‘Just a second,’ she blurted. ‘Up on Mount Schachen, you were asking me about local lakes. Is that because of the riddle, or does that have to do with another clue?’
Jones answered. ‘That had to do with the riddle. We thought maybe there was a special lake there where he watched swans.’
She pointed at them, one at a time, when she spoke. ‘Then what was all that glancing back and forth you just did? I’ve seen those looks before. You’re hiding something.’
Payne looked at her. ‘Will you stop doing that?’
‘Doing what?’
‘Reading our minds. It’s really annoying.’
She smiled. ‘Sorry. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m stubborn, ill tempered and paranoid. I hit the genetic trifecta.’
Jones leaned forward. ‘Don’t apologize. Your genes look great to me.’
She laughed and blushed slightly.
Jones whispered to Payne. ‘See what I did there? I complimented her
‘If that’s the French word for retarded, I agree with you.’
Heidi overheard the comment and snickered quietly. She tried to cover up her laughter by adjusting the band round her hair. A few seconds later, her blonde ponytail was back in place and the grin was off her face.
‘Anyway, where were we?’ Payne asked.
‘I was reading your mind,’ she said.
Payne smiled and nodded. ‘In addition to the riddle, Petr’s grandfather also provided a hint about the treasure’s location. In his journal, he described the hint as a starting point. It might give you the context you’re looking for in order to solve the riddle.’
She looked at Ulster. ‘What’s the hint?’
‘According to my grandfather, Ludwig hid a secret document inside his
‘His
‘The riddle makes sense?’ Payne asked.
She shook her head. ‘No, the reason you asked me about Ludwig and the Alpengarten auf dem Schachen makes sense. I wondered why you got upset when I told you the botanical garden was opened in the 1900s. Seriously, think of all the time you would have saved if you had just come clean with me from the very beginning.’
Payne countered. ‘Probably less time than you’ve wasted with all your gloating. We get it: you’re perceptive. Now use your ability for good, not evil. Tell us what the riddle means.’
She smiled at Payne, enjoying their banter. They had been going at it since they had met on Schachen, verbally jousting about everything. After a while, she knew something was bound to happen. Either they would get into a huge fight, or they would rip each other’s clothes off. She wasn’t sure which, although she hoped for the latter. It sounded a lot more fun.
‘Let me ask you a question,’ she said.
‘What now?’ Payne grumbled.
She pointed at Ulster. ‘Actually, I was talking to him.’
‘Oh,’ Payne said.
Ulster responded. ‘What is it, my dear?’
‘Your grandfather, he wrote these clues in his journal?’
‘That’s correct.’
‘How was his handwriting?’
‘His handwriting?’ Ulster asked, confused.
‘Was it easy to read, or were some of his words open to interpretation?’
‘For the most part, his penmanship was exquisite. Why do you ask?’
‘I was wondering how certain you were about the word
The leather-bound journal was sitting on the desk in front of him. Ulster flipped to the appropriate page and studied the word. ‘It says
‘That’s disappointing,’ she sighed.
‘Why is that?’ Payne wondered.
‘I was hoping it said something else. If it did, I’d know the answer to the riddle.’
‘Really?’ Jones asked. ‘What word were you hoping for?’
‘
‘What does that mean in English?’
She looked at Jones. ‘It means garden arbour.’
‘That’s pretty close to garden house. Could it be that anyway?’
She shrugged. ‘I don’t know. You tell me.’
Payne looked at Ulster, who was searching the pages of the journal for additional clues. ‘Petr, after all the grief I’ve given you over the years about your long-winded stories, I can’t believe I’m about to say this. Earlier today, I think I cut you off a little too early.’
Ulster relished the moment. ‘Oh? Which time was that? Was it when we entered the bunker? Or when we opened the first crate? Or when we were talking about the black swan?’
Payne shook his head. ‘None of those.’
‘Then which instance are you referring to?’
‘When we first landed on Schachen, you started telling DJ and I about the original language of the riddle. We begged you to skip the background information about the journal because we wanted to know the actual riddle. Do you remember that?’
‘I do, indeed.’
Payne continued. ‘I could be wrong, but didn’t you say something about the original version of the riddle being written in an ancient language that needed to be translated?’
‘Actually,’ Ulster said, ‘it wasn’t an ancient language at all. It was merely an older dialect, known as Austro- Bavarian. My grandfather then translated the riddle into Austrian German, which was the language he had spoken prior to moving to Switzerland. Once he took residence here in Kusendorf, he started speaking Italian, which is the unofficial language of the canton of Ticino. Growing up, I found it strange since Kusendorf is such a German- sounding name. However, through some research of my own, I learned that this town was actually founded by a man with Polish ancestry, who had the surname of Kuz-’
‘Petr!’ Payne shouted. ‘This is why we cut you off. Although everything you said about Kusendorf was riveting, it has nothing to do with our current conversation. Don’t you see that?’
Ulster nodded. ‘I do now.’
Payne took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. ‘If it’s okay with you, I’d like to remain focused on your grandfather’s journal.’
‘What about it?’ he asked.
‘When your grandfather translated the riddle, could he have slightly altered the original meaning when he used Austrian-German words?’
Ulster nodded again. ‘It happens all the time – especially with unusual words or highly specific terms. Sometimes there isn’t a perfect word in the new language, so a translator is forced to choose the closest possible replacement.’
Heidi spoke up. ‘Could
‘I don’t see why not. Although their definitions are slightly different, their basic structures are remarkably similar, right down to the “au” in the last syllable.’
‘So it’s possible?’
‘Yes, my dear, it’s possible.’
