Question

read the excerpt from \tools of the spymaster\. james jays invisible ink did not become visible by heating. as he described it, his ink \would elude the generally known means of detection, and yet could be rendered visible by a suitable counterpart.\ jays invisible ink consisted of two chemicals. an agent used one chemical to write an invisible message. to read the message, the reader had to brush a second chemical on the paper; that chemical made the message visible. the two - bottle system, supplied by jay, gave washington the secure form of writing that he wanted. which statement best expresses the central idea of the excerpt? james jay was a spy for the americans and had knowledge of chemistry. james jays system required two chemicals for writing and reading invisible ink messages. james jay believed secret messages that became visible because of heat were not secure. james jays invisible ink system allowed washington to read secret messages

Explanation:

The excerpt focuses on James Jay's two - chemical invisible ink system and how it provided a secure form of writing for Washington. The other options either focus on aspects not central (like Jay being a spy or his opinion on heat - revealed messages) or are too narrow (just about the two chemicals for writing/reading).

Answer:

James Jay's invisible ink system allowed Washington to read secret messages.