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The Invisible Man
Chapter 5. THE BURGLARY AT THE VICARAGE
The facts of the burglary at the vicarage came to us mostly through the vicar and his wife.
It happened in the early hours of Whit Monday, the day of the Club festivities in Iping.
Mrs. Bunting, it seems, woke up suddenly in the quiet before dawn.
She had a strong feeling that the door of their bedroom had opened and closed.
She didn't wake her husband at first, but sat up in bed listening.
Then she clearly heard the pad, pad, pad of bare feet coming out of the dressing-room next door.
The feet walked along the passage towards the stairs.
As soon as she was sure of this, she woke the Rev.
Mr. Bunting as quietly as possible.
He didn't light a candle, but put on his glasses, her dressing-gown, and his bath slippers.
He went out to the landing to listen.
He heard quite clearly a fumbling sound at his study desk downstairs, and then a loud sneeze.
At that, he went back to the bedroom.
He took the most obvious weapon, the poker, and went down the stairs as quietly as possible.
Mrs. Bunting came out onto the landing.
The time was about four o'clock, and the darkest part of the night was over.
There was a faint light in the hall, but the study doorway was completely dark.
Everything was still except for the soft creaking of the stairs under Mr. Bunting's feet and the small movements in the study.
Then something snapped, a drawer was opened, and there was a rustle of papers.
Then came a curse, and a match was struck.
The study was filled with yellow light.
Mr. Bunting was now in the hall.
Through the crack of the door, he could see the desk and the open drawer and a candle burning on the desk.
But he couldn't see the robber.
He stood there in the hall, not sure what to do.
Mrs. Bunting, her face white and serious, crept slowly down the stairs after him.
One thing gave Mr. Bunting courage, he believed that this burglar lived in the village.
They heard the chink of money.
They realized that the robber had found the housekeeping gold - two pounds ten in half sovereigns.
At that sound, Mr. Bunting felt ready to act.
He held the poker firmly, rushed into the room, and Mrs. Bunting followed close behind.
"Surrender!" cried Mr. Bunting, fiercely.
Then he stopped, amazed, the room seemed completely empty.
But they were sure that they had just heard someone moving in the room.
For about half a minute, they stood staring.
Then Mrs. Bunting went across the room and looked behind the screen.
Mr. Bunting, with a similar idea, looked under the desk.
Then Mrs. Bunting pulled back the window curtains, and Mr. Bunting looked up the chimney and pushed the poker into it.
Then Mrs. Bunting looked in the waste-paper basket, and Mr. Bunting opened the lid of the coal-scuttle.
Then they stopped and stood looking at each other with questions in their eyes.
"I could have sworn -" said Mr. Bunting.
"The candle!" said Mr. Bunting.
"Who lit the candle?"
"The drawer!" said Mrs. Bunting.
"And the money's gone!"
She went quickly to the doorway.
"Of all the strange things -"
There was a loud sneeze in the passage.
They rushed out, As they did, the kitchen door slammed.
"Bring the candle," said Mr. Bunting, and he led the way.
They both heard the sound of bolts being pulled back quickly.
As he opened the kitchen door, he saw through the scullery that the back door was just opening.
The faint light of early dawn showed the dark shapes of the garden beyond.
He's certain that nothing went out of the door.
It opened, stayed open for a moment, and then closed with a slam.
As it did, the candle that Mrs. Bunting was carrying from the study flickered and flared.
It was a minute or more before they went into the kitchen.
The place was empty, they locked the back door again.
They looked carefully in the kitchen, pantry, and scullery.
At last, they went down into the cellar.
There wasn't a person to be found in the house, no matter how much they searched.
When daylight came, the vicar and his wife, a strangely-dressed little couple, were still walking around their ground floor in wonder.
They used the unnecessary light of a dripping candle.