A Defensive Diamond

H.H. Munro pseudonym Saki, prolific Scottish author of the Edwardian era, often referred to as the master of short stories and compared to O Henry and Dorothy Parker.  Edwardian humorist Saki is still read today for short stories describing incredible situations so unusual as to get us laughing. 

Perhaps the most celebrated of all the out-talking stories is "A Defensive Diamond" in which the lie is elevated to an art form.  Treddleford is spending a dismal wet October evening comfortably in his armchair before a blazing fire in his club with a favourite book, the ultimate in escapist literature: The Golden Journey to Samarkand.  There intrudes upon this idyll, "Amblecope, the man with the restless, prominent eyes and the mouth ready mobilized for conversational openings" , a description which leaves no doubt that he is a ...How will the story end? Read the story to find out.