CHAPTER XVI.
THE CIPHER LETTER.
The reading-room row, as it was called, had pretty well blown over, whenone morning Diggory accosted Jack Vance and Mugford, who were bothseated at the latter's desk, sharpening their knives on an oil-stone.
"I say, you fellows, look what I've found." As he spoke, he laid on thedesk a slip of paper; it was evidently a scrap torn out of someexercise-book, and inscribed upon it were several lines of capitalletters, all jumbled together without any apparent object in theirarrangement, and, to be more exact, placed as follows:--
NVVGRMGSVTBNDSVMGSVUVOOLD HKZHHLMGLHFKKVIGSVGDLXZM HLUDZGVIZIGHGZMWRMTRMHRW VGSVXFKYLZIWFMWVIGSVHGZRIH.
"Well, what is there funny about that?" asked Jack; "it looks to me asif some one had been practising making capitals."
"Is it a puzzle?" inquired Mugford.
"No, but I'll tell you what I think it is," answered Diggory, sittingdown, and speaking in a low, mysterious tone: "it's a letter written incipher."
"A letter?" repeated Mugford, glancing at the paper. "Why, how couldany one read that rubbish--NVVG?"
"Of course they can, if they know the key. Didn't I say it was writtenin cipher, you duffer? Every letter you see there stands for somethingdifferent."
"Then why didn't they write the proper letters at once, and have donewith it?" grumbled Mugford.
"Because, you prize ass," retorted Diggory, with pardonable asperity,"they didn't want it read."
"Then if they didn't want it read, why did they write it at all?"exclaimed Mugford triumphantly.
"Oh, shut up! you're cracked, you--"
"Look here," interrupted Jack Vance, "where did you find the thing?"
"Why, you know the window in the box-room that looks out on the 'quad;'well, there's a little crack under the ledge between the wooden frameand the wall, and this note was stuck in there. I should never haveseen it, only I was watching a spider crawling up the wall, and it raninto the hole close to the end of the paper. Some fellows must be usingthe place as a sort of post-office; don't you remember Fred Acton madeone in the wainscotting at The Birches? only these fellows have inventeda cipher. Well, I'm going to find it out, and read this note, just forthe lark."
"How are you going to do it, though? I don't see it's possible to reada thing like this; you can't tell where one word ends and a fresh onebegins."
"There is a way of finding out a cipher," answered Diggory; "it tellsyou how to do it in that book that we bought when Mug had his thingssold by auction at Chatford."
"What, in Poe's tales?" asked Mugford. "Yes; in one of the storiescalled 'The Gold Bug.' Where is the book?"
"I lent it to Maxton, but I should think he's finished it by this time.I'll go and see."
"All right," said Diggory, pocketing the slip of paper; "you get it, andthen I can show you what I mean. Come on, Jack; let's go out."
The two friends were just rising from the form on which they had beensitting, when they were accosted by Browse, who, strolling up with apair of dilapidated slippers on his feet, which caused him to walk asthough he were skating, inquired in drawling tones, "I say, have eitherof you kids got a watch-key?"
Jack Vance handed him the required article, which happened to be of thekind which fit all watches.
The Sixth Form "sap" was very short-sighted, and proceeded to wind uphis timepiece, holding it close to his spectacles throughout theoperation.
"I can't think how it is," he continued, in his sing-song tone,"I'm always losing my key. I've had two new ones already this term.I always stick them in a place where I think they're sure not to getlost, and then I forget where I put them. Thanks awfully."
"What a queer old codger Browse is!" remarked Diggory, as the big fellowmoved away; "no one would ever think he was so clever."
"No," answered Jack Vance. "By-the-bye, did you hear that he hadanother row with 'Thirsty' last night?"
"No; what about?"
"Oh, the same thing as before. Some fellows were making a beastly rowin Thurston's study, and Browse couldn't work, so he threatened if theyweren't quiet he'd report them to the doctor. 'Thirsty' came outin an awful wax, and said for two pins he'd knock Browse down; and youngCollis, who was standing at the top of the stairs, says he believes he'dhave done it if some of the other fellows in the Sixth hadn't come outand interfered."
In the course of the afternoon Diggory secured Mugford's copy of Poe'stales, and (sad to relate) spent a good part of that evening'spreparation in trying to unravel the secret of the mysterious missivewhich he had found in the box-room. So intent was he on solving theproblem that, instead of going down to supper with the majority of hiscompanions, he remained seated at his desk, poring over the experimentswhich he was making according to directions given in the famous story of"The Gold Bug."
