Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber's Notes:
1. Page scan source:
http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-90469872
(National Library of Australia)

THE RED-HEADED MAN

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

CLAUDE DUVAL OF '95 _A ROMANCE OF THE ROAD_

Some Press Opinions

Athenæm.--"The book is cleverly written and will interest the reader who can forget its impossibilities."

Academy.--"The book is a story of modern highway robbery by a lady instead of a gentleman of the road."

Scotsman.--"A capital story of mystery, and unravelled with an entertaining thought."

Pall Mall Gazette.--"Mr. Fergus Hume has shown his wonted skill in steering his reader plausibly through the pitfalls of a tangled plot in his 'Claude Duval of Ninety-Five.' The conception of a mounted and masked highwayman in our own day is daring and original and is worked out with great ingenuity."

Daily Graphic.--"Mr. Fergus Hume starts with a good idea in his tale of a modern highwayman and he has crowded a variety of incidents into the pages of his book. The story opens dramatically and with some novelty."

Whitehall Review.--"A rattling romance of the road, well written, well conceived and capitally told. The present book is one of absorbing interest and it is impossible to put it aside until the last line is reached."

Black and White.--"There is abundant action and a well-sustained mystery in Mr. Fergus Hume's 'Claude Duval of '95."

Morning Post.--"Less characteristic than the majority of Mr. Hume's stories this 'Romance of the Road' is one of the most entertaining among them."

Gentlewoman.--"Mr. Hume's latest contribution to fiction 'Claude Duval of Ninety-Five' is a good honest tale of adventure which you cannot easily put by when you take it up."

Westminster Gazette.--"'Claude Duval of '95' is an excellent story."

Manchester Guardian.--"A female highwayman is a somewhat daring variety in fiction of which crime and audacity is the chief merit of Mr. Fergus Hume's latest work. Mr. Hume is a clever writer in a very fertile vein."

Literary World.--"In 'Claude Duval of Ninety-Five' we have a recendesence of highway robbery very skilfully contrived."

Weekly Sun.--"The plot is very cleverly worked out. The book is to be heartily commended as one of its author's masterpieces."

Literature.--"The story is novel, and is worked out into a present day environment with real dexterity."

Yorkshire Post.--"An entertaining romance which should agree with the prevailing mood of the libraries."

Observer.--"Mr. Hume's story will rank among the best of its type."

DIGBY, LONG & CO., PUBLISHERS, LONDON.

THE RED-HEADED MAN

BY FERGUS HUME

AUTHOR OF "_The Mystery of a Hansom Cab_," "_Claude Duval of '95_," "_A Masquerade Mystery_," "_The Rainbow Feather_," _etc._

London DIGBY, LONG & CO. 18 Bouverie Street, Fleet Street, E.C. 1899

CONTENTS

CHAP. I. AN EXTRAORDINARY CRIME II. THE BLONDE LADY III. MR. TORRY'S THEORY IV. THE DEAD MAN'S NAME V. "DE MORTIUS NIL NISI BONUM" VI. THE SECRETARY VII. EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST VIII. THE ROBBERY IX. CAPTAIN MANUEL X. DONNA MARIA XI. UNEXPECTED EVIDENCE XII. A CHANCE MEETING XIII. A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE XIV. THE SECRET SOCIETY XV. A WOMAN SCORNED XVI. THE TURQUOISE RING XVII. MORE MYSTERIES XVIII. A STRANGE OCCURRENCE XIX. ANOTHER PUZZLE XX. THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS XXI. DONNA MARIA EXPLAINS XXII. THE LOCKET XXIII. A CONFESSION XXIV. A QUEER MESSAGE XXV. THE MEETING IN HYDE PARK XXVI. CONCLUSION

THE RED-HEADED MAN