The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Moving Finger, by E. Phillips Oppenheim

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Title: The Moving Finger

Author: E. Phillips Oppenheim

Release Date: December 31, 2009 [EBook #30811]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOVING FINGER ***

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THE MOVING
FINGER

BY

E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM

AUTHOR OF "THE LOST AMBASSADOR," "THE ILLUSTRIOUS
PRINCE," "JEANNE OF THE MARSHES," ETC.

_With Illustrations by_
J. V. McFALL

BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
1911

_Copyright, 1910, 1911_,
BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.

_All rights reserved._

Published, May, 1911.

_Printed by
THE COLONIAL PRESS
C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston, U. S. A._

[Illustration: "Sit still," he whispered. "Don't say anything. There
is someone coming." FRONTISPIECE. _See p._ 166]

"The Moving Finger writes; and having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it."

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

PROLOGUE--THE DREAMER 1
I. A LETTER PROVES USEFUL 11
II. OLD ACQUAINTANCES 17
III. "WHO IS MR. SATON?" 23
IV. A QUESTION OF OBLIGATION 32
V. A MORNING WALK 46
VI. PAULINE MARRABEL 54
VII. AN UNWELCOME VISITOR 61
VIII. AN INSTANCE OF OCCULTISM 67
IX. A SENTIMENTAL TALK 74
X. THE SCENE CHANGES 80
XI. A BUSY EVENING 86
XII. A CALL ON LADY MARRABEL 97
XIII. LADY MARY'S DILEMMA 105
XIV. PETTY WORRIES