"Well, how are you getting on ?" inquired Jack Vance, as the crowd camestraggling back from the dining-hall.
"Oh, pretty well," answered the other. "The first thing you have to dois to find E; it's the letter which occurs most frequently. Well, inthis case V is the letter which comes oftenest--there are fourteen ofthem--so V is E. Then, when you know what E is, you search for the word'the.' There are certain to be several 'the's' in the piece; so youlook for instances in which the same two letters come before E, or, inthis case, before V. Well, here it is, G S V, five times; so you arepretty certain that G S V is 'the,' or, in other words, that G is T, Sis H, and V is E. That's as far as I've got at present; but I mean toworry out the rest of it to-morrow."
While Diggory was holding forth in the big schoolroom on his methods ofreading a cipher, a conversation of a very different character, and on amatter of grave importance, was taking place in the study of the schoolcaptain.
Allingford and John Acton were seated in front of the former's littlefireplace talking over matters connected with the football club.Suddenly there was a sound of hurrying feet in the passage; the nextinstant the door burst open, and in bounced Browse. The two prefectsgazed at him for a moment in open-mouthed astonishment; then Acton brokethe silence, exclaiming, "Why, Browse, what's the matter?"
The "sap" certainly presented an extraordinary appearance.His spectacles were gone; his hair was pasted all over his face, asthough he had just come up from a long dive; his clothes were torn, andin a state of the wildest disorder; while the strangest part of all wasthat from head to foot he seemed soaking wet, drenched through andthrough with water, which dripped from his garments as he stood.
"Why, man alive!" cried Allingford, "what have you been up to?"
"It's those blackguards!" gasped Browse, choking with rage, and shakenfor once in a way out of his usual drawl; "it's that Thurston and hiscrew--I know it was!"
"But what was? what's the matter?"
With some little difficulty the two prefects at length succeeded inextracting from their excited comrade an account of his wrongs; eventhen such an amount of cross-questioning was necessary that it will bebest to make no attempt at a verbatim report, but rather to give thereader a more concise version of the story.
From Browse's statement it appeared that just before supper some one hadcome to his study, saying: "Smeaton wants you in the 'lab;' look sharp!"The door had only been opened about a couple of inches, and then closedagain. From the few words thus spoken Browse did not recognize thevoice; but thinking that his particular friend Smeaton (anothertremendous worker) was engaged in some important experiments, and neededhis assistance, he hurried away, never dreaming but that the message hehad received was genuine.
In order to reach the laboratory, it was necessary to traverse thebox-room and the gymnasium, both of which were in darkness, the lightsbeing turned out by the prefect on duty when the boys assembled forpreparation.
Across the first of these chambers Browse groped his way in safety.Hardly, however, had he crossed the threshold of the second, when he wassuddenly seized and held fast by several strong pairs of hands.
His indignant expostulations were met with a titter of suppressedlaughter; he was roughly forced down upon his knees, and while in thisposition what seemed like two buckets of cold water were emptied overhis devoted head. This having been done, he was dragged to his feet,thrust back into the box-room, and the door leading into the gymnasiumwas slammed to and locked on the inside. From first to last not a wordhad been spoken, and at the very commencement of the struggle Browse'sspectacles had been knocked off. These two circumstances had entirelyprevented him from recognizing the shadowy figures of his assailants.He made one attempt to force the door open, but finding it securelyfastened, had come straight away to the captain's study.
"It's that Thurston and some of his gang," he repeated in conclusion;"they did it to pay me out for interfering with their noisy meetings."
Allingford and John Acton sprang to their feet. The idea that the rowdyelement should be so powerful in Ronleigh that a Sixth Form boy couldwith impunity be seized and drenched with cold water, was not verypleasing to one who was largely responsible for the order of the school,and the captain's face was as black as thunder.
"All right!" he exclaimed; "leave this to me. Go and change yourclothes."
The two prefects hurried down the passage.
"Wait a minute," said Allingford. "Which is Thurston's study?"
Acton knocked at the door; and receiving no answer, pushed it open andlooked in. The room was empty.
"Come on," cried Allingford; "the 'gym!' They may be there still."
