The Carolyn Wells Mystery Megapack Read online

  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  A CAROLYN WELLS BIBLIOGRAPHY

  THE ADVENTURE OF THE CLOTHES-LINE (1912)

  THE ADVENTURE OF THE “MONA LISA” (1915)

  THE ROOM WITH THE TASSLES (1918, a Pennington Wise mystery)

  THE MAN WHO FELL THROUGH THE EARTH (1919, a Pennington Wise mystery)

  IN THE ONYX LOBBY (1920, a Pennington Wise mystery)

  THE COME BACK (1921, a Pennington Wise mystery)

  THE LUMINOUS FACE (1921, a Pennington Wise mystery)

  THE VANISHING OF BETTY VARIAN (1922, a Pennington Wise mystery)

  THE GOLD BAG (1911, a Fleming Stone Mystery)

  A CHAIN OF EVIDENCE (1912, a Fleming Stone Mystery)

  THE CURVED BLADES (1915, a Fleming Stone mystery)

  THE MARK OF CAIN (1917, a Fleming Stone mystery)

  VICKY VAN (1918, a Fleming Stone Mystery)

  THE DIAMOND PIN (1919, a Fleming Stone mystery)

  RASPBERRY JAM (1920, a Fleming Stone Mystery)

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SYCAMORE (1921, a Fleming Stone mystery)

  THE MYSTERY GIRL (1922, a Fleming Stone Mystery)

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Carolyn Wells Mystery Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  “The Adventure of the Clothes-Line” originally appeared in The Century Magazine, January 1912.

  “The Adventure of the ‘Mona Lisa’” originally appeared in The Century Magazine, May 1915.

  All other stories are novels, with the original publication date appearing after the title.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Carolyn Wells (June 18, 1862 – March 26, 1942) was an American author and poet. She wrote a total of more than 170 books. During the first ten years of her career, she concentrated on poetry, humor, and children’s books. According to her autobiography, The Rest of My Life (1937), around 1910 she heard one of Anna Katherine Green’s mystery novels being read aloud and was immediately captivated by the unravelling of the puzzle. From that point onward, she devoted herself to the mystery genre.

  Among the most famous of her mystery novels were the Fleming Stone detective stories which—according to Allen J. Hubin’s Crime Fiction IV: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749–2000 (2003)—number 61 titles.

  Today, however, she is best known for her light verse, particularly for several classic limericks, including this one:

  A canner exceedingly canny

  One morning remarked to his granny:

  “A canner can can

  Any thing that he can

  But a canner can’t can a can, can he?”

  And here’s a sample of her light poetry, “A Dialog”:

  “Mother, I want a catacomb!”

  “Oh, then you’ll have to go to Rome.”

  “But, mother dear, I want it now.”

  “Well, you can’t get one, anyhow.”

  “Mother, I need it very much.”

  “Dearie, what do you want of such?”

  “Why, mother dear, can’t you guess that?

  To comb my new Angora cat!”

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  * * * *

  Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

  The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)

  RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?

  Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).

  Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

  TYPOS

  Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.

  If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  MYSTERY

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Charlie Chan Megapack*

  The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack

  The Detective Megapack

  The Father Brown Megapack

  The Girl Detective Megapack

  The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack

  The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack

  The First Mystery Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Philo Vance Megapack*

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Raffles Megapack

  The Sherlock Holmes Megapack

  The Victorian Mystery Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  GENERAL INTEREST

  The Adventure Megapack

  The Baseball Megapack

  The Cat Story Megapack

  The Second Cat Story Megapack

  The Third Cat Story Megapack

  The Third Cat Story Megapack

  The Christmas Megapack

  The Second Christmas Megapack

  The Classic American Short Stories Megapack, Vol. 1.

