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John Thorndyke's Casesrelated By: R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943) |
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RELATED BY CHRISTOPHER JERVIS, M.D. AND EDITED BY R. AUSTIN FREEMAN
AUTHOR OF "THE GOLDEN POOL," ETC. WITH SIX ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. M. BROCK, AND
NINE FROM PHOTOGRAPHS, ETC.
[Illustration: PROFESSOR POPPELBAUM IS ENLIGHTENED.]
TO MY FRIEND FRANK STANDFIELD IN MEMORY OF MANY A PLEASANT EVENING
SPENT WITH MICROSCOPE AND CAMERA
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED
PREFACE
The stories in this collection, inasmuch as they constitute a somewhat
new departure in this class of literature, require a few words of
introduction. The primary function of all fiction is to furnish
entertainment to the reader, and this fact has not been lost sight of.
But the interest of so called "detective" fiction is, I believe, greatly
enhanced by a careful adherence to the probable, and a strict avoidance
of physical impossibilities; and, in accordance with this belief, I have
been scrupulous in confining myself to authentic facts and practicable
methods. The stories have, for the most part, a medico legal motive, and
the methods of solution described in them are similar to those employed
in actual practice by medical jurists. The stories illustrate, in fact,
the application to the detection of crime of the ordinary methods of
scientific research. I may add that the experiments described have in
all cases been performed by me, and that the micro photographs are, of
course, from the actual specimens. I take this opportunity of thanking those of my friends who have in
various ways assisted me, and especially the friend to whom I have
dedicated this book; by whom I have been relieved of the very
considerable labour of making the micro photographs, and greatly
assisted in procuring and preparing specimens. I must also thank Messrs.
Pearson for kindly allowing me the use of Mr. H. M. Brock's admirable
and sympathetic drawings, and the artist himself for the care with which
he has maintained strict fidelity to the text. R. A. F. Gravesend,
September 21, 1909 .
CONTENTS
I. THE MAN WITH THE NAILED SHOES
II. THE STRANGER'S LATCHKEY
III. THE ANTHROPOLOGIST AT LARGE
IV. THE BLUE SEQUIN
V. THE MOABITE CIPHER
VI. THE MANDARIN'S PEARL
VII. THE ALUMINIUM DAGGER
VIII. A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP SEA
ILLUSTRATIONS
PROFESSOR POPPLEBAUM IS ENLIGHTENED, Frontispiece
PLAN OF ST. BRIDGET'S BAY
THE SERGEANT'S SKETCH
FLUFF FROM KEY BARREL
THE STRANGER IS RUN TO EARTH
TRANSVERSE SECTIONS OF HUMAN HAIR
THORNDYKE'S STRATEGY
THE DISCOVERY
THE MOABITE CIPHRE
THE PROFESSOR'S ANALYSIS
THE APPARITION IN THE MIRROR
THE ALUMINUM DAGGER
THE SAND FROM THE MURDERED WOMAN'S PILLOW
HUMAN HAIR, SHOWING ROOTS
SUPERINTENDENT MILLER RISES TO THE OCCASION
JOHN THORNDYKE'S CASES
I THE MAN WITH THE NAILED SHOES
There are, I suppose, few places even on the East Coast of England more
lonely and remote than the village of Little Sundersley and the country
that surrounds it. Far from any railway, and some miles distant from any
considerable town, it remains an outpost of civilization, in which
primitive manners and customs and old world tradition linger on into an
age that has elsewhere forgotten them. In the summer, it is true, a
small contingent of visitors, adventurous in spirit, though mostly of
sedate and solitary habits, make their appearance to swell its meagre
population, and impart to the wide stretches of smooth sand that fringe
its shores a fleeting air of life and sober gaiety; but in late
September the season of the year in which I made its acquaintance its
pasture lands lie desolate, the rugged paths along the cliffs are seldom
trodden by human foot, and the sands are a desert waste on which, for
days together, no footprint appears save that left by some passing
sea bird. I had been assured by my medical agent, Mr. Turcival, that I should find
the practice of which I was now taking charge "an exceedingly soft
billet, and suitable for a studious man;" and certainly he had not
misled me, for the patients were, in fact, so few that I was quite
concerned for my principal, and rather dull for want of work... Continue reading book >>
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Fiction |
Literature |
Mystery |
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