The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-12-17
Select Sturp,
THE PUZZLE.
From Cornhill Magazine.
CHAPTER /.

Pugh came INTO my room holding some
thing wrapped in piece Of brown paper
'TreSs, ljhave brought you something on
which you may exercise your ingenuity.
He began, with exasperating dcliberation
to unite the string which bound his parcel
he is one of those persons who would not
cut knot to save their lives The proces.
occupied him the better part of quarter
Of an hour. Then he held out the contents
of the paper.
"What do you think of that he asked
| thought nothing of it, and told him so
Il was prepared for that confession.
have noticed, Trcss, that you generally dc
think nothing of an article which really
deserves the attention of a truly thoughtful
mind. Possibly, as you think so little OF
it, you will be able to solve the puzzle"
/ took what he held out to me. 1t was an
oblong box, perhaps seven inches long by
three inches broad.
"Wheres the puzzle ~ asked
.If you will examine the lid of the box
you will see"
| turned it over and over; it was difficult
to see which was the lid Then | per.
ceived that on one side were printed these
words
Puzzle To Open the Box
The words were so family printed that
it was not surprising that | had not noticed
them at first. Pugh explained.
81 observed that box on a tray outside a
secondhand furniture shop. 1t struck my
eye. 1 took it up. L examined it. in
quired of the proprietor of the shop in what
the puzzle lay He replied that that was
more than he could tell me. He himself
had made several attempts to open the box,
and all of them had failed. l purchased
it. took it home [ have tried, and /
have failed. l am aware, Tress, of how
you pride yourself upon your ingenuity. l
cannot doubt that, if you try, you will not
fail.
While Pugh was pressing, ! was exam
ining the box 1t was at least well made.
1t weighed certainly under two ounces. |
struck it with my knucklss. it sounded hol-
low. There was no hinge; nothing Of any
kind to show that it eyer had been opened,
or, for the matter ofthat, that it ever could
be opened. The more | examined the
thing, the more it whetted my curiosity.
That it could be opened, and in some in
genious manner, | made no doubt-but
how
The box was not new one. At a rough
guess | should say that it had been box
for good half-century there were certain
signs of age about it which could not es-
cape a practised eye, Had it remained un-
opened all that time? When opened, what
would be found inside? 1t sounded hol-
low; probably nothing at all-who could
tell?
1t was formed of small pieces Of inlaid
wood. Several woods had been used; some
of them were strange to me. They were
of different colors; it was pretty obvious
that they must all Of them have been hard
woods. The pieces were of various shapes,
hexagopal, octagonal, triangular, square,
oblong, and even circular. The process of
inlaying had been beautifully done. So
nicely had the parts been joined that the
lines of meeting we're difficult to discover
with the naked eye; they had been joined
solid. 50 to speak. 1t was Az excellent ex-
ample of marquetry. ] had been oyer
hasty in my depreciation; ! owned as much
to Pugh.
''This box Of yours is better worth look
inc at than supposed. 1t 1t to be sold?'
''No, it is not to be sold. Nor"-he
''fixed" me with his spectacles-" is it to
given away. | have brought it to you for
the simple purpose of ascertaining if you
have ingenuity enough to open it.
Il will engage to open it in two seconds
with a hammer
Il dare say. l will open it with ham
mer The thing is to open it without.
'Let me see. began, with the aid of
microscope, to examine the box more close
ly II will give you one piece of informa-
ton, Pugh. Unless [ am mistaken, the
secret lies in one of these little pieces of
inlaid' wood. You push it, or you press it,
OF something and the whole affair flies
open.
':Such was my own first conviction. l
am not so sure of it now. | have pressed
every separate piece of wood; | haye tried
to move each piece in every direction. No
result has followed. My theory was a
hidden spring"
''But there must be hidden spring of
some sort, unless you are to open it by a
mere exercise Of force. | suppose the box
is empty"
81 thought it was at first, but now am
not so sure of that either. 1t all depends
on the position in which you hold it. Hold
it in this position-like this-close to your
ear. Haye you small hammer? ?" took
a small hammer. "Tap il, softly. with the
hammer. Don't you notice a sort of reVer-
beration within ?"
Pugh was right, there certainly was
something within; something which seemed
to echo back my tapping, almost as if it
were living thing. | mentioned this to
Pugh
But you don't think that there is some
thing alive inside the box There can't
be-. The box must be alright probably
as much airtight as an exhausted receiver.
How do we know that? How can we
tell that no minute interstices have been
left for the express purpose of ventilation?"
| continued tapping with the hammer.
noticed one popularity, that it was only
when held the box in particular posi-
lion, and tapped at certain spot there
came the answering taps from within. 81
tell you what it Is, Pugh, what hear is
fh,a ravarharafifn ~ aataa fnoohinar,-