Old Broadbrim Into the Heart of Australia: A Strange Bargain and Its Consequences

The 12th of April, 189, as Old Broadbrim, the famous Quaker detective, will ever remember, fell on a Thursday. Just after the noon hour on that day he received a letter asking him to come to one of the most elegant private residences on Fifth Avenue. He was sure no crime had been committed, and he was puzzled to guess just what the invitation meant. The owner of the mansion was Custer Kipp, one of the richest and best-known dwellers on the avenue, a man who counted his wealth almost by the tens of millions, so it was said at least, and the detective had seen him often on the street and in his elegant turnout in the parks. Old Broadbrim answered the letter in person, as was his wont. He reached the door of the mansion, and his ring was answered immediately, as if he was expected, and a servant conducted him into the library. In an armchair at the mahogany desk sat the millionaire. Custer Kipp was a man of sixty-three, a tall, slim, but handsome, person, and withal a person who was approachable to a fault. He was a widower at the time, and his only child was a son named Foster. This young man was not in at the time of the detective's call, and the only other person in the house who belonged to the household was the nabob's ward, Miss Nora Doon, a young lady just quitting her teens and the pet of the mansion. Custer Kipp smiled drearily when the figure of the Quaker crossed the threshold, and invited him to a seat near the desk. "I am glad you came," said he. "I sent word to my friend, the inspector, to send me one of his best men, and I am rejoiced that he saw fit to send you, of whom I have heard." Old Broadbrim bowed and waited. "My case is a peculiar one, and, perhaps, a little out of the line of your business. Do you ever play the part of Cerberus, Mr. Broadbrim?" "Not very often." "I thought not," smiled the millionaire. "I have no crime for you to unravel, but if things are permitted to drift as they are going just now, you will have a first-class mystery on your hands ere long."

Dettagli