"Show it to me. You have it with you?"
Jack took out the paper, and unfolded it before her. She read over the postscript letter by letter:
S E O S F L S A E O A P E J E J P J J F J P J X P A P P F
"Certainly a most curious-looking sentence," said Juanita. "And have you no clue at all?"
"None whatever. I thought I had. I made sure I had, but when I tried to work it out in the cipher it proved useless."
"What was it?"
"Well, I had never told anyone. Your father said I was to burn the letter as soon as I received it, and I did so; but now that things have altogether changed, there can be no harm in telling you all about it. In the letter I received at Salamanca, Don Fernan said that I was to remember the phrase, 'Palafox the Man, Palafox the Name'. It occurred to me, of course, that the clue to the cipher might be found in that phrase; but, try it as I might, I couldn't make anything of it. You see, the cipher message contains all the letters of the word Palafox, but there are a number of J's and other letters that have nothing to do with it."
"And you gave it up!" exclaimed Juanita, with some scorn. "Just like a boy!"
"Really, Juanita—" began Jack, but she interrupted him.
"Don't talk. Let me see if I've a little more perseverance. I count six P's, three A'S, one L, three F's, two O's, and one X; that accounts for PALAFOX. Why are there so many P's? Besides, there are four E'S, six J's, and three S's. What can EJS stand for? EJS, ESJ, JES, JSE—I see it! Take an O out of PALAFOX and you have JOSÉ. That is the name of our old servant, and of the Captain-General too. Now, do you see, Señor Don Juan?—the key to the cipher is JOSÉ PALAFOX."