THE
MARKENMORE
MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY STORIES OF

J. S. FLETCHER

“Mr. Fletcher is a master of plot, and he never goes beyond the bounds of reason in its procedure and development. He, moreover, can write the English language as a vital means to the end both of narrative and description, and he never fails to show that he is its master. It is therefore a pleasure to read his stories, not merely for their entertaining qualities, but also for the agreeable appeal of their manner and their style.”

—Boston Evening Transcript

THE MIDDLE TEMPLE MURDER [1918]
THE TALLEYRAND MAXIM [1920]
THE PARADISE MYSTERY [1920]
DEAD MEN’S MONEY [1920]
THE ORANGE YELLOW DIAMOND [1921]
THE CHESTERMARKE INSTINCT [1921]
THE BOROUGH TREASURER [1921]
THE HERAPATH PROPERTY [1921]
SCARHAVEN KEEP [1922]
THE RAYNER-SLADE AMALGAMATION [1922]
RAVENSDENE COURT [1922]
THE MIDDLE OF THINGS [1922]
THE LOST MR. LINTHWAITE [1923]
EXTERIOR TO THE EVIDENCE [1923]
THE MARKENMORE MYSTERY [1923]
THE WOLVES AND THE LAMB [In Preparation]
THE KING VERSUS WARGRAVE [In Preparation]

NEW YORK: ALFRED • A • KNOPF

THE
MARKENMORE
MYSTERY

BY

J. S. FLETCHER

NEW YORK

ALFRED • A • KNOPF

MCMXXIII

COPYRIGHT, 1923. BY ALFRED A. KNOPF, INC.

Published September. 1923

Set up, electrotyped, and printed by the Vail-Ballou Co., Binghamton, N. Y.
Paper furnished by W. F. Etherington & Co., New York.
Bound by H. Wolff Estate, New York.

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CONTENTS

I [Two Wanderers Return]
II [The Butler's Pantry]
III [Grey Dawn]
IV [Markenmore Hollow]
V [Denounced]
VI [The Coroner Sits]
VII [Mrs. Braxfield Supports]
VIII [The Incriminating Letter]
IX [The Midnight Meeting]
X [The Ring and the Pipe]
XI [First Steps]
XII [The Dower House]
XIII [William Pegge]
XIV [Gone]
XV [Was It Robbery?]
XVI [Family Matters]
XVII [Too Late]
XVIII [Deep Lane]
XIX [Under Pressure]
XX [Village Gossip]
XXI [Arrest]
XXII [Mrs. Braxfield's Move]
XXIII [The Professorial Theory]
XXIV [The Man Who Could Guess]
XXV [The Devil's Grip]

CHAPTER I