By the time Mike and Ellie returned to their camp, there was barely enough light to make out the shadow of the mysterious man they had recently seen high up on the moor waiting near their tents.

"Barquith!" exclaimed Mike and Ellie together, as they recognised the outline of his aquiline nose. "What are you doing here?"

"You got my note I assume?" said Barquith.

"So it was you we saw high up on the moor just now! How long have you been here?" asked Mike.

"Indeed it was," said Barquith. "I've been camping on the moors for a few days now. You see, I don't trust Cuddeny. I told him that I couldn't visit the Institute and would send you instead because I wanted him to be distracted showing you around whilst I did some of my own detective work. I'm sorry for not letting you in on my little deception."

"Cuddeny is working for someone else, but I'm not sure who yet. I think I know who his accomplice is, but I still need more evidence. I want you to get back into the Garamond Institute and see if you can find something incriminating..."

Later that afternoon, Mike and Ellie has sneaked into the Garamond Institute. They saw Cuddeny in the main computer room, explaining that Izzy Mortimer had been found on the moor that morning, badly mauled by Old Schuck, but recovering in hospital. "I'm going to keep this place in lock-down now," they heard Cuddeny say. "It's too dangerous for anybody to leave the Institute until our work is finished! We must produce the results demanded by our new clients."

As Cuddeny seemed to be in full flow, Mike and Ellie used the opportunity to creep into his office. Cuddeny's laptop was open on the desk, an unsent email on the screen. As Ellie got out her phone to photograph the screen she heard staccato footsteps behind her. She spun around and was surprised to see the stern face of Verity Maliphant standing in the doorway.

"You!" cried Verity. "You should have taken my advice and gone home! Truman! Truman Cuddeny! Get in here!"

Realising that they had to escape, Mike opened the window. As Mike and Ellie leaped out into the courtyard they could hear Cuddeny's dogs barking in the stables. The children raced out of the Institute's grounds, Verity Maliphant's strident voice ringing out behind them, "Truman, useless brother mine. They're escaping! We've got to stop them!"

"Come on," said Mike, looking back to see both Truman Cuddeny and Verity Maliphant running out of the Institute towards them. The children ran up on to the moor, their two pursuers gaining with every heartbeat. In the distance Barquith was waving, directing them towards the Rocking Chair stones. Mike and Ellie ran as hard as they could; so hard that they didn't spot the warning sign "Extreme Caution! Oldgate Moss. Deep bog ahead. Danger of Death!"; so hard that they didn't hear a shrill whistle from high on the moor as a monstrous hound with fur glowing red — Old Schuck himself — bounded out of the Institute towards them.

Alan Turing Cryptography Competition 2018 is organised by the The Department of Mathematics at The University of Manchester.
© The University of Manchester 2012–2018, All Rights Reserved
Contact us | Privacy notice