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The Secret House · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for The Secret House by Edgar Wallace.

  1. Chapter 1

    I

    A mysterious veiled man, Mr. Brown, hires the impoverished foreigner Count Poltavo as an assistant for his scandal sheet 'The Gossip's Corner', which collects compromising information about the upper classes for blackmail. Poltavo quickly grasps the nature of the business and demonstrates his cunning when a lady visitor arrives to confront the paper about a blackmail letter. After she leaves, Mr. Brown reveals the encounter was a test, and Poltavo proves his perceptiveness by deducing the woman's true identity from her initials.

  2. Chapter 2

    II

    Two men are shot dead outside Mr. Farrington's house in Brakely Square. T. B. Smith investigates and deduces a third person was involved. He finds a gold scent bottle with the initials 'C. D.' in the area, linking Lady Constance Dex to the scene. The conversation of the dead men suggests they were connected to Montague Fallock, a notorious blackmailer.

  3. Chapter 3

    III

    T. B. Smith works late at Scotland Yard during a dense fog, investigating the blackmailer Montague Fallock. He compares fingerprints from a letter to Lady Constance Dex and confirms Fallock's identity. Superintendent Ela discusses a dock robbery where a constable was shot. After Ela leaves, T. B. discovers his office has been burgled; the intruder stole an envelope of evidence, leaving blood from a cut hand. T. B. deduces it was Montague Fallock, who now knows how much T. B. knows.

  4. Chapter 4

    IV

    In a thick London fog, Frank Doughton and Doris Gray attend the theatre with her guardian Mr. Farrington and Lady Dinsmore. A newsboy delivers a cryptic warning to Farrington, mentioning 'T.B.S.' and surveillance. Farrington, visibly shaken, later discusses with Frank his desire for Frank to marry Doris and his anxiety over recent events. The chapter also introduces Count Poltavo as a charming but suspicious figure, and reveals Farrington's role as a trustee searching for the missing Tollington heir.

  5. Chapter 5

    V

    Count Poltavo and Mr. Farrington discuss their secret venture in a sordid room, with Poltavo pressing for full disclosure and proving his worth by revealing his knowledge of T. B. Smith's surveillance. Meanwhile, the newsboy messenger completes his task and returns to Poltavo, narrowly escaping a pursuer, before being dismissed with payment for discretion.

  6. Chapter 6

    VI

    At the theatre, Lady Dinsmore hosts Count Poltavo and Mr. Farrington in her box. Poltavo engages Doris Gray in conversation, learning about Dr. Fall and Gorth. During the second act, a shot is fired from the royal box. T. B. Smith, who has a warrant for Farrington's arrest, finds Farrington has vanished, leaving only a glove and a bloody handprint.

  7. Chapter 7

    VII

    Frank Doughton learns of Farrington's apparent suicide and financial ruin. He visits Lady Dinsmore and Doris Gray, who is devastated but sends for Count Poltavo after receiving a mysterious note. Frank encounters T. B. Smith, who reveals a headless body has been found. Meanwhile, T. B. Smith intercepts Dr. Goldworthy, preventing his kidnapping, and extracts the story of George Doughton.

  8. Chapter 8

    VIII

    T. B. Smith interviews Lady Constance Dex about her involvement in the Brakely Square murders. She admits to being at Farrington's house that night and reveals her motive: vengeance for the murder of George Doughton by Montague Fallock. T. B. has her followed as she returns to Great Bradley, where she enters the rectory and reflects on the mysterious Secret House.

  9. Chapter 9

    IX

    T. B. Smith investigates the Secret House in Great Bradley, learning from Lady Constance Dex about her past love affair with George Doughton, her divorce, and her blackmail by Montague Fallock. She reveals her visits to the Secret House were manipulated by Farrington to keep her under observation. T. B. also discovers the house is a private lunatic asylum for the eccentric Mr. Moole.

  10. Chapter 10

    The Reading of the Will

    Count Poltavo reflects on his rise in London society and his influence over Doris Gray. Frank Doughton confronts Poltavo about a letter from the late Mr. Farrington. At the reading of the will, Farrington's surprising bequests are revealed: he wishes Doris to marry Frank Doughton and withholds her fortune until that marriage, while leaving small sums to Frank and T. B. Smith. Poltavo's rage and suspicion are evident, and he later speaks privately with T. B. Smith at Scotland Yard, hinting at secrets about Farrington but postponing full disclosure.

