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+Project Gutenberg's A Master of Mysteries, by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: A Master of Mysteries
+
+Author: L. T. Meade
+        Robert Eustace
+
+Illustrator: J. Ambrose Walton
+
+Release Date: August 8, 2007 [EBook #22278]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MASTER OF MYSTERIES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+A MASTER OF MYSTERIES
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: "He pulled the mare nearly up on her haunches."
+(Page 114). A Master of Mysteries.--Frontispiece]
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+A MASTER OF MYSTERIES
+
+By
+L. T. MEADE
+and ROBERT EUSTACE
+
+Illustrated By
+J. AMBROSE WALTON
+
+London
+Ward, Lock & Co Limited
+Warwick House Salisbury Square E C
+New York And Melbourne
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Contents
+
+                                                                 PAGE
+
+   I  THE MYSTERY OF THE CIRCULAR CHAMBER                           9
+
+  II  THE WARDER OF THE DOOR                                       57
+
+ III  THE MYSTERY OF THE FELWYN TUNNEL                             95
+
+  IV  THE EIGHT-MILE LOCK                                         139
+
+   V  HOW SIVA SPOKE                                              183
+
+  VI  TO PROVE AN ALIBI                                           227
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Introduction
+
+It so happened that the circumstances of fate allowed me to follow my
+own bent in the choice of a profession. From my earliest youth the
+weird, the mysterious had an irresistible fascination for me. Having
+private means, I resolved to follow my unique inclinations, and I am now
+well known to all my friends as a professional exposer of ghosts, and
+one who can clear away the mysteries of most haunted houses. Up to the
+present I have never had cause to regret my choice, but at the same time
+I cannot too strongly advise any one who thinks of following my example
+to hesitate before engaging himself in tasks that entail time, expense,
+thankless labour, often ridicule, and not seldom great personal danger.
+To explain, by the application of science, phenomena attributed to
+spiritual agencies has been the work of my life. I have, naturally, gone
+through strange difficulties in accomplishing my mission. I propose in
+these pages to relate the histories of certain queer events, enveloped
+at first in mystery, and apparently dark with portent, but,
+nevertheless, when grappled with in the true spirit of science, capable
+of explanation.
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+THE MYSTERY OF THE CIRCULAR CHAMBER
+
+
+One day in late September I received the following letter from my
+lawyer:--
+
+     "My Dear Bell,--
+
+     "I shall esteem it a favour if you can make it convenient to call
+     upon me at ten o'clock to-morrow morning on a matter of extreme
+     privacy."
+
+At the appointed hour I was shown into Mr. Edgcombe's private room. I
+had known him for years--we were, in fact, old friends--and I was
+startled now by the look of worry, not to say anxiety, on his usually
+serene features.
+
+"You are the very man I want, Bell," he cried. "Sit down; I have a great
+deal to say to you. There is a mystery of a very grave nature which I
+hope you may solve for me. It is in connection with a house said to be
+haunted."
+
+He fixed his bright eyes on my face as he spoke. I sat perfectly silent,
+waiting for him to continue.
+
+"In the first place," he resumed, "I must ask you to regard the matter
+as confidential."
+
+"Certainly," I answered.
+
+"You know," he went on, "that I have often laughed at your special
+hobby, but it occurred to me yesterday that the experiences you have
+lived through may enable you to give me valuable assistance in this
+difficulty."
+
+"I will do my best for you, Edgcombe," I replied.
+
+He lay back in his chair, folding his hands.
+
+"The case is briefly as follows," he began. "It is connected with the
+family of the Wentworths. The only son, Archibald, the artist, has just
+died under most extraordinary circumstances. He was, as you probably
+know, one of the most promising water-colour painters of the younger
+school, and his pictures in this year's Academy met with universal
+praise. He was the heir to the Wentworth estates, and his death has
+caused a complication of claims from a member of a collateral branch of
+the family, who, when the present squire dies, is entitled to the money.
+This man has spent the greater part of his life in Australia, is badly
+off, and evidently belongs to a rowdy set. He has been to see me two or
+three times, and I must say frankly that I am not taken with his
+appearance."
+
+"Had he anything to do with the death?" I interrupted.
+
+"Nothing whatever, as you will quickly perceive. Wentworth has been
+accustomed from time to time to go alone on sketching tours to different
+parts of the country. He has tramped about on foot, and visited odd,
+out-of-the-way nooks searching for subjects. He never took much money
+with him, and always travelled as an apparently poor man. A month ago he
+started off alone on one of these tours. He had a handsome commission
+from Barlow & Co., picture-dealers in the Strand. He was to paint
+certain parts of the river Merran; and although he certainly did not
+need money, he seemed glad of an object for a good ramble. He parted
+with his family in the best of health and spirits, and wrote to them
+from time to time; but a week ago they heard the news that he had died
+suddenly at an inn on the Merran. There was, of course, an inquest and
+an autopsy. Dr. Miles Gordon, the Wentworths' consulting physician, was
+telegraphed for, and was present at the post-mortem examination. He is
+absolutely puzzled to account for the death. The medical examination
+showed Wentworth to be in apparently perfect health at the time. There
+was no lesion to be discovered upon which to base a different opinion,
+all the organs being healthy. Neither was there any trace of poison, nor
+marks of violence. The coroner's verdict was that Wentworth died of
+syncope, which, as you know perhaps, is a synonym for an unknown cause.
+The inn where he died is a very lonely one, and has the reputation of
+being haunted. The landlord seems to bear a bad character, although
+nothing has ever been proved against him. But a young girl who lives at
+the inn gave evidence which at first startled every one. She said at the
+inquest that she had earnestly warned Wentworth not to sleep in the
+haunted room. She had scarcely told the coroner so before she fell to
+the floor in an epileptic fit. When she came to herself she was sullen
+and silent, and nothing more could be extracted from her. The old man,
+the innkeeper, explained that the girl was half-witted, but he did not
+attempt to deny that the house had the reputation of being haunted, and
+said that he had himself begged Wentworth not to put up there. Well,
+that is about the whole of the story. The coroner's inquest seems to
+deny the evidence of foul play, but I have my very strong suspicions.
+What I want you to do is to ascertain if they are correct. Will you
+undertake the case?"
+
+"I will certainly do so," I replied. "Please let me have any further
+particulars, and a written document to show, in case of need, that I am
+acting under your directions."
+
+Edgcombe agreed to this, and I soon afterwards took my leave. The case
+had the features of an interesting problem, and I hoped that I should
+prove successful in solving it.
+
+That evening I made my plans carefully. I would go into ----shire early
+on the following morning, assuming for my purpose the character of an
+amateur photographer. Having got all necessary particulars from
+Edgcombe, I made a careful mental map of my operations. First of all I
+would visit a little village of the name of Harkhurst, and put up at the
+inn, the Crown and Thistle. Here Wentworth had spent a fortnight when he
+first started on his commission to make drawings of the river Merran. I
+thought it likely that I should obtain some information there.
+Circumstances must guide me as to my further steps, but my intention was
+to proceed from Harkhurst to the Castle Inn, which was situated about
+six miles further up the river. This was the inn where the tragedy had
+occurred.
+
+Towards evening on the following day I arrived at Harkhurst. When my
+carriage drew up at the Crown and Thistle, the landlady was standing in
+the doorway. She was a buxom-looking dame, with a kindly face. I asked
+for a bed.
+
+"Certainly, sir," she answered. She turned with me into the little inn,
+and taking me upstairs, showed me a small room, quite clean and
+comfortable, looking out on the yard. I said it would do capitally, and
+she hurried downstairs to prepare my supper. After this meal, which
+proved to be excellent, I determined to visit the landlord in the bar. I
+found him chatty and communicative.
+
+"This is a lonely place," he said; "we don't often have a soul staying
+with us for a month at a time." As he spoke he walked to the door, and I
+followed him. The shades of night were beginning to fall, but the
+picturesqueness of the little hamlet could not but commend itself to me.
+
+"And yet it is a lovely spot," I said. "I should have thought tourists
+would have thronged to it. It is at least an ideal place for
+photographers."
+
+"You are right there, sir," replied the man; "and although we don't
+often have company to stay in the inn, now and then we have a stray
+artist. It's not three weeks back," he continued, "that we had a
+gentleman like you, sir, only a bit younger, to stay with us for a week
+or two. He was an artist, and drew from morning till night--ah, poor
+fellow!"
+
+"Why do you say that?" I asked.
+
+"I have good cause, sir. Here, wife," continued the landlord, looking
+over his shoulder at Mrs. Johnson, the landlady, who now appeared on the
+scene, "this gentleman has been asking me questions about our visitor,
+Mr. Wentworth, but perhaps we ought not to inflict such a dismal story
+upon him to-night."
+
+"Pray do," I said; "what you have already hinted at arouses my
+curiosity. Why should you pity Mr. Wentworth?"
+
+"He is dead, sir," said the landlady, in a solemn voice. I gave a
+pretended start, and she continued,--
+
+"And it was all his own fault. Ah, dear! it makes me almost cry to think
+of it. He was as nice a gentleman as I ever set eyes on, and so strong,
+hearty, and pleasant. Well, sir, everything went well until one day he
+said to me, 'I am about to leave you, Mrs. Johnson. I am going to a
+little place called the Castle Inn, further up the Merran.'
+
+"'The Castle Inn!' I cried. 'No, Mr. Wentworth, that you won't, not if
+you value your life.'
+
+"'And why not?' he said, looking at me with as merry blue eyes as you
+ever saw in anybody's head. 'Why should I not visit the Castle Inn? I
+have a commission to make some drawings of that special bend of the
+river.'
+
+"'Well, then, sir,' I answered, 'if that is the case, you'll just have a
+horse and trap from here and drive over as often as you want to. For the
+Castle Inn ain't a fit place for a Christian to put up at.'
+
+"'What do you mean?' he asked of me.
+
+"'It is said to be haunted, sir, and what does happen in that house the
+Lord only knows, but there's not been a visitor at the inn for some
+years, not since Bailiff Holt came by his death.'
+
+"'Came by his death?' he asked. 'And how was that?'
+
+"'God knows, but I don't,' I answered. 'At the coroner's inquest it was
+said that he died from syncope, whatever that means, but the folks round
+here said it was fright.' Mr. Wentworth just laughed at me. He didn't
+mind a word I said, and the next day, sir, he was off, carrying his
+belongings with him."
+
+"Well, and what happened?" I asked, seeing that she paused.
+
+"What happened, sir? Just what I expected. Two days afterwards came the
+news of his death. Poor young gentleman! He died in the very room where
+Holt had breathed his last; and, oh, if there wasn't a fuss and to-do,
+for it turned out that, although he seemed quite poor to us, with little
+or no money, he was no end of a swell, and had rich relations, and big
+estates coming to him; and, of course, there was a coroner's inquest and
+all the rest, and great doctors came down from London, and our Dr.
+Stanmore, who lives down the street, was sent for, and though they did
+all they could, and examined him, as it were, with a microscope, they
+could find no cause for death, and so they give it out that it was
+syncope, just as they did in the case of poor Holt. But, sir, it wasn't;
+it was fright, sheer fright. The place is haunted. It's a mysterious,
+dreadful house, and I only hope you won't have nothing to do with it."
+
+She added a few more words and presently left us.
+
+"That's a strange story," I said, turning to Johnson; "your wife has
+excited my curiosity. I should much like to get further particulars."
+
+"There don't seem to be anything more to tell, sir," replied Johnson.
+"It's true what the wife says, that the Castle Inn has a bad name. It's
+not the first, no, nor the second, death that has occurred there."
+
+"You mentioned your village doctor; do you think he could enlighten me
+on the subject?"
+
+"I am sure he would do his best, sir. He lives only six doors away, in a
+red house. Maybe you wouldn't mind stepping down the street and speaking
+to him?"
+
+"You are sure he would not think it a liberty?"
+
+"Not he, sir; he'll be only too pleased to exchange a word with some one
+outside this sleepy little place."
+
+"Then I'll call on him," I answered, and taking up my hat I strolled
+down the street. I was lucky in finding Dr. Stanmore at home, and the
+moment I saw his face I determined to take him into my confidence.
+
+"The fact is this," I said, when he had shaken hands with me, "I should
+not dream of taking this liberty did I not feel certain that you could
+help me."
+
+"And in what way?" he asked, not stiffly, but with a keen, inquiring,
+interested glance.
+
+"I have been sent down from London to inquire into the Wentworth
+mystery," I said.
+
+"Is that so?" he said, with a start. Then he continued gravely: "I fear
+you have come on a wild-goose chase. There was nothing discovered at the
+autopsy to account for the death. There were no marks on the body, and
+all the organs were healthy. I met Wentworth often while he was staying
+here, and he was as hearty and strong-looking a young man as I have ever
+come across."
+
+"But the Castle Inn has a bad reputation," I said.
+
+"That is true; the people here are afraid of it. It is said to be
+haunted. But really, sir, you and I need not trouble ourselves about
+stupid reports of that sort. Old Bindloss, the landlord, has lived there
+for years, and there has never been anything proved against him."
+
+"Is he alone?"
+
+"No; his wife and a grandchild live there also."
+
+"A grandchild?" I said. "Did not this girl give some startling evidence
+at the inquest?"
+
+"Nothing of any consequence," replied Dr. Stanmore; "she only repeated
+what Bindloss had already said himself--that the house was haunted, and
+that she had asked Wentworth not to sleep in the room."
+
+"Has anything ever been done to explain the reason why this room is said
+to be haunted?" I continued.
+
+"Not that I know of. Rats are probably at the bottom of it."
+
+"But have not there been other deaths in the house?"
+
+"That is true."
+
+"How many?"
+
+"Well, I have myself attended no less than three similar inquests."
+
+"And what was the verdict of the jury?"
+
+"In each case the verdict was death from syncope."
+
+"Which means, cause unknown," I said, jumping impatiently to my feet. "I
+wonder, Dr. Stanmore, that you are satisfied to leave the matter in such
+a state."
+
+"And, pray, what can I do?" he inquired. "I am asked to examine a body.
+I find all the organs in perfect health; I cannot trace the least
+appearance of violence, nor can I detect poison. What other evidence can
+I honestly give?"
+
+"I can only say that I should not be satisfied," I replied. "I now wish
+to add that I have come down from London determined to solve this
+mystery. I shall myself put up at the Castle Inn."
+
+"Well?" said Dr. Stanmore.
+
+"And sleep in the haunted room."
+
+"Of course you don't believe in the ghost."
+
+"No; but I believe in foul play. Now, Dr. Stanmore, will you help me?"
+
+"Most certainly, if I can. What do you wish me to do?"
+
+"This--I shall go to the Castle Inn to-morrow. If at the end of three
+days I do not return here, will you go in search of me, and at the same
+time post this letter to Mr. Edgcombe, my London lawyer?"
+
+"If you do not appear in three days I'll kick up no end of a row," said
+Dr. Stanmore, "and, of course, post your letter."
+
+Soon afterwards I shook hands with the doctor and left him.
+
+After an early dinner on the following day, I parted with my
+good-natured landlord and his wife, and with my knapsack and kodak
+strapped over my shoulders, started on my way. I took care to tell no
+one that I was going to the Castle Inn, and for this purpose doubled
+back through a wood, and so found the right road. The sun was nearly
+setting when at last I approached a broken-down signpost, on which, in
+half-obliterated characters, I could read the words, "To the Castle
+Inn." I found myself now at the entrance of a small lane, which was
+evidently little frequented, as it was considerably grass-grown. From
+where I stood I could catch no sight of any habitation, but just at that
+moment a low, somewhat inconsequent laugh fell upon my ears. I turned
+quickly and saw a pretty girl, with bright eyes and a childish face,
+gazing at me with interest. I had little doubt that she was old
+Bindloss's grand-daughter.
+
+"Will you kindly tell me," I asked, "if this is the way to the Castle
+Inn?"
+
+My remark evidently startled her. She made a bound forward, seized me by
+my hand, and tried to push me away from the entrance to the lane into
+the high road.
+
+"Go away!" she cried; "we have no beds fit for gentlemen at the Castle
+Inn. Go! go!" she continued, and she pointed up the winding road. Her
+eyes were now blazing in her head, but I noticed that her lips
+trembled, and that very little would cause her to burst into tears.
+
+"But I am tired and footsore," I answered. "I should like to put up at
+the inn for the night."
+
+"Don't!" she repeated; "they'll put you into a room with a ghost. Don't
+go; 'tain't a place for gentlemen." Here she burst not into tears, but
+into a fit of high, shrill, almost idiotic laughter. She suddenly
+clapped one of her hands to her forehead, and, turning, flew almost as
+fast as the wind down the narrow lane and out of sight.
+
+I followed her quickly. I did not believe that the girl was quite as mad
+as she seemed, but I had little doubt that she had something
+extraordinary weighing on her mind.
+
+At the next turn I came in view of the inn. It was a queer-looking old
+place, and I stopped for a moment to look at it.
+
+The house was entirely built of stone. There were two storeys to the
+centre part, which was square, and at the four corners stood four round
+towers. The house was built right on the river, just below a large
+mill-pond. I walked up to the door and pounded on it with my stick. It
+was shut, and looked as inhospitable as the rest of the place. After a
+moment's delay it was opened two or three inches, and the surly face of
+an old woman peeped out.
+
+"And what may you be wanting?" she asked.
+
+"A bed for the night," I replied; "can you accommodate me?"
+
+She glanced suspiciously first at me and then at my camera.
+
+"You are an artist, I make no doubt," she said, "and we don't want no
+more of them here."
+
+She was about to slam the door in my face, but I pushed my foot between
+it and the lintel.
+
+"I am easily pleased," I said; "can you not give me some sort of bed for
+the night?"
+
+"You had best have nothing to do with us," she answered. "You go off to
+Harkhurst; they can put you up at the Crown and Thistle."
+
+"I have just come from there," I answered. "As a matter of fact, I could
+not walk another mile."
+
+"We don't want visitors at the Castle Inn," she continued. Here she
+peered forward and looked into my face. "You had best be off," she
+repeated; "they say the place is haunted."
+
+I uttered a laugh.
+
+"You don't expect me to believe that?" I said. She glanced at me from
+head to foot. Her face was ominously grave.
+
+"You had best know all, sir," she said, after a pause. "Something
+happens in this house, and no living soul knows what it is, for they who
+have seen it have never yet survived to tell the tale. It's not more
+than a week back that a young gentleman came here. He was like you, bold
+as brass, and he too wanted a bed, and would take no denial. I told him
+plain, and so did my man, that the place was haunted. He didn't mind no
+more than you mind. Well, he slept in the only room we have got for
+guests, and he--he _died there_."
+
+"What did he die of?" I asked.
+
+"Fright," was the answer, brief and laconic. "Now do you want to come or
+not?"
+
+"Yes; I don't believe in ghosts. I want the bed, and I am determined to
+have it."
+
+The woman flung the door wide open.
+
+"Don't say as I ain't warned you," she cried. "Come in, if you must."
+She led me into the kitchen, where a fire burned sullenly on the hearth.
+
+"Sit you down, and I'll send for Bindloss," she said. "I can only
+promise to give you a bed if Bindloss agrees. Liz, come along here this
+minute."
+
+A quick young step was heard in the passage, and the pretty girl whom I
+had seen at the top of the lane entered. Her eyes sought my face, her
+lips moved as if to say something, but no sound issued from them.
+
+"Go and find your grandad," said the old woman. "Tell him there is a
+gentleman here that wants a bed. Ask him what's to be done."
+
+The girl favoured me with a long and peculiar glance, then turning on
+her heel she left the room. As soon as she did so the old woman peered
+forward and looked curiously at me.
+
+"I'm sorry you are staying," she said; "don't forget as I warned you.
+Remember, this ain't a proper inn at all. Once it was a mill, but that
+was afore Bindloss's day and mine. Gents would come in the summer and
+put up for the fishing, but then the story of the ghost got abroad, and
+lately we have no visitors to speak of, only an odd one now and then who
+ain't wanted--no, he ain't wanted. You see, there was three deaths here.
+Yes"--she held up one of her skinny hands and began to count on her
+fingers--"yes, three up to the present; three, that's it. Ah, here comes
+Bindloss."
+
+A shuffling step was heard in the passage, and an old man, bent with
+age, and wearing a long white beard, entered the room.
+
+"We has no beds for strangers," he said, speaking in an aggressive and
+loud tone. "Hasn't the wife said so? We don't let out beds here."
+
+"As that is the case, you have no right to have that signpost at the end
+of the lane," I retorted. "I am not in a mood to walk eight miles for a
+shelter in a country I know nothing about. Cannot you put me up
+somehow?"
+
+"I have told the gentleman everything, Sam," said the wife. "He is just
+for all the world like young Mr. Wentworth, and not a bit frightened."
+
+The old landlord came up and faced me.
+
+"Look you here," he said, "you stay on at your peril. I don't want you,
+nor do the wife. Now is it 'yes' or 'no'?"
+
+"It is 'yes,'" I said.
+
+"There's only one room you can sleep in."
+
+"One room is sufficient."
+
+"It's the one Mr. Wentworth died in. Hadn't you best take up your traps
+and be off?"
+
+"No, I shall stay."
+
+"Then there's no more to be said."
+
+"Run, Liz," said the woman, "and light the fire in the parlour."
+
+The girl left the room, and the woman, taking up a candle, said she
+would take me to the chamber where I was to sleep. She led me down a
+long and narrow passage, and then, opening a door, down two steps into
+the most extraordinary-looking room I had ever seen. The walls were
+completely circular, covered with a paper of a staring grotesque
+pattern. A small iron bedstead projected into the middle of the floor,
+which was uncarpeted except for a slip of matting beside it. A cheap
+deal wash-hand-stand, a couple of chairs, and a small table with a
+blurred looking-glass stood against the wall beneath a deep embrasure,
+in which there was a window. This was evidently a room in one of the
+circular towers. I had never seen less inviting quarters.
+
+"Your supper will be ready directly, sir," said the woman, and placing
+the candle on the little table, she left me.
+
+The place felt damp and draughty, and the flame of the candle flickered
+about, causing the tallow to gutter to one side. There was no fireplace
+in the room, and above, the walls converged to a point, giving the whole
+place the appearance of an enormous extinguisher. I made a hurried and
+necessarily limited toilet, and went into the parlour. I was standing by
+the fire, which was burning badly, when the door opened, and the girl
+Liz came in, bearing a tray in her hand. She laid the tray on the table
+and came up softly to me.
+
+"Fools come to this house," she said, "and you are one."
+
+"Pray let me have my supper, and don't talk," I replied. "I am tired and
+hungry, and want to go to bed."
+
+Liz stood perfectly still for a moment.
+
+"'Tain't worth it," she said; then, in a meditative voice, "no, 'tain't
+worth it. But I'll say no more. Folks will never be warned!"
+
+Her grandmother's voice calling her caused her to bound from the room.
+
+My supper proved better than I had expected, and, having finished it, I
+strolled into the kitchen, anxious to have a further talk with the old
+man. He was seated alone by the fire, a great mastiff lying at his feet.
+
+"Can you tell me why the house is supposed to be haunted?" I asked
+suddenly, stooping down to speak to him.
+
+"How should I know?" he cried hoarsely. "The wife and me have been here
+twenty years, and never seen nor heard anything, but for certain folks
+_do_ die in the house. It's mortal unpleasant for me, for the doctors
+come along, and the coroner, and there's an inquest and no end of fuss.
+The folks die, although no one has ever laid a finger on 'em; the
+doctors can't prove why they are dead, but dead they be. Well, there
+ain't no use saying more. You are here, and maybe you'll pass the one
+night all right."
+
+"I shall go to bed at once," I said, "but I should like some candles.
+Can you supply me?"
+
+The man turned and looked at his wife, who at that moment entered the
+kitchen. She went to the dresser, opened a wooden box, and taking out
+three or four tallow candles, put them into my hand.
+
+I rose, simulating a yawn.
+
+"Good-night, sir," said the old man; "good-night; I wish you well."
+
+A moment later I had entered my bedroom, and having shut the door,
+proceeded to give it a careful examination. As far as I could make out,
+there was no entrance to the room except by the door, which was shaped
+to fit the circular walls. I noticed, however, that there was an
+unaccountable draught, and this I at last discovered came from below the
+oak wainscoting of the wall. I could not in any way account for the
+draught, but it existed to an unpleasant extent. The bed, I further saw,
+was somewhat peculiar; it had no castors on the four legs, which were
+let down about half an inch into sockets provided for them in the wooden
+floor. This discovery excited my suspicions still further. It was
+evident that the bed was intended to remain in a particular position. I
+saw that it directly faced the little window sunk deep into the thick
+wall, so that any one in bed would look directly at the window. I
+examined my watch, found that it was past eleven, and placing both the
+candles on a tiny table near the bed, I lay down without undressing. I
+was on the alert to catch the slightest noise, but the hours dragged on
+and nothing occurred. In the house all was silence, and outside the
+splashing and churning of the water falling over the wheel came
+distinctly to my ears.
+
+I lay awake all night, but as morning dawned fell into an uneasy sleep.
+I awoke to see the broad daylight streaming in at the small window.
+
+Making a hasty toilet, I went out for a walk, and presently came in to
+breakfast. It had been laid for me in the big kitchen, and the old man
+was seated by the hearth.
+
+"Well," said the woman, "I hope you slept comfortable, sir."
+
+I answered in the affirmative, and now perceived that old Bindloss and
+his wife were in the humour to be agreeable. They said that if I was
+satisfied with the room I might spend another night at the inn. I told
+them that I had a great many photographs to take, and would be much
+obliged for the permission. As I spoke I looked round for the girl, Liz.
+She was nowhere to be seen.
+
+"Where is your grand-daughter?" I asked of the old woman.
+
+"She has gone away for the day," was the reply. "It's too much for Liz
+to see strangers. She gets excited, and then the fits come on."
+
+"What sort of fits?"
+
+"I can't tell what they are called, but they're bad, and weaken her,
+poor thing! Liz ought never to be excited." Here Bindloss gave his wife
+a warning glance; she lowered her eyes, and going across to the range,
+began to stir the contents of something in a saucepan.
+
+That afternoon I borrowed some lines from Bindloss, and, taking an old
+boat which was moored to the bank of the mill-pond, set off under the
+pretence of fishing for pike. The weather was perfect for the time of
+year.
+
+Waiting my opportunity, I brought the boat up to land on the bank that
+dammed up the stream, and getting out walked along it in the direction
+of the mill-wheel, over which the water was now rushing.
+
+As I observed it from this side of the bank, I saw that the tower in
+which my room was placed must at one time have been part of the mill
+itself, and I further noticed that the masonry was comparatively new,
+showing that alterations must have taken place when the house was
+abandoned as a mill and was turned into an inn. I clambered down the
+side of the wheel, holding on to the beams, which were green and
+slippery, and peered through the paddles.
+
+As I was making my examination, a voice suddenly startled me.
+
+"What are you doing down there?"
+
+I looked up; old Bindloss was standing on the bank looking down at me.
+He was alone, and his face was contorted with a queer mixture of fear
+and passion. I hastily hoisted myself up, and stood beside him.
+
+"What are you poking about down there for?" he said, pushing his ugly
+old face into mine as he spoke. "You fool! if you had fallen you would
+have been drowned. No one could swim a stroke in that mill-race. And
+then there would have been another death, and all the old fuss over
+again! Look here, sir, will you have the goodness to get out of the
+place? I don't want you here any more."
+
+"I intend to leave to-morrow morning," I answered in a pacifying voice,
+"and I am really very much obliged to you for warning me about the
+mill."
+
+"You had best not go near it again," he said in a menacing voice, and
+then he turned hastily away. I watched him as he climbed up a steep bank
+and disappeared from view. He was going in the opposite direction from
+the house. Seizing the opportunity of his absence, I once more
+approached the mill. Was it possible that Wentworth had been hurled into
+it? But had this been the case there would have been signs and marks on
+the body. Having reached the wheel, I clambered boldly down. It was now
+getting dusk, but I could see that a prolongation of the axle entered
+the wall of the tower. The fittings were also in wonderfully good order,
+and the bolt that held the great wheel only required to be drawn out to
+set it in motion.
+
+That evening during supper I thought very hard. I perceived that
+Bindloss was angry, also that he was suspicious and alarmed. I saw
+plainly that the only way to really discover what had been done to
+Wentworth was to cause the old ruffian to try similar means to get rid
+of me. This was a dangerous expedient, but I felt desperate, and my
+curiosity as well as interest were keenly aroused. Having finished my
+supper, I went into the passage preparatory to going into the kitchen. I
+had on felt slippers, and my footfall made no noise. As I approached
+the door I heard Bindloss saying to his wife,--
+
+"He's been poking about the mill-wheel; I wish he would make himself
+scarce."
+
+"Oh, he can't find out anything," was the reply. "You keep quiet,
+Bindloss; he'll be off in the morning."
+
+"That's as maybe," was the answer, and then there came a harsh and very
+disagreeable laugh. I waited for a moment, and then entered the kitchen.
+Bindloss was alone now; he was bending over the fire, smoking.
+
+"I shall leave early in the morning," I said, "so please have my bill
+ready for me." I then seated myself near him, drawing up my chair close
+to the blaze. He looked as if he resented this, but said nothing.
+
+"I am very curious about the deaths which occur in this house," I said,
+after a pause. "How many did you say there were?"
+
+"That is nothing to you," he answered. "We never wanted you here; you
+can go when you please."
+
+"I shall go to-morrow morning, but I wish to say something now."
+
+"And what may that be?"
+
+"I don't believe in that story about the place being haunted."
+
+"Oh, you don't, don't you?" He dropped his pipe, and his glittering eyes
+gazed at me with a mixture of anger and ill-concealed alarm.
+
+"No," I paused, then I said slowly and emphatically, "I went back to the
+mill even after your warning, and----"
+
+"What?" he cried, starting to his feet.
+
+"Nothing," I answered; "only I don't believe in the ghost."
+
+His face turned not only white but livid. I left him without another
+word. I saw that his suspicions had been much strengthened by my words.
+This I intended. To induce the ruffian to do his worst was the only way
+to wring his secret from him.
+
+My hideous room looked exactly as it had done on the previous evening.
+The grotesque pattern on the walls seemed to start out in bold relief.
+Some of the ugly lines seemed at that moment, to my imagination, almost
+to take human shape, to convert themselves into ogre-like faces, and to
+grin at me. Was I too daring? Was it wrong of me to risk my life in this
+manner? I was terribly tired, and, curious as it may seem, my greatest
+fear at that crucial moment was the dread that I might fall asleep. I
+had spent two nights with scarcely any repose, and felt that at any
+moment, notwithstanding all my efforts, slumber might visit me. In order
+to give Bindloss full opportunity for carrying out his scheme, it was
+necessary for me to get into bed, and even to feign sleep. In my present
+exhausted condition the pretence of slumber would easily lapse into the
+reality. This risk, however, which really was a very grave one, must be
+run. Without undressing I got into bed, pulling the bed-clothes well
+over me. In my hand I held my revolver. I deliberately put out the
+candles, and then lay motionless, waiting for events. The house was
+quiet as the grave--there was not a stir, and gradually my nerves,
+excited as they were, began to calm down. As I had fully expected,
+overpowering sleepiness seized me, and, notwithstanding every effort, I
+found myself drifting away into the land of dreams. I began to wish that
+whatever apparition was to appear would do so at once and get it over.
+Gradually but surely I seemed to pass from all memory of my present
+world, and to live in a strange and terrible phantasmagoria. In that
+state I slept, in that state also I dreamt, and dreamt horribly.
+
+I thought that I was dancing a waltz with an enormously tall woman. She
+towered above me, clasping me in her arms, and began to whirl me round
+and round at a giddy speed. I could hear the crashing music of a distant
+band. Faster and faster, round and round some great empty hall was I
+whirled. I knew that I was losing my senses, and screamed to her to stop
+and let me go. Suddenly there was a terrible crash close to me. Good
+God! I found myself awake, but--I was still moving. Where was I? Where
+was I going? I leapt up on the bed, only to reel and fall heavily
+backwards upon the floor. What was the matter? Why was I sliding,
+sliding? Had I suddenly gone mad, or was I still suffering from some
+hideous nightmare? I tried to move, to stagger to my feet. Then by slow
+degrees my senses began to return, and I knew where I was. I was in the
+circular room, the room where Wentworth had died; but what was happening
+to me I could not divine. I only knew that I was being whirled round and
+round at a velocity that was every moment increasing. By the moonlight
+that struggled in through the window I saw that the floor and the bed
+upon it was revolving, but the table was lying on its side, and its fall
+must have awakened me.
+
+I could not see any other furniture in the room. By what mysterious
+manner had it been removed? Making a great effort, I crawled to the
+centre of this awful chamber, and, seizing the foot of the bed,
+struggled to my feet. Here I knew there would be less motion, and I
+could just manage to see the outline of the door. I had taken the
+precaution to slip the revolver into my pocket, and I still felt that
+if human agency appeared, I had a chance of selling my life dearly; but
+surely the horror I was passing through was invented by no living man!
+As the floor of the room revolved in the direction of the door I made a
+dash for it, but was carried swiftly past, and again fell heavily. When
+I came round again I made a frantic effort to cling to one of the steps,
+but in vain; the head of the bedstead caught me as it flew round, and
+tore my arms away. In another moment I believe I should have gone raving
+mad with terror. My head felt as if it would burst; I found it
+impossible to think consecutively. The only idea which really possessed
+me was a mad wish to escape from this hideous place. I struggled to the
+bedstead, and dragging the legs from their sockets, pulled it into the
+middle of the room away from the wall. With this out of the way, I
+managed at last to reach the door in safety.
+
+[Illustration: "I flung myself upon him."
+A Master of Mysteries.--Page 47]
+
+The moment my hand grasped the handle I leapt upon the little step and
+tried to wrench the door open. It was locked, locked from without; it
+defied my every effort. I had only just standing room for my feet. Below
+me the floor of the room was still racing round with terrible speed. I
+dared scarcely look at it, for the giddiness in my head increased each
+moment. The next instant a soft footstep was distinctly audible, and I
+saw a gleam of light through a chink of the door. I heard a hand
+fumbling at the lock, the door was slowly opened outwards, and I saw the
+face of Bindloss.
+
+For a moment he did not perceive me, for I was crouching down on the
+step, and the next instant with all my force I flung myself upon him. He
+uttered a yell of terror. The lantern he carried dropped and went out,
+but I had gripped him round the neck with my fingers, driving them deep
+down into his lean, sinewy throat. With frantic speed I pulled him along
+the passage up to a window, through which the moonlight was shining.
+Here I released my hold of his throat, but immediately covered him with
+my revolver.
+
+"Down on your knees, or you are a dead man!" I cried. "Confess
+everything, or I shoot you through the heart."
+
+His courage had evidently forsaken him; he began to whimper and cry
+bitterly.
+
+"Spare my life," he screamed. "I will tell everything, only spare my
+life."
+
+"Be quick about it," I said; "I am in no humour to be merciful. Out with
+the truth."
+
+I was listening anxiously for the wife's step, but except for the low
+hum of machinery and the splashing of the water I heard nothing.
+
+"Speak," I said, giving the old man a shake. His lips trembled, his
+words came out falteringly.
+
+"It was Wentworth's doing," he panted.
+
+"Wentworth? Not the murdered man?" I cried.
+
+"No, no, his cousin. The ruffian who has been the curse of my life.
+Owing to that last death he inherits the property. He is the real owner
+of the mill, and he invented the revolving floor. There were deaths--oh
+yes, oh yes. It was so easy, and I wanted the money. The police never
+suspected, nor did the doctors. Wentworth was bitter hard on me, and I
+got into his power." Here he choked and sobbed. "I am a miserable old
+man, sir," he gasped.
+
+"So you killed your victims for the sake of money?" I said, grasping him
+by the shoulder.
+
+"Yes," he said, "yes. The bailiff had twenty pounds all in gold; no one
+ever knew. I took it and was able to satisfy Wentworth for a bit."
+
+"And what about Archibald Wentworth?"
+
+"That was _his_ doing, and I was to be paid."
+
+"And now finally you wanted to get rid of me?"
+
+"Yes; for you suspected."
+
+As I spoke I perceived by the ghastly light of the moon another door
+near. I opened it and saw that it was the entrance to a small dark
+lumber room. I pushed the old man in, turned the key in the lock, and
+ran downstairs. The wife was still unaccountably absent. I opened the
+front door, and trembling, exhausted, drenched in perspiration, found
+myself in the open air. Every nerve was shaken. At that terrible moment
+I was not in the least master of myself. My one desire was to fly from
+the hideous place. I had just reached the little gate when a hand, light
+as a feather, touched my arm. I looked up; the girl Liz stood before me.
+
+"You are saved," she said; "thank God! I tried all I could to stop the
+wheel. See, I am drenched to the skin; I could not manage it. But at
+least I locked Grannie up. She's in the kitchen, sound asleep. She drank
+a lot of gin."
+
+"Where were you all day yesterday?" I asked.
+
+"Locked up in a room in the further tower, but I managed to squeeze
+through the window, although it half killed me. I knew if you stayed
+that they would try it on to-night. Thank God you are saved."
+
+"Well, don't keep me now," I said; "I have been saved as by a miracle.
+You are a good girl; I am much obliged to you. You must tell me another
+time how you manage to live through all these horrors."
+
+"Ain't I all but mad?" was her pathetic reply. "Oh, my God, what I
+suffer!" She pressed her hand to her face; the look in her eyes was
+terrible. But I could not wait now to talk to her further. I hastily
+left the place.
+
+How I reached Harkhurst I can never tell, but early in the morning I
+found myself there. I went straight to Dr. Stanmore's house, and having
+got him up, I communicated my story. He and I together immediately
+visited the superintendent of police. Having told my exciting tale, we
+took a trap and all three returned to the Castle Inn. We were back there
+before eight o'clock on the following morning. But as the police officer
+expected, the place was empty. Bindloss had been rescued from the dark
+closet, and he and his wife and the girl Liz had all flown. The doctor,
+the police officer, and I, all went up to the circular room. We then
+descended to the basement, and after a careful examination we discovered
+a low door, through which we crept; we then found ourselves in a dark
+vault, which was full of machinery. By the light of a lantern we
+examined it. Here we saw an explanation of the whole trick. The shaft of
+the mill-wheel which was let through the wall of the tower was
+_continuous as the axle of a vertical cogged wheel_, and by a
+multiplication action turned a large horizontal wheel into which a
+vertical shaft descended. This shaft was let into the centre of four
+crossbeams, supporting the floor of the room in which I had slept. All
+round the circular edge of the floor was a steel rim which turned in a
+circular socket. It needed but a touch to set this hideous apparatus in
+motion.
+
+The police immediately started in pursuit of Bindloss, and I returned to
+London. That evening Edgcombe and I visited Dr. Miles Gordon.
+Hard-headed old physician that he was, he was literally aghast when I
+told him my story. He explained to me that a man placed in the position
+in which I was when the floor began to move would by means of
+centrifugal force suffer from enormous congestion of the brain. In fact,
+the revolving floor would induce an artificial condition of apoplexy. If
+the victim were drugged or even only sleeping heavily, and the floor
+began to move slowly, insensibility would almost immediately be induced,
+which would soon pass into coma and death, and a post-mortem examination
+some hours afterwards would show no cause for death, as the brain would
+appear perfectly healthy, the blood having again left it.
+
+From the presence of Dr. Miles Gordon, Edgcombe and I went to Scotland
+Yard, and the whole affair was put into the hands of the London
+detective force. With the clue which I had almost sacrificed my life to
+furnish, they quickly did the rest. Wentworth was arrested, and under
+pressure was induced to make a full confession, but old Bindloss had
+already told me the gist of the story. Wentworth's father had owned the
+mill, had got into trouble with the law, and changed his name. In fact,
+he had spent five years in penal servitude. He then went to Australia
+and made money. He died when his son was a young man. This youth
+inherited all the father's vices. He came home, visited the mill, and,
+being of a mechanical turn of mind, invented the revolving floor. He
+changed the mill into an inn, put Bindloss, one of his "pals," into
+possession with the full intention of murdering unwary travellers from
+time to time for their money.
+
+The police, however, wanted him for a forged bill, and he thought it
+best to fly. Bindloss was left in full possession. Worried by Wentworth,
+who had him in his power for a grave crime committed years ago, he
+himself on two occasions murdered a victim in the circular room.
+Meanwhile several unexpected deaths had taken place in the older branch
+of the Wentworth family, and Archibald Wentworth alone stood between his
+cousin and the great estates. Wentworth came home, and with the aid of
+Bindloss got Archibald into his power. The young artist slept in the
+fatal room, and his death was the result. At this moment Wentworth and
+Bindloss are committed for trial at the Old Bailey, and there is no
+doubt what the result will be.
+
+The ghost mystery in connection with the Castle Inn has, of course, been
+explained away for ever.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE WARDER OF THE DOOR
+
+
+"If you don't believe it, you can read it for yourself," said Allen
+Clinton, climbing up the steps and searching among the volumes on the
+top shelf.
+
+I lay back in my chair. The beams from the sinking sun shone through the
+stained glass of the windows of the old library, and dyed the rows of
+black leather volumes with bands of red and yellow.
+
+"Here, Bell!"
+
+I took a musty volume from Allen Clinton, which he had unearthed from
+its resting-place.
+
+"It is about the middle of the book," he continued eagerly. "You will
+see it in big, black, old English letters."
+
+I turned over the pages containing the family tree and other archives of
+the Clintons till I came to the one I was seeking. It contained the
+curse which had rested on the family since 1400. Slowly and with
+difficulty I deciphered the words of this terrible denunciation.
+
+"And in this cell its coffin lieth, the coffin which hath not human
+shape, for which reason no holy ground receiveth it. Here shall it rest
+to curse the family of ye Clyntons from generation to generation. And
+for this reason, as soon as the soul shall pass from the body of each
+first-born, which is the heir, it shall become the warder of the door by
+day and by night. Day and night shall his spirit stand by the door, to
+keep the door closed till the son shall release the spirit of the father
+from the watch and take his place, till his son in turn shall die. And
+whoso entereth into the cell shall be the prisoner of the soul that
+guardeth the door till it shall let him go."
+
+"What a ghastly idea!" I said, glancing up at the young man who was
+watching me as I read. "But you say this cell has never been found. I
+should say its existence was a myth, and, of course, the curse on the
+soul of the first-born to keep the door shut as warder is absurd. Matter
+does not obey witchcraft."
+
+"The odd part of it is," replied Allen, "that every other detail of the
+Abbey referred to in this record has been identified; but this cell with
+its horrible contents has never been found."
+
+It certainly was a curious legend, and I allow it made some impression
+on me. I fancied, too, that somewhere I had heard something similar, but
+my memory failed to trace it.
+
+I had come down to Clinton Abbey three days before for some pheasant
+shooting.
+
+It was now Sunday afternoon. The family, with the exception of old Sir
+Henry, Allen, and myself, were at church. Sir Henry, now nearly eighty
+years of age and a chronic invalid, had retired to his room for his
+afternoon sleep. The younger Clinton and I had gone out for a stroll
+round the grounds, and since we returned our conversation had run upon
+the family history till it arrived at the legend of the family curse.
+Presently, the door of the library was slowly opened, and Sir Henry, in
+his black velvet coat, which formed such a striking contrast to his
+snowy white beard and hair, entered the room. I rose from my chair, and,
+giving him my arm, assisted him to his favourite couch. He sank down
+into its luxurious depths with a sigh, but as he did so his eyes caught
+the old volume which I had laid on the table beside it. He started
+forward, took the book in his hand, and looked across at his son.
+
+"Did you take this book down?" he said sharply.
+
+"Yes, father; I got it out to show it to Bell. He is interested in the
+history of the Abbey, and----"
+
+"Then return it to its place at once," interrupted the old man, his
+black eyes blazing with sudden passion. "You know how I dislike having
+my books disarranged, and this one above all. Stay, give it to me."
+
+He struggled up from the couch, and, taking the volume, locked it up in
+one of the drawers of his writing-table, and then sat back again on the
+sofa. His hands were trembling, as if some sudden fear had taken
+possession of him.
+
+"Did you say that Phyllis Curzon is coming to-morrow?" asked the old man
+presently of his son in an irritable voice.
+
+"Yes, father, of course; don't you remember? Mrs. Curzon and Phyllis are
+coming to stay for a fortnight; and, by the way," he added, starting to
+his feet as he spoke, "that reminds me I must go and tell Grace----"
+
+The rest of the sentence was lost in the closing of the door. As soon as
+we were alone, Sir Henry looked across at me for a few moments without
+speaking. Then he said,--
+
+"I am sorry I was so short just now. I am not myself. I do not know what
+is the matter with me. I feel all to pieces. I cannot sleep. I do not
+think my time is very long now, and I am worried about Allen. The fact
+is, I would give anything to stop this engagement. I wish he would not
+marry."
+
+"I am sorry to hear you say that, sir," I answered. "I should have
+thought you would have been anxious to see your son happily married."
+
+"Most men would," was the reply; "but I have my reasons for wishing
+things otherwise."
+
+"What do you mean?" I could not help asking.
+
+"I cannot explain myself; I wish I could. It would be best for Allen to
+let the old family die out. There, perhaps I am foolish about it, and of
+course I cannot really stop the marriage, but I am worried and troubled
+about many things."
+
+"I wish I could help you, sir," I said impulsively. "If there is
+anything I can possibly do, you know you have only to ask me."
+
+"Thank you, Bell, I know you would; but I cannot tell you. Some day I
+may. But there, I am afraid--horribly afraid."
+
+The trembling again seized him, and he put his hands over his eyes as if
+to shut out some terrible sight.
+
+"Don't repeat a word of what I have told you to Allen or any one else,"
+he said suddenly. "It is possible that some day I may ask you to help
+me; and remember, Bell, I trust you."
+
+He held out his hand, which I took. In another moment the butler entered
+with the lamps, and I took advantage of the interruption to make my way
+to the drawing-room.
+
+The next day the Curzons arrived, and a hasty glance showed me that
+Phyllis was a charming girl. She was tall, slightly built, with a figure
+both upright and graceful, and a handsome, somewhat proud face. When in
+perfect repose her expression was somewhat haughty; but the moment she
+spoke her face became vivacious, kindly, charming to an extraordinary
+degree; she had a gay laugh, a sweet smile, a sympathetic manner. I was
+certain she had the kindest of hearts, and was sure that Allen had made
+an admirable choice.
+
+A few days went by, and at last the evening before the day when I was to
+return to London arrived. Phyllis's mother had gone to bed a short time
+before, as she had complained of headache, and Allen suddenly proposed,
+as the night was a perfect one, that we should go out and enjoy a
+moonlight stroll.
+
+Phyllis laughed with glee at the suggestion, and ran at once into the
+hall to take a wrap from one of the pegs.
+
+"Allen," she said to her lover, who was following her, "you and I will
+go first."
+
+"No, young lady, on this occasion you and I will have that privilege,"
+said Sir Henry. He had also come into the hall, and, to our
+astonishment, announced his intention of accompanying us in our walk.
+
+Phyllis bestowed upon him a startled glance, then she laid her hand
+lightly on his arm, nodded back at Allen with a smile, and walked on in
+front somewhat rapidly. Allen and I followed in the rear.
+
+"Now, what does my father mean by this?" said Allen to me. "He never
+goes out at night; but he has not been well lately. I sometimes think he
+grows queerer every day."
+
+"He is very far from well, I am certain," I answered.
+
+We stayed out for about half an hour and returned home by a path which
+led into the house through a side entrance. Phyllis was waiting for us
+in the hall.
+
+"Where is my father?" asked Allen, going up to her.
+
+"He is tired and has gone to bed," she answered. "Good-night, Allen."
+
+"Won't you come into the drawing-room?" he asked in some astonishment.
+
+"No, I am tired."
+
+She nodded to him without touching his hand; her eyes, I could not help
+noticing, had a queer expression. She ran upstairs.
+
+I saw that Allen was startled by her manner; but as he did not say
+anything, neither did I.
+
+The next day at breakfast I was told that the Curzons had already left
+the Abbey. Allen was full of astonishment and, I could see, a good deal
+annoyed. He and I breakfasted alone in the old library. His father was
+too ill to come downstairs.
+
+An hour later I was on my way back to London. Many things there engaged
+my immediate attention, and Allen, his engagement, Sir Henry, and the
+old family curse, sank more or less into the background of my mind.
+
+Three months afterwards, on the 7th of January, I saw to my sorrow in
+the _Times_ the announcement of Sir Henry Clinton's death.
+
+From time to time in the interim I had heard from the son, saying that
+his father was failing fast. He further mentioned that his own wedding
+was fixed for the twenty-first of the present month. Now, of course, it
+must be postponed. I felt truly sorry for Allen, and wrote immediately
+a long letter of condolence.
+
+On the following day I received a wire from him, imploring me to go down
+to the Abbey as soon as possible, saying that he was in great
+difficulty.
+
+I packed a few things hastily, and arrived at Clinton Abbey at six in
+the evening. The house was silent and subdued--the funeral was to take
+place the next day. Clinton came into the hall and gripped me warmly by
+the hand. I noticed at once how worn and worried he looked.
+
+"This is good of you, Bell," he said. "I cannot tell you how grateful I
+am to you for coming. You are the one man who can help me, for I know
+you have had much experience in matters of this sort. Come into the
+library and I will tell you everything. We shall dine alone this
+evening, as my mother and the girls are keeping to their own apartments
+for to-night."
+
+As soon as we were seated, he plunged at once into his story.
+
+"I must give you a sort of prelude to what has just occurred," he began.
+"You remember, when you were last here, how abruptly Phyllis and her
+mother left the Abbey?"
+
+I nodded. I remembered well.
+
+"On the morning after you had left us I had a long letter from Phyllis,"
+continued Allen. "In it she told me of an extraordinary request my
+father had made to her during that moonlight walk--nothing more nor less
+than an earnest wish that she would herself terminate our engagement.
+She spoke quite frankly, as she always does, assuring me of her
+unalterable love and devotion, but saying that under the circumstances
+it was absolutely necessary to have an explanation. Frantic with almost
+ungovernable rage, I sought my father in his study. I laid Phyllis's
+letter before him and asked him what it meant. He looked at me with the
+most unutterable expression of weariness and pathos.
+
+"'Yes, my boy, I did it,' he said. 'Phyllis is quite right. I did ask of
+her, as earnestly as a very old man could plead, that she would bring
+the engagement to an end.'
+
+"'But why?' I asked. 'Why?'
+
+"'That I am unable to tell you,' he replied.
+
+"I lost my temper and said some words to him which I now regret. He made
+no sort of reply. When I had done speaking he said slowly,--
+
+"'I make all allowance for your emotion, Allen; your feelings are no
+more than natural.'
+
+"'You have done me a very sore injury,' I retorted. 'What can Phyllis
+think of this? She will never be the same again. I am going to see her
+to-day.'
+
+"He did not utter another word, and I left him. I was absent from home
+for about a week. It took me nearly that time to induce Phyllis to
+overlook my father's extraordinary request, and to let matters go on
+exactly as they had done before.
+
+"After fixing our engagement, if possible, more firmly than ever, and
+also arranging the date of our wedding, I returned home. When I did so I
+told my father what I had done.
+
+"'As you will,' he replied, and then he sank into great gloom. From that
+moment, although I watched him day and night, and did everything that
+love and tenderness could suggest, he never seemed to rally. He scarcely
+spoke, and remained, whenever we were together, bowed in deep and
+painful reverie. A week ago he took to his bed."
+
+Here Allen paused.
+
+"I now come to events up to date," he said. "Of course, as you may
+suppose, I was with my father to the last. A few hours before he passed
+away he called me to his bedside, and to my astonishment began once more
+talking about my engagement. He implored me with the utmost earnestness
+even now at the eleventh hour to break it off. It was not too late, he
+said, and added further that nothing would give him ease in dying but
+the knowledge that I would promise him to remain single. Of course I
+tried to humour him. He took my hand, looked me in the eyes with an
+expression which I shall never forget, and said,--
+
+"'Allen, make me a solemn promise that you will never marry.'
+
+"This I naturally had to refuse, and then he told me that, expecting my
+obstinacy, he had written me a letter which I should find in his safe,
+but I was not to open it till after his death. I found it this morning.
+Bell, it is the most extraordinary communication, and either it is
+entirely a figment of his imagination, for his brain powers were failing
+very much at the last, or else it is the most awful thing I ever heard
+of. Here is the letter; read it for yourself."
+
+I took the paper from his hand and read the following matter in shaky,
+almost illegible writing:--
+
+    "My dear Boy,--When you read this I shall have passed away. For
+    the last six months my life has been a living death. The horror
+    began in the following way. You know what a deep interest I have
+    always taken in the family history of our house. I have spent the
+    latter years of my life in verifying each detail, and my
+    intention was, had health been given me, to publish a great deal
+    of it in a suitable volume.
+
+    "On the special night to which I am about to allude, I sat up
+    late in my study reading the book which I saw you show to Bell a
+    short time ago. In particular, I was much attracted by the
+    terrible curse which the old abbot in the fourteenth century had
+    bestowed upon the family. I read the awful words again and again.
+    I knew that all the other details in the volume had been
+    verified, but that the vault with the coffin had never yet been
+    found. Presently I grew drowsy, and I suppose I must have fallen
+    asleep. In my sleep I had a dream; I thought that some one came
+    into the room, touched me on the shoulder, and said 'Come.' I
+    looked up; a tall figure beckoned to me. The voice and the figure
+    belonged to my late father. In my dream I rose immediately,
+    although I did not know why I went nor where I was going. The
+    figure went on in front, it entered the hall. I took one of the
+    candles from the table and the key of the chapel, unbolted the
+    door and went out. Still the voice kept saying 'Come, come,' and
+    the figure of my father walked in front of me. I went across the
+    quadrangle, unlocked the chapel door, and entered.
+
+    "A death-like silence was around me. I crossed the nave to the
+    north aisle; the figure still went in front of me; it entered the
+    great pew which is said to be haunted, and walked straight up to
+    the effigy of the old abbot who had pronounced the curse. This,
+    as you know, is built into the opposite wall. Bending forward,
+    the figure pressed the eyes of the old monk, and immediately a
+    stone started out of its place, revealing a staircase behind. I
+    was about to hurry forward, when I must have knocked against
+    something. I felt a sensation of pain, and suddenly awoke. What
+    was my amazement to find that I had acted on my dream, had
+    crossed the quadrangle, and was in the chapel; in fact, was
+    standing in the old pew! Of course there was no figure of any
+    sort visible, but the moonlight shed a cold radiance over all the
+    place. I felt very much startled and impressed, but was just
+    about to return to the house in some wonder at the curious vision
+    which I had experienced, when, raising my startled eyes, I saw
+    that part of it at least was real. The old monk seemed to grin at
+    me from his marble effigy, and beside him was a _blank open
+    space_. I hurried to it and saw a narrow flight of stairs. I
+    cannot explain what my emotions were, but my keenest feeling at
+    that moment was a strong and horrible curiosity. Holding the
+    candle in my hand, I went down the steps. They terminated at the
+    beginning of a long passage. This I quickly traversed, and at
+    last found myself beside an iron door. It was not locked, but
+    hasped, and was very hard to open; in fact, it required nearly
+    all my strength; at last I pulled it open towards me, and there
+    in a small cell lay the coffin, as the words of the curse said. I
+    gazed at it in horror. I did not dare to enter. It was a wedged-
+    shaped coffin studded with great nails. But as I looked my blood
+    froze within me, for slowly, very slowly, as if pushed by some
+    unseen hand, the great heavy door began to close, quicker and
+    quicker, until with a crash that echoed and re-echoed through the
+    empty vault, it shut.
+
+    "Terror-stricken, I rushed from the vault and reached my room
+    once more.
+
+    "Now I know that this great curse is true; that my father's
+    spirit is there to guard the door and close it, for I saw it with
+    my own eyes, and while you read this know that I am there. I
+    charge you, therefore, not to marry--bring no child into the
+    world to perpetuate this terrible curse. Let the family die out
+    if you have the courage. It is much, I know, to ask; but whether
+    you do or not, come to me there, and if by sign or word I can
+    communicate with you I will do so, but hold the secret safe. Meet
+    me there before my body is laid to rest, when body and soul are
+    still not far from each other. Farewell.
+
+                                       "--Your loving father,
+                                                    "Henry Clinton."
+
+I read this strange letter over carefully twice, and laid it down. For a
+moment I hardly knew what to say. It was certainly the most uncanny
+thing I had ever come across.
+
+"What do you think of it?" asked Allen at last.
+
+"Well, of course there are only two possible solutions," I answered.
+"One is that your father not only dreamt the beginning of this
+story--which, remember, he allows himself--but the whole of it."
+
+"And the other?" asked Allen, seeing that I paused.
+
+"The other," I continued, "I hardly know what to say yet. Of course we
+will investigate the whole thing, that is our only chance of arriving
+at a solution. It is absurd to let matters rest as they are. We had
+better try to-night."
+
+Clinton winced and hesitated.
+
+"Something must be done, of course," he answered; "but the worst of it
+is Phyllis and her mother are coming here early to-morrow in time for the
+funeral, and I cannot meet her--no, I cannot, poor girl!--while I feel
+as I do."
+
+"We will go to the vault to-night," I said.
+
+Clinton rose from his chair and looked at me.
+
+"I don't like this thing at all, Bell," he continued. "I am not by
+nature in any sense of the word a superstitious man, but I tell you
+frankly nothing would induce me to go alone into that chapel to-night;
+if you come with me, that, of course, alters matters. I know the pew my
+father refers to well; it is beneath the window of St. Sebastian."
+
+Soon afterwards I went to my room and dressed; and Allen and I dined
+_tête-à-tête_ in the great dining-room. The old butler waited on us
+with funereal solemnity, and I did all I could to lure Clinton's
+thoughts into a more cheerful and healthier channel.
+
+I cannot say that I was very successful. I further noticed that he
+scarcely ate anything, and seemed altogether to be in a state of nervous
+tension painful to witness.
+
+After dinner we went into the smoking-room, and at eleven o'clock I
+proposed that we should make a start.
+
+Clinton braced himself together and we went out. He got the chapel keys,
+and then going to the stables we borrowed a lantern, and a moment
+afterwards found ourselves in the sacred edifice. The moon was at her
+full, and by the pale light which was diffused through the south windows
+the architecture of the interior could be faintly seen. The Gothic
+arches that flanked the centre aisle with their quaint pillars, each
+with a carved figure of one of the saints, were quite visible, and
+further in the darkness of the chancel the dim outlines of the choir and
+altar-table with its white marble reredos could be just discerned.
+
+We closed the door softly and, Clinton leading the way with the lantern,
+we walked up the centre aisle paved with the brasses of his dead
+ancestors. We trod gently on tiptoe as one instinctively does at night.
+Turning beneath the little pulpit we reached the north transept, and
+here Clinton stopped and turned round. He was very white, but his voice
+was quiet.
+
+"This is the pew," he whispered. "It has always been called the haunted
+pew of Sir Hugh Clinton."
+
+I took the lantern from him and we entered. I crossed the pew
+immediately and went up to the effigy of the old abbot.
+
+"Let us examine him closely," I said. I held up the lantern, getting it
+to shine on each part of the face, the vestments, and the figure. The
+eyes, although vacant, as in all statuary, seemed to me at that moment
+to be uncanny and peculiar. Giving Allen the lantern to hold, I placed a
+finger firmly on each. The next moment I could not refrain from an
+exclamation; a stone at the side immediately rolled back, revealing the
+steps which were spoken of by the old man in his narrative.
+
+"It is true! It is true!" cried Clinton excitedly.
+
+"It certainly looks like it," I remarked: "but never mind, we have the
+chance now of investigating this matter thoroughly."
+
+"Are you going down?" asked Clinton.
+
+"Certainly I am," I replied. "Let us go together."
+
+Immediately afterwards we crept through the opening and began to
+descend. There was only just room to do so in single file, and I went
+first with the lantern. In another moment we were in the long passage,
+and soon we were confronted by a door in an arched stone framework. Up
+till now Clinton had shown little sign of alarm, but here, at the
+trysting-place to which his father's soul had summoned him, he seemed
+suddenly to lose his nerve. He leant against the wall and for a moment I
+thought he would have fallen. I held up the lantern and examined the
+door and walls carefully. Then approaching I lifted the iron latch of
+the heavy door. It was very hard to move, but at last by seizing the
+edge I dragged it open to its full against the wall of the passage.
+Having done so I peered inside, holding the lantern above my head. As I
+did so I heard Clinton cry out,--
+
+"Look, look," he said, and turning I saw that the great door had swung
+back against me, almost shutting me within the cell.
+
+Telling Clinton to hold it back by force, I stepped inside and saw at my
+feet the ghastly coffin. The legend then so far was true. I bent down
+and examined the queer, misshapen thing with great care. Its shape was
+that of an enormous wedge, and it was apparently made of some dark old
+wood, and was bound with iron at the corners. Having looked at it all
+round, I went out and, flinging back the door which Clinton had been
+holding open, stood aside to watch. Slowly, very slowly, as we both
+stood in the passage--slowly, as if pushed by some invisible hand, the
+door commenced to swing round, and, increasing in velocity, shut with a
+noisy clang.
+
+Seizing it once again, I dragged it open and, while Clinton held it in
+that position, made a careful examination. Up to the present I saw
+nothing to be much alarmed about. There were fifty ways in which a door
+might shut of its own accord. There might be a hidden spring or tilted
+hinges; draught, of course, was out of the question. I looked at the
+hinges, they were of iron and set in the solid masonry. Nor could I
+discover any spring or hidden contrivance, as when the door was wide
+open there was an interval of several inches between it and the wall. We
+tried it again and again with the same result, and at last, as it was
+closing, I seized it to prevent it.
+
+I now experienced a very odd sensation; I certainly felt as if I were
+resisting an unseen person who was pressing hard against the door at the
+other side. Directly it was released it continued its course. I allow I
+was quite unable to understand the mystery. Suddenly an idea struck me.
+
+"What does the legend say?" I asked, turning to Clinton. "'That the soul
+is to guard the door, to close it upon the coffin?'"
+
+"Those are the words," answered Allen, speaking with some difficulty.
+
+"Now if that is true," I continued, "and we take the coffin out, the
+spirit won't shut the door; if it does shut it, it disproves the whole
+thing at once, and shows it to be merely a clever mechanical
+contrivance. Come, Clinton, help me to get the coffin out."
+
+"I dare not, Bell," he whispered hoarsely. "I daren't go inside."
+
+"Nonsense, man," I said, feeling now a little annoyed at the whole
+thing. "Here, put the lantern down and hold the door back." I stepped in
+and, getting behind the coffin, put out all my strength and shoved it
+into the passage.
+
+"Now, then," I cried, "I'll bet you fifty pounds to five the door will
+shut just the same." I dragged the coffin clear of the door and told him
+to let go. Clinton had scarcely done so before, stepping back, he
+clutched my arm.
+
+"Look," he whispered; "do you see that it will not shut now? My father
+is waiting for the coffin to be put back. This is awful!"
+
+I gazed at the door in horror; it was perfectly true, it remained wide
+open, and quite still. I sprang forward, seized it, and now endeavoured
+to close it. It was as if some one was trying to hold it open; it
+required considerable force to stir it, and it was only with difficulty
+I could move it at all. At last I managed to shut it, but the moment I
+let go it swung back open of its own accord and struck against the wall,
+where it remained just as before. In the dead silence that followed I
+could hear Clinton breathing quickly behind me, and I knew he was
+holding himself for all he was worth.
+
+At that moment there suddenly came over me a sensation which I had once
+experienced before, and which I was twice destined to experience again.
+It is impossible to describe it, but it seized me, laying siege to my
+brain till I felt like a child in its power. It was as if I were slowly
+drowning in the great ocean of silence that enveloped us. Time itself
+seemed to have disappeared. At my feet lay the misshapen thing, and the
+lantern behind it cast a fantastic shadow of its distorted outline on
+the cell wall before me.
+
+"Speak; say something," I cried to Clinton. The sharp sound of my voice
+broke the spell. I felt myself again, and smiled at the trick my nerves
+had played on me. I bent down and once more laid my hands on the coffin,
+but before I had time to push it back into its place Clinton had gone up
+the passage like a man who is flying to escape a hurled javelin.
+
+Exerting all my force to prevent the door from swinging back by keeping
+my leg against it, I had just got the coffin into the cell and was going
+out, when I heard a shrill cry, and Clinton came tearing back down the
+passage.
+
+"I can't get out! The stone has sunk into its place! We are locked in!"
+he screamed, and, wild with fear, he plunged headlong into the cell,
+upsetting me in his career before I could check him. I sprang back to
+the door as it was closing. I was too late. Before I could reach it, it
+had shut with a loud clang in obedience to the infernal witchcraft.
+
+"You have done it now," I cried angrily. "Do you see? Why, man, we are
+buried alive in this ghastly hole!"
+
+The lantern I had placed just inside the door, and by its dim light, as
+I looked at him, I saw the terror of a madman creep into Clinton's eyes.
+
+"Buried alive!" he shouted, with a peal of hysterical laughter. "Yes,
+and, Bell, it's your doing; you are a devil in human shape!" With a wild
+paroxysm of fury he flung himself upon me. There was the ferocity of a
+wild beast in his spring. He upset the lantern and left us in total
+darkness.
+
+The struggle was short. We might be buried alive, but I was not going to
+die by his hand, and seizing him by the throat I pinned him against the
+wall.
+
+[Illustration: "It had shut with a loud clang."
+A Master of Mysteries.--Page 86]
+
+"Keep quiet," I shouted. "It is your thundering stupidity that has
+caused all this. Stay where you are until I strike a match."
+
+I luckily had some vestas in the little silver box which I always carry
+on my watch-chain, and striking one I relit the lantern. Clinton's
+paroxysm was over, and sinking to the floor he lay there shivering and
+cowering.
+
+It was a terrible situation, and I knew that our only hope was for me to
+keep my presence of mind. With a great effort I forced myself to think
+calmly over what could be done. To shout for help would have been but a
+useless waste of breath.
+
+Suddenly an idea struck me. "Have you got your father's letter?" I cried
+eagerly.
+
+"I have," he answered; "it is in my pocket."
+
+My last ray of hope vanished. Our only chance was that if he had left it
+at the house some one might discover the letter and come to our rescue
+by its instructions. It had been a faint hope, and it disappeared
+almost as quickly as it had come to me. Without it no one would ever
+find the way to the vault that had remained a secret for ages. I was
+determined, however, not to die without a struggle for freedom. Taking
+the lantern, I examined every nook and cranny of the cell for some other
+exit. It was a fruitless search. No sign of any way out could I find,
+and we had absolutely no means to unfasten the door from the inner side.
+Taking a few short steps, I flung myself again and again at the heavy
+door. It never budged an inch, and, bruised and sweating at every pore,
+I sat down on the coffin and tried to collect all my faculties.
+
+Clinton was silent, and seemed utterly stunned. He sat still, gazing
+with a vacant stare at the door.
+
+The time dragged heavily, and there was nothing to do but to wait for a
+horrible death from starvation. It was more than likely, too, that
+Clinton would go mad; already his nerves were strained to the utmost.
+Altogether I had never found myself in a worse plight.
+
+It seemed like an eternity that we sat there, neither of us speaking a
+word. Over and over again I repeated to myself the words of the terrible
+curse: "And whoso entereth into the cell shall be the prisoner of the
+soul that guardeth the door till it shall let him go." When would the
+shapeless form that was inside the coffin let us go? Doubtless when our
+bones were dry.
+
+I looked at my watch. It was half-past eleven o'clock. Surely we had
+been more than ten minutes in this awful place! We had left the house at
+eleven, and I knew that must have been many hours ago. I glanced at the
+second hand. _The watch had stopped._
+
+"What is the time, Clinton?" I asked. "My watch has stopped."
+
+"What does it matter?" he murmured. "What is time to us now? The sooner
+we die the better."
+
+He pulled out his watch as he spoke, and held it to the lantern.
+
+"Twenty-five minutes past eleven," he murmured dreamily.
+
+"Good heavens!" I cried, starting up. "Has your watch stopped, too?"
+
+Then, like the leap of a lightning flash, an idea struck me.
+
+"I have got it; I have got it! My God! I believe I have got it!" I
+cried, seizing him by the arm.
+
+"Got what?" he replied, staring wildly at me.
+
+"Why, the secret--the curse--the door. Don't you see?"
+
+I pulled out the large knife I always carry by a chain and swivel in my
+trouser pocket, and telling Clinton to hold the lantern, opened the
+little blade-saw and attacked the coffin with it.
+
+"I believe the secret of our deliverance lies in this," I panted,
+working away furiously.
+
+In ten minutes I had sawn half through the wooden edge, then, handing my
+tool to Clinton, I told him to continue the work while I rested. After a
+few minutes I took the knife again, and at last, after nearly half an
+hour had gone by, succeeded in making a small hole in the lid.
+Inserting my two fingers, I felt some rough, uneven masses. I was now
+fearfully excited. Tearing at the opening like a madman, I enlarged it
+and extracted what looked like a large piece of coal. I knew in an
+instant what it was. It was magnetic iron-ore. Holding it down to my
+knife, the blade flew to it.
+
+"Here is the mystery of the soul," I cried; "now we can use it to open
+the door."
+
+I had known a great conjurer once, who had deceived and puzzled his
+audience with a box trick on similar lines: the man opening the box from
+the inside by drawing down the lock with a magnet. Would this do the
+same? I felt that our lives hung on the next moment. Taking the mass, I
+pressed it against the door just opposite the hasp, and slid it up
+against the wood. My heart leapt as I heard the hasp fly up outside, and
+with a push the door opened.
+
+"We are saved," I shouted. "We are saved by a miracle!"
+
+"Bell, you are a genius," gasped poor Clinton; "but now, how about the
+stone at the end of the passage?"
+
+"We will soon see about that," I cried, taking the lantern. "Half the
+danger is over, at any rate; and the worst half, too."
+
+We rushed along the passage and up the stair until we reached the top.
+
+"Why, Clinton," I cried, holding up the lantern, "the place was not shut
+at all."
+
+Nor was it. In his terror he had imagined it.
+
+"I could not see in the dark, and I was nearly dead with fright," he
+said. "Oh, Bell, let us get out of this as quickly as we can!"
+
+We crushed through the aperture and once more stood in the chapel. I
+then pushed the stone back into its place.
+
+Dawn was just breaking when we escaped from the chapel. We hastened
+across to the house. In the hall the clock pointed to five.
+
+"Well, we have had an awful time," I said, as we stood in the hall
+together; "but at least, Clinton, the end was worth the ghastly terror.
+I have knocked the bottom out of your family legend for ever."
+
+"I don't even now quite understand," he said.
+
+"Don't you?--but it is so easy. That coffin never contained a body at
+all, but was filled, as you perceive, with fragments of magnetic
+iron-ore. For what diabolical purposes the cell was intended, it is, of
+course, impossible to say; but that it must have been meant as a human
+trap there is little doubt. The inventor certainly exercised no small
+ingenuity when he devised his diabolical plot, for it was obvious that
+the door, which was made of iron, would swing towards the coffin
+wherever it happened to be placed. Thus the door would shut if the
+coffin were _inside the cell_, and would remain open if the coffin were
+_brought out_. A cleverer method for simulating a spiritual agency it
+would be hard to find. Of course, the monk must have known well that
+magnetic iron-ore never loses its quality and would ensure the deception
+remaining potent for ages."
+
+"But how did you discover by means of our watches?" asked Clinton.
+
+"Any one who understands magnetism can reply to that," I said. "It is a
+well-known fact that a strong magnet plays havoc with watches. The fact
+of both our watches going wrong first gave me a clue to the mystery."
+
+Later in the day the whole of this strange affair was explained to Miss
+Curzon, and not long afterwards the passage and entrance to the chapel
+were bricked up.
+
+It is needless to add that six months later the pair were married, and,
+I believe, are as happy as they deserve.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+THE MYSTERY OF THE FELWYN TUNNEL
+
+
+I was making experiments of some interest at South Kensington, and hoped
+that I had perfected a small but not unimportant discovery, when, on
+returning home one evening in late October in the year 1893, I found a
+visiting card on my table. On it were inscribed the words, "Mr. Geoffrey
+Bainbridge." This name was quite unknown to me, so I rang the bell and
+inquired of my servant who the visitor had been. He described him as a
+gentleman who wished to see me on most urgent business, and said further
+that Mr. Bainbridge intended to call again later in the evening. It was
+with both curiosity and vexation that I awaited the return of the
+stranger. Urgent business with me generally meant a hurried rush to one
+part of the country or the other. I did not want to leave London just
+then; and when at half-past nine Mr. Geoffrey Bainbridge was ushered
+into my room, I received him with a certain coldness which he could not
+fail to perceive. He was a tall, well-dressed, elderly man. He
+immediately plunged into the object of his visit.
+
+"I hope you do not consider my unexpected presence an intrusion, Mr.
+Bell," he said. "But I have heard of you from our mutual friends, the
+Greys of Uplands. You may remember once doing that family a great
+service."
+
+"I remember perfectly well," I answered more cordially. "Pray tell me
+what you want; I shall listen with attention."
+
+"I believe you are the one man in London who can help me," he continued.
+"I refer to a matter especially relating to your own particular study. I
+need hardly say that whatever you do will not be unrewarded."
+
+"That is neither here nor there," I said; "but before you go any
+further, allow me to ask one question. Do you want me to leave London at
+present?"
+
+He raised his eyebrows in dismay.
+
+"I certainly do," he answered.
+
+"Very well; pray proceed with your story."
+
+He looked at me with anxiety.
+
+"In the first place," he began, "I must tell you that I am chairman of
+the Lytton Vale Railway Company in Wales, and that it is on an important
+matter connected with our line that I have come to consult you. When I
+explain to you the nature of the mystery, you will not wonder, I think,
+at my soliciting your aid."
+
+"I will give you my closest attention," I answered; and then I added,
+impelled to say the latter words by a certain expression on his face,
+"if I can see my way to assisting you I shall be ready to do so."
+
+"Pray accept my cordial thanks," he replied. "I have come up from my
+place at Felwyn to-day on purpose to consult you. It is in that
+neighbourhood that the affair has occurred. As it is essential that you
+should be in possession of the facts of the whole matter, I will go over
+things just as they happened."
+
+I bent forward and listened attentively.
+
+"This day fortnight," continued Mr. Bainbridge, "our quiet little
+village was horrified by the news that the signalman on duty at the
+mouth of the Felwyn Tunnel had been found dead under the most mysterious
+circumstances. The tunnel is at the end of a long cutting between
+Llanlys and Felwyn stations. It is about a mile long, and the signal-box
+is on the Felwyn side. The place is extremely lonely, being six miles
+from the village across the mountains. The name of the poor fellow who
+met his death in this mysterious fashion was David Pritchard. I have
+known him from a boy, and he was quite one of the steadiest and most
+trustworthy men on the line. On Tuesday evening he went on duty at six
+o'clock; on Wednesday morning the day-man who had come to relieve him
+was surprised not to find him in the box. It was just getting daylight,
+and the 6.30 local was coming down, so he pulled the signals and let her
+through. Then he went out, and, looking up the line towards the tunnel,
+saw Pritchard lying beside the line close to the mouth of the tunnel.
+Roberts, the day-man, ran up to him and found, to his horror, that he
+was quite dead. At first Roberts naturally supposed that he had been cut
+down by a train, as there was a wound at the back of the head; but he
+was not lying on the metals. Roberts ran back to the box and telegraphed
+through to Felwyn Station. The message was sent on to the village, and
+at half-past seven o'clock the police inspector came up to my house with
+the news. He and I, with the local doctor, went off at once to the
+tunnel. We found the dead man lying beside the metals a few yards away
+from the mouth of the tunnel, and the doctor immediately gave him a
+careful examination. There was a depressed fracture at the back of the
+skull, which must have caused his death; but how he came by it was not
+so clear. On examining the whole place most carefully, we saw, further,
+that there were marks on the rocks at the steep side of the embankment
+as if some one had tried to scramble up them. Why the poor fellow had
+attempted such a climb, God only knows. In doing so he must have slipped
+and fallen back on to the line, thus causing the fracture of the skull.
+In no case could he have gone up more than eight or ten feet, as the
+banks of the cutting run sheer up, almost perpendicularly, beyond that
+point for more than a hundred and fifty feet. There are some sharp
+boulders beside the line, and it was possible that he might have fallen
+on one of these and so sustained the injury. The affair must have
+occurred some time between 11.45 p.m. and 6 a.m., as the engine-driver
+of the express at 11.45 p.m. states that the line was signalled clear,
+and he also caught sight of Pritchard in his box as he passed."
+
+"This is deeply interesting," I said; "pray proceed."
+
+Bainbridge looked at me earnestly; he then continued:--
+
+"The whole thing is shrouded in mystery. Why should Pritchard have left
+his box and gone down to the tunnel? Why, having done so, should he have
+made a wild attempt to scale the side of the cutting, an impossible feat
+at any time? Had danger threatened, the ordinary course of things would
+have been to run up the line towards the signal-box. These points are
+quite unexplained. Another curious fact is that death appears to have
+taken place just before the day-man came on duty, as the light at the
+mouth of the tunnel had been put out, and it was one of the night
+signalman's duties to do this as soon as daylight appeared; it is
+possible, therefore, that Pritchard went down to the tunnel for that
+purpose. Against this theory, however, and an objection that seems to
+nullify it, is the evidence of Dr. Williams, who states that when he
+examined the body his opinion was that death had taken place some hours
+before. An inquest was held on the following day, but before it took
+place there was a new and most important development. I now come to what
+I consider the crucial point in the whole story.
+
+"For a long time there had been a feud between Pritchard and another man
+of the name of Wynne, a platelayer on the line. The object of their
+quarrel was the blacksmith's daughter in the neighbouring village--a
+remarkably pretty girl and an arrant flirt. Both men were madly in love
+with her, and she played them off one against the other. The night but
+one before his death Pritchard and Wynne had met at the village inn, had
+quarrelled in the bar--Lucy, of course, being the subject of their
+difference. Wynne was heard to say (he was a man of powerful build and
+subject to fits of ungovernable rage) that he would have Pritchard's
+life. Pritchard swore a great oath that he would get Lucy on the
+following day to promise to marry him. This oath, it appears, he kept,
+and on his way to the signal-box on Tuesday evening met Wynne, and
+triumphantly told him that Lucy had promised to be his wife. The men had
+a hand-to-hand fight on the spot, several people from the village being
+witnesses of it. They were separated with difficulty, each vowing
+vengeance on the other. Pritchard went off to his duty at the signal-box
+and Wynne returned to the village to drown his sorrows at the
+public-house.
+
+"Very late that same night Wynne was seen by a villager going in the
+direction of the tunnel. The man stopped him and questioned him. He
+explained that he had left some of his tools on the line, and was on his
+way to fetch them. The villager noticed that he looked queer and
+excited, but not wishing to pick a quarrel thought it best not to
+question him further. It has been proved that Wynne never returned home
+that night, but came back at an early hour on the following morning,
+looking dazed and stupid. He was arrested on suspicion, and at the
+inquest the verdict was against him."
+
+"Has he given any explanation of his own movements?" I asked.
+
+"Yes; but nothing that can clear him. As a matter of fact, his tools
+were nowhere to be seen on the line, nor did he bring them home with
+him. His own story is that being considerably the worse for drink, he
+had fallen down in one of the fields and slept there till morning."
+
+"Things look black against him," I said.
+
+"They do; but listen, I have something more to add. Here comes a very
+queer feature in the affair. Lucy Ray, the girl who had caused the feud
+between Pritchard and Wynne, after hearing the news of Pritchard's
+death, completely lost her head, and ran frantically about the village
+declaring that Wynne was the man she really loved, and that she had only
+accepted Pritchard in a fit of rage with Wynne for not himself bringing
+matters to the point. The case looks very bad against Wynne, and
+yesterday the magistrate committed him for trial at the coming assizes.
+The unhappy Lucy Ray and the young man's parents are in a state
+bordering on distraction."
+
+"What is your own opinion with regard to Wynne's guilt?" I asked.
+
+"Before God, Mr. Bell, I believe the poor fellow is innocent, but the
+evidence against him is very strong. One of the favourite theories is
+that he went down to the tunnel and extinguished the light, knowing that
+this would bring Pritchard out of his box to see what was the matter,
+and that he then attacked him, striking the blow which fractured the
+skull."
+
+"Has any weapon been found about, with which he could have given such a
+blow?"
+
+"No; nor has anything of the kind been discovered on Wynne's person;
+that fact is decidedly in his favour."
+
+"But what about the marks on the rocks?" I asked.
+
+"It is possible that Wynne may have made them in order to divert
+suspicion by making people think that Pritchard must have fallen, and so
+killed himself. The holders of this theory base their belief on the
+absolute want of cause for Pritchard's trying to scale the rock. The
+whole thing is the most absolute enigma. Some of the country folk have
+declared that the tunnel is haunted (and there certainly has been such a
+rumour current among them for years). That Pritchard saw some
+apparition, and in wild terror sought to escape from it by climbing the
+rocks, is another theory, but only the most imaginative hold it."
+
+"Well, it is a most extraordinary case," I replied.
+
+"Yes, Mr. Bell, and I should like to get your opinion of it. Do you see
+your way to elucidate the mystery?"
+
+"Not at present; but I shall be happy to investigate the matter to my
+utmost ability."
+
+"But you do not wish to leave London at present?"
+
+"That is so; but a matter of such importance cannot be set aside. It
+appears, from what you say, that Wynne's life hangs more or less on my
+being able to clear away the mystery?"
+
+"That is indeed the case. There ought not to be a single stone left
+unturned to get at the truth, for the sake of Wynne. Well, Mr. Bell,
+what do you propose to do?"
+
+"To see the place without delay," I answered.
+
+"That is right; when can you come?"
+
+"Whenever you please."
+
+"Will you come down to Felwyn with me to-morrow? I shall leave
+Paddington by the 7.10, and if you will be my guest I shall be only too
+pleased to put you up."
+
+"That arrangement will suit me admirably," I replied. "I will meet you
+by the train you mention, and the affair shall have my best attention."
+
+"Thank you," he said, rising. He shook hands with me and took his leave.
+
+The next day I met Bainbridge at Paddington Station, and we were soon
+flying westward in the luxurious private compartment that had been
+reserved for him. I could see by his abstracted manner and his long
+lapses of silence that the mysterious affair at Felwyn Tunnel was
+occupying all his thoughts.
+
+It was two o'clock in the afternoon when the train slowed down at the
+little station of Felwyn. The station-master was at the door in an
+instant to receive us.
+
+"I have some terribly bad news for you, sir," he said, turning to
+Bainbridge as we alighted; "and yet in one sense it is a relief, for it
+seems to clear Wynne."
+
+"What do you mean?" cried Bainbridge. "Bad news? Speak out at once!"
+
+"Well, sir, it is this: there has been another death at Felwyn
+signal-box. John Davidson, who was on duty last night, was found dead at
+an early hour this morning in the very same place where we found poor
+Pritchard."
+
+"Good God!" cried Bainbridge, starting back, "what an awful thing! What,
+in the name of Heaven, does it mean, Mr. Bell? This is too fearful.
+Thank goodness you have come down with us."
+
+"It is as black a business as I ever heard of, sir," echoed the
+station-master; "and what we are to do I don't know. Poor Davidson was
+found dead this morning, and there was neither mark nor sign of what
+killed him--that is the extraordinary part of it. There's a perfect
+panic abroad, and not a signalman on the line will take duty to-night. I
+was quite in despair, and was afraid at one time that the line would
+have to be closed, but at last it occurred to me to wire to Lytton Vale,
+and they are sending down an inspector. I expect him by a special every
+moment. I believe this is he coming now," added the station-master,
+looking up the line.
+
+There was the sound of a whistle down the valley, and in a few moments a
+single engine shot into the station, and an official in uniform stepped
+on to the platform.
+
+"Good-evening, sir," he said, touching his cap to Bainbridge; "I have
+just been sent down to inquire into this affair at the Felwyn Tunnel,
+and though it seems more of a matter for a Scotland Yard detective than
+one of ourselves, there was nothing for it but to come. All the same,
+Mr. Bainbridge, I cannot say that I look forward to spending to-night
+alone at the place."
+
+"You wish for the services of a detective, but you shall have some one
+better," said Bainbridge, turning towards me. "This gentleman, Mr. John
+Bell, is the man of all others for our business. I have just brought him
+down from London for the purpose."
+
+An expression of relief flitted across the inspector's face.
+
+"I am very glad to see you, sir," he said to me, "and I hope you will be
+able to spend the night with me in the signal-box. I must say I don't
+much relish the idea of tackling the thing single-handed; but with your
+help, sir, I think we ought to get to the bottom of it somehow. I am
+afraid there is not a man on the line who will take duty until we do. So
+it is most important that the thing should be cleared, and without
+delay."
+
+I readily assented to the inspector's proposition, and Bainbridge and I
+arranged that we should call for him at four o'clock at the village inn
+and drive him to the tunnel.
+
+We then stepped into the wagonette which was waiting for us, and drove
+to Bainbridge's house.
+
+Mrs. Bainbridge came out to meet us, and was full of the tragedy. Two
+pretty girls also ran to greet their father, and to glance inquisitively
+at me. I could see that the entire family was in a state of much
+excitement.
+
+"Lucy Ray has just left, father," said the elder of the girls. "We had
+much trouble to soothe her; she is in a frantic state."
+
+"You have heard, Mr. Bell, all about this dreadful mystery?" said Mrs.
+Bainbridge as she led me towards the dining-room.
+
+"Yes," I answered; "your husband has been good enough to give me every
+particular."
+
+"And you have really come here to help us?"
+
+"I hope I may be able to discover the cause," I answered.
+
+"It certainly seems most extraordinary," continued Mrs. Bainbridge. "My
+dear," she continued, turning to her husband, "you can easily imagine
+the state we were all in this morning when the news of the second death
+was brought to us."
+
+"For my part," said Ella Bainbridge, "I am sure that Felwyn Tunnel is
+haunted. The villagers have thought so for a long time, and this second
+death seems to prove it, does it not?" Here she looked anxiously at me.
+
+"I can offer no opinion," I replied, "until I have sifted the matter
+thoroughly."
+
+"Come, Ella, don't worry Mr. Bell," said her father; "if he is as hungry
+as I am, he must want his lunch."
+
+We then seated ourselves at the table and commenced the meal.
+Bainbridge, although he professed to be hungry, was in such a state of
+excitement that he could scarcely eat. Immediately after lunch he left
+me to the care of his family and went into the village.
+
+"It is just like him," said Mrs. Bainbridge; "he takes these sort of
+things to heart dreadfully. He is terribly upset about Lucy Ray, and
+also about the poor fellow Wynne. It is certainly a fearful tragedy from
+first to last."
+
+"Well, at any rate," I said, "this fresh death will upset the evidence
+against Wynne."
+
+"I hope so, and there is some satisfaction in the fact. Well, Mr. Bell,
+I see you have finished lunch; will you come into the drawing-room?"
+
+I followed her into a pleasant room overlooking the valley of the
+Lytton.
+
+By-and-by Bainbridge returned, and soon afterwards the dog-cart came to
+the door. My host and I mounted, Bainbridge took the reins, and we
+started off at a brisk pace.
+
+"Matters get worse and worse," he said the moment we were alone. "If you
+don't clear things up to-night, Bell, I say frankly that I cannot
+imagine what will happen."
+
+We entered the village, and as we rattled down the ill-paved streets I
+was greeted with curious glances on all sides. The people were standing
+about in groups, evidently talking about the tragedy and nothing else.
+Suddenly, as our trap bumped noisily over the paving-stones, a girl
+darted out of one of the houses and made frantic motions to Bainbridge
+to stop the horse. He pulled the mare nearly up on her haunches, and the
+girl came up to the side of the dog-cart.
+
+"You have heard it?" she said, speaking eagerly and in a gasping voice.
+"The death which occurred this morning will clear Stephen Wynne, won't
+it, Mr. Bainbridge?--it will, you are sure, are you not?"
+
+"It looks like it, Lucy, my poor girl," he answered. "But there, the
+whole thing is so terrible that I scarcely know what to think."
+
+She was a pretty girl with dark eyes, and under ordinary circumstances
+must have had the vivacious expression of face and the brilliant
+complexion which so many of her countrywomen possess. But now her eyes
+were swollen with weeping and her complexion more or less disfigured by
+the agony she had gone through. She looked piteously at Bainbridge, her
+lips trembling. The next moment she burst into tears.
+
+"Come away, Lucy," said a woman who had followed her out of the cottage;
+"Fie--for shame! don't trouble the gentlemen; come back and stay
+quiet."
+
+"I can't, mother, I can't," said the unfortunate girl. "If they hang
+him, I'll go clean off my head. Oh, Mr. Bainbridge, do say that the
+second death has cleared him!"
+
+"I have every hope that it will do so, Lucy," said Bainbridge, "but now
+don't keep us, there's a good girl; go back into the house. This
+gentleman has come down from London on purpose to look into the whole
+matter. I may have good news for you in the morning."
+
+The girl raised her eyes to my face with a look of intense pleading.
+"Oh, I have been cruel and a fool, and I deserve everything," she
+gasped; "but, sir, for the love of Heaven, try to clear him."
+
+I promised to do my best.
+
+Bainbridge touched up the mare, she bounded forward, and Lucy
+disappeared into the cottage with her mother.
+
+The next moment we drew up at the inn where the Inspector was waiting,
+and soon afterwards were bowling along between the high banks of the
+country lanes to the tunnel. It was a cold, still afternoon; the air was
+wonderfully keen, for a sharp frost had held the countryside in its grip
+for the last two days. The sun was just tipping the hills to westward
+when the trap pulled up at the top of the cutting. We hastily alighted,
+and the Inspector and I bade Bainbridge good-bye. He said that he only
+wished that he could stay with us for the night, assured us that little
+sleep would visit him, and that he would be back at the cutting at an
+early hour on the following morning; then the noise of his horse's feet
+was heard fainter and fainter as he drove back over the frost-bound
+roads. The Inspector and I ran along the little path to the wicket-gate
+in the fence, stamping our feet on the hard ground to restore
+circulation after our cold drive. The next moment we were looking down
+upon the scene of the mysterious deaths, and a weird and lonely place it
+looked. The tunnel was at one end of the rock cutting, the sides of
+which ran sheer down to the line for over a hundred and fifty feet.
+Above the tunnel's mouth the hills rose one upon the other. A more
+dreary place it would have been difficult to imagine. From a little
+clump of pines a delicate film of blue smoke rose straight up on the
+still air. This came from the chimney of the signal-box.
+
+As we started to descend the precipitous path the Inspector sang out a
+cheery "Hullo!" The man on duty in the box immediately answered. His
+voice echoed and reverberated down the cutting, and the next moment he
+appeared at the door of the box. He told us that he would be with us
+immediately; but we called back to him to stay where he was, and the
+next instant the Inspector and I entered the box.
+
+"The first thing to do," said Henderson the Inspector, "is to send a
+message down the line to announce our arrival."
+
+This he did, and in a few moments a crawling goods train came panting up
+the cutting. After signalling her through we descended the wooden flight
+of steps which led from the box down to the line and walked along the
+metals towards the tunnel till we stood on the spot where poor Davidson
+had been found dead that morning. I examined the ground and all around
+it most carefully. Everything tallied exactly with the description I had
+received. There could be no possible way of approaching the spot except
+by going along the line, as the rocky sides of the cutting were
+inaccessible.
+
+"It is a most extraordinary thing, sir," said the signalman whom we had
+come to relieve. "Davidson had neither mark nor sign on him--there he
+lay stone dead and cold, and not a bruise nowhere; but Pritchard had an
+awful wound at the back of the head. They said he got it by climbing the
+rocks--here, you can see the marks for yourself, sir. But now, is it
+likely that Pritchard would try to climb rocks like these, so steep as
+they are?"
+
+"Certainly not," I replied.
+
+"Then how do you account for the wound, sir?" asked the man with an
+anxious face.
+
+"I cannot tell you at present," I answered.
+
+"And you and Inspector Henderson are going to spend the night in the
+signal-box?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+A horrified expression crept over the signalman's face.
+
+"God preserve you both," he said; "I wouldn't do it--not for fifty
+pounds. It's not the first time I have heard tell that Felwyn Tunnel is
+haunted. But, there, I won't say any more about that. It's a black
+business, and has given trouble enough. There's poor Wynne, the same
+thing as convicted of the murder of Pritchard; but now they say that
+Davidson's death will clear him. Davidson was as good a fellow as you
+would come across this side of the country; but for the matter of that,
+so was Pritchard. The whole thing is terrible--it upsets one, that it
+do, sir."
+
+"I don't wonder at your feelings," I answered; "but now, see here, I
+want to make a most careful examination of everything. One of the
+theories is that Wynne crept down this rocky side and fractured
+Pritchard's skull. I believe such a feat to be impossible. On examining
+these rocks I see that a man might climb up the side of the tunnel as
+far as from eight to ten feet, utilising the sharp projections of rock
+for the purpose; but it would be out of the question for any man to come
+down the cutting. No; the only way Wynne could have approached Pritchard
+was by the line itself. But, after all, the real thing to discover is
+this," I continued: "what killed Davidson? Whatever caused his death is,
+beyond doubt, equally responsible for Pritchard's. I am now going into
+the tunnel."
+
+Inspector Henderson went in with me. The place struck damp and chill.
+The walls were covered with green, evil-smelling fungi, and through the
+brickwork the moisture was oozing and had trickled down in long lines to
+the ground. Before us was nothing but dense darkness.
+
+When we re-appeared the signalman was lighting the red lamp on the post,
+which stood about five feet from the ground just above the entrance to
+the tunnel.
+
+"Is there plenty of oil?" asked the Inspector.
+
+"Yes, sir, plenty," replied the man. "Is there anything more I can do
+for either of you gentlemen?" he asked, pausing, and evidently dying to
+be off.
+
+"Nothing," answered Henderson; "I will wish you good-evening."
+
+"Good-evening to you both," said the man. He made his way quickly up the
+path and was soon lost to sight.
+
+Henderson and I then returned to the signal-box.
+
+By this time it was nearly dark.
+
+"How many trains pass in the night?" I asked of the Inspector.
+
+"There's the 10.20 down express," he said, "it will pass here at about
+10.40; then there's the 11.45 up, and then not another train till the
+6.30 local to-morrow morning. We shan't have a very lively time," he
+added.
+
+I approached the fire and bent over it, holding out my hands to try and
+get some warmth into them.
+
+"It will take a good deal to persuade me to go down to the tunnel,
+whatever I may see there," said the man. "I don't think, Mr. Bell, I am
+a coward in any sense of the word, but there's something very uncanny
+about this place, right away from the rest of the world. I don't wonder
+one often hears of signalmen going mad in some of these lonely boxes.
