THE CANTERBURY PUZZLES
as a bribe to their dog. Later in the night a second man awoke
and hit on the same idea, taking a quarter of what remained and
giving the odd biscuit to the dog. The third and fourth men did
precisely the same in turn, taking a quarter of what they found and
giving the odd biscuit to the dog. In the morning they divided
what remained equally amongst them, and again gave the odd
biscuit to the animal. Every man noticed the reduction in the
contents of the box, but, believing himself to be alone responsible,
made no comments. What is the smallest possible number of
biscuits that there could have been in the box when they first
acquired it ?
130
