Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-06-12

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He passed his hama orer his forehead.
Cipher writing is so ancient an art /
that there is little or nothing to be said
about it, and perhaps there are no new
cipher types to be invented. The ideal
cipher is one that is easily written and
read by those in the secret, and vet is
practically undeCipherable by outsiders /
In such cipher all the time and labor are
expended upon determining its funda-
mental principles Of construction. Once
those are settled, the practical working
of it is simple.
The cipher which Keppel was dealing
with was Of this species, and perhaps
no more nearly perfect one was ever
made. 1t was based upon the philo-
sophie structure of language, and upon
the mathematical principle that gives
different values or meanings to a char
acter according to its place in combi-
nation. This plan enables words to be
written with much fewer letters than
are contained in the ordinary alphabet
and to be expressed with not more than
four characteristics, one to represent the
root of the word, one for the termina-
tons, one for the part of speech, one for
such COMMON combinations as ion, ght,
ment, phi, and so on. Thus, if in the
cipher ikmn meant writing, then iklm
would mean writer, iknm written or
wrote, and kiln to write. Further mod
ifications were indicated by the capital
letters, and others Of Il different kind by
the periods and commas.
But it will not be necessary to carry
these hints any further. Enough has
been said to enable the reader, if he be
SO minded, to work out the problem.
Keppel in the course of twenty minutes
had read the cipher letter which trans
lated from the French into English, ran
as follows:
arrangements have been perfected.
Name of messenger, Maurice Solange.
Trust him. He leaves Paris February
fifteen. VIII take easterly route, and
should arrive not later than June. He
will telegraph from Panama. Send to
meet him at New Orleans. Treasure
packed III box, concealed, as already ad-
vised. Approximate value, twenty mill.
ion pounds sterling. In case of rob
berry, death or accident inform us by
cable, On receiving treasure store qui-
city phuo) in private vault. Rate Of
commission, one per cent. per auuum.
We intend to declare war in early sum
lner, but circumstances may delay,
Winter campaign not desired. If sue
cessful Solange will bring back treasure
Keep him with you meanwhile. If de-
feated we shall leave at once for New
York incognito ngil F.. Empress and
son to Lu-laud. Keep US constantly in
formed o. your movements. Estimate
SO far as possible whether American
sympathies incline toward France or
Germany. Would it be advisable to
bring about collision between Germany
and United Statesi Is it possible that
arrangements can still be made about
Mexico? If we miscarry with Germany
something must be done to consolidate
and stimulate imperial sentiment here.
Our hand aud seal"
The political immortality indicated by
this document did not at the time par
ticularly impress Keppel; his interest
was monopolized by that part of the let
ter relating to the treasure. For some
minutes his mind staggered in bewilder-
lnent at the suggestion presented 10 it.
1t seemed far more incredible now than
bsfore that great fortune should actu-
ally be within his reach. lie had dreamed
wild dream of hundreds of thousands
of dollars, and it had almost seemed real
to him, but now that he heard, as il
were, the very jingle of hundred mill
ions he could not believe it, And yet
the evidence that fortune not less vast
lay possibly within few yards Of where
he was sitting was more than plausible,
The more he examined it the more plaus.
ible did it appear,
lie endeavored to rcview the situation
step by step. lie had found man who
manifestly carried some weighty secret
on his mind. This man, who was dying
OF yellow fever, spoke of one Maurice as
being dead and us haunting him. Who
could Maurice be but the Maurice So
lange mentioned In the cipher letter.
Maurice, then, according to the letter
had been dispatched In charge Of "A treas
IRE to America by way of India and the
, Pacific. 1t was not uncommon for ships
making such voyage to be visited by
yellow fever. Maurice may have died
Of it, or he may have been murdered.
! BE that as 1T might, the man whose body
lay within there had evidently got hold
Of the treasure and had brought it here
lie had said that he meant to dispose OF
it piece by piece. He had spoken Of the