The Goddess A Demon By Richard Marsh _Author of_ “_In Full Cry_,” “_The Beetle: A Mystery_,” “_Marvels and Mysteries_,” “_Ada Vernham, Actress_,” &_c_. London: F. V. White & Co. 14, Bedford Street, Strand, W.C. 1900 CONTENTS I. A Vision of the Night II. The Woman who came through the Window III. The Conquest of Mrs. Peddar IV. Dr. Hume V. A Curious Case VI. The Doctor accuses VII. The Suspicions of Mr. Morley VIII. The Recognition of the Photograph IX. The Revelations of “Mr. George Withers” X. Where Miss Moore was going XI. In the one Room--and the other XII. What was on the Bed XIII. She and I XIV. He and I XV. The Letter XVI. My Persuasive Manner XVII. My Unpersuasive Manner XVIII. I am called XIX. I leave the Court XX. A Journey to Nowhere XXI. A Check at the Start XXII. A Miracle XXIII. In the Passage XXIV. In the Room XXV. The Goddess XXVI. The Legacy of the Scarlet Hands The Goddess CHAPTER I. A VISION OF THE NIGHT I was sure that I had seen Edwin Lawrence juggle with the pack. As I lay there wide awake in bed it all came back to me. I wondered how I could have been such an unspeakable idiot. We had dined together at the Trocadero; then we had gone on to the Empire. The big music hall was packed with people, the heat was insufferable. “Let’s get out of this,” suggested Lawrence, almost as soon as we were in. “This crush, in this atmosphere, is not to be borne.” I agreed with him. We left. “Come into my place for an hour,” he said. We both lived in Imperial Mansions, on the same floor. His number was 64, mine was 79. You went out of his door, along the passage, round the corner to the right--the second door on the right was mine. I went in with him. “What do you say to a little gamble?” he asked. “It will be better than nothing.” I agreed. We had a little gamble--at first for trivial stakes. I am an abstemious man. I had already drunk more than I was accustomed to. At his invitation I drank still more. We increased the stakes. I really do not know from whom the suggestion came, I know that I did not object. I had lost all my ready money. I kept on losing. He was dotting down, on a piece of paper, the extent of my indebtedness. Presently, when he announced the sum total, I was amazed to learn that it was very much more than I imagined--actually nearly a thousand pounds. On the instant I was wide awake. “Nine hundred and forty pounds, Lawrence! It can’t be as much as that!” “My dear chap, here are the figures; look for yourself.” He handed me the piece of paper. His manner of arranging the several amounts I found more than a little vague, but as I had been so foolish as not to have kept count of them myself, I was hardly in a position to dispute their accuracy; and, added together, they certainly did come to the sum he stated. Still I felt persuaded that there was a mistake somewhere, though in what it consisted I was unable at the moment to perceive.