The Go Ahead Boys and the Treasure Cave

John, Fred and Grant sat and looked at one another and at the two gold pieces which lay glittering in John’s hand. Then they looked at the third copy of the code which had turned up so strangely.

“I wish Pop were here,” remarked Grant grimly.

“Why so?” inquired Fred.

“I’d like him to see those gold pieces and I’d like him to see what is written across the top of this parchment. I think after that he wouldn’t be so sure there was no treasure on this island. We’ll convince him now quick enough.”

“Let me see one of those coins,” said Fred. “What are they, anyhow?”

“Spanish, I should say,” replied John. “They’re old ones.”

“I should think so,” exclaimed Fred. “They’re worn, too, and the date is gone from this one.”

“This says seventeen something,” remarked John, examining the piece of gold which he held in his hand. “I can’t make out the rest of it.”

“They must be a couple of hundred years old, all right,” said Grant.

“Do you suppose they’ve been here all that time?”

“I can’t tell you, Grant,” said John. “I do wish we could decipher that code though. This makes it look better than ever.”

“It surely does,” Grant agreed heartily. “I’ve thought of about everything under the sun, but nothing seems to work for a cent. I’d like to catch the fellow who made up that set of figures. He must have been a fiend.”

“Not necessarily,” laughed Fred. “He was only trying to protect his property.”

“Well, I guess he did that all right,” exclaimed Grant. “He certainly did as far as I am concerned.”

“The joke of it is,” said John, “that probably the whole thing is as simple as rolling off a log. All we need is the key.”

“Yes,” cried Grant, “but if we can’t find the key what good does it do us?”

“None, I’ll admit,” replied John, “but we must find it.”

“Oh, it’s easy enough to say that,” exclaimed Grant bitterly. “I don’t notice anybody doing it, though.”

“You’re not going to give it up are you, Grant?” asked Fred in surprise. “Why this is the best encouragement we’ve had yet.”

“Give it up! Of course I’m not going to give it up. I don’t see much encouragement here though. I think it’s only more maddening. What we’ve found to-day only goes to prove that this code does tell where treasure is buried, but it doesn’t tell us how to read the code, does it? It only tantalizes us, but you can make up your mind that I’m not going to give up, even for a second.”

“What Pop said was probably true,” remarked John.

“What was that?” asked Grant.

“Why, that all of a sudden somebody would get an idea and the whole thing will be solved. I think that’s what will happen myself.”

“I hope so,” exclaimed Grant. “I wish it would be soon, too.”

“Maybe Pop already has an idea,” laughed Fred.

“I doubt it,” said John. “Where is he anyway?”

“He went for a walk.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. He just said he was going for a walk.”

“Well, let’s go down and take a swim,” exclaimed Fred. “It’s awfully hot and a little water certainly wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I should say not,” laughed John. “I never saw so much dirt on any man’s face in all my life. You’re a sight.”

“I know it,” Fred agreed. “Still,” he added, “I found a couple of gold pieces, didn’t I? And I’m always willing to get dirty under those conditions.”

“I guess you are,” agreed John. “How much do you suppose they’re worth?”

“Well,” said Grant, “they look to me about the size of a twenty-dollar gold piece. They ought to be worth thirty-five or forty dollars easily enough.”

“Just imagine finding a whole chest full of them,” exclaimed Fred, his eyes shining. “Why, we’d never have to do any work as long as we lived.”

“We’d soon get tired of doing nothing, I’m afraid,” said Grant. “Anyway we haven’t found them yet.”

“Don’t talk about it,” exclaimed John. “That code is the most maddening thing I ever saw.”

The three boys now were walking down towards the shore. Their favorite spot in which to swim was the little ledge from which they had watched the many colored fish and the various forms of sea-life the first day they had landed on the island. Here the water was deep and the ledge made an excellent place from which to dive.

A few moments later the three friends were puffing and blowing about in the water enjoying themselves immensely. Their bodies from long exposure to the rays of the tropical sun were tanned until they might have been easily mistaken for South Sea islanders or some other natives of the hot climates. Their hair, too, had grown long, for it had been many weeks since they had seen a barber. What few clothes they wore were beginning to hang in rags so that altogether they presented a strange appearance. Any chance visitor to their island might have thought he had run across the remnants of some wild race of savages.

“Well, that was pretty good, I should say,” said John luxuriously as he stretched himself out on the rocks alongside his two companions.

“It surely was,” agreed Fred. “This is about the best part of it, though.”

“What is?”

“Lying out in the sun this way. Doesn’t it feel good?”

“It couldn’t be better,” agreed Grant. “Isn’t this a lazy life?”

“It’s a good one, though,” said John. “Just think, we haven’t a thing to worry about. All we have to do is swim and sleep and lie around in the sun.”

“I should say we had plenty to worry about,” said Fred.

“Getting home, you mean?”

“Yes. We can’t stay here all our lives, you know.”

“Of course not,” John agreed. “We’ll be picked up some day though, sure. We can’t do anything in the meantime that will help us to leave here, so what’s the use in worrying about it? That’s the way I feel.”

“That’s all right, too,” exclaimed Fred. “Still, it’s a very strange thing that we don’t ever see any boats. We may be here for years.”

“What if we are? That doesn’t make anything to worry about either.”

“How about the treasure?” demanded Grant. “Doesn’t that worry you?”

“Sometimes it does,” admitted John. “I’m principally worried for fear some boat will come along and take us away before we find it.”

“Let’s all go back to the cave and make another try at that code,” exclaimed Grant, springing to his feet.

“I’ve got to go in that water again before I do anything else,” said John. “It certainly is wonderful to-day.”

“All right,” agreed Fred. “One more dive.”

Three bodies flashed through the air and disappeared beneath the water with a resounding splash. A moment later and three heads came to the surface.

“Coming out?” demanded Grant, blowing the water from his nostrils and shaking the hair out of his eyes.

“I think I’ll take a little swim,” said John. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“We’ll wait for you,” said Fred. “Don’t be long.”

“I’ll be right out,” exclaimed John as he struck out with long powerful overhead strokes in the direction of the open sea.

Grant and Fred clambered out upon the little ledge and began to put on the few pieces of clothing that they possessed.

“I certainly do feel fine,” exclaimed Fred as he took in a deep breath of the pure air that was blown upon them straight up from the waters of the sea. “The air is fine to-day.”

“Well, it ought to be, every day,” laughed Grant. “After it has traveled a couple of thousand miles across the water it ought to be pretty nearly pure.”

“And have no dust in it,” added Fred.

“That’s right,” said Grant. “Where’s John?”

“I don’t see him,” said Fred, turning to look for his companion. “I hope he didn’t try to swim out very far. That’s always a fool trick, I think.”

“Where is he?” exclaimed Grant, somewhat alarmed at not discovering his friend.

