间安排与行星位置直接有联系。"兰登点了点头，表示同意，开始觉得出现了些微的可能性。虽说是这样，但直觉告诉他，天文学并不是揭开真相的一把钥匙。这位大师以前设置的解决方案，都具有说服力且具有象征性的意义---如《蒙娜丽莎》、《岩间圣母》以及SOFIA 等。这种说服力在行星以及黄道十二宫的概念中显然是缺乏的。所以，到目前为止，雅克。索尼埃证明了他是一位细心的编码者，而兰登不得不相信他最后编制的密码--那个未能揭开郇山隐修会绝对隐私的由五个字母组成的词--到头来将不仅很具有象征意义，而且也非常简单明了。假如这种解决方法跟其他一样的话，那么一旦弄清楚，它也许会浅显到令人痛苦的地步。
"快看。"索菲气喘吁吁地说，她一把抓住兰登的胳膊。将他纷飞的思绪给打断了。从她惊恐的触摸里，兰登感到肯定有人向他们走来，然而当他转身面对她时，他发现她正吃惊地瞪大着眼睛，看着黑色大理石棺的顶部。"有人刚来过这里了。"她指着牛顿爵士张开的右脚附近的一个地方，轻声地说。
兰登并不知道她在关心什么。一位粗心的游客，将摹拓碑文的炭笔忘在牛顿脚下附近的石棺盖上了。那算什么。兰登伸出了手，将它捡起来，然而当他向石棺俯过身，一束光线照射在擦拭一新的黑色大理石的石棺上，他顿时呆住了。很快，他明白了索菲害怕的根由。
有人在石棺的棺盖上，牛顿塑像的底部，用炭笔潦草地写了几行几乎难以看清的字，散发着微弱的光。
提彬在我手上。
你们穿过牧师会礼堂，出了南门，再到花园里。
兰登读了两遍，他的心剧烈地跳了起来。
索菲掉转身，迅速地将正殿扫视了一遍。
兰登看到这几行字，虽然恐惧不已，但还是努力说服自己这是一个很不错的消息。
雷。提彬还活着呢；当然其中还有另外一层含义。"他们也不知道密码。"兰登低声地说。
索菲点了点头。要不然他们怎么会让别人知道他们的行踪呢？
"他们可能要拿雷。提彬来交换密码。"
"也许是个陷阱呢。"
兰登摇摇头。"我不这样认为。花园就在教堂外面，是个很公开的地方。"他曾来过该教堂有名的学院花园一次--那是个很小的果园，也是一个种植药草的花园--它是自修道士们种植天然药材之日起留下来的。学院花园号称拥有全英国至今仍然存活的最古老的果树，它是一个极受游客欢迎的地方，不需要跑到教堂里去，在外面就可以看到。"我想把我们叫到外面去是有信用的表现，所以我们用不着担心安全。"索菲却不相信："你是说到外面去对吧？那里可没有什么金属检测器呢。"
兰登满面愁容，因为索菲说到了点子上。
他回头凝视着刻满星球的坟墓，希望能从中找出破译密码盒密码的线索……并想出了一些讨价还价的对策。是我把雷。提彬牵连了进来，如果还有机会，我一定要想方设法救他出来。
"那留言要我们穿过牧师会礼堂再到教堂的南面出口，"索菲说："或许我们从出口处就可以看到花园呢？那样的话，在从那里出去并陷入到危险处境之前，我们也许可见机行事呢。"这倒是个不错的主意。兰登隐约记得，牧师会礼堂是一个偌大的八角形大厅，那里是现代英国议会大厦建成之前最初举行议会的地方。他已经很多年没去那里了，但他记得是从某个游廊穿过去的。他往后退了几步，沿着右边的内坛巡视了一圈，又将目光投向对面他们刚才上来的教堂正殿。
