13 Lead Soldiers

An intruder murders Dr Stedman in his study and steals two painted lead soldiers from his desk. The crime sets off the central mystery around the 13-figure collection and the valuable palimpsest. Police and investigators are left with few concrete clues, and the case quickly becomes a lure for various collectors and rivals.

The next day, Hugh Drummond reads about the murder in a newspaper and is drawn into the affair. His friend Phillip Coleman appears with two similar figurines and claims ownership, warning of offers and threats surrounding their sale. Coleman leaves the figures with Drummond for safekeeping and asks him to investigate the mystery.

To provoke the thief into action, Drummond and his circle plant a press story claiming that he purchased the figures from Coleman. The stunt is meant to flush out whoever is behind the recent thefts and bring the danger into the open. It increases tension as other suspects step forward.

A woman who identifies herself as journalist Estelle Gorday visits Drummond and immediately recognizes the figures from his mantle. She confirms she knows the right figures are rare and valuable, linking herself to the broader intrigue. Gorday's presence foreshadows further complications in the case.

Drummond and his ally Longworth tour Stedman Manor, where Cynthia Stedman explains that her father bought a set of 13 figures and an Anglo-Saxon palimpsest. She reveals that the figures are a cipher and that the parchment contains the map to a hidden treasure. The backstory links the stolen items to a long history of wealth and danger.

Drummond connects the dots, recounting that the 13 leaders guarded treasure and that Harold hid a parchment with a map. The palimpsest was overwritten by monks to protect the original writing. An offer to buy the set came from a man named Vane, who grew angry when rejected.

Vane breaks into Drummond's apartment and steals the two soldiers, triggering a pursuit that ends with Vane dead and the figures missing. Coleman and Seymour shadow him to a Soho flat, but a knife is hurled at Drummond and Longworth as they investigate. The confrontation heightens the danger surrounding the remaining artifacts.

The next day, in Inspector McIver's office, Ms Stedman identifies the dead man as Vane, connecting him to the murder. Drummond visits Gorday and, upon searching her place, finds the palimpsest; Gorday admits she works for Vane and that he was a collector who owned the other soldiers.

Drummond and the others examine the palimpsest with Stedman and Coleman, explaining the 13 leaders and how the parchment provides instructions to a hidden treasure. They clarify that the statues act as a cipher to locate the secret hoard. The revelation motivates them to seek the treasure in the next location.

The group travels to the site indicated on the map, where the current building is an antiques store occupying a much older manor. Inside, they uncover a medieval fireplace and walls hiding the treasure chamber. The store owner tries to eject them when asked about the soldiers.

Gorday, revealed as Prager's daughter, confronts Drummond and asserts that her father owns the remaining soldiers and wants the four others and the palimpsest. She admits being at Soho and throwing the knife at Drummond and that she and Prager hired Vane. The tense confrontation clarifies the rival factions pursuing the treasure.

Ms Stedman accompanies the parchment to the store, waiting outside with Seymour and Longworth while Gorday/Prager and Drummond arrive. They enter to find Prager dead, and Coleman holding all 13 soldiers inside the shop. A struggle ensues, with Coleman attacked and overpowered; Cynthia is found to have been manipulated.

Drummond lines up the soldiers on a pedestal as in the old drawing and their weight triggers a hidden mechanism. A secret chamber reveals the treasure and the parchment map. Inspector McIver arrives, takes one figure, the door begins to close, and Coleman is shot while attempting to flee; the remaining characters escape the chamber after the figure is replaced.