Colonel Thorndyke's Secret
by G. A. Henty.



PUBLISHER'S INTRODUCTION.


"Colonel Thorndyke's Secret" is a story so far out of the ordinary
that it will not be inappropriate to speak a few words regarding
the tale and its unusually successful author, Mr. George Alfred
Henty.

The plot of the story hinges upon the possession of a valuable
bracelet, of diamonds, stolen from a Hindoo idol by a British
soldier in India. This bracelet falls into the possession of Colonel
Thorndyke, who, shortly afterward, is sent home to England because
of his wounds. The secret concerning the bracelet is told to the
Colonel's brother, a country squire, and the treasure is left to
younger members of the Thorndyke family.

As is well known today, the theft of anything from a Hindoo temple
is considered an extraordinary crime in India, and when this occurs
it becomes a religious duty for one or more persons to hunt down
the thief and bring back the property taken from the heathen god.

The members of the Thorndyke family soon learn that they are being
watched. But this is at a time when highwaymen are numerous in
this part of England, and they cannot determine whether the work
is that of the "knights of the roads" or that of the Lascars after