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Read The unknown seven : $b A detective story in English, with German beside it
by Herman Landon · 1882–1960
"The unknown seven" by Herman Landon is a detective novel written in the early 20th century. It centers on criminologist Kingdon Cole, who is drawn into a shadowy conspiracy tied to a missing man, Malcolm Reeves, an enigmatic scientist named Professor Carmody, and a secret council of seven masked figures. Expect urban intrigue, psychological pressure, and high-stakes cat-and-mouse play set against a clandestine New York backdrop. The opening of the novel finds Kingdon Cole staking out Professor Carmody when a mysterious woman in a limousine—calling herself Miss Brown—whisks him to a hidden suite atop a skyscraper. There, seven masked men try to bribe and coerce Cole into dropping the Reeves case; when he refuses, they plunge him into darkness, warn him via speaking tube, and present the now-insane Reeves as leverage, even threatening a brain operation to break Cole’s will. Cole narrowly escapes an ether-laced “operation” by seizing a knife and overpowering a disguised “surgeon,” after which the masked group abruptly claims they did not harm Reeves and urges Cole to pursue a new lead: Doctor Dickson Latham, a nerve specialist they suspect, based in part on Reeves’s reaction to a staged resemblance. At the start of the next day, Cole visits Latham under an alias to take his measure; the doctor appears genial and competent as the excerpt ends mid-consultation.
Summary generated automatically by Project Gutenberg.
- Read time
- 359 min
- Words
- 79,070
- Chapters
- 56
- Paragraphs
- 1,981
- Price
- Free
- Detective and mystery stories
- New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
- Private investigators -- Fiction
- Secret societies -- Fiction
Cole’s shoulder made a seesawing motion.
Coles Schulter machte eine Schaukelbewegung.
The whole thing was preposterous, but there was a quality in the man’s tone that impressed him against his will.
Das Ganze war lächerlich, aber es gab etwas an der Stimme des Mannes, das ihn gegen seinen Willen beeindruckte.
“You are asking me to believe that you are sheep in wolves’ clothing,” he remarked.
„Sie bitten mich zu glauben, dass ihr Schafe in Wolfskleidung seid“, bemerkte er.
“That’s undoubtedly how it looks to you.
„Das ist ohne Zweifel, wie es Ihnen erscheint.
Won’t you try to brush your doubts aside, Mr. Cole?
Wollen Sie nicht versuchen, Ihre Zweifel beiseite zu schieben, Mr. Cole?
Remember that in due time I will prove everything I say.”
Denken Sie daran, dass ich im Laufe der Zeit alles beweisen werde, was ich sage.“
Cole’s indignation was cooling.
Coles Empörung kühlte ab.
There was something about the spokesman that seemed to exert a subtle magnetism on him.
Es gab etwas an dem Sprecher, das eine subtile Anziehungskraft auf ihn auszuüben schien.
Already his dreadful experience in the other room seemed dim and remote, though a few minutes ago he had thought it was indelibly etched on the scroll of his memory.
Schon schien seine schreckliche Erfahrung im anderen Zimmer verblichen und fern, obwohl er vor wenigen Minuten noch geglaubt hatte, sie sei unauslöschlich auf die Schriftrolle seines Gedächtnisses geätzt.
“If what you say is true, then why——”
„Wenn das, was Sie sagen, wahr ist, dann warum——“
“No questions, please.
„Keine Fragen, bitte.
You would not believe me if I were to answer them.
Sie würden mir nicht glauben, wenn ich sie beantworten würde.
All I can say now is that we have excellent reasons for what we have done.
Alles, was ich jetzt sagen kann, ist, dass wir hervorragende Gründe für das haben, was wir getan haben.
Some time before long I think you yourself will approve them.
Irgendwann in naher Zukunft werden Sie diese wahrscheinlich selbst billigen.
Just now you must accept my statements on faith.
Im Augenblick müssen Sie meine Aussagen aus Glauben heraus akzeptieren.
Will you try to believe that we had nothing to do with Reeves’ condition and that we are on your side in the Carmody matter?”
Werden Sie versuchen zu glauben, dass wir nichts mit Reeves’ Zustand zu tun hatten und dass wir auf Ihrer Seite in der Carmody-Angelegenheit stehen?“
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Questions about The unknown seven : $b A detective story
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There is no set level. The unknown seven : $b A detective story runs to 79,070 words in 56 chapters, and the translation sits beside it, aligned phrase by phrase, so you can start below the level the original would need on its own and lean on the translation only where you stumble.
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Can I read The unknown seven : $b A detective story in another language?
Yes. It is also published in Spanish, French, and switching keeps your place, because both columns share one paragraph numbering.
How long does The unknown seven : $b A detective story take to read?
About 6 hours at a normal pace, longer if you stop to look at the alignment, which is rather the point.
Book details
- Original language
- English
- Translation
- German, machine translation
- Source text
- Project Gutenberg #78010
- Licence
- Public domain in the United States
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