"What the deuce does it mean?" asked Naball in a puzzled tone.
"It's a cypher, evidently, of which my father alone possesses the key," said Ezra. "I'll have a look among his papers, and if I find it, it will soon make sense of this jumble of words."
"It's like a Chinese puzzle," observed Naball, glancing at it. "I never could find out these things."
"Let me look," said Eugénie, taking the letter. "I used to be rather good at puzzles."
"We'll find this one out," said Naball significantly, "and you'll do some good for Stewart."
"You think it's about Caprice's diamonds?" she asked.
"I think it's about Caprice's diamonds," he replied.
"I think the words have been written backwards," said Ezra, looking over her shoulder.
Eugénie shook her head.
"I don't think so," she replied, scanning the letter closely. "If so, the word 'it' would have been written 'ti.'"