diff options
| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:38:16 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:38:16 -0700 |
| commit | 20910e9d4358fede1aaecdb9cc340a1f8d2d99d7 (patch) | |
| tree | 58df1222d523a56c330a65c4977d616d03d8507e /11870-h | |
Diffstat (limited to '11870-h')
| -rw-r--r-- | 11870-h/11870-h.htm | 19591 |
1 files changed, 19591 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/11870-h/11870-h.htm b/11870-h/11870-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..04de4c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/11870-h/11870-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,19591 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" name="linkgenerator" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> + <title> + The Country of the Blind, by H. G. Wells + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .75em; margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-align: justify; font-size: 80%; font-style: italic;} + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + .xx-small {font-size: 60%;} + .x-small {font-size: 75%;} + .small {font-size: 85%;} + .large {font-size: 115%;} + .x-large {font-size: 130%;} + .indent5 { margin-left: 5%;} + .indent10 { margin-left: 10%;} + .indent15 { margin-left: 15%;} + .indent20 { margin-left: 20%;} + .indent25 { margin-left: 25%;} + .indent30 { margin-left: 30%;} + .indent35 { margin-left: 35%;} + .indent40 { margin-left: 40%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 1%; font-size: 0.6em; + font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; + text-align: right; background-color: #FFFACD; + border: 1px solid; padding: 0.3em;text-indent: 0em;} + .side { float: left; font-size: 75%; width: 15%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + .head { float: left; font-size: 90%; width: 98%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + p.pfirst, p.noindent {text-indent: 0} + span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 0.8 } + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11870 ***</div> + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND + </h1> + <h3> + AND OTHER STORIES + </h3> + <h2> + By H. G. Wells + </h2> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> I. — THE JILTING OF JANE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> II. — THE CONE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> III. — THE STOLEN BACILLUS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> IV. — THE FLOWERING OF THE STRANGE ORCHID. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> V. — IN THE AVU OBSERVATORY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> VI. — AEPYORNIS ISLAND. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> VII. — THE REMARKABLE CASE OF DAVIDSON'S + EYES. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> VIII. — THE LORD OF THE DYNAMOS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> IX. — THE MOTH. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> X. — THE TREASURE IN THE FOREST. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> XI. — THE STORY OF THE LATE MR. ELVESHAM. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> XII. — UNDER THE KNIFE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> XIII. — THE SEA RAIDERS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> XIV. — THE OBLITERATED MAN. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> XV. — THE PLATTNER STORY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> XVI. — THE RED ROOM. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> XVII. — THE PURPLE PILEUS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> XVIII. — A SLIP UNDER THE MICROSCOPE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> XIX. — THE CRYSTAL EGG. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> XX. — THE STAR. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> XXI. — THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> XXII. — A VISION OF JUDGMENT. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> XXIII. — JIMMY GOGGLES THE GOD. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> XXIV. — MISS WINCHELSEA'S HEART. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> XXV. — A DREAM OF ARMAGEDDON. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0027"> XXVI. — THE VALLEY OF SPIDERS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> XXVII. — THE NEW ACCELERATOR. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0029"> XXVIII. — THE TRUTH ABOUT PYECRAFT. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0030"> XXIX. — THE MAGIC SHOP. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0031"> XXX. — THE EMPIRE OF THE ANTS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0032"> XXXI. — THE DOOR IN THE WALL. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0033"> XXXII. — THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0034"> XXXIII. — THE BEAUTIFUL SUIT. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION + </h2> + <p> + The enterprise of Messrs. T. Nelson & Sons and the friendly + accommodation of Messrs. Macmillan render possible this collection in one + cover of all the short stories by me that I care for any one to read + again. Except for the two series of linked incidents that make up the bulk + of the book called <i>Tales of Space and Time</i>, no short story of mine + of the slightest merit is excluded from this volume. Many of very + questionable merit find a place; it is an inclusive and not an exclusive + gathering. And the task of selection and revision brings home to me with + something of the effect of discovery that I was once an industrious writer + of short stories, and that I am no longer anything of the kind. I have not + written one now for quite a long time, and in the past five or six years I + have made scarcely one a year. The bulk of the fifty or sixty tales from + which this present three-and-thirty have been chosen dates from the last + century. This edition is more definitive than I supposed when first I + arranged for it. In the presence of so conclusive an ebb and cessation an + almost obituary manner seems justifiable. + </p> + <p> + I find it a little difficult to disentangle the causes that have + restricted the flow of these inventions. It has happened, I remark, to + others as well as to myself, and in spite of the kindliest encouragement + to continue from editors and readers. There was a time when life bubbled + with short stories; they were always coming to the surface of my mind, and + it is no deliberate change of will that has thus restricted my production. + It is rather, I think, a diversion of attention to more sustained and more + exacting forms. It was my friend Mr. C.L. Hind who set that spring going. + He urged me to write short stories for the <i>Pall Mall Budget</i>, and + persuaded me by his simple and buoyant conviction that I could do what he + desired. There existed at the time only the little sketch, "The Jilting of + Jane," included in this volume—at least, that is the only tolerable + fragment of fiction I find surviving from my pre-Lewis-Hind period. But I + set myself, so encouraged, to the experiment of inventing moving and + interesting things that could be given vividly in the little space of + eight or ten such pages as this, and for a time I found it a very + entertaining pursuit indeed. Mr. Hind's indicating finger had shown me an + amusing possibility of the mind. I found that, taking almost anything as a + starting-point and letting my thoughts play about it, there would + presently come out of the darkness, in a manner quite inexplicable, some + absurd or vivid little incident more or less relevant to that initial + nucleus. Little men in canoes upon sunlit oceans would come floating out + of nothingness, incubating the eggs of prehistoric monsters unawares; + violent conflicts would break out amidst the flower-beds of suburban + gardens; I would discover I was peering into remote and mysterious worlds + ruled by an order logical indeed but other than our common sanity. + </p> + <p> + The 'nineties was