No. 17 (ben the tramp mystery)

The first of a series of stories featuring the character of Ben, a former merchant sailor now down-on-his-luck, who continually gets involved in adventures. Taking shelter in an abandoned old house, he stumbles across a dead body – and scarpers. Running into a detective, Gilbert Fordyce, the reluctant Ben is persuaded to return to the house and investigate the mystery of the corpse – which promptly disappears! The vacant No.17 is the rendezvous for a gang of villains, and the cowardly Ben finds himself in the thick of thieves with no way of escape.