The Puzzler's Mansion Read Free

beginners?” Winston asked.
    Mr. Penrose smiled and said, “Some people prefer to teach the game on a smaller board. I’m not of that mind myself. But I thought you might like a little chess puzzle.” He placed the board on the countertop, reached underneath again, and came back with a handful of chess pieces, all queens. Winston found himself intrigued.
    â€œAll you have to do,” Mr. Penrose said, “is put these six queens on the chessboard so that none of them are attacking each other. Which means, of course, that none can be in the same row or column, or on the same diagonal. Can you do it?”

    (Answer, page 242 .)
    *   *   *
    So much for not doing puzzles today. Winston took a few minutes to try out Penrose’s challenge and was soon absorbed, sliding queens this way and that around the board. He’d been working for a while when the bell over the door rang and the mailman came in. A moment later, Mr. Penrose, flipping through the junk mail and catalogs, made a little sound, not quite a gasp.
    â€œAre you okay?” Winston asked.
    â€œOh, yes,” Penrose said in a faraway voice. “Everything is fine.” He was gazing at a small red envelope. Now he reached for a letter opener.
    Winston watched as Penrose became engrossed by the contents of the envelope. After a moment, he began sliding queens around the chessboard again, pretending to be interested in the puzzle even when Mr. Penrose said, “Huh!” as if some wonderful mystery had just deepened. Winston looked up again to find his old friend smiling cryptically at him.
    â€œWhat?” Winston said.
    Mr. Penrose raised a finger:
Wait a minute—I’m thinking.
After a moment, he went behind the counter and paged through a small, leather-bound book. Finding what he wanted, he picked up the phone and dialed.
    Someone on the other end answered, and Mr. Penrose said, “Norma! It’s good to hear your voice. It’s Arthur Penrose. Yes, quite well. Thank you. Is he in?” There was a brief silence, and then Penrose said, “Richard! How are you. Yes? Oh, here, too. I’m glad to hear it. I wanted to ask about this invitation. Does it mean what it says? It’s quite a departure from the usual thing. . . .” There was a pause, then Penrose laughed and said, “Well, I’m wondering if the guestsstrictly need to be relations.” He looked at Winston and said, “I have somebody I would like to bring along. Oh, yes. Someone who will truly appreciate what you do. That’s okay, then? Excellent. I shall see you in a couple of weeks. Of course, I wouldn’t miss it. All right, then. Bye.”
    Penrose hung up and sat down, as pleased as Winston had ever seen him. Winston had forgotten all about the chessboard. Mr. Penrose wanted to take him somewhere?
    â€œA few weeks ago,” Penrose said, “you mentioned how you don’t get to see those two friends of yours as frequently anymore. Those two boys.”
    â€œMal and Jake. Yeah,” Winston said.
    â€œWe haven’t really spoken about it since then. But if I may say so, Winston, you seemed rather down about it. And you don’t seem all that much improved even today.”
    Winston frowned, and his eyes dropped to the chessboard. “It hasn’t been a good time, I guess. Mal and Jake are busy. . . . School has been hard. . . .” He concluded with a shrug.
    â€œWell, then,” said Mr. Penrose, “I may have just the ticket.”
    â€œThe ticket for what?”
    â€œThe ticket to distract you from your current raft of problems, of course.” He slid the red envelope across the counter.
    Winston was amazed that his curiosity about Penrose’s letter was going to be satisfied so soon. He picked up the envelope. It unfolded to reveal a single ornately printed card at its center:

    You are invited to a weekend
of games, puzzles, and