Category: Short Stories
I. THE MAGIC CASKET II. THE CONTENTS OF A MARE’S NEST III. THE STALKING HORSE IV. THE NATURALIST AT LAW V. MR. PONTING’S ALIBI VI. PANDORA’S BOX VII. THE TRAIL OF BEHEMOTH VIII. THE PATHOLOGIST TO THE RESCUE IX. GLEANINGS FROM THE WRECKAGE
I. THE MAGIC CASKET II. THE CONTENTS OF A MARE’S NEST III. THE STALKING HORSE IV. THE NATURALIST AT LAW V. MR. PONTING’S ALIBI VI. PANDORA’S BOX VII. THE TRAIL OF BEHEMOTH VIII....
2. Part 2“It was a most imprudent thing to do, for there the beastly casket was, for several months, exposed in a glass case for anyone to see, with her name on the label; and what was w...
3. Part 3“No doubt, you see what I am leading up to. But I will take the investigation of the casket as it actually occurred. It was obvious, at once, that the value of the thing was ext...
4. Part 4“The inspector let me have one to show you,” said he; and he laid on the table a military cartridge of the pattern of some twenty years ago. Thorndyke picked it up, and taking f...
5. Part 5“It is dated the day before yesterday,” commented Thorndyke, “so that it might have been lying here for twenty-four hours, though that is obviously improbable; and as this is ne...
6. Part 6“This is a queer start,” said Miller, as the train moved out of the station; “but, Lord! there is never any calculating Dr. Thorndyke’s moves. Did you know that he had anything...
7. Part 7“Quite sure. The lungs contained a quantity of water and duck-weed, and there was more than a quart of water mixed with duck-weed and water-weed in the stomach. That is a clear...
8. Part 8I was thunderstruck. In my own mind I had dismissed the case somewhat contemptuously as a mere commonplace suicide. As my friend had truly said, I had accepted the obvious appea...
9. Part 9“Here, then, was practically conclusive evidence of murder. Cyrus Pedley had been drowned in a pond or ditch. But not in the ditch in which his body was found. Therefore his dea...
10. Part 10“They are probably from some pets of hers,” I remarked, as he picked them off with his forceps and deposited them in one of the invaluable seed-envelopes. “Spinsters are a good...
11. Part 11The three spectators gathered round, as near as the superintendent would let them approach, and I observed them closely, assuming that this incomprehensible move of Thorndyke’s...
12. Part 12“I am sorry to say he did,” replied Chapman. “On several occasions, and before witnesses, too, he threatened to put her out of the way. Of course he never meant it--he was reall...
13. Part 13“Quite sure. The appearance, through a powerful lens, is unmistakable. Tattoo-marks are made, as you know, of course, by painting Indian ink on the skin and pricking it in with...
14. Part 14“I have called,” he said, “to bring you a full report of the evidence at the inquest. I had a shorthand writer there, and this is a typed transcript of his notes. Nothing fresh...
15. Part 15By way of reply he slowly drew the object from its sheath, and as it came into sight, I uttered an exclamation of astonishment. To the inexpert eye it appeared an elongated body...
16. Part 16“Well,” I remarked as their retreating footsteps died away, “old Brodribb’s enthusiasm seems to have let you in for a queer sort of task; and I notice that you appear to have ac...
17. Part 17“Your evidence, then, amounts to this: On the night of Joseph Riggs’s death, there was a stranger in the house. That stranger was a negro, who seems to have wounded his head and...
18. Part 18“This is Mr. Elliott’s letter,” she said. “Merely a friendly reminder, you see, telling him that he is just off to the continent and that he has given his wife a power of attorn...
19. Part 19“But this was only theory. It had to be tested; and as we had Elliott’s address, I did the only thing that was possible. I employed our friend, ex-sergeant Barber, to watch the...