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The Spiriteer
From a Collection of Crowley's Plays and Scenarios
Persons of the Play: Julius Greatorex, 35-54, a perfectly good lawyer of the old school. John, his son, 28, inheriting his best qualities. Henry Camp, a diplomatist of the old school. Ada, his wife, ruined by idleness. Ella, their daughter, 12-21, beautiful and unsophisticated. Tom Bishop, 26-45, an accomplished villain. Victor Hunt, 25, his accomplice, a plausible scoundrel. Sarah, 28-47, his wife, well-meaning and superstitious. Country detective, brutal and violent, without reason or prudence. Evangeline Eve, 50, a crooked medium, with temperament.
Law Office of Julius Greatorex a man of some fifty-five years. Among his boxes of papers is one marked ‘Ella Camp.’ He has just come it. His clerk enters to inform him of the day's business and exits. Greatorex goes to the Camp box and extracts a number of documents, selects Camp's will and proofs of Ella's identity and puts them in his inside pocket. He sighs deeply and goes into a reverie.
History of the Documents. Camp in a brilliant uniform with decorations, grey moustache and imperial. The Bride, Ada, is very beautiful but empty headed. Sarah, her maid, is her confidant, and to the maid Ada proudly displays her wedding ring.
Later Ada is shown bored by marriage, lying about with novels, cigarettes and drink/ The maid Sarah is established as superstitious and very orthodox, out of which Ada gets much amusement, delighting in shocking her whenever possible. Ada flirts with a handsome soldier and ultimately elopes with him, leaving Ella, a two year old child. The soldier takes her to wild scenes of dissipation, tires of her, steals all her jewels, including the wedding ring which is engraved with her name. She sinks constantly lower; returns on rags to her husband. He forgives her. Her first night at home she steals downstairs, opens the side-board, drinks herself into delirium and dies the next morning. Her last words are: “Forgive me.” Sarah is present Camp attributes his wife's disasters to idleness and resolves to bring up Ella as a working girl. His principal servants are Joe and Sarah, now married to Joe. He buys a farm for them and trusts Ella to them. She is to be brought up as their own child and to take her rightful position when she is twenty-one. Camp, however, dies, leaving lawyer Greatorex her guardian.
Greatorex now calls his clerk and says that he is going into the country for two or three days. He drives home, gets his bag. He is followed to the station by a disreputable loafer. This loafer notices where the ticket is taken for and telegraphs to the hotel at Fairfields, the station in question, to a man called Tom Bishop.
Fairfields. Here we see Ella on the farm of her supposed parents. She is being courted by Victor Hunt, who passes as Bishop's son. Bishop is the man who seduced Ella's mother. Tom receives the telegram and sends Victor to the farm, while he himself goes out armed and hides in a coppice on the road to the farm. Joe receives the telegram to meet Greatorex and harnesses his horse to his buggy. Victor arrives at the farm and secretly damages the harness, besides making other attempts to delay Joe, who becomes impatient and angry. Greatorex arrives at Fairfields. Finding no buggy he leaves his grip and decides to walk. He arrives at the coppice and Tom shoots him from cover, but in drawing his gun he unwittingly drops his pocket-book. He goes to the body of Greatorex and robs him of the papers relating to Ella. He then runs away. A boy wandering about picks up the pocket-book and then comes to the corpse. He is frightened and throws the pocket-book into a hollow tree. Joe comes along and finds the body. While he is bending over it two men come up in an automobile; one goes for the police. The investigation is futile. They feel they cannot quite arrest Joe. One of the local detectives is, however a personal enemy of Joe's and, too, is “out for scalps.”
Studio of Evangeline Eve. Her methods of blackmail. A woman, Mrs. A consulting her. Behind the partition is a concealed stenographer, who records the conversation. When Mrs. A. goes, Eve consults a book in which all her clients are listed. It is shown how, by getting half a secret from Mrs. A. Eve fits it to the other half told her by Mrs. B., so that she is able to blackmail the compromised party. She does this indirectly through Tom Bishop. Sarah has frequently consulted Eve, and Tom's knowledge of the family, combined with this, has put her in possession of the fact that Ella is the heiress of the Camp millions. Hence the plot for Hunt to marry her. Ella's innocence has made her believe Hunt's falsehoods but her parents warn her she must not marry without their consent. The murder of Greatorex makes them more cautious than ever.
