The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Vanishing Man, by R. Austin Freeman

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Title: The Vanishing Man

Author: R. Austin Freeman

Release Date: December 16, 2003 [eBook #10476]

Language: English

Character set encoding: US-ASCII

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VANISHING MAN***

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THE VANISHING MAN

A Detective Romance

BY R. AUSTIN FREEMAN

1911

TO MY FRIEND

A.E.B.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I THE VANISHING MAN
II THE EAVESDROPPER
III JOHN THORNDYKE
IV LEGAL COMPLICATIONS AND A JACKAL
V THE WATERCRESS-BED
VI SIDELIGHTS
VII JOHN BELLINGHAM'S WILL
VIII A MUSEUM IDYLL
IX THE SPHINX OF LINCOLN'S INN
X THE NEW ALLIANCE
XI THE EVIDENCE REVIEWED
XII A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
XIII THE CROWNER'S QUEST
XIV WHICH CARRIES THE READER INTO THE
PROBATE COURT
XV CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE
XVI "O! ARTEMIDORUS, FAREWELL!"
XVII THE ACCUSING FINGER
XVIII JOHN BELLINGHAM
XIX A STRANGE SYMPOSIUM
XX THE END OF THE CASE

CHAPTER I

THE VANISHING MAN

The school of St. Margaret's Hospital was fortunate in its lecturer on
Medical Jurisprudence, or Forensic Medicine, as it is sometimes
described. At some schools the lecturer on this subject is appointed
apparently for the reason that he lacks the qualifications to lecture on
any other. But with us it was very different: John Thorndyke was not
only an enthusiast, a man of profound learning and great reputation, but
he was an exceptional teacher, lively and fascinating in style and of
endless resources. Every remarkable case that had ever been recorded he
appeared to have at his fingers' ends; every fact--chemical, physical,
biological, or even historical--that could in any way be twisted into a
medico-legal significance, was pressed into his service; and his own
varied and curious experiences seemed as inexhaustible as the widow's
cruse. One of his favourite devices for giving life and interest to a
rather dry subject was that of analysing and commenting upon
contemporary cases as reported in the papers (always, of course, wit