Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 156, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 July 1911 — Page 3

Under the Rose

I I. • A

n GENTLEMAN to see you. A inspector,” said Finney Valentine’s uniformed at- ~ tendant, entering the great detective's private- office fßkr In the Flatiron building ■W- one beautiful May mornapßjh ing and giving him his former official title. “Says ...I. he has ah appointment.” Valentine took the ob-’Tfr-rSw" long calling card, which

bore the name “Mr. John Wiborne.” “Quite right—show him in,” was the reply. In the few seconds intervening between the dosing and the reopening if the door, Valentine took from a pile of letters one bearing the superscription of a Fifth avenue dub, and glanced over the formal few lines requesting an interview “on a professional matter.” The name signed was a historic one, among the oldest in the United States, and well-known to any person versed in the , history of the Empire state. “ "•- / V Mr. John Wiborne on entering proved to be a youngish man of about thirty-five, tall, florid, well-set-up; a casual observer would have pronounced him very English-looking. But he'greeted the inspector with quite un-English warmth, and in their momentary handshake each took quick appraisal of the other and in that instant recorded the dual mental verdict, “You’ll do!” “Be seated, Mr.. Wiborne,” said Vai-, entine, “and let me know how I can V- , The newcomer laid aside stick/hat and gloves, took a discolored fragment of what appeared to be parchment from his wallet and placed It on the desk. Valentine glanced at It momentarily, noticing that one side of the document was covered with an apparently Confused and’ meaningless mass of figures and hieroglyphics written with ink much faded and yellowish with age. V ■ ’ . “I’m half ashamed to trouble you,” said John Wiborne, “but I believe you are the only man in New York who. can help me. And perhaps you’ll laugh when I tell you that it’s a case of recovering some pirate treasure, and the redoubtable Captain Kidd’s at that. There,! told you so!” he ended, noting an amused twist on the usually impassive Ups of Finney Valentifie. “Well, to be honest, Mr. Wiborne, I couldn’t say why I laughed, except that the highly-respectable gentleman you mentioned and his rumored hiding places have been more or less of a joke around these parts for something like a couple of hundred years. However, I judge you want me to take the matter seriously, so let’s be Serious. I’m at your service, as I said before.” ~ “I’m thoroughly in earnest,” said Wiborne, “although I know everybody laughs when Captain Kidd’s name is mentioned.” “As I did just now,” nodded Valentine. “I guess we are disposed to regard some of the tales as myths, but this seems to be something tangible, anyway. Is this one of your exhibits tn the case?” he ended, taking up’the fragment of parchment. “Yes, and the only one,” said Wiborne. “H’m’m,” mused the inspector as he scanned the queer characters through a powerful lend glass. “Seems to be some of a cryptogram—l should say a rather intricate piece of secret cipher writing.” Here Is an exact copy of the mysterious parchment which the inspector scanned:

as •‘What else?" queried Valentine, j “Absolutely nothing, if yon mean documents,” answered John Wiborne; “but there's a family story or legend back of it; also a mystery which has pusried my family tor several generations. It was reserved tor me to stumble across that bit of paper, which I believe contains the Clue to the mystery and possibly the treasure." “Better give me the whole yarn,” commented Valentine. “My time's yours.” Thus invited John Wiborne began his remarkable tale. < “Nearly three hundred years ago my ancestor, Jbhn Wiborne, settled on Wbltetfhter Island—which, as you know, lies at the east end of Long Island. In 1639 he bought the Island from Wyandauch, chief Sachem of the Manhansett Indians, the purchase price being, according to the records, one large black dog, a gun, some powder and shot, two kegs of rum, and a bale of blankets, the whole valued at about five pounds. “In the following year John W!

