If that’s all that was written, there isn’t any missing words or anything, then I’d say the joke is on you. Mr Malcolm is all worked up now, trying to figure out who could have been calling him in the middle of the night and he’ll never get the answer. The joke book did the same thing to you.
Looking his specific number is just a red herring to distract you from it being a prank call.
That’s a cute idea, but I don’t think so. It’s not really a joke book, but a book of puzzles - and one for kids, so it’s unlikely they would prank them like that. Also, the answer is on the bottom of the page - it looks like a printer’s error.
The only part that doesn’t fit with this solution is that we’re supposed to be “hypothecating that Winston had never previously met or communicated with either Mr. or Mrs. Malcolm” which seems to exclude the idea that they are neighbors.
I don’t know the answer to the puzzle but hypothesize that the word ‘hypothecate’ is being misused.
The one time I came across this term was after taking the skins off a multi-million dollar IBM mainframe at a major insurance company. Affixed to the frame was a metal plate reading:
This machine is the property of the
Chase Manhattan Bank of New York.
Any hypothecation of this property is prohibited.
Winston had an early morning sales meeting with Malcolm that he didn’t want to go to. But he didn’t want to call and reschedule it because that would annoy Malcolm. So he woke Malcolm up in the middle of the night so Malcolm would cancel the meeting.
Thanks to Thudlow providing a source, one can get Google to show the complete answer in parts. Simply keep changing the first set of search terms to the last couple of sentences shown.
I was thinking that, and I see it’s supposed to be the answer. But then thought maybe Mr. Malcolm would end up making even more noise after being woken up at 2:30AM for no apparent reason. But the snoring would probably be unusual otherwise they would have communicated previously on the subject so Winston could think once Mr. Malcolm stops complaining about what appears to be a prank he’d go back to sleep without the loud snoring.
Given that the description for Winston immediately calls him a hedonist, I figured the phone call had no point other than to create some kind of chaos. The purpose was there was no purpose, just to be an asshole.
A hedonist is a pleasure-seeker, not a trouble-maker. As I see it, the point in identifying him as a hedonist is to indicate that he was motivated by his own pleasure or comfort (or maybe just to explain why he was out late partying).
But, wait, continue searching each sentence at a time. I get:
“The only reason that Winston could have for wishing to accomplish his apparent mischief was that Malcolm, by sleeping, was doing him a mischief. You see, Winston and Malcolm were both tenants in the same apartment house, and Winston’s …”
OK, it cuts off there. Looks like it’s going to be the snoring. Lemme see if googling the last few words of that sentence helps. Ah, yes:
“You see, Winston and Malcolm were both tenants in the same apartment house, and Winston’s bedroom adjoined Malcolm’s. Malcolm was snoring so loudly that Winston couldn’t fall alseep. The victim’s only chance, which he cleverly saw, …”
And then I can’t Google no more without returning the same hit, but, it is clear that the answer is the snoring one.
ETA: I see that I was ninja’d by Skywatcher to figuring out how to Google for the solution, but there’s the transcription of the lines I was able to find to save anyone the trouble.
I had the book and recall not only the puzzle but that first sentence, and can confirm from that perspective that snoring is exactly the reason given in the text.
Winston and Malcolm are both members of an anonymous sex club. To prevent partners from catching on, all communications are passed on from others, and in the form of calls placed at particular times. The content of the call is irrelevant; only the time and date matter. At his last appointment, Winston was instructed to call Malcolm at approximately 2:30 am. It is advised to not write down the instructions. Winston is not very good with numbers, and had a hard enough time remembering the time, let alone Malcolm’s number. Fortunately, he was in the phone book.
Ok, maybe this wouldn’t be the answer in a kid’s puzzle book…