THER'S SON, NAIRAM, A
REDRUTHIAN, A SOCIALIST, SPEAR MAIDEN, T. B. C, VIS INERTIAE, and YAK. Of
these, F. K., FIFEE, T. B. C, and VIS INERTIAE do not attempt the second
part at all. F. K. and H. P. give no working. The rest make particular
assumptions, such as that there was no level road--that there were 6
miles of level road--and so on, all leading to _particular_ times being
fixed for reaching the hill-top. The most curious assumption is that of
AGNES BAILEY, who says "Let _x_ = number of hours occupied in ascent;
then _x_/2 = hours occupied in descent; and 4_x_/3 = hours occupied on
the level." I suppose you were thinking of the relative _rates_, up
hill and on the level; which we might express by saying that, if they
went x miles up hill in a certain time, they would go 4_x_/3 miles on
the level _in the same time_. You have, in fact, assumed that they took
_the same time_ on the level that they took in ascending the hill. FIFEE
assumes that, when the aged knight said they had gone "four miles in the
hour" on the level, he meant that four miles was the _distance_ gone,
not merely the rate. This would have been--if FIFEE will excuse the
slang expression--a "sell," ill-suited to the dignity of the hero.

And now "descend, ye classic Nine!" who have solved the whole problem,
and let me sing your praises. Your names are BLITHE, E. W., L. B., A
MARLBOROUGH BOY, O. V. L., PUTNEY WALKER, ROSE, SEA BREEZE, SIMPLE
SUSAN, and MONEY SPINNER. (These last two I count as one, as they send a
joint answer.) ROSE and SIMPLE SUSAN and CO. do not actually state that
the hill-top was reached some time between 6 and 7, but, as they have
clearly grasped the fact that a mile, ascended and descended, took the
same time as two level miles, I mark them as "right." A MARLBOROUGH BOY
and PUTNEY WALKER deserve honourable mention for their algebraical
solutions being the only two who have perceived that the question leads
to _an indeterminate equation_. E. W. brings a charge of untruthfulness
against the aged knight--a serious charge, for he was the very pink of
chivalry! She says "According to the data given, the time at the summit
affords no clue to the total distance. It does not enable us to state
precisely to an inch how much level and how much hill there was on the
road." "Fair damsel," the aged knight replies, "--if, as I surmise, thy
initials denote Early Womanhood--bethink thee that the word 'enable' is
thine, not mine. I did but ask the