I. The Eye of Death; or, the Murder Charge
II. The Two Curates; or, the Burglary Charge
III. The Round Road; or, the Desertion Charge
IV. The Wild Weddings; or, the Polygamy Charge
V. How the Great Wind went from Beacon House



Part I

The Enigmas of Innocent Smith



Chapter I

How the Great Wind Came
to Beacon House


A wind sprang high in the west, like a wave of unreasonable happiness,
and tore eastward across England, trailing with it the frosty scent
of forests and the cold intoxication of the sea. In a million holes
and corners it refreshed a man like a flagon, and astonished him
like a blow. In the inmost chambers of intricate and embowered
houses it woke like a domestic explosion, littering the floor with
some professor's papers till they seemed as precious as fugitive,
or blowing out the candle by which a boy read "Treasure Island"
and wrapping him in roaring dark. But everywhere it bore drama into
undramatic lives, and carried the trump of crisis across the world.