“There he is,” cried Fred suddenly.

“Where?”

“Why out there. Don’t you see him?”

“He’s crazy,” said Grant angrily. “Why does he want to go so far out? He can swim just as well along shore and not take half the risk. Suppose anything should happen to him now, we couldn’t help him a bit.”

“Look!” cried Fred suddenly, “there’s a shark.”

“Where?”

“Right behind John. He’s a goner now,” and Fred almost sobbed aloud.

“John! John!” shouted Grant at the top of his voice, but he knew it was hopeless to think of making himself heard at that distance.

“He’s gone. He’s gone,” moaned Fred distractedly.

The great black fin moved steadily along in back of the daring young swimmer. To the boys on the shore it seemed as if it approached nearer with every passing moment. Suddenly there was a great splashing in the immediate vicinity of where John was swimming.

“It’s horrible,” cried Fred almost beside himself with anguish. “Oh, why did he swim out so far?”

The splashing continued. The two boys on the shore stood and watched almost spellbound at the sight. Their faces were white and their hearts were like great lumps in their throats. Neither one had any thought other than that John had been attacked by the shark and was even now being torn to pieces by the great man-eater. They shut their eyes to hide the horror of the thing.

Finally Grant looked again. The splashing had ceased and the water was calm around the spot where John had been. Suddenly he spied a head appearing far out from the shore.

“There he is,” he cried suddenly.

“Who? John?” demanded Fred. “Where?”

“Out there in the same place. He hasn’t gotten him yet.”

“Where’s the shark?”

“I don’t see it.”

“There it is,” exclaimed Fred. “Between John and the shore.”

Sure enough, the great black fin appeared once more sailing serenely about a few yards distant from John, but between him and land.

“How can he get in?” cried Fred. “The shark is in the way.”

“I don’t know,” said Grant. “Certainly he can’t swim right at the shark.”

“He never will get in,” moaned Fred. “He’ll surely be killed.”

“He’s all right so far.”

“I know. He missed him before but he won’t again.”

“Maybe John can fight him off. You can’t tell.”

“There he goes again. He’s closing in.”

The shark did seem to be moving towards John once more. Around and around in circles he went and even from the shore Grant and Fred could see their companion’s head turn so as always to keep his eyes fixed on his enemy.

“We must go to him,” cried Fred. “We must do something.”

“What can we do? We’re helpless.”

“Can’t we swim out?”

“Suppose we did. We couldn’t do anything when we got there.”

Suddenly the splashing was resumed. John and the shark both disappeared from sight as the water was thrown up in all directions around them.

“What’s happened, Grant? I’m afraid to look.”

“I think he drove him off.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. There he is. He scared him away again.”

“He can’t keep that up forever, though,” moaned Fred. “He must be getting pretty nearly exhausted by now.”

“Look!” cried Grant suddenly. “Here comes Sam.”

Running towards them at top speed and throwing off his clothes as he ran came Sam. In his teeth was the long knife he had made so laboriously and spent so many hours to sharpen.

“What’s he going to do?” cried Fred in wonderment. “Where are you going, Sam?” he called as the negro came up to the spot where the two boys stood.

“Ah’ll get ’im,” muttered Sam, and without waiting for another thing he plunged headlong into the water. A moment later he reappeared, the knife still in his mouth, and with powerful strokes struck out for John and the hungry giant that threatened him.

“What’s he going to do, Grant?” exclaimed Fred.

“I don’t know. Watch him.”

“Do you think he can kill the shark with that knife?”

“He’s evidently going to try.”

“He’ll be too late.”

John was perhaps a hundred and fifty yards from shore now. Slowly he was nearing land and safety, but could he reach it? The great shark still circled around and around the unfortunate boy, evidently waiting for some moment when John should be off his guard to give him an opportunity to strike. John was determined that this should not happen, however, and he watched the shark just as closely as he himself was watched. First he swam on one side and then on the other, then on his back and then on his stomach. Not for a second did he relax his watchfulness.

“Look at Sam go!” exclaimed Grant. “He’s a marvelous swimmer.”

“He’s that all right, but I wish he would get there.”

“There goes the shark,” cried Grant, and as he spoke the big fin could be seen to shoot with lightning-like rapidity in close to the spot where John was. A great splashing immediately followed and then the fin appeared once more some ten or twelve yards distant.

“Whew! That was close,” gasped Grant, his lips ashen with terror.

“He’s getting desperate,” said Fred. “He knows that unless he can get John before he comes much closer to shore his chance is gone.”

“Hurry, Sam!” shouted Grant with all his strength. “Keep it up, John!” he called. “You’ll be all right in a minute!”

“He will not,” said Fred in a low voice. “He’ll be gone in a minute.”

“No he won’t,” cried Grant. “Sam is almost there.”

“Forty yards is a lot.”

“Hurry, Sam! Hurry!” begged Grant. “You must hurry!”

“Look!” cried Fred. “The shark must have seen him. He’s going away.”

“Not ‘away,’” Grant corrected. “He’s just backing up a little.”

Sure enough the shark moved out a little toward the ocean and the fin stood almost still as if it might be debating what should be done next. Evidently the arrival of a second foe had puzzled him. Sharks are not known especially for their bravery. Rather they are scavengers that feed on the ocean’s refuse, and they must be very hungry indeed to attack a man unless they have him at a disadvantage. Grant and Fred were aware of this fact, but they feared that this particular shark was very hungry and that he did have John at a disadvantage.

“Maybe he’ll go away now that there are two of them,” said Fred hopefully.

“Don’t be too sure,” warned Grant.

“He’ll attack soon if he’s going to, though.”

“Yes, he’ll have to. The water gets pretty shallow in a little closer.”

“Look at Sam,” exclaimed Fred. “He’s sending John on ahead of him.”

“John must be pretty tired now.”

“I should think so.”

“He’ll be all right in a minute, though. A few more yards and he’ll be out of danger.”

“There goes the shark again,” cried Fred suddenly. “This is about his last chance and it won’t be so easy to drive him off this time.”

Around and around the two swimmers the shark circled. He moved with amazing rapidity, and it seemed as if the two hard-pressed and tired swimmers must become dizzy if they followed his every move.

“He’ll fly around them like that,” said Grant, “until he sees a good chance and then you’ll see him strike like lightning.”

“They mustn’t give him a chance,” muttered Fred doggedly.

“They won’t if they can help it, you may be sure of that.”

“There he goes!” cried Fred. “No, not yet,” he corrected himself.

“He’ll strike, all right. Just watch him.”

“If Sam can only use that knife.”

“Maybe he won’t attack Sam.”

“They’re awfully close together now,” said Fred. “If he goes for John, Sam can stick him and if he goes for Sam, why he has the knife right there.”

