Chapter VIII

In the “Coach and Horses”

After the first panic was over, Iping became sceptical. It is much easier not to believe in an Invisible Man, and those who had actually seen him vanish in the air or felt the strength of his arm could be counted on the fingers of two hands. By the afternoon even those who believed in the Invisible Man were beginning to forget him.

About four o’clock a stranger entered the village. He was a short person in an extraordinarily shabby hat, and he appeared to be in a hurry. He went to the “Coach and Horses.”

This stranger appeared to be talking to himself, as Mr. Huxter remarked. He stopped at the “Coach and Horses”, and, according to Mr. Huxter, it seemed he did not want to go in. At last he marched up the steps, and Mr. Huxter saw him turn to the left and open the door of the guest room. Mr. Huxter heard voices from the bar telling him of his mistake.

“That room’s private!” said Hall, and the stranger shut the door and went into the bar.

In a few minutes he reappeared. He stood looking about him for some moments, and then Mr. Huxter saw him walk towards the window of the room he had attempted to enter a few minutes before. The stranger took out a pipe, and began to smoke, looking around him carefully.

All this Mr. Huxter saw through the window of his shop, and the man’s suspicious behavior made him continue his observation.

At last the stranger put his pipe in his pocket, looked around, and vanished in the window.

Mr. Huxter ran out into the road to catch the thief. As he did so, Mr. Marvel reappeared, a big bundle in one hand, and three books in the other. As he saw Huxter he turned to the left, and began to run.

“Stop thief!” cried Huxter, and set off after him. He had hardly gone ten steps before he was caught in some mysterious way, and he was no longer running but flying through the air. He saw the ground suddenly close to his head, and all went black.

* * *

To understand what had happened in the inn, it is necessary to go back to the moment when Mr. Huxter first saw Mr. Marvel through the window.

At that moment Mr. Cuss and Mr. Bunting were in the guest room. They were seriously investigating what had happened in the morning, and were, with Mr. Hall’s permission, making a thorough examination of the Invisible Man’s things. Jaffers had recovered from his fall and had gone home. The stranger’s clothes had been taken away by Mrs. Hall, and the room tidied up. And on the table under the window, where the stranger had usually worked, Cuss had almost at once found three big books labeled

“Diary.”

“Diary!” said Cuss, putting the three books on the table. “Now we shall learn something. H’m – no name. Cipher. And figures.”

Cuss turned the pages over with a face suddenly disappointed. “It’s all cipher, Bunting.”

“There are no diagrams?” asked Mr. Bunting.

“No illustrations?”

“No,” said Mr. Cuss. “Some of it’s mathematical, and some of it’s Russian or some other language —”

The door opened suddenly.

Both men looked round, and saw a tramp.

“Bar?” asked he.

“No,” said both gentlemen at once. “Over the other side.”

“All right,” said the man in a low voice, different from the first question and closed the door.

“And now,” Mr. Bunting said, “these books.”

“One minute,” said Cuss, and went and locked the door. “Now I think we are safe from interruption.”

Someone sneezed as he did so.

“Very strange things have happened in Iping during the last few days – very strange. I cannot, of course, believe in the Invisible Man —” said Bunting.

“It’s incredible,” said Cuss, “incredible. But the fact remains that I saw – I certainly saw right down his sleeve —”

“But did you – are you sure… Hallucinations may be…”

Suddenly Mr. Bunting had a strange feeling at the back of his neck. He tried to move his head, and could not. The feeling was a grip of a heavy, firm hand. “Don’t move, little men,” whispered a voice, “or I’ll kill you both!” He looked into the face of Cuss, close to his own, and saw astonishment in it.

“Since when did you learn to pry into private papers?” said the Voice, and two chins struck the table.

“Since when did you learn to enter private rooms?” and the concussion was repeated. “Where have they put my clothes? Listen,” said the Voice. “I am a strong man, and I could kill you both and get away quite easily if I wanted to – do you understand? Very well. If I let you go, will you promise to do what I tell you?”

