"I should like to do bithness with your father, mith. So that thale ith all right?"
"It is all right," agreed Tera, gravely; "you gave two thousand pounds for the pearls, and they belong to you."
"Ah!" said the Hebrew, with relief, "that ith tho. Well, mith and mithter Finland, I give you one pieth of advith. Don't you thell such beautiful pearlth tho cheap again. And now," he added, trotting towards the dinner-table, "I can eat a morthel."
While this matter was being settled. Chard was talking to Rachel about the cypher letter, and the cunning way in which Jacob Shackel had bamboozled him.
"The old rascal wanted to make a fine effect in court, of course," said he, laughing, "for he might as well have told me at the time that the young lady was alive. I wish I had known the cypher myself. I must get Finland to show it to me."
"I can do that," answered Rachel, fishing in her pocket for a pencil, "for it was I who taught Jack the cypher. He finds it useful in many ways in business. But as he is going to the South Seas, I can tell it to you. Do you know the game of noughts and crosses and criss-cross, Mr. Chard?"
"What do you mean?" asked the inspector.
"I'll show you. Here is a piece of paper. Observe now." And Rachel drew two diagrams, which she proceeded to fill up with letters.
Key to the Code, page 202