j y g g a
y m e q y n f u q l n m v l y f g s u z m q I z t l b q q y u g s q e u
b v n r c r e d g r u z b l r m x y u h q h p z d r r g c r o h e p q x
u f I v v r p l p h o n t h v d d q f h q s n t z h h h n f e p m q k y
u u e x k t o g z g k y u u m f v I j d q d p z j q s y k r p l x h x q
r y m v k l o h h h o t o z v d k s p p s u v j h d."_

At the outset, Judge Jarrizuez noticed that the lines of the document
were not divided either into words or phrases, and that there was a
complete absence of punctuation. This fact could but render the reading
of the document more difficult.

"Let us see, however," he said, "if there is not some assemblage of
letters which appears to form a word--I mean a pronounceable word,
whose number of consonants is in proportion to its vowels. And at the
beginning I see the word _phy;_ further on the word _gas_. Halloo!
_ujugi_. Does that mean the African town on the banks of Tanganyika?
What has that got to do with all this? Further on here is the word
_ypo_. Is it Greek, then? Close by here is _rym_ and _puy,_ and _jox,_
and _phetoz,_ and _jyggay,_ and _mv,_ and _qruz_. And before that we
have got _red_ and _let_. That is good! those are two English words.
Then _ohe--syk;_ then _rym_ once more, and then the word _oto."_

Judge Jarriquez let the paper drop, and thought for a few minutes.

"All the words I see in this thing seem queer!" he said. "In fact, there
is nothing to give a clue to their origin. Some look like Greek, some
like Dutch; some have an English twist, and some look like nothing at
all! To say nothing of these series of consonants which are not wanted
in any human pronunciation. Most assuredly it will not be very easy to
find the key to this cryptogram."

The magistrate's fingers commenced to beat a tattoo on his desk--a kind
of reveille to arouse his dormant faculties.

"Let us see," he said, "how many letters there are in the paragraph."

He counted them, pen in hand.

"Two hundred and seventy-six!" he said. "Well, now let us try what
proportion these different letters bear to each other."

This occupied him for some time. The judge took up the document, and,
with his pen in his hand, he noted each letter in alphabetical order.

In a quarter of an hour he had obtained the following table:

_a_ = 3 times
_b_ = 4 --
_c_ = 3 --
_d_ = 16 --
_e_ = 9 --
_f_ = 10 --
_g_ = 13 --