“And please observe,” I continued, “that where I draw a line and write A you have e, then double t, then e again. Probably this is the middle of a word, and as we have already supposed 2 to stand for t, we have--ette--, a very likely combination. We may be sure of the t now. Near the end of the third line, there is a remarkable passage, in which the three letters we know recur continually. Let us write it out, leaving blanks for the letters we do not know, and placing the ascertained letters instead of their symbols. Then it stands--eχtheχeth--heχeheχ ethe--. Now here I have a χ repeated four times, and from its position it must be a consonant. I will put in its place one consonant after another. You see r is the only one which turns the letters into words.--_erthereth--here_ . _here the--_surely some of these should stand out distinctly separated--_er there th-- here_ . _here the_. Look! I can see at once what letters are wanting; _th--_ between _there_ and _here_ must be _than_, and then ✠ _here_ is, must be, _where_. So now I have found these letters, 8 = e, r = t, § = h, χ = r, -- = a, + = n, ✠ = w, and I can confirm the χ as _r_ by taking the portion marked A_--etter_. Here we get an end of an adjective in the comparative degree; I think it must be _better_.” “Let us next take a group of cyphers higher up; I will pencil over it D. I take this group because it contains some of the letters which we have settled _--eathn_. Eath must be the end of a word, for none begins with athn, thn, or hn. Now what letter will suit eath? Possibly _h_, probably _d_.” “Yes,” exclaimed Fletcher, “_Death_, to be sure. I can guess it all: ‘Death is approaching, and I feel that a solemn duty devolves upon me, namely, that of acquainting Matthew Fletcher, my heir, with the spot where I have hidden my savings.’ Go on, go on.” “All in good time, friend,” I laughed. “You observe we can confirm our guess as to the sign ) being used for _d_, by comparing the passage--29§--)*8228χ, which we now read, _t. had better_. But _t. had better_ is awkward; you cannot make 9 into _o_; ‘to had,’ would be no sense.” “Of course not,” burst forth Fletcher. “Don’t you see it all? _I had better_ let my excellent nephew know where I have deposited----” “Wait a bit,” interrupted I; “you are right, I believe. _I_ is the signification of 9. Let us begin the whole cryptograph now:--_N.tethi.i.t.re.ind.e._” “_Remind me!_” cried Fletcher. “You have it again,” said I. “Now we obtain an additional letter besides _m_, for _t. remind me_ is certainly _to remind me_. We must begin again:--_Note thi.i. to remind me_.” “_This is_,” called out my excited friend, whose eyes were sparkling with delight and expectation. “Go on; you are a trump!”