Square One

 

Fence and fixture

Central too

These two lines tell us that the fence and fixture are central to finding the casque in addition to “ten by thirteen.” By definition, a fixture (in this case a post) doesn’t move. A post is also slender and symmetric, an excellent place from which to measure. I believe that to find the casque we are to measure from the fixture (the post embedded in the fence), and “ten by thirteen” gives the casque’s relative position. Now Byron’s statement about “Ten by thirteen” being in feet starts to make sense. Sadly, the Japanese Version Hints say nothing about this clue.

The question becomes, are these both distances in feet or is one a direction and the other a distance? If we discount trees as places from which to measure, we are left with nothing else in the vicinity. This leaves us with only one conclusion: One number must be distance and the other, direction. Maybe Byron’s statement about “ten by thirteen” being in feet only refers to the second number, the number thirteen. Maybe. This would be consistent with most reports of where the casque was buried. Of those who found the casque, most said it was around thirteen feet roughly east and a little bit north of the post. 

We have now reached the almost impossible part of this puzzle. Here are the final lines of the poem:

For finding jewel casque

Seek the sounds

Of rumble

Brush and music

Hush.

What does Byron mean by “Seek the sounds”? The generally accepted interpretations are:

Rumble = Train tracks

Brush = The Art Institute of Chicago

Music = The Petrillo Music Shell

Hush = A nearby library or the park itself

But these answers don’t get us any closer to the treasure. What we need is to understand the meaning of the number ten in the poem. We seem to have hit a dead end.

Welcome to Level 5.