“Only the obvious suggestion that if you leave a message which provokes an expedition, you must also convey in your message the destination of that expedition, and a map seems the simplest way of doing it. But on second thoughts I question my first conclusion. There must be an explanation of the secret as well as a direction of how to profit by it, and it would seem to me doubtful that such an explanation could be covered by a map.” “Sounds all right, that,” Price admitted. “Have you any idea what the secret might be? Sounds like treasure or salvage or something of that kind.” “I scarcely think salvage,” French answered. “The _L’Escaut_ is not a salvage boat, and a boat not specially fitted for the purpose would be of little use. But I thought of treasure all right. This Schulz might have robbed his ships—there would always be money aboard, and even during the war many women traveled with jewelry. The man might easily have made a cache of valuables somewhere round the coast.” “Easily,” Cheyne intervened, “or he might have learned of some valuable deposit in some out of the way cove round the coast, like those chaps in that clinking tale of Maurice Drake’s, _WO₂_.” “As at Terneuzen?” said French. “I read that book—one of the best I ever came across. It’s a possibility, of course.” The talk here became somewhat rambling, Price not having read _WO₂_ and wanting to know what it was about, but French soon reverted to his photograph. He reminded his hearers that they were all interested in its elucidation. Miss Merrill’s safety, his own professional credit, Cheyne’s peace of mind, and Price’s fortune, all were at stake. “We have,” he went on, “evolved the idea that perhaps this tracing may be a map of England. On further thought that suggestion does not seem promising, but as we have no other let us work on it. Assume it is a map of England, and let us see if it leads us anywhere.” There were murmurs of assent from his hearers, and he continued: “Now it seems to me the first thing to do is to try if we can fit these circles and lines into the map of England. Is there anything corresponding to them in English geography?” No one being able to answer this query, French went on: “I think we must distinguish between the letter circles on the one hand and those of the numbers and lines on the other. The position of the former was not altered in the faked copy; that of the latter was. From this may we not assume that the message lies in the numbers and lines only? Possibly the letters were added as a blind, as we have already assumed the words ‘expects every man to do his duty’ were added as a blind to ‘England.’ Suppose at all events that we eliminate the letter circles and concentrate on the others for our first effort?” “That sounds all right.”