The Cheyne Mystery · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for The Cheyne Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts.

Read with companions Book page

Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.

Chapter 1
The Episode in the Plymouth Hotel
Maxwell Cheyne, a young man of leisure, travels to Plymouth on errands and meets a stranger, Mr. Hubert Parkes, who claims to have known his father. Parkes invites Cheyne to lunch, during which he proposes a literary collaboration. Cheyne suddenly falls into a deep sleep and wakes hours later to find he has been drugged, though nothing is stolen. The hotel manager urges him to keep the matter quiet and offers to hire a private detective instead of involving the police.
Chapter 2
II: Burglary!
Cheyne learns that his home, Warren Lodge, has been burgled while he was drugged in Plymouth. His mother and sister were tricked into leaving by a fake telegram, and the maids were tied up and gagged. Despite the safe being opened, nothing appears stolen. Cheyne decides to investigate personally, keeping the Plymouth incident secret.
Chapter 3
III: The Launch Enid
After the attempted burglary, Cheyne returns to Plymouth and hires private detective Mr. Speedwell, who investigates the drugging and burglary but finds few leads. The analyst's report shows no trace of drugs in Cheyne's food, deepening the mystery. Speedwell suggests the gang is after a paper Cheyne possesses, but Cheyne cannot identify it. Later, Cheyne is kidnapped aboard the launch Enid and held captive by Lamson, who demands Arnold Price's sealed letter. Cheyne refuses, enraged at the betrayal of his friend's trust, and is left locked in the dark cabin.
Chapter 4
Concerning a Peerage
Maxwell Cheyne, imprisoned on the launch Enid, deduces that his earlier drugging, burglary, and kidnapping are all part of a scheme to obtain a letter from Arnold Price. After a harrowing night of thirst and despair, his captor, who reveals himself as Price (not Lamson), explains the conspiracy: it involves a claim to the barony of Hull, based on documents left by St. John Price, who died in a ship collision. Cheyne is released in a dinghy but resolves to turn the tables on the gang.
Chapter 5
V: An Amateur Sleuth
Cheyne decides to pursue the gang himself rather than go to the police, hoping to recover the documents for Arnold Price's claim to the barony of Hull. He races to intercept the launch Enid, but misses it. He then follows Price and Lewisham by train from Kingswear to Exeter and finally to London, where he hires a taxi to tail them, only to lose them in traffic.

Free preview

16 more chapter companions sit beside the text in BetterReads — open a free preview to unlock the rest.

16 more companions → free preview

The Episode in the Plymouth Hotel

II: Burglary!

III: The Launch Enid

Concerning a Peerage

V: An Amateur Sleuth