Section 7

The third flint fell.
“It’s very simple,” said the Voice. “I’m an invisible man.”
“Tell us something I don’t know,” said Mr. Marvel, gasping with pain. ‘‘ Where you’ve hid— how you do it—I don’t know. I’m beat.”
“ That’s all,” said the Voice. ‘I’m invisible. That’s what I want you to understand.”
“* Anyone could see that. There is no need for you to be so confounded impatient, mister. Vow, then. Give us a notion. How are you hid? ”
* I’m invisible. That’s the great point. And what I want you to understand is this——”
“ But whereabouts? ” interrupted Mr. Marvel.
** Here—six yards in front of you.”
* Oh, come! I ain’t blind. You'll be telling me next .you’re just thin air. I’m not one of your ignorant tramps——”
MR. THOMAS MARVEL 79
" ves I am—thin air. You're looking through
me,
“What! Ain’t there any stuff to you? Vox e— what is it?—jabber. Is it that? ”
“T am just a human being—solid, needing food and drink, needing covering, too. ... But I’m invisible. You see? Invisible. Simple idea. Invisible,”
_“ What, real like? ”
* Yes, real.”
* Let’s have a hand of you,” said Marvel, “ if you are’real. It won’t be so darn out-of-the-way like, then
Lord!” he said, “ how you made me jump!— gripping me like that! ”
He felt the hand that had closed round his wrist with his disengaged fingers, and his touch went timorously up the arm, patted a muscular chest, and explored a bearded face. Marvel’s face was astonishment,
“I’m dashed!” he said. “If this don’t beat cock-fighting! Most remarkable!—And there I can see a rabbit clean through you arf a mile away! Not a bit of you visible—except
He scrutinised the apreety. empty apace keenly.
“You ’aven’t been eatin’ bread and cheese? * he _
asked, holding the invisible arm.
“You are quite right. It’s not assimilated into the system.”
“Ah!” said Mr. Marvel, “Sort of ghostly, though.”
* Of course, all this isn't half so wonderful as. you think.”
pi,
80 THE INVISIBLE MAN _
“Tt’s quite wonderful enough for my modest - wants,” said Mr. Thomas Marvel. “‘ Howjer manage - it? How the dooce is it done? ”
“ Tt’s too long a story. And besides——”
* T tell you, the whole business fair beats me,” said Mr. Marvel.
“* What I want to say at present is this: I need help. I have come to that. I came upon you suddenly. I was wandering, mad with rage, naked, impotent. I could have murdered. ... And I saw you 39
“ Lord!” said Mr. Marvel.
* I came up behind you—hesitated—went on.”
Mr. Marvel’s expression was eloquent.
“Then stopped. ‘ Here,’ I said, ‘is an outcast like myself. This is the man for me.’ So I turned back and came to you. You. And——”
“ dizzy. May I ask: How is it?—and what you may be requiring in the way of help? Invisible! ”
“I want you to help me get clothes and shelter, and then with other things. I’ve left them long enough. If you won’t—well! ... But you will—
must.”
* Look here,” said Mr. Marvel. “ I’m too flabber- gasted. Don’t knock me about any more. And leave -me go. I must get steady a bit. And-.you’ve pretty near broken my toe. It’s all so unreasonable. Empty downs, empty sky. Nothing visible for miles except the bosom of Nature. And then comes a voice. A voice out of heaven! And stones. And a fist. Lord!” —
“Pull yourself together,” said the Voice, “ for you have to do the job I’ve chosen for you.”
MR. THOMAS MARVEL Seite 3 Bik
Mr. Marvel blew out his cheeks, and his eyes were round,
**T’ve chosen you,” said the Voice. “ You are - ‘the only man, except some of those fools down there, who knows there is such a thing as an Invisible Man. You have to be my helper. Help me—and I will do great things for you. An Invisible Man is a man of power.” He stopped for a moment to sneeze violently.