+Have you any theory to account for these deaths, sir?"
+
+"None at present," I replied.
+
+"This second death puts the idea of Pritchard being murdered quite out
+of court," he continued.
+
+"I am sure of it," I answered.
+
+"And so am I, and that's one comfort," continued Henderson. "That poor
+girl, Lucy Ray, although she was to be blamed for her conduct, is much
+to be pitied now; and as to poor Wynne himself, he protests his
+innocence through thick and thin. He was a wild fellow, but not the sort
+to take the life of a fellow-creature. I saw the doctor this afternoon
+while I was waiting for you at the inn, Mr. Bell, and also the police
+sergeant. They both say they do not know what Davidson died of. There
+was not the least sign of violence on the body."
+
+"Well, I am as puzzled as the rest of you," I said. "I have one or two
+theories in my mind, but none of them will quite fit the situation."
+
+The night was piercingly cold, and, although there was not a breath of
+wind, the keen and frosty air penetrated into the lonely signal-box. We
+spoke little, and both of us were doubtless absorbed by our own thoughts
+and speculations. As to Henderson, he looked distinctly uncomfortable,
+and I cannot say that my own feelings were too pleasant. Never had I
+been given a tougher problem to solve, and never had I been so utterly
+at my wits' end for a solution.
+
+Now and then the Inspector got up and went to the telegraph instrument,
+which intermittently clicked away in its box. As he did so he made some
+casual remark and then sat down again. After the 10.40 had gone through,
+there followed a period of silence which seemed almost oppressive. All
+at once the stillness was broken by the whirr of the electric bell,
+which sounded so sharply in our ears that we both started. Henderson
+rose.
+
+"That's the 11.45 coming," he said, and, going over to the three long
+levers, he pulled two of them down with a loud clang. The next moment,
+with a rush and a scream, the express tore down the cutting, the
+carriage lights streamed past in a rapid flash, the ground trembled, a
+few sparks from the engine whirled up into the darkness, and the train
+plunged into the tunnel.
+
+"And now," said Henderson, as he pushed back the levers, "not another
+train till daylight. My word, it is cold!"
+
+It was intensely so. I piled some more wood on the fire and, turning up
+the collar of my heavy ulster, sat down at one end of the bench and
+leant my back against the wall. Henderson did likewise; we were neither
+of us inclined to speak. As a rule, whenever I have any night work to
+do, I am never troubled with sleepiness, but on this occasion I felt
+unaccountably drowsy. I soon perceived that Henderson was in the same
+condition.
+
+"Are you sleepy?" I asked of him.
+
+"Dead with it, sir," was his answer; "but there's no fear, I won't drop
+off."
+
+I got up and went to the window of the box. I felt certain that if I sat
+still any longer I should be in a sound sleep. This would never do.
+Already it was becoming a matter of torture to keep my eyes open. I
+began to pace up and down; I opened the door of the box and went out on
+the little platform.
+
+"What's the matter, sir?" inquired Henderson, jumping up with a start.
+
+"I cannot keep awake," I said.
+
+"Nor can I," he answered, "and yet I have spent nights and nights of my
+life in signal-boxes and never was the least bit drowsy; perhaps it's
+the cold."
+
+"Perhaps it is," I said; "but I have been out on as freezing nights
+before, and----"
+
+The man did not reply; he had sat down again; his head was nodding.
+
+I was just about to go up to him and shake him, when it suddenly
+occurred to me that I might as well let him have his sleep out. I soon
+heard him snoring, and he presently fell forward in a heap on the floor.
+By dint of walking up and down, I managed to keep from dropping off
+myself, and in torture which I shall never be able to describe, the
+night wore itself away. At last, towards morning, I awoke Henderson.
+
+"You have had a good nap," I said; "but never mind, I have been on guard
+and nothing has occurred."
+
+"Good God! have I been asleep?" cried the man.
+
+"Sound," I answered.
+
+"Well, I never felt anything like it," he replied. "Don't you find the
+air very close, sir?"
+
+"No," I said; "it is as fresh as possible; it must be the cold."
+
+"I'll just go and have a look at the light at the tunnel," said the man;
+"it will rouse me."
+
+He went on to the little platform, whilst I bent over the fire and began
+to build it up. Presently he returned with a scared look on his face. I
+could see by the light of the oil lamp which hung on the wall that he
+was trembling.
+
+"Mr. Bell," he said, "I believe there is somebody or something down at
+the mouth of the tunnel now." As he spoke he clutched me by the arm. "Go
+and look," he said; "whoever it is, it has put out the light."
+
+"Put out the light?" I cried. "Why, what's the time?"
+
+Henderson pulled out his watch.
+
+"Thank goodness, most of the night is gone," he said; "I didn't know it
+was so late, it is half-past five."
+
+"Then the local is not due for an hour yet?" I said.
+
+"No; but who should put out the light?" cried Henderson.
+
+I went to the door, flung it open, and looked out. The dim outline of
+the tunnel was just visible looming through the darkness, but the red
+light was out.
+
+"What the dickens does it mean, sir?" gasped the Inspector. "I know the
+lamp had plenty of oil in it. Can there be any one standing in front of
+it, do you think?"
+
+We waited and watched for a few moments, but nothing stirred.
+
+"Come along," I said, "let us go down together and see what it is."
+
+"I don't believe I can do it, sir; I really don't!"
+
+"Nonsense," I cried. "I shall go down alone if you won't accompany me.
+Just hand me my stick, will you?"
+
+"For God's sake, be careful, Mr. Bell. Don't go down, whatever you do. I
+expect this is what happened before, and the poor fellows went down to
+see what it was and died there. There's some devilry at work, that's my
+belief."
+
+"That is as it may be," I answered shortly; "but we certainly shall not
+find out by stopping here. My business is to get to the bottom of this,
+and I am going to do it. That there is danger of some sort, I have very
+little doubt; but danger or not, I am going down."
+
+"If you'll be warned by me, sir, you'll just stay quietly here."
+
+"I must go down and see the matter out," was my answer. "Now listen to
+me, Henderson. I see that you are alarmed, and I don't wonder. Just stay
+quietly where you are and watch, but if I call come at once. Don't delay
+a single instant. Remember I am putting my life into your hands. If I
+call 'Come,' just come to me as quick as you can, for I may want help.
+Give me that lantern."
+
+He unhitched it from the wall, and taking it from him, I walked
+cautiously down the steps on to the line. I still felt curiously,
+unaccountably drowsy and heavy. I wondered at this, for the moment was
+such a critical one as to make almost any man wide awake. Holding the
+lamp high above my head, I walked rapidly along the line. I hardly knew
+what I expected to find. Cautiously along the metals I made my way,
+peering right and left until I was close to the fatal spot where the
+bodies had been found. An uncontrollable shudder passed over me. The
+next moment, to my horror, without the slightest warning, the light I
+was carrying went out, leaving me in total darkness. I started back, and
+stumbling against one of the loose boulders reeled against the wall and
+nearly fell. What was the matter with me? I could hardly stand. I felt
+giddy and faint, and a horrible sensation of great tightness seized me
+across the chest. A loud ringing noise sounded in my ears. Struggling
+madly for breath, and with the fear of impending death upon me, I turned
+and tried to run from a danger I could neither understand nor grapple
+with. But before I had taken two steps my legs gave way from under me,
+and uttering a loud cry I fell insensible to the ground.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Out of an oblivion which, for all I knew, might have lasted for moments
+or centuries, a dawning consciousness came to me. I knew that I was
+lying on hard ground; that I was absolutely incapable of realising, nor
+had I the slightest inclination to discover, where I was. All I wanted
+was to lie quite still and undisturbed. Presently I opened my eyes.
+
+Some one was bending over me and looking into my face.
+
+"Thank God, he is not dead," I heard in whispered tones. Then, with a
+flash, memory returned to me.
+
+"What has happened?" I asked.
+
+"You may well ask that, sir," said the Inspector gravely. "It has been
+touch and go with you for the last quarter of an hour; and a near thing
+for me too."
+
+I sat up and looked around me. Daylight was just beginning to break, and
+I saw that we were at the bottom of the steps that led up to the
+signal-box. My teeth were chattering with the cold and I was shivering
+like a man with ague.
+
+"I am better now," I said; "just give me your hand."
+
+I took his arm, and holding the rail with the other hand staggered up
+into the box and sat down on the bench.
+
+"Yes, it has been a near shave," I said; "and a big price to pay for
+solving a mystery."
+
+"Do you mean to say you know what it is?" asked Henderson eagerly.
+
+"Yes," I answered, "I think I know now; but first tell me how long was I
+unconscious?"
+
+"A good bit over half an hour, sir, I should think. As soon as I heard
+you call out I ran down as you told me, but before I got to you I nearly
+fainted. I never had such a horrible sensation in my life. I felt as
+weak as a baby, but I just managed to seize you by the arms and drag you
+along the line to the steps, and that was about all I could do."
+
+"Well, I owe you my life," I said; "just hand me that brandy flask, I
+shall be the better for some of its contents."
+
+I took a long pull. Just as I was laying the flask down Henderson
+started from my side.
+
+"There," he cried, "the 6.30 is coming." The electric bell at the
+instrument suddenly began to ring. "Ought I to let her go through, sir?"
+he inquired.
+
+"Certainly," I answered. "That is exactly what we want. Oh, she will be
+all right."
+
+"No danger to her, sir?"
+
+"None, none; let her go through."
+
+He pulled the lever and the next moment the train tore through the
+cutting.
+
+"Now I think it will be safe to go down again," I said. "I believe I
+shall be able to get to the bottom of this business."
+
+Henderson stared at me aghast.
+
+"Do you mean that you are going down again to the tunnel?" he gasped.
+
+"Yes," I said; "give me those matches. You had better come too. I don't
+think there will be much danger now; and there is daylight, so we can
+see what we are about."
+
+The man was very loth to obey me, but at last I managed to persuade him.
+We went down the line, walking slowly, and at this moment we both felt
+our courage revived by a broad and cheerful ray of sunshine.
+
+"We must advance cautiously," I said, "and be ready to run back at a
+moment's notice."
+
+"God knows, sir, I think we are running a great risk," panted poor
+Henderson; "and if that devil or whatever else it is should happen to be
+about--why, daylight or no daylight----"
+
+"Nonsense! man," I interrupted; "if we are careful, no harm will happen
+to us now. Ah! and here we are!" We had reached the spot where I had
+fallen. "Just give me a match, Henderson."
+
+He did so, and I immediately lit the lamp. Opening the glass of the
+lamp, I held it close to the ground and passed it to and fro. Suddenly
+the flame went out.
+
+"Don't you understand now?" I said, looking up at the Inspector.
+
+"No, I don't, sir," he replied with a bewildered expression.
+
+Suddenly, before I could make an explanation, we both heard shouts from
+the top of the cutting, and looking up I saw Bainbridge hurrying down
+the path. He had come in the dog-cart to fetch us.
+
+"Here's the mystery," I cried as he rushed up to us, "and a deadlier
+scheme of Dame Nature's to frighten and murder poor humanity I have
+never seen."
+
+As I spoke I lit the lamp again and held it just above a tiny fissure in
+the rock. It was at once extinguished.
+
+"What is it?" said Bainbridge, panting with excitement.
+
+"Something that nearly finished _me_," I replied. "Why, this is a
+natural escape of choke damp. Carbonic acid gas--the deadliest gas
+imaginable, because it gives no warning of its presence, and it has no
+smell. It must have collected here during the hours of the night when no
+train was passing, and gradually rising put out the signal light. The
+constant rushing of the trains through the cutting all day would
+temporarily disperse it."
+
+As I made this explanation Bainbridge stood like one electrified, while
+a curious expression of mingled relief and horror swept over Henderson's
+face.
+
+"An escape of carbonic acid gas is not an uncommon phenomenon in
+volcanic districts," I continued, "as I take this to be; but it is odd
+what should have started it. It has sometimes been known to follow
+earthquake shocks, when there is a profound disturbance of the deep
+strata."
+
+"It is strange that you should have said that," said Bainbridge, when he
+could find his voice.
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Why, that about the earthquake. Don't you remember, Henderson," he
+added, turning to the Inspector, "we had felt a slight shock all over
+South Wales about three weeks back?"
+
+"Then that, I think, explains it," I said. "It is evident that Pritchard
+really did climb the rocks in a frantic attempt to escape from the gas
+and fell back on to these boulders. The other man was cut down at once,
+before he had time to fly."
+
+"But what is to happen now?" asked Bainbridge. "Will it go on for ever?
+How are we to stop it?"
+
+"The fissure ought to be drenched with lime water, and then filled up;
+but all really depends on what is the size of the supply and also the
+depth. It is an extremely heavy gas, and would lie at the bottom of a
+cutting like water. I think there is more here just now than is good for
+us," I added.
+
+"But how," continued Bainbridge, as we moved a few steps from the fatal
+spot, "do you account for the interval between the first death and the
+second?"
+
+"The escape must have been intermittent. If wind blew down the cutting,
+as probably was the case before this frost set in, it would keep the gas
+so diluted that its effects would not be noticed. There was enough down
+here this morning, before that train came through, to poison an army.
+Indeed, if it had not been for Henderson's promptitude, there would have
+been another inquest--on myself."
+
+I then related my own experience.
+
+"Well, this clears Wynne, without doubt," said Bainbridge; "but alas!
+for the two poor fellows who were victims. Bell, the Lytton Vale
+Railway Company owe you unlimited thanks; you have doubtless saved many
+lives, and also the Company, for the line must have been closed if you
+had not made your valuable discovery. But now come home with me to
+breakfast. We can discuss all those matters later on."
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+THE EIGHT-MILE LOCK
+
+
+It was in the August of 1889, when I was just arranging my annual
+holiday, that I received the following letter. I tore it open and
+read:--
+
+    "_Theodora_ House-boat,
+    Goring.
+
+    "Dear Mr. Bell,--
+
+    "Can you come down on Wednesday and stay with us for a week? The
+    weather is glorious and the river looking its best. We are a gay
+    party, and there will be plenty of fun going on.
+
+                                            "Yours very truly,
+                                                 "Helena Ridsdale."
+
+This was exactly what I wanted. I was fond of the river, and scarcely a
+summer passed that I did not spend at least a fortnight on the Thames.
+I could go for a week to the Ridsdales, and then start off on my own
+quiet holiday afterwards. I had known Lady Ridsdale since she was a
+girl, and I had no doubt my visit would prove a most enjoyable one. I
+replied immediately, accepting the invitation, and three days later
+arrived at Goring.
+
+As the well-cushioned little punt, which had been sent to bring me
+across the river, drew up alongside the _Theodora_, the Countess came
+down from the deck to welcome me.
+
+"I am so glad you could come, Mr. Bell," she said. "I was afraid you
+might be away on some of your extraordinary campaigns against the
+supernatural. This is Mr. Ralph Vyner; he is also, like yourself,
+devoted to science. I am sure you will find many interests in common."
+
+A short, thickset, wiry little man, dressed in white flannels, who had
+been lolling in a deck chair, now came forward and shook hands with me.
+
+"I know of you by reputation, Mr. Bell," he said, "and I have often
+hoped to have the pleasure of meeting you. I am sure we shall all be
+anxious to hear of some of your experiences. We are such an excessively
+frivolous party that we can easily afford to be leavened with a little
+serious element."
+
+"But I don't mean to be serious in the least," I answered, laughing; "I
+have come here to enjoy myself, and intend to be as frivolous as the
+rest of you."
+
+"You will have an opportunity this evening," said the Countess; "we are
+going to have a special band from town, and intend to have a moonlight
+dance on deck. Ah! here comes Charlie with the others," she added,
+shading her eyes and looking down the stream.
+
+In a few moments a perfectly appointed little electric launch shot up,
+and my host with the rest of the party came on board. We shortly
+afterwards sat down to lunch, and a gayer and pleasanter set of people I
+have seldom met. In the afternoon we broke up into detachments, and
+Vyner and I went for a long pull up stream. I found him a pleasant
+fellow, ready to talk at any length not only about his own hobbies, but
+about the world at large. I discovered presently that he was a naval
+engineer of no small attainments.
+
+When we returned to the house-boat, it was nearly time to prepare for
+dinner. Most of the ladies had already retired to their cabins. Lady
+Ridsdale was standing alone on deck. When she saw us both, she called to
+us to come to her side.
+
+"This quite dazzles me," she said in a low, somewhat mysterious tone,
+"and I must show it to you. I know you at least, Mr. Vyner, will
+appreciate it."
+
+As she spoke she took a small leather case out of her pocket--it was
+ornamented with a monogram, and opened with a catch. She pressed the
+lid, it flew up, and I saw, resting on a velvet bed, a glittering
+circlet of enormous diamonds. The Countess lifted them out, and slipped
+them over her slender wrist.
+
+"They are some of the family diamonds," she said with excitement, "and
+of great value. Charlie is having all the jewels reset for me, but the
+rest are not ready yet. He has just brought this down from town. Is it
+not superb? Did you ever see such beauties?"
+
+The diamonds flashed on her white wrist; she looked up at me with eyes
+almost as bright.
+
+"I love beautiful stones," she said, "and I feel as if these were alive.
+Oh, do look at the rays of colour in them, as many as in the rainbow."
+
+I congratulated Lady Ridsdale on possessing such a splendid ornament,
+and then glanced at Vyner, expecting him to say something.
+
+The expression on his face startled me, and I was destined to remember
+it by-and-by. The ruddy look had completely left it, his eyes were half
+starting from his head. He peered close, and suddenly, without the
+slightest warning, stretched out his hand, and touched the diamonds as
+they glittered round Lady Ridsdale's wrist. She started back haughtily,
+then, recovering herself, took the bracelet off and put it into his
+hand.
+
+"Charlie tells me," she said, "that this bracelet is worth from fifteen
+to twenty thousand pounds."
+
+"You must take care of it," remarked Vyner; "don't let your maid see it,
+for instance."
+
+"Oh, nonsense!" laughed Lady Ridsdale. "I would trust Louise as I would
+trust myself."
+
+Soon afterwards we separated, and I went down to my little cabin to
+prepare for dinner. When we met in the dining saloon I noticed that Lady
+Ridsdale was wearing the diamond bracelet. Almost immediately after
+dinner the band came on board and the dancing began.
+
+We kept up our festivities until two o'clock, and more than once, as she
+flashed past me, I could not help noticing the glittering circlet round
+her wrist. I considered myself a fair judge of precious stones, but had
+never seen any diamonds for size and brilliancy to equal these.
+
+As Vyner and I happened to stand apart from the others he remarked upon
+them.
+
+"It was imprudent of Ridsdale to bring those diamonds here," he said.
+"Suppose they are stolen?"
+
+"Scarcely likely," I answered; "there are no thieves on board."
+
+He gave an impatient movement.
+
+"As far as we _know_ there are not," he said slowly, "but one can never
+tell. The diamonds are of exceptional value, and it is not safe to
+expose ordinary folk to temptation. That small circlet means a fortune."
+
+He sighed deeply, and when I spoke to him next did not answer me. Not
+long afterwards our gay party dispersed, and we retired to our
+respective cabins.
+
+I went to mine and was quickly in bed. As a newly-arrived guest I was
+given a cabin on board, but several other members of the party were
+sleeping in tents on the shore. Vyner and Lord Ridsdale were amongst
+the latter number. Whether it was the narrowness of my bunk or the heat
+of the night, I cannot tell, but sleep I could not. Suddenly through my
+open window I heard voices from the shore near by. I could identify the
+speakers by their tones--one was my host, Lord Ridsdale, the other Ralph
+Vyner. Whatever formed the subject of discourse it was evidently far
+from amicable. However much averse I might feel to the situation, I was
+compelled to be an unwilling eavesdropper, for the voices rose, and I
+caught the following words from Vyner:
+
+"Can you lend me five thousand pounds till the winter?"
+
+"No, Vyner, I have told you so before, and the reason too. It is your
+own fault, and you must take the consequences."
+
+"Do you mean that to be final?" asked Vyner.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Very well, then I shall look after myself. Thank God, I have got brains
+if I have not money, and I shall not let the means interfere with the
+end."
+
+"You can go to the devil for all I care," was the angry answer, "and,
+after what I know, I won't raise a finger to help you."
+
+The speakers had evidently moved further off, for the last words I could
+not catch. But what little I heard by no means conduced to slumber. So
+Vyner, for all his jovial and easy manner, was in a fix for money, and
+Ridsdale knew something about him scarcely to his credit!
+
+I kept thinking over this, and also recalling his words when he spoke of
+Lady Ridsdale's diamonds as representing a fortune. What did he mean by
+saying that he would not let the means interfere with the end? That
+brief sentence sounded very much like the outburst of a desperate man. I
+could not help heartily wishing that Lady Ridsdale's diamond circlet was
+back in London, and, just before I dropped to sleep, I made up my mind
+to speak to Ridsdale on the subject.
+
+Towards morning I did doze off, but I was awakened by hearing my name
+called, and, starting up, I saw Ridsdale standing by my side. His face
+looked queer and excited.
+
+"Wake up, Bell," he cried; "a terrible thing has happened."
+
+"What is it?" I asked.
+
+"My wife's bracelet is stolen."
+
+Like a flash I thought of Vyner, and then as quickly I knew that I must
+be careful to give no voice to hastily-formed suspicions.
+
+"I won't be a moment dressing, and then I'll join you," I said.
+
+Ridsdale nodded and left my cabin.
+
+In five minutes I was with him on deck. He then told me briefly what had
+happened.
+
+"Helena most imprudently left the case on her dressing-table last
+night," he said, "and owing to the heat she kept the window open. Some
+one must have waded into the water in the dark and stolen it. Perhaps
+one of the bandsmen may have noticed the flashing of the diamonds on
+her wrist and returned to secure the bracelet--there's no saying. The
+only too palpable fact is that it is gone--it was valued at twenty
+thousand pounds!"
+
+"Have you sent for the police?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, and have also wired to Scotland Yard for one of their best
+detectives. Vyner took the telegram for me, and was to call at the
+police station on his way back. He is nearly as much upset as I am. This
+is a terrible loss. I feel fit to kill myself for my folly in bringing
+that valuable bracelet on board a house-boat."
+
+"It was a little imprudent," I answered, "but you are sure to get it
+back."
+
+"I hope so," he replied moodily.
+
+Just then the punt with Vyner and a couple of policemen on board was
+seen rapidly approaching. Ridsdale went to meet them, and was soon in
+earnest conversation with the superintendent of police. The moment Vyner
+leapt on board he came to the part of the deck where I was standing.
+
+"Ah, Bell," he cried, "what about my prognostications of last night?"
+
+"They have been verified too soon," I answered. I gave him a quick
+glance. His eyes looked straight into mine.
+
+"Have you any theory to account for the theft?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, a very simple one. Owing to the heat of the evening the Countess
+slept with her window open. It was an easy matter to wade through the
+water, introduce a hand through the open window and purloin the
+diamonds."
+
+"Without being seen by any occupants of the tents?" I queried.
+
+"Certainly," he answered, speaking slowly and with thought.
+
+"Then you believe the thief came from without?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"What about your warning to Lady Ridsdale yesterday evening not to trust
+her maid?"
+
+I saw his eyes flash. It was the briefest of summer lightning that
+played in their depths. I knew that he longed to adopt the suggestion
+that I had on purpose thrown out, but dared not. That one look was
+enough for me. I had guessed his secret.
+
+Before he could reply to my last remark Lord Ridsdale came up.
+
+"What is to be done?" he said; "the police superintendent insists on our
+all, without respect of persons, being searched."
+
+"There is nothing in that," I said; "it is the usual thing. I will be
+the first to submit to the examination."
+
+The police went through their work thoroughly, and, of course, came
+across neither clue nor diamonds. We presently sat down to breakfast,
+but I don't think we any of us had much appetite. Lady Ridsdale's eyes
+were red with crying, and I could see that the loss had shaken both her
+nerve and fortitude. It was more or less of a relief when the post came
+in. Amongst the letters I found a telegram for myself. I knew what it
+meant before I opened it. It was from a man in a distant part of the
+country whom I had promised to assist in a matter of grave importance.
+I saw that it was necessary for me to return to town without delay. I
+was very loth to leave my host and hostess in their present dilemma, but
+there was no help for it, and soon after breakfast I took my leave.
+Ridsdale promised to write me if there was any news of the diamonds, and
+soon the circumstance passed more or less into the background of my
+brain, owing to the intense interest of the other matter which I had
+taken up. My work in the north was over, and I had returned to town,
+when I received a letter from Ridsdale.
+
+"We are in a state of despair," he wrote; "we have had two detectives on
+board, and the police have moved heaven and earth to try and discover
+the bracelet--all in vain; not the slightest clue has been forthcoming.
+No one has worked harder for us than Vyner. He has a small place of his
+own further down the river, and comes up to see us almost daily. He has
+made all sorts of suggestions for the recovery of the diamonds, but
+hitherto they have led to nothing. In short, our one hope now turns upon
+you, Bell; you have done as difficult things as this before. Will you
+come and see us, and give us the benefit of your advice? If any man can
+solve this mystery, you are the person."
+
+I wrote immediately to say that I would return to the _Theodora_ on the
+following evening, and for the remainder of that day tried to the best
+of my ability to think out this most difficult problem. I felt morally
+certain that I could put my hand on the thief, but I had no real clue to
+work upon--nothing beyond a nameless suspicion. Strange as it may seem,
+I was moved by sentiment. I had spent some pleasant hours in Vyner's
+society--I had enjoyed his conversation; I had liked the man for
+himself. He had abilities above the average, of that I was certain--if
+he were proved guilty, I did not want to be the one to bring his crime
+home to him. So uncomfortable were my feelings that at last I made up my
+mind to take a somewhat bold step. This was neither more nor less than
+to go to see Vyner himself before visiting the house-boat. What I was to
+do and say when I got to him I was obliged to leave altogether to
+chance; but I had a feeling almost amounting to a certainty that by
+means of this visit I should ultimately return the bracelet to my
+friends the Ridsdales.
+
+The next afternoon I found myself rowing slowly down the river, thinking
+what the issue of my visit to Vyner would be. It happened to be a
+perfect evening. The sun had just set. The long reach of river stretched
+away to the distant bend, where, through the gathering twilight, I could
+just see the white gates of the Eight-Mile Lock. Raising my voice, I
+sang out in a long-drawn, sonorous monotone the familiar cry of "Lock!
+lock! lock!" and, bending to the sculls, sent my little skiff flying
+down stream. The sturdy figure of old James Pegg, the lock-keeper, whom
+I had known for many years, instantly appeared on the bridge. One of the
+great gates slowly swung open, and, shipping my sculls, I shot in, and
+called out a cheery good-evening to my old friend.
+
+"Mr. Bell!" exclaimed the old fellow, hurrying along the edge of the
+lock. "Well, I never! I did not see it was you at first, and yet I ought
+to have known that long, swinging stroke of yours. You are the last
+person I expected to see. I was half afraid it might be some one else,
+although I don't know that I was expecting any one in particular. Excuse
+me, sir, but was it you called out 'Lock' just now?"
+
+"Of course it was," I answered, laughing. "I'm in the deuce of a hurry
+to-night, Jimmy, as I want to get on to Wotton before dark. Look sharp,
+will you, and let me down."
+
+"All right, sir--but you did frighten me just now. I wish you hadn't
+called out like that!"
+
+As I glanced up at him, I was surprised to see that his usually ruddy,
+round face was as white as a sheet, and he was breathing quickly.
+
+"Why, what on earth is the matter, Jimmy?" I cried; "how can I have
+frightened you?"
+
+"Oh, it's nothing, sir; I suppose I'm an old fool," he faltered,
+smiling. "I don't know what's the matter with me, sir--I'm all of a
+tremble. The fact is, something happened here last night, and I don't
+seem to have got over it. You know, I am all by myself here now, sir,
+and a lonely place it is."
+
+"Something happened?" I said; "not an accident, I hope?"
+
+"No, sir, no accident that I know of, and yet I have been half expecting
+one to occur all day, and I have been that weak I could hardly wind up
+the sluices. I am getting old now, and I'm not the man I was; but I'm
+right glad to see you, Mr. Bell, that I am."
+
+He kept pausing as he spoke, and now and then glanced up the river, as
+if expecting to see a boat coming round the bend every moment. I was
+much puzzled by his extraordinary manner. I knew him to be a steady man,
+and one whose services were much valued by the Conservancy; but it
+needed only a glance now to show that there was something very much
+amiss with him.
+
+The darkness was increasing every moment, and, being anxious to get on
+as soon as possible, I was just going to tell him again to hurry up with
+the sluices, when he bent down close to me, and said,--
+
+"Would you mind stepping out for a moment, sir, if you can spare the
+time? I wish to speak to you, sir. I'd be most grateful if you would
+wait a minute or two."
+
+"Certainly, Jimmy," I answered, hauling myself to the side with the
+boat-hook, and getting out. "Is there anything I can do for you? I am
+afraid you are not well. I never saw you like this before."
+
+"No, sir; and I never felt like it before, that I can remember.
+Something happened here last night that has taken all the nerve out of
+me, and I want to tell you what it was. I know you are so clever, Mr.
+Bell, and I have heard about your doings up at Wallinghurst last autumn,
+when you cleared up the Manor House ghost, and got old Monkford six
+months."
+
+"Well, fire away," I said, filling my pipe, and wondering what was
+coming.
+
+"It is this way, sir," he began. "Last night after I had had my supper I
+thought I'd like a stroll and a quiet smoke along the towing path before
+turning in. I did not expect any more boats, as it was getting on for
+ten o'clock. I walked about three-quarters of a mile, and was just going
+to turn round, when I saw a light down on the surface of the water in
+mid-stream. It was pretty dark, for the moon was not up yet, and there
+was a thick white mist rising from the water. I thought it must be some
+one in a canoe at first, so I waited a bit and watched. Then it suddenly
+disappeared, and the next instant I saw it again about a hundred yards
+or so higher up the stream, but only for a second, and then it went out.
+It fairly puzzled me to know what it could be, as I had never seen
+anything like it before. I felt sure it wasn't any sort of craft, but I
+had heard of strange lights being seen at times on the water--what they
+call jack-o'-lanterns, I believe, sir. I reckoned it might be one of
+them, but I thought I'd get back to the lock, so that, if it was a
+canoe, I could let it through. However, nothing came of it, and I waited
+and watched, and worried all the evening about it, but couldn't come to
+any sort of idea, so I went to bed. Well, about one o'clock this morning
+I suddenly woke up and thought I could hear some one a long way off
+calling exactly as you did just now, 'Lock! lock! lock!' but it sounded
+ever so far away.
+
+"'It's some of those theatre people coming back to the _Will-o'-the-Wisp_
+house-boat,' I said to myself, 'and I'm not going to turn out for them.'
+The lock was full at the time, so I thought I would just let them work
+it for themselves. I waited a bit, expecting to hear them every minute
+come up, singing and swearing as they do, but they never came, and I was
+just dropping off when I heard the call again. It was not an ordinary
+sort of voice, but a long, wailing cry, just as if some one was in
+trouble or drowning. 'Hi! hi! Lock! lo-oock!' it went.
+
+"I got up then and went out. The moon was up now and quite bright, and
+the mist had cleared off, so I went to the bridge on the upper gates and
+looked up stream. This is where I was standing, sir, just as we are
+standing now. I could see right up to the bend, and there was not the
+sign of a boat. I stood straining my eyes, expecting to see a boat come
+round every moment, when I heard the cry again, and this time it sounded
+not fifty yards up stream. I could not make it out at all, so I shouted
+out as loud as I could, 'Who are you? What's the matter?' but there was
+no answer; and then suddenly, the next instant, close below me, from
+_inside_ the lock this time, just here, came a shout, piercing, shrill,
+and loud, 'Open the lock, quick, quick! Open the lock!'
+
+"I tell you, sir, my heart seemed to stand dead still, and I nearly fell
+back over the bridge. I wheeled round sharp, but there was nothing in
+the lock, that I'll swear to my dying day--for I could see all over it,
+and nothing could have got in there without passing me. The moon was
+quite bright, and I could see all round it. Without knowing what I was
+doing, I rushed down like mad to the lower gates, and began to wind up
+one of the sluices, and then I stood there and waited, but nothing came.
+As the lock emptied I looked down, but there was no sign of anything
+anywhere, so I let down the sluice without opening the gates, and then
+filled up the lock again. I stood by the post, hardly daring to move,
+when, about half-past five, thank God, I heard the whistle of a tug,
+and, after seeing her through, it was broad daylight.
+
+"That's the whole story, sir, and how I'm going to live through the
+night again I don't know. It was a spirit if ever there was one in the
+world. It's a warning to me, sir; and what's going to happen I don't
+know."
+
+"Well, Jimmy," I answered, "it certainly is a most extraordinary story,
+and if I didn't know you as well as I do, I should say you had taken
+something more than a smoke before you turned in last night."
+
+"I never touch a drop, sir, except when I go into Farley and have a
+glass of beer, but I have not been there for more than a week now."
+
+I confess that Jimmy's story had left a most unpleasant impression on
+me. I had little doubt that the whole thing was some strange subjective
+hallucination, but for a weird and ghostly experience it certainly beat
+most of the tales I had ever heard. I thought for a moment--it was now
+quite dark, and I felt little inclined to go on to Wotton. My keenest
+interests were awakened.
+
+"Look here," I said, "what do you say if I stay here to-night? Can you
+give me a shake-down of any sort?"
+
+"That I will, sir, and right gladly, and thank God if you will but stay
+with me. If I was alone here again, and heard that voice, I believe it
+would kill me. I'll tie up your boat outside, and bring your things in,
+and then we'll have supper. I'll feel a new man with you staying here,
+sir."
+
+In a few minutes we were both inside old Jimmy's cosy quarters. His
+whole bearing seemed to have changed suddenly, and he ran about with
+alacrity, getting supper ready, and seeming quite like himself again.
+During the whole evening he kept harping at intervals on the subject of
+the mysterious voice, but we heard no sound whatever, and I felt more
+and more certain that the whole thing was due to hallucination on the
+part of the old man. At eleven o'clock a skiff came up through the lock,
+and almost immediately afterwards I bade Jimmy good-night and went into
+the little room he had prepared for me.
+
+I went quickly to bed, and, tired after my long pull, despite the
+originality of the situation, fell fast asleep. Suddenly I awoke--some
+one was bending over me and calling me by my name. I leapt up, and, not
+realising where I was for the moment, but with a sort of dim idea that I
+was engaged in some exposure, instinctively seized the man roughly by
+the throat. In a moment I remembered everything, and quickly released my
+grip of poor old Jimmy, who was gurgling and gasping with horror. I
+burst out laughing at my mistake, and begged his pardon for treating him
+so roughly.
+
+"It is all right, sir," he panted. "I hope I didn't frighten you, but I
+have heard it again, not five minutes ago."
+
+"The deuce you have," I said, striking a match and looking at my watch.
+
+It was nearly two o'clock, and before the minute was up I heard
+distinctly a cry, as if from some great distance, of "Lock, lock, lock!"
+and then all was silence again.
+
+"Did you hear it, sir?" whispered the old man, clutching me by the arm
+with a trembling hand.
+
+"Yes, I heard it," I said. "Don't you be frightened, Jimmy; just wait
+till I get my clothes on; I am going to see this thing through."
+
+"Be careful, sir; for God's sake, be careful," he whispered.
+
+"All right," I said, slipping on some things. "Just get me a good
+strong boat-hook, and don't make too much noise. If this mystery is
+flesh and blood I'll get to the bottom of it somehow. You stay here; and
+if I call, come out."
+
+I took the thick, short boat-hook which he had brought me and, softly
+unlatching the door, went out.
+
+The moon was now riding high overhead and casting black fantastic
+shadows across the little white cottage. All my senses were on the
+keenest alert, my ears were pricked up for the slightest sound. I crept
+softly to the bridge on the upper gate which was open. I looked up
+stream and thought I could see some little ripples on the surface of the
+water as if a swift boat had just passed down, but there was no sign of
+any craft whatever to be seen. It was intensely still, and no sound
+broke the silence save the intermittent croaking of some bull-frogs in
+the dark shadows of the pollards on the further bank. Behind me could
+also be heard the gurgling twinkle of the overflow through the chinks of
+the lower gate.
+
+I stood quite still, gripping the boat-hook in my hand, and looking
+right and left, straining my eyes for the slightest movement of anything
+around, when suddenly, close below me from the water, inside the lock,
+came a loud cry--
+
+"Open the lock, for God's sake, open the lock!"
+
+I started back, feeling my hair rise and stiffen. The sound echoed and
+reverberated through the silent night, and then died away; but before it
+had done so I had sprung to the great beam and closed the upper gate. As
+I did so I caught sight of the old man trembling and shaking at the door
+of the cottage. I called to him to go and watch the upper gate, and,
+racing down to the lower ones, wound up one of the sluices with a few
+pulls, so as to let out the water with as little escape room as
+possible. I knew by this means if there were any creature of tangible
+form in the water we must find it when the lock was emptied, as its
+escape was cut off.
+
+[Illustration: "Struck it a terrific blow with the boat-hook."
+A Master of Mysteries.--Page 167]
+
+Each of the following minutes seemed stretched into a lifetime as, with
+eyes riveted on the dark water in the lock, I watched its gradual
+descent. I hardly dared to think of what I expected to see rise to the
+surface any moment. Would the lock never empty? Down, down sank the
+level, and still I saw nothing. A long, misshapen arm of black cloud was
+slowly stretching itself across the moon.
+
+Hark! there was something moving about down in the well of darkness
+below me, and as I stood and watched I saw that the water was uncovering
+a long, black mass and that something ran slowly out of the water and
+began to clamber up the slimy, slippery beams. What in the name of
+heaven could it be? By the uncertain light I could only see its dim
+outline; it seemed to have an enormous bulbous head and dripping,
+glistening body. The sound of a rapid patter up the tow-path told me
+that the old man had seen it and was running for his life.
+
+I rushed down to where the thing was, and as its great head appeared
+above the edge, with all my force struck it a terrific blow with the
+boat-hook. The weapon flew into splinters in my hand, and the next
+moment the creature had leapt up beside me and dashed me to the ground
+with almost superhuman force. I was up and on to it again in a second,
+and as I caught and closed with it saw that I had at least to deal with
+a human being, and that what he lacked in stature he more than made up
+for in strength. The struggle that ensued was desperate and furious. The
+covering to his head that had splintered the boat-hook was, I saw, a
+sort of helmet, completely protecting the head from any blow, and the
+body was cased in a slippery, closely fitting garment that kept eluding
+my grasp. To and fro we swayed and wrestled, and for a moment I thought
+I had met my match till, suddenly freeing my right arm, I got in a
+smashing blow in the region of the heart. The creature uttered a cry of
+pain and fell headlong to the ground.
+
+Old Jimmy Pegg had hurried back as soon as he heard our struggles and
+knew that he was not dealing with a being of another world. He ran up
+eagerly to me.
+
+"Here's your ghost, you old coward!" I panted; "he has got the hardest
+bone and muscle I ever felt in a ghost yet. I am not used to fighting
+men in helmets, and he is as slippery as an eel, but I hope to goodness
+I have not done more than knock the wind out of him. He is a specimen I
+should rather like to take alive. Catch hold of his feet and we'll get
+him inside and see who he is."
+
+Between us we carried the prostrate figure inside the cottage and laid
+him down like a log on the floor. He never moved nor uttered a sound,
+and I was afraid at first that I had finished him for good and all. I
+next knelt down and proceeded to unfasten the helmet, which, from its
+appearance, was something like the kind used by divers, while the old
+man brought the lantern close to his face. At the first glance I knew in
+an instant that I had seen the face before, and the next second
+recognised, to my utter astonishment and horror, that it belonged to
+Ralph Vyner.
+
+For the moment I was completely dumbfounded, and gazed at the man
+without speaking. It was obvious that he had only fainted from the blow,
+for I could see that he was breathing, and in a few minutes he opened
+his eyes and fixed them on me with a dull and vacant stare. Then he
+seemed to recall the situation, though he evidently did not recognise
+me.
+
+"Let me go," he cried, making an effort to rise. "My God! you have
+killed me." He pressed his hand to his side and fell back again: his
+face was contorted as if in great pain.
+
+There was obviously only one thing to be done, and that was to send for
+medical assistance at once. It was clear that the man was badly injured,
+but to what extent I could not determine. It was impossible to extract
+the slightest further communication from him--he lay quite still,
+groaning from time to time.
+
+I told Jimmy to go off at once to Farley and bring the doctor. I
+scribbled a few directions on a piece of paper.
+
+The old man hurried out of the cottage, but in less than a minute he
+was back again in great excitement.
+
+"Look here, sir, what I have just picked up," he said; "it's something
+he has dropped, I reckon."
+
+As Jimmy spoke he held out a square leather case: there was a monogram
+on it. I took it in my hand and pressed the lid; it flew open, and
+inside, resting on its velvet bed, lay the glittering circlet of
+diamonds. I held Lady Ridsdale's lost bracelet in my hand. All my
+suspicions were confirmed: Vyner was the thief.
+
+Without saying a word I shut the box and despatched the old man at once
+for the doctor, bidding him go as fast as he could. Then I sat down by
+the prostrate man and waited. I knew that Jimmy could not be back for at
+least two hours. The grey dawn was beginning to steal in through the
+little latticed window when Vyner moved, opened his eyes and looked at
+me. He started as his eyes fell on the case.
+
+"You are Mr. Bell," he said slowly. "Ridsdale told me that you were
+coming to the _Theodora_ on purpose to discover the mystery of the lost
+diamonds. You didn't know that I should give you an opportunity of
+discovering the truth even before you arrived at the house-boat. Bend
+down close to me--you have injured me; I may not recover; hear what I
+have to say."
+
+I bent over him, prepared to listen to his words, which came out slowly.
+
+"I am a forger and a desperate man. Three weeks ago I forged one of
+Ridsdale's cheques and lessened my friend's balance to the tune of five
+thousand pounds. He and his wife were old friends of mine, but I wanted
+the money desperately, and was impervious to sentiment or anything else.
+On that first day when you met me, although I seemed cheery enough, I
+was fit to kill myself. I had hoped to be able to restore the stolen
+money long before Ridsdale was likely to miss it. But this hope had
+failed. I saw no loophole of escape, and the day of reckoning could not
+be far off. What devil prompted Ridsdale to bring those diamonds on
+board, Heaven only knows. The moment I saw them they fascinated me and
+I knew I should have a try for them. All during that evening's festivity
+I could think of nothing else. I made up my mind to secure them by hook
+or by crook. Before we retired for the night, however, I thought I would
+give Ridsdale a chance. I asked him if he would lend me the exact sum I
+had already stolen from him, five thousand pounds, but he had heard
+rumours to my discredit and refused point-blank. I hated him for it. I
+went into my tent under the pretence of lying down, but in reality to
+concoct and, if possible, carry out my plot. I waited until the quietest
+hour before dawn, then I slipped out of my tent, waded into the water,
+approached the open window of the Countess's cabin, thrust in my hand,
+took out the case, and, going down the river about a quarter of a mile,
+threw the diamonds into the middle of the stream. I marked well the
+place where they sank; I then returned to my tent and went to bed.
+
+"You know what occurred the following morning. I neither feared Ridsdale
+nor his wife, but you, Bell, gave me a considerable amount of
+uneasiness. I felt certain that in an evil moment on the night before I
+had given you a clue. To a man of your ability the slightest clue was
+all-sufficient. I felt that I must take the bull by the horns and find
+out whether you suspected me or not. I talked to you, and guessed by the
+tone of your remarks that you had your suspicions. My relief was immense
+when that telegram arrived which hurried you away from the _Theodora_.
+On the following day I returned to my own little place on the banks of
+the river four miles below this lock. I knew it was necessary for me to
+remain quiet for a time, but all the same my plans were clearly made,
+and I only waited until the first excitement of the loss had subsided
+and the police and detectives were off their guard. In the meantime I
+went to see Ridsdale almost daily, and suggested many expedients for
+securing the thief and getting hold of the right clue. If he ever
+suspected me, which I don't for a moment suppose, I certainly put him
+off the scent. My intention was to take the diamonds out of the country,
+sell them for all that I could get, then return the five thousand pounds
+which I had stolen from his bank, and leave England for ever. As a
+forger I should be followed to the world's end, but as the possessor of
+stolen diamonds I felt myself practically safe. My scheme was too
+cleverly worked out to give the ordinary detective a chance of
+discovering me.
+
+"Two days ago I had a letter from Ridsdale in which he told me that he
+intended to put the matter into your hands. Now this was by no means to
+my mind, for you, Bell, happened to be the one man in the world whom I
+really dreaded. I saw that I must no longer lose time. Under my little
+boat-house I had a small submarine boat which I had lately finished,
+more as a hobby than anything else. I had begun it years ago in my odd
+moments on a model I had seen of a torpedo used in the American War. My
+boat is now in the lock outside, and you will see for yourself what
+ingenuity was needed to construct such a thing. On the night before the
+one which has just passed, I got it ready, and, as soon as it was dark,
+started off in it to recover the diamonds. I got through the lock easily
+by going in under the water with a barge, but when I reached the spot
+where I had sunk the diamonds, found to my dismay that my electric light
+would not work. There was no help for it--I could not find the bracelet
+without the aid of the light, and was bound to return home to repair the
+lamp. This delay was fraught with danger, but there was no help for it.
+My difficulty now was to get back through the lock; for though I waited
+for quite three hours no boats came along. I saw the upper gates were
+open, but how to get through the lower ones I could not conceive. I felt
+sure that my only chance was to frighten the lock-keeper, and get him to
+open the sluices, for I knew I could pass through them unobserved if
+they were open, as I had done once before.
+
+"In my diver's helmet was a thick glass face-piece. This had an opening,
+closed by a cap, which could be unscrewed, and through which I could
+breathe when above water, and also through which my voice would come,
+causing a peculiar hollowness which I guessed would have a very
+startling effect, especially as I myself would be quite invisible. I got
+into the lock, and shouted to Pegg. I succeeded in frightening him; he
+hurried to do what I ordered. He wound up the lower sluice, I shot
+through under water, and so got back unseen. All yesterday I hesitated
+about trying the experiment again, the risk was so great; but I knew
+that Ridsdale was certain to see his bank-book soon, that my forgery was
+in imminent danger of being discovered, also that you, Bell, were coming
+upon the scene.
+
+"Yes, at any risk, I must now go on.
+
+"I repaired my light, and again last night passed through the lock on my
+way up, by simply waiting for another boat. As a matter of fact, I
+passed up through this lock under a skiff about eleven o'clock. My light
+was now all right, I found the diamond case easily, and turned to pass
+down the stream by the same method as before. If you had not been here I
+should have succeeded, and should have been safe, but now it is all up."
+
+He paused, and his breath came quickly.
+
+"I doubt if I shall recover," he said in a feeble voice.
+
+"I hope you will," I replied; "and hark! I think I hear the doctor's
+steps."
+
+I was right, for a moment or two later old Jimmy Pegg and Dr. Simmons
+entered the cottage. While the doctor was examining the patient and
+talking to him, I went out with Jimmy to have a look at the submarine
+boat. By fixing a rope round it we managed to haul it up, and then
+proceeded to examine it. It certainly was the most wonderful piece of
+ingenious engineering I had ever seen. The boat was in the shape of an
+enormous cigar, and was made of aluminium. It was seven feet long, and
+had a circular beam of sixteen inches. At the pointed end, close to
+where the occupant's feet would be, was an air chamber capable of being
+filled or emptied at will by means of a compressed air cylinder,
+enabling the man to rise or sink whenever he wished to. Inside, the boat
+was lined with flat chambers of compressed air for breathing purposes,
+which were governed by a valve. It was also provided with a small
+accumulator and electric motor which drove the tiny propeller astern.
+The helmet which the man wore fitted around the opening at the head end.
+
+After examining the boat it was easy to see how Vyner had escaped
+through the lock the night before I arrived, as this submarine wonder of
+ingenuity would be able to shoot through the sluice gate under water,
+when the sluice was raised to empty the lock.
+
+After exchanging a few remarks with Jimmy, I returned to the cottage to
+learn the doctor's verdict.
+
+It was grave, but not despairing. The patient could not be moved for a
+day or two. He was, in Dr. Simmons's opinion, suffering more from shock
+than anything else. If he remained perfectly quiet, he would in all
+probability recover; if he were disturbed, the consequences might be
+serious.
+
+An hour afterwards I found myself on my way up stream sculling as fast
+as I could in the direction of the _Theodora_. I arrived there at an
+early hour, and put the case which contained the diamonds into Lady
+Ridsdale's hands.
+
+I shall never forget the astonishment of Ridsdale and his wife when I
+told my strange tale. The Countess burst into tears, and Ridsdale was
+terribly agitated.
+
+"I have known Vyner from a boy, and so has my wife," he exclaimed. "Of
+course, this proves him to be an unmitigated scoundrel, but I cannot be
+the one to bring him to justice."
+
+"Oh, no, Charlie, whatever happens we must forgive him," said Lady
+Ridsdale, looking up with a white face.
+
+I had nothing to say to this, it was not my affair. Unwittingly I had
+been the means of restoring to the Ridsdales their lost bracelet; they
+must act as they thought well with regard to the thief.
+
+As a matter of fact, Vyner did escape the full penalty of his crime.
+Having got back the diamonds Lord Ridsdale would not prosecute. On the
+contrary, he helped the broken-down man to leave the country. From the
+view of pure justice he was, of course, wrong, but I could not help
+being glad.
+
+As an example of what a desperate man will do, I think it would be
+difficult to beat Vyner's story. The originality and magnitude of the
+conception, the daring which enabled the man, single-handed, to do his
+own dredging in a submarine boat in one of the reaches of the Thames
+have seldom been equalled.
+
+As I thought over the whole scheme, my only regret was that such ability
+should not have been devoted to nobler ends.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+HOW SIVA SPOKE
+
+
+During the summer of the past year a medical friend of mine sent me an
+invitation to dine with him and two of his fellow-craftsmen at the
+Welcome Club at the Earl's Court Exhibition. One of our party was a
+certain Dr. Laurier, a young man of considerable ability, whose special
+attention had been directed to mental diseases. He was, indeed, a noted
+authority on this subject, and had just completed an appointment at one
+of the large London asylums. During dinner he entertained us with a few
+of his late experiences--
+
+"I assure you, Mr. Bell," he said, "there is absolutely no limit to the
+vagaries of the human mind. At the present moment a most grotesque and
+painful form of mental disease has come under my notice. The patient is
+not a pauper, but a gentleman of good standing and means. He is
+unmarried, and owns a lovely place in the country. He spent the early
+years of his life in India, and when there the craze began which now
+assumes the magnitude of a monomania."
+
+"Pray let me hear about him, if your professional etiquette allows you
+to talk on the subject," I answered.
+
+"I will certainly tell you what I can," he replied. "I have known the
+man for years, having met him in town on several occasions. Last week
+his nephew came to see me, and spoke seriously with regard to his
+uncle's state of mind. His great craze for years has been spiritualism,
+theosophy, and mahatmas, with all their attendant hocus-pocus. He firmly
+believes in his power to call up spirits from the vasty deep, and holds
+many extraordinary séances."
+
+"But surely such a craze is not sufficient to prove insanity!" I said.
+"Hundreds of people believe in such manifestations at the present day."
+
+"I know that well, and perfectly harmless such crazes are so long as the
+victims confine their beliefs to spirit-rapping, table-turning, and
+humbug of that sort; but when their convictions lead them to commit
+actions which compromise serious interests, and when, as in this case,
+there is a possibility of life itself being in danger, it is time they
+should be looked after."
+
+"What is the particular nature of your friend's delusion?" I asked.
+
+"This. He is practically a Brahmin, having been deeply imbued with the
+peculiar doctrines of Brahminism when in India. Amongst his friends in
+the East was a Brahmin of high degree in whose house were three idols,
+representing the Hindu Trinity--Vishnu, Brahma, and Siva. By some means
+which have never been explained to me, my friend managed to get
+possession of Siva, and brought the idol home. He placed it in a gallery
+which he has in his house, believing from the first that it possessed
+mystical properties which it was his duty to fathom. The nephew now
+tells me that he has brought his craze to such a pass that he firmly
+believes that Siva speaks to him in Hindustanee. The unhappy man kneels
+nightly at the altar in front of the idol, receiving, as he imagines,
+directions from him. The consequence is that he does all sorts of mad
+and extraordinary things, spending his large fortune lavishly in the
+decoration of this hideous monster, buying pearls, rubies, and even
+diamonds for the purpose, and really being, as he imagines, guided by it
+in the disposition of his life and property. He has a young niece
+residing with him, to whom he has always been very much attached; but of
+late he has been cruel to her, banishing her from his presence, refusing
+her his sympathy, and has even gone to the length of threatening to take
+her life, saying quite openly that Siva informs him night after night of
+her treachery towards him. Now the nephew is engaged to this girl, and
+is naturally anxious about her; but, say what he will, nothing will
+induce her to turn against her uncle, to whom she is deeply attached.
+She denies that he threatens her life, although the nephew declares that
+he did so in his own presence. Under such circumstances, her friends
+are, naturally, most anxious about her, and feel it their duty to get a
+medical opinion with regard to the uncle. I am going down to his place
+to-morrow, and shall there meet his regular medical attendant in
+consultation."
+
+"And then, I suppose, certify as to his insanity?" I answered.
+
+"Doubtless; that is, if we come to the conclusion that the man is really
+insane."
+
+"What an awful responsibility is reposed in you doctors!" I said. "Think
+what it means to condemn a man to a lunatic asylum. In the hands of the
+unscrupulous such a power is terrible."
+
+Dr. Laurier knitted his brows, and looked keenly at me.
+
+"What do you mean?" he said in a curious tone. "Of course mistakes are
+made now and then, but not, I believe, often. To act in good faith and
+exercise reasonable care are the two requisites of the law."
+
+"Of course," I replied, "there are great difficulties on both sides of
+this momentous question; but if I belonged to the profession, I can
+frankly say that nothing would induce me to sign a certificate of
+lunacy."
+
+A few moments afterwards we all rose and strolled about the grounds. As
+we were parting at the exit gates I called Dr. Laurier aside.
+
+"The love of mystery is to me a ruling passion," I said. "Will you
+excuse the great liberty I take when I ask you to let me know the result
+of your visit of to-morrow? I am immensely interested in your
+spiritualist patient."
+
+As I spoke I scribbled my address on a card and handed it to him, half
+expecting that he would resent my intrusiveness. A smile flitted across
+his clever face, and he stood looking at me for a moment under the
+glare of the great arc lights.
+
+"I will certainly give you the result of my visit, as you are so much
+interested," he replied. "Good-night."
+
+We got into our respective hansoms, and drove off in different
+directions.
+
+I had much to do, and soon forgot both Dr. Laurier and his patient;
+therefore, on the following Monday, when he was ushered into my
+presence, my surprise was great.
+
+"I have come to fulfil my promise," he began. "I am here not only to
+satisfy your curiosity about my patient, but also to ask your advice.
+The fact is the matter has, I think, now merged more into your domain
+than mine."
+
+"Pray tell me what has happened," I asked.
+
+"That is what I am about to do; but first I must ensure your absolute
+confidence and secrecy, for my professional reputation may be seriously
+compromised if it is known that I consulted you."
+
+I gave him the assurance, and he proceeded:--
+
+"My patient's name is Edward Thesiger; he lives in a place called The
+Hynde, in Somersetshire. I went down as I had arranged, and was met at
+the station by his nephew, Jasper Bagwell. Bagwell is a thin,
+anxious-looking man of about five-and-thirty. He drove me over to The
+Hynde, and I was there met by Thesiger's own physician, Dr. Dalton.
+Dalton and I each made a separate examination of the patient, and came
+to the conclusion that he was undoubtedly queer.
+
+"In the course of the afternoon we were all wandering round the grounds,
+when we were joined by the young girl to whom Bagwell is engaged. When
+she saw me she gave me a very eager glance, and soon attached herself to
+my side.
+
+"'I want to speak to you, Dr. Laurier,' she said in a low voice.
+
+"I managed to drop behind in order to give her an opportunity.
+
+"'I know what you have come about,' she said. 'What do you think of my
+uncle's case?'
+
+"'I am not prepared to hazard an opinion,' I replied.
+
+"'Well, please listen to something I have got to say. Jasper Bagwell has
+his own reasons for what he tells you. You do very wrong to listen to
+him. Uncle Edward is queer, I grant, with regard to the idol Siva, that
+is because he is in reality a Brahmin; but if you sign a certificate to
+the effect that he is mad, you will be making a very terrible mistake.'
+
+"As she spoke her lips trembled, and tears filled her eyes.
+
+"'I am terribly unhappy about it all,' she continued.
+
+"I looked at her earnestly, then I said in a low voice:
+
+"'Forgive me if I reply to you as plainly as you have just spoken to me.
+You arouse my surprise when you speak as you do of Mr. Bagwell. Is it
+not the case that you are engaged to marry him?'
+
+"She gave a visible start.
+
+"'It is the case,' she answered slowly. Then she continued, speaking
+with great emphasis, 'I only marry my cousin because it is the one--the
+one chance of saving Uncle Edward.'
+
+"'What do you mean?' I asked in astonishment.
+
+"'I wish I could tell you, but I dare not. I am a very miserable girl.
+There is foul play somewhere, of that I am convinced. Oh, believe me!
+won't you believe me?'
+
+"To these extraordinary words I made a somewhat dubious reply, and she
+soon left me, to walk by her uncle's side.
+
+"Late that evening I was alone with the patient, and he then confided to
+me much which he had withheld at first. He spoke about the years he had
+spent in India, and in especial alluded to the Brahmin religion. He told
+me also that he now possesses the idol Siva, and has set it up in a
+marble gallery where he can hold his spiritualistic séances. Bending
+forward as he spoke, and fixing me with his intelligent and yet strange
+glance, he said solemnly, and with an appearance of perfect truth on his
+face, that by certain incenses and secret incantations he could make the
+idol speak to him in Hindustanee. He said further that he felt himself
+completely dominated by it, and was bound to obey all its dictates. As
+he said the latter words his face grew white to the lips.
+
+"'Siva is exigent in his demands,' he said slowly--'exigent and
+terrible. But come, I will take you into the gallery, and you shall see
+him for yourself.'
+
+"I went gladly. We had to go through a long conservatory which opened
+out of the dining-room; from there we entered an oval-shaped room.
+Thesiger brought me straight up to the idol. It was placed upon a
+pedestal. It is a hideous monster made of wood, and has five heads; in
+its hand it holds a trident. I could hardly refrain from smiling when I
+first saw it. It was difficult to believe that any man, sane or insane,
+could hold faith in such a monstrosity. My object, however, was to draw
+the poor mad fellow out, and I begged of him to take what steps he
+considered necessary in order to induce the creature to speak. He
+willingly obeyed my desire, and with great solemnity went through
+elaborate operations; then, turning the lamp very low, knelt at the
+altar in front of the idol and began to address it. He waited for its
+replies, which were, of course, inaudible, and then continued speaking
+again. After some moments spent in this way he declared solemnly that it
+had replied to him, and practically called me a liar when I said I had
+not heard it.
+
+"When he turned up the lamp at the end of this strange scene, I noticed
+for the first time that the idol was decorated with precious stones of
+extraordinary value. To leave such valuables in a room with an unlocked
+door was in itself a symptom of insanity, and when I parted with
+Thesiger for the night I had not the least doubt that my unfortunate
+host was really insane. All the same, I had a curious unwillingness with
+regard to signing the certificate. Bagwell eagerly asked me if I did
+not intend to sign. To his astonishment, I replied in the negative. I
+said that the case was a very peculiar one, and that it would be
+necessary for me to pay a second visit to the patient before I could
+take this extreme step. He was, I could see, intensely annoyed, but I
+remained firm."
+
+Laurier stopped speaking and looked me full in the face.
+
+"Well?" I asked.
+
+"I have come to consult with you over the matter. You remember what you
+said about the responsibility of signing such certificates! It is on
+account of those words I have come to you."
+
+"Well, Dr. Laurier," I answered, "I shall of course be happy to do
+anything I can to help you, but I must frankly confess that I fail to
+see exactly on what point I can be of service. I know little about
+disease in general, and nothing about mental diseases in particular.
+Miss Thesiger seems to think that there is foul play; but have you any
+suspicions on your own account?"
+
+"I have no proofs, but, all the same, I do suspect foul play, although,
+perhaps, I have no right to say so."
+
+"Then what do you want me to do?" I asked.
+
+"This," he answered. "Will you come down with me to Somersetshire as my
+friend, and in the _rôle_ of a great spiritualist? Thesiger will be only
+too delighted to meet some one of his own way of thinking. Will you
+come?"
+
+I thought for a moment--it was not a _rôle_ I cared to assume, but the
+case was peculiar, and might possibly lie within my province. I
+eventually agreed to accompany Laurier into Somersetshire, and, as a
+matter of fact, went down with him the next day. He had telegraphed our
+arrival to The Hynde, and a hearty invitation was accorded to me.
+
+As we were driving through the grounds late the following afternoon we
+were met by a tall girl, who was accompanied by two thoroughbred
+retrievers.
+
+"Here is Miss Thesiger," said Laurier. He called to the driver to stop,
+and jumping down, went to her side. I accompanied him.
+
+"Miss Thesiger," said Laurier, "let me introduce my friend, Mr. John
+Bell."
+
+She looked me full in the face, then her grey eyes seemed to lighten
+with momentary pleasure, and she held out her hand.
+
+"What have you come back for?" she asked the next moment, turning to
+Laurier.
+
+"To see your uncle."
+
+"Are you to meet Dr. Dalton?" her lips trembled.
+
+"I believe so. I assure you, Miss Thesiger, I have come with no sinister
+design." Laurier smiled as he spoke. "On the contrary, I am here to-day
+in order, if possible, to get at the truth. There is no one who can help
+me better than this gentleman."
+
+"Then you do suspect foul play?" she said, her eyes lighting up with
+sudden hope.
+
+"I have no reason to do so," he answered.
+
+"It exists," she replied. "I know what I am saying; will you not believe
+me?" As she spoke she glanced hurriedly behind her--footsteps were heard
+rapidly approaching.
+
+"There is my cousin," she said; "he follows me like a shadow. Dr.
+Laurier and Mr. Bell, I must see you both, or one of you, in private. I
+have something of great importance which you ought to know."
+
+Before either of us could answer her, Jasper Bagwell came up. He gave us
+a polite welcome, and glanced keenly at his cousin, who took no notice
+of him, but continued her walk.
+
+"Poor girl!" he said with a deep sigh, as we three walked slowly to the
+house.
+
+"Why do you pity her?" I could not help asking.
+
+"Because she is nearly as much under a delusion as my uncle himself. The
+fact is she is in the utmost danger, and yet refuses absolutely to
+believe it. The more eccentric my unfortunate uncle grows, the more she
+clings to him; she scarcely leaves his side, although it is most unsafe
+for her to be with him. I think it my absolute duty to watch her day and
+night, and am really almost worn out with anxiety. The whole of last
+night I spent in the corridor which divides her room from Mr.
+Thesiger's. Three times in the course of the night I saw the unfortunate
+madman gliding down this corridor, and but for my timely appearance on
+the scene I have not the slightest doubt that he would have entered
+Helen's room with the most fell design. I see the madness in his eye
+when he even glances at her. He told me solemnly not later than
+yesterday that Siva had laid it upon him to take her life, as she was
+opposed heart and soul to the doctrines of Brahminism, and was a serious
+obstacle in the way of the great work which my uncle was meant by the
+idol to undertake. I told Helen exactly what he said, but she goes on as
+if nothing were wrong. The fact is this, Laurier, if you don't sign that
+certificate I must get another doctor who will."
+
+Bagwell's communications were certainly alarming, but we had scarcely
+time to reply to them before we reached the house. When we entered the
+hall the frown departed from his face like magic, he assumed a
+thoroughly pleasant manner, and conducted us quickly into the presence
+of the owner of the house.
+
+Edward Thesiger was a handsome old man, tall and dignified in
+appearance. He possessed a particularly lofty and intelligent cast of
+face, aquiline features, and silver hair which flowed down over his
+shoulders. His face was clean shaven, which allowed the handsome curves
+of his mobile mouth to be plainly seen. His conversation betokened the
+man of learning, his words were well chosen, his manner was extremely
+calm and quiet. At a first glance no one could look more thoroughly
+sane.
+
+During dinner that night I happened to be seated opposite Miss Thesiger.
+She was very silent, and seemed terribly depressed. I noticed that she
+often glanced at her uncle, and further observed that he carefully
+avoided meeting her eyes. When she came into the room he manifested
+distinct uneasiness, and when she retired to the drawing-room after
+dinner a look of relief filled his fine face. He drew up his chair near
+mine and began to talk.
+
+"I am glad you were able to come," he said. "It is not often one has the
+privilege of meeting a thoroughly kindred spirit. Now, tell me, have you
+carefully studied Brahminism?"
+
+"I have done so cursorily," I replied, "and have had from time to time
+curious dealings with the supernatural." I then added abruptly, "I am
+much interested to hear from Laurier that you, Mr. Thesiger, possess the
+idol Siva in this house."
+
+"Hush!" he said, starting and turning very pale. "Do not say the name in
+such a loud and reckless tone." As he spoke he bent towards me, and his
+voice dropped. "Mr. Bell, I have extraordinary confidences which I can
+make to you by-and-by."
+
+"I shall be happy to hear them," I answered.
+
+"Have you had wine enough? Shall we go into the gallery now?"
+
+I rose immediately. My host led me into a conservatory, and from there
+straight into a marble gallery. It was a curious-looking place, being a
+large oval chamber forty feet long, the walls were faced with marble,
+and a dado painted in Egyptian style ran round the room. Half way
+between the middle of the room and the end stood a fountain of curious
+design. It consisted of the bronze figure of a swan with wings
+outspread. From its bill the water issued and fell into a circular
+basin. Facing this fountain, twenty feet away, stood the idol, with its
+little altar in front of it. I went up and examined it with intense
+interest. The pedestal on which it rested was about three feet high--the
+idol itself was the same height, so that its five heads were almost on a
+level with my face. Round the neck, and decorating each of the heads,
+were jewels of extraordinary magnificence; the hand which held the
+trident was loaded with diamond rings. It is almost impossible to
+describe the sinister effect of this grotesque and horrible monster; and
+when I saw Mr. Thesiger gazing at it with a peculiar expression of
+reverence not unmixed with fear, I felt certain that Bagwell was right,
+and that the man was dangerously insane.
+
+As I was thinking these thoughts my host groaned quite audibly, and then
+looked steadily at me.
+
+"I am living through a very terrible time," he said in a low voice. "I
+am the victim of a strange and awful power." Here his words dropped to
+an intense whisper. "Years ago, when I became a Brahmin," he continued,
+"voluntarily giving up the faith in which I was born, I little knew to
+what such a step would lead. I stole Siva from the house of my Indian
+friend and brought the idol home. From the first it began to exercise a
+marvellous power over me. I had made a large fortune in India; and when
+I came to England, bought this place, and finding this curious gallery
+already in existence, had it lined with marble, and set up Siva in its
+midst. The study of the faith which I had adopted, the holding of
+spiritualistic séances and matters of that sort, occupied my time, and I
+became more and more imbued with the strange mysticism of my belief. As
+the years flew by I was more and more firmly convinced that what looks
+like mere wood is in reality imbued with strange and awful qualities. I
+shall never forget that terrible evening when Siva first spoke to me."
+
+"How long ago was that?" I interrupted.
+
+"Some months ago now. I was kneeling by the altar, and was speaking to
+him as usual, when I heard words uttered in Hindustanee. At first I
+could scarcely credit my own ears, but soon I grew accustomed to the
+fact that Siva wished to hold communication with me, and listened to him
+nightly. At the beginning of our remarkable intercourse he laid certain
+mandates upon me which resulted, as you see, in my decorating him with
+these precious stones. I felt bound to obey him, whatever he dictated;
+but of late he has told me--he has told me----" The old man began to
+shudder and tremble.
+
+While he had been speaking to me he had been gazing at the idol; now he
+walked a few steps away and turned his back on it.
+
+"Sooner or later I must obey him," he said in a feeble voice; "but the
+thing is driving me crazed--crazed."
+
+"What is it?" I asked; "tell me, I beseech you."
+
+"I cannot; it is too awful--it relates to the one I love best in the
+world. The sacrifice is too horrible, and yet I am drawn to it--I am
+drawn to the performing of an awful deed by a terrific power. Ask me no
+more, Mr. Bell; I see by your face that I have your pity."
+
+"You have, truly," I answered.
+
+I had scarcely said the last words before the door of the gallery was
+opened, and Miss Thesiger, Bagwell, and Laurier appeared. Miss Thesiger
+went straight to her uncle's side, and laid her hand on his shoulder.
+
+"Must you stay up any longer?" she asked in a gentle voice. "I heard you
+walking about last night; you were restless and did not sleep. Do go to
+bed now; you seem so tired. I know these gentlemen will excuse you," she
+added, glancing from Laurier to me.
+
+"Certainly," said Laurier. "I should recommend Mr. Thesiger to retire at
+once; he looks quite worn out."
+
+"I shall go presently--presently," said Thesiger, in a somewhat curt
+voice. "Leave us, Helen; there's a good child; go, my dear."
+
+"Go, Helen; don't irritate him," I heard Bagwell say.
+
+She gave a quick, despairing glance from one man to the other; then,
+turning, left the room.
+
+"And now, Mr. Thesiger," I said, "will you not grant me the favour of a
+séance?"
+
+Mr. Thesiger remained gravely silent for a moment; then he said:
+
+"By virtue of your power as a medium, you may be able to hear the voice,
+and so convince Dr. Laurier of its reality."
+
+[Illustration: "It was the strangest scene I ever witnessed."
+A Master of Mysteries.--Page 207]
+
+He then proceeded to go through some elaborate operations, and finally
+kneeling at the altar, began to speak Hindustanee.
+
+It was about the strangest scene I had ever witnessed; and though I
+stood almost at his elbow, I could hear no sound whatever but his own
+voice.
+
+"Siva will not speak to-night," he said, rising; "there must be some one
+here whose influence is adverse. I cannot hear him. It is strange!"
+
+He looked puzzled, and more relieved than otherwise.
+
+"You will go to bed now, sir," said Bagwell; "you look very tired."
+
+"I am," he replied. "I will leave my friends with you, Jasper. You will
+see that they have all they want." He bade Laurier and me a courteous
+good-night, nodded to his nephew, and left the room.
+
+"This is the most extraordinary phase of mental delusion I ever heard
+of," I said. "If you will permit me, Mr. Bagwell, I will examine this
+idol more particularly."
+
+"You can do so if you please," he said, but he did not speak in a
+cordial tone.
+
+"Examine it to your heart's content," he continued a moment later; "only
+pray don't disarrange it--he seems to know by instinct if it is touched.
+Bah! it is sickening. Shall we go into another room, gentlemen?"
+
+Watching his face carefully, I resolved to make my examination in
+private, and now followed him into the smoking-room. We stayed there for
+a short time, talking in a desultory manner, and soon afterwards retired
+for the night.
+
+On my dressing-table a note awaited me. I opened it hastily, and saw to
+my surprise that it was from Miss Thesiger.
+
+"I could not get the opportunity I needed to-night," she wrote, "but
+will you meet me in the Laurel Walk to-morrow morning at five o'clock?"
+
+I tore up the letter after reading it, and soon afterwards got into bed.
+I must confess that I slept badly that night; I felt worried and
+anxious. There was not the least doubt that Thesiger was mad; it was all
+too apparent that his madness was daily and hourly assuming a more and
+more dangerous form. The affectionate girl who clung to him ought
+undoubtedly to be removed from his neighbourhood.
+
+At the hour named by Miss Thesiger, I rose, dressed, and stole
+downstairs through the silent house. I found her as she had indicated in
+the Laurel Walk.
+
+"How good of you to come!" she said. "But we must not talk here; it
+would not be safe."
+
+"What do you mean?" I answered. "No one can possibly watch us at this
+hour."
+
+"Jasper may be about," she said; "as far as I can tell he seems never to
+sleep. I believe he paces outside my room the greater part of the
+night."
+
+"You can scarcely blame him for that," I said; "he does it in order to
+ensure your safety."
+
+She gave me an impatient glance.
+
+"I see he has been talking to you," she replied; "but now it is
+necessary for you to hear my side of the story. Come into this
+summer-house; he will never guess that we are here."
+
+Turning abruptly, she led the way into a small, tastefully arranged
+summer-house. Shutting the door behind her, she turned at once and faced
+me.
+
+"Now," she said in an eager voice, "I will tell you everything. There is
+an unexplained mystery about all this, and I am convinced that Jasper is
+at the bottom of it."
+
+"What do you mean?" I asked.
+
+"I have nothing whatever but a woman's intuition to guide me, but, all
+the same, I am convinced of what I am saying. Before Jasper came home
+Uncle Edward was a Brahmin beyond doubt. His séances were intensely
+disagreeable to me, and I took care never to witness them nor to speak
+to him on the terrible subject of Siva; but, beyond the fact that he
+was a Brahmin deeply imbued with the mysteries of his so-called
+religion, he was a perfectly sane, happy, intelligent, and affectionate
+man. He loved me devotedly, as I am the child of his favourite brother,
+and told me just before Jasper's arrival that he had made me his
+heiress, leaving me all that he possessed in the world. He had never
+liked Jasper, and was annoyed when he came here and made this house his
+headquarters. I had not met my cousin since I was a little child, and
+when he arrived on the scene took a great dislike to him. He began at
+once to pay me hateful attentions, and to question me eagerly with
+regard to Uncle Edward and his ways. By a curious coincidence, he had
+known this house before he went to India, having stayed here as a boy.
+He showed particular interest in the oval gallery, and encouraged Uncle
+Edward to talk of Siva, although he saw that the subject excited him
+considerably.
+
+"Jasper had been about a fortnight in the house when my poor uncle made,
+as he considered, the astounding discovery that Siva could speak to
+him. I shall never forget the first day when he told me of this, the
+sparkle in his eyes, the tremble of his hands, the nervous energy which
+seemed to animate him. From that hour day by day came the gradual
+diminution of strength both of mind and body, the loss of appetite, the
+feverish touch. All these things puzzled and distressed me, but I could
+not bear to confide my fears to Jasper.
+
+"These things went on for over a month, and Uncle Edward certainly
+deteriorated in every way. He spent the greater part of both day and
+night in the gallery, begging of me to come with him, imploring me to
+listen for the voice. During that month he spent a large fortune in
+precious stones for Siva, showing them to me first before he decorated
+the hideous thing with them. I felt wild with misery, and all the time
+Jasper was here watching and watching. At the end of the first month
+there came a distinct change. Uncle Edward, who had been devoted to me
+up to then, began to show a new attitude. He now began to dislike to
+have me in his presence, often asking me as a special favour to leave
+the room. One day he said to me:
+
+"'Do you keep your door locked at night?'
+
+"I laughed when he spoke.
+
+"'Certainly not,' I answered.
+
+"'I wish you would do so,' he said very earnestly; 'will you, as a
+personal favour to me?'
+
+"Jasper was in the room when he spoke. I saw a queer light flashing
+through his eyes, and then he bent over his book as if he had not heard.
+
+"'As a special favour to me, keep your door locked, Helen,' said Uncle
+Edward.
+
+"I made him a soothing answer, and pretended to assent. Of course I
+never locked my door. Then Jasper began to talk to me. He said that
+Uncle Edward was not only mad, but that his mania was assuming a
+terrible form, and against me. He said that my life was in danger--he
+thought to frighten me--little he knew!"
+
+Here the brave girl drew herself up, indignation sweeping over her face
+and filling her eyes.
+
+"I told him I did not believe a word of what he said; I declared that
+Uncle Edward could not hate me--is he not the one I love best in the
+world? Jasper grew very angry.
+
+"'Look here, Helen,' he said, 'I know enough to lock him up.'
+
+"'To lock him up in a lunatic asylum?' I cried.
+
+"'Yes,' he answered. 'I have only to get two doctors to certify to the
+fact of his insanity, and the deed is done. I have made up my mind to do
+it.'
+
+"'You could never be so cruel,' I replied. 'Think of his grey hairs,
+Jasper,' I pleaded. 'He is the dearest to me in all the world; you could
+not take his liberty away. Do just respect his one little craze; believe
+me, he is not really mad. Go away if you are afraid of him; I am not.
+Oh, why don't you leave us both in peace?'
+
+"'I dare not,' he answered. 'I love you, and I am determined you shall
+marry me. Engage yourself to me at once, and I will do nothing to take
+away Uncle Edward's liberty for at least a month.'
+
+"I struggled against this horrible wish of my cousin's, but in the end I
+yielded to it. I became engaged to him secretly, for he did not wish
+Uncle Edward to know. I knew, of course, why he wished to marry me; he
+had heard that I am some day to inherit my uncle's wealth. Jasper
+himself is a very poor man. Now, Mr. Bell, you know everything. Things
+get worse and worse, and at times I am almost inclined to believe that
+my life is in some danger. A fiend has taken possession of the uncle
+whose heart was so warm and loving. Ah, it is fearful! I do not believe
+a bitterer trial could be given to any girl--it is too awful to feel
+that the one she loves best in all the world has changed in his feelings
+towards her. It is not so much the sacrifice of my poor life I mind as
+the feeling that things are so bitterly altered with him. Jasper put an
+alternative to me last night. Either I am to marry him within a week, or
+I am to use my influence to induce Dr. Laurier to sign the certificate.
+If I accept neither proposal, he will get down two other doctors from
+London for the purpose."
+
+"What have you decided to do?" I asked.
+
+"I will marry Jasper; yes, within a week I shall be his wife, unless
+something happens to show us what is the meaning of this fearful
+mystery, for I cannot--never, never can I deprive Uncle Edward of his
+liberty."
+
+"I am glad you have confided in me," I said after a pause, "and I will
+do my utmost for you. When did you say that your uncle first heard the
+idol speak?"
+
+"Two or three months ago now, soon after Jasper came home. Mr. Bell, is
+there any chance of your being able to help me?"
+
+"I will promise to do my utmost, but just at present I can see no
+special light. By the way, would it not be well for you to leave The
+Hynde for a short time?"
+
+"No, I am not at all afraid; I can take care of myself. It is not my
+dear uncle whom I fear; it is Jasper."
+
+Soon afterwards she left me, and as it was still quite early, and the
+servants were not yet even up, I considered that an excellent
+opportunity had occurred for examining the idol.
+
+I made my way to the gallery, and softly opening the door, stole in. The
+bright sunlight which was now flooding the chamber seemed to rob the
+grotesque old idol of half its terrors, and I made up my mind not to
+leave a stone unturned to discover if any foul play in connection with
+it could possibly be perpetrated. But the impossibility of such being
+the case seemed more and more evident as I went on with my search. Only
+a pigmy could be secreted inside the idol. There was no vulgar form of
+deception possible on the lines, for instance, of the ancient priests of
+Pompeii who conducted a speaking-tube to an idol's mouth. Siva was not
+even standing by the wall, thus precluding the possibility of the sounds
+being conducted on the plan of a whispering gallery. No--I was, against
+my own will, forced to the absolute conviction that the voice was an
+hallucination of the diseased mind of Edward Thesiger.
+
+I was just going to abandon my investigations and return to my own room,
+when, more by chance than design, I knelt down for a moment at the
+little altar. As I was about to rise I noticed something rather odd. I
+listened attentively. It was certainly remarkable. As I knelt I could
+just hear a low, continuous hissing sound. Directly I moved away it
+ceased. As I tried it several times with the same invariable result, I
+became seriously puzzled to account for it. What devilry could be at
+work to produce this? Was it possible that some one was playing a trick
+on _me_?--and if so, by what means?
+
+I glanced rapidly round, and as I did so a mad thought struck me. I
+hurried across to the fountain and put my ear close to the swan's
+mouth, from which a tiny jet of water was issuing. The low, scarcely
+audible noise that the water made as it flowed out through the swan's
+bill was exactly the same sound I had heard nearly twenty feet away at
+the altar. The enormity of the situation stunned me for a moment, then
+gradually, piece by piece, the plot revealed itself.
+
+The shape of the gallery was a true oval, a geometrical ellipse, the
+extraordinary acoustic properties of which I knew well. This peculiarly
+shaped gallery contained two foci--one towards each end--and the nature
+of the curve of the walls was such that sound issuing from either focus
+was directed by reflection at various points to the other focus, and to
+the other focus alone. Even across an enormous distance between such
+would be the case. The swan's mouth was evidently at one focus; the
+position of a man's head as he knelt at the altar would be without the
+slightest doubt at the other. Could the pipe be used as a speaking-tube
+when the water was turned off?
+
+I felt so excited by this extraordinary discovery that it was only with
+an effort that I maintained my self-control. I knew that presence of
+mind was absolutely necessary in order to expose this horrible scheme. I
+left the gallery and passed through the conservatory. Here I found the
+gardener arranging some pots. I chatted to him for a few moments. He
+looked surprised at seeing me up at such an unusual hour.
+
+"Can you tell me how the fountain in the gallery is turned on or off?" I
+asked.
+
+"Yes, I can, sir," he replied; "the pipe runs along outside this stand,
+and here's the tap."
+
+I went across and looked at it. In the leaden pipe that was fastened to
+the wall were two nuts, which could be turned by a small spanner, and
+between them was a brass cap, which fitted on to a circular outlet from
+the pipe.
+
+"What is this used for?" I asked, pointing to the little outlet which
+was closed by the cap.
+
+"We screw the hose on there, sir, to water the flowers."
+
+"I see," I answered; "so when you use the hose you shut off the water
+from the fountain in the gallery."
+
+"That's it, sir, and a wonderful deal of trouble it saves. Why it was
+never done before I can't think."
+
+"When was it done, then?" I asked. My heart was beating fast.
+
+"It was Mr. Bagwell's thought, sir; he had it fixed on soon after he
+came. He wanted to have plenty of water handy in order to water the
+plants he brought back from India; but, lor! sir, they'll never live
+through the winter, even under glass."
+
+I waited to hear no more--the whole infernal plot was laid bare. The
+second tap, which shut off the water both from the fountain and the hose
+pipe, was, of course, quite useless, except for Bagwell's evil purpose.
+
+I hurried straight up to Laurier's room. He was just preparing to rise.
+His astonishment when I told him of my discovery was beyond words.
+
+"Then, by shutting off the water, and applying his mouth to the place
+where the hose is fixed on, he could convey his voice to the swan's
+mouth like an ordinary speaking-tube, which, owing to the peculiar
+construction of the gallery, would be carried across to the other focus
+at the altar?" he said.
+
+"Exactly," I replied. "And now, Dr. Laurier, you must please allow me to
+regulate our future plans. They're simply these. You must tell Bagwell
+that you absolutely refuse to sign the certificate unless Thesiger
+declares that he hears the voice again in your presence, and arrange
+that the séance takes place at nine o'clock to-night. I in the meantime
+shall ostensibly take my departure, and so leave the ground clear for
+Bagwell. He is evidently rather afraid of me. My going will throw him
+completely off his guard; but I shall in reality only leave the train at
+the next station and return here after dark. You will have to see that
+the conservatory door leading on to the terrace is left unlocked. I
+shall steal in, and, hiding myself in the conservatory, shall await
+Bagwell. You in the meantime will be in the gallery with Thesiger. When
+you hear me call out, come in at once. Our only hope is to take that
+wretch red-handed."
+
+To this hastily constructed scheme Laurier instantly agreed, and at four
+o'clock that afternoon I took my leave, Miss Thesiger, looking white and
+miserable, standing on the steps to see me off. Bagwell drove me himself
+to the station, and bade me good-bye with a heartiness which was at least
+sincere.
+
+I was back again at The Hynde at half-past eight that evening. Laurier
+had left the conservatory door unlocked, and, slipping in, it being now
+quite dark, I hid myself behind some large flowering shrubs and waited.
+Presently I heard the door of the conservatory open, and in stole
+Bagwell. I saw him approach the pipe, turn the spanner which shut off
+the water from the fountain and also from the hose pipe, and then
+proceed to unscrew the brass cap. I waited till I saw him place his
+mouth to the opening and begin to speak, and then I dashed out upon him
+and called loudly for Laurier. Bagwell's surprise and terror at my
+unexpected attack absolutely bereft him of speech, and he stood gazing
+at me with a mixed expression of fury and fear. The next minute Laurier
+and Thesiger both burst in from the gallery. I still retained my hold of
+Bagwell. The moment I saw the sign, I went up to him, and in a few words
+explained the whole fraud. But it was not until I had demonstrated the
+trick in the oval gallery that he became convinced; then the relief on
+his face was marvellous.
+
+"You leave my house at once," he said to Bagwell; "go, sir, if you do
+not wish to be in the hands of the police. Where is Helen? where is my
+child?"
+
+He had scarcely said the words, and Bagwell was just slinking off with a
+white face like a whipped cur towards the door, when Helen appeared upon
+the scene.
+
+"What is it?" she cried. "Is anything the matter?"
+
+The old man strode up to her; he took her in his arms.
+
+"It is all right, Helen," he said, "all right. I can never explain; but,
+take my word, it is all right. I was a fool, and worse--nay, I was
+mad--but I am sane now. Mr. Bell, I can never express my obligations to
+you. But now, will you do one thing more?"
+
+"What is that? Be assured I will do anything in my power," I answered.
+
+"Then return here to-night and destroy Siva. How I could have been
+infatuated enough to believe in that senseless piece of wood is beyond
+my power to understand. But destroy it, sir; take it away; let me never
+lay eyes on it again."
+
+Early on the following morning, when I was leaving the house, Bagwell,
+who must have been waiting for the purpose, suddenly stepped across my
+path.
+
+"I have a word of explanation to give," he said. "You, Mr. Bell, have
+won, and I have lost. I played a deep game and for a large cause. It did
+not occur to me as possible that any one could discover the means by
+which I made Siva speak. I am now about to leave England for ever, but
+before I do so, it may interest you to know that the temptation offered
+to me was a very peculiar and strong one. I had not been an hour at the
+Hynde before I suddenly remembered having spent some months in the old
+house when a boy. I recollected the oval gallery. Its peculiar acoustic
+qualities had been pointed out to me by a scientist who happened to live
+there at the time. The desire to win, not Helen, but my uncle's
+property, was too strong to be resisted by a penniless man. My object
+was to terrify Thesiger, whose brain was already nearly overbalanced,
+into complete insanity, get him locked up, and marry Helen. How I
+succeeded, and in the end failed, you know well!"
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+TO PROVE AN ALIBI
+
+
+I first met Arthur Cressley in the late spring of 1892. I had been
+spending the winter in Egypt, and was returning to Liverpool. One calm
+evening, about eleven o'clock, while we were still in the Mediterranean,
+I went on deck to smoke a final cigar before turning in. After pacing up
+and down for a time I leant over the taff-rail and began idly watching
+the tiny wavelets with their crests of white fire as they rippled away
+from the vessel's side. Presently I became aware of some one standing
+near me, and, turning, saw that it was one of my fellow-passengers, a
+young man whose name I knew but whose acquaintance I had not yet made.
+He was entered in the passenger list as Arthur Cressley, belonged to an
+old family in Derbyshire, and was returning home from Western Australia,
+where he had made a lot of money. I offered him a light, and after a few
+preliminary remarks we drifted into a desultory conversation. He told me
+that he had been in Australia for fifteen years, and having done well
+was now returning to settle in his native land.
+
+"Then you do not intend going out again?" I asked.
+
+"No," he replied; "I would not go through the last fifteen years for
+double the money I have made."
+
+"I suppose you will make London your headquarters?"
+
+"Not altogether; but I shall have to spend a good deal of time there. My
+wish is for a quiet country life, and I intend to take over the old
+family property. We have a place called Cressley Hall, in Derbyshire,
+which has belonged to us for centuries. It would be a sort of white
+elephant, for it has fallen into pitiable decay; but, luckily, I am now
+in a position to restore it and set it going again in renewed
+prosperity."
+
+"You are a fortunate man," I answered.
+
+"Perhaps I am," he replied. "Yes, as far as this world's goods go I
+suppose I am lucky, considering that I arrived in Australia fifteen
+years ago with practically no money in my pocket. I shall be glad to be
+home again for many reasons, chiefly because I can save the old property
+from being sold."
+
+"It is always a pity when a fine old family seat has to go to the hammer
+for want of funds," I remarked.
+
+"That is true, and Cressley Hall is a superb old place. There is only
+one drawback to it; but I don't believe there is anything in that,"
+added Cressley in a musing tone.
+
+Knowing him so little I did not feel justified in asking for an
+explanation. I waited, therefore, without speaking. He soon proceeded:
+
+"I suppose I am rather foolish about it," he continued; "but if I am
+superstitious, I have abundant reason. For more than a century and a
+half there has been a strange fatality about any Cressley occupying the
+Hall. This fatality was first exhibited in 1700, when Barrington
+Cressley, one of the most abandoned libertines of that time, led his
+infamous orgies there--of these even history takes note. There are
+endless legends as to their nature, one of which is that he had personal
+dealings with the devil in the large turret room, the principal bedroom
+at the Hall, and was found dead there on the following morning.
+Certainly since that date a curious doom has hung over the family, and
+this doom shows itself in a strange way, only attacking those victims
+who are so unfortunate as to sleep in the turret room. Gilbert Cressley,
+the young Court favourite of George the Third, was found mysteriously
+murdered there, and my own great-grandfather paid the penalty by losing
+his reason within those gloomy walls."
+
+"If the room has such an evil reputation, I wonder that it is occupied,"
+I replied.
+
+"It happens to be far and away the best bedroom in the house, and people
+always laugh at that sort of thing until they are brought face to face
+with it. The owner of the property is not only born there, as a rule,
+but also breathes his last in the old four-poster, the most
+extraordinary, wonderful old bedstead you ever laid eyes on. Of course I
+do not believe in any malevolent influences from the unseen world, but
+the record of disastrous coincidences in that one room is, to say the
+least of it, curious. Not that this sort of thing will deter me from
+going into possession, and I intend to put a lot of money into Cressley
+Hall."
+
+"Has no one been occupying it lately?" I asked.
+
+"Not recently. An old housekeeper has had charge of the place for the
+last few years. The agent had orders to sell the Hall long ago, but
+though it has been in the market for a long time I do not believe there
+was a single offer. Just before I left Australia I wired to Murdock, my
+agent, that I intended taking over the place, and authorised its
+withdrawal from the market."
+
+"Have you no relations?" I inquired.
+
+"None at all. Since I have been away my only brother died. It is curious
+to call it going home when one has no relatives and only friends who
+have probably forgotten one."
+
+I could not help feeling sorry for Cressley as he described the lonely
+outlook. Of course, with heaps of money and an old family place he would
+soon make new friends; but he looked the sort of chap who might be
+imposed upon, and although he was as nice a fellow as I had ever met, I
+could not help coming to the conclusion that he was not specially
+strong, either mentally or physically. He was essentially good-looking,
+however, and had the indescribable bearing of a man of old family. I
+wondered how he had managed to make his money. What he told me about his
+old Hall also excited my interest, and as we talked I managed to allude
+to my own peculiar hobby, and the delight I took in such old legends.
+
+As the voyage flew by our acquaintance grew apace, ripening into a warm
+friendship. Cressley told me much of his past life, and finally
+confided to me one of his real objects in returning to England.
+
+While prospecting up country he had come across some rich veins of gold,
+and now his intention was to bring out a large syndicate in order to
+acquire the whole property, which, he anticipated, was worth at least a
+million. He spoke confidently of this great scheme, but always wound up
+by informing me that the money which he hoped to make was only of
+interest to him for the purpose of re-establishing Cressley Hall in its
+ancient splendour.
+
+As we talked I noticed once or twice that a man stood near us who seemed
+to take an interest in our conversation. He was a thickly set individual
+with a florid complexion and a broad German cast of face. He was an
+inveterate smoker, and when he stood near us with a pipe in his mouth
+the expression of his face was almost a blank; but watching him closely
+I saw a look in his eyes which betokened the shrewd man of business, and
+I could scarcely tell why, but I felt uncomfortable in his presence.
+This man, Wickham by name, managed to pick up an acquaintance with
+Cressley, and soon they spent a good deal of time together. They made a
+contrast as they paced up and down on deck, or played cards in the
+evening; the Englishman being slight and almost fragile in build, the
+German of the bulldog order, with a manner at once curt and overbearing.
+I took a dislike to Wickham, and wondered what Cressley could see in
+him.
+
+"Who is the fellow?" I asked on one occasion, linking my hand in
+Cressley's arm and drawing him aside as I spoke.
+
+"Do you mean Wickham?" he answered. "I am sure I cannot tell you. I
+never met the chap before this voyage. He came on board at King George's
+Sound, where I also embarked; but he never spoke to me until we were in
+the Mediterranean. On the whole, Bell, I am inclined to like him; he
+seems to be downright and honest. He knows a great deal about the bush,
+too, as he has spent several years there."
+
+[Illustration: "They made a contrast."
+A Master of Mysteries.--Page 234]
+
+"And he gives you the benefit of his information?" I asked.
+
+"I don't suppose he knows more than I do, and it is doubtful whether he
+has had so rough a time."
+
+"Then in that case he picks your brains."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+The young fellow looked at me with those clear grey eyes which were his
+most attractive feature.
+
+"Nothing," I answered, "nothing; only if you will be guided by a man
+nearly double your age, I would take care to tell Wickham as little as
+possible. Have you ever observed that he happens to be about when you
+and I are engaged in serious conversation?"
+
+"I can't say that I have."
+
+"Well, keep your eyes open and you'll see what I mean. Be as friendly as
+you like, but don't give him your confidence--that is all."
+
+"You are rather late in advising me on that score," said Cressley, with
+a somewhat nervous laugh. "Wickham knows all about the old Hall by this
+time."
+
+"And your superstitious fears with regard to the turret room?" I
+queried.
+
+"Well, I have hinted at them. You will be surprised, but he is full of
+sympathy."
+
+"Tell him no more," I said in conclusion.
+
+Cressley made a sort of half-promise, but looked as if he rather
+resented my interference.
+
+A day or two later we reached Liverpool; I was engaged long ago to stay
+with some friends in the suburbs, and Cressley took up his abode at the
+Prince's Hotel. His property was some sixty miles away, and when we
+parted he insisted on my agreeing to come down and see his place as soon
+as he had put things a little straight.
+
+I readily promised to do so, provided we could arrange a visit before my
+return to London.
+
+Nearly a week went by and I saw nothing of Cressley; then, on a certain
+morning, he called to see me.
+
+"How are you getting on?" I asked.
