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Extract from the Story
“You think that he tried to tell Davenport by phone and failed to reach him?” Mrs. Brown asked. “So he wrote the four words as he was dying?”
Chief Brown nodded. “We’ll find Davenport now that we know his address.”
“He’ll learn he has been left the palm-tree nursery,” Mrs. Brown said. “And the four words will tell him where the jewellery is hidden!”
“Right,” Encyclopedia said. “The code is simple, especially as it’s written on a sheet from a calendar. Davenport will understand it easily. Still, it wouldn’t make much sense to someone who isn’t looking for a hiding place.”
“Leroy!” Mrs. Brown exclaimed. “What do the four words mean?”
“You already guessed, Mom. They tell where the jewellery is hidden.”
Mrs. Brown looked ready to explode with impatience, “Where?”
Encyclopedia smiled.
“Why, under the fifth word,” he said.
Chief Brown nodded. “We’ll find Davenport now that we know his address.”
“He’ll learn he has been left the palm-tree nursery,” Mrs. Brown said. “And the four words will tell him where the jewellery is hidden!”
“Right,” Encyclopedia said. “The code is simple, especially as it’s written on a sheet from a calendar. Davenport will understand it easily. Still, it wouldn’t make much sense to someone who isn’t looking for a hiding place.”
“Leroy!” Mrs. Brown exclaimed. “What do the four words mean?”
“You already guessed, Mom. They tell where the jewellery is hidden.”
Mrs. Brown looked ready to explode with impatience, “Where?”
Encyclopedia smiled.
“Why, under the fifth word,” he said.
code
— hidden message
Summary in Bullet Points
- Friday is the fifth weekday in the pattern.
- Remove D-A-Y from FRIDAY. The remaining letters spell F-I-R.
- “Fir” is both the coded fifth word and the name of a tree.
- The double use turns a word puzzle into a physical hiding-place clue.
Questions from this Section
Why is “fir” the fifth word?
2 Marks
How to answer:
Give the direct reason and one supporting detail.
View Answer
Answer: The first four coded words represent Monday to Thursday after D-A-Y is removed and the remaining letters are rearranged. Applying the same rule to Friday leaves F-I-R.
Why is the fifth word more useful than the first four words?
3 Marks
How to answer:
Explain the reasoning and why it matters to the mystery.
View Answer
Answer: The first four words establish the decoding rule. The fifth word produces a real object—fir—that exists in Nolan’s nursery, so it converts the word pattern into an exact place to search.
