Ashton-Kirk, Criminologist

It is always a task of much difficulty to select an experience of Ashton-Kirk's from among the many which have been set down in the records under his name.

A maze of episodes in these records attracts the mind, and one finds there a train of singular adventures, any one of which would make a book. The experiences which go to make up the volume "Ashton-Kirk, Investigator" were chosen because they dealt with a rather arabesque murder, the hidden features of which were brought to light in an extraordinary way. In "Ashton-Kirk, Secret Agent," the elements seemed uniquely mixed, and shed an unusual light upon the windings of European diplomacy.

In the third volume, "Ashton-Kirk, Special Detective," the note of horror was rung shrilly, and the confident talents of this extraordinary young man were brought smartly into play. It may be that the appearance in this history of the detective's big, good-natured, strong-handed friend, Bat Scanlon, had something to do with its finding a place in this series. In the present book this engaging personality has again a part in the drama.

But aside from this influence, the episode makes a powerful appeal; the brilliancy of the criminologist's work in the case treated here would surely have compelled a place for it in any list of his experiences.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. THE GATHERING CLOUD 11

II. BAT SCANLON IS SURPRISED 21

III. THE CLOUD GROWS DARKER 32

IV. ASHTON-KIRK MAKES ONE VISIT, AND PLANS ANOTHER 50

V. THE HOUND AND THE SCENT 68

VI. ASHTON-KIRK ASKS QUESTIONS 79

VII. SOME NEW DEVELOPMENTS 88

VIII. SCANLON MAKES A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 100

IX. A PLACE OF FEAR 113

X. THROUGH THE WINDOW 124

XI. DENNISON TALKS ONCE MORE 132

XII. A DOUBLE SHADOW 142

XIII. SOMETHING UNEXPECTED 157

XIV. ASHTON-KIRK VISITS HEADQUARTERS 170

XV. SCANLON STATES HIS POSITION 179

XVI. "CONFESSED!" 192

XVII. THE WATERS ARE TROUBLED 203

XVIII. NORA GOES TO STANWICK 216

XIX. IN THE DARK 225

XX. QUEER INTELLIGENCE 234

XXI. WHAT THE BURGLAR SAID AT GAFFNEY'S 243

XXII. WHAT DANNY SAW AT QUIGLEY'S 260

XXIII. A WOMAN! 270

XXIV. MR. QUIGLEY IS INTERVIEWED 285

XXV. NORA TALKS AND SCANLON LISTENS 297

XXVI. CONCLUSION 309

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

HE WAS STEADFASTLY WATCHING THE GIRL Frontispiece

"EVERY CHAMBER LOADED" 74

HE LIFTED THE BLADE ONCE MORE 146

THEN THE DOOR SWUNG OPEN 294

CHAPTER I

THE GATHERING CLOUD

Impatiently, Ashton-Kirk threw down the last of the morning newspapers.

"Commonplace," said he. "And sordid. I am inclined to agree with De Quincey's 'Toad-in-the-Hole' that the age of great criminals has passed."

The man to whom he spoke sat opposite him in the lounging room of Scanlon's Gymnasium; a pair of puffy white hands were folded over a bloated paunch; he had a sodden air of over-feeding and over-stimulation.

"And a good job, too," spoke this gentleman. "We can get along very well without those fellows."

"I am not sure that I quite agree with that," said Ashton-Kirk. He lighted a cigar and its smoke drifted across the high ceilinged room. "Crimes are growing no fewer; and if we must have crimes I should personally prefer their perpetrators to have some little artistry."

The swollen gentleman grunted.

"You were always an odd kind of fish," said he. "But, you know, every one hasn't your love of this kind of thing."