A Master of Mysteries

Master of Mysteries, by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace

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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
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A MASTER OF MYSTERIES
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[Illustration: "He pulled the mare nearly up on her haunches." (Page 114). A Master of Mysteries.--Frontispiece]
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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
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Contents
I THE MYSTERY OF THE CIRCULAR CHAMBER
II THE WARDER OF THE DOOR
III THE MYSTERY OF THE FELWYN TUNNEL
IV THE EIGHT-MILE LOCK
V HOW SIVA SPOKE
VI TO PROVE AN ALIBI
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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.
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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