dog　at　the　precise　moment　in　which　he　appeared；　I　should　never　have
  become　aware　of　the　death's　head；　and　so　never　the　possessor　of　the
  treasure？〃
  〃But　proceedI　am　all　impatience。〃
  〃Well；　you　have　heard；　of　course；　the　many　stories　currentthe
  thousand　vague　rumors　afloat　about　money　buried；　somewhere　upon　the
  Atlantic　coast；　by　Kidd　and　his　associates。　　These　rumors　must　have
  had　some　foundation　in　fact。　　And　that　the　rumors　have　existed　so
  long　and　so　continuous；　could　have　resulted；　it　appeared　to　me；
  only　from　the　circumstance　of　the　buried　treasures　still　REMAINING
  entombed。　　Had　Kidd　concealed　his　plunder　for　a　time；　and
  afterwards　reclaimed　it；　the　rumors　would　scarcely　have　reached　us
  in　their　present　unvarying　form。　　You　will　observe　that　the　stories
  told　are　all　about　money…seekers；　not　about　money…finders。　　Had　the
  pirate　recovered　his　money；　there　the　affair　would　have　dropped。
  It　seemed　to　me　that　some　accidentsay　the　loss　of　a　memorandum
  indicating　its　localityhad　deprived　him　of　the　means　of
  recovering　it；　and　that　this　accident　had　become　known　to　his
  followers；　who　otherwise　might　never　have　heard　that　the　treasure
  had　been　concealed　at　all；　and　who；　busying　themselves　in　vain；
  because　unguided；　attempts　to　regain　it；　had　given　first　birth；　and
  then　universal　currency；　to　the　reports　which　are　now　so　common。
  Have　you　ever　heard　of　any　important　treasure　being　unearthed　along
  the　coast？〃
  〃Never。〃
  〃But　that　Kidd's　accumulations　were　immense；　is　well　known。　　I　took
  it　for　granted；　therefore；　that　the　earth　still　held　them；　and　you
  will　scarcely　be　surprised　when　I　tell　you　that　I　felt　a　hope；
  nearly　amounting　to　certainty；　that　the　parchment　so　strangely
  found　involved　a　lost　record　of　the　place　of　deposit。〃
  〃But　how　did　you　proceed？〃
  〃I　held　the　vellum　again　to　the　fire；　after　increasing　the　heat；
  but　nothing　appeared。　　I　now　thought　it　possible　that　the　coating
  of　dirt　might　have　something　to　do　with　the　failure：　so　I　carefully
  rinsed　the　parchment　by　pouring　warm　water　over　it；　and；　having
  done　this；　I　placed　it　in　a　tin　pan；　with　the　skull　downward；　and
  put　the　pan　upon　a　furnace　of　lighted　charcoal。　　In　a　few　minutes；
  the　pan　having　become　thoroughly　heated；　I　removed　the　slip；　and；
  to　my　inexpressible　joy；　found　it　spotted；　in　several　places；　with
  what　appeared　to　be　figures　arranged　in　lines。　　Again　I　placed　it
  in　the　pan；　and　suffered　it　to　remain　another　minute。　　Upon　taking
  it　off；　the　whole　was　just　as　you　see　it　now。〃
  Here　Legrand；　having　reheated　the　parchment；　submitted　it　to　my
  inspection。　　The　following　characters　were　rudely　traced；　in　a　red
  tint；　between　the　death's　head　and　the　goat：
  〃53＋＋！305））6*；4826）4＋）4＋）。；806*；48！8＇60））85；1＋8*：＋（；：＋*8！83（88）5*！；
  46（；88*96*？；8）*＋（；485）；5*！2：*＋（；4956*2（5*…4）8＇8*；4069285）；）6！8）4＋＋；
  1（＋9；48081；8：8＋1；48！85；4）485！528806*81（＋9；48；（88；4（＋？34；48）4＋；161；：
  188；＋？；〃
  〃But；〃　said　I；　returning　him　the　slip；　〃I　am　as　much　in　the　dark　as
  ever。　　Were　all　the　jewels　of　Golconda　awaiting　me　upon　my　solution
  of　this　enigma；　I　am　quite　sure　that　I　should　be　unable　to　earn
  them。〃
  〃And　yet；〃　said　Legrand；　〃the　solution　is　by　no　means　so　difficult
  as　you　might　be　led　to　imagine　from　the　first　hasty　inspection　of
  the　characters。　　These　characters；　as　anyone　might　readily　guess；
  form　a　cipherthat　is　to　say；　they　convey　a　meaning；　but　then　from
  what　is　known　of　Kidd；　I　could　not　suppose　him　capable　of
  constructing　any　of　the　more　abstruse　cryptographs。　　I　made　up　my
  mind；　at　once；　that　this　was　of　a　simple　speciessuch；　however；　as
  would　appear；　to　the　crude　intellect　of　the　sailor；　absolutely
  insoluble　without　the　key。〃
  〃And　you　really　solved　it？〃
  〃Readily；　I　have　solved　others　of　an　abstruseness　ten　thousand
  times　greater。　　Circumstances；　and　a　certain　bias　of　mind；　have　led
  me　to　take　interest　in　such　riddles；　and　it　may　well　be　doubted
  whether　human　ingenuity　can　construct　an　enigma　of　the　kind　which
  human　ingenuity　may　not；　by　proper　application；　resolve。　　In　fact；
  having　once　established　connected　and　legible　characters；　I
  scarcely　gave　a　thought　to　the　mere　difficulty　of　developing　their
  import。
  〃In　the　present　caseindeed　in　all　cases　of　secret　writingthe
  first　question　regards　the　LANGUAGE　of　the　cipher；　for　the
