[Illustration]
This is a puzzle based on a pretty little idea first dealt with by the
late Mr. Sam Loyd. A man had nine pieces of chain, as shown in the
illustration. He wanted to join these fifty links into one endless
chain. It will cost a penny to open any link and twopence to weld a link
together again, but he could buy a new endless chain of the same
character and quality for 2s. 2d. What was the cheapest course for him
to adopt? Unless the reader is cunning he may find himself a good way
out in his answer.