"It sounds as though we need to go back to Jodrell Bank," said Ellie. "I think Barquith's disappearance and the strange goings on at the observatory are connected."

As they arrived back at Jodrell Bank, they spotted Mel. "Hello again," they said. "You're back so soon?" she replied. "Now have you both got your phones switched off?" Both Mike and Ellie checked that their phones were switched off, as Mel explained how the telescopes at Jodrell Bank were so sensitive that they could detect the radio waves from a mobile phone as far away as Mars and they needed to minimise the interference.

"Here's a challenge for you," said Mel. "There are plaques in the botanical gardens representing the planets. I wonder if you can find them all? Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some other tasks to look after."

Mike and Ellie wandered around the botanical gardens, surprised at how dense some of the woodland was. "Look at the statue!" said Mike, pointing towards an enormous stone ball nestled at the end of one green glade. "It's to represent an asteroid, a rock from outer space!" As he ran towards it, he heard a muffled scream. "Ellie!" he shouted, and as he turned around he realised that Ellie was nowhere to be seen.

--

"You're coming with me!" said the man, as he dragged Ellie away. "The boss, Lungrem, knows all about you."

"I've seen you before," said Ellie, as she struggled against the man's grip. "You were studying the code in the newspaper."

"That's right," he replied gruffly, "You should have kept your nose out of things that don't concern you. Now we have to make sure that you stop your poking around."

They arrived at a wooden hut, hidden in the middle of the woodland. The man opened the door, shoved Ellie inside, and locked her in. As Ellie's eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw a white-haired figure in a corner with his hands and feet tied up.

"Barquith!" she exclaimed. "They've captured you too!"

--

"Ellie!" shouted Mike, as he grew more and more worried. He looked around the gardens and woodland, but there were so many paths that all looked the same, he ended up getting lost. "Of the two of us, you're the one with the brains," he said, "and now I don't know what to do!"

--

"So there really is a Lovell Legacy?" said Ellie, after Barquith had explained what he had found out.

"Yes," said Barquith, "Now we need to find some way of getting a message to Mike, so that he can rescue us!"

"I've still got the note that you left for us at the Museum!" she exclaimed. "I'll write a message to Mike; it'll have to be in code though in case it falls into the wrong hands. I'm sure we can find some way of getting it to him."

After she had written the code, Ellie tugged again at the ropes binding Barquith's ankles, trying to loosen them. The door opened, and the man who had captured her walked in. "Had a nice chat?" he sneered. He glanced down at the loosened ropes. "I think you two need should be kept separately," he said, as he dragged Ellie out of the shed, not noticing the paper scrunched up in her hand.

--

Mike continued to look around the gardens. As he passed the Galaxy Garden, he noticed a crumpled ball of paper wedged in a bush. "I recognise that piece of paper. It's the memo Barquith for left us at Museum! And it looks like there's a secret message from Ellie on the back. I hope she's OK."

Alan Turing Cryptography Competition 2014 is organised by the The Department of Mathematics at The University of Manchester.
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