



Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
book was produced from scanned images of public domain
material from the Google Print project.)









                         THE CRIME DOCTOR

                      _By_ ERNEST W. HORNUNG

Author of Raffles, The Amateur Cracksman, The Thousandth Woman, etc.


    _With Illustrations by_
    FREDERIC DORR STEELE

    INDIANAPOLIS
    THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY
    PUBLISHERS

    COPYRIGHT 1914
    THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY

    PRESS OF
    BRAUNWORTH & CO.
    BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS
    BROOKLYN, N. Y.




[Illustration: "It was struck with--this"]




CONTENTS


       I THE PHYSICIAN WHO HEALED HIMSELF         1

      II THE LIFE-PRESERVER                      40

     III A HOPELESS CASE                         77

      IV THE GOLDEN KEY                         118

       V A SCHOOLMASTER ABROAD                  159

      VI ONE POSSESSED                          199

     VII THE DOCTOR'S ASSISTANT                 237

    VIII THE SECOND MURDERER                    272




THE CRIME DOCTOR




I

THE PHYSICIAN WHO HEALED HIMSELF


In the course of his meteoric career as Secretary of State for the Home
Department, the Right Honorable Topham Vinson instituted many reforms
and earned the reformer's whack of praise and blame. His methods were
not those of the permanent staff; and while his notorious courage
endeared him to the young, it was not in so strong a nature to leave
friend or foe lukewarm. An assiduous contempt for tradition fanned the
flame of either faction, besides leading to several of those personal
adventures which were as breath to the Minister's unregenerate nostrils,
but which never came out without exposing him to almost universal
censure. It is matter for thanksgiving that the majority of his
indiscretions were unguessed while he and his held office; for he was
never so unconventional as in pursuance of those enlightened tactics on