"And yet," thought John, "our ingenious friend, 'Crumbs,' seems to have thought out a plan which evades every one of their precautions."
The ingenuity and simplicity of "Crumbs's" plan struck him with astonishment. It was clear to John that "Crumbs" regularly placed his innocent-looking messages on the sands, to be subsequently taken up by a confederate who came ashore from a submarine in the darkness.
"Cunning isn't the word for him," thought John, as he hurried towards the fort.
CHAPTER XIV
A few minutes later in his own room and by candle-light he set to work to find a meaning for the arrangement of little pebbles "Crumbs" had placed upon the foreshore. A dozen times he went over the dot-dash lines in his pocket-book, and each time the hidden meaning intensified in clarity. Finally, he began to write with a sudden vivid and passionate interest.
The first word defined was "Oberst." Then he continued slowly and carefully: "Mistrauish und aufgeregt. Neue Minen karte in Händen des Capitans. Nicht möglich es sofort zu finden. Von R. ist nichts zu hören. Ganze geschichte schwierig. Bitte um antwort.—S.
"So, friend 'Crumbs' is a German after all, and an educated German at that," he exclaimed under his breath.
Then he took his pencil and began to translate the message. The result in English was as follows:
"Colonel suspicious and nervous. New mine chart in hands of naval commander; impossible to find it at once. No news of R. Matters difficult. Answer this.—S."
John looked up with a grave face. Almost for the first time he felt a doubt. In that moment he almost doubted even Dacent Smith's power to cope with such subtlety, such ingenious co-ordination as this.