“ But if you betray me,” he said, “ if you fail to do as I.direct you a , He paused and tapped Mr. Marvel’s shoulder - smartly. Mr. Marvel gave a yelp of terror at the touch. “I don’t want to betray you,” said Mr. Marvel, edging away from the direction of the fingers. “ Don’t you go a-thinking that, whatever you do. All I want to do is to help you—just tell me what I got to do. (Lord!) Whatever you want
done, that I’m most willing to do.”
10
~ Mr. Marvel’s Visit to Iping
yi ehdes the first gusty panic had spent itself, Iping
became argumentative. Scepticism suddenly reared its head—rather nervous scepticism, not at all assured of its back, but scepticism nevertheless. It “is so much easier not to believe in an Invisible Man, and those who had actually seen him dissolve-into air or felt the strength of his arm could be counted on the fingers of two hands. And of these witnesses, Mr. Wadgers was presently missing, having retired -impregnably behind the bolts and bars of his own
house, and Jaffers was lying stunned in the parlour —
of the “ Coach and Horses.” Great and strange _ ideas transcending experience often have less effect upon men and women than smaller, more tangible considerations. Iping was gay with bunting, and everybody was in gala dress. Whit Monday had been looked forward to for a month or more. By _the afternoon even those who believed in the Unseen were beginning to resume their little amusements in a tentative fashion, on the supposition that he had
quite gone away, and with the sceptics he was
already a jest. But people—sceptics and believers alike—were remarkably sociable all that day. Haysman’s meadow was gay with a tent, in which Mrs. Bunting and other ladies were preparing tea, while without the Sunday school children ran races and played games under the noisy guidance of the : 82 ;
MR. MARVEL’S VISIT TO IPING 83
curate and the Misses Cuss and Sackbut. No doubt © there was a slight uneasiness in the air, but people for the most part had the sense to conceal whatever imaginative qualms they experienced. On the village green an inclined string, down which, clinging the while to a pulley-swung handle, one could be hurled violently against a sack at the other end, came in for considerable favour among the adolescent, as also did the swings and the coconut- shies. There was also promenading, and the steam organ attached to a small roundabout filled the air- with 4 pungent flavour of oil and with equally pungent music. Members of the club, who had attended church in the morning, were splendid in badges of pink and green, and some of the gayer minded had also adorned their bowler hats with brilliant coloured favours of ribbon. Old Fletcher,
whose conceptions of holiday-making were severe,
was visible through the jasmine about his window or through the open door (whichever way you chose to look) poised delicately on a plank supported on two chairs, and whitewashing the ceiling of his front room. ‘
About four o’clock a stranger entered the village from the direction of the downs. He was a short, stout person in an extraordinarily shabby top hat, and he appeared to be very much out of breath. His cheeks were alternately limp and tightly puffed. His mottled face was apprehensive, and he moved with a sort of reluctant alacrity. He turned the corner by the church and directed his way to the * Coach and Horses.” Among others, old Fletcher remembers seeing him, and indeed the old gentle- man was so struck by his peculiar agitation that he
84 —=—~ inadvertently allowed a quantity of whitewash to run down the brush into the sleeve of his coat while _regarding him. This stranger, to the perceptions of the proprietor of the coconut-shy, appeared to be talking to himself, and Mr. Huxter remarked the same thing. He stopped at the foot of the “ Coach and Horses ” steps, and, according to Mr. Huxter, appeared to - undergo a severe internal struggle before he could
induce himself to enter the house. Finally he marched up the steps, and was seen by Mr. Huxter to turn to the left and open the door of the parlour. Mr. Huxter heard voices from within the room and from the bar apprising the man of his error.
“That room’s private!” said Hall, and the stranger shut the door clumsily and went into the _ bar.
