A Tryst with Ghosts by Edgar Wallace — Read

Once upon a time, in the far-away days of war, there was a mythical or semi-mythical individuality whom the British Tommies named "Quiff. " He was credited with a prescience which was quite inhuman. He knew when the divisions were mustering for attack; he warned commanders of impending raids; at his word battalion chiefs were superseded. for he had an uncanny instinct for weakness. He was the guardian angel of five hundred miles of trench line, and was visualized as a white-bearded gentleman, with a halo. When the enemy put a price on his head of 50,000 marks (in those days marks were real money), thus proving his tangibility, the line was immensely startled.

Nigel Porter was sitting in the shade of his porch one warm day in early December, reading a Vancouver newspaper. It was the anniversary of a battle in which the Canadians had been heavily engaged, and the writer of the reminiscences which he was reading recalled the fact that "Quiff" had warned the British higher command of the coming attack. This interested Nigel considerably. Later he saw a brief reference to himself, and the mention of his having been blown up by a land mine. The paper dropped from his hands, and he jumped with an exclamation. He picked the paper up and looked at the date. Then he went into his house -- too big for a well-to-do bachelor -- and began routing out cablegrams. In four days he was speeding eastward with two suit-cases and a sense of guilt.