Nuts

Answer : It will be found that when Herbert takes twelve, Robert and Christopher will take nine and fourteen respectively, and that they will have together taken thirty-five nuts. As 35 is contained in 770 twenty-two times, we have merely to multiply 12, 9, and 14 by 22 to discover that Herbert's share was 264, Robert's 198, and Christopher's 308. Then, as the total of their ages is 17½ years or half the sum of 12, 9, and 14, their respective ages must be 6, 4½, and 7 years.