a good and stimulating period for a short-story writer. + Mr. Kipling had made his astonishing advent with a series of little + blue-grey books, whose covers opened like window-shutters to reveal the + dusty sun-glare and blazing colours of the East; Mr. Barrie had + demonstrated what could be done in a little space through the panes of his + <i>Window in Thrums</i>. The <i>National Observer</i> was at the climax of + its career of heroic insistence upon lyrical brevity and a vivid finish, + and Mr. Frank Harris was not only printing good short stories by other + people, but writing still better ones himself in the dignified pages of + the <i>Fortnightly Review. Longman's Magazine</i>, too, represented a <i>clienthle</i> + of appreciative short-story readers that is now scattered. Then came the + generous opportunities of the <i>Yellow Book</i>, and the <i>National + Observer</i> died only to give birth to the <i>New Review</i>. No short + story of the slightest distinction went for long unrecognised. The + sixpenny popular magazines had still to deaden down the conception of what + a short story might be to the imaginative limitation of the common reader—and + a maximum length of six thousand words. Short stories broke out + everywhere. Kipling was writing short stories; Barrie, Stevenson, + Frank-Harris; Max Beerbohm wrote at least one perfect one, "The Happy + Hypocrite"; Henry James pursued his wonderful and inimitable bent; and + among other names that occur to me, like a mixed handful of jewels drawn + from a bag, are George Street, Morley Roberts, George Gissing, Ella + d'Arcy, Murray Gilchrist, E. Nesbit, Stephen Crane, Joseph Conrad, Edwin + Pugh, Jerome K. Jerome, Kenneth Graham, Arthur Morrison, Marriott Watson, + George Moore, Grant Allen, George Egerton, Henry Harland, Pett Ridge, W. + W. Jacobs (who alone seems inexhaustible). I dare say I could recall as + many more names with a little effort. I may be succumbing to the + infirmities of middle age, but I do not think the present decade can + produce any parallel to this list, or what is more remarkable, that the + later achievements in this field of any of the survivors from that time, + with the sole exception of Joseph Conrad, can compare with the work they + did before 1900. It seems to me this outburst of short stories came not + only as a phase in literary development, but also as a phase in the + development of the individual writers concerned. + </p> + <p> + It is now quite unusual to see any adequate criticism of short stories in + English. I do not know how far the decline in short-story writing may not + be due to that. Every sort of artist demands human responses, and few men + can contrive to write merely for a publisher's cheque and silence, however + reassuring that cheque may be. A mad millionaire who commissioned + masterpieces to burn would find it impossible to buy them. Scarcely any + artist will hesitate in the choice between money and attention; and it was + primarily for that last and better sort of pay that the short stories of + the 'nineties were written. People talked about them tremendously, + compared them, and ranked them. That was the thing that mattered. + </p> + <p> + It was not, of course, all good talk, and we suffered then, as now, from + the <i>` priori</i> critic. Just as nowadays he goes about declaring that + the work of such-and-such a dramatist is all very amusing and delightful, + but "it isn't a Play," so we' had a great deal of talk about <i>the</i> + short story, and found ourselves measured by all kinds of arbitrary + standards. There was a tendency to treat the short story as though it was + as definable a form as the sonnet, instead of being just exactly what any + one of courage and imagination can get told in twenty minutes' reading or + so. It was either Mr. Edward Garnett or Mr. George Moore in a violently + anti-Kipling mood who invented the distinction between the short story and + the anecdote. The short story was Maupassant; the anecdote was damnable. + It was a quite infernal comment in its way, because it permitted no + defence. Fools caught it up and used it freely. Nothing is so destructive + in a field of artistic effort as a stock term of abuse. Anyone could say + of any short story, "A mere anecdote," just as anyone can say + "Incoherent!" of any novel or of any sonata that isn't studiously + monotonous. The recession of enthusiasm for this compact, amusing form is + closely associated in my mind with that discouraging imputation. One felt + hopelessly open to a paralysing and unanswerable charge, and one's ease + and happiness in the garden of one's fancies was more and more marred by + the dread of it. It crept into one's mind, a distress as vague and + inexpugnable as a sea fog on a spring morning, and presently one shivered + and wanted to go indoors...It is the absurd fate of the imaginative writer + that he should be thus sensitive to atmospheric conditions. + </p> + <p> + But after one has died as a maker one may still live as a critic, and I + will confess I am all for laxness and variety in this as in every field of + art. Insistence upon rigid forms and austere unities seems to me the + instinctive reaction of the sterile against the fecund. It is the tired + man with a headache who values a work of art for what it does not contain. + I suppose it is the lot of every critic nowadays to suffer from + indigestion and a fatigued appreciation, and to develop a self-protective + tendency towards rules that will reject, as it were, automatically the + more abundant and irregular forms. But this world is not for the weary, + and in the long-run it is the new and variant that matter. I refuse + altogether to recognise any hard and fast type for the Short Story, any + more than I admit any limitation upon the liberties of the Small Picture. + The short story is a fiction that may be read in something under an hour, + and so that it is moving and delightful, it does not matter whether it is + as "trivial" as a Japanese print of insects seen closely between grass + stems, or as spacious as the prospect of the plain of Italy from Monte + Mottarone. It does not matter whether it is human or inhuman, or whether + it leaves you thinking deeply or radiantly but superficially pleased. Some + things are more easily done as short stories than others and more + abundantly done, but one of the many pleasures of short-story writing is + to achieve the impossible. + </p> + <p> + At any rate, that is the present writer's conception of the art of the + short story, as the jolly art of making something very bright and moving; + it may be horrible or pathetic or funny or beautiful or profoundly + illuminating, having only this essential, that it should take from fifteen + to fifty minutes to read aloud. All the rest is just whatever invention + and imagination and the mood can give—a vision of buttered slides on + a busy day or of unprecedented worlds. In that spirit of miscellaneous + expectation these stories should be received. Each is intended to be a + thing by itself; and if it is not too ungrateful to kindly and + enterprising publishers, I would confess I would much prefer to see each + printed expensively alone, and left in a little brown-paper cover to lie + about a room against the needs of a quite casual curiosity. And I would + rather this volume were found in the bedrooms of convalescents and in + dentists' parlours and railway trains than in gentlemen's studies. I would + rather have it dipped in and dipped in again than read severely through. + Essentially it is a miscellany of inventions, many of which were very + pleasant to write; and its end is more than attained if some of them are + refreshing and agreeable to read. I have now re-read them all, and I am + glad to think I wrote them. I like them, but I cannot tell how much the + associations of old happinesses gives them a flavour for me. I make no + claims for them and no apology; they will be read as long as people read + them. Things written either live or die; unless it be for a place