“What kind of a puzzle?” pressed Frank.
“I’ll show it to you,” said Markham, fishing in his pocket. “There it is. I don’t suppose it’s much,” he continued in a deprecating way, “though two or three fellows who saw it said it was quite clever.”
Frank inspected the article his companion now handed him with a good deal of interest. It was roughly made of wire. There was a ring linked into a triangle, and the latter linked onto two other rings. The lower one of these had a link connected with a wire square. Lying loose around this link was a larger ring of wire.
“What’s the puzzle?” inquired Frank, looking over the little device.
“To get that big ring over all the other rings, the little square and the triangle.”
“Oh, I see,” said Frank, working at the device industriously, but finally asking: “Can it be done?”
“Readily—look here,” and Markham, taking the puzzle, deftly slipped the ring over all the obstacles, and then worked it back again into its original place.
“I say, that is mighty clever,” declared Frank. “Show me slower, now. The slip over the triangle is the trick, eh? Good! Markham, that thing would sell like hot cakes.”
“Think so?” asked Markham, seriously.