If the management of the Hotel Guelph, that London landmark, could have been present at three o’clock one afternoon in early January in the sitting-room of the suite which they had assigned to Mrs. El...

If the management of the Hotel Guelph, that London landmark, could have been present at three o’clock one afternoon in early January in the sitting-room of the suite which they had assigned to Mrs. El...

There are some situations in life so unexpected, so trying, that, as far as concerns our opinion of those subjected to them, we agree, as it were, not to count them; we refuse to allow the victim’s be...

I am strongly of the opinion that, after the age of twenty-one, a man ought not to be out of bed and awake at four in the morning. The hour breeds thought. At twenty-one, life being all future, it may...

I am strongly of the opinion that, after the age of twenty-one, a man ought not to be out of bed and awake at four in the morning. The hour breeds thought. At twenty-one, life being all future, it may...

I am strongly of the opinion that, after the age of twenty-one, a man ought not to be out of bed and awake at four in the morning. The hour breeds thought. At twenty-one, life being all future, it may...

The telephone bell rang just as I was getting ready to call at Marlow Square and inform Mrs. Drassilis of the position of affairs. Cynthia, I imagined, would have broken the news already, which would ...

Looking back, I think I can fix the point at which this insane venture I had undertaken ceased to be a distorted dream, from which I vaguely hoped that I might shortly waken, and took shape as a reali...

Sanstead House was an imposing building in the Georgian style. It stood, foursquare, in the midst of about nine acres of land. For the greater part of its existence, I learned later, it had been the p...

I have never kept a diary, and I have found it, in consequence, somewhat difficult, in telling this narrative, to arrange the minor incidents of my story in their proper sequence. I am writing by the ...

I owed it to my colleague Glossop that I was in the centre of the surprising things that occurred that night. By sheer weight of boredom, Glossop drove me from the house, so that it came about that, a...

I owed it to my colleague Glossop that I was in the centre of the surprising things that occurred that night. By sheer weight of boredom, Glossop drove me from the house, so that it came about that, a...

I was not in a condition to argue. Beyond a fleeting feeling that a liberty was being taken with me and that I was being treated unjustly, I do not remember resenting the command. I had no notion who ...

Of all the emotions which kept me awake that night, a vague discomfort and a feeling of resentment against Fate more than against any individual, were the two that remained with me next morning. Aston...

I give the letter in full. It was written from the S.Y. Mermaid, lying in Monaco Harbour. My dear Peter,⁠—Where is Ogden? We have been expecting him every day. Mrs. Ford is worrying herself to death. ...

I give the letter in full. It was written from the S.Y. Mermaid, lying in Monaco Harbour. My dear Peter,⁠—Where is Ogden? We have been expecting him every day. Mrs. Ford is worrying herself to death. ...

White, the butler, looking singularly unlike a detective⁠—which, I suppose, is how a detective wants to look⁠—was taking the air on the football field when I left the house next morning for a before-b...

Looking at it now I can see that the days which followed Audrey’s arrival at Sanstead marked the true beginning of our acquaintanceship. Before, during our engagement, we had been strangers, artificia...

That Buck MacGinnis was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet in a situation like the present one, I would have gathered from White’s remarks if I had not already done so from personal obse...

That Buck MacGinnis was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet in a situation like the present one, I would have gathered from White’s remarks if I had not already done so from personal obse...

The first thing that met my eyes as we entered the hall was the body of a man lying by the front door. The light of the lamp fell on his face and I saw that it was White. His hands and feet were tied....

The armchair critic, reviewing a situation calmly and at his ease, is apt to make too small allowances for the effect of hurry and excitement on the human mind. He is cool and detached. He sees exactl...

It was only after many hours of thought that it had flashed upon me that the simplest and safest way of removing the Little Nugget was to induce him to remove himself. Once the idea had come, the rest...

It was only after many hours of thought that it had flashed upon me that the simplest and safest way of removing the Little Nugget was to induce him to remove himself. Once the idea had come, the rest...

When two emotions clash, the weaker goes to the wall. Any surprise I might have felt was swallowed up in my relief. If I had been at liberty to be astonished, my companion’s information would no doubt...

When Sam had left, which he did rather in the manner of a heavy father in melodrama, shaking the dust of an erring son’s threshold off his feet, I mixed myself a highball, and sat down to consider the...

Considering the various handicaps under which he laboured⁠—notably a cold in the head, a fear of the Little Nugget, and a reverence for the aristocracy⁠—Mr. Abney’s handling of the situation, when the...

In those grey days there was one thought, of the many that occupied my mind, which brought with it a certain measure of consolation. It was the reflection that this state of affairs could not last for...

In those grey days there was one thought, of the many that occupied my mind, which brought with it a certain measure of consolation. It was the reflection that this state of affairs could not last for...

We had now arrived at the last week of term, at the last days of the last week. The holiday spirit was abroad in the school. Among the boys it took the form of increased disorderliness. Boys who had h...

I evacuated Sanstead House unostentatiously, setting off on foot down the long drive. My luggage, I gathered, was to follow me to the station in a cart. I was thankful to Providence for the small merc...

At the receipt of custom behind the bar sat Miss Benjafield, stately as ever, relaxing her massive mind over a penny novelette. “Who was the man who just left, Miss Benjafield?” I asked. She marked th...

At the receipt of custom behind the bar sat Miss Benjafield, stately as ever, relaxing her massive mind over a penny novelette. “Who was the man who just left, Miss Benjafield?” I asked. She marked th...

Sam came first. His raised hands gave him a vaguely pontifical air (Bishop Blessing Pilgrims), and the kindly smile he wore heightened the illusion. Mr. MacGinnis, who followed, suggested no such idea...

“What shall we do?” said Audrey. She looked at me hopefully, as if I were a mine of ideas. Her voice was level, without a suggestion of fear in it. Women have the gift of being courageous at times whe...

“What shall we do?” said Audrey. She looked at me hopefully, as if I were a mine of ideas. Her voice was level, without a suggestion of fear in it. Women have the gift of being courageous at times whe...

I should like to think that it was an unselfish desire to spare my companions anxiety that made me keep my discovery to myself. But I am afraid that my reticence was due far more to the fact that I sh...

In my recollections of that strange night there are wide gaps. Trivial incidents come back to me with extraordinary vividness; while there are hours of which I can remember nothing. What I did or wher...

I was given no leisure for wondering how Cynthia’s mother came to be in the grounds of Sanstead House, for her companion, almost before the car had stopped, jumped out and clutched me by the arm, at t...

“No manners!” said Mrs. Drassilis. “None whatever. I always said so.” She spoke bitterly. She was following the automobile with an offended eye as it moved down the drive. The car rounded the corner. ...