Lane

- The word "lane" according to Merriam-Webster is defined as:

   1. a narrow passageway between fences or hedges.  

   2. a relatively narrow way or track: such as

      a : an ocean route used by or prescribed for ships

      b : a strip of roadway for a single line of vehicles

      c : air lane

      d : any of several parallel courses on a track or swimming pool in which a competitor must stay during a race

- How are shipping lanes labeled?  Are they numbered in a way that could be represented by two twenty two?

   A lane is a strip of deck 2 metres wide. A lane metre is an area of deck one lane wide and one metre long, that is, 2 square metres (21.528 sq ft)  Most commonly associated with "roll on/roll off" vessels - cargo ships and ferries.

- Given the checkered pattern that is so prominent in Image 9, the most likely competition having lanes might be auto racing.  And the most prominent auto racing venue in the Montreal area is the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Notre Dame Island in the Saint Lawrence River.  The track was built in 1978 and is the home of the FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix.

- Alternatively, it could refer to the rowing and canoeing basin on Notre Dame Island.  The basin was built for Montreal's 1976 Summer Olympics and it forms a long rectangle of lanes.

- These words appear on their own line, suggesting that they may be a separate clue, rather than an identifier of the lane.

- This could be "222" or "2202" or "2 20 2." (Note that it doesn't say "twenty-two," which would be the standard way of writing "22.")

- Oddly enough, there is a bowling alley near the Montreal Airport at 222 Montée de Liesse, but nothing else suggests that we should be looking out in that direction west of Mount Royal.

- The street address for the grand prix racetrack is 222 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but it isn't clear whether there's actually a physical office at that address.

- Given the presence of an "X" in Image 9 to represent the 10th month, it's very possible that what we're looking for here is a set of Roman numerals: II XX II.  In the "real world," the lines may not even be intended as numbers.  They may just be a repeated pattern on brickwork or bars on a wrought iron fence or stripes on a road.  Unfortunately, they may also be gone by now.

- The layout of the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit has changed a few times over the years.  Between 1979 and 1987, the start/finish line for the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was at the northern tip of Notre Dame Island beside the east end of the Passerelle du Cosmos (Cosmos Bridge).  The image at left below is from the Motor Sport Database file for Montreal.  The image at right is from a trading sticker collection for the 1980 race series.

  At the west end of the Cosmos Bridge (on Saint Helen's Island) is the Montreal Biosphère.  It's a spherical geodesic dome that was built for Expo 67.  People standing at the racetrack wouldn't be able to see the whole dome, but they would be able to see the top of the sphere on the horizon and it would definitely form "an arc."  (The word "lights" could refer to either artificial lighting from inside or to the way the dome caught the sunlight.)

- This line appears to be summoning the searchers across the bridge from Notre Dame Island to Saint Helen's Island.

Weight and roots extended

Together saved the site

Of granite walls

- These lines suggest that a flood or some other natural disaster could have washed away the foundation of a building ("granite wall") if roots and rocks hadn't prevented the erosion.  If that interpretation is correct, we should be looking for a historic site near a river or beach.

- Notre Dame Island is an artificial island that was built in the Saint Lawrence River in 1965 to prepare for Expo 67.  It doesn't have "granite walls" and it hadn't existed long enough in 1980 for "roots extended" to save it from anything. 

- This line appears to be very directly confirming that we should cross the Cosmos Bridge from Notre Dame Island to Saint Helen's Island.  That move would put us in a place with historic granite fortifications.  Saint Helen's Island is a natural island in the river.  The extended roots of the vegetation along the perimeter of the island are what hold the rocks and soil together to prevent erosion.  (There may have even been a sign in 1980 to educate the public about the important role of riparian vegetation.)

- It would be very useful to see a closeup of this sign at the southern tip of Saint Helen Island.  It appears to show a cross-section of the edge of the island.

Wind swept halls

- This line seems to describe a ruin or an abandoned building where wind is blowing down hallways.

- Because of the "67" in the flower, it has often been suggested that Image 9 might be connected in some way with the site of Expo 67, which took place in Montreal on Saint Helen's Island and the adjacent (artificial) Notre Dame Island.  Between 1968 and 1984, the exposition structures and grounds on both islands were open to the public in the summer months as an exhibit called "Man and His World."  According to Wikipedia, the site was largely deserted and windswept by the late 1970's and early 1980's:

"With the site falling into disrepair, and several pavilions left abandoned and vandalized, it began to resemble ruins of a futuristic city.  ...  After the 1981 season, the Saint Helen's Island site permanently closed, shutting out the majority of attractions. Man and His World was able to continue in a limited fashion with the small number of pavilions left standing on Notre Dame Island. However, the few remaining original exhibits closed permanently in 1984."

