superfluous and rather incongruous words in thewritings of the prophet."
"Was it written in the text--or placed there afterwards?" she asked.
"Placed there afterwards, without a doubt," was the Professor's quickreply. "Holy writ was inspired, of course, but some temple priest, anexile in Babylon probably, worked out the cipher and placed the recordin the text in order that it might be there preserved and the existenceof the treasure be known to coming generations of Jews who would be thenaware of the existence of their war-chest."
"It really is a most amazing discovery, dad dear," declared the girlmuch excited. "When you publish it the whole world will be startled!"
"Yes, my dear," was the old fellow's response, as he ran his fingersthrough his scanty grey hair. "We have here before us," and he placedhis hand upon the open Hebrew text, "a secret explained which is surelythe greatest and most remarkable of any discovered in any age."
The girl, rising from her chair, saw upon the manuscript paper on herfather's blotting-pad, a number of lines of hastily-written Hebrewwords.
"Is that part of the deciphered record?" she inquired, greatlyinterested.
"Yes, dear."
"Oh, do read them to me, dad," she cried, "I'm dying to learn exactlythe purport of this message hidden through so many generations!"
"No, Gwen," was the old man's calm response, "not until I have workedout the whole. Then you shall, my child, be the first to have knowledgeof the secret of Israel. And remember it is my wish that you writenothing to Farquhar regarding it. We must keep our knowledge toourselves--very closely to ourselves, remember. Erich Haupt must haveno suspicion of my success. Otherwise we may even yet be forestalled."
"I quite see the danger, dad," remarked his daughter, "but I'm sointerested, do go on with your task and show me how it is accomplished."
"Very well," he said, smiling and humouring her. "You see here, at thismark," and he showed her a pencilled line upon the Hebrew text, "that iswhere I halted for luncheon. Now we go on to the next sign of six.See, here it is--in the next line. Now we count the eleventh letter,"and he wrote it down in Hebrew. Then he counted the sixty-sixth, thesix hundredth and sixty-sixth, the fiftieth, the two-hundredth, and soon until he had a number of Hebrew signs ranged side by side. Presentlyhe said, pointing to them:
"Here you are! The English translation to this is `...yourselves, andwonder, for unto thee, O children of Israel...'"
"Really, dad!" exclaimed the girl, highly excited. "It's mostremarkable!"
"Yes," he admitted. "I confess that until now I held the same idea thatevery Jewish Rabbi holds--namely that no secret cipher can exist in ourinspired writings."
"But you have now proved it beyond question!" she declared.
"Yes. But startling as it may be, we must preserve our secret, dear.There are others endeavouring to learn the trend of my investigations,recollect. We may have spies upon us, for aught we know," he added in alow tone, glancing at her with a significant look.
"How long do you expect it will take before you are in full possessionof the whole of the secret statement?" she asked.
"Many hours, my dear. Perhaps many days--how can I tell. Holmboe saysit runs through only nine chapters. Therefore it should end withchapter xxvi. But as far as I can gather I believe I shall find furthercryptic statements in the later chapters. There are certain evidencesof these in chapter xxxvii, 16, in chapter xxxix, 18, 19 and 20, andagain in chapter xliv, 5. Therefore, I anticipate that my task may be arather long one. The counting and recounting to ensure accuracyoccupies so much time. The miscounting of a single letter would throweverything out and prevent the record being recovered, as you willreadily foresee. Hence, it must be done with the greatest precision andpatience."
"But, dad--this is most joyful news!" declared the girl excitedly, "I'mmost anxious to telegraph to Frank."
"Not until the secret is wholly ours, my dear. Remember we must keepthe key a most profound secret to ourselves."
"Of course, dad," the girl answered, "I quite see that this informationmust not be allowed to pass to our enemies."
Little did father or daughter imagine that, within their own quiethousehold, was a spy--the maid Laura, suborned by Jim Jannaway.
