Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: {uncaptioned}] THE FLORENTINE DAGGER _A Novel for Amateur Detectives_ BY BEN HECHT [Illustration: Publisher logo] BONI AND LIVERIGHT Publishers New York _Copyright, 1923, by_ Boni and Liveright, Inc. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO JOSEPHINE DITRICHSTEIN, who graciously promised to read my next book, providing, of course, it was a mystery story WALLACE SMITH’S ILLUSTRATIONS The five illustrations contained in the following pages, and the jacket design, are the work of the new phenomenal black and white artist, Wallace Smith. In making the drawings Mr. Smith chose to illustrate the spirit of the text rather than its letter. The result is this series of Renaissance pictures whose dark opulence curiously interprets the moods of the story’s hero, Prince Julien de Medici—of Broadway. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Velvet Souls 17 Containing a nervous cavalier with frightened eyes. Introducing a mysterious and puritanical satyr. And discussing the tired ghosts that haunted the heart of Julien De Medici. II. The Veiled Aphrodite 30 In which a lady of barbaric eyes smiles, sighs, and weeps. In which Eros obliges with a saxophone solo. A morning of golden shadows and an off-stage pizzicato. III. Murder 38 In which Julien De Medici collides with a tantalizing corpse. In which a dagger, a candlestick, a crucifix, and a false beard mumble incoherently. IV. The Empty Web 51 In which a detective weaves a theory. In which Julien De Medici stares at a clew. In which Pandora raises a warning finger to her lips. A table set for two, an initialed purse, an ancient theater program—but the story waits. V. Questions and Answers 72 In which the world wags its callous tongue. In which dénouements thumb their noses at each other. In which Julien De Medici succumbs to a delicious madness. A Jesuitical policeman and an ambitious coroner flirt coyly with an Enigma.