THE DOMINO-CIPHER

THE DOMINO-CIPHER By FREDERIC REDDALE

(Copyright by W. G. Chapman)

borne received a royal patent under the seal or the then Earl of Stirling. Ever since that time the estate Has remained in tne nanas or tne wioorne ' father to son. > There has slWHys been a John Wiborne, and I hope there always will be. We have lived on the land, farmed it, and it is probably the oldest piece of property in this country that has so descended. The first settler, my ancestor, was a man of good family, born In 1599, dying in 1663, and being buried in Easthampton churchyard on the mainland’of Long Island, where his tomb exists to this day.” . 2 The narrator paused, and Finney Valentine nodded to indicate that in, a general way he was familiar with the facts—as indeed so well-informed a man would likely be. Thus encouraged John Wiborne again took up his iafo. - - r r r '"*3ftow we come to the Captain Kidd, part. It is a matter of historical record that the notorious pirate frequented the east end of Long Island in or about the year 1698, and that he landed on Whitewater Island, where be careened his ship, the Adventure galley, for repairs. From this fact, I suppose, arose the legend or rumor' that he there cashed some of his ill-got-ten gains. That was the .popular belief, anyway, for a good many yean after his death at Execution Dock in 1701, and in this case rumor was and is backed up by traditions in the Wiborne family. But no one ever set eyes on the treasure. - "However, there are some collateral facts that help out thestory.. For instance/ we have it on record that during his stay at the island Kidd fell ill and was nursed by the mistress of the manor. To show his gratitude, the story goes', the buccaneer filled her apron with gold and silver pieces. On his departure he needed fresh meat for his crew, and the reigning John Wiborne gave him some cattle and sheep. Recompense being declined, Kidd presented my ancestress with a very beautiful quilt, embroidered with gold and semi-precious Stones; This, he said, had been taken from the crib of » little Indian princess on an East Tndiaman which he had attacked and sacked. The relic still exists in the Wiborne family, having some years ago been cut Into four quarters and distributed among several of our ladles.” ' ts ' “That part’s all new to me,” commented Valentine, “and a mighty interesting yarn it makes. But where does the treasure and this cryptogram fit In?” - ■ “I’m coming to that,” answered John Wiborne. “What I’ve, told you merely establishes a basis Jor the rest—the local color for the historical setting, as we may say.” Valentine nodded again and once more composed himself to listen. “The story that Kidd secretly burled some of his plunder on Whitewater Island would not down. To this day in Sag Harbor, Greenport, Easthampton and Shelter Island you may run across old-timers, baymen or boatmen, who believe it implicitly. We know that some digging was done at various times, mostly under cover of darkness, by adventurers in search of the loot, for the Island being held strictly private, no outsiders might trespass by daylight. Whether the succeeding proprietors—the-Wibornes, I mean—ever took the thing seriously and explored the likeliest spots in the little domain on their own account, there is nothing to show. Yet certain it is that the legend or whatever you

choose to call It, has been handed down from father to son like all the other heirlooms. As a boy I was fascinated with the story and its possibilities, an I’ve no doubt were my father and his fathers before him. -One thing is absolutely certain, however—nothing was ever recov“Wherein does the present differ from the past?" queried Finney Vaientine drily. “In that I believe I have stumbled on the key!” exclaimed Wiborne. “The cipher which you hold In your hand!” declared the other. 1 *’ Quickly count i Wiborne. not displeased at the prospect. ,