In the course: of a few minutes he reappeared, wiping his lips with the back of his hand, with an air of quiet satisfaction that somehow impressed Mr. Huxter as assumed. He stood looking about him for some moments, and then Mr. Huxter saw
him walk in an oddly furtive manner towards the —
gates of the yard, upon which the parlour window opened. The stranger, after some hesitation, leant against one of the gate-posts, produced a short clay pipe, and prepared to fill it. His fingers trembled
while doing so. He lit it clumsily, and, folding his
arms, began to smoke in a languid attitude, an attitude which -his occasional quick glances up the
a yard altogether belied. All this Mr. Huxter saw over the canisters of the -
tobacco window, and the singularity of the man’s behaviour prompted him to maintain his observation.
NE Ie ee ea eT
MR. MARVEL’S VISIT TO IPING 85
Presently the stranger stood up abruptly and put his pipe in his pocket. Then he vanished into the ° yard. Forthwith Mr. Huxter, conceiving he was witness of some petty larceny, leapt round his counter and ran out into the road to intercept the thief. As he did so, Mr. Marvel reappeared, his hat askew, a big bundle in a blue tablecloth in one hand, and three books tied together—as it proved afterwards with the vicar’s braces—in the other. Directly he saw Huxter he gave a sort of gasp, and turning sharply to the left, began to run. “ Stop thief! ’” cried Huxter, and set off after him.
Mr. Huxter’s sensations were vivid but brief. He saw the man just before him, and sprinting briskly for the church corner and the down road. He saw the village flags and festivities beyond, and only a face or two turned toward him. He bawled, “ Stop thief” again, and set off gallantly. He had hardly gone ten strides before his shin was caught in some mysterious fashion, and he was no longer running but flying with incredible velocity through the air. He saw the ground suddenly close to his head. The world seemed to splash into a million whirling specks of light, and “ subsequent proceedings interested him no more.”
II In the ** Coach and Horses”
Now in order to padenata clearly what had happened in the inn, it is necessary to go back to the moment when Mr. Marvel first came into view of Mr. Huxter’s window.
. At that precise moment Mr. Cuss pe Mr. Banting were in the parlour. They were seriously investigating the strange occurrences of the morning, and were, with Mr. Hall’s permission, making a thorough examination of the Invisible Man’s belong- ings. Jaffers had partially recovered from his fall and had gone home in the charge of his sympathetic friends. The stranger’s scattered garments had been removed by Mrs. Hall, and the room tidied up. And on the table under the window, where the
stranger had been wont to work, Cuss had hit
almost at once on three big books in manuscript
_ Iabelled “ Diary.”
*“ Diary! ” said Cus, putting the three books on
_ the table. ‘“ Now, at any rate, we shall learn some- thing.” The vicar stood with his hands on the table.
** Diary,” repeated Cuss, sitting owns putting. ~ two volumes to support the third, and opening it. _“H?m—no name on the fly leaf. Bother! . « . Cipher. And figures.” _~
The vicar came round to look over his shoulder.
Cuss turned ‘the pages over with a face suddenly
3 86 =
IN THE “COACH AND HORSES” = 87
disappointed. “T’m—dear me! It’s all cipher, Bunting.”
‘** There are no > diagrams? i asked Mr. Bunting. * No illustrations throwing light
** See for yourself,” said Mr. Cuss. ‘“ Some of | it’s mathematical, and some of it’s Russian or some such language (to judge by the letters) and some- of it’s Greek. Now the Greek I thought you
** Of course,” said Mr. Bunting, taking out and wiping his spectacles, and feeling suddenly very un- comfortable—for he had no Greek left in his mind worth talking about. “‘ Yes—the Greek, of course, may furnish a clue.”
** Pll find you a place.”
*T’d rather glance through the volumes first,” said Mr. Bunting, still wiping. ‘‘ A general im- pression first, Cuss, and then, you know, we Can go looking for clues.”
He coughed, put on his glasses, arranged them fastidiously, coughed again, and wished something would happen to avert the seemingly inevitable exposure. Then he took the volume Cuss handed - him in a leisurely manner. And then something did happen.
The door opened suddenly.
Both men started violently, looked round, and were relieved to see a sporadically rosy tace beneath a furry silk hat. “Tap?” asked the face, and stood staring. :
* No,” said both gentlemen at once.
