Between Silk and Cyanide (8 page)

Read Between Silk and Cyanide Online

Authors: Leo Marks

Tags: #Biography & Autobiography, #Historical, #Modern, #20th Century, #Military, #World War II, #History

BOOK: Between Silk and Cyanide
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Couldn't we find what followed this?
Couldn't
we, sir?
Couldn't
we? After more subliminal prodding he eventually concluded that the word COULDN'T could be in the bottom message.

Top message:
C
O
L
O
N
E
L
O
Z
E
A
N
N
E
Bottom message:
T
1
S
11
G
26
S
11
H
2
S
4
G
26
S
11
D
41
S
4
I
3
H
2
H
2
S
4
 
E
29
L
12
I
19
L
12
F
1
D
10
I
39
L
12
D
10
A
24
F
8
F
8
D
10
 
Y
16
U
43
Y
16
O
13
N
18
U
43
Y
16
N
18
T
49
O
13
O
13
N
18
 
H
23
H
23
A
14
W
19
H
23
W
19
N
31
A
14
A
14
W
19
 
E
25
E
25
D
27
S
20
E
25
S
20
D
27
D
27
S
20
 
A
48
P
30
P
30
A
48
A
48
P
30
 
C
52
B
31
B
31
C
52
C
52
B
31
 
E
32
E
32
E
32
 
K
33
K
33
K
33
 
S
34
S
34
S
34
 
K
36
K
36
K
36
 
S
42
S
42
S
42
 
O
54
O
54
O
54

Progress to date:

Top message:
C
O
L
O
N
E
L
O
Z
E
A
N
N
E
Bottom message:
T
H
I
S
C
O
U
L
D
N
T
 
 
 

This couldn't what?

The letters under NNE were aching to tell us.

Top message:
N
N
E
Bottom message:
H
H
S
 
F
F
D
 
O
O
N
 
A
A
W
 
D
D
S
 
A
A
P
 
C
C
B
 
E
 
K
 
S
 
K
 
S
 
O

Ozanne considered HOP was a promising combination. 'This couldn't hop?' I guided him on to HAP. 'This couldn't hap—'? What did hap— suggest? 'HAPPY,' he said. I told him this word hadn't yet manifested itself in SOE's traffic. Nor did I expect it to
happen.
He got there.

Top message:
C
O
L
O
N
E
L
O
Z
E
A
N
N
E
 
 
 
Bottom message:
T
H
I
S
C
O
U
L
D
N
T
H
A
P
P
E
N

The letters above pen would tell us what Colonel Ozanne was up to. Letters above PEN (printed downwards for convenience):

Top message:
P
E
N
Bottom message:
E
S
E
 
S
S
I
 
 
E
A
 
 
C
C
 
 
S
 
 
 
O
 
 
 
M
 
 
S
 

I pointed to the five ss, and asked if he had any suggestions. None were forthcoming.

'There is one word beginning with S that everyone associates with you, sir!'

He looked at me suspiciously and demanded to know which word I meant.

'Signals'.

'Of course,' he said.

I chalked it up.

Top message:
C
O
L
O
N
E
L
O
Z
E
A
N
N
E
S
S
I
G
N
A
L
S
Bottom message:
T
H
I
S
C
O
U
L
D
N
T
H
A
P
P
E
N
 
 
 
 
 

There was a real eye-catcher, though Ozanne's were half-closed, in the letters beneath GNALS:

Top message:
G
N
A
L
S
Bottom message:
I
H
I
G
E
 
N
F
A
I
P
 
 
O
T
U
E
 
 
A
N
 
M
 
 
D
 
 
G
 
 
A
 
 
E
 
 
C
 
 
E

I put to my comatose colonel that the word IF was a natural to follow 'this couldn't happen', and that AGE could be the start of the most important word in our joint vocabularies: AGENTS.

Top message:
C
O
L
O
N
E
L
O
Z
E
A
N
N
E
S
S
I
G
N
A
L
S
 
 
 
Bottom message:
T
H
I
S
C
O
U
L
D
N
T
H
A
P
P
E
N
I
F
A
G
E
N
T
S

The letters above NTS offered us mercifully little choice (printed downwards for convenience):

Top message:
N
T
S
Bottom message:
H
C
E
 
F
R
O
 
O
R
E
 
A
A
E
 
D
 
E
 
A
 
H
 
C
 
F

FROM was a likely starter; there was an M waiting to oblige at number 22 in the code-groups. But ARE was also a possibility.

I asked which of them he fancied.

I can see a B up there,' he announced, 'and an F—'

And I could see a OF in the room.

'Let's leave Signals, sir,' I said, knowing that I might have to shortly.

'What else should we be looking for?'

'SOE,' he said. 'Everyone else is.'

A bullseye for Ozanne. SOE would take us in sight of the finish!

Letters beneath SOE (assuming it was in the top message):

Top message:
S
O
E
Bottom message:
E
S
S
 
P
L
D
 
E
Y
N
 
M
H
W
 
G
E
S
 
E
 
P
 
E
 
B
 
 
 
E
 
 
 
K
 
 
 
S
 
 
 
K
 
 
 
S
 
 
 
O

We didn't need to look further than MES. Nor would the Germans. MESSAGE begins, MESSAGE ends, MESSAGE indecipherable, were part of the standard litany at the poem-code's funeral service. The orisons were:

Top message:
S
O
E
 
 
 
 
Bottom message:
M
E
S
S
A
G
E

The principal mourners may approach the grave and scatter handfuls of sage. Letters above SAGE (printed downwards for convenience):

Top message:
S
A
G
E
Bottom message:
O
N
L
S
 
E
A
D
S
 
H
N
 
E
 
F
 
 
C
 
E
 
 
O
 
E
 
 
M
 
E
 
 
 

The 'END' was nigh.

I needed one more guess from him. I pointed to the last letter in the E column of SAGE: the letter M.

'That M comes immediately after the word END. So what word is it likely to be the start of ?'

'Marks, I should think. I can't believe you haven't signed it.'

'It's the agent who has! They usually sign off in the same way, no matter what we tell them. It starts with an M, sir…'

The word was MESSAGE, and the letters beneath ESSAGE completed the internment.

Top message:
S
O
E
E
N
D
M
E
S
S
A
G
E
Bottom message:
M
E
S
S
A
G
E
S
E
E
I
N
S
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
D
P
P
A
I
D
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
N
E
E
I
 
N
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
W
M
M
N
 
W
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
S
G
G
 
S
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
P
E
E
 
P
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
B
E
E
 
B
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
E
 
E
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
K
 
K
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
S
 
S
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
O
 
O

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