The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Miracle Man, by Frank L. Packard

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Title: The Miracle Man

Author: Frank L. Packard

Release Date: April 7, 2005 [EBook #15578]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MIRACLE MAN ***

Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Pilar Somoza and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.

THE
MIRACLE MAN

BY
FRANK L. PACKARD

AUTHOR OF
GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN, ETC.

NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS

1914

TO
NEARLY
EVERYBODY

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I THE "ROOST"

II A NEW CULT

III NEEDLEY

IV THE PATRIARCH

V A STRANGE CONVERSATION

VI OFFICIALLY ENDORSED

VII THE PATRIARCH'S GRAND NIECE

VIII IN WHICH THE BAIT IS NIBBLED

IX THE PILGRIMAGE

X THE MIRACLE

XI THE AFTERMATH

XII "SAID THE SPIDER TO THE FLY"

XIII REAL MONEY

XIV KNOTTING THE STRINGS

XV THE MIRACLE OVERDONE

XVI A FLY IN THE OINTMENT

XVII IN WHICH HELENA TAKES A RIDE

XVIII THE BOOMERANG

XIX THE SANCTUARY OF DARKNESS

XX TO THE VICTOR ARE THE SPOILS

XXI FACE VALUE

XXII THE SHRINE

XXIII THE WAY OUT

XXIV VALE!

THE MIRACLE MAN

--I--

THE "ROOST"

He was a misshapen thing, bulking a black blotch in the night at the
entrance of the dark alleyway--like some lurking creature in its lair.
He neither stood, nor kneeled, nor sat--no single word would describe
his posture--he combined all three in a sort of repulsive, formless
heap.

The Flopper moved. He came out from the alleyway onto the pavement, into
the lurid lights of the Bowery, flopping along knee to toe on one leg,
dragging the other leg behind him--and the leg he dragged was limp and
wobbled from the knee. One hand sought the pavement to balance himself
and aid in locomotion; the other arm, the right, was twisted out from
his body in the shape of an inverted V, the palm of his hand, with half
curled, contorted fingers, almost touching his chin, as his head sagged
at a stiff, set angle into his right shoulder. Hair straggled from the
brim of a nondescript felt hat into his eye