THE CANTERBURY PUZZLES
" Surely," replied Russell, " the method is quite obvious. By
the process of elimination. Every owner except the one in fault
will be able to prove an alibi. Yet, merely guessing offhand, I
think it quite probable that there is only one number that fits the
case. We shall see."
Russell was right, for that very night he sent the number by post,
with the result that the runaway car was at once traced, and its
owner, who was himself driving, had to pay the cost of the damages
resulting from his carelessness. What was the number of the car ?
65.—
The Mystery of Ravensdene Park*
The mystery of Ravensdene Park, which I will now present,
was a tragic affair, as it involved the assassination of Mr. Cyril
Hastings at his country house a short distance from London.
On February 17th, at 11 p.m., there was a heavy fall of snow,
and, though it lasted only half an hour, the ground was covered to a
depth of several inches. Mr. Hastings had been spending the
evening at the house of a neighbour, and left at midnight to walk
home, taking the short route that lay through Ravensdene Park—
that is, from D to A in the sketch-plan. But in the early morning
he was found dead, at the point indicated by the star in our diagram,
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