332.--THE FORTY-NINE STARS.

[Illustration]

The puzzle in this case is simply to take your pencil and, starting from
one black star, strike out all the stars in twelve straight strokes,
ending at the other black star. It will be seen that the attempt shown
in the illustration requires fifteen strokes. Can you do it in twelve?
Every turning must be made on a star, and the lines must be parallel to
the sides and diagonals of the square, as shown. In this case we are
dealing with a chessboard of reduced dimensions, but only queen moves
(without going outside the boundary as in the last case) are required.


333.--THE QUEEN'S JOURNEY.

[Illustration]

Place the queen on her own square, as shown in the illustration, and
then try to discover the greatest distance that she can travel over the
board in five queen's moves without passing over any square a second
time. Mark the queen's path on the board, and note carefully also that
she must never cross her own track. It seems simple enough, but the
reader may find that he has tripped.


334.--ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON.

[Illustration]