Scouts when I was little. They used it back in the eighteenth century to keep messages private.”
“Whatever you say,” Coke said, wiping his eyes.
Their parents were still asleep. Pep got out her notebook and explained to Coke how the code worked.
“Each of those symbols represents one letter, but we have to make a Pigpen grid to find out what the letters are. Let me see if I still remember how to make the grid.”
She turned to the page with the cipher.
Then, directly below it, she wrote out a Pigpen grid as she remembered it.
“Look, the first symbol represents the letter T ,” Pep whispered. “See?”
Coke scanned the grid and saw that the little box with the T inside it matched the first symbol of the cipher.
“So that would mean that the second letter has to be… W ,” he whispered.
“Right,” replied Pep. “And the third letter is O . So that’s probably the first word of the message—TWO.”
After that, they were easily able to figure out the rest of the letters one by one—PMJULYTHIRD.
“Two o’clock in the afternoon on July third!” Pep whispered excitedly. “That’s the message!”
Coke looked at his cell phone to check the date—June 27.
“July third is … six days from now,” he said, counting them off.
“Something is going to happen at two o’clock on July third,” said Pep.
“But that just tells us when ,” Coke whispered, “it doesn’t tell us what’s going to happen, or where.”
“Aunt Judy’s wedding will be the next day, on July Fourth,” Pep said. “We’ll have to be in Washington by then, and Dad said he wants to get there early. So we’re sure to be in Washington on July third.”
“That doesn’t help us much,” said Coke. “Washington is a big city.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Dr. McDonald suddenly called out.
“Nothing, Dad!” Coke said. “Go back to sleep.”
After everyone was awake, bathed, and breakfasted, the grown-ups huddled at the picnic table, poring over the laptop screen and road atlas.
“Family meeting!” Dr. McDonald announced, gathering everyone around him. “We have a big day ahead of us. My goal is to get across the great state of Indiana.”
Dr. Ben McDonald was the kind of person who liked to set goals and achieve them. It gave him a feeling of satisfaction to cross things off his to-do list, and he tried to communicate the importance of setting goals to his children.
The plan for the day was to drive about a hundred fifty miles across northern Indiana, hitting five or six sites along the way that Mrs. McDonald could use in Amazing but True . They would start out on Route 80, which almost touches the Michigan border. At a certain point, they would veer off to visit some of the interesting sites south of the highway. He and Mrs. McDonald had mapped out the route carefully so they would stop at some historical sites for him, some offbeat sites for her, and also some sites that would keep the kids interested.
“Okay,” Mrs. McDonald said, “first, let’s go over the places we are not going to visit today. We are not going to see the world’s largest toilet bowl in Columbus, Indiana.”
“Oh, man!” Coke complained. “I really wanted to go there. In more ways than one.”
“Very funny,” Pep said.
“It’s two hundred miles south of here, and we’re heading east,” Dr. McDonald explained.
“There’s a twenty-foot statue of a woman made out of hubcaps in Jeffersonville,” Mrs. McDonald continued, “but that’s even farther south. And as much as I would love to see the world’s largest ball of paint, it would be a three-hour drive to Alexandria.”
“How big is the ball of paint?” Pep asked.
“It’s over three thousand pounds,” Mrs. McDonald said, consulting her guidebook. “Oh, and the world’s largest hairball is not far from here. It’s bigger than a basketball.”
“Let’s go!” Coke shouted.
“It’s not on display anymore,” Mrs. McDonald
“Whatever you say,” Coke said, wiping his eyes.
Their parents were still asleep. Pep got out her notebook and explained to Coke how the code worked.
“Each of those symbols represents one letter, but we have to make a Pigpen grid to find out what the letters are. Let me see if I still remember how to make the grid.”
She turned to the page with the cipher.
Then, directly below it, she wrote out a Pigpen grid as she remembered it.
“Look, the first symbol represents the letter T ,” Pep whispered. “See?”
Coke scanned the grid and saw that the little box with the T inside it matched the first symbol of the cipher.
“So that would mean that the second letter has to be… W ,” he whispered.
“Right,” replied Pep. “And the third letter is O . So that’s probably the first word of the message—TWO.”
After that, they were easily able to figure out the rest of the letters one by one—PMJULYTHIRD.
“Two o’clock in the afternoon on July third!” Pep whispered excitedly. “That’s the message!”
Coke looked at his cell phone to check the date—June 27.
“July third is … six days from now,” he said, counting them off.
“Something is going to happen at two o’clock on July third,” said Pep.
“But that just tells us when ,” Coke whispered, “it doesn’t tell us what’s going to happen, or where.”
“Aunt Judy’s wedding will be the next day, on July Fourth,” Pep said. “We’ll have to be in Washington by then, and Dad said he wants to get there early. So we’re sure to be in Washington on July third.”
“That doesn’t help us much,” said Coke. “Washington is a big city.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Dr. McDonald suddenly called out.
“Nothing, Dad!” Coke said. “Go back to sleep.”
After everyone was awake, bathed, and breakfasted, the grown-ups huddled at the picnic table, poring over the laptop screen and road atlas.
“Family meeting!” Dr. McDonald announced, gathering everyone around him. “We have a big day ahead of us. My goal is to get across the great state of Indiana.”
Dr. Ben McDonald was the kind of person who liked to set goals and achieve them. It gave him a feeling of satisfaction to cross things off his to-do list, and he tried to communicate the importance of setting goals to his children.
The plan for the day was to drive about a hundred fifty miles across northern Indiana, hitting five or six sites along the way that Mrs. McDonald could use in Amazing but True . They would start out on Route 80, which almost touches the Michigan border. At a certain point, they would veer off to visit some of the interesting sites south of the highway. He and Mrs. McDonald had mapped out the route carefully so they would stop at some historical sites for him, some offbeat sites for her, and also some sites that would keep the kids interested.
“Okay,” Mrs. McDonald said, “first, let’s go over the places we are not going to visit today. We are not going to see the world’s largest toilet bowl in Columbus, Indiana.”
“Oh, man!” Coke complained. “I really wanted to go there. In more ways than one.”
“Very funny,” Pep said.
“It’s two hundred miles south of here, and we’re heading east,” Dr. McDonald explained.
“There’s a twenty-foot statue of a woman made out of hubcaps in Jeffersonville,” Mrs. McDonald continued, “but that’s even farther south. And as much as I would love to see the world’s largest ball of paint, it would be a three-hour drive to Alexandria.”
“How big is the ball of paint?” Pep asked.
“It’s over three thousand pounds,” Mrs. McDonald said, consulting her guidebook. “Oh, and the world’s largest hairball is not far from here. It’s bigger than a basketball.”
“Let’s go!” Coke shouted.
“It’s not on display anymore,” Mrs. McDonald
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