The Clue of the Twisted Candle

Detective mystery story set in London, with some romance, and intriguing plot.

The 4.15 from Victoria to Lewes had been held up at Three Bridges in consequence of a derailment and, though John Lexman was fortunate enough to catch a belated connection to Beston Tracey, the wagonette which was the sole communication between the village and the outside world had gone.

“If you can wait half an hour, Mr. Lexman,” said the station-master, “I will telephone up to the village and get Briggs to come down for you.”

John Lexman looked out upon the dripping landscape and shrugged his shoulders.

“I'll walk,” he said shortly and, leaving his bag in the station-master's care and buttoning his mackintosh to his chin, he stepped forth resolutely into the rain to negotiate the two miles which separated the tiny railway station from Little Tracey.

The downpour was incessant and likely to last through the night. The high hedges on either side of the narrow road were so many leafy cascades; the road itself was in places ankle deep in mud. He stopped under the protecting cover of a big tree to fill and light his pipe and with its bowl turned downwards continued his walk. But for the driving rain which searched every crevice and found every chink in his waterproof armor, he preferred, indeed welcomed, the walk.

The road from Beston Tracey to Little Beston was associated in his mind with some of the finest situations in his novels. It was on this road that he had conceived “The Tilbury Mystery.” Between the station and the house he had woven the plot which had made “Gregory Standish” the most popular detective story of the year. For John Lexman was a maker of cunning plots.

If, in the literary world, he was regarded by superior persons as a writer of “shockers,” he had a large and increasing public who were fascinated by the wholesome and thrilling stories he wrote, and who held on breathlessly to the skein of mystery until they came to the denouement he had planned.

But no thought of books, or plots, or stories filled his troubled mind as he strode along the deserted road to Little Beston. He had had two interviews in London, one of which under ordinary circumstances would have filled him with joy: He had seen T. X. and “T. X.” was T. X. Meredith, who would one day be Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department and was now an Assistant Commissioner of Police, engaged in the more delicate work of that department.

In his erratic, tempestuous way, T. X. had suggested the greatest idea for a plot that any author could desire. But it was not of T. X. that John Lexman thought as he breasted the hill, on the slope of which was the tiny habitation known by the somewhat magnificent title of Beston Priory.

It was the interview he had had with the Greek on the previous day which filled his mind, and he frowned as he recalled it. He opened the little wicket gate and went through the plantation to the house, doing his best to shake off the recollection of the remarkable and unedifying discussion he had had with the moneylender.

Beston Priory was little more than a cottage, though one of its walls was an indubitable relic of that establishment which a pious Howard had erected in the thirteenth century. A small and unpretentious building, built in the Elizabethan style with quaint gables and high chimneys, its latticed windows and sunken gardens, its rosary and its tiny meadow, gave it a certain manorial completeness which was a source of great pride to its owner.

He passed under the thatched porch, and stood for a moment in the broad hallway as he stripped his drenching mackintosh.

The hall was in darkness. Grace would probably be changing for dinner, and he decided that in his present mood he would not disturb her. He passed through the long passage which led to the big study at the back of the house. A fire burnt redly in the old-fashioned grate and the snug comfort of the room brought a sense of ease and relief. He changed his shoes, and lit the table lamp...

By : Edgar Wallace (1875 - 1932)

01 - Chapter 01



02 - Chapter 02



03 - Chapter 03



04 - Chapter 04



05 - Chapter 05



06 - Chapter 06



07 - Chapter 07



08 - Chapter 08



09 - Chapter 09



10 - Chapter 10



11 - Chapter 11



12 - Chapter 12



13 - Chapter 13



14 - Chapter 14



15 - Chapter 15



16 - Chapter 16



17 - Chapter 17



18 - Chapter 18



19 - Chapter 19



20 - Chapter 20



21 - Chapter 21 The Narrative of John Lexman



22 - Chapter 22



23 - Chapter 23

Comments

Random Post

  • Dudley bị ếm | Chương 1 | Harry Potter và Hội Phượng hoàng | Tập 5
    19.10.2023 - 0 Comments
    Harry Potter vẫn còn ở nhà dì dượng mình ở số 4 đường Privet Drive  và bị tách riêng ra khỏi  thế…
  • Les Misérables pour rire
    24.12.2019 - 0 Comments
    Vous n'avez jamais eu le temps de lire Les Misérables ? Eh bien, en voici l'occasion. Ces misérables-ci…
  • Nous deux
    30.08.2019 - 0 Comments
    « Riquette et Riquet s'aiment, c'est là l'important. Que voudriez-vous savoir de plus ? Comment ils se sont…
  • GRYFFINDOR & RAVENCLAW | Chương 13 | Harry Potter | Tên tù nhân ngục Azkaban | Tập 3
    18.10.2023 - 0 Comments
    Có vẻ như đó là kết thúc của tình bạn giữa Hermione và Ron. Người này tức giận người kia đến nổi Harry không…
  • Doomsday Eve
    09.10.2020 - 0 Comments
    In the midst of the war—that terrible conflict that threatened humanity's total destruction—the "new people"…
  • Extracts from Adam's Diary
    27.03.2020 - 0 Comments
    Extracts from Adam's Diary is a comic short story by the American humorist and writer Mark Twain. Adam…
  • Concerning Isabel Carnaby
    02.07.2021 - 0 Comments
    Isabel Carnaby returns from India. She starts looking for a place in upper class British society. At the…
  • Lives Of The Most Remarkable Criminals Who have been Condemned and Executed for Murder, the Highway, Housebreaking, Street Robberies, Coining or other offences
    26.11.2020 - 0 Comments
    "If there be a haunted spot in London it must surely be a few square yards that lie a little west of the…
  • Pollyanna
    06.11.2018 - 0 Comments
    Pollyanna tells the story of Pollyanna Whittier, a young girl who goes to live with her wealthy Aunt…
  • Christmas at Church
    16.12.2019 - 0 Comments
    Volunteers bring you 8 recordings of Christmas at Church by Hattie Howard. This Fortnightly Poem is taken…
  • Đoàn vệ sĩ tiên phong | Chương 3 | Harry Potter và Hội Phượng hoàng | Tập 5
    19.10.2023 - 0 Comments
    Harry ngay lập tức viết thư cho Sirius, Hermione và Ron sau bốn ngày bị nhốt trong phòng của mình, trong khi…
  • El 19 de Marzo y el 2 de Mayo
    04.05.2019 - 0 Comments
    El 19 de Marzo y el 2 de Mayo es la tercera novela de la primera serie de los Episodios Nacionales de…
  • The Book of Art for Young People
    16.10.2019 - 0 Comments
    This is a charming book on Art History for children (and everyone else). Each chapter focuses on a great…
  • Just As I Am
    04.11.2020 - 0 Comments
    The murder has finally been solved. After 20 years, Humphrey Vargas came with his dog, seemingly from no…
  • Chronicles of Avonlea
    03.11.2019 - 0 Comments
    Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories by L. M. Montgomery, related to the Anne of Green…
  • At The Sign of The Greedy Pig
    16.03.2021 - 0 Comments
    "Sometimes, in a mood of Spanish castles, there flits across my fancy the vision of an ancient city on a…