Classic Mysteries: A Collection of Mind-bending Masterpieces (1996) by Molly Cooper (ed)

Author:Molly Cooper (ed) [Cooper, Molly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

A Curious Experience

Mark Twain

Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Clemens, was as well known for his flamboyant personality as for his incredible wit. Born in Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835, and moving to Hannibal in that same state when he was four, Twain was fascinated by life on the river, and many of his most famous works take place with a river as the backdrop. In fact, he was even trained as a steamboat pilot, and it was from this experience that the author created the name Mark Twain, which means two fathoms in riverboat terms.

After working as a journalist for The Hannibal Journal, Twain moved out west during the Civil War and spent many years in Nevada and California, where he began his career as an author. After the war, Charles Henry Webb published Twain’s first book, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, in 1867. A few years later, now a somewhat established writer, Twain married Olivia L. Langdon on February 2, 1870.

Frequently lecturing across the country, Twain’s face soon became as familiar as his works, the most famous of which were The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, published in 1876, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in 1884.

But while his career remained successful, Twain’s personal life was often difficult. He had several periods of financial difficulty, and in 1896 his oldest daughter, Susy, died, followed by his wife in 1909 and his youngest daughter, Jean, in 1909. After their deaths, the infamous author could no longer bear to live in the same house in Hartford, Connecticut, where his family had spent so many happy years, so Twain built a house in Redding, Connecticut, where he spent some of his most productive writing years.

Visiting friends, attending plays, delivering speeches, granting interviews, and of course writing, Twain, one of the most well-known public figures of his time, was active until his death, April 21, 1910.

Twain was notable for displaying his love of deception and surprise endings in most of his work, and “A Curious Experience” is no exception. Here Twain tells the tale of a boy who has sent an entire Union regiment into a state of panic when it is thought that he is a dangerous spy for the confederacy. But is he? Read on and discover the truth.

In the winter of 1862-63, I was commandant of Fort Trumball, at New London, Conn. Maybe our life there was not so brisk as life at “the front”; still it was brisk enough, in its way—one’s brains didn’t cake together there for lack of something to keep them stirring. For one thing, all the Northern atmosphere at that time was thick with mysterious rumors—rumors to the effect that rebel spies were flitting everywhere, and getting ready to blow up our Northern forts, burn our hotels, send infected clothing into our towns, and all that sort of thing. All this had a tendency to keep us awake, and knock the traditional dullness out of garrison life. Besides, ours was

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