When the pair had entered the study she had crept silently up to thedoor, and listened intently for the one fact which Jannaway hadinstructed her to listen--the means by which the cipher could beunravelled.
She was a shrewd, intelligent girl, and the inducement which thegood-looking adventurer had held out to her was such that theProfessor's explanation to his daughter impressed itself upon hermemory.
She recollected every word, and still stood listening, able to hearquite distinctly, until there seemed no further information to begathered. Then she descended the stairs, and made certain memoranda ofthe text at which to commence, and the mode by which the decipher couldbe made.
Half an hour later she made an excuse to the cook that she wished to goout to buy some hairpins, and then despatched a telegram to the name andaddress which her generous and good-looking "gentleman" had given her.
Meanwhile Gwen still sat with her father at his writing-table watchinghim slowly taking from the text of the Book of Ezekiel the full andcomplete record that had been hidden from scholars through all theages--the record which was to deliver back to the house of Israel hermost sacred possessions.
The light of the short afternoon faded, the electric light was switchedon, tea was served by the faithless maid-servant, and dinner had beenannounced.
But the Professor worked on, regardless and oblivious of everything. Hewas far too occupied, and Gwen was also too excited to dress and descendto dinner. Therefore, Laura served the meal upon a tray.
All was silence save the Professor's dry monotonous voice as he countedaloud the letters of the Hebrew text, recounted them to reassurehimself, and then set down a Hebrew character as result.
Thus from after luncheon until midnight--through the time indeed thatDiamond was so patiently watching the big house in Berkeley Square--thework of solving the problem went slowly on.
Gwen sat and watched her father's Hebrew manuscript grow apace, until itcovered many quarto pages. Now and then she assisted in counting theletters, verifying her father's addition.
Then at last, just after the old-fashioned clock upon the mantelshelfhad chimed twelve, the old scholar raised his grey head with a sigh, andwiping his glasses, as was his habit, said:
"Sit down, dear, and write the English translation at my dictation. Ithink we now have it quite complete."
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
EXPOSES THE CONSPIRACY.
While Professor Griffin had been so busily engaged deciphering theconcluding portion of the secret record, a strange scene was in progressat Sir Felix Challas's, in Berkeley Square.
First, Jim Jannaway had arrived and had held a short consultation in thelibrary with the red-faced Baronet, afterwards quickly leaving. Then,from the Waldorf Hotel, summoned by telephone, came old Erich Haupt,bustling and full of suppressed excitement.
Soon afterwards, the well-dressed Jim had returned, and had waited inmomentary expectancy, ready to dart out into the hall on hearing thesound of cab wheels.
At last they were heard and the man-servant opened the door to Laura,tall, dark-haired and rather good-looking parlour-maid at PembridgeGardens.
In the well-carpeted hall she recognised the man who had taken her outto dinner and the theatre on several occasions, and advanced excitedlyto meet him.
"Oh! Laura!" he cried. "I'm so glad you've come. I had your `wire,'and you got my message in reply, of course? You must see the gov'nor.This is his house, and I want you to tell him how the Professor issolving that puzzle." Then, lowering his voice, he added. "There's apot of money in it for both of us, dear, if you keep your wits aboutyou. You recollect what I promised you last Tuesday, don't you?"
The girl sniggered and nodded. She was a giddy young person, whose headhad been
turned by the admiration of that good-looking man who calledhimself "Miller," and who said he was a lawyer's clerk. He had promisedto become engaged to her and to marry her, provided they could get onlya good round sum from "the gov'nor" for the information she could, withsuch ease, supply.
This had placed the girl upon the constant alert, with the presentresult.
Her nonchalant admirer led the way across the hall to the library,pushed upon the door, and introduced her to the two men therein--Challas, fat and prosperous, and Haupt, white-bearded and bespectacled.
Then, when the door was closed and she had seated herself, Challas--or"Mr Murray," as he had been introduced--asked:
"I believe you're Laura, and you are parlour-maid at ProfessorGriffin's, aren't you?"
