"Yes, where there is nothing more than a concealment of the letters. Where there is any approach to hieroglyphic writing, or syllabic ciphers, I am baffled."
"And have you solved this?"
"No."
"I thought you said that you had, and that it contained charges against General Pomeroy."
"That is my difficulty. I have tried the usual tests, and have made out several lines; but there is something about it which puzzles me; and though I have worked at it for nearly a year, I have not been able to get to the bottom of it."
"Are you sure that your deciphering is correct?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because it ought to apply to all, and it does not. It only applies to a quarter of it."
"Perhaps it is all hieroglyphic, or syllabic writing."