Chapter I: Front Matter

[Frontispiece: "Good God, Morbley! Did You Do This?" Page 92]

THE SILVER BLADE

_THE TRUE CHRONICLE OF A
DOUBLE MYSTERY_

BY

CHARLES EDMONDS WALK

_WITH FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR
BY A. B. WENZELL_

CHICAGO
A. C. McCLURG & CO.
1908

COPYRIGHT
A. C. McCLURG & Co.
1906

Published March 18, 1908
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, Eng.
_All Rights Reserved._

The Lakeside Press
R. R. DONNELLY & SONS COMPANY
CHICAGO

TO THE MEMORY OF MY BROTHER

GEORGE EDWARD WALK

WHOSE INTEREST IN THE GROWTH OF THIS STORY
WAS NOT THE LEAST INCENTIVE
TO ITS COMPLETION

CONTENTS

_BOOK I. A DUPLEX PROBLEM_

CHAPTER

I. Exit Señor de Sanchez
II. The First Problem Develops
III. A Search for Clues
IV. Mr. Converse Appears as Chorus
V. A Telegram from Mexico
VI. The Inquest
VII. The Verdict
VIII. Cherchez la Femme
IX. The Second Problem
X. Footprints
XI. A Burnt Fragment
XII. A Door is Opened

_BOOK II. CHARLOTTE FAIRCHILD_

I. Miss Charlotte Waits in the Hall
II. Miss Charlotte Entertains a Caller
III. "Paquita--What Do You Spell?"
IV. Miss Charlotte Becomes a Factor
V. A Decision and a Letter
VI. Faint Rays from Strange Sources
VII. A Voice in the Night
VIII. The Coroner's Coup
IX. The Light Brightens--and Dims

_BOOK III. SLADE'S BLESSING_

I. Opening Ways
II. Fairchild Redivivus
III. "The Thunderbolt Has Fallen"
IV. Some Loose Ends
V. Mr. Slade Resigns
VI. An Arrest
VII. "Slade's Blessing"

_BOOK IV. THE DANCER AND THE MOUNTEBANK_

I. "That Is Paquita"
II. The Serpent Strikes
III. Which Is the Last

ILLUSTRATIONS

"Good God, Mobley! Did you do this?" ... Frontispiece

Captain Converse was endowed with the impassiveness of an Indian, nor could one imagine him agitated in any circumstances

Joyce was herself a mystery, an enigma, as inscrutable as "Paquita"

Mr. Mountjoy's thin, handsome features were saved from asceticism only by the lines of humor about his eyes

At times Charlotte became beautiful; a warm tide of color mounted to her cheeks; her head became regally erect

LIST OF CHARACTERS

GEN. PEYTON WESTBROOK, a gentleman of the Old South.
MRS. WESTBROOK, his wife.
DR. MOBLEY WESTBROOK, their son.
JOYCE, Mobley's sister.
MRS. ELINOR FAIRCHILD, a widow of fallen fortunes.
CLAY, her son.
"MISS CHARLOTTE," Clay's sister.
JOHN CONVERSE, Captain of Detectives.
MR. MOUNTJOY, the District Attorney.
MR. MERKEL, the Coroner.
J. HOWARD LYNDEN, a cotton-broker.
SENOR JUAN DE VARGAS Y ESCOLADO, otherwise known
as Señor Vargas, a Mexican capitalist.
WILLIAM SLADE, an abstracter of titles.
ABRAM FOLLETT, a dealer in worn-out utilities.
ROBERT NETTLETON, a lawyer.
FERDINAND HOWE, a banker.
HARRY MCCALEB }
SEPTIMUS ADAMS } serving under Capt. Converse.
SAM }
JOE } faithful servants.
MELISSA }
POLLY ANN }

THE PLACE: A City in the South.
TIME: The Present.

BOOK I.

A DUPLEX PROBLEM

_Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand?_
--MACBETH.

THE SILVER BLADE