Unconsciously I fanned myself with the bit of paper, the back and front of which successively came before my eyes.

What was my surprise when, in one of those rapid revolutions, at the moment when the back was turned to me I thought I caught sight of the Latin words "craterem," "terrestre," and others.
A sudden light burst in upon me; these hints alone gave me the first glimpse of the truth; I had discovered the key to the cipher.

To read the document, it would not even be necessary to read it through the paper.

Such as it was, just such as it had been dictated to me, so it might be spelt out with ease.

All those ingenious professorial combinations were coming right.