The innocence of Father Brown

"The Sign of the Broken Sword" is a short story by G. K. Chesterton and the sixth to feature Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective Father Brown. It was published in the January 7, 1911, issue of The Saturday Evening Post and later reprinted in The Innocence of Father Brown (1911), the first compilation of Father Brown stories. The story features Brown and his friend Hercule Flambeau investigating an old crime.