The two listened most intently for some minutes, with their ears pressed up against the wall and door, but caught no sound from outside. So, after waiting a little time longer, to make perfectly certain, they both returned to the task in hand.
“Now let us go on where we left off just now,” Harry suggested. “You say that we want to find out the number that occurs most often in the cryptogram, and allow that to represent E.”
“That is so,” replied Roger. “Now, let us have a look through it again.”
They both counted up, and presently Harry, who had finished first, exclaimed—this time in a carefully lowered voice:
“Well, the number 34 occurs oftener than any other; that is, if you are adding the first two and last two figures of each group together.”
“Wait a moment,” said Roger, still busily counting. Then, after a pause, he added:
“Yes, you are right, Harry; the number 34 does occur most frequently; and we can, I am sure, take it as representing the letter E. Now, going upon that assumption, A will be represented by 30, B by 31, C by 32, D by 33, and so on. Now I believe that we have the translation in our own hands. Let us make the experiment—but we ought to write it down as we go along, or else we shall forget part of it perhaps.”
“Ay, there is the difficulty,” said Harry; “we have no writing materials and nothing which we can use instead of them.”
“Not so fast, not so fast, lad,” his friend replied. “That is a difficulty which we must find means to overcome. Let us have a look round, and first see if there is anything that we can use for a pen. If we can find such a thing, the ink will be an easy matter afterwards.”
“Indeed?” exclaimed Harry incredulously. “I pray you explain how in the world you are going to get a supply of ink?”