As the Hawker leveled off, with its nose aimed for England, Langdon carefully lifted the rosewoodbox from his lap, where he had been protecting it during takeoff. Now, as he set the box on thetable, he could sense Sophie and Teabing leaning forward with anticipation.

　　Unlatching the lid and opening the box, Langdon turned his attention not to the lettered dials of thecryptex, but rather to the tiny hole on the underside of the box lid. Using the tip of a pen, hecarefully removed the inlaid Rose on top and revealed the text beneath it. Sub Rosa, he mused,hoping a fresh look at the text would bring clarity. Focusing all his energies, Langdon studied thestrange text.

　　strange textAfter several seconds, he began to feel the initial frustration resurfacing. "Leigh, I just can't seem toplace it."From where Sophie was seated across the table, she could not yet see the text, but Langdon'sinability to immediately identify the language surprised her. My grandfather spoke a language soobscure that even a symbologist can't identify it? She quickly realized she should not find thissurprising. This would not be the first secret Jacques Saunière had kept from his granddaughter.

　　Opposite Sophie, Leigh Teabing felt ready to burst. Eager for his chance to see the text, hequivered with excitement, leaning in, trying to see around Langdon, who was still hunched over thebox.

　　"I don't know," Langdon whispered intently. "My first guess is a Semitic, but now I'm not so sure.

　　Most primary Semitics include nekkudot. This has none.""Probably ancient," Teabing offered.

　　"Nekkudot?" Sophie inquired.

　　Teabing never took his eyes from the box. "Most modern Semitic alphabets have no vowels anduse nekkudot—tiny dots and dashes written either below or within the consonants—to indicatewhat vowel sound accompanies them. Historically speaking, nekkudot are a relatively modernaddition to language."Langdon was still hovering over the script. "A Sephardic transliteration, perhaps...?"Teabing could bear it no longer. "Perhaps if I just..." Reaching over, he edged the box away fromLangdon and pulled it toward himself. No doubt Langdon had a solid familiarity with the standardancients—Greek, Latin, the Romances—but from the fleeting glance Teabing had of this language,he thought it looked more specialized, possibly a Rashi script or a STA'M with crowns.

　　Taking a deep breath, Teabing feasted his eyes upon the engraving. He said nothing for a very longtime. With each passing second, Teabing felt his confidence deflating. "I'm astonished," he said.

　　"This language looks like nothing I've ever seen!"Langdon slumped.

　　"Might I see it?" Sophie asked.

　　Teabing pretended not to hear her. "Robert, you said earlier that you thought you'd seen somethinglike this before?"Langdon looked vexed. "I thought so. I'm not sure. The script looks familiar somehow.""Leigh?" Sophie repeated, clearly not appreciating being left out of the discussion. "Might I have alook at the box my grandfather made?""Of course, dear," Teabing said, pushing it over to her. He hadn't meant to sound belittling, and yetSophie Neveu was light-years out of her league. If a British Royal Historian and a Harvardsymbologist could not even identify the language—"Aah," Sophie said, seconds after examining the box. "I should have guessed."Teabing and Langdon turned in unison, staring at her.

　　"Guessed what?" Teabing demanded.

　　Sophie shrugged. "Guessed that this would be the language my grandfather would have used.""You're saying you can read this text?" Teabing exclaimed.

　　"Quite easily," Sophie chimed, obviously enjoying herself now. "............