of + judgment upon Academic impostors, there is no apologetic intermediate + state. + </p> + <p> + I may add that I have tried to set a date to most of these stories, but + that they are not arranged in strictly chronological order. + </p> + <h3> + H. G. WELLS. + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I. — THE JILTING OF JANE. + </h2> + <p> + As I sit writing in my study, I can hear our Jane bumping her way + downstairs with a brush and dust-pan. She used in the old days to sing + hymn tunes, or the British national song for the time being, to these + instruments, but latterly she has been silent and even careful over her + work. Time was when I prayed with fervour for such silence, and my wife + with sighs for such care, but now they have come we are not so glad as we + might have anticipated we should be. Indeed, I would rejoice secretly, + though it may be unmanly weakness to admit it, even to hear Jane sing + "Daisy," or, by the fracture of any plate but one of Euphemia's best green + ones, to learn that the period of brooding has come to an end. + </p> + <p> + Yet how we longed to hear the last of Jane's young man before we heard the + last of him! Jane was always very free with her conversation to my wife, + and discoursed admirably in the kitchen on a variety of topics—so + well, indeed, that I sometimes left my study door open—our house is + a small one—to partake of it. But after William came, it was always + William, nothing but William; William this and William that; and when we + thought William was worked out and exhausted altogether, then William all + over again. The engagement lasted altogether three years; yet how she got + introduced to William, and so became thus saturated with him, was always a + secret. For my part, I believe it was at the street corner where the Rev. + Barnabas Baux used to hold an open-air service after evensong on Sundays. + Young Cupids were wont to flit like moths round the paraffin flare of that + centre of High Church hymn-singing. I fancy she stood singing hymns there, + out of memory and her imagination, instead of coming home to get supper, + and William came up beside her and said, "Hello!" "Hello yourself!" she + said; and etiquette being satisfied, they proceeded to talk together. + </p> + <p> + As Euphemia has a reprehensible way of letting her servants talk to her, + she soon heard of him. "He is <i>such</i> a respectable young man, ma'am," + said Jane, "you don't know." Ignoring the slur cast on her acquaintance, + my wife inquired further about this William. + </p> + <p> + "He is second porter at Maynard's, the draper's," said Jane, "and gets + eighteen shillings—nearly a pound—a week, m'm; and when the + head porter leaves he will be head porter. His relatives are quite + superior people, m'm. Not labouring people at all. His father was a + greengrosher, m'm, and had a churnor, and he was bankrup' twice. And one + of his sisters is in a Home for the Dying. It will be a very good match + for me, m'm," said Jane, "me being an orphan girl." + </p> + <p> + "Then you are engaged to him?" asked my wife. + </p> + <p> + "Not engaged, ma'am; but he is saving money to buy a ring—hammyfist." + </p> + <p> + "Well, Jane, when you are properly engaged to him you may ask him round + here on Sunday afternoons, and have tea with him in the kitchen;" for my + Euphemia has a motherly conception of her duty towards her maid-servants. + And presently the amethystine ring was being worn about the house, even + with ostentation, and Jane developed a new way of bringing in the joint so + that this gage was evident. The elder Miss Maitland was aggrieved by it, + and told my wife that servants ought not to wear rings. But my wife looked + it up in <i>Enquire Within</i> and <i>Mrs. Motherly's Book of Household + Management</i>, and found no prohibition. So Jane remained with this + happiness added to her love. + </p> + <p> + The treasure of Jane's heart appeared to me to be what respectable people + call a very deserving young man. "William, ma'am," said Jane one day + suddenly, with ill-concealed complacency, as she counted out the beer + bottles, "William, ma'am, is a teetotaller. Yes, m'm; and he don't smoke. + Smoking, ma'am," said Jane, as one who reads the heart, "<i>do</i> make + such a dust about. Beside the waste of money. <i>And</i> the smell. + However, I suppose they got to do it—some of them..." + </p> + <p> + William was at first a rather shabby young man of the ready-made black + coat school of costume. He had watery gray eyes, and a complexion + appropriate to the brother of one in a Home for the Dying. Euphemia did + not fancy him very much, even at the beginning. His eminent respectability + was vouched for by an alpaca umbrella, from which he never allowed himself + to be parted. + </p> + <p> + "He goes to chapel," said Jane. "His papa, ma'am——" + </p> + <p> + "His <i>what</i>, Jane?" + </p> + <p> + "His papa, ma'am, was Church: but Mr. Maynard is a Plymouth Brother, and + William thinks it Policy, ma'am, to go there too. Mr. Maynard comes and + talks to him quite friendly when they ain't busy, about using up all the + ends of string, and about his soul. He takes a lot of notice, do Mr. + Maynard, of William, and the way he saves his soul, ma'am." + </p> + <p> + Presently we heard that the head porter at Maynard's had left, and that + William was head porter at twenty-three shillings a week. "He is really + kind of over the man who drives the van," said Jane, "and him married, + with three children." And she promised in the pride of her heart to make + interest for us with William to favour us so that we might get our parcels + of drapery from Maynard's with exceptional promptitude. + </p> + <p> + After this promotion a rapidly-increasing prosperity came upon Jane's + young man. One day we learned that Mr. Maynard had given William a book. + "'Smiles' 'Elp Yourself,' it's called," said Jane; "but it ain't comic. It + tells you how to get on in the world, and some what William read to me was + <i>lovely</i>, ma'am." + </p> + <p> + Euphemia told me of this, laughing, and then she became suddenly grave. + "Do you know, dear," she said, "Jane said one thing I did not like. She + had been quiet for a minute, and then she suddenly remarked, 'William is a + lot above me, ma'am, ain't he?'" + </p> + <p> + "I don't see anything in that," I said, though later my eyes were to be + opened. + </p> + <p> + One Sunday afternoon about that time I was sitting at my writing-desk— + possibly I was reading a good book—when a something went by the + window. I heard a startled exclamation behind me, and saw Euphemia with + her hands clasped together and her eyes dilated. "George," she said in an + awe-stricken whisper, "did you see?" + </p> + <p> + Then we both spoke to one another at the same moment, slowly and solemnly: + "<i>A silk hat! Yellow gloves! A new umbrella!</i>" + </p> + <p> + "It may be my fancy, dear," said Euphemia; "but his tie was very like + yours. I believe Jane keeps him in ties. She told me a little while ago, + in a way that implied volumes about the rest of your costume, 'The master + <i>do</i> wear pretty ties, ma'am.' And he echoes all your novelties." + </p> + <p> + The young couple passed our window again on their way to their customary + walk. They were arm in arm. Jane looked exquisitely proud, happy, and + uncomfortable, with new white cotton gloves, and William, in the silk hat, + singularly genteel! + </p> + <p> + That was the culmination of Jane's happiness. When she returned, "Mr. + Maynard has been talking to William, ma'am," she said, "and he is to serve + customers, just like the young shop gentlemen, during the next sale. And + if he gets on, he is to be made an assistant, ma'am, at the first + opportunity. He has got to be as gentlemanly as he can, ma'am; and if he + ain't, ma'am, he says it won't be for want of trying. Mr. Maynard has took + a great fancy to him." + </p> + <p> + "He <i>is</i> getting on, Jane," said my wife. