Crewe and Marsland sat at a table in Sir George Granville’s library with the cryptogram¹ before them. The detective was absorbed in examining it through a magnifying glass, but Marsland kept glancing from the paper to his companion’s face, as though he expected to see there some indication of an immediate² solution. Finally he remarked in a tone which suggested he was unable to control his impatience³ any longer:

 

“Well, what do you make of it?”

 

“Not very much as yet,” replied Crewe, putting down the magnifying glass, “but there are one or two points of interest. In the first place, the paper has been cut with a pair of scissors from the fly leaf or title page of an old book—an expensive book of its period, of the late fifties, I should say—but the writing is of much later date. These facts are obvious, and do not help us much towards a solution of the contents.”

 

“They may be obvious to you, but they are not so obvious to me,” said Marsland, taking the paper into his hands and looking at it thoughtfully. “I suppose you judge the sheet to have been taken from an old book, because it is yellow with age, but why an expensive one of the fifties? And how do you know it was cut out with a pair of scissors? Again, how do you know the writing is of a much later date than the book? The ink is completely faded.”

 

“The smooth yellow, and glossy⁴ surface of the blank side of the paper indicates conclusively⁵ that it is the title-page or fly-leaf of a good class book of the fifties. You will not find that peculiar⁶ yellow colour—which is not the effect of age—and velvety⁷ ‘feel’ in books of a much later date. The unevenness8

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1 cryptogram
n.密码
参考例句：
A government uses a cryptogram or secret code.政府使用密码或暗号。 He regarded the universe as a cryptogram set by the Almighty.他将宇宙视为上帝用密文书写的文件。

2 immediate
adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的
参考例句：
His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。 We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 impatience
n.不耐烦，急躁
参考例句：
He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。 He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

4 glossy
adj.平滑的；有光泽的
参考例句：
I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。 She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

5 conclusively
adv.令人信服地，确凿地
参考例句：
All this proves conclusively that she couldn't have known the truth. 这一切无可置疑地证明她不可能知道真相。 来自《简明英汉词典》 From the facts,he was able to determine conclusively that the death was not a suicide. 根据这些事实他断定这起死亡事件并非自杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 peculiar
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。 He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

7 velvety
adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的
参考例句：
a velvety red wine 醇厚的红葡萄酒 Her skin was admired for its velvety softness. 她的皮肤如天鹅绒般柔软，令人赞叹。

8 unevenness
n. 不平坦，不平衡，不匀性
参考例句：
This unevenness comes about because topics are developed in a logical order. 所以出现这种不平衡，是因为课题是按逻辑顺序展开的。 I sanded the corners to take away any unevenness in the joints. 我用砂纸磨边边角角的地方，去除接头处的不均。

9 slanted
有偏见的； 倾斜的
参考例句：
The sun slanted through the window. 太阳斜照进窗户。 She had slanted brown eyes. 她有一双棕色的丹凤眼。

10 nib
n.钢笔尖；尖头
参考例句：
The sharp nib scratched through the paper.钢笔尖把纸戳穿了。 I want to buy a pen with a gold nib.我要金笔。

11 ascertain
vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清
参考例句：
It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。 We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。

12 remarkable
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。 These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

13 fathom
v.领悟，彻底了解
参考例句：
I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。 What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

14 interpretation
n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理
参考例句：
His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。 Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

15 conceal
v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽
参考例句：
He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。 He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

16 concealed
a.隐藏的，隐蔽的
参考例句：
The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。 I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

17 versed
adj. 精通，熟练
参考例句：
He is well versed in history.他精通历史。 He versed himself in European literature. 他精通欧洲文学。

18 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

19 radius
n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限
参考例句：
He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。 We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

20 berth
n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊
参考例句：
She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。 They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。

21 circumference
n.圆周，周长，圆周线
参考例句：
It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。 The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

22 pivot
v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的
参考例句：
She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。 If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

23 pegs
n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平
参考例句：
She hung up the shirt with two (clothes) pegs. 她用两只衣夹挂上衬衫。 来自辞典例句 The vice-presidents were all square pegs in round holes. 各位副总裁也都安排得不得其所。 来自辞典例句

24 contrived
adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的
参考例句：
There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。 The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。

25 lapse
n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效
参考例句：
The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。 I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

26 aperture
n.孔，隙，窄的缺口
参考例句：
The only light came through a narrow aperture.仅有的光亮来自一个小孔。 We saw light through a small aperture in the wall.我们透过墙上的小孔看到了亮光。

27 sufficiently
adv.足够地，充分地
参考例句：
It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。 The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

28 ledgers
n.分类账( ledger的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The ledgers and account books had all been destroyed. 分类账本和账簿都被销毁了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The ledgers had all been destroyed. 账簿都被销毁了。 来自辞典例句

29 bragged
v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He bragged to his friends about the crime. 他向朋友炫耀他的罪行。 Mary bragged that she could run faster than Jack. 玛丽夸口说她比杰克跑得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 tavern
n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店
参考例句：
There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角处有一家酒馆。 Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦总是心情愉快地来到这家酒菜馆。

31 miser
n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly)
参考例句：
The miser doesn't like to part with his money.守财奴舍不得花他的钱。 The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。

32 proclivities
n.倾向，癖性( proclivity的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Raised by adoptive parents,Hill received early encouragement in her musical proclivities. 希尔由养父母带大，从小，她的音乐爱好就受到了鼓励。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Whatever his political connections and proclivities, he did not care to neglect so powerful a man. 无论他的政治关系和脾气如何，他并不愿怠慢这样有势力的人。 来自辞典例句

33 vowels
n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

34 unlimited
adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的
参考例句：
They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。 There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

35 remarkably
ad.不同寻常地，相当地
参考例句：
I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。 He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

36 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

37 scrutiny
n.详细检查，仔细观察
参考例句：
His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。 Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

38 hindrance
n.妨碍，障碍
参考例句：
Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。 The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。

39 unravelling
解开，拆散，散开( unravel的现在分词 )； 阐明； 澄清； 弄清楚
参考例句：
Nail head clamp the unravelling of nail exteriorize broken nails and clean. 钉头卡钉，拆开钉头取出碎钉并清洁。 The ends of ropes are in good condition and secured without unravelling. 缆绳端部状况良好及牢固，并无松散脱线。

40 hieroglyphics
n.pl.象形文字
参考例句：
Hieroglyphics are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。 His writing is so bad it just looks like hieroglyphics to me. 他写的糟透了，对我来说就像天书一样。

41 bent
n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的
参考例句：
He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。 We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

42 awakened
v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到
参考例句：
She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。 The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

43 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

44 astonishment
n.惊奇，惊异
参考例句：
They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。 I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

45 thoroughly
adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
参考例句：
The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。 The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

46 deferred
adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从
参考例句：
The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。 a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

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