The Soul Stealer

Hotel saw a pale, ascetic-looking and very distinguished ma

ne man whispered to another,

e?" his compa

William Go

scientific Jo

going to turn the world to

taken out and shot. I'm tired of inventions, they make life move too quickly. The good old times were best, when i

e look at things differently now-a-days. At any rate, Gouldes

t," replied his companion. "H

xed up in the Rathbone m

the girl who chucked him over for the

h him, poor wretch; d

n's standing out on his forehe

en, Jones, what do you really think about the fall in South Africans? Will they recover

he flashing eyes and the wet face. Once or twice the lift-man noticed that the visitor raised his hand to his neck above the collar and seemed to press upon it, and it may have been fancy on

ic bell upon the oak table in front of

andy and soda," he s

bowed and h

the day, that Sir William Gouldesbrough, the famous scientist, was generally known to b

ece of ice floating in the liquid, Sir William took a small white tabloid from a bott

as he did so the floating ice tinkled agains

king gentleman close by said

Gouldesbrough rose and left the smoking-room. He put

ric lights, which seemed to stretch right away beyo

seemed to steady the scientist as he walked down the steps

of the Alhambra Music Hall gleamed brightly, and on the promenade by the side of the

ike a jewelled snake. It was Brighton at

at hotel which towers up upon the front some quarter of a mi

ing nothing of them, hearing noth

realization when some great scientific theory had materialized into stupendous fact, when first Marjorie had pro

not half-a-dozen men in England could have done what he had done, and as the keen air smote upon his face like a blow from the flat of a sword, he r

f his own hotel, and the hall-porters touched th

He would only rejoice in his achievement, and he banished the fear that comes ev

n the second floor; he ran lightly up the stairs, w

ight, took off his coat, and stood in front of the

d progressed a step towards his desire, in spite of the mos

he had dropped into it, had calmed his nerves, and suddenly he laughed

there was a letter lying there addressed to him. The address was written in a well-

as t

to live. I don't blame you too much, because if I hadn't been a scoundrel and a wastrel all my life, I should never have put myself in your hands. As far as your lights go, you have acted well to me. You have paid me generously for the years of dirty work I have done at your bidding. For what I have done lately, you have made me financially free, and I shall die owing no man a penny, and with no man, save you only, knowing that I die without hope-lost, degraded and d

mit a frightful crime. Lax as I have always been, I can no longer feel I have any proper place among m

so on. I can't go on living, Gouldesbrough, because night and day, day and night, I am haunted by the thought of that poor young man you have got in your foul house in Regent's Park. What you are doing to him I don't know. The end o

e Charl

tter, his whole tall figure became rigid.

r into the depths of the glowing fire, pressing the paper

ned it, came out into the wide carpete

ton and heard it r

g doors, the "chunk" of the hydraulic mechanism, and h

ant opened

th floor, please," he said, "to

lied. "Oh, yes, I remember, number

learnt that he has been staying in the hotel. He

t upward, and the attendant and Sir

turning on the right," the lift-man s

down the corridor with Sir William. They turned the corne

e said. "That's Mr.

seemed to come from the room to which he had pointed-a

o Sir William wi

ng his politeness. "Somethin

with a little blue circle edged with crimson in the centre of his forehead. The hand