Follies in Fiction




I. Stories Shorter Still

Among the latest follies in fiction is the perpetual
demand for stories shorter and shorter still. The only
thing to do is to meet this demand at the source and
check it. Any of the stories below, if left to soak
overnight in a barrel of rainwater, will swell to the
dimensions of a dollar-fifty novel.


(I) AN IRREDUCIBLE DETECTIVE STORY

HANGED BY A HAIR
OR A MURDER MYSTERY MINIMISED

The mystery had now reached its climax. First, the man
had been undoubtedly murdered. Secondly, it was absolutely
certain that no conceivable person had done it.

It was therefore time to call in the great detective.

He gave one searching glance at the corpse. In a moment
he whipped out a microscope.

"Ha! ha!" he said, as he picked a hair off the lapel of