The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Woman in Black, by Edmund Clerihew Bentley

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Title: The Woman in Black

Author: Edmund Clerihew Bentley

Release Date: June 18, 2007 [EBook #21854]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE WOMAN IN BLACK

BY EDMUND CLERIHEW BENTLEY

Copyright, 1913, by
The Century Co.
NEW YORK
_Published, March, 1913_

"... So shall you hear
Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters,
Of deaths put on by cunning, and forc'd cause,
And, in this upshot, purposes mistook
Fall'n on the inventors' heads ..."

--_Hamlet_.

TO GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON

_My dear Gilbert_:

I dedicate this story to you. First: because the only really noble
motive I had in writing it was the hope that you would enjoy it. Second:
because I owe you a book in return for "The Man Who Was Thursday."
Third: because I said I would when I unfolded the plan of it to you,
surrounded by Frenchmen, two years ago. Fourth: because I remember the
past.

I have been thinking again to-day of those astonishing times when
neither of us ever looked at a newspaper; when we were purely happy in
the boundless consumption of paper, pencils, tea and our elders'
patience; when we embraced the most severe literature, and ourselves
produced such light reading as was necessary; when (in the words of
Canada's poet) we studied the works of nature, also those little frogs;
when, in short, we were extremely young.

For the sake of that age I offer you this book.

Yours always,
E. C. BENTLEY.

CONTENTS

Prologue

I Knocking the Town Endways

II Breakfast

III Handcuffs in the Air

IV Poking About

V Mr. Brunner on the Case

VI The Lady in Black

VII The Inquest

VIII A Hot Scent

IX The Wife of Dives

X Hitherto Un