The Vanishing Point by Christopher Ward
Dick Livingston, a respected doctor in Haverly living with his uncle, Doctor David, and aunt, Lucy, has no memory of his life before a snow-storm in a Wyoming cabin, where Doctor David nursed him through illness. He courts Elizabeth Wheeler, inviting her to see the actress Beverly Carlysle in "The Valley," a plan that unsettles Doctor David and Aunt Lucy, who know Dick's past conceals a dangerous secret. Elizabeth's father, Walter Wheeler, half-jokingly proposes going to Wyoming to investigate Dick's origins but never sets out. At the theatre, Beverly Carlysle's brother, Fred Gregory, recognizes Dick, and reporter Louis Bassett notices Gregory's reaction. Bassett researches old newspaper files and finds a classified advertisement, then follows Dick, who has also left for Wyoming. Gregory tells Beverly that the man in the audience is Jud Clark, heir to Elihu Clark's fortune and the supposed murderer of her husband, Howard Lucas, in a billiard-room shooting. Beverly and Gregory speak evasively about what each of them actually witnessed. Gregory visits Doctor David under the pretext of discussing a photograph of his nephew, probing for information before being ordered from the house. Dick tells Elizabeth he is going to Wyoming to learn whether he is in fact Jud Clark. In Norada, Bassett meets Dick, and after Dick is drugged by a drink Bassett gave him, Bassett carries the unconscious man through a blizzard to a remote mountain cabin, surrounding him with ordinary household objects in hopes of reviving his memory. Dick wakes repeatedly, recalling fragments, eventually declaring himself Jud Clark and describing shooting Beverly Carlysle's husband in a billiard room as an act of self-defense. He also recalls his entire life except Elizabeth's name. Bassett carries Dick over the mountains to the Norada station, where they evade a sheriff who is searching for Jud Clark, then travel on to New York. They confront Beverly Carlysle and Fred Gregory at gunpoint, demanding a signed confession. The confession, contradictory and confused in its details, asserts that Dick Livingston is not Jud Clark but is in fact Fred Gregory's relation, that the killing in the billiard room involved Fred Gregory and Howard Lucas rather than Jud Clark, and that Gregory, not Bassett, had given Dick the drugged drink in Norada. Both Beverly and Gregory sign it. Dick returns to Haverly, where Aunt Lucy tells him Elizabeth has become engaged to Wallie Sayre; Dick, not recognizing the name Elizabeth, is baffled, and Aunt Lucy faints. Weeks later, Elizabeth comes to Dick's office and asks him to marry her, which he agrees to do, admitting he had merely forgotten. A newspaper notice records the marriage of Elizabeth Wheeler to Dr. Richard Livingston, prompting Bassett's bemused reaction in the newspaper office.
By Christopher Ward · Genre: Mystery, Comedy, Satire · 14 chapters · 2,489 words
First lines
"Give Elizabeth a kiss for me! " Uncle David called after him, as he left the house.
"David," said Aunt Lucy, "he'll never marry Elizabeth until the mystery is cleared up."
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Genres
- Mystery — The central plot revolves around the mystery of Dick Livingston's true identity and the investigation into who murdered Beverly Carlysle's husband, driving the narrative forward through investigation and revelation.
- Comedy — The work employs pervasive ironic humor, wordplay, and absurdist situations throughout, with characters and situations treated with satirical levity rather than serious tone.
- Satire — The text explicitly mocks detective fiction conventions, serialized story tropes (references to 'last number'), and mystery plot mechanics through exaggeration and parody.
- Absurdist Fiction — The plot becomes increasingly illogical and contradictory, with the confessions admitting confusion and impossibility, prioritizing nonsensical comedy over narrative coherence.
Tags
amnesia · memory loss · mistaken identity · identity crisis · mystery · murder mystery · detective story · memory recovery · Wyoming · mountain cabin · small-town setting · post-Prohibition
What this Textopian page supports
The Vanishing Point is listed on Textopian as a short story by Christopher Ward, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Christopher Ward
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Mystery, Comedy, Satire, Absurdist Fiction, Crime Fiction
- Length: 2,489 words
- Structure: 14 chapters, 149 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Vanishing Point by Christopher Ward
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Contents
- CHAPTER I
- CHAPTER II
- CHAPTER III
- CHAPTER IV
- CHAPTER V
- CHAPTER VI
- CHAPTER VII
- CHAPTER VIII
- CHAPTER IX
- CHAPTER X
- CHAPTER XI
- CHAPTER XII
- CHAPTER XIII
- CHAPTER XIV