Henry Ernest Dudeney/Modern Puzzles/144 - The Bricklayer's Task/Solution

Modern Puzzles by Henry Ernest Dudeney: $144$

When a man walled in his estate, one of the walls was partly level and partly over a small rise or hill,

precisely as shown in the drawing herewith, wherein it will be observed that the distance from $A$ to $B$ is the same as from $B$ to $C$.

Now, the master-builder desired and claimed that he should be paid more for the part that was on the hill than for the part that was level,

since (at least, so he held) it demanded the use of more material.

But the employer insisted that he should pay less for that part.

It was a nice point, over which they nearly had recourse to the law.

Which of them was in the right?

A glance at the illustration will show that if you could cut off the portion of wall marked $1$ and place it in the position indicated by $2$,

you would have a piece of straight wall, $BC$, enclosed by the dotted lines, exactly the same as the wall $AB$.

1926: Henry Ernest Dudeney: Modern Puzzles ... (previous) ... (next): Solutions: $144$. -- The Bricklayer's Task
1968: Henry Ernest Dudeney: 536 Puzzles & Curious Problems ... (previous) ... (next): Answers: $305$. The Bricklayer's Task