The Invisible Man
The stranger with the bandages on his face went into the little parlour of the 'Coach and Horses' lodge at about 5.30 a.m. He remained there until midday, the doors and windows shut. No one knew what he did there and nobody dared to go near him. All that time he must have eaten nothing. Three times he rang his bell the third time, loudly and continuously but no one answered him. Now and then, people heard him walk up and down, and twice they heard loud smashing of bottles.
The little group of scared but curious people increased. Inside, in the darkness of the parlour, the stranger sat hidden in his long coat, hat and dark glasses. About noon, he suddenly opened the parlour door and shouted, "Mrs Hall!"
Mrs Hall appeared.
"Why haven't you prepared my meals and answered my bell?" the man asked.
"Why isn't my bill paid?" asked Mrs Hall.
"I told you three days ago I was waiting for my money….."
"I told you two days ago I wasn't going to wait for any money. If my bills aren't paid, you can't complain about your breakfast, can you?"
"I suppose I may have some money in my pocket…."
"I wonder where you found it!" said Mrs Hall.
That seemed to annoy the stranger very much.
"What do you mean?" He asked angrily.
"That I wonder where you found it," said Mrs Hall. "And before I do anything else, you have to tell me one or two things I don't understand. I want to know how your room was empty when no one saw you go out, and how you got in again. And I want to know-"
Suddenly, the stranger raised his gloved hands and yelled, "Stop!" with such anger that she stopped talking at once.
"You don't understand," he said, "Who I am. I'll show you."
Then he put his hand over his face and pulled off something.
"Here," he said and gave it to her. When she saw what it was, she screamed loudly and dropped it. It was the stranger's nose! The false nose—pink and shining – lay on the floor. Then the stranger took off his dark glasses. He took off his hat, his moustache and his bandages.
Everyone was shocked. It was worse than they had expected. All at once everyone began to move. Shouting and screaming, they ran to the door. The man who stood there was nothing. No visible thing at all!
The news spread quickly and a crowd collected in front of Mrs Hall's lodge. In the middle of this arrived Mr Bobby Jaffers, the constable. He marched up the steps straight to the parlour. The headless figure sat facing him. "What's all this?" asked a voice from above his collar.
It was the strangest thing in the world to hear a voice coming out as if from the empty space. Jaffers simply brought out a pair of handcuffs.
"Head or no head, I've got to arrest you," said Jaffers.
"But why am I being arrested?" asked the stranger.
"Money has been stolen from a house. And the situation certainly points to you…,"replied Jaffers.
"Nonsense said the Invisible man.
"I hope so, sir. But I've got my instructions."
"Very well," said the stranger. "I'll come. But no handcuffs."
The invisible man sat down. He slipped out of his shoes, socks and trousers. Then he jumped up again and flung off his coat.
"Stop that!" cried Jaffers, suddenly realising what was happening. He gripped the stranger's waistcoat. They struggled, and Jaffers was left holding the empty waistcoat in his hands. "Hold him!" said Jaffers loudly to those around. Once he gets the things off…"
"Hold him!" cried everyone. They all rushed towards the white shirt the only thing that remained on the stranger. But in a moment the shirt was lifted up and off.
Now nobody knew where the stranger stood! "Look out!" said everybody, hitting about in the air, "Don't let him loose!" But it was no use. The invisible man had escaped.
Language Record:
I] A. Write the synonym for the following from the given passage:
- unseen - ________________
- unfamiliar person - _______________
B] Write the antonym of the following:
- loose- ______________
- empty-______________
C] Write the word class and use the given word in a meaningful sentence of your own:
- escaped- ( ____ ) _________________________________
____________________________________________________
- complain- ( _____ ) _______________________________
____________________________________________________
II] Answer the following:
Q1) What did Mrs Hall want to know about the stranger?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Q2) Why were the people gathered at the lodge shocked?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Q3) Why did the stranger remove his clothes?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Directed writing:
Imagine you are Mr Bobby Jaffers from the story. Tell your family how you were unsuccessful in solving the case of the invisible man.
- Why did you go to Mrs Hall's lodge?
- How did the invisible man react towards you?
- How did the invisible man escape from your grip? What were your feelings as you were unable to solve the case?
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