The Secret of the Puzzle Box

by Penny Warner

  To Yuka Hayashi, the inspiration for the

  new Code Buster, Mika

  Copyright © 2016 by Penny Warner

  All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

  Darby Creek

  A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

  241 First Avenue North

  Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

  For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com.

  Cover art by Victor Rivas.

  Interior illustrations © Laura Westlund/Independent Picture Service.

  Main body text set in Gazette LH Roman 12/21. Typeface provided by Adobe Systems.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Warner, Penny, author.

  Title: The secret of the puzzle box / by Penny Warner.

  Description: Minneapolis : Darby Creek, [2016] | Series: Code Busters Club ; Book #6 | Summary: “The members of the Code Busters Club take a class trip to Angel Island—the Ellis Island of the West—where they discover a mysterious box with a connection to one of the Code Busters”— Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015037132| ISBN 9781512403077 (th : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781512409000 (EB pdf)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Cryptography—Fiction. | Ciphers—Fiction. | Angel Island (Calif.)—Fiction. | Mystery and detective stories.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.W2458 Sdp 2016 | DDC [Fic]--dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2015037132

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  1-39099-21076-4/4/2016

  9781512419054 ePub

  9781512419061 ePub

  9781512419078 mobi

  Code Busters Club Rules

  Motto

  To solve puzzles, codes, and mysteries and keep the Code Busters Club secret!

  Secret Sign

  Interlocking index fingers (American Sign Language sign for “friend”)

  Secret Password

  Day of the week, said backward

  Secret Meeting Place

  Code Busters Club Clubhouse

  Code Busters Club Dossiers

  Identity: Quinn Kee

  Code Name: “Lock&Key”

  Description

  Hair: Black, spiky

  Eyes: Brown

  Other: Sunglasses

  Special Skill: Video games, Computers, Guitar

  Message Center: Doghouse

  Career Plan: CIA cryptographer or Game designer

  Code Specialties: Military code, Computer codes

  Identity: MariaElena—M.E.—Esperanto

  Code Name: “Em-me”

  Description

  Hair: Long, brown

  Eyes: Brown

  Other: Fab clothes

  Special Skill: Handwriting analysis, Fashionista

  Message Center: Flower box

  Career Plan: FBI handwriting analyst or Veterinarian

  Code Specialties: Spanish, I.M., Text messaging

  Identity: Luke LaVeau

  Code Name: “Kuel-Dude”

  Description

  Hair: Black, curly

  Eyes: Dark brown

  Other: Saints cap

  Special Skill: Extreme sports, Skateboard, Crosswords

  Message Center: Under step

  Career Plan: Pro skater, Stuntman, Race car driver

  Code Specialties: Word puzzles, Skater slang

  Identity: Dakota—Cody—Jones

  Code Name: “CodeRed”

  Description

  Hair: Red, curly

  Eyes: Green

  Other: Freckles

  Special Skill: Languages, Reading faces and body language

  Message Center: Tree knothole

  Career Plan: Interpreter for UN or deaf people

  Code Specialties: Sign language, Braille, Morse code, Police codes

  Reader

  *To crack the chapter title code, check out the Code Busters Key Book & Solutions here and here

  To see complete Code Busters Club Rules and Dossiers, and solve more puzzles and mysteries, go to www.CodeBustersClub.com

  F erry to the shore,

  Scavenge for some hidden finds,

  Snap, but do not take . . .

  On her way to school Monday morning, Cody Jones recited the poem aloud to her friend MariaElena Esperanto (M.E. for short). Their teacher, Ms. Stadelhofer, had given them a haiku—a Japanese-style poem—that offered a clue about their next field trip. Cody had read it so many times that she had it memorized. But she still wasn’t sure what it meant.

  “Any ideas?” she asked M.E., hoping her friend had figured it out over the weekend.

  “Shore, scavenge, snap,” M.E. mused. “Maybe we’re going to the shores of Hawaii to scavenge for snapping turtles.”

