“Now，inEnglish，theletterwhichmostfrequentlyoccursise。
　　Afterwards，successionrunsthus：_aoidhnrstuycfglmwbkpqxz_。_E_predominatessoremarkablythatanindividualsentenceofanylengthisrarelyseen，inwhichitisnottheprevailingcharacter。
　　“Here，then，weleave，intheverybeginning，thegroundworkforsomethingmorethanamereguess。Thegeneralusewhichmaybemadeofthetableisobvious-but，inthisparticularcipher，weshallonlyverypartiallyrequireitsaid。Asourpredominantcharacteris8，wewillcommencebyassumingitasthe_e_ofthenaturalalphabet。Toverifythesupposition，letusobserveifthe8beseenoftenincouples-for_e_isdoubledwithgreatfrequencyinEnglish-insuchwords，forexample，as’meet，’’。fleet，’’speed，’’seen，’
　　been，’’agree，’&c。Inthepresentinstanceweseeitdoublednolessthanfivetimes，althoughthecryptographisbrief。
　　“Letusassume8，then，as_e_。Now，ofall_words_inthelanguage，’the’ismostusual；letussee，therefore，whethertherearenotrepetitionsofanythreecharacters，inthesameorderofcollocation，thelastofthembeing8。Ifwediscoverrepetitionsofsuchletters，soarranged，theywillmostprobablyrepresenttheword’the。’Uponinspection，wefindnolessthansevensucharrangements，thecharactersbeing；48。Wemay，therefore，assumethat；represents_t_，4represents_h_，and8represents_e_-thelastbeingnowwellconfirmed。Thusagreatstephasbeentaken。
　　“But，havingestablishedasingleword，weareenabledtoestablishavastlyimportantpoint；thatistosay，severalcommencementsandterminationsofotherwords。Letusrefer，forexample，tothelastinstancebutone，inwhichthecombination；48
　　occurs-notfarfromtheendofthecipher。Weknowthatthe；
　　immediatelyensuingisthecommencementofaword，and，ofthesixcharacterssucceedingthis’the，’wearecognizantofnolessthanfive。Letussetthesecharactersdown，thus，bythelettersweknowthemtorepresent，leavingaspacefortheunknown-
　　teeth。
　　“Hereweareenabled，atonce，todiscardthe’th，’asformingnoportionofthewordcommencingwiththefirstt；since，byexperimentoftheentirealphabetforaletteradaptedtothevacancy，weperceivethatnowordcanbeformedofwhichthis_th_canbeapart。
　　Wearethusnarrowedintotee，and，goingthroughthealphabet，ifnecessary，asbefore，wearriveattheword’tree，’asthesolepossiblereading。Wethusgainanotherletter，_r_，representedby，withthewords’thetree’injuxtaposition。
　　“Lookingbeyondthesewords，forashortdistance，weagainseethecombination；48，andemployitbywayof_termination_towhatimmediatelyprecedes。Wehavethusthisarrangement：
　　thetree；4？34the，or，substitutingthenaturalletters，whereknown，itreadsthus：
　　thetreethr？3hthe。
　　“Now，if，inplaceoftheunknowncharacters，weleaveblankspaces，orsubstitutedots，wereadthus：
　　thetreethr……hthe，whentheword’_through_’makesitselfevidentatonce。Butthisdiscoverygivesusthreenewletters，_o_，_u_and_g_，representedby？？and3。
　　“Lookingnow，narrowly，throughthecipherforcombinationsofknowncharacters，wefind，notveryfarfromthebeginning，thisarrangement，8388，oregree，which，plainly，istheconclusionoftheword’degree，’andgivesusanotherletter，_d_，representedby？
　　“Fourlettersbeyondtheword’degree，’weperceivethecombination；46；88。
　　“Translatingtheknowncharacters，andrepresentingtheunknownbydots，asbefore，wereadthus：thrtee。anarrangementimmediatelysuggestiveoftheword’thirteen，’andagainfurnishinguswithtwonewcharacters，_i_and_n_，representedby6and*。
　　“Referring，now，tothebeginningofthecryptograph，wefindthecombination，53噰？
　　“Translating，asbefore，weobtaingood，whichassuresusthatthefirstletteris_A_，andthatthefirsttwowordsare’Agood。’
　　“Itisnowtimethatwearrangeourkey，asfarasdiscovered，inatabularform，toavoidconfusion。Itwillstandthus：
　　5representsa？“d8“e3“g4“h6“i*“n？“o“r；“t“Wehave，therefore，nolessthantenofthemostimportantlettersrepresented，anditwillbeunnecessarytoproceedwiththedetailsofthesolution。Ihavesaidenoughtoconvinceyouthatciphersofthisnaturearereadilysoluble，andtogiveyousomeinsightintotherationaleoftheirdevelopment。Butbeassuredthatthespecimenbeforeusappertainstotheverysimplestspeciesofcryptograph。Itnowonlyremainstogiveyouthefulltranslationofthecharactersupontheparchment，asunriddled。Hereitis：