  11. Chapter 11

    XI

    Count Poltavo visits the Secret House to confront Farrington about his will, which stipulates that Doris Gray must marry Frank Doughton. Farrington refuses to change his decision, revealing his knowledge of Poltavo's criminal past. Poltavo threatens to marry Doris anyway, leading to a tense standoff. After being trapped in the lift by Dr. Fall, Poltavo is rescued by T. B. Smith, who discovers a message Poltavo had scrawled inside the lift.

  12. Chapter 12

    XII

    T. B. Smith leads a nighttime raid on the Secret House, circumventing electric alarms and trip-wires with the help of two men. After neutralizing a deadly electrified curtain using a rabbit and rubber gear, they enter the hall. Smith searches the upper floors but is confronted by a masked man at a desk, then by Dr. Fall, who claims Smith has mistaken the floor and shows him the same sickroom he saw earlier. Fall reveals a surveillance device that projects images from the hall onto a screen in his bedroom, and Smith realizes he has been outmaneuvered.

  13. Chapter 13

    XIII

    T. B. Smith reveals to his chief that Gregory Farrington is the international blackmailer Montague Fallock, responsible for the murders in Brakely Square and the death of Lady Constance Dex's lover. He explains the complexities of raiding the Secret House. Meanwhile, Frank Doughton shares with Doris Gray his discovery of a lost letter that may help locate her missing aunt, and expresses his feelings for her despite the complications of her uncle's will.

  14. Chapter 14

    XIV

    Poltavo returns to London with newfound wealth and establishes himself in high society, while the operations of the blackmail ring centered on Gossip's Corner are detailed. Frank Doughton prepares for his forced marriage to Doris Gray, but is lured into a car under false pretenses and attacked.

  15. Chapter 15

    XV

    Lady Constance Dex has a tense breakfast with her brother, the Reverend Jeremiah Bangley, before visiting Moor Cottage, a secluded gift from Mr. Farrington. Later, T. B. Smith and Inspector Ela investigate her disappearance from the cottage. They discover Frank Doughton hiding in the outhouse, who recounts being kidnapped in London and escaping near Great Bradley. The chapter ends with T. B. and Ela re-examining a locket from the Brakely Square murders, which bears an inscription hinting at 'Moor Cottage' and a cryptic patriotic phrase.

  16. Chapter 16

    Chapter XVI

    Doris Gray and Frank Doughton are married in a brief, unromantic ceremony at a registrar's office. Afterwards, they go to the London Safe Deposit with Mr. Debenham to secure Doris's fortune, only to discover the safe is empty. A note from Gregory Farrington reveals he used Doris's fortune for his plans, but declares Frank Doughton the true heir to the Tollington millions. The revelation shocks both Frank and Doris, who feels she was used as bait to trap Frank into marriage. Count Poltavo observes with a bitter smile.

  17. Chapter 17

    XVII

    T. B. Smith explains to Ela his theory that Farrington knew George Doughton was the heir to the Tollington millions and manipulated events to secure the fortune, including faking his own death. Meanwhile, Poltavo plans to blackmail the Duke of Ambury and orders an assassination attempt on T. B. Smith, which is foiled. The would-be assassin is deported, and T. B. intercepts his telegram to Poltavo.

  18. Chapter 18

    XVIII

    T. B. Smith, disguised as an old messenger, meets Count Poltavo on the downs and arrests him for blackmail. Poltavo offers to trade information about Farrington and the Secret House for his freedom, but T. B. locks him in a cottage while consulting Scotland Yard. A muffled scream from the locked room interrupts their discussion.

  19. Chapter 19

    XIX

    Farrington and Dr. Fall discover that Count Poltavo has betrayed them and is preparing to leave London. They observe his meeting with T. B. Smith on the downs, witness his capture, and prepare to confront the situation in the Secret House.

  20. Chapter 20

    The Last Hand

    T. B. Smith is captured by Farrington and Dr. Fall in the Secret House, where he is strapped to an electric chair and given an ultimatum: help them escape England or die. Meanwhile, Ela and Lady Constance Dex race to rescue him, having discovered the underground tunnel and lift system connecting Moor Cottage to the Secret House. T. B. refuses to cooperate, and the chapter ends with him losing consciousness as the lights go out.

  21. Chapter 21

    XXI

    Ela leads a police raid on the Secret House, stopping the dynamo in the power house and descending to the underground rooms. He confronts Farrington, who is shot dead, and rescues T. B. Smith while Dr. Fall is arrested.

  22. Chapter 22

    Endnotes

    This chapter contains the endnotes for the book, providing citations and references for the preceding text.