+
+"Capitally," he replied. "I have been down to the Hall several times
+with my agent, Murdock, and though the place is in the most shocking
+condition I shall soon put things in order. But what I have come
+specially to ask you now is whether you can get away to-day and come
+with me to the Hall for a couple of nights. I had arranged with the
+agent to go down this afternoon in his company, but he has been suddenly
+taken ill--he is rather bad, I believe--and cannot possibly come with
+me. He has ordered the housekeeper to get a couple of rooms ready, and
+though I am afraid it will be rather roughing it, I shall be awfully
+glad if you can come."
+
+I had arranged to meet a man in London on special business that very
+evening, and could not put him off; but my irresistible desire to see
+the old place from the description I had heard of it decided me to make
+an effort to fall in as well as I could with Cressley's plans.
+
+"I wish I could go with you to-day," I said; "but that, as it happens,
+is out of the question. I must run up to town on some pressing business;
+but if you will allow me I can easily come back again to-morrow. Can you
+not put off your visit until to-morrow evening?"
+
+"No, I am afraid I cannot do that. I have to meet several of the
+tenants, and have made all arrangements to go by the five o'clock train
+this afternoon."
+
+He looked depressed at my refusal, and after a moment said thoughtfully:
+
+"I wish you could have come with me to-day. When Murdock could not come
+I thought of you at once--it would have made all the difference."
+
+"I am sorry," I replied; "but I can promise faithfully to be with you
+to-morrow. I shall enjoy seeing your wonderful old Hall beyond anything;
+and as to roughing it, I am used to that. You will not mind spending one
+night there by yourself?"
+
+He looked at me as if he were about to speak, but no words came from his
+lips.
+
+"What is the matter?" I said, giving him an earnest glance. "By the way,
+are you going to sleep in the turret room?"
+
+"I am afraid there is no help for it; the housekeeper is certain to get
+it ready for me. The owner of the property always sleeps there, and it
+would look like a confession of weakness to ask to be put into another
+bedroom."
+
+"Nevertheless, if you are nervous, I should not mind that," I said.
+
+"Oh, I don't know that I am absolutely nervous, Bell, but all the same I
+have a superstition. At the present moment I have the queerest
+sensation; I feel as if I ought not to pay this visit to the Hall."
+
+"If you intend to live there by-and-by, you must get over this sort of
+thing," I remarked.
+
+"Oh yes, I must, and I would not yield to it on any account whatever. I
+am sorry I even mentioned it to you. It is good of you to promise to
+come to-morrow, and I shall look forward to seeing you. By what train
+will you come?"
+
+We looked up the local time-table, and I decided on a train which would
+leave Liverpool about five o'clock.
+
+"The very one that I shall go down by to-day," said Cressley; "that's
+capital, I'll meet you with a conveyance of some sort and drive you
+over. The house is a good two hours' drive from the station, and you
+cannot get a trap there for love or money."
+
+"By the way," I said, "is there much the matter with your agent?"
+
+"I cannot tell you; he seems bad enough. I went up to his house this
+morning and saw the wife. It appears that he was suddenly taken ill with
+a sort of asthmatic attack to which he is subject. While I was talking
+to Mrs. Murdock, a messenger came down to say that her husband specially
+wished to see me, so we both went to his room, but he had dozed off into
+a queer restless sleep before we arrived. The wife said he must not be
+awakened on any account, but I caught a glimpse of him and he certainly
+looked bad, and was moaning as if in a good deal of pain. She gave me
+the keys of a bureau in his room, and I took out some estimates, and
+left a note for him telling him to come on as soon as he was well
+enough."
+
+"And your visit to his room never roused him?" I said.
+
+"No, although Mrs. Murdock and I made a pretty good bit of noise moving
+about and opening and shutting drawers. His moans were quite
+heartrending--he was evidently in considerable pain; and I was glad to
+get away, as that sort of thing always upsets me."
+
+"Who is this Murdock?" I asked.
+
+"Oh, the man who has looked after the place for years. I was referred to
+him by my solicitors. He seems a most capable person, and I hope to
+goodness he won't be ill long. If he is I shall find myself in rather a
+fix."
+
+I made no reply to this, and soon afterwards Cressley shook hands with
+me and departed on his way. I went to my room, packed my belongings, and
+took the next train to town. The business which I had to get through
+occupied the whole of that evening and also some hours of the following
+day. I found I was not able to start for Liverpool before the 12.10
+train at Euston, and should not therefore arrive at Lime Street before
+five o'clock--too late to catch the train for Brent, the nearest station
+to Cressley's place. Another train left Central Station for Brent,
+however, at seven o'clock, and I determined to wire to Cressley to tell
+him to meet me by the latter train. This was the last train in the day,
+but there was no fear of my missing it.
+
+I arrived at Lime Street almost to the moment and drove straight to the
+Prince's Hotel, where I had left my bag the day before. Here a telegram
+awaited me; it was from Cressley, and ran as follows:--
+
+    "Hope this will reach you time; if so, call at Murdock's house,
+    No. 12, Melville Gardens. If possible see him and get the
+    documents referred to in Schedule A--he will know what you mean.
+    Most important.
+                                                        "Cressley."
+
+I glanced at the clock in the hall; it was now a quarter past five--my
+train would leave at seven. I had plenty of time to get something to eat
+and then go to Murdock's.
+
+Having despatched my telegram to Cressley, telling him to look out for
+me by the train which arrived at Brent at nine o'clock, I ordered a
+meal, ate it, and then hailing a cab, gave the driver the number of
+Murdock's house. Melville Gardens was situated somewhat in the suburbs,
+and it was twenty minutes' drive from my hotel. When we drew up at
+Murdock's door I told the cabman to wait, and, getting out, rang the
+bell. The servant who answered my summons told me that the agent was
+still very ill and could not be seen by any one. I then inquired for the
+wife. I was informed that she was out, but would be back soon. I looked
+at my watch. It was just six o'clock. I determined to wait to see Mrs.
+Murdock if possible.
+
+Having paid and dismissed my cab, I was shown into a small, untidily
+kept parlour, where I was left to my own meditations. The weather was
+hot and the room close. I paced up and down restlessly. The minutes flew
+by and Mrs. Murdock did not put in an appearance. I looked at my watch,
+which now pointed to twenty minutes past six. It would take me, in an
+ordinary cab, nearly twenty minutes to reach the station. In order to
+make all safe I ought to leave Murdock's house in ten minutes from now
+at the latest.
+
+I went and stood by the window watching anxiously for Mrs. Murdock to
+put in an appearance. Melville Gardens was a somewhat lonely place, and
+few people passed the house, which was old and shabby; it had evidently
+not been done up for years. I was just turning round in order to ring
+the bell to leave a message with the servant, when the room door was
+opened and, to my astonishment, in walked Wickham, the man I had last
+seen on board the _Euphrates_. He came up to me at once and held out his
+hand.
+
+"No doubt you are surprised at seeing me here, Mr. Bell," he exclaimed.
+
+"I certainly was for a moment," I answered; but then I added, "The world
+is a small place, and one soon gets accustomed to acquaintances cropping
+up in all sorts of unlikely quarters."
+
+"Why unlikely?" said Wickham. "Why should I not know Murdock, who
+happens to be a very special and very old friend of mine? I might as
+well ask you why you are interested in him."
+
+"Because I happen to be a friend of Arthur Cressley's," I answered, "and
+have come here on his business."
+
+"And so am I also a friend of Cressley's. He has asked me to go and see
+him at Cressley Hall some day, and I hope to avail myself of his
+invitation. The servant told me that you were waiting for Mrs.
+Murdock--can I give her any message from you?"
+
+"I want to see Murdock himself," I said, after a pause. "Do you think
+that it is possible for me to have an interview with him?"
+
+"I left him just now and he was asleep," said Wickham. "He is still very
+ill, and I think the doctor is a little anxious about him. It would not
+do to disturb him on any account. Of course, if he happens to awake he
+might be able to tell you what you want to know. By the way, has it
+anything to do with Cressley Hall?"
+
+"Yes; I have just had a telegram from Cressley, and the message is
+somewhat important. You are quite sure that Murdock is asleep?"
+
+"He was when I left the room, but I will go up again and see. Are you
+going to London to-night, Mr. Bell?"
+
+"No; I am going down to Cressley Hall, and must catch the seven o'clock
+train. I have not a moment to wait." As I spoke I took out my watch.
+
+"It only wants five-and-twenty minutes to seven," I said, "and I never
+care to run a train to the last moment. There is no help for it, I
+suppose I must go without seeing Murdock. Cressley will in all
+probability send down a message to-morrow for the papers he requires."
+
+"Just stay a moment," said Wickham, putting on an anxious expression;
+"it is a great pity that you should not see Cressley's agent if it is as
+vital as all that. Ah! and here comes Mrs. Murdock; wait one moment,
+I'll go and speak to her."
+
+He went out of the room, and I heard him say something in a low voice in
+the passage--a woman's voice replied, and the next instant Mrs. Murdock
+stood before me. She was a tall woman with a sallow face and sandy hair;
+she had a blank sort of stare about her, and scarcely any expression.
+Now she fixed her dull, light-blue eyes on my face and held out her
+hand.
+
+"You are Mr. Bell?" she said. "I have heard of you, of course, from Mr.
+Cressley. So you are going to spend to-night with him at Cressley Hall.
+I am glad, for it is a lonely place--the most lonely place I know."
+
+"Pardon me," I interrupted, "I cannot stay to talk to you now or I shall
+miss my train. Can I see your husband or can I not?"
+
+She glanced at Wickham, then she said with hesitation,--
+
+"If he is asleep it would not do to disturb him, but there is a chance
+of his being awake now. I don't quite understand about the papers, I
+wish I did. It would be best for you to see him certainly; follow me
+upstairs."
+
+"And I tell you what," called Wickham after us, "I'll go and engage a
+cab, so that you shall lose as short a time as possible, Mr. Bell."
+
+I thanked him and followed the wife upstairs. The stairs were narrow and
+steep, and we soon reached the small landing at the top. Four bedrooms
+opened into it. Mrs. Murdock turned the handle of the one which exactly
+faced the stairs, and we both entered. Here the blinds were down, and
+the chamber was considerably darkened. The room was a small one, and the
+greater part of the space was occupied by an old-fashioned Albert
+bedstead with the curtains pulled forward. Within I could just see the
+shadowy outline of a figure, and I distinctly heard the feeble groans of
+the sick man.
+
+"Ah! what a pity, my husband is still asleep," said Mrs. Murdock, as she
+turned softly round to me and put her finger to her lips. "It would
+injure him very much to awaken him," she said. "You can go and look at
+him if you like; you will see how very ill he is. I wonder if I could
+help you with regard to the papers you want, Mr. Bell?"
+
+"I want the documents referred to in Schedule A," I answered.
+
+"Schedule A?" she repeated, speaking under her breath. "I remember that
+name. Surely all the papers relating to it are in this drawer. I think I
+can get them for you."
+
+She crossed the room as she spoke, and standing with her back to the
+bedstead, took a bunch of keys from a table which stood near and fitted
+one into the lock of a high bureau made of mahogany. She pulled open a
+drawer and began to examine its contents.
+
+While she was so occupied I approached the bed, and bending slightly
+forward, took a good stare at the sick man. I had never seen Murdock
+before. There was little doubt that he was ill--he looked very ill,
+indeed. His face was long and cadaverous, the cheek bones were high, and
+the cheeks below were much sunken in; the lips, which were clean-shaven,
+were slightly drawn apart, and some broken irregular teeth were visible.
+The eyebrows were scanty, and the hair was much worn away from the high
+and hollow forehead. The man looked sick unto death. I had seldom seen
+any one with an expression like his--the closed eyes were much sunken,
+and the moaning which came from the livid lips was horrible to listen
+to.
+
+After giving Murdock a long and earnest stare, I stepped back from the
+bed, and was just about to speak to Mrs. Murdock, who was rustling
+papers in the drawer, when the most strong and irresistible curiosity
+assailed me. I could not account for it, but I felt bound to yield to
+its suggestions. I turned again and bent close over the sick man. Surely
+there was something monotonous about that deep-drawn breath; those
+moans, too, came at wonderfully regular intervals. Scarcely knowing why
+I did it, I stretched out my hand and laid it on the forehead. Good God!
+what was the matter? I felt myself turning cold; the perspiration stood
+out on my own brow. I had not touched a living forehead at all. Flesh
+was flesh, it was impossible to mistake the feel, but there was no flesh
+here. The figure in the bed was neither a living nor a dead man, it was
+a wax representation of one; but why did it moan, and how was it
+possible for it not to breathe?
+
+Making the greatest effort of my life, I repressed an exclamation, and
+when Mrs. Murdock approached me with the necessary papers in her hand,
+took them from her in my usual manner.
+
+"These all relate to Schedule A," she said. "I hope I am not doing
+wrong in giving them to you without my husband's leave. He looks very
+ill, does he not?"
+
+"He looks as bad as he can look," I answered. I moved towards the door.
+Something in my tone must have alarmed her, for a curious expression of
+fear dilated the pupils of her light blue eyes. She followed me
+downstairs. A hansom was waiting for me. I nodded to Wickham, did not
+even wait to shake hands with Mrs. Murdock, and sprang into the cab.
+
+"Central Station!" I shouted to the man; and then as he whipped up his
+horse and flew down the street, "A sovereign if you get there before
+seven o'clock."
+
+We were soon dashing quickly along the streets. I did not know Liverpool
+well, and consequently could not exactly tell where the man was going.
+When I got into the hansom it wanted twelve minutes to seven o'clock;
+these minutes were quickly flying, and still no station.
+
+"Are you sure you are going right?" I shouted through the hole in the
+roof.
+
+"You'll be there in a minute, sir," he answered. "It's Lime Street
+Station you want, isn't it?"
+
+"No; Central Station," I answered. "I told you Central Station; drive
+there at once like the very devil. I must catch that train, for it is
+the last one to-night."
+
+"All right, sir; I can do it," he cried, whipping up his horse again.
+
+Once more I pulled out my watch; the hands pointed to three minutes to
+seven.
+
+At ten minutes past we were driving into the station. I flung the man
+half a sovereign, and darted into the booking-office.
+
+"To Brent, sir? The last train has just gone," said the clerk, with an
+impassive stare at me through the little window.
+
+I flung my bag down in disgust and swore a great oath. But for that
+idiot of a driver I should have just caught the train. All of a sudden a
+horrible thought flashed through my brain. Had the cabman been bribed by
+Wickham? No directions could have been plainer than mine. I had told the
+man to drive to Central Station. Central Station did not sound the
+least like Lime Street Station. How was it possible for him to make so
+grave a mistake?
+
+The more I considered the matter the more certain I was that a black
+plot was brewing, and that Wickham was in the thick of it. My brain
+began to whirl with excitement. What was the matter? Why was a lay
+figure in Murdock's bed? Why had I been taken upstairs to see it?
+Without any doubt both Mrs. Murdock and Wickham wished me to see what
+was such an admirable imitation of a sick man--an imitation so good,
+with those ghastly moans coming from the lips, that it would have taken
+in the sharpest detective in Scotland Yard. I myself was deceived until
+I touched the forehead. This state of things had not been brought to
+pass without a reason. What was the reason? Could it be possible that
+Murdock was wanted elsewhere, and it was thought well that I should see
+him in order to prove an alibi, should he be suspected of a ghastly
+crime? My God! what could this mean? From the first I had mistrusted
+Wickham. What was he doing in Murdock's house? For what purpose had he
+bribed the driver of the cab in order to make me lose my train?
+
+The more I thought, the more certain I was that Cressley was in grave
+danger; and I now determined, cost what it might, to get to him that
+night.
+
+I left the station, took a cab, and drove back to my hotel. I asked to
+see the manager. A tall, dark man in a frock-coat emerged from a door at
+the back of the office and inquired what he could do for me. I begged
+permission to speak to him alone, and we passed into his private room.
+
+"I am in an extraordinary position," I began. "Circumstances of a
+private nature make it absolutely necessary that I should go to a place
+called Cressley Hall, about fourteen miles from Brent. Brent is sixty
+miles down the line, and the last train has gone. I could take a
+'special,' but there might be an interminable delay at Brent, and I
+prefer to drive straight to Cressley Hall across country. Can you
+assist me by directing me to some good jobmaster from whom I can hire a
+carriage and horses?"
+
+The man looked at me with raised eyebrows. He evidently thought I was
+mad.
+
+"I mean what I say," I added, "and am prepared to back my words with a
+substantial sum. Can you help me?"
+
+"I dare say you might get a carriage and horses to do it," he replied;
+"but it is a very long way, and over a hilly country. No two horses
+could go such a distance without rest. You would have to change from
+time to time as you went. I will send across to the hotel stables for my
+man, and you can see him about it."
+
+He rang the bell and gave his orders. In a few moments the jobmaster
+came in. I hurriedly explained to him what I wanted. At first he said it
+was impossible, that his best horses were out, and that those he had in
+his stables could not possibly attempt such a journey; but when I
+brought out my cheque-book and offered to advance any sum in reason, he
+hesitated.
+
+"Of course there is one way in which it might be managed, sir. I would
+take you myself as far as Ovenden, which is five-and-twenty miles from
+here. There, I know, we could get a pair of fresh horses from the Swan;
+and if we wired at once from here, horses might be ready at Carlton,
+which is another twenty miles on the road. But, at our best, sir, it
+will be between two and three in the morning before we get to Brent."
+
+"I am sorry to hear you say so," I answered; "but it is better to arrive
+then than to wait until to-morrow. Please send the necessary telegram
+off without a moment's delay, and get the carriage ready."
+
+"Put the horses in at once, John," said the manager. "You had better
+take the light wagonette. You ought to get there between one and two in
+the morning with that."
+
+Then he added, as the man left the room,--
+
+"I suppose, sir, your business is very urgent?"
+
+"It is," I replied shortly.
+
+He looked as if he would like to question me further, but refrained.
+
+A few moments later I had taken my seat beside the driver, and we were
+speeding at a good round pace through the streets of Liverpool. We
+passed quickly through the suburbs, and out into the open country. The
+evening was a lovely one, and the country looked its best. It was
+difficult to believe, as I drove through the peaceful landscape, that in
+all probability a dark deed was in contemplation, and that the young man
+to whom I had taken a most sincere liking was in danger of his life.
+
+As I drove silently by my companion's side I reviewed the whole
+situation. The more I thought of it the less I liked it. On board the
+_Euphrates_ Wickham had been abnormally interested in Cressley. Cressley
+had himself confided to him his superstitious dread with regard to the
+turret room. Cressley had come home with a fortune; and if he floated
+his syndicate he would be a millionaire. Wickham scarcely looked like a
+rich man. Then why should he know Murdock, and why should a lay figure
+be put in Murdock's bed? Why, also, through a most unnatural accident,
+should I have lost my train?
+
+The more I thought, the graver and graver became my fears. Gradually
+darkness settled over the land, and then a rising moon flooded the
+country in its weird light. I had been on many a wild expedition before,
+but in some ways never a wilder than this. Its very uncertainty, wrapped
+as it was in unformed suspicions, gave it an air of inexpressible
+mystery.
+
+On and on we went, reaching Ovenden between nine and ten at night. Here
+horses were ready for us, and we again started on our way. When we got
+to Carlton, however, there came a hitch in my well-formed arrangements.
+We drew up at the little inn, to find the place in total darkness, and
+all the inhabitants evidently in bed and asleep. With some difficulty
+we roused the landlord, and asked why the horses which had been
+telegraphed for had not been got ready.
+
+"We did not get them when the second telegram arrived," was the reply.
+
+"The second telegram!" I cried, my heart beating fast. "What do you
+mean?"
+
+"There were two, sir, both coming from the same stables. The first was
+written desiring us to have the horses ready at any cost. The second
+contradicted the first, and said that the gentleman had changed his
+mind, and was not going. On receipt of that, sir, I shut up the house as
+usual, and we all went to bed. I am very sorry if there has been any
+mistake."
+
+"There has, and a terrible one," I could not help muttering under my
+breath. My fears were getting graver than ever. Who had sent the second
+telegram? Was it possible that I had been followed by Wickham, who took
+these means of circumventing me?
+
+"We must get horses, and at once," I said. "Never mind about the second
+telegram; it was a mistake."
+
+Peach, the jobmaster, muttered an oath.
+
+"I can't understand what is up," he said. He looked mystified and not
+too well pleased. Then he added,--
+
+"These horses can't go another step, sir."
+
+"They must if we can get no others," I said. I went up to him, and began
+to whisper in his ear.
+
+"This is a matter of life and death, my good friend. Only the direst
+necessity takes me on this journey. The second telegram without doubt
+was sent by a man whom I am trying to circumvent. I know what I am
+saying. We must get horses, or these must go on. We have not an instant
+to lose. There is a conspiracy afoot to do serious injury to the owner
+of Cressley Hall."
+
+"What! the young gentleman who has just come from Australia? You don't
+mean to say he is in danger?" said Peach.
+
+"He is in the gravest danger. I don't mind who knows. I have reason for
+my fears."
+
+While I was speaking the landlord drew near. He overheard some of my
+last words. The landlord and Peach now exchanged glances. After a moment
+the landlord spoke,--
+
+"A neighbour of ours, sir, has got two good horses," he said. "He is the
+doctor in this village. I believe he'll lend them if the case is as
+urgent as you say."
+
+"Go and ask him," I cried. "You shall have ten pounds if we are on the
+road in five minutes from the present moment."
+
+At this hint the landlord flew. He came back in an incredibly short
+space of time, accompanied by the doctor's coachman leading the horses.
+They were quickly harnessed to the wagonette, and once more we started
+on our way.
+
+"Now drive as you never drove before in the whole course of your life,"
+I said to Peach. "Money is no object. We have still fifteen miles to go,
+and over a rough country. You can claim any reward in reason if you get
+to Cressley Hall within an hour."
+
+"It cannot be done, sir," he replied; but then he glanced at me, and
+some of the determination in my face was reflected in his. He whipped up
+the horses. They were thoroughbred animals, and worked well under
+pressure.
+
+We reached the gates of Cressley Hall between two and three in the
+morning. Here I thought it best to draw up, and told my coachman that I
+should not need his services any longer.
+
+"If you are afraid of mischief, sir, would it not be best for me to lie
+about here?" he asked. "I'd rather be in the neighbourhood in case you
+want me. I am interested in this here job, sir."
+
+"You may well be, my man. God grant it is not a black business. Well,
+walk the horses up and down, if you like. If you see nothing of me
+within the next couple of hours, judge that matters are all right, and
+return with the horses to Carlton."
+
+This being arranged, I turned from Peach and entered the lodge gates.
+Just inside was a low cottage surrounded by trees. I paused for a moment
+to consider what I had better do. My difficulty now was how to obtain
+admittance to the Hall, for of course it would be shut up and all its
+inhabitants asleep at this hour. Suddenly an idea struck me. I
+determined to knock up the lodge-keeper, and to enlist her assistance. I
+went across to the door, and presently succeeded in rousing the inmates.
+A woman of about fifty appeared. I explained to her my position, and
+begged of her to give me her help. She hesitated at first in unutterable
+astonishment; but then, seeing something in my face which convinced her,
+I suppose, of the truth of my story, for it was necessary to alarm her
+in order to induce her to do anything, she said she would do what I
+wished.
+
+"I know the room where Mitchell, the old housekeeper, sleeps," she said,
+"and we can easily wake him by throwing stones up at his window. If
+you'll just wait a minute I'll put a shawl over my head and go with
+you."
+
+She ran into an inner room and quickly re-appeared. Together we made our
+way along the drive which, far as I could see, ran through a park
+studded with old timber. We went round the house to the back entrance,
+and the woman, after a delay of two or three moments, during which I was
+on thorns, managed to wake up Mitchell the housekeeper. He came to his
+window, threw it open, and poked out his head.
+
+"What can be wrong?" he said.
+
+"It is Mr. Bell, James," was the reply, "the gentleman who has been
+expected at the Hall all the evening; he has come now, and wants you to
+admit him."
+
+The old man said that he would come downstairs. He did so, and opening a
+door, stood in front of it, barring my entrance.
+
+"Are you really the gentleman Mr. Cressley has been expecting?" he said.
+
+"I am," I replied; "I missed my train, and was obliged to drive out.
+There is urgent need why I should see your master immediately; where is
+he?"
+
+"I hope in bed, sir, and asleep; it is nearly three o'clock in the
+morning."
+
+"Never mind the hour," I said; "I must see Mr. Cressley immediately. Can
+you take me to his room?"
+
+"If I am sure that you are Mr. John Bell," said the old man, glancing at
+me with not unnatural suspicion.
+
+"Rest assured on that point. Here, this is my card, and here is a
+telegram which I received to-day from your master."
+
+"But master sent no telegram to-day."
+
+"You must be mistaken, this is from him."
+
+"I don't understand it, sir, but you look honest, and I suppose I must
+trust you."
+
+"You will do well to do so," I said.
+
+He moved back and I entered the house. He took me down a passage, and
+then into a lofty chamber, which probably was the old banqueting-hall.
+As well as I could see by the light of the candle, it was floored, and
+panelled with black oak. Round the walls stood figures of knights in
+armour, with flags and banners hanging from the panels above. I
+followed the old man up a broad staircase and along endless corridors to
+a more distant part of the building. We turned now abruptly to our
+right, and soon began to ascend some turret stairs.
+
+"In which room is your master?" I asked.
+
+"This is his room, sir," said the man. He stood still and pointed to a
+door.
+
+"Stay where you are; I may want you," I said.
+
+I seized his candle, and holding it above my head, opened the door. The
+room was a large one, and when I entered was in total darkness. I
+fancied I heard a rustling in the distance, but could see no one. Then,
+as my eyes got accustomed to the faint light caused by the candle, I
+observed at the further end of the chamber a large four-poster bedstead.
+I immediately noticed something very curious about it. I turned round to
+the old housekeeper.
+
+"Did you really say that Mr. Cressley was sleeping in this room?" I
+asked.
+
+"Yes, sir; he must be in bed some hours ago. I left him in the library
+hunting up old papers, and he told me he was tired and was going to rest
+early."
+
+"He is not in the bed," I said.
+
+"Not in the bed, sir! Good God!" a note of horror came into the man's
+voice. "What in the name of fortune is the matter with the bed?"
+
+As the man spoke I rushed forward. Was it really a bed at all? If it
+was, I had never seen a stranger one. Upon it, covering it from head to
+foot, was a thick mattress, from the sides of which tassels were
+hanging. There was no human being lying on the mattress, nor was it made
+up with sheets and blankets like an ordinary bed. I glanced above me.
+The posts at the four corners of the bedstead stood like masts. I saw at
+once what had happened. The canopy had descended upon the bed. Was
+Cressley beneath? With a shout I desired the old man to come forward,
+and between us we seized the mattress, and exerting all our force, tried
+to drag it from the bed. In a moment I saw it was fixed by cords that
+held it tightly in its place. Whipping out my knife, I severed these,
+and then hurled the heavy weight from the bed. Beneath lay Cressley,
+still as death. I put my hand on his heart and uttered a thankful
+exclamation. It was still beating. I was in time; I had saved him. After
+all, nothing else mattered during that supreme moment of thankfulness. A
+few seconds longer beneath that smothering mass and he would have been
+dead. By what a strange sequence of events had I come to his side just
+in the nick of time!
+
+"We must take him from this room before he recovers consciousness," I
+said to the old man, who was surprised and horror-stricken.
+
+"But, sir, in the name of Heaven, what has happened?"
+
+"Let us examine the bed, and I will tell you," I said. I held up the
+candle as I spoke. A glance at the posts was all-sufficient to show me
+how the deed had been done. The canopy above, on which the heavy
+mattress had been placed, was held in position by strong cords which ran
+through pulleys at the top of the posts. These were thick and heavy
+enough to withstand the strain. When the cords were released, the
+canopy, with its heavy weight, must quickly descend upon the unfortunate
+sleeper, who would be smothered beneath it in a few seconds. Who had
+planned and executed this murderous device?
+
+There was not a soul to be seen.
+
+"We will take Mr. Cressley into another room and then come back," I said
+to the housekeeper. "Is there one where we can place him?"
+
+"Yes, sir," was the instant reply; "there's a room on the next floor
+which was got ready for you."
+
+"Capital," I answered; "we will convey him there at once."
+
+We did so, and after using some restoratives, he came to himself. When
+he saw me he gazed at me with an expression of horror on his face.
+
+"Am I alive, or is it a dream?" he said.
+
+"You are alive, but you have had a narrow escape of your life," I
+answered. I then told him how I had found him.
+
+He sat up as I began to speak, and as I continued my narrative his eyes
+dilated with an expression of terror which I have seldom seen equalled.
+
+"You do not know what I have lived through," he said at last. "I only
+wonder I retain my reason. Oh, that awful room! no wonder men died and
+went mad there!"
+
+"Well, speak, Cressley; I am all attention," I said; "you will be the
+better when you have unburdened yourself."
+
+"I can tell you what happened in a few words," he answered. "You know I
+mentioned the horrid sort of presentiment I had about coming here at
+all. That first night I could not make up my mind to sleep in the house,
+so I went to the little inn at Brent. I received your telegram
+yesterday, and went to meet you by the last train. When you did not
+come, I had a tussle with myself; but I could think of no decent excuse
+for deserting the old place, and so came back. My intention was to sit
+up the greater part of the night arranging papers in the library. The
+days are long now, and I thought I might go to bed when morning broke. I
+was irresistibly sleepy, however, and went up to my room soon after one
+o'clock. I was determined to think of nothing unpleasant, and got
+quickly into bed, taking the precaution first to lock the door. I placed
+the key under my pillow, and, being very tired, soon fell into a heavy
+sleep. I awoke suddenly, after what seemed but a few minutes, to find
+the room dark, for the moon must just have set. I was very sleepy, and I
+wondered vaguely why I had awakened; and then suddenly, without warning,
+and without cause, a monstrous, unreasonable fear seized me. An
+indefinable intuition told me that I was not alone--that some horrible
+presence was near. I do not think the certainty of immediate death could
+have inspired me with a greater dread than that which suddenly came upon
+me. I dared not stir hand nor foot. My powers of reason and resistance
+were paralysed. At last, by an immense effort, I nerved myself to see
+the worst. Slowly, very slowly, I turned my head and opened my eyes.
+Against the tapestry at the further corner of the room, in the dark
+shadow, stood a figure. It stood out quite boldly, emanating from itself
+a curious light. I had no time to think of phosphorus. It never occurred
+to me that any trick was being played upon me. I felt certain that I was
+looking at my ancestor, Barrington Cressley, who had come back to
+torture me in order to make me give up possession. The figure was that
+of a man six feet high, and broad in proportion. The face was bent
+forward and turned toward me, but in the uncertain light I could neither
+see the features nor the expression. The figure stood as still as a
+statue, and was evidently watching me. At the end of a moment, which
+seemed to me an eternity, it began to move, and, with a slow and silent
+step, approached me. I lay perfectly still, every muscle braced, and
+watched the figure between half-closed eyelids. It was now within a
+foot or two of me, and I could distinctly see the face. What was my
+horror to observe that it wore the features of my agent Murdock.
+
+"'Murdock!' I cried, the word coming in a strangled sound from my
+throat. The next instant he had sprung upon me. I heard a noise of
+something rattling above, and saw a huge shadow descending upon me. I
+did not know what it was, and I felt certain that I was being murdered.
+The next moment all was lost in unconsciousness. Bell, how queer you
+look! Was it--was it Murdock? But it could not have been; he was very
+ill in bed at Liverpool. What in the name of goodness was the awful
+horror through which I had lived?"
+
+"I can assure you on one point," I answered; "it was no ghost. And as to
+Murdock, it is more than likely that you did see him."
+
+I then told the poor fellow what I had discovered with regard to the
+agent, and also my firm conviction that Wickham was at the bottom of
+it.
+
+Cressley's astonishment was beyond bounds, and I saw at first that he
+scarcely believed me; but when I said that it was my intention to search
+the house, he accompanied me.
+
+We both, followed by Mitchell, returned to the ill-fated room; but,
+though we examined the tapestry and panelling, we could not find the
+secret means by which the villain had obtained access to the chamber.
+
+"The carriage which brought me here is still waiting just outside the
+lodge gates," I said. "What do you say to leaving this place at once,
+and returning, at least, as far as Carlton? We might spend the remainder
+of the night there, and take the very first train to Liverpool."
+
+"Anything to get away," said Cressley. "I do not feel that I can ever
+come back to Cressley Hall again."
+
+"You feel that now, but by-and-by your sensations will be different," I
+answered. As I spoke I called Mitchell to me. I desired him to go at
+once to the lodge gates and ask the driver of the wagonette to come
+down to the Hall.
+
+This was done, and half an hour afterwards Cressley and I were on our
+way back to Carlton. Early the next morning we went to Liverpool. There
+we visited the police, and I asked to have a warrant taken out for the
+apprehension of Murdock.
+
+The superintendent, on hearing my tale, suggested that we should go at
+once to Murdock's house in Melville Gardens. We did so, but it was
+empty, Murdock, his wife, and Wickham having thought it best to decamp.
+The superintendent insisted, however, on having the house searched, and
+in a dark closet at the top we came upon a most extraordinary
+contrivance. This was no less than an exact representation of the
+agent's head and neck in wax. In it was a wonderfully skilful imitation
+of a human larynx, which, by a cunning mechanism of clockwork, could be
+made exactly to simulate the breathing and low moaning of a human being.
+This the man had, of course, utilized with the connivance of his wife
+and Wickham in order to prove an alibi, and the deception was so
+complete that only my own irresistible curiosity could have enabled me
+to discover the secret. That night the police were fortunate enough to
+capture both Murdock and Wickham in a Liverpool slum. Seeing that all
+was up, the villains made complete confession, and the whole of the
+black plot was revealed. It appeared that two adventurers, the worst
+form of scoundrels, knew of Cressley's great discovery in Western
+Australia, and had made up their minds to forestall him in his claim.
+One of these men had come some months ago to England, and while in
+Liverpool had made the acquaintance of Murdock. The other man, Wickham,
+accompanied Cressley on the voyage in order to keep him in view, and
+worm as many secrets as possible from him. When Cressley spoke of his
+superstition with regard to the turret room, it immediately occurred to
+Wickham to utilize the room for his destruction. Murdock proved a ready
+tool in the hands of the rogues. They offered him an enormous bribe.
+And then the three between them evolved the intricate and subtle details
+of the crime. It was arranged that Murdock was to commit the ghastly
+deed, and for this purpose he was sent down quietly to Brent disguised
+as a journeyman the day before Cressley went to the Hall. The men had
+thought that Cressley would prove an easy prey, but they distrusted me
+from the first. Their relief was great when they discovered that I could
+not accompany Cressley to the Hall. And had he spent the first night
+there, the murder would have been committed; but his nervous terrors
+inducing him to spend the night at Brent foiled this attempt. Seeing
+that I was returning to Liverpool, the men now thought that they would
+use me for their own devices, and made up their minds to decoy me into
+Murdock's bedroom in order that I might see the wax figure, their
+object, of course, being that I should be forced to prove an alibi in
+case Murdock was suspected of the crime. The telegram which reached me
+at Prince's Hotel on my return from London was sent by one of the
+ruffians, who was lying in ambush at Brent. When I left Murdock's house,
+the wife informed Wickham that she thought from my manner I suspected
+something. He had already taken steps to induce the cab-driver to take
+me in a wrong direction, in order that I should miss my train, and it
+was not until he visited the stables outside the Prince's Hotel that he
+found that I intended to go by road. He then played his last card, when
+he telegraphed to the inn at Carlton to stop the horses. By Murdock's
+means Wickham and his confederate had the run of the rooms at the Hall
+ever since the arrival of Wickham from Australia, and they had rigged up
+the top of the old bedstead in the way I have described. There was,
+needless to say, a secret passage at the back of the tapestry, which was
+so cunningly hidden in the panelling as to baffle all ordinary means of
+discovery.
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
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+"The Ordeal of Richard Feverel," "The Tragic Comedians," &c. Crown 8vo,
+cloth, 6s.; Cheaper Edition, 3s. 6d.
+
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+     female characters, there is any more loveable than Chloe."--_Daily
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+
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+     tragic for us, while never for a moment leaving its proper plane of
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+
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+Pharisees. By A. Kevill-Davies, Author of "An American Widow," "Dollars
+are Trumps," &c., &c. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 6s.
+
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+With Three Full-page Illustrations by A. Forestier. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6s.
+
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+
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+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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+In Strange Company: A Story of Chili and the Southern Seas. By Guy
+Boothby, Author of "Dr. Nikola." With Six full-page Illustrations by
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+
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+     curiosity unabated to the end."--_The World._
+
+     "The best of them is 'In Strange Company.' ... The book is a good
+     tale of adventure; it has plenty of astonishing incidents which yet
+     have an air of verisimilitude."--_The Pall Mall Budget._
+
+The Marriage of Esther: A Torres Straits Sketch. By Guy Boothby, Author
+of "In Strange Company," &c. With Four full-page Illustrations by
+Stanley L. Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s.
+
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+
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+     the adventurous."--_The Star._
+
+A Bid for Fortune; or, Dr. Nikola's Vendetta. By Guy Boothby, Author of
+"In Strange Company," "The Marriage of Esther," &c. With about Fifty
+Illustrations by Stanley L. Wood and Others. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s.
+
+     "He never allows the interest to drop from first page to last....
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+     thickened, exciting to a degree."--_The Times._
+
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+     which the story is told. Mr. Boothby may be congratulated on having
+     produced about the most original novel of the year."--_Manchester
+     Courier._
+
+The Beautiful White Devil. By Guy Boothby, Author of "Dr. Nikola," &c.
+With Six full-page Illustrations by Stanley L. Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth
+gilt, 5s.
+
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+
+Dr. Nikola. By Guy Boothby. With about Forty Illustrations by Stanley
+L. Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, in striking and original binding, 5s.
+
+     "One hair-breadth escape succeeds another with rapidity that scarce
+     leaves the reader breathing space.... The interest of their
+     experience is sufficient to stay criticism and carry him through a
+     story ingeniously invented and skilfully told."--_Scotsman._
+
+     _The Manchester Courier_ says:--"Few authors can depict action as
+     brilliantly and resourcefully as the creator of 'Dr. Nikola.'"
+
+The Fascination of the King. By Guy Boothby. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt,
+special design, bevelled boards, 5s. Illustrated by Stanley L. Wood.
+
+     "A tale of much power and sustained interest, narrated with
+     dramatic effect."--_The Scotsman._
+
+     "The interest is sustained from first to last, and thrilling
+     incidents crop up at almost every page."--_The People._
+
+     "Unquestionably the best work we have yet seen from the pen of Mr.
+     Guy Boothby.... 'The Fascination of the King' is one of the books
+     of the season."--_Bristol Mercury._
+
+     "Undoubtedly dramatic.... A wonderfully interesting
+     story."--_Morning Leader._
+
+Bushigrams. By Guy Boothby. Fully Illustrated. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s.
+
+     "Intensely interesting. Forces from us, by its powerful artistic
+     realism, those choky sensations which it should be the aim of the
+     humane writer to elicit, whether in comedy or tragedy. The book
+     will enhance Mr. Boothby's reputation and bring him into the very
+     front rank of emotional writers, as well as confirm our opinion of
+     him as a most powerful imaginative author. His humorous vein is
+     fascinating and attractive. His pathos is true, and often most
+     touching."--_Manchester Guardian._
+
+ARTHUR MORRISON.
+
+Martin Hewitt, Investigator. By Arthur Morrison, Author of "Tales of
+Mean Streets," &c. With Fifty Illustrations by Sidney Paget. Crown
+8vo, cloth gilt, 5s.
+
+Chronicles of Martin Hewitt: Being the Second Series of "Martin Hewitt,
+Investigator." By Arthur Morrison. With Thirty Illustrations by D.
+Murray Smith. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s.
+
+Adventures of Martin Hewitt: Being the Third Series of "Martin Hewitt,
+Investigator." By Arthur Morrison. Illustrated by T. S. C. Crowther.
+Crown 8vo, canvas gilt, 5s.
+
+The Dorrington Deed-Box. By Arthur Morrison. Fully Illustrated by
+Stanley L. Wood, Harold Piffard, Sidney Cowell, &c., &c.
+
+     "Most people like tales of this sort ... and no one writes them
+     better than Mr. Morrison does. The narratives are written not only
+     with ingenuity, but with conviction, which is, perhaps, even the
+     more valuable quality. They are essentially of the breathless and
+     absorbing order, and their attractiveness is enhanced by the
+     excellent pictures that accompany them."--_The Globe._
+
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+     successors to Sherlock Holmes. There is not one of the stories in
+     this collection that is not ingeniously constructed and cleverly
+     written."--_The Academy._
+
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+
+The Vanished Emperor: A Romance of To-day. By Percy Andreae. Crown 8vo,
+canvas gilt, 6s.
+
+     "We can honestly say it is years since we read a story so original,
+     so striking, or so absorbing."--_Manchester Courier._
+
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+
+Kriegspiel: The War Game. By Francis Hindes Groome. Crown 8vo, cloth
+gilt, 6s.
+
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+     promising novelists of the day, so full is 'Kriegspiel' of
+     interest, of stirring incident, and of vivid and varied sketches of
+     men and manners from contemporary English life."--_Illustrated
+     London News._
+
+SHAN F. BULLOCK.
+
+By Thrasna River: The Story of a Townland. Given by one John Farmer, and
+Edited by his Friend, Shan F. Bullock. With Full-page Illustrations by
+St. Clair Simmons. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 6s.
+
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+     Irish rural life that we have ever come across."--_The Athenæum._
+
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+     straight from life as in Mr. Barrie's delightful annals of
+     Kirriemuir."--_The Sketch._
+
+FRANCIS PREVOST.
+
+False Dawn. By Francis Prevost. Crown 8vo, canvas, full gilt, 6s.
+
+     "There is a mingled delicacy and power ... intensely interesting....
+     The book is one to be read and remembered."--_Speaker._
+
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+     and of word painting."--_Academy._
+
+Rust of Gold. By Francis Prevost. Crown 8vo, art canvas, 5s.
+
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+
+On The Verge. By Francis Prevost. Crown 8vo, art canvas, 5s.
+
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+
+MAX PEMBERTON.
+
+Jewel Mysteries I Have Known. By Max Pemberton, Author of "The Iron
+Pirate." &c. With about Fifty Illustrations by R. Caton Woodville and
+Fred. Barnard. Demy 8vo, cloth gilt, bevelled boards, gilt edges, 5s.
+
+     "The most interesting and entrancing mystery stories that have
+     appeared since the publication of the doings of Sherlock
+     Holmes."--_The Literary World._
+
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+     attention, and never letting it go, from the first story to the
+     last."--_The Bookman._
+
+BERTRAM MITFORD.
+
+The Curse of Clement Waynflete: A Story of Two Wars. By Bertram Mitford,
+Author of "The King's Assegai," "The Gun Runner," &c. With Four
+Full-page Illustrations by Stanley L. Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "Telling us wonderful incidents of inter-racial warfare, of
+     ambuscades, sieges, surprises, and assaults almost without
+     number.... A thoroughly exciting story, full of bright descriptions
+     and stirring episodes."--_The Daily Telegraph._
+
+A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance. By Bertram Mitford, Author of
+"The Gun Runner," "The Curse of Clement Waynflete," &c. With Two
+Full-page Illustrations by Stanley L. Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "We have seldom come across a more thrilling narrative. From start
+     to finish Mr. Mitford secures unflagging attention."--_Leeds
+     Mercury._
+
+The Expiation of Wynne Palliser. By Bertram Mitford, Author of "The
+King's Assegai," &c. With Two Full-page Illustrations by Stanley L.
+Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "The best of this author's many excellent romances."--_The Globe._
+
+Fordham's Feud. By Bertram Mitford, Author of "A Veldt Official," "The
+Curse of Clement Waynflete," "The Expiation of Wynne Palliser," &c.
+Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. With Four Full-page Illustrations by
+Stanley L. Wood.
+
+     "A story of much merit and startling _dénouement_. For wealth of
+     character, pleasant descriptive matter, romantic incident, and
+     powerful plot, there are few books that will eclipse 'Fordham's
+     Feud.'"--_Manchester Courier._
+
+COULSON KERNAHAN.
+
+Captain Shannon. By Coulson Kernahan, Author of "God and the Ant."
+Illustrated by F. S. Wilson.
+
+     "It contains plenty of daring, imaginative flights, and not one
+     tiresome or commonplace episode."--_The Globe._
+
+     "The perils which Rissler has to undergo before he finally runs
+     the victim to earth--or rather to water--are so terrible that
+     they might well be warranted to turn the hair of any man
+     white."--_The Speaker._
+
+EDITH JOHNSTONE.
+
+A Sunless Heart. By Edith Johnstone. Third Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth,
+3s. 6d.
+
+     "Mr. W. T. Stead, in his article on 'Women Novelists,' writes of
+     'Its Intrinsic merit, its originality and its pathos, its
+     distinctively woman's outlook on life and the singular glow and
+     genius of its author.... Lotus is a distinct creation--vivid,
+     life-like, and original."--_The Review of Reviews._
+
+CAPTAIN CHARLES KING.
+
+Fort Frayne. A Story of Army Life in the Northwest. With Portrait of
+the Author. Crown 8vo. cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "A rattling good story.... Keeps one interested and amused from
+     first to last."--_Pall Mall Gazette._
+
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+     it down.... A very well-written story, full of keen interest and
+     fine character."--_Guardian._
+
+ADA CAMBRIDGE.
+
+A Humble Enterprise. By Ada Cambridge, Author of "The Three Miss Kings,"
+"Fidelis," "A Marked Man," &c. With Four Full-page Illustrations by
+St. Clair Simmons. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
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+     told and absorbingly interesting from beginning to end."--_Daily
+     Mail._
+
+     "A pretty, graceful story, and one to leave, so to speak, a clean
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+     public."--_Pall Mall Gazette._
+
+At Midnight. By Ada Cambridge, Author of "A Humble Enterprise," &c.
+Fully Illustrated. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "This latest production from the pen of Miss Ada Cambridge is sure
+     to be a great success."
+
+NORA VYNNE.
+
+Honey of Aloes, and other Stories. By Nora Vynne, Author of "The Blind
+Artist's Pictures," "A Comedy of Honour," &c. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d.
+
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+     cordially congratulate the reading public, as well as their author,
+     upon their reproduction in book form. Not only do they abound in
+     literary merit, but in thrilling interest, and there is not one of
+     them that is not instinct with intense and veracious humanity....
+     'Their Reason,' 'A Dilemma,' 'Greek and Greek,' and 'Lost Kisses,'
+     deserve special and unqualified laudation."--_Daily Telegraph._
+
+WILLIAM LE QUEUX.
+
+A Secret Service: Being Strange Tales of a Nihilist. By William Le
+Queux, Author of "The Great War," "Zoraida," &c. With Frontispiece by
+Harold Piffard. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "Apart altogether from its political interest, 'A Secret Service'
+     will be read and appreciated for its brightly written stories of
+     mystery and sensation and romance which are threaded together in
+     the narrative of Anton Préhzner."--_Daily Mail._
+
+CONAN DOYLE.
+
+The First Book about Sherlock Holmes.
+
+A Study in Scarlet. By A. Conan Doyle, Author of "Micah Clarke," "The
+Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," &c. With Forty Illustrations by George
+Hutchinson. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, gilt top, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "Everything that prince of amateur detectives, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,
+     says is worth hearing, and the dramatic surprises contained in his
+     amiable and artistic fooling of the two brother detectives are
+     capitally conceived."--_Black and White._
+
+     "Few things have been so good of late as Mr. Conan Doyle's 'Study
+     in Scarlet,'"--Mr. Andrew Lang, in _Longman's Magazine_.
+
+ANNIE E. HOLDSWORTH.
+
+Spindles and Oars. By Annie E. Holdsworth, Author of "The Years that the
+Locust hath Eaten." Crown 8vo, cloth, with Special Title-page, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "We do not exaggerate when we say that there are very few books of
+     living writers which we would not gladly exchange for such a work
+     as she has now given us."--_Manchester Courier._
+
+JOSEPH HOCKING.
+
+Fields of Fair Renown. With Frontispiece and Vignette by J. Barnard
+Davis, Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "Mr. Joseph Hocking's 'Fields of Fair Renown' is a novel with a
+     purpose, and the theme is worked out with a good deal of force and
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+     powerful."--_Scotsman._
+
+     "Mr. Hocking has produced a work which his readers of all classes
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+     aspects of disposition."--_Dundee Advertiser._
+
+All Men are Liars. By Joseph Hocking. With Frontispiece and Vignette
+by Gordon Browne. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt. 3s. 6d.
+
+     "This is a notable book. Thoughtful people will be fascinated by
+     its actuality, its fearlessness, and the insight it gives into the
+     influence of modern thought and literature upon the mind and morals
+     of our most promising manhood."--_Christian World._
+
+     "A striking book.... It is strong and earnest and vigorous: It
+     shows knowledge of the lower class, and impatience and contempt of
+     shams of all sorts."--_The Standard._
+
+Ishmael Pengelly: An Outcast. By Joseph Hocking. With Frontispiece and
+Vignette by W. S. Stacey. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "As a story this book is a splendid piece of writing; every detail
+     is interesting, and the situations it creates are novel and
+     striking."--_The Record._
+
+     "A remarkable novel.... The plot of the story is ingenious, the
+     manner of its telling essentially dramatic, the character-drawing
+     excellent and consistent."--_Christian World._
+
+The Story of Andrew Fairfax. By Joseph Hocking. With Frontispiece and
+Vignette by George Hutchinson. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt,
+3s. 6d.
+
+     "Rustic scenes and characters are drawn with free, broad touches,
+     without Mr. Buchanan's artificiality, and, if we may venture to say
+     it, with more realism than in Mr. Hardy's country
+     pictures."--_Manchester Examiner._
+
+Jabez Easterbrook. By Joseph Hocking. Fourth Edition. With Frontispiece
+and Vignette by W. S. Stagey. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "Real strength is shown in the sketches, of which that of Brother
+     Bowman is most prominent. In its way it is delightful."--_Rock._
+
+WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED.
+
+
+
+
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+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Master Of Mysteries, by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace.
+    </title>
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's A Master of Mysteries, by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: A Master of Mysteries
+
+Author: L. T. Meade
+        Robert Eustace
+
+Illustrator: J. Ambrose Walton
+
+Release Date: August 8, 2007 [EBook #22278]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MASTER OF MYSTERIES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
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+</pre>
+
+
+<h1>A MASTER OF MYSTERIES</h1>
+
+<hr class='dashed' />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style='width:350px'>
+<a name="illus-000" id="illus-000"></a>
+<a href="images/illus-fpcf.jpg">
+<img src="images/illus-fpc.jpg" alt="&#34;He pulled the mare nearly up on her haunches.&#34; (Page 114). A Master of Mysteries. Frontispiece" title="" width="350" /></a><br />
+<table summary="" style='width:350px' class="caption">
+    <tr><td colspan="2">&#34;He pulled the mare nearly up on her haunches.&#34; (page 114)</td></tr>
+    <tr><td align="left">
+        <span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>A Master of Mysteries.</span></td>
+        <td align="right"><span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>Frontispiece</span></td>
+    </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='dashed' />
+
+<table style="margin: auto; border: black 1px solid; width:25em" summary=""><tr><td>
+<p style=" font-size:2em; margin-top:1em;">A MASTER OF</p>
+<p style=" font-size:2em; margin-bottom:3em;">MYSTERIES</p>
+<p style=" font-size:1.2em;">By L. T. MEADE</p>
+<p style=" font-size:1.2em; margin-bottom:5em;">and ROBERT EUSTACE</p>
+<p style=" font-size:0.8em; margin-bottom:5em;">ILLUSTRATED BY J. AMBROSE WALTON</p>
+<p style=" font-size:0.9em;">LONDON</p>
+<p style=" font-size:1.0em; letter-spacing:0.2em;">WARD, LOCK &amp; CO LIMITED</p>
+<p style=" font-size:0.9em;">WARWICK HOUSE SALISBURY SQUARE E C</p>
+<p style=" font-size:0.8em; margin-bottom:3em;">NEW YORK AND MELBOURNE</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<hr class='dashed' />
+
+<h2 class="toc"><a name="Contents" id="Contents"></a>Contents</h2>
+
+<div class='smcap'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width:400px;">
+<col style="width:45%;" />
+<col style="width:5%;" />
+<col style="width:40%;" />
+<col style="width:10%;" />
+<tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td align='right'><span style='font-size:x-small'>PAGE</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td align="left">I</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td align="left" colspan="3">The Mystery of the Circular Chamber</td>
+  <td align="right"><a href="#The_Mystery_of_the_Circular_Chamber_84">9</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td style='padding-top:1em' align="left">II</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td align="left" colspan="3">The Warder of the Door</td>
+  <td align="right"><a href="#The_Warder_of_the_Door_1000">57</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td style='padding-top:1em' align="left">III</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td align="left" colspan="3">The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel</td>
+  <td align="right"><a href="#The_Mystery_of_the_Felwyn_Tunnel_1738">95</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td style='padding-top:1em' align="left">IV</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td align="left" colspan="3">The Eight-Mile Lock</td>
+  <td align="right"><a href="#The_EightMile_Lock_2622">139</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td style='padding-top:1em' align="left">V</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td align="left" colspan="3">How Siva Spoke</td>
+  <td align="right"><a href="#How_Siva_Spoke_3441">183</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td style='padding-top:1em' align="left">VI</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td align="left" colspan="3">To Prove an Alibi</td>
+  <td align="right"><a href="#To_Prove_an_Alibi_4294">227</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<hr style='margin-top:50px' class='dashed' />
+
+<p style='font-size:x-large'>Introduction</p>
+
+<p>It so happened that the circumstances of fate allowed me to follow my
+own bent in the choice of a profession. From my earliest youth the
+weird, the mysterious had an irresistible fascination for me. Having
+private means, I resolved to follow my unique inclinations, and I am now
+well known to all my friends as a professional exposer of ghosts, and
+one who can clear away the mysteries of most haunted houses. Up to the
+present I have never had cause to regret my choice, but at the same time
+I cannot too strongly advise any one who thinks of following my example
+to hesitate before engaging himself in tasks that entail<a class="pagenum" name="page_8" id="page_8" title="8"></a> time, expense,
+thankless labour, often ridicule, and not seldom great personal danger.
+To explain, by the application of science, phenomena attributed to
+spiritual agencies has been the work of my life. I have, naturally, gone
+through strange difficulties in accomplishing my mission. I propose in
+these pages to relate the histories of certain queer events, enveloped
+at first in mystery, and apparently dark with portent, but,
+nevertheless, when grappled with in the true spirit of science, capable
+of explanation.</p>
+
+<hr class="dashed" />
+
+<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em">
+<a class="pagenum" name="page_9" id="page_9" title="9"></a>
+<a name="The_Mystery_of_the_Circular_Chamber_84" id="The_Mystery_of_the_Circular_Chamber_84"></a>
+<p style='font-size:x-large; margin-left: 3em;'>I</p>
+<p style='font-size:x-large'>The Mystery of the<br />Circular Chamber</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>One day in late September I received the following letter from my
+lawyer:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">My Dear Bell</span>,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I shall esteem it a favour if you can make it convenient to call
+upon me at ten o'clock to-morrow morning on a matter of extreme
+privacy." </p></div>
+
+<p>At the appointed hour I was shown into Mr. Edgcombe's private room. I
+had known him for years&mdash;we were, in fact, old friends&mdash;and I was
+startled now by the look of worry, not to say anxiety, on his usually
+serene features.<a class="pagenum" name="page_10" id="page_10" title="10"></a></p>
+
+<p>"You are the very man I want, Bell," he cried. "Sit down; I have a great
+deal to say to you. There is a mystery of a very grave nature which I
+hope you may solve for me. It is in connection with a house said to be
+haunted."</p>
+
+<p>He fixed his bright eyes on my face as he spoke. I sat perfectly silent,
+waiting for him to continue.</p>
+
+<p>"In the first place," he resumed, "I must ask you to regard the matter
+as confidential."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"You know," he went on, "that I have often laughed at your special
+hobby, but it occurred to me yesterday that the experiences you have
+lived through may enable you to give me valuable assistance in this
+difficulty."</p>
+
+<p>"I will do my best for you, Edgcombe," I replied.</p>
+
+<p>He lay back in his chair, folding his hands.</p>
+
+<p>"The case is briefly as follows," he began. "It is connected with the
+family of the<a class="pagenum" name="page_11" id="page_11" title="11"></a> Wentworths. The only son, Archibald, the artist, has just
+died under most extraordinary circumstances. He was, as you probably
+know, one of the most promising water-colour painters of the younger
+school, and his pictures in this year's Academy met with universal
+praise. He was the heir to the Wentworth estates, and his death has
+caused a complication of claims from a member of a collateral branch of
+the family, who, when the present squire dies, is entitled to the money.
+This man has spent the greater part of his life in Australia, is badly
+off, and evidently belongs to a rowdy set. He has been to see me two or
+three times, and I must say frankly that I am not taken with his
+appearance."</p>
+
+<p>"Had he anything to do with the death?" I interrupted.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing whatever, as you will quickly perceive. Wentworth has been
+accustomed from time to time to go alone on sketching tours to different
+parts of the country. He has tramped about on foot, and visited odd,
+out-of-the-way nooks searching for subjects.<a class="pagenum" name="page_12" id="page_12" title="12"></a> He never took much money
+with him, and always travelled as an apparently poor man. A month ago he
+started off alone on one of these tours. He had a handsome commission
+from Barlow &amp; Co., picture-dealers in the Strand. He was to paint
+certain parts of the river Merran; and although he certainly did not
+need money, he seemed glad of an object for a good ramble. He parted
+with his family in the best of health and spirits, and wrote to them
+from time to time; but a week ago they heard the news that he had died
+suddenly at an inn on the Merran. There was, of course, an inquest and
+an autopsy. Dr. Miles Gordon, the Wentworths' consulting physician, was
+telegraphed for, and was present at the post-mortem examination. He is
+absolutely puzzled to account for the death. The medical examination
+showed Wentworth to be in apparently perfect health at the time. There
+was no lesion to be discovered upon which to base a different opinion,
+all the organs being healthy. Neither was there any trace of poison, nor
+marks of violence.<a class="pagenum" name="page_13" id="page_13" title="13"></a> The coroner's verdict was that Wentworth died of
+syncope, which, as you know perhaps, is a synonym for an unknown cause.
+The inn where he died is a very lonely one, and has the reputation of
+being haunted. The landlord seems to bear a bad character, although
+nothing has ever been proved against him. But a young girl who lives at
+the inn gave evidence which at first startled every one. She said at the
+inquest that she had earnestly warned Wentworth not to sleep in the
+haunted room. She had scarcely told the coroner so before she fell to
+the floor in an epileptic fit. When she came to herself she was sullen
+and silent, and nothing more could be extracted from her. The old man,
+the innkeeper, explained that the girl was half-witted, but he did not
+attempt to deny that the house had the reputation of being haunted, and
+said that he had himself begged Wentworth not to put up there. Well,
+that is about the whole of the story. The coroner's inquest seems to
+deny the evidence of foul play, but I have my very strong suspicions.<a class="pagenum" name="page_14" id="page_14" title="14"></a>
+What I want you to do is to ascertain if they are correct. Will you
+undertake the case?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will certainly do so," I replied. "Please let me have any further
+particulars, and a written document to show, in case of need, that I am
+acting under your directions."</p>
+
+<p>Edgcombe agreed to this, and I soon afterwards took my leave. The case
+had the features of an interesting problem, and I hoped that I should
+prove successful in solving it.</p>
+
+<p>That evening I made my plans carefully. I would go into &mdash;&mdash;shire early
+on the following morning, assuming for my purpose the character of an
+amateur photographer. Having got all necessary particulars from
+Edgcombe, I made a careful mental map of my operations. First of all I
+would visit a little village of the name of Harkhurst, and put up at the
+inn, the Crown and Thistle. Here Wentworth had spent a fortnight when he
+first started on his commission to make drawings of the<a class="pagenum" name="page_15" id="page_15" title="15"></a> river Merran. I
+thought it likely that I should obtain some information there.
+Circumstances must guide me as to my further steps, but my intention was
+to proceed from Harkhurst to the Castle Inn, which was situated about
+six miles further up the river. This was the inn where the tragedy had
+occurred.</p>
+
+<p>Towards evening on the following day I arrived at Harkhurst. When my
+carriage drew up at the Crown and Thistle, the landlady was standing in
+the doorway. She was a buxom-looking dame, with a kindly face. I asked
+for a bed.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, sir," she answered. She turned with me into the little inn,
+and taking me upstairs, showed me a small room, quite clean and
+comfortable, looking out on the yard. I said it would do capitally, and
+she hurried downstairs to prepare my supper. After this meal, which
+proved to be excellent, I determined to visit the landlord in the bar. I
+found him chatty and communicative.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a lonely place," he said; "we<a class="pagenum" name="page_16" id="page_16" title="16"></a> don't often have a soul staying
+with us for a month at a time." As he spoke he walked to the door, and I
+followed him. The shades of night were beginning to fall, but the
+picturesqueness of the little hamlet could not but commend itself to me.</p>
+
+<p>"And yet it is a lovely spot," I said. "I should have thought tourists
+would have thronged to it. It is at least an ideal place for
+photographers."</p>
+
+<p>"You are right there, sir," replied the man; "and although we don't
+often have company to stay in the inn, now and then we have a stray
+artist. It's not three weeks back," he continued, "that we had a
+gentleman like you, sir, only a bit younger, to stay with us for a week
+or two. He was an artist, and drew from morning till night&mdash;ah, poor
+fellow!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you say that?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I have good cause, sir. Here, wife," continued the landlord, looking
+over his shoulder at Mrs. Johnson, the landlady, who now appeared on the
+scene, "this gentleman has been asking me questions about<a class="pagenum" name="page_17" id="page_17" title="17"></a> our visitor,
+Mr. Wentworth, but perhaps we ought not to inflict such a dismal story
+upon him to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"Pray do," I said; "what you have already hinted at arouses my
+curiosity. Why should you pity Mr. Wentworth?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is dead, sir," said the landlady, in a solemn voice. I gave a
+pretended start, and she continued,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"And it was all his own fault. Ah, dear! it makes me almost cry to think
+of it. He was as nice a gentleman as I ever set eyes on, and so strong,
+hearty, and pleasant. Well, sir, everything went well until one day he
+said to me, 'I am about to leave you, Mrs. Johnson. I am going to a
+little place called the Castle Inn, further up the Merran.'</p>
+
+<p>"'The Castle Inn!' I cried. 'No, Mr. Wentworth, that you won't, not if
+you value your life.'</p>
+
+<p>"'And why not?' he said, looking at me with as merry blue eyes as you
+ever saw in anybody's head. 'Why should I not visit the Castle Inn? I
+have a commission to<a class="pagenum" name="page_18" id="page_18" title="18"></a> make some drawings of that special bend of the
+river.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Well, then, sir,' I answered, 'if that is the case, you'll just have a
+horse and trap from here and drive over as often as you want to. For the
+Castle Inn ain't a fit place for a Christian to put up at.'</p>
+
+<p>"'What do you mean?' he asked of me.</p>
+
+<p>"'It is said to be haunted, sir, and what does happen in that house the
+Lord only knows, but there's not been a visitor at the inn for some
+years, not since Bailiff Holt came by his death.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Came by his death?' he asked. 'And how was that?'</p>
+
+<p>"'God knows, but I don't,' I answered. 'At the coroner's inquest it was
+said that he died from syncope, whatever that means, but the folks round
+here said it was fright.' Mr. Wentworth just laughed at me. He didn't
+mind a word I said, and the next day, sir, he was off, carrying his
+belongings with him."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, and what happened?" I asked, seeing that she paused.<a class="pagenum" name="page_19" id="page_19" title="19"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What happened, sir? Just what I expected. Two days afterwards came the
+news of his death. Poor young gentleman! He died in the very room where
+Holt had breathed his last; and, oh, if there wasn't a fuss and to-do,
+for it turned out that, although he seemed quite poor to us, with little
+or no money, he was no end of a swell, and had rich relations, and big
+estates coming to him; and, of course, there was a coroner's inquest and
+all the rest, and great doctors came down from London, and our Dr.
+Stanmore, who lives down the street, was sent for, and though they did
+all they could, and examined him, as it were, with a microscope, they
+could find no cause for death, and so they give it out that it was
+syncope, just as they did in the case of poor Holt. But, sir, it wasn't;
+it was fright, sheer fright. The place is haunted. It's a mysterious,
+dreadful house, and I only hope you won't have nothing to do with it."</p>
+
+<p>She added a few more words and presently left us.<a class="pagenum" name="page_20" id="page_20" title="20"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That's a strange story," I said, turning to Johnson; "your wife has
+excited my curiosity. I should much like to get further particulars."</p>
+
+<p>"There don't seem to be anything more to tell, sir," replied Johnson.
+"It's true what the wife says, that the Castle Inn has a bad name. It's
+not the first, no, nor the second, death that has occurred there."</p>
+
+<p>"You mentioned your village doctor; do you think he could enlighten me
+on the subject?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure he would do his best, sir. He lives only six doors away, in a
+red house. Maybe you wouldn't mind stepping down the street and speaking
+to him?"</p>
+
+<p>"You are sure he would not think it a liberty?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not he, sir; he'll be only too pleased to exchange a word with some one
+outside this sleepy little place."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I'll call on him," I answered, and taking up my hat I strolled
+down the street. I was lucky in finding Dr. Stanmore<a class="pagenum" name="page_21" id="page_21" title="21"></a> at home, and the
+moment I saw his face I determined to take him into my confidence.</p>
+
+<p>"The fact is this," I said, when he had shaken hands with me, "I should
+not dream of taking this liberty did I not feel certain that you could
+help me."</p>
+
+<p>"And in what way?" he asked, not stiffly, but with a keen, inquiring,
+interested glance.</p>
+
+<p>"I have been sent down from London to inquire into the Wentworth
+mystery," I said.</p>
+
+<p>"Is that so?" he said, with a start. Then he continued gravely: "I fear
+you have come on a wild-goose chase. There was nothing discovered at the
+autopsy to account for the death. There were no marks on the body, and
+all the organs were healthy. I met Wentworth often while he was staying
+here, and he was as hearty and strong-looking a young man as I have ever
+come across."</p>
+
+<p>"But the Castle Inn has a bad reputation," I said.<a class="pagenum" name="page_22" id="page_22" title="22"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That is true; the people here are afraid of it. It is said to be
+haunted. But really, sir, you and I need not trouble ourselves about
+stupid reports of that sort. Old Bindloss, the landlord, has lived there
+for years, and there has never been anything proved against him."</p>
+
+<p>"Is he alone?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; his wife and a grandchild live there also."</p>
+
+<p>"A grandchild?" I said. "Did not this girl give some startling evidence
+at the inquest?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing of any consequence," replied Dr. Stanmore; "she only repeated
+what Bindloss had already said himself&mdash;that the house was haunted, and
+that she had asked Wentworth not to sleep in the room."</p>
+
+<p>"Has anything ever been done to explain the reason why this room is said
+to be haunted?" I continued.</p>
+
+<p>"Not that I know of. Rats are probably at the bottom of it."</p>
+
+<p>"But have not there been other deaths in the house?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_23" id="page_23" title="23"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That is true."</p>
+
+<p>"How many?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I have myself attended no less than three similar inquests."</p>
+
+<p>"And what was the verdict of the jury?"</p>
+
+<p>"In each case the verdict was death from syncope."</p>
+
+<p>"Which means, cause unknown," I said, jumping impatiently to my feet. "I
+wonder, Dr. Stanmore, that you are satisfied to leave the matter in such
+a state."</p>
+
+<p>"And, pray, what can I do?" he inquired. "I am asked to examine a body.
+I find all the organs in perfect health; I cannot trace the least
+appearance of violence, nor can I detect poison. What other evidence can
+I honestly give?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can only say that I should not be satisfied," I replied. "I now wish
+to add that I have come down from London determined to solve this
+mystery. I shall myself put up at the Castle Inn."</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" said Dr. Stanmore.</p>
+
+<p>"And sleep in the haunted room."<a class="pagenum" name="page_24" id="page_24" title="24"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Of course you don't believe in the ghost."</p>
+
+<p>"No; but I believe in foul play. Now, Dr. Stanmore, will you help me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Most certainly, if I can. What do you wish me to do?"</p>
+
+<p>"This&mdash;I shall go to the Castle Inn to-morrow. If at the end of three
+days I do not return here, will you go in search of me, and at the same
+time post this letter to Mr. Edgcombe, my London lawyer?"</p>
+
+<p>"If you do not appear in three days I'll kick up no end of a row," said
+Dr. Stanmore, "and, of course, post your letter."</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterwards I shook hands with the doctor and left him.</p>
+
+<p>After an early dinner on the following day, I parted with my
+good-natured landlord and his wife, and with my knapsack and kodak
+strapped over my shoulders, started on my way. I took care to tell no
+one that I was going to the Castle Inn, and for this purpose doubled
+back through a wood, and so found the right road. The<a class="pagenum" name="page_25" id="page_25" title="25"></a> sun was nearly
+setting when at last I approached a broken-down signpost, on which, in
+half-obliterated characters, I could read the words, "To the Castle
+Inn." I found myself now at the entrance of a small lane, which was
+evidently little frequented, as it was considerably grass-grown. From
+where I stood I could catch no sight of any habitation, but just at that
+moment a low, somewhat inconsequent laugh fell upon my ears. I turned
+quickly and saw a pretty girl, with bright eyes and a childish face,
+gazing at me with interest. I had little doubt that she was old
+Bindloss's grand-daughter.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you kindly tell me," I asked, "if this is the way to the Castle
+Inn?"</p>
+
+<p>My remark evidently startled her. She made a bound forward, seized me by
+my hand, and tried to push me away from the entrance to the lane into
+the high road.</p>
+
+<p>"Go away!" she cried; "we have no beds fit for gentlemen at the Castle
+Inn. Go! go!" she continued, and she pointed up the winding road. Her
+eyes were now blazing in her head, but I noticed that her<a class="pagenum" name="page_26" id="page_26" title="26"></a> lips
+trembled, and that very little would cause her to burst into tears.</p>
+
+<p>"But I am tired and footsore," I answered. "I should like to put up at
+the inn for the night."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't!" she repeated; "they'll put you into a room with a ghost. Don't
+go; 'tain't a place for gentlemen." Here she burst not into tears, but
+into a fit of high, shrill, almost idiotic laughter. She suddenly
+clapped one of her hands to her forehead, and, turning, flew almost as
+fast as the wind down the narrow lane and out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>I followed her quickly. I did not believe that the girl was quite as mad
+as she seemed, but I had little doubt that she had something
+extraordinary weighing on her mind.</p>
+
+<p>At the next turn I came in view of the inn. It was a queer-looking old
+place, and I stopped for a moment to look at it.</p>
+
+<p>The house was entirely built of stone. There were two storeys to the
+centre part, which was square, and at the four corners stood four round
+towers. The house was built right on the river, just below a large<a class="pagenum" name="page_27" id="page_27" title="27"></a>
+mill-pond. I walked up to the door and pounded on it with my stick. It
+was shut, and looked as inhospitable as the rest of the place. After a
+moment's delay it was opened two or three inches, and the surly face of
+an old woman peeped out.</p>
+
+<p>"And what may you be wanting?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"A bed for the night," I replied; "can you accommodate me?"</p>
+
+<p>She glanced suspiciously first at me and then at my camera.</p>
+
+<p>"You are an artist, I make no doubt," she said, "and we don't want no
+more of them here."</p>
+
+<p>She was about to slam the door in my face, but I pushed my foot between
+it and the lintel.</p>
+
+<p>"I am easily pleased," I said; "can you not give me some sort of bed for
+the night?"</p>
+
+<p>"You had best have nothing to do with us," she answered. "You go off to
+Harkhurst; they can put you up at the Crown and Thistle."<a class="pagenum" name="page_28" id="page_28" title="28"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I have just come from there," I answered. "As a matter of fact, I could
+not walk another mile."</p>
+
+<p>"We don't want visitors at the Castle Inn," she continued. Here she
+peered forward and looked into my face. "You had best be off," she
+repeated; "they say the place is haunted."</p>
+
+<p>I uttered a laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't expect me to believe that?" I said. She glanced at me from
+head to foot. Her face was ominously grave.</p>
+
+<p>"You had best know all, sir," she said, after a pause. "Something
+happens in this house, and no living soul knows what it is, for they who
+have seen it have never yet survived to tell the tale. It's not more
+than a week back that a young gentleman came here. He was like you, bold
+as brass, and he too wanted a bed, and would take no denial. I told him
+plain, and so did my man, that the place was haunted. He didn't mind no
+more than you mind. Well, he slept in the only room we have got for
+guests, and he&mdash;he <i>died there</i>."<a class="pagenum" name="page_29" id="page_29" title="29"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What did he die of?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Fright," was the answer, brief and laconic. "Now do you want to come or
+not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I don't believe in ghosts. I want the bed, and I am determined to
+have it."</p>
+
+<p>The woman flung the door wide open.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't say as I ain't warned you," she cried. "Come in, if you must."
+She led me into the kitchen, where a fire burned sullenly on the hearth.</p>
+
+<p>"Sit you down, and I'll send for Bindloss," she said. "I can only
+promise to give you a bed if Bindloss agrees. Liz, come along here this
+minute."</p>
+
+<p>A quick young step was heard in the passage, and the pretty girl whom I
+had seen at the top of the lane entered. Her eyes sought my face, her
+lips moved as if to say something, but no sound issued from them.</p>
+
+<p>"Go and find your grandad," said the old woman. "Tell him there is a
+gentleman here that wants a bed. Ask him what's to be done."<a class="pagenum" name="page_30" id="page_30" title="30"></a></p>
+
+<p>The girl favoured me with a long and peculiar glance, then turning on
+her heel she left the room. As soon as she did so the old woman peered
+forward and looked curiously at me.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sorry you are staying," she said; "don't forget as I warned you.
+Remember, this ain't a proper inn at all. Once it was a mill, but that
+was afore Bindloss's day and mine. Gents would come in the summer and
+put up for the fishing, but then the story of the ghost got abroad, and
+lately we have no visitors to speak of, only an odd one now and then who
+ain't wanted&mdash;no, he ain't wanted. You see, there was three deaths here.
+Yes"&mdash;she held up one of her skinny hands and began to count on her
+fingers&mdash;"yes, three up to the present; three, that's it. Ah, here comes
+Bindloss."</p>
+
+<p>A shuffling step was heard in the passage, and an old man, bent with
+age, and wearing a long white beard, entered the room.</p>
+
+<p>"We has no beds for strangers," he said,<a class="pagenum" name="page_31" id="page_31" title="31"></a> speaking in an aggressive and
+loud tone. "Hasn't the wife said so? We don't let out beds here."</p>
+
+<p>"As that is the case, you have no right to have that signpost at the end
+of the lane," I retorted. "I am not in a mood to walk eight miles for a
+shelter in a country I know nothing about. Cannot you put me up
+somehow?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have told the gentleman everything, Sam," said the wife. "He is just
+for all the world like young Mr. Wentworth, and not a bit frightened."</p>
+
+<p>The old landlord came up and faced me.</p>
+
+<p>"Look you here," he said, "you stay on at your peril. I don't want you,
+nor do the wife. Now is it 'yes' or 'no'?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is 'yes,'" I said.</p>
+
+<p>"There's only one room you can sleep in."</p>
+
+<p>"One room is sufficient."</p>
+
+<p>"It's the one Mr. Wentworth died in. Hadn't you best take up your traps
+and be off?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_32" id="page_32" title="32"></a></p>
+
+<p>"No, I shall stay."</p>
+
+<p>"Then there's no more to be said."</p>
+
+<p>"Run, Liz," said the woman, "and light the fire in the parlour."</p>
+
+<p>The girl left the room, and the woman, taking up a candle, said she
+would take me to the chamber where I was to sleep. She led me down a
+long and narrow passage, and then, opening a door, down two steps into
+the most extraordinary-looking room I had ever seen. The walls were
+completely circular, covered with a paper of a staring grotesque
+pattern. A small iron bedstead projected into the middle of the floor,
+which was uncarpeted except for a slip of matting beside it. A cheap
+deal wash-hand-stand, a couple of chairs, and a small table with a
+blurred looking-glass stood against the wall beneath a deep embrasure,
+in which there was a window. This was evidently a room in one of the
+circular towers. I had never seen less inviting quarters.</p>
+
+<p>"Your supper will be ready directly, sir," said the woman, and placing
+the candle on the little table, she left me.<a class="pagenum" name="page_33" id="page_33" title="33"></a></p>
+
+<p>The place felt damp and draughty, and the flame of the candle flickered
+about, causing the tallow to gutter to one side. There was no fireplace
+in the room, and above, the walls converged to a point, giving the whole
+place the appearance of an enormous extinguisher. I made a hurried and
+necessarily limited toilet, and went into the parlour. I was standing by
+the fire, which was burning badly, when the door opened, and the girl
+Liz came in, bearing a tray in her hand. She laid the tray on the table
+and came up softly to me.</p>
+
+<p>"Fools come to this house," she said, "and you are one."</p>
+
+<p>"Pray let me have my supper, and don't talk," I replied. "I am tired and
+hungry, and want to go to bed."</p>
+
+<p>Liz stood perfectly still for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tain't worth it," she said; then, in a meditative voice, "no, 'tain't
+worth it. But I'll say no more. Folks will never be warned!"</p>
+
+<p>Her grandmother's voice calling her caused her to bound from the room.<a class="pagenum" name="page_34" id="page_34" title="34"></a></p>
+
+<p>My supper proved better than I had expected, and, having finished it, I
+strolled into the kitchen, anxious to have a further talk with the old
+man. He was seated alone by the fire, a great mastiff lying at his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"Can you tell me why the house is supposed to be haunted?" I asked
+suddenly, stooping down to speak to him.</p>
+
+<p>"How should I know?" he cried hoarsely. "The wife and me have been here
+twenty years, and never seen nor heard anything, but for certain folks
+<i>do</i> die in the house. It's mortal unpleasant for me, for the doctors
+come along, and the coroner, and there's an inquest and no end of fuss.
+The folks die, although no one has ever laid a finger on 'em; the
+doctors can't prove why they are dead, but dead they be. Well, there
+ain't no use saying more. You are here, and maybe you'll pass the one
+night all right."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall go to bed at once," I said, "but I should like some candles.
+Can you supply me?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_35" id="page_35" title="35"></a></p>
+
+<p>The man turned and looked at his wife, who at that moment entered the
+kitchen. She went to the dresser, opened a wooden box, and taking out
+three or four tallow candles, put them into my hand.</p>
+
+<p>I rose, simulating a yawn.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night, sir," said the old man; "good-night; I wish you well."</p>
+
+<p>A moment later I had entered my bedroom, and having shut the door,
+proceeded to give it a careful examination. As far as I could make out,
+there was no entrance to the room except by the door, which was shaped
+to fit the circular walls. I noticed, however, that there was an
+unaccountable draught, and this I at last discovered came from below the
+oak wainscoting of the wall. I could not in any way account for the
+draught, but it existed to an unpleasant extent. The bed, I further saw,
+was somewhat peculiar; it had no castors on the four legs, which were
+let down about half an inch into sockets provided for them in the wooden
+floor. This discovery excited my suspicions still further. It was
+evident that the bed<a class="pagenum" name="page_36" id="page_36" title="36"></a> was intended to remain in a particular position. I
+saw that it directly faced the little window sunk deep into the thick
+wall, so that any one in bed would look directly at the window. I
+examined my watch, found that it was past eleven, and placing both the
+candles on a tiny table near the bed, I lay down without undressing. I
+was on the alert to catch the slightest noise, but the hours dragged on
+and nothing occurred. In the house all was silence, and outside the
+splashing and churning of the water falling over the wheel came
+distinctly to my ears.</p>
+
+<p>I lay awake all night, but as morning dawned fell into an uneasy sleep.
+I awoke to see the broad daylight streaming in at the small window.</p>
+
+<p>Making a hasty toilet, I went out for a walk, and presently came in to
+breakfast. It had been laid for me in the big kitchen, and the old man
+was seated by the hearth.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said the woman, "I hope you slept comfortable, sir."</p>
+
+<p>I answered in the affirmative, and now<a class="pagenum" name="page_37" id="page_37" title="37"></a> perceived that old Bindloss and
+his wife were in the humour to be agreeable. They said that if I was
+satisfied with the room I might spend another night at the inn. I told
+them that I had a great many photographs to take, and would be much
+obliged for the permission. As I spoke I looked round for the girl, Liz.
+She was nowhere to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>"Where is your grand-daughter?" I asked of the old woman.</p>
+
+<p>"She has gone away for the day," was the reply. "It's too much for Liz
+to see strangers. She gets excited, and then the fits come on."</p>
+
+<p>"What sort of fits?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can't tell what they are called, but they're bad, and weaken her,
+poor thing! Liz ought never to be excited." Here Bindloss gave his wife
+a warning glance; she lowered her eyes, and going across to the range,
+began to stir the contents of something in a saucepan.</p>
+
+<p>That afternoon I borrowed some lines from Bindloss, and, taking an old
+boat which<a class="pagenum" name="page_38" id="page_38" title="38"></a> was moored to the bank of the mill-pond, set off under the
+pretence of fishing for pike. The weather was perfect for the time of
+year.</p>
+
+<p>Waiting my opportunity, I brought the boat up to land on the bank that
+dammed up the stream, and getting out walked along it in the direction
+of the mill-wheel, over which the water was now rushing.</p>
+
+<p>As I observed it from this side of the bank, I saw that the tower in
+which my room was placed must at one time have been part of the mill
+itself, and I further noticed that the masonry was comparatively new,
+showing that alterations must have taken place when the house was
+abandoned as a mill and was turned into an inn. I clambered down the
+side of the wheel, holding on to the beams, which were green and
+slippery, and peered through the paddles.</p>
+
+<p>As I was making my examination, a voice suddenly startled me.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you doing down there?"</p>
+
+<p>I looked up; old Bindloss was standing<a class="pagenum" name="page_39" id="page_39" title="39"></a> on the bank looking down at me.
+He was alone, and his face was contorted with a queer mixture of fear
+and passion. I hastily hoisted myself up, and stood beside him.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you poking about down there for?" he said, pushing his ugly
+old face into mine as he spoke. "You fool! if you had fallen you would
+have been drowned. No one could swim a stroke in that mill-race. And
+then there would have been another death, and all the old fuss over
+again! Look here, sir, will you have the goodness to get out of the
+place? I don't want you here any more."</p>
+
+<p>"I intend to leave to-morrow morning," I answered in a pacifying voice,
+"and I am really very much obliged to you for warning me about the
+mill."</p>
+
+<p>"You had best not go near it again," he said in a menacing voice, and
+then he turned hastily away. I watched him as he climbed up a steep bank
+and disappeared from view. He was going in the opposite direction from
+the house. Seizing the opportunity of his<a class="pagenum" name="page_40" id="page_40" title="40"></a> absence, I once more
+approached the mill. Was it possible that Wentworth had been hurled into
+it? But had this been the case there would have been signs and marks on
+the body. Having reached the wheel, I clambered boldly down. It was now
+getting dusk, but I could see that a prolongation of the axle entered
+the wall of the tower. The fittings were also in wonderfully good order,
+and the bolt that held the great wheel only required to be drawn out to
+set it in motion.</p>
+
+<p>That evening during supper I thought very hard. I perceived that
+Bindloss was angry, also that he was suspicious and alarmed. I saw
+plainly that the only way to really discover what had been done to
+Wentworth was to cause the old ruffian to try similar means to get rid
+of me. This was a dangerous expedient, but I felt desperate, and my
+curiosity as well as interest were keenly aroused. Having finished my
+supper, I went into the passage preparatory to going into the kitchen. I
+had on felt slippers, and my footfall made no noise. As I approached<a class="pagenum" name="page_41" id="page_41" title="41"></a>
+the door I heard Bindloss saying to his wife,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"He's been poking about the mill-wheel; I wish he would make himself
+scarce."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, he can't find out anything," was the reply. "You keep quiet,
+Bindloss; he'll be off in the morning."</p>
+
+<p>"That's as maybe," was the answer, and then there came a harsh and very
+disagreeable laugh. I waited for a moment, and then entered the kitchen.
+Bindloss was alone now; he was bending over the fire, smoking.</p>
+
+<p>"I shall leave early in the morning," I said, "so please have my bill
+ready for me." I then seated myself near him, drawing up my chair close
+to the blaze. He looked as if he resented this, but said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>"I am very curious about the deaths which occur in this house," I said,
+after a pause. "How many did you say there were?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is nothing to you," he answered. "We never wanted you here; you
+can go when you please."<a class="pagenum" name="page_42" id="page_42" title="42"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I shall go to-morrow morning, but I wish to say something now."</p>
+
+<p>"And what may that be?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe in that story about the place being haunted."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you don't, don't you?" He dropped his pipe, and his glittering eyes
+gazed at me with a mixture of anger and ill-concealed alarm.</p>
+
+<p>"No," I paused, then I said slowly and emphatically, "I went back to the
+mill even after your warning, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"What?" he cried, starting to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing," I answered; "only I don't believe in the ghost."</p>
+
+<p>His face turned not only white but livid. I left him without another
+word. I saw that his suspicions had been much strengthened by my words.
+This I intended. To induce the ruffian to do his worst was the only way
+to wring his secret from him.</p>
+
+<p>My hideous room looked exactly as it had done on the previous evening.
+The grotesque pattern on the walls seemed to start out in bold relief.
+Some of the ugly lines<a class="pagenum" name="page_43" id="page_43" title="43"></a> seemed at that moment, to my imagination, almost
+to take human shape, to convert themselves into ogre-like faces, and to
+grin at me. Was I too daring? Was it wrong of me to risk my life in this
+manner? I was terribly tired, and, curious as it may seem, my greatest
+fear at that crucial moment was the dread that I might fall asleep. I
+had spent two nights with scarcely any repose, and felt that at any
+moment, notwithstanding all my efforts, slumber might visit me. In order
+to give Bindloss full opportunity for carrying out his scheme, it was
+necessary for me to get into bed, and even to feign sleep. In my present
+exhausted condition the pretence of slumber would easily lapse into the
+reality. This risk, however, which really was a very grave one, must be
+run. Without undressing I got into bed, pulling the bed-clothes well
+over me. In my hand I held my revolver. I deliberately put out the
+candles, and then lay motionless, waiting for events. The house was
+quiet as the grave&mdash;there was not a stir, and gradually my nerves,
+excited as they were, began to calm<a class="pagenum" name="page_44" id="page_44" title="44"></a> down. As I had fully expected,
+overpowering sleepiness seized me, and, notwithstanding every effort, I
+found myself drifting away into the land of dreams. I began to wish that
+whatever apparition was to appear would do so at once and get it over.
+Gradually but surely I seemed to pass from all memory of my present
+world, and to live in a strange and terrible phantasmagoria. In that
+state I slept, in that state also I dreamt, and dreamt horribly.</p>
+
+<p>I thought that I was dancing a waltz with an enormously tall woman. She
+towered above me, clasping me in her arms, and began to whirl me round
+and round at a giddy speed. I could hear the crashing music of a distant
+band. Faster and faster, round and round some great empty hall was I
+whirled. I knew that I was losing my senses, and screamed to her to stop
+and let me go. Suddenly there was a terrible crash close to me. Good
+God! I found myself awake, but&mdash;I was still moving. Where was I? Where
+was I going? I leapt up on the bed, only to reel and fall heavily
+backwards upon the<a class="pagenum" name="page_45" id="page_45" title="45"></a> floor. What was the matter? Why was I sliding,
+sliding? Had I suddenly gone mad, or was I still suffering from some
+hideous nightmare? I tried to move, to stagger to my feet. Then by slow
+degrees my senses began to return, and I knew where I was. I was in the
+circular room, the room where Wentworth had died; but what was happening
+to me I could not divine. I only knew that I was being whirled round and
+round at a velocity that was every moment increasing. By the moonlight
+that struggled in through the window I saw that the floor and the bed
+upon it was revolving, but the table was lying on its side, and its fall
+must have awakened me.</p>
+
+<p>I could not see any other furniture in the room. By what mysterious
+manner had it been removed? Making a great effort, I crawled to the
+centre of this awful chamber, and, seizing the foot of the bed,
+struggled to my feet. Here I knew there would be less motion, and I
+could just manage to see the outline of the door. I had taken the
+precaution to slip the revolver into my pocket,<a class="pagenum" name="page_46" id="page_46" title="46"></a> and I still felt that
+if human agency appeared, I had a chance of selling my life dearly; but
+surely the horror I was passing through was invented by no living man!
+As the floor of the room revolved in the direction of the door I made a
+dash for it, but was carried swiftly past, and again fell heavily. When
+I came round again I made a frantic effort to cling to one of the steps,
+but in vain; the head of the bedstead caught me as it flew round, and
+tore my arms away. In another moment I believe I should have gone raving
+mad with terror. My head felt as if it would burst; I found it
+impossible to think consecutively. The only idea which really possessed
+me was a mad wish to escape from this hideous place. I struggled to the
+bedstead, and dragging the legs from their sockets, pulled it into the
+middle of the room away from the wall. With this out of the way, I
+managed at last to reach the door in safety.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style='width:350px'>
+<a name="illus-001" id="illus-001"></a>
+<a href="images/illus-047f.jpg">
+<img src="images/illus-047.jpg" alt="&#34;I flung myself upon him.&#34; A Master of Mysteries. Page 47" title="" width="350" /></a><br />
+<table summary="" style='width:350px' class="caption">
+    <tr><td colspan="2">&#34;I flung myself upon him.&#34;</td></tr>
+    <tr><td align="left">
+        <span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>A Master of Mysteries.</span></td>
+        <td align="right"><span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>Page 47</span></td>
+    </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="page_47" id="page_47" title="47"></a>The
+moment my hand grasped the handle I leapt upon the little step and
+tried to wrench the door open. It was locked, locked from without; it
+defied my every effort. I had only just standing room for my feet. Below
+me the floor of the room was still racing round with terrible speed. I
+dared scarcely look at it, for the giddiness in my head increased each
+moment. The next instant a soft footstep was distinctly audible, and I
+saw a gleam of light through a chink of the door. I heard a hand
+fumbling at the lock, the door was slowly opened outwards, and I saw the
+face of Bindloss.</p>
+
+<p>For a moment he did not perceive me, for I was crouching down on the
+step, and the next instant with all my force I flung myself upon him. He
+uttered a yell of terror. The lantern he carried dropped and went out,
+but I had gripped him round the neck with my fingers, driving them deep
+down into his lean, sinewy throat. With frantic speed I pulled him along
+the passage up to a window, through which the moonlight was shining.
+Here I released my hold of his throat, but immediately covered him with
+my revolver.</p>
+
+<p>"Down on your knees, or you are a dead<a class="pagenum" name="page_48" id="page_48" title="48"></a> man!" I cried. "Confess
+everything, or I shoot you through the heart."</p>
+
+<p>His courage had evidently forsaken him; he began to whimper and cry
+bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>"Spare my life," he screamed. "I will tell everything, only spare my
+life."</p>
+
+<p>"Be quick about it," I said; "I am in no humour to be merciful. Out with
+the truth."</p>
+
+<p>I was listening anxiously for the wife's step, but except for the low
+hum of machinery and the splashing of the water I heard nothing.</p>
+
+<p>"Speak," I said, giving the old man a shake. His lips trembled, his
+words came out falteringly.</p>
+
+<p>"It was Wentworth's doing," he panted.</p>
+
+<p>"Wentworth? Not the murdered man?" I cried.</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, his cousin. The ruffian who has been the curse of my life.
+Owing to that last death he inherits the property. He is the real owner
+of the mill, and he invented the revolving floor. There were deaths&mdash;oh
+yes, oh yes. It was so easy, and I<a class="pagenum" name="page_49" id="page_49" title="49"></a> wanted the money. The police never
+suspected, nor did the doctors. Wentworth was bitter hard on me, and I
+got into his power." Here he choked and sobbed. "I am a miserable old
+man, sir," he gasped.</p>
+
+<p>"So you killed your victims for the sake of money?" I said, grasping him
+by the shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," he said, "yes. The bailiff had twenty pounds all in gold; no one
+ever knew. I took it and was able to satisfy Wentworth for a bit."</p>
+
+<p>"And what about Archibald Wentworth?"</p>
+
+<p>"That was <i>his</i> doing, and I was to be paid."</p>
+
+<p>"And now finally you wanted to get rid of me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; for you suspected."</p>
+
+<p>As I spoke I perceived by the ghastly light of the moon another door
+near. I opened it and saw that it was the entrance to a small dark
+lumber room. I pushed the old man in, turned the key in the lock, and<a class="pagenum" name="page_50" id="page_50" title="50"></a>
+ran downstairs. The wife was still unaccountably absent. I opened the
+front door, and trembling, exhausted, drenched in perspiration, found
+myself in the open air. Every nerve was shaken. At that terrible moment
+I was not in the least master of myself. My one desire was to fly from
+the hideous place. I had just reached the little gate when a hand, light
+as a feather, touched my arm. I looked up; the girl Liz stood before me.</p>
+
+<p>"You are saved," she said; "thank God! I tried all I could to stop the
+wheel. See, I am drenched to the skin; I could not manage it. But at
+least I locked Grannie up. She's in the kitchen, sound asleep. She drank
+a lot of gin."</p>
+
+<p>"Where were you all day yesterday?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Locked up in a room in the further tower, but I managed to squeeze
+through the window, although it half killed me. I knew if you stayed
+that they would try it on to-night. Thank God you are saved."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, don't keep me now," I said; "I<a class="pagenum" name="page_51" id="page_51" title="51"></a> have been saved as by a miracle.
+You are a good girl; I am much obliged to you. You must tell me another
+time how you manage to live through all these horrors."</p>
+
+<p>"Ain't I all but mad?" was her pathetic reply. "Oh, my God, what I
+suffer!" She pressed her hand to her face; the look in her eyes was
+terrible. But I could not wait now to talk to her further. I hastily
+left the place.</p>
+
+<p>How I reached Harkhurst I can never tell, but early in the morning I
+found myself there. I went straight to Dr. Stanmore's house, and having
+got him up, I communicated my story. He and I together immediately
+visited the superintendent of police. Having told my exciting tale, we
+took a trap and all three returned to the Castle Inn. We were back there
+before eight o'clock on the following morning. But as the police officer
+expected, the place was empty. Bindloss had been rescued from the dark
+closet, and he and his wife and the girl Liz had all flown. The doctor,
+the police officer, and I, all went up to the circular room. We<a class="pagenum" name="page_52" id="page_52" title="52"></a> then
+descended to the basement, and after a careful examination we discovered
+a low door, through which we crept; we then found ourselves in a dark
+vault, which was full of machinery. By the light of a lantern we
+examined it. Here we saw an explanation of the whole trick. The shaft of
+the mill-wheel which was let through the wall of the tower was
+<i>continuous as the axle of a vertical cogged wheel</i>, and by a
+multiplication action turned a large horizontal wheel into which a
+vertical shaft descended. This shaft was let into the centre of four
+crossbeams, supporting the floor of the room in which I had slept. All
+round the circular edge of the floor was a steel rim which turned in a
+circular socket. It needed but a touch to set this hideous apparatus in
+motion.</p>
+
+<p>The police immediately started in pursuit of Bindloss, and I returned to
+London. That evening Edgcombe and I visited Dr. Miles Gordon.
