COLONEL SANDERSTEAD looked gloomily at his wrist-watch for the third time. Punctual to a second himself, he expected an equal clockwork precision from others; and even his long series of disappointments in the matter had failed to reconcile him to humanity’s slipshod methods. He gave another glance down the empty avenue which fell away from the terrace of the Manor towards the gates on the Fernhurst Parva road; then he addressed the dog at his side:“If that young man doesn’t put in ...

PAUL FORDINGBRIDGE, with a faintly reproachful glance at his sister, interrupted his study of the financial page of The Times and put the paper down on his knee. Deliberately he removed his reading-glasses; replaced them by his ordinary spectacles; and then turned to the restless figure at the window of the private sitting-room.“Well, Jay, you seem to have something on your mind. Would it be too much to ask you to say it— whatever it is— and then let me read my paper comfortably? On...

Neville Shandon stood at the window of his brother’s study gazing contentedly out over the Whistlefield grounds. This was a good place to recuperate in, he reflected, especially when one could only snatch a couple of days at a time from the grinding pressure of a barrister’s practice. His eye travelled slowly over the prospect of greenery which lay before him, lawn beyond lawn, down to where a glint of silver showed where the river cut across the estate. Beyond that came the stretches of t...

Next morning I still felt the effects of the shock; and decided not to go to my office. I stayed indoors all day. When the evening papers came, I found in them brief accounts of the fire-ball; and in one case there was an article by Wotherspoon under the heading: “Well-known Scientist’s Strange Experience.” One or two reporters called at my house later in the day in search of copy, but I sent them on to Cumberland Terrace. In some of the reports I figured as “a well-known motor manufacture...

Dr. Ringwood pushed his chair back from the dinner-table. A glance at the clock on the mantelpiece told him that on this evening he had been even later than usual in getting home for dinner. The expression in his eyes showed that he had gone short of sleep for some time past; and when he rose to his feet, every movement betrayed his over-tired condition.“Bring my coffee to the study, please, Shenstone,” he ordered. “And you might take the telephone in there as well.”He crosse...

Paul Fordingbridge, with a faintly reproachful glance at his sister, interrupted his study of the financial page of The Times and put the paper down on his knee. Deliberately he removed his reading-glasses; replaced them by his ordinary spectacles; and then turned to the restless figure at the window of the private sitting-room.“Well, Jay, you seem to have something on your mind. Would it be too much to ask you to say it—whatever it is—and then let me read my paper comfortably? One ...

Every Sunday on Radio Ardennes, the Counsellor had his hour. His voice clear, expressive and sympathetic as it answered a selection of the queries that crowded his post-bag.'Just ask a question' was his motto. But even he did not expect Wallace Whatgift to ask for his help in solving the mysterious disappearance of a young woman.

Philip Castleford was more than worried. Were all those years he had spent attending to Winifred's whims, enduring her habits, to count for nothing? He hadn't minded it too much for he thought that his daughter Hilary would have security - but now he found her shabbily treated and his own position undermined by his wife's grasping brothers.Such were the affairs at Carron Hill one fine morning when Winifred was discovered murdered in the deserted summer house ...

When Pickford's body was found hanging from a beam in his garage, Inspector Loxton was sure that it was a case of suicide following a series of financial and domestic worries.Then came the criminologist with his slogan, 'Common sense is all you need', and in ten minutes he upset the inspector's hypothesis. Further evidence pointed so clearly in one direction that the arrest and the conviction of the criminal seemed almost a matter of form.But both the Inspector and the expe...

The Constable was content to call it a suicide pact. All the evidence was there. The bodies of John Barratt and Mrs Callis were discovered in a lovers' nook among some bracken.Beside them was a pistol with Barratt's fingerprints on it, and torn up letters in the handwriting of Barratt and Mrs Callis were scattered around. Arrangements for the elopement had apparently been complete. Why had their plans fallen through? Why had they turned their backs on the railway station with ticke...

In the first place there was the Dangerfield Talisman, an ancient golden armlet set with diamonds and valued at $50,000 - an unguarded treasure, which, although stolen more than once, always came back. Second was the Dangerfield Secret.The last thief of the talisman has been found on the lawn of Old Rollo Dangerfield's home, dead of a heart attack. And in unearthing the mystery a whole series of bewildering complications unfolds ...'Specially ingenious'

'Mr J. J. Connington is a name revered by all specialists on detective fiction' SpectatorWhen Sir Clinton Driffield travels to the village of Raynham Parva to visit his sister, he little imagines that his latest case will involve his own family. His niece has married an Argentinian, and the village is soon filled with exotic incomers, one of whom appears to have been a foreign agent.This unusual case presents Sir Clinton with three interlocking mysteries, which lea...