Bats in the Wall; or, The Mystery of Trinity Church-yard — Edition Insights

CHAPTER I. A REJECTED PROPOSAL. CHAPTER II. DYBALL'S CLUB. CHAPTER III. AN UNHEEDED WARNING--FRANK MANSFIELD FINDS HIMSELF IN A BAD FIX. CHAPTER IV. THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE BENEATH THE CHURCH-YARD WALL. CHAPTER V. BATS IN THE WALL. CHAPTER VI. WHAT HAPPENED AT THE CATHERINE MARKET. CHAPTER VII. A STILL GREATER CRIME UNEARTHED. CHAPTER VIII. THE SECRET OF THE IRON DOOR. CHAPTER IX. IN WHICH FRANK MANSFIELD MAKES AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. CHAPTER X. IN THE CHAMBER OF DEATH. CHAPTER XI. AN UNEXPECTED ALLY. CHAPTER XII. WHAT WAS SEEN BY THE CHURCH-YARD WALL. CHAPTER XIII. IN CAGNEY'S SANCTUM. CHAPTER XIV. AN INTRUDER IN THE HOME OF THE BATS. CHAPTER XV. CALEB HOOK MAKES HIMSELF AT HOME. CHAPTER XVI. THE THREE OAKS. CHAPTER XVII. AN ADVERTISEMENT. CHAPTER XVIII. THE GHOST OF THREE OAKS APPEARS AGAIN. CHAPTER XIX. MR. CALLISTER'S CLERK. CHAPTER XX. JERRY BUCK PLAYS THE PART OF A DETECTIVE AGAIN. CHAPTER XXI. FRANK VISITS COTTAGE PLACE. CHAPTER XXII. AN UNTIMELY OCCURRENCE--CALEB HOOK DISCOVERED. CHAPTER XXIII. A DETECTIVE IN A BAD FIX. CHAPTER XXIV. TREASURE HUNTING. CHAPTER XXV. THE MYSTERY OF TRINITY CHURCH-YARD EXPLAINED AT LAST. CHAPTER XXVI. ELIJAH CALLISTER ADDS STILL ANOTHER CRIME TO THE LIST. CHAPTER XXVII. THE JONAH. CHAPTER XXVIII. A FRUSTRATED CRIME--THE END.

"No, Frank, most decidedly not. I must say that I am more than surprised that you should have had the audacity to even think for an instant that such a thing could be."

"But we love each other most sincerely, Mr. Callister, and you know as well as I do that there was a time when, with your approval, I was allowed to consider Edna as my future wife."

"That may be, young man, that may be--I will even go so far as to admit that such was the case. But circumstances alter cases, and I am inclined to think that I could do somewhat better than to bestow the hand of my only daughter upon a bank clerk at a beggarly salary of twelve hundred a year."

"I am assistant cashier of Webster National Bank, and my salary is quite enough for a young couple to get along on with economy; besides, I have prospects of promotion----"

"Had, you mean. A year ago such was the case, Frank Mansfield. From what I have recently heard of your career, your drinking, gambling and nightly carousals, I am inclined to doubt if your prospects amount to much now."

It was Mr. Elijah Callister, the rich Wall street stock operator, who spoke these words, the person to whom they were addressed being Frank Mansfield, a handsome youth of twenty-one.

The scene was Mr. Callister's office on Broad street, in one of the nine-story buildings just below Wall, and the time the close of the short winter's day, December 22, 1884.

Now, in thus demanding the hand of Miss Edna Callister, Frank Mansfield was by no means as presumptuous as at first glance might seem.

But little less than five years previous to the date just mentioned, the father of this young man had been a wealthy and honored merchant, and the stock operator's most intimate friend.

Their business interests to a great extent in common, their elegant residences on Fifth avenue side by side, and their children--in each case the only child the friends possessed--had been taught to look forward to the day when they should marry with their parent's full consent.

To-day all was different, and Edgar Mansfield lay in a dishonored grave, his wife, driven mad by the reverses of fortune and the loss of a kind and loving husband, had disappeared from the circle of friends in which she had long figured as a leading spirit, while Frank had been thrown to shift for himself upon the cold charity of an unsympathizing world.

All this happened in the spring of 1879, which, all will be seen, was five years before our story begins.

Meanwhile, Elijah Callister had flourished, even as his friend Mansfield had slipped and fallen.

While Frank, who had obtained a position in the Webster National Bank, had been working hard to advance himself, with occasional slips and frequent lapses into dissipation and folly--always bitterly repented of when committed and it was too late--the father of Edna Callister had steadily increased in influence and wealth.

He was honored among business men, a pillar in the church, and high in social circles, and yet he had turned his back completely upon the son of his old-time friend, having even gone so far as to forbid him entrance to his home.