+Hard-headed old physician that he was, he was literally aghast when I
+told him my story. He explained to me<a class="pagenum" name="page_53" id="page_53" title="53"></a> that a man placed in the position
+in which I was when the floor began to move would by means of
+centrifugal force suffer from enormous congestion of the brain. In fact,
+the revolving floor would induce an artificial condition of apoplexy. If
+the victim were drugged or even only sleeping heavily, and the floor
+began to move slowly, insensibility would almost immediately be induced,
+which would soon pass into coma and death, and a post-mortem examination
+some hours afterwards would show no cause for death, as the brain would
+appear perfectly healthy, the blood having again left it.</p>
+
+<p>From the presence of Dr. Miles Gordon, Edgcombe and I went to Scotland
+Yard, and the whole affair was put into the hands of the London
+detective force. With the clue which I had almost sacrificed my life to
+furnish, they quickly did the rest. Wentworth was arrested, and under
+pressure was induced to make a full confession, but old Bindloss had
+already told me the gist of the story. Wentworth's father had owned the
+mill, had got into trouble with the law, and<a class="pagenum" name="page_54" id="page_54" title="54"></a> changed his name. In fact,
+he had spent five years in penal servitude. He then went to Australia
+and made money. He died when his son was a young man. This youth
+inherited all the father's vices. He came home, visited the mill, and,
+being of a mechanical turn of mind, invented the revolving floor. He
+changed the mill into an inn, put Bindloss, one of his "pals," into
+possession with the full intention of murdering unwary travellers from
+time to time for their money.</p>
+
+<p>The police, however, wanted him for a forged bill, and he thought it
+best to fly. Bindloss was left in full possession. Worried by Wentworth,
+who had him in his power for a grave crime committed years ago, he
+himself on two occasions murdered a victim in the circular room.
+Meanwhile several unexpected deaths had taken place in the older branch
+of the Wentworth family, and Archibald Wentworth alone stood between his
+cousin and the great estates. Wentworth came home, and with the aid of
+Bindloss got Archibald into his power. The<a class="pagenum" name="page_55" id="page_55" title="55"></a> young artist slept in the
+fatal room, and his death was the result. At this moment Wentworth and
+Bindloss are committed for trial at the Old Bailey, and there is no
+doubt what the result will be.</p>
+
+<p>The ghost mystery in connection with the Castle Inn has, of course, been
+explained away for ever.<a class="pagenum" name="page_56" id="page_56" title="56"></a></p>
+
+<hr class="major" />
+<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em">
+<a class="pagenum" name="page_57" id="page_57" title="57"></a>
+<a name="The_Warder_of_the_Door_1000" id="The_Warder_of_the_Door_1000"></a>
+<p style='font-size:x-large; margin-left: 3em;'>II</p>
+<p style='font-size:x-large'>The Warder of<br />the Door</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>"If you don't believe it, you can read it for yourself," said Allen
+Clinton, climbing up the steps and searching among the volumes on the
+top shelf.</p>
+
+<p>I lay back in my chair. The beams from the sinking sun shone through the
+stained glass of the windows of the old library, and dyed the rows of
+black leather volumes with bands of red and yellow.</p>
+
+<p>"Here, Bell!"</p>
+
+<p>I took a musty volume from Allen Clinton, which he had unearthed from
+its resting-place.</p>
+
+<p>"It is about the middle of the book," he continued eagerly. "You will
+see it in big, black, old English letters."<a class="pagenum" name="page_58" id="page_58" title="58"></a></p>
+
+<p>I turned over the pages containing the family tree and other archives of
+the Clintons till I came to the one I was seeking. It contained the
+curse which had rested on the family since 1400. Slowly and with
+difficulty I deciphered the words of this terrible denunciation.</p>
+
+<p>"And in this cell its coffin lieth, the coffin which hath not human
+shape, for which reason no holy ground receiveth it. Here shall it rest
+to curse the family of ye Clyntons from generation to generation. And
+for this reason, as soon as the soul shall pass from the body of each
+first-born, which is the heir, it shall become the warder of the door by
+day and by night. Day and night shall his spirit stand by the door, to
+keep the door closed till the son shall release the spirit of the father
+from the watch and take his place, till his son in turn shall die. And
+whoso entereth into the cell shall be the prisoner of the soul that
+guardeth the door till it shall let him go."</p>
+
+<p>"What a ghastly idea!" I said, glancing<a class="pagenum" name="page_59" id="page_59" title="59"></a> up at the young man who was
+watching me as I read. "But you say this cell has never been found. I
+should say its existence was a myth, and, of course, the curse on the
+soul of the first-born to keep the door shut as warder is absurd. Matter
+does not obey witchcraft."</p>
+
+<p>"The odd part of it is," replied Allen, "that every other detail of the
+Abbey referred to in this record has been identified; but this cell with
+its horrible contents has never been found."</p>
+
+<p>It certainly was a curious legend, and I allow it made some impression
+on me. I fancied, too, that somewhere I had heard something similar, but
+my memory failed to trace it.</p>
+
+<p>I had come down to Clinton Abbey three days before for some pheasant
+shooting.</p>
+
+<p>It was now Sunday afternoon. The family, with the exception of old Sir
+Henry, Allen, and myself, were at church. Sir Henry, now nearly eighty
+years of age and a chronic invalid, had retired to his room for his
+afternoon sleep. The younger Clinton<a class="pagenum" name="page_60" id="page_60" title="60"></a> and I had gone out for a stroll
+round the grounds, and since we returned our conversation had run upon
+the family history till it arrived at the legend of the family curse.
+Presently, the door of the library was slowly opened, and Sir Henry, in
+his black velvet coat, which formed such a striking contrast to his
+snowy white beard and hair, entered the room. I rose from my chair, and,
+giving him my arm, assisted him to his favourite couch. He sank down
+into its luxurious depths with a sigh, but as he did so his eyes caught
+the old volume which I had laid on the table beside it. He started
+forward, took the book in his hand, and looked across at his son.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you take this book down?" he said sharply.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, father; I got it out to show it to Bell. He is interested in the
+history of the Abbey, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Then return it to its place at once," interrupted the old man, his
+black eyes blazing with sudden passion. "You know how I dislike having
+my books disarranged,<a class="pagenum" name="page_61" id="page_61" title="61"></a> and this one above all. Stay, give it to me."</p>
+
+<p>He struggled up from the couch, and, taking the volume, locked it up in
+one of the drawers of his writing-table, and then sat back again on the
+sofa. His hands were trembling, as if some sudden fear had taken
+possession of him.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you say that Phyllis Curzon is coming to-morrow?" asked the old man
+presently of his son in an irritable voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, father, of course; don't you remember? Mrs. Curzon and Phyllis are
+coming to stay for a fortnight; and, by the way," he added, starting to
+his feet as he spoke, "that reminds me I must go and tell Grace&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The rest of the sentence was lost in the closing of the door. As soon as
+we were alone, Sir Henry looked across at me for a few moments without
+speaking. Then he said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry I was so short just now. I am not myself. I do not know what
+is the matter with me. I feel all to pieces. I<a class="pagenum" name="page_62" id="page_62" title="62"></a> cannot sleep. I do not
+think my time is very long now, and I am worried about Allen. The fact
+is, I would give anything to stop this engagement. I wish he would not
+marry."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry to hear you say that, sir," I answered. "I should have
+thought you would have been anxious to see your son happily married."</p>
+
+<p>"Most men would," was the reply; "but I have my reasons for wishing
+things otherwise."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?" I could not help asking.</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot explain myself; I wish I could. It would be best for Allen to
+let the old family die out. There, perhaps I am foolish about it, and of
+course I cannot really stop the marriage, but I am worried and troubled
+about many things."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish I could help you, sir," I said impulsively. "If there is
+anything I can possibly do, you know you have only to ask me."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, Bell, I know you would;<a class="pagenum" name="page_63" id="page_63" title="63"></a> but I cannot tell you. Some day I
+may. But there, I am afraid&mdash;horribly afraid."</p>
+
+<p>The trembling again seized him, and he put his hands over his eyes as if
+to shut out some terrible sight.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't repeat a word of what I have told you to Allen or any one else,"
+he said suddenly. "It is possible that some day I may ask you to help
+me; and remember, Bell, I trust you."</p>
+
+<p>He held out his hand, which I took. In another moment the butler entered
+with the lamps, and I took advantage of the interruption to make my way
+to the drawing-room.</p>
+
+<p>The next day the Curzons arrived, and a hasty glance showed me that
+Phyllis was a charming girl. She was tall, slightly built, with a figure
+both upright and graceful, and a handsome, somewhat proud face. When in
+perfect repose her expression was somewhat haughty; but the moment she
+spoke her face became vivacious, kindly, charming to an extraordinary
+degree; she had a gay laugh, a sweet smile, a sympathetic manner.<a class="pagenum" name="page_64" id="page_64" title="64"></a> I was
+certain she had the kindest of hearts, and was sure that Allen had made
+an admirable choice.</p>
+
+<p>A few days went by, and at last the evening before the day when I was to
+return to London arrived. Phyllis's mother had gone to bed a short time
+before, as she had complained of headache, and Allen suddenly proposed,
+as the night was a perfect one, that we should go out and enjoy a
+moonlight stroll.</p>
+
+<p>Phyllis laughed with glee at the suggestion, and ran at once into the
+hall to take a wrap from one of the pegs.</p>
+
+<p>"Allen," she said to her lover, who was following her, "you and I will
+go first."</p>
+
+<p>"No, young lady, on this occasion you and I will have that privilege,"
+said Sir Henry. He had also come into the hall, and, to our
+astonishment, announced his intention of accompanying us in our walk.</p>
+
+<p>Phyllis bestowed upon him a startled glance, then she laid her hand
+lightly on his arm, nodded back at Allen with a smile, and<a class="pagenum" name="page_65" id="page_65" title="65"></a> walked on in
+front somewhat rapidly. Allen and I followed in the rear.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, what does my father mean by this?" said Allen to me. "He never
+goes out at night; but he has not been well lately. I sometimes think he
+grows queerer every day."</p>
+
+<p>"He is very far from well, I am certain," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>We stayed out for about half an hour and returned home by a path which
+led into the house through a side entrance. Phyllis was waiting for us
+in the hall.</p>
+
+<p>"Where is my father?" asked Allen, going up to her.</p>
+
+<p>"He is tired and has gone to bed," she answered. "Good-night, Allen."</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you come into the drawing-room?" he asked in some astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I am tired."</p>
+
+<p>She nodded to him without touching his hand; her eyes, I could not help
+noticing, had a queer expression. She ran upstairs.</p>
+
+<p>I saw that Allen was startled by her<a class="pagenum" name="page_66" id="page_66" title="66"></a> manner; but as he did not say
+anything, neither did I.</p>
+
+<p>The next day at breakfast I was told that the Curzons had already left
+the Abbey. Allen was full of astonishment and, I could see, a good deal
+annoyed. He and I breakfasted alone in the old library. His father was
+too ill to come downstairs.</p>
+
+<p>An hour later I was on my way back to London. Many things there engaged
+my immediate attention, and Allen, his engagement, Sir Henry, and the
+old family curse, sank more or less into the background of my mind.</p>
+
+<p>Three months afterwards, on the 7th of January, I saw to my sorrow in
+the <i>Times</i> the announcement of Sir Henry Clinton's death.</p>
+
+<p>From time to time in the interim I had heard from the son, saying that
+his father was failing fast. He further mentioned that his own wedding
+was fixed for the twenty-first of the present month. Now, of course, it
+must be postponed. I felt truly sorry<a class="pagenum" name="page_67" id="page_67" title="67"></a> for Allen, and wrote immediately
+a long letter of condolence.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day I received a wire from him, imploring me to go down
+to the Abbey as soon as possible, saying that he was in great
+difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>I packed a few things hastily, and arrived at Clinton Abbey at six in
+the evening. The house was silent and subdued&mdash;the funeral was to take
+place the next day. Clinton came into the hall and gripped me warmly by
+the hand. I noticed at once how worn and worried he looked.</p>
+
+<p>"This is good of you, Bell," he said. "I cannot tell you how grateful I
+am to you for coming. You are the one man who can help me, for I know
+you have had much experience in matters of this sort. Come into the
+library and I will tell you everything. We shall dine alone this
+evening, as my mother and the girls are keeping to their own apartments
+for to-night."</p>
+
+<p>As soon as we were seated, he plunged at once into his story.<a class="pagenum" name="page_68" id="page_68" title="68"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I must give you a sort of prelude to what has just occurred," he began.
+"You remember, when you were last here, how abruptly Phyllis and her
+mother left the Abbey?"</p>
+
+<p>I nodded. I remembered well.</p>
+
+<p>"On the morning after you had left us I had a long letter from Phyllis,"
+continued Allen. "In it she told me of an extraordinary request my
+father had made to her during that moonlight walk&mdash;nothing more nor less
+than an earnest wish that she would herself terminate our engagement.
+She spoke quite frankly, as she always does, assuring me of her
+unalterable love and devotion, but saying that under the circumstances
+it was absolutely necessary to have an explanation. Frantic with almost
+ungovernable rage, I sought my father in his study. I laid Phyllis's
+letter before him and asked him what it meant. He looked at me with the
+most unutterable expression of weariness and pathos.</p>
+
+<p>"'Yes, my boy, I did it,' he said. 'Phyllis is quite right. I did ask of
+her,<a class="pagenum" name="page_69" id="page_69" title="69"></a> as earnestly as a very old man could plead, that she would bring
+the engagement to an end.'</p>
+
+<p>"'But why?' I asked. 'Why?'</p>
+
+<p>"'That I am unable to tell you,' he replied.</p>
+
+<p>"I lost my temper and said some words to him which I now regret. He made
+no sort of reply. When I had done speaking he said slowly,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'I make all allowance for your emotion, Allen; your feelings are no
+more than natural.'</p>
+
+<p>"'You have done me a very sore injury,' I retorted. 'What can Phyllis
+think of this? She will never be the same again. I am going to see her
+to-day.'</p>
+
+<p>"He did not utter another word, and I left him. I was absent from home
+for about a week. It took me nearly that time to induce Phyllis to
+overlook my father's extraordinary request, and to let matters go on
+exactly as they had done before.</p>
+
+<p>"After fixing our engagement, if possible,<a class="pagenum" name="page_70" id="page_70" title="70"></a> more firmly than ever, and
+also arranging the date of our wedding, I returned home. When I did so I
+told my father what I had done.</p>
+
+<p>"'As you will,' he replied, and then he sank into great gloom. From that
+moment, although I watched him day and night, and did everything that
+love and tenderness could suggest, he never seemed to rally. He scarcely
+spoke, and remained, whenever we were together, bowed in deep and
+painful reverie. A week ago he took to his bed."</p>
+
+<p>Here Allen paused.</p>
+
+<p>"I now come to events up to date," he said. "Of course, as you may
+suppose, I was with my father to the last. A few hours before he passed
+away he called me to his bedside, and to my astonishment began once more
+talking about my engagement. He implored me with the utmost earnestness
+even now at the eleventh hour to break it off. It was not too late, he
+said, and added further that nothing would give him ease in dying but
+the knowledge that<a class="pagenum" name="page_71" id="page_71" title="71"></a> I would promise him to remain single. Of course I
+tried to humour him. He took my hand, looked me in the eyes with an
+expression which I shall never forget, and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'Allen, make me a solemn promise that you will never marry.'</p>
+
+<p>"This I naturally had to refuse, and then he told me that, expecting my
+obstinacy, he had written me a letter which I should find in his safe,
+but I was not to open it till after his death. I found it this morning.
+Bell, it is the most extraordinary communication, and either it is
+entirely a figment of his imagination, for his brain powers were failing
+very much at the last, or else it is the most awful thing I ever heard
+of. Here is the letter; read it for yourself."</p>
+
+<p>I took the paper from his hand and read the following matter in shaky,
+almost illegible writing:&mdash;</p>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">My dear Boy</span>,&mdash;When you read this I shall have passed away. For the
+last<a class="pagenum" name="page_72" id="page_72" title="72"></a> six months my life has been a living death. The horror began in
+the following way. You know what a deep interest I have always taken in
+the family history of our house. I have spent the latter years of my
+life in verifying each detail, and my intention was, had health been
+given me, to publish a great deal of it in a suitable volume.</p>
+
+<p>"On the special night to which I am about to allude, I sat up late in my
+study reading the book which I saw you show to Bell a short time ago. In
+particular, I was much attracted by the terrible curse which the old
+abbot in the fourteenth century had bestowed upon the family. I read the
+awful words again and again. I knew that all the other details in the
+volume had been verified, but that the vault with the coffin had never
+yet been found. Presently I grew drowsy, and I suppose I must have
+fallen asleep. In my sleep I had a dream; I thought that some one came
+into the room, touched me on the shoulder, and said 'Come.' I looked<a class="pagenum" name="page_73" id="page_73" title="73"></a>
+up; a tall figure beckoned to me. The voice and the figure belonged to
+my late father. In my dream I rose immediately, although I did not know
+why I went nor where I was going. The figure went on in front, it
+entered the hall. I took one of the candles from the table and the key
+of the chapel, unbolted the door and went out. Still the voice kept
+saying 'Come, come,' and the figure of my father walked in front of me.
+I went across the quadrangle, unlocked the chapel door, and entered.</p>
+
+<p>"A death-like silence was around me. I crossed the nave to the north
+aisle; the figure still went in front of me; it entered the great pew
+which is said to be haunted, and walked straight up to the effigy of the
+old abbot who had pronounced the curse. This, as you know, is built into
+the opposite wall. Bending forward, the figure pressed the eyes of the
+old monk, and immediately a stone started out of its place, revealing a
+staircase behind. I was about to hurry forward, when I must have<a class="pagenum" name="page_74" id="page_74" title="74"></a>
+knocked against something. I felt a sensation of pain, and suddenly
+awoke. What was my amazement to find that I had acted on my dream, had
+crossed the quadrangle, and was in the chapel; in fact, was standing in
+the old pew! Of course there was no figure of any sort visible, but the
+moonlight shed a cold radiance over all the place. I felt very much
+startled and impressed, but was just about to return to the house in
+some wonder at the curious vision which I had experienced, when, raising
+my startled eyes, I saw that part of it at least was real. The old monk
+seemed to grin at me from his marble effigy, and beside him was a <i>blank
+open space</i>. I hurried to it and saw a narrow flight of stairs. I cannot
+explain what my emotions were, but my keenest feeling at that moment was
+a strong and horrible curiosity. Holding the candle in my hand, I went
+down the steps. They terminated at the beginning of a long passage. This
+I quickly traversed, and at last found myself beside an iron door. It
+was not locked,<a class="pagenum" name="page_75" id="page_75" title="75"></a> but hasped, and was very hard to open; in fact, it
+required nearly all my strength; at last I pulled it open towards me,
+and there in a small cell lay the coffin, as the words of the curse
+said. I gazed at it in horror. I did not dare to enter. It was a
+wedged-shaped coffin studded with great nails. But as I looked my blood
+froze within me, for slowly, very slowly, as if pushed by some unseen
+hand, the great heavy door began to close, quicker and quicker, until
+with a crash that echoed and re-echoed through the empty vault, it shut.</p>
+
+<p>"Terror-stricken, I rushed from the vault and reached my room once more.</p>
+
+<p>"Now I know that this great curse is true; that my father's spirit is
+there to guard the door and close it, for I saw it with my own eyes, and
+while you read this know that I am there. I charge you, therefore, not
+to marry&mdash;bring no child into the world to perpetuate this terrible
+curse. Let the family die out if you have the courage. It is much, I
+know, to ask; but whether you do or not, come to me<a class="pagenum" name="page_76" id="page_76" title="76"></a> there, and if by
+sign or word I can communicate with you I will do so, but hold the
+secret safe. Meet me there before my body is laid to rest, when body and
+soul are still not far from each other. Farewell.</p>
+
+<p style='text-align:right; margin-right:5em;'>&mdash;Your loving father,</p>
+
+<p style='text-align:right'><span class="smcap">"Henry Clinton."</span></p>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<p>I read this strange letter over carefully twice, and laid it down. For a
+moment I hardly knew what to say. It was certainly the most uncanny
+thing I had ever come across.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you think of it?" asked Allen at last.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, of course there are only two possible solutions," I answered.
+"One is that your father not only dreamt the beginning of this
+story&mdash;which, remember, he allows himself&mdash;but the whole of it."</p>
+
+<p>"And the other?" asked Allen, seeing that I paused.</p>
+
+<p>"The other," I continued, "I hardly know what to say yet. Of course we
+will investigate the whole thing, that is our only<a class="pagenum" name="page_77" id="page_77" title="77"></a> chance of arriving
+at a solution. It is absurd to let matters rest as they are. We had
+better try to-night."</p>
+
+<p>Clinton winced and hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"Something must be done, of course," he answered; "but the worst of it
+is Phyllis and her mother are coming here early to-morrow in time for the
+funeral, and I cannot meet her&mdash;no, I cannot, poor girl!&mdash;while I feel
+as I do."</p>
+
+<p>"We will go to the vault to-night," I said.</p>
+
+<p>Clinton rose from his chair and looked at me.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't like this thing at all, Bell," he continued. "I am not by
+nature in any sense of the word a superstitious man, but I tell you
+frankly nothing would induce me to go alone into that chapel to-night;
+if you come with me, that, of course, alters matters. I know the pew my
+father refers to well; it is beneath the window of St. Sebastian."</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterwards I went to my room and dressed; and Allen and I dined
+<i>t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te</i> in the great dining-room. The old butler<a class="pagenum" name="page_78" id="page_78" title="78"></a> waited on us
+with funereal solemnity, and I did all I could to lure Clinton's
+thoughts into a more cheerful and healthier channel.</p>
+
+<p>I cannot say that I was very successful. I further noticed that he
+scarcely ate anything, and seemed altogether to be in a state of nervous
+tension painful to witness.</p>
+
+<p>After dinner we went into the smoking-room, and at eleven o'clock I
+proposed that we should make a start.</p>
+
+<p>Clinton braced himself together and we went out. He got the chapel keys,
+and then going to the stables we borrowed a lantern, and a moment
+afterwards found ourselves in the sacred edifice. The moon was at her
+full, and by the pale light which was diffused through the south windows
+the architecture of the interior could be faintly seen. The Gothic
+arches that flanked the centre aisle with their quaint pillars, each
+with a carved figure of one of the saints, were quite visible, and
+further in the darkness of the chancel the dim outlines of the choir and
+altar-table with its white marble reredos could be just discerned.<a class="pagenum" name="page_79" id="page_79" title="79"></a></p>
+
+<p>We closed the door softly and, Clinton leading the way with the lantern,
+we walked up the centre aisle paved with the brasses of his dead
+ancestors. We trod gently on tiptoe as one instinctively does at night.
+Turning beneath the little pulpit we reached the north transept, and
+here Clinton stopped and turned round. He was very white, but his voice
+was quiet.</p>
+
+<p>"This is the pew," he whispered. "It has always been called the haunted
+pew of Sir Hugh Clinton."</p>
+
+<p>I took the lantern from him and we entered. I crossed the pew
+immediately and went up to the effigy of the old abbot.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us examine him closely," I said. I held up the lantern, getting it
+to shine on each part of the face, the vestments, and the figure. The
+eyes, although vacant, as in all statuary, seemed to me at that moment
+to be uncanny and peculiar. Giving Allen the lantern to hold, I placed a
+finger firmly on each. The next moment I could not refrain from an
+exclamation; a stone at the side immediately rolled back, revealing the
+steps<a class="pagenum" name="page_80" id="page_80" title="80"></a> which were spoken of by the old man in his narrative.</p>
+
+<p>"It is true! It is true!" cried Clinton excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>"It certainly looks like it," I remarked: "but never mind, we have the
+chance now of investigating this matter thoroughly."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going down?" asked Clinton.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly I am," I replied. "Let us go together."</p>
+
+<p>Immediately afterwards we crept through the opening and began to
+descend. There was only just room to do so in single file, and I went
+first with the lantern. In another moment we were in the long passage,
+and soon we were confronted by a door in an arched stone framework. Up
+till now Clinton had shown little sign of alarm, but here, at the
+trysting-place to which his father's soul had summoned him, he seemed
+suddenly to lose his nerve. He leant against the wall and for a moment I
+thought he would have fallen. I held up the lantern and examined the
+door and walls carefully. Then approaching I lifted the iron latch of<a class="pagenum" name="page_81" id="page_81" title="81"></a>
+the heavy door. It was very hard to move, but at last by seizing the
+edge I dragged it open to its full against the wall of the passage.
+Having done so I peered inside, holding the lantern above my head. As I
+did so I heard Clinton cry out,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Look, look," he said, and turning I saw that the great door had swung
+back against me, almost shutting me within the cell.</p>
+
+<p>Telling Clinton to hold it back by force, I stepped inside and saw at my
+feet the ghastly coffin. The legend then so far was true. I bent down
+and examined the queer, misshapen thing with great care. Its shape was
+that of an enormous wedge, and it was apparently made of some dark old
+wood, and was bound with iron at the corners. Having looked at it all
+round, I went out and, flinging back the door which Clinton had been
+holding open, stood aside to watch. Slowly, very slowly, as we both
+stood in the passage&mdash;slowly, as if pushed by some invisible hand, the
+door commenced to swing round, and, increasing in velocity, shut with a
+noisy clang.<a class="pagenum" name="page_82" id="page_82" title="82"></a></p>
+
+<p>Seizing it once again, I dragged it open and, while Clinton held it in
+that position, made a careful examination. Up to the present I saw
+nothing to be much alarmed about. There were fifty ways in which a door
+might shut of its own accord. There might be a hidden spring or tilted
+hinges; draught, of course, was out of the question. I looked at the
+hinges, they were of iron and set in the solid masonry. Nor could I
+discover any spring or hidden contrivance, as when the door was wide
+open there was an interval of several inches between it and the wall. We
+tried it again and again with the same result, and at last, as it was
+closing, I seized it to prevent it.</p>
+
+<p>I now experienced a very odd sensation; I certainly felt as if I were
+resisting an unseen person who was pressing hard against the door at the
+other side. Directly it was released it continued its course. I allow I
+was quite unable to understand the mystery. Suddenly an idea struck me.</p>
+
+<p>"What does the legend say?" I asked, turning to Clinton. "'That the soul
+is to<a class="pagenum" name="page_83" id="page_83" title="83"></a> guard the door, to close it upon the coffin?'"</p>
+
+<p>"Those are the words," answered Allen, speaking with some difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>"Now if that is true," I continued, "and we take the coffin out, the
+spirit won't shut the door; if it does shut it, it disproves the whole
+thing at once, and shows it to be merely a clever mechanical
+contrivance. Come, Clinton, help me to get the coffin out."</p>
+
+<p>"I dare not, Bell," he whispered hoarsely. "I daren't go inside."</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense, man," I said, feeling now a little annoyed at the whole
+thing. "Here, put the lantern down and hold the door back." I stepped in
+and, getting behind the coffin, put out all my strength and shoved it
+into the passage.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then," I cried, "I'll bet you fifty pounds to five the door will
+shut just the same." I dragged the coffin clear of the door and told him
+to let go. Clinton had scarcely done so before, stepping back, he
+clutched my arm.<a class="pagenum" name="page_84" id="page_84" title="84"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Look," he whispered; "do you see that it will not shut now? My father
+is waiting for the coffin to be put back. This is awful!"</p>
+
+<p>I gazed at the door in horror; it was perfectly true, it remained wide
+open, and quite still. I sprang forward, seized it, and now endeavoured
+to close it. It was as if some one was trying to hold it open; it
+required considerable force to stir it, and it was only with difficulty
+I could move it at all. At last I managed to shut it, but the moment I
+let go it swung back open of its own accord and struck against the wall,
+where it remained just as before. In the dead silence that followed I
+could hear Clinton breathing quickly behind me, and I knew he was
+holding himself for all he was worth.</p>
+
+<p>At that moment there suddenly came over me a sensation which I had once
+experienced before, and which I was twice destined to experience again.
+It is impossible to describe it, but it seized me, laying siege to my
+brain till I felt like a child in its power. It<a class="pagenum" name="page_85" id="page_85" title="85"></a> was as if I were slowly
+drowning in the great ocean of silence that enveloped us. Time itself
+seemed to have disappeared. At my feet lay the misshapen thing, and the
+lantern behind it cast a fantastic shadow of its distorted outline on
+the cell wall before me.</p>
+
+<p>"Speak; say something," I cried to Clinton. The sharp sound of my voice
+broke the spell. I felt myself again, and smiled at the trick my nerves
+had played on me. I bent down and once more laid my hands on the coffin,
+but before I had time to push it back into its place Clinton had gone up
+the passage like a man who is flying to escape a hurled javelin.</p>
+
+<p>Exerting all my force to prevent the door from swinging back by keeping
+my leg against it, I had just got the coffin into the cell and was going
+out, when I heard a shrill cry, and Clinton came tearing back down the
+passage.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't get out! The stone has sunk into its place! We are locked in!"
+he screamed, and, wild with fear, he plunged<a class="pagenum" name="page_86" id="page_86" title="86"></a> headlong into the cell,
+upsetting me in his career before I could check him. I sprang back to
+the door as it was closing. I was too late. Before I could reach it, it
+had shut with a loud clang in obedience to the infernal witchcraft.</p>
+
+<p>"You have done it now," I cried angrily. "Do you see? Why, man, we are
+buried alive in this ghastly hole!"</p>
+
+<p>The lantern I had placed just inside the door, and by its dim light, as
+I looked at him, I saw the terror of a madman creep into Clinton's eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Buried alive!" he shouted, with a peal of hysterical laughter. "Yes,
+and, Bell, it's your doing; you are a devil in human shape!" With a wild
+paroxysm of fury he flung himself upon me. There was the ferocity of a
+wild beast in his spring. He upset the lantern and left us in total
+darkness.</p>
+
+<p>The struggle was short. We might be buried alive, but I was not going to
+die by his hand, and seizing him by the throat I pinned him against the
+wall.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style='width:350px'>
+<a name="illus-002" id="illus-002"></a>
+<a href="images/illus-086f.jpg">
+<img src="images/illus-086.jpg" alt="&#34;It had shut with a loud clang.&#34; A Master of Mysteries. Page 86" title="" width="350" /></a><br />
+<table summary="" style='width:350px' class="caption">
+    <tr><td colspan="2">&#34;It had shut with a loud clang.&#34;</td></tr>
+    <tr><td align="left">
+        <span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>A Master of Mysteries.</span></td>
+        <td align="right"><span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>Page 86</span></td>
+    </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="page_87" id="page_87" title="87"></a>"Keep
+quiet," I shouted. "It is your thundering stupidity that has
+caused all this. Stay where you are until I strike a match."</p>
+
+<p>I luckily had some vestas in the little silver box which I always carry
+on my watch-chain, and striking one I relit the lantern. Clinton's
+paroxysm was over, and sinking to the floor he lay there shivering and
+cowering.</p>
+
+<p>It was a terrible situation, and I knew that our only hope was for me to
+keep my presence of mind. With a great effort I forced myself to think
+calmly over what could be done. To shout for help would have been but a
+useless waste of breath.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly an idea struck me. "Have you got your father's letter?" I cried
+eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"I have," he answered; "it is in my pocket."</p>
+
+<p>My last ray of hope vanished. Our only chance was that if he had left it
+at the house some one might discover the letter and come to our rescue
+by its instructions. It had been a faint hope, and it disappeared
+almost<a class="pagenum" name="page_88" id="page_88" title="88"></a> as quickly as it had come to me. Without it no one would ever
+find the way to the vault that had remained a secret for ages. I was
+determined, however, not to die without a struggle for freedom. Taking
+the lantern, I examined every nook and cranny of the cell for some other
+exit. It was a fruitless search. No sign of any way out could I find,
+and we had absolutely no means to unfasten the door from the inner side.
+Taking a few short steps, I flung myself again and again at the heavy
+door. It never budged an inch, and, bruised and sweating at every pore,
+I sat down on the coffin and tried to collect all my faculties.</p>
+
+<p>Clinton was silent, and seemed utterly stunned. He sat still, gazing
+with a vacant stare at the door.</p>
+
+<p>The time dragged heavily, and there was nothing to do but to wait for a
+horrible death from starvation. It was more than likely, too, that
+Clinton would go mad; already his nerves were strained to the utmost.
+Altogether I had never found myself in a worse plight.<a class="pagenum" name="page_89" id="page_89" title="89"></a></p>
+
+<p>It seemed like an eternity that we sat there, neither of us speaking a
+word. Over and over again I repeated to myself the words of the terrible
+curse: "And whoso entereth into the cell shall be the prisoner of the
+soul that guardeth the door till it shall let him go." When would the
+shapeless form that was inside the coffin let us go? Doubtless when our
+bones were dry.</p>
+
+<p>I looked at my watch. It was half-past eleven o'clock. Surely we had
+been more than ten minutes in this awful place! We had left the house at
+eleven, and I knew that must have been many hours ago. I glanced at the
+second hand. <i>The watch had stopped.</i></p>
+
+<p>"What is the time, Clinton?" I asked. "My watch has stopped."</p>
+
+<p>"What does it matter?" he murmured. "What is time to us now? The sooner
+we die the better."</p>
+
+<p>He pulled out his watch as he spoke, and held it to the lantern.</p>
+
+<p>"Twenty-five minutes past eleven," he murmured dreamily.<a class="pagenum" name="page_90" id="page_90" title="90"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Good heavens!" I cried, starting up. "Has your watch stopped, too?"</p>
+
+<p>Then, like the leap of a lightning flash, an idea struck me.</p>
+
+<p>"I have got it; I have got it! My God! I believe I have got it!" I
+cried, seizing him by the arm.</p>
+
+<p>"Got what?" he replied, staring wildly at me.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, the secret&mdash;the curse&mdash;the door. Don't you see?"</p>
+
+<p>I pulled out the large knife I always carry by a chain and swivel in my
+trouser pocket, and telling Clinton to hold the lantern, opened the
+little blade-saw and attacked the coffin with it.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe the secret of our deliverance lies in this," I panted,
+working away furiously.</p>
+
+<p>In ten minutes I had sawn half through the wooden edge, then, handing my
+tool to Clinton, I told him to continue the work while I rested. After a
+few minutes I took the knife again, and at last, after nearly half an
+hour had gone by, succeeded in making<a class="pagenum" name="page_91" id="page_91" title="91"></a> a small hole in the lid.
+Inserting my two fingers, I felt some rough, uneven masses. I was now
+fearfully excited. Tearing at the opening like a madman, I enlarged it
+and extracted what looked like a large piece of coal. I knew in an
+instant what it was. It was magnetic iron-ore. Holding it down to my
+knife, the blade flew to it.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is the mystery of the soul," I cried; "now we can use it to open
+the door."</p>
+
+<p>I had known a great conjurer once, who had deceived and puzzled his
+audience with a box trick on similar lines: the man opening the box from
+the inside by drawing down the lock with a magnet. Would this do the
+same? I felt that our lives hung on the next moment. Taking the mass, I
+pressed it against the door just opposite the hasp, and slid it up
+against the wood. My heart leapt as I heard the hasp fly up outside, and
+with a push the door opened.</p>
+
+<p>"We are saved," I shouted. "We are saved by a miracle!"</p>
+
+<p>"Bell, you are a genius," gasped poor<a class="pagenum" name="page_92" id="page_92" title="92"></a> Clinton; "but now, how about the
+stone at the end of the passage?"</p>
+
+<p>"We will soon see about that," I cried, taking the lantern. "Half the
+danger is over, at any rate; and the worst half, too."</p>
+
+<p>We rushed along the passage and up the stair until we reached the top.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Clinton," I cried, holding up the lantern, "the place was not shut
+at all."</p>
+
+<p>Nor was it. In his terror he had imagined it.</p>
+
+<p>"I could not see in the dark, and I was nearly dead with fright," he
+said. "Oh, Bell, let us get out of this as quickly as we can!"</p>
+
+<p>We crushed through the aperture and once more stood in the chapel. I
+then pushed the stone back into its place.</p>
+
+<p>Dawn was just breaking when we escaped from the chapel. We hastened
+across to the house. In the hall the clock pointed to five.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we have had an awful time," I said, as we stood in the hall
+together; "but<a class="pagenum" name="page_93" id="page_93" title="93"></a> at least, Clinton, the end was worth the ghastly terror.
+I have knocked the bottom out of your family legend for ever."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't even now quite understand," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you?&mdash;but it is so easy. That coffin never contained a body at
+all, but was filled, as you perceive, with fragments of magnetic
+iron-ore. For what diabolical purposes the cell was intended, it is, of
+course, impossible to say; but that it must have been meant as a human
+trap there is little doubt. The inventor certainly exercised no small
+ingenuity when he devised his diabolical plot, for it was obvious that
+the door, which was made of iron, would swing towards the coffin
+wherever it happened to be placed. Thus the door would shut if the
+coffin were <i>inside the cell</i>, and would remain open if the coffin were
+<i>brought out</i>. A cleverer method for simulating a spiritual agency it
+would be hard to find. Of course, the monk must have known well that
+magnetic iron-ore never loses its quality and would ensure the deception
+remaining potent for ages."<a class="pagenum" name="page_94" id="page_94" title="94"></a></p>
+
+<p>"But how did you discover by means of our watches?" asked Clinton.</p>
+
+<p>"Any one who understands magnetism can reply to that," I said. "It is a
+well-known fact that a strong magnet plays havoc with watches. The fact
+of both our watches going wrong first gave me a clue to the mystery."</p>
+
+<p>Later in the day the whole of this strange affair was explained to Miss
+Curzon, and not long afterwards the passage and entrance to the chapel
+were bricked up.</p>
+
+<p>It is needless to add that six months later the pair were married, and,
+I believe, are as happy as they deserve.</p>
+
+<hr class="major" />
+<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em">
+<a class="pagenum" name="page_95" id="page_95" title="95"></a>
+<a name="The_Mystery_of_the_Felwyn_Tunnel_1738" id="The_Mystery_of_the_Felwyn_Tunnel_1738"></a>
+<p style='font-size:x-large; margin-left: 3em;'>III</p>
+<p style='font-size:x-large'>The Mystery of the<br />Felwyn Tunnel</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I was making experiments of some interest at South Kensington, and hoped
+that I had perfected a small but not unimportant discovery, when, on
+returning home one evening in late October in the year 1893, I found a
+visiting card on my table. On it were inscribed the words, "Mr. Geoffrey
+Bainbridge." This name was quite unknown to me, so I rang the bell and
+inquired of my servant who the visitor had been. He described him as a
+gentleman who wished to see me on most urgent business, and said further
+that Mr. Bainbridge intended to call again later in the<a class="pagenum" name="page_96" id="page_96" title="96"></a> evening. It was
+with both curiosity and vexation that I awaited the return of the
+stranger. Urgent business with me generally meant a hurried rush to one
+part of the country or the other. I did not want to leave London just
+then; and when at half-past nine Mr. Geoffrey Bainbridge was ushered
+into my room, I received him with a certain coldness which he could not
+fail to perceive. He was a tall, well-dressed, elderly man. He
+immediately plunged into the object of his visit.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you do not consider my unexpected presence an intrusion, Mr.
+Bell," he said. "But I have heard of you from our mutual friends, the
+Greys of Uplands. You may remember once doing that family a great
+service."</p>
+
+<p>"I remember perfectly well," I answered more cordially. "Pray tell me
+what you want; I shall listen with attention."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe you are the one man in London who can help me," he continued.
+"I refer to a matter especially relating to your own particular study. I
+need hardly say<a class="pagenum" name="page_97" id="page_97" title="97"></a> that whatever you do will not be unrewarded."</p>
+
+<p>"That is neither here nor there," I said; "but before you go any
+further, allow me to ask one question. Do you want me to leave London at
+present?"</p>
+
+<p>He raised his eyebrows in dismay.</p>
+
+<p>"I certainly do," he answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well; pray proceed with your story."</p>
+
+<p>He looked at me with anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>"In the first place," he began, "I must tell you that I am chairman of
+the Lytton Vale Railway Company in Wales, and that it is on an important
+matter connected with our line that I have come to consult you. When I
+explain to you the nature of the mystery, you will not wonder, I think,
+at my soliciting your aid."</p>
+
+<p>"I will give you my closest attention," I answered; and then I added,
+impelled to say the latter words by a certain expression on his face,
+"if I can see my way to assisting you I shall be ready to do so."</p>
+
+<p>"Pray accept my cordial thanks," he<a class="pagenum" name="page_98" id="page_98" title="98"></a> replied. "I have come up from my
+place at Felwyn to-day on purpose to consult you. It is in that
+neighbourhood that the affair has occurred. As it is essential that you
+should be in possession of the facts of the whole matter, I will go over
+things just as they happened."</p>
+
+<p>I bent forward and listened attentively.</p>
+
+<p>"This day fortnight," continued Mr. Bainbridge, "our quiet little
+village was horrified by the news that the signalman on duty at the
+mouth of the Felwyn Tunnel had been found dead under the most mysterious
+circumstances. The tunnel is at the end of a long cutting between
+Llanlys and Felwyn stations. It is about a mile long, and the signal-box
+is on the Felwyn side. The place is extremely lonely, being six miles
+from the village across the mountains. The name of the poor fellow who
+met his death in this mysterious fashion was David Pritchard. I have
+known him from a boy, and he was quite one of the steadiest and most
+trustworthy men on the line. On Tuesday evening he went on duty at six<a class="pagenum" name="page_99" id="page_99" title="99"></a>
+o'clock; on Wednesday morning the day-man who had come to relieve him
+was surprised not to find him in the box. It was just getting daylight,
+and the 6.30 local was coming down, so he pulled the signals and let her
+through. Then he went out, and, looking up the line towards the tunnel,
+saw Pritchard lying beside the line close to the mouth of the tunnel.
+Roberts, the day-man, ran up to him and found, to his horror, that he
+was quite dead. At first Roberts naturally supposed that he had been cut
+down by a train, as there was a wound at the back of the head; but he
+was not lying on the metals. Roberts ran back to the box and telegraphed
+through to Felwyn Station. The message was sent on to the village, and
+at half-past seven o'clock the police inspector came up to my house with
+the news. He and I, with the local doctor, went off at once to the
+tunnel. We found the dead man lying beside the metals a few yards away
+from the mouth of the tunnel, and the doctor immediately gave him a
+careful examination. There was a depressed<a class="pagenum" name="page_100" id="page_100" title="100"></a> fracture at the back of the
+skull, which must have caused his death; but how he came by it was not
+so clear. On examining the whole place most carefully, we saw, further,
+that there were marks on the rocks at the steep side of the embankment
+as if some one had tried to scramble up them. Why the poor fellow had
+attempted such a climb, God only knows. In doing so he must have slipped
+and fallen back on to the line, thus causing the fracture of the skull.
+In no case could he have gone up more than eight or ten feet, as the
+banks of the cutting run sheer up, almost perpendicularly, beyond that
+point for more than a hundred and fifty feet. There are some sharp
+boulders beside the line, and it was possible that he might have fallen
+on one of these and so sustained the injury. The affair must have
+occurred some time between 11.45 p.m. and 6 a.m., as the engine-driver
+of the express at 11.45 p.m. states that the line was signalled clear,
+and he also caught sight of Pritchard in his box as he passed."<a class="pagenum" name="page_101" id="page_101" title="101"></a></p>
+
+<p>"This is deeply interesting," I said; "pray proceed."</p>
+
+<p>Bainbridge looked at me earnestly; he then continued:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The whole thing is shrouded in mystery. Why should Pritchard have left
+his box and gone down to the tunnel? Why, having done so, should he have
+made a wild attempt to scale the side of the cutting, an impossible feat
+at any time? Had danger threatened, the ordinary course of things would
+have been to run up the line towards the signal-box. These points are
+quite unexplained. Another curious fact is that death appears to have
+taken place just before the day-man came on duty, as the light at the
+mouth of the tunnel had been put out, and it was one of the night
+signalman's duties to do this as soon as daylight appeared; it is
+possible, therefore, that Pritchard went down to the tunnel for that
+purpose. Against this theory, however, and an objection that seems to
+nullify it, is the evidence of Dr. Williams, who states that when he
+examined the body his opinion was<a class="pagenum" name="page_102" id="page_102" title="102"></a> that death had taken place some hours
+before. An inquest was held on the following day, but before it took
+place there was a new and most important development. I now come to what
+I consider the crucial point in the whole story.</p>
+
+<p>"For a long time there had been a feud between Pritchard and another man
+of the name of Wynne, a platelayer on the line. The object of their
+quarrel was the blacksmith's daughter in the neighbouring village&mdash;a
+remarkably pretty girl and an arrant flirt. Both men were madly in love
+with her, and she played them off one against the other. The night but
+one before his death Pritchard and Wynne had met at the village inn, had
+quarrelled in the bar&mdash;Lucy, of course, being the subject of their
+difference. Wynne was heard to say (he was a man of powerful build and
+subject to fits of ungovernable rage) that he would have Pritchard's
+life. Pritchard swore a great oath that he would get Lucy on the
+following day to promise to marry him. This oath, it appears, he kept,
+and on his<a class="pagenum" name="page_103" id="page_103" title="103"></a> way to the signal-box on Tuesday evening met Wynne, and
+triumphantly told him that Lucy had promised to be his wife. The men had
+a hand-to-hand fight on the spot, several people from the village being
+witnesses of it. They were separated with difficulty, each vowing
+vengeance on the other. Pritchard went off to his duty at the signal-box
+and Wynne returned to the village to drown his sorrows at the
+public-house.</p>
+
+<p>"Very late that same night Wynne was seen by a villager going in the
+direction of the tunnel. The man stopped him and questioned him. He
+explained that he had left some of his tools on the line, and was on his
+way to fetch them. The villager noticed that he looked queer and
+excited, but not wishing to pick a quarrel thought it best not to
+question him further. It has been proved that Wynne never returned home
+that night, but came back at an early hour on the following morning,
+looking dazed and stupid. He was arrested on suspicion, and at the
+inquest the verdict was against him."<a class="pagenum" name="page_104" id="page_104" title="104"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Has he given any explanation of his own movements?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but nothing that can clear him. As a matter of fact, his tools
+were nowhere to be seen on the line, nor did he bring them home with
+him. His own story is that being considerably the worse for drink, he
+had fallen down in one of the fields and slept there till morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Things look black against him," I said.</p>
+
+<p>"They do; but listen, I have something more to add. Here comes a very
+queer feature in the affair. Lucy Ray, the girl who had caused the feud
+between Pritchard and Wynne, after hearing the news of Pritchard's
+death, completely lost her head, and ran frantically about the village
+declaring that Wynne was the man she really loved, and that she had only
+accepted Pritchard in a fit of rage with Wynne for not himself bringing
+matters to the point. The case looks very bad against Wynne, and
+yesterday the magistrate committed him for trial at the coming assizes.
+The unhappy Lucy Ray and the young<a class="pagenum" name="page_105" id="page_105" title="105"></a> man's parents are in a state
+bordering on distraction."</p>
+
+<p>"What is your own opinion with regard to Wynne's guilt?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Before God, Mr. Bell, I believe the poor fellow is innocent, but the
+evidence against him is very strong. One of the favourite theories is
+that he went down to the tunnel and extinguished the light, knowing that
+this would bring Pritchard out of his box to see what was the matter,
+and that he then attacked him, striking the blow which fractured the
+skull."</p>
+
+<p>"Has any weapon been found about, with which he could have given such a
+blow?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; nor has anything of the kind been discovered on Wynne's person;
+that fact is decidedly in his favour."</p>
+
+<p>"But what about the marks on the rocks?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"It is possible that Wynne may have made them in order to divert
+suspicion by making people think that Pritchard must have fallen, and so
+killed himself. The holders of this theory base their belief on the
+absolute want<a class="pagenum" name="page_106" id="page_106" title="106"></a> of cause for Pritchard's trying to scale the rock. The
+whole thing is the most absolute enigma. Some of the country folk have
+declared that the tunnel is haunted (and there certainly has been such a
+rumour current among them for years). That Pritchard saw some
+apparition, and in wild terror sought to escape from it by climbing the
+rocks, is another theory, but only the most imaginative hold it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it is a most extraordinary case," I replied.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Mr. Bell, and I should like to get your opinion of it. Do you see
+your way to elucidate the mystery?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at present; but I shall be happy to investigate the matter to my
+utmost ability."</p>
+
+<p>"But you do not wish to leave London at present?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is so; but a matter of such importance cannot be set aside. It
+appears, from what you say, that Wynne's life hangs more or less on my
+being able to clear away the mystery?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_107" id="page_107" title="107"></a></p>
+
+<p>"That is indeed the case. There ought not to be a single stone left
+unturned to get at the truth, for the sake of Wynne. Well, Mr. Bell,
+what do you propose to do?"</p>
+
+<p>"To see the place without delay," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"That is right; when can you come?"</p>
+
+<p>"Whenever you please."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you come down to Felwyn with me to-morrow? I shall leave
+Paddington by the 7.10, and if you will be my guest I shall be only too
+pleased to put you up."</p>
+
+<p>"That arrangement will suit me admirably," I replied. "I will meet you
+by the train you mention, and the affair shall have my best attention."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you," he said, rising. He shook hands with me and took his leave.</p>
+
+<p>The next day I met Bainbridge at Paddington Station, and we were soon
+flying westward in the luxurious private compartment that had been
+reserved for him. I could see by his abstracted manner and his long
+lapses of silence that the mysterious affair<a class="pagenum" name="page_108" id="page_108" title="108"></a> at Felwyn Tunnel was
+occupying all his thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>It was two o'clock in the afternoon when the train slowed down at the
+little station of Felwyn. The station-master was at the door in an
+instant to receive us.</p>
+
+<p>"I have some terribly bad news for you, sir," he said, turning to
+Bainbridge as we alighted; "and yet in one sense it is a relief, for it
+seems to clear Wynne."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?" cried Bainbridge. "Bad news? Speak out at once!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, it is this: there has been another death at Felwyn
+signal-box. John Davidson, who was on duty last night, was found dead at
+an early hour this morning in the very same place where we found poor
+Pritchard."</p>
+
+<p>"Good God!" cried Bainbridge, starting back, "what an awful thing! What,
+in the name of Heaven, does it mean, Mr. Bell? This is too fearful.
+Thank goodness you have come down with us."</p>
+
+<p>"It is as black a business as I ever heard of, sir," echoed the
+station-master; "and what<a class="pagenum" name="page_109" id="page_109" title="109"></a> we are to do I don't know. Poor Davidson was
+found dead this morning, and there was neither mark nor sign of what
+killed him&mdash;that is the extraordinary part of it. There's a perfect
+panic abroad, and not a signalman on the line will take duty to-night. I
+was quite in despair, and was afraid at one time that the line would
+have to be closed, but at last it occurred to me to wire to Lytton Vale,
+and they are sending down an inspector. I expect him by a special every
+moment. I believe this is he coming now," added the station-master,
+looking up the line.</p>
+
+<p>There was the sound of a whistle down the valley, and in a few moments a
+single engine shot into the station, and an official in uniform stepped
+on to the platform.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-evening, sir," he said, touching his cap to Bainbridge; "I have
+just been sent down to inquire into this affair at the Felwyn Tunnel,
+and though it seems more of a matter for a Scotland Yard detective than
+one of ourselves, there was nothing for it but to come. All the same,
+Mr. Bainbridge, I cannot<a class="pagenum" name="page_110" id="page_110" title="110"></a> say that I look forward to spending to-night
+alone at the place."</p>
+
+<p>"You wish for the services of a detective, but you shall have some one
+better," said Bainbridge, turning towards me. "This gentleman, Mr. John
+Bell, is the man of all others for our business. I have just brought him
+down from London for the purpose."</p>
+
+<p>An expression of relief flitted across the inspector's face.</p>
+
+<p>"I am very glad to see you, sir," he said to me, "and I hope you will be
+able to spend the night with me in the signal-box. I must say I don't
+much relish the idea of tackling the thing single-handed; but with your
+help, sir, I think we ought to get to the bottom of it somehow. I am
+afraid there is not a man on the line who will take duty until we do. So
+it is most important that the thing should be cleared, and without
+delay."</p>
+
+<p>I readily assented to the inspector's proposition, and Bainbridge and I
+arranged that we should call for him at four o'clock at the village inn
+and drive him to the tunnel.</p>
+
+<p>We then stepped into the wagonette<a class="pagenum" name="page_111" id="page_111" title="111"></a> which was waiting for us, and drove
+to Bainbridge's house.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Bainbridge came out to meet us, and was full of the tragedy. Two
+pretty girls also ran to greet their father, and to glance inquisitively
+at me. I could see that the entire family was in a state of much
+excitement.</p>
+
+<p>"Lucy Ray has just left, father," said the elder of the girls. "We had
+much trouble to soothe her; she is in a frantic state."</p>
+
+<p>"You have heard, Mr. Bell, all about this dreadful mystery?" said Mrs.
+Bainbridge as she led me towards the dining-room.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," I answered; "your husband has been good enough to give me every
+particular."</p>
+
+<p>"And you have really come here to help us?"</p>
+
+<p>"I hope I may be able to discover the cause," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"It certainly seems most extraordinary," continued Mrs. Bainbridge. "My
+dear," she continued, turning to her husband, "you can easily imagine
+the state we were all in this<a class="pagenum" name="page_112" id="page_112" title="112"></a> morning when the news of the second death
+was brought to us."</p>
+
+<p>"For my part," said Ella Bainbridge, "I am sure that Felwyn Tunnel is
+haunted. The villagers have thought so for a long time, and this second
+death seems to prove it, does it not?" Here she looked anxiously at me.</p>
+
+<p>"I can offer no opinion," I replied, "until I have sifted the matter
+thoroughly."</p>
+
+<p>"Come, Ella, don't worry Mr. Bell," said her father; "if he is as hungry
+as I am, he must want his lunch."</p>
+
+<p>We then seated ourselves at the table and commenced the meal.
+Bainbridge, although he professed to be hungry, was in such a state of
+excitement that he could scarcely eat. Immediately after lunch he left
+me to the care of his family and went into the village.</p>
+
+<p>"It is just like him," said Mrs. Bainbridge; "he takes these sort of
+things to heart dreadfully. He is terribly upset about Lucy Ray, and
+also about the poor fellow Wynne. It is certainly a fearful tragedy from
+first to last."<a class="pagenum" name="page_113" id="page_113" title="113"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Well, at any rate," I said, "this fresh death will upset the evidence
+against Wynne."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope so, and there is some satisfaction in the fact. Well, Mr. Bell,
+I see you have finished lunch; will you come into the drawing-room?"</p>
+
+<p>I followed her into a pleasant room overlooking the valley of the
+Lytton.</p>
+
+<p>By-and-by Bainbridge returned, and soon afterwards the dog-cart came to
+the door. My host and I mounted, Bainbridge took the reins, and we
+started off at a brisk pace.</p>
+
+<p>"Matters get worse and worse," he said the moment we were alone. "If you
+don't clear things up to-night, Bell, I say frankly that I cannot
+imagine what will happen."</p>
+
+<p>We entered the village, and as we rattled down the ill-paved streets I
+was greeted with curious glances on all sides. The people were standing
+about in groups, evidently talking about the tragedy and nothing else.
+Suddenly, as our trap bumped noisily over the paving-stones, a girl
+darted out of one of<a class="pagenum" name="page_114" id="page_114" title="114"></a> the houses and made frantic motions to Bainbridge
+to stop the horse. He pulled the mare nearly up on her haunches, and the
+girl came up to the side of the dog-cart.</p>
+
+<p>"You have heard it?" she said, speaking eagerly and in a gasping voice.
+"The death which occurred this morning will clear Stephen Wynne, won't
+it, Mr. Bainbridge?&mdash;it will, you are sure, are you not?"</p>
+
+<p>"It looks like it, Lucy, my poor girl," he answered. "But there, the
+whole thing is so terrible that I scarcely know what to think."</p>
+
+<p>She was a pretty girl with dark eyes, and under ordinary circumstances
+must have had the vivacious expression of face and the brilliant
+complexion which so many of her countrywomen possess. But now her eyes
+were swollen with weeping and her complexion more or less disfigured by
+the agony she had gone through. She looked piteously at Bainbridge, her
+lips trembling. The next moment she burst into tears.</p>
+
+<p>"Come away, Lucy," said a woman who had followed her out of the cottage;
+"Fie&mdash;for<a class="pagenum" name="page_115" id="page_115" title="115"></a> shame! don't trouble the gentlemen; come back and stay
+quiet."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't, mother, I can't," said the unfortunate girl. "If they hang
+him, I'll go clean off my head. Oh, Mr. Bainbridge, do say that the
+second death has cleared him!"</p>
+
+<p>"I have every hope that it will do so, Lucy," said Bainbridge, "but now
+don't keep us, there's a good girl; go back into the house. This
+gentleman has come down from London on purpose to look into the whole
+matter. I may have good news for you in the morning."</p>
+
+<p>The girl raised her eyes to my face with a look of intense pleading.
+"Oh, I have been cruel and a fool, and I deserve everything," she
+gasped; "but, sir, for the love of Heaven, try to clear him."</p>
+
+<p>I promised to do my best.</p>
+
+<p>Bainbridge touched up the mare, she bounded forward, and Lucy
+disappeared into the cottage with her mother.</p>
+
+<p>The next moment we drew up at the inn where the Inspector was waiting,
+and soon afterwards were bowling along between the<a class="pagenum" name="page_116" id="page_116" title="116"></a> high banks of the
+country lanes to the tunnel. It was a cold, still afternoon; the air was
+wonderfully keen, for a sharp frost had held the countryside in its grip
+for the last two days. The sun was just tipping the hills to westward
+when the trap pulled up at the top of the cutting. We hastily alighted,
+and the Inspector and I bade Bainbridge good-bye. He said that he only
+wished that he could stay with us for the night, assured us that little
+sleep would visit him, and that he would be back at the cutting at an
+early hour on the following morning; then the noise of his horse's feet
+was heard fainter and fainter as he drove back over the frost-bound
+roads. The Inspector and I ran along the little path to the wicket-gate
+in the fence, stamping our feet on the hard ground to restore
+circulation after our cold drive. The next moment we were looking down
+upon the scene of the mysterious deaths, and a weird and lonely place it
+looked. The tunnel was at one end of the rock cutting, the sides of
+which ran sheer down to the line for over a hundred and fifty feet.
+Above the tunnel's<a class="pagenum" name="page_117" id="page_117" title="117"></a> mouth the hills rose one upon the other. A more
+dreary place it would have been difficult to imagine. From a little
+clump of pines a delicate film of blue smoke rose straight up on the
+still air. This came from the chimney of the signal-box.</p>
+
+<p>As we started to descend the precipitous path the Inspector sang out a
+cheery "Hullo!" The man on duty in the box immediately answered. His
+voice echoed and reverberated down the cutting, and the next moment he
+appeared at the door of the box. He told us that he would be with us
+immediately; but we called back to him to stay where he was, and the
+next instant the Inspector and I entered the box.</p>
+
+<p>"The first thing to do," said Henderson the Inspector, "is to send a
+message down the line to announce our arrival."</p>
+
+<p>This he did, and in a few moments a crawling goods train came panting up
+the cutting. After signalling her through we descended the wooden flight
+of steps which led from the box down to the line and walked along the
+metals towards the tunnel<a class="pagenum" name="page_118" id="page_118" title="118"></a> till we stood on the spot where poor Davidson
+had been found dead that morning. I examined the ground and all around
+it most carefully. Everything tallied exactly with the description I had
+received. There could be no possible way of approaching the spot except
+by going along the line, as the rocky sides of the cutting were
+inaccessible.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a most extraordinary thing, sir," said the signalman whom we had
+come to relieve. "Davidson had neither mark nor sign on him&mdash;there he
+lay stone dead and cold, and not a bruise nowhere; but Pritchard had an
+awful wound at the back of the head. They said he got it by climbing the
+rocks&mdash;here, you can see the marks for yourself, sir. But now, is it
+likely that Pritchard would try to climb rocks like these, so steep as
+they are?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not," I replied.</p>
+
+<p>"Then how do you account for the wound, sir?" asked the man with an
+anxious face.</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot tell you at present," I answered.<a class="pagenum" name="page_119" id="page_119" title="119"></a></p>
+
+<p>"And you and Inspector Henderson are going to spend the night in the
+signal-box?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>A horrified expression crept over the signalman's face.</p>
+
+<p>"God preserve you both," he said; "I wouldn't do it&mdash;not for fifty
+pounds. It's not the first time I have heard tell that Felwyn Tunnel is
+haunted. But, there, I won't say any more about that. It's a black
+business, and has given trouble enough. There's poor Wynne, the same
+thing as convicted of the murder of Pritchard; but now they say that
+Davidson's death will clear him. Davidson was as good a fellow as you
+would come across this side of the country; but for the matter of that,
+so was Pritchard. The whole thing is terrible&mdash;it upsets one, that it
+do, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't wonder at your feelings," I answered; "but now, see here, I
+want to make a most careful examination of everything. One of the
+theories is that Wynne crept down this rocky side and fractured<a class="pagenum" name="page_120" id="page_120" title="120"></a>
+Pritchard's skull. I believe such a feat to be impossible. On examining
+these rocks I see that a man might climb up the side of the tunnel as
+far as from eight to ten feet, utilising the sharp projections of rock
+for the purpose; but it would be out of the question for any man to come
+down the cutting. No; the only way Wynne could have approached Pritchard
+was by the line itself. But, after all, the real thing to discover is
+this," I continued: "what killed Davidson? Whatever caused his death is,
+beyond doubt, equally responsible for Pritchard's. I am now going into
+the tunnel."</p>
+
+<p>Inspector Henderson went in with me. The place struck damp and chill.
+The walls were covered with green, evil-smelling fungi, and through the
+brickwork the moisture was oozing and had trickled down in long lines to
+the ground. Before us was nothing but dense darkness.</p>
+
+<p>When we re-appeared the signalman was lighting the red lamp on the post,
+which stood about five feet from the ground just above the entrance to
+the tunnel.<a class="pagenum" name="page_121" id="page_121" title="121"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Is there plenty of oil?" asked the Inspector.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, plenty," replied the man. "Is there anything more I can do
+for either of you gentlemen?" he asked, pausing, and evidently dying to
+be off.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing," answered Henderson; "I will wish you good-evening."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-evening to you both," said the man. He made his way quickly up the
+path and was soon lost to sight.</p>
+
+<p>Henderson and I then returned to the signal-box.</p>
+
+<p>By this time it was nearly dark.</p>
+
+<p>"How many trains pass in the night?" I asked of the Inspector.</p>
+
+<p>"There's the 10.20 down express," he said, "it will pass here at about
+10.40; then there's the 11.45 up, and then not another train till the
+6.30 local to-morrow morning. We shan't have a very lively time," he
+added.</p>
+
+<p>I approached the fire and bent over it, holding out my hands to try and
+get some warmth into them.<a class="pagenum" name="page_122" id="page_122" title="122"></a></p>
+
+<p>"It will take a good deal to persuade me to go down to the tunnel,
+whatever I may see there," said the man. "I don't think, Mr. Bell, I am
+a coward in any sense of the word, but there's something very uncanny
+about this place, right away from the rest of the world. I don't wonder
+one often hears of signalmen going mad in some of these lonely boxes.
+Have you any theory to account for these deaths, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"None at present," I replied.</p>
+
+<p>"This second death puts the idea of Pritchard being murdered quite out
+of court," he continued.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure of it," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"And so am I, and that's one comfort," continued Henderson. "That poor
+girl, Lucy Ray, although she was to be blamed for her conduct, is much
+to be pitied now; and as to poor Wynne himself, he protests his
+innocence through thick and thin. He was a wild fellow, but not the sort
+to take the life of a fellow-creature. I saw the doctor this afternoon
+while I was waiting for you at the inn, Mr. Bell, and also the police<a class="pagenum" name="page_123" id="page_123" title="123"></a>
+sergeant. They both say they do not know what Davidson died of. There
+was not the least sign of violence on the body."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I am as puzzled as the rest of you," I said. "I have one or two
+theories in my mind, but none of them will quite fit the situation."</p>
+
+<p>The night was piercingly cold, and, although there was not a breath of
+wind, the keen and frosty air penetrated into the lonely signal-box. We
+spoke little, and both of us were doubtless absorbed by our own thoughts
+and speculations. As to Henderson, he looked distinctly uncomfortable,
+and I cannot say that my own feelings were too pleasant. Never had I
+been given a tougher problem to solve, and never had I been so utterly
+at my wits' end for a solution.</p>
+
+<p>Now and then the Inspector got up and went to the telegraph instrument,
+which intermittently clicked away in its box. As he did so he made some
+casual remark and then sat down again. After the 10.40 had gone through,
+there followed a period of silence which seemed almost oppressive.<a class="pagenum" name="page_124" id="page_124" title="124"></a> All
+at once the stillness was broken by the whirr of the electric bell,
+which sounded so sharply in our ears that we both started. Henderson
+rose.</p>
+
+<p>"That's the 11.45 coming," he said, and, going over to the three long
+levers, he pulled two of them down with a loud clang. The next moment,
+with a rush and a scream, the express tore down the cutting, the
+carriage lights streamed past in a rapid flash, the ground trembled, a
+few sparks from the engine whirled up into the darkness, and the train
+plunged into the tunnel.</p>
+
+<p>"And now," said Henderson, as he pushed back the levers, "not another
+train till daylight. My word, it is cold!"</p>
+
+<p>It was intensely so. I piled some more wood on the fire and, turning up
+the collar of my heavy ulster, sat down at one end of the bench and
+leant my back against the wall. Henderson did likewise; we were neither
+of us inclined to speak. As a rule, whenever I have any night work to
+do, I am never troubled with sleepiness, but on this occasion I felt
+unaccountably drowsy. I<a class="pagenum" name="page_125" id="page_125" title="125"></a> soon perceived that Henderson was in the same
+condition.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you sleepy?" I asked of him.</p>
+
+<p>"Dead with it, sir," was his answer; "but there's no fear, I won't drop
+off."</p>
+
+<p>I got up and went to the window of the box. I felt certain that if I sat
+still any longer I should be in a sound sleep. This would never do.
+Already it was becoming a matter of torture to keep my eyes open. I
+began to pace up and down; I opened the door of the box and went out on
+the little platform.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter, sir?" inquired Henderson, jumping up with a start.</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot keep awake," I said.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor can I," he answered, "and yet I have spent nights and nights of my
+life in signal-boxes and never was the least bit drowsy; perhaps it's
+the cold."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it is," I said; "but I have been out on as freezing nights
+before, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The man did not reply; he had sat down again; his head was nodding.</p>
+
+<p>I was just about to go up to him and<a class="pagenum" name="page_126" id="page_126" title="126"></a> shake him, when it suddenly
+occurred to me that I might as well let him have his sleep out. I soon
+heard him snoring, and he presently fell forward in a heap on the floor.
+By dint of walking up and down, I managed to keep from dropping off
+myself, and in torture which I shall never be able to describe, the
+night wore itself away. At last, towards morning, I awoke Henderson.</p>
+
+<p>"You have had a good nap," I said; "but never mind, I have been on guard
+and nothing has occurred."</p>
+
+<p>"Good God! have I been asleep?" cried the man.</p>
+
+<p>"Sound," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I never felt anything like it," he replied. "Don't you find the
+air very close, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," I said; "it is as fresh as possible; it must be the cold."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll just go and have a look at the light at the tunnel," said the man;
+"it will rouse me."</p>
+
+<p>He went on to the little platform, whilst I bent over the fire and began
+to build it up.<a class="pagenum" name="page_127" id="page_127" title="127"></a> Presently he returned with a scared look on his face. I
+could see by the light of the oil lamp which hung on the wall that he
+was trembling.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Bell," he said, "I believe there is somebody or something down at
+the mouth of the tunnel now." As he spoke he clutched me by the arm. "Go
+and look," he said; "whoever it is, it has put out the light."</p>
+
+<p>"Put out the light?" I cried. "Why, what's the time?"</p>
+
+<p>Henderson pulled out his watch.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank goodness, most of the night is gone," he said; "I didn't know it
+was so late, it is half-past five."</p>
+
+<p>"Then the local is not due for an hour yet?" I said.</p>
+
+<p>"No; but who should put out the light?" cried Henderson.</p>
+
+<p>I went to the door, flung it open, and looked out. The dim outline of
+the tunnel was just visible looming through the darkness, but the red
+light was out.</p>
+
+<p>"What the dickens does it mean, sir?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_128" id="page_128" title="128"></a> gasped the Inspector. "I know the
+lamp had plenty of oil in it. Can there be any one standing in front of
+it, do you think?"</p>
+
+<p>We waited and watched for a few moments, but nothing stirred.</p>
+
+<p>"Come along," I said, "let us go down together and see what it is."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe I can do it, sir; I really don't!"</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense," I cried. "I shall go down alone if you won't accompany me.
+Just hand me my stick, will you?"</p>
+
+<p>"For God's sake, be careful, Mr. Bell. Don't go down, whatever you do. I
+expect this is what happened before, and the poor fellows went down to
+see what it was and died there. There's some devilry at work, that's my
+belief."</p>
+
+<p>"That is as it may be," I answered shortly; "but we certainly shall not
+find out by stopping here. My business is to get to the bottom of this,
+and I am going to do it. That there is danger of some sort, I have very
+little doubt; but danger or not, I am going down."<a class="pagenum" name="page_129" id="page_129" title="129"></a></p>
+
+<p>"If you'll be warned by me, sir, you'll just stay quietly here."</p>
+
+<p>"I must go down and see the matter out," was my answer. "Now listen to
+me, Henderson. I see that you are alarmed, and I don't wonder. Just stay
+quietly where you are and watch, but if I call come at once. Don't delay
+a single instant. Remember I am putting my life into your hands. If I
+call 'Come,' just come to me as quick as you can, for I may want help.
+Give me that lantern."</p>
+
+<p>He unhitched it from the wall, and taking it from him, I walked
+cautiously down the steps on to the line. I still felt curiously,
+unaccountably drowsy and heavy. I wondered at this, for the moment was
+such a critical one as to make almost any man wide awake. Holding the
+lamp high above my head, I walked rapidly along the line. I hardly knew
+what I expected to find. Cautiously along the metals I made my way,
+peering right and left until I was close to the fatal spot where the
+bodies had been found. An uncontrollable shudder<a class="pagenum" name="page_130" id="page_130" title="130"></a> passed over me. The
+next moment, to my horror, without the slightest warning, the light I
+was carrying went out, leaving me in total darkness. I started back, and
+stumbling against one of the loose boulders reeled against the wall and
+nearly fell. What was the matter with me? I could hardly stand. I felt
+giddy and faint, and a horrible sensation of great tightness seized me
+across the chest. A loud ringing noise sounded in my ears. Struggling
+madly for breath, and with the fear of impending death upon me, I turned
+and tried to run from a danger I could neither understand nor grapple
+with. But before I had taken two steps my legs gave way from under me,
+and uttering a loud cry I fell insensible to the ground.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Out of an oblivion which, for all I knew, might have lasted for moments
+or centuries, a dawning consciousness came to me. I knew that I was
+lying on hard ground; that I was absolutely incapable of realising, nor
+had I the slightest inclination to discover,<a class="pagenum" name="page_131" id="page_131" title="131"></a> where I was. All I wanted
+was to lie quite still and undisturbed. Presently I opened my eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Some one was bending over me and looking into my face.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank God, he is not dead," I heard in whispered tones. Then, with a
+flash, memory returned to me.</p>
+
+<p>"What has happened?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"You may well ask that, sir," said the Inspector gravely. "It has been
+touch and go with you for the last quarter of an hour; and a near thing
+for me too."</p>
+
+<p>I sat up and looked around me. Daylight was just beginning to break, and
+I saw that we were at the bottom of the steps that led up to the
+signal-box. My teeth were chattering with the cold and I was shivering
+like a man with ague.</p>
+
+<p>"I am better now," I said; "just give me your hand."</p>
+
+<p>I took his arm, and holding the rail with the other hand staggered up
+into the box and sat down on the bench.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it has been a near shave," I said;<a class="pagenum" name="page_132" id="page_132" title="132"></a> "and a big price to pay for
+solving a mystery."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean to say you know what it is?" asked Henderson eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," I answered, "I think I know now; but first tell me how long was I
+unconscious?"</p>
+
+<p>"A good bit over half an hour, sir, I should think. As soon as I heard
+you call out I ran down as you told me, but before I got to you I nearly
+fainted. I never had such a horrible sensation in my life. I felt as
+weak as a baby, but I just managed to seize you by the arms and drag you
+along the line to the steps, and that was about all I could do."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I owe you my life," I said; "just hand me that brandy flask, I
+shall be the better for some of its contents."</p>
+
+<p>I took a long pull. Just as I was laying the flask down Henderson
+started from my side.</p>
+
+<p>"There," he cried, "the 6.30 is coming." The electric bell at the
+instrument suddenly began to ring. "Ought I to let her go through, sir?"
+he inquired.<a class="pagenum" name="page_133" id="page_133" title="133"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," I answered. "That is exactly what we want. Oh, she will be
+all right."</p>
+
+<p>"No danger to her, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"None, none; let her go through."</p>
+
+<p>He pulled the lever and the next moment the train tore through the
+cutting.</p>
+
+<p>"Now I think it will be safe to go down again," I said. "I believe I
+shall be able to get to the bottom of this business."</p>
+
+<p>Henderson stared at me aghast.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean that you are going down again to the tunnel?" he gasped.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," I said; "give me those matches. You had better come too. I don't
+think there will be much danger now; and there is daylight, so we can
+see what we are about."</p>
+
+<p>The man was very loth to obey me, but at last I managed to persuade him.
+We went down the line, walking slowly, and at this moment we both felt
+our courage revived by a broad and cheerful ray of sunshine.</p>
+
+<p>"We must advance cautiously," I said,<a class="pagenum" name="page_134" id="page_134" title="134"></a> "and be ready to run back at a
+moment's notice."</p>
+
+<p>"God knows, sir, I think we are running a great risk," panted poor
+Henderson; "and if that devil or whatever else it is should happen to be
+about&mdash;why, daylight or no daylight&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense! man," I interrupted; "if we are careful, no harm will happen
+to us now. Ah! and here we are!" We had reached the spot where I had
+fallen. "Just give me a match, Henderson."</p>
+
+<p>He did so, and I immediately lit the lamp. Opening the glass of the
+lamp, I held it close to the ground and passed it to and fro. Suddenly
+the flame went out.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you understand now?" I said, looking up at the Inspector.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't, sir," he replied with a bewildered expression.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly, before I could make an explanation, we both heard shouts from
+the top of the cutting, and looking up I saw Bainbridge hurrying down
+the path. He had come in the dog-cart to fetch us.<a class="pagenum" name="page_135" id="page_135" title="135"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Here's the mystery," I cried as he rushed up to us, "and a deadlier
+scheme of Dame Nature's to frighten and murder poor humanity I have
+never seen."</p>
+
+<p>As I spoke I lit the lamp again and held it just above a tiny fissure in
+the rock. It was at once extinguished.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" said Bainbridge, panting with excitement.</p>
+
+<p>"Something that nearly finished <i>me</i>," I replied. "Why, this is a
+natural escape of choke damp. Carbonic acid gas&mdash;the deadliest gas
+imaginable, because it gives no warning of its presence, and it has no
+smell. It must have collected here during the hours of the night when no
+train was passing, and gradually rising put out the signal light. The
+constant rushing of the trains through the cutting all day would
+temporarily disperse it."</p>
+
+<p>As I made this explanation Bainbridge stood like one electrified, while
+a curious expression of mingled relief and horror swept over Henderson's
+face.</p>
+
+<p>"An escape of carbonic acid gas is not<a class="pagenum" name="page_136" id="page_136" title="136"></a> an uncommon phenomenon in
+volcanic districts," I continued, "as I take this to be; but it is odd
+what should have started it. It has sometimes been known to follow
+earthquake shocks, when there is a profound disturbance of the deep
+strata."</p>
+
+<p>"It is strange that you should have said that," said Bainbridge, when he
+could find his voice.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, that about the earthquake. Don't you remember, Henderson," he
+added, turning to the Inspector, "we had felt a slight shock all over
+South Wales about three weeks back?"</p>
+
+<p>"Then that, I think, explains it," I said. "It is evident that Pritchard
+really did climb the rocks in a frantic attempt to escape from the gas
+and fell back on to these boulders. The other man was cut down at once,
+before he had time to fly."</p>
+
+<p>"But what is to happen now?" asked Bainbridge. "Will it go on for ever?
+How are we to stop it?"</p>
+
+<p>"The fissure ought to be drenched with<a class="pagenum" name="page_137" id="page_137" title="137"></a> lime water, and then filled up;
+but all really depends on what is the size of the supply and also the
+depth. It is an extremely heavy gas, and would lie at the bottom of a
+cutting like water. I think there is more here just now than is good for
+us," I added.</p>
+
+<p>"But how," continued Bainbridge, as we moved a few steps from the fatal
+spot, "do you account for the interval between the first death and the
+second?"</p>
+
+<p>"The escape must have been intermittent. If wind blew down the cutting,
+as probably was the case before this frost set in, it would keep the gas
+so diluted that its effects would not be noticed. There was enough down
+here this morning, before that train came through, to poison an army.
+Indeed, if it had not been for Henderson's promptitude, there would have
+been another inquest&mdash;on myself."</p>
+
+<p>I then related my own experience.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, this clears Wynne, without doubt," said Bainbridge; "but alas!
+for the two poor fellows who were victims. Bell, the<a class="pagenum" name="page_138" id="page_138" title="138"></a> Lytton Vale
+Railway Company owe you unlimited thanks; you have doubtless saved many
+lives, and also the Company, for the line must have been closed if you
+had not made your valuable discovery. But now come home with me to
+breakfast. We can discuss all those matters later on."</p>
+
+<hr class="major" />
+<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em">
+<a class="pagenum" name="page_139" id="page_139" title="139"></a>
+<a name="The_EightMile_Lock_2622" id="The_EightMile_Lock_2622"></a>
+<p style='font-size:x-large; margin-left: 3em;'>IV</p>
+<p style='font-size:x-large'>The Eight-Mile Lock</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It was in the August of 1889, when I was just arranging my annual
+holiday, that I received the following letter. I tore it open and
+read:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div style='margin-left:5%; margin-right:5%'>
+<p style='text-align:right;'>"<i>Theodora</i> House-boat,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+<span class="smcap">Goring</span>.</p>
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Mr. Bell</span>,&mdash;<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>"Can you come down on Wednesday and stay with us for a week? The weather
+is glorious and the river looking its best. We are a gay party, and
+there will be plenty of fun going on.</p>
+
+<p style='text-align:right'>
+"Yours very truly,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+"<span class="smcap">Helena Ridsdale</span>."
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>This was exactly what I wanted. I was fond of the river, and scarcely a
+summer<a class="pagenum" name="page_140" id="page_140" title="140"></a> passed that I did not spend at least a fortnight on the Thames.
+I could go for a week to the Ridsdales, and then start off on my own
+quiet holiday afterwards. I had known Lady Ridsdale since she was a
+girl, and I had no doubt my visit would prove a most enjoyable one. I
+replied immediately, accepting the invitation, and three days later
+arrived at Goring.</p>
+
+<p>As the well-cushioned little punt, which had been sent to bring me
+across the river, drew up alongside the <i>Theodora</i>, the Countess came
+down from the deck to welcome me.</p>
+
+<p>"I am so glad you could come, Mr. Bell," she said. "I was afraid you
+might be away on some of your extraordinary campaigns against the
+supernatural. This is Mr. Ralph Vyner; he is also, like yourself,
+devoted to science. I am sure you will find many interests in common."</p>
+
+<p>A short, thickset, wiry little man, dressed in white flannels, who had
+been lolling in a deck chair, now came forward and shook hands with me.<a class="pagenum" name="page_141" id="page_141" title="141"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I know of you by reputation, Mr. Bell," he said, "and I have often
+hoped to have the pleasure of meeting you. I am sure we shall all be
+anxious to hear of some of your experiences. We are such an excessively
+frivolous party that we can easily afford to be leavened with a little
+serious element."</p>
+
+<p>"But I don't mean to be serious in the least," I answered, laughing; "I
+have come here to enjoy myself, and intend to be as frivolous as the
+rest of you."</p>
+
+<p>"You will have an opportunity this evening," said the Countess; "we are
+going to have a special band from town, and intend to have a moonlight
+dance on deck. Ah! here comes Charlie with the others," she added,
+shading her eyes and looking down the stream.</p>
+
+<p>In a few moments a perfectly appointed little electric launch shot up,
+and my host with the rest of the party came on board. We shortly
+afterwards sat down to lunch, and a gayer and pleasanter set of people I
+have seldom met. In the afternoon we<a class="pagenum" name="page_142" id="page_142" title="142"></a> broke up into detachments, and
+Vyner and I went for a long pull up stream. I found him a pleasant
+fellow, ready to talk at any length not only about his own hobbies, but
+about the world at large. I discovered presently that he was a naval
+engineer of no small attainments.</p>
+
+<p>When we returned to the house-boat, it was nearly time to prepare for
+dinner. Most of the ladies had already retired to their cabins. Lady
+Ridsdale was standing alone on deck. When she saw us both, she called to
+us to come to her side.</p>
+
+<p>"This quite dazzles me," she said in a low, somewhat mysterious tone,
+"and I must show it to you. I know you at least, Mr. Vyner, will
+appreciate it."</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke she took a small leather case out of her pocket&mdash;it was
+ornamented with a monogram, and opened with a catch. She pressed the
+lid, it flew up, and I saw, resting on a velvet bed, a glittering
+circlet of enormous diamonds. The Countess lifted them out, and slipped
+them over her slender wrist.<a class="pagenum" name="page_143" id="page_143" title="143"></a></p>
+
+<p>"They are some of the family diamonds," she said with excitement, "and
+of great value. Charlie is having all the jewels reset for me, but the
+rest are not ready yet. He has just brought this down from town. Is it
+not superb? Did you ever see such beauties?"</p>
+
+<p>The diamonds flashed on her white wrist; she looked up at me with eyes
+almost as bright.</p>
+
+<p>"I love beautiful stones," she said, "and I feel as if these were alive.
+Oh, do look at the rays of colour in them, as many as in the rainbow."</p>
+
+<p>I congratulated Lady Ridsdale on possessing such a splendid ornament,
+and then glanced at Vyner, expecting him to say something.</p>
+
+<p>The expression on his face startled me, and I was destined to remember
+it by-and-by. The ruddy look had completely left it, his eyes were half
+starting from his head. He peered close, and suddenly, without the
+slightest warning, stretched out his hand, and touched the diamonds<a class="pagenum" name="page_144" id="page_144" title="144"></a> as
+they glittered round Lady Ridsdale's wrist. She started back haughtily,
+then, recovering herself, took the bracelet off and put it into his
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Charlie tells me," she said, "that this bracelet is worth from fifteen
+to twenty thousand pounds."</p>
+
+<p>"You must take care of it," remarked Vyner; "don't let your maid see it,
+for instance."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, nonsense!" laughed Lady Ridsdale. "I would trust Louise as I would
+trust myself."</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterwards we separated, and I went down to my little cabin to
+prepare for dinner. When we met in the dining saloon I noticed that Lady
+Ridsdale was wearing the diamond bracelet. Almost immediately after
+dinner the band came on board and the dancing began.</p>
+
+<p>We kept up our festivities until two o'clock, and more than once, as she
+flashed past me, I could not help noticing the glittering circlet round
+her wrist. I considered myself a fair judge of precious<a class="pagenum" name="page_145" id="page_145" title="145"></a> stones, but had
+never seen any diamonds for size and brilliancy to equal these.</p>
+
+<p>As Vyner and I happened to stand apart from the others he remarked upon
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"It was imprudent of Ridsdale to bring those diamonds here," he said.
+"Suppose they are stolen?"</p>
+
+<p>"Scarcely likely," I answered; "there are no thieves on board."</p>
+
+<p>He gave an impatient movement.</p>
+
+<p>"As far as we <i>know</i> there are not," he said slowly, "but one can never
+tell. The diamonds are of exceptional value, and it is not safe to
+expose ordinary folk to temptation. That small circlet means a fortune."</p>
+
+<p>He sighed deeply, and when I spoke to him next did not answer me. Not
+long afterwards our gay party dispersed, and we retired to our
+respective cabins.</p>
+
+<p>I went to mine and was quickly in bed. As a newly-arrived guest I was
+given a cabin on board, but several other members of the party were
+sleeping in tents on the<a class="pagenum" name="page_146" id="page_146" title="146"></a> shore. Vyner and Lord Ridsdale were amongst
+the latter number. Whether it was the narrowness of my bunk or the heat
+of the night, I cannot tell, but sleep I could not. Suddenly through my
+open window I heard voices from the shore near by. I could identify the
+speakers by their tones&mdash;one was my host, Lord Ridsdale, the other Ralph
+Vyner. Whatever formed the subject of discourse it was evidently far
+from amicable. However much averse I might feel to the situation, I was
+compelled to be an unwilling eavesdropper, for the voices rose, and I
+caught the following words from Vyner:</p>
+
+<p>"Can you lend me five thousand pounds till the winter?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Vyner, I have told you so before, and the reason too. It is your
+own fault, and you must take the consequences."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean that to be final?" asked Vyner.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, then I shall look after myself. Thank God, I have got brains
+if I<a class="pagenum" name="page_147" id="page_147" title="147"></a> have not money, and I shall not let the means interfere with the
+end."</p>
+
+<p>"You can go to the devil for all I care," was the angry answer, "and,
+after what I know, I won't raise a finger to help you."</p>
+
+<p>The speakers had evidently moved further off, for the last words I could
+not catch. But what little I heard by no means conduced to slumber. So
+Vyner, for all his jovial and easy manner, was in a fix for money, and
+Ridsdale knew something about him scarcely to his credit!</p>
+
+<p>I kept thinking over this, and also recalling his words when he spoke of
+Lady Ridsdale's diamonds as representing a fortune. What did he mean by
+saying that he would not let the means interfere with the end? That
+brief sentence sounded very much like the outburst of a desperate man. I
+could not help heartily wishing that Lady Ridsdale's diamond circlet was
+back in London, and, just before I dropped to sleep, I made up my mind
+to speak to Ridsdale on the subject.</p>
+
+<p>Towards morning I did doze off, but I<a class="pagenum" name="page_148" id="page_148" title="148"></a> was awakened by hearing my name
+called, and, starting up, I saw Ridsdale standing by my side. His face
+looked queer and excited.</p>
+
+<p>"Wake up, Bell," he cried; "a terrible thing has happened."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"My wife's bracelet is stolen."</p>
+
+<p>Like a flash I thought of Vyner, and then as quickly I knew that I must
+be careful to give no voice to hastily-formed suspicions.</p>
+
+<p>"I won't be a moment dressing, and then I'll join you," I said.</p>
+
+<p>Ridsdale nodded and left my cabin.</p>
+
+<p>In five minutes I was with him on deck. He then told me briefly what had
+happened.</p>
+
+<p>"Helena most imprudently left the case on her dressing-table last
+night," he said, "and owing to the heat she kept the window open. Some
+one must have waded into the water in the dark and stolen it. Perhaps
+one of the bandsmen may have noticed the flashing of the diamonds on<a class="pagenum" name="page_149" id="page_149" title="149"></a>
+her wrist and returned to secure the bracelet&mdash;there's no saying. The
+only too palpable fact is that it is gone&mdash;it was valued at twenty
+thousand pounds!"</p>
+
+<p>"Have you sent for the police?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and have also wired to Scotland Yard for one of their best
+detectives. Vyner took the telegram for me, and was to call at the
+police station on his way back. He is nearly as much upset as I am. This
+is a terrible loss. I feel fit to kill myself for my folly in bringing
+that valuable bracelet on board a house-boat."</p>
+
+<p>"It was a little imprudent," I answered, "but you are sure to get it
+back."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope so," he replied moodily.</p>
+
+<p>Just then the punt with Vyner and a couple of policemen on board was
+seen rapidly approaching. Ridsdale went to meet them, and was soon in
+earnest conversation with the superintendent of police. The moment Vyner
+leapt on board he came to the part of the deck where I was standing.<a class="pagenum" name="page_150" id="page_150" title="150"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Ah, Bell," he cried, "what about my prognostications of last night?"</p>
+
+<p>"They have been verified too soon," I answered. I gave him a quick
+glance. His eyes looked straight into mine.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you any theory to account for the theft?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, a very simple one. Owing to the heat of the evening the Countess
+slept with her window open. It was an easy matter to wade through the
+water, introduce a hand through the open window and purloin the
+diamonds."</p>
+
+<p>"Without being seen by any occupants of the tents?" I queried.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," he answered, speaking slowly and with thought.</p>
+
+<p>"Then you believe the thief came from without?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do."</p>
+
+<p>"What about your warning to Lady Ridsdale yesterday evening not to trust
+her maid?"</p>
+
+<p>I saw his eyes flash. It was the briefest of summer lightning that
+played in their<a class="pagenum" name="page_151" id="page_151" title="151"></a> depths. I knew that he longed to adopt the suggestion
+that I had on purpose thrown out, but dared not. That one look was
+enough for me. I had guessed his secret.</p>
+
+<p>Before he could reply to my last remark Lord Ridsdale came up.</p>
+
+<p>"What is to be done?" he said; "the police superintendent insists on our
+all, without respect of persons, being searched."</p>
+
+<p>"There is nothing in that," I said; "it is the usual thing. I will be
+the first to submit to the examination."</p>
+
+<p>The police went through their work thoroughly, and, of course, came
+across neither clue nor diamonds. We presently sat down to breakfast,
+but I don't think we any of us had much appetite. Lady Ridsdale's eyes
+were red with crying, and I could see that the loss had shaken both her
+nerve and fortitude. It was more or less of a relief when the post came
+in. Amongst the letters I found a telegram for myself. I knew what it
+meant before I opened it. It was from a man in a distant part of the
+country whom I had promised<a class="pagenum" name="page_152" id="page_152" title="152"></a> to assist in a matter of grave importance.
+I saw that it was necessary for me to return to town without delay. I
+was very loth to leave my host and hostess in their present dilemma, but
+there was no help for it, and soon after breakfast I took my leave.
+Ridsdale promised to write me if there was any news of the diamonds, and
+soon the circumstance passed more or less into the background of my
+brain, owing to the intense interest of the other matter which I had
+taken up. My work in the north was over, and I had returned to town,
+when I received a letter from Ridsdale.</p>
+
+<p>"We are in a state of despair," he wrote; "we have had two detectives on
+board, and the police have moved heaven and earth to try and discover
+the bracelet&mdash;all in vain; not the slightest clue has been forthcoming.
+No one has worked harder for us than Vyner. He has a small place of his
+own further down the river, and comes up to see us almost daily. He has
+made all sorts of suggestions for the recovery of the diamonds,<a class="pagenum" name="page_153" id="page_153" title="153"></a> but
+hitherto they have led to nothing. In short, our one hope now turns upon
+you, Bell; you have done as difficult things as this before. Will you
+come and see us, and give us the benefit of your advice? If any man can
+solve this mystery, you are the person."</p>
+
+<p>I wrote immediately to say that I would return to the <i>Theodora</i> on the
+following evening, and for the remainder of that day tried to the best
+of my ability to think out this most difficult problem. I felt morally
+certain that I could put my hand on the thief, but I had no real clue to
+work upon&mdash;nothing beyond a nameless suspicion. Strange as it may seem,
+I was moved by sentiment. I had spent some pleasant hours in Vyner's
+society&mdash;I had enjoyed his conversation; I had liked the man for
+himself. He had abilities above the average, of that I was certain&mdash;if
+he were proved guilty, I did not want to be the one to bring his crime
+home to him. So uncomfortable were my feelings that at last I made up my
+mind to take a somewhat bold step. This was<a class="pagenum" name="page_154" id="page_154" title="154"></a> neither more nor less than
+to go to see Vyner himself before visiting the house-boat. What I was to
+do and say when I got to him I was obliged to leave altogether to
+chance; but I had a feeling almost amounting to a certainty that by
+means of this visit I should ultimately return the bracelet to my
+friends the Ridsdales.</p>
+
+<p>The next afternoon I found myself rowing slowly down the river, thinking
+what the issue of my visit to Vyner would be. It happened to be a
+perfect evening. The sun had just set. The long reach of river stretched
+away to the distant bend, where, through the gathering twilight, I could
+just see the white gates of the Eight-Mile Lock. Raising my voice, I
+sang out in a long-drawn, sonorous monotone the familiar cry of "Lock!
