The Secret by Byron Preiss (Bantam paperback, 1982)

Transcription

1 The Secret by Byron Preiss (Bantam paperback, 1982) Background on the book from 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.

2 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.

3 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.)

4 Several landmarks around Grant Park appeared disguised within the image, including the statue Spirit of the Great Lakes The Bowman The fencepost

5 This is the picture and verse which are thought to relate to Sullivan s Island: Lane Two twenty two You'll see an arc of lights Weight and roots extended Together saved the site Of granite walls Wind swept halls Citadel in the night A wingless bird ascended Born of ancient dreams of flight Beneath the only standing member Of a forest To the south White stone closest At twelve paces From the west side Get permission To dig out

6 The mask includes a representation of a map of Charleston: The images often contain hidden references to latitude and longitude. Sometimes an adjacent pair of numbers is given, for a wider area. For Charleston, these are 32 and 79. The image is thought to contain references to 32/33 and 79/80: 32 (the 2 is inverted) The pendant suggests the shape of Fort Sumter:

7 The Verse Lane Two twenty two This refers to two roads numbered 22 at the start of the trail when you arrive at the island via Ben Sawyer Blvd; Station 22 St and Station 22 ½ St (circled 1) You'll see an arc of lights The lighthouse (2) with its circling arc lamp Weight and roots extended Together saved the site Of granite walls Wind swept halls Citadel in the night A slightly mysterious section. The granite walls are probably referring to Fort Moultrie, but may also be a literary reference (see below).

8 Edgar Allan Poe, stationed at Fort Moultrie, is closely associated with Sullivan s Island. One of his stories, The gold bug, is a tale of buried treasure set on Sullivan s Island, and centers around golden skulls which seems to tie in with the image and its golden mask. A wingless bird ascended Born of ancient dreams of flight Another of his stories, The balloon hoax, tells of a balloon trip to Sullivan s Island. The buried treasure boxes are referred to in the book as casques. One of Poe s short stories, The Casque of Amontillado, tells of a person chained to a granite wall. The windswept halls and citadel in the night also sound Poe-esque. The Edgar Allan Poe Memorial Library (3) is on L on Avenue (4), which may explain the lion in the image. Following Poe Ave along to the west, we pass Citadel St., and come to Fort Moultrie. Here there s a sign which resembles one of the details in the picture.

9 This sign is circled below Note the church circled above, Stella Maris.

10 Beneath the only standing member Of a forest The forest could be Osceola Ave, (a reference to Osceola National Forest in Florida). Osceola took part in a number of duels, which seems to fit the At twelve paces reference. The mouth of the Fort Sumter mask, together with the star, suggests the windows of Stella Maris, Star of the Sea six on each side. The clock hands are pointing at 12 and 4. The church is at 1204 Middle St. This could represent the church organ

11 Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris, first reliably used with relation to the Virgin Mary in the ninth century. This area is at Twelve Station St. White stone closest At twelve.. This could be read as: White stone close st, close to Saint Saint Mary (Stella Maris). Note the cross in the lion s mane Just to the south of the church is this area:

12 Perhaps the Sumter mask is giving us an aerial map, with church and flagpole. White stone closest At twelve paces From the west side Get permission To dig out I think that the white stone is the object visible to the right of the flagpole in the previous picture, though I can t make out exactly what it is.

13 What is this thing? I d like to get a photograph of it. I think the casque is buried at its west side, where we see this final confirmer

14 This is what was hidden, buried up to 3ft deep in a plastic container. There s an article about the Cleveland discovery here: Please let us know if this casque is ever found! B_J_Glover@yahoo.co.uk Discussion forum at: Here s an article about the Grant Park discovery, though it s not entirely accurate

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