“The old knife will never go through that shark’s hide,” exclaimed Grant. “It’s almost as hard as sheet steel.”

“Here’s the test anyway,” cried Fred, and as he spoke the giant fin could be seen darting suddenly towards the two swimmers. Just before it reached them it disappeared beneath the surface of the water.

“He has turned bottom side up to bite,” muttered Grant, fully understanding just what was taking place.

Sam and John had noted the approach of their enemy and both realized that the crisis of the whole affair was now at hand. If they could elude him this once, the chances were that they could reach shallow water where the shark would not dare to follow them. They both began to kick violently and splash as much as possible with their hands; they shouted and yelled; they did everything which they thought might possibly aid them in scaring the great ugly fish away.

Grant and Fred on the shore held their breath while all this was taking place and their hearts almost stopped beating. With feverish anxiety they awaited the result of the battle taking place before their very eyes.

“There’s John,” cried Grant suddenly. “Where’s Sam?”

“I don’t see him. I don’t see the shark either.”

“The splashing has stopped. Sam must have been killed.”

“Oh, no,” exclaimed Fred. “Don’t say that. It can’t be.”

“Where is he then?”

“Look!” cried Fred.

The water some five or ten yards behind John was suddenly churned into froth. Red, bloody froth it was and evidently some gigantic struggle was going on. All at once, just on the outside of the miniature maelstrom, appeared a small round, black object.

“There’s Sam!” shouted Grant.

Sure enough. Sam was still alive and without wasting a moment he struck out boldly for the shore. John was ahead of him, but he was soon overhauled by the powerful negro and side by side the two swimmers plowed through the sea. Behind them the waters were still churned by the struggles of the great shark, but they were rapidly becoming weaker.

“Sam killed the shark,” exclaimed Fred, almost overcome by the suddenness and the unexpectedness of the event.

“It looks so,” agreed Grant. “I didn’t think it was possible.”

“Nor I. Imagine the nerve he had, and that old knife certainly did do the work after all.”

“Well, John owes his life to Sam all right. He surely would have been killed if he had been left out there alone.”

“Not a doubt of it. I don’t see how Sam managed it.”

“We’ll find out in a minute. John must be about exhausted too; Sam is helping him in.”

“Want any help, you two?” called Fred to the two swimmers who were rapidly approaching the shore.

“No, thanks,” said John in reply. “Sam will get us in.”

Grant and Fred leaned far out over the water and extended their hands to the two swimmers who were only a few feet distant now. A moment later and they had drawn John up on the shore, where he lay panting, his strength practically all used up. When they turned to assist Sam, however, they found their negro friend clambering up without the least bit of trouble.

“What’s the matter with your shoulder, Sam?” exclaimed Grant in alarm.

The skin seemed to be all torn away and the blood was flowing freely from Sam’s right shoulder. Just what had happened, it was impossible to say.

“Dat,” said Sam, referring to Grant’s question concerning his shoulder, “am wheah Ah come in too clost contack wif dat sha’k.”

“Did he bite you?” exclaimed Fred.

“No, indeed. He jes’ nachully done rub up again’ me, dat’s all.”

“But just rubbing against you wouldn’t tear you up like that,” protested Fred.

“Am dat so? Ah don’t reckon yo’ all evah seen a sha’k at front han’ ef yo’ say dat. Have yo’ evah felt a sha’k’s skin?”

“No, I haven’t. Is it rough?”

“Have you evah felt san’ paper?”

“Lots of times. Is it as rough as that?”

“Lawdy,” exclaimed Sam. “In compahson wif a sha’k’s skin Ah tell yo’ dat san’ paper am lak velvet.”

“I should say it was rough, then,” laughed Fred. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

“It must,” Grant broke in, “and it ought to be attended to at once.”

“Dat’s nothin’,” said Sam carelessly. “She’ll be all right soon.”

“I know,” Grant protested, “but just look at it bleed.”

“All de bettah. When she bleed lak dat dey’s no chance ob poison.”

“But it ought to be stopped now. Come up by the spring where there’s cold water and let me bathe it for you.”

“Go ahead, Sam,” urged John, looking up and speaking for the first time since he had been brought ashore.

“That’s right,” agreed Fred. “I’ll stay here with John.”

“No one need stay with me,” said John. “I’m getting my wind back now and as soon as I get a little strength I’ll be as good as ever.”

“What made you swim so far out anyway?” demanded Fred.

“I don’t know. I guess I was crazy.”

“You were worse than that,” exclaimed Fred. “You were a fool.”

“Don’t tell me that; I know it myself now. We always do when it’s too late.”

“Well, I can tell you one thing,” said Grant warmly. “You wouldn’t be here now if it hadn’t been for Sam.”

“Right you are,” John agreed. “I certainly owe my life to you, Sam.”

“Ah guess mebbe Ah will bafe mah shouldah,” said Sam, much embarrassed and ill at ease from all the compliments that were being given him.

“We’ll all go with you,” said John. “I’m all right now.”

“And we’ll make Sam tell us how he did it,” added Fred eagerly.

“That’s right, Sam,” exclaimed Grant. “Tell us all about it.”

“Well,” began Sam slowly, “Ah doan’ know jes’ what dey is to tell. Ah jes’ took dis heah knife wot yo’ all done make so much fun ob, an’ Ah jes’ stick ol’ mistah sha’k plum’ in de belly wid it. Dat’s all dey was to it.”

“But, Sam,” Fred protested, “how did you get close enough to him? Did he attack you?”

“Ah reckon as how he did do dat,” said Sam. “He jes’ came a swimmin’ right at me and natchully dey was only one thing foh me to do.”

“Naturally,” laughed Grant, “but tell us how you happened to get a good chance at him and not be bitten.”

“When Ah seen dat sha’k a comin’ at me,” continued Sam, “Ah knowed dat he meant business. Ah took mah knife in mah right han’ an’ Ah jes’ sunk a tweeny bit below de sufface ob de watah. He seen me an’ he come right foh me too. Ah waited foh him to turn belly up ’cause Ah knowed dat what he ’bliged to do befoh he able to use dem razah teeth ob his’n. Sho’ nuff jes’ befoh he reach me, ovah he go and den was mah chance. Ah sho’ did let ’im have it an’ Ah guess he ain’ gwine bothah no more peoples.”

“You must have been under water a long time,” remarked Grant.

“Not so berry long,” said Sam. “Dat ol’ sha’k didn’t waste no time about what he doin’ an’ yo’ bet Ah didn’t neither.”

“I guess not,” laughed Grant. “When did he hit your shoulder?”

“Right after Ah done stick ’im. Soon’s Ah let ’im hab de knife he done commence thrashin’ ’round somethin’ terrible. ’Fore Ah could get out ob his way he done hit me a swipe wid dat ol’ tail ob his an’ dar yo’ see it.” Sam indicated his shoulder, which was still bleeding, though not as freely as before.

