Joseph studied the writing.
"Well, I can't make out all of the letters," he said, "but I'll translate what I can."
Taking out a piece of paper and a charcoal pencil, Joseph wrote down:
Dr--o- -orn T--pl-
"That's all I can make out," the feline said. "The rest is too burnt to read. However, I'm completely sure that this last word is 'Temple'." He leaned on one elbow as he though. "Racdrops, this is hard..."
He suddenly noticed that Thalia was watching with interest. She had changed her clothes in order to fit in better.
"Nice clothes, Thalia," Joseph said politely. "They're definitely more appropriate for serving in a pirate crew. No offense, the other clothes were fine, but you don't see the Chinese..."
And then it hit him.
"The Chinese... THAT'S IT!"
(Yes, I've actually figured it out. Don't spoil the surprise, Black-Horse.
)