THE CANTERBURY PUZZLES
dungeon to await my death. How, by the help of my gift in
answering riddles and puzzles, I did escape from captivity I will now
set forth, and in case it doth perplex any to know how some of the
strange feats were performed, I will hereafter make the manner
thereof plain to all.
49.—
The Mysterious Rope.
My dungeon did not lie beneath the moat, but was in one of the
most high parts of the castle. So stout was the door and so well
locked and secured withal, that escape that
way was not to be found. By hard work
I did, after many days, remove one of the
bars from the narrow window, and was able
to crush my body through the opening, but
the distance to the courtyard below was so
exceeding great that it was certain death to
drop thereto. Yet by great good fortune did
I find in the corner of the cell a rope that
had been there left and lay hid in the great
darkness. But this rope had not length
enough, and to drop in safety from the end
was nowise possible. Then did I remember
how the wise man from Ireland did lengthen
the blanket that was too short for him, by
7
cutting a yard off the bottom of the same and
joining it on to the top. So I made haste to
divide the rope in half and to tie the two
parts thereof together again. It was then full
long and did reach the ground and I went
down in safety. How could this have been ?
50.—
The Underground Maze.
The only way out of the yard that I now was in was to descend
a few stairs that led up into the centre (A) of an underground
52
