The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-04-08

ghost. The villagers give the landing place
and that part of the coast road wide
berth at night in consequence
Il do not think the old man hid his
money in the boathouse or landing pace, ="
said Crewe. ''He would have known that
the action of weather and tide would make
such a hiding place unsafe. He would
look for safer place. He has almost GER
tainly hidden it somewhere about the farm
and the circle and the letters and figures
will tell us where, when we discover their
meaning"
Crewe opened his notebook and com
menced to make some calculations in fig
ures. Marsland meantime occupied him
sell by looking at the circle through the
magnifying glass and in counting the fig
ures in its circumference
Perhaps these marks in the circle rep
resent PAGES he said, struck by new
thought. Suppose, for instance, that the
old man measured off a piece OF ground
with tape measure fastened to some point
which would represent the pivot center
OF his circle. He may have fastened the
end OF his tape measure to the we'll pump
IN the bricked yard, and walked round in
a circle holding the other end in his hand
sticking in pegs as he walked. The top
figure inside the circe-l50-m mean
that the circle is 50 yards in circumference
Within the radius Of the circle he buries his
money, makes drawing of the circle OF
figures and the remaining figures to IN
dictate its wherea bouts, and then removes
the cord and pegs
ingenious, but unlikely" commented
Crewe. For one thing, such plan would
need compass points to enable the searchers
to take their bearings
North or south may be indicated in the
cryptogram -when discover it," said
Marsland.
No, no. said Grove. shaking his head
Your idea is based on treasure hunt charts
In novels. My experience IS that in real
life people do not go to much trouble in
hiding money or valuables; they put them
away in some chance place or odd recep-
taele which happens to appeal to them, and
where | think they really have better
chance of remaining undiscovered for years
than in more deliberately contrved hiding
place. In the Farndon missing will case,
involving of the largest estates in Eng
land, the will was found after the lapse of
10 years concealed i'll the back of a book,
where the deceased Lord Farndon had
placed it in his latter days, when he mag
ined himself surrounded by thieves. II
you open large book about the middle it
discloseS an aperture at the back sufficient
~ large to conceal paper, and when the
book is closed there will be no sign Lord
Farndon concealed his will in one of the
estate lcdgers which was in constant use for
time after his DEATH and vet the will
would probably have never been disco vered
if mouse had no, eaten through the leath-
CT back long afterward, disclosing the hid
den parchment.
I'm the case of the stolen Trimarden dia-
mond, the thef-a servant in the house-es-
capped detection by hiding the jewel in
common wooden matchbox in a candlestick
in his bedroom. The police searched his
room, but never thought of looking into
the matchbox and he got away with the dia-
mond If he had not Dragged of the trick
in tavern he would never have been
caught As regards hidden money, people
of misery proclivites who are afraid to
put their money into banks prefer a hid
ding place under cover to one in the OPEN
hiding place in the house seems safer to
them. and, moreover, it enables them to
look at their money whenever they feel IN
clined. | knew one miser who used to hide
sovereigns in bar Of yellow soap-thrust-
ing them in till they were hidden from
view. The treasure of Cliff Farm is hid
den somewhere in the farm, and the circle
making occasional entries in his notebook
PLANTATION is hidden in the cryptogram, and
I bay hat