# The Door with Seven Locks — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for The Door with Seven Locks by Edgar Wallace.

- [Dedication](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/dedication.md): The author dedicates the book to H. B. Lawford, Esq., acknowledging him as a just man and Worshipful Master of the Drapers Company for 1925–1926.
- [The Door with Seven Locks](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/the-door-with-seven-locks.md): Dick Martin and Sybil Lansdown discover a hidden door secured by seven locks in the Selford manor, leading to a secret passage that reveals the truth behind the inheritance and the crimes.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/i.md): Dick Martin, a talented detective from Scotland Yard, is on the verge of retiring after inheriting money. On his last official day, he arrests Lew Pheeney for a bank robbery, but Lew provides an alibi and hints at a secr
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/ii.md): Dick Martin visits the Bellingham Library to investigate the theft of a book by Haeckel. He meets Sybil Lansdown, the librarian, who is sharp-witted and unimpressed by his detective status. She reveals that a Dr. Antonio
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/iii.md): Dick Martin visits Dr. Stalletti's cottage to retrieve a borrowed book and unexpectedly encounters Tommy Cawler, a reformed car thief now employed by Bertram Cody. After a tense exchange, Dick returns to London and is la
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/iv.md): Mr. Havelock hires Dick Martin to find the missing Lord Selford (who travels as John Pierce), revealing the troubled history of the Selford family. Dick later visits Sybil Lansdown at the library, where she deduces his m
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/v.md): Dick Martin's flat becomes a crime scene when Lew Pheeney's body is discovered. The police investigate the mysterious circumstances of the murder, and Dick is allowed to leave England after the inquest to pursue a danger
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/vi.md): Dick Martin travels from England to Cape Town and then to Madeira, pursuing the elusive Lord Selford. On the voyage, he unexpectedly meets Sybil Lansdown, the grey-eyed woman from the Bellingham Library. She reveals she 
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/vii.md): Dick Martin reports to Mr. Havelock about his failed pursuit of John Pierce (Lord Selford) across the globe. Havelock reveals Pierce's identity and his aversion to his title. Later, at home, Dick discovers a blotting-pap
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/viii.md): Dick Martin, posing as John Rendle, visits Bertram Cody under the pretense of discussing gold on a neighboring property. During the conversation, Cody reveals his knowledge of the gold discovery and inadvertently exposes
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/ix.md): Dick Martin drives through a storm to visit Bertram Cody, where he discovers a key similar to Sybil Lansdown's. On his return journey, he is waylaid by a staged road closure and attacked by a naked, bestial figure at the
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/x.md): Mr. Cody visits Dr. Stalletti at Gallows Cottage late at night, fearing the police and discussing the failed attempt to eliminate a pursuer. Stalletti reveals he sent someone after the man but failed, and the two men exc
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xi.md): Dick Martin visits Mr. Havelock to confess he withheld information about a blotting-paper found in Buenos Aires, revealing a connection between Lord Selford and Bertram Cody. He shows Havelock a pocketbook containing a k
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xii.md): Dick Martin visits Mrs. Lansdown and Sybil in their modest flat, revealing that he has secretly kept the key from Sybil's box and now works as a private detective. He warns them to be ready to leave London at a moment's 
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xiii.md): Dick Martin visits Inspector Sneed at Scotland Yard to share his findings and suspicions. Sneed identifies the nearly naked attacker as Dr. Stalletti, who has a history of bizarre experiments aimed at reverting humans to
- [XIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xiv.md): Dick Martin is awakened by a phone call from Sybil Lansdown, who wants to consult him. She reveals she has spoken to Mr. Havelock about the key incident and proposes a trip to Selford Hall and the Selford tombs. They pic
- [XV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xv.md): Dick Martin, Sybil Lansdown, and Mr. Havelock return to the Selford tombs, where Dick fires at a mysterious half-naked figure and discovers cylinders of chlorine gas. He later examines the door with seven locks, finding 
- [XVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xvi.md): Inspector Sneed and Dick Martin lead a police raid on Gallows Cottage, where they confront Dr. Stalletti. Despite a thorough search, they find no evidence of his secret experiments or the creatures he keeps hidden. After
