Chapter 15

Having satisfied our curiosity, and bound every one in the house to secrecy, it became a question what was to be done with our Enigma? It was impossible that we should keep such a horror in our house; it was equally impossible that such an awful being should be let loose upon the world. I confess that I would have gladly voted for the creature's destruction. But who would shoulder the responsibility? Who would undertake the execution of this horrible semblance to a human being? Day after day this question was deliberated gravely. The boarders all left the house. Mrs. Moffat was in despair, and threatened Hammond and myself with all sorts of legal penalties if we did not remove the Horror. Our answer was, "We will go if you like, but we decline taking this creature with us. Remove it yourself if you please. It appeared in your house. On you the responsibility rests." To this there was, of course, no answer. Mrs. Moffat could not obtain for love or money a person who would even approach the Mystery.

At last it died. Hammond and I found it cold and stiff one morning in the bed. The heart had ceased to beat, the lungs to inspire. We hastened to bury it in the garden. It was a strange funeral, the dropping of that viewless corpse into the damp hole. The cast of its form I gave to Doctor X----, who keeps it in his museum in Tenth Street.

As I am on the eve of a long journey from which I may not return, I have drawn up this narrative of an event the most singular that has ever come to my knowledge.

+------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Transcriber's Note: | | | |The words peckett (page 11), stronge (page 170) and Boulevart(s) | |(pages 59 and 80), the use of both L'Estrange and l'Estrange, and | |variations in hyphenated words have been retained as in the | |original book. | | | |Page 21 "Derybshire" changed to "Derbyshire" | | | |Page 22 "felt their hair" changed to "felt the hair" | | | |Page 46 "Come baack to" changed to "Come back to" | | | |Page 48 Added " before Dear Mr. Westcar | | | |Page 61 "sufficiently start ling" changed to | | "sufficiently startling" | | | |Page 84 Changed " to ' before And what other | | | |Page 95 Removed " before together with | | | |Page 115 "dangerous conditon" changed to "dangerous condition" | | | |Page 120 "keeeping the matter" changed to "keeping the matter" | | | |Page 123 Added " after new stalls, Gen'ral). | | | |Page 127 "beyond each" changed to "beyond reach" | | | |Page 138 "tradionally imputed" changed to "traditionally imputed" | | | |Page 152 "by which pedestrains" changed to "by which pedestrians" | | | |Page 164 "buy the joint of you" changed to "buy the joint off you"| | | |Page 191 "was on the the man's" changed to "was on the man's" | | | |Page 219 "Miss Collingwood had been languid" changed to | | "Miss Collingham had been languid" | | | |Page 220 Added " before Miss Collingham started | | | |Page 232 Removed " before The shades of evening | | | |Page 233 "Ferhaps the following" changed to | | "Perhaps the following" | | | |Page 235 "it gavevent to" changed to "it gave vent to" | | | |Page 250 "my rage are against" changed to "my rage against" | +------------------------------------------------------------------+