“Well, all I can say is,” exclaimed Fred, “that you ought to have a medal. I swear I don’t see how anyone could have the nerve to fight a shark in the water. Why, I’d be afraid of one lying half dead on the beach.”

“So should I,” said Grant. “How big was that fellow anyway, John?”

“Oh, I don’t know. He must have been nearly eighteen feet though.”

“Come on here,” said Fred skeptically, “you can’t make us believe a thing like that. Eighteen feet; why, that’s three times as long as you are.”

“I know it is. I realized that when I said it.”

“Is he right, Sam?” demanded Fred. “Was the shark as big as that?”

“Ah should say he was jes’ about dat size,” replied Sam seriously.

“All right,” laughed Fred. “I won’t argue with you, but that’s easily the biggest fish story I ever heard.”

“It was the biggest fish I ever saw,” said John grimly. “Whew!” and he shuddered at the recollection.

“What did you think when you saw him first?” asked Grant curiously.

“I was nearly scared to death,” said John so solemnly that everybody laughed. “I was swimming along easily and just taking my time when I suddenly had a feeling that something was near me. I looked around and sure enough, over the top of a little wave, I saw that fin. I tell you it gave me the creeps and I honestly thought my last day had come. I knew it was only a question of time before he attacked me and I watched him pretty closely, I can tell you. All the while I kept trying to get in nearer to shore, but I was afraid to swim fast for I knew that if I did I couldn’t watch the shark and that he would get me from behind.”

“A nice feeling,” remarked Fred grimly.

“I should say so. Well, in a minute I saw him coming and I began to kick and splash with all my might. I didn’t think it would be of any use, but I had to do something. Imagine my surprise when I saw him veer away from me. I knew he’d be back though and sure enough he was, and again I scared him away, but I knew it couldn’t last forever. He was getting more determined and closer to me each time and Sam got there none too soon I can tell you.”

“How did you know what was happening, Sam?” demanded Grant. “I thought you were on watch up by the flag.”

“So Ah was. Ah could see jes’ the same, couldn’t Ah?”

“I guess you could,” laughed Grant. “It’s lucky you could too.”

“Maybe a ship has passed while we were down here,” remarked Fred.

“A fine chance,” said John skeptically. “No ships ever pass here.”

“This island reminds me of that old story about the farmer at the circus,” said Grant. “He looked at the giraffe for a long time and then finally turned away in disgust. ‘Oh, shucks,’ he said, ‘there ain’t no such animal.’ That’s the way I feel about this island. There isn’t any such place.”

“It does seem so, doesn’t it?” laughed Fred. “At any rate all the boats seem to avoid it. We may never get a chance to use that signal.”

On the summit of the hill near the spot where George’s shirt did duty as a flag the boys had prepared a great pile of driftwood. The moment a ship was sighted this pyre was to be lighted to attract the attention of those on board the boat.

“Dey’s plenty ob people wot would lak to find dis island all right,” said Sam confidently. “Ah knows piles ob sailors wot would gib dere eye teeth to see dis yere island wid de sha’k rock on it.”

“Well, we found it all right,” exclaimed Grant, “and from the look of things it is just as hard for us to get away from it as it is for most people to find it.”

“We’ve done better than most of them anyway,” said Fred. “We’ve found the island but we can’t find the treasure. Most people can’t even find the island.”

“It hasn’t done us any good so far,” said Grant. “Now that we’re on this wonderful island what are we going to do about it?”

“Solve the code,” replied Fred promptly. “Once that is done the rest is easy.”

“The same old cry,” exclaimed Grant. “That code is beginning to haunt my dreams. I think of it all day and I dream of it all night.”

“Perhaps you’ll find the answer to it in a dream some time,” suggested John.

“If I only could,” sighed Grant disconsolately. “Come on,” he added, “let’s go back to the cave. Have you fixed your shoulder up all right, Sam?”

“It am as good as ebber,” replied Sam cheerily.

They made their way along the bank of the little stream that flowed down from the spring. A soft breeze stirred the palm trees and the tropical foliage was brilliant. It would have been difficult to find any more beautiful spot than this little island, set like a jewel, on the bosom of the sparkling sea. The spell of it affected every member of the party and few words were spoken as they walked along.

Soon they came within sight of the cave.

“There’s Pop,” exclaimed John. “It’s about time he got back.”

“He’ll certainly be excited when he hears about the shark,” said Grant. “I wish he had been there with us.”

“He’s been up to something himself probably,” said Fred. “You can trust him for stirring things up, no matter where he is.”

“Well, I guess he has been up to something,” exclaimed John. “Look at what he’s got up there.”

“Come on,” cried John excitedly. “Let’s get up there and see it.”

“How do you suppose he ever did it?” exclaimed Grant. “He’s a great one, all right.”

Scrambling and hustling up over the rocks George’s four companions vied with one another as to who should be the first to reach the cave. John’s long legs would ordinarily have won the race for him, but he was weakened by the effects of his experience in the water, and Grant outdistanced him. The rest were close behind, however, and all arrived almost together.

“Where did you get it, Pop?” demanded Grant eagerly.

“Oh, down at the other end of the island,” said George evasively.

His face was wreathed in smiles, however, and he was very proud of his exploit.

“I don’t see how you did it,” exclaimed Fred.

“I’m clever.”

“Don’t get funny,” warned Grant. “We’ll take it out of you if you get fresh.”

“You can’t touch me now,” said George loftily.

“What’s the reason we can’t?”

“Because if you do, I’ll–”

He did not finish the sentence. Instead he leaped to his feet and hanging on to one hand howled with pain. His friends, however, instead of sympathizing with him, all with one accord shrieked delightedly.

“Whew!” cried George feelingly. “He’s a good biter all right.”

“He,” in this case referred to a small green parrot which George had been holding in both hands. In some way it had wriggled loose from his grasp and twisting its head around had taken a good sized bit of flesh out of the back of his hand. This was the cause of George’s pain and his friends’ mirth.

“Put a muzzle on him, Pop,” advised Fred. “He’s dangerous.”

“He certainly is,” agreed George. “I’m afraid he’ll bite that string in half too.”

“How did you catch him?” inquired Grant curiously. “Did you put salt on his tail?”

George gave the speaker a scornful look. “I caught him,” he replied, “because he has a broken wing and can’t fly very well. It wasn’t any easy job, though.”

“How did he break his wing?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask him.”

“Say, you’re getting awfully fresh,” exclaimed Grant, pretending that he was angry. “Can’t you be serious and tell us how you caught him?”

