The Secret – by Byron Preiss (Bantam paperback, 1982)

Background on the book from http://thesecret.pbworks.com/w/page/22148559/FrontPage... “Many armchair treasure hunt books have been published over the years, most notably Masquerade (1979) by British artist Kit Williams. Masquerade promised a jewel-encrusted golden hare to the first person to unravel the riddle that Williams cleverly hid in his art. In 1982, while everyone in Britain was still madly digging up hedgerows and pastures in search of the golden hare, The Secret: A Treasure Hunt was published in America. The previous year, author and publisher Byron Preiss had traveled to 12 locations in the continental U.S. (and possibly Canada) to secretly bury a dozen ceramic casques. Each casque contained a small key that could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York. The key to finding the casques was to match one of 12 paintings to one of 12 poetic verses, solve the resulting riddle, and start digging. Since 1982, only two of the 12 casques have been recovered. The first was located in Grant Park, Chicago, in 1984 by a group of students. The second was unearthed in 2004 in Cleveland by two members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Preiss was killed in an auto accident in the summer of 2005, but the hunt for his casques continues. The Secret is long out of print, but copies can be obtained easily online (try abebooks.com or bookfinder.com; the book was jointly authored by Sean Kelly, John Pierard, Byron Preiss, Ben Asen, John Jude Palencar, Ted Mann, JoEllen Trilling, and Overton Loyd). Most of the book has no connection whatsoever to the treasure hunt. Of primary importance are the 12 paintings and the 12 verses, as well as some front-end material that provides a back story.”

Twelve boxes (or “casques” as they were called) were buried, but only two have been found. The first one was discovered by a group of students in 1984, in Grant Park in Chicago. This is how it worked.

Where M and B are set in stone And to Congress, R is known L sits and left Beyond his shoulder Is the Fair Folks' Treasure holder The end of ten by thirteen Is your clue Fence and fixture Central too For finding jewel casque Seek the sounds Of rumble Brush and music Hush.

The verse describes various landmarks in the area of Grant Park. Where M and B are set in stone 1 - The names of Mozart and Beethoven appear on the front of Symphony Hall. And to Congress, R is known 2 - Roosevelt University on Congress Parkway L sits and left 3 - Statue of Lincoln Beyond his shoulder 4 Shows the position of the casque “The end of ten by thirteen” referred to two lines of trees. “Fence and fixture” referred to this fencepost and wall fixture. The casque was apparently found between them. (That tree wasn’t there at the time.)

Several landmarks around Grant Park appeared disguised within the image, including the statue “Spirit of the Great Lakes”… “The Bowman”… The fencepost… (These image references are relatively straightforward, but others can be much more obscure.)

This is the image and verse which lead to Roanoke:`

Pass two friends of octave In December Ride the man of oz To the land near the window There's a road that leads to Dark forest Where white is in color With two maps After circle and square In July and August A path beckons To mica and driftwood Under that Which may be last touched Or first seen standing Look north at the wing And dig To achieve By dauntless and inconquerable Determination Your goal

Each image is associated with a country, and a month, with its birth-flower and birthstone. For this image, these are England, January, Garnet, Carnation. Pass two friends of octave These are the Wright Brothers, who were friends with Octave Chanute: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave_Chanute In December Wright Brothers Day is 17th December. Ride the man of oz To the land near the window The “man of oz” is L. Frank Baum, who wrote “The Wizard of Oz”. There used to be a ferry service to Roanoke operated by TL Baum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_Department_of_Transportation_Ferry_Division The “land near the window” is a reference to a map of Roanoke island shown near the window in the image:

There's a road that leads to Dark forest A plaque at the entrance to the Elizabethan Gardens reads: “From this hallowed ground they walked away through the dark forest” …taken from the Lost Colony play. Where white is in color With two maps The character White appears in the play by (Paul) Green at the Lost Colony Theatre. This could also be a reference to the watercolors and maps by White at the Fort Raleigh Visitor Center. After circle and square It’s not known what this means. In July and August These words appear on the Fort Raleigh historical marker: When the play is on…? A path beckons

“On this site, in July – August, 1585 (O.S.), colonists, sent out from England by Sir Walter Raleigh, built a fort, called by them “The New Fort in Virginia These colonists were the first settlers of the English race in America. They returned to England in July, 1586, with Sir Francis Drake. Near this place was born, on the 18th of August, 1587, Virginia Dare , the first child of English Parents born in America – daughter of Ananias Dare and Eleanor White, his wife, members of another band of colonists sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1587. On Sunday, August 20, 1587, Virginia Dare was baptized. Manteo, the friendly Chief of the Hatteras Indians had been baptized on the Sunday preceding. These baptisms are the first known celebrations of a Christian Sacrament in the territory of the thirteen original United States.” This ties up with several aspects of the puzzle. The introductory story is about Fairy “colonists” who set out for America from England. There’s a statue of Virginia Dare in the Elizabethan Gardens with a pedestal resembling the one in the picture: …and it also mentions White.

This pillar resembling the one in the picture stood at the old entrance to Fort Raleigh: To mica and driftwood …and there may be a possible match here with the visitor center:

This Fort Raleigh information board might provide another possible interpretation for “with two maps”: Here’s a general overview of the area:

A path beckons To mica and driftwood Under that Which may be last touched Or first seen standing Is there anything at Fort Raleigh which might explain the “mica and driftwood” reference…? Under that Which may be last touched Or first seen standing Look north at the wing And dig To achieve By dauntless and inconquerable Determination Your goal The final part of the verse is a reference to the Wright Brothers monument at Kitty Hawk norrth of Roanoke, which bears the inscription: “Achieved by dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith”. However, it might also have a double meaning – perhaps the wing of a theatre, or other building. Under that Which may be last touched Or first seen standing This is a mystery. I wondered about a possible pun on “first scene standing”…might there be a connection with something in the play here…? Something mentioned at the beginning and ending of the play…?

This is what was hidden, buried up to 3ft deep in a plastic container. There’s an article about the Cleveland discovery here: http://www.angelfire.com/dragon/egbert/secret.html Please let us know if this “casque” is ever found! B_J_Glover@yahoo.co.uk Discussion forum at: www.quest4treasure.co.uk Here’s an article about the Grant Park discovery, though it’s not entirely accurate…