Greatorex's son is shown lecturing to a class of working girls. A telegram informs him of his father's death. He is then seen taking charge of the office, finds papers missing from the Camp file. The clerk explains their absence and thinks the old man was killed to get them.
Tom Bishop and Victor Hunt see the need of urgency. An attempt is made to kidnap Ella, but the car overturns and the driver is killed. Ella returns unhurt. Joe, now thoroughly alarmed, determines to go to the city. By Tom's orders he is sandbagged, lies for a long time unconscious and recuperates in hospital. Sarah, more frightened still, takes Ella to Evangeline, who is instructed by Tom to urge her to marry Victor. The Spiriteer, however, wants to double-cross her accomplice and hides Sarah and Ella under disguised names in New York. Tom's spies, however, trail them so that she knows of Eve's treachery. Evangeline flatters Ella that she is psychic and offers her a partnership, by which she is to share equally with herself any money coming to either from any source. Ella thinks this a wonderful bargain and the agreements made. Eve makes an appointment with Greatorex to enlighten him, but Tom forestalls her, shows his knowledge of her treachery and threatens her life. She defies him. He produces the papers stolen from Greatorex and proves to her that without these Ella cannot claim her inheritance. She submits. He dictates her a prophecy which will persuade Ella to marry Victor.
Tom is shown as terribly anxious about the loss of his pocket-book, which he thinks must have dropped by the body. He goes desperately to look for it twice but cannot force himself to approach the spot of the crime.
Meantime some men boarding in the same house, take Sarah and Ella to a club where John is lecturing. He is attracted by Ella and gets permission to visit at the house. Sarah has been so frightened by Evangeline and by the disasters which have happened that she says nothing.
At Eve's studio the planned for séance takes place, Eve, Sarah and Ella in the circle, Tom concealed. Eve goes into a trance and pretends to get a message from Ella's father. Ella says that her father is alive. Eve says “No”: Sarah admits the truth. The father is made to say: “You must marry the man who can answer three questions: your true name, your father's profession, your mother's last words. If you marry another you'll die at the altar.” Ella tremblingly agrees. She and Sarah go home, dine, and Ella, being depressed, is taken out to hear Greatorex at the club.
At the Club. The lecture is “Man's Work.” The lecture ends. People ask questions which john answers. Somebody asks: “What is the best place for a young man?” John's reply: “Where he can serve his country, w-ell a camp.” Sarah laughs at the pun on Ella Camp. Questions: “Annd how shall he serve her when he is too old to fight?” Answer: “Diplomacy.” Sarah is startled at the reference to Camp's profession. An old man gets up and asks: “And when the time comes and his work is done?” John answers, with a gesture of resignation and humility, etc. as if dying and murmurs: “Forgive me.” Sarah screams and faints. Greatorex sees her and Ella home. Sarah explains the whole affair. Greatorex, enlightened, proposes to Ella. She, remembering her oath and awed by the fulfillment of the prophecy, agrees.
Victor calls on Sarah at the boardinghouse. She and Ella are amazed, thinking themselves hidden. He says that his mother's spirit led him to them, that he is to marry Ella, that she has told him to tell her her true name, Ella Camp, her father's word, diplomacy, and her mother's last words “forgive me.” Ella is aghast and tells about Greatorex. Victor argues that this is an accidental coincidence and not answers to questions. Ella now finds that she loves John. She tells Victor that the wrong man must die at the altar. He plays on her fears and she determines to refuse to marry Greatorex.
Law Office. John explains about the lost papers to Sarah and Ella; says that Joe and Sarah can prove the identity. Joe is now out of hospital, back on the farm in despair at the loss of his family. They telegraph for him. Tom has bribed the telegraph clerk at Fairfields and goes to fetch Joe on a forged telegram from Greatorex. He then kidnaps Joe and hides him in a house at New York. Having arranged to tip off the detective who hates Joe, this man searches the farm and finds the pistol. A warrant for Joe's arrest: he is , of course, not to be found. The hue and cry is raised. Tom shows Joe newspaper article on the subject and persuades him that he kidnapped him to save him from the electric chair.
Eve has frightened Sarah into refusing to swear to the identity — Greatorex is left helpless.
Victor urges Ella to marry him. She pleads for delay. Victor consults Tom; as a result Tom tells Eve to make a new prophecy. Eve tells Ella and Sarah that the right man can find the proofs and that they shall now return to the farm. Victor hides the proofs on the farm.
