Chapter 12 At Port Stowe
At ten o'clock the next morning Mr Marvel, dirty, tired, and worried, sat outside a little inn at Port Stowe. Beside him were the books, but now they were tied up with string. He had left the clothes in the woods beyond Bramblehurst. Mr Marvel sat on a wooden seat and, although no one took any notice of him, he seemed excited. When he had been sitting for nearly an hour an old sailor, with a newspaper in his hand, came out of the inn and sat down beside him. 'Pleasant day,' said the sailor. Mr Marvel looked around him with eyes that were full of terror. 'Very,' he replied. The sailor looked around him as if he had nothing to do, and then at Mr Marvel's dusty clothes and the books beside him. He had heard the sound of money being dropped into a pocket, and thought that Mr Marvel did not look like a man who would carry much money. 'Books?' he said suddenly. Mr Marvel jumped and looked at them. 'Oh, yes,' he said. 'Yes, they're books.' 'There are some strange things in books,' said the sailor. 'There are,' said Mr Marvel. 'And some strange things out of them,' said the sailor. 'True,' said Mr Marvel. 'There are some strange things in newspapers, for example,' said the sailor. 'There are.' 'In this newspaper,' said the sailor. 'Ah!' said Mr Marvel. 'There's a story,' said the sailor, 'there's a story about an Invisible Man.' And he told Mr Marvel as much of the story as
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