　　“’_Agoodglassinthebishop’shostelinthedevil’sseatforty-onedegreesandthirteenminutesnortheastandbynorthmainbranchseventhlimbeastsideshootfromthelefteyeofthedeath’s-headabeelinefromthetreethroughtheshotfiftyfeetout_。’“
　　“But。”saidI，“theenigmaseemsstillinasbadaconditionasever。Howisitpossibletoextortameaningfromallthisjargonabout’devil’sseats，’’death’sheads，’and’bishop’shotels？’“
　　“Iconfess。”repliedLegrand，“thatthematterstillwearsaseriousaspect，whenregardedwithacasualglance。Myfirstendeavorwastodividethesentenceintothenaturaldivisionintendedbythecryptographist。”
　　“Youmean，topunctuateit？”
　　“Somethingofthatkind。”
　　“Buthowwasitpossibletoeffectthis？”
　　“Ireflectedthatithadbeenapointwiththewritertorunhiswordstogetherwithoutdivision，soastoincreasethedifficultyofsolution。Now，anotover-acuteman，inpursuingsuchanobjectwouldbenearlycertaintooverdothematter。When，inthecourseofhiscomposition，hearrivedatabreakinhissubjectwhichwouldnaturallyrequireapause，orapoint，hewouldbeexceedinglyapttorunhischaracters，atthisplace，morethanusuallyclosetogether。
　　IfyouwillobservetheMS。，inthepresentinstance，youwilleasilydetectfivesuchcasesofunusualcrowding。Actinguponthishint，I
　　madethedivisionthus：’AgoodglassintheBishop’shostelintheDevil’sseat-forty-onedegreesandthirteenminutes-northeastandbynorth-mainbranchseventhlimbeastside-shootfromthelefteyeofthedeath’s-head-abee-linefromthetreethroughtheshotfiftyfeetout。’“
　　“Eventhisdivision。”saidI，“leavesmestillinthedark。”
　　“Itleftmealsointhedark。”repliedLegrand，“forafewdays；
　　duringwhichImadediligentinquiry，intheneighborhoodofSullivan’sIsland，foranybuildingwhichwentbythenameofthe’Bishop’sHotel；’for，ofcourse，Idroppedtheobsoleteword’hostel。’Gainingnoinformationonthesubject，Iwasonthepointofextendingmysphereofsearch，andproceedinginamoresystematicmanner，when，onemorning，itenteredintomyhead，quitesuddenly，thatthis’Bishop’sHostel’mighthavesomereferencetoanoldfamily，ofthenameofBessop，which，timeoutofmind，hadheldpossessionofanancientmanor-house，aboutfourmilestothenorthwardoftheIsland。Iaccordinglywentovertotheplantation，andre-institutedmyinquiriesamongtheoldernegroesoftheplace。
　　AtlengthoneofthemostagedofthewomensaidthatshehadheardofsuchaplaceasBessop’sCastle，andthoughtthatshecouldguidemetoit，butthatitwasnotacastlenoratavern，butahighrock。
　　“Iofferedtopayherwellforhertrouble，and，aftersomedemur，sheconsentedtoaccompanymetothespot。Wefounditwithoutmuchdifficulty，when，dismissingher，Iproceededtoexaminetheplace。The’castle’consistedofanirregularassemblageofcliffsandrocks-oneofthelatterbeingquiteremarkableforitsheightaswellasforitsinsulatedandartificialappearanceIclamberedtoitsapex，andthenfeltmuchatalossastowhatshouldbenextdone。
　　“WhileIwasbusiedinreflection，myeyesfelluponanarrowledgeintheeasternfaceoftherock，perhapsayardbelowthesummituponwhichIstood。Thisledgeprojectedabouteighteeninches，andwasnotmorethanafootwide，whileanicheinthecliffjustaboveit，gaveitaruderesemblancetooneofthehollow-backedchairsusedbyourancestors。Imadenodoubtthatherewasthe’devil’sseat’alludedtointheMS。，andnowIseemedtograspthefullsecretoftheriddle。
　　“The’goodglass，’Iknew，couldhavereferencetonothingbutatelescope；fortheword’glass’israrelyemployedinanyothersensebyseamen。Nowhere，Iatoncesaw，wasatelescopetobeused，andadefinitepointofview，admittingnovariation，fromwhichtouseit。
　　NordidIhesitatetobelievethatthephrases，“forty-onedegreesandthirteenminutes，’and’northeastandbynorth，’wereintendedasdirectionsforthelevellingoftheglass。Greatlyexcitedbythesediscoveries，Ihurriedhome，procuredatelescope，andreturnedtotherock。