“Certainly I can, I was walking down around the end of the island when I spied this fellow on the ground. I went up close to him and he just flopped up and down and evidently could use only one wing. I saw right away that it was broken and decided right there and then that he ought to belong to me. I chased him all around for I don’t know how long and finally I grabbed him by the tail feathers and hung on. It was no easy thing to do though and I can tell you I nearly gave it up any number of times. Just as I’d get up close to him and make a grab at him, he’d hop away and when I did catch him he tried his best to bite me. He’s got plenty of spunk all right,” and George looked ruefully at his bleeding hand.

“Are you going to tame him?” asked John.

“I’m going to do my best.”

“Do you think he’ll stay around here?”

“He will as long as he’s tied, that’s sure. I got that string off that old tarpaulin; you know the one we had in the life-boat when we left the Josephine.”

“You ought to clip his wings,” said Grant.

“I know it and I intend to, too. I was just waiting for some of you fellows to come back and help me. Where have you been anyway?”

The whole story of John and the shark was related to George, who was naturally very much interested in the account.

“I wish I’d been there to see it,” he exclaimed ruefully.

“No, you don’t either,” said Fred. “I saw it all, but I can tell you I didn’t enjoy the experience very much.”

“Nor I,” agreed Grant. “It was too harrowing for me.”

“I don’t suppose John had much fun either,” said George. “As far as I can see Sam was the only one who got any pleasure out of it at all.”

“How about that, Sam?” demanded Grant.

“Oh, Ah didn’t mind it so powerful much,” grinned Sam.

“Would you want to do it every day?”

“Ah cain’t say as how Ah would. One ob dem sha’ks might get me sometime.”

“Suppose the shark had swallowed John,” George remarked. “He’s so tall and skinny that he never could have gotten him down and there he’d stuck right in his throat. He’d been worse than Jonah and the whale.”

“Are you going to stand for that, Spike?” inquired Fred mischievously, hoping to start an argument of some kind.

“He has to,” said George. “He has nothing to say about the matter at all,” and he assumed a careless and indifferent air.

“If I wasn’t so weak just now I certainly would make him eat those words,” exclaimed John.

“You hear that?” demanded George. “It’s always ‘if’ with him.”

“And you always pick on a man when he’s down,” retorted John.

“How about me? Just look at the terrible wound I have on the back of my hand.”

“Yes,” said Grant, “the parrot thought you were bird seed.”

“Or a cracker,” added Fred.

“That’s right,” cried George, pretending to be greatly hurt. “You all always take sides against me. Still it’s an even match at that.”

“I guess we’d better take some of that conceit out of him, don’t you?” exclaimed Grant slowly advancing towards George.

“Well, I should say so,” cried Fred eagerly, and a moment later George was at the bottom of a pile of four boys, three of whom busied themselves with poking him in the ribs, jouncing up and down on his stomach and in every other way possible making it just as uncomfortable as they could for him.

Everyone was laughing and in good humor, however. Seldom it was that any of these boys lost his temper, for they had learned long ago just how foolish a proceeding that was. The one who gets angry is always teased, but there is no satisfaction in plaguing a boy who ignores it or gives as good as he receives and always keeps his temper under control.

Finally George was released and all four boys rose to their feet laughing and good natured. Sam had been a greatly interested spectator of these proceedings and had enjoyed them greatly.

“Say,” he exclaimed, “dey am jus’ about as bad as fightin’ sha’ks.”

“You notice it took three of them to do it though, don’t you, Sam?” exclaimed George, weak from laughter and loss of breath.

“Want some more?” demanded Grant.

“If you’ll come one at a time, I’m willing.”

“Dat’s de way,” exclaimed Sam. “One at a time. Dat’s fair.”

“We’ll postpone it till to-morrow,” said Grant. “I’m winded.”

“You’re afraid of me,” taunted George.

“Oh, go and play with your parrot,” exclaimed Fred. “You’re a bird yourself.”

“Where is he?” demanded George. “I’d almost forgotten him.”

“There he is,” said Fred laughingly. “He looks like a little old man sitting up there on that rock.”

“He’s all right; don’t you worry about him,” said George. “He’s my friend.”

“It looked so when he ate the back of your hand off,” laughed Grant.

“That’s just the way he shows his affection,” exclaimed George. “He didn’t mean anything by that.”

“Well, if that’s the case,” said Grant, “I’m certainly glad he doesn’t care anything about me.”

“Catch him, Pop,” urged John, “and we’ll clip his wings.”

“Will you help me? I don’t want to lose him now after all the trouble I had to get him. I think I can tame him, too.”

“Sure you can. Get him over here.”

“How can I do it?”

“I’ll show you,” exclaimed John. “Watch me.”

He seized hold of the string that was tied around the parrot’s leg and began to haul in hand over hand. The poor bird fluttered and struggled indignantly but all to no avail. He was quickly pulled along until he was at John’s feet when George grabbed him and held him securely.

“Now how can we cut his wings?” demanded Fred. “We have no scissors.”

“We have knives, haven’t we?” exclaimed George.

“But are they sharp enough?”

“Mine is.”

“So am mine,” said Sam. “It suttinly done fix dat sha’k all right.”

“I’m afraid it’s a little too big for a parrot though,” laughed Grant. “Don’t you think so?”

“P’raps it am,” admitted Sam. “It’s sho’ a good knife dough.”

“Spread his wings out on the rock here,” directed John. “I’ll cut the tips off his feathers so he can’t fly away.”

“Don’t hurt him.”

“No danger of that. You just hold him still.”

The operation was quickly performed and a few moments later the little green bird was angrily stalking away, shaking his ruffled feathers and uttering indignant squawks at every step.

“Look at him,” laughed Grant. “My, but he’s mad.”

“So would you be,” said George. “Imagine being treated like that by someone about a hundred times as big as you are.”

“It would rouse me a little,” admitted Grant. “What are you going to name him?”

“I don’t know. What’s a good name, anyway?”

“Call him Snip,” suggested Fred. “He certainly took a snip out of you.”

“That’s a good one,” exclaimed George. “His name is Snip.”

“You’ll have to teach him his name now, Pop,” said Grant. “That’ll give you something to do and keep you out of mischief.”

“I want him to talk, too,” said George, “and I want him to get so tame that he’ll ride around on my shoulder wherever I go.”

“And he’ll peck your eye out,” said John.

“Oh, I guess not. He’ll be all right after a while.”

“How are you going to go about teaching him to talk?” demanded John. “I suppose he’ll have to learn the alphabet first,” and he nudged Grant as he spoke.

“Oh, yes, of course,” laughed George sarcastically. “You’re all pretty smart.”

“Why, Pop,” said John, soothingly, “it wouldn’t take long. There are only twenty-six letters in it.”

“What did you say?” cried Grant, suddenly springing to his feet.

“I said there were twenty-six letters in the alphabet.”