“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.

“When I came into this room, I expected to find my diary and clothes,” said the Invisible Man. “Where are they? My clothes are gone. I want clothes – and I must also have those three books.”

Chapter IX

The Invisible Man Returns

While these things were going on, and while Mr. Huxter was watching Mr. Marvel smoking his pipe outside, Mr. Hall and Teddy Henfrey were discussing the only topic that interested Iping. Suddenly they heard some noise in the guest room, a cry, and then – silence.

Mr. Hall understood things slowly but surely. “That isn’t right,” he said, and came towards the door of the guest room. Teddy followed him.

“Something is wrong,” said Hall, and Henfrey nodded agreement. There was a muffled sound of conversation in the room.

“You all right, sir?” asked Hall, knocking.

The muffled conversation stopped, for a moment silence, then a cry of “No! you don’t!”

There came sounds of struggle. Silence again.

“You – all – right – sir?” asked Mr. Hall again.

The vicar’s voice answered with a curious intonation. “Quite ri-ight. Please don’t – interrupt.”

“Odd!” said Mr. Henfrey.

“Odd!” said Mr. Hall.

“Says, ‘Don’t interrupt,’” said Henfrey.

“I heard,” said Hall.

They remained listening, but couldn’t hear what the conversation was about. The sounds in the room were very odd.

Mrs. Hall appeared behind the bar. They all stood listening. Mrs. Hall was looking through the inn door, and saw the road and Huxter’s shop. Suddenly Huxter’s door opened, and Huxter appeared.

“Stop thief!” cried Huxter, ran down the road, and vanished.

At the same time they heard some noise from the guest room, and a sound of a window closing. All who were in the bar rushed out at once into the street. They saw Mr. Huxter jump in the air and fall on his face. Mr. Huxter was thrown on the ground. Hall saw Mr. Marvel vanishing round the corner of the church wall. He thought that this was the Invisible Man suddenly become visible, and ran after him. But Hall had hardly run a few yards before he gave a loud shout of astonishment and went flying in the air. He hit on the running men, bringing them to the ground. A few people running after Mr. Marvel were also knocked with violent blows to the ground.

When Hall and Henfrey and the others ran out of the house, Mrs. Hall remained in the bar. And suddenly the guest room door was opened, and Mr. Cuss appeared and rushed at once out. “Hold him!” he cried, “don’t let him drop that bundle! You can see him as long as he holds the bundle.”

He knew nothing of Marvel. The Invisible Man had given him the books and bundle through the window. The face of Mr. Cuss was angry.

“Hold him!” he cried. “He’s got my trousers! – and all the vicar’s clothes!” He ran past Huxter lying on the ground, and was knocked off his feet. Mr. Cuss rose, and was hit again. Behind him he heard a sudden yell of rage. He recognized the voice of the Invisible Man. In another moment Mr. Cuss was back in the inn.

“He’s coming back, Bunting!” he said, rushing in. “Save yourself!”

Mr. Bunting stood trying to clothe himself in newspapers.

“Who’s coming?” he said.

“Invisible Man!” said Cuss, and rushed to the window. “We’d better get out from here. He’s fighting mad! Mad!”

In another moment he was out.

“Lord!” said Mr. Bunting, hesitating between two horrible alternatives. He heard a struggle in the passage of the inn, and made a decision.

He jumped out of the window, pressing newspapers to his body, and ran away as fast as his fat little legs could carry him.

All villagers ran for their houses and locked themselves up. The Invisible Man, mad with rage, broke all the windows in the “Coach and Horses”. And after that, he was neither heard, seen, nor felt in Iping any more. He vanished absolutely.

Chapter X

Mr. Marvel Escapes

When it was getting dark, a man in a shabby hat was marching on the road to Bramblehurst. He carried three books, and a bundle. He was accompanied by a Voice and seemed to be beaten by unseen hands.

“If you give me the slip again,” said the Voice;

“if you attempt to give me the slip again —”

“Lord!” said Mr. Marvel. “Don’t touch my shoulder. It hurts.”

