The Soul Stealer - free ebook by Guy Thorne

Author of "The Serf," "The Harvest of Love," "The Price of Pity," "A Story of the Stage," etc., etc.

LONDON F. V. WHITE &amp; Co., Limited 14, BEDFORD STREET, STRAND, W.C. 1906 Richard Clay &amp; Sons, Limited BREAD STREET HILL, E.C., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK....

13 minute read

Read Chapter

MR. EUSTACE CHARLIEWOOD, MAN ABOUT TOWN

Upon a brilliant morning in the height of the winter, Mr. Eustace Charliewood walked slowly up Bond Street. The sun was shining brightly, and there was a keen, invigorating snap in the air which sent the well-dressed people who were beginning to throng the pavements, walking briskly and cheerily. The great shops of one of the richest thoroughfares in the world were brilliant with luxuries, the tall commissionaires who stood by the heavy glass doors were continually opening them for the entrance

17 minute read

Read Chapter

UNEXPECTED ENTRANCE OF TWO LADIES

For a moment or two Eustace Charliewood did not return his host's greeting. He was not only surprised by the curious proceeding of which he had been a witness, but he felt a certain chill also. "What the deuce are you up to now, Gouldesbrough?" he said in an uneasy voice. "Another of your beastly experiments? I wish you wouldn't startle a fellow in this way." Sir William looked keenly at the big man whose face had become curiously pallid. There was a tremendous contrast in the two people in the

11 minute read

Read Chapter

NEWS OF A REVOLUTION

Marjorie and Lady Poole came into the room. For two at least of the people there it was an agonizing moment. But a second before, Sir William Gouldesbrough had been proposing to steal and open a letter written by another man to his fiancée . But a second before, Mr. Eustace Charliewood, the well-known society man, had sullenly acquiesced in the proposal. And now here was Marjorie Poole confronting them. "We thought we'd come to tea, William," Lady Poole said effusively, going forward to shake ha

19 minute read

Read Chapter

THE SECOND LOVER ARRIVES

On the evening of the day in which she had fainted, Marjorie Poole sat alone in the drawing-room of her mother's house in Curzon Street. It was a large, handsome place, furnished in the Empire style with mirrors framed in delicate white arabesques, and much gilding woven into the pattern. The carpet was a great purple expanse covered with laurel wreaths of darker purple. There was but little furniture in the big, beautiful place, but it was all airy, fantastic and perfect of its kind. There was

10 minute read

Read Chapter

A CONSPIRACY OF SCIENTISTS

Sir William Gouldesbrough had been up very late the night before. He came down from his room on a grey morning a fortnight after the day on which he had told Marjorie something of his hopes. It was nearly twelve o'clock. He had not retired to rest until four upon the same morning. And when he had at last left the great laboratories built out of the back of the house, he had stumbled up to his room, a man drunk with an almost incredible success—a success of detail so perfect and complete that his

10 minute read

Read Chapter

"WILL YOU WALK INTO MY PARLOUR?"

Mr. Eustace Charliewood's chambers were in Jermyn Street. But few of his many friends had ever seen the interior of them. Such entertaining as the man about town did—and he was always one of those who were entertained, rather than one of those who offer hospitality—was done at his club. The man who looked after the place and valeted his master was therefore the more surprised when Charliewood had called him up one morning after breakfast. "Look here, William," Charliewood had said, "I've got a g

19 minute read

Read Chapter

ENGLAND'S GREAT SENSATION

In the course of a week or so London, and shortly afterwards the whole of England, realized that a new and absorbing sensation was dawning. Perhaps there is nothing which more excites the popular mind than the sudden disappearance of anybody from whatever class of society. It began to be realized, whispered and hinted at in the newspapers that a young and rising barrister of good family, named Mr. Guy Rathbone, of the Inner Temple, had suddenly vanished. It was but a year or two before that the

11 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHIVALROUS BARONET

Lady Poole and her daughter had been living in rooms in the great Palace Hotel at Brighton for a fortnight. Marjorie, utterly broken down by the terrible mystery that enveloped her, and shrinking from the fierce light that began to beat upon the details of her private life, had implored her mother to take her from London. There had been a terrible scene between the old lady and her daughter when, the day after Marjorie had written to Sir William Gouldesbrough telling him that she could not marry

