Appletons'Town and CountryLibrary
No. 191
CHRONICLES
OF MARTIN HEWITT
BY
ARTHUR MORRISON
AUTHOR OF TALES OF MEAN STREETS, ETC.
NEW YORK
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
1896
Copyright, 1895, 1896,
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.
CONTENTS.
| PAGE | |
| The Ivy Cottage Mystery | 1 |
| The Nicobar Bullion Case | 42 |
| The Holford Will Case | 94 |
| The Case of the Missing Hand | 138 |
| The Case of Laker, Absconded | 187 |
| The Case of the Lost Foreigner | 228 |
CHRONICLES
OF MARTIN HEWITT.
THE IVY COTTAGE MYSTERY.
I had been working double tides for a month:at night on my morning paper, as usual; and in themorning on an evening paper as locum tenens for anotherman who was taking a holiday. This was anexhausting plan of work, although it only actuallyinvolved some six hours' attendance a day, or less,at the two offices. I turned up at the headquartersof my own paper at ten in the evening, and by thetime I had seen the editor, selected a subject, writtenmy leader, corrected the slips, chatted, smoked,and so on, and cleared off, it was very usually oneo'clock. This meant bed at two, or even three,after supper at the club.
This was all very well at ordinary periods, whenany time in the morning would do for rising, butwhen I had to be up again soon after seven, andround at the evening paper office by eight, I naturallyfelt a little worn and disgusted with things[Pg 2]by midday, after a sharp couple of hours' leaderettescribbling and paragraphing, with attendantsundries.
But the strain was over, and on the first day ofcomparative comfort I indulged in a midday breakfastand the first undisgusted glance at a morningpaper for a month. I felt rather interested in an inquest,begun the day before, on the body of a manwhom I had known very slightly before I took toliving in chambers.
His name was Gavin Kingscote, and he was anartist of a casual and desultory sort, having, I b