Stage 11 of Twelve — Lock 11 · The Twin Bells Lock

The Twin Bells

This door is thegreatbessiehoudini.com, one of the twelve doors of the test hunt. The trunk itself waits at test.tenwordcipher.com.

Test build. No account is needed at the doors. This page holds exactly one clue; solving it reveals the key word for Lock 11. Carry the word back to the trunk and type it at Lock 11 to turn the lock.

[ The Bill ]

Two towns, two halls, two bells over two doors — and the act playing both houses on the same night, because that is what the road asked of them. The bells take turns ringing the journey, line and line about. But only one of the bells is speaking to you, and it is not the first one.

[Bell One]The first bell rings for the leaving town

[Bell Two]Morning found the trunk still chained

[Bell One]The second bell answers from the arriving one

[Bell Two]Every link we tested twice

[Bell One]Between the towns, the road keeps its own hours

[Bell Two]And still the count came back to twelve

[Bell One]The halls fill; the lamps are lit in rows

[Bell Two]Down the midway the music started

[Bell One]A poster fades where the rain got under it

[Bell Two]Over the sawdust, the hush before the trick

[Bell One]The last train argues with the first bell

[Bell Two]We counted together, and the house counted with us

[ The Clue ]

Two bells take turns in the bill above. Only Bell Two is speaking to you — its lines wear the bright tags. Take the first letter of every line Bell Two rings, in the order they ring. Six letters spell the key.

The clue is the ringing itself, in [The Bill] above — twelve lines, two bells, taking turns. Work Bell Two's lines only, then type the word below.

Type the key word

[ Hint ]

The word is the place the act always returns to between towns: grass, quiet, and room to count.