9 minute read

Read Chapter

GRATITUDE OF MISS MARJORIE POOLE

As the man to whom she had been engaged came into the room, Marjorie rose to meet him. She was not embarrassed, the hour and occasion were too serious for that, and she herself was too broken down for any emotions save those that were intensely real and came from an anguished heart. She went up to him, all pale and drooping, and took him by the hand. "Thank you, William," she said in a low voice, and that was all. But in her words Gouldesbrough realized all that she was powerless to say. He hear

11 minute read

Read Chapter

A MAN ABOUT TOWN PAYS A DEBT

The people in the luxurious smoking-room of the great Palace Hotel saw a pale, ascetic-looking and very distinguished man come in to the comfortable place and sit down upon a lounge. "Do you know who that is?" one man whispered to another, flicking the ash off a cigar. "No; who is he?" his companion answered. "That's Sir William Gouldesbrough." "Oh, the great scientific Johnny, you mean." "Yes, they say that he is going to turn the world topsy-turvy before he's done." "The world's good enough fo

9 minute read

Read Chapter

BEEF TEA AND A PHOSPHATE SOLUTION

Sir William Gouldesbrough remained in Brighton for three days. Eustace Charliewood had died in two minutes after the lift-man and the scientist had burst into the room. The suicide had said no word, and indeed was absolutely unconscious from the moment the shot had been fired, until his almost immediate death. Sir William had made all the necessary arrangements. He had communicated with old Sir Miles Charliewood, of Norfolk, he had expedited the arrangements for the inquest, and he was, as the n

20 minute read

Read Chapter

THE TOMB-BOUND MAN

Mr. Guest had visited his victim and had gone. Supper was over. Beef-tea and phosphorous! and Mr. Guest had said his mocking words of good-night. "Sleep well, Mr. Rathbone! I shall not be compelled to ask you to wear that pretty metal cap until to-morrow, so I won't turn out the light. You have a book to read, you've had your supper, and I wish you a pleasant time alone. No doubt you will occupy your leisure in thinking of Miss Marjorie Poole. You'll recall that occasion in a certain room hung w

10 minute read

Read Chapter

LORD MALVIN

If Sir William Gouldesbrough represented all that was most brilliant, modern, and daring in the scientific world of Europe, Lord Malvin stood as its official figure-head. He was the "grand old man" of science, and was regarded by every one as a final court of appeal in all such matters. He was of a great age, almost eighty, in fact, yet his health was perfect, his intellect unimpaired, and his interest in human events as keen and vigorous as that of a man but half his age and in the full prime a

10 minute read

Read Chapter

DONALD MEGBIE SEES POSSIBILITIES

So Sir William Gouldesbrough passed through the crowds of friends and acquaintances who crowded round him in a welter of curiosity and congratulation, and came into the inner room, where Lord Malvin, Sir Harold Oliver and Mr. Donald Megbie were waiting to receive him. Tall, suave, and self-contained, he bowed and shook hands. Then there was a moment's pause—they were waiting for him to speak, expectant of what he should say. "I am sorry, Lord Malvin," he began, "that I have arrived so late at yo

19 minute read

Read Chapter

HAIL TO THE LOVERS!

When he had left Donald Megbie, Sir William Gouldesbrough went back to the room in which he had last seen Marjorie Poole. He found her the centre of a circle of friends and acquaintances. Lady Poole was sitting by her daughter's side, and was in a high good humour. Gouldesbrough saw at once that while he had been talking with Donald Megbie in the conservatory, Lord Malvin had done as Gouldesbrough had asked him. Every one knew, with more or less accuracy, of what the new invention consisted. If

10 minute read

Read Chapter

STRANGE OCCURRENCE IN THE TEMPLE

Like most writers, Donald Megbie was of a nervous and sensitive temperament. Both mental and physical impressions recorded themselves very rapidly and completely upon his consciousness. He arrived at the Inner Temple with every nerve in a state of excitement, such as he had hardly ever known before. He walked down the dim echoing ways towards the river, his chambers being situated in the new buildings upon the embankment. A full moon hung in the sky, brilliant and honey-coloured, attended by lit

9 minute read

Read Chapter

MARJORIE AND DONALD MEGBIE

The valet showed Marjorie Poole into Donald Megbie's study. She wore a coat and skirt of dark green Harris Tweed with leather collar and cuffs, and a simple sailor hat. Megbie, who had never met Miss Poole in the country, but only knew her in London and during the season, had never seen her dressed like this before. He had always admired her beauty, the admirable poise of her manner, the evidences of intellectuality she gave. At the moment of her entry the journalist thought her more beautiful t

