The Gloved Hand

The Gloved Hand, by Burton E. Stevenson

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Title: The Gloved Hand
Author: Burton E. Stevenson
Release Date: September 4, 2004 [EBook #13372]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Illustration: Sparks fell upon the shoulders of two white-robed figures (page 9)]

THE GLOVED HAND
A DETECTIVE STORY
BY BURTON E. STEVENSON
Author of "The Holladay Case," "The Marathon Mystery," "The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet," etc.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THOMAS FOGARTY

1913

This story was published in The Popular Magazine under the title of "The Mind Master."

BY THE SAME AUTHOR
The Marathon Mystery The Holladay Case That Affair at Elizabeth Affairs of State At Odds with the Regent Cadets of Gascony The Path of Honor A Soldier of Virginia The Heritage The Quest for the Rose of Sharon The Girl with the Blue Sailor The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet The Gloved Hand

CONTENTS


CHAPTER
I
THE FALLING STAR II A STRANGE NEIGHBOUR III THE DRAMA IN THE GARDEN IV ENTER FREDDIE SWAIN V A CALL FOR HELP VI THE SCREAM IN THE NIGHT VII THE TRAGEDY VIII A FRESH ENIGMA IX FIRST STEPS X THE WHITE PRIEST OF SIVA XI SWAIN'S STORY XII GUESSES AT THE RIDDLE XIII FRANCISCO SILVA XIV THE FINGER-PRINTS XV THE CHAIN TIGHTENS XVI MISS VAUGHAN'S STORY XVII THE VERDICT XVIII BUILDING A THEORY XIX THE YOGI CONQUERS XX CHECKMATE! XXI THE VISION IN THE CRYSTAL XXII THE SUMMONS XXIII DEADLY PERIL XXIV KISMET! XXV THE BLOOD-STAINED GLOVE XXVI THE MYSTERY CLEARS XXVII THE END OF THE CASE

ILLUSTRATIONS
SPARKS FELL UPON THE SHOULDERS OF THE TWO WHITE FIGURES (page 9)
"I'M LAWYER ENOUGH TO KNOW," HE SAID, "THAT A QUESTION LIKE THAT IS NOT PERMISSIBLE"
"OH, MASTER RECEIVE ME!"
"I KNEW THAT I WAS LOST"


CHAPTER I
THE FALLING STAR
I was genuinely tired when I got back to the office, that Wednesday afternoon, for it had been a trying day--the last of the series of trying days which had marked the progress of the Minturn case; and my feeling of depression was increased by the fact that our victory had not been nearly so complete as I had hoped it would be. Besides, there was the heat; always, during the past ten days, there had been the heat, unprecedented for June, with the thermometer climbing higher and higher and breaking a new record every day.
As I threw off coat and hat and dropped into the chair before my desk, I could see the heat-waves quivering up past the open windows from the fiery street below. I turned away and closed my eyes, and tried to evoke a vision of white surf falling upon the beach, of tall trees swaying in the breeze, of a brook dropping gently between green banks.
"Fountains that frisk and sprinkle The moss they overspill; Pools that the breezes crinkle,"...
and then I stopped, for the door had opened. I unclosed my eyes to see the office-boy gazing at me in astonishment. He was a well-trained boy, and recovered himself in an instant.
"Your mail, sir," he said, laid it at my elbow, and went out.
I turned to the letters with an interest the reverse of lively. The words of Henley's ballade were still running through my head--
"Vale-lily and periwinkle; Wet stone-crop on the sill; The look of leaves a-twinkle With windlets,"...
Again I stopped, for again the door opened, and again the office-boy appeared.
"Mr. Godfrey, sir," he said, and close upon the words, Jim Godfrey entered, looking as fresh and cool and invigorating as the fountains and brooks and pools I had been thinking of.
"How do you do it, Godfrey?" I asked, as he sat down.
"Do what?"
"Keep so fit."
"By getting a good sleep every night. Do you?"
I groaned as I thought of the inferno I called my bedroom.
"I haven't really slept for a week," I said.
"Well, you're going to sleep to-night. That's the reason I'm here. I saw you in court this afternoon--one glance was enough."
"Yes," I assented; "one glance would be. But what's the proposition?"
"I'm staying at a little place I've leased for the summer up on the far edge of the Bronx. I'm going to take you up with me to-night and I'm going to keep you there till Monday. That will give you five nights' sleep and four days' rest. Don't you think you deserve it?"
"Yes," I agreed with conviction, "I do;" and I cast my mind rapidly over the affairs of the office. With the Minturn case ended, there was really no reason why I should not take a