  The Classic Humor Megapack

  The Dog Story Megapack

  The Doll Story Megapack

  The Horse Story Megapack

  The Military Megapack

  The Sea-Story Megapack

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Ray Cummings Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Dragon Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Edmond Hamilton Megapack

  The C.J. Henderson Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Martian Megapack

  The E. Nesbit Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Science-Fantasy Megapack

  The First Science Fiction Megapack

  The Second Science Fiction Megapack

  The Third Science Fiction Megapack

  The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack

  The Eighth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Steampunk Megapack

  The Time Travel Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack br />
  HORROR

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Second Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack

  The Ghost Story Megapack

  The Second Ghost Story Megapack

  The Third Ghost Story Megapack

  The Haunts & Horrors Megapack

  The Horror Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Macabre Megapack

  The Second Macabre Megapack

  The Arthur Machen Megapack**

  The Mummy Megapack

  The Occult Detective Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Vampire Megapack

  The Weird Fiction Megapack

  The Werewolf Megapack

  WESTERNS

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The Buffalo Bill Megapack

  The Cowboy Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  The Western Megapack

  The Second Western Megapack

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Boys’ Adventure Megapack

  The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack

  The Dare Boys Megapack

  The Doll Story Megapack

  The G.A. Henty Megapack

  The Girl Detectives Megapack

  The E. Nesbit Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Pinocchio Megapack

  The Rover Boys Megapack

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack

  The Tom Swift Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  AUTHOR MEGAPACKS

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Megapack

  The Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Second Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  The Ray Cummings Megapack

  The Guy de Maupassant Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack

  The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack

  The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Edmond Hamilton Megapack

  The Dashiell Hammett Megapack

  The C.J. Henderson Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Selma Lagerlof Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack***

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***

  The Arthur Machen Megapack**

  The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack

  The Talbot Mundy Megapack

  The E. Nesbit Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack

  The Rafael Sabatini Megapack

  The Saki Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Bram Stoker Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  * Not available in the United States

  ** Not available in the European Union

  ***Out of print.

  OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY

  The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany Megapack”)

  The Wildside Book of Fantasy

  The Wildside Book of Science Fiction

  Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries

  A CAROLYN WELLS BIBLIOGRAPHY

  ADULT FICTION

  Fleming Stone mysteries

  The Clue (1909)

  The Gold Bag (1911)

  A Chain of Evidence (1912)

  The Maxwell Mystery (1913)

  Anybody But Anne (1914)

  The White Alley (1915)

  The Curved Blades (1915)

  The Mark of Cain (1917)

  Vicky Van (1918)

  The Diamond Pin (1919)

  Raspberry Jam (1920)

  The Mystery of the Sycamore (1921)

  The Mystery Girl (1922)

  Feathers Left Around (1923)

  Spooky Hollow (1923)

  The Furthest Fury (1924)

  Prillilgirl (1924)

  Anything But the Truth (1925)

  The Daughter of the House (1925)

  The Bronze Hand (1926)

  The Red-Haired Girl (1926)

  All at Sea (1927)

  Where’s Emily (1927)

  The Crime in the Crypt (1928)

  The Tannahill Tangle (1928)

  The Tapestry Room Murder (1928)

  Triple Murder (1929)

  The Doomed Five (1930)

  The Ghosts’ High Noon (1930)

  Horror House (1931)

  The Umbrella Murder (1931)

  Fuller’s Earth (1932)

  The Roll-Top Desk Mystery (1932)

  The Broken O (1933)

  The Clue of the Eyelash (1933)

  The Master Murderer (1933)

  Eyes in the Wall (1934)

  The Visiting Villain (1934)

  The Beautiful Derelict (1935)

  For Goodness’ Sake (1935)

  The Wooden Indian (1935)

  The Huddle (1936)

  In the Tiger’s Cage (1936)

  Money Musk (1936)

  Murder in the Bookshop (1936)

  The Mystery of the Tarn (1937)

  The Radio Studio Murder (1937)

  Gilt Edged Guilt (1938)

  The Killer (1938)

