Three More John Silence Stories

The story opens with Harris, a seasoned silk merchant, riding a mountain railway through the mist‑shrouded Alps. A sudden impulse drives him back to the austere boarding school that shaped his youth, a place where strict Protestant discipline and a close‑knit brotherhood left an indelible mark on his character. As the train winds past pine‑clad valleys, his memories flood with the clang of bells, the smell of sauerkraut, and the rigid routine that once governed every breath of the hundred boys under the masters’ watchful eyes.

At the same moment, the detective John Silence, on a modest holiday, finds himself trekking the same mountains, his curiosity piqued by rumors of a secret worship hidden within the school’s stone walls. When the two strangers converge on the same remote inn, Silence senses that the quiet discipline may conceal something far more unsettling. The stage is set for a careful investigation into the mysteries that linger long after the final school bell has rung.