THE BRIGHTENER

BY C. N. & A. M. WILLIAMSON

FRONTISPIECE
BY WALTER DE MARIS

GARDEN CITY, N. Y., AND TORONTO
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1921

COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
C. N. & A. M. WILLIAMSON

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION
INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN

COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY AINSLEE's MAGAZINE CO., NEW YORK AND GREAT BRITAIN.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

"A SLIGHT SOUND ATTRACTED OUR ATTENTION TO THE HISTORIC STAIRWAY"

PREFACE

To the Kind People Who Read Our Books:

I want to explain to you, in case it may interest you a little, why it is that I want to keep the "firm name" (as we used to call it) of "C. N. & A. M. Williamson," although my husband has gone out of this world.

It is because I feel very strongly that he helps me with the work even more than he was able to do in this world. I always had his advice, and when we took motor tours he gave me his notes to use as well as my own. But now there is far more help than that. I cannot explain in words: I can only feel. And because of that feeling, I could not bear to have the "C. N." disappear from the title page.

Dear People who may read this, I hope that you will wish to see the initials "C. N." with those of

A. M. Williamson

CONTENTS

BOOK I. THE YACHT

CHAPTER I. Down and out
CHAPTER II. Up and in
CHAPTER III. Thunderbolt Six
CHAPTER IV. The Black Thing in the Sea
CHAPTER V. What I Found in My Cabin
CHAPTER VI. The Woman of the Past
CHAPTER VII. The Secret Behind the Silence
CHAPTER VIII. The Great Surprise
CHAPTER IX. The Game of Bluff

BOOK II. THE HOUSE WITH THE TWISTED CHIMNEY

CHAPTER I. The Shell-Shock Man
CHAPTER II. The Advertisement
CHAPTER III. The Letter with the Purple Seal
CHAPTER IV. The Tangled Web
CHAPTER V. The Knitting Woman of Dun Moat
CHAPTER VI. The Lightning Stroke
CHAPTER VII. The Red Baize Door
CHAPTER VIII. "When in Doubt, Play a Trump"
CHAPTER IX. The Rat Trap

BOOK III. THE DARK VEIL

CHAPTER I. The Girl With the Letter
CHAPTER II. The Hermit
CHAPTER III. The Chair at the Savoy
CHAPTER IV. The Spirit of June
CHAPTER V. The Bargain
CHAPTER VI. The Last Séance

BOOK IV. THE MYSTERY OF MRS. BRANDRETH

CHAPTER I. The Man in the Cushioned Chair
public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@32428@[email protected]#CHAPTER_IID" class="pginternal"