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, ma'am," said Jane thoughtfully; "he <i>is</i> getting on." + </p> + <p> + And she sighed. + </p> + <p> + That next Sunday as I drank my tea I interrogated my wife. "How is this + Sunday different from all other Sundays, little woman? What has happened? + Have you altered the curtains, or re-arranged the furniture, or where is + the indefinable difference of it? Are you wearing your hair in a new way + without warning me? I perceive a change clearly, and I cannot for the life + of me say what it is." + </p> + <p> + Then my wife answered in her most tragic voice, "George," she said, "that + William has not come near the place to-day! And Jane is crying her heart + out upstairs." + </p> + <p> + There followed a period of silence. Jane, as I have said, stopped singing + about the house, and began to care for our brittle possessions, which + struck my wife as being a very sad sign indeed. The next Sunday, and the + next, Jane asked to go out, "to walk with William," and my wife, who never + attempts to extort confidences, gave her permission, and asked no + questions. On each occasion Jane came back looking flushed and very + determined. At last one day she became communicative. + </p> + <p> + "William is being led away," she remarked abruptly, with a catching of the + breath, apropos of tablecloths. "Yes, m'm. She is a milliner, and she can + play on the piano." + </p> + <p> + "I thought," said my wife, "that you went out with him on Sunday." + </p> + <p> + "Not out with him, m'm—after him. I walked along by the side of + them, and told her he was engaged to me." + </p> + <p> + "Dear me, Jane, did you? What did they do?" + </p> + <p> + "Took no more notice of me than if I was dirt. So I told her she should + suffer for it." + </p> + <p> + "It could not have been a very agreeable walk, Jane." + </p> + <p> + "Not for no parties, ma'am." + </p> + <p> + "I wish," said Jane, "I could play the piano, ma'am. But anyhow, I don't + mean to let <i>her</i> get him away from me. She's older than him, and her + hair ain't gold to the roots, ma'am." + </p> + <p> + It was on the August Bank Holiday that the crisis came. We do not clearly + know the details of the fray, but only such fragments as poor Jane let + fall. She came home dusty, excited, and with her heart hot within her. + </p> + <p> + The milliner's mother, the milliner, and William had made a party to the + Art Museum at South Kensington, I think. Anyhow, Jane had calmly but + firmly accosted them somewhere in the streets, and asserted her right to + what, in spite of the consensus of literature, she held to be her + inalienable property. She did, I think, go so far as to lay hands on him. + They dealt with her in a crushingly superior way. They "called a cab." + There was a "scene," William being pulled away into the four-wheeler by + his future wife and mother-in-law from the reluctant hands of our + discarded Jane. There were threats of giving her "in charge." + </p> + <p> + "My poor Jane!" said my wife, mincing veal as though she was mincing + William. "It's a shame of them. I would think no more of him. He is not + worthy of you." + </p> + <p> + "No, m'm," said Jane. "He <i>is</i> weak. + </p> + <p> + "But it's that woman has done it," said Jane. She was never known to bring + herself to pronounce "that woman's" name or to admit her girlishness. "I + can't think what minds some women must have—to try and get a girl's + young man away from her. But there, it only hurts to talk about it," said + Jane. + </p> + <p> + Thereafter our house rested from William. But there was something in the + manner of Jane's scrubbing the front doorstep or sweeping out the rooms, a + certain viciousness, that persuaded me that the story had not yet ended. + </p> + <p> + "Please, m'm, may I go and see a wedding tomorrow?" said Jane one day. + </p> + <p> + My wife knew by instinct whose wedding. "Do you think it is wise, Jane?" + she said. + </p> + <p> + "I would like to see the last of him," said Jane. + </p> + <p> + "My dear," said my wife, fluttering into my room about twenty minutes + after Jane had started, "Jane has been to the boot-hole and taken all the + left-off boots and shoes, and gone off to the wedding with them in a bag. + Surely she cannot mean—" + </p> + <p> + "Jane," I said, "is developing character. Let us hope for the best." + </p> + <p> + Jane came back with a pale, hard face. All the boots seemed to be still in + her bag, at which my wife heaved a premature sigh of relief. We heard her + go upstairs and replace the boots with considerable emphasis. + </p> + <p> + "Quite a crowd at the wedding, ma'am," she said presently, in a purely + conversational style, sitting in our little kitchen, and scrubbing the + potatoes; "and such a lovely day for them." She proceeded to numerous + other details, clearly avoiding some cardinal incident. + </p> + <p> + "It was all extremely respectable and nice, ma'am; but <i>her</i> father + didn't wear a black coat, and looked quite out of place, ma'am. Mr. + Piddingquirk—" + </p> + <p> + "<i>Who</i>?" + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Piddingquirk—William that was, ma'am—had white gloves, + and a coat like a clergyman, and a lovely chrysanthemum. He looked so + nice, ma'am. And there was red carpet down, just like for gentlefolks. And + they say he gave the clerk four shillings, ma'am. It was a real kerridge + they had—not a fly. When they came out of church there was + rice-throwing, and her two little sisters dropping dead flowers. And + someone threw a slipper, and then I threw a boot—" + </p> + <p> + "Threw a <i>boot</i>, Jane!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, ma'am. Aimed at her. But it hit <i>him</i>. Yes, ma'am, hard. Gev + him a black eye, I should think. I only threw that one. I hadn't the heart + to try again. All the little boys cheered when it hit him." + </p> + <p> + After an interval—"I am sorry the boot hit <i>him</i>." + </p> + <p> + Another pause. The potatoes were being scrubbed violently. "He always <i>was</i> + a bit above me, you know, ma'am. And he was led away." + </p> + <p> + The potatoes were more than finished. Jane rose sharply with a sigh, and + rapped the basin down on the table. + </p> + <p> + "I don't care," she said. "I don't care a rap. He will find out his + mistake yet. It serves me right. I was stuck up about him. I ought not to + have looked so high. And I am glad things are as things are." + </p> + <p> + My wife was in the kitchen, seeing to the higher cookery. After the + confession of the boot-throwing, she must have watched poor Jane fuming + with a certain dismay in those brown eyes of hers. But I imagine they + softened again very quickly, and then Jane's must have met them. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, ma'am," said Jane, with an astonishing change of note, "think of all + that <i>might</i> have been! Oh, ma'am, I <i>could</i> have been so happy! + I ought to have known, but I didn't know...You're very kind to let me talk + to you, ma'am...for it's hard on me, ma'am...it's har-r-r-r-d—" + </p> + <p> + And I gather that Euphemia so far forgot herself as to let Jane sob out + some of the fullness of her heart on a sympathetic shoulder. My Euphemia, + thank Heaven, has never properly grasped the importance of "keeping up her + position." And since that fit of weeping, much of the accent of bitterness + has gone out of Jane's scrubbing and brush work. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, something passed the other day with the butcher-boy—but that + scarcely belongs to this story. However, Jane is young still, and time and + change are at work with her. We all have our sorrows, but I do not believe + very much in the existence of sorrows that never heal. