Produced by Mardi Desjardins, Stephen Hutcheson and the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net
The Vanishing of Betty Varian The Luminous Face The Come Back In the Onyx Lobby The Man Who Fell Through the Earth The Room with the Tassels Faulkner's Folly The Bride of a Moment Doris of Dobbs' Ferry The Book of Humorous Verse Such Nonsense! _An Anthology_
BY CAROLYN WELLS _Author of "The Luminous Face," "The Come Back," "In the Onyx Lobby," "The Man Who Fell Through the Earth," etc._
COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CHAPTER PAGE I Headland Harbor 9 II Betty Varian 24 III The Tragedy 39 IV The Search 54 V The Yellow Pillow 69 VI The Varian Pearls 84 VII Minna Varian 100 VIII Ransom 115 IX Poor Martha 130 X Pennington Wise 145 XI Clues 160 XII A Letter from Nowhere 175 XIII Where Is North? 190 XIV A Green Stain 205 XV Criminal or Victim? 220 XVI In Greenvale 236 XVII The Last Letter 250 XVIII The Trap 265
It is, of course, possible, perhaps even probable, that somewhere on this green earth there may be finer golf links or a more attractive clubhouse than those at Headland Harbor, but never hope to wring such an admission from any one of the summer colony who spend their mid-year at that particular portion of the Maine coast.
Far up above the York cliffs are more great crags and among the steepest and wildest of these localities, a few venturesome spirits saw fit to pitch their tents.
Others joined them from time to time until now, the summer population occupied nearly a hundred cottages and bungalows and there was, moreover, a fair sized and fairly appointed inn.
Many of the regulars were artists, of one sort or another, but also came the less talented in search of good fishing or merely good idling. And they found it, for the majority of the householders were people of brains as well as talent and by some mysterious management the tone of the social side of things was kept pretty much as it should be.
Wealth counted for what it was worth, and no more. Genius counted in the same way, and was never overrated. Good nature and an amusing personality were perhaps the best assets one could bring to the conservative little community, and most of the shining lights possessed those in abundance.