The Project Gutenberg eBook, Midnight, by Octavus Roy Cohen

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Title: Midnight

Author: Octavus Roy Cohen

Release Date: February 11, 2004 [eBook #11043]

Language: English

Character set encoding: US-ASCII

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIDNIGHT***

E-text prepared by Audrey Longhurst, Mary Meehan, and the Project
Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

MIDNIGHT

BY OCTAVUS ROY COHEN

Author of "THE CRIMSON ALIBI," "GRAY DUSK," ETC.

1921

TO DR. MILES A. WATKINS

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I OUT OF THE STORM

II THE SUIT-CASE IS OPENED

III "FIND THE WOMAN"

IV CARROLL HAS A VISITOR

V MISS EVELYN ROGERS

VI REGARDING ROLAND WARREN

VII THE VALET TALKS

VIII CARROLL MAKES A MOVE

XI ICE CREAM SODA

X A DISCOVERY

XI LOOSE ENDS

XII A CHALLENGE

XIII NO ALIBI

XIV THE SUIT-CASE AGAIN

XV A TALK WITH HAZEL GRESHAM

XVI THE WOMAN IN THE TAXI

XVII BARKER ACCUSES

XVIII "AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH--"

XIX LABYRINTH

XX A CONFESSION

XXI CARROLL DECIDES

XXII THE PROBLEM IS SOLVED

CHAPTER I

OUT OF THE STORM

Taxicab No. 92,381 skidded crazily on the icy pavement of Atlantic
Avenue. Spike Walters, its driver, cursed roundly as he applied the
brakes and with difficulty obtained control of the little closed car.
Depressing the clutch pedal, he negotiated the frozen thoroughfare and
parked his car in the lee of the enormous Union Station, which bulked
forbiddingly in the December midnight.

Atlantic Avenue was deserted. The lights at the main entrance of the
Union Station glowed frigidly. Opposite, a single arc-lamp on the corner
of Cypress Street cast a white, cheerless light on the gelid pavement.
The few stores along the avenue were dark, with the exception of the
warmly lighted White Star restaurant directly opposite the Stygian spot
where Spike's car was parked.

The city was in the grip of the first cold wave of the year. For two days
the rain had fallen--a nasty, drizzling rain which made the going soggy
and caused people to greet one another with frowns. Late that afternoon
the mercury had started a rapid do