  Cody rolled her eyes. “I wish!” she said. The sixth graders at Berkeley Cooperative Middle School had already taken one long-distance field trip: a super-fun visit to Washington, DC, where they’d gone to the International Spy Museum. Cody, M.E., and the other Code Busters—Quinn Kee; Luke LaVeau; and their newest member, Mika Takeda—were happy to return home with their souvenir disguises and memories of the adventure. On the plane trip back from the East Coast, Cody and M.E.’s teacher, Ms. Stadelhofer, hinted that the students would be going on another field trip in a few weeks. Cody couldn’t wait to find out what their next destination would be.

  She’d just have to wait for Ms. Stad to explain the poem to the class. Still, she couldn’t help wondering what new adventures, mysteries, and codes were waiting for them.

  “Welcome back to the classroom, students!” Ms. Stad announced after the final bell rang and the students were settled in their seats. “I hope you all enjoyed the trip to our nation’s capital. I thought it was wonderful, in spite of the little mishap that occurred.”

  Ms. Stad looked directly at Matt Jeffreys, who squirmed in his chair under her all-knowing eye. Matt’s antics had almost ruined the trip.

  “For your homework, you all received a secret message, written as a haiku,” Ms. Stad began. “Do you remember what a haiku is?”

  A few hands went up, including Mika’s. Mika and her family had recently moved to California from Japan. At first, she’d been too shy to raise her hand, but she’d come out of her shell during the trip to Washington, DC.

  “It’s a Japanese poem that has five syllables—or beats—in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third,” Mika said when Ms. Stad called on her. “Haikus are usually written about nature, but they can be about anything.”

  “Correct!” Ms. Stad said, looking pleased. “Now, does anyone know what this haiku is about?” She recited the poem for the class and then glanced around the room.

  Cole’s hand went up cautiously. “Maybe it’s about a boat ride?”

  “Why do you think that, Cole?” Ms. Stad asked.

  “Because it says ‘ferry to the shore.’ Are we going on a ferry?”

  “Yes, that’s part of it,” Ms. Stad said. “Very good. But there’s more.”

  Lyla, in the back row, raised her hand. “The second line says ‘scavenge for hidden finds.’ I think we’re going on a scavenger hunt!”

  “You’re right!” Ms. Stad said with excitement in her voice.

  “Awesome!” Matt the Brat called out without raising his hand. “Are we going to look for buried treasure?”

  Ms. Stad frowned
at Matt’s outburst, then raised an eyebrow and said, “You’ll see. Now, what about the last line? ‘Snap, but do not take.’ Anyone?”

  Matt spoke up again without raising his hand. “Oh, snap!” he said, laughing.

  “Matthew,” Ms. Stad warned, “please raise your hand if you want to be called on.”

  He shrank back in his seat.

  Ms. Stad called on the boy across from Cody. “Francesco, do you know what the last line means?”

  “Uh, snap, like a tree branch?” Francesco guessed.

  “Good guess, but no.” Ms. Stad shook her head and then called on Bradley.

  “Like something broken?” Bradley said.

  “Nope,” Ms. Stad said. “Try again.”

  Matt the Brat raised his hand and then said without waiting to be called on, “It’s too hard! Just tell us!”

  “Take a moment to think about it,” Ms. Stad told Matt and the class. Cody tried to think. What do you snap? A finger? A rubber band? A photo . . .

  That had to be it! Her hand shot up.

  Ms. Stad called on her. “Cody?”

  “Snap could mean snapshot, like taking a picture.”

  “Exactly!” Ms. Stad said.

  “And maybe ‘do not take’ means we’ll be taking pictures on the scavenger hunt instead of actually taking things,” Cody continued.

  “Absolutely correct!” Ms. Stad announced.

  “But we still don’t know where we’re going,” Stella said.

  “It’s probably someplace related to what we’re studying,” guessed Mika.

  “I bet it’s the Amazon River,” Grace guessed.

  “Or Atlantis!” Stephanie said.

  “There’s no such place as Atlantis,” Tessa told her. “That’s a myth.”

  “Are we going back to Alcatraz?” asked Francesco.

  “Whoa!” Ms. Stad said, waving her arms. “One at a time. And please raise your hands if you have something to say. Actually, though, I’m not going to tell you exactly where we’re going. You’ll get to figure it out for yourselves.”