“Hooray!” shouted Grant, and he began to dance around like a wild man. “I’ve got it. I’ve got it,” he repeated excitedly over and over again.

Grant’s companions sat and looked at him in amazement not unmixed with alarm. They could see no reason for his strange behavior and were at a complete loss what to make of it. They watched their comrade execute a war dance around the entrance to the cave for some moments and finally disappear within, uttering one last triumphant whoop.

“What struck him?” exclaimed John in perplexity.

“He’s gone crazy I guess,” said Fred. “I can’t think of anything else.”

“Ah believe yo’ am right,” said Sam in a hollow voice. “Ef he try to mess me up Ah sho’ gwine use dis knife.”

“Put that away, Sam,” said John, sharply. “Don’t be silly.”

“But ef he’s crazy,” protested Sam, “Ah suttinly boun’ proteck mahself.”

“He’s not crazy,” exclaimed George. “He’ll be out in a minute and tell us just what is wrong with him.”

“Go and see what he’s doing, Pop,” urged Fred.

“I will not. He said he’d got it and he might get me, too. What do you suppose he was talking about anyway?”

“Here he comes now. Ask him.”

Grant emerged from the cave, his manner showing how excited he was. He walked rapidly and his hands shook with nervousness. He carried the piece of parchment that had become so familiar to the four boys.

“He must have meant the code,” whispered Fred to George.

“He couldn’t have solved it,” said George in a low voice. “How could he?”

“I don’t know. At any rate he may have had an idea.”

Grant advanced rapidly towards the spot where his companions were grouped and seated himself in front of them.

“What’s going on, Grant?” demanded John curiously.

“Just a minute and I’ll show you something,” and he spread the code out on the ground while the rest of the little party peered eagerly over his shoulder.

“Now, first of all,” began Grant, “you all know what this is.”

“It’s a combination to a safe,” said George readily.

“Keep quiet, Pop,” exclaimed Fred. “Give him a chance.”

“It’s a code,” said Grant, ignoring George’s facetious remark.

“We know that,” agreed Fred. “Don’t be so mysterious.”

“What’s the highest number in it?” demanded Grant.

“He sounds like a trick man,” laughed George jeeringly.

“No treasure for Pop,” said Grant shortly. “What’s the highest number in it?”

“I guess we’ll have to do it this way,” said John with a sigh. “Let me see,” he added. “I guess twenty-five is the highest number.”

“All right. How many letters are there in the alphabet?”

“Twenty-six.”

“But, Grant,” Fred protested, “I don’t see what you’re getting at?”

“You will soon enough. Just have a little patience.”

“But why don’t you tell us what your idea is right now?”

“Because I don’t want to. At any rate it’s only an idea and I don’t know whether it’s right or not and I haven’t worked it out myself. That’s what we are doing now and I want you all to help me. The whole thing may be wrong, but it sounds pretty good to me. John’s remark about the number of letters in the alphabet gave me the idea.”

“Then I ought to get the credit if we solve the code,” exclaimed John.

“You’ll be lucky if you don’t get shot,” said George. “You ought to be.”

“Go ahead with your explanation, Grant,” urged Fred. “Everybody keep quiet and give him a chance.”

“All right,” said Grant. “We’ve noticed that the highest number is twenty-five and that there are twenty-six letters in the alphabet, haven’t we?”

“We have,” said John so solemnly that George giggled outright. His friends, however, were in a very serious mood and he quickly realized that his hilarity was decidedly out of place.

“What number appears most frequently?”

“I guess fourteen does,” said Fred after a hasty survey of the figures spread out on the ground before them.

“No, five,” exclaimed John. “There are a good many more fives than there are fourteens.”

“Perhaps there are,” Fred admitted. “Go ahead, Grant.”

Grant made some calculations that his comrades could not follow before he replied to Fred’s remark. His friends eyed him curiously.

“Suppose we put the letter e wherever the number five occurs,” he said at length.

“What are you going to do that for?” demanded George, now very much interested in the experiment Grant was conducting.

“Never mind why,” exclaimed Grant. “Do as I say.”

“Give me a sheet out of your diary, Pop,” said Fred. “I’ll do the figuring.”

“Are you going to write it all down?” inquired George.

“Shall I, Grant?”

“Put it all down. We’ll go slowly, but we’ll do it right.”

“All right,” exclaimed Fred. “Here goes,” and he wrote as follows, substituting the letter for the number every time he came to it:

20 - 1 - 11 - e - 1 - 3 - 15 - 21 - 18 - 19 - e - 4 - 21 - e - 14 - 15 - 18 - 20 - 8 - 15 - 14 - e - 8 - 21 - 14 - 18 - e - 4 - 6 - e - e - 20 - 6 - 18 - 15 - 13 - 20 - 8 - e - 19 - 15 - 21 - 20 - 8 - e - 18 - 14 - e - 24 - 20 - 18 - e - 13 - 9 - 20 - 25 - 15 - 6 - 19 - 8 - 1 - 18 - 11 - 18 - 15 - 3 - 11 - 20 - 8 - e - 14 - e - 1 - 19 - 20 - 6 - 9 - 6 - e - e - 20 - 1 - 14 - 4 - 14 - 15 - 18 - 20 - 8 - 2 - 25 - e - 1 - 19 - 20 - 20 - 8 - 9 - 18 - 20 - 25 - 20 - 8 - 18 - e - e - 4 - 9 - 7.

“Well,” exclaimed George when Fred had finished, “it may be very simple and all that, but it doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“Of course, not yet,” said Grant. “Have a little patience.”

“Why don’t you tell us what your system is?”

“No, you wait.”

“How about fourteen now?” demanded Fred. “We decided that was a pretty common number, you know. What shall I do with that?”

“I’ll tell you,” said Grant and once again he appeared to calculate something in his head. “In place of fourteen put the letter n,” he directed, “and use the copy you just made.”

“What do you mean by the copy I just made?”

“I mean leave the letter e where you put it in the last time.”

“Here we go,” exclaimed Fred and this is what he wrote:

20 - 1 - 11 - e - 1 - 3 - 15 - 21 - 18 - 19 - e - 4 - 21 - e - n - 15 - 18 - 20 - 8 - 15 - n - e - 8 - 21 - n - 4 - 18 - e - 4 - 6 - e - e - 20 - 6 - 18 - 15 - 13 - 20 - 8 - e - 19 - 15 - 21 - 20 - 8 - e - 18 - n - e - 24 - 20 - 18 - e - 13 - 9 - 20 - 25 - 15 - 6 - 19 - 8 - l - 18 - 11 - 18 - 15 - 3 - 11 - 20 - 8 - e - n - e - 1 - 19 - 20 - 6 - 9 - 6 - 20 - 25 - 6 - e - e - 20 - 1 - n - 4 - n - 15 - 18 - 20 - 8 - 2 - 25 - e - 1 - 19 - 20 - 20 - 8 - 9 - 18 - 20 - 25 - 20 - 8 - 18 - e - e - 4 - 9 - 7.

