Transcriber's Note: 1. Page scan source: La Trobe University arrow.latrobe.edu.au:8080/vital/access/manager/.../ latrobe:34623?sort=ss... (Australia) THE PINK SHOP THE PINK SHOP BY FERGUS HUME AUTHOR OF "THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB," "HIGH WATER MARK," "THE WHITE ROOM," "THE TOP DOG," ETC., ETC. LONDON F. V. WHITE & CO., LTD. 17 BUCKINGHAM STREET, STRAND, W.C. 1911 CONTENTS CHAP. I. IN THE EVENING II. IN THE MORNING III. THE LOST BAG IV. THE INQUEST V. SIR JOSEPH'S INTENTIONS VI. AUDREY'S KNIGHT ERRANT VII. THE LADY DETECTIVE VIII. A MYSTERIOUS COMMUNICATION IX. THE QUESTION OF THE CLOCK X. A SURPRISE XI. A STORY OF THE PAST XII. THE UNKNOWN CUSTOMER XIII. A BLIND CLUE XIV. AN AMAZING DISCOVERY XV. RALPH'S SUSPICION XVI. A DILEMMA XVII. WHAT AUDREY OVERHEARD XVIII. A LEGAL OPINION XIX. MATRIMONIAL ARRANGEMENTS XX. A MUSIC HALL ARTIST XXI. THE MARRIAGE XXII. THE PHOTOGRAPH XXIII. ONE PART OF THE TRUTH XXIV. ANOTHER PART OF THE TRUTH XXV. REVENGE XXVI. FINAL EXPLANATIONS THE PINK SHOP CHAPTER I IN THE EVENING Madame Coralie was a magician. Emulating the dark-browed Medea, she restored the aged to their pristine youth; but her methods were more painless and less thorough than those of the lady from Colchis. That enchantress chopped up the senile who sought her aid, and boiled their fragments in a cauldron, so that they reappeared juvenile to the marrow of their bones; whereas her modern representative dealt only with externals, and painted rather than rebuilt the ruined house of life. Moreover, Medea exercised her arts on men, while Madame Coralie attended exclusively to women. Numberless elderly dames, both in Society and out of it, owed their surprising looks of youth and beauty to the mistress of the Turkish Shop. It was situated in a mean little lane, leading from the High Street, Kensington, to nowhere in particular; and was, to the faded belles of Mayfair, a veritable fountain of youth, hidden in a shady corner. Ladies entered the shop old, and came out young; they left their broughams ugly, and returned beautiful.