The Cheyne Mystery · Chapter
XIX: The Message of the Tracing explained
Inspector French, Cheyne, and Price examine the photograph of the tracing, debating whether it is a map of England and what the numbers and circles signify.
What happens
Inspector French, Cheyne, and Price examine the photograph of the tracing, debating whether it is a map of England and what the numbers and circles signify. French theorizes that the cipher relates to a sunken treasure from the Silurian, a ship sunk by a U-boat commanded by Schulz. Cheyne reconstructs the sequence of events: Schulz's secret, Dangle's theft of the cipher, and the gang's plot. They deduce that Joan Merrill is being held on Merkel's boat north of the Azores. French contacts Lloyd's and Inspector Barnes for nautical expertise, confirming the Silurian's sinking with gold bullion. The Admiralty organizes a fast salvage boat, and French, Cheyne, and Price join the expedition.
Themes in this chapter
Greed and Criminal Conspiracy
Schulz's temptation to keep the gold for himself, Dangle's theft of the cipher, and the gang's plot to obtain the treasure drive the narrative.
Cunning and Intellect
French's deductive reasoning, Cheyne's reconstruction of events, and the deciphering of the tracing demonstrate intellectual prowess.
Adventure and Detection
The investigation of the tracing, the race to rescue Joan, and the planned expedition to the Azores embody the adventure and detection genre.
Characters to notice
- Maxwell Cheyne
Participates in analyzing the tracing, reconstructs the entire plot, and insists on rescuing Joan Merrill.
- Inspector French
Leads the investigation, theorizes the tracing is a map to sunken treasure, contacts Lloyd's and Inspector Barnes, and arranges the Admiralty expedition.
- Arnold Price
Examines the tracing, suggests the numbers might be soundings, and is included in the expedition.
- Inspector Barnes
Nautical expert consulted by French; provides background on the Silurian's sinking and the gold bullion.
- Joan Merrill
Mentioned as being held captive on Merkel's boat; her rescue is the primary motivation for the expedition.
- M. Dangle
Revealed as the one who overheard Schulz's dying story and stole the cipher, leading to the conspiracy.
- Susan Dangle
Assisted the gang by obtaining a post as servant at Warren Lodge to gather information.
- Otto Schulz
The U-boat commander who sank the Silurian, created the cipher to hide the treasure location, and died before fully explaining it.
Key passages
“Granted that the thing was a map, granted even that it was a map of England, its meaning remained just as provokingly hidden as ever.”
Even assuming the tracing is a map of England, its significance is still frustratingly unclear.
Expresses the initial confusion of the investigators.
“He pictured the thing from the beginning, the submarine coming up with the ship in deep water, but comparatively close to a shallow place where its treasure could be salved: the desire of the U-boat commander, Schulz, to save the gold, quite possibly in the first instance for the benefit of his nation.”
Cheyne imagined the entire sequence: the submarine intercepting the ship near a shallow area, and Schulz's initial intention to recover the gold for Germany.
Cheyne's reconstruction of the origin of the secret.
“Now they knew where Joan Merrill had been taken. If she was still alive—and he simply could not bring himself to admit any other possibility—she was on that boat of Merkel's some two hundred and fifty miles north of the Azores!”
They now realized Joan was being held on Merkel's boat about 250 miles north of the Azores, and Cheyne refused to consider she might be dead.
Critical revelation of Joan's location, spurring the rescue plan.
