The Mysterious Disappearence of Leon (10 page)

‘Next question: Are you sure there was no sound between ‘all’ and ‘I’?”

“Quite sure. Leon, I mean Noel, went under water there without so much as a
blub.”

“Good, then we will presume that:
the message has two parts.

“Third question: Was ‘new’ the end of the message?”

“I don’t know. It was the last sound I heard before I was hit on the head.”

Augie Kunkel nodded sympathetically. “I know how that can feel. It does make it more difficult, though, not knowing how many words, if any, follow ‘new’; but at least we can write the message in a simpler form.”

Noel__C__all/I__new....

“That does look easier,” Tina remarked.

“One more question,” Augie Kunkel said. “Would you say that Noel used precise language?”

“Precise? I think so,” Mrs. Carillon replied. “Would you like to hear the other messages?”

“If they are not too personal.”

“The first message said, ‘Hi.’ ”

“That certainly is precise.”

Mrs. Carillon recited all of Noel’s messages, including the hotel note.

Augie Kunkel beamed. “Wonderful. You have given me a very important clue.”

Syllable Counting

“I gave you a clue?”

“Indeed you did, Mrs. Carillon, a most important clue:
Noel never used a word longer than two syllables.
Do you understand what a help that is in solving the
glub
-
blubs?”
he asked the twins.

Tony shook his head. “They don’t teach us syllables in school,” he said, glad that it wasn’t Mr. Banks he was telling this to.

“Let me try to explain. A syllable is the smallest unit of sound in a word. It is like a note in music—something you hear. You don’t even have to know how to spell in order to count syllables; just say the word out loud, and you will hear them.

“Now, some words have only one syllable, like the word ‘seek,’ and the word ‘seal.’

“Some words have two syllables, like ‘ce-dar.’

“Some words have three syllables, like ‘sea-son-al.’ Is that clear?”

The twins nodded. They thought Augie Kunkel must be the smartest man in the world. So did Mrs. Carillon. She also thought he was rather good-looking in his football helmet; and that he must be quite fond of them, for he wasn’t stuttering anymore.

“Since we know that Noel never used a word longer than two syllables in any of his other messages, we can presume that the same applies here.
The message contains only one-syllable or two-syllable words.”

The Three Unknowns

“Unfortunately, there are three things we don’t know,” Augie Kunkel continued.

“Remember, we are dealing with a spoken message, not a written one. Therefore:

We don’t know how the sounds are spelled.

“For example: ‘new’ can be spelled nine different ways in one- and two-syllable words, and still sound the same.

If ‘new’ is a word:
new
knew
gnu
If ‘new’ is part of a word:
neu (neutral)
new (newsboy)
noe (canoe)
noo (noodle)
nou (nougat)
nu (nude)
nui (nuisance).”

“I saw a gnu in the zoo the other day,” Mrs. Carillon said.

“A fascinating creature, the gnu.”

“Please, Mr. Kunkel, go on about what we don’t know,” Tony pleaded.

“Mrs. Carillon heard sounds, not one-syllable words, or even complete syllables. Therefore:

We don’t know where most words begin or end.

“For example: There are five possibilities for the ‘C’ sound:

‘C__’: the beginning of a word (season)

‘__C’: the end of a word (fancy)

‘C’: an initial (C.)

‘C’: one word (see, sea)

‘C’: part of a one-syllable word (seek).”

“Lastly, we can’t be sure that ‘new’ is the final word or even part of the final word. Therefore:

We don’t know where the message ends.”

The Chart

“This is getting too complicated” Tony complained. He was beginning to wish that Mr. Kunkel wasn’t quite so smart after all.

“I think this will make it easier.” Augie Kunkel took another piece of paper from his pocket. “First let’s write the message once again and number the syllables we are looking for.”

Noel__C__all

“That’s all?” Tony said hopefully. “Just seven syllables?”

“Perhaps, but there may be several more after ‘new.’ ” Augie Kunkel drew lines on the paper dividing it into columns which he headed and numbered. He wrote down some words, then handed the paper to Tony.

“You
²⁷
can begin by copying this chart on a large sheet of ruled paper. All the possible combinations of syllables are here, and I’ve suggested a few words for a start. Once you and Tina have added as many words as you can, we will cut the lists apart, matching them up (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-?) without repeating any numbers, to see if we can arrange them into some meaningful order.”

“Can’t we solve the
glub-blubs
without lists?” Tina asked.

“Certainly, as long as you follow these three rules, for the time being at least.

I__ new. . . .

1. Each sound is one syllable or part of one syllable.

2. No word is longer than two syllables.”

A waiter cleared his throat. They looked around, surprised to see they were the only diners left.

Augie Kunkel quickly paid the bill and escorted Mrs. Carillon and the twins home.

“And don’t forget,” he said as he left them at their door, “the most important rule of all:

3. The message must make sense.”

Tony’s List

Let’s divide up the lists,” Tony said after a sleepless night. ”I’ll take ‘C’ and you can have ‘__C.’”

“Thanks a lot, you gave me the hardest one,” Tina complained. “Just for that you can do the chart by yourself. I have my own plans.”

“All right, you can have the ‘C’ list,” Tony said. The school bell drowned out Tina’s reply. The twins raced to their classroom, sat down at their desks, and began to write.

Tony wrote: “__C.”

Tina wrote: “Tony and I are a medical phenomenon!” She passed the note to Jordan Pinckney, who read it, shrugged, and tore it into little pieces.

Tina was furious with Jordan Pinckney. By the end of the day she was mad at the whole miserable world.

“You’d better pay more attention in class, Tony,” she said, taking her anger out on the only person around, “or you’re going to be kept back.”

“Greasy,” Tony replied.

During the next few days Tony added “juicy, icy, spicy” to the “__C” list, and then he was stuck.

“Tina, you’ve got to help me. I’ve only got four words, so far; and Mr. Kunkel is coming over on Saturday.”

“Don’t worry,” Tina said. “I’ve already solved the
glub-blubs.”

“Solved it?”

“That’s right. You see, I’ve been working according to rule 3:
The message must make sense.
Well, the only thing that makes sense is that Noel is dead. In fact, he knew he was dying when he said:

See
you at my funeral.
I’
ve got
pneu
monia
.”

Tony shook his head. “Too many syllables.”

“Well, if I were drowning I wouldn’t pay any attention to syllables,” Tina replied.