A strange man was one day found loitering in the courtyard of the castle,
and the retainers, noticing that his speech had a foreign accent,
suspected him of being a spy. So the fellow was brought before Sir Hugh,
who could make nothing of him. He ordered the varlet to be removed and
examined, in order to discover whether any secret letters were concealed
about him. All they found was a piece of parchment securely suspended
from the neck, bearing this mysterious inscription:--
[Illustration:
A
B B
R R R
A A A A
C C C C C
A A A A A A
D D D D D D D
A A A A A A A A
B B B B B B B B B
R R R R R R R R R R
A A A A A A A A A A A ]
To-day we know that Abracadabra was the supreme deity of the Assyrians,
and this curious arrangement of the letters of the word was commonly worn
in Europe as an amulet or charm against diseases. But Sir Hugh had never
heard of it, and, regarding the document rather seriously, he sent for a
learned priest.
"I pray you, Sir Clerk," said he, "show me the true intent of this
strange writing."
"Sir Hugh," replied the holy man, after he had spoken in a foreign tongue
with the stranger, "it is but an amulet that this poor wight doth wear
upon his breast to ward off the ague, the toothache, and such other
afflictions of the body."
"Then give the varlet food and raiment and set him on his way," said Sir
Hugh. "Meanwhile, Sir Clerk, canst thou tell me in how many ways this
word 'Abracadabra' may be read on the amulet, always starting from the A
at the top thereof?"
Place your pencil on the A at the top and count in how many different
ways you can trace out the word downwards, always passing from a letter
to an adjoining one.