Read Online Mr Scarletti's Ghost by Linda Stratmann - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Linda Stratmann
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admiration. Slowly, they rose up almost to the ceiling, and tilted backwards, still in the same attitude. Then they seemed to be shrinking, although Mina thought that this was an illusion created as they withdrew behind the darkness of the curtains, and finally they vanished.
There were muffled exclamations of pleasurable apprehension as the company waited for what might happen next, and after a few moments, a new shape, veiled in a gauzy glow, peered from the parted curtains. The softness of the outline concealed its form, but as it turned from one side to another there were gasps and cries all around, for it was a face, the face of a man with thick hair clustering on his brow, pools of hollow darkness for eyes and a long black beard. A sudden terrible scream rang out and an exclamation: ‘Archibald!’ Miss Whinstone rose abruptly to her feet, and there was a loud crash as finally and unequivocally she fainted. There was pandemonium in the room, and someone called for lights and someone called for a doctor, and chairs were pushed back and people dropped hands and stood up. Professor Gaskin pleaded for calm, and relit the candle, and then Dr Hamid tended to the prostrate form of Miss Whinstone, who soon came to her senses and was furnished with a glass of water. Miss Eustace was, saw Mina, still firmly tied to her chair, and appeared to be unconscious, but Mrs Gaskin untied her and dabbed her forehead with a handkerchief, and she raised her head with an exhausted smile.
The disturbance gave Mina the opportunity to go and look behind the curtains, and there was, she had to admit, little enough to see. The table that had fallen was now standing upright with the bell and tambourine in place, and there was an untidy pencilled scrawl on the paper. Mrs Gaskin loomed up beside her. ‘Please do look at everything,’ she said, triumphantly.
‘I didn’t intend to intrude, but I am naturally curious,’ said Mina. ‘I would like to learn more.’
‘We are all students,’ said Mrs Gaskin, grandiloquently, suggesting that as students went she was at the very least senior in understanding.
Mina picked up the paper on which was inscribed a pious wish for the good health and fortune of those in attendance. ‘The spirits have very poor handwriting,’ she observed, ‘or perhaps they cannot see in the dark.’
‘I do not know how the writing is produced,’ said Mrs Gaskin. ‘It may be that the force exerted by Miss Eustace is as yet insufficiently refined to allow a more elegant hand.’
‘Has she given you no clue as to how it is done?’
‘None at all. She is always quite unable to recall anything of what has passed, and least of all is she aware of how her powers are exercised.’
Mina, while not wanting to appear to be making an obvious search for trickery, moved about the little alcove, sure that if there were any cords or strings she would encounter them, but she was aware of nothing other than what she could see. ‘Miss Eustace is most remarkable,’ she said, ‘and I profess myself to be full of wonder at what I have seen today.’
Mrs Gaskin smiled indulgently. ‘I have seen even more remarkable things, and if you come to us again I am sure that you will see them, too. As our numbers grow and the spirits gain strength from the favourable energies that surround them so they will grant us more powerful manifestations.’
Mina was intrigued by the idea that the spirits were more powerful in the presence of devoted believers. Was Miss Eustace more inclined to perform miracles in front of her most ardent supporters? Or did it mean that believers were more likely to see what they were supposed to see? And what about unbelievers? Supposing someone, a stage magician for example, was to come for the sole purpose of exposing deception? Would he be a source of unfavourable energy, assuming there even to be such a thing? All these were matters that Mina felt she ought not to pursue with Mrs Gaskin; she merely offered
There were muffled exclamations of pleasurable apprehension as the company waited for what might happen next, and after a few moments, a new shape, veiled in a gauzy glow, peered from the parted curtains. The softness of the outline concealed its form, but as it turned from one side to another there were gasps and cries all around, for it was a face, the face of a man with thick hair clustering on his brow, pools of hollow darkness for eyes and a long black beard. A sudden terrible scream rang out and an exclamation: ‘Archibald!’ Miss Whinstone rose abruptly to her feet, and there was a loud crash as finally and unequivocally she fainted. There was pandemonium in the room, and someone called for lights and someone called for a doctor, and chairs were pushed back and people dropped hands and stood up. Professor Gaskin pleaded for calm, and relit the candle, and then Dr Hamid tended to the prostrate form of Miss Whinstone, who soon came to her senses and was furnished with a glass of water. Miss Eustace was, saw Mina, still firmly tied to her chair, and appeared to be unconscious, but Mrs Gaskin untied her and dabbed her forehead with a handkerchief, and she raised her head with an exhausted smile.
The disturbance gave Mina the opportunity to go and look behind the curtains, and there was, she had to admit, little enough to see. The table that had fallen was now standing upright with the bell and tambourine in place, and there was an untidy pencilled scrawl on the paper. Mrs Gaskin loomed up beside her. ‘Please do look at everything,’ she said, triumphantly.
‘I didn’t intend to intrude, but I am naturally curious,’ said Mina. ‘I would like to learn more.’
‘We are all students,’ said Mrs Gaskin, grandiloquently, suggesting that as students went she was at the very least senior in understanding.
Mina picked up the paper on which was inscribed a pious wish for the good health and fortune of those in attendance. ‘The spirits have very poor handwriting,’ she observed, ‘or perhaps they cannot see in the dark.’
‘I do not know how the writing is produced,’ said Mrs Gaskin. ‘It may be that the force exerted by Miss Eustace is as yet insufficiently refined to allow a more elegant hand.’
‘Has she given you no clue as to how it is done?’
‘None at all. She is always quite unable to recall anything of what has passed, and least of all is she aware of how her powers are exercised.’
Mina, while not wanting to appear to be making an obvious search for trickery, moved about the little alcove, sure that if there were any cords or strings she would encounter them, but she was aware of nothing other than what she could see. ‘Miss Eustace is most remarkable,’ she said, ‘and I profess myself to be full of wonder at what I have seen today.’
Mrs Gaskin smiled indulgently. ‘I have seen even more remarkable things, and if you come to us again I am sure that you will see them, too. As our numbers grow and the spirits gain strength from the favourable energies that surround them so they will grant us more powerful manifestations.’
Mina was intrigued by the idea that the spirits were more powerful in the presence of devoted believers. Was Miss Eustace more inclined to perform miracles in front of her most ardent supporters? Or did it mean that believers were more likely to see what they were supposed to see? And what about unbelievers? Supposing someone, a stage magician for example, was to come for the sole purpose of exposing deception? Would he be a source of unfavourable energy, assuming there even to be such a thing? All these were matters that Mina felt she ought not to pursue with Mrs Gaskin; she merely offered
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