The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-01-22

! be taken with him-and they were
taken with him. In no way did he show
or learn that he was in the presence of
the chiefs of conspiracy to raise the
Hungarian race in revolt against the
| Germans. Matthias Sandorf, Stephen
Bathory and Ladislas Zathmar seemed
at their meetings TO be only occupied
with discussions ON art and science.
| There was no secret correspondence;
there were no mysterious comings and
goings about the house. But Sarcany
knew what he wanted. The chance he
wanted was sure to come in turn, and he
waited for it,
In entering Zathmar's house Sarcany
hnd but one object in view-to possess
himself of the grating that would enable
him TO decipher the cryptogram; and as
no ciphered despatch arrived at Trieste,
he began to ask himself it, for pruden.
tial reasons, the grating had been de-
stroyed? This would be rather annoy
ing for him, as all the scaffolding of his
scheme was based on his being able to
read the letter brought by the pigeon.
Thus, rs he worked at putting III or
der the accounts of Matthias Sandorf, he
kept his eyes open; he watched, he
spied Admission to the room where
the meetings took place between Zath-
mar and his companions was not forbid
den him. Very often he worked there
all alone and then his eyes and his fin
gers were occupied in quite other tasks
than making calculations or casting
figures He ferreted among the papers
he opened the drawers by means of
skeleton keys made for him by Iirone,
who was quite an adept in such matters
And all the time he kept strict watch
on Borik, with whom he seemed some-
how, quite out of sympathy.
For five days Sarcanys search was
useless. Each morning he came with
the hope of succeeding; each evening he
returned to his hotel without having
discovered anything He feared he was
going to fail after all in his criminal en-
terprize. The conspiracy--if there were
a conspiracy, and he could not doubt
that there was one-might come to
head at any moment before it had been
discovered, and consequently before it
had been reported.
But rather than lose the benef. of
discovery. even without satisfactory
proofs, better inform the police" said
Zirone, land give them copy of the
letter."
THAT is what / am going to do if
necessary, said Sarcany.
or course Toronthal was kept inform
ed of all that went on. And it was not
without difficulty, that the impatience
of the banker was duly curbed.
Chance came at last to his assistance.
On the first occasion it brought him the
message, and now it came to him to
show him how the message could be
deciphered. 1t was the last day of May,
about four o'clock i'll the afternoon.
| Sarcany, according to his custom, was
going to leave Zathmar's house at five.
He was greatly disappointed that he
had advanced no further than on the
first day, and that the work he had
been doing for Count Sandorf was ap.
proaching its end. When the task was
finished he would evidently be dismiss
ed with thanks and rewards and he
would have no chance of again entering
the house.
Zathmar and his two friends were not
Mt home. There was no one in the house
but Borik, and he was busy on the
ground floor. Sarcany, finding himself
free to do rs he liked, resolved to go
into Count Zathmar's room-which he
had not yet been able to do--and then
search everything he could.
The door was locked. Sarcany with
his skeleton keys soon opened it and
entered.
Between the two windows opening on
| tn thp gtraaf thar.
whose antique form would have delight
ed II connoisseur in old furniture The
shutdown front prevented any one in
specting what was inside.
1t was the first time Sarcany had the
chance of getting near this piece OF
furniture, and lie was not the man to
waste his opportunities. To rummage
in different drawers, he only had to
force the front. And this he did with
the aid of his instruments, without the
lock being in any way injured,
In the fourth drawer under pile of
papers, was a kind of card cut into Curl
ous holes. The card caught his atten-
ton at once,
The grating!" he said.
He was not mistaken.
| iIiS hiSo iica was 70 Jake III Win III ',
but on reflection he saw that its disap-
peaance would awake suspicion, if
Count Zathmar noticed it had gone.
"Good," said he to himself "as [
copied the message, so I'll copy the graf
ing and Toronthal and | can read the
despatch ut our ease"
The grating was merely square of
card about two and II half inches long,
divided into thirty-six equal squares.
OF these thirty six equal squares,
arranged in six horizontal and vertical
lines like those on Pythagorean table
OF SIX ciphers, twenty-seyen were shaded
and nine We're open-that is to say, nine
squares had been cut out of the card and
left nine openings in different positions.
Sarcany had to be careful to take the
exact size of the grating and the exact
position of the nine blank squares. And
this he did by tracing the grating on a
sheet of white paper and marking on his
copy small cross which he found ON
the original, and which seemed to dis
tinguish the top side.
BY means of this grating, which il
would be easy to copy on a piece OF
ordinary card, Sarcany felt that he would
have no difficulty in deciphering the fac
simile of the message then in possession OF
Toronthal and so he put back the orig
inal grating among the papers, as he had
found it, left Zsthmar's room, left the
: house, and returned to his hotel.
Aquarter of an hour afterwards Zirone
beheld him enter the room with such a
triumphant air that he could not help
exclaimlng:
Halo What is up? Take care o.
yourself You are not so clever in hid
ing your Joy as you are your grief, anG
,, you'll betray yourself, if"
"Shut up" answered Sarcany, "anG
to work without losing a moment"
Before we feed 7"
, "Before we feed"
And then Sarcany picked up card O
moderate thickness, He cut it according
,, to his tracing so as to obtain grating o
: the exacs shape of his copy. not forget
! ting the little cross which showed tn,
, right end uppermost Then he took
rule and divided his rectangle into thirty
a six squares, all of equal size. Then o
J these thirty-six squares nine were marked
as they appeared on the tracing, and Gu
/, out with the point of penknife so as t,
. show through them, when applied to tn
! message, whatever signs or letters wer
| q, l..