Evening star., 1921-06-12
Reviews of New Books

port, an "old retired Snowman" whose
stories he found mighty interest.
write out some of these stories. which
he did. thus uncovering George Conk-
lin. tamer of lions" And of him
Mr.. Seitz says: "I had often seen him
and admired him in action. Truly.
animals, 1t was he. He was a circus
man through and through. accom-
plished not only in his own particular
line. but able to- turn a facile hand
is the epic of the circus; its ways,
its wanderings. its great leaders, its
freaks and followers and fakirs.
believe it to be the only history OF
the kind ever written-certainly no
other ever told SO much or so we'll"
1t is novel and captivating set of
recollections of the circus from it's
old caravan days to the present days
OF swift and easy transportatio 1t.
is story of thrilling personal haz-
ard. of intimate acquaintance with
the people and the animals and the
arts and makeshifts that go to make
up the big show" itself.
CALL MR.. FORTUNE. By H. Bailey,
author of THE Highwayman." etc.
New York: L. P. Button & Co.
A fresh breeze blows through these
half dozen detective stories. This
welcome effect of novelty is produced
! by the authors happy expedient of
applying to each of the situations in
band the principle OF division Of la Dor.
instead. as is the common fashion. of
imposing upon the modern detective
in literature the burden of making
up guilt out of whole cloth. as II
were. this author puts something
Of parts. with ina gination and orig
! inality for the shaping of their mis-
deeds. This precaution permits Mr..
Foster. an agreeable young amateur
| in crime detection. to be pretty much
himself in an engaging sort of way.
A casual man, this. who wraps his
very acute powers OF observation and
deduction in an on-hand manner that
misleads. plausibly. for a while but
that, finally hands over his evidence
| and his criminals with a friendly grin
/ OF having done a fairly good job. if
he does say It himself One likes him
and congratulates the author in having
! made him. Then he congratulatea
Fortune something worth while to do.
THE HOUSE IN QUEEN ANNE
| York: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Edinburgh forms the background
| of this novel. Within the streets of
/ this grim old city strange doings are
made to befail. Under the roof Of
the house in Queen Anne square
curious things. involving various
| kinds and degrees OF crime. take
! shelter. Agencies Of the law operate
, after their own peculiar fashion. And.
| finally, the law itself. in a sensational
criminal trial, comports itself in the
| exact attitudes and gestures of Scot
F, tish procedure. At the center of the
mysterious movements there is a
| lovely lady. always in danger from
| evil influences about her. This is
mystery tale that the author appears
has plan. and expedient. and ingen-
| uity. Not until the last moment does
| the author open up the foundations
upon which the story structure rests.
| When one looks upon this ground
work from which the rest has risen
he marveis that SO slight and SO un-
| plausible a thing could have eus-
| tained SO consistent and so sound an
+, invention. However. the proof OF the
| pudding is in the eating.
| THE HOUSE OF THE FALCON. By
Harold Lamb. author Of March
ing Sands" etc. New York: D.
Appleton & Co.
| Sheer adventure, this. set in the
far east. With good skill has the
| author mixed the elements of the
| orient to create in the mind of the
/ reader the illusion Of mystery that,
! to the westerner, inheres in this re-
! mote region. The adventure that
| threads its way through this colorful
| and dramatic setting is the rescue
of q kidnapped American girl. who
was cafried to the hidden retreat
of a native tribe. Between the abb
| duction Of the girl and her rescue.
/ however. a romance develops be-
tween her and a mysterious Eng
! lishman, the Falcon" held as hostage
| by the tribe till he, in their behalf.
| has overcome the power OF their
arch enemy, the "Vulture." The rising
| of the tribe for warfare. the cere-
monies that accompany this proposed
| outfaring, the power of a strange
| priest over the destinies of the tribe.
| The part of the girl in shaping
| events-all these are the steps by
1 which the adventure rises to its
climax of rescue and reauited love
| and the rest of it One likes to read
the book There is the glamour OF
a strange existence about it. There
! Is the strain of momentous adven-
| ture upon il. AS for the heroine
well, one is impressed with her ca
! pacity for messing up things gem
orally. Still, there would not have
heen 80 much of adventure here II
she had been of a less Temperament
! tai stripe. So she was useful as q
| less beautiful and more sensible
4 woman could not possibly have been.