+lock! lock!" and, bending to the sculls, sent my little skiff flying
+down stream. The sturdy figure of old James Pegg, the lock-keeper, whom
+I had known for many years, instantly appeared on the bridge. One of the
+great gates slowly swung open, and, shipping my sculls, I shot<a class="pagenum" name="page_155" id="page_155" title="155"></a> in, and
+called out a cheery good-evening to my old friend.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Bell!" exclaimed the old fellow, hurrying along the edge of the
+lock. "Well, I never! I did not see it was you at first, and yet I ought
+to have known that long, swinging stroke of yours. You are the last
+person I expected to see. I was half afraid it might be some one else,
+although I don't know that I was expecting any one in particular. Excuse
+me, sir, but was it you called out 'Lock' just now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course it was," I answered, laughing. "I'm in the deuce of a hurry
+to-night, Jimmy, as I want to get on to Wotton before dark. Look sharp,
+will you, and let me down."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, sir&mdash;but you did frighten me just now. I wish you hadn't
+called out like that!"</p>
+
+<p>As I glanced up at him, I was surprised to see that his usually ruddy,
+round face was as white as a sheet, and he was breathing quickly.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, what on earth is the matter,<a class="pagenum" name="page_156" id="page_156" title="156"></a> Jimmy?" I cried; "how can I have
+frightened you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it's nothing, sir; I suppose I'm an old fool," he faltered,
+smiling. "I don't know what's the matter with me, sir&mdash;I'm all of a
+tremble. The fact is, something happened here last night, and I don't
+seem to have got over it. You know, I am all by myself here now, sir,
+and a lonely place it is."</p>
+
+<p>"Something happened?" I said; "not an accident, I hope?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, no accident that I know of, and yet I have been half expecting
+one to occur all day, and I have been that weak I could hardly wind up
+the sluices. I am getting old now, and I'm not the man I was; but I'm
+right glad to see you, Mr. Bell, that I am."</p>
+
+<p>He kept pausing as he spoke, and now and then glanced up the river, as
+if expecting to see a boat coming round the bend every moment. I was
+much puzzled by his extraordinary manner. I knew him to be a steady man,
+and one whose services were<a class="pagenum" name="page_157" id="page_157" title="157"></a> much valued by the Conservancy; but it
+needed only a glance now to show that there was something very much
+amiss with him.</p>
+
+<p>The darkness was increasing every moment, and, being anxious to get on
+as soon as possible, I was just going to tell him again to hurry up with
+the sluices, when he bent down close to me, and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Would you mind stepping out for a moment, sir, if you can spare the
+time? I wish to speak to you, sir. I'd be most grateful if you would
+wait a minute or two."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, Jimmy," I answered, hauling myself to the side with the
+boat-hook, and getting out. "Is there anything I can do for you? I am
+afraid you are not well. I never saw you like this before."</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; and I never felt like it before, that I can remember.
+Something happened here last night that has taken all the nerve out of
+me, and I want to tell you what it was. I know you are so clever, Mr.
+Bell, and I have heard about your doings up at Wallinghurst last autumn,
+when you cleared<a class="pagenum" name="page_158" id="page_158" title="158"></a> up the Manor House ghost, and got old Monkford six
+months."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, fire away," I said, filling my pipe, and wondering what was
+coming.</p>
+
+<p>"It is this way, sir," he began. "Last night after I had had my supper I
+thought I'd like a stroll and a quiet smoke along the towing path before
+turning in. I did not expect any more boats, as it was getting on for
+ten o'clock. I walked about three-quarters of a mile, and was just going
+to turn round, when I saw a light down on the surface of the water in
+mid-stream. It was pretty dark, for the moon was not up yet, and there
+was a thick white mist rising from the water. I thought it must be some
+one in a canoe at first, so I waited a bit and watched. Then it suddenly
+disappeared, and the next instant I saw it again about a hundred yards
+or so higher up the stream, but only for a second, and then it went out.
+It fairly puzzled me to know what it could be, as I had never seen
+anything like it before. I felt sure it wasn't any sort of craft, but I
+had heard of strange lights being<a class="pagenum" name="page_159" id="page_159" title="159"></a> seen at times on the water&mdash;what they
+call jack-o'-lanterns, I believe, sir. I reckoned it might be one of
+them, but I thought I'd get back to the lock, so that, if it was a
+canoe, I could let it through. However, nothing came of it, and I waited
+and watched, and worried all the evening about it, but couldn't come to
+any sort of idea, so I went to bed. Well, about one o'clock this morning
+I suddenly woke up and thought I could hear some one a long way off
+calling exactly as you did just now, 'Lock! lock! lock!' but it sounded
+ever so far away.</p>
+
+<p>"'It's some of those theatre people coming back to the
+<i>Will-o'-the-Wisp</i> house-boat,' I said to myself, 'and I'm not going to
+turn out for them.' The lock was full at the time, so I thought I would
+just let them work it for themselves. I waited a bit, expecting to hear
+them every minute come up, singing and swearing as they do, but they
+never came, and I was just dropping off when I heard the call again. It
+was not an ordinary sort of voice, but a<a class="pagenum" name="page_160" id="page_160" title="160"></a> long, wailing cry, just as if
+some one was in trouble or drowning. 'Hi! hi! Lock! lo-oock!' it went.</p>
+
+<p>"I got up then and went out. The moon was up now and quite bright, and
+the mist had cleared off, so I went to the bridge on the upper gates and
+looked up stream. This is where I was standing, sir, just as we are
+standing now. I could see right up to the bend, and there was not the
+sign of a boat. I stood straining my eyes, expecting to see a boat come
+round every moment, when I heard the cry again, and this time it sounded
+not fifty yards up stream. I could not make it out at all, so I shouted
+out as loud as I could, 'Who are you? What's the matter?' but there was
+no answer; and then suddenly, the next instant, close below me, from
+<i>inside</i> the lock this time, just here, came a shout, piercing, shrill,
+and loud, 'Open the lock, quick, quick! Open the lock!'</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you, sir, my heart seemed to stand dead still, and I nearly fell
+back over the bridge. I wheeled round sharp, but there<a class="pagenum" name="page_161" id="page_161" title="161"></a> was nothing in
+the lock, that I'll swear to my dying day&mdash;for I could see all over it,
+and nothing could have got in there without passing me. The moon was
+quite bright, and I could see all round it. Without knowing what I was
+doing, I rushed down like mad to the lower gates, and began to wind up
+one of the sluices, and then I stood there and waited, but nothing came.
+As the lock emptied I looked down, but there was no sign of anything
+anywhere, so I let down the sluice without opening the gates, and then
+filled up the lock again. I stood by the post, hardly daring to move,
+when, about half-past five, thank God, I heard the whistle of a tug,
+and, after seeing her through, it was broad daylight.</p>
+
+<p>"That's the whole story, sir, and how I'm going to live through the
+night again I don't know. It was a spirit if ever there was one in the
+world. It's a warning to me, sir; and what's going to happen I don't
+know."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Jimmy," I answered, "it certainly is a most extraordinary story,
+and if I didn't<a class="pagenum" name="page_162" id="page_162" title="162"></a> know you as well as I do, I should say you had taken
+something more than a smoke before you turned in last night."</p>
+
+<p>"I never touch a drop, sir, except when I go into Farley and have a
+glass of beer, but I have not been there for more than a week now."</p>
+
+<p>I confess that Jimmy's story had left a most unpleasant impression on
+me. I had little doubt that the whole thing was some strange subjective
+hallucination, but for a weird and ghostly experience it certainly beat
+most of the tales I had ever heard. I thought for a moment&mdash;it was now
+quite dark, and I felt little inclined to go on to Wotton. My keenest
+interests were awakened.</p>
+
+<p>"Look here," I said, "what do you say if I stay here to-night? Can you
+give me a shake-down of any sort?"</p>
+
+<p>"That I will, sir, and right gladly, and thank God if you will but stay
+with me. If I was alone here again, and heard that voice, I believe it
+would kill me. I'll tie up your boat outside, and bring your things in,<a class="pagenum" name="page_163" id="page_163" title="163"></a>
+and then we'll have supper. I'll feel a new man with you staying here,
+sir."</p>
+
+<p>In a few minutes we were both inside old Jimmy's cosy quarters. His
+whole bearing seemed to have changed suddenly, and he ran about with
+alacrity, getting supper ready, and seeming quite like himself again.
+During the whole evening he kept harping at intervals on the subject of
+the mysterious voice, but we heard no sound whatever, and I felt more
+and more certain that the whole thing was due to hallucination on the
+part of the old man. At eleven o'clock a skiff came up through the lock,
+and almost immediately afterwards I bade Jimmy good-night and went into
+the little room he had prepared for me.</p>
+
+<p>I went quickly to bed, and, tired after my long pull, despite the
+originality of the situation, fell fast asleep. Suddenly I awoke&mdash;some
+one was bending over me and calling me by my name. I leapt up, and, not
+realising where I was for the moment, but with a sort of dim idea that I
+was engaged in some exposure, instinctively seized the<a class="pagenum" name="page_164" id="page_164" title="164"></a> man roughly by
+the throat. In a moment I remembered everything, and quickly released my
+grip of poor old Jimmy, who was gurgling and gasping with horror. I
+burst out laughing at my mistake, and begged his pardon for treating him
+so roughly.</p>
+
+<p>"It is all right, sir," he panted. "I hope I didn't frighten you, but I
+have heard it again, not five minutes ago."</p>
+
+<p>"The deuce you have," I said, striking a match and looking at my watch.</p>
+
+<p>It was nearly two o'clock, and before the minute was up I heard
+distinctly a cry, as if from some great distance, of "Lock, lock, lock!"
+and then all was silence again.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you hear it, sir?" whispered the old man, clutching me by the arm
+with a trembling hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I heard it," I said. "Don't you be frightened, Jimmy; just wait
+till I get my clothes on; I am going to see this thing through."</p>
+
+<p>"Be careful, sir; for God's sake, be careful," he whispered.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," I said, slipping on some things.<a class="pagenum" name="page_165" id="page_165" title="165"></a> "Just get me a good
+strong boat-hook, and don't make too much noise. If this mystery is
+flesh and blood I'll get to the bottom of it somehow. You stay here; and
+if I call, come out."</p>
+
+<p>I took the thick, short boat-hook which he had brought me and, softly
+unlatching the door, went out.</p>
+
+<p>The moon was now riding high overhead and casting black fantastic
+shadows across the little white cottage. All my senses were on the
+keenest alert, my ears were pricked up for the slightest sound. I crept
+softly to the bridge on the upper gate which was open. I looked up
+stream and thought I could see some little ripples on the surface of the
+water as if a swift boat had just passed down, but there was no sign of
+any craft whatever to be seen. It was intensely still, and no sound
+broke the silence save the intermittent croaking of some bull-frogs in
+the dark shadows of the pollards on the further bank. Behind me could
+also be heard the gurgling twinkle of the overflow through the chinks of
+the lower gate.<a class="pagenum" name="page_166" id="page_166" title="166"></a></p>
+
+<p>I stood quite still, gripping the boat-hook in my hand, and looking
+right and left, straining my eyes for the slightest movement of anything
+around, when suddenly, close below me from the water, inside the lock,
+came a loud cry&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Open the lock, for God's sake, open the lock!"</p>
+
+<p>I started back, feeling my hair rise and stiffen. The sound echoed and
+reverberated through the silent night, and then died away; but before it
+had done so I had sprung to the great beam and closed the upper gate. As
+I did so I caught sight of the old man trembling and shaking at the door
+of the cottage. I called to him to go and watch the upper gate, and,
+racing down to the lower ones, wound up one of the sluices with a few
+pulls, so as to let out the water with as little escape room as
+possible. I knew by this means if there were any creature of tangible
+form in the water we must find it when the lock was emptied, as its
+escape was cut off.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style='width:350px'>
+<a name="illus-003" id="illus-003"></a>
+<a href="images/illus-167f.jpg">
+<img src="images/illus-167.jpg" alt="&#34;Struck it a terrific blow with the boat-hook.&#34; A Masterof Mysteries. Page 167" title="" width="350" /></a><br />
+<table summary="" style='width:350px' class="caption">
+    <tr><td colspan="2">&#34;Struck it a terrific blow with the boat-hook.&#34;</td></tr>
+    <tr><td align="left">
+        <span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>A Master of Mysteries.</span></td>
+        <td align="right"><span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>Page 167</span></td>
+    </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="page_167" id="page_167" title="167"></a>Each
+of the following minutes seemed stretched into a lifetime as, with
+eyes riveted on the dark water in the lock, I watched its gradual
+descent. I hardly dared to think of what I expected to see rise to the
+surface any moment. Would the lock never empty? Down, down sank the
+level, and still I saw nothing. A long, misshapen arm of black cloud was
+slowly stretching itself across the moon.</p>
+
+<p>Hark! there was something moving about down in the well of darkness
+below me, and as I stood and watched I saw that the water was uncovering
+a long, black mass and that something ran slowly out of the water and
+began to clamber up the slimy, slippery beams. What in the name of
+heaven could it be? By the uncertain light I could only see its dim
+outline; it seemed to have an enormous bulbous head and dripping,
+glistening body. The sound of a rapid patter up the tow-path told me
+that the old man had seen it and was running for his life.</p>
+
+<p>I rushed down to where the thing was, and as its great head appeared
+above the edge, with all my force struck it a terrific blow with the
+boat-hook. The weapon flew<a class="pagenum" name="page_168" id="page_168" title="168"></a> into splinters in my hand, and the next
+moment the creature had leapt up beside me and dashed me to the ground
+with almost superhuman force. I was up and on to it again in a second,
+and as I caught and closed with it saw that I had at least to deal with
+a human being, and that what he lacked in stature he more than made up
+for in strength. The struggle that ensued was desperate and furious. The
+covering to his head that had splintered the boat-hook was, I saw, a
+sort of helmet, completely protecting the head from any blow, and the
+body was cased in a slippery, closely fitting garment that kept eluding
+my grasp. To and fro we swayed and wrestled, and for a moment I thought
+I had met my match till, suddenly freeing my right arm, I got in a
+smashing blow in the region of the heart. The creature uttered a cry of
+pain and fell headlong to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Old Jimmy Pegg had hurried back as soon as he heard our struggles and
+knew that he was not dealing with a being of another world. He ran up
+eagerly to me.<a class="pagenum" name="page_169" id="page_169" title="169"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Here's your ghost, you old coward!" I panted; "he has got the hardest
+bone and muscle I ever felt in a ghost yet. I am not used to fighting
+men in helmets, and he is as slippery as an eel, but I hope to goodness
+I have not done more than knock the wind out of him. He is a specimen I
+should rather like to take alive. Catch hold of his feet and we'll get
+him inside and see who he is."</p>
+
+<p>Between us we carried the prostrate figure inside the cottage and laid
+him down like a log on the floor. He never moved nor uttered a sound,
+and I was afraid at first that I had finished him for good and all. I
+next knelt down and proceeded to unfasten the helmet, which, from its
+appearance, was something like the kind used by divers, while the old
+man brought the lantern close to his face. At the first glance I knew in
+an instant that I had seen the face before, and the next second
+recognised, to my utter astonishment and horror, that it belonged to
+Ralph Vyner.</p>
+
+<p>For the moment I was completely dumbfounded,<a class="pagenum" name="page_170" id="page_170" title="170"></a> and gazed at the man
+without speaking. It was obvious that he had only fainted from the blow,
+for I could see that he was breathing, and in a few minutes he opened
+his eyes and fixed them on me with a dull and vacant stare. Then he
+seemed to recall the situation, though he evidently did not recognise
+me.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me go," he cried, making an effort to rise. "My God! you have
+killed me." He pressed his hand to his side and fell back again: his
+face was contorted as if in great pain.</p>
+
+<p>There was obviously only one thing to be done, and that was to send for
+medical assistance at once. It was clear that the man was badly injured,
+but to what extent I could not determine. It was impossible to extract
+the slightest further communication from him&mdash;he lay quite still,
+groaning from time to time.</p>
+
+<p>I told Jimmy to go off at once to Farley and bring the doctor. I
+scribbled a few directions on a piece of paper.</p>
+
+<p>The old man hurried out of the cottage,<a class="pagenum" name="page_171" id="page_171" title="171"></a> but in less than a minute he
+was back again in great excitement.</p>
+
+<p>"Look here, sir, what I have just picked up," he said; "it's something
+he has dropped, I reckon."</p>
+
+<p>As Jimmy spoke he held out a square leather case: there was a monogram
+on it. I took it in my hand and pressed the lid; it flew open, and
+inside, resting on its velvet bed, lay the glittering circlet of
+diamonds. I held Lady Ridsdale's lost bracelet in my hand. All my
+suspicions were confirmed: Vyner was the thief.</p>
+
+<p>Without saying a word I shut the box and despatched the old man at once
+for the doctor, bidding him go as fast as he could. Then I sat down by
+the prostrate man and waited. I knew that Jimmy could not be back for at
+least two hours. The grey dawn was beginning to steal in through the
+little latticed window when Vyner moved, opened his eyes and looked at
+me. He started as his eyes fell on the case.</p>
+
+<p>"You are Mr. Bell," he said slowly. "Ridsdale told me that you were
+coming to<a class="pagenum" name="page_172" id="page_172" title="172"></a> the <i>Theodora</i> on purpose to discover the mystery of the lost
+diamonds. You didn't know that I should give you an opportunity of
+discovering the truth even before you arrived at the house-boat. Bend
+down close to me&mdash;you have injured me; I may not recover; hear what I
+have to say."</p>
+
+<p>I bent over him, prepared to listen to his words, which came out slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"I am a forger and a desperate man. Three weeks ago I forged one of
+Ridsdale's cheques and lessened my friend's balance to the tune of five
+thousand pounds. He and his wife were old friends of mine, but I wanted
+the money desperately, and was impervious to sentiment or anything else.
+On that first day when you met me, although I seemed cheery enough, I
+was fit to kill myself. I had hoped to be able to restore the stolen
+money long before Ridsdale was likely to miss it. But this hope had
+failed. I saw no loophole of escape, and the day of reckoning could not
+be far off. What devil prompted Ridsdale to bring those diamonds on
+board, Heaven only<a class="pagenum" name="page_173" id="page_173" title="173"></a> knows. The moment I saw them they fascinated me and
+I knew I should have a try for them. All during that evening's festivity
+I could think of nothing else. I made up my mind to secure them by hook
+or by crook. Before we retired for the night, however, I thought I would
+give Ridsdale a chance. I asked him if he would lend me the exact sum I
+had already stolen from him, five thousand pounds, but he had heard
+rumours to my discredit and refused point-blank. I hated him for it. I
+went into my tent under the pretence of lying down, but in reality to
+concoct and, if possible, carry out my plot. I waited until the quietest
+hour before dawn, then I slipped out of my tent, waded into the water,
+approached the open window of the Countess's cabin, thrust in my hand,
+took out the case, and, going down the river about a quarter of a mile,
+threw the diamonds into the middle of the stream. I marked well the
+place where they sank; I then returned to my tent and went to bed.<a class="pagenum" name="page_174" id="page_174" title="174"></a></p>
+
+<p>"You know what occurred the following morning. I neither feared Ridsdale
+nor his wife, but you, Bell, gave me a considerable amount of
+uneasiness. I felt certain that in an evil moment on the night before I
+had given you a clue. To a man of your ability the slightest clue was
+all-sufficient. I felt that I must take the bull by the horns and find
+out whether you suspected me or not. I talked to you, and guessed by the
+tone of your remarks that you had your suspicions. My relief was immense
+when that telegram arrived which hurried you away from the <i>Theodora</i>.
+On the following day I returned to my own little place on the banks of
+the river four miles below this lock. I knew it was necessary for me to
+remain quiet for a time, but all the same my plans were clearly made,
+and I only waited until the first excitement of the loss had subsided
+and the police and detectives were off their guard. In the meantime I
+went to see Ridsdale almost daily, and suggested many expedients for
+securing the thief and getting hold of the right clue.<a class="pagenum" name="page_175" id="page_175" title="175"></a> If he ever
+suspected me, which I don't for a moment suppose, I certainly put him
+off the scent. My intention was to take the diamonds out of the country,
+sell them for all that I could get, then return the five thousand pounds
+which I had stolen from his bank, and leave England for ever. As a
+forger I should be followed to the world's end, but as the possessor of
+stolen diamonds I felt myself practically safe. My scheme was too
+cleverly worked out to give the ordinary detective a chance of
+discovering me.</p>
+
+<p>"Two days ago I had a letter from Ridsdale in which he told me that he
+intended to put the matter into your hands. Now this was by no means to
+my mind, for you, Bell, happened to be the one man in the world whom I
+really dreaded. I saw that I must no longer lose time. Under my little
+boat-house I had a small submarine boat which I had lately finished,
+more as a hobby than anything else. I had begun it years ago in my odd
+moments on a model I had seen of a torpedo used<a class="pagenum" name="page_176" id="page_176" title="176"></a> in the American War. My
+boat is now in the lock outside, and you will see for yourself what
+ingenuity was needed to construct such a thing. On the night before the
+one which has just passed, I got it ready, and, as soon as it was dark,
+started off in it to recover the diamonds. I got through the lock easily
+by going in under the water with a barge, but when I reached the spot
+where I had sunk the diamonds, found to my dismay that my electric light
+would not work. There was no help for it&mdash;I could not find the bracelet
+without the aid of the light, and was bound to return home to repair the
+lamp. This delay was fraught with danger, but there was no help for it.
+My difficulty now was to get back through the lock; for though I waited
+for quite three hours no boats came along. I saw the upper gates were
+open, but how to get through the lower ones I could not conceive. I felt
+sure that my only chance was to frighten the lock-keeper, and get him to
+open the sluices, for I knew I could pass through them unobserved<a class="pagenum" name="page_177" id="page_177" title="177"></a> if
+they were open, as I had done once before.</p>
+
+<p>"In my diver's helmet was a thick glass face-piece. This had an opening,
+closed by a cap, which could be unscrewed, and through which I could
+breathe when above water, and also through which my voice would come,
+causing a peculiar hollowness which I guessed would have a very
+startling effect, especially as I myself would be quite invisible. I got
+into the lock, and shouted to Pegg. I succeeded in frightening him; he
+hurried to do what I ordered. He wound up the lower sluice, I shot
+through under water, and so got back unseen. All yesterday I hesitated
+about trying the experiment again, the risk was so great; but I knew
+that Ridsdale was certain to see his bank-book soon, that my forgery was
+in imminent danger of being discovered, also that you, Bell, were coming
+upon the scene.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, at any risk, I must now go on.</p>
+
+<p>"I repaired my light, and again last night passed through the lock on my
+way up,<a class="pagenum" name="page_178" id="page_178" title="178"></a> by simply waiting for another boat. As a matter of fact, I
+passed up through this lock under a skiff about eleven o'clock. My light
+was now all right, I found the diamond case easily, and turned to pass
+down the stream by the same method as before. If you had not been here I
+should have succeeded, and should have been safe, but now it is all up."</p>
+
+<p>He paused, and his breath came quickly.</p>
+
+<p>"I doubt if I shall recover," he said in a feeble voice.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you will," I replied; "and hark! I think I hear the doctor's
+steps."</p>
+
+<p>I was right, for a moment or two later old Jimmy Pegg and Dr. Simmons
+entered the cottage. While the doctor was examining the patient and
+talking to him, I went out with Jimmy to have a look at the submarine
+boat. By fixing a rope round it we managed to haul it up, and then
+proceeded to examine it. It certainly was the most wonderful piece of
+ingenious engineering I had ever seen. The boat was in the shape of an
+enormous cigar, and was<a class="pagenum" name="page_179" id="page_179" title="179"></a> made of aluminium. It was seven feet long, and
+had a circular beam of sixteen inches. At the pointed end, close to
+where the occupant's feet would be, was an air chamber capable of being
+filled or emptied at will by means of a compressed air cylinder,
+enabling the man to rise or sink whenever he wished to. Inside, the boat
+was lined with flat chambers of compressed air for breathing purposes,
+which were governed by a valve. It was also provided with a small
+accumulator and electric motor which drove the tiny propeller astern.
+The helmet which the man wore fitted around the opening at the head end.</p>
+
+<p>After examining the boat it was easy to see how Vyner had escaped
+through the lock the night before I arrived, as this submarine wonder of
+ingenuity would be able to shoot through the sluice gate under water,
+when the sluice was raised to empty the lock.</p>
+
+<p>After exchanging a few remarks with Jimmy, I returned to the cottage to
+learn the doctor's verdict.<a class="pagenum" name="page_180" id="page_180" title="180"></a></p>
+
+<p>It was grave, but not despairing. The patient could not be moved for a
+day or two. He was, in Dr. Simmons's opinion, suffering more from shock
+than anything else. If he remained perfectly quiet, he would in all
+probability recover; if he were disturbed, the consequences might be
+serious.</p>
+
+<p>An hour afterwards I found myself on my way up stream sculling as fast
+as I could in the direction of the <i>Theodora</i>. I arrived there at an
+early hour, and put the case which contained the diamonds into Lady
+Ridsdale's hands.</p>
+
+<p>I shall never forget the astonishment of Ridsdale and his wife when I
+told my strange tale. The Countess burst into tears, and Ridsdale was
+terribly agitated.</p>
+
+<p>"I have known Vyner from a boy, and so has my wife," he exclaimed. "Of
+course, this proves him to be an unmitigated scoundrel, but I cannot be
+the one to bring him to justice."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no, Charlie, whatever happens we must forgive him," said Lady
+Ridsdale, looking up with a white face.<a class="pagenum" name="page_181" id="page_181" title="181"></a></p>
+
+<p>I had nothing to say to this, it was not my affair. Unwittingly I had
+been the means of restoring to the Ridsdales their lost bracelet; they
+must act as they thought well with regard to the thief.</p>
+
+<p>As a matter of fact, Vyner did escape the full penalty of his crime.
+Having got back the diamonds Lord Ridsdale would not prosecute. On the
+contrary, he helped the broken-down man to leave the country. From the
+view of pure justice he was, of course, wrong, but I could not help
+being glad.</p>
+
+<p>As an example of what a desperate man will do, I think it would be
+difficult to beat Vyner's story. The originality and magnitude of the
+conception, the daring which enabled the man, single-handed, to do his
+own dredging in a submarine boat in one of the reaches of the Thames
+have seldom been equalled.</p>
+
+<p>As I thought over the whole scheme, my only regret was that such ability
+should not have been devoted to nobler ends.<a class="pagenum" name="page_182" id="page_182" title="182"></a></p>
+
+<hr class="major" />
+<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em">
+<a class="pagenum" name="page_183" id="page_183" title="183"></a>
+<a name="How_Siva_Spoke_3441" id="How_Siva_Spoke_3441"></a>
+<p style='font-size:x-large; margin-left: 3em;'>V</p>
+<p style='font-size:x-large'>How Siva Spoke</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>During the summer of the past year a medical friend of mine sent me an
+invitation to dine with him and two of his fellow-craftsmen at the
+Welcome Club at the Earl's Court Exhibition. One of our party was a
+certain Dr. Laurier, a young man of considerable ability, whose special
+attention had been directed to mental diseases. He was, indeed, a noted
+authority on this subject, and had just completed an appointment at one
+of the large London asylums. During dinner he entertained us with a few
+of his late experiences&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I assure you, Mr. Bell," he said, "there is absolutely no limit to the
+vagaries of the<a class="pagenum" name="page_184" id="page_184" title="184"></a> human mind. At the present moment a most grotesque and
+painful form of mental disease has come under my notice. The patient is
+not a pauper, but a gentleman of good standing and means. He is
+unmarried, and owns a lovely place in the country. He spent the early
+years of his life in India, and when there the craze began which now
+assumes the magnitude of a monomania."</p>
+
+<p>"Pray let me hear about him, if your professional etiquette allows you
+to talk on the subject," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"I will certainly tell you what I can," he replied. "I have known the
+man for years, having met him in town on several occasions. Last week
+his nephew came to see me, and spoke seriously with regard to his
+uncle's state of mind. His great craze for years has been spiritualism,
+theosophy, and mahatmas, with all their attendant hocus-pocus. He firmly
+believes in his power to call up spirits from the vasty deep, and holds
+many extraordinary s&eacute;ances."</p>
+
+<p>"But surely such a craze is not sufficient<a class="pagenum" name="page_185" id="page_185" title="185"></a> to prove insanity!" I said.
+"Hundreds of people believe in such manifestations at the present day."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that well, and perfectly harmless such crazes are so long as the
+victims confine their beliefs to spirit-rapping, table-turning, and
+humbug of that sort; but when their convictions lead them to commit
+actions which compromise serious interests, and when, as in this case,
+there is a possibility of life itself being in danger, it is time they
+should be looked after."</p>
+
+<p>"What is the particular nature of your friend's delusion?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"This. He is practically a Brahmin, having been deeply imbued with the
+peculiar doctrines of Brahminism when in India. Amongst his friends in
+the East was a Brahmin of high degree in whose house were three idols,
+representing the Hindu Trinity&mdash;Vishnu, Brahma, and Siva. By some means
+which have never been explained to me, my friend managed to get
+possession of Siva, and brought the idol home. He placed it in a gallery
+which he<a class="pagenum" name="page_186" id="page_186" title="186"></a> has in his house, believing from the first that it possessed
+mystical properties which it was his duty to fathom. The nephew now
+tells me that he has brought his craze to such a pass that he firmly
+believes that Siva speaks to him in Hindustanee. The unhappy man kneels
+nightly at the altar in front of the idol, receiving, as he imagines,
+directions from him. The consequence is that he does all sorts of mad
+and extraordinary things, spending his large fortune lavishly in the
+decoration of this hideous monster, buying pearls, rubies, and even
+diamonds for the purpose, and really being, as he imagines, guided by it
+in the disposition of his life and property. He has a young niece
+residing with him, to whom he has always been very much attached; but of
+late he has been cruel to her, banishing her from his presence, refusing
+her his sympathy, and has even gone to the length of threatening to take
+her life, saying quite openly that Siva informs him night after night of
+her treachery towards him. Now the nephew is engaged<a class="pagenum" name="page_187" id="page_187" title="187"></a> to this girl, and
+is naturally anxious about her; but, say what he will, nothing will
+induce her to turn against her uncle, to whom she is deeply attached.
+She denies that he threatens her life, although the nephew declares that
+he did so in his own presence. Under such circumstances, her friends
+are, naturally, most anxious about her, and feel it their duty to get a
+medical opinion with regard to the uncle. I am going down to his place
+to-morrow, and shall there meet his regular medical attendant in
+consultation."</p>
+
+<p>"And then, I suppose, certify as to his insanity?" I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Doubtless; that is, if we come to the conclusion that the man is really
+insane."</p>
+
+<p>"What an awful responsibility is reposed in you doctors!" I said. "Think
+what it means to condemn a man to a lunatic asylum. In the hands of the
+unscrupulous such a power is terrible."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Laurier knitted his brows, and looked keenly at me.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?" he said in a<a class="pagenum" name="page_188" id="page_188" title="188"></a> curious tone. "Of course mistakes are
+made now and then, but not, I believe, often. To act in good faith and
+exercise reasonable care are the two requisites of the law."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course," I replied, "there are great difficulties on both sides of
+this momentous question; but if I belonged to the profession, I can
+frankly say that nothing would induce me to sign a certificate of
+lunacy."</p>
+
+<p>A few moments afterwards we all rose and strolled about the grounds. As
+we were parting at the exit gates I called Dr. Laurier aside.</p>
+
+<p>"The love of mystery is to me a ruling passion," I said. "Will you
+excuse the great liberty I take when I ask you to let me know the result
+of your visit of to-morrow? I am immensely interested in your
+spiritualist patient."</p>
+
+<p>As I spoke I scribbled my address on a card and handed it to him, half
+expecting that he would resent my intrusiveness. A smile flitted across
+his clever face, and he<a class="pagenum" name="page_189" id="page_189" title="189"></a> stood looking at me for a moment under the
+glare of the great arc lights.</p>
+
+<p>"I will certainly give you the result of my visit, as you are so much
+interested," he replied. "Good-night."</p>
+
+<p>We got into our respective hansoms, and drove off in different
+directions.</p>
+
+<p>I had much to do, and soon forgot both Dr. Laurier and his patient;
+therefore, on the following Monday, when he was ushered into my
+presence, my surprise was great.</p>
+
+<p>"I have come to fulfil my promise," he began. "I am here not only to
+satisfy your curiosity about my patient, but also to ask your advice.
+The fact is the matter has, I think, now merged more into your domain
+than mine."</p>
+
+<p>"Pray tell me what has happened," I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"That is what I am about to do; but first I must ensure your absolute
+confidence and secrecy, for my professional reputation may be seriously
+compromised if it is known that I consulted you."<a class="pagenum" name="page_190" id="page_190" title="190"></a></p>
+
+<p>I gave him the assurance, and he proceeded:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"My patient's name is Edward Thesiger; he lives in a place called The
+Hynde, in Somersetshire. I went down as I had arranged, and was met at
+the station by his nephew, Jasper Bagwell. Bagwell is a thin,
+anxious-looking man of about five-and-thirty. He drove me over to The
+Hynde, and I was there met by Thesiger's own physician, Dr. Dalton.
+Dalton and I each made a separate examination of the patient, and came
+to the conclusion that he was undoubtedly queer.</p>
+
+<p>"In the course of the afternoon we were all wandering round the grounds,
+when we were joined by the young girl to whom Bagwell is engaged. When
+she saw me she gave me a very eager glance, and soon attached herself to
+my side.</p>
+
+<p>"'I want to speak to you, Dr. Laurier,' she said in a low voice.</p>
+
+<p>"I managed to drop behind in order to give her an opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>"'I know what you have come about,'<a class="pagenum" name="page_191" id="page_191" title="191"></a> she said. 'What do you think of my
+uncle's case?'</p>
+
+<p>"'I am not prepared to hazard an opinion,' I replied.</p>
+
+<p>"'Well, please listen to something I have got to say. Jasper Bagwell has
+his own reasons for what he tells you. You do very wrong to listen to
+him. Uncle Edward is queer, I grant, with regard to the idol Siva, that
+is because he is in reality a Brahmin; but if you sign a certificate to
+the effect that he is mad, you will be making a very terrible mistake.'</p>
+
+<p>"As she spoke her lips trembled, and tears filled her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"'I am terribly unhappy about it all,' she continued.</p>
+
+<p>"I looked at her earnestly, then I said in a low voice:</p>
+
+<p>"'Forgive me if I reply to you as plainly as you have just spoken to me.
+You arouse my surprise when you speak as you do of Mr. Bagwell. Is it
+not the case that you are engaged to marry him?'</p>
+
+<p>"She gave a visible start.<a class="pagenum" name="page_192" id="page_192" title="192"></a></p>
+
+<p>"'It is the case,' she answered slowly. Then she continued, speaking
+with great emphasis, 'I only marry my cousin because it is the one&mdash;the
+one chance of saving Uncle Edward.'</p>
+
+<p>"'What do you mean?' I asked in astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>"'I wish I could tell you, but I dare not. I am a very miserable girl.
+There is foul play somewhere, of that I am convinced. Oh, believe me!
+won't you believe me?'</p>
+
+<p>"To these extraordinary words I made a somewhat dubious reply, and she
+soon left me, to walk by her uncle's side.</p>
+
+<p>"Late that evening I was alone with the patient, and he then confided to
+me much which he had withheld at first. He spoke about the years he had
+spent in India, and in especial alluded to the Brahmin religion. He told
+me also that he now possesses the idol Siva, and has set it up in a
+marble gallery where he can hold his spiritualistic s&eacute;ances. Bending
+forward as he spoke, and fixing me with his intelligent and yet<a class="pagenum" name="page_193" id="page_193" title="193"></a> strange
+glance, he said solemnly, and with an appearance of perfect truth on his
+face, that by certain incenses and secret incantations he could make the
+idol speak to him in Hindustanee. He said further that he felt himself
+completely dominated by it, and was bound to obey all its dictates. As
+he said the latter words his face grew white to the lips.</p>
+
+<p>"'Siva is exigent in his demands,' he said slowly&mdash;'exigent and
+terrible. But come, I will take you into the gallery, and you shall see
+him for yourself.'</p>
+
+<p>"I went gladly. We had to go through a long conservatory which opened
+out of the dining-room; from there we entered an oval-shaped room.
+Thesiger brought me straight up to the idol. It was placed upon a
+pedestal. It is a hideous monster made of wood, and has five heads; in
+its hand it holds a trident. I could hardly refrain from smiling when I
+first saw it. It was difficult to believe that any man, sane or insane,
+could hold faith in such a monstrosity. My object, however, was to draw<a class="pagenum" name="page_194" id="page_194" title="194"></a>
+the poor mad fellow out, and I begged of him to take what steps he
+considered necessary in order to induce the creature to speak. He
+willingly obeyed my desire, and with great solemnity went through
+elaborate operations; then, turning the lamp very low, knelt at the
+altar in front of the idol and began to address it. He waited for its
+replies, which were, of course, inaudible, and then continued speaking
+again. After some moments spent in this way he declared solemnly that it
+had replied to him, and practically called me a liar when I said I had
+not heard it.</p>
+
+<p>"When he turned up the lamp at the end of this strange scene, I noticed
+for the first time that the idol was decorated with precious stones of
+extraordinary value. To leave such valuables in a room with an unlocked
+door was in itself a symptom of insanity, and when I parted with
+Thesiger for the night I had not the least doubt that my unfortunate
+host was really insane. All the same, I had a curious unwillingness with
+regard to signing the certificate. Bagwell<a class="pagenum" name="page_195" id="page_195" title="195"></a> eagerly asked me if I did
+not intend to sign. To his astonishment, I replied in the negative. I
+said that the case was a very peculiar one, and that it would be
+necessary for me to pay a second visit to the patient before I could
+take this extreme step. He was, I could see, intensely annoyed, but I
+remained firm."</p>
+
+<p>Laurier stopped speaking and looked me full in the face.</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I have come to consult with you over the matter. You remember what you
+said about the responsibility of signing such certificates! It is on
+account of those words I have come to you."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Dr. Laurier," I answered, "I shall of course be happy to do
+anything I can to help you, but I must frankly confess that I fail to
+see exactly on what point I can be of service. I know little about
+disease in general, and nothing about mental diseases in particular.
+Miss Thesiger seems to think that there is foul play; but have you any
+suspicions on your own account?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_196" id="page_196" title="196"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I have no proofs, but, all the same, I do suspect foul play, although,
+perhaps, I have no right to say so."</p>
+
+<p>"Then what do you want me to do?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"This," he answered. "Will you come down with me to Somersetshire as my
+friend, and in the <i>r&ocirc;le</i> of a great spiritualist? Thesiger will be only
+too delighted to meet some one of his own way of thinking. Will you
+come?"</p>
+
+<p>I thought for a moment&mdash;it was not a <i>r&ocirc;le</i> I cared to assume, but the
+case was peculiar, and might possibly lie within my province. I
+eventually agreed to accompany Laurier into Somersetshire, and, as a
+matter of fact, went down with him the next day. He had telegraphed our
+arrival to The Hynde, and a hearty invitation was accorded to me.</p>
+
+<p>As we were driving through the grounds late the following afternoon we
+were met by a tall girl, who was accompanied by two thoroughbred
+retrievers.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is Miss Thesiger," said Laurier.<a class="pagenum" name="page_197" id="page_197" title="197"></a> He called to the driver to stop,
+and jumping down, went to her side. I accompanied him.</p>
+
+<p>"Miss Thesiger," said Laurier, "let me introduce my friend, Mr. John
+Bell."</p>
+
+<p>She looked me full in the face, then her grey eyes seemed to lighten
+with momentary pleasure, and she held out her hand.</p>
+
+<p>"What have you come back for?" she asked the next moment, turning to
+Laurier.</p>
+
+<p>"To see your uncle."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you to meet Dr. Dalton?" her lips trembled.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe so. I assure you, Miss Thesiger, I have come with no sinister
+design." Laurier smiled as he spoke. "On the contrary, I am here to-day
+in order, if possible, to get at the truth. There is no one who can help
+me better than this gentleman."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you do suspect foul play?" she said, her eyes lighting up with
+sudden hope.</p>
+
+<p>"I have no reason to do so," he answered.<a class="pagenum" name="page_198" id="page_198" title="198"></a></p>
+
+<p>"It exists," she replied. "I know what I am saying; will you not believe
+me?" As she spoke she glanced hurriedly behind her&mdash;footsteps were heard
+rapidly approaching.</p>
+
+<p>"There is my cousin," she said; "he follows me like a shadow. Dr.
+Laurier and Mr. Bell, I must see you both, or one of you, in private. I
+have something of great importance which you ought to know."</p>
+
+<p>Before either of us could answer her, Jasper Bagwell came up. He gave us
+a polite welcome, and glanced keenly at his cousin, who took no notice
+of him, but continued her walk.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor girl!" he said with a deep sigh, as we three walked slowly to the
+house.</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you pity her?" I could not help asking.</p>
+
+<p>"Because she is nearly as much under a delusion as my uncle himself. The
+fact is she is in the utmost danger, and yet refuses absolutely to
+believe it. The more eccentric my unfortunate uncle grows, the more she
+clings to him; she scarcely leaves his side,<a class="pagenum" name="page_199" id="page_199" title="199"></a> although it is most unsafe
+for her to be with him. I think it my absolute duty to watch her day and
+night, and am really almost worn out with anxiety. The whole of last
+night I spent in the corridor which divides her room from Mr.
+Thesiger's. Three times in the course of the night I saw the unfortunate
+madman gliding down this corridor, and but for my timely appearance on
+the scene I have not the slightest doubt that he would have entered
+Helen's room with the most fell design. I see the madness in his eye
+when he even glances at her. He told me solemnly not later than
+yesterday that Siva had laid it upon him to take her life, as she was
+opposed heart and soul to the doctrines of Brahminism, and was a serious
+obstacle in the way of the great work which my uncle was meant by the
+idol to undertake. I told Helen exactly what he said, but she goes on as
+if nothing were wrong. The fact is this, Laurier, if you don't sign that
+certificate I must get another doctor who will."</p>
+
+<p>Bagwell's communications were certainly<a class="pagenum" name="page_200" id="page_200" title="200"></a> alarming, but we had scarcely
+time to reply to them before we reached the house. When we entered the
+hall the frown departed from his face like magic, he assumed a
+thoroughly pleasant manner, and conducted us quickly into the presence
+of the owner of the house.</p>
+
+<p>Edward Thesiger was a handsome old man, tall and dignified in
+appearance. He possessed a particularly lofty and intelligent cast of
+face, aquiline features, and silver hair which flowed down over his
+shoulders. His face was clean shaven, which allowed the handsome curves
+of his mobile mouth to be plainly seen. His conversation betokened the
+man of learning, his words were well chosen, his manner was extremely
+calm and quiet. At a first glance no one could look more thoroughly
+sane.</p>
+
+<p>During dinner that night I happened to be seated opposite Miss Thesiger.
+She was very silent, and seemed terribly depressed. I noticed that she
+often glanced at her uncle, and further observed that he carefully
+avoided meeting her eyes. When she came<a class="pagenum" name="page_201" id="page_201" title="201"></a> into the room he manifested
+distinct uneasiness, and when she retired to the drawing-room after
+dinner a look of relief filled his fine face. He drew up his chair near
+mine and began to talk.</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad you were able to come," he said. "It is not often one has the
+privilege of meeting a thoroughly kindred spirit. Now, tell me, have you
+carefully studied Brahminism?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have done so cursorily," I replied, "and have had from time to time
+curious dealings with the supernatural." I then added abruptly, "I am
+much interested to hear from Laurier that you, Mr. Thesiger, possess the
+idol Siva in this house."</p>
+
+<p>"Hush!" he said, starting and turning very pale. "Do not say the name in
+such a loud and reckless tone." As he spoke he bent towards me, and his
+voice dropped. "Mr. Bell, I have extraordinary confidences which I can
+make to you by-and-by."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall be happy to hear them," I answered.<a class="pagenum" name="page_202" id="page_202" title="202"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Have you had wine enough? Shall we go into the gallery now?"</p>
+
+<p>I rose immediately. My host led me into a conservatory, and from there
+straight into a marble gallery. It was a curious-looking place, being a
+large oval chamber forty feet long, the walls were faced with marble,
+and a dado painted in Egyptian style ran round the room. Half way
+between the middle of the room and the end stood a fountain of curious
+design. It consisted of the bronze figure of a swan with wings
+outspread. From its bill the water issued and fell into a circular
+basin. Facing this fountain, twenty feet away, stood the idol, with its
+little altar in front of it. I went up and examined it with intense
+interest. The pedestal on which it rested was about three feet high&mdash;the
+idol itself was the same height, so that its five heads were almost on a
+level with my face. Round the neck, and decorating each of the heads,
+were jewels of extraordinary magnificence; the hand which held the
+trident was loaded with diamond rings. It is almost impossible to<a class="pagenum" name="page_203" id="page_203" title="203"></a>
+describe the sinister effect of this grotesque and horrible monster; and
+when I saw Mr. Thesiger gazing at it with a peculiar expression of
+reverence not unmixed with fear, I felt certain that Bagwell was right,
+and that the man was dangerously insane.</p>
+
+<p>As I was thinking these thoughts my host groaned quite audibly, and then
+looked steadily at me.</p>
+
+<p>"I am living through a very terrible time," he said in a low voice. "I
+am the victim of a strange and awful power." Here his words dropped to
+an intense whisper. "Years ago, when I became a Brahmin," he continued,
+"voluntarily giving up the faith in which I was born, I little knew to
+what such a step would lead. I stole Siva from the house of my Indian
+friend and brought the idol home. From the first it began to exercise a
+marvellous power over me. I had made a large fortune in India; and when
+I came to England, bought this place, and finding this curious gallery
+already in existence, had it lined with marble, and set up Siva in its
+midst. The study<a class="pagenum" name="page_204" id="page_204" title="204"></a> of the faith which I had adopted, the holding of
+spiritualistic s&eacute;ances and matters of that sort, occupied my time, and I
+became more and more imbued with the strange mysticism of my belief. As
+the years flew by I was more and more firmly convinced that what looks
+like mere wood is in reality imbued with strange and awful qualities. I
+shall never forget that terrible evening when Siva first spoke to me."</p>
+
+<p>"How long ago was that?" I interrupted.</p>
+
+<p>"Some months ago now. I was kneeling by the altar, and was speaking to
+him as usual, when I heard words uttered in Hindustanee. At first I
+could scarcely credit my own ears, but soon I grew accustomed to the
+fact that Siva wished to hold communication with me, and listened to him
+nightly. At the beginning of our remarkable intercourse he laid certain
+mandates upon me which resulted, as you see, in my decorating him with
+these precious stones. I felt bound to obey him, whatever he dictated;
+but of late he has told<a class="pagenum" name="page_205" id="page_205" title="205"></a> me&mdash;he has told me&mdash;&mdash;" The old man began to
+shudder and tremble.</p>
+
+<p>While he had been speaking to me he had been gazing at the idol; now he
+walked a few steps away and turned his back on it.</p>
+
+<p>"Sooner or later I must obey him," he said in a feeble voice; "but the
+thing is driving me crazed&mdash;crazed."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" I asked; "tell me, I beseech you."</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot; it is too awful&mdash;it relates to the one I love best in the
+world. The sacrifice is too horrible, and yet I am drawn to it&mdash;I am
+drawn to the performing of an awful deed by a terrific power. Ask me no
+more, Mr. Bell; I see by your face that I have your pity."</p>
+
+<p>"You have, truly," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>I had scarcely said the last words before the door of the gallery was
+opened, and Miss Thesiger, Bagwell, and Laurier appeared. Miss Thesiger
+went straight to her uncle's side, and laid her hand on his shoulder.<a class="pagenum" name="page_206" id="page_206" title="206"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Must you stay up any longer?" she asked in a gentle voice. "I heard you
+walking about last night; you were restless and did not sleep. Do go to
+bed now; you seem so tired. I know these gentlemen will excuse you," she
+added, glancing from Laurier to me.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," said Laurier. "I should recommend Mr. Thesiger to retire at
+once; he looks quite worn out."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall go presently&mdash;presently," said Thesiger, in a somewhat curt
+voice. "Leave us, Helen; there's a good child; go, my dear."</p>
+
+<p>"Go, Helen; don't irritate him," I heard Bagwell say.</p>
+
+<p>She gave a quick, despairing glance from one man to the other; then,
+turning, left the room.</p>
+
+<p>"And now, Mr. Thesiger," I said, "will you not grant me the favour of a
+s&eacute;ance?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Thesiger remained gravely silent for a moment; then he said:</p>
+
+<p>"By virtue of your power as a medium, you may be able to hear the voice,
+and so convince Dr. Laurier of its reality."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style='width:350px'>
+<a name="illus-004" id="illus-004"></a>
+<a href="images/illus-207f.jpg">
+<img src="images/illus-207.jpg" alt="&#34;It was the strangest scene I ever witnessed.&#34; A Master of Mysteries. Page 207" title="" width="350" /></a><br />
+<table summary="" style='width:350px' class="caption">
+    <tr><td colspan="2">&#34;It was the strangest scene I ever witnessed.&#34;</td></tr>
+    <tr><td align="left">
+        <span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>A Master of Mysteries.</span></td>
+        <td align="right"><span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>Page 207</span></td>
+    </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="page_207" id="page_207" title="207"></a>He
+then proceeded to go through some elaborate operations, and finally
+kneeling at the altar, began to speak Hindustanee.</p>
+
+<p>It was about the strangest scene I had ever witnessed; and though I
+stood almost at his elbow, I could hear no sound whatever but his own
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Siva will not speak to-night," he said, rising; "there must be some one
+here whose influence is adverse. I cannot hear him. It is strange!"</p>
+
+<p>He looked puzzled, and more relieved than otherwise.</p>
+
+<p>"You will go to bed now, sir," said Bagwell; "you look very tired."</p>
+
+<p>"I am," he replied. "I will leave my friends with you, Jasper. You will
+see that they have all they want." He bade Laurier and me a courteous
+good-night, nodded to his nephew, and left the room.</p>
+
+<p>"This is the most extraordinary phase of mental delusion I ever heard
+of," I said. "If you will permit me, Mr. Bagwell,<a class="pagenum" name="page_208" id="page_208" title="208"></a> I will examine this
+idol more particularly."</p>
+
+<p>"You can do so if you please," he said, but he did not speak in a
+cordial tone.</p>
+
+<p>"Examine it to your heart's content," he continued a moment later; "only
+pray don't disarrange it&mdash;he seems to know by instinct if it is touched.
+Bah! it is sickening. Shall we go into another room, gentlemen?"</p>
+
+<p>Watching his face carefully, I resolved to make my examination in
+private, and now followed him into the smoking-room. We stayed there for
+a short time, talking in a desultory manner, and soon afterwards retired
+for the night.</p>
+
+<p>On my dressing-table a note awaited me. I opened it hastily, and saw to
+my surprise that it was from Miss Thesiger.</p>
+
+<p>"I could not get the opportunity I needed to-night," she wrote, "but
+will you meet me in the Laurel Walk to-morrow morning at five o'clock?"</p>
+
+<p>I tore up the letter after reading it, and soon afterwards got into bed.
+I must<a class="pagenum" name="page_209" id="page_209" title="209"></a> confess that I slept badly that night; I felt worried and
+anxious. There was not the least doubt that Thesiger was mad; it was all
+too apparent that his madness was daily and hourly assuming a more and
+more dangerous form. The affectionate girl who clung to him ought
+undoubtedly to be removed from his neighbourhood.</p>
+
+<p>At the hour named by Miss Thesiger, I rose, dressed, and stole
+downstairs through the silent house. I found her as she had indicated in
+the Laurel Walk.</p>
+
+<p>"How good of you to come!" she said. "But we must not talk here; it
+would not be safe."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?" I answered. "No one can possibly watch us at this
+hour."</p>
+
+<p>"Jasper may be about," she said; "as far as I can tell he seems never to
+sleep. I believe he paces outside my room the greater part of the
+night."</p>
+
+<p>"You can scarcely blame him for that," I said; "he does it in order to
+ensure your safety."<a class="pagenum" name="page_210" id="page_210" title="210"></a></p>
+
+<p>She gave me an impatient glance.</p>
+
+<p>"I see he has been talking to you," she replied; "but now it is
+necessary for you to hear my side of the story. Come into this
+summer-house; he will never guess that we are here."</p>
+
+<p>Turning abruptly, she led the way into a small, tastefully arranged
+summer-house. Shutting the door behind her, she turned at once and faced
+me.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," she said in an eager voice, "I will tell you everything. There is
+an unexplained mystery about all this, and I am convinced that Jasper is
+at the bottom of it."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I have nothing whatever but a woman's intuition to guide me, but, all
+the same, I am convinced of what I am saying. Before Jasper came home
+Uncle Edward was a Brahmin beyond doubt. His s&eacute;ances were intensely
+disagreeable to me, and I took care never to witness them nor to speak
+to him on the terrible subject of Siva; but, beyond the fact that he
+was<a class="pagenum" name="page_211" id="page_211" title="211"></a> a Brahmin deeply imbued with the mysteries of his so-called
+religion, he was a perfectly sane, happy, intelligent, and affectionate
+man. He loved me devotedly, as I am the child of his favourite brother,
+and told me just before Jasper's arrival that he had made me his
+heiress, leaving me all that he possessed in the world. He had never
+liked Jasper, and was annoyed when he came here and made this house his
+headquarters. I had not met my cousin since I was a little child, and
+when he arrived on the scene took a great dislike to him. He began at
+once to pay me hateful attentions, and to question me eagerly with
+regard to Uncle Edward and his ways. By a curious coincidence, he had
+known this house before he went to India, having stayed here as a boy.
+He showed particular interest in the oval gallery, and encouraged Uncle
+Edward to talk of Siva, although he saw that the subject excited him
+considerably.</p>
+
+<p>"Jasper had been about a fortnight in the house when my poor uncle made,
+as<a class="pagenum" name="page_212" id="page_212" title="212"></a> he considered, the astounding discovery that Siva could speak to
+him. I shall never forget the first day when he told me of this, the
+sparkle in his eyes, the tremble of his hands, the nervous energy which
+seemed to animate him. From that hour day by day came the gradual
+diminution of strength both of mind and body, the loss of appetite, the
+feverish touch. All these things puzzled and distressed me, but I could
+not bear to confide my fears to Jasper.</p>
+
+<p>"These things went on for over a month, and Uncle Edward certainly
+deteriorated in every way. He spent the greater part of both day and
+night in the gallery, begging of me to come with him, imploring me to
+listen for the voice. During that month he spent a large fortune in
+precious stones for Siva, showing them to me first before he decorated
+the hideous thing with them. I felt wild with misery, and all the time
+Jasper was here watching and watching. At the end of the first month
+there came a distinct<a class="pagenum" name="page_213" id="page_213" title="213"></a> change. Uncle Edward, who had been devoted to me
+up to then, began to show a new attitude. He now began to dislike to
+have me in his presence, often asking me as a special favour to leave
+the room. One day he said to me:</p>
+
+<p>"'Do you keep your door locked at night?'</p>
+
+<p>"I laughed when he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"'Certainly not,' I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"'I wish you would do so,' he said very earnestly; 'will you, as a
+personal favour to me?'</p>
+
+<p>"Jasper was in the room when he spoke. I saw a queer light flashing
+through his eyes, and then he bent over his book as if he had not heard.</p>
+
+<p>"'As a special favour to me, keep your door locked, Helen,' said Uncle
+Edward.</p>
+
+<p>"I made him a soothing answer, and pretended to assent. Of course I
+never locked my door. Then Jasper began to talk to me. He said that
+Uncle Edward was not only mad, but that his mania was assuming a
+terrible form, and against<a class="pagenum" name="page_214" id="page_214" title="214"></a> me. He said that my life was in danger&mdash;he
+thought to frighten me&mdash;little he knew!"</p>
+
+<p>Here the brave girl drew herself up, indignation sweeping over her face
+and filling her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I told him I did not believe a word of what he said; I declared that
+Uncle Edward could not hate me&mdash;is he not the one I love best in the
+world? Jasper grew very angry.</p>
+
+<p>"'Look here, Helen,' he said, 'I know enough to lock him up.'</p>
+
+<p>"'To lock him up in a lunatic asylum?' I cried.</p>
+
+<p>"'Yes,' he answered. 'I have only to get two doctors to certify to the
+fact of his insanity, and the deed is done. I have made up my mind to do
+it.'</p>
+
+<p>"'You could never be so cruel,' I replied. 'Think of his grey hairs,
+Jasper,' I pleaded. 'He is the dearest to me in all the world; you could
+not take his liberty away. Do just respect his one little craze; believe
+me, he is not really mad. Go away if you are<a class="pagenum" name="page_215" id="page_215" title="215"></a> afraid of him; I am not.
+Oh, why don't you leave us both in peace?'</p>
+
+<p>"'I dare not,' he answered. 'I love you, and I am determined you shall
+marry me. Engage yourself to me at once, and I will do nothing to take
+away Uncle Edward's liberty for at least a month.'</p>
+
+<p>"I struggled against this horrible wish of my cousin's, but in the end I
+yielded to it. I became engaged to him secretly, for he did not wish
+Uncle Edward to know. I knew, of course, why he wished to marry me; he
+had heard that I am some day to inherit my uncle's wealth. Jasper
+himself is a very poor man. Now, Mr. Bell, you know everything. Things
+get worse and worse, and at times I am almost inclined to believe that
+my life is in some danger. A fiend has taken possession of the uncle
+whose heart was so warm and loving. Ah, it is fearful! I do not believe
+a bitterer trial could be given to any girl&mdash;it is too awful to feel
+that the one she loves best in all the world has changed in his feelings
+towards her. It is not so much the sacrifice<a class="pagenum" name="page_216" id="page_216" title="216"></a> of my poor life I mind as
+the feeling that things are so bitterly altered with him. Jasper put an
+alternative to me last night. Either I am to marry him within a week, or
+I am to use my influence to induce Dr. Laurier to sign the certificate.
+If I accept neither proposal, he will get down two other doctors from
+London for the purpose."</p>
+
+<p>"What have you decided to do?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I will marry Jasper; yes, within a week I shall be his wife, unless
+something happens to show us what is the meaning of this fearful
+mystery, for I cannot&mdash;never, never can I deprive Uncle Edward of his
+liberty."</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad you have confided in me," I said after a pause, "and I will
+do my utmost for you. When did you say that your uncle first heard the
+idol speak?"</p>
+
+<p>"Two or three months ago now, soon after Jasper came home. Mr. Bell, is
+there any chance of your being able to help me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will promise to do my utmost, but just at present I can see no
+special light.<a class="pagenum" name="page_217" id="page_217" title="217"></a> By the way, would it not be well for you to leave The
+Hynde for a short time?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I am not at all afraid; I can take care of myself. It is not my
+dear uncle whom I fear; it is Jasper."</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterwards she left me, and as it was still quite early, and the
+servants were not yet even up, I considered that an excellent
+opportunity had occurred for examining the idol.</p>
+
+<p>I made my way to the gallery, and softly opening the door, stole in. The
+bright sunlight which was now flooding the chamber seemed to rob the
+grotesque old idol of half its terrors, and I made up my mind not to
+leave a stone unturned to discover if any foul play in connection with
+it could possibly be perpetrated. But the impossibility of such being
+the case seemed more and more evident as I went on with my search. Only
+a pigmy could be secreted inside the idol. There was no vulgar form of
+deception possible on the lines, for instance, of the ancient priests of
+Pompeii who conducted a speaking-tube to an idol's mouth. Siva<a class="pagenum" name="page_218" id="page_218" title="218"></a> was not
+even standing by the wall, thus precluding the possibility of the sounds
+being conducted on the plan of a whispering gallery. No&mdash;I was, against
+my own will, forced to the absolute conviction that the voice was an
+hallucination of the diseased mind of Edward Thesiger.</p>
+
+<p>I was just going to abandon my investigations and return to my own room,
+when, more by chance than design, I knelt down for a moment at the
+little altar. As I was about to rise I noticed something rather odd. I
+listened attentively. It was certainly remarkable. As I knelt I could
+just hear a low, continuous hissing sound. Directly I moved away it
+ceased. As I tried it several times with the same invariable result, I
+became seriously puzzled to account for it. What devilry could be at
+work to produce this? Was it possible that some one was playing a trick
+on <i>me</i>?&mdash;and if so, by what means?</p>
+
+<p>I glanced rapidly round, and as I did so a mad thought struck me. I
+hurried across to the fountain and put my ear close to the<a class="pagenum" name="page_219" id="page_219" title="219"></a> swan's
+mouth, from which a tiny jet of water was issuing. The low, scarcely
+audible noise that the water made as it flowed out through the swan's
+bill was exactly the same sound I had heard nearly twenty feet away at
+the altar. The enormity of the situation stunned me for a moment, then
+gradually, piece by piece, the plot revealed itself.</p>
+
+<p>The shape of the gallery was a true oval, a geometrical ellipse, the
+extraordinary acoustic properties of which I knew well. This peculiarly
+shaped gallery contained two foci&mdash;one towards each end&mdash;and the nature
+of the curve of the walls was such that sound issuing from either focus
+was directed by reflection at various points to the other focus, and to
+the other focus alone. Even across an enormous distance between such
+would be the case. The swan's mouth was evidently at one focus; the
+position of a man's head as he knelt at the altar would be without the
+slightest doubt at the other. Could the pipe be used as a speaking-tube
+when the water was turned off?</p>
+
+<p>I felt so excited by this extraordinary<a class="pagenum" name="page_220" id="page_220" title="220"></a> discovery that it was only with
+an effort that I maintained my self-control. I knew that presence of
+mind was absolutely necessary in order to expose this horrible scheme. I
+left the gallery and passed through the conservatory. Here I found the
+gardener arranging some pots. I chatted to him for a few moments. He
+looked surprised at seeing me up at such an unusual hour.</p>
+
+<p>"Can you tell me how the fountain in the gallery is turned on or off?" I
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I can, sir," he replied; "the pipe runs along outside this stand,
+and here's the tap."</p>
+
+<p>I went across and looked at it. In the leaden pipe that was fastened to
+the wall were two nuts, which could be turned by a small spanner, and
+between them was a brass cap, which fitted on to a circular outlet from
+the pipe.</p>
+
+<p>"What is this used for?" I asked, pointing to the little outlet which
+was closed by the cap.</p>
+
+<p>"We screw the hose on there, sir, to water the flowers."<a class="pagenum" name="page_221" id="page_221" title="221"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I see," I answered; "so when you use the hose you shut off the water
+from the fountain in the gallery."</p>
+
+<p>"That's it, sir, and a wonderful deal of trouble it saves. Why it was
+never done before I can't think."</p>
+
+<p>"When was it done, then?" I asked. My heart was beating fast.</p>
+
+<p>"It was Mr. Bagwell's thought, sir; he had it fixed on soon after he
+came. He wanted to have plenty of water handy in order to water the
+plants he brought back from India; but, lor! sir, they'll never live
+through the winter, even under glass."</p>
+
+<p>I waited to hear no more&mdash;the whole infernal plot was laid bare. The
+second tap, which shut off the water both from the fountain and the hose
+pipe, was, of course, quite useless, except for Bagwell's evil purpose.</p>
+
+<p>I hurried straight up to Laurier's room. He was just preparing to rise.
+His astonishment when I told him of my discovery was beyond words.</p>
+
+<p>"Then, by shutting off the water, and<a class="pagenum" name="page_222" id="page_222" title="222"></a> applying his mouth to the place
+where the hose is fixed on, he could convey his voice to the swan's
+mouth like an ordinary speaking-tube, which, owing to the peculiar
+construction of the gallery, would be carried across to the other focus
+at the altar?" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly," I replied. "And now, Dr. Laurier, you must please allow me to
+regulate our future plans. They're simply these. You must tell Bagwell
+that you absolutely refuse to sign the certificate unless Thesiger
+declares that he hears the voice again in your presence, and arrange
+that the s&eacute;ance takes place at nine o'clock to-night. I in the meantime
+shall ostensibly take my departure, and so leave the ground clear for
+Bagwell. He is evidently rather afraid of me. My going will throw him
+completely off his guard; but I shall in reality only leave the train at
+the next station and return here after dark. You will have to see that
+the conservatory door leading on to the terrace is left unlocked. I
+shall steal in, and, hiding myself in the<a class="pagenum" name="page_223" id="page_223" title="223"></a> conservatory, shall await
+Bagwell. You in the meantime will be in the gallery with Thesiger. When
+you hear me call out, come in at once. Our only hope is to take that
+wretch red-handed."</p>
+
+<p>To this hastily constructed scheme Laurier instantly agreed, and at four
+o'clock that afternoon I took my leave, Miss Thesiger, looking white and
+miserable, standing on the steps to see me off. Bagwell drove me himself
+to the station, and bade me good-bye with a heartiness which was at least
+sincere.</p>
+
+<p>I was back again at The Hynde at half-past eight that evening. Laurier
+had left the conservatory door unlocked, and, slipping in, it being now
+quite dark, I hid myself behind some large flowering shrubs and waited.
+Presently I heard the door of the conservatory open, and in stole
+Bagwell. I saw him approach the pipe, turn the spanner which shut off
+the water from the fountain and also from the hose pipe, and then
+proceed to unscrew the brass cap. I waited till I saw him place his
+mouth to<a class="pagenum" name="page_224" id="page_224" title="224"></a> the opening and begin to speak, and then I dashed out upon him
+and called loudly for Laurier. Bagwell's surprise and terror at my
+unexpected attack absolutely bereft him of speech, and he stood gazing
+at me with a mixed expression of fury and fear. The next minute Laurier
+and Thesiger both burst in from the gallery. I still retained my hold of
+Bagwell. The moment I saw the sign, I went up to him, and in a few words
+explained the whole fraud. But it was not until I had demonstrated the
+trick in the oval gallery that he became convinced; then the relief on
+his face was marvellous.</p>
+
+<p>"You leave my house at once," he said to Bagwell; "go, sir, if you do
+not wish to be in the hands of the police. Where is Helen? where is my
+child?"</p>
+
+<p>He had scarcely said the words, and Bagwell was just slinking off with a
+white face like a whipped cur towards the door, when Helen appeared upon
+the scene.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" she cried. "Is anything the matter?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_225" id="page_225" title="225"></a></p>
+
+<p>The old man strode up to her; he took her in his arms.</p>
+
+<p>"It is all right, Helen," he said, "all right. I can never explain; but,
+take my word, it is all right. I was a fool, and worse&mdash;nay, I was
+mad&mdash;but I am sane now. Mr. Bell, I can never express my obligations to
+you. But now, will you do one thing more?"</p>
+
+<p>"What is that? Be assured I will do anything in my power," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Then return here to-night and destroy Siva. How I could have been
+infatuated enough to believe in that senseless piece of wood is beyond
+my power to understand. But destroy it, sir; take it away; let me never
+lay eyes on it again."</p>
+
+<p>Early on the following morning, when I was leaving the house, Bagwell,
+who must have been waiting for the purpose, suddenly stepped across my
+path.</p>
+
+<p>"I have a word of explanation to give," he said. "You, Mr. Bell, have
+won, and I have lost. I played a deep game and for a large cause. It did
+not occur to me as<a class="pagenum" name="page_226" id="page_226" title="226"></a> possible that any one could discover the means by
+which I made Siva speak. I am now about to leave England for ever, but
+before I do so, it may interest you to know that the temptation offered
+to me was a very peculiar and strong one. I had not been an hour at the
+Hynde before I suddenly remembered having spent some months in the old
+house when a boy. I recollected the oval gallery. Its peculiar acoustic
+qualities had been pointed out to me by a scientist who happened to live
+there at the time. The desire to win, not Helen, but my uncle's
+property, was too strong to be resisted by a penniless man. My object
+was to terrify Thesiger, whose brain was already nearly overbalanced,
+into complete insanity, get him locked up, and marry Helen. How I
+succeeded, and in the end failed, you know well!"</p>
+
+<hr class="major" />
+<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em">
+<a class="pagenum" name="page_227" id="page_227" title="227"></a>
+<a name="To_Prove_an_Alibi_4294" id="To_Prove_an_Alibi_4294"></a>
+<p style='font-size:x-large; margin-left: 3em;'>VI</p>
+<p style='font-size:x-large'>To Prove an Alibi</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I first met Arthur Cressley in the late spring of 1892. I had been
+spending the winter in Egypt, and was returning to Liverpool. One calm
+evening, about eleven o'clock, while we were still in the Mediterranean,
+I went on deck to smoke a final cigar before turning in. After pacing up
+and down for a time I leant over the taff-rail and began idly watching
+the tiny wavelets with their crests of white fire as they rippled away
+from the vessel's side. Presently I became aware of some one standing
+near me, and, turning, saw that it was one of my fellow-passengers, a
+young man whose name I knew but whose acquaintance I had not yet made.
+He was<a class="pagenum" name="page_228" id="page_228" title="228"></a> entered in the passenger list as Arthur Cressley, belonged to an
+old family in Derbyshire, and was returning home from Western Australia,
+where he had made a lot of money. I offered him a light, and after a few
+preliminary remarks we drifted into a desultory conversation. He told me
+that he had been in Australia for fifteen years, and having done well
+was now returning to settle in his native land.</p>
+
+<p>"Then you do not intend going out again?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"No," he replied; "I would not go through the last fifteen years for
+double the money I have made."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose you will make London your headquarters?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not altogether; but I shall have to spend a good deal of time there. My
+wish is for a quiet country life, and I intend to take over the old
+family property. We have a place called Cressley Hall, in Derbyshire,
+which has belonged to us for centuries. It would be a sort of white
+elephant, for it has fallen into pitiable decay; but, luckily,<a class="pagenum" name="page_229" id="page_229" title="229"></a> I am now
+in a position to restore it and set it going again in renewed
+prosperity."</p>
+
+<p>"You are a fortunate man," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps I am," he replied. "Yes, as far as this world's goods go I
+suppose I am lucky, considering that I arrived in Australia fifteen
+years ago with practically no money in my pocket. I shall be glad to be
+home again for many reasons, chiefly because I can save the old property
+from being sold."</p>
+
+<p>"It is always a pity when a fine old family seat has to go to the hammer
+for want of funds," I remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"That is true, and Cressley Hall is a superb old place. There is only
+one drawback to it; but I don't believe there is anything in that,"
+added Cressley in a musing tone.</p>
+
+<p>Knowing him so little I did not feel justified in asking for an
+explanation. I waited, therefore, without speaking. He soon proceeded:</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose I am rather foolish about it," he continued; "but if I am
+superstitious, I have abundant reason. For more than a<a class="pagenum" name="page_230" id="page_230" title="230"></a> century and a
+half there has been a strange fatality about any Cressley occupying the
+Hall. This fatality was first exhibited in 1700, when Barrington
+Cressley, one of the most abandoned libertines of that time, led his
+infamous orgies there&mdash;of these even history takes note. There are
+endless legends as to their nature, one of which is that he had personal
+dealings with the devil in the large turret room, the principal bedroom
+at the Hall, and was found dead there on the following morning.
+Certainly since that date a curious doom has hung over the family, and
+this doom shows itself in a strange way, only attacking those victims
+who are so unfortunate as to sleep in the turret room. Gilbert Cressley,
+the young Court favourite of George the Third, was found mysteriously
+murdered there, and my own great-grandfather paid the penalty by losing
+his reason within those gloomy walls."</p>
+
+<p>"If the room has such an evil reputation, I wonder that it is occupied,"
+I replied.</p>
+
+<p>"It happens to be far and away the best bedroom in the house, and people
+always<a class="pagenum" name="page_231" id="page_231" title="231"></a> laugh at that sort of thing until they are brought face to face
+with it. The owner of the property is not only born there, as a rule,
+but also breathes his last in the old four-poster, the most
+extraordinary, wonderful old bedstead you ever laid eyes on. Of course I
+do not believe in any malevolent influences from the unseen world, but
+the record of disastrous coincidences in that one room is, to say the
+least of it, curious. Not that this sort of thing will deter me from
+going into possession, and I intend to put a lot of money into Cressley
+Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"Has no one been occupying it lately?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Not recently. An old housekeeper has had charge of the place for the
+last few years. The agent had orders to sell the Hall long ago, but
+though it has been in the market for a long time I do not believe there
+was a single offer. Just before I left Australia I wired to Murdock, my
+agent, that I intended taking over the place, and authorised its
+withdrawal from the market."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you no relations?" I inquired.<a class="pagenum" name="page_232" id="page_232" title="232"></a></p>
+
+<p>"None at all. Since I have been away my only brother died. It is curious
+to call it going home when one has no relatives and only friends who
+have probably forgotten one."</p>
+
+<p>I could not help feeling sorry for Cressley as he described the lonely
+outlook. Of course, with heaps of money and an old family place he would
+soon make new friends; but he looked the sort of chap who might be
+imposed upon, and although he was as nice a fellow as I had ever met, I
+could not help coming to the conclusion that he was not specially
+strong, either mentally or physically. He was essentially good-looking,
+however, and had the indescribable bearing of a man of old family. I
+wondered how he had managed to make his money. What he told me about his
+old Hall also excited my interest, and as we talked I managed to allude
+to my own peculiar hobby, and the delight I took in such old legends.</p>
+
+<p>As the voyage flew by our acquaintance grew apace, ripening into a warm
+friendship.<a class="pagenum" name="page_233" id="page_233" title="233"></a> Cressley told me much of his past life, and finally
+confided to me one of his real objects in returning to England.</p>
+
+<p>While prospecting up country he had come across some rich veins of gold,
+and now his intention was to bring out a large syndicate in order to
+acquire the whole property, which, he anticipated, was worth at least a
+million. He spoke confidently of this great scheme, but always wound up
+by informing me that the money which he hoped to make was only of
+interest to him for the purpose of re-establishing Cressley Hall in its
+ancient splendour.</p>
+
+<p>As we talked I noticed once or twice that a man stood near us who seemed
+to take an interest in our conversation. He was a thickly set individual
+with a florid complexion and a broad German cast of face. He was an
+inveterate smoker, and when he stood near us with a pipe in his mouth
+the expression of his face was almost a blank; but watching him closely
+I saw a look in his eyes which betokened the shrewd man of business, and
+I could scarcely tell why, but<a class="pagenum" name="page_234" id="page_234" title="234"></a> I felt uncomfortable in his presence.
+This man, Wickham by name, managed to pick up an acquaintance with
+Cressley, and soon they spent a good deal of time together. They made a
+contrast as they paced up and down on deck, or played cards in the
+evening; the Englishman being slight and almost fragile in build, the
+German of the bulldog order, with a manner at once curt and overbearing.
+I took a dislike to Wickham, and wondered what Cressley could see in
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"Who is the fellow?" I asked on one occasion, linking my hand in
+Cressley's arm and drawing him aside as I spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean Wickham?" he answered. "I am sure I cannot tell you. I
+never met the chap before this voyage. He came on board at King George's
+Sound, where I also embarked; but he never spoke to me until we were in
+the Mediterranean. On the whole, Bell, I am inclined to like him; he
+seems to be downright and honest. He knows a great deal about the bush,
+too, as he has spent several years there."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style='width:350px'>
+<a name="illus-005" id="illus-005"></a>
+<a href="images/illus-234f.jpg">
+<img src="images/illus-234.jpg" alt="&#34;They made a contrast.&#34; A Master of Mysteries. Page 234" title="" width="350" /></a><br />
+<table summary="" style='width:350px' class="caption">
+    <tr><td colspan="2">&#34;They made a contrast.&#34;</td></tr>
+    <tr><td align="left">
+        <span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>A Master of Mysteries.</span></td>
+        <td align="right"><span style='font-size:0.9em; font-style:italic;'>Page 234</span></td>
+    </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="page_235" id="page_235" title="235"></a>"And
+he gives you the benefit of his information?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't suppose he knows more than I do, and it is doubtful whether he
+has had so rough a time."</p>
+
+<p>"Then in that case he picks your brains."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>The young fellow looked at me with those clear grey eyes which were his
+most attractive feature.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing," I answered, "nothing; only if you will be guided by a man
+nearly double your age, I would take care to tell Wickham as little as
+possible. Have you ever observed that he happens to be about when you
+and I are engaged in serious conversation?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can't say that I have."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, keep your eyes open and you'll see what I mean. Be as friendly as
+you like, but don't give him your confidence&mdash;that is all."</p>
+
+<p>"You are rather late in advising me on that score," said Cressley, with
+a somewhat<a class="pagenum" name="page_236" id="page_236" title="236"></a> nervous laugh. "Wickham knows all about the old Hall by this
+time."</p>
+
+<p>"And your superstitious fears with regard to the turret room?" I
+queried.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I have hinted at them. You will be surprised, but he is full of
+sympathy."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell him no more," I said in conclusion.</p>
+
+<p>Cressley made a sort of half-promise, but looked as if he rather
+resented my interference.</p>
+
+<p>A day or two later we reached Liverpool; I was engaged long ago to stay
+with some friends in the suburbs, and Cressley took up his abode at the
+Prince's Hotel. His property was some sixty miles away, and when we
+parted he insisted on my agreeing to come down and see his place as soon
+as he had put things a little straight.</p>
+
+<p>I readily promised to do so, provided we could arrange a visit before my
+return to London.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly a week went by and I saw nothing of Cressley; then, on a certain
+morning, he called to see me.<a class="pagenum" name="page_237" id="page_237" title="237"></a></p>
+
+<p>"How are you getting on?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Capitally," he replied. "I have been down to the Hall several times
+with my agent, Murdock, and though the place is in the most shocking
+condition I shall soon put things in order. But what I have come
+specially to ask you now is whether you can get away to-day and come
+with me to the Hall for a couple of nights. I had arranged with the
+agent to go down this afternoon in his company, but he has been suddenly
+taken ill&mdash;he is rather bad, I believe&mdash;and cannot possibly come with
+me. He has ordered the housekeeper to get a couple of rooms ready, and
+though I am afraid it will be rather roughing it, I shall be awfully
+glad if you can come."</p>
+
+<p>I had arranged to meet a man in London on special business that very
+evening, and could not put him off; but my irresistible desire to see
+the old place from the description I had heard of it decided me to make
+an effort to fall in as well as I could with Cressley's plans.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish I could go with you to-day,"<a class="pagenum" name="page_238" id="page_238" title="238"></a> I said; "but that, as it happens,
+is out of the question. I must run up to town on some pressing business;
+but if you will allow me I can easily come back again to-morrow. Can you
+not put off your visit until to-morrow evening?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I am afraid I cannot do that. I have to meet several of the
+tenants, and have made all arrangements to go by the five o'clock train
+this afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>He looked depressed at my refusal, and after a moment said thoughtfully:</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you could have come with me to-day. When Murdock could not come
+I thought of you at once&mdash;it would have made all the difference."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry," I replied; "but I can promise faithfully to be with you
+to-morrow. I shall enjoy seeing your wonderful old Hall beyond anything;
+and as to roughing it, I am used to that. You will not mind spending one
+night there by yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>He looked at me as if he were about to speak, but no words came from his
+lips.<a class="pagenum" name="page_239" id="page_239" title="239"></a></p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter?" I said, giving him an earnest glance. "By the way,
+are you going to sleep in the turret room?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid there is no help for it; the housekeeper is certain to get
+it ready for me. The owner of the property always sleeps there, and it
+would look like a confession of weakness to ask to be put into another
+bedroom."</p>
+
+<p>"Nevertheless, if you are nervous, I should not mind that," I said.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't know that I am absolutely nervous, Bell, but all the same I
+have a superstition. At the present moment I have the queerest
+sensation; I feel as if I ought not to pay this visit to the Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"If you intend to live there by-and-by, you must get over this sort of
+thing," I remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, I must, and I would not yield to it on any account whatever. I
+am sorry I even mentioned it to you. It is good of you to promise to
+come to-morrow, and I shall look forward to seeing you. By what train
+will you come?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_240" id="page_240" title="240"></a></p>
+
+<p>We looked up the local time-table, and I decided on a train which would
+leave Liverpool about five o'clock.</p>
+
+<p>"The very one that I shall go down by to-day," said Cressley; "that's
+capital, I'll meet you with a conveyance of some sort and drive you
+over. The house is a good two hours' drive from the station, and you
+cannot get a trap there for love or money."</p>
+
+<p>"By the way," I said, "is there much the matter with your agent?"</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot tell you; he seems bad enough. I went up to his house this
+morning and saw the wife. It appears that he was suddenly taken ill with
+a sort of asthmatic attack to which he is subject. While I was talking
+to Mrs. Murdock, a messenger came down to say that her husband specially
+wished to see me, so we both went to his room, but he had dozed off into
+a queer restless sleep before we arrived. The wife said he must not be
+awakened on any account, but I caught a glimpse of him and he certainly
+looked bad, and was moaning<a class="pagenum" name="page_241" id="page_241" title="241"></a> as if in a good deal of pain. She gave me
+the keys of a bureau in his room, and I took out some estimates, and
+left a note for him telling him to come on as soon as he was well
+enough."</p>
+
+<p>"And your visit to his room never roused him?" I said.</p>
+
+<p>"No, although Mrs. Murdock and I made a pretty good bit of noise moving
+about and opening and shutting drawers. His moans were quite
+heartrending&mdash;he was evidently in considerable pain; and I was glad to
+get away, as that sort of thing always upsets me."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is this Murdock?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, the man who has looked after the place for years. I was referred to
+him by my solicitors. He seems a most capable person, and I hope to
+goodness he won't be ill long. If he is I shall find myself in rather a
+fix."</p>
+
+<p>I made no reply to this, and soon afterwards Cressley shook hands with
+me and departed on his way. I went to my room, packed my belongings, and
+took the next<a class="pagenum" name="page_242" id="page_242" title="242"></a> train to town. The business which I had to get through
+occupied the whole of that evening and also some hours of the following
+day. I found I was not able to start for Liverpool before the 12.10
+train at Euston, and should not therefore arrive at Lime Street before
+five o'clock&mdash;too late to catch the train for Brent, the nearest station
+to Cressley's place. Another train left Central Station for Brent,
+however, at seven o'clock, and I determined to wire to Cressley to tell
+him to meet me by the latter train. This was the last train in the day,
+but there was no fear of my missing it.</p>
+
+<p>I arrived at Lime Street almost to the moment and drove straight to the
+Prince's Hotel, where I had left my bag the day before. Here a telegram
+awaited me; it was from Cressley, and ran as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div style='margin-left: 5%; margin-right:5%;'>
+<p>"Hope this will reach you time; if so, call at Murdock's house, No. 12,
+Melville Gardens. If possible see him and get the documents referred to
+in Schedule A&mdash;he<a class="pagenum" name="page_243" id="page_243" title="243"></a> will know what you mean. Most important.</p>
+<p style='text-align:right; font-variant:small-caps'>"Cressley"</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I glanced at the clock in the hall; it was now a quarter past five&mdash;my
+train would leave at seven. I had plenty of time to get something to eat
+and then go to Murdock's.</p>
+
+<p>Having despatched my telegram to Cressley, telling him to look out for
+me by the train which arrived at Brent at nine o'clock, I ordered a
+meal, ate it, and then hailing a cab, gave the driver the number of
+Murdock's house. Melville Gardens was situated somewhat in the suburbs,
+and it was twenty minutes' drive from my hotel. When we drew up at
+Murdock's door I told the cabman to wait, and, getting out, rang the
+bell. The servant who answered my summons told me that the agent was
+still very ill and could not be seen by any one. I then inquired for the
+wife. I was informed that she was out, but would be back soon. I looked
+at my watch. It<a class="pagenum" name="page_244" id="page_244" title="244"></a> was just six o'clock. I determined to wait to see Mrs.
+Murdock if possible.</p>
+
+<p>Having paid and dismissed my cab, I was shown into a small, untidily
+kept parlour, where I was left to my own meditations. The weather was
+hot and the room close. I paced up and down restlessly. The minutes flew
+by and Mrs. Murdock did not put in an appearance. I looked at my watch,
+which now pointed to twenty minutes past six. It would take me, in an
+ordinary cab, nearly twenty minutes to reach the station. In order to
+make all safe I ought to leave Murdock's house in ten minutes from now
+at the latest.</p>
+
+<p>I went and stood by the window watching anxiously for Mrs. Murdock to
+put in an appearance. Melville Gardens was a somewhat lonely place, and
+few people passed the house, which was old and shabby; it had evidently
+not been done up for years. I was just turning round in order to ring
+the bell to leave a message with the servant, when the room door was
+opened and, to my astonishment, in walked Wickham, the<a class="pagenum" name="page_245" id="page_245" title="245"></a> man I had last
+seen on board the <i>Euphrates</i>. He came up to me at once and held out his
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt you are surprised at seeing me here, Mr. Bell," he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"I certainly was for a moment," I answered; but then I added, "The world
+is a small place, and one soon gets accustomed to acquaintances cropping
+up in all sorts of unlikely quarters."</p>
+
+<p>"Why unlikely?" said Wickham. "Why should I not know Murdock, who
+happens to be a very special and very old friend of mine? I might as
+well ask you why you are interested in him."</p>
+
+<p>"Because I happen to be a friend of Arthur Cressley's," I answered, "and
+have come here on his business."</p>
+
+<p>"And so am I also a friend of Cressley's. He has asked me to go and see
+him at Cressley Hall some day, and I hope to avail myself of his
+invitation. The servant told me that you were waiting for Mrs.
+Murdock&mdash;can I give her any message from you?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_246" id="page_246" title="246"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I want to see Murdock himself," I said, after a pause. "Do you think
+that it is possible for me to have an interview with him?"</p>
+
+<p>"I left him just now and he was asleep," said Wickham. "He is still very
+ill, and I think the doctor is a little anxious about him. It would not
+do to disturb him on any account. Of course, if he happens to awake he
+might be able to tell you what you want to know. By the way, has it
+anything to do with Cressley Hall?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I have just had a telegram from Cressley, and the message is
+somewhat important. You are quite sure that Murdock is asleep?"</p>
+
+<p>"He was when I left the room, but I will go up again and see. Are you
+going to London to-night, Mr. Bell?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; I am going down to Cressley Hall, and must catch the seven o'clock
+train. I have not a moment to wait." As I spoke I took out my watch.</p>
+
+<p>"It only wants five-and-twenty minutes to seven," I said, "and I never
+care to run<a class="pagenum" name="page_247" id="page_247" title="247"></a> a train to the last moment. There is no help for it, I
+suppose I must go without seeing Murdock. Cressley will in all
+probability send down a message to-morrow for the papers he requires."</p>
+
+<p>"Just stay a moment," said Wickham, putting on an anxious expression;
+"it is a great pity that you should not see Cressley's agent if it is as
+vital as all that. Ah! and here comes Mrs. Murdock; wait one moment,
+I'll go and speak to her."</p>
+
+<p>He went out of the room, and I heard him say something in a low voice in
+the passage&mdash;a woman's voice replied, and the next instant Mrs. Murdock
+stood before me. She was a tall woman with a sallow face and sandy hair;
+she had a blank sort of stare about her, and scarcely any expression.
+Now she fixed her dull, light-blue eyes on my face and held out her
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>"You are Mr. Bell?" she said. "I have heard of you, of course, from Mr.
+Cressley. So you are going to spend to-night with him at Cressley Hall.
+I am glad, for it is a lonely place&mdash;the most lonely place I know."<a class="pagenum" name="page_248" id="page_248" title="248"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Pardon me," I interrupted, "I cannot stay to talk to you now or I shall
+miss my train. Can I see your husband or can I not?"</p>
+
+<p>She glanced at Wickham, then she said with hesitation,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"If he is asleep it would not do to disturb him, but there is a chance
+of his being awake now. I don't quite understand about the papers, I
+wish I did. It would be best for you to see him certainly; follow me
+upstairs."</p>
+
+<p>"And I tell you what," called Wickham after us, "I'll go and engage a
+cab, so that you shall lose as short a time as possible, Mr. Bell."</p>
+
+<p>I thanked him and followed the wife upstairs. The stairs were narrow and
+steep, and we soon reached the small landing at the top. Four bedrooms
+opened into it. Mrs. Murdock turned the handle of the one which exactly
+faced the stairs, and we both entered. Here the blinds were down, and
+the chamber was considerably darkened. The room was a small one, and the
+greater<a class="pagenum" name="page_249" id="page_249" title="249"></a> part of the space was occupied by an old-fashioned Albert
+bedstead with the curtains pulled forward. Within I could just see the
+shadowy outline of a figure, and I distinctly heard the feeble groans of
+the sick man.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! what a pity, my husband is still asleep," said Mrs. Murdock, as she
+turned softly round to me and put her finger to her lips. "It would
+injure him very much to awaken him," she said. "You can go and look at
+him if you like; you will see how very ill he is. I wonder if I could
+help you with regard to the papers you want, Mr. Bell?"</p>
+
+<p>"I want the documents referred to in Schedule A," I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Schedule A?" she repeated, speaking under her breath. "I remember that
+name. Surely all the papers relating to it are in this drawer. I think I
+can get them for you."</p>
+
+<p>She crossed the room as she spoke, and standing with her back to the
+bedstead, took a bunch of keys from a table which stood near and fitted
+one into the lock of a high<a class="pagenum" name="page_250" id="page_250" title="250"></a> bureau made of mahogany. She pulled open a
+drawer and began to examine its contents.</p>
+
+<p>While she was so occupied I approached the bed, and bending slightly
+forward, took a good stare at the sick man. I had never seen Murdock
+before. There was little doubt that he was ill&mdash;he looked very ill,
+indeed. His face was long and cadaverous, the cheek bones were high, and
+the cheeks below were much sunken in; the lips, which were clean-shaven,
+were slightly drawn apart, and some broken irregular teeth were visible.
+The eyebrows were scanty, and the hair was much worn away from the high
+and hollow forehead. The man looked sick unto death. I had seldom seen
+any one with an expression like his&mdash;the closed eyes were much sunken,
+and the moaning which came from the livid lips was horrible to listen
+to.</p>
+
+<p>After giving Murdock a long and earnest stare, I stepped back from the
+bed, and was just about to speak to Mrs. Murdock, who was rustling
+papers in the drawer, when<a class="pagenum" name="page_251" id="page_251" title="251"></a> the most strong and irresistible curiosity
+assailed me. I could not account for it, but I felt bound to yield to
+its suggestions. I turned again and bent close over the sick man. Surely
+there was something monotonous about that deep-drawn breath; those
+moans, too, came at wonderfully regular intervals. Scarcely knowing why
+I did it, I stretched out my hand and laid it on the forehead. Good God!
+what was the matter? I felt myself turning cold; the perspiration stood
+out on my own brow. I had not touched a living forehead at all. Flesh
+was flesh, it was impossible to mistake the feel, but there was no flesh
+here. The figure in the bed was neither a living nor a dead man, it was
+a wax representation of one; but why did it moan, and how was it
+possible for it not to breathe?</p>
+
+<p>Making the greatest effort of my life, I repressed an exclamation, and
+when Mrs. Murdock approached me with the necessary papers in her hand,
+took them from her in my usual manner.</p>
+
+<p>"These all relate to Schedule A," she<a class="pagenum" name="page_252" id="page_252" title="252"></a> said. "I hope I am not doing
+wrong in giving them to you without my husband's leave. He looks very
+ill, does he not?"</p>
+
+<p>"He looks as bad as he can look," I answered. I moved towards the door.
+Something in my tone must have alarmed her, for a curious expression of
+fear dilated the pupils of her light blue eyes. She followed me
+downstairs. A hansom was waiting for me. I nodded to Wickham, did not
+even wait to shake hands with Mrs. Murdock, and sprang into the cab.</p>
+
+<p>"Central Station!" I shouted to the man; and then as he whipped up his
+horse and flew down the street, "A sovereign if you get there before
+seven o'clock."</p>
+
+<p>We were soon dashing quickly along the streets. I did not know Liverpool
+well, and consequently could not exactly tell where the man was going.
+When I got into the hansom it wanted twelve minutes to seven o'clock;
+these minutes were quickly flying, and still no station.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you sure you are going right?" I shouted through the hole in the
+roof.<a class="pagenum" name="page_253" id="page_253" title="253"></a></p>
+
+<p>"You'll be there in a minute, sir," he answered. "It's Lime Street
+Station you want, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; Central Station," I answered. "I told you Central Station; drive
+there at once like the very devil. I must catch that train, for it is
+the last one to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, sir; I can do it," he cried, whipping up his horse again.</p>
+
+<p>Once more I pulled out my watch; the hands pointed to three minutes to
+seven.</p>
+
+<p>At ten minutes past we were driving into the station. I flung the man
+half a sovereign, and darted into the booking-office.</p>
+
+<p>"To Brent, sir? The last train has just gone," said the clerk, with an
+impassive stare at me through the little window.</p>
+
+<p>I flung my bag down in disgust and swore a great oath. But for that
+idiot of a driver I should have just caught the train. All of a sudden a
+horrible thought flashed through my brain. Had the cabman been bribed by
+Wickham? No directions could have been plainer than mine. I had told the
+man<a class="pagenum" name="page_254" id="page_254" title="254"></a> to drive to Central Station. Central Station did not sound the
+least like Lime Street Station. How was it possible for him to make so
+grave a mistake?</p>
+
+<p>The more I considered the matter the more certain I was that a black
+plot was brewing, and that Wickham was in the thick of it. My brain
+began to whirl with excitement. What was the matter? Why was a lay
+figure in Murdock's bed? Why had I been taken upstairs to see it?
