Our host, Squire Boone, belched politely and raised a good-natured eyebrow. “Whatever could tempt you to visit that cackling circus?” Fiedler looked sheepish. “It’s not so much the market, sir, as what’s happening nearby. There’s been work going on at Mr. Retford’s place, as you know, and today they’re going to be using a dowser—he’s that fortune-teller’s husband—to find some of the buried pipes.”
Holmes, sitting beside me and so far seemingly lost in his own thoughts, turned toward Fiedler with a sharp look of interest. “Really?” he asked. “So that’s still being practiced out here, is it? Ah, these charming West Country superstitions.”
Fiedler, unsure whether a response was required, stayed mute. Squire Boone, however, shifted in his seat with a smile. “Likely not just here, Holmes,” he said. “Scrape any of the settlements from Land’s End to John o’ Groats and you’ll find that our rickety civilization is only skin deep at best.”
“A curious way of putting it,” I said, “but true. To many, modern science is no more than a different way of trying to explain or justify those aspects of nature which just a few generations ago were credited to spirits and demons.”
“And angels as well, Watson!” said Holmes. “We mustn’t discount those advocates of the light!”
Squire Boone happily agreed that Fiedler could join the market party, and we were soon left with our coffee.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 58 - June-November-Ausgabe von The Strand Magazine.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 58 - June-November-Ausgabe von The Strand Magazine.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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INTERVIEW Laurie R. King
CREATING new works based on an iconic fictional character who’s been around for over a century can be a minefield for an author.
ADVENTURE ON A BAD NIGHT
BEFORE dinner was quite finished Vivien began wanting to get outdoors, into the air she hadn’t seen since afternoon.
THE EDINBURGH BANKERS
“MR. Holmes, I’m not asking for myself. It’s for the livelihood of the rest of us.”
The Adventure of the Home Office Baby
FOLLOWING the occasion of my marriage, and relocation with Mary to our newlywed home in the Paddington district, only a few blocks east of the great station itself, I was able to continue building my new practice while still finding time to assist Sherlock Holmes in a number of investigations.
KEVIN OF THE DEAD
PEOPLE often say to me, “Kevin, what’s it like being undead and all that?” And I say, “It’s a job, you know?” You get up at sunset, brush off the dirt and slugs, climb out of the box, and off you go into the night looking for some poor unfortunate to siphon a pint from.
AUNT NELLIE'S DIARY
MANY contemporary readers know Louisa May Alcott only as the author of the classic Little Women, the much-beloved story of the March sisters’ journey from childhood innocence to mature womanhood.
INTERVIEW John Grisham
FOR the last thirty years, the term legal thriller has been synonymous with John Grisham. Credited with single-handedly popularizing the genre, he has inspired scores of other authors and, in the process, has become both a commercial and critical success.
The Dowser's Discovery
“IF you don’t mind, sir,” said old Fiedler as he finished pouring our coffee, “I’d like to go into the village this morning with the others. It’s market day.”
THE AMIABLE FLEAS
IN May 1954, more than fifteen years after writing Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck rented a house for himself and his family a stones-throw from the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
INTERVIEW Don Winslow
EVER since Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett revolutionized the crime novel with hardboiled heroes, gritty settings, and moral complexity, countless authors have tried to carry the torch.
