Chums No. 785, Vol. XVI

About this issue

In Mother's Shoes at School, by Tom H. Fowler (serial, Chapter XIII–XIV) A boys' school serial set at Willowfield. Lorrimer Duck reports being violently seized by fellow student Cadleigh, who tore apart Duck's collection of papers searching for pieces of a document that fit together like a puzzle. Cadleigh interrogated Duck about a missing piece, which Duck—panicking—claimed Randall possessed. After threatening Duck with a chair, Cadleigh pretended sanity and released him, extracting a promise not to tell Randall. Elsewhere, the boys discuss developments: constable Jubb reports that Paul Proudlock, a student, is now prime suspect in a jewel robbery and autograph-based forgeries; the senior Proudlock was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. Detective-Inspector Bodkin from Scotland Yard has arrived to pursue Paul. A mysterious middle-aged stranger then approaches Slim and Randall seeking a Willowfield nephew, complicating matters further. The serial also includes a tall-tale interlude featuring Mr. Binnacle, an old sailor, spinning an increasingly absurd yarn to schoolboys about a storm and a colossal spinning fish.