My Friend the Murderer

A murderer is hounded for the rest of his life—not for his crimes, but for the very act that won his freedom—in a story by the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

As leader of the Bluemansdyke gang, infamous criminal “Wolf-Tone” Maloney plays his part in a series of gruesome murders. But when the gang is finally caught in New Zealand, Maloney betrays his comrades in exchange for a pardon. Though he’s spared the gallows, he soon realizes he’ll never be free. From Dunedin and Sydney to London and Paris, Maloney finds himself hounded by vigilantes who see his betrayal as the worst crime of all.
This short story by Arthur Conan Doyle first appeared in London Society magazine in 1882.