Can the reader say what day of the week it was?  It is pretty evident that the countryman was not such a fool as he looked.  The gentleman went on his road a puzzled but a wiser man.

LOCOMOTION AND SPEED PUZZLES.

“The race is not to the swift.”—­Ecclesiastes ix.  II.

67.—­AVERAGE SPEED.

In a recent motor ride it was found that we had gone at the rate of ten miles an hour, but we did the return journey over the same route, owing to the roads being more clear of traffic, at fifteen miles an hour.  What was our average speed?  Do not be too hasty in your answer to this simple little question, or it is pretty certain that you will be wrong.

68.—­THE TWO TRAINS.

I put this little question to a stationmaster, and his correct answer was so prompt that I am convinced there is no necessity to seek talented railway officials in America or elsewhere.

Two trains start at the same time, one from London to Liverpool, the other from Liverpool to London.  If they arrive at their destinations one hour and four hours respectively after passing one another, how much faster is one train running than the other?

69.—­THE THREE VILLAGES.

I set out the other day to ride in a motor-car from Acrefield to Butterford, but by mistake I took the road going via Cheesebury, which is nearer Acrefield than Butterford, and is twelve miles to the left of the direct road I should have travelled.  After arriving at Butterford I found that I had gone thirty-five miles.  What are the three distances between these villages, each being a whole number of miles?  I may mention that the three roads are quite straight.

70.—­DRAWING HER PENSION.

“Speaking of odd figures,” said a gentleman who occupies some post in a Government office, “one of the queerest characters I know is an old lame widow who climbs up a hill every week to draw her pension at the village post office.  She crawls up at the rate of a mile and a half an hour and comes down at the rate of four and a half miles an hour, so that it takes her just six hours to make the double journey.  Can any of you tell me how far it is from the bottom of the hill to the top?”

[Illustration]

71.—­SIR EDWYN DE TUDOR.

In the illustration we have a sketch of Sir Edwyn de Tudor going to rescue his lady-love, the fair Isabella, who was held a captive by a neighbouring wicked baron.  Sir Edwyn calculated that if he rode fifteen miles an hour he would arrive at the castle an hour too soon, while if he rode ten miles an hour he would get there just an hour too late.  Now, it was of the first importance that he should arrive at the exact time appointed, in order that the rescue that he had planned should be a success, and the time of the tryst was five o’clock, when the captive lady would be taking her afternoon tea.  The puzzle is to discover exactly how far Sir Edwyn de Tudor had to ride.