一座带有许多洞眼的拱顶门就在附近，可以看到一块很大的招牌。
从这里通往：各个游廊牧师住宅教士厅博物馆圣体存放室圣费斯教堂牧师会礼堂兰登与索菲是一路小跑从那招牌下经过的，他们跑得太快了，所以没看到告示上阐明有些地方正由于内部装修而暂时关闭的道歉性文字。
他们立刻来到四面都是高墙，没有屋顶的院子里。清晨的雨正下着，风从他们的头上掠过，发出阵阵"嗡嗡"的低鸣，仿佛有人用嘴在对着瓶口吹奏。他们进入那狭窄的、稍微有点倾斜的、紧挨着院子的过道里。兰登感到每次在密闭的空间里时那种熟悉的不安又在心底升腾。这些过道，又叫做游廊。兰登也不安地注意到这些别致的游廊（cloisters）与claustrophobic（幽闭恐怖症）这个拉丁词间的某种联系。
兰登一心朝隧道的尽头走去，他按照招牌上的提示，找寻着通往牧师会礼堂的方向。
春雨霏霏，走廊上又湿又冷。一阵阵雨，从走廊光线的唯一进口--那堵孤单的柱形墙外面灌了进来。这时，有两个人从对面匆匆地跑来，急于摆脱眼下难堪的处境。游廊上现在冷冷清清，诚然，在刮风下雨的日子里，这座教堂最不吸引人的地方，恐怕就是游廊了。
他们沿着东边游廊走上四十码，在他们的左边出现了一座拱门，拱门又通向另一条走廊。尽管这是他们正要寻找的人口，但进口处却被悬挂的饰物和公告牌封闭起来了。牌子上写着：以下几处内部改造，暂停开放：圣体存放室圣费斯教堂牧师会礼堂从那幅悬挂的饰物看过去，那条漫长而又冷清的走廊，乱七八糟堆满了脚手架和废弃的衣服。兰登透过悬挂的饰物的间隙，很快看到了分别通往圣体存放室和圣费斯教堂的一左一右的两个入口。不过，牧师会礼堂的入口离这里要远得多，就在那长长的走廊尽头。
不过，即使是从这里，兰登也能看到它敞开着的厚重的木门，而它的八角形内厅，则沐浴在从巨大的窗户外面照进来的灰蒙蒙的自然光线里。这些窗户正好面对学院花园。"你们穿过牧师会礼堂，出了南门，再到花园里。""我们刚离开东边的游廊，"兰登说："所以通往花园的南面出口一定要经过那里，然后向右行。"索菲这时已经从悬挂的饰物上走过去，一路向前行。
他们沿着昏暗的走廊迈着匆匆的步子，游廊上的风雨声渐渐远去了。牧师会礼堂是一种类似于卫星般陪衬的建筑结构--它是矗立在这条长长的走廊尽头独立于其他房子的附属建筑物，这是为确保议会活动能在这里秘密举行。
"看来很大啊。"索菲边走边轻声地说。
兰登已记不清这间屋子到底有多大。因为即使站在大门外面，他也能够越过宽阔的地面看到远处这间八角形大厅对面大得惊人的窗户。这些窗户有五层楼高，一直伸展到有拱顶的天花板上，所以他们当然可从这里清楚地看到花园。
他们跨过门坎，发现自己只能眯着眼睛看了。与阴沉沉的游廊相比，牧师会礼堂就像是一间日光浴室。他们朝厅里足足走了十步，寻找南面的那堵墙，这才发现所要找的那道门并不在那里。
他们正站在偌大的死胡同里。
突然，那扇沉重的木门"吱呀"一声开了，又被重重地关上，随即门闩也被插上，惊得他俩赶忙转过身来。
那个一直站在门背后的男人神态自若，手持一把小型左轮手枪，正对准了他们。他身材粗壮，倚靠在两根铝制拐杖上。
兰登一时还以为自己是在做梦呢。
此人不是别人，正是他要找的雷。提彬。