Scientific Sprague by Francis Lynde

"Scientific Sprague" by Francis Lynde is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story follows Calvin Sprague, a government chemist who becomes embroiled in a series of mysterious incidents surrounding the Nevada Short Line railroad, particularly regarding a deceptive wire that leads to chaos and panic among railroad employees. As the plot unfolds, the narrative delves into themes of deception, the pressures of high finance, and the intersections between science and detective work. At the start of the novel, we are introduced to a tense situation in the despatcher's office of the Nevada Short Line railroad, where the employees deal with a potentially disastrous false report of a train wreck involving the Apache Limited. The characters Connolly and Bolton engage in banter about their personal lives while attending to their crucial roles in the operations. Meanwhile, Maxwell, the railroad's superintendent, learns about the dire situation and seeks to save the day, eventually calling on Calvin Sprague, a friend and expert, for help. The opening effectively sets the stage for the ensuing drama, laying the groundwork for what appears to be a thrilling mystery involving sabotage and the uncovering of a larger conspiracy at play within the railroad's operations. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

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About this eBook

Author Lynde, Francis, 1856-1930
Illustrator Shrader, E. Roscoe (Edwin Roscoe), 1879-1960
LoC No. 12023516
Title Scientific Sprague
Original Publication United States: Chas. Scribner's Sons,1912.
Contents The wire-devil -- High finance in Cromarty Gulch -- The electrocution of Tunnel Number Three -- The mystery of the Black Blight -- The cloud-bursters -- The high kibosh.
Credits D A Alexander, with thanks to the University of Colorado, Boulder, for providing a scan of the cover, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was made using scans of public domain works put online by Harvard University Library's Open Collections Program.)
Reading Level Reading ease score: 79.9 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.
Language English
LoC Class PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
Subject Mystery and detective stories
Subject Railroad stories
Subject American fiction -- 20th century
Category Text
eBook-No. 67748
Release Date
Last Update Oct 18, 2024
Copyright Public domain in the USA.
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