The Word of God by Christopher Cummings Read Free Book Online Page B

scout, just in case our spooky mates are lurking along the track.”
    Gwen objected: “Wait! We must splint that broken leg first.”
    Graham muttered but Gwen set to work, helped by Stephen, to tie the injured Devil Worshipper’s broken leg to his good one, with a stick added for good measure.
    While they did that Peter checked that the three former prisoners were dressed and ready to go. The two knights had dressed in their own clothes-torn and soiled business suits and leather shoes.
    Sir Miles assured him they were able to make the distance. “We will also help carry that man,” he added.
    â€œThanks. Now, Joy, did you find any food or water?”
    â€œBoth,” Joy replied. She held out two water bottles and a packet of sandwiches. Peter passed the water bottles to the rescued prisoners. Sir Miles controlled their drinking, then returned the water bottles to Peter for the cadets to share. They got a good mouthful each. It tasted very good, but Peter knew it was not enough, that they would probably be in trouble from dehydration soon.
    â€œAnything else in those bags Joy?” he asked, as Gwen finished her bandaging.
    â€œOnly these papers. They appear to be some sort of messages. They look like decoded secret signals to me.”
    Peter’s curiosity was aroused and he took the notebook from her and scanned it. Joy was right. It was a decoded message. The original had been in some sort of Trigram code, where three letters meant a letter, number or word. He was familiar with the idea from the Command Post exercises they did every year at cadets.
    â€œYou are right. Coded messages. These ones have been decoded,” he commented.
    â€œWhat do they say?” Graham asked.
    Peter studied the handwritten messages for a moment, troubled more by the author’s poor handwriting than by the cyphering. He read: “The first one says: From Six Five to Six Six; Have captured two Knights of the Holy Grail. Sir Richard De Burg and Sir Miles Falworth and agent Adrian Jones. Now at RV TANGENT with group. Request orders.”
    He turned the page of the notebook. “The second one is a reply, from Six Six to Six Five. It reads: Take prisoners to the top of Walshs Pyramid. Question and torture them then execute according to our rites. Six Five Three to kill.”
    It was obvious that the others were aghast at the cold-blooded implications of the message. Peter shook his head in appalled disbelief and turned the page.
    â€œThis one hasn’t been completely decoded,” he observed.
    â€œThat was probably what he was doing when we were sprung,” Stephen offered. “I saw one of them drop the notebook as they ran for it.”
    Peter nodded and read: “This is from Six Six and is a ‘Flash’ message. It starts: Delay executions. Do not kill prisoners. Special Agent; then it is unfinished. The rest is just trigrams.”
    â€œSix Six must be their boss,” Joy suggested.
    Peter again nodded. “Did you find a codebook among their gear? I’d like to finish decoding this.”
    Joy shook her head. “No we didn’t,” she replied.
    Gwen finished her first aid and stood up. “OK, that’s as good as I can manage.”
    Graham stepped forward. “Good, now help lift him onto my back,” he ordered. Without waiting to see if he was obeyed he crouched and hauled the unconscious man upright. Stephen helped lift him onto Graham’s back and passed him his staff. Graham stood up with a grunt, adjusted his balance, the man sitting awkwardly astride his basic webbing. As soon as he had him gripped firmly Graham started walking.
    Joy moved back to where she had placed the packs in a row. “What will we do with these?” she called.
    â€œLeave the packs and clothes. Just bring the papers,” Peter instructed. He tucked the notebook into his pocket and had a final look around. Satisfied that the others were moving he picked