And then, with a hand whose agitation nearly prevented him from
writing at all, he placed the name of Ortega over the six last
letters of the paragraph, as he had done over the first.
An exclamation immediately escaped him. He saw, at first glance, that
the six last letters were inferior in alphabetical order to those
which composed Ortega's name, and that consequently they might yield
the number.
And when he reduced the formula, reckoning each later letter from the
earlier letter of the word, he obtained.
O r t e g a
4 3 2 5 1 3
_S u v j h d_
The number thus disclosed was 432513.
But was this number that which had been used in the document? Was it
not as erroneous as those he had previously tried?
At this moment the shouts below redoubled--shouts of pity which
betrayed the sympathy of the excited crowd. A few minutes more were
all that the doomed man had to live!
Fragoso, maddened with grief, darted from the room! He wished to see,
for the last time, his benefactor who was on the road to death! He
longed to throw himself before the mournful procession and stop it,
shouting, "Do not kill this just man! do not kill him!"
But already Judge Jarriquez had placed the given number above the
first letters of the paragraph, repeating them as often as was
necessary, as follows:
4 3 2 5 1 3 4 3 2 5 1 3 4 3 2 5 1 3 4 3 2 5 1 3
_P h y j s l y d d q f d z x g a s g z z q q e h_
And then, reckoning the true letters according to their alphabetical
order, he read:
"Le v?ritable auteur du vol de----"
A yell of delight escaped him! This number, 432513, was the number
sought for so long! The name of Ortega had enabled him to discover
it! At length he held the key of the document, which would
incontestably prove the innocence of Joam Dacosta, and without
reading any more he flew from his study into the street, shouting:
"Halt! Halt!"
To cleave the crowd, which opened as he ran, to dash to the prison,
whence the convict was coming at the last moment, with his wife and
children clinging to him with the violence of despair, was but the
work of a minute for Judge Jarriquez.
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