+Without any doubt both Mrs. Murdock and Wickham wished me to see what
+was such an admirable imitation of a sick man&mdash;an imitation so good,
+with those ghastly moans coming from the lips, that it would have taken
+in the sharpest detective in Scotland Yard. I myself was deceived until
+I touched the forehead. This state of things had not been brought to
+pass without a reason. What was the reason? Could it be possible that
+Murdock was wanted elsewhere, and it was thought well that I should see
+him in order to prove an alibi, should he be suspected of a ghastly
+crime? My God! what could<a class="pagenum" name="page_255" id="page_255" title="255"></a> this mean? From the first I had mistrusted
+Wickham. What was he doing in Murdock's house? For what purpose had he
+bribed the driver of the cab in order to make me lose my train?</p>
+
+<p>The more I thought, the more certain I was that Cressley was in grave
+danger; and I now determined, cost what it might, to get to him that
+night.</p>
+
+<p>I left the station, took a cab, and drove back to my hotel. I asked to
+see the manager. A tall, dark man in a frock-coat emerged from a door at
+the back of the office and inquired what he could do for me. I begged
+permission to speak to him alone, and we passed into his private room.</p>
+
+<p>"I am in an extraordinary position," I began. "Circumstances of a
+private nature make it absolutely necessary that I should go to a place
+called Cressley Hall, about fourteen miles from Brent. Brent is sixty
+miles down the line, and the last train has gone. I could take a
+'special,' but there might be an interminable delay at Brent, and I
+prefer to drive straight to Cressley Hall<a class="pagenum" name="page_256" id="page_256" title="256"></a> across country. Can you
+assist me by directing me to some good jobmaster from whom I can hire a
+carriage and horses?"</p>
+
+<p>The man looked at me with raised eyebrows. He evidently thought I was
+mad.</p>
+
+<p>"I mean what I say," I added, "and am prepared to back my words with a
+substantial sum. Can you help me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I dare say you might get a carriage and horses to do it," he replied;
+"but it is a very long way, and over a hilly country. No two horses
+could go such a distance without rest. You would have to change from
+time to time as you went. I will send across to the hotel stables for my
+man, and you can see him about it."</p>
+
+<p>He rang the bell and gave his orders. In a few moments the jobmaster
+came in. I hurriedly explained to him what I wanted. At first he said it
+was impossible, that his best horses were out, and that those he had in
+his stables could not possibly attempt such a journey; but when I
+brought out my cheque-book and offered to advance any sum in reason, he
+hesitated.<a class="pagenum" name="page_257" id="page_257" title="257"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Of course there is one way in which it might be managed, sir. I would
+take you myself as far as Ovenden, which is five-and-twenty miles from
+here. There, I know, we could get a pair of fresh horses from the Swan;
+and if we wired at once from here, horses might be ready at Carlton,
+which is another twenty miles on the road. But, at our best, sir, it
+will be between two and three in the morning before we get to Brent."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry to hear you say so," I answered; "but it is better to arrive
+then than to wait until to-morrow. Please send the necessary telegram
+off without a moment's delay, and get the carriage ready."</p>
+
+<p>"Put the horses in at once, John," said the manager. "You had better
+take the light wagonette. You ought to get there between one and two in
+the morning with that."</p>
+
+<p>Then he added, as the man left the room,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose, sir, your business is very urgent?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_258" id="page_258" title="258"></a></p>
+
+<p>"It is," I replied shortly.</p>
+
+<p>He looked as if he would like to question me further, but refrained.</p>
+
+<p>A few moments later I had taken my seat beside the driver, and we were
+speeding at a good round pace through the streets of Liverpool. We
+passed quickly through the suburbs, and out into the open country. The
+evening was a lovely one, and the country looked its best. It was
+difficult to believe, as I drove through the peaceful landscape, that in
+all probability a dark deed was in contemplation, and that the young man
+to whom I had taken a most sincere liking was in danger of his life.</p>
+
+<p>As I drove silently by my companion's side I reviewed the whole
+situation. The more I thought of it the less I liked it. On board the
+<i>Euphrates</i> Wickham had been abnormally interested in Cressley. Cressley
+had himself confided to him his superstitious dread with regard to the
+turret room. Cressley had come home with a fortune; and if he floated
+his syndicate<a class="pagenum" name="page_259" id="page_259" title="259"></a> he would be a millionaire. Wickham scarcely looked like a
+rich man. Then why should he know Murdock, and why should a lay figure
+be put in Murdock's bed? Why, also, through a most unnatural accident,
+should I have lost my train?</p>
+
+<p>The more I thought, the graver and graver became my fears. Gradually
+darkness settled over the land, and then a rising moon flooded the
+country in its weird light. I had been on many a wild expedition before,
+but in some ways never a wilder than this. Its very uncertainty, wrapped
+as it was in unformed suspicions, gave it an air of inexpressible
+mystery.</p>
+
+<p>On and on we went, reaching Ovenden between nine and ten at night. Here
+horses were ready for us, and we again started on our way. When we got
+to Carlton, however, there came a hitch in my well-formed arrangements.
+We drew up at the little inn, to find the place in total darkness, and
+all the inhabitants evidently in bed and asleep. With some difficulty
+we<a class="pagenum" name="page_260" id="page_260" title="260"></a> roused the landlord, and asked why the horses which had been
+telegraphed for had not been got ready.</p>
+
+<p>"We did not get them when the second telegram arrived," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"The second telegram!" I cried, my heart beating fast. "What do you
+mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"There were two, sir, both coming from the same stables. The first was
+written desiring us to have the horses ready at any cost. The second
+contradicted the first, and said that the gentleman had changed his
+mind, and was not going. On receipt of that, sir, I shut up the house as
+usual, and we all went to bed. I am very sorry if there has been any
+mistake."</p>
+
+<p>"There has, and a terrible one," I could not help muttering under my
+breath. My fears were getting graver than ever. Who had sent the second
+telegram? Was it possible that I had been followed by Wickham, who took
+these means of circumventing me?</p>
+
+<p>"We must get horses, and at once," I<a class="pagenum" name="page_261" id="page_261" title="261"></a> said. "Never mind about the second
+telegram; it was a mistake."</p>
+
+<p>Peach, the jobmaster, muttered an oath.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't understand what is up," he said. He looked mystified and not
+too well pleased. Then he added,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"These horses can't go another step, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"They must if we can get no others," I said. I went up to him, and began
+to whisper in his ear.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a matter of life and death, my good friend. Only the direst
+necessity takes me on this journey. The second telegram without doubt
+was sent by a man whom I am trying to circumvent. I know what I am
+saying. We must get horses, or these must go on. We have not an instant
+to lose. There is a conspiracy afoot to do serious injury to the owner
+of Cressley Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"What! the young gentleman who has just come from Australia? You don't
+mean to say he is in danger?" said Peach.</p>
+
+<p>"He is in the gravest danger. I don't<a class="pagenum" name="page_262" id="page_262" title="262"></a> mind who knows. I have reason for
+my fears."</p>
+
+<p>While I was speaking the landlord drew near. He overheard some of my
+last words. The landlord and Peach now exchanged glances. After a moment
+the landlord spoke,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"A neighbour of ours, sir, has got two good horses," he said. "He is the
+doctor in this village. I believe he'll lend them if the case is as
+urgent as you say."</p>
+
+<p>"Go and ask him," I cried. "You shall have ten pounds if we are on the
+road in five minutes from the present moment."</p>
+
+<p>At this hint the landlord flew. He came back in an incredibly short
+space of time, accompanied by the doctor's coachman leading the horses.
+They were quickly harnessed to the wagonette, and once more we started
+on our way.</p>
+
+<p>"Now drive as you never drove before in the whole course of your life,"
+I said to Peach. "Money is no object. We have still fifteen miles to go,
+and over a rough country. You can claim any reward in<a class="pagenum" name="page_263" id="page_263" title="263"></a> reason if you get
+to Cressley Hall within an hour."</p>
+
+<p>"It cannot be done, sir," he replied; but then he glanced at me, and
+some of the determination in my face was reflected in his. He whipped up
+the horses. They were thoroughbred animals, and worked well under
+pressure.</p>
+
+<p>We reached the gates of Cressley Hall between two and three in the
+morning. Here I thought it best to draw up, and told my coachman that I
+should not need his services any longer.</p>
+
+<p>"If you are afraid of mischief, sir, would it not be best for me to lie
+about here?" he asked. "I'd rather be in the neighbourhood in case you
+want me. I am interested in this here job, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"You may well be, my man. God grant it is not a black business. Well,
+walk the horses up and down, if you like. If you see nothing of me
+within the next couple of hours, judge that matters are all right, and
+return with the horses to Carlton."</p>
+
+<p>This being arranged, I turned from Peach<a class="pagenum" name="page_264" id="page_264" title="264"></a> and entered the lodge gates.
+Just inside was a low cottage surrounded by trees. I paused for a moment
+to consider what I had better do. My difficulty now was how to obtain
+admittance to the Hall, for of course it would be shut up and all its
+inhabitants asleep at this hour. Suddenly an idea struck me. I
+determined to knock up the lodge-keeper, and to enlist her assistance. I
+went across to the door, and presently succeeded in rousing the inmates.
+A woman of about fifty appeared. I explained to her my position, and
+begged of her to give me her help. She hesitated at first in unutterable
+astonishment; but then, seeing something in my face which convinced her,
+I suppose, of the truth of my story, for it was necessary to alarm her
+in order to induce her to do anything, she said she would do what I
+wished.</p>
+
+<p>"I know the room where Mitchell, the old housekeeper, sleeps," she said,
+"and we can easily wake him by throwing stones up at his window. If
+you'll just wait a minute I'll put a shawl over my head and go with
+you."<a class="pagenum" name="page_265" id="page_265" title="265"></a></p>
+
+<p>She ran into an inner room and quickly re-appeared. Together we made our
+way along the drive which, far as I could see, ran through a park
+studded with old timber. We went round the house to the back entrance,
+and the woman, after a delay of two or three moments, during which I was
+on thorns, managed to wake up Mitchell the housekeeper. He came to his
+window, threw it open, and poked out his head.</p>
+
+<p>"What can be wrong?" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"It is Mr. Bell, James," was the reply, "the gentleman who has been
+expected at the Hall all the evening; he has come now, and wants you to
+admit him."</p>
+
+<p>The old man said that he would come downstairs. He did so, and opening a
+door, stood in front of it, barring my entrance.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you really the gentleman Mr. Cressley has been expecting?" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"I am," I replied; "I missed my train, and was obliged to drive out.
+There is urgent need why I should see your master immediately; where is
+he?"<a class="pagenum" name="page_266" id="page_266" title="266"></a></p>
+
+<p>"I hope in bed, sir, and asleep; it is nearly three o'clock in the
+morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind the hour," I said; "I must see Mr. Cressley immediately. Can
+you take me to his room?"</p>
+
+<p>"If I am sure that you are Mr. John Bell," said the old man, glancing at
+me with not unnatural suspicion.</p>
+
+<p>"Rest assured on that point. Here, this is my card, and here is a
+telegram which I received to-day from your master."</p>
+
+<p>"But master sent no telegram to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"You must be mistaken, this is from him."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't understand it, sir, but you look honest, and I suppose I must
+trust you."</p>
+
+<p>"You will do well to do so," I said.</p>
+
+<p>He moved back and I entered the house. He took me down a passage, and
+then into a lofty chamber, which probably was the old banqueting-hall.
+As well as I could see by the light of the candle, it was floored, and
+panelled with black oak. Round the walls stood figures of knights in
+armour, with flags and banners hanging<a class="pagenum" name="page_267" id="page_267" title="267"></a> from the panels above. I
+followed the old man up a broad staircase and along endless corridors to
+a more distant part of the building. We turned now abruptly to our
+right, and soon began to ascend some turret stairs.</p>
+
+<p>"In which room is your master?" I asked.</p>
+
+<p>"This is his room, sir," said the man. He stood still and pointed to a
+door.</p>
+
+<p>"Stay where you are; I may want you," I said.</p>
+
+<p>I seized his candle, and holding it above my head, opened the door. The
+room was a large one, and when I entered was in total darkness. I
+fancied I heard a rustling in the distance, but could see no one. Then,
+as my eyes got accustomed to the faint light caused by the candle, I
+observed at the further end of the chamber a large four-poster bedstead.
+I immediately noticed something very curious about it. I turned round to
+the old housekeeper.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you really say that Mr. Cressley was sleeping in this room?" I
+asked.<a class="pagenum" name="page_268" id="page_268" title="268"></a></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; he must be in bed some hours ago. I left him in the library
+hunting up old papers, and he told me he was tired and was going to rest
+early."</p>
+
+<p>"He is not in the bed," I said.</p>
+
+<p>"Not in the bed, sir! Good God!" a note of horror came into the man's
+voice. "What in the name of fortune is the matter with the bed?"</p>
+
+<p>As the man spoke I rushed forward. Was it really a bed at all? If it
+was, I had never seen a stranger one. Upon it, covering it from head to
+foot, was a thick mattress, from the sides of which tassels were
+hanging. There was no human being lying on the mattress, nor was it made
+up with sheets and blankets like an ordinary bed. I glanced above me.
+The posts at the four corners of the bedstead stood like masts. I saw at
+once what had happened. The canopy had descended upon the bed. Was
+Cressley beneath? With a shout I desired the old man to come forward,
+and between us we seized the mattress, and exerting all our force, tried
+to drag it from<a class="pagenum" name="page_269" id="page_269" title="269"></a> the bed. In a moment I saw it was fixed by cords that
+held it tightly in its place. Whipping out my knife, I severed these,
+and then hurled the heavy weight from the bed. Beneath lay Cressley,
+still as death. I put my hand on his heart and uttered a thankful
+exclamation. It was still beating. I was in time; I had saved him. After
+all, nothing else mattered during that supreme moment of thankfulness. A
+few seconds longer beneath that smothering mass and he would have been
+dead. By what a strange sequence of events had I come to his side just
+in the nick of time!</p>
+
+<p>"We must take him from this room before he recovers consciousness," I
+said to the old man, who was surprised and horror-stricken.</p>
+
+<p>"But, sir, in the name of Heaven, what has happened?"</p>
+
+<p>"Let us examine the bed, and I will tell you," I said. I held up the
+candle as I spoke. A glance at the posts was all-sufficient to show me
+how the deed had been done. The canopy above, on which<a class="pagenum" name="page_270" id="page_270" title="270"></a> the heavy
+mattress had been placed, was held in position by strong cords which ran
+through pulleys at the top of the posts. These were thick and heavy
+enough to withstand the strain. When the cords were released, the
+canopy, with its heavy weight, must quickly descend upon the unfortunate
+sleeper, who would be smothered beneath it in a few seconds. Who had
+planned and executed this murderous device?</p>
+
+<p>There was not a soul to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>"We will take Mr. Cressley into another room and then come back," I said
+to the housekeeper. "Is there one where we can place him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," was the instant reply; "there's a room on the next floor
+which was got ready for you."</p>
+
+<p>"Capital," I answered; "we will convey him there at once."</p>
+
+<p>We did so, and after using some restoratives, he came to himself. When
+he saw me he gazed at me with an expression of horror on his face.</p>
+
+<p>"Am I alive, or is it a dream?" he said.<a class="pagenum" name="page_271" id="page_271" title="271"></a></p>
+
+<p>"You are alive, but you have had a narrow escape of your life," I
+answered. I then told him how I had found him.</p>
+
+<p>He sat up as I began to speak, and as I continued my narrative his eyes
+dilated with an expression of terror which I have seldom seen equalled.</p>
+
+<p>"You do not know what I have lived through," he said at last. "I only
+wonder I retain my reason. Oh, that awful room! no wonder men died and
+went mad there!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, speak, Cressley; I am all attention," I said; "you will be the
+better when you have unburdened yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"I can tell you what happened in a few words," he answered. "You know I
+mentioned the horrid sort of presentiment I had about coming here at
+all. That first night I could not make up my mind to sleep in the house,
+so I went to the little inn at Brent. I received your telegram
+yesterday, and went to meet you by the last train. When you did not
+come, I had a tussle with myself; but I could think of no decent excuse
+for deserting the old place,<a class="pagenum" name="page_272" id="page_272" title="272"></a> and so came back. My intention was to sit
+up the greater part of the night arranging papers in the library. The
+days are long now, and I thought I might go to bed when morning broke. I
+was irresistibly sleepy, however, and went up to my room soon after one
+o'clock. I was determined to think of nothing unpleasant, and got
+quickly into bed, taking the precaution first to lock the door. I placed
+the key under my pillow, and, being very tired, soon fell into a heavy
+sleep. I awoke suddenly, after what seemed but a few minutes, to find
+the room dark, for the moon must just have set. I was very sleepy, and I
+wondered vaguely why I had awakened; and then suddenly, without warning,
+and without cause, a monstrous, unreasonable fear seized me. An
+indefinable intuition told me that I was not alone&mdash;that some horrible
+presence was near. I do not think the certainty of immediate death could
+have inspired me with a greater dread than that which suddenly came upon
+me. I dared not stir hand nor foot. My powers of reason and<a class="pagenum" name="page_273" id="page_273" title="273"></a> resistance
+were paralysed. At last, by an immense effort, I nerved myself to see
+the worst. Slowly, very slowly, I turned my head and opened my eyes.
+Against the tapestry at the further corner of the room, in the dark
+shadow, stood a figure. It stood out quite boldly, emanating from itself
+a curious light. I had no time to think of phosphorus. It never occurred
+to me that any trick was being played upon me. I felt certain that I was
+looking at my ancestor, Barrington Cressley, who had come back to
+torture me in order to make me give up possession. The figure was that
+of a man six feet high, and broad in proportion. The face was bent
+forward and turned toward me, but in the uncertain light I could neither
+see the features nor the expression. The figure stood as still as a
+statue, and was evidently watching me. At the end of a moment, which
+seemed to me an eternity, it began to move, and, with a slow and silent
+step, approached me. I lay perfectly still, every muscle braced, and
+watched the figure between half-closed eyelids.<a class="pagenum" name="page_274" id="page_274" title="274"></a> It was now within a
+foot or two of me, and I could distinctly see the face. What was my
+horror to observe that it wore the features of my agent Murdock.</p>
+
+<p>"'Murdock!' I cried, the word coming in a strangled sound from my
+throat. The next instant he had sprung upon me. I heard a noise of
+something rattling above, and saw a huge shadow descending upon me. I
+did not know what it was, and I felt certain that I was being murdered.
+The next moment all was lost in unconsciousness. Bell, how queer you
+look! Was it&mdash;was it Murdock? But it could not have been; he was very
+ill in bed at Liverpool. What in the name of goodness was the awful
+horror through which I had lived?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can assure you on one point," I answered; "it was no ghost. And as to
+Murdock, it is more than likely that you did see him."</p>
+
+<p>I then told the poor fellow what I had discovered with regard to the
+agent, and also my firm conviction that Wickham was at the bottom of
+it.<a class="pagenum" name="page_275" id="page_275" title="275"></a></p>
+
+<p>Cressley's astonishment was beyond bounds, and I saw at first that he
+scarcely believed me; but when I said that it was my intention to search
+the house, he accompanied me.</p>
+
+<p>We both, followed by Mitchell, returned to the ill-fated room; but,
+though we examined the tapestry and panelling, we could not find the
+secret means by which the villain had obtained access to the chamber.</p>
+
+<p>"The carriage which brought me here is still waiting just outside the
+lodge gates," I said. "What do you say to leaving this place at once,
+and returning, at least, as far as Carlton? We might spend the remainder
+of the night there, and take the very first train to Liverpool."</p>
+
+<p>"Anything to get away," said Cressley. "I do not feel that I can ever
+come back to Cressley Hall again."</p>
+
+<p>"You feel that now, but by-and-by your sensations will be different," I
+answered. As I spoke I called Mitchell to me. I desired him to go at
+once to the lodge gates and<a class="pagenum" name="page_276" id="page_276" title="276"></a> ask the driver of the wagonette to come
+down to the Hall.</p>
+
+<p>This was done, and half an hour afterwards Cressley and I were on our
+way back to Carlton. Early the next morning we went to Liverpool. There
+we visited the police, and I asked to have a warrant taken out for the
+apprehension of Murdock.</p>
+
+<p>The superintendent, on hearing my tale, suggested that we should go at
+once to Murdock's house in Melville Gardens. We did so, but it was
+empty, Murdock, his wife, and Wickham having thought it best to decamp.
+The superintendent insisted, however, on having the house searched, and
+in a dark closet at the top we came upon a most extraordinary
+contrivance. This was no less than an exact representation of the
+agent's head and neck in wax. In it was a wonderfully skilful imitation
+of a human larynx, which, by a cunning mechanism of clockwork, could be
+made exactly to simulate the breathing and low moaning of a human being.
+This the man had, of course, utilized with the connivance of his wife
+and<a class="pagenum" name="page_277" id="page_277" title="277"></a> Wickham in order to prove an alibi, and the deception was so
+complete that only my own irresistible curiosity could have enabled me
+to discover the secret. That night the police were fortunate enough to
+capture both Murdock and Wickham in a Liverpool slum. Seeing that all
+was up, the villains made complete confession, and the whole of the
+black plot was revealed. It appeared that two adventurers, the worst
+form of scoundrels, knew of Cressley's great discovery in Western
+Australia, and had made up their minds to forestall him in his claim.
+One of these men had come some months ago to England, and while in
+Liverpool had made the acquaintance of Murdock. The other man, Wickham,
+accompanied Cressley on the voyage in order to keep him in view, and
+worm as many secrets as possible from him. When Cressley spoke of his
+superstition with regard to the turret room, it immediately occurred to
+Wickham to utilize the room for his destruction. Murdock proved a ready
+tool in the hands of the rogues. They offered him an enormous<a class="pagenum" name="page_278" id="page_278" title="278"></a> bribe.
+And then the three between them evolved the intricate and subtle details
+of the crime. It was arranged that Murdock was to commit the ghastly
+deed, and for this purpose he was sent down quietly to Brent disguised
+as a journeyman the day before Cressley went to the Hall. The men had
+thought that Cressley would prove an easy prey, but they distrusted me
+from the first. Their relief was great when they discovered that I could
+not accompany Cressley to the Hall. And had he spent the first night
+there, the murder would have been committed; but his nervous terrors
+inducing him to spend the night at Brent foiled this attempt. Seeing
+that I was returning to Liverpool, the men now thought that they would
+use me for their own devices, and made up their minds to decoy me into
+Murdock's bedroom in order that I might see the wax figure, their
+object, of course, being that I should be forced to prove an alibi in
+case Murdock was suspected of the crime. The telegram which reached me
+at Prince's Hotel on my<a class="pagenum" name="page_279" id="page_279" title="279"></a> return from London was sent by one of the
+ruffians, who was lying in ambush at Brent. When I left Murdock's house,
+the wife informed Wickham that she thought from my manner I suspected
+something. He had already taken steps to induce the cab-driver to take
+me in a wrong direction, in order that I should miss my train, and it
+was not until he visited the stables outside the Prince's Hotel that he
+found that I intended to go by road. He then played his last card, when
+he telegraphed to the inn at Carlton to stop the horses. By Murdock's
+means Wickham and his confederate had the run of the rooms at the Hall
+ever since the arrival of Wickham from Australia, and they had rigged up
+the top of the old bedstead in the way I have described. There was,
+needless to say, a secret passage at the back of the tapestry, which was
+so cunningly hidden in the panelling as to baffle all ordinary means of
+discovery.</p>
+
+<p style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:3em; text-align:center; font-size:small;'>Butler &amp; Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.</p>
+
+<hr class='full' />
+
+<p class='center'><i>WARWICK HOUSE, SALISBURY SQUARE,<br />LONDON, E.C.</i></p>
+
+<p class='center' style='font-size:large'>NEW AND RECENT</p>
+
+<p class='center' style='font-size:xx-large; font-weight:bold;'><i>Copyright Novels</i></p>
+
+<p class='center'>AND OTHER POPULAR WORKS</p>
+
+<p class='center' style='font-size:small'>PUBLISHED BY</p>
+
+<p class='center' style=' font-weight:bold;'>WARD, LOCK &amp; CO., LIMITED.</p>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>GEORGE MEREDITH.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Tale of Chloe</b>; The House on the Beach; and The Case of General Ople
+and Lady Camper. By <span class="smcap">George Meredith</span>, Author of "Diana of the Crossways,"
+"The Ordeal of Richard Feverel," "The Tragic Comedians," &amp;c. Crown 8vo,
+cloth, <i><b>6s.</b></i>; Cheaper Edition, <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"'The Tale of Chloe' is one of the gems of English fiction. Mr.
+Meredith is a cunning delineator of women&mdash;no living writer more
+so&mdash;but we question whether, even in Mr. Meredith's rich array of
+female characters, there is any more loveable than Chloe."&mdash;<i>Daily
+Telegraph.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is handled with such supreme skill that it becomes really
+tragic for us, while never for a moment leaving its proper plane of
+a comedy of manners."&mdash;<i>The Athen&aelig;um.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>A. KEVILL-DAVIES.</p>
+
+<p><b>Pharisees.</b> By <span class="smcap">A. Kevill-Davies</span>, Author of "An American Widow," "Dollars
+are Trumps," &amp;c., &amp;c. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>6s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Appeals strongly to the human sympathy. An admirable tale. The
+scenes and incidents are described and related with excellent
+spirit."&mdash;<i>Scotsman.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>E. H. STRAIN.</p>
+
+<p><b>A Man's Foes.</b> A Tale of the Siege of Londonderry. New and cheap edition.
+With <i>Three Full-page Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">A. Forestier</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth,
+<i><b>6s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Quite the best historical novel of the day."&mdash;<i>The Sketch.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A powerful and impressive historical novel.... A chronicle of
+intense and unflagging interest."&mdash;<i>Daily Telegraph.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"'A Man's Foes' is the best historical novel that we have had since
+Mr. Conan Doyle published 'Micah Clarke.' ... An exceptionally fine
+romance."&mdash;<i>Daily Chronicle.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>GUY BOOTHBY</p>
+
+<p><b>In Strange Company:</b> A Story of Chili and the Southern Seas. By <span class="smcap">Guy
+Boothby</span>, Author of "Dr. Nikola." With <i>Six full-page Illustrations</i> by
+<span class="smcap">Stanley L. Wood</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, bevelled boards, <i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A capital novel of its kind&mdash;the sensational-adventurous. It has
+the quality of life and stir, and will carry the reader with
+curiosity unabated to the end."&mdash;<i>The World.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The best of them is 'In Strange Company.' ... The book is a good
+tale of adventure; it has plenty of astonishing incidents which yet
+have an air of verisimilitude."&mdash;<i>The Pall Mall Budget.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>The Marriage of Esther:</b> A Torres Straits Sketch. By <span class="smcap">Guy Boothby</span>, Author
+of "In Strange Company," &amp;c. With <i>Four full-page Illustrations</i> by
+<span class="smcap">Stanley L. Wood</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A story full of action, life, and dramatic interest.... There is a
+vigour and power of illusion about it that raises it quite above
+the level of the ordinary novel of adventure."&mdash;<i>Manchester
+Guardian.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Gives a vivid and life-like presentment of its characters.... It
+is most exciting, Mr. Boothby's vigorous style and happy
+description giving the book an interest entirely apart from that of
+the adventurous."&mdash;<i>The Star.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>A Bid for Fortune;</b> or, Dr. Nikola's Vendetta. By <span class="smcap">Guy Boothby</span>, Author of
+"In Strange Company," "The Marriage of Esther," &amp;c. With about <i>Fifty
+Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">Stanley L. Wood</span> and Others. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt,
+<i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"He never allows the interest to drop from first page to last....
+The plot is highly ingenious, and when once it has fairly
+thickened, exciting to a degree."&mdash;<i>The Times.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is impossible to give any idea of the verve and brightness with
+which the story is told. Mr. Boothby may be congratulated on having
+produced about the most original novel of the year."&mdash;<i>Manchester
+Courier.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>The Beautiful White Devil.</b> By <span class="smcap">Guy Boothby</span>, Author of "Dr. Nikola," &amp;c.
+With <i>Six full-page Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">Stanley L. Wood</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth
+gilt, <i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A more lively, romantic, and amazing bit of fiction than 'The
+Beautiful White Devil,' it would be hard to indicate.... It is full
+of surprise and fascination for the fiction-lover, and is worthy of
+the reputation of the creator of the famous Nikola." </p></div>
+
+<p><b>Dr. Nikola.</b> By <span class="smcap">Guy Boothby</span>. With about <i>Forty Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">Stanley
+L. Wood</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, in striking and original binding, <i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"One hair-breadth escape succeeds another with rapidity that scarce
+leaves the reader breathing space.... The interest of their
+experience is sufficient to stay criticism and carry him through a
+story ingeniously invented and skilfully told."&mdash;<i>Scotsman.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><i>The Manchester Courier</i> says:&mdash;"Few authors can depict action as
+brilliantly and resourcefully as the creator of 'Dr. Nikola.'" </p></div>
+
+<p><b>The Fascination of the King.</b> By <span class="smcap">Guy Boothby</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt,
+special design, bevelled boards, <i><b>5s.</b> Illustrated</i> by <span class="smcap">Stanley L. Wood</span>.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A tale of much power and sustained interest, narrated with
+dramatic effect."&mdash;<i>The Scotsman.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The interest is sustained from first to last, and thrilling
+incidents crop up at almost every page."&mdash;<i>The People.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Unquestionably the best work we have yet seen from the pen of Mr.
+Guy Boothby.... 'The Fascination of the King' is one of the books
+of the season."&mdash;<i>Bristol Mercury.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Undoubtedly dramatic.... A wonderfully interesting
+story."&mdash;<i>Morning Leader.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>Bushigrams.</b> By <span class="smcap">Guy Boothby</span>. <i>Fully Illustrated.</i> Crown 8vo, cloth gilt,
+<i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Intensely interesting. Forces from us, by its powerful artistic
+realism, those choky sensations which it should be the aim of the
+humane writer to elicit, whether in comedy or tragedy. The book
+will enhance Mr. Boothby's reputation and bring him into the very
+front rank of emotional writers, as well as confirm our opinion of
+him as a most powerful imaginative author. His humorous vein is
+fascinating and attractive. His pathos is true, and often most
+touching."&mdash;<i>Manchester Guardian.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>ARTHUR MORRISON.</p>
+
+<p><b>Martin Hewitt, Investigator.</b> By <span class="smcap">Arthur Morrison</span>, Author of "Tales of
+Mean Streets," &amp;c. With <i>Fifty Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">Sidney Paget</span>. Crown
+8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<p><b>Chronicles of Martin Hewitt:</b> Being the Second Series of "Martin Hewitt,
+Investigator." By <span class="smcap">Arthur Morrison</span>. With <i>Thirty Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">D.
+Murray Smith</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<p><b>Adventures of Martin Hewitt:</b> Being the Third Series of "Martin Hewitt,
+Investigator." By <span class="smcap">Arthur Morrison</span>. <i>Illustrated</i> by <span class="smcap">T. S. C. Crowther</span>.
+Crown 8vo, canvas gilt, <i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<p><b>The Dorrington Deed-Box.</b> By <span class="smcap">Arthur Morrison</span>. <i>Fully Illustrated</i> by
+<span class="smcap">Stanley L. Wood, Harold Piffard, Sidney Cowell</span>, &amp;c., &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Most people like tales of this sort ... and no one writes them
+better than Mr. Morrison does. The narratives are written not only
+with ingenuity, but with conviction, which is, perhaps, even the
+more valuable quality. They are essentially of the breathless and
+absorbing order, and their attractiveness is enhanced by the
+excellent pictures that accompany them."&mdash;<i>The Globe.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Certainly the most ingenious and entertaining of the numerous
+successors to Sherlock Holmes. There is not one of the stories in
+this collection that is not ingeniously constructed and cleverly
+written."&mdash;<i>The Academy.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>PERCY ANDREAE.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Vanished Emperor:</b> A Romance of To-day. By <span class="smcap">Percy Andreae</span>. Crown 8vo,
+canvas gilt, <i><b>6s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We can honestly say it is years since we read a story so original,
+so striking, or so absorbing."&mdash;<i>Manchester Courier.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>FRANCIS HINDES GROOME.</p>
+
+<p><b>Kriegspiel:</b> The War Game. By <span class="smcap">Francis Hindes Groome</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth
+gilt, <i><b>6s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Seemingly at one bound Mr. Groome has taken rank amongst the most
+promising novelists of the day, so full is 'Kriegspiel' of
+interest, of stirring incident, and of vivid and varied sketches of
+men and manners from contemporary English life."&mdash;<i>Illustrated
+London News.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>SHAN F. BULLOCK.</p>
+
+<p><b>By Thrasna River:</b> The Story of a Townland. Given by one John Farmer, and
+Edited by his Friend, <span class="smcap">Shan F. Bullock</span>. With <i>Full-page Illustrations</i> by
+<span class="smcap">St. Clair Simmons</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>6s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"This is a charming book, and affords quite the best picture of
+Irish rural life that we have ever come across."&mdash;<i>The Athen&aelig;um.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is an Irish 'Thrums,' in which the character is drawn as
+straight from life as in Mr. Barrie's delightful annals of
+Kirriemuir."&mdash;<i>The Sketch.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>FRANCIS PREVOST.</p>
+
+<p><b>False Dawn.</b> By <span class="smcap">Francis Prevost</span>. Crown 8vo, canvas, full gilt, <i><b>6s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"There is a mingled delicacy and power ... intensely interesting....
+The book is one to be read and remembered."&mdash;<i>Speaker.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Beautifully written, with real and rare powers both of psychology
+and of word painting."&mdash;<i>Academy.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>Rust of Gold.</b> By <span class="smcap">Francis Prevost</span>. Crown 8vo, art canvas, <i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A series of nine <i>fin de si&egrave;cle</i> stories of great power and
+picturesqueness.... A more appalling tale than 'A Ghost of the
+Sea' has not been recounted for many years past, nor have the
+tragical potentialities of modern life, as lived by people of
+culture and refinement, been more graphically illustrated than in
+'Grass upon the Housetops,' 'The Skirts of Chance,' and 'False
+Equivalents.' As word-pictures they are simply
+masterpieces."&mdash;<i>Daily Telegraph.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>On The Verge.</b> By <span class="smcap">Francis Prevost</span>. Crown 8vo, art canvas, <i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"'Rust of Gold' was good, but 'On the Verge' is better."&mdash;<i>Star.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>MAX PEMBERTON.</p>
+
+<p><b>Jewel Mysteries I Have Known.</b> By <span class="smcap">Max Pemberton</span>, Author of "The Iron
+Pirate." &amp;c. With about <i>Fifty Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">R. Caton Woodville</span> and
+<span class="smcap">Fred. Barnard.</span> Demy 8vo, cloth gilt, bevelled boards, gilt edges, <i><b>5s.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The most interesting and entrancing mystery stories that have
+appeared since the publication of the doings of Sherlock
+Holmes."&mdash;<i>The Literary World.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Mr. Pemberton has attempted a great deal more than to give mere
+plots and police cases, and he has succeeded in capturing our
+attention, and never letting it go, from the first story to the
+last."&mdash;<i>The Bookman.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>BERTRAM MITFORD.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Curse of Clement Waynflete:</b> A Story of Two Wars. By <span class="smcap">Bertram Mitford</span>,
+Author of "The King's Assegai," "The Gun Runner," &amp;c. With <i>Four
+Full-page Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">Stanley L. Wood</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>3s.
+6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Telling us wonderful incidents of inter-racial warfare, of
+ambuscades, sieges, surprises, and assaults almost without
+number.... A thoroughly exciting story, full of bright descriptions
+and stirring episodes."&mdash;<i>The Daily Telegraph.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>A Veldt Official:</b> A Novel of Circumstance. By <span class="smcap">Bertram Mitford</span>, Author of
+"The Gun Runner," "The Curse of Clement Waynflete," &amp;c. With <i>Two
+Full-page Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">Stanley L. Wood</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>3s.
+6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We have seldom come across a more thrilling narrative. From start
+to finish Mr. Mitford secures unflagging attention."&mdash;<i>Leeds
+Mercury.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>The Expiation of Wynne Palliser.</b> By <span class="smcap">Bertram Mitford</span>, Author of "The
+King's Assegai," &amp;c. With <i>Two Full-page Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">Stanley L.
+Wood</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The best of this author's many excellent romances."&mdash;<i>The Globe.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>Fordham's Feud.</b> By <span class="smcap">Bertram Mitford</span>, Author of "A Veldt Official," "The
+Curse of Clement Waynflete," "The Expiation of Wynne Palliser," &amp;c.
+Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i> With <i>Four Full-page Illustrations</i> by
+<span class="smcap">Stanley L. Wood</span>.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A story of much merit and startling <i>d&eacute;nouement</i>. For wealth of
+character, pleasant descriptive matter, romantic incident, and
+powerful plot, there are few books that will eclipse 'Fordham's
+Feud.'"&mdash;<i>Manchester Courier.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>COULSON KERNAHAN.</p>
+
+<p><b>Captain Shannon.</b> By <span class="smcap">Coulson Kernahan</span>, Author of "God and the Ant."
+<i>Illustrated</i> by <span class="smcap">F. S. Wilson</span>.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It contains plenty of daring, imaginative flights, and not one
+tiresome or commonplace episode."&mdash;<i>The Globe.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The perils which Rissler has to undergo before he finally runs
+the victim to earth&mdash;or rather to water&mdash;are so terrible that
+they might well be warranted to turn the hair of any man
+white."&mdash;<i>The Speaker.</i></p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>EDITH JOHNSTONE.</p>
+
+<p><b>A Sunless Heart.</b> By <span class="smcap">Edith Johnstone</span>. Third Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth,
+<i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Mr. W. T. Stead, in his article on 'Women Novelists,' writes of
+'Its Intrinsic merit, its originality and its pathos, its
+distinctively woman's outlook on life and the singular glow and
+genius of its author.... Lotus is a distinct creation&mdash;vivid,
+life-like, and original."&mdash;<i>The Review of Reviews.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>CAPTAIN CHARLES KING.</p>
+
+<p><b>Fort Frayne.</b> A Story of Army Life in the Northwest. With <i>Portrait of
+the Author</i>. Crown 8vo. cloth gilt, <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A rattling good story.... Keeps one interested and amused from
+first to last."&mdash;<i>Pall Mall Gazette.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A story of border warfare, so interesting that it is hard to lay
+it down.... A very well-written story, full of keen interest and
+fine character."&mdash;<i>Guardian.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>ADA CAMBRIDGE.</p>
+
+<p><b>A Humble Enterprise.</b> By <span class="smcap">Ada Cambridge</span>, Author of "The Three Miss Kings,"
+"Fidelis," "A Marked Man," &amp;c. With <i>Four Full-page Illustrations</i> by
+<span class="smcap">St. Clair Simmons</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is a delightful story, refreshingly original, singularly well
+told and absorbingly interesting from beginning to end."&mdash;<i>Daily
+Mail.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A pretty, graceful story, and one to leave, so to speak, a clean
+taste in one's mouth; such dishes are rarely served to the
+public."&mdash;<i>Pall Mall Gazette.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>At Midnight.</b> By <span class="smcap">Ada Cambridge</span>, Author of "A Humble Enterprise," &amp;c.
+<i>Fully Illustrated.</i> Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"This latest production from the pen of Miss Ada Cambridge is sure
+to be a great success." </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>NORA VYNNE.</p>
+
+<p><b>Honey of Aloes</b>, and other Stories. By <span class="smcap">Nora Vynne</span>, Author of "The Blind
+Artist's Pictures," "A Comedy of Honour," &amp;c. Crown 8vo, cloth, <i><b>3s.
+6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"These tales are in every respect worthy of conservation, and we
+cordially congratulate the reading public, as well as their author,
+upon their reproduction in book form. Not only do they abound in
+literary merit, but in thrilling interest, and there is not one of
+them that is not instinct with intense and veracious humanity....
+'Their Reason,' 'A Dilemma,' 'Greek and Greek,' and 'Lost Kisses,'
+deserve special and unqualified laudation."<i>&mdash;Daily Telegraph.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>WILLIAM LE QUEUX.</p>
+
+<p><b>A Secret Service:</b> Being Strange Tales of a Nihilist. By <span class="smcap">William Le
+Queux</span>, Author of "The Great War," "Zoraida," &amp;c. With <i>Frontispiece</i> by
+<span class="smcap">Harold Piffard</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth, <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Apart altogether from its political interest, 'A Secret Service'
+will be read and appreciated for its brightly written stories of
+mystery and sensation and romance which are threaded together in
+the narrative of Anton Pr&eacute;hzner."&mdash;<i>Daily Mail.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>CONAN DOYLE.</p>
+
+<p><i><b>The First Book about Sherlock Holmes.</b></i></p>
+
+<p><b>A Study in Scarlet.</b> By <span class="smcap">A. Conan Doyle</span>, Author of "Micah Clarke," "The
+Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," &amp;c. With <i>Forty Illustrations</i> by <span class="smcap">George
+Hutchinson</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, gilt top, <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Everything that prince of amateur detectives, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,
+says is worth hearing, and the dramatic surprises contained in his
+amiable and artistic fooling of the two brother detectives are
+capitally conceived."&mdash;<i>Black and White.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Few things have been so good of late as Mr. Conan Doyle's 'Study
+in Scarlet,'"&mdash;<span class="smcap">Mr. Andrew Lang</span>, in <i>Longman's Magazine</i>. </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>ANNIE E. HOLDSWORTH.</p>
+
+<p><b>Spindles and Oars.</b> By <span class="smcap">Annie E. Holdsworth</span>, Author of "The Years that the
+Locust hath Eaten." Crown 8vo, cloth, with <i>Special Title-page</i>, <i><b>3s.
+6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We do not exaggerate when we say that there are very few books of
+living writers which we would not gladly exchange for such a work
+as she has now given us."&mdash;<i>Manchester Courier.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p style='font-size:larger; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-align:center'>JOSEPH HOCKING.</p>
+
+<p><b>Fields of Fair Renown.</b> With <i>Frontispiece and Vignette</i> by <span class="smcap">J. Barnard
+Davis</span>, Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Mr. Joseph Hocking's 'Fields of Fair Renown' is a novel with a
+purpose, and the theme is worked out with a good deal of force and
+effective power ... it is both interesting and
+powerful."&mdash;<i>Scotsman.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Mr. Hocking has produced a work which his readers of all classes
+will appreciate.... There are exhibited some of the most beautiful
+aspects of disposition."&mdash;<i>Dundee Advertiser.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>All Men are Liars.</b> By <span class="smcap">Joseph Hocking</span>. With <i>Frontispiece and Vignette</i>
+by <span class="smcap">Gordon Browne</span>. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt. <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"This is a notable book. Thoughtful people will be fascinated by
+its actuality, its fearlessness, and the insight it gives into the
+influence of modern thought and literature upon the mind and morals
+of our most promising manhood."&mdash;<i>Christian World.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A striking book.... It is strong and earnest and vigorous: It
+shows knowledge of the lower class, and impatience and contempt of
+shams of all sorts."&mdash;<i>The Standard.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>Ishmael Pengelly:</b> An Outcast. By <span class="smcap">Joseph Hocking</span>. With <i>Frontispiece and
+Vignette</i> by <span class="smcap">W. S. Stacey</span>. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth gilt, <i><b>3s.
+6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"As a story this book is a splendid piece of writing; every detail
+is interesting, and the situations it creates are novel and
+striking."<i>&mdash;The Record.</i> </p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A remarkable novel.... The plot of the story is ingenious, the
+manner of its telling essentially dramatic, the character-drawing
+excellent and consistent."&mdash;<i>Christian World.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>The Story of Andrew Fairfax.</b> By <span class="smcap">Joseph Hocking</span>. With <i>Frontispiece and
+Vignette</i> by <span class="smcap">George Hutchinson</span>. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt,
+<i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Rustic scenes and characters are drawn with free, broad touches,
+without Mr. Buchanan's artificiality, and, if we may venture to say
+it, with more realism than in Mr. Hardy's country
+pictures."&mdash;<i>Manchester Examiner.</i> </p></div>
+
+<p><b>Jabez Easterbrook.</b> By <span class="smcap">Joseph Hocking</span>. Fourth Edition. With <i>Frontispiece
+and Vignette</i> by <span class="smcap">W. S. Stagey</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth, <i><b>3s. 6d.</b></i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Real strength is shown in the sketches, of which that of Brother
+Bowman is most prominent. In its way it is delightful."&mdash;<i>Rock.</i> </p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class='center'>WARD, LOCK &amp; CO., LIMITED.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Master of Mysteries, by 
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@@ -0,0 +1,6119 @@
+Project Gutenberg's A Master of Mysteries, by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: A Master of Mysteries
+
+Author: L. T. Meade
+        Robert Eustace
+
+Illustrator: J. Ambrose Walton
+
+Release Date: August 8, 2007 [EBook #22278]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MASTER OF MYSTERIES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+A MASTER OF MYSTERIES
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: "He pulled the mare nearly up on her haunches."
+(Page 114). A Master of Mysteries.--Frontispiece]
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+A MASTER OF MYSTERIES
+
+By
+L. T. MEADE
+and ROBERT EUSTACE
+
+Illustrated By
+J. AMBROSE WALTON
+
+London
+Ward, Lock & Co Limited
+Warwick House Salisbury Square E C
+New York And Melbourne
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Contents
+
+                                                                 PAGE
+
+   I  THE MYSTERY OF THE CIRCULAR CHAMBER                           9
+
+  II  THE WARDER OF THE DOOR                                       57
+
+ III  THE MYSTERY OF THE FELWYN TUNNEL                             95
+
+  IV  THE EIGHT-MILE LOCK                                         139
+
+   V  HOW SIVA SPOKE                                              183
+
+  VI  TO PROVE AN ALIBI                                           227
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Introduction
+
+It so happened that the circumstances of fate allowed me to follow my
+own bent in the choice of a profession. From my earliest youth the
+weird, the mysterious had an irresistible fascination for me. Having
+private means, I resolved to follow my unique inclinations, and I am now
+well known to all my friends as a professional exposer of ghosts, and
+one who can clear away the mysteries of most haunted houses. Up to the
+present I have never had cause to regret my choice, but at the same time
+I cannot too strongly advise any one who thinks of following my example
+to hesitate before engaging himself in tasks that entail time, expense,
+thankless labour, often ridicule, and not seldom great personal danger.
+To explain, by the application of science, phenomena attributed to
+spiritual agencies has been the work of my life. I have, naturally, gone
+through strange difficulties in accomplishing my mission. I propose in
+these pages to relate the histories of certain queer events, enveloped
+at first in mystery, and apparently dark with portent, but,
+nevertheless, when grappled with in the true spirit of science, capable
+of explanation.
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+THE MYSTERY OF THE CIRCULAR CHAMBER
+
+
+One day in late September I received the following letter from my
+lawyer:--
+
+     "My Dear Bell,--
+
+     "I shall esteem it a favour if you can make it convenient to call
+     upon me at ten o'clock to-morrow morning on a matter of extreme
+     privacy."
+
+At the appointed hour I was shown into Mr. Edgcombe's private room. I
+had known him for years--we were, in fact, old friends--and I was
+startled now by the look of worry, not to say anxiety, on his usually
+serene features.
+
+"You are the very man I want, Bell," he cried. "Sit down; I have a great
+deal to say to you. There is a mystery of a very grave nature which I
+hope you may solve for me. It is in connection with a house said to be
+haunted."
+
+He fixed his bright eyes on my face as he spoke. I sat perfectly silent,
+waiting for him to continue.
+
+"In the first place," he resumed, "I must ask you to regard the matter
+as confidential."
+
+"Certainly," I answered.
+
+"You know," he went on, "that I have often laughed at your special
+hobby, but it occurred to me yesterday that the experiences you have
+lived through may enable you to give me valuable assistance in this
+difficulty."
+
+"I will do my best for you, Edgcombe," I replied.
+
+He lay back in his chair, folding his hands.
+
+"The case is briefly as follows," he began. "It is connected with the
+family of the Wentworths. The only son, Archibald, the artist, has just
+died under most extraordinary circumstances. He was, as you probably
+know, one of the most promising water-colour painters of the younger
+school, and his pictures in this year's Academy met with universal
+praise. He was the heir to the Wentworth estates, and his death has
+caused a complication of claims from a member of a collateral branch of
+the family, who, when the present squire dies, is entitled to the money.
+This man has spent the greater part of his life in Australia, is badly
+off, and evidently belongs to a rowdy set. He has been to see me two or
+three times, and I must say frankly that I am not taken with his
+appearance."
+
+"Had he anything to do with the death?" I interrupted.
+
+"Nothing whatever, as you will quickly perceive. Wentworth has been
+accustomed from time to time to go alone on sketching tours to different
+parts of the country. He has tramped about on foot, and visited odd,
+out-of-the-way nooks searching for subjects. He never took much money
+with him, and always travelled as an apparently poor man. A month ago he
+started off alone on one of these tours. He had a handsome commission
+from Barlow & Co., picture-dealers in the Strand. He was to paint
+certain parts of the river Merran; and although he certainly did not
+need money, he seemed glad of an object for a good ramble. He parted
+with his family in the best of health and spirits, and wrote to them
+from time to time; but a week ago they heard the news that he had died
+suddenly at an inn on the Merran. There was, of course, an inquest and
+an autopsy. Dr. Miles Gordon, the Wentworths' consulting physician, was
+telegraphed for, and was present at the post-mortem examination. He is
+absolutely puzzled to account for the death. The medical examination
+showed Wentworth to be in apparently perfect health at the time. There
+was no lesion to be discovered upon which to base a different opinion,
+all the organs being healthy. Neither was there any trace of poison, nor
+marks of violence. The coroner's verdict was that Wentworth died of
+syncope, which, as you know perhaps, is a synonym for an unknown cause.
+The inn where he died is a very lonely one, and has the reputation of
+being haunted. The landlord seems to bear a bad character, although
+nothing has ever been proved against him. But a young girl who lives at
+the inn gave evidence which at first startled every one. She said at the
+inquest that she had earnestly warned Wentworth not to sleep in the
+haunted room. She had scarcely told the coroner so before she fell to
+the floor in an epileptic fit. When she came to herself she was sullen
+and silent, and nothing more could be extracted from her. The old man,
+the innkeeper, explained that the girl was half-witted, but he did not
+attempt to deny that the house had the reputation of being haunted, and
+said that he had himself begged Wentworth not to put up there. Well,
+that is about the whole of the story. The coroner's inquest seems to
+deny the evidence of foul play, but I have my very strong suspicions.
+What I want you to do is to ascertain if they are correct. Will you
+undertake the case?"
+
+"I will certainly do so," I replied. "Please let me have any further
+particulars, and a written document to show, in case of need, that I am
+acting under your directions."
+
+Edgcombe agreed to this, and I soon afterwards took my leave. The case
+had the features of an interesting problem, and I hoped that I should
+prove successful in solving it.
+
+That evening I made my plans carefully. I would go into ----shire early
+on the following morning, assuming for my purpose the character of an
+amateur photographer. Having got all necessary particulars from
+Edgcombe, I made a careful mental map of my operations. First of all I
+would visit a little village of the name of Harkhurst, and put up at the
+inn, the Crown and Thistle. Here Wentworth had spent a fortnight when he
+first started on his commission to make drawings of the river Merran. I
+thought it likely that I should obtain some information there.
+Circumstances must guide me as to my further steps, but my intention was
+to proceed from Harkhurst to the Castle Inn, which was situated about
+six miles further up the river. This was the inn where the tragedy had
+occurred.
+
+Towards evening on the following day I arrived at Harkhurst. When my
+carriage drew up at the Crown and Thistle, the landlady was standing in
+the doorway. She was a buxom-looking dame, with a kindly face. I asked
+for a bed.
+
+"Certainly, sir," she answered. She turned with me into the little inn,
+and taking me upstairs, showed me a small room, quite clean and
+comfortable, looking out on the yard. I said it would do capitally, and
+she hurried downstairs to prepare my supper. After this meal, which
+proved to be excellent, I determined to visit the landlord in the bar. I
+found him chatty and communicative.
+
+"This is a lonely place," he said; "we don't often have a soul staying
+with us for a month at a time." As he spoke he walked to the door, and I
+followed him. The shades of night were beginning to fall, but the
+picturesqueness of the little hamlet could not but commend itself to me.
+
+"And yet it is a lovely spot," I said. "I should have thought tourists
+would have thronged to it. It is at least an ideal place for
+photographers."
+
+"You are right there, sir," replied the man; "and although we don't
+often have company to stay in the inn, now and then we have a stray
+artist. It's not three weeks back," he continued, "that we had a
+gentleman like you, sir, only a bit younger, to stay with us for a week
+or two. He was an artist, and drew from morning till night--ah, poor
+fellow!"
+
+"Why do you say that?" I asked.
+
+"I have good cause, sir. Here, wife," continued the landlord, looking
+over his shoulder at Mrs. Johnson, the landlady, who now appeared on the
+scene, "this gentleman has been asking me questions about our visitor,
+Mr. Wentworth, but perhaps we ought not to inflict such a dismal story
+upon him to-night."
+
+"Pray do," I said; "what you have already hinted at arouses my
+curiosity. Why should you pity Mr. Wentworth?"
+
+"He is dead, sir," said the landlady, in a solemn voice. I gave a
+pretended start, and she continued,--
+
+"And it was all his own fault. Ah, dear! it makes me almost cry to think
+of it. He was as nice a gentleman as I ever set eyes on, and so strong,
+hearty, and pleasant. Well, sir, everything went well until one day he
+said to me, 'I am about to leave you, Mrs. Johnson. I am going to a
+little place called the Castle Inn, further up the Merran.'
+
+"'The Castle Inn!' I cried. 'No, Mr. Wentworth, that you won't, not if
+you value your life.'
+
+"'And why not?' he said, looking at me with as merry blue eyes as you
+ever saw in anybody's head. 'Why should I not visit the Castle Inn? I
+have a commission to make some drawings of that special bend of the
+river.'
+
+"'Well, then, sir,' I answered, 'if that is the case, you'll just have a
+horse and trap from here and drive over as often as you want to. For the
+Castle Inn ain't a fit place for a Christian to put up at.'
+
+"'What do you mean?' he asked of me.
+
+"'It is said to be haunted, sir, and what does happen in that house the
+Lord only knows, but there's not been a visitor at the inn for some
+years, not since Bailiff Holt came by his death.'
+
+"'Came by his death?' he asked. 'And how was that?'
+
+"'God knows, but I don't,' I answered. 'At the coroner's inquest it was
+said that he died from syncope, whatever that means, but the folks round
+here said it was fright.' Mr. Wentworth just laughed at me. He didn't
+mind a word I said, and the next day, sir, he was off, carrying his
+belongings with him."
+
+"Well, and what happened?" I asked, seeing that she paused.
+
+"What happened, sir? Just what I expected. Two days afterwards came the
+news of his death. Poor young gentleman! He died in the very room where
+Holt had breathed his last; and, oh, if there wasn't a fuss and to-do,
+for it turned out that, although he seemed quite poor to us, with little
+or no money, he was no end of a swell, and had rich relations, and big
+estates coming to him; and, of course, there was a coroner's inquest and
+all the rest, and great doctors came down from London, and our Dr.
+Stanmore, who lives down the street, was sent for, and though they did
+all they could, and examined him, as it were, with a microscope, they
+could find no cause for death, and so they give it out that it was
+syncope, just as they did in the case of poor Holt. But, sir, it wasn't;
+it was fright, sheer fright. The place is haunted. It's a mysterious,
+dreadful house, and I only hope you won't have nothing to do with it."
+
+She added a few more words and presently left us.
+
+"That's a strange story," I said, turning to Johnson; "your wife has
+excited my curiosity. I should much like to get further particulars."
+
+"There don't seem to be anything more to tell, sir," replied Johnson.
+"It's true what the wife says, that the Castle Inn has a bad name. It's
+not the first, no, nor the second, death that has occurred there."
+
+"You mentioned your village doctor; do you think he could enlighten me
+on the subject?"
+
+"I am sure he would do his best, sir. He lives only six doors away, in a
+red house. Maybe you wouldn't mind stepping down the street and speaking
+to him?"
+
+"You are sure he would not think it a liberty?"
+
+"Not he, sir; he'll be only too pleased to exchange a word with some one
+outside this sleepy little place."
+
+"Then I'll call on him," I answered, and taking up my hat I strolled
+down the street. I was lucky in finding Dr. Stanmore at home, and the
+moment I saw his face I determined to take him into my confidence.
+
+"The fact is this," I said, when he had shaken hands with me, "I should
+not dream of taking this liberty did I not feel certain that you could
+help me."
+
+"And in what way?" he asked, not stiffly, but with a keen, inquiring,
+interested glance.
+
+"I have been sent down from London to inquire into the Wentworth
+mystery," I said.
+
+"Is that so?" he said, with a start. Then he continued gravely: "I fear
+you have come on a wild-goose chase. There was nothing discovered at the
+autopsy to account for the death. There were no marks on the body, and
+all the organs were healthy. I met Wentworth often while he was staying
+here, and he was as hearty and strong-looking a young man as I have ever
+come across."
+
+"But the Castle Inn has a bad reputation," I said.
+
+"That is true; the people here are afraid of it. It is said to be
+haunted. But really, sir, you and I need not trouble ourselves about
+stupid reports of that sort. Old Bindloss, the landlord, has lived there
+for years, and there has never been anything proved against him."
+
+"Is he alone?"
+
+"No; his wife and a grandchild live there also."
+
+"A grandchild?" I said. "Did not this girl give some startling evidence
+at the inquest?"
+
+"Nothing of any consequence," replied Dr. Stanmore; "she only repeated
+what Bindloss had already said himself--that the house was haunted, and
+that she had asked Wentworth not to sleep in the room."
+
+"Has anything ever been done to explain the reason why this room is said
+to be haunted?" I continued.
+
+"Not that I know of. Rats are probably at the bottom of it."
+
+"But have not there been other deaths in the house?"
+
+"That is true."
+
+"How many?"
+
+"Well, I have myself attended no less than three similar inquests."
+
+"And what was the verdict of the jury?"
+
+"In each case the verdict was death from syncope."
+
+"Which means, cause unknown," I said, jumping impatiently to my feet. "I
+wonder, Dr. Stanmore, that you are satisfied to leave the matter in such
+a state."
+
+"And, pray, what can I do?" he inquired. "I am asked to examine a body.
+I find all the organs in perfect health; I cannot trace the least
+appearance of violence, nor can I detect poison. What other evidence can
+I honestly give?"
+
+"I can only say that I should not be satisfied," I replied. "I now wish
+to add that I have come down from London determined to solve this
+mystery. I shall myself put up at the Castle Inn."
+
+"Well?" said Dr. Stanmore.
+
+"And sleep in the haunted room."
+
+"Of course you don't believe in the ghost."
+
+"No; but I believe in foul play. Now, Dr. Stanmore, will you help me?"
+
+"Most certainly, if I can. What do you wish me to do?"
+
+"This--I shall go to the Castle Inn to-morrow. If at the end of three
+days I do not return here, will you go in search of me, and at the same
+time post this letter to Mr. Edgcombe, my London lawyer?"
+
+"If you do not appear in three days I'll kick up no end of a row," said
+Dr. Stanmore, "and, of course, post your letter."
+
+Soon afterwards I shook hands with the doctor and left him.
+
+After an early dinner on the following day, I parted with my
+good-natured landlord and his wife, and with my knapsack and kodak
+strapped over my shoulders, started on my way. I took care to tell no
+one that I was going to the Castle Inn, and for this purpose doubled
+back through a wood, and so found the right road. The sun was nearly
+setting when at last I approached a broken-down signpost, on which, in
+half-obliterated characters, I could read the words, "To the Castle
+Inn." I found myself now at the entrance of a small lane, which was
+evidently little frequented, as it was considerably grass-grown. From
+where I stood I could catch no sight of any habitation, but just at that
+moment a low, somewhat inconsequent laugh fell upon my ears. I turned
+quickly and saw a pretty girl, with bright eyes and a childish face,
+gazing at me with interest. I had little doubt that she was old
+Bindloss's grand-daughter.
+
+"Will you kindly tell me," I asked, "if this is the way to the Castle
+Inn?"
+
+My remark evidently startled her. She made a bound forward, seized me by
+my hand, and tried to push me away from the entrance to the lane into
+the high road.
+
+"Go away!" she cried; "we have no beds fit for gentlemen at the Castle
+Inn. Go! go!" she continued, and she pointed up the winding road. Her
+eyes were now blazing in her head, but I noticed that her lips
+trembled, and that very little would cause her to burst into tears.
+
+"But I am tired and footsore," I answered. "I should like to put up at
+the inn for the night."
+
+"Don't!" she repeated; "they'll put you into a room with a ghost. Don't
+go; 'tain't a place for gentlemen." Here she burst not into tears, but
+into a fit of high, shrill, almost idiotic laughter. She suddenly
+clapped one of her hands to her forehead, and, turning, flew almost as
+fast as the wind down the narrow lane and out of sight.
+
+I followed her quickly. I did not believe that the girl was quite as mad
+as she seemed, but I had little doubt that she had something
+extraordinary weighing on her mind.
+
+At the next turn I came in view of the inn. It was a queer-looking old
+place, and I stopped for a moment to look at it.
+
+The house was entirely built of stone. There were two storeys to the
+centre part, which was square, and at the four corners stood four round
+towers. The house was built right on the river, just below a large
+mill-pond. I walked up to the door and pounded on it with my stick. It
+was shut, and looked as inhospitable as the rest of the place. After a
+moment's delay it was opened two or three inches, and the surly face of
+an old woman peeped out.
+
+"And what may you be wanting?" she asked.
+
+"A bed for the night," I replied; "can you accommodate me?"
+
+She glanced suspiciously first at me and then at my camera.
+
+"You are an artist, I make no doubt," she said, "and we don't want no
+more of them here."
+
+She was about to slam the door in my face, but I pushed my foot between
+it and the lintel.
+
+"I am easily pleased," I said; "can you not give me some sort of bed for
+the night?"
+
+"You had best have nothing to do with us," she answered. "You go off to
+Harkhurst; they can put you up at the Crown and Thistle."
+
+"I have just come from there," I answered. "As a matter of fact, I could
+not walk another mile."
+
+"We don't want visitors at the Castle Inn," she continued. Here she
+peered forward and looked into my face. "You had best be off," she
+repeated; "they say the place is haunted."
+
+I uttered a laugh.
+
+"You don't expect me to believe that?" I said. She glanced at me from
+head to foot. Her face was ominously grave.
+
+"You had best know all, sir," she said, after a pause. "Something
+happens in this house, and no living soul knows what it is, for they who
+have seen it have never yet survived to tell the tale. It's not more
+than a week back that a young gentleman came here. He was like you, bold
+as brass, and he too wanted a bed, and would take no denial. I told him
+plain, and so did my man, that the place was haunted. He didn't mind no
+more than you mind. Well, he slept in the only room we have got for
+guests, and he--he _died there_."
+
+"What did he die of?" I asked.
+
+"Fright," was the answer, brief and laconic. "Now do you want to come or
+not?"
+
+"Yes; I don't believe in ghosts. I want the bed, and I am determined to
+have it."
+
+The woman flung the door wide open.
+
+"Don't say as I ain't warned you," she cried. "Come in, if you must."
+She led me into the kitchen, where a fire burned sullenly on the hearth.
+
+"Sit you down, and I'll send for Bindloss," she said. "I can only
+promise to give you a bed if Bindloss agrees. Liz, come along here this
+minute."
+
+A quick young step was heard in the passage, and the pretty girl whom I
+had seen at the top of the lane entered. Her eyes sought my face, her
+lips moved as if to say something, but no sound issued from them.
+
+"Go and find your grandad," said the old woman. "Tell him there is a
+gentleman here that wants a bed. Ask him what's to be done."
+
+The girl favoured me with a long and peculiar glance, then turning on
+her heel she left the room. As soon as she did so the old woman peered
+forward and looked curiously at me.
+
+"I'm sorry you are staying," she said; "don't forget as I warned you.
+Remember, this ain't a proper inn at all. Once it was a mill, but that
+was afore Bindloss's day and mine. Gents would come in the summer and
+put up for the fishing, but then the story of the ghost got abroad, and
+lately we have no visitors to speak of, only an odd one now and then who
+ain't wanted--no, he ain't wanted. You see, there was three deaths here.
+Yes"--she held up one of her skinny hands and began to count on her
+fingers--"yes, three up to the present; three, that's it. Ah, here comes
+Bindloss."
+
+A shuffling step was heard in the passage, and an old man, bent with
+age, and wearing a long white beard, entered the room.
+
+"We has no beds for strangers," he said, speaking in an aggressive and
+loud tone. "Hasn't the wife said so? We don't let out beds here."
+
+"As that is the case, you have no right to have that signpost at the end
+of the lane," I retorted. "I am not in a mood to walk eight miles for a
+shelter in a country I know nothing about. Cannot you put me up
+somehow?"
+
+"I have told the gentleman everything, Sam," said the wife. "He is just
+for all the world like young Mr. Wentworth, and not a bit frightened."
+
+The old landlord came up and faced me.
+
+"Look you here," he said, "you stay on at your peril. I don't want you,
+nor do the wife. Now is it 'yes' or 'no'?"
+
+"It is 'yes,'" I said.
+
+"There's only one room you can sleep in."
+
+"One room is sufficient."
+
+"It's the one Mr. Wentworth died in. Hadn't you best take up your traps
+and be off?"
+
+"No, I shall stay."
+
+"Then there's no more to be said."
+
+"Run, Liz," said the woman, "and light the fire in the parlour."
+
+The girl left the room, and the woman, taking up a candle, said she
+would take me to the chamber where I was to sleep. She led me down a
+long and narrow passage, and then, opening a door, down two steps into
+the most extraordinary-looking room I had ever seen. The walls were
+completely circular, covered with a paper of a staring grotesque
+pattern. A small iron bedstead projected into the middle of the floor,
+which was uncarpeted except for a slip of matting beside it. A cheap
+deal wash-hand-stand, a couple of chairs, and a small table with a
+blurred looking-glass stood against the wall beneath a deep embrasure,
+in which there was a window. This was evidently a room in one of the
+circular towers. I had never seen less inviting quarters.
+
+"Your supper will be ready directly, sir," said the woman, and placing
+the candle on the little table, she left me.
+
+The place felt damp and draughty, and the flame of the candle flickered
+about, causing the tallow to gutter to one side. There was no fireplace
+in the room, and above, the walls converged to a point, giving the whole
+place the appearance of an enormous extinguisher. I made a hurried and
+necessarily limited toilet, and went into the parlour. I was standing by
+the fire, which was burning badly, when the door opened, and the girl
+Liz came in, bearing a tray in her hand. She laid the tray on the table
+and came up softly to me.
+
+"Fools come to this house," she said, "and you are one."
+
+"Pray let me have my supper, and don't talk," I replied. "I am tired and
+hungry, and want to go to bed."
+
+Liz stood perfectly still for a moment.
+
+"'Tain't worth it," she said; then, in a meditative voice, "no, 'tain't
+worth it. But I'll say no more. Folks will never be warned!"
+
+Her grandmother's voice calling her caused her to bound from the room.
+
+My supper proved better than I had expected, and, having finished it, I
+strolled into the kitchen, anxious to have a further talk with the old
+man. He was seated alone by the fire, a great mastiff lying at his feet.
+
+"Can you tell me why the house is supposed to be haunted?" I asked
+suddenly, stooping down to speak to him.
+
+"How should I know?" he cried hoarsely. "The wife and me have been here
+twenty years, and never seen nor heard anything, but for certain folks
+_do_ die in the house. It's mortal unpleasant for me, for the doctors
+come along, and the coroner, and there's an inquest and no end of fuss.
+The folks die, although no one has ever laid a finger on 'em; the
+doctors can't prove why they are dead, but dead they be. Well, there
+ain't no use saying more. You are here, and maybe you'll pass the one
+night all right."
+
+"I shall go to bed at once," I said, "but I should like some candles.
+Can you supply me?"
+
+The man turned and looked at his wife, who at that moment entered the
+kitchen. She went to the dresser, opened a wooden box, and taking out
+three or four tallow candles, put them into my hand.
+
+I rose, simulating a yawn.
+
+"Good-night, sir," said the old man; "good-night; I wish you well."
+
+A moment later I had entered my bedroom, and having shut the door,
+proceeded to give it a careful examination. As far as I could make out,
+there was no entrance to the room except by the door, which was shaped
+to fit the circular walls. I noticed, however, that there was an
+unaccountable draught, and this I at last discovered came from below the
+oak wainscoting of the wall. I could not in any way account for the
+draught, but it existed to an unpleasant extent. The bed, I further saw,
+was somewhat peculiar; it had no castors on the four legs, which were
+let down about half an inch into sockets provided for them in the wooden
+floor. This discovery excited my suspicions still further. It was
+evident that the bed was intended to remain in a particular position. I
+saw that it directly faced the little window sunk deep into the thick
+wall, so that any one in bed would look directly at the window. I
+examined my watch, found that it was past eleven, and placing both the
+candles on a tiny table near the bed, I lay down without undressing. I
+was on the alert to catch the slightest noise, but the hours dragged on
+and nothing occurred. In the house all was silence, and outside the
+splashing and churning of the water falling over the wheel came
+distinctly to my ears.
+
+I lay awake all night, but as morning dawned fell into an uneasy sleep.
+I awoke to see the broad daylight streaming in at the small window.
+
+Making a hasty toilet, I went out for a walk, and presently came in to
+breakfast. It had been laid for me in the big kitchen, and the old man
+was seated by the hearth.
+
+"Well," said the woman, "I hope you slept comfortable, sir."
+
+I answered in the affirmative, and now perceived that old Bindloss and
+his wife were in the humour to be agreeable. They said that if I was
+satisfied with the room I might spend another night at the inn. I told
+them that I had a great many photographs to take, and would be much
+obliged for the permission. As I spoke I looked round for the girl, Liz.
+She was nowhere to be seen.
+
+"Where is your grand-daughter?" I asked of the old woman.
+
+"She has gone away for the day," was the reply. "It's too much for Liz
+to see strangers. She gets excited, and then the fits come on."
+
+"What sort of fits?"
+
+"I can't tell what they are called, but they're bad, and weaken her,
+poor thing! Liz ought never to be excited." Here Bindloss gave his wife
+a warning glance; she lowered her eyes, and going across to the range,
+began to stir the contents of something in a saucepan.
+
+That afternoon I borrowed some lines from Bindloss, and, taking an old
+boat which was moored to the bank of the mill-pond, set off under the
+pretence of fishing for pike. The weather was perfect for the time of
+year.
+
+Waiting my opportunity, I brought the boat up to land on the bank that
+dammed up the stream, and getting out walked along it in the direction
+of the mill-wheel, over which the water was now rushing.
+
+As I observed it from this side of the bank, I saw that the tower in
+which my room was placed must at one time have been part of the mill
+itself, and I further noticed that the masonry was comparatively new,
+showing that alterations must have taken place when the house was
+abandoned as a mill and was turned into an inn. I clambered down the
+side of the wheel, holding on to the beams, which were green and
+slippery, and peered through the paddles.
+
+As I was making my examination, a voice suddenly startled me.
+
+"What are you doing down there?"
+
+I looked up; old Bindloss was standing on the bank looking down at me.
+He was alone, and his face was contorted with a queer mixture of fear
+and passion. I hastily hoisted myself up, and stood beside him.
+
+"What are you poking about down there for?" he said, pushing his ugly
+old face into mine as he spoke. "You fool! if you had fallen you would
+have been drowned. No one could swim a stroke in that mill-race. And
+then there would have been another death, and all the old fuss over
+again! Look here, sir, will you have the goodness to get out of the
+place? I don't want you here any more."
+
+"I intend to leave to-morrow morning," I answered in a pacifying voice,
+"and I am really very much obliged to you for warning me about the
+mill."
+
+"You had best not go near it again," he said in a menacing voice, and
+then he turned hastily away. I watched him as he climbed up a steep bank
+and disappeared from view. He was going in the opposite direction from
+the house. Seizing the opportunity of his absence, I once more
+approached the mill. Was it possible that Wentworth had been hurled into
+it? But had this been the case there would have been signs and marks on
+the body. Having reached the wheel, I clambered boldly down. It was now
+getting dusk, but I could see that a prolongation of the axle entered
+the wall of the tower. The fittings were also in wonderfully good order,
+and the bolt that held the great wheel only required to be drawn out to
+set it in motion.
+
+That evening during supper I thought very hard. I perceived that
+Bindloss was angry, also that he was suspicious and alarmed. I saw
+plainly that the only way to really discover what had been done to
+Wentworth was to cause the old ruffian to try similar means to get rid
+of me. This was a dangerous expedient, but I felt desperate, and my
+curiosity as well as interest were keenly aroused. Having finished my
+supper, I went into the passage preparatory to going into the kitchen. I
+had on felt slippers, and my footfall made no noise. As I approached
+the door I heard Bindloss saying to his wife,--
+
+"He's been poking about the mill-wheel; I wish he would make himself
+scarce."
+
+"Oh, he can't find out anything," was the reply. "You keep quiet,
+Bindloss; he'll be off in the morning."
+
+"That's as maybe," was the answer, and then there came a harsh and very
+disagreeable laugh. I waited for a moment, and then entered the kitchen.
+Bindloss was alone now; he was bending over the fire, smoking.
+
+"I shall leave early in the morning," I said, "so please have my bill
+ready for me." I then seated myself near him, drawing up my chair close
+to the blaze. He looked as if he resented this, but said nothing.
+
+"I am very curious about the deaths which occur in this house," I said,
+after a pause. "How many did you say there were?"
+
+"That is nothing to you," he answered. "We never wanted you here; you
+can go when you please."
+
+"I shall go to-morrow morning, but I wish to say something now."
+
+"And what may that be?"
+
+"I don't believe in that story about the place being haunted."
+
+"Oh, you don't, don't you?" He dropped his pipe, and his glittering eyes
+gazed at me with a mixture of anger and ill-concealed alarm.
+
+"No," I paused, then I said slowly and emphatically, "I went back to the
+mill even after your warning, and----"
+
+"What?" he cried, starting to his feet.
+
+"Nothing," I answered; "only I don't believe in the ghost."
+
+His face turned not only white but livid. I left him without another
+word. I saw that his suspicions had been much strengthened by my words.
+This I intended. To induce the ruffian to do his worst was the only way
+to wring his secret from him.
+
+My hideous room looked exactly as it had done on the previous evening.
+The grotesque pattern on the walls seemed to start out in bold relief.
+Some of the ugly lines seemed at that moment, to my imagination, almost
+to take human shape, to convert themselves into ogre-like faces, and to
+grin at me. Was I too daring? Was it wrong of me to risk my life in this
+manner? I was terribly tired, and, curious as it may seem, my greatest
+fear at that crucial moment was the dread that I might fall asleep. I
+had spent two nights with scarcely any repose, and felt that at any
+moment, notwithstanding all my efforts, slumber might visit me. In order
+to give Bindloss full opportunity for carrying out his scheme, it was
+necessary for me to get into bed, and even to feign sleep. In my present
+exhausted condition the pretence of slumber would easily lapse into the
+reality. This risk, however, which really was a very grave one, must be
+run. Without undressing I got into bed, pulling the bed-clothes well
+over me. In my hand I held my revolver. I deliberately put out the
+candles, and then lay motionless, waiting for events. The house was
+quiet as the grave--there was not a stir, and gradually my nerves,
+excited as they were, began to calm down. As I had fully expected,
+overpowering sleepiness seized me, and, notwithstanding every effort, I
+found myself drifting away into the land of dreams. I began to wish that
+whatever apparition was to appear would do so at once and get it over.
+Gradually but surely I seemed to pass from all memory of my present
+world, and to live in a strange and terrible phantasmagoria. In that
+state I slept, in that state also I dreamt, and dreamt horribly.
+
+I thought that I was dancing a waltz with an enormously tall woman. She
+towered above me, clasping me in her arms, and began to whirl me round
+and round at a giddy speed. I could hear the crashing music of a distant
+band. Faster and faster, round and round some great empty hall was I
+whirled. I knew that I was losing my senses, and screamed to her to stop
+and let me go. Suddenly there was a terrible crash close to me. Good
+God! I found myself awake, but--I was still moving. Where was I? Where
+was I going? I leapt up on the bed, only to reel and fall heavily
+backwards upon the floor. What was the matter? Why was I sliding,
+sliding? Had I suddenly gone mad, or was I still suffering from some
+hideous nightmare? I tried to move, to stagger to my feet. Then by slow
+degrees my senses began to return, and I knew where I was. I was in the
+circular room, the room where Wentworth had died; but what was happening
+to me I could not divine. I only knew that I was being whirled round and
+round at a velocity that was every moment increasing. By the moonlight
+that struggled in through the window I saw that the floor and the bed
+upon it was revolving, but the table was lying on its side, and its fall
+must have awakened me.
+
+I could not see any other furniture in the room. By what mysterious
+manner had it been removed? Making a great effort, I crawled to the
+centre of this awful chamber, and, seizing the foot of the bed,
+struggled to my feet. Here I knew there would be less motion, and I
+could just manage to see the outline of the door. I had taken the
+precaution to slip the revolver into my pocket, and I still felt that
+if human agency appeared, I had a chance of selling my life dearly; but
+surely the horror I was passing through was invented by no living man!
+As the floor of the room revolved in the direction of the door I made a
+dash for it, but was carried swiftly past, and again fell heavily. When
+I came round again I made a frantic effort to cling to one of the steps,
+but in vain; the head of the bedstead caught me as it flew round, and
+tore my arms away. In another moment I believe I should have gone raving
+mad with terror. My head felt as if it would burst; I found it
+impossible to think consecutively. The only idea which really possessed
+me was a mad wish to escape from this hideous place. I struggled to the
+bedstead, and dragging the legs from their sockets, pulled it into the
+middle of the room away from the wall. With this out of the way, I
+managed at last to reach the door in safety.
+
+[Illustration: "I flung myself upon him."
+A Master of Mysteries.--Page 47]
+
+The moment my hand grasped the handle I leapt upon the little step and
+tried to wrench the door open. It was locked, locked from without; it
+defied my every effort. I had only just standing room for my feet. Below
+me the floor of the room was still racing round with terrible speed. I
+dared scarcely look at it, for the giddiness in my head increased each
+moment. The next instant a soft footstep was distinctly audible, and I
+saw a gleam of light through a chink of the door. I heard a hand
+fumbling at the lock, the door was slowly opened outwards, and I saw the
+face of Bindloss.
+
+For a moment he did not perceive me, for I was crouching down on the
+step, and the next instant with all my force I flung myself upon him. He
+uttered a yell of terror. The lantern he carried dropped and went out,
+but I had gripped him round the neck with my fingers, driving them deep
+down into his lean, sinewy throat. With frantic speed I pulled him along
+the passage up to a window, through which the moonlight was shining.
+Here I released my hold of his throat, but immediately covered him with
+my revolver.
+
+"Down on your knees, or you are a dead man!" I cried. "Confess
+everything, or I shoot you through the heart."
+
+His courage had evidently forsaken him; he began to whimper and cry
+bitterly.
+
+"Spare my life," he screamed. "I will tell everything, only spare my
+life."
+
+"Be quick about it," I said; "I am in no humour to be merciful. Out with
+the truth."
+
+I was listening anxiously for the wife's step, but except for the low
+hum of machinery and the splashing of the water I heard nothing.
+
+"Speak," I said, giving the old man a shake. His lips trembled, his
+words came out falteringly.
+
+"It was Wentworth's doing," he panted.
+
+"Wentworth? Not the murdered man?" I cried.
+
+"No, no, his cousin. The ruffian who has been the curse of my life.
+Owing to that last death he inherits the property. He is the real owner
+of the mill, and he invented the revolving floor. There were deaths--oh
+yes, oh yes. It was so easy, and I wanted the money. The police never
+suspected, nor did the doctors. Wentworth was bitter hard on me, and I
+got into his power." Here he choked and sobbed. "I am a miserable old
+man, sir," he gasped.
+
+"So you killed your victims for the sake of money?" I said, grasping him
+by the shoulder.
+
+"Yes," he said, "yes. The bailiff had twenty pounds all in gold; no one
+ever knew. I took it and was able to satisfy Wentworth for a bit."
+
+"And what about Archibald Wentworth?"
+
+"That was _his_ doing, and I was to be paid."
+
+"And now finally you wanted to get rid of me?"
+
+"Yes; for you suspected."
+
+As I spoke I perceived by the ghastly light of the moon another door
+near. I opened it and saw that it was the entrance to a small dark
+lumber room. I pushed the old man in, turned the key in the lock, and
+ran downstairs. The wife was still unaccountably absent. I opened the
+front door, and trembling, exhausted, drenched in perspiration, found
+myself in the open air. Every nerve was shaken. At that terrible moment
+I was not in the least master of myself. My one desire was to fly from
+the hideous place. I had just reached the little gate when a hand, light
+as a feather, touched my arm. I looked up; the girl Liz stood before me.
+
+"You are saved," she said; "thank God! I tried all I could to stop the
+wheel. See, I am drenched to the skin; I could not manage it. But at
+least I locked Grannie up. She's in the kitchen, sound asleep. She drank
+a lot of gin."
+
+"Where were you all day yesterday?" I asked.
+
+"Locked up in a room in the further tower, but I managed to squeeze
+through the window, although it half killed me. I knew if you stayed
+that they would try it on to-night. Thank God you are saved."
+
+"Well, don't keep me now," I said; "I have been saved as by a miracle.
+You are a good girl; I am much obliged to you. You must tell me another
+time how you manage to live through all these horrors."
+
+"Ain't I all but mad?" was her pathetic reply. "Oh, my God, what I
+suffer!" She pressed her hand to her face; the look in her eyes was
+terrible. But I could not wait now to talk to her further. I hastily
+left the place.
+
+How I reached Harkhurst I can never tell, but early in the morning I
+found myself there. I went straight to Dr. Stanmore's house, and having
+got him up, I communicated my story. He and I together immediately
+visited the superintendent of police. Having told my exciting tale, we
+took a trap and all three returned to the Castle Inn. We were back there
+before eight o'clock on the following morning. But as the police officer
+expected, the place was empty. Bindloss had been rescued from the dark
+closet, and he and his wife and the girl Liz had all flown. The doctor,
+the police officer, and I, all went up to the circular room. We then
+descended to the basement, and after a careful examination we discovered
+a low door, through which we crept; we then found ourselves in a dark
+vault, which was full of machinery. By the light of a lantern we
+examined it. Here we saw an explanation of the whole trick. The shaft of
+the mill-wheel which was let through the wall of the tower was
+_continuous as the axle of a vertical cogged wheel_, and by a
+multiplication action turned a large horizontal wheel into which a
+vertical shaft descended. This shaft was let into the centre of four
+crossbeams, supporting the floor of the room in which I had slept. All
+round the circular edge of the floor was a steel rim which turned in a
+circular socket. It needed but a touch to set this hideous apparatus in
+motion.
+
+The police immediately started in pursuit of Bindloss, and I returned to
+London. That evening Edgcombe and I visited Dr. Miles Gordon.
+Hard-headed old physician that he was, he was literally aghast when I
+told him my story. He explained to me that a man placed in the position
+in which I was when the floor began to move would by means of
+centrifugal force suffer from enormous congestion of the brain. In fact,
+the revolving floor would induce an artificial condition of apoplexy. If
+the victim were drugged or even only sleeping heavily, and the floor
+began to move slowly, insensibility would almost immediately be induced,
+which would soon pass into coma and death, and a post-mortem examination
+some hours afterwards would show no cause for death, as the brain would
+appear perfectly healthy, the blood having again left it.
+
+From the presence of Dr. Miles Gordon, Edgcombe and I went to Scotland
+Yard, and the whole affair was put into the hands of the London
+detective force. With the clue which I had almost sacrificed my life to
+furnish, they quickly did the rest. Wentworth was arrested, and under
+pressure was induced to make a full confession, but old Bindloss had
+already told me the gist of the story. Wentworth's father had owned the
+mill, had got into trouble with the law, and changed his name. In fact,
+he had spent five years in penal servitude. He then went to Australia
+and made money. He died when his son was a young man. This youth
+inherited all the father's vices. He came home, visited the mill, and,
+being of a mechanical turn of mind, invented the revolving floor. He
+changed the mill into an inn, put Bindloss, one of his "pals," into
+possession with the full intention of murdering unwary travellers from
+time to time for their money.
+
+The police, however, wanted him for a forged bill, and he thought it
+best to fly. Bindloss was left in full possession. Worried by Wentworth,
+who had him in his power for a grave crime committed years ago, he
+himself on two occasions murdered a victim in the circular room.
+Meanwhile several unexpected deaths had taken place in the older branch
+of the Wentworth family, and Archibald Wentworth alone stood between his
+cousin and the great estates. Wentworth came home, and with the aid of
+Bindloss got Archibald into his power. The young artist slept in the
+fatal room, and his death was the result. At this moment Wentworth and
+Bindloss are committed for trial at the Old Bailey, and there is no
+doubt what the result will be.
+
+The ghost mystery in connection with the Castle Inn has, of course, been
+explained away for ever.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE WARDER OF THE DOOR
+
+
+"If you don't believe it, you can read it for yourself," said Allen
+Clinton, climbing up the steps and searching among the volumes on the
+top shelf.
+
+I lay back in my chair. The beams from the sinking sun shone through the
+stained glass of the windows of the old library, and dyed the rows of
+black leather volumes with bands of red and yellow.
+
+"Here, Bell!"
+
+I took a musty volume from Allen Clinton, which he had unearthed from
+its resting-place.
+
+"It is about the middle of the book," he continued eagerly. "You will
+see it in big, black, old English letters."
+
+I turned over the pages containing the family tree and other archives of
+the Clintons till I came to the one I was seeking. It contained the
+curse which had rested on the family since 1400. Slowly and with
+difficulty I deciphered the words of this terrible denunciation.
+
+"And in this cell its coffin lieth, the coffin which hath not human
+shape, for which reason no holy ground receiveth it. Here shall it rest
+to curse the family of ye Clyntons from generation to generation. And
+for this reason, as soon as the soul shall pass from the body of each
+first-born, which is the heir, it shall become the warder of the door by
+day and by night. Day and night shall his spirit stand by the door, to
+keep the door closed till the son shall release the spirit of the father
+from the watch and take his place, till his son in turn shall die. And
+whoso entereth into the cell shall be the prisoner of the soul that
+guardeth the door till it shall let him go."
+
+"What a ghastly idea!" I said, glancing up at the young man who was
+watching me as I read. "But you say this cell has never been found. I
+should say its existence was a myth, and, of course, the curse on the
+soul of the first-born to keep the door shut as warder is absurd. Matter
+does not obey witchcraft."
+
+"The odd part of it is," replied Allen, "that every other detail of the
+Abbey referred to in this record has been identified; but this cell with
+its horrible contents has never been found."
+
+It certainly was a curious legend, and I allow it made some impression
+on me. I fancied, too, that somewhere I had heard something similar, but
+my memory failed to trace it.
+
+I had come down to Clinton Abbey three days before for some pheasant
+shooting.
+
+It was now Sunday afternoon. The family, with the exception of old Sir
+Henry, Allen, and myself, were at church. Sir Henry, now nearly eighty
+years of age and a chronic invalid, had retired to his room for his
+afternoon sleep. The younger Clinton and I had gone out for a stroll
+round the grounds, and since we returned our conversation had run upon
+the family history till it arrived at the legend of the family curse.
+Presently, the door of the library was slowly opened, and Sir Henry, in
+his black velvet coat, which formed such a striking contrast to his
+snowy white beard and hair, entered the room. I rose from my chair, and,
+giving him my arm, assisted him to his favourite couch. He sank down
+into its luxurious depths with a sigh, but as he did so his eyes caught
+the old volume which I had laid on the table beside it. He started
+forward, took the book in his hand, and looked across at his son.
+
+"Did you take this book down?" he said sharply.
+
+"Yes, father; I got it out to show it to Bell. He is interested in the
+history of the Abbey, and----"
+
+"Then return it to its place at once," interrupted the old man, his
+black eyes blazing with sudden passion. "You know how I dislike having
+my books disarranged, and this one above all. Stay, give it to me."
+
+He struggled up from the couch, and, taking the volume, locked it up in
+one of the drawers of his writing-table, and then sat back again on the
+sofa. His hands were trembling, as if some sudden fear had taken
+possession of him.
+
+"Did you say that Phyllis Curzon is coming to-morrow?" asked the old man
+presently of his son in an irritable voice.
+
+"Yes, father, of course; don't you remember? Mrs. Curzon and Phyllis are
+coming to stay for a fortnight; and, by the way," he added, starting to
+his feet as he spoke, "that reminds me I must go and tell Grace----"
+
+The rest of the sentence was lost in the closing of the door. As soon as
+we were alone, Sir Henry looked across at me for a few moments without
+speaking. Then he said,--
+
+"I am sorry I was so short just now. I am not myself. I do not know what
+is the matter with me. I feel all to pieces. I cannot sleep. I do not
+think my time is very long now, and I am worried about Allen. The fact
+is, I would give anything to stop this engagement. I wish he would not
+marry."
+
+"I am sorry to hear you say that, sir," I answered. "I should have
+thought you would have been anxious to see your son happily married."
+
+"Most men would," was the reply; "but I have my reasons for wishing
+things otherwise."
+
+"What do you mean?" I could not help asking.
+
+"I cannot explain myself; I wish I could. It would be best for Allen to
+let the old family die out. There, perhaps I am foolish about it, and of
+course I cannot really stop the marriage, but I am worried and troubled
+about many things."
+
+"I wish I could help you, sir," I said impulsively. "If there is
+anything I can possibly do, you know you have only to ask me."
+
+"Thank you, Bell, I know you would; but I cannot tell you. Some day I
+may. But there, I am afraid--horribly afraid."
+
+The trembling again seized him, and he put his hands over his eyes as if
+to shut out some terrible sight.
+
+"Don't repeat a word of what I have told you to Allen or any one else,"
+he said suddenly. "It is possible that some day I may ask you to help
+me; and remember, Bell, I trust you."
+
+He held out his hand, which I took. In another moment the butler entered
+with the lamps, and I took advantage of the interruption to make my way
+to the drawing-room.
+
+The next day the Curzons arrived, and a hasty glance showed me that
+Phyllis was a charming girl. She was tall, slightly built, with a figure
+both upright and graceful, and a handsome, somewhat proud face. When in
+perfect repose her expression was somewhat haughty; but the moment she
+spoke her face became vivacious, kindly, charming to an extraordinary
+degree; she had a gay laugh, a sweet smile, a sympathetic manner. I was
+certain she had the kindest of hearts, and was sure that Allen had made
+an admirable choice.
+
+A few days went by, and at last the evening before the day when I was to
+return to London arrived. Phyllis's mother had gone to bed a short time
+before, as she had complained of headache, and Allen suddenly proposed,
+as the night was a perfect one, that we should go out and enjoy a
+moonlight stroll.
+
+Phyllis laughed with glee at the suggestion, and ran at once into the
+hall to take a wrap from one of the pegs.
+
+"Allen," she said to her lover, who was following her, "you and I will
+go first."
+
+"No, young lady, on this occasion you and I will have that privilege,"
+said Sir Henry. He had also come into the hall, and, to our
+astonishment, announced his intention of accompanying us in our walk.
+
+Phyllis bestowed upon him a startled glance, then she laid her hand
+lightly on his arm, nodded back at Allen with a smile, and walked on in
+front somewhat rapidly. Allen and I followed in the rear.
+
+"Now, what does my father mean by this?" said Allen to me. "He never
+goes out at night; but he has not been well lately. I sometimes think he
+grows queerer every day."
+
+"He is very far from well, I am certain," I answered.
+
+We stayed out for about half an hour and returned home by a path which
+led into the house through a side entrance. Phyllis was waiting for us
+in the hall.
+
+"Where is my father?" asked Allen, going up to her.
+
+"He is tired and has gone to bed," she answered. "Good-night, Allen."
+
+"Won't you come into the drawing-room?" he asked in some astonishment.
+
+"No, I am tired."
+
+She nodded to him without touching his hand; her eyes, I could not help
+noticing, had a queer expression. She ran upstairs.
+
+I saw that Allen was startled by her manner; but as he did not say
+anything, neither did I.
+
+The next day at breakfast I was told that the Curzons had already left
+the Abbey. Allen was full of astonishment and, I could see, a good deal
+annoyed. He and I breakfasted alone in the old library. His father was
+too ill to come downstairs.
+
+An hour later I was on my way back to London. Many things there engaged
+my immediate attention, and Allen, his engagement, Sir Henry, and the
+old family curse, sank more or less into the background of my mind.
+
+Three months afterwards, on the 7th of January, I saw to my sorrow in
+the _Times_ the announcement of Sir Henry Clinton's death.
+
+From time to time in the interim I had heard from the son, saying that
+his father was failing fast. He further mentioned that his own wedding
+was fixed for the twenty-first of the present month. Now, of course, it
+must be postponed. I felt truly sorry for Allen, and wrote immediately
+a long letter of condolence.
+
+On the following day I received a wire from him, imploring me to go down
+to the Abbey as soon as possible, saying that he was in great
+difficulty.
+
+I packed a few things hastily, and arrived at Clinton Abbey at six in
+the evening. The house was silent and subdued--the funeral was to take
+place the next day. Clinton came into the hall and gripped me warmly by
+the hand. I noticed at once how worn and worried he looked.
+
+"This is good of you, Bell," he said. "I cannot tell you how grateful I
+am to you for coming. You are the one man who can help me, for I know
+you have had much experience in matters of this sort. Come into the
+library and I will tell you everything. We shall dine alone this
+evening, as my mother and the girls are keeping to their own apartments
+for to-night."
+
+As soon as we were seated, he plunged at once into his story.
+
+"I must give you a sort of prelude to what has just occurred," he began.
+"You remember, when you were last here, how abruptly Phyllis and her
+mother left the Abbey?"
+
+I nodded. I remembered well.
+
+"On the morning after you had left us I had a long letter from Phyllis,"
+continued Allen. "In it she told me of an extraordinary request my
+father had made to her during that moonlight walk--nothing more nor less
+than an earnest wish that she would herself terminate our engagement.
+She spoke quite frankly, as she always does, assuring me of her
+unalterable love and devotion, but saying that under the circumstances
+it was absolutely necessary to have an explanation. Frantic with almost
+ungovernable rage, I sought my father in his study. I laid Phyllis's
+letter before him and asked him what it meant. He looked at me with the
+most unutterable expression of weariness and pathos.
+
+"'Yes, my boy, I did it,' he said. 'Phyllis is quite right. I did ask of
+her, as earnestly as a very old man could plead, that she would bring
+the engagement to an end.'
+
+"'But why?' I asked. 'Why?'
+
+"'That I am unable to tell you,' he replied.
+
+"I lost my temper and said some words to him which I now regret. He made
+no sort of reply. When I had done speaking he said slowly,--
+
+"'I make all allowance for your emotion, Allen; your feelings are no
+more than natural.'
+
+"'You have done me a very sore injury,' I retorted. 'What can Phyllis
+think of this? She will never be the same again. I am going to see her
+to-day.'
+
+"He did not utter another word, and I left him. I was absent from home
+for about a week. It took me nearly that time to induce Phyllis to
+overlook my father's extraordinary request, and to let matters go on
+exactly as they had done before.
+
+"After fixing our engagement, if possible, more firmly than ever, and
+also arranging the date of our wedding, I returned home. When I did so I
+told my father what I had done.
+
+"'As you will,' he replied, and then he sank into great gloom. From that
+moment, although I watched him day and night, and did everything that
+love and tenderness could suggest, he never seemed to rally. He scarcely
+spoke, and remained, whenever we were together, bowed in deep and
+painful reverie. A week ago he took to his bed."
+
+Here Allen paused.
+
+"I now come to events up to date," he said. "Of course, as you may
+suppose, I was with my father to the last. A few hours before he passed
+away he called me to his bedside, and to my astonishment began once more
+talking about my engagement. He implored me with the utmost earnestness
+even now at the eleventh hour to break it off. It was not too late, he
+said, and added further that nothing would give him ease in dying but
+the knowledge that I would promise him to remain single. Of course I
+tried to humour him. He took my hand, looked me in the eyes with an
+expression which I shall never forget, and said,--
+
+"'Allen, make me a solemn promise that you will never marry.'
+
+"This I naturally had to refuse, and then he told me that, expecting my
+obstinacy, he had written me a letter which I should find in his safe,
+but I was not to open it till after his death. I found it this morning.
+Bell, it is the most extraordinary communication, and either it is
+entirely a figment of his imagination, for his brain powers were failing
+very much at the last, or else it is the most awful thing I ever heard
+of. Here is the letter; read it for yourself."
+
+I took the paper from his hand and read the following matter in shaky,
+almost illegible writing:--
+
+    "My dear Boy,--When you read this I shall have passed away. For
+    the last six months my life has been a living death. The horror
+    began in the following way. You know what a deep interest I have
+    always taken in the family history of our house. I have spent the
+    latter years of my life in verifying each detail, and my
+    intention was, had health been given me, to publish a great deal
+    of it in a suitable volume.
