The talk here became somewhat rambling, Price not having read WO₂ and wanting to know what it was about, but French soon reverted to his photograph. He reminded his hearers that they were all interested in its elucidation. Miss Merrill’s safety, his own professional credit, Cheyne’s peace of mind, and Price’s fortune, all were at stake.
“We have,” he went on, “evolved the idea that perhaps this tracing may be a map of England. On further thought that suggestion does not seem promising, but as we have no other let us work on it. Assume it is a map of England, and let us see if it leads us anywhere.” There were murmurs of assent from his hearers, and he continued: “Now it seems to me the first thing to do is to try if we can fit these circles and lines into the map of England. Is there anything corresponding to them in English geography?”
No one being able to answer this query, French went on:
“I think we must distinguish between the letter circles on the one hand and those of the numbers and lines on the other. The position of the former was not altered in the faked copy; that of the latter was. From this may we not assume that the message lies in the numbers and lines only? Possibly the letters were added as a blind, as we have already assumed the words ‘expects every man to do his duty’ were added as a blind to ‘England.’ Suppose at all events that we eliminate the letter circles and concentrate on the others for our first effort?”
“That sounds all right.”
“Good. Then let us go a step further. Have you noticed the distribution of the numbers, letters and lines? The numbers are bunched, roughly speaking, towards the center, the letters round the edge, and the irregular lines between the two. Does this central mass give us anything?”
“I get you,” Price replied. He had risen and begun to pace the room, but now he returned to the table and stood looking down at the photograph. “You know, as a matter of fact,” he went on slowly, “if, as you say, you take that central part which contains numbers only, the shape of the thing is not so very unlike England after all. Suppose the numbers represent land and the letters sea. Then this patch of letters in the top left-hand corner might be the Irish Sea, and this larger patch to the right the North Sea. And look, the letter circles form a band across the bottom. What price that for the English Channel?”
French crossed the room, and taking a small atlas from a shelf, opened it at the map of England and laid it down beside the photograph. With a rising excitement all three compared them. Then Cheyne burst out irritably:
“Confound the thing! It’s like it and it’s not like it. Let’s draw a line round those number circles and see if it makes anything like the shape.” He seized the photograph and took out a pencil.
But just as in the scientific and industrial worlds discoveries and inventions seldom come singly, so among these three men the begetting of ideas begot more ideas. Scarcely had Cheyne spoken when French made a little gesture of comprehension.