The children quickly decide that they will follow the clues and go to Mr. Benedict's aid in secret. Rhonda reveals that Mr. Benedict gave her a letter before he was kidnapped, and told her to open it when the other children arrived. The envelope contains a message of greeting from Mr. Benedict, and a nonsensical riddle. In solving the riddle, they discover that the words are in alphabetical order. This leads them to a dictionary, and then a journal - in which is another nonsensical riddle. The children discern it to mean TAKE THE SHORTCUT. The children sneak off on the The Shortcut, the “fastest ship in the world” and find more information that takes them to a castle in Portugal. The Shortcut is the new cargo ship captained by Mr. Benedict's old Navy friend, Phil Noland. Within a few days