The Project Gutenberg EBook of Colonel Thorndyke's Secret, by G. A. Henty

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Title: Colonel Thorndyke's Secret

Author: G. A. Henty

Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8155]
Posting Date: July 23, 2009

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLONEL THORNDYKE'S SECRET ***

Produced by Martin Robb

COLONEL THORNDYKE'S SECRET

By G. A. Henty.

PUBLISHER'S INTRODUCTION.

"Colonel Thorndyke's Secret" is a story so far out of the ordinary that
it will not be inappropriate to speak a few words regarding the tale and
its unusually successful author, Mr. George Alfred Henty.

The plot of the story hinges upon the possession of a valuable bracelet,
of diamonds, stolen from a Hindoo idol by a British soldier in India.
This bracelet falls into the possession of Colonel Thorndyke, who,
shortly afterward, is sent home to England because of his wounds. The
secret concerning the bracelet is told to the Colonel's brother, a
country squire, and the treasure is left to younger members of the
Thorndyke family.

As is well known today, the theft of anything from a Hindoo temple is
considered an extraordinary crime in India, and when this occurs it
becomes a religious duty for one or more persons to hunt down the thief
and bring back the property taken from the heathen god.

The members of the Thorndyke family soon learn that they are being
watched. But this is at a time when highwaymen are numerous in this part
of England, and they cannot determine whether the work is that of the
"knights of the roads" or that of the Lascars after the famous bracelet.
A mysterious death follows, and the younger members of the family are
almost stunned, not knowing what will happen next. They would give the
bracelet up, but do not know where it is hidden, the secret having been
in the sole possession of the member now dead. In this quandary the
young hero of the tale rises to the occasion and determines to join the
London police force and become a detective, with the hope of ultimately
clearing up the mystery. Thrilling adventures of a most unusual kind
follow, and at last something of the mystery is explained. The brace