In Jefferson Farjeon's "Christmas crime story", Mystery in White, a party of passengers escaping their snowbound train on Christmas Eve seek refuge in an English country house. It has gradually dawned on most of them that their temporary home has made their situation a lot worse, But in tonight's episode one of their number, fevered and over-imaginative at the best of times, remains blissfully ignorant:
Sometimes, while writing in his ledgers, Thomson recreated himself as a potential genius rising from the bottom of the rung to the top—"Nobody imagined that Sir Robert, then an unknown young man working in a basement office, would one day be First Lord of the Admiralty"—or while listening to his aunt he became Good Samaritan No. One, watched approvingly by God Himself. More often, however, he chose the path of complete escape, where his exploits were simpler and more stirringly human. He did not ache most for the cold prizes of fame; he wanted the appreciation and affection of those around him. So he walked in sweet intimacy with beautiful women, or served them after aerial accidents. He could rescue a child who had fallen over the cliffs of Beachy Head while answering a telephone. But the aerial accidents were his chief delight.
All this with a normal temperature. When the temperature rose above normal, soaring beyond the hundred, his imagination took complete charge...
If you're a member of The Mark Steyn Club you can hear my reading of Part Fourteen of our serialisation of Mystery in White simply by clicking here and logging-in. All previous episodes can be found here - so you can choose whether to follow along each night twenty minutes before you lower your lamp, or save them up for a weekend binge-listen.
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