  Ms. Stad picked up a stack of papers from her desk and began passing them out to the rows of students. Cody looked at her copy and grinned. It was a crossword puzzle! She and the Code Busters loved crossword puzzles. They were just like coded messages. Luke was always making up crosswords for the others to solve.

  After everyone had a copy of the puzzle, Ms. Stad explained the assignment. “In the haiku I gave you, there were clues about where we’re going on our next field trip and what we’ll be doing. But you’ll have to solve the crossword puzzle to find out exactly where we’ll be. When you’re finished with the puzzle, turn your paper over and don’t tell anyone else. You may begin now.”

  They got to work.

  Each question was written in alphanumeric code, which substitutes numbers for letters of the alphabet, such as “1” for “A,” “2” for “B,” “3” for “C,” and so on. Underneath was a list of words that matched the questions. Easy, thought Cody. After you solve the code, all you have to do is match the right word with the question.

  Cody pulled out her alphanumeric decoder card and went over each question. She filled in the answers using the numbers as a guide.

  Across

  23-8-1-20 1 4-5-20-5-3-20-9-22-5 14-5-5-4-19

  23-8-5-14 19-15-13-5-20-8-9-14-7 9-19 21-14-4-9-19-3-15-22-5-18-5-4

  6. 1 2-12-1-3-11 2-9-18-4

  7. 23-8-1-20 1 2-9-18-4 8-1-19

  8. 5-12-5-3-20-18-9-3 6-9-19-8

  11. 3-8-5-23 1-14-4 19-23-1-12-12-15-23

  13. 15-21-20-4-15-15-18 15-22-5-18-14-9-7-8-20

  14. 1 13-9-7-8-20-25 20-18-5-5

  16. 9-14-19-5-3-20-19 20-8-1-20 2-21-26-26

  18. 1 16-1-12-9-14-4-18-15-13-5 15-6 20-15-15-20

  19. 20-18-5-5-19 8-1-22-5 20-8-9-19

  20. 12-15-15-11 6-15-18 3-12-21-5-19

  21. 23-8-1-20 23-5-12-12 2-5 20-1-11-9-14-7

  Down

  1. 23-8-1-20 19-16-9-5-19 21-19-5

  2. 12-9-19-20-5-14 23-9-20-8 20-8-5-19-5

  3. 23-8-15, 23-8-1-20, 23-8-5-14, 23-8-5-18-5, 23-8-25, 1-14-4

  4. 1-12-19-15 3-1-12-12-5-4 19-21-14-18-9-19-5

  5. 23-8-5-14 25-15-21 19-12-5-5-16

  6. 21-19-5 20-15 20-5-12-12 20-9-13-5

  9. 1 20-1-12-12 6-21-26-26-25 1-21-19-20-18-1-12-9-1-14 2-9-18-4

  10. 2-18-5-1-20-8 20-8-9-19

  11. 1 20-1-12-12 23-8-9-20-5 2-9-18-4

  12. 23-8-1-20 1 18-1-9-14-2-15-23 8-1-19

  15. 19-5-5 20-8-5 19-9-20-5-19

  16. 15-21-18 18-9-4-5 20-15 15-21-18 4-5-19-20-9-14-1-20-9-15-14

  17. 20-8-5 9-13-13-9-7-18-1-14-20-19 18-9-4-5 20-15 20-8-5-9-18 4-5-19-20-9-14-1-20-9-15-14

  18. 7-9-22-5 1 3-8-5-5-18!

  Code Busters Key and Solution found here and here.

  It didn’t take Cody long to translate the alphanumeric code and then match the answers to the questions. But she still didn’t know the answer to the big puzzle—the class’s field trip destination. Disappointed, she turned her paper over and waited for the other students to finish.

  Eventually Ms. Stad called “Time!” All the kids put down their pencils. “Turn your papers over and check your answers as I read them,” Ms. Stad directed the group.

  As Ms. Stad reviewed the correct answers, Cody checked off each one. She’d gotten them all right.

  “Does anyone notice something different about some of the crossword squares?” Ms. Stad asked.

  Milan raised his hand. “Some of the squares have circles in them.”

