Project Gutenberg 2011-09-10 Public domain in the USA. 205 Thorne, Paul Thorne, Mabel The Secret Toll Produced by Darleen Dove, Mary Meehan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Secret Toll" by Paul Thorne and Mabel Thorne is a crime fiction novel likely written in the early 20th century. The story follows Robert Forrester, a young civil engineer who, after returning from military service, finds himself targeted by a mysterious criminal gang called the "Friends of the Poor," which extorts money from wealthy citizens under the threat of death. The plot thickens as Forrester refuses to comply with their demands, becoming embroiled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. At the start of the tale, Forrester discusses the gang's activities with a friend in an exclusive Chicago club, revealing his disbelief in their power over the police. He receives a chilling letter demanding a large sum of money under threat of death, which brings the case of George Nevins, a recent victim, perilously close to home. The opening chapters set the stage for Forrester's resolve to confront this menace, leading him to involve the police and a private detective while also emphasizing the escalating threat posed by the gang, who have left previous victims dead. Forrester’s determination to act against the shadowy figures behind the extortion promises a gripping conflict as the story unfolds. (This is an automatically generated summary.) http://book.klll.cc/files/37378/37378-rst/images/cover.jpg http://book.klll.cc/files/37378/37378-h/images/cover.jpg Reading ease score: 72.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Detective and mystery stories Chicago (Ill.) -- Fiction Extortion -- Fiction World War, 1914-1918 -- Veterans -- Fiction PS Text Category: Crime, Thrillers and Mystery Category: Novels Category: American Literature 357559 2025-08-15T08:21:52.486395 text/html 358700 2011-09-10T16:29:12 text/html 375127 2025-08-15T08:22:02.196269 application/epub+zip 564213 2025-01-15T08:53:12.504247 application/pdf 373896 2025-01-15T08:53:03.207343 application/pdf 374917 2025-08-15T08:21:56.157259 application/epub+zip 218265 2025-08-15T08:21:54.220334 application/epub+zip 470294 2025-08-15T08:22:05.835208 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 426059 2025-08-15T08:22:00.652300 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 269713 2022-09-17T07:14:30.450370 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 307461 2025-08-15T08:21:52.052291 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 309867 2011-09-10T16:30:06 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 307604 2011-09-10T16:30:12 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 307602 2011-09-10T16:30:18 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 26905 2025-08-15T08:22:05.983204 application/rdf+xml 309476 2025-08-15T08:21:51.885287 text/x-rst 309472 2011-09-10T16:29:24 text/x-rst 20085 2025-08-15T08:21:54.710283 image/jpeg 2620 2025-08-15T08:21:54.469269 image/jpeg 113971 2011-09-10T16:30:06 application/octet-stream application/zip 113587 2011-09-10T16:30:12 application/octet-stream application/zip 310464 2011-09-10T16:29:12 application/octet-stream application/zip 302619 2011-09-10T16:29:24 application/octet-stream application/zip 113572 2011-09-10T16:30:18 application/octet-stream application/zip 310864 2025-08-15T08:21:52.516307 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog