“There are two books that might have been used as keys, two books that would naturally have large vocabularies, and in which the pages would be divided into an A column and a B column. They’re the Bible and the dictionary.”
“And because Junior mentioned his dictionary, you think...”
“There’s been a lot of talk about a dictionary,” Mason agreed, taking the wrappings off the package. “No one’s said very much about a Bible. Junior has his dictionary, and he isn’t able to keep his hands on it because his Aunt Rebecca is constantly borrowing it. She says that her interest in it is due to crossword puzzles, but that might not be true. In any event, the dictionary looks like a good lead.”
“How do you know which dictionary?”
“I happened to notice the dictionary on the table when I was out at Gentries’. It’s a Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Fifth Edition.”
“Then the numbers refer to pages?”
“That’s right. For instance, the first word in the code message would be the nineteenth word from the top in the A column on page 192.”
“And the A column would be the first one?”
“That’s right. The one on the left.”
Della Street said, “Gosh, Chief, I’m so excited. I’m trembling. Let’s see what it is.”