Queen, Ellery -- Shorter Works (1905-71; 1905-82)
"Miser's Gold" (1950)
(a. k. a. "Love Hunts Hidden Treasure")
by Ellery Queen
"The atmosphere is rich and twisted, the subject likewise, and the story full of sentiment and irony. It even has a surprise ending."
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"This hidden cash you specify. How much does it amount to?"
"Four million .... In ten-thousand-dollar bills."
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"Love and buried treasure -- who could resist such a dish?"
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"He left a clue?"
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"CHALLENGE TO THE READER: In which book was Malachi's clue and how did it tell where he had hidden his money?"
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COMMENTS
Old Uncle Malachi, pawnbroker, punster, and trickster, goes the way of all flesh; but before he shuffles off this mortal coil, he leaves his closest friends in the toils of a mystery: Where has he hidden his life's savings, four hundred ten-grand bills? Enter Ellery Queen. It proves most fortuitous that Ellery and Malachi share the same enthusiasm, a rabid bibliophilia. By turning over a new leaf, Ellery helps two young lovers begin a new life.
NOTES
Minimal character development; and unless you're also a bibliophile with the same book collection as Malachi's, you'll never figure it out.
TYPE: Short story.
GENRE: Detective fiction.
NARRATIVE: Third person.
WHERE: New York City ("Baghdad-on-the-Subway"), on Third Avenue, in Uncle Malachi's pawnshop.
WHEN: Present day (1940s).
CHARACTERS: Uncle Malachi; Dr. Ben Bernard; Eve Warren; Frankie Pagluighi; Ellery Queen.
FOUND IN: Tricks and Treats (1976), pp. 161-166.
FIRST APPEARED IN: This Week (June 18, 1950).
COLLECTED IN: Q. B. I. (1955).
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