THE CANTERBURY PUZZLES
face the task of making that long and tedious calculation in order to
get the quantity " to a nicety," as the wily cellarer had stipulated.
By a simplified process of calculation, I have ascertained that the
exact quantity of wine stolen would be
26*02996266117195772699849076832850577473237376473235 -
55652999
pints. A man who would involve the monastery in a fraction of
fifty-eight decimals deserved severe punishment.
46.—
The Riddle of the Crusaders.
The correct answer is that there would have been 602,176
Crusaders, who could form themselves into a square 776 by 776,
and after the stranger joined their ranks, they could form 113 squares
of 5,329 men—that is, 73 by 73.
47.—
The Riddle of St. Edmondsbury.
The reader is aware that there are prime numbers and composite
whole numbers. Now, 1,111,111 cannot be a prime number, because
if it were the only possible answers would be those proposed by
Brother Benjamin and rejected by Father Peter. Also it cannot have
more than two factors or the answer would be indeterminate. As
a matter of fact, 1,111,111 equals 239 x 4649 (both primes), and
since each cat killed more mice than there were cats, the answer
must be 239 cats. See also the Introduction.
48.—
The Riddle of the Frogs* Ring.
The fewest possible moves in which this puzzle can be solved
are 118. I will give the complete solution. The black figures on
white discs move in the directions of the hands of a clock, and the
white figures on black discs the other way. The following are the
numbers in the order in which they move. Whether you have to
make a simple move or a leaping move will be clear from the
158