10 minute read

Read Chapter

PLANS

Sir William Gouldesbrough stood in the large laboratory. The great room was perfectly dark, save only for a huge circle of bright light upon one of the walls, like the circle thrown upon a screen by a magic-lantern. A succession of dim and formless figures moved and slid over the illuminated space in fantastic silence. Now and then the face of part of the dress of one of the figures would suddenly glow out into colour and absolute distinctness. Then it would fade away into mist. There was a "cli

8 minute read

Read Chapter

A DEATH-WARRANT IS PRESENTED TO A PRISONER

When Wilson Guest spoke of the final extinction of the wretched subject of their experiments, Sir William Gouldesbrough did not answer. He began to pace the long room, his head was sunk upon his breast, and his face was like the face of Minos, inscrutable and deadly calm. Suddenly the whistle of a speaking tube sounded in the wall. All the laboratories and experimental rooms were thus connected with the house proper. None of the servants were allowed to pass the connecting door, unless by specia

18 minute read

Read Chapter

THOUGHTS OF ONE IN DURANCE

Once more the cell was only tenanted by the victim. Sir William had gone, the great door had clanked and clicked, and Guy Rathbone still lay upon his couch of torture. The electric light still shone, as Gouldesbrough had forgotten to turn it off, or perhaps did not know that this was the invariable custom of his assistant when Rathbone was clanked and bolted down to his bed of vulcanite. It was the first visit that Sir William had paid to the living tomb to which he had consigned his rival. Rath

10 minute read

Read Chapter

HOW THEY ALL WENT TO THE HOUSE IN REGENT'S PARK

The little door in the wall of Sir William Gouldesbrough's old Georgian house stood wide open. Carriages were driving up, and the butler was constantly ushering visitors into the vast sombre hall, while a footman kept escorting this or that arrival up the gravel path among the laurel bushes. It was afternoon, a dull and livid afternoon. Clouds had come down too near to London, and thunder lurked behind them. Never at any time a cheerful place, the old walled house of the scientist to-day wore it

5 minute read

Read Chapter

THE DOOM BEGINS

The visitors found themselves in the laboratory, a large building lit by means of its glass roof. Sir William Gouldesbrough, dressed in a grey morning suit, received them. He shook hands with one or two, and bowed to the rest; but there was no regular greeting of each person who came in. At one side of the laboratory were three long rows of arm-chairs, built up in three tiers on platforms, much in the same way as the seats are arranged for hospital students in an operating theatre. The guests we

16 minute read

Read Chapter

THE DOOM CONTINUES

They were all watching, and watching very intently. All they could see was a bright circle of light which flashed out upon the opposite wall. It was just as though they were watching an ordinary exhibition of the magic-lantern or the cinematograph. And suddenly, swiftly, these world-worn and weary people of society, these scientists who lived by measure and by rule, saw that all Sir William Gouldesbrough had said was true—and truer than he himself knew. For upon this white screen, where all thei

5 minute read

Read Chapter

MR. WILSON GUEST MAKES A MISTAKE

Mr. Wilson Guest had seen all this many times before. The actual demonstration would have given him amusement and filled him with that odd secret pride which was the only reward he asked from that science which he had followed so long under different conditions than the present. If Sir William Gouldesbrough had not absolutely prohibited the use of any alcohol upon that day, Guest might have been normal and himself. It was in this matter that Sir William made a great mistake. In his extreme nervo

5 minute read

Read Chapter

AT LAST!

When the sounds of amused laughter at Lord Landsend's unconscious revelation had passed away, and that young nobleman, slightly flushed indeed, but still with the imperturbability that a man of his class and kind learns how to wear on all occasions, had regained his seat, a fire of questions poured in upon Sir William Gouldesbrough. The famous scientists of the party had all risen and were conferring together in a ripple of rapid and exciting talk, which for the convenience of the foreign member

13 minute read

Read Chapter

TWO FINAL PICTURES

There are two things to record— (1) His hair was quite grey, his face was old and lined. His body was beginning to be ravaged by the devilish drugs with which it had been inoculated. But he lay upon a couch in the study, and Marjorie bent over him kissing him, calling to him and cooing inarticulate words of belief and of love. Lady Poole was there also, motionless and silent, while Lord Malvin and the doctor, who had been hastily summoned from Baker Street, watched by the head of the couch. The

7 minute read

Read Chapter