Page 72 - English Class 07

Without making any noise and a poker grasped firmly in hand, the clergyman flung open

the door.
“Surrender!”

Then, to his amazement, he realized that the room appeared to be empty. He and his

wife looked under the desk, and behind the curtains and even up the chimney. There wasn’t
a sign of anybody. Yet the desk had been opened and the house, keeping money was missing.
“Extraordinary Affair!” the clergyman kept saying for the rest of the day.

But, it was not so extraordinary as the behavior of Mrs Hall’s furniture a little later that

morning.
The landlord and his wife were up very early, and were surprised to see the scientist’s
door wide open. Usually it was shut and locked, and he was furious it anyone entered his

room. The opportunity seemed too good to be missed. They peeped round the door, saw
nobody and decided to investigate. The bedclothes were cold, showing that the scientist
must have been up for some time; and stranger still, the clothes and bandages that he

always wore were lying about the room.
All of sudden Mrs Hall heard a sniff close to her ear. A moment later the hat on the
bedpost leapt up and dashed itself into her face. Then, the bedroom chair became alive.

Spring into the air it charged straight at her, legs foremost. As she and her husband turned
away in terror, the extraordinary chair pushed them both out of the room and then
appeared to slam and lock the door after them.

Mrs Hall almost fell down the stairs in hysterics .
poker : an iron rod
She was convinced that the room was haunted by
grasped : caught firmly
spirits, and that the stranger had somehow caused furious : very angry
these to enter into the furniture. hysterics : a fit of hysteria
witchcraft : sorcery, black magic
“My poor mother used to sit in that chair,” she
mysteriously : in a suspicious manner
moaned.” “To think it should rise up against
me now!”

The feeling among the neighbours was that the trouble was caused by witchcraft . But
witchcraft or not, when news of the burglary at the clergyman’s home became known, the
strange scientist was strongly suspected of having had a hand in it.

Suspicion grew even stronger when he suddenly produced some ready cash, though he
had admitted not long before that he had no money.

The village constable was secretly sent for. Instead of waiting for the constable, Mrs Hall
went to the scientist who had somehow mysteriously appeared from his empty bedroom.

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