"The initials read 'settle' and the finals 'legacy'," said Cicely. "How very queer! That hasn't anything to do with flowers."
"Let us look at the end lines again," said Lindsay, and she read aloud:
Please take my initials and finals likewise:
The former you'll find to be hiding the latter;
If you've solved the enigma you'll see 'tis a matter
Perchance may provide you with just a lost link,
And bring you a greater reward than you think.
"The initials hide the finals. 'Settle' hides 'Legacy'," repeated Cicely meditatively.
"Why, I see it now!" burst out Lindsay suddenly. "Oh, Cicely, I believe it means a great deal more than an ordinary riddle! It has something to do with the lost treasure. Don't you understand? The settle is hiding the legacy—Monica's legacy!"
"Oh, surely not!" exclaimed Cicely, bouncing up in great excitement.
"But I really think so. The poetry says the enigma is 'to provide the lost link' and 'bring a greater reward than you think'. This is indeed a discovery! It's evidently intended to tell Monica where her money is to be found."
"Can we be quite, quite certain?" hesitated Cicely.
"Well, everything seems to point to it. Don't you recollect Irene Spencer said that in old Sir Giles' will he left 'the Manor and all that it may contain to my great-niece Monica, especially commending to her the volumes in my library, and advising her to pursue the study of botany'? I remember those were the exact words. This must have been the reason. He had written the secret of the hiding-place inside the Floral Calendar, and he thought she would find it there. Perhaps he wasn't so very mad after all."
"I wonder if Monica has seen it and puzzled it out?"