cob nob yob
coj noj yoj
com nom yom
cou nou you
cox nox yox
"Some of these are too comical for anything," said Jack; "but we've one
complete word, _you_. Let us see what the next comes to. S again;
that's _c_, _n_, or _y_. Then F; that's _i_ or _t_. No English word
begins with _ct_, _nt_, or _yt_, so _t_ goes out. Now for L; that's _g_
or _r_; and the combinations now are:--
cig nig yig
cir nir yir
I say, your father wouldn't begin by addressing me as 'you nigger',
would he? The next letter is S; _c_, _n_, or _y_ again. Not a single
one of them helps to make a word. We are on the wrong track, Juanita."
"Perhaps the first word is not _you_ at all."
"Well, let's go back and see how many of the fifteen combinations of the
first three letters will fit on to the fourth. It's quite clear that
you can't make a word by putting c or y after any of them; there's only
n left, and all we can make is _coun_ and _noun_. Don Fernan wouldn't
go in for grammar, would he? If we drop _noun_ we've only coun, and
that looks most unlikely."
"Be quick with the next letter, Jack. Why do you talk so much? I could
jump with excitement."
"Don't be in a hurry; perhaps the whole thing will come to grief again.
The next letter is F; that stands for _i_ or _t_; _i_ won't do, but _t_
will, and we get _count_; that's a word at any rate. I wonder what
we're to count. Now for L; that's _g_ or _r_; and S again; that's _c_,
_n_, or _y_. And unless I'm a Dutchman, that makes the word _country_."
Juanita clapped her hands and laughed.
"You _are_ getting clever!" she said.
The irony escaped Jack, who was busy working out the next word. In a
few minutes he had made out _house_.
"Country house!" exclaimed Juanita. "Oh, you are slow, Jack; do be
quick! What about the country house?"
But the same process had to be gone through with every letter, and it
was quite half an hour before the whole message was deciphered. The
excitement of Juanita and himself increased with every fresh discovery,
and when the task was finished, and the simple English words were
written down, each gave a gasp of relief. The message consisted of but
six words:--
_Country house old well twelve feet_.
"I see it! I see it all!" exclaimed Juanita. "Oh, Jack, we shall get
it after all! I don't care for the treasure itself one bit really, not
one bit; but I could dance with joy at defeating that wretch Miguel, and
I should like to have some money to give to the poor people ruined in
Saragossa. You must go, Jack. The well is in the garden behind the
house, near the wall. It has not been used for many years; we got water
from a new well by the kitchen. Only to think that all is coming right
after all!"
"Yes," said Jack; "Pepito and I will go to-morrow. How deep is the well,
Juanita?"
"I don't know. It doesn't matter. Twelve feet means something. You
will find out what, Jack. And then--"
"Then, Juanita, for England!"
*CHAPTER XXXIV*
*Dead Men Tell no Tales*