“No, no, no,” Tess said, “there’s nothing wrong with your arm, that’s not what I meant,” but Theo knew what she meant. A long time ago, Grandpa Ben had told them of a method of encryption used by the ancient Greeks and the Spartans during war. They would wrap a strip of parchment or leather around a wooden rod of a certain circumference, write a message across the strip, and then unwind it from the rod. A messenger would carry the parchment strip or wear the leather strip as a belt, with the back side of the leather facing out, hiding the writing. The resulting cascade of characters on the strip would look meaningless until the recipient wrapped it around a rod of the same size. Only then could you read the message.

“We don’t need an arm, we need a scytale,” said Theo.

“Or an arm,” said Tess.

“Tyrone communicates more clearly than you guys do,” Jaime said.

Theo explained how the cipher worked, that the rod used in the encryption method was called a scytale. “S-c-y-t-a-l-e. Rhymes with Italy.”

“So I had the right idea wrapping the strap around my wrist,” said Jaime. “The fact that it was wrapped around the eagle’s leg was probably a hint.”

“Yeah, one that we missed,” said Theo.

“Till now,” Jaime said.

They wrapped the leather around the upper part of Jaime’s arm, then his bedpost, then Theo’s leg, then Tess’s. They tried some scraps of wood that Jaime’s grandmother had stacked in the guest room closet. But with each thing they tried, the letters remained a jumble of letters.

“She’s got some more stuff back here,” Jaime said, digging around. Then he yelped and pulled his hand back. A silverfish skittered out of the pile and across the floor, scuttling under the bed.

“UGH,” Jaime said. “I hate those things.”

“Me too,” said Tess. “They eat book bindings.”

“And dandruff,” Theo added.

Jaime made a gagging noise. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Those things are everywhere,” Theo said.

“Let’s get out of here anyway,” Jaime said.

“Where do you want to go?”

“Somewhere where I can dream of a world free of dandruff-eating fish-bugs.”

Theo thought the design of the bugs was rather elegant, and admired how quickly they moved, but also thought that mentioning this to Jaime right now might not be the best idea. Tess suggested they get some pizza for lunch, a much better idea. The three of them left the building and went to the pizza place on the corner, where they devoured a whole pie and two calzones by themselves. Then they took the train back to Aunt Esther’s place in Queens. Which probably had way more silverfish than Jaime’s building, another thing Theo didn’t mention.