It will stand thus:
5 represents a
! " d
8 " e
3 " g
4 " h
6 " i
* " n
+ " o
( " r
; " t
? " u
"We have, therefore, no less than eleven of the most important
letters represented, and it will be unnecessary to proceed with the
details of the solution. I have said enough to convince you that
ciphers of this nature are readily soluble, and to give you some
insight into the rationale of their development. But be assured
that the specimen before us appertains to the very simplest species
of cryptograph. It now only remains to give you the full
translation of the characters upon the parchment, as unriddled.
Here it is:
"'A good glass in the bishop's hostel in the devil's seat forty-one
degrees and thirteen minutes northeast and by north main branch
seventh limb east side shoot from the left eye of the death's head
a bee-line from the tree through the shot fifty feet out.'"
"But," said I, "the enigma seems still in as bad a condition as
ever. How is it possible to extort a meaning from all this jargon
about 'devil's seats,' 'death's heads,' and 'bishop's hostels'?"
"I confess," replied Legrand, "that the matter still wears a
serious aspect, when regarded with a casual glance.
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