+
+    "On the special night to which I am about to allude, I sat up
+    late in my study reading the book which I saw you show to Bell a
+    short time ago. In particular, I was much attracted by the
+    terrible curse which the old abbot in the fourteenth century had
+    bestowed upon the family. I read the awful words again and again.
+    I knew that all the other details in the volume had been
+    verified, but that the vault with the coffin had never yet been
+    found. Presently I grew drowsy, and I suppose I must have fallen
+    asleep. In my sleep I had a dream; I thought that some one came
+    into the room, touched me on the shoulder, and said 'Come.' I
+    looked up; a tall figure beckoned to me. The voice and the figure
+    belonged to my late father. In my dream I rose immediately,
+    although I did not know why I went nor where I was going. The
+    figure went on in front, it entered the hall. I took one of the
+    candles from the table and the key of the chapel, unbolted the
+    door and went out. Still the voice kept saying 'Come, come,' and
+    the figure of my father walked in front of me. I went across the
+    quadrangle, unlocked the chapel door, and entered.
+
+    "A death-like silence was around me. I crossed the nave to the
+    north aisle; the figure still went in front of me; it entered the
+    great pew which is said to be haunted, and walked straight up to
+    the effigy of the old abbot who had pronounced the curse. This,
+    as you know, is built into the opposite wall. Bending forward,
+    the figure pressed the eyes of the old monk, and immediately a
+    stone started out of its place, revealing a staircase behind. I
+    was about to hurry forward, when I must have knocked against
+    something. I felt a sensation of pain, and suddenly awoke. What
+    was my amazement to find that I had acted on my dream, had
+    crossed the quadrangle, and was in the chapel; in fact, was
+    standing in the old pew! Of course there was no figure of any
+    sort visible, but the moonlight shed a cold radiance over all the
+    place. I felt very much startled and impressed, but was just
+    about to return to the house in some wonder at the curious vision
+    which I had experienced, when, raising my startled eyes, I saw
+    that part of it at least was real. The old monk seemed to grin at
+    me from his marble effigy, and beside him was a _blank open
+    space_. I hurried to it and saw a narrow flight of stairs. I
+    cannot explain what my emotions were, but my keenest feeling at
+    that moment was a strong and horrible curiosity. Holding the
+    candle in my hand, I went down the steps. They terminated at the
+    beginning of a long passage. This I quickly traversed, and at
+    last found myself beside an iron door. It was not locked, but
+    hasped, and was very hard to open; in fact, it required nearly
+    all my strength; at last I pulled it open towards me, and there
+    in a small cell lay the coffin, as the words of the curse said. I
+    gazed at it in horror. I did not dare to enter. It was a wedged-
+    shaped coffin studded with great nails. But as I looked my blood
+    froze within me, for slowly, very slowly, as if pushed by some
+    unseen hand, the great heavy door began to close, quicker and
+    quicker, until with a crash that echoed and re-echoed through the
+    empty vault, it shut.
+
+    "Terror-stricken, I rushed from the vault and reached my room
+    once more.
+
+    "Now I know that this great curse is true; that my father's
+    spirit is there to guard the door and close it, for I saw it with
+    my own eyes, and while you read this know that I am there. I
+    charge you, therefore, not to marry--bring no child into the
+    world to perpetuate this terrible curse. Let the family die out
+    if you have the courage. It is much, I know, to ask; but whether
+    you do or not, come to me there, and if by sign or word I can
+    communicate with you I will do so, but hold the secret safe. Meet
+    me there before my body is laid to rest, when body and soul are
+    still not far from each other. Farewell.
+
+                                       "--Your loving father,
+                                                    "Henry Clinton."
+
+I read this strange letter over carefully twice, and laid it down. For a
+moment I hardly knew what to say. It was certainly the most uncanny
+thing I had ever come across.
+
+"What do you think of it?" asked Allen at last.
+
+"Well, of course there are only two possible solutions," I answered.
+"One is that your father not only dreamt the beginning of this
+story--which, remember, he allows himself--but the whole of it."
+
+"And the other?" asked Allen, seeing that I paused.
+
+"The other," I continued, "I hardly know what to say yet. Of course we
+will investigate the whole thing, that is our only chance of arriving
+at a solution. It is absurd to let matters rest as they are. We had
+better try to-night."
+
+Clinton winced and hesitated.
+
+"Something must be done, of course," he answered; "but the worst of it
+is Phyllis and her mother are coming here early to-morrow in time for the
+funeral, and I cannot meet her--no, I cannot, poor girl!--while I feel
+as I do."
+
+"We will go to the vault to-night," I said.
+
+Clinton rose from his chair and looked at me.
+
+"I don't like this thing at all, Bell," he continued. "I am not by
+nature in any sense of the word a superstitious man, but I tell you
+frankly nothing would induce me to go alone into that chapel to-night;
+if you come with me, that, of course, alters matters. I know the pew my
+father refers to well; it is beneath the window of St. Sebastian."
+
+Soon afterwards I went to my room and dressed; and Allen and I dined
+_tete-a-tete_ in the great dining-room. The old butler waited on us
+with funereal solemnity, and I did all I could to lure Clinton's
+thoughts into a more cheerful and healthier channel.
+
+I cannot say that I was very successful. I further noticed that he
+scarcely ate anything, and seemed altogether to be in a state of nervous
+tension painful to witness.
+
+After dinner we went into the smoking-room, and at eleven o'clock I
+proposed that we should make a start.
+
+Clinton braced himself together and we went out. He got the chapel keys,
+and then going to the stables we borrowed a lantern, and a moment
+afterwards found ourselves in the sacred edifice. The moon was at her
+full, and by the pale light which was diffused through the south windows
+the architecture of the interior could be faintly seen. The Gothic
+arches that flanked the centre aisle with their quaint pillars, each
+with a carved figure of one of the saints, were quite visible, and
+further in the darkness of the chancel the dim outlines of the choir and
+altar-table with its white marble reredos could be just discerned.
+
+We closed the door softly and, Clinton leading the way with the lantern,
+we walked up the centre aisle paved with the brasses of his dead
+ancestors. We trod gently on tiptoe as one instinctively does at night.
+Turning beneath the little pulpit we reached the north transept, and
+here Clinton stopped and turned round. He was very white, but his voice
+was quiet.
+
+"This is the pew," he whispered. "It has always been called the haunted
+pew of Sir Hugh Clinton."
+
+I took the lantern from him and we entered. I crossed the pew
+immediately and went up to the effigy of the old abbot.
+
+"Let us examine him closely," I said. I held up the lantern, getting it
+to shine on each part of the face, the vestments, and the figure. The
+eyes, although vacant, as in all statuary, seemed to me at that moment
+to be uncanny and peculiar. Giving Allen the lantern to hold, I placed a
+finger firmly on each. The next moment I could not refrain from an
+exclamation; a stone at the side immediately rolled back, revealing the
+steps which were spoken of by the old man in his narrative.
+
+"It is true! It is true!" cried Clinton excitedly.
+
+"It certainly looks like it," I remarked: "but never mind, we have the
+chance now of investigating this matter thoroughly."
+
+"Are you going down?" asked Clinton.
+
+"Certainly I am," I replied. "Let us go together."
+
+Immediately afterwards we crept through the opening and began to
+descend. There was only just room to do so in single file, and I went
+first with the lantern. In another moment we were in the long passage,
+and soon we were confronted by a door in an arched stone framework. Up
+till now Clinton had shown little sign of alarm, but here, at the
+trysting-place to which his father's soul had summoned him, he seemed
+suddenly to lose his nerve. He leant against the wall and for a moment I
+thought he would have fallen. I held up the lantern and examined the
+door and walls carefully. Then approaching I lifted the iron latch of
+the heavy door. It was very hard to move, but at last by seizing the
+edge I dragged it open to its full against the wall of the passage.
+Having done so I peered inside, holding the lantern above my head. As I
+did so I heard Clinton cry out,--
+
+"Look, look," he said, and turning I saw that the great door had swung
+back against me, almost shutting me within the cell.
+
+Telling Clinton to hold it back by force, I stepped inside and saw at my
+feet the ghastly coffin. The legend then so far was true. I bent down
+and examined the queer, misshapen thing with great care. Its shape was
+that of an enormous wedge, and it was apparently made of some dark old
+wood, and was bound with iron at the corners. Having looked at it all
+round, I went out and, flinging back the door which Clinton had been
+holding open, stood aside to watch. Slowly, very slowly, as we both
+stood in the passage--slowly, as if pushed by some invisible hand, the
+door commenced to swing round, and, increasing in velocity, shut with a
+noisy clang.
+
+Seizing it once again, I dragged it open and, while Clinton held it in
+that position, made a careful examination. Up to the present I saw
+nothing to be much alarmed about. There were fifty ways in which a door
+might shut of its own accord. There might be a hidden spring or tilted
+hinges; draught, of course, was out of the question. I looked at the
+hinges, they were of iron and set in the solid masonry. Nor could I
+discover any spring or hidden contrivance, as when the door was wide
+open there was an interval of several inches between it and the wall. We
+tried it again and again with the same result, and at last, as it was
+closing, I seized it to prevent it.
+
+I now experienced a very odd sensation; I certainly felt as if I were
+resisting an unseen person who was pressing hard against the door at the
+other side. Directly it was released it continued its course. I allow I
+was quite unable to understand the mystery. Suddenly an idea struck me.
+
+"What does the legend say?" I asked, turning to Clinton. "'That the soul
+is to guard the door, to close it upon the coffin?'"
+
+"Those are the words," answered Allen, speaking with some difficulty.
+
+"Now if that is true," I continued, "and we take the coffin out, the
+spirit won't shut the door; if it does shut it, it disproves the whole
+thing at once, and shows it to be merely a clever mechanical
+contrivance. Come, Clinton, help me to get the coffin out."
+
+"I dare not, Bell," he whispered hoarsely. "I daren't go inside."
+
+"Nonsense, man," I said, feeling now a little annoyed at the whole
+thing. "Here, put the lantern down and hold the door back." I stepped in
+and, getting behind the coffin, put out all my strength and shoved it
+into the passage.
+
+"Now, then," I cried, "I'll bet you fifty pounds to five the door will
+shut just the same." I dragged the coffin clear of the door and told him
+to let go. Clinton had scarcely done so before, stepping back, he
+clutched my arm.
+
+"Look," he whispered; "do you see that it will not shut now? My father
+is waiting for the coffin to be put back. This is awful!"
+
+I gazed at the door in horror; it was perfectly true, it remained wide
+open, and quite still. I sprang forward, seized it, and now endeavoured
+to close it. It was as if some one was trying to hold it open; it
+required considerable force to stir it, and it was only with difficulty
+I could move it at all. At last I managed to shut it, but the moment I
+let go it swung back open of its own accord and struck against the wall,
+where it remained just as before. In the dead silence that followed I
+could hear Clinton breathing quickly behind me, and I knew he was
+holding himself for all he was worth.
+
+At that moment there suddenly came over me a sensation which I had once
+experienced before, and which I was twice destined to experience again.
+It is impossible to describe it, but it seized me, laying siege to my
+brain till I felt like a child in its power. It was as if I were slowly
+drowning in the great ocean of silence that enveloped us. Time itself
+seemed to have disappeared. At my feet lay the misshapen thing, and the
+lantern behind it cast a fantastic shadow of its distorted outline on
+the cell wall before me.
+
+"Speak; say something," I cried to Clinton. The sharp sound of my voice
+broke the spell. I felt myself again, and smiled at the trick my nerves
+had played on me. I bent down and once more laid my hands on the coffin,
+but before I had time to push it back into its place Clinton had gone up
+the passage like a man who is flying to escape a hurled javelin.
+
+Exerting all my force to prevent the door from swinging back by keeping
+my leg against it, I had just got the coffin into the cell and was going
+out, when I heard a shrill cry, and Clinton came tearing back down the
+passage.
+
+"I can't get out! The stone has sunk into its place! We are locked in!"
+he screamed, and, wild with fear, he plunged headlong into the cell,
+upsetting me in his career before I could check him. I sprang back to
+the door as it was closing. I was too late. Before I could reach it, it
+had shut with a loud clang in obedience to the infernal witchcraft.
+
+"You have done it now," I cried angrily. "Do you see? Why, man, we are
+buried alive in this ghastly hole!"
+
+The lantern I had placed just inside the door, and by its dim light, as
+I looked at him, I saw the terror of a madman creep into Clinton's eyes.
+
+"Buried alive!" he shouted, with a peal of hysterical laughter. "Yes,
+and, Bell, it's your doing; you are a devil in human shape!" With a wild
+paroxysm of fury he flung himself upon me. There was the ferocity of a
+wild beast in his spring. He upset the lantern and left us in total
+darkness.
+
+The struggle was short. We might be buried alive, but I was not going to
+die by his hand, and seizing him by the throat I pinned him against the
+wall.
+
+[Illustration: "It had shut with a loud clang."
+A Master of Mysteries.--Page 86]
+
+"Keep quiet," I shouted. "It is your thundering stupidity that has
+caused all this. Stay where you are until I strike a match."
+
+I luckily had some vestas in the little silver box which I always carry
+on my watch-chain, and striking one I relit the lantern. Clinton's
+paroxysm was over, and sinking to the floor he lay there shivering and
+cowering.
+
+It was a terrible situation, and I knew that our only hope was for me to
+keep my presence of mind. With a great effort I forced myself to think
+calmly over what could be done. To shout for help would have been but a
+useless waste of breath.
+
+Suddenly an idea struck me. "Have you got your father's letter?" I cried
+eagerly.
+
+"I have," he answered; "it is in my pocket."
+
+My last ray of hope vanished. Our only chance was that if he had left it
+at the house some one might discover the letter and come to our rescue
+by its instructions. It had been a faint hope, and it disappeared
+almost as quickly as it had come to me. Without it no one would ever
+find the way to the vault that had remained a secret for ages. I was
+determined, however, not to die without a struggle for freedom. Taking
+the lantern, I examined every nook and cranny of the cell for some other
+exit. It was a fruitless search. No sign of any way out could I find,
+and we had absolutely no means to unfasten the door from the inner side.
+Taking a few short steps, I flung myself again and again at the heavy
+door. It never budged an inch, and, bruised and sweating at every pore,
+I sat down on the coffin and tried to collect all my faculties.
+
+Clinton was silent, and seemed utterly stunned. He sat still, gazing
+with a vacant stare at the door.
+
+The time dragged heavily, and there was nothing to do but to wait for a
+horrible death from starvation. It was more than likely, too, that
+Clinton would go mad; already his nerves were strained to the utmost.
+Altogether I had never found myself in a worse plight.
+
+It seemed like an eternity that we sat there, neither of us speaking a
+word. Over and over again I repeated to myself the words of the terrible
+curse: "And whoso entereth into the cell shall be the prisoner of the
+soul that guardeth the door till it shall let him go." When would the
+shapeless form that was inside the coffin let us go? Doubtless when our
+bones were dry.
+
+I looked at my watch. It was half-past eleven o'clock. Surely we had
+been more than ten minutes in this awful place! We had left the house at
+eleven, and I knew that must have been many hours ago. I glanced at the
+second hand. _The watch had stopped._
+
+"What is the time, Clinton?" I asked. "My watch has stopped."
+
+"What does it matter?" he murmured. "What is time to us now? The sooner
+we die the better."
+
+He pulled out his watch as he spoke, and held it to the lantern.
+
+"Twenty-five minutes past eleven," he murmured dreamily.
+
+"Good heavens!" I cried, starting up. "Has your watch stopped, too?"
+
+Then, like the leap of a lightning flash, an idea struck me.
+
+"I have got it; I have got it! My God! I believe I have got it!" I
+cried, seizing him by the arm.
+
+"Got what?" he replied, staring wildly at me.
+
+"Why, the secret--the curse--the door. Don't you see?"
+
+I pulled out the large knife I always carry by a chain and swivel in my
+trouser pocket, and telling Clinton to hold the lantern, opened the
+little blade-saw and attacked the coffin with it.
+
+"I believe the secret of our deliverance lies in this," I panted,
+working away furiously.
+
+In ten minutes I had sawn half through the wooden edge, then, handing my
+tool to Clinton, I told him to continue the work while I rested. After a
+few minutes I took the knife again, and at last, after nearly half an
+hour had gone by, succeeded in making a small hole in the lid.
+Inserting my two fingers, I felt some rough, uneven masses. I was now
+fearfully excited. Tearing at the opening like a madman, I enlarged it
+and extracted what looked like a large piece of coal. I knew in an
+instant what it was. It was magnetic iron-ore. Holding it down to my
+knife, the blade flew to it.
+
+"Here is the mystery of the soul," I cried; "now we can use it to open
+the door."
+
+I had known a great conjurer once, who had deceived and puzzled his
+audience with a box trick on similar lines: the man opening the box from
+the inside by drawing down the lock with a magnet. Would this do the
+same? I felt that our lives hung on the next moment. Taking the mass, I
+pressed it against the door just opposite the hasp, and slid it up
+against the wood. My heart leapt as I heard the hasp fly up outside, and
+with a push the door opened.
+
+"We are saved," I shouted. "We are saved by a miracle!"
+
+"Bell, you are a genius," gasped poor Clinton; "but now, how about the
+stone at the end of the passage?"
+
+"We will soon see about that," I cried, taking the lantern. "Half the
+danger is over, at any rate; and the worst half, too."
+
+We rushed along the passage and up the stair until we reached the top.
+
+"Why, Clinton," I cried, holding up the lantern, "the place was not shut
+at all."
+
+Nor was it. In his terror he had imagined it.
+
+"I could not see in the dark, and I was nearly dead with fright," he
+said. "Oh, Bell, let us get out of this as quickly as we can!"
+
+We crushed through the aperture and once more stood in the chapel. I
+then pushed the stone back into its place.
+
+Dawn was just breaking when we escaped from the chapel. We hastened
+across to the house. In the hall the clock pointed to five.
+
+"Well, we have had an awful time," I said, as we stood in the hall
+together; "but at least, Clinton, the end was worth the ghastly terror.
+I have knocked the bottom out of your family legend for ever."
+
+"I don't even now quite understand," he said.
+
+"Don't you?--but it is so easy. That coffin never contained a body at
+all, but was filled, as you perceive, with fragments of magnetic
+iron-ore. For what diabolical purposes the cell was intended, it is, of
+course, impossible to say; but that it must have been meant as a human
+trap there is little doubt. The inventor certainly exercised no small
+ingenuity when he devised his diabolical plot, for it was obvious that
+the door, which was made of iron, would swing towards the coffin
+wherever it happened to be placed. Thus the door would shut if the
+coffin were _inside the cell_, and would remain open if the coffin were
+_brought out_. A cleverer method for simulating a spiritual agency it
+would be hard to find. Of course, the monk must have known well that
+magnetic iron-ore never loses its quality and would ensure the deception
+remaining potent for ages."
+
+"But how did you discover by means of our watches?" asked Clinton.
+
+"Any one who understands magnetism can reply to that," I said. "It is a
+well-known fact that a strong magnet plays havoc with watches. The fact
+of both our watches going wrong first gave me a clue to the mystery."
+
+Later in the day the whole of this strange affair was explained to Miss
+Curzon, and not long afterwards the passage and entrance to the chapel
+were bricked up.
+
+It is needless to add that six months later the pair were married, and,
+I believe, are as happy as they deserve.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+THE MYSTERY OF THE FELWYN TUNNEL
+
+
+I was making experiments of some interest at South Kensington, and hoped
+that I had perfected a small but not unimportant discovery, when, on
+returning home one evening in late October in the year 1893, I found a
+visiting card on my table. On it were inscribed the words, "Mr. Geoffrey
+Bainbridge." This name was quite unknown to me, so I rang the bell and
+inquired of my servant who the visitor had been. He described him as a
+gentleman who wished to see me on most urgent business, and said further
+that Mr. Bainbridge intended to call again later in the evening. It was
+with both curiosity and vexation that I awaited the return of the
+stranger. Urgent business with me generally meant a hurried rush to one
+part of the country or the other. I did not want to leave London just
+then; and when at half-past nine Mr. Geoffrey Bainbridge was ushered
+into my room, I received him with a certain coldness which he could not
+fail to perceive. He was a tall, well-dressed, elderly man. He
+immediately plunged into the object of his visit.
+
+"I hope you do not consider my unexpected presence an intrusion, Mr.
+Bell," he said. "But I have heard of you from our mutual friends, the
+Greys of Uplands. You may remember once doing that family a great
+service."
+
+"I remember perfectly well," I answered more cordially. "Pray tell me
+what you want; I shall listen with attention."
+
+"I believe you are the one man in London who can help me," he continued.
+"I refer to a matter especially relating to your own particular study. I
+need hardly say that whatever you do will not be unrewarded."
+
+"That is neither here nor there," I said; "but before you go any
+further, allow me to ask one question. Do you want me to leave London at
+present?"
+
+He raised his eyebrows in dismay.
+
+"I certainly do," he answered.
+
+"Very well; pray proceed with your story."
+
+He looked at me with anxiety.
+
+"In the first place," he began, "I must tell you that I am chairman of
+the Lytton Vale Railway Company in Wales, and that it is on an important
+matter connected with our line that I have come to consult you. When I
+explain to you the nature of the mystery, you will not wonder, I think,
+at my soliciting your aid."
+
+"I will give you my closest attention," I answered; and then I added,
+impelled to say the latter words by a certain expression on his face,
+"if I can see my way to assisting you I shall be ready to do so."
+
+"Pray accept my cordial thanks," he replied. "I have come up from my
+place at Felwyn to-day on purpose to consult you. It is in that
+neighbourhood that the affair has occurred. As it is essential that you
+should be in possession of the facts of the whole matter, I will go over
+things just as they happened."
+
+I bent forward and listened attentively.
+
+"This day fortnight," continued Mr. Bainbridge, "our quiet little
+village was horrified by the news that the signalman on duty at the
+mouth of the Felwyn Tunnel had been found dead under the most mysterious
+circumstances. The tunnel is at the end of a long cutting between
+Llanlys and Felwyn stations. It is about a mile long, and the signal-box
+is on the Felwyn side. The place is extremely lonely, being six miles
+from the village across the mountains. The name of the poor fellow who
+met his death in this mysterious fashion was David Pritchard. I have
+known him from a boy, and he was quite one of the steadiest and most
+trustworthy men on the line. On Tuesday evening he went on duty at six
+o'clock; on Wednesday morning the day-man who had come to relieve him
+was surprised not to find him in the box. It was just getting daylight,
+and the 6.30 local was coming down, so he pulled the signals and let her
+through. Then he went out, and, looking up the line towards the tunnel,
+saw Pritchard lying beside the line close to the mouth of the tunnel.
+Roberts, the day-man, ran up to him and found, to his horror, that he
+was quite dead. At first Roberts naturally supposed that he had been cut
+down by a train, as there was a wound at the back of the head; but he
+was not lying on the metals. Roberts ran back to the box and telegraphed
+through to Felwyn Station. The message was sent on to the village, and
+at half-past seven o'clock the police inspector came up to my house with
+the news. He and I, with the local doctor, went off at once to the
+tunnel. We found the dead man lying beside the metals a few yards away
+from the mouth of the tunnel, and the doctor immediately gave him a
+careful examination. There was a depressed fracture at the back of the
+skull, which must have caused his death; but how he came by it was not
+so clear. On examining the whole place most carefully, we saw, further,
+that there were marks on the rocks at the steep side of the embankment
+as if some one had tried to scramble up them. Why the poor fellow had
+attempted such a climb, God only knows. In doing so he must have slipped
+and fallen back on to the line, thus causing the fracture of the skull.
+In no case could he have gone up more than eight or ten feet, as the
+banks of the cutting run sheer up, almost perpendicularly, beyond that
+point for more than a hundred and fifty feet. There are some sharp
+boulders beside the line, and it was possible that he might have fallen
+on one of these and so sustained the injury. The affair must have
+occurred some time between 11.45 p.m. and 6 a.m., as the engine-driver
+of the express at 11.45 p.m. states that the line was signalled clear,
+and he also caught sight of Pritchard in his box as he passed."
+
+"This is deeply interesting," I said; "pray proceed."
+
+Bainbridge looked at me earnestly; he then continued:--
+
+"The whole thing is shrouded in mystery. Why should Pritchard have left
+his box and gone down to the tunnel? Why, having done so, should he have
+made a wild attempt to scale the side of the cutting, an impossible feat
+at any time? Had danger threatened, the ordinary course of things would
+have been to run up the line towards the signal-box. These points are
+quite unexplained. Another curious fact is that death appears to have
+taken place just before the day-man came on duty, as the light at the
+mouth of the tunnel had been put out, and it was one of the night
+signalman's duties to do this as soon as daylight appeared; it is
+possible, therefore, that Pritchard went down to the tunnel for that
+purpose. Against this theory, however, and an objection that seems to
+nullify it, is the evidence of Dr. Williams, who states that when he
+examined the body his opinion was that death had taken place some hours
+before. An inquest was held on the following day, but before it took
+place there was a new and most important development. I now come to what
+I consider the crucial point in the whole story.
+
+"For a long time there had been a feud between Pritchard and another man
+of the name of Wynne, a platelayer on the line. The object of their
+quarrel was the blacksmith's daughter in the neighbouring village--a
+remarkably pretty girl and an arrant flirt. Both men were madly in love
+with her, and she played them off one against the other. The night but
+one before his death Pritchard and Wynne had met at the village inn, had
+quarrelled in the bar--Lucy, of course, being the subject of their
+difference. Wynne was heard to say (he was a man of powerful build and
+subject to fits of ungovernable rage) that he would have Pritchard's
+life. Pritchard swore a great oath that he would get Lucy on the
+following day to promise to marry him. This oath, it appears, he kept,
+and on his way to the signal-box on Tuesday evening met Wynne, and
+triumphantly told him that Lucy had promised to be his wife. The men had
+a hand-to-hand fight on the spot, several people from the village being
+witnesses of it. They were separated with difficulty, each vowing
+vengeance on the other. Pritchard went off to his duty at the signal-box
+and Wynne returned to the village to drown his sorrows at the
+public-house.
+
+"Very late that same night Wynne was seen by a villager going in the
+direction of the tunnel. The man stopped him and questioned him. He
+explained that he had left some of his tools on the line, and was on his
+way to fetch them. The villager noticed that he looked queer and
+excited, but not wishing to pick a quarrel thought it best not to
+question him further. It has been proved that Wynne never returned home
+that night, but came back at an early hour on the following morning,
+looking dazed and stupid. He was arrested on suspicion, and at the
+inquest the verdict was against him."
+
+"Has he given any explanation of his own movements?" I asked.
+
+"Yes; but nothing that can clear him. As a matter of fact, his tools
+were nowhere to be seen on the line, nor did he bring them home with
+him. His own story is that being considerably the worse for drink, he
+had fallen down in one of the fields and slept there till morning."
+
+"Things look black against him," I said.
+
+"They do; but listen, I have something more to add. Here comes a very
+queer feature in the affair. Lucy Ray, the girl who had caused the feud
+between Pritchard and Wynne, after hearing the news of Pritchard's
+death, completely lost her head, and ran frantically about the village
+declaring that Wynne was the man she really loved, and that she had only
+accepted Pritchard in a fit of rage with Wynne for not himself bringing
+matters to the point. The case looks very bad against Wynne, and
+yesterday the magistrate committed him for trial at the coming assizes.
+The unhappy Lucy Ray and the young man's parents are in a state
+bordering on distraction."
+
+"What is your own opinion with regard to Wynne's guilt?" I asked.
+
+"Before God, Mr. Bell, I believe the poor fellow is innocent, but the
+evidence against him is very strong. One of the favourite theories is
+that he went down to the tunnel and extinguished the light, knowing that
+this would bring Pritchard out of his box to see what was the matter,
+and that he then attacked him, striking the blow which fractured the
+skull."
+
+"Has any weapon been found about, with which he could have given such a
+blow?"
+
+"No; nor has anything of the kind been discovered on Wynne's person;
+that fact is decidedly in his favour."
+
+"But what about the marks on the rocks?" I asked.
+
+"It is possible that Wynne may have made them in order to divert
+suspicion by making people think that Pritchard must have fallen, and so
+killed himself. The holders of this theory base their belief on the
+absolute want of cause for Pritchard's trying to scale the rock. The
+whole thing is the most absolute enigma. Some of the country folk have
+declared that the tunnel is haunted (and there certainly has been such a
+rumour current among them for years). That Pritchard saw some
+apparition, and in wild terror sought to escape from it by climbing the
+rocks, is another theory, but only the most imaginative hold it."
+
+"Well, it is a most extraordinary case," I replied.
+
+"Yes, Mr. Bell, and I should like to get your opinion of it. Do you see
+your way to elucidate the mystery?"
+
+"Not at present; but I shall be happy to investigate the matter to my
+utmost ability."
+
+"But you do not wish to leave London at present?"
+
+"That is so; but a matter of such importance cannot be set aside. It
+appears, from what you say, that Wynne's life hangs more or less on my
+being able to clear away the mystery?"
+
+"That is indeed the case. There ought not to be a single stone left
+unturned to get at the truth, for the sake of Wynne. Well, Mr. Bell,
+what do you propose to do?"
+
+"To see the place without delay," I answered.
+
+"That is right; when can you come?"
+
+"Whenever you please."
+
+"Will you come down to Felwyn with me to-morrow? I shall leave
+Paddington by the 7.10, and if you will be my guest I shall be only too
+pleased to put you up."
+
+"That arrangement will suit me admirably," I replied. "I will meet you
+by the train you mention, and the affair shall have my best attention."
+
+"Thank you," he said, rising. He shook hands with me and took his leave.
+
+The next day I met Bainbridge at Paddington Station, and we were soon
+flying westward in the luxurious private compartment that had been
+reserved for him. I could see by his abstracted manner and his long
+lapses of silence that the mysterious affair at Felwyn Tunnel was
+occupying all his thoughts.
+
+It was two o'clock in the afternoon when the train slowed down at the
+little station of Felwyn. The station-master was at the door in an
+instant to receive us.
+
+"I have some terribly bad news for you, sir," he said, turning to
+Bainbridge as we alighted; "and yet in one sense it is a relief, for it
+seems to clear Wynne."
+
+"What do you mean?" cried Bainbridge. "Bad news? Speak out at once!"
+
+"Well, sir, it is this: there has been another death at Felwyn
+signal-box. John Davidson, who was on duty last night, was found dead at
+an early hour this morning in the very same place where we found poor
+Pritchard."
+
+"Good God!" cried Bainbridge, starting back, "what an awful thing! What,
+in the name of Heaven, does it mean, Mr. Bell? This is too fearful.
+Thank goodness you have come down with us."
+
+"It is as black a business as I ever heard of, sir," echoed the
+station-master; "and what we are to do I don't know. Poor Davidson was
+found dead this morning, and there was neither mark nor sign of what
+killed him--that is the extraordinary part of it. There's a perfect
+panic abroad, and not a signalman on the line will take duty to-night. I
+was quite in despair, and was afraid at one time that the line would
+have to be closed, but at last it occurred to me to wire to Lytton Vale,
+and they are sending down an inspector. I expect him by a special every
+moment. I believe this is he coming now," added the station-master,
+looking up the line.
+
+There was the sound of a whistle down the valley, and in a few moments a
+single engine shot into the station, and an official in uniform stepped
+on to the platform.
+
+"Good-evening, sir," he said, touching his cap to Bainbridge; "I have
+just been sent down to inquire into this affair at the Felwyn Tunnel,
+and though it seems more of a matter for a Scotland Yard detective than
+one of ourselves, there was nothing for it but to come. All the same,
+Mr. Bainbridge, I cannot say that I look forward to spending to-night
+alone at the place."
+
+"You wish for the services of a detective, but you shall have some one
+better," said Bainbridge, turning towards me. "This gentleman, Mr. John
+Bell, is the man of all others for our business. I have just brought him
+down from London for the purpose."
+
+An expression of relief flitted across the inspector's face.
+
+"I am very glad to see you, sir," he said to me, "and I hope you will be
+able to spend the night with me in the signal-box. I must say I don't
+much relish the idea of tackling the thing single-handed; but with your
+help, sir, I think we ought to get to the bottom of it somehow. I am
+afraid there is not a man on the line who will take duty until we do. So
+it is most important that the thing should be cleared, and without
+delay."
+
+I readily assented to the inspector's proposition, and Bainbridge and I
+arranged that we should call for him at four o'clock at the village inn
+and drive him to the tunnel.
+
+We then stepped into the wagonette which was waiting for us, and drove
+to Bainbridge's house.
+
+Mrs. Bainbridge came out to meet us, and was full of the tragedy. Two
+pretty girls also ran to greet their father, and to glance inquisitively
+at me. I could see that the entire family was in a state of much
+excitement.
+
+"Lucy Ray has just left, father," said the elder of the girls. "We had
+much trouble to soothe her; she is in a frantic state."
+
+"You have heard, Mr. Bell, all about this dreadful mystery?" said Mrs.
+Bainbridge as she led me towards the dining-room.
+
+"Yes," I answered; "your husband has been good enough to give me every
+particular."
+
+"And you have really come here to help us?"
+
+"I hope I may be able to discover the cause," I answered.
+
+"It certainly seems most extraordinary," continued Mrs. Bainbridge. "My
+dear," she continued, turning to her husband, "you can easily imagine
+the state we were all in this morning when the news of the second death
+was brought to us."
+
+"For my part," said Ella Bainbridge, "I am sure that Felwyn Tunnel is
+haunted. The villagers have thought so for a long time, and this second
+death seems to prove it, does it not?" Here she looked anxiously at me.
+
+"I can offer no opinion," I replied, "until I have sifted the matter
+thoroughly."
+
+"Come, Ella, don't worry Mr. Bell," said her father; "if he is as hungry
+as I am, he must want his lunch."
+
+We then seated ourselves at the table and commenced the meal.
+Bainbridge, although he professed to be hungry, was in such a state of
+excitement that he could scarcely eat. Immediately after lunch he left
+me to the care of his family and went into the village.
+
+"It is just like him," said Mrs. Bainbridge; "he takes these sort of
+things to heart dreadfully. He is terribly upset about Lucy Ray, and
+also about the poor fellow Wynne. It is certainly a fearful tragedy from
+first to last."
+
+"Well, at any rate," I said, "this fresh death will upset the evidence
+against Wynne."
+
+"I hope so, and there is some satisfaction in the fact. Well, Mr. Bell,
+I see you have finished lunch; will you come into the drawing-room?"
+
+I followed her into a pleasant room overlooking the valley of the
+Lytton.
+
+By-and-by Bainbridge returned, and soon afterwards the dog-cart came to
+the door. My host and I mounted, Bainbridge took the reins, and we
+started off at a brisk pace.
+
+"Matters get worse and worse," he said the moment we were alone. "If you
+don't clear things up to-night, Bell, I say frankly that I cannot
+imagine what will happen."
+
+We entered the village, and as we rattled down the ill-paved streets I
+was greeted with curious glances on all sides. The people were standing
+about in groups, evidently talking about the tragedy and nothing else.
+Suddenly, as our trap bumped noisily over the paving-stones, a girl
+darted out of one of the houses and made frantic motions to Bainbridge
+to stop the horse. He pulled the mare nearly up on her haunches, and the
+girl came up to the side of the dog-cart.
+
+"You have heard it?" she said, speaking eagerly and in a gasping voice.
+"The death which occurred this morning will clear Stephen Wynne, won't
+it, Mr. Bainbridge?--it will, you are sure, are you not?"
+
+"It looks like it, Lucy, my poor girl," he answered. "But there, the
+whole thing is so terrible that I scarcely know what to think."
+
+She was a pretty girl with dark eyes, and under ordinary circumstances
+must have had the vivacious expression of face and the brilliant
+complexion which so many of her countrywomen possess. But now her eyes
+were swollen with weeping and her complexion more or less disfigured by
+the agony she had gone through. She looked piteously at Bainbridge, her
+lips trembling. The next moment she burst into tears.
+
+"Come away, Lucy," said a woman who had followed her out of the cottage;
+"Fie--for shame! don't trouble the gentlemen; come back and stay
+quiet."
+
+"I can't, mother, I can't," said the unfortunate girl. "If they hang
+him, I'll go clean off my head. Oh, Mr. Bainbridge, do say that the
+second death has cleared him!"
+
+"I have every hope that it will do so, Lucy," said Bainbridge, "but now
+don't keep us, there's a good girl; go back into the house. This
+gentleman has come down from London on purpose to look into the whole
+matter. I may have good news for you in the morning."
+
+The girl raised her eyes to my face with a look of intense pleading.
+"Oh, I have been cruel and a fool, and I deserve everything," she
+gasped; "but, sir, for the love of Heaven, try to clear him."
+
+I promised to do my best.
+
+Bainbridge touched up the mare, she bounded forward, and Lucy
+disappeared into the cottage with her mother.
+
+The next moment we drew up at the inn where the Inspector was waiting,
+and soon afterwards were bowling along between the high banks of the
+country lanes to the tunnel. It was a cold, still afternoon; the air was
+wonderfully keen, for a sharp frost had held the countryside in its grip
+for the last two days. The sun was just tipping the hills to westward
+when the trap pulled up at the top of the cutting. We hastily alighted,
+and the Inspector and I bade Bainbridge good-bye. He said that he only
+wished that he could stay with us for the night, assured us that little
+sleep would visit him, and that he would be back at the cutting at an
+early hour on the following morning; then the noise of his horse's feet
+was heard fainter and fainter as he drove back over the frost-bound
+roads. The Inspector and I ran along the little path to the wicket-gate
+in the fence, stamping our feet on the hard ground to restore
+circulation after our cold drive. The next moment we were looking down
+upon the scene of the mysterious deaths, and a weird and lonely place it
+looked. The tunnel was at one end of the rock cutting, the sides of
+which ran sheer down to the line for over a hundred and fifty feet.
+Above the tunnel's mouth the hills rose one upon the other. A more
+dreary place it would have been difficult to imagine. From a little
+clump of pines a delicate film of blue smoke rose straight up on the
+still air. This came from the chimney of the signal-box.
+
+As we started to descend the precipitous path the Inspector sang out a
+cheery "Hullo!" The man on duty in the box immediately answered. His
+voice echoed and reverberated down the cutting, and the next moment he
+appeared at the door of the box. He told us that he would be with us
+immediately; but we called back to him to stay where he was, and the
+next instant the Inspector and I entered the box.
+
+"The first thing to do," said Henderson the Inspector, "is to send a
+message down the line to announce our arrival."
+
+This he did, and in a few moments a crawling goods train came panting up
+the cutting. After signalling her through we descended the wooden flight
+of steps which led from the box down to the line and walked along the
+metals towards the tunnel till we stood on the spot where poor Davidson
+had been found dead that morning. I examined the ground and all around
+it most carefully. Everything tallied exactly with the description I had
+received. There could be no possible way of approaching the spot except
+by going along the line, as the rocky sides of the cutting were
+inaccessible.
+
+"It is a most extraordinary thing, sir," said the signalman whom we had
+come to relieve. "Davidson had neither mark nor sign on him--there he
+lay stone dead and cold, and not a bruise nowhere; but Pritchard had an
+awful wound at the back of the head. They said he got it by climbing the
+rocks--here, you can see the marks for yourself, sir. But now, is it
+likely that Pritchard would try to climb rocks like these, so steep as
+they are?"
+
+"Certainly not," I replied.
+
+"Then how do you account for the wound, sir?" asked the man with an
+anxious face.
+
+"I cannot tell you at present," I answered.
+
+"And you and Inspector Henderson are going to spend the night in the
+signal-box?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+A horrified expression crept over the signalman's face.
+
+"God preserve you both," he said; "I wouldn't do it--not for fifty
+pounds. It's not the first time I have heard tell that Felwyn Tunnel is
+haunted. But, there, I won't say any more about that. It's a black
+business, and has given trouble enough. There's poor Wynne, the same
+thing as convicted of the murder of Pritchard; but now they say that
+Davidson's death will clear him. Davidson was as good a fellow as you
+would come across this side of the country; but for the matter of that,
+so was Pritchard. The whole thing is terrible--it upsets one, that it
+do, sir."
+
+"I don't wonder at your feelings," I answered; "but now, see here, I
+want to make a most careful examination of everything. One of the
+theories is that Wynne crept down this rocky side and fractured
+Pritchard's skull. I believe such a feat to be impossible. On examining
+these rocks I see that a man might climb up the side of the tunnel as
+far as from eight to ten feet, utilising the sharp projections of rock
+for the purpose; but it would be out of the question for any man to come
+down the cutting. No; the only way Wynne could have approached Pritchard
+was by the line itself. But, after all, the real thing to discover is
+this," I continued: "what killed Davidson? Whatever caused his death is,
+beyond doubt, equally responsible for Pritchard's. I am now going into
+the tunnel."
+
+Inspector Henderson went in with me. The place struck damp and chill.
+The walls were covered with green, evil-smelling fungi, and through the
+brickwork the moisture was oozing and had trickled down in long lines to
+the ground. Before us was nothing but dense darkness.
+
+When we re-appeared the signalman was lighting the red lamp on the post,
+which stood about five feet from the ground just above the entrance to
+the tunnel.
+
+"Is there plenty of oil?" asked the Inspector.
+
+"Yes, sir, plenty," replied the man. "Is there anything more I can do
+for either of you gentlemen?" he asked, pausing, and evidently dying to
+be off.
+
+"Nothing," answered Henderson; "I will wish you good-evening."
+
+"Good-evening to you both," said the man. He made his way quickly up the
+path and was soon lost to sight.
+
+Henderson and I then returned to the signal-box.
+
+By this time it was nearly dark.
+
+"How many trains pass in the night?" I asked of the Inspector.
+
+"There's the 10.20 down express," he said, "it will pass here at about
+10.40; then there's the 11.45 up, and then not another train till the
+6.30 local to-morrow morning. We shan't have a very lively time," he
+added.
+
+I approached the fire and bent over it, holding out my hands to try and
+get some warmth into them.
+
+"It will take a good deal to persuade me to go down to the tunnel,
+whatever I may see there," said the man. "I don't think, Mr. Bell, I am
+a coward in any sense of the word, but there's something very uncanny
+about this place, right away from the rest of the world. I don't wonder
+one often hears of signalmen going mad in some of these lonely boxes.
+Have you any theory to account for these deaths, sir?"
+
+"None at present," I replied.
+
+"This second death puts the idea of Pritchard being murdered quite out
+of court," he continued.
+
+"I am sure of it," I answered.
+
+"And so am I, and that's one comfort," continued Henderson. "That poor
+girl, Lucy Ray, although she was to be blamed for her conduct, is much
+to be pitied now; and as to poor Wynne himself, he protests his
+innocence through thick and thin. He was a wild fellow, but not the sort
+to take the life of a fellow-creature. I saw the doctor this afternoon
+while I was waiting for you at the inn, Mr. Bell, and also the police
+sergeant. They both say they do not know what Davidson died of. There
+was not the least sign of violence on the body."
+
+"Well, I am as puzzled as the rest of you," I said. "I have one or two
+theories in my mind, but none of them will quite fit the situation."
+
+The night was piercingly cold, and, although there was not a breath of
+wind, the keen and frosty air penetrated into the lonely signal-box. We
+spoke little, and both of us were doubtless absorbed by our own thoughts
+and speculations. As to Henderson, he looked distinctly uncomfortable,
+and I cannot say that my own feelings were too pleasant. Never had I
+been given a tougher problem to solve, and never had I been so utterly
+at my wits' end for a solution.
+
+Now and then the Inspector got up and went to the telegraph instrument,
+which intermittently clicked away in its box. As he did so he made some
+casual remark and then sat down again. After the 10.40 had gone through,
+there followed a period of silence which seemed almost oppressive. All
+at once the stillness was broken by the whirr of the electric bell,
+which sounded so sharply in our ears that we both started. Henderson
+rose.
+
+"That's the 11.45 coming," he said, and, going over to the three long
+levers, he pulled two of them down with a loud clang. The next moment,
+with a rush and a scream, the express tore down the cutting, the
+carriage lights streamed past in a rapid flash, the ground trembled, a
+few sparks from the engine whirled up into the darkness, and the train
+plunged into the tunnel.
+
+"And now," said Henderson, as he pushed back the levers, "not another
+train till daylight. My word, it is cold!"
+
+It was intensely so. I piled some more wood on the fire and, turning up
+the collar of my heavy ulster, sat down at one end of the bench and
+leant my back against the wall. Henderson did likewise; we were neither
+of us inclined to speak. As a rule, whenever I have any night work to
+do, I am never troubled with sleepiness, but on this occasion I felt
+unaccountably drowsy. I soon perceived that Henderson was in the same
+condition.
+
+"Are you sleepy?" I asked of him.
+
+"Dead with it, sir," was his answer; "but there's no fear, I won't drop
+off."
+
+I got up and went to the window of the box. I felt certain that if I sat
+still any longer I should be in a sound sleep. This would never do.
+Already it was becoming a matter of torture to keep my eyes open. I
+began to pace up and down; I opened the door of the box and went out on
+the little platform.
+
+"What's the matter, sir?" inquired Henderson, jumping up with a start.
+
+"I cannot keep awake," I said.
+
+"Nor can I," he answered, "and yet I have spent nights and nights of my
+life in signal-boxes and never was the least bit drowsy; perhaps it's
+the cold."
+
+"Perhaps it is," I said; "but I have been out on as freezing nights
+before, and----"
+
+The man did not reply; he had sat down again; his head was nodding.
+
+I was just about to go up to him and shake him, when it suddenly
+occurred to me that I might as well let him have his sleep out. I soon
+heard him snoring, and he presently fell forward in a heap on the floor.
+By dint of walking up and down, I managed to keep from dropping off
+myself, and in torture which I shall never be able to describe, the
+night wore itself away. At last, towards morning, I awoke Henderson.
+
+"You have had a good nap," I said; "but never mind, I have been on guard
+and nothing has occurred."
+
+"Good God! have I been asleep?" cried the man.
+
+"Sound," I answered.
+
+"Well, I never felt anything like it," he replied. "Don't you find the
+air very close, sir?"
+
+"No," I said; "it is as fresh as possible; it must be the cold."
+
+"I'll just go and have a look at the light at the tunnel," said the man;
+"it will rouse me."
+
+He went on to the little platform, whilst I bent over the fire and began
+to build it up. Presently he returned with a scared look on his face. I
+could see by the light of the oil lamp which hung on the wall that he
+was trembling.
+
+"Mr. Bell," he said, "I believe there is somebody or something down at
+the mouth of the tunnel now." As he spoke he clutched me by the arm. "Go
+and look," he said; "whoever it is, it has put out the light."
+
+"Put out the light?" I cried. "Why, what's the time?"
+
+Henderson pulled out his watch.
+
+"Thank goodness, most of the night is gone," he said; "I didn't know it
+was so late, it is half-past five."
+
+"Then the local is not due for an hour yet?" I said.
+
+"No; but who should put out the light?" cried Henderson.
+
+I went to the door, flung it open, and looked out. The dim outline of
+the tunnel was just visible looming through the darkness, but the red
+light was out.
+
+"What the dickens does it mean, sir?" gasped the Inspector. "I know the
+lamp had plenty of oil in it. Can there be any one standing in front of
+it, do you think?"
+
+We waited and watched for a few moments, but nothing stirred.
+
+"Come along," I said, "let us go down together and see what it is."
+
+"I don't believe I can do it, sir; I really don't!"
+
+"Nonsense," I cried. "I shall go down alone if you won't accompany me.
+Just hand me my stick, will you?"
+
+"For God's sake, be careful, Mr. Bell. Don't go down, whatever you do. I
+expect this is what happened before, and the poor fellows went down to
+see what it was and died there. There's some devilry at work, that's my
+belief."
+
+"That is as it may be," I answered shortly; "but we certainly shall not
+find out by stopping here. My business is to get to the bottom of this,
+and I am going to do it. That there is danger of some sort, I have very
+little doubt; but danger or not, I am going down."
+
+"If you'll be warned by me, sir, you'll just stay quietly here."
+
+"I must go down and see the matter out," was my answer. "Now listen to
+me, Henderson. I see that you are alarmed, and I don't wonder. Just stay
+quietly where you are and watch, but if I call come at once. Don't delay
+a single instant. Remember I am putting my life into your hands. If I
+call 'Come,' just come to me as quick as you can, for I may want help.
+Give me that lantern."
+
+He unhitched it from the wall, and taking it from him, I walked
+cautiously down the steps on to the line. I still felt curiously,
+unaccountably drowsy and heavy. I wondered at this, for the moment was
+such a critical one as to make almost any man wide awake. Holding the
+lamp high above my head, I walked rapidly along the line. I hardly knew
+what I expected to find. Cautiously along the metals I made my way,
+peering right and left until I was close to the fatal spot where the
+bodies had been found. An uncontrollable shudder passed over me. The
+next moment, to my horror, without the slightest warning, the light I
+was carrying went out, leaving me in total darkness. I started back, and
+stumbling against one of the loose boulders reeled against the wall and
+nearly fell. What was the matter with me? I could hardly stand. I felt
+giddy and faint, and a horrible sensation of great tightness seized me
+across the chest. A loud ringing noise sounded in my ears. Struggling
+madly for breath, and with the fear of impending death upon me, I turned
+and tried to run from a danger I could neither understand nor grapple
+with. But before I had taken two steps my legs gave way from under me,
+and uttering a loud cry I fell insensible to the ground.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Out of an oblivion which, for all I knew, might have lasted for moments
+or centuries, a dawning consciousness came to me. I knew that I was
+lying on hard ground; that I was absolutely incapable of realising, nor
+had I the slightest inclination to discover, where I was. All I wanted
+was to lie quite still and undisturbed. Presently I opened my eyes.
+
+Some one was bending over me and looking into my face.
+
+"Thank God, he is not dead," I heard in whispered tones. Then, with a
+flash, memory returned to me.
+
+"What has happened?" I asked.
+
+"You may well ask that, sir," said the Inspector gravely. "It has been
+touch and go with you for the last quarter of an hour; and a near thing
+for me too."
+
+I sat up and looked around me. Daylight was just beginning to break, and
+I saw that we were at the bottom of the steps that led up to the
+signal-box. My teeth were chattering with the cold and I was shivering
+like a man with ague.
+
+"I am better now," I said; "just give me your hand."
+
+I took his arm, and holding the rail with the other hand staggered up
+into the box and sat down on the bench.
+
+"Yes, it has been a near shave," I said; "and a big price to pay for
+solving a mystery."
+
+"Do you mean to say you know what it is?" asked Henderson eagerly.
+
+"Yes," I answered, "I think I know now; but first tell me how long was I
+unconscious?"
+
+"A good bit over half an hour, sir, I should think. As soon as I heard
+you call out I ran down as you told me, but before I got to you I nearly
+fainted. I never had such a horrible sensation in my life. I felt as
+weak as a baby, but I just managed to seize you by the arms and drag you
+along the line to the steps, and that was about all I could do."
+
+"Well, I owe you my life," I said; "just hand me that brandy flask, I
+shall be the better for some of its contents."
+
+I took a long pull. Just as I was laying the flask down Henderson
+started from my side.
+
+"There," he cried, "the 6.30 is coming." The electric bell at the
+instrument suddenly began to ring. "Ought I to let her go through, sir?"
+he inquired.
+
+"Certainly," I answered. "That is exactly what we want. Oh, she will be
+all right."
+
+"No danger to her, sir?"
+
+"None, none; let her go through."
+
+He pulled the lever and the next moment the train tore through the
+cutting.
+
+"Now I think it will be safe to go down again," I said. "I believe I
+shall be able to get to the bottom of this business."
+
+Henderson stared at me aghast.
+
+"Do you mean that you are going down again to the tunnel?" he gasped.
+
+"Yes," I said; "give me those matches. You had better come too. I don't
+think there will be much danger now; and there is daylight, so we can
+see what we are about."
+
+The man was very loth to obey me, but at last I managed to persuade him.
+We went down the line, walking slowly, and at this moment we both felt
+our courage revived by a broad and cheerful ray of sunshine.
+
+"We must advance cautiously," I said, "and be ready to run back at a
+moment's notice."
+
+"God knows, sir, I think we are running a great risk," panted poor
+Henderson; "and if that devil or whatever else it is should happen to be
+about--why, daylight or no daylight----"
+
+"Nonsense! man," I interrupted; "if we are careful, no harm will happen
+to us now. Ah! and here we are!" We had reached the spot where I had
+fallen. "Just give me a match, Henderson."
+
+He did so, and I immediately lit the lamp. Opening the glass of the
+lamp, I held it close to the ground and passed it to and fro. Suddenly
+the flame went out.
+
+"Don't you understand now?" I said, looking up at the Inspector.
+
+"No, I don't, sir," he replied with a bewildered expression.
+
+Suddenly, before I could make an explanation, we both heard shouts from
+the top of the cutting, and looking up I saw Bainbridge hurrying down
+the path. He had come in the dog-cart to fetch us.
+
+"Here's the mystery," I cried as he rushed up to us, "and a deadlier
+scheme of Dame Nature's to frighten and murder poor humanity I have
+never seen."
+
+As I spoke I lit the lamp again and held it just above a tiny fissure in
+the rock. It was at once extinguished.
+
+"What is it?" said Bainbridge, panting with excitement.
+
+"Something that nearly finished _me_," I replied. "Why, this is a
+natural escape of choke damp. Carbonic acid gas--the deadliest gas
+imaginable, because it gives no warning of its presence, and it has no
+smell. It must have collected here during the hours of the night when no
+train was passing, and gradually rising put out the signal light. The
+constant rushing of the trains through the cutting all day would
+temporarily disperse it."
+
+As I made this explanation Bainbridge stood like one electrified, while
+a curious expression of mingled relief and horror swept over Henderson's
+face.
+
+"An escape of carbonic acid gas is not an uncommon phenomenon in
+volcanic districts," I continued, "as I take this to be; but it is odd
+what should have started it. It has sometimes been known to follow
+earthquake shocks, when there is a profound disturbance of the deep
+strata."
+
+"It is strange that you should have said that," said Bainbridge, when he
+could find his voice.
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Why, that about the earthquake. Don't you remember, Henderson," he
+added, turning to the Inspector, "we had felt a slight shock all over
+South Wales about three weeks back?"
+
+"Then that, I think, explains it," I said. "It is evident that Pritchard
+really did climb the rocks in a frantic attempt to escape from the gas
+and fell back on to these boulders. The other man was cut down at once,
+before he had time to fly."
+
+"But what is to happen now?" asked Bainbridge. "Will it go on for ever?
+How are we to stop it?"
+
+"The fissure ought to be drenched with lime water, and then filled up;
+but all really depends on what is the size of the supply and also the
+depth. It is an extremely heavy gas, and would lie at the bottom of a
+cutting like water. I think there is more here just now than is good for
+us," I added.
+
+"But how," continued Bainbridge, as we moved a few steps from the fatal
+spot, "do you account for the interval between the first death and the
+second?"
+
+"The escape must have been intermittent. If wind blew down the cutting,
+as probably was the case before this frost set in, it would keep the gas
+so diluted that its effects would not be noticed. There was enough down
+here this morning, before that train came through, to poison an army.
+Indeed, if it had not been for Henderson's promptitude, there would have
+been another inquest--on myself."
+
+I then related my own experience.
+
+"Well, this clears Wynne, without doubt," said Bainbridge; "but alas!
+for the two poor fellows who were victims. Bell, the Lytton Vale
+Railway Company owe you unlimited thanks; you have doubtless saved many
+lives, and also the Company, for the line must have been closed if you
+had not made your valuable discovery. But now come home with me to
+breakfast. We can discuss all those matters later on."
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+THE EIGHT-MILE LOCK
+
+
+It was in the August of 1889, when I was just arranging my annual
+holiday, that I received the following letter. I tore it open and
+read:--
+
+    "_Theodora_ House-boat,
+    Goring.
+
+    "Dear Mr. Bell,--
+
+    "Can you come down on Wednesday and stay with us for a week? The
+    weather is glorious and the river looking its best. We are a gay
+    party, and there will be plenty of fun going on.
+
+                                            "Yours very truly,
+                                                 "Helena Ridsdale."
+
+This was exactly what I wanted. I was fond of the river, and scarcely a
+summer passed that I did not spend at least a fortnight on the Thames.
+I could go for a week to the Ridsdales, and then start off on my own
+quiet holiday afterwards. I had known Lady Ridsdale since she was a
+girl, and I had no doubt my visit would prove a most enjoyable one. I
+replied immediately, accepting the invitation, and three days later
+arrived at Goring.
+
+As the well-cushioned little punt, which had been sent to bring me
+across the river, drew up alongside the _Theodora_, the Countess came
+down from the deck to welcome me.
+
+"I am so glad you could come, Mr. Bell," she said. "I was afraid you
+might be away on some of your extraordinary campaigns against the
+supernatural. This is Mr. Ralph Vyner; he is also, like yourself,
+devoted to science. I am sure you will find many interests in common."
+
+A short, thickset, wiry little man, dressed in white flannels, who had
+been lolling in a deck chair, now came forward and shook hands with me.
+
+"I know of you by reputation, Mr. Bell," he said, "and I have often
+hoped to have the pleasure of meeting you. I am sure we shall all be
+anxious to hear of some of your experiences. We are such an excessively
+frivolous party that we can easily afford to be leavened with a little
+serious element."
+
+"But I don't mean to be serious in the least," I answered, laughing; "I
+have come here to enjoy myself, and intend to be as frivolous as the
+rest of you."
+
+"You will have an opportunity this evening," said the Countess; "we are
+going to have a special band from town, and intend to have a moonlight
+dance on deck. Ah! here comes Charlie with the others," she added,
+shading her eyes and looking down the stream.
+
+In a few moments a perfectly appointed little electric launch shot up,
+and my host with the rest of the party came on board. We shortly
+afterwards sat down to lunch, and a gayer and pleasanter set of people I
+have seldom met. In the afternoon we broke up into detachments, and
+Vyner and I went for a long pull up stream. I found him a pleasant
+fellow, ready to talk at any length not only about his own hobbies, but
+about the world at large. I discovered presently that he was a naval
+engineer of no small attainments.
+
+When we returned to the house-boat, it was nearly time to prepare for
+dinner. Most of the ladies had already retired to their cabins. Lady
+Ridsdale was standing alone on deck. When she saw us both, she called to
+us to come to her side.
+
+"This quite dazzles me," she said in a low, somewhat mysterious tone,
+"and I must show it to you. I know you at least, Mr. Vyner, will
+appreciate it."
+
+As she spoke she took a small leather case out of her pocket--it was
+ornamented with a monogram, and opened with a catch. She pressed the
+lid, it flew up, and I saw, resting on a velvet bed, a glittering
+circlet of enormous diamonds. The Countess lifted them out, and slipped
+them over her slender wrist.
+
+"They are some of the family diamonds," she said with excitement, "and
+of great value. Charlie is having all the jewels reset for me, but the
+rest are not ready yet. He has just brought this down from town. Is it
+not superb? Did you ever see such beauties?"
+
+The diamonds flashed on her white wrist; she looked up at me with eyes
+almost as bright.
+
+"I love beautiful stones," she said, "and I feel as if these were alive.
+Oh, do look at the rays of colour in them, as many as in the rainbow."
+
+I congratulated Lady Ridsdale on possessing such a splendid ornament,
+and then glanced at Vyner, expecting him to say something.
+
+The expression on his face startled me, and I was destined to remember
+it by-and-by. The ruddy look had completely left it, his eyes were half
+starting from his head. He peered close, and suddenly, without the
+slightest warning, stretched out his hand, and touched the diamonds as
+they glittered round Lady Ridsdale's wrist. She started back haughtily,
+then, recovering herself, took the bracelet off and put it into his
+hand.
+
+"Charlie tells me," she said, "that this bracelet is worth from fifteen
+to twenty thousand pounds."
+
+"You must take care of it," remarked Vyner; "don't let your maid see it,
+for instance."
+
+"Oh, nonsense!" laughed Lady Ridsdale. "I would trust Louise as I would
+trust myself."
+
+Soon afterwards we separated, and I went down to my little cabin to
+prepare for dinner. When we met in the dining saloon I noticed that Lady
+Ridsdale was wearing the diamond bracelet. Almost immediately after
+dinner the band came on board and the dancing began.
+
+We kept up our festivities until two o'clock, and more than once, as she
+flashed past me, I could not help noticing the glittering circlet round
+her wrist. I considered myself a fair judge of precious stones, but had
+never seen any diamonds for size and brilliancy to equal these.
+
+As Vyner and I happened to stand apart from the others he remarked upon
+them.
+
+"It was imprudent of Ridsdale to bring those diamonds here," he said.
+"Suppose they are stolen?"
+
+"Scarcely likely," I answered; "there are no thieves on board."
+
+He gave an impatient movement.
+
+"As far as we _know_ there are not," he said slowly, "but one can never
+tell. The diamonds are of exceptional value, and it is not safe to
+expose ordinary folk to temptation. That small circlet means a fortune."
+
+He sighed deeply, and when I spoke to him next did not answer me. Not
+long afterwards our gay party dispersed, and we retired to our
+respective cabins.
+
+I went to mine and was quickly in bed. As a newly-arrived guest I was
+given a cabin on board, but several other members of the party were
+sleeping in tents on the shore. Vyner and Lord Ridsdale were amongst
+the latter number. Whether it was the narrowness of my bunk or the heat
+of the night, I cannot tell, but sleep I could not. Suddenly through my
+open window I heard voices from the shore near by. I could identify the
+speakers by their tones--one was my host, Lord Ridsdale, the other Ralph
+Vyner. Whatever formed the subject of discourse it was evidently far
+from amicable. However much averse I might feel to the situation, I was
+compelled to be an unwilling eavesdropper, for the voices rose, and I
+caught the following words from Vyner:
+
+"Can you lend me five thousand pounds till the winter?"
+
+"No, Vyner, I have told you so before, and the reason too. It is your
+own fault, and you must take the consequences."
+
+"Do you mean that to be final?" asked Vyner.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Very well, then I shall look after myself. Thank God, I have got brains
+if I have not money, and I shall not let the means interfere with the
+end."
+
+"You can go to the devil for all I care," was the angry answer, "and,
+after what I know, I won't raise a finger to help you."
+
+The speakers had evidently moved further off, for the last words I could
+not catch. But what little I heard by no means conduced to slumber. So
+Vyner, for all his jovial and easy manner, was in a fix for money, and
+Ridsdale knew something about him scarcely to his credit!
+
+I kept thinking over this, and also recalling his words when he spoke of
+Lady Ridsdale's diamonds as representing a fortune. What did he mean by
+saying that he would not let the means interfere with the end? That
+brief sentence sounded very much like the outburst of a desperate man. I
+could not help heartily wishing that Lady Ridsdale's diamond circlet was
+back in London, and, just before I dropped to sleep, I made up my mind
+to speak to Ridsdale on the subject.
+
+Towards morning I did doze off, but I was awakened by hearing my name
+called, and, starting up, I saw Ridsdale standing by my side. His face
+looked queer and excited.
+
+"Wake up, Bell," he cried; "a terrible thing has happened."
+
+"What is it?" I asked.
+
+"My wife's bracelet is stolen."
+
+Like a flash I thought of Vyner, and then as quickly I knew that I must
+be careful to give no voice to hastily-formed suspicions.
+
+"I won't be a moment dressing, and then I'll join you," I said.
+
+Ridsdale nodded and left my cabin.
+
+In five minutes I was with him on deck. He then told me briefly what had
+happened.
+
+"Helena most imprudently left the case on her dressing-table last
+night," he said, "and owing to the heat she kept the window open. Some
+one must have waded into the water in the dark and stolen it. Perhaps
+one of the bandsmen may have noticed the flashing of the diamonds on
+her wrist and returned to secure the bracelet--there's no saying. The
+only too palpable fact is that it is gone--it was valued at twenty
+thousand pounds!"
+
+"Have you sent for the police?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, and have also wired to Scotland Yard for one of their best
+detectives. Vyner took the telegram for me, and was to call at the
+police station on his way back. He is nearly as much upset as I am. This
+is a terrible loss. I feel fit to kill myself for my folly in bringing
+that valuable bracelet on board a house-boat."
+
+"It was a little imprudent," I answered, "but you are sure to get it
+back."
+
+"I hope so," he replied moodily.
+
+Just then the punt with Vyner and a couple of policemen on board was
+seen rapidly approaching. Ridsdale went to meet them, and was soon in
+earnest conversation with the superintendent of police. The moment Vyner
+leapt on board he came to the part of the deck where I was standing.
+
+"Ah, Bell," he cried, "what about my prognostications of last night?"
+
+"They have been verified too soon," I answered. I gave him a quick
+glance. His eyes looked straight into mine.
+
+"Have you any theory to account for the theft?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, a very simple one. Owing to the heat of the evening the Countess
+slept with her window open. It was an easy matter to wade through the
+water, introduce a hand through the open window and purloin the
+diamonds."
+
+"Without being seen by any occupants of the tents?" I queried.
+
+"Certainly," he answered, speaking slowly and with thought.
+
+"Then you believe the thief came from without?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"What about your warning to Lady Ridsdale yesterday evening not to trust
+her maid?"
+
+I saw his eyes flash. It was the briefest of summer lightning that
+played in their depths. I knew that he longed to adopt the suggestion
+that I had on purpose thrown out, but dared not. That one look was
+enough for me. I had guessed his secret.
+
+Before he could reply to my last remark Lord Ridsdale came up.
+
+"What is to be done?" he said; "the police superintendent insists on our
+all, without respect of persons, being searched."
+
+"There is nothing in that," I said; "it is the usual thing. I will be
+the first to submit to the examination."
+
+The police went through their work thoroughly, and, of course, came
+across neither clue nor diamonds. We presently sat down to breakfast,
+but I don't think we any of us had much appetite. Lady Ridsdale's eyes
+were red with crying, and I could see that the loss had shaken both her
+nerve and fortitude. It was more or less of a relief when the post came
+in. Amongst the letters I found a telegram for myself. I knew what it
+meant before I opened it. It was from a man in a distant part of the
+country whom I had promised to assist in a matter of grave importance.
+I saw that it was necessary for me to return to town without delay. I
+was very loth to leave my host and hostess in their present dilemma, but
+there was no help for it, and soon after breakfast I took my leave.
+Ridsdale promised to write me if there was any news of the diamonds, and
+soon the circumstance passed more or less into the background of my
+brain, owing to the intense interest of the other matter which I had
+taken up. My work in the north was over, and I had returned to town,
+when I received a letter from Ridsdale.
+
+"We are in a state of despair," he wrote; "we have had two detectives on
+board, and the police have moved heaven and earth to try and discover
+the bracelet--all in vain; not the slightest clue has been forthcoming.
+No one has worked harder for us than Vyner. He has a small place of his
+own further down the river, and comes up to see us almost daily. He has
+made all sorts of suggestions for the recovery of the diamonds, but
+hitherto they have led to nothing. In short, our one hope now turns upon
+you, Bell; you have done as difficult things as this before. Will you
+come and see us, and give us the benefit of your advice? If any man can
+solve this mystery, you are the person."
+
+I wrote immediately to say that I would return to the _Theodora_ on the
+following evening, and for the remainder of that day tried to the best
+of my ability to think out this most difficult problem. I felt morally
+certain that I could put my hand on the thief, but I had no real clue to
+work upon--nothing beyond a nameless suspicion. Strange as it may seem,
+I was moved by sentiment. I had spent some pleasant hours in Vyner's
+society--I had enjoyed his conversation; I had liked the man for
+himself. He had abilities above the average, of that I was certain--if
+he were proved guilty, I did not want to be the one to bring his crime
+home to him. So uncomfortable were my feelings that at last I made up my
+mind to take a somewhat bold step. This was neither more nor less than
+to go to see Vyner himself before visiting the house-boat. What I was to
+do and say when I got to him I was obliged to leave altogether to
+chance; but I had a feeling almost amounting to a certainty that by
+means of this visit I should ultimately return the bracelet to my
+friends the Ridsdales.
+
+The next afternoon I found myself rowing slowly down the river, thinking
+what the issue of my visit to Vyner would be. It happened to be a
+perfect evening. The sun had just set. The long reach of river stretched
+away to the distant bend, where, through the gathering twilight, I could
+just see the white gates of the Eight-Mile Lock. Raising my voice, I
+sang out in a long-drawn, sonorous monotone the familiar cry of "Lock!
+lock! lock!" and, bending to the sculls, sent my little skiff flying
+down stream. The sturdy figure of old James Pegg, the lock-keeper, whom
+I had known for many years, instantly appeared on the bridge. One of the
+great gates slowly swung open, and, shipping my sculls, I shot in, and
+called out a cheery good-evening to my old friend.
+
+"Mr. Bell!" exclaimed the old fellow, hurrying along the edge of the
+lock. "Well, I never! I did not see it was you at first, and yet I ought
+to have known that long, swinging stroke of yours. You are the last
+person I expected to see. I was half afraid it might be some one else,
+although I don't know that I was expecting any one in particular. Excuse
+me, sir, but was it you called out 'Lock' just now?"
+
+"Of course it was," I answered, laughing. "I'm in the deuce of a hurry
+to-night, Jimmy, as I want to get on to Wotton before dark. Look sharp,
+will you, and let me down."
+
+"All right, sir--but you did frighten me just now. I wish you hadn't
+called out like that!"
+
+As I glanced up at him, I was surprised to see that his usually ruddy,
+round face was as white as a sheet, and he was breathing quickly.
+
+"Why, what on earth is the matter, Jimmy?" I cried; "how can I have
+frightened you?"
+
+"Oh, it's nothing, sir; I suppose I'm an old fool," he faltered,
+smiling. "I don't know what's the matter with me, sir--I'm all of a
+tremble. The fact is, something happened here last night, and I don't
+seem to have got over it. You know, I am all by myself here now, sir,
+and a lonely place it is."
+
+"Something happened?" I said; "not an accident, I hope?"
+
+"No, sir, no accident that I know of, and yet I have been half expecting
+one to occur all day, and I have been that weak I could hardly wind up
+the sluices. I am getting old now, and I'm not the man I was; but I'm
+right glad to see you, Mr. Bell, that I am."
+
+He kept pausing as he spoke, and now and then glanced up the river, as
+if expecting to see a boat coming round the bend every moment. I was
+much puzzled by his extraordinary manner. I knew him to be a steady man,
+and one whose services were much valued by the Conservancy; but it
+needed only a glance now to show that there was something very much
+amiss with him.
+
+The darkness was increasing every moment, and, being anxious to get on
+as soon as possible, I was just going to tell him again to hurry up with
+the sluices, when he bent down close to me, and said,--
+
+"Would you mind stepping out for a moment, sir, if you can spare the
+time? I wish to speak to you, sir. I'd be most grateful if you would
+wait a minute or two."
+
+"Certainly, Jimmy," I answered, hauling myself to the side with the
+boat-hook, and getting out. "Is there anything I can do for you? I am
+afraid you are not well. I never saw you like this before."
+
+"No, sir; and I never felt like it before, that I can remember.
+Something happened here last night that has taken all the nerve out of
+me, and I want to tell you what it was. I know you are so clever, Mr.
+Bell, and I have heard about your doings up at Wallinghurst last autumn,
+when you cleared up the Manor House ghost, and got old Monkford six
+months."
+
+"Well, fire away," I said, filling my pipe, and wondering what was
+coming.
+
+"It is this way, sir," he began. "Last night after I had had my supper I
+thought I'd like a stroll and a quiet smoke along the towing path before
+turning in. I did not expect any more boats, as it was getting on for
+ten o'clock. I walked about three-quarters of a mile, and was just going
+to turn round, when I saw a light down on the surface of the water in
+mid-stream. It was pretty dark, for the moon was not up yet, and there
+was a thick white mist rising from the water. I thought it must be some
+one in a canoe at first, so I waited a bit and watched. Then it suddenly
+disappeared, and the next instant I saw it again about a hundred yards
+or so higher up the stream, but only for a second, and then it went out.
+It fairly puzzled me to know what it could be, as I had never seen
+anything like it before. I felt sure it wasn't any sort of craft, but I
+had heard of strange lights being seen at times on the water--what they
+call jack-o'-lanterns, I believe, sir. I reckoned it might be one of
+them, but I thought I'd get back to the lock, so that, if it was a
+canoe, I could let it through. However, nothing came of it, and I waited
+and watched, and worried all the evening about it, but couldn't come to
+any sort of idea, so I went to bed. Well, about one o'clock this morning
+I suddenly woke up and thought I could hear some one a long way off
+calling exactly as you did just now, 'Lock! lock! lock!' but it sounded
+ever so far away.
+
+"'It's some of those theatre people coming back to the _Will-o'-the-Wisp_
+house-boat,' I said to myself, 'and I'm not going to turn out for them.'
+The lock was full at the time, so I thought I would just let them work
+it for themselves. I waited a bit, expecting to hear them every minute
+come up, singing and swearing as they do, but they never came, and I was
+just dropping off when I heard the call again. It was not an ordinary
+sort of voice, but a long, wailing cry, just as if some one was in
+trouble or drowning. 'Hi! hi! Lock! lo-oock!' it went.
+
+"I got up then and went out. The moon was up now and quite bright, and
+the mist had cleared off, so I went to the bridge on the upper gates and
+looked up stream. This is where I was standing, sir, just as we are
+standing now. I could see right up to the bend, and there was not the
+sign of a boat. I stood straining my eyes, expecting to see a boat come
+round every moment, when I heard the cry again, and this time it sounded
+not fifty yards up stream. I could not make it out at all, so I shouted
+out as loud as I could, 'Who are you? What's the matter?' but there was
+no answer; and then suddenly, the next instant, close below me, from
+_inside_ the lock this time, just here, came a shout, piercing, shrill,
+and loud, 'Open the lock, quick, quick! Open the lock!'
+
+"I tell you, sir, my heart seemed to stand dead still, and I nearly fell
+back over the bridge. I wheeled round sharp, but there was nothing in
+the lock, that I'll swear to my dying day--for I could see all over it,
+and nothing could have got in there without passing me. The moon was
+quite bright, and I could see all round it. Without knowing what I was
+doing, I rushed down like mad to the lower gates, and began to wind up
+one of the sluices, and then I stood there and waited, but nothing came.
+As the lock emptied I looked down, but there was no sign of anything
+anywhere, so I let down the sluice without opening the gates, and then
+filled up the lock again. I stood by the post, hardly daring to move,
+when, about half-past five, thank God, I heard the whistle of a tug,
+and, after seeing her through, it was broad daylight.
+
+"That's the whole story, sir, and how I'm going to live through the
+night again I don't know. It was a spirit if ever there was one in the
+world. It's a warning to me, sir; and what's going to happen I don't
+know."
+
+"Well, Jimmy," I answered, "it certainly is a most extraordinary story,
+and if I didn't know you as well as I do, I should say you had taken
+something more than a smoke before you turned in last night."
+
+"I never touch a drop, sir, except when I go into Farley and have a
+glass of beer, but I have not been there for more than a week now."
+
+I confess that Jimmy's story had left a most unpleasant impression on
+me. I had little doubt that the whole thing was some strange subjective
+hallucination, but for a weird and ghostly experience it certainly beat
+most of the tales I had ever heard. I thought for a moment--it was now
+quite dark, and I felt little inclined to go on to Wotton. My keenest
+interests were awakened.
+
+"Look here," I said, "what do you say if I stay here to-night? Can you
+give me a shake-down of any sort?"
+
+"That I will, sir, and right gladly, and thank God if you will but stay
+with me. If I was alone here again, and heard that voice, I believe it
+would kill me. I'll tie up your boat outside, and bring your things in,
+and then we'll have supper. I'll feel a new man with you staying here,
+sir."
+
+In a few minutes we were both inside old Jimmy's cosy quarters. His
+whole bearing seemed to have changed suddenly, and he ran about with
+alacrity, getting supper ready, and seeming quite like himself again.
+During the whole evening he kept harping at intervals on the subject of
+the mysterious voice, but we heard no sound whatever, and I felt more
+and more certain that the whole thing was due to hallucination on the
+part of the old man. At eleven o'clock a skiff came up through the lock,
+and almost immediately afterwards I bade Jimmy good-night and went into
+the little room he had prepared for me.
+
+I went quickly to bed, and, tired after my long pull, despite the
+originality of the situation, fell fast asleep. Suddenly I awoke--some
+one was bending over me and calling me by my name. I leapt up, and, not
+realising where I was for the moment, but with a sort of dim idea that I
+was engaged in some exposure, instinctively seized the man roughly by
+the throat. In a moment I remembered everything, and quickly released my
+grip of poor old Jimmy, who was gurgling and gasping with horror. I
+burst out laughing at my mistake, and begged his pardon for treating him
+so roughly.
+
+"It is all right, sir," he panted. "I hope I didn't frighten you, but I
+have heard it again, not five minutes ago."
+
+"The deuce you have," I said, striking a match and looking at my watch.
+
+It was nearly two o'clock, and before the minute was up I heard
+distinctly a cry, as if from some great distance, of "Lock, lock, lock!"
+and then all was silence again.
+
+"Did you hear it, sir?" whispered the old man, clutching me by the arm
+with a trembling hand.
+
+"Yes, I heard it," I said. "Don't you be frightened, Jimmy; just wait
+till I get my clothes on; I am going to see this thing through."
+
+"Be careful, sir; for God's sake, be careful," he whispered.
+
+"All right," I said, slipping on some things. "Just get me a good
+strong boat-hook, and don't make too much noise. If this mystery is
+flesh and blood I'll get to the bottom of it somehow. You stay here; and
+if I call, come out."
+
+I took the thick, short boat-hook which he had brought me and, softly
+unlatching the door, went out.
+
+The moon was now riding high overhead and casting black fantastic
+shadows across the little white cottage. All my senses were on the
+keenest alert, my ears were pricked up for the slightest sound. I crept
+softly to the bridge on the upper gate which was open. I looked up
+stream and thought I could see some little ripples on the surface of the
+water as if a swift boat had just passed down, but there was no sign of
+any craft whatever to be seen. It was intensely still, and no sound
+broke the silence save the intermittent croaking of some bull-frogs in
+the dark shadows of the pollards on the further bank. Behind me could
+also be heard the gurgling twinkle of the overflow through the chinks of
+the lower gate.
+
+I stood quite still, gripping the boat-hook in my hand, and looking
+right and left, straining my eyes for the slightest movement of anything
+around, when suddenly, close below me from the water, inside the lock,
+came a loud cry--
+
+"Open the lock, for God's sake, open the lock!"
+
+I started back, feeling my hair rise and stiffen. The sound echoed and
+reverberated through the silent night, and then died away; but before it
+had done so I had sprung to the great beam and closed the upper gate. As
+I did so I caught sight of the old man trembling and shaking at the door
+of the cottage. I called to him to go and watch the upper gate, and,
+racing down to the lower ones, wound up one of the sluices with a few
+pulls, so as to let out the water with as little escape room as
+possible. I knew by this means if there were any creature of tangible
+form in the water we must find it when the lock was emptied, as its
+escape was cut off.
+
+[Illustration: "Struck it a terrific blow with the boat-hook."
+A Master of Mysteries.--Page 167]
+
+Each of the following minutes seemed stretched into a lifetime as, with
+eyes riveted on the dark water in the lock, I watched its gradual
+descent. I hardly dared to think of what I expected to see rise to the
+surface any moment. Would the lock never empty? Down, down sank the
+level, and still I saw nothing. A long, misshapen arm of black cloud was
+slowly stretching itself across the moon.
+
+Hark! there was something moving about down in the well of darkness
+below me, and as I stood and watched I saw that the water was uncovering
+a long, black mass and that something ran slowly out of the water and
+began to clamber up the slimy, slippery beams. What in the name of
+heaven could it be? By the uncertain light I could only see its dim
+outline; it seemed to have an enormous bulbous head and dripping,
+glistening body. The sound of a rapid patter up the tow-path told me
+that the old man had seen it and was running for his life.
+
+I rushed down to where the thing was, and as its great head appeared
+above the edge, with all my force struck it a terrific blow with the
+boat-hook. The weapon flew into splinters in my hand, and the next
+moment the creature had leapt up beside me and dashed me to the ground
+with almost superhuman force. I was up and on to it again in a second,
+and as I caught and closed with it saw that I had at least to deal with
+a human being, and that what he lacked in stature he more than made up
+for in strength. The struggle that ensued was desperate and furious. The
+covering to his head that had splintered the boat-hook was, I saw, a
+sort of helmet, completely protecting the head from any blow, and the
+body was cased in a slippery, closely fitting garment that kept eluding
+my grasp. To and fro we swayed and wrestled, and for a moment I thought
+I had met my match till, suddenly freeing my right arm, I got in a
+smashing blow in the region of the heart. The creature uttered a cry of
+pain and fell headlong to the ground.
+
+Old Jimmy Pegg had hurried back as soon as he heard our struggles and
+knew that he was not dealing with a being of another world. He ran up
+eagerly to me.
+
+"Here's your ghost, you old coward!" I panted; "he has got the hardest
+bone and muscle I ever felt in a ghost yet. I am not used to fighting
+men in helmets, and he is as slippery as an eel, but I hope to goodness
+I have not done more than knock the wind out of him. He is a specimen I
+should rather like to take alive. Catch hold of his feet and we'll get
+him inside and see who he is."
+
+Between us we carried the prostrate figure inside the cottage and laid
+him down like a log on the floor. He never moved nor uttered a sound,
+and I was afraid at first that I had finished him for good and all. I
+next knelt down and proceeded to unfasten the helmet, which, from its
+appearance, was something like the kind used by divers, while the old
+man brought the lantern close to his face. At the first glance I knew in
+an instant that I had seen the face before, and the next second
+recognised, to my utter astonishment and horror, that it belonged to
+Ralph Vyner.
+
+For the moment I was completely dumbfounded, and gazed at the man
+without speaking. It was obvious that he had only fainted from the blow,
+for I could see that he was breathing, and in a few minutes he opened
+his eyes and fixed them on me with a dull and vacant stare. Then he
+seemed to recall the situation, though he evidently did not recognise
+me.
+
+"Let me go," he cried, making an effort to rise. "My God! you have
+killed me." He pressed his hand to his side and fell back again: his
+face was contorted as if in great pain.
+
+There was obviously only one thing to be done, and that was to send for
+medical assistance at once. It was clear that the man was badly injured,
+but to what extent I could not determine. It was impossible to extract
+the slightest further communication from him--he lay quite still,
+groaning from time to time.
+
+I told Jimmy to go off at once to Farley and bring the doctor. I
+scribbled a few directions on a piece of paper.
+
+The old man hurried out of the cottage, but in less than a minute he
+was back again in great excitement.
+
+"Look here, sir, what I have just picked up," he said; "it's something
+he has dropped, I reckon."
+
+As Jimmy spoke he held out a square leather case: there was a monogram
+on it. I took it in my hand and pressed the lid; it flew open, and
+inside, resting on its velvet bed, lay the glittering circlet of
+diamonds. I held Lady Ridsdale's lost bracelet in my hand. All my
+suspicions were confirmed: Vyner was the thief.
+
+Without saying a word I shut the box and despatched the old man at once
+for the doctor, bidding him go as fast as he could. Then I sat down by
+the prostrate man and waited. I knew that Jimmy could not be back for at
+least two hours. The grey dawn was beginning to steal in through the
+little latticed window when Vyner moved, opened his eyes and looked at
+me. He started as his eyes fell on the case.
+
+"You are Mr. Bell," he said slowly. "Ridsdale told me that you were
+coming to the _Theodora_ on purpose to discover the mystery of the lost
+diamonds. You didn't know that I should give you an opportunity of
+discovering the truth even before you arrived at the house-boat. Bend
+down close to me--you have injured me; I may not recover; hear what I
+have to say."
+
+I bent over him, prepared to listen to his words, which came out slowly.
+
+"I am a forger and a desperate man. Three weeks ago I forged one of
+Ridsdale's cheques and lessened my friend's balance to the tune of five
+thousand pounds. He and his wife were old friends of mine, but I wanted
+the money desperately, and was impervious to sentiment or anything else.
+On that first day when you met me, although I seemed cheery enough, I
+was fit to kill myself. I had hoped to be able to restore the stolen
+money long before Ridsdale was likely to miss it. But this hope had
+failed. I saw no loophole of escape, and the day of reckoning could not
+be far off. What devil prompted Ridsdale to bring those diamonds on
+board, Heaven only knows. The moment I saw them they fascinated me and
+I knew I should have a try for them. All during that evening's festivity
+I could think of nothing else. I made up my mind to secure them by hook
+or by crook. Before we retired for the night, however, I thought I would
+give Ridsdale a chance. I asked him if he would lend me the exact sum I
+had already stolen from him, five thousand pounds, but he had heard
+rumours to my discredit and refused point-blank. I hated him for it. I
+went into my tent under the pretence of lying down, but in reality to
+concoct and, if possible, carry out my plot. I waited until the quietest
+hour before dawn, then I slipped out of my tent, waded into the water,
+approached the open window of the Countess's cabin, thrust in my hand,
+took out the case, and, going down the river about a quarter of a mile,
+threw the diamonds into the middle of the stream. I marked well the
+place where they sank; I then returned to my tent and went to bed.
+
+"You know what occurred the following morning. I neither feared Ridsdale
+nor his wife, but you, Bell, gave me a considerable amount of
+uneasiness. I felt certain that in an evil moment on the night before I
+had given you a clue. To a man of your ability the slightest clue was
+all-sufficient. I felt that I must take the bull by the horns and find
+out whether you suspected me or not. I talked to you, and guessed by the
+tone of your remarks that you had your suspicions. My relief was immense
+when that telegram arrived which hurried you away from the _Theodora_.
+On the following day I returned to my own little place on the banks of
+the river four miles below this lock. I knew it was necessary for me to
+remain quiet for a time, but all the same my plans were clearly made,
+and I only waited until the first excitement of the loss had subsided
+and the police and detectives were off their guard. In the meantime I
+went to see Ridsdale almost daily, and suggested many expedients for
+securing the thief and getting hold of the right clue. If he ever
+suspected me, which I don't for a moment suppose, I certainly put him
+off the scent. My intention was to take the diamonds out of the country,
+sell them for all that I could get, then return the five thousand pounds
+which I had stolen from his bank, and leave England for ever. As a
+forger I should be followed to the world's end, but as the possessor of
+stolen diamonds I felt myself practically safe. My scheme was too
+cleverly worked out to give the ordinary detective a chance of
+discovering me.
+
+"Two days ago I had a letter from Ridsdale in which he told me that he
+intended to put the matter into your hands. Now this was by no means to
+my mind, for you, Bell, happened to be the one man in the world whom I
+really dreaded. I saw that I must no longer lose time. Under my little
+boat-house I had a small submarine boat which I had lately finished,
+more as a hobby than anything else. I had begun it years ago in my odd
+moments on a model I had seen of a torpedo used in the American War. My
+boat is now in the lock outside, and you will see for yourself what
+ingenuity was needed to construct such a thing. On the night before the
+one which has just passed, I got it ready, and, as soon as it was dark,
+started off in it to recover the diamonds. I got through the lock easily
+by going in under the water with a barge, but when I reached the spot
+where I had sunk the diamonds, found to my dismay that my electric light
+would not work. There was no help for it--I could not find the bracelet
+without the aid of the light, and was bound to return home to repair the
+lamp. This delay was fraught with danger, but there was no help for it.
+My difficulty now was to get back through the lock; for though I waited
+for quite three hours no boats came along. I saw the upper gates were
+open, but how to get through the lower ones I could not conceive. I felt
+sure that my only chance was to frighten the lock-keeper, and get him to
+open the sluices, for I knew I could pass through them unobserved if
+they were open, as I had done once before.
+
+"In my diver's helmet was a thick glass face-piece. This had an opening,
+closed by a cap, which could be unscrewed, and through which I could
+breathe when above water, and also through which my voice would come,
+causing a peculiar hollowness which I guessed would have a very
+startling effect, especially as I myself would be quite invisible. I got
+into the lock, and shouted to Pegg. I succeeded in frightening him; he
+hurried to do what I ordered. He wound up the lower sluice, I shot
+through under water, and so got back unseen. All yesterday I hesitated
+about trying the experiment again, the risk was so great; but I knew
+that Ridsdale was certain to see his bank-book soon, that my forgery was
+in imminent danger of being discovered, also that you, Bell, were coming
+upon the scene.
+
+"Yes, at any risk, I must now go on.
+
+"I repaired my light, and again last night passed through the lock on my
+way up, by simply waiting for another boat. As a matter of fact, I
+passed up through this lock under a skiff about eleven o'clock. My light
+was now all right, I found the diamond case easily, and turned to pass
+down the stream by the same method as before. If you had not been here I
+should have succeeded, and should have been safe, but now it is all up."
+
+He paused, and his breath came quickly.
+
+"I doubt if I shall recover," he said in a feeble voice.
+
+"I hope you will," I replied; "and hark! I think I hear the doctor's
+steps."
+
+I was right, for a moment or two later old Jimmy Pegg and Dr. Simmons
+entered the cottage. While the doctor was examining the patient and
+talking to him, I went out with Jimmy to have a look at the submarine
+boat. By fixing a rope round it we managed to haul it up, and then
+proceeded to examine it. It certainly was the most wonderful piece of
+ingenious engineering I had ever seen. The boat was in the shape of an
+enormous cigar, and was made of aluminium. It was seven feet long, and
+had a circular beam of sixteen inches. At the pointed end, close to
+where the occupant's feet would be, was an air chamber capable of being
+filled or emptied at will by means of a compressed air cylinder,
+enabling the man to rise or sink whenever he wished to. Inside, the boat
+was lined with flat chambers of compressed air for breathing purposes,
+which were governed by a valve. It was also provided with a small
+accumulator and electric motor which drove the tiny propeller astern.
+The helmet which the man wore fitted around the opening at the head end.
+
+After examining the boat it was easy to see how Vyner had escaped
+through the lock the night before I arrived, as this submarine wonder of
+ingenuity would be able to shoot through the sluice gate under water,
+when the sluice was raised to empty the lock.
+
+After exchanging a few remarks with Jimmy, I returned to the cottage to
+learn the doctor's verdict.
+
+It was grave, but not despairing. The patient could not be moved for a
+day or two. He was, in Dr. Simmons's opinion, suffering more from shock
+than anything else. If he remained perfectly quiet, he would in all
+probability recover; if he were disturbed, the consequences might be
+serious.
+
+An hour afterwards I found myself on my way up stream sculling as fast
+as I could in the direction of the _Theodora_. I arrived there at an
+early hour, and put the case which contained the diamonds into Lady
+Ridsdale's hands.
+
+I shall never forget the astonishment of Ridsdale and his wife when I
+told my strange tale. The Countess burst into tears, and Ridsdale was
+terribly agitated.
+
+"I have known Vyner from a boy, and so has my wife," he exclaimed. "Of
+course, this proves him to be an unmitigated scoundrel, but I cannot be
+the one to bring him to justice."
+
+"Oh, no, Charlie, whatever happens we must forgive him," said Lady
+Ridsdale, looking up with a white face.
+
+I had nothing to say to this, it was not my affair. Unwittingly I had
+been the means of restoring to the Ridsdales their lost bracelet; they
+must act as they thought well with regard to the thief.
+
+As a matter of fact, Vyner did escape the full penalty of his crime.
+Having got back the diamonds Lord Ridsdale would not prosecute. On the
+contrary, he helped the broken-down man to leave the country. From the
+view of pure justice he was, of course, wrong, but I could not help
+being glad.
+
+As an example of what a desperate man will do, I think it would be
+difficult to beat Vyner's story. The originality and magnitude of the
+conception, the daring which enabled the man, single-handed, to do his
+own dredging in a submarine boat in one of the reaches of the Thames
+have seldom been equalled.
+
+As I thought over the whole scheme, my only regret was that such ability
+should not have been devoted to nobler ends.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+HOW SIVA SPOKE
+
+
+During the summer of the past year a medical friend of mine sent me an
+invitation to dine with him and two of his fellow-craftsmen at the
+Welcome Club at the Earl's Court Exhibition. One of our party was a
+certain Dr. Laurier, a young man of considerable ability, whose special
+attention had been directed to mental diseases. He was, indeed, a noted
+authority on this subject, and had just completed an appointment at one
+of the large London asylums. During dinner he entertained us with a few
+of his late experiences--
+
+"I assure you, Mr. Bell," he said, "there is absolutely no limit to the
+vagaries of the human mind. At the present moment a most grotesque and
+painful form of mental disease has come under my notice. The patient is
+not a pauper, but a gentleman of good standing and means. He is
+unmarried, and owns a lovely place in the country. He spent the early
+years of his life in India, and when there the craze began which now
+assumes the magnitude of a monomania."
+
+"Pray let me hear about him, if your professional etiquette allows you
+to talk on the subject," I answered.
+
+"I will certainly tell you what I can," he replied. "I have known the
+man for years, having met him in town on several occasions. Last week
+his nephew came to see me, and spoke seriously with regard to his
+uncle's state of mind. His great craze for years has been spiritualism,
+theosophy, and mahatmas, with all their attendant hocus-pocus. He firmly
+believes in his power to call up spirits from the vasty deep, and holds
+many extraordinary seances."
+
+"But surely such a craze is not sufficient to prove insanity!" I said.
+"Hundreds of people believe in such manifestations at the present day."
+
+"I know that well, and perfectly harmless such crazes are so long as the
+victims confine their beliefs to spirit-rapping, table-turning, and
+humbug of that sort; but when their convictions lead them to commit
+actions which compromise serious interests, and when, as in this case,
+there is a possibility of life itself being in danger, it is time they
+should be looked after."
+
+"What is the particular nature of your friend's delusion?" I asked.
+
+"This. He is practically a Brahmin, having been deeply imbued with the
+peculiar doctrines of Brahminism when in India. Amongst his friends in
+the East was a Brahmin of high degree in whose house were three idols,
+representing the Hindu Trinity--Vishnu, Brahma, and Siva. By some means
+which have never been explained to me, my friend managed to get
+possession of Siva, and brought the idol home. He placed it in a gallery
+which he has in his house, believing from the first that it possessed
+mystical properties which it was his duty to fathom. The nephew now
+tells me that he has brought his craze to such a pass that he firmly
+believes that Siva speaks to him in Hindustanee. The unhappy man kneels
+nightly at the altar in front of the idol, receiving, as he imagines,
+directions from him. The consequence is that he does all sorts of mad
+and extraordinary things, spending his large fortune lavishly in the
+decoration of this hideous monster, buying pearls, rubies, and even
+diamonds for the purpose, and really being, as he imagines, guided by it
+in the disposition of his life and property. He has a young niece
+residing with him, to whom he has always been very much attached; but of
+late he has been cruel to her, banishing her from his presence, refusing
+her his sympathy, and has even gone to the length of threatening to take
+her life, saying quite openly that Siva informs him night after night of
+her treachery towards him. Now the nephew is engaged to this girl, and
+is naturally anxious about her; but, say what he will, nothing will
+induce her to turn against her uncle, to whom she is deeply attached.
