Part 40 (1/2)
”Correct,” cried John, ”only you ought to have read the last of it like this: 'and north by east thirty-three Dig!” and he shouted the final ith all histo find the gold!” shouted Fred, borrowing John's chant, and a moment later every one in the little party had joined hands and was dancing joyously about singing and laughing and shouting Finally they stopped froain, will yo'?” dee ”We're going to find the gold, we're going to find the gold!”
”If you'll keep quiet a minute I'll read it,” said Grant, and while every one listened with rapt attention he read again the words it had taken them so many days and weeks to discover ”'Take a course due north one hundred feet from the southern extremity of shark rock, then east fifty feet and north by east thirty-three Dig'”
”Say, I just happened to think,” exclaiet those directions right? How can we tell north froeneral sort of way?”
”Fred,” said George, pretending to be greatly disappointed in his co will it take you to learn that whenever anything is needed, I am the one who always has it? Don't you know that I alear a coe on board the _Josephine_ coreat trial to e shook his head sorrowfully
”Well, I'ot it anyway,” said Fred shortly ”I still don't see, though, hoe are going to measure distances”
”That will be hard,” ad?”
”A yard and a half,” said George readily, and immediately ducked to escape a blow aimed in his direction by the owner of the feet in question
”Ten inches,” replied John ”That is,theymnasium just before I left home They're in the cave if you want the to-day, anyway, and it'll be dark in a little while If your shoes are exactly ten inches long though, we can h”
”Are you sure that the shark rock the code speaks of is the one on the end of the island here?” exclaimed Fred
”Sho' it am,” said Sauess that's right,” agreed Fred ”It must be the one”
”Certainly it is,” said John ”We wouldn't have found two codes on this island unless the spot they referred to was here too”
”Oh, that's the rock all right,” said Grant confidently ”I e could start right down there now, but I suppose it would be foolish”
”I think we've done enough for one day anyhow,” said John ”As long as we have solved the code we can't have much to complain of for one day's work”
”You haven't told us how you did it yet,” said George
”Haven't you found out for yourself? My, but you're dull”
”Perhaps I ah”
”Nor I,” added Fred ”Tell us how you did it”
”How many letters are there in the alphabet?” asked Grant
”Twenty-six,” said George
”What's the first letter?”
”A”
”What's the second?”