　　“Iletmyselfdowntotheledge，andfoundthatitwasimpossibletoretainaseatuponitexceptinoneparticularposition。Thisfactconfirmedmypreconceivedidea。Iproceededtousetheglass。Ofcourse，the’forty-onedegreesandthirteenminutes’couldalludetonothingbutelevationabovethevisiblehorizon，sincethehorizontaldirectionwasclearlyindicatedbythewords，’northeastandbynorth。’ThislatterdirectionIatonceestablishedbymeansofapocket-compass；then，pointingtheglassasnearlyatanangleofforty-onedegreesofelevationasIcoulddoitbyguess，Imoveditcautiouslyupordown，untilmyattentionwasarrestedbyacircularriftoropeninginthefoliageofalargetreethatovertoppeditsfellowsinthedistance。InthecentreofthisriftIperceivedawhitespot，butcouldnot，atfirst，distinguishwhatitwas。
　　Adjustingthefocusofthetelescope，Iagainlooked，andnowmadeitouttobeahumanskull。
　　“UponthisdiscoveryIwassosanguineastoconsidertheenigmasolved；forthephrase’mainbranch，seventhlimb，eastside，’couldreferonlytothepositionoftheskulluponthetree，while’shootfromthelefteyeofthedeath’shead’admitted，also，ofbutoneinterpretation，inregardtoasearchforburiedtreasure。I
　　perceivedthatthedesignwastodropabulletfromthelefteyeoftheskull，andthatabee-line，or，inotherwords，astraightline，drawnfromthenearestpointofthetrunkthrough’theshot，’orthespotwherethebulletfell，andthenceextendedtoadistanceoffiftyfeet，wouldindicateadefinitepoint-andbeneaththispointIthoughtitatleastpossiblethatadepositofvaluelayconcealed。”
　　“Allthis。”Isaid，“isexceedinglyclear，and，althoughingenious，stillsimpleandexplicit。WhenyoulefttheBishop’sHotel，whatthen？”
　　“Why，havingcarefullytakenthebearingsofthetree，Iturnedhomewards。TheinstantthatIleft’thedevil’sseat，’however，thecircularriftvanished；norcouldIgetaglimpseofitafterwards，turnasIwould。Whatseemstomethechiefingenuityinthiswholebusiness，isthefactforrepeatedexperimenthasconvincedmeitisafactthatthecircularopeninginquestionisvisiblefromnootherattainablepointofviewthanthataffordedbythenarrowledgeuponthefaceoftherock。
　　“Inthisexpeditiontothe’Bishop’sHotel’IhadbeenattendedbyJupiter，whohad，nodoubt，observed，forsomeweekspast，theabstractionofmydemeanor，andtookespecialcarenottoleavemealone。But，onthenextday，gettingupveryearly，Icontrivedtogivehimtheslip，andwentintothehillsinsearchofthetree。
　　AftermuchtoilIfoundit。WhenIcamehomeatnightmyvaletproposedtogivemeaflogging。WiththerestoftheadventureI
　　believeyouareaswellacquaintedasmyself。”
　　“Isuppose。”saidI，“youmissedthespot，inthefirstattemptatdigging，throughJupiter’sstupidityinlettingthebugfallthroughtherightinsteadofthroughthelefteyeoftheskull。”
　　“Precisely。Thismistakemadeadifferenceofabouttwoinchesandahalfinthe’shot’-thatistosay，inthepositionofthepegnearestthetree；andhadthetreasurebeenbeneaththe’shot，’theerrorwouldhavebeenoflittlemoment；but’theshot，’togetherwiththenearestpointofthetree，weremerelytwopointsfortheestablishmentofalineofdirection；ofcoursetheerror，howevertrivialinthebeginning，increasedasweproceededwiththeline，andbythetimewehadgonefiftyfeet，threwusquiteoffthescent。
　　Butformydeep-seatedimpressionsthattreasurewasheresomewhereactuallyburied，wemighthavehadallourlaborinvain。”
　　“Butyourgrandiloquence，andyourconductinswingingthebeetle-howexcessivelyodd！Iwassureyouweremad。Andwhydidyouinsistuponlettingfallthebug，insteadofabullet，fromtheskull？”
　　“Why，tobefrank，Ifeltsomewhatannoyedbyyourevidentsuspicionstouchingmysanity，andsoresolvedtopunishyouquietly，inmyownway，byalittlebitofsobermystification。ForthisreasonIswungthebeetle，andforthisreasonIletitfallitfromthetree。Anobservationofyoursaboutitsgreatweightsuggestedthelatteridea。”
　　“Yes，Iperceive；andnowthereisonlyonepointwhichpuzzlesme。Whatarewetomakeoftheskeletonsfoundinthehole？”
　　“ThatisaquestionIamnomoreabletoanswerthanyourself。
　　Thereseems，however，onlyoneplausiblewayofaccountingforthem-
　　andyetitisdreadfultobelieveinsuchatrocityasmysuggestionwouldimply。ItisclearthatKidd-ifKiddindeedsecretedthistreasure，whichIdoubtnot-itisclearthathemusthavehadassistanceinthelabor。Butthislaborconcluded，hemayhavethoughtitexpedienttoremoveallparticipantsinhissecret。
　　Perhapsacoupleofblowswithamattockweresufficient，whilehiscoadjutorswerebusyinthepit；perhapsitrequiredadozen-whoshalltell？”