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II. — THE CONE. + </h2> + <p> + The night was hot and overcast, the sky red-rimmed with the lingering + sunset of midsummer. They sat at the open window, trying to fancy the air + was fresher there. The trees and shrubs of the garden stood stiff and + dark; beyond in the roadway a gas-lamp burnt, bright orange against the + hazy blue of the evening. Farther were the three lights of the railway + signal against the lowering sky. The man and woman spoke to one another in + low tones. + </p> + <p> + "He does not suspect?" said the man, a little nervously. + </p> + <p> + "Not he," she said peevishly, as though that too irritated her. "He thinks + of nothing but the works and the prices of fuel. He has no imagination, no + poetry." + </p> + <p> + "None of these men of iron have," he said sententiously. "They have no + hearts." + </p> + <p> + "<i>He</i> has not," she said. She turned her discontented face towards + the window. The distant sound of a roaring and rushing drew nearer and + grew in volume; the house quivered; one heard the metallic rattle of the + tender. As the train passed, there was a glare of light above the cutting + and a driving tumult of smoke; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, + eight black oblongs—eight trucks—passed across the dim grey of + the embankment, and were suddenly extinguished one by one in the throat of + the tunnel, which, with the last, seemed to swallow down train, smoke, and + sound in one abrupt gulp. + </p> + <p> + "This country was all fresh and beautiful once," he said; "and now—it + is Gehenna. Down that way—nothing but pot-banks and chimneys + belching fire and dust into the face of heaven...But what does it matter? + An end comes, an end to all this cruelty...<i>To-morrow."</i> He spoke the + last word in a whisper. + </p> + <p> + "<i>To-morrow,"</i> she said, speaking in a whisper too, and still staring + out of the window. + </p> + <p> + "Dear!" he said, putting his hand on hers. + </p> + <p> + She turned with a start, and their eyes searched one another's. Hers + softened to his gaze. "My dear one!" she said, and then: "It seems so + strange—that you should have come into my life like this—to + open—" She paused. + </p> + <p> + "To open?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "All this wonderful world"—she hesitated, and spoke still more + softly— "this world of <i>love</i> to me." + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly the door clicked and closed. They turned their heads, and he + started violently back. In the shadow of the room stood a great shadowy + figure-silent. They saw the face dimly in the half-light, with + unexpressive dark patches under the pent-house brows. Every muscle in + Raut's body suddenly became tense. When could the door have opened? What + had he heard? Had he heard all? What had he seen? A tumult of questions. + </p> + <p> + The new-comer's voice came at last, after a pause that seemed + interminable. "Well?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "I was afraid I had missed you, Horrocks," said the man at the window, + gripping the window-ledge with his hand. His voice was unsteady. + </p> + <p> + The clumsy figure of Horrocks came forward out of the shadow. He made no + answer to Raut's remark. For a moment he stood above them. + </p> + <p> + The woman's heart was cold within her. "I told Mr. Raut it was just + possible you might come back," she said in a voice that never quivered. + </p> + <p> + Horrocks, still silent, sat down abruptly in the chair by her little + work-table. His big hands were clenched; one saw now the fire of his eyes + under the shadow of his brows. He was trying to get his breath. His eyes + went from the woman he had trusted to the friend he had trusted, and then + back to the woman. + </p> + <p> + By this time and for the moment all three half understood one another. Yet + none dared say a word to ease the pent-up things that choked them. + </p> + <p> + It was the husband's voice that broke the silence at last. + </p> + <p> + "You wanted to see me?" he said to Raut. + </p> + <p> + Raut started as he spoke. "I came to see you," he said, resolved to lie to + the last. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Horrocks. + </p> + <p> + "You promised," said Raut, "to show me some fine effects of moonlight and + smoke." + </p> + <p> + "I promised to show you some fine effects of moonlight and smoke," + repeated Horrocks in a colourless voice. + </p> + <p> + "And I thought I might catch you to-night before you went down to the + works," proceeded Raut, "and come with you." + </p> + <p> + There was another pause. Did the man mean to take the thing coolly? Did + he, after all, know? How long had he been in the room? Yet even at the + moment when they heard the door, their attitudes ... Horrocks glanced at + the profile of the woman, shadowy pallid in the half-light. Then he + glanced at Raut, and seemed to recover himself suddenly. "Of course," he + said, "I promised to show you the works under their proper dramatic + conditions. It's odd how I could have forgotten." + </p> + <p> + "If I am troubling you—" began Raut. + </p> + <p> + Horrocks started again. A new light had suddenly come into the sultry + gloom of his eyes. "Not in the least." he said. + </p> + <p> + "Have you been telling Mr. Raut of all these contrasts of flame and shadow + you think so splendid?" said the woman, turning now to her husband for the + first time, her confidence creeping back again, her voice just one + half-note too high—"that dreadful theory of yours that machinery is + beautiful, and everything else in the world ugly. I thought he would not + spare you, Mr. Raut. It's his great theory, his one discovery in art." + </p> + <p> + "I am slow to make discoveries," said Horrocks grimly, damping her + suddenly. "But what I discover ..." He stopped. + </p> + <p> + "Well?" she said. + </p> + <p> + "Nothing;" and suddenly he rose to his feet. + </p> + <p> + "I promised to show you the works," he said to Raut, and put his big, + clumsy hand on his friend's shoulder. "And you are ready to go?" + </p> + <p> + "Quite," said Raut, and stood up also. + </p> + <p> + There was another pause. Each of them peered through the indistinctness of + the dusk at the other two. + </p> + <p> + Horrocks' hand still rested on Raut's shoulder. Raut half fancied still + that the incident was trivial after all. But Mrs. Horrocks knew her + husband better, knew that grim quiet in his voice, and the confusion in + her mind took a vague shape of physical evil. "Very well," said Horrocks, + and, dropping his hand, turned towards the door. + </p> + <p> + "My hat?" Raut looked round in the half-light. + </p> + <p> + "That's my work-basket," said Mrs. Horrocks with a gust of hysterical + laughter. Their hands came together on the back of the chair. "Here it + is!" he said. She had an impulse to warn him in an undertone, but she + could not frame a word. "Don't go!" and "Beware of him!" struggled in her + mind, and the swift moment passed. + </p> + <p> + "Got it?" said Horrocks, standing with the door half open. + </p> + <p> + Raut stepped towards him. "Better say goodbye to Mrs. Horrocks," said the + ironmaster, even more grimly quiet in his tone than before. + </p> + <p> + Raut started and turned. "Good-evening, Mrs. Horrocks," he said, and their + hands touched. + </p> + <p> + Horrocks held the door open with a ceremonial politeness unusual in him + towards men. Raut went out, and then, after a wordless look at her, her + husband followed. She stood motionless while Raut's light footfall and her + husband's heavy tread, like bass and treble, passed down the passage + together. The front door slammed heavily. She went to the window, moving + slowly, and stood watching, leaning forward. The two men appeared for a + moment at the gateway in the road, passed under the street lamp, and were + hidden by the black masses of the shrubbery. The lamplight fell for a + moment on their faces, showing only unmeaning pale patches, telling + nothing of what she still feared, and doubted, and craved vainly to know. + Then she sank down into a crouching attitude in the big arm-chair, her + eyes-wide open and staring out at the red lights from the furnaces that + flickered in the sky. An hour after she was still there, her attitude + scarcely changed. + </p> + <p> + The