{"product_id":"2940013684546","title":"Tales of Horror and the Supernatural","description":"'I see you are a determined rationalist,' said the lady. 'Did you not\u003cbr\u003ehear me say that I have had experiences even more terrible? I too was\u003cbr\u003eonce a sceptic, but after what I have known I can no longer affect to\u003cbr\u003edoubt.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Madam,' replied Mr. Phillipps, 'no one shall make me deny my faith. I\u003cbr\u003ewill never believe, nor will I pretend to believe, that two and two make\u003cbr\u003efive, nor will I on any pretences admit the existence of two-sided\u003cbr\u003etriangles.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'You are a little hasty,' rejoined the lady. 'But may I ask you if you\u003cbr\u003eever heard the name of Professor Gregg, the authority on ethnology and\u003cbr\u003ekindred subjects?'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I have done much more than merely hear of Professor Gregg,' said\u003cbr\u003ePhillipps. 'I always regarded him as one of our most acute and\u003cbr\u003eclear-headed observers; and his last publication, the _Textbook of\u003cbr\u003eEthnology_, struck me as being quite admirable in its kind. Indeed, the\u003cbr\u003ebook had but come into my hands when I heard of the terrible accident\u003cbr\u003ewhich cut short Gregg's career. He had, I think, taken a country house\u003cbr\u003ein the west of England for the summer, and is supposed to have fallen\u003cbr\u003einto a river. So far as I remember, his body was never recovered.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Sir, I am sure that you are discreet. Your conversation seems to\u003cbr\u003edeclare as much, and the very title of that little work of yours which\u003cbr\u003eyou mentioned assures me that you are no empty trifler. In a word, I\u003cbr\u003efeel that I may depend on you. You appear to be under the impression\u003cbr\u003ethat Professor Gregg is dead; I have no reason to believe that that is\u003cbr\u003ethe case.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'What?' cried Phillipps, astonished and perturbed. 'You do not hint that\u003cbr\u003ethere was anything disgraceful? I cannot believe it. Gregg was a man of\u003cbr\u003eclearest character; his private life was one of great benevolence; and\u003cbr\u003ethough I myself am free from delusions, I believe him to have been a\u003cbr\u003esincere and devout Christian. Surely you cannot mean to insinuate that\u003cbr\u003esome disreputable history forced him to flee the country?'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Again you are in a hurry.' replied the lady. 'I said nothing of all\u003cbr\u003ethis. Briefly, then, I must tell you that Professor Gregg left this\u003cbr\u003ehouse one morning in full health both in mind and body. He never\u003cbr\u003ereturned, but his watch and chain, a purse containing three sovereigns\u003cbr\u003ein gold, and some loose silver, with a ring that he wore habitually,\u003cbr\u003ewere found three days later on a wild and savage hillside, many miles\u003cbr\u003efrom the river. These articles were placed beside a limestone rock of\u003cbr\u003efantastic form; they had been wrapped into a parcel with a kind of rough\u003cbr\u003eparchment which was secured with gut. The parcel was opened, and the\u003cbr\u003einner side of the parchment bore an inscription done with some red\u003cbr\u003esubstance; the characters were undecipherable, but seemed to be a\u003cbr\u003ecorrupt cuneiform.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'You interest me intensely,' said Phillipps. 'Would you mind continuing\u003cbr\u003eyour story? The circumstance you have mentioned seems to me of the most\u003cbr\u003einexplicable character, and I thirst for an elucidation.'","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47070199808240,"sku":"2940013684546","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013684546_p0.jpg?v=1763584346","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013684546","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}