Literature & Fiction, English as a Second Language 

'The Problem of Cell 13' is a short story by Jacques Futrellefirst published in 1905 and later collected in 'The ThinkingMachine' (1907), which was featured in crime writer H.R.F.Keating's list of the 100 best crime and mystery books everpublished. The story was selected by science fiction authorHarlan Ellison for Lawrence Block's Best Mysteries of the Century.Like Futrelle's other short stories, 'The Problem of Cell 13' features Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen as the main character,although most of the story is seen through the perspective of a prison warden. While in a scientific debate with two men,Dr. Charles Ransome and Alfred Fielding, Augustus, 'TheThinking Machine', insists that nothing is impossible when thehuman mind is properly applied. To prove this, he agreesthat he will take part in an experiment in which he will beincarcerated in a prison for one week and given the challengeof escaping. He achieves the goal with what is taken to begreat ingenuity and explains fully how he did it. - from Amzon