The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells The Invisible Man Chapter 9 In the "Coach and Horses"

The Invisible Man

by H.G. Wells

The Invisible Man

Chapter 9

In the "Coach and Horses"

Now in order clearly to understand 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 and Mr. Bunting 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 belongings. 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 labelled "Diary."

"Diary!" said Cuss, putting the three books on the table. "Now, at

any rate, we shall learn something." The Vicar stood with his hands

on the table.

"Diary," repeated Cuss, sitting down, putting two volumes to

support the third, and opening it. "H'm--no name on the fly-leaf.

Bother!--cypher. And figures."

The vicar came round to look over his shoulder.

Cuss turned the pages over with a face suddenly disappointed.

"I'm--dear me! It's all cypher, Bunting."

"There are no diagrams?" 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 uncomfortable--for he had no Greek

left in his mind worth talking about; "yes--the Greek, of course,

may furnish a clue."

"I'll find you a place."

"I'd rather glance through the volumes first," said Mr. Bunting,

still wiping. "A general impression 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 gentlemen started violently, looked round, and were relieved

to see a sporadically rosy face 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 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."

"I daresay 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."

Someone sniffed as he did so.

"One thing is indisputable," said Bunting, drawing up a chair next

to that of Cuss. "There certainly have been very strange things

happen 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--I certainly saw right down his sleeve--"

"But did you--are you sure? Suppose a mirror, for instance--

hallucinations are so easily produced. I don't know if you

have ever seen a really good conjuror--"

"I 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 letters certainly."

He pointed to the middle of the page. Mr. Bunting flushed slightly

and brought his face nearer, apparently finding some difficulty

with his glasses. Suddenly he became aware of a strange feeling at

the nape of his neck. He tried to raise 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 I'll

brain you both!" He looked into the face of Cuss, close to his own,

and each saw a horrified reflection of his own sickly astonishment.

"I'm sorry to handle you so roughly," said the Voice, "but it's

unavoidable."

"Since when did you learn to pry into an investigator'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? 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 another, 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 the

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 quite chilly. I want clothing--and

other accommodation; and I must also have those three books."