  “Right!” Ms. Stad said. “Now, at the bottom of your paper, write down all the letters that are in the circled squares. You should have eleven letters.”

  Cody did as directed, writing down the L in the first word, the N in the second word, and so on, until she had this:

  L N A D G E L A N S I

  Cody stared at the message. All she had was a bunch of random letters that still didn’t mean anything. She glanced around at the students sitting nearby. Everyone else looked puzzled too. She wondered if such a long series of letters could be an anagram—a word with all the letters scrambled up.

  “What’s LNADGELANSI supposed to mean?” asked Matt without raising his hand. “I never heard of that place.”

  “It means,” Ms. Stad replied, “that you’re not finished solving the puzzle.”

  Cody raised her hand. “Ms. Stad, is this an anagram?”

  Ms. Stad looked delighted. “Yes, it is! Who besides Cody remembers what an anagram is?”

  M.E.’s hand shot up. “It’s when you take a word and mix up all the letters and put them in a different order.”

  “Correct,” Ms. Stad said. “Only this time there are two words mixed together to make it even more of a challenge. See if you can figure out what two words the letters spell. Then you’ll know where we’re going on our trip.”

  Cody wished Luke were there to help her. He was really good at anagrams. In fact, he wrote a lot of his secret messages in anagrams. Cody studied the letters to see if any words jumped out at her.

  SALE. LID. LASS. GLIDE. LEND.

  Next, she tried some common letter combinations, such as “ing.”

  DING, SING, SLEDING.

  That didn’t work. Finally, she thought about the clues in the poem and in the crossword to see if they made sense together. Boat, ferry, shore—that could mean . . .

  She checked off the letters. Yes! It had to be island!

  That left ALEGN. She tried GALEN. LEGAN. ELGAN. NAGLE. AN . . .

  And then she got it! She knew where they were going on their next field trip!

  Just then M.E. passed a note to Cody. Cody unfolded the origami paper and read the words M.E. had translated into Spanish: Isla de los angeles!

  Cody had heard of Angel Island, but she’d never been there. Before Ms. Stad could explain more, Matt the Brat blurted out, “What’s Angel Island?”

  Ms. Stad smiled patiently. “Angel Island is a small
island in the San Francisco Bay that’s rich in California history.”

  “Does it have prisoners like Alcatraz?” Matt asked. The class had visited Alcatraz on a previous field trip.

  “No, and you won’t find the ghosts of Al Capone and Diamond Dave on Angel Island, either,” Ms. Stad said.

  “Bor-ing,” Matt muttered as he slouched down in his chair.

  Ms. Stad ignored him. “But like Alcatraz, it’s also a state park. And we’re going to camp there overnight, along with Mr. Pike’s class!”

  Cheers went up from the students. Cody remembered the last time the two classes had gone camping at the Carmel Mission. The Code Busters had discovered a hidden map and a coded journal that sent them on an unexpected adventure. Maybe they’d find something equally exciting this time.

  “Over the years,” Ms. Stad continued, “the island has been a hunting ground for the Miwok Indians, a stopping point for Spanish ships, a Civil War military fort, a transport station for World War II troops, a quarantine inspection hospital, an immigration station for Asian and European immigrants, and a detention facility for prisoners of war. It was even a storage site for missiles during the Cold War, but the military closed that site in 1979. When we tour the place, you’ll still be able to see the missile launchpad.”

  American Indians and European explorers? Cody thought. A hospital and immigration station? A prison and a military base? That was a lot for a small island!She wondered why people had been quarantined there. Did they have some terrible disease?

  “If there’s no missiles anymore, why are we going?” Matt asked, tapping his pencil. He could never just sit still.

  “We’re going to Angel Island to find out more about our heritage,” Ms. Stad said. “People of many different backgrounds spent time there. Since we have a diverse group of students whose families come from various places around the world, we’re going to learn about where your ancestors came from and how they came to call this land home. I’ve written a list of two-letter country codes, like AF for Afghanistan and AU for Australia, and put them in Morse code, since it’s a universal code. See if you can crack these codes and match them with the countries they stand for. When you’re done, circle the country codes that are connected to your heritage.”