The Riddle of the Frozen Flame

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The Riddle of the Frozen Flame

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Riddle of the Frozen Flame
by Mary E. Hanshew Thomas W. Hanshew
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Title: The Riddle of the Frozen Flame
Author: Mary E. Hanshew Thomas W. Hanshew
Illustrator: Walter De Maris
Release Date: November 29, 2005 [EBook #17180]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE RIDDLE OF THE FROZEN FLAME
By MARY E. & THOMAS W. HANSHEW
Author of "Cleek, the Man of Forty Faces," "Cleek of Scotland Yard," "Cleek's Government Cases," "The Riddle of the Night," "The Riddle of the Purple Emperor."
1929

A.L. BURT COMPANY New York Published by arrangement with Doubleday, Page & Company

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
The Law
II. The Frozen Flames
III. Sunshine and Shadow
IV. An Evil Genius
V. The Spectre at the Feast
VI. A Shot in the Dark
VII. The Watcher in the Shadow
VIII. The Victim
IX. The Second Victim
X. --And the Lady
XI. The Secret of the Flames
XII. "As a Thief in the Night--"
XIII. A Gruesome Discovery
XIV. The Spin of the Wheel
XV. A Startling Disclosure
XVI. Trapped!
XVII. In the Cell
XVIII. Possible Excitement
XIX. What Took Place at "The Pig and Whistle"
XX. At the Inquest
XXI. Questions--and Answers
XXII. A New Departure
XXIII. Prisoners
XXIV. In the Dark
XXV. The Web of Circumstance
XXVI. Justice--and Justification
XXVII. The Solving of the Riddle
XXVIII. "Toward Morning ..."

The Riddle of the Frozen Flame
CHAPTER I
THE LAW
Mr. Maverick Narkom, Superintendent of Scotland Yard, sat before the litter of papers upon his desk. His brow was puckered, his fat face red with anxiety, and there was about him the air of one who has reached the end of his tether.
He faced the man opposite, and fairly ground his teeth upon his lower lip.
"Dash it, Cleek!" he said for the thirty-third time, "I don't know what to make of it, I don't, indeed! The thing's at a deadlock. Hammond reports to me this morning that another bank in Hendon--a little one-horse affair--has been broken into. That makes the third this week, and as usual every piece of gold is gone. Not a bank note touched, not a bond even fingered. And the thief--or thieves--made as clean a get-away as you ever laid your eyes on! I tell you, man, it's enough to send an average person daft! The whole of Scotland Yard's been on the thing, and we haven't traced 'em yet! What do you make of it, old chap?"
"As pretty a kettle of fish as I ever came across," responded Cleek, with an enigmatic smile. "And I can't help having a sneaking admiration for the person who's engineering the whole thing. How he must laugh at the state of the old Yard, with never a clue to settle down upon, never a thread to pick up and unravel! All of which is unbusinesslike of me, I've no doubt. But, cheer up, man, I've a piece of news which ought to help matters on a bit. Just came from the War Office, you know."
Mr. Narkom mopped his forehead eagerly. The action was one which Cleek knew showed that every nerve was tense.
"Well, out with it, old chap! Anything to cast some light on the inexplicable thing. What did you learn at the War Office?"
"A good many things--after I had unravelled several hundred yards of red tape to get at 'em," said Cleek, still smiling. "Chief among them was this: Much English gold has been discovered in Belgium, Mr. Narkom, in connection with several big electrical firms engaged upon work out there. The Secret Service wired over that fact, and I got it first hand. Now it strikes me there must be some connection between the two things. These bank robberies point in one direction, and that is, that the gold is not for use in this country. Now let's hear the full account of this latest outrage. I'm all ears, as the donkey said to the ostrich. Fire away."
Mr. Narkom "fired away" forthwith. He was a bland, round little man, rather too fat for one's conceptions of what a policeman ought to be, yet with that lightness of foot that so many stout people seem to possess.
Cleek presented a keen contrast to him. His broad-shouldered, well-groomed person would have adorned any company. His head was well-set upon his neck, and his features at this moment were small and inclined to be aquiline. He had closely set ears that lay well back against his head, and his hands were slim and exceedingly well-kept. Of his age--well that, like himself, was an enigma. To-day