The Beetle

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The Beetle, by Richard Marsh

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Title: The Beetle A Mystery
Author: Richard Marsh
Release Date: February, 2004 [EBook #5164] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on May 27, 2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BEETLE ***

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THE BEETLE: A MYSTERY
BY
RICHARD MARSH
WITH FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN WILLIAMSON

CONTENTS
BOOK I
The House with the Open Window
CHAPTER I
, OUTSIDE
CHAPTER II
, INSIDE
CHAPTER III
, THE MAN IN THE BED
CHAPTER IV
, A LONELY VIGIL
CHAPTER V
, AN INSTRUCTION TO COMMIT BURGLARY
CHAPTER VI
, A SINGULAR FELONY
CHAPTER VII
, THE GREAT PAUL LESSINGHAM
CHAPTER VIII
, THE MAN IN THE STREET
CHAPTER IX
, THE CONTENTS OF THE PACKET

BOOK II
The Haunted Man
CHAPTER X
, REJECTED
CHAPTER XI
, A MIDNIGHT EPISODE
CHAPTER XII
, A MORNING VISITOR
CHAPTER XIII
, THE PICTURE
CHAPTER XIV
, THE DUCHESS' BALL
CHAPTER XV
, MR. LESSINGHAM SPEAKS
CHAPTER XVI
, ATHERTON'S MAGIC VAPOUR
CHAPTER XVII
, MAGIC?--OR MIRACLE?
CHAPTER XVIII
, THE APOTHEOSIS OF THE BEETLE
CHAPTER XIX
, THE LADY RAGES
CHAPTER XX
, A HEAVY FATHER
CHAPTER XXI
, THE TERROR IN THE NIGHT
CHAPTER XXII
, THE HAUNTED MAN

BOOK III
The Terror By Night and the Terror by Day
CHAPTER XXIII
, THE WAY HE TOLD HER
CHAPTER XXIV
, A WOMAN'S VIEW
CHAPTER XXV
, THE MAN IN THE STREET
CHAPTER XXVI
, A FATHER'S NO
CHAPTER XXVII
, THE TERROR BY NIGHT
CHAPTER XXVIII
, THE STRANGE STORY OF THE MAN IN THE STREET
CHAPTER XXIX
, THE HOUSE ON THE ROAD FROM THE WORKHOUSE
CHAPTER XXX
, THE SINGULAR BEHAVIOUR OF MR. HOLT
CHAPTER XXXI
, THE TERROR BY DAY

BOOK IV
In Pursuit
CHAPTER XXXII
, A NEW CLIENT
CHAPTER XXXIII
, WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE
CHAPTER XXXIV
, AFTER TWENTY YEARS
CHAPTER XXXV
, A BRINGER OF TIDINGS
CHAPTER XXXVI
, WHAT THE TIDINGS WERE
CHAPTER XXXVII
, WHAT WAS HIDDEN UNDER THE FLOOR
CHAPTER XXXVIII
, THE REST OF THE FIND
CHAPTER XXXIX
, MISS LOUISA COLEMAN
CHAPTER XL
, WHAT MISS COLEMAN SAW THROUGH THE WINDOW
CHAPTER XLI
, THE CONSTABLE,--HIS CLUE,--AND THE CAB
CHAPTER XLII
, THE QUARRY DOUBLES
CHAPTER XLIII
, THE MURDER AT MRS 'ENDERSON'S
CHAPTER XLIV
, THE MAN WHO WAS MURDERED
CHAPTER XLV
, ALL THAT MRS. 'ENDERSON KNEW
CHAPTER XLVI
, THE SUDDEN STOPPING
CHAPTER XLVII
, THE CONTENTS OF THE THIRD-CLASS CARRIAGE
CHAPTER XLVIII
, THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER

BOOK I
The House with the Open Window
The Surprising Narration of Robert Holt
CHAPTER I
OUTSIDE
'No room!--Full up!'
He banged the door in my face.
That was the final blow.
To have tramped about all day looking for work; to have begged even for a job which would give me money enough to buy a little food; and to have tramped and to have begged in vain,--that was bad. But, sick at heart, depressed in mind and in body, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, to have been compelled to pocket any little pride I might have left, and solicit, as the penniless, homeless tramp which indeed I was, a night's lodging in the casual ward,-- and to solicit it in vain!--that was worse. Much worse. About as bad as bad could be.
I stared, stupidly, at the door which had just been banged in my face. I could scarcely believe that the thing was possible. I had hardly expected to figure as a tramp; but, supposing it conceivable that I could become a tramp, that I should be refused admission to that abode of all ignominy, the tramp's ward, was to have attained a depth of misery of which never even in nightmares I had dreamed.
As I stood wondering what I should do, a man slouched towards me out of the shadow of the wall.
'Won't 'e let yer in?'
'He says it's full.'
'Says it's full, does 'e? That's the lay at Fulham,--they always says it's full. They wants to keep the number down.'
I looked at the man askance. His head hung forward; his hands were in his trouser pockets; his clothes were rags; his tone was husky.
'Do you mean that they say it's full when it isn't,--that they won't let me in although there's room?'
'That's it,--bloke's a-kiddin' yer.'
'But, if there's room, aren't they bound to let me in?'
'Course they are,--and, blimey, if I was you I'd make 'em. Blimey I would!'
He broke into a volley of execrations.
'But what am I