The Man from Archangel, and Other Tales of AdventureDoyle, Arthur Conan
General
The Man from Archangel, and Other Tales of Adventure
Doyle, Arthur Conan
Adventure stories, English; Physicians -- Fiction
"You confounded idiot!" I shouted, shaking my fist in Tom's face. "Isn't
it enough to dislocate every bone in my body with your ridiculous
resuscitations without ruining my constitution with this thing?" and I
gave a vicious kick at the mahogany box. Never was there such a
stampede! The inspector of police and the correspondent of the
_Chronicle_ sprang down the staircase, followed by the twelve
respectable citizens. The landlady crawled under the bed. A lodger who
was nursing her baby while she conversed with a neighbour in the street
below let the child drop upon her friend's head. In fact Tom might have
founded the nucleus of a practice there and then. As it was, his usual
presence of mind carried him through. "A miracle!" he yelled from the
window. "A miracle! Our friend has been brought back to us; send for a
cab." And then _sotto voce_, "For goodness' sake, Jack, behave like a
Christian and crawl into bed again. Remember the landlady is in the room
and don't go prancing about in your shirt."
"Hang the landlady," said I, "I feel like a lightning conductor--you've
ruined me!"
"Poor fellow," cried Tom, once more addressing the crowd, "he is alive,
but his intellect is irretrievably affected. He thinks he is a lightning
conductor. Make way for the cab. That's right! Now help me to lead him
in. He is out of all danger now. He can dress at his hotel. If any of
you have any information to give which may throw light upon this case my
address is 81 George Street. Remember, Doctor Crabbe, 81 George Street.
Good day, kind friends, good-bye!" And with that he bundled me into the
cab to prevent my making any further disclosures, and drove off amid the
enthusiastic cheers of the admiring crowd.
I could not stay in Brisport long enough to see the effect of my _coup
d'etat_. Tom gave us a champagne supper that night, and the fun was fast
and furious, but in the midst of it a telegram from my principal was
handed in ordering me to return to Manchester by the next train. I
waited long enough to get an early copy of the _Brisport Chronicle_, and
beguiled the tedious journey by perusing the glowing account of my
mishap. A column and a half was devoted to Dr. Crabbe and the
extraordinary effects of electricity upon a drowned man. It ultimately
got into some of the London papers, and was gravely commented upon in
the _Lancet_.
As to the pecuniary success of our little experiment I can only judge
from the following letter from Tom Crabbe, which I transcribe exactly as
I received it:
"WHAT HO! MY RESUSCITATED CORPSE,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account