The Haunted Lighthouse Read Online Free PDF

the students. Across the top and down the side were the numbers from one to five. The alphabet letters had been written in each square of the grid, beginning with
A
and ending with
Z
.
    “This is called a tap code,” the ranger said. “It’s oneof several codes that prisoners used, such as writing with cell-made invisible ink, and even sudoku.”
    TAP CODE

    Quinn’s hand shot up before several other hands. “There’s no letter
K
,” he said.
    “Good catch!” the ranger said. “You’re right. The prisoners kept the code very simple. They used the letter
C
to represent
K
. Each letter was communicated by tapping two numbers—the firstone from the vertical column of numbers, and the second from the horizontal row of numbers. The letter
X
was used to break up sentences. So for example, if you wanted to communicate the letter
Q
you tapped four times, paused for a split second, then tapped once again.”
    Before the kids could ask questions, the sound of metal hitting metal split the air. It was so loud that M.E. jumped and grabbed Cody’s arm. There were four more taps, just as loud.
    “What was that?” several students asked, glancing around nervously.
    The ranger grinned. “Shh! Listen …”
    Two more taps broke the silence. Then a longer pause.
    A tap, then a tap.
    Four taps, then four more.
    One tap, then five.
    Four taps, then two.
    Code Buster’s Solution found on this page
.
    “Water!” Quinn shouted. “Someone just tapped out the word
water
.”
    “Very good!” Ranger Huynh said. “Now, if you look up there”—she pointed to the second floor—“you’ll see Geoff, one of our guards here on Alcatraz, holding a big wrench. He just tapped out the code for
water
.”
    “That was cool!” Cody said. She looked up at the elderly uniformed man above her. He wore a gray, double-breasted jacket and slacks, black shoes, a hat with a badge in front, and a bright red tie.
    “Why didn’t they just use Morse code?” Luke asked.
    “Morse code is a lot harder to send by tapping,” the ranger said, “because you have to create two different tap sounds—a
dih
and a
dah
sound. And it takes time to memorize the code. The tap code is easier to learn and simpler to decode.
    “By the way, you kids didn’t invent the texting code you use with your cell phones. The prisonersused acronym shortcuts all the time. For example, they tapped out
GN
for ‘good night’ or
TY
for ‘thank you.’ ”
    Quinn reached over to the wall next to him and tapped “1-3, 3-4, 3-4, 3-1.”
    Code Buster’s Solution found on this page
.
    The ranger smiled at Quinn. “Great! You figured it out. You might want to join the park rangers someday and give this tour yourself.”
    “Nah,” Quinn said. “I’m going to join the CIA.”

S weet. Even the prisoners used codes,” Luke said. He and Quinn did a knuckle bump.
    “There must be a million ways to create codes and secret languages,” Quinn added. “I’ll never learn them all! Right now, I’m trying to learn Egyptian hieroglyphs and the runic alphabet.”
    “All right, everyone,” the ranger called on her bullhorn. “Please follow me into the dining hall.That’s where the prisoners ate their meals. It was affectionately called ‘the gas chamber,’ thanks to all the beans that were served.” The students giggled. “You’ll find a map of the cell house on the back of the tap code sheet.”
    The students shuffled through the hallway where Quinn had discovered the two chairs that had turned out to be false clues. Cody saw him linger, giving the seats a last look, then he followed her and the rest of his classmates into the dining area. The large room was empty, except for some long benches that remained in the back. Cody imagined school-cafeteria-type tables with hungry prisoners sitting on the benches, hunching over their food trays. She wondered if they had the same type of cafeteria food their school had, like sloppy joes, fish sticks, and greasy pizza. She had