A wicked baron in the good old days imprisoned an innocent maiden in one of the deepest dungeons beneath the castle moat.  It will be seen from our illustration that there were sixty-three cells in the dungeon, all connected by open doors, and the maiden was chained in the cell in which she is shown.  Now, a valiant knight, who loved the damsel, succeeded in rescuing her from the enemy.  Having gained an entrance to the dungeon at the point where he is seen, he succeeded in reaching the maiden after entering every cell once and only once.  Take your pencil and try to trace out such a route.  When you have succeeded, then try to discover a route in twenty-two straight paths through the cells.  It can be done in this number without entering any cell a second time.

323.—­A DUNGEON PUZZLE.

[Illustration: 

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A French prisoner, for his sins (or other people’s), was confined in an underground dungeon containing sixty-four cells, all communicating with open doorways, as shown in our illustration.  In order to reduce the tedium of his restricted life, he set himself various puzzles, and this is one of them.  Starting from the cell in which he is shown, how could he visit every cell once, and only once, and make as many turnings as possible?  His first attempt is shown by the dotted track.  It will be found that there are as many as fifty-five straight lines in his path, but after many attempts he improved upon this.  Can you get more than fifty-five?  You may end your path in any cell you like.  Try the puzzle with a pencil on chessboard diagrams, or you may regard them as rooks’ moves on a board.