  principles　of　solution；　so　far；　especially；　as　the　more　simple
  ciphers　are　concerned；　depend　upon；　and　are　varied　by；　the　genius
  of　the　particular　idiom。　　In　general；　there　is　no　alternative　but
  experiment　（directed　by　probabilities）　of　every　tongue　known　to　him
  who　attempts　the　solution；　until　the　true　one　be　attained。　　But；
  with　the　cipher　now　before　us；　all　difficulty　was　removed　by　the
  signature。　　The　pun　upon　the　word　'Kidd'　is　appreciable　in　no　other
  language　than　the　English。　　But　for　this　consideration　I　should
  have　begun　my　attempts　with　the　Spanish　and　French；　as　the　tongues
  in　which　a　secret　of　this　kind　would　most　naturally　have　been
  written　by　a　pirate　of　the　Spanish　main。　　As　it　was；　I　assumed　the
  cryptograph　to　be　English。
  〃You　observe　there　are　no　divisions　between　the　words。　　Had　there
  been　divisions　the　task　would　have　been　comparatively　easy。　　In
  such　cases　I　should　have　commenced　with　a　collation　and　analysis　of
  the　shorter　words；　and；　had　a　word　of　a　single　letter　occurred；　as
  is　most　likely；　（a　or　I；　for　example；）　I　should　have　considered　the
  solution　as　assured。　　But；　there　being　no　division；　my　first　step
  was　to　ascertain　the　predominant　letters；　as　well　as　the　least
  frequent。　　Counting　all；　I　constructed　a　table　thus：
  Of　the　character　8　there　are　33。
  ；　　　　　〃　　　　　26。
  4　　　　　〃　　　　　19。
  ＋）　　　　　〃　　　　　16。
  *　　　　　〃　　　　　13。
  5　　　　　〃　　　　　12。
  6　　　　　〃　　　　　11。
  ！1　　　　　〃　　　　　　8。
  0　　　　　〃　　　　　　6。
  92　　　　　〃　　　　　　5。
  ：3　　　　　〃　　　　　　4。
  ？　　　　　〃　　　　　　3。
  ＇　　　　　〃　　　　　　2。
  …。　　　　　〃　　　　　　1。
  〃Now；　in　English；　the　letter　which　most　frequently　occurs　is　e。
  Afterwards；　the　succession　runs　thus：　a　o　i　d　h　n　r　s　t　u　y　c　f　g　l
  m　w　b　k　p　q　x　z。　　E　predominates　so　remarkably；　that　an　individual
  sentence　of　any　length　is　rarely　seen；　in　which　it　is　not　the
  prevailing　character。
  〃Here；　then；　we　have；　in　the　very　beginning；　the　groundwork　for
  something　more　than　a　mere　guess。　　The　general　use　which　may　be
  made　of　the　table　is　obviousbut；　in　this　particular　cipher；　we
  shall　only　very　partially　require　its　aid。　　As　our　predominant
  character　is　8；　we　will　commence　by　assuming　it　as　the　e　of　the
  natural　alphabet。　　To　verify　the　supposition；　let　us　observe　if　the
  8　be　seen　often　in　couplesfor　e　is　doubled　with　great　frequency
  in　Englishin　such　words；　for　example；　as　'meet；'　'fleet；'
  'speed；'　'seen；'　'been；'　'agree；'　etc。　　In　the　present　instance　we
  see　it　doubled　no　less　than　five　times；　although　the　cryptograph　is
  brief。
  〃Let　us　assume　8；　then；　as　e。　　Now；　of　all　WORDS　in　the　language；
  'the'　is　most　usual；　let　us　see；　therefore；　whether　there　are　not
  repetitions　of　any　three　characters；　in　the　same　order　of
  collocation；　the　last　of　them　being　8。　　If　we　discover　repetitions
  of　such　letters；　so　arranged；　they　will　most　probably　represent　the
  word　'the。'　　Upon　inspection；　we　find　no　less　than　seven　such
  arrangements；　the　characters　being　；48。　　We　may；　therefore；　assume
  that　；　represents　t；　4　represents　h；　and　8　represents　ethe　last
  being　now　well　confirmed。　　Thus　a　great　step　has　been　taken。
  〃But；　having　established　a　single　word；　we　are　enabled　to　establish
  a　vastly　important　point；　that　is　to　say；　several　commencements　and
  terminations　of　other　words。　　Let　us　refer；　for　example；　to　the
  last　instance　but　one；　in　which　the　combination　；48　occursnot　far
  from　the　end　of　the　cipher。　　We　know　that　the　；　immediately　ensuing
  is　the　commencement　of　a　word；　and；　of　the　six　characters
  succeeding　this　'the；'　we　are　cognizant　of　no　less　than　five。　　Let
  us　set　these　characters　down；　thus；　by　the　letters　we　know　them　to
  represent；　leaving　a　space　for　the　unknown
  t　eeth。
  〃Here　we　are　enabled；　at　once；　to　discard　the　'th；'　as　forming　no
  portion　of　the　word　commencing　with　the　first　t；　since；　by
  experiment　of　the　entire　alphabet　for　a　letter　adapted　to　the
  vacancy；　we　perceive　that　no　word　can　be　formed　of　which　this　th
  can　be　a　part。　　We　are　thus　narrowed　into
  t　ee；
  and；　going　through　the　alphabet；　if　necessary；　as　before；　we　arrive
  at　the　word　'tree；'　as　the　sole　possible　reading。　　We　thus　gain
  another　letter；　r；　represented　by　（；　with　the　words　'the　tree'　in
  juxtaposition。
  〃Looking　beyond　these　words；　for　a　short　distance；　we　again　see　the
  combination　；48；　and　employ　it　by　way　of　TERMINATION　to　what
  immediately　precedes。　　We