“Clear as mud,” cried George, slapping Fred heartily on the back. “You’re a wonder, Peewee, my boy.”

“I must confess I don’t understand all this business,” exclaimed Fred. “Why don’t you tell us what you are trying to do, Grant?”

“Because I’m not sure that I know myself.”

“Tell us what you think anyway,” urged John. “There’s no harm in that.”

“I’d rather not,” said Grant. “If you fellows don’t want to help me any more though, I’m perfectly willing to work it out by myself.”

“No, you don’t,” exclaimed Fred. “If there’s anything going to happen around here I want to be on hand.”

“An’ me too,” said Sam eagerly. “Ah wants to be heah when dat treasah am discovahed. Ah’ll fix dem niggers in Richmond yet.”

“Good boy, Sam,” exclaimed Grant. “You and I will work it out together.”

“Ah cain’t read nor write,” said Sam disconsolately. “Ah’s afraid Ah wouldn’t be ob bery much help to yo’. Ah can suttingly do some diggin’ dough.”

“Oh, I’m going to stay along; don’t worry about that,” said Fred. “I wish Grant would tell us what he’s trying to do, but I’m going to stay by him whether he tells or not.”

“I know what he’s trying to do,” said George. “It’s simple enough.”

“What is it then?” demanded Grant.

“Why, he thinks these numbers are used in place of letters. A certain number means a certain letter and wherever he sees it he substitutes the letter.”

“We all know that much,” cried John scornfully. “What we want to know is how he figures out what letter to put in place of a certain number. Can you tell us that?”

“No, I can’t,” George admitted ruefully.

“Then you don’t know how he does it, do you?”

“No, I don’t. That is, not yet.”

“Go ahead then, Grant,” exclaimed John. “We’re wasting time here.”

“You want to go on with it, do you?”

“Of course we do.”

Grant picked up the code and studied it attentively for some moments. Finally he put it down again. “Suppose we put the letter h in place of the figure eight,” he said. “Eight seems to be a fairly common number.”

Once again Fred copied the mysterious set of numbers, making the change that Grant had suggested.

When Fred had completed his task the following result appeared:

20 - 1 - 11 - e - 1 - 3 - 15 - 21 - 18 - 19 - e - 4 - 25 - e - n - 15 - 18 - 20 - h - 15 - n - e - h - 21 - n - 4 - 18 - e - 4 - 6 - e - e - 20 - 6 - 18 - 15 - 13 - 2 - h - e - 19 - 15 - 21 - 20 - h - e - 18 - n - e - 24 - 20 - 18 - e - 13 - 9 - 20 - 25 - 15 - 6 - 19 - h - 1 - 18 - 11 - 18 - 15 - 3 - 11 - 20 - h - e - n - e - 1 - 19 - 20 - 6 - 9 - 6 - 20 - 25 - 6 - e - e - 20 - 1 - n - 4 - n - 15 - 18 - 20 - h - 2 - 25 - e - 1 - 19 - 20 - 20 - h - 9 - 18 - 20 - 25 - 20 - h - 18 - e - e - 4 - 9 - 7.

“Is it coming out all right, Grant?” asked John. “It doesn’t look like very much to me just yet.”

“It doesn’t spell any words yet,” said Fred.

“Yes, indeed, it certainly does,” exclaimed Grant. “There’s he a couple of times. That spells something, doesn’t it!”

“Yes, that does,” admitted Fred, “but what can n-e-h be? I never heard of that word or e-n-e either.”

“You must remember that it isn’t all done yet by a good deal,” Grant protested. “You see we’ve substituted only three letters so far and it spells two words already. I call that pretty good work.”

“Yes, and in a minute you may run up against a snag and find that you’re all wrong,” said George.

“Quite right,” admitted Grant. “If my system is wrong we’ll find it out pretty soon, too. It seems to me to be worth trying though.”

“Oh, I think so, too,” exclaimed Fred readily. “Let’s try another now.”

“Why can’t you substitute two at once?” said John. “That would save a lot of time.”

“I know it would,” admitted Grant. “It would also double the chances of mistakes and we don’t want to make any if we can help it.”

“We’ll be careful,” said George. “Go into another trance, Grant, and tell us two letters this time. You’re a regular Hindoo fakir and for all I know you may have hypnotized the whole crowd of us.”

“Come on, Pop! Be serious,” exclaimed John.

“I am serious and I’m just as anxious to solve this as you are. You don’t mind if I get a little fun out of it though, do you?”

“Got the letters, Grant?” demanded Fred of the owner of the secret, who was busily engaged in more calculations. His eyes were half shut and he did a great deal of counting on his fingers.

“Ssh,” hissed George softly, but no one noticed him.

“All right,” said Grant suddenly. “Put r in place of eighteen and t in place of twenty.”

“I’ve got your system,” exclaimed John all at once. “I had an idea before and now I’m quite sure of it.”

“What is it, String?” inquired George eagerly.

“I won’t tell you. Wait and see if I’m right.”

“I thought you said you were.”

“I think I am.”

“Don’t tell him, String, if you know,” urged Grant.

“I won’t; don’t worry about that. Isn’t it simple?”

“Just like you,” muttered George, but no one heeded him.

“Go ahead, Fred,” said Grant. “Write it out again.”

When Fred had complied the code had the following appearance,–

t - 1 - 11 - e - 1 - 3 - 15 - 21 - r - 19 - e - 4 - 21 - e - n - 15 - 4 - t - h - 15 - n - e - h - 21 - n - 4 - r - e - 4 - 6 - e - e - t - 6 - r - 15 - 13 - t - h - e - 19 - 15 - 21 - t - h - e - r - n - e - 24 - t - r - e - 13 - 9 - t - 25 - 15 - 6 - 19 - h - 1 - r - 11 - r - 15 - 3 - 11 - t - h - e - n - e - 1 - 19 - t - 6 - 9 - 6 - t - 25 - 6 - e - e - t - 1 - n - 4 - n - 15 - r - t - h - 2 - 25 - e - 1 - 19 - t - t - h - 9 - r - t - 25 - t - h - r - e - e - 4 - 9 - 7.

“Well, you’ve got more letters in it than you had anyway,” exclaimed George, “and right down at the end there it spells the word three. Grant, I believe you may be on the right track after all.”

“Yes, sir, we’ll all be rich soon,” exclaimed John. “Just think of us going home with great bags of gold and jewels slung over each shoulder.”

“Say!” cried Sam, his eyes sparkling and his ivory teeth showing in a dazzling smile. “Wouldn’t dat be great?”

