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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.”
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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.
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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.)
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Several landmarks around Grant Park appeared disguised within
the image, including the statue “Spirit of the Great Lakes”… “The
Bowman”… The fencepost…
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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
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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) 33 79
80 The pendant suggests the shape of Fort Sumter:
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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).
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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.
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This sign is circled below… Note the church circled above,
Stella Maris.
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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…
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”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:
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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; a memorial I believe.
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Perhaps the casque is buried at its west side, where we see this
final confirmer…
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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! [email protected]
Discussion forum at: www.quest4treasure.co.uk Here’s an article
about the Grant Park discovery, though it’s not entirely
accurate…