"Wooden Case Marked H.M. (in a Diamond) 415"

"The Salvation of Detective Furley."
By W. Pett Ridge (1859-1930).
First appearance: The London Magazine, August (?) 1903.
Short short short story (3 pages).
Online at Hathi Trust (HERE).

"Then he screamed—shut the door behind him swiftly and locked it. He faced round and threw his hat on the floor."

They say beauty is only skin deep, but how about honesty?

Resources:
- FictionMags's thumbnail of William Pett Ridge: "Born and educated in Kent; came to London in 1880; published over 60 volumes of fiction"; his short stories chronology runs from 1895 to the mid-1920s. Also see Wikipedia (HERE).

- Great War Fiction has an article about Ridge (HERE).