A Quiver Full of Arrows

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Of these eleven short stories, ten are based on known incidents (some embellished with considerable license). Only one is totally the result of my own imagination.

In the case of “The Century” I took my theme from three different cricket matches. Lovers of Wisden will have to do some considerable delving to uncover them.

“The Luncheon” was inspired by W. Somerset Maugham.

J. A.

The little Chinese statue was the next item to come under the auctioneer’s hammer. Lot 103 caused those quiet murmurings that always precede the sale of a masterpiece. The auctioneer’s assistant held up the delicate piece of ivory for the packed audience to admire while the auctioneer glanced around the room to be sure he knew where the serious bidders were seated. I studied my catalogue and read the detailed description of the piece, and what was known of its history.

The statue had been purchased in Ha Li Chuan in 1871 and was referred to as what Sotheby’s quaintly described as “the property of a gentleman,” usually meaning that some member of the aristocracy did not wish to admit that he was having to sell off one of the family heirlooms. I wondered if that was the case on this occasion and decided to do some research to discover what had caused the little Chinese statue to find its way into the auction rooms on that Thursday morning more than one hundred years later.

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