RANSVESTIA

monographs of the great criminologists, and have tried my hand successfully in several small investigations. Now with with the disappearance of my cousin, I wish to try my hand at what may turn out to be a very serious affair. For this I feel that I am in need of someone who has experienced first hand observation of some of the greatest investigations in history."

"You say that this disappearance may turn into a serious affair, tell me, dear Olivia, what leads you to think this?"

"I trust you have read in the newspapers of the three young men found slain in the past month?" she asked.

"Of course," I replied, "I was reading about it only this morning before your arrival. Do you think your cousin's disappearance may somehow be connected with the death of these three men?"

"I fear, Dr. Watson, that my cousin may well be the fourth victim. Let me relate to you the details of my story. It all began, I suppose, several years ago when I returned home from holiday several days earlier than I had planned. Upon entering the house I found myself face to face with a woman who could have easily been my identical twin. When the initial shock was over I realized that it was actually my cousin Mark, wearing a wig, with his face made up, and dressed up in my clothes. Needless to say, I was shocked at this sight and thought Mark to be a homosexual. Yet, he explained to me quite a different view. He assured me that he had no desire for another man, but was so in love with women and womankind, so admiring of them, that he felt a need to share and experience their world. It took me many months to grow to understand my cousin's desires and behavior, but I finally came to accept his dressing as a woman as the great compliment it really was. I learned that he belonged to a club of men, all of whom shared the same desires to occasionally share woman- hood. They called themselves the 'Knights of the Abbe de Chaisy,' after the famous French nobleman, who spent many years living as a woman. He had taken the feminine name of Sara and he and his fellow Knights met at their club on Tuesday of each week to enjoy their 'hobby' together. Although, they practiced strict security con- cerning the identity of each other, Mark knew several of the members as their male persons as well as their female impersonations. He, on occasion, spoke of them to me and had divulged the whereabouts of their club on Fenchurch Street."

35