They rushed down the stairs, scattering a group of small boys who wereroasting chestnuts at the gas-jet in the passage, and on through thebox-room, but only to find the door on the other side standingwide open, and the gymnasium itself silent and deserted--two emptywater-cans, lying in a big pool of wet on the cement floor, being theonly remaining traces of the recent outrage.
"They're gone," said Acton. "What shall we do?"
"We'll find one of them, at all events," replied his companion; andreturning once more to the neighbourhood of the studies, he shouted,--
"_Thurston!_"
There was a faint "Hullo!" and a moment later a door opened half-waydown the passage.
"Well, what d'you want?"
Allingford walked quickly forward. "Look here," he demanded sternly,"where have you been? What have you been doing?"
"Doing!" echoed Thurston; "why, I've been sitting here for the last twohours with old Smeaton. I asked him to let me come and work in hisstudy to-night. There's some of this Ovid I can't get on with, and hepromised he'd help me out with it if I'd tell him what it was I didn'tunderstand."
The captain hesitated a moment, rather nonplussed by this unexpectedreply. "I believe you know something about this affair with Browse," hecontinued. "Who did it?"
"Who did what?" demanded Thurston snappishly. "If you mean when he camebanging at my study door last night--"
"No, I don't mean that," interrupted Allingford. "I mean thisblackguard's trick that was played on him to-night."
"I don't know what you're talking about," retorted Thurston angrily."Look here, Allingford, I'll thank you not to call me a blackguard fornothing, for I suppose that's what you're driving at. If you don'tthink I'm speaking the truth, ask Smeaton. I suppose you'll take hisword, if you won't take mine."
Smeaton, whose veracity it was impossible to doubt, confirmed the lastspeaker's assertions, and Allingford and Acton were forced to beat aretreat, feeling that they had certainly been worsted in theencounter.
"What's to be done?" asked Acton, as they re-entered the captain'sstudy.
"I don't know," answered the other, flinging himself into a chair."The only thing I can see is to report it to the doctor."
"Oh, I shouldn't do that; it's more a piece of personal spite than anydisorder and breach of rule, like that reading-room affair. I thinkit's a thing which ought to be put down by the fellows themselves.Who was in Thurston's study last night?"
"I don't know. It may have been those fellows Gull and Hawley, but youcan't accuse them without some evidence; you see what I got just now fortackling Thurston. Ever since the elections there seem to be a lot offellows bent on bringing the place to the dogs. Thurston's hand andglove with the whole lot of them, and it's hard to say who did thisthing to Browse."
A report of what had happened was rapidly spreading all over the school.One by one the other prefects dropped in to the captain's study to talkthe matter over. Most of them were inclined to agree with Acton inconsidering it a thing to be taken up by the boys themselves, and thediscussion was continued till bedtime.
"Well, I'll tell you what I think I'd better do," said Allingford,preparing to wish his companions good-night. "I'll report it to thedoctor, and ask him not to take any steps in the matter until we'vehad a chance of inquiring into it ourselves."
The story of Browse's mishap, as we have just said, soon passed frommouth to mouth, until it was common property throughout the college.The remarks which the news elicited were often of an entirely oppositenature, according to the character of the boys who made them. Noaks andMouler laughed aloud, declaring it a rare good joke; but to the creditof the Ronleians of that generation be it said, the majority shook theirheads, and muttered, "Beastly shame!" "What'll be done?" was thequestion asked on all sides. "Will it be reported to the doctor?"
"If it is," said "Rats," "we shall lose another half-holiday. Confoundthose fellows, whoever they are! I should like to see them all jollywell kicked."
On the following day the first assembly for morning school passedwithout anything happening, though every one looked rather anxiouslytowards the head-master's throne as Dr. Denson took his seat.
The brazen voice of the bell had just proclaimed the eleven o'clockinterval, when the Triple Alliance, hurrying with their companions ofthe Lower Fourth along the main corridor leading to the schoolroom,found that the passage was nearly blocked by a large crowd of boysstanding round the notice-board.
"Hullo!" said Diggory, "another rhyme?"
This time, however, the placard was in good plain prose, and ran asfollows:--
"NOTICE.
"A meeting of the whole school will take place directly after dinner in the gymnasium. A full attendance is urgently requested, as the matter for consideration is of great importance.
"A. R. ALLINGFORD."
"Humph," muttered Fletcher senior to himself, as he turned on his heelafter reading the notice, "the fat's in the fire now, and no mistake."