oppressive stillness of the evening weighed heavily upon Raut. They + went side by side down the road in silence, and in silence turned into the + cinder-made byway that presently opened out the prospect of the valley. + </p> + <p> + A blue haze, half dust, half mist, touched the long valley with mystery. + Beyond were Hanley and Etruria, grey and dark masses, outlined thinly by + the rare golden dots of the street lamps, and here and there a gas-lit + window, or the yellow glare of some late-working factory or crowded + public-house. Out of the masses, clear and slender against the evening + sky, rose a multitude of tall chimneys, many of them reeking, a few + smokeless during a season of "play." Here and there a pallid patch and + ghostly stunted beehive shapes showed the position of a pot-bank or a + wheel, black and sharp against the hot lower sky, marked some colliery + where they raise the iridescent coal of the place. Nearer at hand was the + broad stretch of railway, and half-invisible trains shunted—a steady + puffing and rumbling, with every run a ringing concussion and a rhymthic + series of impacts, and a passage of intermittent puffs of white steam + across the further view. And to the left, between the railway and the dark + mass of the low hill beyond, dominating the whole view, colossal, + inky-black, and crowned with smoke and fitful flames, stood the great + cylinders of the Jeddah Company Blast Furnaces, the central edifices of + the big ironworks of which Horrocks was the manager. They stood heavy and + threatening, full of an incessant turmoil of flames and seething molten + iron, and about the feet of them rattled the rolling-mills, and the + steam-hammer beat heavily and splashed the white iron sparks hither and + thither. Even as they looked, a truckful of fuel was shot into one of the + giants, and the red flames gleamed out, and a confusion of smoke and black + dust came boiling upwards towards the sky. + </p> + <p> + "Certainly you get some colour with your furnaces," said Raut, breaking a + silence that had become apprehensive. + </p> + <p> + Horrocks grunted. He stood with his hands in his pockets, frowning down at + the dim steaming railway and the busy ironworks beyond, frowning as if he + were thinking out some knotty problem. + </p> + <p> + Raut glanced at him and away again. "At present your moonlight effect is + hardly ripe," he continued, looking upward; "the moon is still smothered + by the vestiges of daylight." + </p> + <p> + Horrocks stared at him with the expression of a man who has suddenly + awakened. "Vestiges of daylight? ... Of course, of course." He too looked + up at the moon, pale still in the midsummer sky. "Come along," he said + suddenly, and gripping Raut's arm in his hand, made a move towards the + path that dropped from them to the railway. + </p> + <p> + Raut hung back. Their eyes met and saw a thousand things in a moment that + their lips came near to say. Horrocks's hand tightened and then relaxed. + He let go, and before Raut was aware of it, they were arm in arm, and + walking, one unwillingly enough, down the path. + </p> + <p> + "You see the fine effect of the railway signals towards Burslem," said + Horrocks, suddenly breaking into loquacity, striding fast and tightening + the grip of his elbow the while—"little green lights and red and + white lights, all against the haze. You have an eye for effect, Raut. It's + fine. And look at those furnaces of mine, how they rise upon us as we come + down the hill. That to the right is my pet—seventy feet of him. I + packed him myself, and he's boiled away cheerfully with iron in his guts + for five long years. I've a particular fancy for <i>him</i>. That line of + red there—a lovely bit of warm orange you'd call it, Raut—that's + the puddlers' furnaces, and there, in the hot light, three black figures—did + you see the white splash of the steam-hammer then?—that's the + rolling mills. Come along! Clang, clatter, how it goes rattling across the + floor! Sheet tin, Raut,—amazing stuff. Glass mirrors are not in it + when that stuff comes from the mill. And, squelch! there goes the hammer + again. Come along!" + </p> + <p> + He had to stop talking to catch at his breath. His arm twisted into Raut's + with benumbing tightness. He had come striding down the black path towards + the railway as though he was possessed. Raut had not spoken a word, had + simply hung back against Horrocks's pull with all his strength. + </p> + <p> + "I say," he said now, laughing nervously, but with an undertone of snarl + in his voice, "why on earth are you nipping my arm off, Horrocks, and + dragging me along like this?" + </p> + <p> + At length Horrocks released him. His manner changed again. "Nipping your + arm off?" he said. "Sorry. But it's you taught me the trick of walking in + that friendly way." + </p> + <p> + "You haven't learnt the refinements of it yet then," said Raut, laughing + artificially again. "By Jove! I'm black and blue." Horrocks offered no + apology. They stood now near the bottom of the hill, close to the fence + that bordered the railway. The ironworks had grown larger and spread out + with their approach. They looked up to the blast furnaces now instead of + down; the further view of Etruria and Hanley had dropped out of sight with + their descent. Before them, by the stile, rose a notice-board, bearing, + still dimly visible, the words, "BEWARE OF THE TRAINS," half hidden by + splashes of coaly mud. + </p> + <p> + "Fine effects," said Horrocks, waving his arm. "Here comes a train. The + puffs of smoke, the orange glare, the round eye of light in front of it, + the melodious rattle. Fine effects! But these furnaces of mine used to be + finer, before we shoved cones in their throats, and saved the gas." + </p> + <p> + "How?" said Raut. "Cones?" + </p> + <p> + "Cones, my man, cones. I'll show you one nearer. The flames used to flare + out of the open throats, great—what is it?—pillars of cloud by + day, red and black smoke, and pillars of fire by night. Now we run it off—in + pipes, and burn it to heat the blast, and the top is shut by a cone. + You'll be interested in that cone." + </p> + <p> + "But every now and then," said Raut, "you get a burst of fire and smoke up + there." + </p> + <p> + "The cone's not fixed, it's hung by a chain from a lever, and balanced by + an equipoise. You shall see it nearer. Else, of course, there'd be no way + of getting fuel into the thing. Every now and then the cone dips, and out + comes the flare." + </p> + <p> + "I see," said Raut. He looked over his shoulder. "The moon gets brighter," + he said. + </p> + <p> + "Come along," said Horrocks abruptly, gripping his shoulder again, and + moving him suddenly towards the railway crossing. And then came one of + those swift incidents, vivid, but so rapid that they leave one doubtful + and reeling. Half-way across, Horrocks's hand suddenly clenched upon him + like a vice, and swung him backward and through a half-turn, so that he + looked up the line. And there a chain of lamp-lit carriage windows + telescoped swiftly as it came towards them, and the red and yellow lights + of an engine grew larger and larger, rushing down upon them. As he grasped + what this meant, he turned his face to Horrocks, and pushed with all his + strength against the arm that held him back between the rails. The + struggle did not last a moment. Just as certain as it was that Horrocks + held him there, so certain was it that he had been violently lugged out of + danger. + </p> + <p> + "Out of the way," said Horrocks with a gasp, as the train came rattling + by, and they stood panting by the gate into the ironworks. + </p> + <p> + "I did not see it coming," said Raut, still, even in spite of his own + apprehensions, trying to keep up an appearance of ordinary intercourse. + </p> + <p> + Horrocks answered with a grunt. "The cone," he said, and then, as one who + recovers himself, "I thought you did not hear." + </p> + <p> + "I didn't," said Raut. + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn't have had