In the first letter, Sir Boddy Hugh references his favorite Lakeside math concept – prime numbers. In cryptology, the prime number sequence can be used to encode secret messages, where each letter in the alphabet is mapped to its numeric equivalent. The letters corresponding with prime numbers (2, 3, 5, 7, 11…) spell out the secret message: “someone is chasing me”. 

In the second letter, Sir Boddy Hugh writes about his love for constellations, hinting at the use of celestial encryption. The celestial bodies he mentions convey the route he took to escape (Orion’s Belt = southeastward, Southern Cross = towards the Southern hemisphere, Cygnus = northeastward, etc.). 

The third letter uses maritime language and meridian songs to represent the nautical coordinates of Sir Boddy Hugh’s current location. Assuming the ship’s clock is set to maritime time (UTC), “four bells past three” translates to 7.5 hours, suggesting a longitude around 127.5 degrees. “Eight bells” signifies the end of a watch, and “before the zenith” implies a subtraction of time. In maritime time, this translates to 0800 hours or 8:00 AM. Converting this to longitude, it suggests a value around 34 degrees.