"Yes, sir," replied the girl, timidly, picking at her neat black skirt.
"Well, sir," explained Jim, bearing out his part of lawyer's clerk,"some time ago I explained to my young lady here, what we particularlywanted to know, and she's kept both eyes and ears open. To-day she'slearned something, it seems."
"What is it?" inquired old Erich, in a deep tone, with his strong Germanaccent.
"Let the young lady explain herself," urged the man introduced as"Murray," and they all sat silent.
"Well, sir," the girl faltered, a moment later. "You see it was likethis. After luncheon to-day the Professor, who'd been very hard at workas usual all the morning, took Miss Gwen up to the study to speak to herprivately; I listened, and I heard all their conversation. He told herhow he'd solved the problem of the cipher."
"Solved it!" ejaculated the old German, staring at her through hisspectacles.
"Yes, sir," the girl went on. "He told Miss Gwen that he'd tried andtried, but always failed. But he had taken the--well, sir, I think hecalled it the apoplectic number."
The German laughed heartily.
"I know," he said. "You mean the Apocalyptic Number, _fraulein_--thenumber 666."
"That's it, sir," she said, a little flurried, while Jim exchangedsignificant glances with Challas. "He commences at the tenth chapter ofEzekiel, eighth verse, and--and--" Then she fumbled in her pocket,producing a piece of crumpled paper to which she referred. "He takesthe first sign of 6," she went on, "then the eleventh letter, thesixty-sixth letter, and the six hundred and sixty-sixth letter. Afterthis, the fiftieth letter, the two-hundredth letter, the sixth letter,the fiftieth letter, the hundredth letter, the sixtieth letter, and thetwo-hundredth letter--making six hundred and sixty-six in all. Hewrites down each of the Hebrew letters, and then reads them off like abook."
"Wait--ah! wait!" urged the old German. "Let us have that again,_fraulein_," and crossing to Sir Felix's big mahogany writing-table, heopened the Hebrew text of Ezekiel upon it. "Where do you say theProfessor commences--at the tenth chapter, eighth verse--eh? Good!" andhe hastily found the reference. "Now?"
"Just tell this gentleman," urged Jim, "tell him exactly what youheard."
"Well, starting with the eighth verse, he commences with what he termedthe first `waw' sign."
"Zo! that's the equivalent of the number 6," Haupt remarked.
"Then the eleventh letter."
The old professor counted and wrote down the letter in question inHebrew characters.
"The sixty-sixth," said the girl.
The old man counted sixty-six, while Sir Felix and Jannaway watched withintense, almost breathless interest. Here was the secret, snatched fromtheir dreaded opponent, Arminger Griffin!
"And now the six hundred and sixty-sixth," the girl went on, apparentlythoroughly at home with the strangely assorted trio.
This took some time to count, but presently it was accomplished, and thegirl time after time gave the old professor directions--the fiftiethletter, the two-hundredth letter, and so on.
"Well?" asked Challas, a few moments later, unable to repress hisexcitement any longer. "Do you make anything out of it?"
The old man was silent. He was carefully studying the Hebrew charactershe had written down.
"Yes!" he gasped. "It is the secret--the great secret!" And he startedup, exclaiming, "At last! at last--thanks to _fraulein_ here--we havethe key!"
"And we can actually read the cipher?" cried Challas.
"Most certainly," responded the old scholar. "The secret is ours!Marvellous, how Griffin discovered it."
"Confound Griffin!" exclaimed Jim Jannaway. "We have to thank Laura,here, for our success! She ought to be well rewarded."
"And so she shall," declared the man, whom the girl knew as "MrMurray."
"It's late to-night, and we want Erich to get on at once with thedecipher. Besides, the young lady, no doubt, wishes to get back home.Bring her to me to-morrow, or next day--and she shall be well rewarded."