you run over then for the world," said Horrocks. + </p> + <p> + "For a moment I lost my nerve," said Raut. + </p> + <p> + Horrocks stood for half a minute, then turned abruptly towards the + ironworks again. "See how fine these great mounds of mine, these + clinker-heaps, look in the night! That truck yonder, up above there! Up it + goes, and out-tilts the slag. See the palpitating red stuff go sliding + down the slope. As we get nearer, the heap rises up and cuts the blast + furnaces. See the quiver up above the big one. Not that way! This way, + between the heaps. That goes to the puddling furnaces, but I want to show + you the canal first." He came and took Raut by the elbow, and so they went + along side by side. Raut answered Horrocks vaguely. What, he asked + himself, had really happened on the line? Was he deluding himself with his + own fancies, or had Horrocks actually held him back in the way of the + train? Had he just been within an ace of being murdered? + </p> + <p> + Suppose this slouching, scowling monster <i>did</i> know anything? For a + minute or two then Raut was really afraid for his life, but the mood + passed as he reasoned with himself. After all, Horrocks might have heard + nothing. At any rate, he had pulled him out of the way in time. His odd + manner might be due to the mere vague jealousy he had shown once before. + He was talking now of the ash-heaps and the canal. "Eigh?" said Horrocks. + </p> + <p> + "What?" said Raut. "Rather! The haze in the moonlight. Fine!" + </p> + <p> + "Our canal," said Horrocks, stopping suddenly. "Our canal by moonlight and + firelight is immense. You've never seen it? Fancy that! You've spent too + many of your evenings philandering up in Newcastle there. I tell you, for + real florid quality——But you shall see. Boiling water ..." + </p> + <p> + As they came out of the labyrinth of clinker-heaps and mounds of coal and + ore, the noises of the rolling-mill sprang upon them suddenly, loud, near, + and distinct. Three shadowy workmen went by and touched their caps to + Horrocks. Their faces were vague in the darkness. Raut felt a futile + impulse to address them, and before he could frame his words they passed + into the shadows. Horrocks pointed to the canal close before them now: a + weird-looking place it seemed, in the blood-red reflections of the + furnaces. The hot water that cooled the tuyhres came into it, some fifty + yards up—a tumultuous, almost boiling affluent, and the steam rose + up from the water in silent white wisps and streaks, wrapping damply about + them, an incessant succession of ghosts coming up from the black and red + eddies, a white uprising that made the head swim. The shining black tower + of the larger blast-furnace rose overhead out of the mist, and its + tumultuous riot filled their ears. Raut kept away from the edge of the + water, and watched Horrocks. + </p> + <p> + "Here it is red," said Horrocks, "blood-red vapour as red and hot as sin; + but yonder there, where the moonlight falls on it, and it drives across + the clinker-heaps, it is as white as death." + </p> + <p> + Raut turned his head for a moment, and then came back hastily to his watch + on Horrocks. "Come along to the rolling-mills," said Horrocks. The + threatening hold was not so evident that time, and Raut felt a little + reassured. But all the same, what on earth did Horrocks mean about "white + as death" and "red as sin"? Coincidence, perhaps? + </p> + <p> + They went and stood behind the puddlers for a little while, and then + through the rolling-mills, where amidst an incessant din the deliberate + steam-hammer beat the juice out of the succulent iron, and black, + half-naked Titans rushed the plastic bars, like hot sealing-wax, between + the wheels, "Come on," said Horrocks in Raut's ear; and they went and + peeped through the little glass hole behind the tuyhres, and saw the + tumbled fire writhing in the pit of the blast-furnace. It left one eye + blinded for a while. Then, with green and blue patches dancing across the + dark, they went to the lift by which the trucks of ore and fuel and lime + were raised to the top of the big cylinder. + </p> + <p> + And out upon the narrow rail that overhung the furnace Raut's doubts came + upon him again. Was it wise to be here? If Horrocks did know—everything! + Do what he would, he could not resist a violent trembling. Right under + foot was a sheer depth of seventy feet. It was a dangerous place. They + pushed by a truck of fuel to get to the railing that crowned the thing. + The reek of the furnace, a sulphurous vapour streaked with pungent + bitterness, seemed to make the distant hillside of Hanley quiver. The moon + was riding out now from among a drift of clouds, half-way up the sky above + the undulating wooded outlines of Newcastle. The steaming canal ran away + from below them under an indistinct bridge, and vanished into the dim haze + of the flat fields towards Burslem. + </p> + <p> + "That's the cone I've been telling you of," shouted Horrocks; "and, below + that, sixty feet of fire and molten metal, with the air of the blast + frothing through it like gas in soda-water." + </p> + <p> + Raut gripped the hand-rail tightly, and stared down at the cone. The heat + was intense. The boiling of the iron and the tumult of the blast made a + thunderous accompaniment to Horrocks's voice. But the thing had to be gone + through now. Perhaps, after all... + </p> + <p> + "In the middle," bawled Horrocks, "temperature near a thousand degrees. If + <i>you</i> were dropped into it ... flash into flame like a pinch of + gunpowder in a candle. Put your hand out and feel the heat of his breath. + Why, even up here I've seen the rain-water boiling off the trucks. And + that cone there. It's a damned sight too hot for roasting cakes. The top + side of it's three hundred degrees." + </p> + <p> + "Three hundred degrees!" said Raut. + </p> + <p> + "Three hundred centigrade, mind!" said Horrocks. "It will boil the blood + out of you in no time." + </p> + <p> + "Eigh?" said Raut, and turned. + </p> + <p> + "Boil the blood out of you in ... No, you don't!" + </p> + <p> + "Let me go!" screamed Raut. "Let go my arm!" + </p> + <p> + With one hand he clutched at the hand-rail, then with both. For a moment + the two men stood swaying. Then suddenly, with a violent jerk, Horrocks + had twisted him from his hold. He clutched at Horrocks and missed, his + foot went back into empty air; in mid-air he twisted himself, and then + cheek and shoulder and knee struck the hot cone together. + </p> + <p> + He clutched the chain by which the cone hung, and the thing sank an + infinitesimal amount as he struck it. A circle of glowing red appeared + about him, and a tongue of flame, released from the chaos within, + flickered up towards him. An intense pain assailed him at the knees, and + he could smell the singeing of his hands. He raised himself to his feet, + and tried to climb up the chain, and then something struck his head. Black + and shining with the moonlight, the throat of the furnace rose about him. + </p> + <p> + Horrocks, he saw, stood above him by one of the trucks of fuel on the + rail. The gesticulating figure was bright and white in the moonlight, and + shouting, "Fizzle, you fool! Fizzle, you hunter of women! You hot-blooded + hound! Boil! boil! boil!" + </p> + <p> + Suddenly he caught up a handful of coal out of the truck, and flung it + deliberately, lump after lump, at Raut. + </p> + <p> + "Horrocks!" cried Raut. "Horrocks!" + </p> + <p> + He clung, crying, to the chain, pulling himself up from the burning of the + cone. Each missile Horrocks flung hit him. His clothes charred and glowed, + and as he struggled the cone dropped, and a rush of hot, suffocating gas + whooped out and burned round him in a swift breath of flame. + </p> + <p> + His human likeness departed from him. When the momentary red had passed, + Horrocks saw a charred, blackened figure, its head streaked with blood, + still clutching and fumbling with the chain, and writhing in agony—a + cindery animal, an inhuman, monstrous