The Final Tales of Sherlock Holmes - Volume 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

– On Secret Writings – has garnered considerable plaudits from around the world. Because of this, I was involved briefly in breaking a rather special grid cipher for the government towards the end of the war, concerning a certain shipment of arms to the enemy. Indeed, it may be that our work was instrumental in ending the conflict. That is not for me to say. What if this is something similar?’
    â€˜What on earth is a grid cipher, Holmes?’
    â€˜Well, it’s nothing to do with dancing men, you will be pleased to know. We have thirty letters, so the grid might be 5×6. I’ll create a simple matrix of the letters. Here.’
    His nib scratched noisily over the paper. ‘That’s not quite it, but I think we’re on the right track. We’ll try 6×5 next.’
    Holmes handed the sheet of paper back to me, with the letters from the message looking like this:

    â€˜I understand, Holmes. It’s really quite simple. This one reads ‘whwyrothehapthoponrteiotdaepst’, if I work from top to bottom on each column.’
    â€˜Precisely.’ Holmes created a second matrix and handed it back to me with a smile of satisfaction on his face. ‘Now what have we got, Watson?’
    This time the grid read as follows:

    â€˜So now we have the letters:
    â€˜ whoisthepotterprayandwhothepot ’. This just sounds equally meaningless to me.’
    Holmes wrote the letters out again and handed the paper back to me.
    â€˜Now what does it read?’
    â€˜Who is the potter, pray, and who the pot? Well, that makes for better English, but it’s still double Dutch to me. Although there is something in the Book of Isaiah about pots and clay.’
    â€˜It is a quote from Edward Fitzgerald’s translation of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat: Who is the Potter, pray, and who the Pot? The wine bowls come alive and ask: Did God invent man, or did man invent God? A fascinating question, Watson. Is he giving us a hint as to who he is? A sculptor, perhaps? Is it simply a clue? Does he want to be caught? Does he think that he is God? Talking of God, Watson. The quote is questioning the existence of a Supreme Being. What about it? Do you believe in the existence of a benign God?’
    â€˜Holmes, how could you possibly ask me that? Of course I believe in God! Don’t you?’
    â€˜I have to admit, old man, that my childhood faith was thrown into disarray by that war of wars. What kind of God could have tolerated such slaughter on both sides? And then there’s that Darwin chappie, with his theory that man is descended from the ape. He claims to have proof. It might well be true. I’ve always found it hard to believe that God damned us all because some woman ate an apple. Everything connects, Watson. And nothing has meaning. Our ideas must be as broad as Nature if we are to interpret Nature. Don’t tell me that you have faith in an afterlife?’
    â€˜Of course I do. My Mary and Bea are waiting for me there!’
    â€˜Yes, of course they are,’ he sighed patiently. ‘You’re a lucky man, Watson. Let’s forget about such unknowable ideas for the time being, and focus on the quote. What does it tell us? Is it a cipher in itself? In other words, a cipher within a cipher? What kind? Or is it a form of substitution code? He’d need to work a bit harder on his simple-minded grids if he wishes to flummox me. And that word Goatslayer? What religion prohibits homosexuality more than any other?’
    â€˜Islam? And they kill and eat goats in the Middle East,’ I suggested.
    â€˜Precisely. And with a certain kind of slaughter knife, too. Might be a clue, might not. Omar Khayyam was a 12th century Persian astronomer and poet, so that’s another link. Let me see if my indices have any more data on him or his translator.’
    Holmes retrieved a thick volume from his book shelves.
    â€˜Here we are. Edward Fitzgerald – born in