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“It is, in a sense, but in another sense it’s a virtually unbreakable code Thecalled a one-ti/decoding book One sends ashape codes, the other deciphers it by substituting letters for shapes Without a book, all you’ve got is randoless”

“And we don’t have a book,” Remi said

“Nope Selma, can you send us—”

“On the way as we speak It’s not the original picture I took of the label, but Wendy used a vector drawing program to re-create some of the symbols This’ll be just a sample”

A e:

“As for decoding it, I ht have an idea about that—at least a place to start,” Selma said “You reler, Arienne, to sail to Saint Helena?”

“Of course,” Remi said

“I think I knoho the Major is I ran across an obscure Gerraphy of Napoleon written in the 1840s In 1779, when Napoleon was nine, he was sent to a French military school, Brienne-le-Château, near Troyes There he met a boy nah École Royale Militaire college, then on to artillery school, and so on, all the way to Waterloo According to the author, up until the n, Laurent had been a step ahead of Napoleon in rank It was said that in private or in close coly called Laurent ‘the Major’ Napoleon had several confidants over the years, but none as close as Laurent”

“Is there an estate?” Sam asked “An Arnaud Laurent library, by chance?”

“No such luck There’s not ather, when he died in 1825, just four years after Napoleon, he was buried hat one article referred to as ‘his most prized possession’ ”

“Which, with any luck, will be a handy-dandy decoder ring,” Sam said

“Or book,” Remi added “Selma, where’s he buried?”

“After his army was routed at Waterloo, Napoleon’s surrender w

as accepted aboard the HMS Bellerophon, along with Napoleon’s staff, which I’ included Laurent, as at the time his chief military adviser Afterward the Bellerophon sailed to Plymouth, where after a tait Napoleon was transferred to the HMS Northue to Saint Helena When Laurent died, his , Marie, asked the British for permission to have him buried on Saint Helena next to Napoleon, but they refused, so she did what she thought was next best thing: She had him laid to rest on Elba”

“Strange,” Remi said