Transcriber's Notes: 1. Page scan source: Google Books https://books.google.com/books?id=kxgZAAAAYAAJ (The Boston-Library Society) THE CLOCK STRUCK ONE. THE CLOCK STRUCK ONE. BY FERGUS HUME, AUTHOR OF "THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB," "TRACKED BY A TATTOO," "THE CARBUNCLE CLUE," ETC., ETC. LONDON: FREDERICK WARNE AND CO. AND NEW YORK. 1898. [_All rights reserved_.] CONTENTS CHAPTER I. DIANA ON A BICYCLE II. THE STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF DR. SCOTT III. TO EVERY MAN HIS OWN FEAR IV. MORE MYSTERIES V. MR. EDERMONT'S HIGH SPIRITS VI. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NIGHT VII. A NINE DAYS' SCANDAL VIII. THE WILL OF JULIAN EDERMONT IX. AN AMAZING REWARD X. DR. SCOTT IS STILL OBSTINATE XI. PREPARING THE GROUND XII. A TERRIBLE ACCUSATION XIII. DENIAL XIV. WHAT DR. SCOTT SAW XV. THE PEARL BROOCH XVI. DORA IS STARTLED XVII. A STORY OF THE PAST XVIII. PALLANT MAKES A STATEMENT XIX. MORE MYSTERIES XX. THE SINS OF THE FATHER XXI. SO NEAR, AND YET SO FAR XXII. WHAT DORA DISCOVERED XXIII. THE MADNESS OF LAMBERT JOAD XXIV. THE STOLEN MANUSCRIPT XXV. CONFESSION XXVI. A FINAL SURPRISE THE CLOCK STRUCK ONE CHAPTER I. DIANA ON A BICYCLE. Over the bridge which spans the railway two miles from Canterbury a girl was riding a bicycle. She was perfect mistress of her machine--and nerves; for on the slope of the hill she let the wheels run freely, and did not trouble to use the brake. The white dust clouded the air as she spun down to the level; and the heat of the day--a July noon--was so great that she was fain to dismount for the sake of coolness. A wayside fence offered a tempting seat; and, with a questioning glance to right and left, the girl balanced herself lightly on the topmost rail. Here she perched in a meditative fashion, and fanned her flushed face with her straw hat. A pretty girl in so unconventional a position, unchaperoned and fearless, would have shocked the susceptibilities of our grandmothers. But this is the age of the New Woman, and the girl was a type of her epoch.