With the knife Roger then carefully trimmed the quill of the small feather down into a fairly effective pen, and then turned his attention once more to the cipher.
Harry, who for some time past had been feeling the pangs of hunger rather severely, remonstrated with his friend.
“Look here, Roger,” said he, “let us eat our dinner before going on with that translation. I am feeling very hungry.”
“No, my friend,” replied Roger, “there is no time like the present. For aught we know we may never have another opportunity to work on this cryptogram. Our food can wait, and we shall relish it the more when we have time to eat it; but let us get finished with this matter first.”
Harry saw the wisdom of his chum’s remark, and, casting one more longing glance at the food, rejoined Roger at the stone table, and both lads began to pore over the paper again.
“Now,” remarked Roger, “you will notice that the lines of figures are far enough apart to allow us to write the letters corresponding to each group of them directly underneath, and that will be a great help to us; but we will write nothing until we are quite certain that we have hit upon the correct method of solving this cryptogram.
“You will remember, Harry, that by going over all the figures, we deduced that the number 34 represented the letter E. You will notice that this number, 34, is made up of many different groups of two figures, such as 17 and 17, 14 and 20, 12 and 22, 16 and 18, 15 and 19, 13 and 21, and so forth; but that, I fancy, is only done to make the solving of the cipher more difficult. Now, assuming the letter A to be 30, B to be 31, C to be 32, D to be 33, E, as we have reckoned, 34, let us apply this method to the figures and see what we get.
“We have already surmised that the number 1581 stands for no particular letter, but is really what it seems most likely to be, that is, the year in which this cryptogram was invented and written. Besides which, 15 and 81 added, according to the system we are now employing, would make 96, a number which has no letter corresponding to it.
“Now take the first group of figures, which is 2227. Divided into two groups of two figures each, and added to one another, as we intend to proceed, this makes 49. Now what letter corresponds to the number 49? We find that the letter I does. Take the next group, which is 1819. This resolves itself into 37, and H is the letter belonging to that figure. From 1919 we get 38, and the letter I; and from 2622 comes 48, and the letter S. Now you see, Harry, that by this method we have already got the English word ‘This’; and from that it would seem that we are at last on the right track for translating the cryptogram. From the next two groups we get the word ‘is’, and from the following three the word ‘the’. I think now, Harry, that we may begin and write down the translation as we go along; for I feel sure that we are right at last. It would be more than mere coincidence if the words ‘This is the’ were not part of a connected and intelligible whole. So just hand me that knife, Harry, boy, and I will produce the necessary ink.”
Harry did as he was requested; and, taking the weapon, Roger made a small but sufficiently deep incision in his left arm to produce the necessary amount of blood for their “ink”. Dipping the improvised pen in his own blood, Roger began to write under the groups of figures the letters which corresponded to them; and, prompted by Harry, it was not long ere he had the whole translation written down. And when this was completed he wiped the blood off his arm, and hid the pen in the lining of his jerkin. Then with much satisfaction he read out the true meaning of the cryptogram which he had held for so long a time in his possession, and which Alvarez would have sold his soul to secure. It ran as follows:—