The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dead Men's Money, by J. S. Fletcher

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Title: Dead Men's Money

Author: J. S. Fletcher

Release Date: May 3, 2004 [EBook #12239]
[Date last updated: March 5, 2005]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DEAD MEN'S MONEY ***

Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.

DEAD MEN'S MONEY

BY J.S. FLETCHER

1920

CONTENTS

I THE ONE-EYED MAN

II THE MIDNIGHT MISSION

III THE RED STAIN

IV THE MURDERED MAN

V THE BRASS-BOUND CHEST

VI MR. JOHN PHILLIPS

VII THE INQUEST ON JOHN PHILLIPS

VIII THE PARISH REGISTERS

IX THE MARINE-STORE DEALER

X THE OTHER WITNESS

XI SIGNATURES TO THE WILL

XII THE SALMON GAFF

XIII SIR GILBERT CARSTAIRS

XIV DEAD MAN'S MONEY

XV FIVE HUNDRED A YEAR

XVI THE MAN IN THE CELL

XVII THE IRISH HOUSEKEEPER

XVIII THE ICE AX

XIX MY TURN

XX THE SAMARITAN SKIPPER

XXI MR. GAVIN SMEATON

XXII I READ MY OWN OBITUARY

XXIII FAMILY HISTORY

XXIV THE SUIT OF CLOTHES

XXV THE SECOND DISAPPEARANCE

XXVI MRS. RALSTON OF CRAIG

XXVII THE BANK BALANCE

XXVIII THE HATHERCLEUGH BUTLER

XXIX ALL IN ORDER

XXX THE CARSTAIRS MOTTO

XXXI NO TRACE

XXXII THE LINK

XXXIII THE OLD TOWER

XXXIV THE BARGAIN

XXXV THE SWAG

XXXVI GOLD

XXXVII THE DARK POOL

CHAPTER I

THE ONE-EYED MAN

The very beginning of this affair, which involved me, before I was aware
of it, in as much villainy and wickedness as ever man heard of, was, of
course, that spring evening, now ten years ago, whereon I looked out of
my mother's front parlour window in the main street of Berwick-upon-Tweed
and saw, standing right before the house, a man who had a black patch
over his left eye, an old plaid thrown loosely round his shoulders, and
in his right hand a stout stick and an old-fashioned carpet-bag. He
caug