“See any ships coming to rescue us?” said John. “Who wants to be rescued anyway? We’re going to find the gold; we’re going to find the gold!” and he danced joyously around, waving his arms about his head while he chanted over and over again the same refrain, “We’re going to find the gold; we’re going to find the gold!”

“I’m afraid you’re a little previous, String,” laughed Grant, looking up from the code which he had been studying intently. “We haven’t got it yet, you know.”

“But we shall,” insisted John joyously. “We’ll find it all right.”

“Let’s keep at it,” exclaimed Fred. “That’s the best way I know to accomplish anything. Talking about it doesn’t do much good.”

“Give him a couple more letters then, Grant,” exclaimed George.

“Let me give him one,” said John. “See if I can guess right.”

“All right,” said Grant, “you try it this time and see if you know the trick.”

“Give me two,” said Fred. “We worked two at a time before and we ought to be able to do it again.”

“What numbers do you want letters for?” inquired John.

“Let me see,” mused Fred. “How about eleven and fifteen?”

“Just a second now,” and John began to calculate and count on his fingers just as Grant had done.

“Another fakir,” whispered George, but as usual no one paid the slightest attention to him. Every one was intent upon the code and too much interested in it to be diverted by anything else.

“Put k in place of eleven, and o in place of fifteen,” said John after he had apparently satisfied himself as to the correctness of his calculations. “Is that correct, Grant?”

“Absolutely,” said Grant. “You know the system all right.”

“You might tell us,” exclaimed George enviously.

“Keep quiet, Pop, and watch me,” ordered Fred, and once more he rewrote the code while his companions watched him eagerly. This is what he wrote:

t - 1 - k - e - 1 - 3 - o - 21 - r - 19 - e - 4 - 21 - e - n - o - r - t - h - o - n - e - h - 21 - n - 4 - r - e - 4 - 6 - e - e - t - 6 - r - o - 13 - t - h - e - 19 - o - 31 - t - h - e - r - n - e - 24 - t - r - e - 13 - t - 25 - o - 6 - 19 - h - 1 - r - k - r - o - e - k - t - h - e - n - e - 1 - 19 - t - 6 - 9 - 6 - t - 25 - 6 - e - e - t - 1 - n - 4 - n - o - r - t - h - 2 - 25 - e - 1 - 19 - t - t - h - 9 - r - t - 25 - t - h - r - e - e - 4 - 9 - 7.

“You’re getting rid of the numbers fast enough anyway,” exclaimed George. “It looks like Greek to me though.”

“Maybe it’s written in some foreign language,” suggested Fred. “Wouldn’t that be awful?”

“Perhaps it’s Finnish,” said George. “We got it from a Finn.”

“Dey’s always ha’d luck,” exclaimed Sam soberly. “Ef some Finn done wrote dat we don’t stan’ no chance ob eber findin’ de treasah.”

“You mean it will be our finish, is that it?” laughed George.

“Ah wouldn’t be at all s’prised,” said Sam solemnly.

“What makes you think it’s not written in English?” demanded Grant.

“Well, just look along there in the middle,” said George. “It says r-k-r-o, and then k-t-h-e-n-e. Did you ever hear of any words that sounded like that?”

“No, but towards the end it spells two words distinctly,” protested Grant, “Just see there, n-o-r-t-h, and t-h-r-e-e. Certainly they spell north and three, don’t they?”

“They do,” admitted George. “That’s what puzzles me. Part of it seems to be all right and part wrong. Are you sure your system is right?”

“Not yet, but I’m getting surer all the time. How about you, String?”

“I agree with you, Grant. We’ll have it all in a minute.”

“Maybe it’s written in two languages,” said Fred. “Sometimes they do a thing like that, you know, to make it all the harder.”

“You’re a cheerful soul,” exclaimed Grant grimly. “If it’s written in two languages we’ll be about as badly off as we were before.”

“And we shan’t know whether we’re right or not,” added George.

“I say go ahead anyway the way we have been doing,” exclaimed Fred. “We seem to be making some sort of progress.”

“Tell us what letter corresponds to number one,” said George.

“A,” almost shouted John and Grant together.

“You seem to agree on that at any rate,” laughed George. “Why don’t you tell us what your system is?”

“I should think you’d have guessed it by this time,” said Grant. “Why, it’s just as simple as rolling off a log.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” said George sarcastically. “Everything is when you know all about it. I think you might let Fred and me into your secret.”

“One stands for a,” was Grant’s reply. “Nineteen stands for s. That’s all I’ll tell you now. Go ahead and put those down if you want to.”

“Write it down, Fred,” said George sorrowfully. “My,” he added under his breath, “I hate stingy people.”

Again Fred wrote:–

t - a - k - e - a - 3 - o - 21 - r - s - e - 4 - 21 - e - n - o - r - t - h - o - n - e - h - 21 - n - 4 - r - e - 4 - 6 - e - e - t - 6 - r - o - 13 - t - h - e - s - o - 21 - t - h - e - r - n - e - 24 - t - r - e - 13 - 9 - t - 25 - o - 6 - s - h - a - r - k - o - 3 - k - t - h - e - n - e - a - s - t - 6 - 9 - 6 - t - 25 - 6 - e - e - t - a - n - 4 - n - e - r - t - h - 2 - 25 - e - a - s - t - t - h - 9 - r - t - 25 - t - h - r - e - e - 4 - 9 - 7.

“Keep it up,” urged George. “Let’s not discuss it any more until it is all written out. Give him some more letters.”

“Take u for twenty-one and f for six,” said Grant.

“Give me three this time,” said Fred. “There aren’t many left.”

“All right. Take i for nine.”

Once more Fred wrote it out as follows:

t - a - k - e - a - 3 - o - u - r - s - e - 4 - u - e - n - o - r - t - h - o - n - e - h - u - n - 4 - r - e - 4 - f - e - e - t - f - r - o - 13 - t - h - e - s - o - u - t - h - e - r - n - e - 24 - t - r - e - 13 - i - t - 25 - o - f - s - h - a - r - k - r - o - 3 - k - t - h - e - n - e - a - s - t - f - i - f - t - 25 - f - e - e - t - a - n - 4 - n - o - r - t - h - 2 - 25 - e - a - s - t - t - h - e - r - t - 25 - t - h - r - e - e - 4 - i - 7.

“That’s the way,” cried George. “Give him some more. Clean it up this time.”

“Let’s see,” said Grant musingly. “What numbers are left?”

“Three, four, thirteen, twenty-four, twenty-five, two and seven,” said George. “I think that’s all.”

“All right,” exclaimed Grant, “we’ll finish it up. Go ahead, Fred, and in place of three put c, in place of four d, put m for thirteen, x for twenty-four, y for twenty-five, b for two, and let’s see, g for seven. That ought to do it.”