Citadel in the night

- According to Wikipedia, "A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a fortress, castle, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of 'city' and thus means 'little city,' so called because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core." (Wikipedia also offers a disambiguation page for other meanings of "citadel.")

- The Salvation Army Citadel Corps Building is located at 2085 Drummond, just a few blocks away from the "legeater dog" outside the George Stephen House located at 1440 Drummond.

- The Tour de Lévis (Lévis Tower) might be the closest thing that would qualify as a "citadel" near the Biosphere.  It was built in the 1930's and it stands as a solitary, fortified tower on a hill, offering "360-degree view of the islands, the river, downtown Montreal and the surrounding areas."  The tower has commonly been used for watching fireworks ("in the night").

- The Saint Helen Island Fort might be another structure that could qualify as a "citadel" on the island.

A wingless bird ascended

Born of ancient dreams of flight

The reference to "ancient dreams of flight" make this almost certainly a reference to some form of aircraft invented by humans.  If the aircraft is "wingless," there are really only two possibilities: a helicopter or some lighter-than-air vehicle (e.g., a balloon, blimp, or dirigible).

Option A: a helicopter

- Long before heavier-than-air flight had been achieved, Leonardo da Vinci drew up sketches for a machine that could fly with a rotor on top.

- Is there a helicopter connection to either Saint Helen Island or Notre Dame Island?  There was a helicopter landing pad on Saint Helen Island as part of Expo 67.  We need to find out when it was removed and whether it was gone by the time Preiss visited in 1980 or 1981.

- This could refer to the Air Canada pavilion at Expo 67: it clearly resembles the da Vinci sketches of the flying machines.  (In fact, the Air Canada pavilion was later repurposed as the Leonardo da Vinci Pavilion at the 1970 Man and His World exposition, which was held on the same site.)

Option B: a balloon

- According to Wikipedia, there is a historical tie between the Montreal area and ballooning: "On September 8, 1856, French aeronaut, Eugène Godard, operating a balloon called Canada (the first aircraft ever constructed in Canada), piloted the country's first successful passenger flight, carrying three passengers from Montreal to Pointe-Olivier, Quebec."

- According to an article published in the Montreal Gazette in 2001, the launch site was "behind the Wesleyan Church in Griffintown, adjacent to the municipal gasworks whose output would lift the Canada."  Griffintown is now a neighborhood in Montreal, directly southeast of the Golden Square Mile and very close to the St. Lawrence River.  The Wesleyan church was located on the corner of Ottawa and Ann Streets, at the same intersection as the gas works.  It seems well worth searching Griffintown area for image matches and for a historical marker or something similar that commemorates the launch.

- Pointe-Olivier is now called the Municipality of Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu.  It is located about 15 miles east of downtown Montreal.  A balloon flight from Griffintown to Pointe-Olivier would have crossed the St. Lawrence river just below the southern tip of Saint Helen's Island.  (The island of Notre Dame had not yet been constructed at that time.)

Beneath the only standing member

Of a forest

To the south

White stone closest

- The rules for The Secret specifically (and firmly) rule out any cemeteries, so the "white stone" isn't going to be a headstone.  But Preiss obviously felt confident that this particular stone wasn't going anywhere and would still be around for months or years to come.  It's a reasonable guess that either this stone is big and heavy (over 100 pounds) or this stone is attached somehow to the ground or to a structure.

- It would be unusual for a large, exposed stone to be naturally white.  We may be looking for a stone that is (or was) painted white.

- Why "closest"?  Does this mean that there's more than one white stone?

At twelve paces

From the west side

- Preiss is giving us directions here, but the phrasing is convoluted.  We are juggling at least two landmarks - the tree and the stone - but it isn't clear whether the burial spot is beside one of those two features or whether it's a separate feature entirely.

- If we start below the solitary, large tree, is it the forest that's "to the south" or is it the white stone?  Do we start our pacing at the tree or at the stone?  And does starting "from the west side" mean that we pace westwards, or do we just start on that side but go in some other direction? 

- It's possible that the tree is twelve paces from the west side of the stone and we should dig under the tree (or vice-versa).  But this interpretation only makes sense if "to the south" modifies "a forest."  It's possible that Preiss was talking about a forest that once stood at the southern tip of Saint-Helene Island.

Get permission

To dig out.

- The instructions tell us to "get permission," but they don't tell us from whom.  This suggests that the ownership of the spot (and the appropriate contact person) will be obvious.

- The Ontario One Call system probably didn't exist back in 1980, but maybe the "get permission" bit was meant to tell us to use whatever equivalent was available.  (In any case, searchers would be wise to use the system before attempting a dig now.)

For what it's worth, here's a drawing of a map of the island from 1979!!!!

(Note that this perspective is from above Saint Helen Island looking southeastwards toward Notre Dame Island.)