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Novel Summary

Chapter I: The Strange Man's Arrival

New arrival at ‘Coach and Horses’
On a cold day in February, a stranger arrives at the Bramblehurst railway station in the little town of Iping. He is a very unusual sight to see, wrapped up completely, carrying a portmanteau in his gloved hand and his hat covering almost his entire face.

He enters the “Coach and Horses” inn and demands a room and a fire for himself. Mrs. Hall, the owner of the inn, happy to find a guest in this season, readily gives him a room at the inn and hurries to prepare his meal.

Mrs. Hall is in for a surprise
Mrs Hall enters the parlour and sees the stranger staring out of the window still in his coat and hat. She is surprised for the fire has been burning up and the room is quite warm. She offers to dry his dripping clothes for him, which he refuses saying he likes to keep his coat on. Mrs Hall looks at his face and notices his big blue spectacles with sidelights. She quickly lays the table and leaves. She returns with the food only to find that the man still standing.  She informs him that lunch has been served and then leaves again.


The strange behaviour intrigues Mrs. Hall
As she re-enters the room, the man ducks down under the table as if looking for something. She puts the tray on the table and notices that the man has removed his coat, hat and boots. She picks them up saying that she will take them out to dry. The stranger abruptly comes out from under the table and orders her to leave his hat. As she turns to look at him, she sees that his whole head is covered with bandages. He is holding a white napkin to cover up his mouth and jaws, leaving only his pink nose exposed. Mrs. Hall assumes he has had an accident and sympathises with him.


The stranger wants his luggage delivered
The stranger tells Mrs. Hall that his luggage is at the Bramblehurst Station and it should be delivered to him. She refuses to send anyone that day and promises the delivery next day. He tries to convince her to send someone, but to no avail. Then, she tries to engage him in a conversation regarding accidents, but is rudely interrupted by him with a demand for a match for his pipe. Mrs. Hall leaves him alone after giving him the match and he stays in his room for the rest of the day.

The clock-jobber at work
In the evening, Teddy, the clock-jobber, arrives and Mrs. Hall asks him to repair the clock in the parlour. They enter the room to find the stranger sleeping on the armchair in the dark.  She vaguely notices a huge mouth wide open and finds it weird.  However, when she opens the door of the room to let in light, she finds his mouth covered with his muffler. Although unhappy when disturbed, the stranger agrees to let Teddy work. Teddy is “taken aback” by the stranger’s demeanour and appearance.

The stranger wants his luggage and some solitude
As Mrs. Hall is about to leave the room the stranger asks her about his luggage. Having been snubbed by him earlier in the day, she is distant in her replies. The stranger introduces himself as an experimental investigator and explains the importance of his luggage that contains apparatus and appliances. He further explains his need for solitude as he has important experiments to conduct. Besides, as he had an accident, he likes to be alone. Mrs. Hall decides to contain her curiosity for the time being and goes away to get his tea without much response.

Curiosity makes Teddy work longer    
Teddy takes off the hands of the clock as well as the whole machine in an attempt to stay in the room longer than necessary. The stranger stands still all the time and when Teddy raises his head, he find the stranger staring at him. He tries to strike up a conversation, but the stranger cuts him off. Baffled by the rude behaviour, Teddy completes his job and leaves in a hurry.

Teddy meets Mr. Hall
Teddy is quite annoyed and as he trudges down the village, he sees Mr. Hall who had recently married Mrs Hall and drives the Iping conveyance. Teddy stops to speak to Mr. Hall, who appears to be a bit drunk, and comments about the new arrival at the inn. He thinks he is a shady character who might be hiding from the police. He advises him to get rid of the man soon. Mr. Hall decides to speak to his wife about this matter.

Mrs. Hall is adamant about her decision
Upon Mr. Hall’s arrival at the inn, he is scolded by his wife for being late and later when he enquires about the stranger, he is asked to mind his own business regarding the matters of the inn. Mrs. Hall, in fact, is unwilling to accept that she too has apprehensions about the stranger.

An unusual incident
The next day, the stranger’s luggage—trunks, boxes of books, crates and cases containing glass bottles—arrives in Fearenside’s cart. As the stranger comes out of the inn as if to collect his luggage, Fearenside’s dog bites him, tearing his trousers. Immediately, Fearenside whips the dog, while the stranger rushes up to his room. Mr. Hall, who is standing nearby, runs behind the stranger to help him.

A handless arm
Mr. Hall he finds the door of the stranger’s room open and walks in. He is shocked to see a handless arm waving at him and a face with three huge spots staring at him. Before he can realise, he is hit on the chest, hurled out of the room and the door shut on his face.

Some reactions
A group of people collects in front of the inn to inquire about and comment on the happenings. Fearenside relates the episode again and again for the benefit of the crowd. Mr. Hall joins them, but is still overwhelmed by what he had just seen and finds himself incapable of expressing anything.

The strangers sets to work
The stranger puts an end to the meeting by reminding them that his luggage has to be moved upstairs. As the crates are brought in, the stranger unpacks them and takes out bottles of different kinds. He arranges them all over the …

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