New-York tribune., 1922-10-01

THREE BLACK BAGS. by Marion Polk
Angellotti. Century Company.
THE ROMANCE OF A MILLION DOL
LARS. By Elizabeth Dcjeans Bobbs
KAsTLn KRAGs. BY Absolon Martin
DufIield e. Co.
IN JEOPARDY BY Van TasseI Sutuhen
Harper & Bros.
PHILIP DERBY, REPORTER. BY Willis
j. Abbott. Dood. Mead & Co.
u THE publishers have their way
n about it reading contemporary
IS fiction will soon cease TO be a
n placid and ruminative occupation.
70 judge by the book advertise
ments, non-partisan attitude on the
part Of the Gentle Reader is 10 longer
sl!owable; he must hurl himself into
the moving stream Of events with the
characters, and take chances of emerg-
ing again mentally unscathed. what
would you co." the stern Interrogation
glares out in bold-face type, 'if your
Wlfe eloped with the milkman, and for
got even to leave q pint Of cream for
brealdastI" Or one is asked. after the
manner of Binet test: what secret
power drew this brilliant woman into
retirement?" said retirement being be-
tween the covers of an extremely popu-
lar novel. If that involves too much
iatloclnatlon then answer yes or no:
who was Andivius Hedulio?" You give
1T up? DO not hope to escape so east
~; you must then submit to be Judged
by the characters Of the novels, and a
grilling ordeal it is for a modest man.
who knows what may hang upon his
answer to the curt demand: what
would South Sea maiden think of
you!" No paltering; the issue must be
scuarely faced.
The safest course, then, is to turn to
such fiction as need not involve taking
SIDES on any burning questions Of
morals or politics; to wit, mystery
tales.
This season offers a remarkable num-
Der Of very good ones. Of the six
mere listed nearly all are we'll con-
structed. and written in that stark,
clear English which is essential to
stories Of plot and action. Some offer
extra added attractions in the shape Of
locat color and neat character drawing.
as, for instance, Give Nights at tho
Five Plies with the problem Of which
we will grapple first.
What, then, would you do if in defiance
OF the advice of the entire village YOU
purchased house on Cape Cod in
order to spend a summer in peace and
quiet, and then found the blamed place
was haunted? Such was the ANNOYING
predicament of Mrs. Jasper Curdy fhe
lady who tremendously endured the
five nights, and found a fresh horro,
awaiting her each night. Floor-boa
creaked dismaily, latches lifted under
pressure of invisible fingers, footsteps
perambulated non-existent staircase
And Mrs. Curdy had to stick it out
alone. Her husband was playwright
| and was unexpectedly detained in New
York, being more concerned to learn
whether the box office ghost would
walk on the ensuing Saturday than
with any spooky activities in his new
country home. No Cape Colder would
risk a night in that ill-omened dwell
ing. Its late owner, Captain jeremiah
Hawes, had risen from his coffin once
literally, and they believed him quite
capable of doing SO again. Also they
were perfectly certain that in his coffin
or out, he would extremely dislike the
notion of strange tenants in the house
where he had lived out his warped, en-
bittered existence with his horrible old
mother and the girl he loved and dared
not marry. There were, in fact, several
possible revisitants, none Of them
cheerful to contemplate, and the solu-
tion, of the mystery provides tragic
SHiiai w iN> own. ! GU may guess VINO
the ghost was, before the author
chooses to reveal it, but you are very
| unlikely to fathom the secret that il
guarded, through life and death.
An ancestral home is also the center
Of the mystery "In Jeopsdry." The
Hildebrand Hundred, an old crown
grant in Maryland and seat of an
aristocratic Colonial family, was fatal
to its owners until at last it went to
u Northern scion of the race who knew
nothing of its history. Now, if you had
stood in his shoes, and gradually
learned that there was some sort OF
curse upon the place, especially during
the month Of June Of each year, woulc
you have fingered around trying to find
out why and what it was, or would you
have hastily wished it onto some un-
suspecting purchaser? No doubt the
latter; but in that case there would
have been no story--which would be q
pity. It was an AWFUL chance Hugh
Hildebrand took, but great reward
came to him through it. Everything
about this story is plausible and well
nlotivated, except. perhaps, the agency
of death, and that is so weird it il
quite excusable. Several pleasingly
diabolical villains, male and female
also play their parts in the events lead.
Ing up to q dramatic dsnouement.
Kastle Krags is yet a third house