A Conversation
Honoria Glossop: I must say that I am surprised at finding this photograph of Bertie Wooster in your photo album, Madeline. Were you not engaged to him once? Is this a form of sentimental remembrance, my dear girl? If it is, I must caution you at once; any man who chooses Bobbie Wickham is a…
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The Chase
I David Taylor, all of nine, jumped over a cart and ran like his life depended on it. The toy figurine of the king with the sword had proven too much to resist. He had entered the store and before the elderly shopkeeper could discern from his ill-kempt hair and his tattered clothes that he…
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Big Marge’s Homecoming – Part 4
XI It was around 7 pm. Sir Shash was sitting by the smallish lake in the Brinkley estate. He noticed the soft hues in the sky and just a glimmer of moonlight in the lake. He noticed the gardeners leaving as a group. One of them seemed to hang about and then seemed to walk…
Keep readingBig Marge’s Homecoming – Part 3
VIII Supper was over. It had been long and indulgent. Praise for Anatole’s cooking had as usual reverberated through the dining hall. The Lobster Thermidor and the Oie nouvelle aux navets had been a big hit. Bertie had to be manually restrained by Bobbie from breaking out into a solo dance routine after dessert. However,…
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IV It was a bright morning in Brinkley Court. Margaret had been there all of three days and she was enjoying herself very much. The work was a breeze compared to what she had done in all her years. The people were so much kinder. She had never seen bigger rooms in her life. The…
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I The Humble Stallion, located in a particularly shabby corner of Spitalfields, was never short of patrons. Its clientele consisted mostly of hard-working wage earners, but there was a not insignificant minority made up of former jailbirds, shysters, confidence tricksters, and the odd raving maniac. One evening, quite late, on the first floor of this…
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Incident at Brimley – Part 2
We saw chaos and consternation amidst the gathered crowd. A murmur of voices rose into bedlam. ‘Witch! Witch! The witch has come.’ ‘She walks again.’ ‘She has come with the hell hound. Lord, save us!’ ‘Oh Lord! Have mercy on the women and children.’ ‘A curse, I told ya, because of sin. I told ya.…
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I put young Gabe to bed and turned to Brenda, his mother. Apprehension was written large on her face. Not that tonight was any different from the many times I had stepped out this late at night. It was simply that my job was one of those where every night out was an event unto…
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Jeeves and the Anonymous Letter
From Bingo Little’s diary: ‘Hiss’ ‘What?’ ‘Hiss, Hiss’ ‘Umm…’ ‘Hissss Hissss’ ‘You will excuse me, Stilton, old thing, if I cannot understand what you are trying to convey,’ said Bertie Wooster with a shake of his head. They were sitting face to face in the Drones Club. A few moments ago, much to Bertie’s annoyance,…
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The Breakdown
1 ‘Of all the hare-brained ideas that I have let you lead me into, Stiffy, this has to be right up there in the top drawer,’ complained Reverend Harold Pinker. ‘You chose the model, and now you are choosing to blame me, Harold?’ retorted Stiffy, ‘I have been driving for more than two hours in…
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Jeeves and the Garbo affair
Date – November 19____ My dear Shash, I take it that San Francisco is treating you rather splendidly and why should it not? You are visiting La familia and you should make most of your time there eating the splendid cooking and taking in the sights of a grand metropolis in the making. Do convey…
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The File
‘Switch on the torch Ian, I can barely see a thing. The power went out. It rains and the power goes out. Just what you need. The weather’s absolute drizzling s_____ today,’ complained Constable Andrew, ‘Do you have any idea what we are doing down here?’ Ian switched on the small battery torch he had…
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A birthday at Brinkley – Part 3
From the Diaries of Sir Shash, September19__ The gathering at lunch was a sedate one. Sanity had, for the moment, returned. People had been given restoratives and everyone had changed clothes. Bingo Little and his wife Rosie Banks, the celebrated novelist had arrived. Angela was delighted to see them both. As everyone gathered around the…
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From the Diaries of Sir Shash, September19__ I had last seen Madeline and her pet gorilla, Roderick Spode, at the Whale Rider Inn, where she had played no insignificant part in the capture of a dangerous criminal. Madeline, as my friend Bertie maintains, and I agree with him, is the personification of soppiness. With her…
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From the Diaries of Sir Shash, September19__ ‘Faster you silly goose, faster,’ shouted Lady Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Wickham in her most encouraging voice. Bertie Wooster, my dear friend, looked over his shoulder to acknowledge the voice that now ran his life and then promptly fell over in his sack. He looked around sheepishly, grinned at no…
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The Return of Colonel Moran – Part 3
7 John Clay was running faster than he ever had. In the dark, Friston forest was nature at its most forbidding. He had already fallen over several times. His knees hurt. Between bouts of panic, his mind kept flooding with the day’s events. After making the weapon pick up at Steyning, they had stayed put…
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4 The Bentley thundered down the country road in the dark. The rain fell on the car windows, futile in its attempt to slow down the driver. Lady Roberta Wickham was pushing the car to its limits. Sir Shash had not said a word for the past half hour. He simply stared at the countryside,…
Keep readingThe Return of Colonel Moran – Part 1
1 The sirens went off in HM Prison Dartmoor. Several moments too late. The escape was incomprehensible and unlikely. A tunnel. Yet it had happened. John Clay aka Vincent Spaulding, master bank robber had escaped. His imprisonment following the strange affair of the Red-Headed League had long since faded from the public memory. Tunnels had…
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The Race at Market Snodsbury – Part 3
From the diaries of Sir Shash, August 19_ I have attempted below to faithfully record the essence of a few interviews granted to the papers and magazines by those in the thick of things is what is now known as ‘The Market Snodsbury Grand Chase’. In newspapers, the matter has now been embellished more than…
Keep readingThe Race at Market Snodsbury – Part 2
From the diaries of Sir Shash, August 19_ Market Snodsbury is a small town in Worcestershire. Small is being generous. However, to its credit, said no one ever, it did have a rather wide road outside town. I suppose this road was its connection with the rest of humanity and to the nearest village of…
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From the diaries of Sir Shash, August 19_ ‘Looks like you are in trouble Bertie,’ said Pongo Twistleton, peeking over Bertie’s shoulder. Bertie gave him an indignant glare. It was the usual lazy afternoon in The Drones Club. Bertie and I were engrossed in a game of chess on an exquisite wooden board, gifted by…
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A violent mini story
The old detective in the armchair coughed repeatedly. I put a reassuring hand on his wrist and patted it once. He smiled and looked up at his companion who stood behind his chair. Dr Watson offered him a glass of water and said, ‘Holmes, you must get some rest now.’ ‘Watson, you worry too much…
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Whale Rider Inn
From the diaries of Sir Shash, July 19_ Soon after the happy reunion of Lady Florence with Stilton, Bertie and I were not surprised to note that they legged it to Malling Hall in Steeple Bumpleigh in a move, no doubt calculated by Stilton to secure Lord Worplesdon’s blessings before Lady Florence changed her mind…
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The Rescue
From the diaries of Sir Shash, June 19_ I lay on the floor unable to move. The screwdriver-like throb behind my eyes was so intense I was immobilized. My hands and my legs were refusing to obey my commands. All I could do was move my neck a little. In front of me was the…
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