- [XVII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xvii.md): Dick Martin meets with Mr. Havelock to discuss a troubling letter from 'Pierce' (Lord Selford) requesting £25,000. Havelock reveals the immense wealth of the Selford estate and his growing unease about managing it. Meanw
- [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xviii.md): Sybil Lansdown is lured to Weald House by Mrs. Cody under false pretenses. There, she meets the seemingly jovial Mr. Cody, who reveals his knowledge of her father and a secret. Suspicious of his lies about contacting her
- [XIX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xix.md): Sybil Lansdown is imprisoned in a locked room by Mr. Cody after refusing to sign a document. She attempts escape but is trapped. Later, she is moved to a spare bedroom where she recovers from a drugged state. Tom Cawler 
- [XX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xx.md): Dick Martin's growing obsession with Sybil Lansdown leads him to the library, where he learns she left with a mysterious woman in a Rolls-Royce. His unease deepens when Mrs. Lansdown reveals Sybil's friend is not wealthy
- [XXI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxi.md): Dick Martin and Inspector Sneed discover the body of Mrs. Cody on the landing, dead from fright, clutching a key identical to the one in Dick's possession. They find bloody bare footprints leading from a locked room. For
- [XXII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxii.md): Dick Martin and Inspector Sneed investigate a room with bloodstains and fingerprints, discovering a ladder leading to a kitchen garden. They are ambushed by an unseen assailant with automatic pistols, engaging in a fierc
- [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxiii.md): Dick Martin narrowly escapes an assassination attempt involving a bullet and a trip wire in the dark. Returning to the house, he and Inspector Sneed discover that the power and telephone lines were cut. They search Mrs. 
- [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxiv.md): Sybil is rescued from the locked room by Cawler, who pulls her through a skylight onto the roof. They flee across the grounds, with Cawler revealing his criminal past and his connection to Mrs. Cody. Separated from Cawle
- [XXV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxv.md): Sybil Lansdown, fleeing a terrifying pursuer, stumbles upon Dr. Stalletti in the Selford tombs, where he is attempting to open the door with seven locks. Under his hypnotic influence, she nearly swallows two red pellets 
- [XXVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxvi.md): After Sybil's harrowing night, the group decides to stay at Selford Manor for safety. Havelock goes to fetch Mrs. Lansdown, while Dick investigates the grounds for signs of Tom Cawler. A mysterious intruder is spotted in
- [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxvii.md): Dick Martin and Inspector Sneed investigate the disappearance of Dr. Stalletti and the mysterious involvement of Lord Selford. Sneed learns of Stalletti's criminal past with Cody, while Havelock reveals his doubts about 
- [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxviii.md): Dick Martin and Sybil Lansdown share a personal moment, revealing his deep concern for her safety. Mr. Havelock fears Stalletti and believes Lord Selford is under his influence. Dick discovers that Sybil is the heiress-a
- [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxix.md): Dick Martin and Inspector Sneed stake out a room where Sybil saw an apparition. They witness two monstrous, half-naked men emerge from a secret passage beneath the hearthstone, retrieve a child's toy locomotive from a hi
- [The Arrest and the Fire](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxx.md): Dick Martin confronts Mr. Havelock, revealing that the chase for Lord Selford was a ruse orchestrated by Havelock and Cody. Martin exposes Havelock's role in handing Selford over to Dr. Stalletti for experiments and in t
- [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxxi.md): Dick Martin and Inspector Sneed retrieve the seven keys, open the tomb, and discover a steel box containing Cody's written confession, while the ruins of Selford Manor still smoke and Havelock is taken to Horsham.
- [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxxii.md): Bertram Cody's written confession details the conspiracy among Havelock, Stalletti, Mrs. Cawler, Silva, and himself to conceal Lord Selford's deathbed accusation and exploit his estate. It describes the plan to hide the 
- [XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxxiii.md): Dick reveals that Havelock forged the letters from Cairo, and discusses Cawler's discovery of his brother. He visits Sybil to tell her she is now the heiress to the Selford fortune, and they share a private moment.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters