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Currently reading G K Chesterton's Father Brown detective stories.
Read this one, The Sign of the Broken Sword, ([url= http://fiction.eserver.org/short/innocence/brokensword.html ]Link [/url]) a couple of nights ago, but something about it is really annoying me:
More specifically, this section near the beginning:
The match burnt the big man's fingers, blackened, and dropped. He was about to strike another, but his small companion stopped him. 'That's all right, Flambeau, old man; I saw what I wanted. [b]Or, rather, I didn't see what I didn't want.[/b] And now we must walk a mile and a half along the road to the next inn, and I will try to tell you all about it. For Heaven knows a man should have a fire and ale when he dares tell such a story.........[b]I am only looking for one word,' said Father Brown. 'A word that isn't there'[/b].
I'll admit to be tired when reading it, but I've quickly rescanned the whole story and for the life of me I can't work out what the missing word was that Father Brown was expecting to see on the inscription!
Do me a favour, read the story (it's very short) and tell me what I've missed.
I'm sure it's something obvious I've missed through tiredness.
A free envelope of blancmange through the post for the first correct/plausible answer.
Ta!
I think you’re looking into it too deeply. It’s not one particularly word - more a name that identifies who killed St. Clare (a name is a word).
The usual engraved tribute on the General's sepulcher (or whatever) reads -
Sacred to the Memory of General Sir Arthur St. Clare, Hero and Martyr, who Always Vanquished his Enemies and Always Spared Them, and Was Treacherously Slain by [b]Them[/b] At Last. May God in Whom he Trusted both Reward and Revenge him.'
What Father Brown didn’t want to see is -
Sacred to the Memory of General Sir Arthur St. Clare, Hero and Martyr, who Always Vanquished his Enemies and Always Spared Them, and Was Treacherously Slain by [b]Colonel Clancy[/b] [i](or Captain Keith, or President Olivier)[/i] At Last. May God in Whom he Trusted both Reward and Revenge him.'
Well, that’s how I read it anyhow!
Hmm, you could well be right.
I did find this essay, well part of it, [url= http://business.highbeam.com/434832/article-1G1-271883284/words-not-there-chesterton-borges-theme-traitor-and ]link, [/url]but whilst very interesting, the displayed text doesn't spill the beans.
Any more opinions?