The Beetle

The Beetle, by Richard Marsh

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Beetle, by Richard Marsh
Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the
header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how
the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since
1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of
Volunteers!*****
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 ***

Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading
Team.

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