Cipher message

The Cipher message is a coded clue in the search for the Herzoslovakian diamond: its references to Richmond and numbers lead Anthony Cade to connect a rose emblem with a hiding place in the garden at Chimneys. The clue’s importance lies not only in the solution but in the contrast between it and Anthony’s fabricated library theory, which he uses to bait the woman he suspects.

The Message and the Failed First Attempt

The message includes a reference to Richmond and a series of numbers. Anthony explains that the group had already tried to solve it and failed, leaving the clue unresolved until he connected it with information in Count Stylptitch’s memoirs. The cipher therefore functions first as a piece of unexplained evidence: its numerical pattern is present, but its meaning depends on recognizing the right context.

From the Rose Emblem to the Library Theory

Count Stylptitch’s memoirs describe a dinner at which attendees wore badges representing flowers. The Count wore a rose device identical to the curious object found in the cavity of a secret passage. Anthony links that emblem to the cipher’s images of rows—buttons, the letter E, and knitting—and proposes that books, arranged in rows, might supply the key. Lord Caterham’s library catalogue includes a book called The Life of the Earl of Richmond; Anthony suggests starting with that volume and using the numbers to identify shelves and books, where the sought object might be hidden in a dummy volume or behind a particular book.

The explanation is ingenious, but its apparent precision is part of the deception. Anthony later admits that the library solution was an invention intended to trap the woman. Thus the message’s Richmond reference does not establish that the diamond is in the library; Anthony turns it into a plausible false destination that will provoke the suspect to act.

The Garden Solution and Its Consequences

Anthony says that the rose device retained its original meaning: it stood for a rose. Once he recognized this on Monday afternoon, he went directly to the rose garden. Hiram P. Fish had independently reached the same idea. The numbers describe a route from the sundial: with one’s back to it, take seven paces forward, eight to the left, and three to the right. That brings the searcher to bushes of bright red roses called Richmond, where Anthony proposes digging for the hiding place.

The contrast between the two solutions distinguishes decoding from disinformation. The rose emblem and the numbered directions guide Anthony and Hiram P. Fish toward the garden, while the book-and-shelf interpretation supplies a staged clue for the suspect. The cipher thus advances the search while Anthony’s false account turns the search itself into a means of exposing his opponent.