“Over the other side, my man,” said Mr. Bunting. “ And Please. shut that door,” said Mr. Cuss irritably.
** All right,” said the intruder, as it seemed in a
a
88 ‘THE INVISIBLE MAN
low voice, curiously different from the huskiness of its first inquiry. “ Right you are,” said the intruder in the former voice. “ Stand clear,” and he vanished and. closed the door.
“ A sailor, I should judge,” said Mr. Bunting. ** Amusing fellows they are. Stand clear, indeed. A nautical term, referring to his getting back out of the room, I suppose.” ~ “T dare say so,” said Cuss. ‘* My nerves are all loose to-day. It quite made me jump—the door opening like that.”
Mr. Bunting smiled as if he had not jumped.
** And now,” he said with a sigh, “ these books.”
** One minute,” said Cuss, and went and locked
‘the door. ‘“‘ Now I think we are safe from inter- ruption.” Someone sniffed as he did so. “Qne thing is indisputable,” said Bunting, drawing up a chair next to that of Cuss. “ There certainly have been very strange things happening in Iping during the last few days—very strange. I cannot, of course, believe in this absurd invisibility _ story-——”” .
** It’s incredible,” said Cuss, “ incredible. But the fact remains that I saw—l certainly saw right down his sleeyve——”
“But did you are you sure... Seno a _ mirror, for instance. . . . Hallucinations are so easily’ produced. I don’t know if you have ever ‘seen a really good conjurer
“JT won’t argue again,” said Cuss. ‘“ We’ve
thrashed that out, Bunting. And just now there’s _ these books. . .. Ah! here’s some of what I take to
be Greek! Greek cae certainly.”
Po
IN THE “COACH AND HoRsEs” - 89
He pointed to the middle of the page. Mr. Bunting flushed slightly, and brought his face nearer, apparently finding some difficulty with his glasses. The little man’s Greek was of the flimsiest, and he firmly believed that everyone outside the Church credited him with a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew originals. And now. Should he confess? Should he vamp? Suddenly he became aware of a strange feeling at the nape of his neck. He tried to move his head, and encountered an immovable resistance.
The feeling was a curious pressure—the grip of a heavy, firm hand, and it bore his chin irresistibly to the table. ‘‘ Don’t move, little men,’ whispered a voice, “ or Pll brain you both!”
He looked into the face of Cuss, close to his own, and saw a horrified reflection of his own sickly astonishment.
“I’m sorry to handle you roughly,” said the Voice, “ but it’s unavoidable.
“Since when did you learn to pry into an in- vestigator’s private memoranda?” said the Voice, and two chins struck the table simultaneously, and two sets of teeth rattled.
* Since when did you learn to invade the private rooms of a man in misfortune? ” and the concussion was repeated.
“Where have they put my clothes? ;
* Listen,” said the Voice. ‘‘ The windows are fastened, and I’ve taken the key out of the door. I am a fairly strong man, and I have the poker handy—besides being invisible. There’s not the slightest doubt that I could kill you both and get
away quite easily if I wanted to—do you understand? | oe
90 THE INVISIBLE MAN Very well. If I let you go, will you promise. not to try any nonsense, and do what I tell you?’ —
The vicar and the doctor looked at one anode and the doctor pulled a face. “ Yes,” said Mr. Bunting, and the doctor repeated it. Then the pressure on the necks relaxed, and the doctor and vicar sat up, both very red in the face, and wriggling their heads.
** Please keep sitting where you are,” said the Invisible Man. ‘“ Here’s the poker, you see. ’ * When I came into this room,” continued the Invisible Man, after presenting the poker to the tip of the nose of each of his visitors, “‘ I did not expect to find it occupied; and I expected to find, in addition to my books of memoranda, an outfit of clothing. Where is it? No—don’t rise. I can see it’s gone. Now just at present, though the days are quite warm enough for an invisible man to run about stark—the evenings are chilly. I want clothing —and other accommodation. And I must also have those three books.”