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Dangerous Dilemmas: Startling but True cover

Dangerous Dilemmas: Startling but True

Chapter 2: DANGEROUS DILEMMAS.
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About This Book

A first-person narrator recounts a string of short, self-contained episodes that blend gambling-house mishaps, sporting scenes, puzzles, petty crimes, and ingenious swindles. Chapters present auction-room capers, stamp and puzzle curiosities, missing jewels and surprising recoveries, racetrack intrigues, and domestic or matrimonial schemes, each centered on a practical dilemma or ruse. Stories typically conclude with a clever or ironic resolution, and the overall tone shifts between light satire and suspense while highlighting human folly, tactical ingenuity, and the mechanics of deception and comeuppance.

CONTENTS

Chapter   Page
DANGEROUS DILEMMAS.
   
I THE ORIGIN OF "DANGEROUS DILEMMAS." 3
II THE CHRISTMAS WINE-HAMPER FRAUD. 10
III MY FIRST AND ONLY APPEARANCE AS AN AUCTIONEER. 14
IV THE TWO MYSTERIOUS DOMINOS. 20
V THE FIFTEEN POSTAGE-STAMP PUZZLE. 27
VI A HEAD DEFEAT; AN ATTEMPT TO WIN THE CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 33
VII THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE AND STRANGER RECOVERY OF THE COUNTESS'S DIAMONDS. 42
VIII CREMORNE: A ROMANCE OF THE DERBY. 46
IX HOW TO SATISFY ONE'S CREDITORS WITH WASTE PAPER. 52
X LORD SEAMORD'S FALSE FUNERAL. 57
XI TAKING A MEAN ADVANTAGE OF A FIRE. 64
XII THE ATTEMPTED MURDER IN THE AIR. 69
XIII MY TWO MATCHES, OR WATERLOO AVENGED. 74
XIV UNFORTUNATE POSTAGE-STAMP. 80
   
The Silver Gauntlet.
A STORY OF THE TURF.
In Four Chapters.
I An Introduction to Billy Platt. 90
II Billy Platt shows his hand, and receives an unexpected but well-deserved blow. 92
III A Woman comes to the Rescue. 95
IV Broken bones and successful love. 99
   
XV MY REVENGES AT BILLIARDS. 103
   
-- SECRETS OF A MATRIMONIAL AGENCY. 108
-- CRUEL WORK OF AN INTIMATE FRIEND. 116
-- THE MISSING "RAJAH" DIAMOND. 123

DANGEROUS DILEMMAS.