The Hollow Tree at Dead Mule Swamp, Page 2

  Obviously this was the work of a child. However, $57.00 was quite a lot of money to hide away in the woods. It seemed to suggest something more than a game. The code was a simple one, known to anyone whose children had played with cryptography at all. Even so, I couldn't translate it without making a key. I pulled a tablet from my backpack, and using the pencil again, copied the figures exactly. Then I replaced everything in the denim bag. It took me a few tries to throw the bag through the hole, but I quickly learned that the rock made this task easier, giving the bag some weight. I hadn't unwound the tangle that held the twine to a twig, so I was hopeful the owner of the stash would not notice the intrusion on his or her privacy.

  This tree was only about a quarter-mile from my house, just off one of the many old two-tracks that led into the swamp. I followed it back to East South River Road, and then turned southeast, reaching my house in just a few minutes.

  I set up a pot of coffee, and while it brewed, I tore a page from the tablet and wrote out the key that would crack the coded message: