Episode Details

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Tonight, the story that answers a question we left hanging.

When we opened the Raffles stories with "The Ides of March," he mentioned, almost in passing, an unreported incident on a certain cricket tour — and then refused to say another word about it. Bunny tried for years. Raffles would only shake his head and watch his cigarette smoke, with that look half cynical and half wistful, as though the honest days that were no more had had their merits after all.

Tonight he finally tells it.

"Le Premier Pas" — the first step. This is the story of the very first crime A. J. Raffles ever committed: a young cricketer far from home, touring Australia, riding out through gum trees and dust to a bank in a small country town. Where he is mistaken for somebody he is not.

It is one small misunderstanding, and it hands him an opportunity no honest man would have taken. Of all his stories, this is the only one that carries the ghost of a dead remorse.

ℹ️ FOR LISTENERS
This is a complete, unabridged reading of Le Premier Pas by E. W. Hornung, collected in The Amateur Cracksman (1899) and now in the public domain. Every word is the author's own. Part of The Midnight Archive: three nights of classics every week, alongside four original Nocturnal Tales mysteries.

🗳️ YOU CHOOSE WHAT'S NEXT
The Archive is deep — more Raffles? Sherlock Holmes? Father Brown? Max Carrados? Lady Molly? Loveday Brooke? Arsène Lupin? Vote in the poll attached to this episode, or tell us in the comments which classic you want to hear by lamplight.

💬 QUESTION FOR THE COMMENTS
He didn't set out to become a thief. He was handed a door that happened to be open, and he walked through it. Is there a single first step in anyone's life that decides the rest — or do we only see it looking backwards? 🕵️

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🧾 CREDITS
Story by E. W. Hornung (public domain). Narrated and produced by Nocturnal Tales.

🔖 TAGS / KEYWORDS
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