W E take much pleasure in presenting herewith the solutions to the National Puzzlers' League contest crypts, published in the March 19 issue of FLYNN'S WEEKLY, which have no doubt been anxiously awaited by our readers.
Those who have solved one or more of these ciphers can now check their translations with the correct solutions. And, likewise, those who failed may be able to discover why their efforts were not destined to be crowned with success.
Here are the answers to all three:
CRYPT No. 1 (Rev. A. L. Smith, "Artaxerxes").
Solution: Blowzy, gawkish bumpkins, sprawled askew, ogle buoyant brachygraphic nymphs thrumming pyrrhic rhythms.
CRYPT No. 2 (Charles N. Crowder, "L. M. N. Terry").
Solution: Mythic postscript portrays worldly vintner, inapt lighthead, astride open caldron sampling apricot liqueur.
CRYPT No. 3 (H. B. McPherrin, "Hercules").
Solution: Bankrupt French folk, nigh gulf, glimpse chaos; plumb daft, style kind "Uncle Shylock" hybrid holdup; army debt, gift.
An examination of the cipher alphabets used in enciphering these crypts, and a comparison with their respective messages, should prove interesting.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
No.1 D I R U P — K A F — N M G L S H — B E Q O — J — C T
No.2 D — B F M — S C K — — W R Z G J L X V Q T H N — P —
No.3 E R U F N H L P B — M S K D T I — A Y C G — — — O —
For example, observe that message No. 1 uses only twenty-one different letters, and that the missing letters in the cipher alphabet are V-W-X-Y-Z. Similarly message No. 2 employs only twenty different letters, the crypt alphabet being minus A-E-I-O-U-Y.
But the letters in the third crypt, had the solver only known it, offered a clew to its solution; the letters J-Q-V-W-X-Z not being used in either the crypt or the message.
Given this information in advance, the solver could have rejected all words containing any of these letters. Such a clew would be rather indefinite, it is true; but almost any hint is to be welcomed in working out one of these problems.
This is not saying that " crypts" are ever quite proof against decipherment. Quite to the contrary, our friends of the National Puzzlers' League freely admit that any cryptogram conforming to their specifications should be capable of solution. And the contest crypts were offered in full expectation of their being solved. Nevertheless, puzzlers can only be expected to make their crypts as inaccessible as possible.
"Hercules," author of No. 3 herewith, aptly calls a crypt "a darksome chamber to one of whose many doors the explorer must first find the key." And you can bet your last dollar that the majority of his keys, and those of his fellow puzzlers, are going to be hidden where they will be hardest for the "explorer'' to find.
How many readers of this department succeeded in penetrating the inner mysteries of the contest crypts?
This question will be answered best by the official list of prize winners, as judged by Mr. John Q. Boyer, of the National Puzzlers' League, which will be published soon in these pages. As you doubtless recall, every solver of any one or two crypts is to receive a prize, three copies of Real Puzzles, the league handbook, being offered as first prizes, with subscriptions to The Enigma for all other solvers.
Speaking of solutions, we expect some interesting methods, comments, and so forth, to crop up in this contest, some of which, at least, we hope to publish along with the list of winners.
The crypt contest has no doubt stirred up a lively interest in this kind of cipher, and more of them are offered for solution below. Incidentally, readers who submit cryptograms for publication should, preferably, also send the solutions.
The following cryptograms are arranged in order of their difficulty. The first one is quite simple. Likewise, to unlock the second, notwithstanding its string of proper names, should only take a few minutes. The third may prove somewhat more difficult.
All right, folks! Up and at 'em!
And remember we should be glad to have your solutions and comments.
CIPHER No. 16.
Onj nzmmdhfwj axjlo dw kmce onj ajf fhhceifwdjr ts f kfggdwb tfmcejojm, njfls onzwrjm, fwr f xdwr ljgchdos ck ecmj onfw kdkos edgja fw nczm.
CIPHER No. 17.
Iyziqwzn, Tmamizhg, Bgaamhkw, Tgyim, Uwaamcg, Rww, mhr Dzkwhwyw, myw maa mviqgyc gp zntgyimhi czfiwwhiq bwhivye xgylc rwdgiwr ig iqw cvuowbi gp byetigkymtqe.
CIPHER No. 18.
Gnpjxvv cnfihsk tnhvai paksajinp gvnf cjanu sxfhdqs cbs aysjn dbnji kqxbvi ankhvp ojbksjnsa nssaegs.
Transposition ciphers of the kind published last week, April 30, can usually be solved by inspection.
For instance, No. 14 (Rudolph L. Leuckart), which contains sixty-five letters, must have used either a 13 x 5 or a 5 x 13 rectangle. The fact that every fifth letter in the cryptogram forms the series, T-H-I-S - M-A-Y ... suggests the 13 x 5 rectangle, and encipherment by plain verticals, as follows:
T H I S M A Y B E E A S Y F O R Y O U C I P H E R S H A R K S B U T G E T T O W O R K A N D S H O W M E H O W G O O D Y O U A R E
Cipher No. 15 (John P. Crotty, Jr.) is slightly more difficult. The message, "TRY TO GET THIS LITTLE FOOLER, et cetera," was first written in lines of eight letters forming the square shown below, and then taken otit bv alternate verticals, TTLIA ONHEO SRTEH ... to effect the transposition.
T R Y T O G E T T H I S L I T T L E F O O L E R I T M A Y B E H A R D F O R T H O S E W H O D O N O T K N O W T H E S E C R E T
The next weekly department will give fans a chance to devise their own methods of solving a certain type of cipher, of which they will be provided full working details, but not the special key. This ought to prove interesting.
There will also be answers to this week's cryptograms. All in all it is an installment not to be missed. Even if you have never tried your hand on ciphers before, it isn't too late to start.