"Thank you very much, sir," was the silly girl's gratified reply, as shelooked triumphant into the face of the cunning man who had declared hislove for her.
The truth was that, having obtained that most valuable information, thetrio wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible. Therefore, withexcuses that the household at Pembridge Gardens would be suspicious ifshe returned too late, they bundled her almost unceremoniously outside,Jim hailing a hansom for her, paying the man, and telling him to driveto Notting Hill Gate Station.
Then, when he re-entered, he exclaimed with a laugh to the Baronet,"That was a cheap `quid's' worth of information, wasn't it--eh?"
"Cheap, my dear boy? Why, it's placed us absolutely on top. Thetreasure, if it still remains there, is ours!"
"Ah! not too hasty! Not too hasty!" exclaimed the old German in hisdeep guttural voice, and raising his head from the table. "Up to acertain point, it is all right, but--"
"But what?" the others gasped, in the same breath.
"Well, there's something wanting, alas! Or else the girl has made agreat mistake. After the addition of the numbers to 666, all goesentirely wrong!"
"Goes wrong!" they echoed breathlessly, with one accord.
"Yes. The further reading is quite unintelligible," he declared,speaking with his strong Teutonic accent.
"The girl seemed quite certain about it!" exclaimed Jim, exchangingglances with Challas.
"Quite," the other remarked, blandly.
"Well, my dear sirs!" exclaimed Haupt, pointing to his lines ofhastily-written Hebrew. "The commencement of the record is here, plainenough. It commences, `Remember and forget not, O Israel. Not for thyrighteousness---' But after taking the two-hundredth letter I candiscover nothing. Commencing again at six only results in nothing,while a repetition of the fiftieth and the consequent addition isequally futile. No! The confounded girl has made some mistake--and weare once more at a standstill. You see that one false number throws outthe whole. The cipher is one of the most ingenious ever conceived."
"But, my dear Haupt, you know the basis, and where it commences! Youwill surely succeed!" Challas cried, frantically.
The old man shook his head very dubiously.
"As I have already told you," he responded in his deep voice, "a singlemisplaced number throws it all out. We are again at an absolutedeadlock--and must remain as ignorant as we were before."
"But have you made every possible effort?" asked Jim Jannaway, witheager face, as he bent over the old man's shoulders.
"I have tried all the combinations of the Apocalyptic Number, but theyare futile!" replied the old German, laying down his pen, and blinkingthrough his glasses.
"Then the girl has failed us after all," remarked Challas in a low, hardvoice. "Griffin has deciphered the record and we're absolutely `in thecart.'"
"I won't give up!" declared Jannaway. "I'm hanged if I will! This maybe one of Charlie's tricks, remember! He may have learnt the truth andgot hold of Laura to put us on the wrong scent."
"He may--curse him!" muttered Sir Felix. "Why didn't he take my warningand get away abroad?"
"Because he's quite as cute as we are. He knows full well that while heremains in England circumsta
nces will continue to be propitious. So helives quietly down in Kent, with both eyes very much open."
Already Jim Jannaway's ingenious mind was active; already he wasdevising a way out of the awkward _cul-de-sac_ in which they now foundthemselves.
"What are we to do?" inquired Sir Felix, with his dark brows knitted atthis sudden failure of all his elaborate plans.
"Leave it to me," replied the good-looking scoundrel, with the utmostconfidence. "Let Erich remain quietly within reach--not, however, atthe Waldorf--and allow me to carry out the scheme in my own way."
"I cannot think why the girl made such a mistake," Challas remarked verydisappointedly. "I admit the solution was complicated, but you saw thatshe was clever enough to write it down."
"She listened behind a closed door. She may have misunderstood," Jimremarked.
"Or, what is much more likely," remarked the German, "Griffin, who hasthe reputation of being a very shrewd man, does not trust his daughter,and purposely misled her in explaining his secret."
"No, I don't think