■ garrets, presses, nignooys, ana any a. w . a* J Uk idea of inventoryliur anything of s «Among the latter ’was “K sevenInto the little rolled°lnto a cylinder, I found that bit of cryptic parchment. 1 saw at once that some secret was hidden there, but for days thereafter gave it no special thought. Then one night it suddenly flashed into mind that here was the long-forgotten, anxiously-sought information about Captain Kidd’s treasure! It was a favorite trick and device of his age, I knew, to lock up such matters In that way, and lose the key or leave to posterity the task of unlocking the secret writing. No doubt the men who entrusted their affairs to such ciphers hugged themselves like cunning old misers at the thought of the trouble they were making for those who came after them.” “Then you really believe, Mr. Wiborne, that this bit of parchment will furnish .the clue to Kidd’s treasure burled on your island estate?” queried Valentine. “Why, what else can ft be.” demanded the young man. “I know of no other incident connected with my family which would demand any such secrecy.” “Have you given any thought as to the probable writer?” was the next question. X 2 “Well, here’s my theory: I don’t know much about such matters, but I take it that no illiterate man could devise or use a cipher. The chap who wrote that—unless he -was a mere copyist—Was an educated man, probably a John Wiborne of the third or fourth generation after the first settlement Probably he knew of Kidd’s deposit, and may have considered the gold accursed; yet from motives of prudence, or because of some queer twist in his mental make-up, he committed the secret to writing In this dark way. That’s as far as I’ve got.” “A very plausible theory,” agreed Valentine, "but don’t fib too sure. Have you shown this document to any one?” “Not a soul,” said Wiborne, “not even to my wife. I’ve been reading up on ciphers in cyclopedias and the like, but nothing I came across gave me any assistance. So, after mulling over the thing for a month, I come to . you. I want you to try and decipher it for me. You may think me very boyish or fanciful, but I shan’t rest until I know what’s behind those figures and crosses and odd signs.” Vi ? “Very well, Mr. Wiborne,” said Finney Valentine, “I’ll accept your commission. It may take some time, and I don’t promise success. But I’ll tell you one thing right here and now: Any secret writing devised by human ingenuity, no matter how apparently complicated,-can be deciphered by another set of brains, given sufficient time and energy. That’s as far as I care to go just at this minute. Suppose you look me up in a couple of weeks. I may have something to report by then.” V-. - With this guarded statement John Wiborne was forced to content himself, yet he took his departure not a little lighter in heart, for “the confounded thing,” as he termed It, had completely obsessed his waking thoughts since he had stumbled on that old powder-horn. For the next few days Finney Valentine bent all his trained powers of analysis to unlocking the Wiborne cipher. To such a many-sided man the task happened to be peculiarly congenial, drawing as it did upon a fund of knowledge not often tapped in his general line of work. That he succeeded in his task before the allotted time elapsed did equal credit to his critical acumen and his ability to handle apparently unsolvable mysteries. However, we will let him tell his own story as he explained the successive steps to John Wiborne when that anxious client appeared promptly on the appointed day. Immediately after the usual salutations, Valentine opened a manila envelope and drew forth a small sheaf of papers. £> “Let me ask you a few questions, Mr. Wiborne,” he began. “Do you know either of these places: Noyack Island or Mecox Point?” “Surely,” was the smiling answer, “they have been familiar-to me all my life.” V « -r. “And what about a 'zero wreck?’” “Why, that’s the half-sunken remains of an English gunboat that went ashore on Noyack Island during the revolution,” was the ready reply. “You can see her timbers in the sand ■ ** • “And where is this Noyack Island T' was Valentine’s next query, 4 "It lies a mile east and south of Whitewater Island itself—a mere sandspit, nearly flooded at high tide. Great place for ducks in the fall!” "Yes, yes,” nodded Valentine. “Any grass on this Noyack Island?” “You seem to know the place pretty well,” laughed Wiborne. “Been down there lately? Certainly there’s grass there—not the meadow or lawn variety, you understand, but the coarse beach kind-quick-grass we call it.” Valentine, but Tm going after some of those ducks pretty soon, and incidentally help you look for Cantain Kidd’s treasure!” •You don’t mean it!” exclaimed

John Wiborne, leaping to his feet excitedly. • “You don’t mean to tell me that-—” .*■ r “Well, I’ve unraveled that old cipher, and I' guess you won’t have to look far to locate the spot where the plunder was buried—that is if the bearings are O. K. But whether the stuff’s there now is another question, of course.” “How in the world did you manage it?” queried Wiborne. “Sit down, light a cigar, and Til tell you,” said Valentine, offering his cigarcase and arranging his papers. “Let me premise by telling you that I’ve specialised somewhat in the study of ciphers. Yes. Now, we can divide all cryptograms into two broad classes, arbitrary and hidden, in the latter class we are not interested—the supposed Baconian cipher is an example. Arbitrary ciphers are like the one we are considering—where a certain set of symbols are selected to rep-

resent the letters of an alphabet, arranged in a particular manner. Sometimes another person possesses the key—ln which case it is easy to unlock. But oftentimes the man who concocts the cipher has no confidant or correspondent—he merely desires to conceal certain information, not much caring whether he is found out or not That seems to have been the case here—and corresponds with part of your theory. “Now, in studying the Wiborne cryptogram—for I agree with yon that its author was a scholarly man—we have merely to deal with a set of arbitrary arithmetical signs and symbols. I tried algebra; I tested it with various combinations Of figures, cutting out the odd signs used. Both

