“I have it—here it is—we’re there at last!” “But the title—are you sure?—” “Why, of course: look!” “Are you convinced? Have we mastered the secret at last?” “The front page—what does the front page say?” “Read: _The Whole Truth now first exhibited. One hundred copies printed by myself for the instruction of the Court_.” “That’s it, that’s it,” muttered Massiban, in a hoarse voice. “It’s the copy snatched from the flames! It’s the very book which Louis XIV. condemned.” They turned over the pages. The first part set forth the explanations given by Captain de Larbeyrie in his journal. “Get on, get on!” said Beautrelet, who was in a hurry to come to the solution. “Get on? What do you mean? Not at all! We know that the Man with the Iron Mask was imprisoned because he knew and wished to divulge the secret of the Royal house of France. But how did he know it? And why did he wish to divulge it? Lastly, who was that strange personage? A half-brother of Louis XIV., as Voltaire maintained, or Mattioli, the Italian minister, as the modern critics declare? Hang it, those are questions of the very first interest!” “Later, later,” protested Beautrelet, feverishly turning the pages, as though he feared that the book would fly out of his hands before he had solved the riddle. “But—” said Massiban, who doted on historical details. “We have plenty of time—afterward—let’s see the explanation first—” Suddenly Beautrelet stopped. The document! In the middle of a left-hand page, his eyes saw the five mysterious lines of dots and figures! He made sure, with a glance, that the text was identical with that which he had studied so long; the same arrangement of the signs, the same intervals that permitted of the isolation of the word _demoiselles_ and the separation of the two words _aiguille_ and _creuse_. A short note preceded it: All the necessary indications, it appears, were reduced by King Louis XIII. into a little table which I transcribe below. Here followed the table of dots and figures. Then came the explanation of the document itself. Beautrelet read, in a broken voice: As will be seen, this table, even after we have changed the figures into vowels, affords no light. One might say that, in order to decipher the puzzle, we must first know it. It is, at most, a clue given to those who know the paths of the labyrinth. Let us take this clue and proceed. I will guide you. The fourth line first. The fourth line contains measurements and indications. By complying with the indications and noting the measurements set down, we inevitably attain our object, on condition, be it understood, that we know where we are and whither we are going, in a word, that we are enlightened as to the real meaning of the Hollow Needle. This is what we may learn from the first three lines. The first is so conceived to revenge myself on the King; I had warned him, for that matter— Beautrelet stopped, nonplussed.