lecture.
"Miss
Anna Paulus?"
"Yes?"
"I'm commander
Stauffer." He held out his hand, and I shook it briefly. "I've talked
to your computer science instructor, and he is quite impressed with your
pattern recognition ability. Would you mind taking a small test for me? You can
check with Magistrate ... your mother tonight. She knows me." He handed me
a sheet of paper with writing on it. "It's in code. I'd like to see if you
can decode it for me."
I took the
sheet of paper and read it. It appeared to be a message from a man sent to a
relative telling him about his recent fishing trip.
"If
mother says it's all right, then I'll try. How do I get in touch with
you?"
"Let’s
keep this private except from your mother. There’s no time limit. Take all the
time you need. And if you decide you can't or you think you have decoded it or
have questions, tell Alexa. She will know how to get in touch with me." He
smiled, then turned and left.
I stood
frowning at his back. "That's strange, Red." I folded the paper and
put it in my pocket. The rest of the day I was restless, wanting to get home
and show Alexa. Jason had barely stopped the car when I hopped in and waved for
him to go.
"I could
wait while you go to the ladies’."
"No, I'm
in a hurry to talk to Mother."
He laughed. "All
right, maximum velocity, stop for nothing." He saluted good-naturedly and sped
away, pushing me back into the seat.
I laughed. I liked
Jason. He seemed to enjoy life and was always in a good mood, unlike most
people. We arrived home at least ten minutes sooner than normal.
"Thanks,
Jason," I said as I flew out the door and headed for the house. I found
Alexa upstairs in her office. The door was open, but she sat frowning at her
tablet and didn’t notice me. "Mother." I hopped from one foot to the
other in front of her desk. She looked up, put down what she was doing, and
waved to me.
She chuckled.
"Come here and tell me what has you so excited. Even Red looks excited."
I ran around
the desk and hugged her as I took the paper from my pocket. "A man said he
was commander Stauffer and gave this paper to me. He said it was in code and
asked me to decode it. I said I wouldn't unless you said it was all right. He
said you knew him."
"Yes. I
know commander Stauffer. He's a spook. That's navy slang for he works in navy
intelligence. To them, everything is a secret, even when everyone else knows
it. But Carl is all right for a spook. So, if you want, you can play with his
little puzzle. Can you show it to me?"
"He said
I couldn't tell anyone except you ... so I should be able to show you." I
handed the paper to her.
She studied
it for several minutes before handing it back to me. "A test, he said?"
"Yes, he
said my computer science instructor said I was good at pattern
recognition."
"Well,
you like puzzles, and this looks like a good one, but don't neglect your other
studies. Forget I said that. You're probably weeks ahead of the class." She
laughed.
I took the
paper and ran off. After dinner, I cut my studies a little short and picked up
the paper and read it again. Then I looked at each sentence, then each word,
looking for any anomalies. A few words were misspelled, but I saw nothing else
of significance. Although it was not unusual for someone to misspell a word,
electronic messages usually had software that corrected misspellings. It was
late and Alexa had gone to bed hours before when I finally folded the paper and
fell into bed.
*
* *
Over the next
week, I studied the message every free moment and could barely concentrate
during my classes. Finally, I put the paper away and forced myself to study and
give one hundred percent during the lectures. Alexa was right: my education
should be the priority. I ignored the message for an entire week. Afterward, I
resolved to limit my time to only three hours a day.
After dinner
that night, I sat on the couch with Alexa on the opposite end—our
favorite positions for relaxing at night—and unfolded the
"Miss
Anna Paulus?"
"Yes?"
"I'm commander
Stauffer." He held out his hand, and I shook it briefly. "I've talked
to your computer science instructor, and he is quite impressed with your
pattern recognition ability. Would you mind taking a small test for me? You can
check with Magistrate ... your mother tonight. She knows me." He handed me
a sheet of paper with writing on it. "It's in code. I'd like to see if you
can decode it for me."
I took the
sheet of paper and read it. It appeared to be a message from a man sent to a
relative telling him about his recent fishing trip.
"If
mother says it's all right, then I'll try. How do I get in touch with
you?"
"Let’s
keep this private except from your mother. There’s no time limit. Take all the
time you need. And if you decide you can't or you think you have decoded it or
have questions, tell Alexa. She will know how to get in touch with me." He
smiled, then turned and left.
I stood
frowning at his back. "That's strange, Red." I folded the paper and
put it in my pocket. The rest of the day I was restless, wanting to get home
and show Alexa. Jason had barely stopped the car when I hopped in and waved for
him to go.
"I could
wait while you go to the ladies’."
"No, I'm
in a hurry to talk to Mother."
He laughed. "All
right, maximum velocity, stop for nothing." He saluted good-naturedly and sped
away, pushing me back into the seat.
I laughed. I liked
Jason. He seemed to enjoy life and was always in a good mood, unlike most
people. We arrived home at least ten minutes sooner than normal.
"Thanks,
Jason," I said as I flew out the door and headed for the house. I found
Alexa upstairs in her office. The door was open, but she sat frowning at her
tablet and didn’t notice me. "Mother." I hopped from one foot to the
other in front of her desk. She looked up, put down what she was doing, and
waved to me.
She chuckled.
"Come here and tell me what has you so excited. Even Red looks excited."
I ran around
the desk and hugged her as I took the paper from my pocket. "A man said he
was commander Stauffer and gave this paper to me. He said it was in code and
asked me to decode it. I said I wouldn't unless you said it was all right. He
said you knew him."
"Yes. I
know commander Stauffer. He's a spook. That's navy slang for he works in navy
intelligence. To them, everything is a secret, even when everyone else knows
it. But Carl is all right for a spook. So, if you want, you can play with his
little puzzle. Can you show it to me?"
"He said
I couldn't tell anyone except you ... so I should be able to show you." I
handed the paper to her.
She studied
it for several minutes before handing it back to me. "A test, he said?"
"Yes, he
said my computer science instructor said I was good at pattern
recognition."
"Well,
you like puzzles, and this looks like a good one, but don't neglect your other
studies. Forget I said that. You're probably weeks ahead of the class." She
laughed.
I took the
paper and ran off. After dinner, I cut my studies a little short and picked up
the paper and read it again. Then I looked at each sentence, then each word,
looking for any anomalies. A few words were misspelled, but I saw nothing else
of significance. Although it was not unusual for someone to misspell a word,
electronic messages usually had software that corrected misspellings. It was
late and Alexa had gone to bed hours before when I finally folded the paper and
fell into bed.
*
* *
Over the next
week, I studied the message every free moment and could barely concentrate
during my classes. Finally, I put the paper away and forced myself to study and
give one hundred percent during the lectures. Alexa was right: my education
should be the priority. I ignored the message for an entire week. Afterward, I
resolved to limit my time to only three hours a day.
After dinner
that night, I sat on the couch with Alexa on the opposite end—our
favorite positions for relaxing at night—and unfolded the
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