Cipher Challenge
The Telegraph Table
Before encryption became electronic, a clerk could protect a dispatch with nothing more than a pencil, a key, and a ruled sheet. In keyed columnar transposition, the message is written across successive rows and the completed columns are copied according to the ordering imposed by the key. No symbol is replaced, so the original inventory of letters and punctuation survives. The puzzle lies in restoring the transmitted vertical strips to their original positions and reading the rows they once formed.
Ciphertext
ebypr acshe anoes sadep iaiee e,htc iiVnr cwery gnewo c,whe ynohc sittt stsab sriaw eihsy teslo ewabo oo.de erlse atsed tsloe rrirs ienbo rfeed giieh frvsl ptuir saido oddoa edwyd ge.ru maoeo gsarn lco.e anust nliow iucaw irdio tauiw elier nhrsl elsst carnt a.wia atwee raeyt dunhd ecasd eitre ot.sr rlnnf sleat geaae laah. slaem tpenl .heer nptpt rus,t ,tnbo lanle rreve aowis lener rlslv odhWo hdiao aamvl iogho hatfS alcgt ssiea rcfya anoua eta,l pt.fn esaie vdeti .rant rrmsa aeeat apeur tlots dohae iegoe tylag ienhh cepre eiere a.ngf nilnr hhtat wioan iocgd myeio rtnai tatne olrro eieee s,eel aenue olwws Tinoe cimto sevre obttf rosei ciedr eireo hatsv Eelre tlato tlowh psdif tt.ue edrat swhtc eddtn bacde swiiu oeljf nyaie lstir aduut gohed ntter iau,l gsirn pabct euDet criaf eirpo Amttt eeoal magre llsnc reni, rrone nmeos scfnr narea orbdg roqes iPtte ddsno eeeri inpt, lltsf otaer gptnf srein nyosl vesrc allro ntege rahae hmofz rneip eaiao siihu ewcxn uv,se Adrks enkoe scvpp eanad acrla rsaas uvoot sohai wr,na ltahe aptua ret.h tea,r emenb hlnet tmie. rssnu etpSs ddele dimt, kateo maefe pemvl ryfnr senos eoeem slrln v,cte nlcin ncsms lsrPr lalrw wsott aduaR ntrir rtano ivaar tniva nhplo hcene olelt asach ihcut ilGes trihn sybvp ,rros tpetu .aste apiIt evigg piist urrnm ,ttna