  The Missing Link (1938)

  Calling All Suspects (1939)

  Crime Tears On (1939)

  The Importance of Being Murdered (1939)

  Crime Incarnate (1940)

  Devil’s Work (1940)

  Murder On Parade (1940)

  Murder Plus (1940)

  The Black Night Murders (1941)

  Murder at the Casino (1941)

  Murder Will In (1942)

  Who Killed Caldwell? (1942)

  Alan FordThe Bride of a Moment (1916)

  Faulkner’s Folly (1917)

  Pennington Wise

  The Room with the Tassels (1918)

  The Man Who Fell Through the Earth (1919)

  In the Onyx Lobby (1920)

  The Come-Back (1921)

  The Luminous Face (1921)

  The Vanishing of Betty Varian (1922)

  The Affair at Flower Acres (1923)

  Wheels Within Wheels (1923)

  Kenneth CarlisleSleeping Dogs (1929)

  The Doorstep Murders (1930)

  The Skeleton at the Feast (1931)

  Other mysteries

  The Fourteenth Key (1924)

  The Moss Mystery (1
924)

  The Deep-Lake Mystery (1928)

  Other novels

  Abeniki Caldwell: A Burlesque Historical Novel (1902)

  The Emily Emmins Papers (1907)

  Ptomaine Street: A Tale of Warble Petticoat (1921)

  CHILDREN’S FICTION

  Patty Fairfield series

  1. Patty Fairfield (1901)

  2. Patty at Home (1904)

  3. Patty in the City (1905)

  4. Patty’s Summer Days (1906)

  5. Patty in Paris (1907)

  6. Patty’s Friends (1908)

  7. Patty’s Pleasure Trip (1909)

  8. Patty’s Success (1910)

  9. Patty’s Motor Car (1911)

  10. Patty’s Butterfly Days (1912)

  11. Patty’s Social Season (1913)

  12. Patty’s Suitors (1914)

  13. Patty’s Romance (1915)

  14. Patty’s Fortune (1916)

  15. Patty Blossom (1917)

  16. Patty-Bride (1918)

  17. Patty and Azalea (1919)

  Marjorie Maynard series

  1. Marjorie’s Vacation (1907)

  2. Marjorie’s Busy Days (1908)

  3. Marjorie’s New Friend (1909)

  4. Marjorie in Command (1910)

  5. Marjorie’s Maytime (1911)

  6. Marjorie at Seacote (1912)

  The Dorrance family

  1. The Dorrance Domain (1905)

  2. Dorrance Doings (1906)

  Two Little Women

  1. Two Little Women (1915)

  2. Two Little Women and Treasure House (1916)

  3. Two Little Women on a Holiday (1917)

  Other novels

  In the Reign of Queen Dick (1904)

  Dick and Dolly’s Adventures (1910)

  The Story of Betty (1911)

  Nonfiction

  On Finishing Collector (1926)

  THE ADVENTURE OF THE CLOTHES-LINE (1912)

  The members of the Society of Infallible Detectives were just sitting around and being socially infallible, in their rooms in Fakir Street, when President Holmes strode in. He was much saturniner than usual, and the others at once deduced there was something toward.

  “And it’s this,” said Holmes, perceiving that they had perceived it. “A reward is offered for the solution of a great mystery—so great, my colleagues, that I fear none of you will be able to solve it, or even to help me in the marvelous work I shall do when ferreting it out.”

  “Humph!” grunted the Thinking Machine, riveting his steel-blue eyes upon the speaker.

  “He voices all our sentiments,” said Raffles, with his winning smile. “Fire away, Holmes. What ’s the prob?”

  “To explain a most mysterious proceeding down on the East Side.”

  Though a tall man, Holmes spoke shortly, for he was peeved at the inattentive attitude of his collection of colleagues. But of course he still had his Watson, so he put up with the indifference of the rest of the cold world.