Arthur Morrison - British Mystery Classics - Arthur Morrison Edition (Illustrated)

Arthur Morrison

Martin Hewitt Investigator, The Red Triangle, The Case of Janissary, Old Cater's Money

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Martin Hewitt Series: Martin Hewitt Series: Table of Contents

MARTIN HEWITT, INVESTIGATOR MARTIN HEWITT, INVESTIGATOR Table of Contents

The Lenton Croft Robberies

The Loss of Sammy Crockett

The Case of Mr. Foggatt

The Case of the Dixon Torpedo

The Quinton Jewel Affair

The Stanway Cameo Mystery

The Affair of the Tortoise

CHRONICLES OF MARTIN HEWITT

The Ivy Cottage Mystery

The Nicobar Bullion Case

The Holford Will Case

The Case of the Missing Hand

The Case of Laker, Absconded

The Case of the Lost Foreigner

ADVENTURES OF MARTIN HEWITT

The Affair of Mrs. Seton's Child

The Case of Mr. Geldard's Elopement

The Case of the Dead Skipper

The Case of the "Flitterbat Lancers"

The Case of the Late Mr. Rewse

The Case of the Ward Lane Tabernacle

THE RED TRIANGLE

The Affair of Samuel's Diamonds

The Case of Mr. Jacob Mason

The Case of the Lever Key

The Case of the Burnt Barn

The Case of the Admiralty Code

The Adventure of Channel Marsh

Short Stories:

THE DORRINGTON DEED BOX

The Narrative of Mr. James Rigby

The Case of Janissary

The Case of "The Mirror of Portugal"

The Affair of the "Avalanche Bicycle & Tyre Co., Ltd."

The Case of Mr. Loftus Deacon

Old Cater's Money

THE GREEN EYE OF GOONA (The Green Diamond)

The First Magnum

Mr. Norie's Magnum

Mr. Clifton's Magnum

The Steward's Magnum—and Another

Mr. Pooley's Magnum

A Box of Oddments

Mr. Smith's Magnums

The Green Eye

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

THOSE who retain any memory of the great law cases of fifteen or twenty years back will remember, at least, the title of that extraordinary will case, “Bartley v . Bartley and others,” which occupied the Probate Court for some weeks on end, and caused an amount of public interest rarely accorded to any but the cases considered in the other division of the same court. The case itself was noted for the large quantity of remarkable and unusual evidence presented by the plaintiff’s side—evidence that took the other party completely by surprise, and overthrew their case like a house of cards. The affair will, perhaps, be more readily recalled as the occasion of the sudden rise to eminence in their profession of Messrs. Crellan, Hunt & Crellan, solicitors for the plaintiff—a result due entirely to the wonderful ability shown in this case of building up, apparently out of nothing, a smashing weight of irresistible evidence. That the firm has since maintained—indeed enhanced—the position it then won for itself need scarcely be said here; its name is familiar to everybody. But there are not many of the outside public who know that the credit of the whole performance was primarily due to a young clerk in the employ of Messrs. Crellan, who had been given charge of the seemingly desperate task of collecting evidence in the case.

This Mr. Martin Hewitt had, however, full credit and reward for his exploit from his firm and from their client, and more than one other firm of lawyers engaged in contentious work made good offers to entice Hewitt to change his employers. Instead of this, however, he determined to work independently for the future, having conceived the idea of making a regular business of doing, on behalf of such clients as might retain him, similar work to that he had just done with such conspicuous success for Messrs. Crellan, Hunt & Crellan. This was the beginning of the private detective business of Martin Hewitt, and his action at that time has been completely justified by the brilliant professional successes he has since achieved.

His business has always been conducted in the most private manner, and he has always declined the help of professional assistants, preferring to carry out himself such of the many investigations offered him as he could manage. He has always maintained that he has never lost by this policy, since the chance of his refusing a case begets competition for his services, and his fees rise by a natural process. At the same time, no man could know better how to employ casual assistance at the right time.

Some curiosity has been expressed as to Mr. Martin Hewitt’s system, and, as he himself always consistently maintains that he has no system beyond a judicious use of ordinary faculties, I intend setting forth in detail a few of the more interesting of his cases in order that the public may judge for itself if I am right in estimating Mr. Hewitt’s “ordinary faculties” as faculties very extraordinary indeed. He is not a man who has made many friendships (this, probably, for professional reasons), notwithstanding his genial and companionable manners. I myself first made his acquaintance as a result of an accident resulting in a fire at the old house in which Hewitt’s office was situated, and in an upper floor of which I occupied bachelor chambers. I was able to help in saving a quantity of extremely important papers relating to his business, and, while repairs were being made, allowed him to lock them in an old wall-safe in one of my rooms which the fire had scarcely damaged.

The acquaintance thus begun has lasted many years, and has become a rather close friendship. I have even accompanied Hewitt on some of his expeditions, and, in a humble way, helped him. Such of the cases, however, as I personally saw nothing of I have put into narrative form from the particulars given me.

“I consider you, Brett,” he said, addressing me, “the most remarkable journalist alive. Not because you’re particularly clever, you know, because, between ourselves, I hope you’ll admit you’re not; but because you have known something of me and my doings for some years, and have never yet been guilty of giving away any of my little business secrets you may have become acquainted with. I’m afraid you’re not so enterprising a journalist as some, Brett. But now, since you ask, you shall write something—if you think it worth while.”

This he said, as he said most things, with a cheery, chaffing good-nature that would have been, perhaps, surprising to a stranger who thought of him only as a grim and mysterious discoverer of secrets and crimes. Indeed, the man had always as little of the aspect of the conventional detective as may be imagined. Nobody could appear more cordial or less observant in manner, although there was to be seen a certain sharpness of the eye—which might, after all, only be the twinkle of good humor.

I did think it worth while to write something of Martin Hewitt’s investigations, and a description of one of his adventures follows.

At the head of the first flight of a dingy staircase leading up from an ever-open portal in a street by the Strand stood a door, the dusty ground-glass upper panel of which carried in its center the single word “Hewitt,” while at its right-hand lower corner, in smaller letters, “Clerk’s Office” appeared. On a morning when the clerks in the ground-floor offices had barely hung up their hats, a short, well-dressed young man, wearing spectacles, hastening to open the dusty door, ran into the arms of another man who suddenly issued from it.