{"product_id":"2940013708570","title":"Smothered in Corpses","description":"Where had it come from?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI, John Beveledge Humdrum, general practitioner, of 305A, Hammersmith\u003cbr\u003eRoad, Kensington, had come down to breakfast on that eventful July\u003cbr\u003emorning expecting nothing more exciting than eggs and bacon with which my\u003cbr\u003eexcellent man Perkins had regularly provided me on similar occasions for\u003cbr\u003ethe past eleven years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eImagine my surprise, therefore, on throwing open the door of the\u003cbr\u003ebook-case that contained my sparse collection of medical works, in order\u003cbr\u003eto consult Abernethy on Biscuits, to be confronted by the doubled-up\u003cbr\u003ecorpse of a young man of distinguished appearance, wearing a suit of\u003cbr\u003eevening clothes of the most expensive cut.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMy thoughts flew back to the events of the previous evening in an attempt\u003cbr\u003eto unravel the mystery. Had anything remarkable happened? And then I\u003cbr\u003eremembered an incident, trivial enough in itself, which might supply a\u003cbr\u003eclue. At about eight o'clock I had received a professional summons,\u003cbr\u003enotable as being the first in my career. A heavily-veiled woman\u003cbr\u003ewearing a complete set of massive ermines had descended from a\u003cbr\u003emagnificently-appointed motor-car before my door. In response to her\u003cbr\u003eimpassioned appeal, delivered with a marked Castilian accent, I had\u003cbr\u003eaccompanied her to a miserable tenement dwelling in a sordid Limehouse\u003cbr\u003eslum. Here, after I had reluctantly given a pledge of secrecy and\u003cbr\u003epermitted myself to be blindfolded (even to this day the mingled aroma of\u003cbr\u003eEnigma Vanishing Cream and frying spaghetti vividly recalls the scene), I\u003cbr\u003ewas taken to the bedside of my patient, a fair-haired boy of three or\u003cbr\u003efour. A villainous-looking Chinaman who was in attendance gave me to\u003cbr\u003eunderstand, partly by signs and partly in pidgin English, that the child\u003cbr\u003ehad swallowed a bone button. Being unacquainted with the exact treatment\u003cbr\u003eof such a case, I recommended his removal to the nearest hospital. As\u003cbr\u003ethere was nothing more to detain me I left at once, overwhelmed by the\u003cbr\u003epassionate gratitude of my mysterious caller; but as I glanced back at\u003cbr\u003ethe corner of the disreputable street, I saw a face charged with\u003cbr\u003ediabolical hatred watching me from the grimy window of the room I had\u003cbr\u003ejust quitted. It was the visage of the aged Chinaman, who, but a moment\u003cbr\u003ebefore, had been bowing to me with true Oriental deference. As I looked,\u003cbr\u003erather puzzled to account for his strage behaviour, a terrible explosion\u003cbr\u003eshook the ground, the front of the house disappeared, and a singed\u003cbr\u003epigtail fell at my feet.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47068914974960,"sku":"2940013708570","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013708570_p0.jpg?v=1763584664","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013708570","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}