{"product_id":"2940013191242","title":"A CHRISTMAS MYSTERY: THE STORY OF THREE WISE MEN","description":"A CHRISTMAS MYSTERY\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThree men who had gained great fame and honour throughout the world met\u003cbr\u003eunexpectedly in front of the bookstall at Paddington Station. Like most\u003cbr\u003eof the great ones of the earth they were personally acquainted, and they\u003cbr\u003eexchanged surprised greetings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSir Angus McCurdie, the eminent physicist, scowled at the two others\u003cbr\u003ebeneath his heavy black eyebrows.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I'm going to a God-forsaken place in Cornwall called Trehenna,\" said\u003cbr\u003ehe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"That's odd; so am I,\" croaked Professor Biggleswade. He was a little,\u003cbr\u003euntidy man with round spectacles, a fringe of greyish beard and a weak,\u003cbr\u003erasping voice, and he knew more of Assyriology than any man, living or\u003cbr\u003edead. A flippant pupil once remarked that the Professor's face was\u003cbr\u003efurnished with a Babylonic cuneiform in lieu of features.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"People called Deverill, at Foulis Castle?\" asked Sir Angus.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes,\" replied Professor Biggleswade.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"How curious! I am going to the Deverills, too,\" said the third man.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis man was the Right Honourable Viscount Doyne, the renowned Empire\u003cbr\u003eBuilder and Administrator, around whose solitary and remote life popular\u003cbr\u003eimagination had woven many legends. He looked at the world through tired\u003cbr\u003egrey eyes, and the heavy, drooping, blonde moustache seemed tired, too,\u003cbr\u003eand had dragged down the tired face into deep furrows. He was smoking a\u003cbr\u003elong black cigar.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I suppose we may as well travel down together,\" said Sir Angus, not\u003cbr\u003every cordially.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLord Doyne said courteously: \"I have a reserved carriage. The railway\u003cbr\u003ecompany is always good enough to place one at my disposal. It would give\u003cbr\u003eme great pleasure if you would share it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe invitation was accepted, and the three men crossed the busy, crowded\u003cbr\u003eplatform to take their seats in the great express train. A porter, laden\u003cbr\u003ewith an incredible load of paraphernalia, trying to make his way through\u003cbr\u003ethe press, happened to jostle Sir Angus McCurdie. He rubbed his shoulder\u003cbr\u003efretfully.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Why the whole land should be turned into a bear garden on account of\u003cbr\u003ethis exploded superstition of Christmas is one of the anomalies of\u003cbr\u003emodern civilization. Look at this insensate welter of fools travelling\u003cbr\u003ein wild herds to disgusting places merely because it's Christmas!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You seem to be travelling yourself, McCurdie,\" said Lord Doyne.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes--and why the devil I'm doing it, I've not the faintest notion,\"\u003cbr\u003ereplied Sir Angus.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It's going to be a beast of a journey,\" he remarked some moments later,\u003cbr\u003eas the train carried them slowly out of the station. \"The whole country\u003cbr\u003eis under snow--and as far as I can understand we have to change twice\u003cbr\u003eand wind up with a twenty-mile motor drive.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe was an iron-faced, beetle-browed, stern man, and this morning he did\u003cbr\u003enot seem to be in the best of tempers. Finding his companions inclined\u003cbr\u003eto be sympathetic, he continued his lamentation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"And merely because it's Christmas I've had to shut up my laboratory and\u003cbr\u003egive my young fools a holiday--just when I was in the midst of a most\u003cbr\u003eimportant series of experiments.\"","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47073639825648,"sku":"2940013191242","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013191242_p0.jpg?v=1763577613","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013191242","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}