by the following morning the pain was no longer local , not confined to the places where the ropes cut into his flesh , or where the bark scraped his skin . i had to figure this out on my own . he crossed his legs at the knee , the gentleman that he was . i do n't mind cutting her some slack . whenever my great-uncle had posed me a riddle , or begun a game which i could not end , he had always told me to think of at least 10 possibilities of what i could do next . 