{"product_id":"2940013771550","title":"For The Defence, Dr. Thorndyke","description":"IT was about four o'clock on a summer afternoon when Andrew Barton, pipe\u003cbr\u003ein mouth and garden shears in hand, suspended for a moment his\u003cbr\u003eoperations on the privet hedge in his front garden to glance down the\u003cbr\u003elane at the postman, who had just turned into it from the road at the\u003cbr\u003eend. It was a glance of no special interest. He was not expecting any\u003cbr\u003ecommunication. But as there was no other house in the lane--which\u003cbr\u003epresently petered out into a foot-path across fields--it was obvious that\u003cbr\u003ehis own residence was the goal of the postman's peregrinations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe observed the man's approach intermittently, punctuating his\u003cbr\u003eobservations with perfunctory snips at the hedge and speculating vaguely\u003cbr\u003eand incuriously on the source of the letter which the messenger was\u003cbr\u003epresumably coming to deliver. He was not particularly interested. Yet\u003cbr\u003eeven a rural postman, though less portentous than the telegraph boy,\u003cbr\u003eembodies untold potentialities of good or evil, of joy or sorrow, of\u003cbr\u003efortune or disaster. But Andrew was not particularly interested; and\u003cbr\u003ethus he watched, unmoved and unsuspecting, the approach of Fate's\u003cbr\u003especial messenger, charged with a message the significance of which was\u003cbr\u003eonly by degrees to be unfolded.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe man strode up to the gate with a letter in his hand and ran his eye\u003cbr\u003ecritically over the half-cropped hedge. \"I see you are havin' a bit of a\u003cbr\u003etidy-up, sir,\" he remarked as he handed the letter over the gate; \"and\u003cbr\u003enone too soon. He was getting rare straggly. But Lord! How the stuff do\u003cbr\u003egrow this weather! 'Tis out of bounds almost afore you've done\u003cbr\u003ea-trimmin' of it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Andrew showed no sign of rising to this conversational bait, beyond a\u003cbr\u003evague assent, the postman wished him \"good afternoon\", took another\u003cbr\u003eglance at the hedge and turned back down the lane, a little disconcerted\u003cbr\u003eby Mr. Barton's unwonted taciturnity. \"Didn't seem to like the look of\u003cbr\u003ethat letter,\" he mused as he swung along in his heavy, nailed boots.\u003cbr\u003e\"Someone dunning him for money, maybe.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was a simple and reasonable explanation of the sudden change in\u003cbr\u003eAndrew's expression as he read the address on the envelope and glanced\u003cbr\u003eat the postmark, and not so very wide of the truth. But \"dunning\" was\u003cbr\u003enot quite the right word, since that implies a demand for payment of a\u003cbr\u003elawful debt. Of such demands Andrew Barton had no experience, being a\u003cbr\u003escrupulously prompt paymaster. But a glance at the too-familiar\u003cbr\u003ehandwriting prepared him for a demand of another kind, and the only\u003cbr\u003equestion was, \"How much does he want this time?\" He tore the envelope\u003cbr\u003eopen with angry impatience and read the answer to that question.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"16, Barleymow Street, Crompton-on-Sea. 21st August, 1928.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"My dear Old Chappie,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What a time it is since I had the felicity of looking at your blessed\u003cbr\u003eold mug! Years and years! I am just pining for the sight of you; and no\u003cbr\u003edoubt you are equally pining for the sight of me. I hope so. Because I\u003cbr\u003eam going to satisfy my yearning and I should like to satisfy yours at\u003cbr\u003ethe same time. In short, I propose to pop over this day week and shed\u003cbr\u003ethe light of my countenance on you and Molly. I shall turn up to lunch.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Your affectionate and devoted, though unfortunate cousin,","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47079665565936,"sku":"2940013771550","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013771550_p0.jpg?v=1763590076","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013771550","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}