



Produced by D Alexander and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net









 THE MOVING
 FINGER

 BY

 E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM

 AUTHOR OF "THE LOST AMBASSADOR," "THE ILLUSTRIOUS
 PRINCE," "JEANNE OF THE MARSHES," ETC.

 _With Illustrations by_
 J. V. McFALL

 BOSTON
 LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
 1911




 _Copyright, 1910, 1911_,
 BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.

 _All rights reserved._

 Published, May, 1911.

 _Printed by
 THE  COLONIAL  PRESS
 C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston, U. S. A._




 [Illustration: "Sit still," he whispered. "Don't say anything. There
 is someone coming."  FRONTISPIECE. _See p._ 166]




     "The Moving Finger writes; and having writ,
     Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
     Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
     Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it."




CONTENTS


 CHAPTER                                                     PAGE

         PROLOGUE--THE DREAMER                                 1
      I. A LETTER PROVES USEFUL                               11
     II. OLD ACQUAINTANCES                                    17
    III. "WHO IS MR. SATON?"                                  23
     IV. A QUESTION OF OBLIGATION                             32
      V. A MORNING WALK                                       46
     VI. PAULINE MARRABEL                                     54
    VII. AN UNWELCOME VISITOR                                 61
   VIII. AN INSTANCE OF OCCULTISM                             67