Key to the hidden box

The Key to the hidden box is a key on a string that reaches George’s shepherd’s caravan by way of a magpie and opens the hidden box beneath the dolmen. Its passage from an unexplained glittering object to the means of uncovering the box connects Rebecca’s discovery with the sheep’s plan to lead her to it.

Appearance and Arrival

After Beth offers to pray for Rebecca, she stands with her eyes closed while the sheep graze in the evening. A magpie flies from the crows’ tree, briefly perches on Melmoth, then continues to the roof of George’s shepherd’s caravan. Something shining like fire in the sunset falls from its beak and lands with a clink on the caravan’s top step. Rebecca rises, laughing, and jokes to Beth that she should have known prayer worked so well.

Discovery and Use

A little later, Rebecca comes out of the caravan and notices the object glittering on the steps. With the sun lower, it looks to her more like spilled blood than fire. She finds a key on a string and slips it into her skirt pocket, without stopping to investigate. A crying lamb draws her toward the dolmen. There, the sheep watch as she discovers the hidden box; Othello has already scraped away earth to make it easier for her to find. Rebecca takes out the key and opens the box.

What the Key Reveals

Rebecca kneels to remove a small packet. She bites through its string, hears plastic crackle, and feels something dry crumble in her fingers. The sheep sniff it alongside her; its smell is strange but appetizing. Mopple the Whale immediately recognizes that it can be eaten. The key thus serves a direct practical purpose, but its arrival also marks the transition from Rebecca’s unknowing encounter with the object to the discovery the flock has prepared for her.