failed. The next step in this line of work is to look for the signs most frequently used, which correspond toi such letters as A, E, C, 8 and so on, supposing the thing to have been based on our English tongue. That brought me to my first discovery—which was that each letters Is represented by a pair of digits from one to six—nothing greater than six. So I made a little table of the signs and letters oftenest used, all the time puzzling my brain to discover the medium or the basis of the cipher alphabet; These crosses and division marks” —pointing to the parchment slip—’’bothered me for a bit, but at last I hit on the trick. Your respected ancestor simply used a set of dominoes. Like as not he was a devotee of the game. Here, look at this table, and you’ll see what I mean at a glance.” At this juncture Valentine handed John Wiborne the following orderly diagram:

“Marvelous! Wonderful!” ejaculated the listener. “I couldn’t have done it in a thousand years ” Valentine waved aside the compliment and continued: “Now look again at the cipher itself. The dashes, the-crosses and the division marks represent the dividing line on a. domino; the numbers in brackets are the blanks, such as Blank 4, Blank 6, and so on. And seeing that there are 28 pieces in a set of dominoes, two more than-were needed for the English alphabet, that clever John Wiborne discarded the Double-blank and the Double-Ace. .. "So! Now we’re ready for the cipher and its translation, one under the other,” handing the following to hfh auditor: ‘ ‘ J

"And now, last of all, just for cleanness’ sake, here’s the message which your ancestor left for posterity,” said Valentine, giving Wiborne a fourth slip of paper bearing th«f following words neatly typewritten; “and you will note another interesting filet: The message contains evdry letter in the alphabet!” “Kidd’s Hoard, Mecox Point, Noyack Island, Zero Wreck Bearing Six Rod South. Five Jars Bunch Qfiick Grass Under Stake. Who Finds Keeps.” “The old rascal!” exclaimed the of W isl&ud 11&1& laughing. ‘“Who finds keeps!’ ehT Well, we’ll see about that! But here’s the joke, after aU: Kidd never dug on Whitewater Island, and we were all wrong! How John Wiborne must have laughed arid chuckled over that little fact” “The joke may be a double-edged one, remember,” said Valentine grimly. “Perhaps the whole thing’s a blind—the treasure may have been planted elsewhere. Or—and this is even more likely—somebody may have been before you! The records say that the Earl of Bellomart, when governor of New York, dug up Kidd’s treasure! ’ i , “Possibly,” assented: Wiborne, “though I’m Inclined to negative both suppositions, especially the latter. If those five jars had ever been dug up and found to contain the loot, the discovery would have leaked out—you couldn’t keep dark a matter like that hfs hoard on Noyack Island six rods south of that old Zero wreck, it’s there yet!” Finley Valentine chuckled quietly over Wiborne’s enthusiasm. Apart from the fact that he had done a clever bit of detective work of an unusual kind he* was really anxious to see the finish of the adventure. “When do we start?” he queried, his eyes twinkling. “This minute If you’re ready!” snapped John Wiborne. “I know the spot as well as I do my own garden.” “All right,” assented the other, slamming down the roll-top to his desk. “Gold or no gold, I want to be in at the death. Besides there’s those J°" o kn ° w^,’ a Qot atrlctly a of this story, which is concerned merely with the unraveling of the Domino Cipher, ft may be added that the five with gold and silver coinage from the dollars, pieces of fight, spade-guineas and Louis dore—were dug up from beneath three dr four

Her Financial Instinct.

A young woman tn Cincinnati who had started her first checking account and drawn against it rather freely, received a notice from the bank one day which read as follows: “Your account is overdrawn." She bustled down to the bank in a rage and approached the teller. There surely la some , mistake,” said the demure maiden. “Don't yoa see that otdy half the check book is usedY* ,

The Meaning.

“What did you mean when you said. A penny for your thoughts? ’* “I guess it was ju»t* cent-I-mea*f