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Extract from the Story
To tell Davenport where he had hidden the stolen jewellery, Nolan wrote a four-word code.
As the key to the code, he wrote the four words on a sheet from a desk calendar. The four words stood for days of the week. Nolan dropped the letters d-a-y. Then he used the other letters to form words.
So, Nom = Monday, Utes = Tuesday, Sweden = Wednesday and Hurts = Thursday.
The unwritten fifth word was Fir, or Friday .
The jewellery was found inside a twenty-gallon jug of earth from which grew the young fir tree in Nolan’s nursery—just as Encyclopedia had foreseen.
As the key to the code, he wrote the four words on a sheet from a desk calendar. The four words stood for days of the week. Nolan dropped the letters d-a-y. Then he used the other letters to form words.
So, Nom = Monday, Utes = Tuesday, Sweden = Wednesday and Hurts = Thursday.
The unwritten fifth word was Fir, or Friday .
The jewellery was found inside a twenty-gallon jug of earth from which grew the young fir tree in Nolan’s nursery—just as Encyclopedia had foreseen.
foreseen
— predicted
Summary in Bullet Points
- The hidden message gives police a search location.
- The long-unsolved robbery finally produces physical evidence.
- The solution depends on language, observation and context. Leroy does not need luck; he notices the calendar and the missing pattern.
Questions from this Section
How does the solution justify the title “The Case of the Fifth Word”?
2 Marks
How to answer:
Give the direct reason and one supporting detail.
View Answer
Answer: The mystery can be solved only by identifying the unwritten fifth word in Nolan’s weekday code. That missing word, “fir”, reveals where the stolen jewellery is hidden.
What qualities make Leroy successful in this case?
3 Marks
How to answer:
Explain the reasoning and why it matters to the mystery.
View Answer
Answer: He combines memory, language knowledge, close attention to physical clues, awareness of context and logical testing. He also remains calm enough to ignore misleading literal meanings.
