"But he finds them," said Reginald. "No; I said his servant finds them." "Well, then," Mildred interposed, "his servant gives them to him." "You cannot give a man his own property, can you?" All agreed that Willie's answer was quite satisfactory. Then Uncle John produced a little fallacy that "brought the proceedings to a close," as the newspapers say. 413.--A CHESSBOARD FALLACY. [Illustration] "Here is a diagram of a chessboard," he said. "You see there are sixty-four squares--eight by eight. Now I draw a straight line from the top left-hand corner, where the first and second squares meet, to the bottom right-hand corner. I cut along this line with the scissors, slide up the piece that I have marked B, and then clip off the little corner C by a cut along the first upright line. This little piece will exactly fit into its place at the top, and we now have an oblong with seven squares on one side and nine squares on the other. There are, therefore, now only sixty-three squares, because seven multiplied by nine makes sixty-three. Where on earth does that lost square go to? I have tried over and over again to catch the little beggar, but he always eludes me. For the life of me I cannot discover where he hides himself." "It seems to be like the other old chessboard fallacy, and perhaps the explanation is the same," said Reginald--"that the pieces do not exactly fit." "But they _do_ fit," said Uncle John. "Try it, and you will see." Later in the evening Reginald and George, were seen in a corner with their heads together, trying to catch that elusive little square, and it is only fair to record that before they retired for the night they succeeded in securing their prey, though some others of the company failed to see it when captured. Can the reader solve the little mystery? UNCLASSIFIED PROBLEMS. "A snapper up of unconsidered trifles." _Winter's Tale_, iv. 2. 414.--WHO WAS FIRST? Anderson, Biggs, and Carpenter were staying together at a place by the seaside. One day they went out in a boat and were a mile at sea when a rifle was fired on shore in their direction. Why or by whom the shot was fired fortunately does not concern us, as no information on these points is obtainable, but from the facts I picked up we can get material for a curious little puzzle for the novice. It seems that Anderson only heard the report of the gun, Biggs only saw the smoke, and Carpenter merely saw the bullet strike the water near them. Now, the question arises: Which of them first knew of the discharge of the rifle? 415.--A WONDERFUL VILLAGE. There is a certain village in Japan, situated in a very low valley, and yet the sun is nearer to the inhabitants every noon, by 3,000 miles and upwards, than when he either rises or sets to these people. In what part of the country is the village situated? 416.--A CALENDAR PUZZLE.