The Mystery of the Clasped Hands: A NovelBoothby, Guy
General
The Mystery of the Clasped Hands: A Novel
Boothby, Guy
Detective and mystery stories; Fiction
Then, bidding her give the key to the landlord when she left the studio,
he went out into the street, and jumped into a cab, which next moment
started off for the station. How was he to know that Teresina was lying
in a dead faint upon the studio floor?
When they left England for the Continent Godfrey had only the vaguest
notion of what they were going to do after they left Paris. Having spent
a fortnight in the French capital they journeyed on to Switzerland, put
in a month at Lucerne, three weeks in Rome, and found themselves, in the
middle of November, at Luxor, looking upon the rolling waters of the
Nile. Their sketch books were surfeited with impressions, and they
themselves were filled with a great content. They had both visited the
Continent on numerous occasions before, but this was the first time that
they had made the acquaintance of the “Land of the Pharaohs.” Godfrey
was delighted with everything he saw, and already he had the ideas for a
dozen new pictures in his head.
“I had no notion that any sunset could be so gorgeous,” he said one day,
when they sat together watching the ball of fire descend to his rest on
the western horizon of the desert. “The colours have not yet been
discovered that could possibly do it justice. For the future I shall
come out here every year.”
“Don’t be too sure, my friend,” said Fensden. “There was a time when
such a thing might have been possible, but circumstances have changed
with you. You are no longer the erratic Bohemian artist, remember, but a
man with a stake in the country, and a county magnate.”
“But what has the county magnate to do with the question at issue?”
Godfrey inquired.
“Everything in the world,” retorted his companion. “In virtue of your
new position you will have to marry. The future Mrs. Henderson, in all
probability, will also have a stake in the country. She will have great
ideas, moreover, connected with what she will term the improvement of
the land, and, beyond a trip to the Italian lakes at long intervals,
will not permit you to leave the country of her forefathers.”
“What a strange fellow you are, to be sure!” replied Godfrey. “To hear
you talk one would think that the possession of money--and, by Jove,
it’s a very decent thing to have when you come to consider it--must
necessarily relegate a man to the region of the commonplace. Why
shouldn’t I marry a girl who is fond of travelling?”
“Because, as a rule, Fate ordains otherwise,” Fensden replied. “I think
I can describe the sort of girl you will marry.”
“Then do so, by all means,” said Godfrey, “I’ll smoke another cigar
while you are arranging it.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account