+She denies that he threatens her life, although the nephew declares that
+he did so in his own presence. Under such circumstances, her friends
+are, naturally, most anxious about her, and feel it their duty to get a
+medical opinion with regard to the uncle. I am going down to his place
+to-morrow, and shall there meet his regular medical attendant in
+consultation."
+
+"And then, I suppose, certify as to his insanity?" I answered.
+
+"Doubtless; that is, if we come to the conclusion that the man is really
+insane."
+
+"What an awful responsibility is reposed in you doctors!" I said. "Think
+what it means to condemn a man to a lunatic asylum. In the hands of the
+unscrupulous such a power is terrible."
+
+Dr. Laurier knitted his brows, and looked keenly at me.
+
+"What do you mean?" he said in a curious tone. "Of course mistakes are
+made now and then, but not, I believe, often. To act in good faith and
+exercise reasonable care are the two requisites of the law."
+
+"Of course," I replied, "there are great difficulties on both sides of
+this momentous question; but if I belonged to the profession, I can
+frankly say that nothing would induce me to sign a certificate of
+lunacy."
+
+A few moments afterwards we all rose and strolled about the grounds. As
+we were parting at the exit gates I called Dr. Laurier aside.
+
+"The love of mystery is to me a ruling passion," I said. "Will you
+excuse the great liberty I take when I ask you to let me know the result
+of your visit of to-morrow? I am immensely interested in your
+spiritualist patient."
+
+As I spoke I scribbled my address on a card and handed it to him, half
+expecting that he would resent my intrusiveness. A smile flitted across
+his clever face, and he stood looking at me for a moment under the
+glare of the great arc lights.
+
+"I will certainly give you the result of my visit, as you are so much
+interested," he replied. "Good-night."
+
+We got into our respective hansoms, and drove off in different
+directions.
+
+I had much to do, and soon forgot both Dr. Laurier and his patient;
+therefore, on the following Monday, when he was ushered into my
+presence, my surprise was great.
+
+"I have come to fulfil my promise," he began. "I am here not only to
+satisfy your curiosity about my patient, but also to ask your advice.
+The fact is the matter has, I think, now merged more into your domain
+than mine."
+
+"Pray tell me what has happened," I asked.
+
+"That is what I am about to do; but first I must ensure your absolute
+confidence and secrecy, for my professional reputation may be seriously
+compromised if it is known that I consulted you."
+
+I gave him the assurance, and he proceeded:--
+
+"My patient's name is Edward Thesiger; he lives in a place called The
+Hynde, in Somersetshire. I went down as I had arranged, and was met at
+the station by his nephew, Jasper Bagwell. Bagwell is a thin,
+anxious-looking man of about five-and-thirty. He drove me over to The
+Hynde, and I was there met by Thesiger's own physician, Dr. Dalton.
+Dalton and I each made a separate examination of the patient, and came
+to the conclusion that he was undoubtedly queer.
+
+"In the course of the afternoon we were all wandering round the grounds,
+when we were joined by the young girl to whom Bagwell is engaged. When
+she saw me she gave me a very eager glance, and soon attached herself to
+my side.
+
+"'I want to speak to you, Dr. Laurier,' she said in a low voice.
+
+"I managed to drop behind in order to give her an opportunity.
+
+"'I know what you have come about,' she said. 'What do you think of my
+uncle's case?'
+
+"'I am not prepared to hazard an opinion,' I replied.
+
+"'Well, please listen to something I have got to say. Jasper Bagwell has
+his own reasons for what he tells you. You do very wrong to listen to
+him. Uncle Edward is queer, I grant, with regard to the idol Siva, that
+is because he is in reality a Brahmin; but if you sign a certificate to
+the effect that he is mad, you will be making a very terrible mistake.'
+
+"As she spoke her lips trembled, and tears filled her eyes.
+
+"'I am terribly unhappy about it all,' she continued.
+
+"I looked at her earnestly, then I said in a low voice:
+
+"'Forgive me if I reply to you as plainly as you have just spoken to me.
+You arouse my surprise when you speak as you do of Mr. Bagwell. Is it
+not the case that you are engaged to marry him?'
+
+"She gave a visible start.
+
+"'It is the case,' she answered slowly. Then she continued, speaking
+with great emphasis, 'I only marry my cousin because it is the one--the
+one chance of saving Uncle Edward.'
+
+"'What do you mean?' I asked in astonishment.
+
+"'I wish I could tell you, but I dare not. I am a very miserable girl.
+There is foul play somewhere, of that I am convinced. Oh, believe me!
+won't you believe me?'
+
+"To these extraordinary words I made a somewhat dubious reply, and she
+soon left me, to walk by her uncle's side.
+
+"Late that evening I was alone with the patient, and he then confided to
+me much which he had withheld at first. He spoke about the years he had
+spent in India, and in especial alluded to the Brahmin religion. He told
+me also that he now possesses the idol Siva, and has set it up in a
+marble gallery where he can hold his spiritualistic seances. Bending
+forward as he spoke, and fixing me with his intelligent and yet strange
+glance, he said solemnly, and with an appearance of perfect truth on his
+face, that by certain incenses and secret incantations he could make the
+idol speak to him in Hindustanee. He said further that he felt himself
+completely dominated by it, and was bound to obey all its dictates. As
+he said the latter words his face grew white to the lips.
+
+"'Siva is exigent in his demands,' he said slowly--'exigent and
+terrible. But come, I will take you into the gallery, and you shall see
+him for yourself.'
+
+"I went gladly. We had to go through a long conservatory which opened
+out of the dining-room; from there we entered an oval-shaped room.
+Thesiger brought me straight up to the idol. It was placed upon a
+pedestal. It is a hideous monster made of wood, and has five heads; in
+its hand it holds a trident. I could hardly refrain from smiling when I
+first saw it. It was difficult to believe that any man, sane or insane,
+could hold faith in such a monstrosity. My object, however, was to draw
+the poor mad fellow out, and I begged of him to take what steps he
+considered necessary in order to induce the creature to speak. He
+willingly obeyed my desire, and with great solemnity went through
+elaborate operations; then, turning the lamp very low, knelt at the
+altar in front of the idol and began to address it. He waited for its
+replies, which were, of course, inaudible, and then continued speaking
+again. After some moments spent in this way he declared solemnly that it
+had replied to him, and practically called me a liar when I said I had
+not heard it.
+
+"When he turned up the lamp at the end of this strange scene, I noticed
+for the first time that the idol was decorated with precious stones of
+extraordinary value. To leave such valuables in a room with an unlocked
+door was in itself a symptom of insanity, and when I parted with
+Thesiger for the night I had not the least doubt that my unfortunate
+host was really insane. All the same, I had a curious unwillingness with
+regard to signing the certificate. Bagwell eagerly asked me if I did
+not intend to sign. To his astonishment, I replied in the negative. I
+said that the case was a very peculiar one, and that it would be
+necessary for me to pay a second visit to the patient before I could
+take this extreme step. He was, I could see, intensely annoyed, but I
+remained firm."
+
+Laurier stopped speaking and looked me full in the face.
+
+"Well?" I asked.
+
+"I have come to consult with you over the matter. You remember what you
+said about the responsibility of signing such certificates! It is on
+account of those words I have come to you."
+
+"Well, Dr. Laurier," I answered, "I shall of course be happy to do
+anything I can to help you, but I must frankly confess that I fail to
+see exactly on what point I can be of service. I know little about
+disease in general, and nothing about mental diseases in particular.
+Miss Thesiger seems to think that there is foul play; but have you any
+suspicions on your own account?"
+
+"I have no proofs, but, all the same, I do suspect foul play, although,
+perhaps, I have no right to say so."
+
+"Then what do you want me to do?" I asked.
+
+"This," he answered. "Will you come down with me to Somersetshire as my
+friend, and in the _role_ of a great spiritualist? Thesiger will be only
+too delighted to meet some one of his own way of thinking. Will you
+come?"
+
+I thought for a moment--it was not a _role_ I cared to assume, but the
+case was peculiar, and might possibly lie within my province. I
+eventually agreed to accompany Laurier into Somersetshire, and, as a
+matter of fact, went down with him the next day. He had telegraphed our
+arrival to The Hynde, and a hearty invitation was accorded to me.
+
+As we were driving through the grounds late the following afternoon we
+were met by a tall girl, who was accompanied by two thoroughbred
+retrievers.
+
+"Here is Miss Thesiger," said Laurier. He called to the driver to stop,
+and jumping down, went to her side. I accompanied him.
+
+"Miss Thesiger," said Laurier, "let me introduce my friend, Mr. John
+Bell."
+
+She looked me full in the face, then her grey eyes seemed to lighten
+with momentary pleasure, and she held out her hand.
+
+"What have you come back for?" she asked the next moment, turning to
+Laurier.
+
+"To see your uncle."
+
+"Are you to meet Dr. Dalton?" her lips trembled.
+
+"I believe so. I assure you, Miss Thesiger, I have come with no sinister
+design." Laurier smiled as he spoke. "On the contrary, I am here to-day
+in order, if possible, to get at the truth. There is no one who can help
+me better than this gentleman."
+
+"Then you do suspect foul play?" she said, her eyes lighting up with
+sudden hope.
+
+"I have no reason to do so," he answered.
+
+"It exists," she replied. "I know what I am saying; will you not believe
+me?" As she spoke she glanced hurriedly behind her--footsteps were heard
+rapidly approaching.
+
+"There is my cousin," she said; "he follows me like a shadow. Dr.
+Laurier and Mr. Bell, I must see you both, or one of you, in private. I
+have something of great importance which you ought to know."
+
+Before either of us could answer her, Jasper Bagwell came up. He gave us
+a polite welcome, and glanced keenly at his cousin, who took no notice
+of him, but continued her walk.
+
+"Poor girl!" he said with a deep sigh, as we three walked slowly to the
+house.
+
+"Why do you pity her?" I could not help asking.
+
+"Because she is nearly as much under a delusion as my uncle himself. The
+fact is she is in the utmost danger, and yet refuses absolutely to
+believe it. The more eccentric my unfortunate uncle grows, the more she
+clings to him; she scarcely leaves his side, although it is most unsafe
+for her to be with him. I think it my absolute duty to watch her day and
+night, and am really almost worn out with anxiety. The whole of last
+night I spent in the corridor which divides her room from Mr.
+Thesiger's. Three times in the course of the night I saw the unfortunate
+madman gliding down this corridor, and but for my timely appearance on
+the scene I have not the slightest doubt that he would have entered
+Helen's room with the most fell design. I see the madness in his eye
+when he even glances at her. He told me solemnly not later than
+yesterday that Siva had laid it upon him to take her life, as she was
+opposed heart and soul to the doctrines of Brahminism, and was a serious
+obstacle in the way of the great work which my uncle was meant by the
+idol to undertake. I told Helen exactly what he said, but she goes on as
+if nothing were wrong. The fact is this, Laurier, if you don't sign that
+certificate I must get another doctor who will."
+
+Bagwell's communications were certainly alarming, but we had scarcely
+time to reply to them before we reached the house. When we entered the
+hall the frown departed from his face like magic, he assumed a
+thoroughly pleasant manner, and conducted us quickly into the presence
+of the owner of the house.
+
+Edward Thesiger was a handsome old man, tall and dignified in
+appearance. He possessed a particularly lofty and intelligent cast of
+face, aquiline features, and silver hair which flowed down over his
+shoulders. His face was clean shaven, which allowed the handsome curves
+of his mobile mouth to be plainly seen. His conversation betokened the
+man of learning, his words were well chosen, his manner was extremely
+calm and quiet. At a first glance no one could look more thoroughly
+sane.
+
+During dinner that night I happened to be seated opposite Miss Thesiger.
+She was very silent, and seemed terribly depressed. I noticed that she
+often glanced at her uncle, and further observed that he carefully
+avoided meeting her eyes. When she came into the room he manifested
+distinct uneasiness, and when she retired to the drawing-room after
+dinner a look of relief filled his fine face. He drew up his chair near
+mine and began to talk.
+
+"I am glad you were able to come," he said. "It is not often one has the
+privilege of meeting a thoroughly kindred spirit. Now, tell me, have you
+carefully studied Brahminism?"
+
+"I have done so cursorily," I replied, "and have had from time to time
+curious dealings with the supernatural." I then added abruptly, "I am
+much interested to hear from Laurier that you, Mr. Thesiger, possess the
+idol Siva in this house."
+
+"Hush!" he said, starting and turning very pale. "Do not say the name in
+such a loud and reckless tone." As he spoke he bent towards me, and his
+voice dropped. "Mr. Bell, I have extraordinary confidences which I can
+make to you by-and-by."
+
+"I shall be happy to hear them," I answered.
+
+"Have you had wine enough? Shall we go into the gallery now?"
+
+I rose immediately. My host led me into a conservatory, and from there
+straight into a marble gallery. It was a curious-looking place, being a
+large oval chamber forty feet long, the walls were faced with marble,
+and a dado painted in Egyptian style ran round the room. Half way
+between the middle of the room and the end stood a fountain of curious
+design. It consisted of the bronze figure of a swan with wings
+outspread. From its bill the water issued and fell into a circular
+basin. Facing this fountain, twenty feet away, stood the idol, with its
+little altar in front of it. I went up and examined it with intense
+interest. The pedestal on which it rested was about three feet high--the
+idol itself was the same height, so that its five heads were almost on a
+level with my face. Round the neck, and decorating each of the heads,
+were jewels of extraordinary magnificence; the hand which held the
+trident was loaded with diamond rings. It is almost impossible to
+describe the sinister effect of this grotesque and horrible monster; and
+when I saw Mr. Thesiger gazing at it with a peculiar expression of
+reverence not unmixed with fear, I felt certain that Bagwell was right,
+and that the man was dangerously insane.
+
+As I was thinking these thoughts my host groaned quite audibly, and then
+looked steadily at me.
+
+"I am living through a very terrible time," he said in a low voice. "I
+am the victim of a strange and awful power." Here his words dropped to
+an intense whisper. "Years ago, when I became a Brahmin," he continued,
+"voluntarily giving up the faith in which I was born, I little knew to
+what such a step would lead. I stole Siva from the house of my Indian
+friend and brought the idol home. From the first it began to exercise a
+marvellous power over me. I had made a large fortune in India; and when
+I came to England, bought this place, and finding this curious gallery
+already in existence, had it lined with marble, and set up Siva in its
+midst. The study of the faith which I had adopted, the holding of
+spiritualistic seances and matters of that sort, occupied my time, and I
+became more and more imbued with the strange mysticism of my belief. As
+the years flew by I was more and more firmly convinced that what looks
+like mere wood is in reality imbued with strange and awful qualities. I
+shall never forget that terrible evening when Siva first spoke to me."
+
+"How long ago was that?" I interrupted.
+
+"Some months ago now. I was kneeling by the altar, and was speaking to
+him as usual, when I heard words uttered in Hindustanee. At first I
+could scarcely credit my own ears, but soon I grew accustomed to the
+fact that Siva wished to hold communication with me, and listened to him
+nightly. At the beginning of our remarkable intercourse he laid certain
+mandates upon me which resulted, as you see, in my decorating him with
+these precious stones. I felt bound to obey him, whatever he dictated;
+but of late he has told me--he has told me----" The old man began to
+shudder and tremble.
+
+While he had been speaking to me he had been gazing at the idol; now he
+walked a few steps away and turned his back on it.
+
+"Sooner or later I must obey him," he said in a feeble voice; "but the
+thing is driving me crazed--crazed."
+
+"What is it?" I asked; "tell me, I beseech you."
+
+"I cannot; it is too awful--it relates to the one I love best in the
+world. The sacrifice is too horrible, and yet I am drawn to it--I am
+drawn to the performing of an awful deed by a terrific power. Ask me no
+more, Mr. Bell; I see by your face that I have your pity."
+
+"You have, truly," I answered.
+
+I had scarcely said the last words before the door of the gallery was
+opened, and Miss Thesiger, Bagwell, and Laurier appeared. Miss Thesiger
+went straight to her uncle's side, and laid her hand on his shoulder.
+
+"Must you stay up any longer?" she asked in a gentle voice. "I heard you
+walking about last night; you were restless and did not sleep. Do go to
+bed now; you seem so tired. I know these gentlemen will excuse you," she
+added, glancing from Laurier to me.
+
+"Certainly," said Laurier. "I should recommend Mr. Thesiger to retire at
+once; he looks quite worn out."
+
+"I shall go presently--presently," said Thesiger, in a somewhat curt
+voice. "Leave us, Helen; there's a good child; go, my dear."
+
+"Go, Helen; don't irritate him," I heard Bagwell say.
+
+She gave a quick, despairing glance from one man to the other; then,
+turning, left the room.
+
+"And now, Mr. Thesiger," I said, "will you not grant me the favour of a
+seance?"
+
+Mr. Thesiger remained gravely silent for a moment; then he said:
+
+"By virtue of your power as a medium, you may be able to hear the voice,
+and so convince Dr. Laurier of its reality."
+
+[Illustration: "It was the strangest scene I ever witnessed."
+A Master of Mysteries.--Page 207]
+
+He then proceeded to go through some elaborate operations, and finally
+kneeling at the altar, began to speak Hindustanee.
+
+It was about the strangest scene I had ever witnessed; and though I
+stood almost at his elbow, I could hear no sound whatever but his own
+voice.
+
+"Siva will not speak to-night," he said, rising; "there must be some one
+here whose influence is adverse. I cannot hear him. It is strange!"
+
+He looked puzzled, and more relieved than otherwise.
+
+"You will go to bed now, sir," said Bagwell; "you look very tired."
+
+"I am," he replied. "I will leave my friends with you, Jasper. You will
+see that they have all they want." He bade Laurier and me a courteous
+good-night, nodded to his nephew, and left the room.
+
+"This is the most extraordinary phase of mental delusion I ever heard
+of," I said. "If you will permit me, Mr. Bagwell, I will examine this
+idol more particularly."
+
+"You can do so if you please," he said, but he did not speak in a
+cordial tone.
+
+"Examine it to your heart's content," he continued a moment later; "only
+pray don't disarrange it--he seems to know by instinct if it is touched.
+Bah! it is sickening. Shall we go into another room, gentlemen?"
+
+Watching his face carefully, I resolved to make my examination in
+private, and now followed him into the smoking-room. We stayed there for
+a short time, talking in a desultory manner, and soon afterwards retired
+for the night.
+
+On my dressing-table a note awaited me. I opened it hastily, and saw to
+my surprise that it was from Miss Thesiger.
+
+"I could not get the opportunity I needed to-night," she wrote, "but
+will you meet me in the Laurel Walk to-morrow morning at five o'clock?"
+
+I tore up the letter after reading it, and soon afterwards got into bed.
+I must confess that I slept badly that night; I felt worried and
+anxious. There was not the least doubt that Thesiger was mad; it was all
+too apparent that his madness was daily and hourly assuming a more and
+more dangerous form. The affectionate girl who clung to him ought
+undoubtedly to be removed from his neighbourhood.
+
+At the hour named by Miss Thesiger, I rose, dressed, and stole
+downstairs through the silent house. I found her as she had indicated in
+the Laurel Walk.
+
+"How good of you to come!" she said. "But we must not talk here; it
+would not be safe."
+
+"What do you mean?" I answered. "No one can possibly watch us at this
+hour."
+
+"Jasper may be about," she said; "as far as I can tell he seems never to
+sleep. I believe he paces outside my room the greater part of the
+night."
+
+"You can scarcely blame him for that," I said; "he does it in order to
+ensure your safety."
+
+She gave me an impatient glance.
+
+"I see he has been talking to you," she replied; "but now it is
+necessary for you to hear my side of the story. Come into this
+summer-house; he will never guess that we are here."
+
+Turning abruptly, she led the way into a small, tastefully arranged
+summer-house. Shutting the door behind her, she turned at once and faced
+me.
+
+"Now," she said in an eager voice, "I will tell you everything. There is
+an unexplained mystery about all this, and I am convinced that Jasper is
+at the bottom of it."
+
+"What do you mean?" I asked.
+
+"I have nothing whatever but a woman's intuition to guide me, but, all
+the same, I am convinced of what I am saying. Before Jasper came home
+Uncle Edward was a Brahmin beyond doubt. His seances were intensely
+disagreeable to me, and I took care never to witness them nor to speak
+to him on the terrible subject of Siva; but, beyond the fact that he
+was a Brahmin deeply imbued with the mysteries of his so-called
+religion, he was a perfectly sane, happy, intelligent, and affectionate
+man. He loved me devotedly, as I am the child of his favourite brother,
+and told me just before Jasper's arrival that he had made me his
+heiress, leaving me all that he possessed in the world. He had never
+liked Jasper, and was annoyed when he came here and made this house his
+headquarters. I had not met my cousin since I was a little child, and
+when he arrived on the scene took a great dislike to him. He began at
+once to pay me hateful attentions, and to question me eagerly with
+regard to Uncle Edward and his ways. By a curious coincidence, he had
+known this house before he went to India, having stayed here as a boy.
+He showed particular interest in the oval gallery, and encouraged Uncle
+Edward to talk of Siva, although he saw that the subject excited him
+considerably.
+
+"Jasper had been about a fortnight in the house when my poor uncle made,
+as he considered, the astounding discovery that Siva could speak to
+him. I shall never forget the first day when he told me of this, the
+sparkle in his eyes, the tremble of his hands, the nervous energy which
+seemed to animate him. From that hour day by day came the gradual
+diminution of strength both of mind and body, the loss of appetite, the
+feverish touch. All these things puzzled and distressed me, but I could
+not bear to confide my fears to Jasper.
+
+"These things went on for over a month, and Uncle Edward certainly
+deteriorated in every way. He spent the greater part of both day and
+night in the gallery, begging of me to come with him, imploring me to
+listen for the voice. During that month he spent a large fortune in
+precious stones for Siva, showing them to me first before he decorated
+the hideous thing with them. I felt wild with misery, and all the time
+Jasper was here watching and watching. At the end of the first month
+there came a distinct change. Uncle Edward, who had been devoted to me
+up to then, began to show a new attitude. He now began to dislike to
+have me in his presence, often asking me as a special favour to leave
+the room. One day he said to me:
+
+"'Do you keep your door locked at night?'
+
+"I laughed when he spoke.
+
+"'Certainly not,' I answered.
+
+"'I wish you would do so,' he said very earnestly; 'will you, as a
+personal favour to me?'
+
+"Jasper was in the room when he spoke. I saw a queer light flashing
+through his eyes, and then he bent over his book as if he had not heard.
+
+"'As a special favour to me, keep your door locked, Helen,' said Uncle
+Edward.
+
+"I made him a soothing answer, and pretended to assent. Of course I
+never locked my door. Then Jasper began to talk to me. He said that
+Uncle Edward was not only mad, but that his mania was assuming a
+terrible form, and against me. He said that my life was in danger--he
+thought to frighten me--little he knew!"
+
+Here the brave girl drew herself up, indignation sweeping over her face
+and filling her eyes.
+
+"I told him I did not believe a word of what he said; I declared that
+Uncle Edward could not hate me--is he not the one I love best in the
+world? Jasper grew very angry.
+
+"'Look here, Helen,' he said, 'I know enough to lock him up.'
+
+"'To lock him up in a lunatic asylum?' I cried.
+
+"'Yes,' he answered. 'I have only to get two doctors to certify to the
+fact of his insanity, and the deed is done. I have made up my mind to do
+it.'
+
+"'You could never be so cruel,' I replied. 'Think of his grey hairs,
+Jasper,' I pleaded. 'He is the dearest to me in all the world; you could
+not take his liberty away. Do just respect his one little craze; believe
+me, he is not really mad. Go away if you are afraid of him; I am not.
+Oh, why don't you leave us both in peace?'
+
+"'I dare not,' he answered. 'I love you, and I am determined you shall
+marry me. Engage yourself to me at once, and I will do nothing to take
+away Uncle Edward's liberty for at least a month.'
+
+"I struggled against this horrible wish of my cousin's, but in the end I
+yielded to it. I became engaged to him secretly, for he did not wish
+Uncle Edward to know. I knew, of course, why he wished to marry me; he
+had heard that I am some day to inherit my uncle's wealth. Jasper
+himself is a very poor man. Now, Mr. Bell, you know everything. Things
+get worse and worse, and at times I am almost inclined to believe that
+my life is in some danger. A fiend has taken possession of the uncle
+whose heart was so warm and loving. Ah, it is fearful! I do not believe
+a bitterer trial could be given to any girl--it is too awful to feel
+that the one she loves best in all the world has changed in his feelings
+towards her. It is not so much the sacrifice of my poor life I mind as
+the feeling that things are so bitterly altered with him. Jasper put an
+alternative to me last night. Either I am to marry him within a week, or
+I am to use my influence to induce Dr. Laurier to sign the certificate.
+If I accept neither proposal, he will get down two other doctors from
+London for the purpose."
+
+"What have you decided to do?" I asked.
+
+"I will marry Jasper; yes, within a week I shall be his wife, unless
+something happens to show us what is the meaning of this fearful
+mystery, for I cannot--never, never can I deprive Uncle Edward of his
+liberty."
+
+"I am glad you have confided in me," I said after a pause, "and I will
+do my utmost for you. When did you say that your uncle first heard the
+idol speak?"
+
+"Two or three months ago now, soon after Jasper came home. Mr. Bell, is
+there any chance of your being able to help me?"
+
+"I will promise to do my utmost, but just at present I can see no
+special light. By the way, would it not be well for you to leave The
+Hynde for a short time?"
+
+"No, I am not at all afraid; I can take care of myself. It is not my
+dear uncle whom I fear; it is Jasper."
+
+Soon afterwards she left me, and as it was still quite early, and the
+servants were not yet even up, I considered that an excellent
+opportunity had occurred for examining the idol.
+
+I made my way to the gallery, and softly opening the door, stole in. The
+bright sunlight which was now flooding the chamber seemed to rob the
+grotesque old idol of half its terrors, and I made up my mind not to
+leave a stone unturned to discover if any foul play in connection with
+it could possibly be perpetrated. But the impossibility of such being
+the case seemed more and more evident as I went on with my search. Only
+a pigmy could be secreted inside the idol. There was no vulgar form of
+deception possible on the lines, for instance, of the ancient priests of
+Pompeii who conducted a speaking-tube to an idol's mouth. Siva was not
+even standing by the wall, thus precluding the possibility of the sounds
+being conducted on the plan of a whispering gallery. No--I was, against
+my own will, forced to the absolute conviction that the voice was an
+hallucination of the diseased mind of Edward Thesiger.
+
+I was just going to abandon my investigations and return to my own room,
+when, more by chance than design, I knelt down for a moment at the
+little altar. As I was about to rise I noticed something rather odd. I
+listened attentively. It was certainly remarkable. As I knelt I could
+just hear a low, continuous hissing sound. Directly I moved away it
+ceased. As I tried it several times with the same invariable result, I
+became seriously puzzled to account for it. What devilry could be at
+work to produce this? Was it possible that some one was playing a trick
+on _me_?--and if so, by what means?
+
+I glanced rapidly round, and as I did so a mad thought struck me. I
+hurried across to the fountain and put my ear close to the swan's
+mouth, from which a tiny jet of water was issuing. The low, scarcely
+audible noise that the water made as it flowed out through the swan's
+bill was exactly the same sound I had heard nearly twenty feet away at
+the altar. The enormity of the situation stunned me for a moment, then
+gradually, piece by piece, the plot revealed itself.
+
+The shape of the gallery was a true oval, a geometrical ellipse, the
+extraordinary acoustic properties of which I knew well. This peculiarly
+shaped gallery contained two foci--one towards each end--and the nature
+of the curve of the walls was such that sound issuing from either focus
+was directed by reflection at various points to the other focus, and to
+the other focus alone. Even across an enormous distance between such
+would be the case. The swan's mouth was evidently at one focus; the
+position of a man's head as he knelt at the altar would be without the
+slightest doubt at the other. Could the pipe be used as a speaking-tube
+when the water was turned off?
+
+I felt so excited by this extraordinary discovery that it was only with
+an effort that I maintained my self-control. I knew that presence of
+mind was absolutely necessary in order to expose this horrible scheme. I
+left the gallery and passed through the conservatory. Here I found the
+gardener arranging some pots. I chatted to him for a few moments. He
+looked surprised at seeing me up at such an unusual hour.
+
+"Can you tell me how the fountain in the gallery is turned on or off?" I
+asked.
+
+"Yes, I can, sir," he replied; "the pipe runs along outside this stand,
+and here's the tap."
+
+I went across and looked at it. In the leaden pipe that was fastened to
+the wall were two nuts, which could be turned by a small spanner, and
+between them was a brass cap, which fitted on to a circular outlet from
+the pipe.
+
+"What is this used for?" I asked, pointing to the little outlet which
+was closed by the cap.
+
+"We screw the hose on there, sir, to water the flowers."
+
+"I see," I answered; "so when you use the hose you shut off the water
+from the fountain in the gallery."
+
+"That's it, sir, and a wonderful deal of trouble it saves. Why it was
+never done before I can't think."
+
+"When was it done, then?" I asked. My heart was beating fast.
+
+"It was Mr. Bagwell's thought, sir; he had it fixed on soon after he
+came. He wanted to have plenty of water handy in order to water the
+plants he brought back from India; but, lor! sir, they'll never live
+through the winter, even under glass."
+
+I waited to hear no more--the whole infernal plot was laid bare. The
+second tap, which shut off the water both from the fountain and the hose
+pipe, was, of course, quite useless, except for Bagwell's evil purpose.
+
+I hurried straight up to Laurier's room. He was just preparing to rise.
+His astonishment when I told him of my discovery was beyond words.
+
+"Then, by shutting off the water, and applying his mouth to the place
+where the hose is fixed on, he could convey his voice to the swan's
+mouth like an ordinary speaking-tube, which, owing to the peculiar
+construction of the gallery, would be carried across to the other focus
+at the altar?" he said.
+
+"Exactly," I replied. "And now, Dr. Laurier, you must please allow me to
+regulate our future plans. They're simply these. You must tell Bagwell
+that you absolutely refuse to sign the certificate unless Thesiger
+declares that he hears the voice again in your presence, and arrange
+that the seance takes place at nine o'clock to-night. I in the meantime
+shall ostensibly take my departure, and so leave the ground clear for
+Bagwell. He is evidently rather afraid of me. My going will throw him
+completely off his guard; but I shall in reality only leave the train at
+the next station and return here after dark. You will have to see that
+the conservatory door leading on to the terrace is left unlocked. I
+shall steal in, and, hiding myself in the conservatory, shall await
+Bagwell. You in the meantime will be in the gallery with Thesiger. When
+you hear me call out, come in at once. Our only hope is to take that
+wretch red-handed."
+
+To this hastily constructed scheme Laurier instantly agreed, and at four
+o'clock that afternoon I took my leave, Miss Thesiger, looking white and
+miserable, standing on the steps to see me off. Bagwell drove me himself
+to the station, and bade me good-bye with a heartiness which was at least
+sincere.
+
+I was back again at The Hynde at half-past eight that evening. Laurier
+had left the conservatory door unlocked, and, slipping in, it being now
+quite dark, I hid myself behind some large flowering shrubs and waited.
+Presently I heard the door of the conservatory open, and in stole
+Bagwell. I saw him approach the pipe, turn the spanner which shut off
+the water from the fountain and also from the hose pipe, and then
+proceed to unscrew the brass cap. I waited till I saw him place his
+mouth to the opening and begin to speak, and then I dashed out upon him
+and called loudly for Laurier. Bagwell's surprise and terror at my
+unexpected attack absolutely bereft him of speech, and he stood gazing
+at me with a mixed expression of fury and fear. The next minute Laurier
+and Thesiger both burst in from the gallery. I still retained my hold of
+Bagwell. The moment I saw the sign, I went up to him, and in a few words
+explained the whole fraud. But it was not until I had demonstrated the
+trick in the oval gallery that he became convinced; then the relief on
+his face was marvellous.
+
+"You leave my house at once," he said to Bagwell; "go, sir, if you do
+not wish to be in the hands of the police. Where is Helen? where is my
+child?"
+
+He had scarcely said the words, and Bagwell was just slinking off with a
+white face like a whipped cur towards the door, when Helen appeared upon
+the scene.
+
+"What is it?" she cried. "Is anything the matter?"
+
+The old man strode up to her; he took her in his arms.
+
+"It is all right, Helen," he said, "all right. I can never explain; but,
+take my word, it is all right. I was a fool, and worse--nay, I was
+mad--but I am sane now. Mr. Bell, I can never express my obligations to
+you. But now, will you do one thing more?"
+
+"What is that? Be assured I will do anything in my power," I answered.
+
+"Then return here to-night and destroy Siva. How I could have been
+infatuated enough to believe in that senseless piece of wood is beyond
+my power to understand. But destroy it, sir; take it away; let me never
+lay eyes on it again."
+
+Early on the following morning, when I was leaving the house, Bagwell,
+who must have been waiting for the purpose, suddenly stepped across my
+path.
+
+"I have a word of explanation to give," he said. "You, Mr. Bell, have
+won, and I have lost. I played a deep game and for a large cause. It did
+not occur to me as possible that any one could discover the means by
+which I made Siva speak. I am now about to leave England for ever, but
+before I do so, it may interest you to know that the temptation offered
+to me was a very peculiar and strong one. I had not been an hour at the
+Hynde before I suddenly remembered having spent some months in the old
+house when a boy. I recollected the oval gallery. Its peculiar acoustic
+qualities had been pointed out to me by a scientist who happened to live
+there at the time. The desire to win, not Helen, but my uncle's
+property, was too strong to be resisted by a penniless man. My object
+was to terrify Thesiger, whose brain was already nearly overbalanced,
+into complete insanity, get him locked up, and marry Helen. How I
+succeeded, and in the end failed, you know well!"
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+TO PROVE AN ALIBI
+
+
+I first met Arthur Cressley in the late spring of 1892. I had been
+spending the winter in Egypt, and was returning to Liverpool. One calm
+evening, about eleven o'clock, while we were still in the Mediterranean,
+I went on deck to smoke a final cigar before turning in. After pacing up
+and down for a time I leant over the taff-rail and began idly watching
+the tiny wavelets with their crests of white fire as they rippled away
+from the vessel's side. Presently I became aware of some one standing
+near me, and, turning, saw that it was one of my fellow-passengers, a
+young man whose name I knew but whose acquaintance I had not yet made.
+He was entered in the passenger list as Arthur Cressley, belonged to an
+old family in Derbyshire, and was returning home from Western Australia,
+where he had made a lot of money. I offered him a light, and after a few
+preliminary remarks we drifted into a desultory conversation. He told me
+that he had been in Australia for fifteen years, and having done well
+was now returning to settle in his native land.
+
+"Then you do not intend going out again?" I asked.
+
+"No," he replied; "I would not go through the last fifteen years for
+double the money I have made."
+
+"I suppose you will make London your headquarters?"
+
+"Not altogether; but I shall have to spend a good deal of time there. My
+wish is for a quiet country life, and I intend to take over the old
+family property. We have a place called Cressley Hall, in Derbyshire,
+which has belonged to us for centuries. It would be a sort of white
+elephant, for it has fallen into pitiable decay; but, luckily, I am now
+in a position to restore it and set it going again in renewed
+prosperity."
+
+"You are a fortunate man," I answered.
+
+"Perhaps I am," he replied. "Yes, as far as this world's goods go I
+suppose I am lucky, considering that I arrived in Australia fifteen
+years ago with practically no money in my pocket. I shall be glad to be
+home again for many reasons, chiefly because I can save the old property
+from being sold."
+
+"It is always a pity when a fine old family seat has to go to the hammer
+for want of funds," I remarked.
+
+"That is true, and Cressley Hall is a superb old place. There is only
+one drawback to it; but I don't believe there is anything in that,"
+added Cressley in a musing tone.
+
+Knowing him so little I did not feel justified in asking for an
+explanation. I waited, therefore, without speaking. He soon proceeded:
+
+"I suppose I am rather foolish about it," he continued; "but if I am
+superstitious, I have abundant reason. For more than a century and a
+half there has been a strange fatality about any Cressley occupying the
+Hall. This fatality was first exhibited in 1700, when Barrington
+Cressley, one of the most abandoned libertines of that time, led his
+infamous orgies there--of these even history takes note. There are
+endless legends as to their nature, one of which is that he had personal
+dealings with the devil in the large turret room, the principal bedroom
+at the Hall, and was found dead there on the following morning.
+Certainly since that date a curious doom has hung over the family, and
+this doom shows itself in a strange way, only attacking those victims
+who are so unfortunate as to sleep in the turret room. Gilbert Cressley,
+the young Court favourite of George the Third, was found mysteriously
+murdered there, and my own great-grandfather paid the penalty by losing
+his reason within those gloomy walls."
+
+"If the room has such an evil reputation, I wonder that it is occupied,"
+I replied.
+
+"It happens to be far and away the best bedroom in the house, and people
+always laugh at that sort of thing until they are brought face to face
+with it. The owner of the property is not only born there, as a rule,
+but also breathes his last in the old four-poster, the most
+extraordinary, wonderful old bedstead you ever laid eyes on. Of course I
+do not believe in any malevolent influences from the unseen world, but
+the record of disastrous coincidences in that one room is, to say the
+least of it, curious. Not that this sort of thing will deter me from
+going into possession, and I intend to put a lot of money into Cressley
+Hall."
+
+"Has no one been occupying it lately?" I asked.
+
+"Not recently. An old housekeeper has had charge of the place for the
+last few years. The agent had orders to sell the Hall long ago, but
+though it has been in the market for a long time I do not believe there
+was a single offer. Just before I left Australia I wired to Murdock, my
+agent, that I intended taking over the place, and authorised its
+withdrawal from the market."
+
+"Have you no relations?" I inquired.
+
+"None at all. Since I have been away my only brother died. It is curious
+to call it going home when one has no relatives and only friends who
+have probably forgotten one."
+
+I could not help feeling sorry for Cressley as he described the lonely
+outlook. Of course, with heaps of money and an old family place he would
+soon make new friends; but he looked the sort of chap who might be
+imposed upon, and although he was as nice a fellow as I had ever met, I
+could not help coming to the conclusion that he was not specially
+strong, either mentally or physically. He was essentially good-looking,
+however, and had the indescribable bearing of a man of old family. I
+wondered how he had managed to make his money. What he told me about his
+old Hall also excited my interest, and as we talked I managed to allude
+to my own peculiar hobby, and the delight I took in such old legends.
+
+As the voyage flew by our acquaintance grew apace, ripening into a warm
+friendship. Cressley told me much of his past life, and finally
+confided to me one of his real objects in returning to England.
+
+While prospecting up country he had come across some rich veins of gold,
+and now his intention was to bring out a large syndicate in order to
+acquire the whole property, which, he anticipated, was worth at least a
+million. He spoke confidently of this great scheme, but always wound up
+by informing me that the money which he hoped to make was only of
+interest to him for the purpose of re-establishing Cressley Hall in its
+ancient splendour.
+
+As we talked I noticed once or twice that a man stood near us who seemed
+to take an interest in our conversation. He was a thickly set individual
+with a florid complexion and a broad German cast of face. He was an
+inveterate smoker, and when he stood near us with a pipe in his mouth
+the expression of his face was almost a blank; but watching him closely
+I saw a look in his eyes which betokened the shrewd man of business, and
+I could scarcely tell why, but I felt uncomfortable in his presence.
+This man, Wickham by name, managed to pick up an acquaintance with
+Cressley, and soon they spent a good deal of time together. They made a
+contrast as they paced up and down on deck, or played cards in the
+evening; the Englishman being slight and almost fragile in build, the
+German of the bulldog order, with a manner at once curt and overbearing.
+I took a dislike to Wickham, and wondered what Cressley could see in
+him.
+
+"Who is the fellow?" I asked on one occasion, linking my hand in
+Cressley's arm and drawing him aside as I spoke.
+
+"Do you mean Wickham?" he answered. "I am sure I cannot tell you. I
+never met the chap before this voyage. He came on board at King George's
+Sound, where I also embarked; but he never spoke to me until we were in
+the Mediterranean. On the whole, Bell, I am inclined to like him; he
+seems to be downright and honest. He knows a great deal about the bush,
+too, as he has spent several years there."
+
+[Illustration: "They made a contrast."
+A Master of Mysteries.--Page 234]
+
+"And he gives you the benefit of his information?" I asked.
+
+"I don't suppose he knows more than I do, and it is doubtful whether he
+has had so rough a time."
+
+"Then in that case he picks your brains."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+The young fellow looked at me with those clear grey eyes which were his
+most attractive feature.
+
+"Nothing," I answered, "nothing; only if you will be guided by a man
+nearly double your age, I would take care to tell Wickham as little as
+possible. Have you ever observed that he happens to be about when you
+and I are engaged in serious conversation?"
+
+"I can't say that I have."
+
+"Well, keep your eyes open and you'll see what I mean. Be as friendly as
+you like, but don't give him your confidence--that is all."
+
+"You are rather late in advising me on that score," said Cressley, with
+a somewhat nervous laugh. "Wickham knows all about the old Hall by this
+time."
+
+"And your superstitious fears with regard to the turret room?" I
+queried.
+
+"Well, I have hinted at them. You will be surprised, but he is full of
+sympathy."
+
+"Tell him no more," I said in conclusion.
+
+Cressley made a sort of half-promise, but looked as if he rather
+resented my interference.
+
+A day or two later we reached Liverpool; I was engaged long ago to stay
+with some friends in the suburbs, and Cressley took up his abode at the
+Prince's Hotel. His property was some sixty miles away, and when we
+parted he insisted on my agreeing to come down and see his place as soon
+as he had put things a little straight.
+
+I readily promised to do so, provided we could arrange a visit before my
+return to London.
+
+Nearly a week went by and I saw nothing of Cressley; then, on a certain
+morning, he called to see me.
+
+"How are you getting on?" I asked.
+
+"Capitally," he replied. "I have been down to the Hall several times
+with my agent, Murdock, and though the place is in the most shocking
+condition I shall soon put things in order. But what I have come
+specially to ask you now is whether you can get away to-day and come
+with me to the Hall for a couple of nights. I had arranged with the
+agent to go down this afternoon in his company, but he has been suddenly
+taken ill--he is rather bad, I believe--and cannot possibly come with
+me. He has ordered the housekeeper to get a couple of rooms ready, and
+though I am afraid it will be rather roughing it, I shall be awfully
+glad if you can come."
+
+I had arranged to meet a man in London on special business that very
+evening, and could not put him off; but my irresistible desire to see
+the old place from the description I had heard of it decided me to make
+an effort to fall in as well as I could with Cressley's plans.
+
+"I wish I could go with you to-day," I said; "but that, as it happens,
+is out of the question. I must run up to town on some pressing business;
+but if you will allow me I can easily come back again to-morrow. Can you
+not put off your visit until to-morrow evening?"
+
+"No, I am afraid I cannot do that. I have to meet several of the
+tenants, and have made all arrangements to go by the five o'clock train
+this afternoon."
+
+He looked depressed at my refusal, and after a moment said thoughtfully:
+
+"I wish you could have come with me to-day. When Murdock could not come
+I thought of you at once--it would have made all the difference."
+
+"I am sorry," I replied; "but I can promise faithfully to be with you
+to-morrow. I shall enjoy seeing your wonderful old Hall beyond anything;
+and as to roughing it, I am used to that. You will not mind spending one
+night there by yourself?"
+
+He looked at me as if he were about to speak, but no words came from his
+lips.
+
+"What is the matter?" I said, giving him an earnest glance. "By the way,
+are you going to sleep in the turret room?"
+
+"I am afraid there is no help for it; the housekeeper is certain to get
+it ready for me. The owner of the property always sleeps there, and it
+would look like a confession of weakness to ask to be put into another
+bedroom."
+
+"Nevertheless, if you are nervous, I should not mind that," I said.
+
+"Oh, I don't know that I am absolutely nervous, Bell, but all the same I
+have a superstition. At the present moment I have the queerest
+sensation; I feel as if I ought not to pay this visit to the Hall."
+
+"If you intend to live there by-and-by, you must get over this sort of
+thing," I remarked.
+
+"Oh yes, I must, and I would not yield to it on any account whatever. I
+am sorry I even mentioned it to you. It is good of you to promise to
+come to-morrow, and I shall look forward to seeing you. By what train
+will you come?"
+
+We looked up the local time-table, and I decided on a train which would
+leave Liverpool about five o'clock.
+
+"The very one that I shall go down by to-day," said Cressley; "that's
+capital, I'll meet you with a conveyance of some sort and drive you
+over. The house is a good two hours' drive from the station, and you
+cannot get a trap there for love or money."
+
+"By the way," I said, "is there much the matter with your agent?"
+
+"I cannot tell you; he seems bad enough. I went up to his house this
+morning and saw the wife. It appears that he was suddenly taken ill with
+a sort of asthmatic attack to which he is subject. While I was talking
+to Mrs. Murdock, a messenger came down to say that her husband specially
+wished to see me, so we both went to his room, but he had dozed off into
+a queer restless sleep before we arrived. The wife said he must not be
+awakened on any account, but I caught a glimpse of him and he certainly
+looked bad, and was moaning as if in a good deal of pain. She gave me
+the keys of a bureau in his room, and I took out some estimates, and
+left a note for him telling him to come on as soon as he was well
+enough."
+
+"And your visit to his room never roused him?" I said.
+
+"No, although Mrs. Murdock and I made a pretty good bit of noise moving
+about and opening and shutting drawers. His moans were quite
+heartrending--he was evidently in considerable pain; and I was glad to
+get away, as that sort of thing always upsets me."
+
+"Who is this Murdock?" I asked.
+
+"Oh, the man who has looked after the place for years. I was referred to
+him by my solicitors. He seems a most capable person, and I hope to
+goodness he won't be ill long. If he is I shall find myself in rather a
+fix."
+
+I made no reply to this, and soon afterwards Cressley shook hands with
+me and departed on his way. I went to my room, packed my belongings, and
+took the next train to town. The business which I had to get through
+occupied the whole of that evening and also some hours of the following
+day. I found I was not able to start for Liverpool before the 12.10
+train at Euston, and should not therefore arrive at Lime Street before
+five o'clock--too late to catch the train for Brent, the nearest station
+to Cressley's place. Another train left Central Station for Brent,
+however, at seven o'clock, and I determined to wire to Cressley to tell
+him to meet me by the latter train. This was the last train in the day,
+but there was no fear of my missing it.
+
+I arrived at Lime Street almost to the moment and drove straight to the
+Prince's Hotel, where I had left my bag the day before. Here a telegram
+awaited me; it was from Cressley, and ran as follows:--
+
+    "Hope this will reach you time; if so, call at Murdock's house,
+    No. 12, Melville Gardens. If possible see him and get the
+    documents referred to in Schedule A--he will know what you mean.
+    Most important.
+                                                        "Cressley."
+
+I glanced at the clock in the hall; it was now a quarter past five--my
+train would leave at seven. I had plenty of time to get something to eat
+and then go to Murdock's.
+
+Having despatched my telegram to Cressley, telling him to look out for
+me by the train which arrived at Brent at nine o'clock, I ordered a
+meal, ate it, and then hailing a cab, gave the driver the number of
+Murdock's house. Melville Gardens was situated somewhat in the suburbs,
+and it was twenty minutes' drive from my hotel. When we drew up at
+Murdock's door I told the cabman to wait, and, getting out, rang the
+bell. The servant who answered my summons told me that the agent was
+still very ill and could not be seen by any one. I then inquired for the
+wife. I was informed that she was out, but would be back soon. I looked
+at my watch. It was just six o'clock. I determined to wait to see Mrs.
+Murdock if possible.
+
+Having paid and dismissed my cab, I was shown into a small, untidily
+kept parlour, where I was left to my own meditations. The weather was
+hot and the room close. I paced up and down restlessly. The minutes flew
+by and Mrs. Murdock did not put in an appearance. I looked at my watch,
+which now pointed to twenty minutes past six. It would take me, in an
+ordinary cab, nearly twenty minutes to reach the station. In order to
+make all safe I ought to leave Murdock's house in ten minutes from now
+at the latest.
+
+I went and stood by the window watching anxiously for Mrs. Murdock to
+put in an appearance. Melville Gardens was a somewhat lonely place, and
+few people passed the house, which was old and shabby; it had evidently
+not been done up for years. I was just turning round in order to ring
+the bell to leave a message with the servant, when the room door was
+opened and, to my astonishment, in walked Wickham, the man I had last
+seen on board the _Euphrates_. He came up to me at once and held out his
+hand.
+
+"No doubt you are surprised at seeing me here, Mr. Bell," he exclaimed.
+
+"I certainly was for a moment," I answered; but then I added, "The world
+is a small place, and one soon gets accustomed to acquaintances cropping
+up in all sorts of unlikely quarters."
+
+"Why unlikely?" said Wickham. "Why should I not know Murdock, who
+happens to be a very special and very old friend of mine? I might as
+well ask you why you are interested in him."
+
+"Because I happen to be a friend of Arthur Cressley's," I answered, "and
+have come here on his business."
+
+"And so am I also a friend of Cressley's. He has asked me to go and see
+him at Cressley Hall some day, and I hope to avail myself of his
+invitation. The servant told me that you were waiting for Mrs.
+Murdock--can I give her any message from you?"
+
+"I want to see Murdock himself," I said, after a pause. "Do you think
+that it is possible for me to have an interview with him?"
+
+"I left him just now and he was asleep," said Wickham. "He is still very
+ill, and I think the doctor is a little anxious about him. It would not
+do to disturb him on any account. Of course, if he happens to awake he
+might be able to tell you what you want to know. By the way, has it
+anything to do with Cressley Hall?"
+
+"Yes; I have just had a telegram from Cressley, and the message is
+somewhat important. You are quite sure that Murdock is asleep?"
+
+"He was when I left the room, but I will go up again and see. Are you
+going to London to-night, Mr. Bell?"
+
+"No; I am going down to Cressley Hall, and must catch the seven o'clock
+train. I have not a moment to wait." As I spoke I took out my watch.
+
+"It only wants five-and-twenty minutes to seven," I said, "and I never
+care to run a train to the last moment. There is no help for it, I
+suppose I must go without seeing Murdock. Cressley will in all
+probability send down a message to-morrow for the papers he requires."
+
+"Just stay a moment," said Wickham, putting on an anxious expression;
+"it is a great pity that you should not see Cressley's agent if it is as
+vital as all that. Ah! and here comes Mrs. Murdock; wait one moment,
+I'll go and speak to her."
+
+He went out of the room, and I heard him say something in a low voice in
+the passage--a woman's voice replied, and the next instant Mrs. Murdock
+stood before me. She was a tall woman with a sallow face and sandy hair;
+she had a blank sort of stare about her, and scarcely any expression.
+Now she fixed her dull, light-blue eyes on my face and held out her
+hand.
+
+"You are Mr. Bell?" she said. "I have heard of you, of course, from Mr.
+Cressley. So you are going to spend to-night with him at Cressley Hall.
+I am glad, for it is a lonely place--the most lonely place I know."
+
+"Pardon me," I interrupted, "I cannot stay to talk to you now or I shall
+miss my train. Can I see your husband or can I not?"
+
+She glanced at Wickham, then she said with hesitation,--
+
+"If he is asleep it would not do to disturb him, but there is a chance
+of his being awake now. I don't quite understand about the papers, I
+wish I did. It would be best for you to see him certainly; follow me
+upstairs."
+
+"And I tell you what," called Wickham after us, "I'll go and engage a
+cab, so that you shall lose as short a time as possible, Mr. Bell."
+
+I thanked him and followed the wife upstairs. The stairs were narrow and
+steep, and we soon reached the small landing at the top. Four bedrooms
+opened into it. Mrs. Murdock turned the handle of the one which exactly
+faced the stairs, and we both entered. Here the blinds were down, and
+the chamber was considerably darkened. The room was a small one, and the
+greater part of the space was occupied by an old-fashioned Albert
+bedstead with the curtains pulled forward. Within I could just see the
+shadowy outline of a figure, and I distinctly heard the feeble groans of
+the sick man.
+
+"Ah! what a pity, my husband is still asleep," said Mrs. Murdock, as she
+turned softly round to me and put her finger to her lips. "It would
+injure him very much to awaken him," she said. "You can go and look at
+him if you like; you will see how very ill he is. I wonder if I could
+help you with regard to the papers you want, Mr. Bell?"
+
+"I want the documents referred to in Schedule A," I answered.
+
+"Schedule A?" she repeated, speaking under her breath. "I remember that
+name. Surely all the papers relating to it are in this drawer. I think I
+can get them for you."
+
+She crossed the room as she spoke, and standing with her back to the
+bedstead, took a bunch of keys from a table which stood near and fitted
+one into the lock of a high bureau made of mahogany. She pulled open a
+drawer and began to examine its contents.
+
+While she was so occupied I approached the bed, and bending slightly
+forward, took a good stare at the sick man. I had never seen Murdock
+before. There was little doubt that he was ill--he looked very ill,
+indeed. His face was long and cadaverous, the cheek bones were high, and
+the cheeks below were much sunken in; the lips, which were clean-shaven,
+were slightly drawn apart, and some broken irregular teeth were visible.
+The eyebrows were scanty, and the hair was much worn away from the high
+and hollow forehead. The man looked sick unto death. I had seldom seen
+any one with an expression like his--the closed eyes were much sunken,
+and the moaning which came from the livid lips was horrible to listen
+to.
+
+After giving Murdock a long and earnest stare, I stepped back from the
+bed, and was just about to speak to Mrs. Murdock, who was rustling
+papers in the drawer, when the most strong and irresistible curiosity
+assailed me. I could not account for it, but I felt bound to yield to
+its suggestions. I turned again and bent close over the sick man. Surely
+there was something monotonous about that deep-drawn breath; those
+moans, too, came at wonderfully regular intervals. Scarcely knowing why
+I did it, I stretched out my hand and laid it on the forehead. Good God!
+what was the matter? I felt myself turning cold; the perspiration stood
+out on my own brow. I had not touched a living forehead at all. Flesh
+was flesh, it was impossible to mistake the feel, but there was no flesh
+here. The figure in the bed was neither a living nor a dead man, it was
+a wax representation of one; but why did it moan, and how was it
+possible for it not to breathe?
+
+Making the greatest effort of my life, I repressed an exclamation, and
+when Mrs. Murdock approached me with the necessary papers in her hand,
+took them from her in my usual manner.
+
+"These all relate to Schedule A," she said. "I hope I am not doing
+wrong in giving them to you without my husband's leave. He looks very
+ill, does he not?"
+
+"He looks as bad as he can look," I answered. I moved towards the door.
+Something in my tone must have alarmed her, for a curious expression of
+fear dilated the pupils of her light blue eyes. She followed me
+downstairs. A hansom was waiting for me. I nodded to Wickham, did not
+even wait to shake hands with Mrs. Murdock, and sprang into the cab.
+
+"Central Station!" I shouted to the man; and then as he whipped up his
+horse and flew down the street, "A sovereign if you get there before
+seven o'clock."
+
+We were soon dashing quickly along the streets. I did not know Liverpool
+well, and consequently could not exactly tell where the man was going.
+When I got into the hansom it wanted twelve minutes to seven o'clock;
+these minutes were quickly flying, and still no station.
+
+"Are you sure you are going right?" I shouted through the hole in the
+roof.
+
+"You'll be there in a minute, sir," he answered. "It's Lime Street
+Station you want, isn't it?"
+
+"No; Central Station," I answered. "I told you Central Station; drive
+there at once like the very devil. I must catch that train, for it is
+the last one to-night."
+
+"All right, sir; I can do it," he cried, whipping up his horse again.
+
+Once more I pulled out my watch; the hands pointed to three minutes to
+seven.
+
+At ten minutes past we were driving into the station. I flung the man
+half a sovereign, and darted into the booking-office.
+
+"To Brent, sir? The last train has just gone," said the clerk, with an
+impassive stare at me through the little window.
+
+I flung my bag down in disgust and swore a great oath. But for that
+idiot of a driver I should have just caught the train. All of a sudden a
+horrible thought flashed through my brain. Had the cabman been bribed by
+Wickham? No directions could have been plainer than mine. I had told the
+man to drive to Central Station. Central Station did not sound the
+least like Lime Street Station. How was it possible for him to make so
+grave a mistake?
+
+The more I considered the matter the more certain I was that a black
+plot was brewing, and that Wickham was in the thick of it. My brain
+began to whirl with excitement. What was the matter? Why was a lay
+figure in Murdock's bed? Why had I been taken upstairs to see it?
+Without any doubt both Mrs. Murdock and Wickham wished me to see what
+was such an admirable imitation of a sick man--an imitation so good,
+with those ghastly moans coming from the lips, that it would have taken
+in the sharpest detective in Scotland Yard. I myself was deceived until
+I touched the forehead. This state of things had not been brought to
+pass without a reason. What was the reason? Could it be possible that
+Murdock was wanted elsewhere, and it was thought well that I should see
+him in order to prove an alibi, should he be suspected of a ghastly
+crime? My God! what could this mean? From the first I had mistrusted
+Wickham. What was he doing in Murdock's house? For what purpose had he
+bribed the driver of the cab in order to make me lose my train?
+
+The more I thought, the more certain I was that Cressley was in grave
+danger; and I now determined, cost what it might, to get to him that
+night.
+
+I left the station, took a cab, and drove back to my hotel. I asked to
+see the manager. A tall, dark man in a frock-coat emerged from a door at
+the back of the office and inquired what he could do for me. I begged
+permission to speak to him alone, and we passed into his private room.
+
+"I am in an extraordinary position," I began. "Circumstances of a
+private nature make it absolutely necessary that I should go to a place
+called Cressley Hall, about fourteen miles from Brent. Brent is sixty
+miles down the line, and the last train has gone. I could take a
+'special,' but there might be an interminable delay at Brent, and I
+prefer to drive straight to Cressley Hall across country. Can you
+assist me by directing me to some good jobmaster from whom I can hire a
+carriage and horses?"
+
+The man looked at me with raised eyebrows. He evidently thought I was
+mad.
+
+"I mean what I say," I added, "and am prepared to back my words with a
+substantial sum. Can you help me?"
+
+"I dare say you might get a carriage and horses to do it," he replied;
+"but it is a very long way, and over a hilly country. No two horses
+could go such a distance without rest. You would have to change from
+time to time as you went. I will send across to the hotel stables for my
+man, and you can see him about it."
+
+He rang the bell and gave his orders. In a few moments the jobmaster
+came in. I hurriedly explained to him what I wanted. At first he said it
+was impossible, that his best horses were out, and that those he had in
+his stables could not possibly attempt such a journey; but when I
+brought out my cheque-book and offered to advance any sum in reason, he
+hesitated.
+
+"Of course there is one way in which it might be managed, sir. I would
+take you myself as far as Ovenden, which is five-and-twenty miles from
+here. There, I know, we could get a pair of fresh horses from the Swan;
+and if we wired at once from here, horses might be ready at Carlton,
+which is another twenty miles on the road. But, at our best, sir, it
+will be between two and three in the morning before we get to Brent."
+
+"I am sorry to hear you say so," I answered; "but it is better to arrive
+then than to wait until to-morrow. Please send the necessary telegram
+off without a moment's delay, and get the carriage ready."
+
+"Put the horses in at once, John," said the manager. "You had better
+take the light wagonette. You ought to get there between one and two in
+the morning with that."
+
+Then he added, as the man left the room,--
+
+"I suppose, sir, your business is very urgent?"
+
+"It is," I replied shortly.
+
+He looked as if he would like to question me further, but refrained.
+
+A few moments later I had taken my seat beside the driver, and we were
+speeding at a good round pace through the streets of Liverpool. We
+passed quickly through the suburbs, and out into the open country. The
+evening was a lovely one, and the country looked its best. It was
+difficult to believe, as I drove through the peaceful landscape, that in
+all probability a dark deed was in contemplation, and that the young man
+to whom I had taken a most sincere liking was in danger of his life.
+
+As I drove silently by my companion's side I reviewed the whole
+situation. The more I thought of it the less I liked it. On board the
+_Euphrates_ Wickham had been abnormally interested in Cressley. Cressley
+had himself confided to him his superstitious dread with regard to the
+turret room. Cressley had come home with a fortune; and if he floated
+his syndicate he would be a millionaire. Wickham scarcely looked like a
+rich man. Then why should he know Murdock, and why should a lay figure
+be put in Murdock's bed? Why, also, through a most unnatural accident,
+should I have lost my train?
+
+The more I thought, the graver and graver became my fears. Gradually
+darkness settled over the land, and then a rising moon flooded the
+country in its weird light. I had been on many a wild expedition before,
+but in some ways never a wilder than this. Its very uncertainty, wrapped
+as it was in unformed suspicions, gave it an air of inexpressible
+mystery.
+
+On and on we went, reaching Ovenden between nine and ten at night. Here
+horses were ready for us, and we again started on our way. When we got
+to Carlton, however, there came a hitch in my well-formed arrangements.
+We drew up at the little inn, to find the place in total darkness, and
+all the inhabitants evidently in bed and asleep. With some difficulty
+we roused the landlord, and asked why the horses which had been
+telegraphed for had not been got ready.
+
+"We did not get them when the second telegram arrived," was the reply.
+
+"The second telegram!" I cried, my heart beating fast. "What do you
+mean?"
+
+"There were two, sir, both coming from the same stables. The first was
+written desiring us to have the horses ready at any cost. The second
+contradicted the first, and said that the gentleman had changed his
+mind, and was not going. On receipt of that, sir, I shut up the house as
+usual, and we all went to bed. I am very sorry if there has been any
+mistake."
+
+"There has, and a terrible one," I could not help muttering under my
+breath. My fears were getting graver than ever. Who had sent the second
+telegram? Was it possible that I had been followed by Wickham, who took
+these means of circumventing me?
+
+"We must get horses, and at once," I said. "Never mind about the second
+telegram; it was a mistake."
+
+Peach, the jobmaster, muttered an oath.
+
+"I can't understand what is up," he said. He looked mystified and not
+too well pleased. Then he added,--
+
+"These horses can't go another step, sir."
+
+"They must if we can get no others," I said. I went up to him, and began
+to whisper in his ear.
+
+"This is a matter of life and death, my good friend. Only the direst
+necessity takes me on this journey. The second telegram without doubt
+was sent by a man whom I am trying to circumvent. I know what I am
+saying. We must get horses, or these must go on. We have not an instant
+to lose. There is a conspiracy afoot to do serious injury to the owner
+of Cressley Hall."
+
+"What! the young gentleman who has just come from Australia? You don't
+mean to say he is in danger?" said Peach.
+
+"He is in the gravest danger. I don't mind who knows. I have reason for
+my fears."
+
+While I was speaking the landlord drew near. He overheard some of my
+last words. The landlord and Peach now exchanged glances. After a moment
+the landlord spoke,--
+
+"A neighbour of ours, sir, has got two good horses," he said. "He is the
+doctor in this village. I believe he'll lend them if the case is as
+urgent as you say."
+
+"Go and ask him," I cried. "You shall have ten pounds if we are on the
+road in five minutes from the present moment."
+
+At this hint the landlord flew. He came back in an incredibly short
+space of time, accompanied by the doctor's coachman leading the horses.
+They were quickly harnessed to the wagonette, and once more we started
+on our way.
+
+"Now drive as you never drove before in the whole course of your life,"
+I said to Peach. "Money is no object. We have still fifteen miles to go,
+and over a rough country. You can claim any reward in reason if you get
+to Cressley Hall within an hour."
+
+"It cannot be done, sir," he replied; but then he glanced at me, and
+some of the determination in my face was reflected in his. He whipped up
+the horses. They were thoroughbred animals, and worked well under
+pressure.
+
+We reached the gates of Cressley Hall between two and three in the
+morning. Here I thought it best to draw up, and told my coachman that I
+should not need his services any longer.
+
+"If you are afraid of mischief, sir, would it not be best for me to lie
+about here?" he asked. "I'd rather be in the neighbourhood in case you
+want me. I am interested in this here job, sir."
+
+"You may well be, my man. God grant it is not a black business. Well,
+walk the horses up and down, if you like. If you see nothing of me
+within the next couple of hours, judge that matters are all right, and
+return with the horses to Carlton."
+
+This being arranged, I turned from Peach and entered the lodge gates.
+Just inside was a low cottage surrounded by trees. I paused for a moment
+to consider what I had better do. My difficulty now was how to obtain
+admittance to the Hall, for of course it would be shut up and all its
+inhabitants asleep at this hour. Suddenly an idea struck me. I
+determined to knock up the lodge-keeper, and to enlist her assistance. I
+went across to the door, and presently succeeded in rousing the inmates.
+A woman of about fifty appeared. I explained to her my position, and
+begged of her to give me her help. She hesitated at first in unutterable
+astonishment; but then, seeing something in my face which convinced her,
+I suppose, of the truth of my story, for it was necessary to alarm her
+in order to induce her to do anything, she said she would do what I
+wished.
+
+"I know the room where Mitchell, the old housekeeper, sleeps," she said,
+"and we can easily wake him by throwing stones up at his window. If
+you'll just wait a minute I'll put a shawl over my head and go with
+you."
+
+She ran into an inner room and quickly re-appeared. Together we made our
+way along the drive which, far as I could see, ran through a park
+studded with old timber. We went round the house to the back entrance,
+and the woman, after a delay of two or three moments, during which I was
+on thorns, managed to wake up Mitchell the housekeeper. He came to his
+window, threw it open, and poked out his head.
+
+"What can be wrong?" he said.
+
+"It is Mr. Bell, James," was the reply, "the gentleman who has been
+expected at the Hall all the evening; he has come now, and wants you to
+admit him."
+
+The old man said that he would come downstairs. He did so, and opening a
+door, stood in front of it, barring my entrance.
+
+"Are you really the gentleman Mr. Cressley has been expecting?" he said.
+
+"I am," I replied; "I missed my train, and was obliged to drive out.
+There is urgent need why I should see your master immediately; where is
+he?"
+
+"I hope in bed, sir, and asleep; it is nearly three o'clock in the
+morning."
+
+"Never mind the hour," I said; "I must see Mr. Cressley immediately. Can
+you take me to his room?"
+
+"If I am sure that you are Mr. John Bell," said the old man, glancing at
+me with not unnatural suspicion.
+
+"Rest assured on that point. Here, this is my card, and here is a
+telegram which I received to-day from your master."
+
+"But master sent no telegram to-day."
+
+"You must be mistaken, this is from him."
+
+"I don't understand it, sir, but you look honest, and I suppose I must
+trust you."
+
+"You will do well to do so," I said.
+
+He moved back and I entered the house. He took me down a passage, and
+then into a lofty chamber, which probably was the old banqueting-hall.
+As well as I could see by the light of the candle, it was floored, and
+panelled with black oak. Round the walls stood figures of knights in
+armour, with flags and banners hanging from the panels above. I
+followed the old man up a broad staircase and along endless corridors to
+a more distant part of the building. We turned now abruptly to our
+right, and soon began to ascend some turret stairs.
+
+"In which room is your master?" I asked.
+
+"This is his room, sir," said the man. He stood still and pointed to a
+door.
+
+"Stay where you are; I may want you," I said.
+
+I seized his candle, and holding it above my head, opened the door. The
+room was a large one, and when I entered was in total darkness. I
+fancied I heard a rustling in the distance, but could see no one. Then,
+as my eyes got accustomed to the faint light caused by the candle, I
+observed at the further end of the chamber a large four-poster bedstead.
+I immediately noticed something very curious about it. I turned round to
+the old housekeeper.
+
+"Did you really say that Mr. Cressley was sleeping in this room?" I
+asked.
+
+"Yes, sir; he must be in bed some hours ago. I left him in the library
+hunting up old papers, and he told me he was tired and was going to rest
+early."
+
+"He is not in the bed," I said.
+
+"Not in the bed, sir! Good God!" a note of horror came into the man's
+voice. "What in the name of fortune is the matter with the bed?"
+
+As the man spoke I rushed forward. Was it really a bed at all? If it
+was, I had never seen a stranger one. Upon it, covering it from head to
+foot, was a thick mattress, from the sides of which tassels were
+hanging. There was no human being lying on the mattress, nor was it made
+up with sheets and blankets like an ordinary bed. I glanced above me.
+The posts at the four corners of the bedstead stood like masts. I saw at
+once what had happened. The canopy had descended upon the bed. Was
+Cressley beneath? With a shout I desired the old man to come forward,
+and between us we seized the mattress, and exerting all our force, tried
+to drag it from the bed. In a moment I saw it was fixed by cords that
+held it tightly in its place. Whipping out my knife, I severed these,
+and then hurled the heavy weight from the bed. Beneath lay Cressley,
+still as death. I put my hand on his heart and uttered a thankful
+exclamation. It was still beating. I was in time; I had saved him. After
+all, nothing else mattered during that supreme moment of thankfulness. A
+few seconds longer beneath that smothering mass and he would have been
+dead. By what a strange sequence of events had I come to his side just
+in the nick of time!
+
+"We must take him from this room before he recovers consciousness," I
+said to the old man, who was surprised and horror-stricken.
+
+"But, sir, in the name of Heaven, what has happened?"
+
+"Let us examine the bed, and I will tell you," I said. I held up the
+candle as I spoke. A glance at the posts was all-sufficient to show me
+how the deed had been done. The canopy above, on which the heavy
+mattress had been placed, was held in position by strong cords which ran
+through pulleys at the top of the posts. These were thick and heavy
+enough to withstand the strain. When the cords were released, the
+canopy, with its heavy weight, must quickly descend upon the unfortunate
+sleeper, who would be smothered beneath it in a few seconds. Who had
+planned and executed this murderous device?
+
+There was not a soul to be seen.
+
+"We will take Mr. Cressley into another room and then come back," I said
+to the housekeeper. "Is there one where we can place him?"
+
+"Yes, sir," was the instant reply; "there's a room on the next floor
+which was got ready for you."
+
+"Capital," I answered; "we will convey him there at once."
+
+We did so, and after using some restoratives, he came to himself. When
+he saw me he gazed at me with an expression of horror on his face.
+
+"Am I alive, or is it a dream?" he said.
+
+"You are alive, but you have had a narrow escape of your life," I
+answered. I then told him how I had found him.
+
+He sat up as I began to speak, and as I continued my narrative his eyes
+dilated with an expression of terror which I have seldom seen equalled.
+
+"You do not know what I have lived through," he said at last. "I only
+wonder I retain my reason. Oh, that awful room! no wonder men died and
+went mad there!"
+
+"Well, speak, Cressley; I am all attention," I said; "you will be the
+better when you have unburdened yourself."
+
+"I can tell you what happened in a few words," he answered. "You know I
+mentioned the horrid sort of presentiment I had about coming here at
+all. That first night I could not make up my mind to sleep in the house,
+so I went to the little inn at Brent. I received your telegram
+yesterday, and went to meet you by the last train. When you did not
+come, I had a tussle with myself; but I could think of no decent excuse
+for deserting the old place, and so came back. My intention was to sit
+up the greater part of the night arranging papers in the library. The
+days are long now, and I thought I might go to bed when morning broke. I
+was irresistibly sleepy, however, and went up to my room soon after one
+o'clock. I was determined to think of nothing unpleasant, and got
+quickly into bed, taking the precaution first to lock the door. I placed
+the key under my pillow, and, being very tired, soon fell into a heavy
+sleep. I awoke suddenly, after what seemed but a few minutes, to find
+the room dark, for the moon must just have set. I was very sleepy, and I
+wondered vaguely why I had awakened; and then suddenly, without warning,
+and without cause, a monstrous, unreasonable fear seized me. An
+indefinable intuition told me that I was not alone--that some horrible
+presence was near. I do not think the certainty of immediate death could
+have inspired me with a greater dread than that which suddenly came upon
+me. I dared not stir hand nor foot. My powers of reason and resistance
+were paralysed. At last, by an immense effort, I nerved myself to see
+the worst. Slowly, very slowly, I turned my head and opened my eyes.
+Against the tapestry at the further corner of the room, in the dark
+shadow, stood a figure. It stood out quite boldly, emanating from itself
+a curious light. I had no time to think of phosphorus. It never occurred
+to me that any trick was being played upon me. I felt certain that I was
+looking at my ancestor, Barrington Cressley, who had come back to
+torture me in order to make me give up possession. The figure was that
+of a man six feet high, and broad in proportion. The face was bent
+forward and turned toward me, but in the uncertain light I could neither
+see the features nor the expression. The figure stood as still as a
+statue, and was evidently watching me. At the end of a moment, which
+seemed to me an eternity, it began to move, and, with a slow and silent
+step, approached me. I lay perfectly still, every muscle braced, and
+watched the figure between half-closed eyelids. It was now within a
+foot or two of me, and I could distinctly see the face. What was my
+horror to observe that it wore the features of my agent Murdock.
+
+"'Murdock!' I cried, the word coming in a strangled sound from my
+throat. The next instant he had sprung upon me. I heard a noise of
+something rattling above, and saw a huge shadow descending upon me. I
+did not know what it was, and I felt certain that I was being murdered.
+The next moment all was lost in unconsciousness. Bell, how queer you
+look! Was it--was it Murdock? But it could not have been; he was very
+ill in bed at Liverpool. What in the name of goodness was the awful
+horror through which I had lived?"
+
+"I can assure you on one point," I answered; "it was no ghost. And as to
+Murdock, it is more than likely that you did see him."
+
+I then told the poor fellow what I had discovered with regard to the
+agent, and also my firm conviction that Wickham was at the bottom of
+it.
+
+Cressley's astonishment was beyond bounds, and I saw at first that he
+scarcely believed me; but when I said that it was my intention to search
+the house, he accompanied me.
+
+We both, followed by Mitchell, returned to the ill-fated room; but,
+though we examined the tapestry and panelling, we could not find the
+secret means by which the villain had obtained access to the chamber.
+
+"The carriage which brought me here is still waiting just outside the
+lodge gates," I said. "What do you say to leaving this place at once,
+and returning, at least, as far as Carlton? We might spend the remainder
+of the night there, and take the very first train to Liverpool."
+
+"Anything to get away," said Cressley. "I do not feel that I can ever
+come back to Cressley Hall again."
+
+"You feel that now, but by-and-by your sensations will be different," I
+answered. As I spoke I called Mitchell to me. I desired him to go at
+once to the lodge gates and ask the driver of the wagonette to come
+down to the Hall.
+
+This was done, and half an hour afterwards Cressley and I were on our
+way back to Carlton. Early the next morning we went to Liverpool. There
+we visited the police, and I asked to have a warrant taken out for the
+apprehension of Murdock.
+
+The superintendent, on hearing my tale, suggested that we should go at
+once to Murdock's house in Melville Gardens. We did so, but it was
+empty, Murdock, his wife, and Wickham having thought it best to decamp.
+The superintendent insisted, however, on having the house searched, and
+in a dark closet at the top we came upon a most extraordinary
+contrivance. This was no less than an exact representation of the
+agent's head and neck in wax. In it was a wonderfully skilful imitation
+of a human larynx, which, by a cunning mechanism of clockwork, could be
+made exactly to simulate the breathing and low moaning of a human being.
+This the man had, of course, utilized with the connivance of his wife
+and Wickham in order to prove an alibi, and the deception was so
+complete that only my own irresistible curiosity could have enabled me
+to discover the secret. That night the police were fortunate enough to
+capture both Murdock and Wickham in a Liverpool slum. Seeing that all
+was up, the villains made complete confession, and the whole of the
+black plot was revealed. It appeared that two adventurers, the worst
+form of scoundrels, knew of Cressley's great discovery in Western
+Australia, and had made up their minds to forestall him in his claim.
+One of these men had come some months ago to England, and while in
+Liverpool had made the acquaintance of Murdock. The other man, Wickham,
+accompanied Cressley on the voyage in order to keep him in view, and
+worm as many secrets as possible from him. When Cressley spoke of his
+superstition with regard to the turret room, it immediately occurred to
+Wickham to utilize the room for his destruction. Murdock proved a ready
+tool in the hands of the rogues. They offered him an enormous bribe.
+And then the three between them evolved the intricate and subtle details
+of the crime. It was arranged that Murdock was to commit the ghastly
+deed, and for this purpose he was sent down quietly to Brent disguised
+as a journeyman the day before Cressley went to the Hall. The men had
+thought that Cressley would prove an easy prey, but they distrusted me
+from the first. Their relief was great when they discovered that I could
+not accompany Cressley to the Hall. And had he spent the first night
+there, the murder would have been committed; but his nervous terrors
+inducing him to spend the night at Brent foiled this attempt. Seeing
+that I was returning to Liverpool, the men now thought that they would
+use me for their own devices, and made up their minds to decoy me into
+Murdock's bedroom in order that I might see the wax figure, their
+object, of course, being that I should be forced to prove an alibi in
+case Murdock was suspected of the crime. The telegram which reached me
+at Prince's Hotel on my return from London was sent by one of the
+ruffians, who was lying in ambush at Brent. When I left Murdock's house,
+the wife informed Wickham that she thought from my manner I suspected
+something. He had already taken steps to induce the cab-driver to take
+me in a wrong direction, in order that I should miss my train, and it
+was not until he visited the stables outside the Prince's Hotel that he
+found that I intended to go by road. He then played his last card, when
+he telegraphed to the inn at Carlton to stop the horses. By Murdock's
+means Wickham and his confederate had the run of the rooms at the Hall
+ever since the arrival of Wickham from Australia, and they had rigged up
+the top of the old bedstead in the way I have described. There was,
+needless to say, a secret passage at the back of the tapestry, which was
+so cunningly hidden in the panelling as to baffle all ordinary means of
+discovery.
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
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+"The Ordeal of Richard Feverel," "The Tragic Comedians," &c. Crown 8vo,
+cloth, 6s.; Cheaper Edition, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "'The Tale of Chloe' is one of the gems of English fiction. Mr.
+     Meredith is a cunning delineator of women--no living writer more
+     so--but we question whether, even in Mr. Meredith's rich array of
+     female characters, there is any more loveable than Chloe."--_Daily
+     Telegraph._
+
+     "It is handled with such supreme skill that it becomes really
+     tragic for us, while never for a moment leaving its proper plane of
+     a comedy of manners."--_The Athenaeum._
+
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+
+Pharisees. By A. Kevill-Davies, Author of "An American Widow," "Dollars
+are Trumps," &c., &c. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 6s.
+
+     "Appeals strongly to the human sympathy. An admirable tale. The
+     scenes and incidents are described and related with excellent
+     spirit."--_Scotsman._
+
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+With Three Full-page Illustrations by A. Forestier. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6s.
+
+     "Quite the best historical novel of the day."--_The Sketch._
+
+     "A powerful and impressive historical novel.... A chronicle of
+     intense and unflagging interest."--_Daily Telegraph._
+
+     "'A Man's Foes' is the best historical novel that we have had since
+     Mr. Conan Doyle published 'Micah Clarke.' ... An exceptionally fine
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+
+     "A capital novel of its kind--the sensational-adventurous. It has
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+     curiosity unabated to the end."--_The World._
+
+     "The best of them is 'In Strange Company.' ... The book is a good
+     tale of adventure; it has plenty of astonishing incidents which yet
+     have an air of verisimilitude."--_The Pall Mall Budget._
+
+The Marriage of Esther: A Torres Straits Sketch. By Guy Boothby, Author
+of "In Strange Company," &c. With Four full-page Illustrations by
+Stanley L. Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s.
+
+     "A story full of action, life, and dramatic interest.... There is a
+     vigour and power of illusion about it that raises it quite above
+     the level of the ordinary novel of adventure."--_Manchester
+     Guardian._
+
+     "Gives a vivid and life-like presentment of its characters.... It
+     is most exciting, Mr. Boothby's vigorous style and happy
+     description giving the book an interest entirely apart from that of
+     the adventurous."--_The Star._
+
+A Bid for Fortune; or, Dr. Nikola's Vendetta. By Guy Boothby, Author of
+"In Strange Company," "The Marriage of Esther," &c. With about Fifty
+Illustrations by Stanley L. Wood and Others. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s.
+
+     "He never allows the interest to drop from first page to last....
+     The plot is highly ingenious, and when once it has fairly
+     thickened, exciting to a degree."--_The Times._
+
+     "It is impossible to give any idea of the verve and brightness with
+     which the story is told. Mr. Boothby may be congratulated on having
+     produced about the most original novel of the year."--_Manchester
+     Courier._
+
+The Beautiful White Devil. By Guy Boothby, Author of "Dr. Nikola," &c.
+With Six full-page Illustrations by Stanley L. Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth
+gilt, 5s.
+
+     "A more lively, romantic, and amazing bit of fiction than 'The
+     Beautiful White Devil,' it would be hard to indicate.... It is full
+     of surprise and fascination for the fiction-lover, and is worthy of
+     the reputation of the creator of the famous Nikola."
+
+Dr. Nikola. By Guy Boothby. With about Forty Illustrations by Stanley
+L. Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, in striking and original binding, 5s.
+
+     "One hair-breadth escape succeeds another with rapidity that scarce
+     leaves the reader breathing space.... The interest of their
+     experience is sufficient to stay criticism and carry him through a
+     story ingeniously invented and skilfully told."--_Scotsman._
+
+     _The Manchester Courier_ says:--"Few authors can depict action as
+     brilliantly and resourcefully as the creator of 'Dr. Nikola.'"
+
+The Fascination of the King. By Guy Boothby. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt,
+special design, bevelled boards, 5s. Illustrated by Stanley L. Wood.
+
+     "A tale of much power and sustained interest, narrated with
+     dramatic effect."--_The Scotsman._
+
+     "The interest is sustained from first to last, and thrilling
+     incidents crop up at almost every page."--_The People._
+
+     "Unquestionably the best work we have yet seen from the pen of Mr.
+     Guy Boothby.... 'The Fascination of the King' is one of the books
+     of the season."--_Bristol Mercury._
+
+     "Undoubtedly dramatic.... A wonderfully interesting
+     story."--_Morning Leader._
+
+Bushigrams. By Guy Boothby. Fully Illustrated. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s.
+
+     "Intensely interesting. Forces from us, by its powerful artistic
+     realism, those choky sensations which it should be the aim of the
+     humane writer to elicit, whether in comedy or tragedy. The book
+     will enhance Mr. Boothby's reputation and bring him into the very
+     front rank of emotional writers, as well as confirm our opinion of
+     him as a most powerful imaginative author. His humorous vein is
+     fascinating and attractive. His pathos is true, and often most
+     touching."--_Manchester Guardian._
+
+ARTHUR MORRISON.
+
+Martin Hewitt, Investigator. By Arthur Morrison, Author of "Tales of
+Mean Streets," &c. With Fifty Illustrations by Sidney Paget. Crown
+8vo, cloth gilt, 5s.
+
+Chronicles of Martin Hewitt: Being the Second Series of "Martin Hewitt,
+Investigator." By Arthur Morrison. With Thirty Illustrations by D.
+Murray Smith. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s.
+
+Adventures of Martin Hewitt: Being the Third Series of "Martin Hewitt,
+Investigator." By Arthur Morrison. Illustrated by T. S. C. Crowther.
+Crown 8vo, canvas gilt, 5s.
+
+The Dorrington Deed-Box. By Arthur Morrison. Fully Illustrated by
+Stanley L. Wood, Harold Piffard, Sidney Cowell, &c., &c.
+
+     "Most people like tales of this sort ... and no one writes them
+     better than Mr. Morrison does. The narratives are written not only
+     with ingenuity, but with conviction, which is, perhaps, even the
+     more valuable quality. They are essentially of the breathless and
+     absorbing order, and their attractiveness is enhanced by the
+     excellent pictures that accompany them."--_The Globe._
+
+     "Certainly the most ingenious and entertaining of the numerous
+     successors to Sherlock Holmes. There is not one of the stories in
+     this collection that is not ingeniously constructed and cleverly
+     written."--_The Academy._
+
+PERCY ANDREAE.
+
+The Vanished Emperor: A Romance of To-day. By Percy Andreae. Crown 8vo,
+canvas gilt, 6s.
+
+     "We can honestly say it is years since we read a story so original,
+     so striking, or so absorbing."--_Manchester Courier._
+
+FRANCIS HINDES GROOME.
+
+Kriegspiel: The War Game. By Francis Hindes Groome. Crown 8vo, cloth
+gilt, 6s.
+
+     "Seemingly at one bound Mr. Groome has taken rank amongst the most
+     promising novelists of the day, so full is 'Kriegspiel' of
+     interest, of stirring incident, and of vivid and varied sketches of
+     men and manners from contemporary English life."--_Illustrated
+     London News._
+
+SHAN F. BULLOCK.
+
+By Thrasna River: The Story of a Townland. Given by one John Farmer, and
+Edited by his Friend, Shan F. Bullock. With Full-page Illustrations by
+St. Clair Simmons. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 6s.
+
+     "This is a charming book, and affords quite the best picture of
+     Irish rural life that we have ever come across."--_The Athenaeum._
+
+     "It is an Irish 'Thrums,' in which the character is drawn as
+     straight from life as in Mr. Barrie's delightful annals of
+     Kirriemuir."--_The Sketch._
+
+FRANCIS PREVOST.
+
+False Dawn. By Francis Prevost. Crown 8vo, canvas, full gilt, 6s.
+
+     "There is a mingled delicacy and power ... intensely interesting....
+     The book is one to be read and remembered."--_Speaker._
+
+     "Beautifully written, with real and rare powers both of psychology
+     and of word painting."--_Academy._
+
+Rust of Gold. By Francis Prevost. Crown 8vo, art canvas, 5s.
+
+     "A series of nine _fin de siecle_ stories of great power and
+     picturesqueness.... A more appalling tale than 'A Ghost of the
+     Sea' has not been recounted for many years past, nor have the
+     tragical potentialities of modern life, as lived by people of
+     culture and refinement, been more graphically illustrated than in
+     'Grass upon the Housetops,' 'The Skirts of Chance,' and 'False
+     Equivalents.' As word-pictures they are simply
+     masterpieces."--_Daily Telegraph._
+
+On The Verge. By Francis Prevost. Crown 8vo, art canvas, 5s.
+
+     "'Rust of Gold' was good, but 'On the Verge' is better."--_Star._
+
+MAX PEMBERTON.
+
+Jewel Mysteries I Have Known. By Max Pemberton, Author of "The Iron
+Pirate." &c. With about Fifty Illustrations by R. Caton Woodville and
+Fred. Barnard. Demy 8vo, cloth gilt, bevelled boards, gilt edges, 5s.
+
+     "The most interesting and entrancing mystery stories that have
+     appeared since the publication of the doings of Sherlock
+     Holmes."--_The Literary World._
+
+     "Mr. Pemberton has attempted a great deal more than to give mere
+     plots and police cases, and he has succeeded in capturing our
+     attention, and never letting it go, from the first story to the
+     last."--_The Bookman._
+
+BERTRAM MITFORD.
+
+The Curse of Clement Waynflete: A Story of Two Wars. By Bertram Mitford,
+Author of "The King's Assegai," "The Gun Runner," &c. With Four
+Full-page Illustrations by Stanley L. Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "Telling us wonderful incidents of inter-racial warfare, of
+     ambuscades, sieges, surprises, and assaults almost without
+     number.... A thoroughly exciting story, full of bright descriptions
+     and stirring episodes."--_The Daily Telegraph._
+
+A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance. By Bertram Mitford, Author of
+"The Gun Runner," "The Curse of Clement Waynflete," &c. With Two
+Full-page Illustrations by Stanley L. Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "We have seldom come across a more thrilling narrative. From start
+     to finish Mr. Mitford secures unflagging attention."--_Leeds
+     Mercury._
+
+The Expiation of Wynne Palliser. By Bertram Mitford, Author of "The
+King's Assegai," &c. With Two Full-page Illustrations by Stanley L.
+Wood. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "The best of this author's many excellent romances."--_The Globe._
+
+Fordham's Feud. By Bertram Mitford, Author of "A Veldt Official," "The
+Curse of Clement Waynflete," "The Expiation of Wynne Palliser," &c.
+Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. With Four Full-page Illustrations by
+Stanley L. Wood.
+
+     "A story of much merit and startling _denouement_. For wealth of
+     character, pleasant descriptive matter, romantic incident, and
+     powerful plot, there are few books that will eclipse 'Fordham's
+     Feud.'"--_Manchester Courier._
+
+COULSON KERNAHAN.
+
+Captain Shannon. By Coulson Kernahan, Author of "God and the Ant."
+Illustrated by F. S. Wilson.
+
+     "It contains plenty of daring, imaginative flights, and not one
+     tiresome or commonplace episode."--_The Globe._
+
+     "The perils which Rissler has to undergo before he finally runs
+     the victim to earth--or rather to water--are so terrible that
+     they might well be warranted to turn the hair of any man
+     white."--_The Speaker._
+
+EDITH JOHNSTONE.
+
+A Sunless Heart. By Edith Johnstone. Third Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth,
+3s. 6d.
+
+     "Mr. W. T. Stead, in his article on 'Women Novelists,' writes of
+     'Its Intrinsic merit, its originality and its pathos, its
+     distinctively woman's outlook on life and the singular glow and
+     genius of its author.... Lotus is a distinct creation--vivid,
+     life-like, and original."--_The Review of Reviews._
+
+CAPTAIN CHARLES KING.
+
+Fort Frayne. A Story of Army Life in the Northwest. With Portrait of
+the Author. Crown 8vo. cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "A rattling good story.... Keeps one interested and amused from
+     first to last."--_Pall Mall Gazette._
+
+     "A story of border warfare, so interesting that it is hard to lay
+     it down.... A very well-written story, full of keen interest and
+     fine character."--_Guardian._
+
+ADA CAMBRIDGE.
+
+A Humble Enterprise. By Ada Cambridge, Author of "The Three Miss Kings,"
+"Fidelis," "A Marked Man," &c. With Four Full-page Illustrations by
+St. Clair Simmons. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "It is a delightful story, refreshingly original, singularly well
+     told and absorbingly interesting from beginning to end."--_Daily
+     Mail._
+
+     "A pretty, graceful story, and one to leave, so to speak, a clean
+     taste in one's mouth; such dishes are rarely served to the
+     public."--_Pall Mall Gazette._
+
+At Midnight. By Ada Cambridge, Author of "A Humble Enterprise," &c.
+Fully Illustrated. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "This latest production from the pen of Miss Ada Cambridge is sure
+     to be a great success."
+
+NORA VYNNE.
+
+Honey of Aloes, and other Stories. By Nora Vynne, Author of "The Blind
+Artist's Pictures," "A Comedy of Honour," &c. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "These tales are in every respect worthy of conservation, and we
+     cordially congratulate the reading public, as well as their author,
+     upon their reproduction in book form. Not only do they abound in
+     literary merit, but in thrilling interest, and there is not one of
+     them that is not instinct with intense and veracious humanity....
+     'Their Reason,' 'A Dilemma,' 'Greek and Greek,' and 'Lost Kisses,'
+     deserve special and unqualified laudation."--_Daily Telegraph._
+
+WILLIAM LE QUEUX.
+
+A Secret Service: Being Strange Tales of a Nihilist. By William Le
+Queux, Author of "The Great War," "Zoraida," &c. With Frontispiece by
+Harold Piffard. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "Apart altogether from its political interest, 'A Secret Service'
+     will be read and appreciated for its brightly written stories of
+     mystery and sensation and romance which are threaded together in
+     the narrative of Anton Prehzner."--_Daily Mail._
+
+CONAN DOYLE.
+
+The First Book about Sherlock Holmes.
+
+A Study in Scarlet. By A. Conan Doyle, Author of "Micah Clarke," "The
+Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," &c. With Forty Illustrations by George
+Hutchinson. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, gilt top, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "Everything that prince of amateur detectives, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,
+     says is worth hearing, and the dramatic surprises contained in his
+     amiable and artistic fooling of the two brother detectives are
+     capitally conceived."--_Black and White._
+
+     "Few things have been so good of late as Mr. Conan Doyle's 'Study
+     in Scarlet,'"--Mr. Andrew Lang, in _Longman's Magazine_.
+
+ANNIE E. HOLDSWORTH.
+
+Spindles and Oars. By Annie E. Holdsworth, Author of "The Years that the
+Locust hath Eaten." Crown 8vo, cloth, with Special Title-page, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "We do not exaggerate when we say that there are very few books of
+     living writers which we would not gladly exchange for such a work
+     as she has now given us."--_Manchester Courier._
+
+JOSEPH HOCKING.
+
+Fields of Fair Renown. With Frontispiece and Vignette by J. Barnard
+Davis, Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "Mr. Joseph Hocking's 'Fields of Fair Renown' is a novel with a
+     purpose, and the theme is worked out with a good deal of force and
+     effective power ... it is both interesting and
+     powerful."--_Scotsman._
+
+     "Mr. Hocking has produced a work which his readers of all classes
+     will appreciate.... There are exhibited some of the most beautiful
+     aspects of disposition."--_Dundee Advertiser._
+
+All Men are Liars. By Joseph Hocking. With Frontispiece and Vignette
+by Gordon Browne. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt. 3s. 6d.
+
+     "This is a notable book. Thoughtful people will be fascinated by
+     its actuality, its fearlessness, and the insight it gives into the
+     influence of modern thought and literature upon the mind and morals
+     of our most promising manhood."--_Christian World._
+
+     "A striking book.... It is strong and earnest and vigorous: It
+     shows knowledge of the lower class, and impatience and contempt of
+     shams of all sorts."--_The Standard._
+
+Ishmael Pengelly: An Outcast. By Joseph Hocking. With Frontispiece and
+Vignette by W. S. Stacey. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "As a story this book is a splendid piece of writing; every detail
+     is interesting, and the situations it creates are novel and
+     striking."--_The Record._
+
+     "A remarkable novel.... The plot of the story is ingenious, the
+     manner of its telling essentially dramatic, the character-drawing
+     excellent and consistent."--_Christian World._
+
+The Story of Andrew Fairfax. By Joseph Hocking. With Frontispiece and
+Vignette by George Hutchinson. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt,
+3s. 6d.
+
+     "Rustic scenes and characters are drawn with free, broad touches,
+     without Mr. Buchanan's artificiality, and, if we may venture to say
+     it, with more realism than in Mr. Hardy's country
+     pictures."--_Manchester Examiner._
+
+Jabez Easterbrook. By Joseph Hocking. Fourth Edition. With Frontispiece
+and Vignette by W. S. Stagey. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "Real strength is shown in the sketches, of which that of Brother
+     Bowman is most prominent. In its way it is delightful."--_Rock._
+
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+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Master of Mysteries, by
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