Read Online Gaslit Horror by Bernard Lafcadio ; Capes Hugh; Hearn Lamb - Free Book Online

enough to keep his hut well fastened.”
    â€œWhat do the sahibs propose to do?” interrupted Hassan.
    Denviers turned to him, as he responded:—
    â€œWe will wait for daybreak; then having dragged the dead spider out where the Kachyens may see that it is no longer able to harm them, we will take this Maw-Sayah down the mountain path away from the village as poor as he came.”
    â€œA good plan,” I assented, and we followed it out, eventually leaving the juggler, and climbing once more into the howdah upon the elephant, which we found close to the spot where we had left it, secured from wandering far away by the rope which Hassan had used to hinder its movements.
    We entered Bhamo, and while we took a much-needed rest our guide—as we afterwards learnt—searched for and found the fugitive Kachyen, who, on hearing that his safety was secured, hastily departed to the village to rejoice with the rest of his tribe that the so-called Nat would not do them any more injury.

Mrs. L.T. Meade and Robert Eustace
    Now for two mystery writers who left behind a real-life mystery all their own. It seems there are two candidates for the role of the pen-name Robert Eustace—it is by no means certain which is the right one.
    Elizabeth Thomasina Meade (1844–1914)—who was incorrectly called Mrs. Meade, when she should have been named Mrs. Toulmin Smith—was born in Ireland, the daughter of a Cork rector.
    She became a prolific and well respected writer, both of children’s books (over 150!) and detective stories, which she wrote in collaboration with two writers, Clifford Halifax (six books) and Robert Eustace (five books).
    Space prevents me setting out the full story here, but I recommend interested readers to consult Trevor Hall’s valuable book Dorothy L. Sayers: Nine Literary Studies (1980), where he sets out his argument in a chapter on Eustace and Sayers. He finds two likely candidates for the role of Robert Eustace: Dr. Eustace Robert Barton or Eustace Rawlins, both of whom have good credentials. Both wrote under other names than their own.
    Hall favours Dr. Barton, but whichever one it was, they made a good job of their collaboration with Mrs. Meade. One book which resulted from the Meade/Eustace partnership was A Master of Mysteries (1898), the adventures of a detective called Mr. John Bell, clearly modelled—as many were in those days—on Sherlock Holmes.
    Bell investigated haunted houses as his speciality, and called himself a “a professional exposer of ghosts.” Note the word “exposer”—that was indeed the fate of many of Bell’s cases. As he put it, his cases were “enveloped at first in mystery, and apparently dark with portent, but, nevertheless, when grappled with in the true spirit of science, capable of explanation.”
    â€œThe Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel” was one of John Bell’s better cases, here returned to print after an absence of over 100 years. It bears an interesting resemblance to Charles Dickens’ famous story “The Signalman,” and I do not think it over-fanciful to see in the line on page 64 starting “What the ...” an affectionate nod at the famous author.
    The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel
    I was making experiments of some interest in South Kensington, and hoped that I had perfected a small but not unimportant discovery, when, on returning home one evening in late October in the year 1893, I found a visiting card on my table. On it were inscribed the words, “Mr. Geoffrey Bainbridge.” This name was quite unknown to me, so I rang the bell and inquired of my servant who the visitor had been. He described him as a gentleman who wished to see me on most urgent business, and said further that Mr. Bainbridge intended to call again later in the evening. It was with both curiosity and vexation that I awaited the return of the stranger. Urgent business with me generally meant a