“I will kill you,” said the Voice.

“I didn’t try to give you the slip,” said Marvel, with tears in his voice. “I swear I didn’t. I didn’t know the way, that was all!”

“It’s bad that my secret is known, without your escaping with my books. No one knew I was invisible! And now what am I to do?”

“What am I to do?” asked Marvel.

“It will be in the papers! Everybody will be looking for me.”

The Voice swore. Mr. Marvel grew even more desperate, and he stopped.

“Go on. You’re a poor tool, but I shall have to use you,” said the Voice sharply.

“I’m a miserable tool,” said Marvel.

“You are,” said the Voice.

“I’m the worst possible tool you could have,” said Marvel. “I’m not strong.”

“No?”

“And my heart’s weak. I wish I was dead,” said Marvel. “I tell you, sir, I’m not the man for it.”

“Shut up,” said the Invisible Man. “I want to think.”

They were coming to a village.

“I shall keep my hand on your shoulder,” said the Voice, “all through this village. Go straight and try no foolery. It will be the worse for you if you do.”

“I know that,” said Mr. Marvel, “I know all that.”

The unhappy-looking figure walked through the little village, and vanished into the darkness in the direction of a small town Port Stowe.

* * *

The “Jolly Cricketers” is in Burdock just at the bottom of the hill, on the road from Port Stowe. The barman talked of horses with a cabman, while a black-bearded man was eating biscuit and cheese, drank beer, and talked with a policeman.

“What’s the matter?” said the cabman. Somebody ran by outside.

Footsteps approached, the door opened violently, and Marvel, his hat gone, the collar of his coat torn, rushed in, and attempted to shut the door.

“Coming!” he shrieked with terror. “He’s coming. The Invisible Man! After me. For God’s sake! Help! Help!”

“Shut the doors,” said the policeman. “Who’s coming? What’s the matter?” He went to the door and bolted it.

“Lock me in – somewhere,” said Marvel. “He’s after me. I gave him the slip. He said he’d kill me, and he will.”

“You’re safe,” said the man with the black beard. “The door’s shut. What’s it all about?”

A blow suddenly made the bolted door shiver, and was followed by other blows and shouting outside.

“Who’s there?” cried the policeman.

“He’ll kill me – he’s got a knife or something. For God’s sake —!” Mr. Marvel shrieked.

“Come in here,” said the barman. Mr. Marvel rushed behind the bar. “Don’t open the door,” he screamed. “Please don’t open the door.”

“Is this the Invisible Man, then? Newspapers are full of him,” said the man with the black beard.

The window of the inn was suddenly smashed, and there was screaming and running to and fro in the street.

“If we open, he will come in. There’s no stopping him,” said the policeman.

“If he comes—,” said the man with the black beard, holding a revolver in his hand.

“That won’t do,” said the policeman, “that’s murder.”

“I’m going to shoot at his legs,” said the man with the beard.

“Are all the doors of the house shut?” asked Marvel.

“Lord!” said the barman. “There’s the back door!”

He rushed out of the bar. In a minute he returned.

“The back door was open,” he said.

“He may be in the house now,” said the cabman.

Just as he said so they heard Marvel shriek.

They saw Marvel struggling against something unseen. Then he was dragged to the back door, head down.

The policeman rushed to him, followed by the cabman, gripped the invisible hand that held Marvel, was hit in the face and fell. Then the cabman gripped something. “I got him,” said the cabman. Mr. Marvel was released, suddenly dropped to the ground, and crawled behind the legs of the fighting men to the door. The voice of the Invisible Man was heard for the first time, he cried as the policeman stepped on his foot.

The struggle went on, and no one saw Mr. Marvel slip out of the door and run away. He left the back door open behind him, and in a moment thecrowd of fighting men was outside.

“Where’s he?” cried the policeman, stopping.

A stone flew by his head.

“I’ll show him,” shouted the man with the black beard, and shot five times.

A silence followed. “Come and feel about for his body,” said the man with the black beard.