Sarah and Ella return to the farm; Greatorex follows them. But the growing passion of Greatorex and Ella cannot silence her fears for his life. Greatorex, rambling on the farm, takes a nap under a tree. Victor comes down, saying that he is led by his mother's spirit and that he will find the papers. Sarah, Ella and Victor go out an Victor begins to dig. There is a bull in the field. Greatorex having carelessly left a gate open. The bull charges them and they flee. This wakes Greatorex. He suspects the plot and, facing the bull and mastering him, he takes the spade and finds the papers, which he takes to the farm and produces. Victor says: “I found them, you only recovered them.” Ella still refuses to decide.
Victor goes to Tom in despair. They go to Evangeline, who telegraphs Sarah to come up with Ella.
The Third Prophecy. The studio is darkened, both Camp's spirit and that of Victor's mother appear, and say: “Marry Victor as we are married in heaven and you will live happy all your life. If you marry the wrong man he will die at the altar.” Sarah asks for a sign. More spirits come and dance round the table. Eve wakes suddenly and they find on the table the wedding ring of Ella's mother, engraved with her name, which Sarah recognizes. This convinces her finally.
Joe gets tired of hiding, wants to face the music. He then finds he is a prisoner and plans escape.
Victor and Sarah prevail on Ella to marry him. John is helpless.
The Church at Fairfields. Victor and Ella being married, Tom as Groom's best man. Joe has managed to escape and going to the farm is met by John, who is returning to New York in abject despair. He tells Joe of the wedding. There is a horse in an adjoining field and Joe catches him, jumps on his back and gallops madly for the church. He meets his enemy, the local detective. The detective shouts to him to stop, Joe refuses; the detective fires and misses, then follows him in a car. The ceremony is just completed as Joe flings himself from the horse and rushes to the church, a few yards in front of the detective, who jumps from his car and shoots again at Joe, who is now in the open doorway, heading up the aisle. The bullet misses Joe and kills Victor as he and Ella turn from the altar.
John has followed Joe on foot and arrives at the church. The detective has arrested Joe. Ella falls into John's arms. A conference follows which establishes the complicity of Evangeline Eve. Joe is, however, arrested for murder, on the evidence of his being present when the corpse was discovered and the recovery of the pistol. Ella becomes engages to John, but their first task is to save Joe. They consequently determine to force a confession from Evangeline.
Evangeline sees the strangeness of the facts: that all her prophecies, though intended by her as lies, have become evident truths. She collapses — “Great is Truth, She shall prevail.” She has an hysterical crisis and burns her blackmail book. Then she suddenly goes into trance. She cries that she has a last word for them" “Truth!” She has a vision of Joe in the condemned cell and his agonized prayers. This dissolves as a cloud of black smoke covers it and out of the cloud looms a face of devilish malice, which gradually becomes clearer, when it is recognised as Tom's. John's mind grasps that Tom is the core of the plot. Again, they are thrown into despair as they realize that there is no legal proof. Evangeline is torn by convulsions: she cries aloud: “God, God of Truth! Help me to right one wrong at least, if I die for it!” She rises as if possessed by some mysterious force, pointing with her finger. They support her as she staggers. She leads them out and they get into John's automobile and under her demoniac guidance, reach the scene of the murder.
Tom has been in the hotel at Fairfields, in a state of half-crazy anxiety, for the lost pocket-book still threatens him. He keeps on drinking heavily and makes a third attempt to look for it. He does not use ordinary sense, as he searches and looks for it in places which must have been repeatedly inspected. The automobile approaches; he hears it and hides. Evangeline Eve is now raving. She goes straight to the tree: John climbs, dives into the hollow and recovers the book. He comes back with it, opens it and cries: “The proof is complete!” Evangeline takes no notice, becomes still more excited and cries “he is here!”
Tom has overheard all this and completely loses his nerve. He rushes at Evangeline and takes her by the throat, exclaiming: “Damn you; I thought you were a fake!” She, in the strength of madness throws him off, onto the ground; and screams: “I was, but God was stronger.” Greatorex leaps upon Tom and they struggle, but Tom finally hurls him backwards and he staggers into Ella's arms. Tom confronts Evangeline in a spasm of exaltation equal to hers, and cries: “Is God the stronger? I'll die sane!”
He describes the actual events of the murder and then shoots himself. John and Ella try to calm Evangeline, but her convulsions increase, and she dies.
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