Daily puzzle

Put The Bet back in order

Seven beats from our edition of The Bet by Anton Chekhov, shuffled. Drag them, or use the arrows, until the story runs straight. No account, no streak to lose.

  1. The Dinner Argument Years earlier, a debate on capital punishment versus life imprisonment leads the banker to bet two million that no one could bear fifteen years of confinement.
  2. Into the Lodge The young lawyer accepts and is sealed into a garden lodge, allowed books, music, and wine but no human contact.
  3. Early Years The prisoner endures loneliness and depression, playing the piano and reading light novels to survive the first years.
  4. Languages and Learning He masters many languages, then turns to the Gospels, theology, history, and philosophy in a fever of reading.
  5. The Banker’s Ruin Reckless speculation destroys the banker’s wealth; paying the bet would now leave him a beggar.
  6. Murder Considered On the final night the banker steals to the lodge intending to kill the lawyer and erase the debt.
  7. The Letter He finds a letter renouncing the money and all earthly things; the lawyer leaves early to forfeit, and the banker weeps in shame.