From which some mighty truths were took.”
“There are six words,” said Jimmy, and scribbled them down as he spoke:—
| “Bolt (or Bolts). | Leave (or Leaves). |
| Door. | Water. |
| Mouth. | Bowl. |
Each one stands for a letter—but what letter?”
“It’s rather hopeless if the old man has searched round for all sorts of out-of-the-way objects, and allowed them to stand for letters of the alphabet,” said Angel.
The girl murmured something, and met Jimmy’s inquiring eyes.
“I was only saying,” she said hesitatingly, “that there seems to be a method in all this.”
“Except,” said Jimmy, “for this,” and he pointed to the crossed-out duck. “By that it would seem that Reale chose his symbols haphazard, and that the duck not pleasing him, he substituted the snake.”
“But,” said Kathleen, addressing Angel, “doesn’t it seem strange that an illiterate man like Mr. Reale should make even these rough sketches unless he had a model to draw from?”
“Miss Kent is right,” said Jimmy quickly.