Forty Dollars in Prizes to Readers Eighteen who can find out most about this Trip.
'Tis said that few winds are so ill that they blow nobody any good, but the wind that blew a recent hunting-party into the middle of the upper Niagara River, and then over the falls, was an exception. It did nobody any good. True, the victims of the tragedy were that Shakespearian character (1) who lived in a group of Mediterranean isles; a Roman satirist (2) who is always mentioned whenever a teacher is; and the Greek philosopher (3) celebrated for wise sayings and just judgments, who lived in a city renowned for its heroic resistance to barbarians.
"One of these never really lived and the other two died long years agone, say you?" "Well, suppose they did. Pray don't spoil a story by speaking at the wrong time."
These three persons went gayly out, undismayed by the warning on the boat-house sign:
BOATS TO LET.
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I nearly forgot to say that there were to have been five in the party, but the Schoolmaster of our Republic (8) and the Mad Yankee (6) read the sign and refused to go. But such a lot of things as were found by the three who went!
First they explored a mysterious excavation (7) contained in a street-sweeper, and a place of trade (8) kept in an insect. They met a wise man (9) in conception, and bought a warm covering (10) contained in a wrinkle; some small cord (11) done up in strengthening medicine; a bedded carriage (12) in sparkling; a covering for the head (13) in an impropriety; a quantity of paper (14) in demand; some food;(15) in a scoffer; a chart (16) in a telegraph; a clamp(17) in useful; a white linen garment (18) in military weapon; a large farm (19) in the gills of fishes, and some certificates of stock (20) in a title.
These filled the boat, though some were eaten, some lounged upon, and others studied. Queer place to shop? Well, never mind if it was so. Let my story go on.
As the three men were trying on what they found in the impropriety which they had purchased, one of them discovered a few things that had probably been left in the boat by a former sailing-party. The first (21) had once been in the fields and brooks, aye, a part of it even in the sky. Then it had been warmed, put through a process that city folk are laughed at by country folk because they cannot manipulate, and finally subjected to great pressure. The second (22) was once a part of a great mountain. Then it helped raise potatoes. Next it was buried in a grave. Again it was heated and then cooled, and became the source of so much comfort that the wonder was its owner left it behind. The third thing (23) is supposed to bring good luck. It is something that, in its natural position, moved rapidly—often with two motions at the same time. There was that about it which masons use. It was a sad loss to its owner, no doubt. The fourth and last thing was a liquor (24) contained in a secretion of the ear. It was not the first time that a drinking-vessel (25) which we find in refreshment brought death in its train. From that moment the men were doomed. They grew reckless, and here are some of the things they thought they saw:
An agricultural implement (26) in a railway employé; a small bed (27) in a writer; a temporary shelter (28) in a native of South Africa; an open land (29) in the bottom of a ship; a small house (30) in a window covering; a stream of water (31) in a dance; a church seat (32) in a cordage manufactory; a man (33) in a lizard; and a small horse (34) in a place of worship.
Finding all these in a place so strange, and making so poor use of them, it is no wonder that that which the sign-board warned them against carried them over the falls, and brought an end to the story. The local paper next morning said the bodies of the three were recovered and taken to "The Bad Lands of the Say It" (35) for burial.
In the foregoing story there are not a few questions in philology. There are also some popular nicknames, an anagram, and some riddles. In sending answers, do not write out the story. Number names as numbered here, write one below another in the proper order, and put your name and address at the top of your first sheet of answers. Mail answers not later than February 6, 1897, to Harper's Round Table, New York—no street number required—and put in the lower left-hand corner of your envelope "Puzzle Answer." Correct answers, with names of winners, will be published in Harper's Round Table as early after the close of the contest as possible, probably within two weeks.
The prizes, which will be awarded by the Messrs. Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York, are: $40, divided among the ten best solvers according to merit. If one solver stands conspicuously ahead of the rest he or she will be given from $10 to $25, as the comparative excellence of the answer warrants. Persons of any age may help find the answers, but only those who have not passed their 18th birthday, and who are members of households in which this paper is regularly read, may send them in. Merit signifies correctness and neatness, and has no reference to the solution reaching the office of Harper's Round Table first in point of time. Elaborate decoration of answers is not encouraged. Use common stationery, note size, and do not roll. Write on one side of the paper only. Everything comes to those who—try!