Project Gutenberg's The Circular Staircase, by Mary Roberts Rinehart

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Title: The Circular Staircase

Author: Mary Roberts Rinehart

Posting Date: August 30, 2008 [EBook #434]
Release Date: February, 1996

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE ***

THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE

By

MARY ROBERTS RINEHART

CONTENTS

I I TAKE A COUNTRY HOUSE
II A LINK CUFF-BUTTON
III MR. JOHN BAILEY APPEARS
IV WHERE IS HALSEY?
V GERTRUDE'S ENGAGEMENT
VI IN THE EAST CORRIDOR
VII A SPRAINED ANKLE
VIII THE OTHER HALF OF THE LINE
IX JUST LIKE A GIRL
X THE TRADERS BANK
XI HALSEY MAKES A CAPTURE
XII ONE MYSTERY FOR ANOTHER
XIII LOUISE
XIV AN EGG-NOG AND A TELEGRAM
XV LIDDY GIVES THE ALARM
XVI IN THE EARLY MORNING
XVII A HINT OF SCANDAL
XVIII A HOLE IN THE WALL
XIX CONCERNING THOMAS
XX DOCTOR WALKER'S WARNING
XXI FOURTEEN ELM STREET
XXII A LADDER OUT OF PLACE
XXIII WHILE THE STABLES BURNED
XXIV FLINDERS
XXV A VISIT FROM LOUISE
XXVI HALSEY'S DISAPPEARANCE
XXVII WHO IS NINA CARRINGTON?
XXVIII A TRAMP AND THE TOOTHACHE
XXIX A SCRAP OF PAPER
XXX WHEN CHURCHYARDS YAWN
XXXI BETWEEN TWO FIREPLACES
XXXII ANNE WATSON'S STORY
XXXIII AT THE FOOT OF THE STAIRS
XXXIV THE ODDS AND ENDS

THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE

CHAPTER I

I TAKE A COUNTRY HOUSE

This is the story of how a middle-aged spinster lost her mind, deserted
her domestic gods in the city, took a furnished house for the summer
out of town, and found herself involved in one of those mysterious
crimes that keep our newspapers and detective agencies happy and
prosperous. For twenty years I had been perfectly comfortable; for
twenty years I had had the window-boxes filled in the spring, the
carpets lifted, the awnings put up and the furniture covered with brown
linen; for as many summers I had said good-by to my friends, and, after
watching their perspiring hegira, had settled down to a delicious quiet
in town, where the