creature that began a sobbing, + intermittent shriek. + </p> + <p> + Abruptly at the sight the ironmaster's anger passed. A deadly sickness + came upon him. The heavy odour of burning flesh came drifting up to his + nostrils. His sanity returned to him. + </p> + <p> + "God have mercy upon me!" he cried. "O God! what have I done?" + </p> + <p> + He knew the thing below him, save that it still moved and felt, was + already a dead man—that the blood of the poor wretch must be boiling + in his veins. An intense realisation of that agony came to his mind, and + overcame every other feeling. For a moment he stood irresolute, and then, + turning to the truck, he hastily tilted its contents upon the struggling + thing that had once been a man. The mass fell with a thud, and went + radiating over the cone. With the thud the shriek ended, and a boiling + confusion of smoke, dust, and flame came rushing up towards him. As it + passed, he saw the cone clear again. + </p> + <p> + Then he staggered back, and stood trembling, clinging to the rail with + both hands. His lips moved, but no words came to them. + </p> + <p> + Down below was the sound of voices and running steps. The clangour of + rolling in the shed ceased abruptly. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III. — THE STOLEN BACILLUS. + </h2> + <p> + "This again," said the Bacteriologist, slipping a glass slide under the + microscope, "is well,—a preparation of the Bacillus of cholera—the + cholera germ." + </p> + <p> + The pale-faced man peered down the microscope. He was evidently not + accustomed to that kind of thing, and held a limp white hand over his + disengaged eye. "I see very little," he said. + </p> + <p> + "Touch this screw," said the Bacteriologist; "perhaps the microscope is + out of focus for you. Eyes vary so much. Just the fraction of a turn this + way or that." + </p> + <p> + "Ah! now I see," said the visitor. "Not so very much to see after all. + Little streaks and shreds of pink. And yet those little particles, those + mere atomies, might multiply and devastate a city! Wonderful!" + </p> + <p> + He stood up, and releasing the glass slip from the microscope, held it in + his hand towards the window. "Scarcely visible," he said, scrutinising the + preparation. He hesitated. "Are these—alive? Are they dangerous + now?" + </p> + <p> + "Those have been stained and killed," said the Bacteriologist. "I wish, + for my own part, we could kill and stain every one of them in the + universe." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose," the pale man said, with a slight smile, 'that you scarcely + care to have such things about you in the living—in the active + state?" + </p> + <p> + "On the contrary, we are obliged to," said the Bacteriologist. "Here, for + instance—" He walked across the room and took up one of several + sealed tubes. "Here is the living thing. This is a cultivation of the + actual living disease bacteria." He hesitated. "Bottled cholera, so to + speak." + </p> + <p> + A slight gleam of satisfaction appeared momentarily in the face of the + pale man. "It's a deadly thing to have in your possession," he said, + devouring the little tube with his eyes. The Bacteriologist watched the + morbid pleasure in his visitor's expression. This man, who had visited him + that afternoon with a note of introduction from an old friend, interested + him from the very contrast of their dispositions. The lank black hair and + deep grey eyes, the haggard expression and nervous manner, the fitful yet + keen interest of his visitor were a novel change from the phlegmatic + deliberations of the ordinary scientific worker with whom the + Bacteriologist chiefly associated. It was perhaps natural, with a hearer + evidently so impressionable to the lethal nature of; his topic, to take + the most effective aspect of the matter. + </p> + <p> + He held the tube in his hand thoughtfully. "Yes, here is the pestilence + imprisoned. Only break such a little tube as this into a supply of + drinking-water, say to these minute particles of life that one must needs + stain and examine with the highest powers of the microscope even to see, + and that one can neither smell nor taste—say to them, 'Go forth, + increase and multiply, and replenish the cisterns,' and death—mysterious, + untraceable death, death swift and terrible, death full of pain and + indignity—would be released upon this city, and go hither and + thither seeking his victims. Here he would take the husband from the wife, + here the child from its mother, here the statesman from his duty, and here + the toiler from his trouble. He would follow the water-mains, creeping + along streets, picking out and punishing a house here and a house there + where they did not boil their drinking-water, creeping into the wells of + the mineral water makers, getting washed into salad, and lying dormant in + ices. He would wait ready to be drunk in the horse-troughs, and by unwary + children in the public fountains. He would soak into the soil, to reappear + in springs and wells at a thousand unexpected places. Once start him at + the water supply, and before we could ring him in, and catch him again, he + would have decimated the metropolis." + </p> + <p> + He stopped abruptly. He had been told rhetoric was his weakness. + </p> + <p> + "But he is quite safe here, you know—quite safe." + </p> + <p> + The pale-faced man nodded. His eyes shone. He cleared his throat. "These + Anarchist—rascals," said he, "are fools, blind fools—to use + bombs when this kind of thing is attainable. I think——" + </p> + <p> + A gentle rap, a mere light touch of the finger-nails, was heard at the + door. The Bacteriologist opened it. "Just a minute, dear," whispered his + wife. + </p> + <p> + When he re-entered the laboratory his visitor was looking at his watch. "I + had no idea I had wasted an hour of your time," he said. "Twelve minutes + to four. I ought to have left here by half-past three. But your things + were really too interesting. No, positively I cannot stop a moment longer. + I have an engagement at four." + </p> + <p> + He passed out of the room reiterating his thanks, and the Bacteriologist + accompanied him to the door, and then returned thoughtfully along the + passage to his laboratory. He was musing on the ethnology of his visitor. + Certainly the man was not a Teutonic type nor a common Latin one. "A + morbid product, anyhow, I am afraid," said the Bacteriologist to himself. + "How he gloated over those cultivations of disease germs!" A disturbing + thought struck him. He turned to the bench by the vapour bath, and then + very quickly to his writing-table. Then he felt hastily in his pockets and + then rushed to the door. "I may have put it down on the hall table," he + said. + </p> + <p> + "Minnie!" he shouted hoarsely in the hall. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, dear," came a remote voice. + </p> + <p> + "Had I anything in my hand when I spoke to you, dear, just now?" + </p> + <p> + Pause. + </p> + <p> + "Nothing, dear, because I remember——" + </p> + <p> + "Blue ruin!" cried the Bacteriologist, and incontinently ran to the front + door and down the steps of his house to the street. + </p> + <p> + Minnie, hearing the door slam violently, ran in alarm to the window. Down + the street a slender man was getting into a cab. The Bacteriologist, + hatless, and in his carpet slippers, was running and gesticulating wildly + towards this group. One slipper came off, but he did not wait for it. "He + has gone <i>mad</i>!" said Minnie; "it's that horrid science of his"; and, + opening the window, would have called after him. The slender man, suddenly + glancing round, seemed struck with the same idea of mental disorder. He + pointed hastily to the Bacteriologist, said something to the cabman, the + apron of the cab slammed, the whip swished, the horse's feet clattered, + and in a moment cab and Bacteriologist hotly in pursuit, had receded up + the vista of the roadway and disappeared round the corner. + </p> + <p> + Minnie remained straining out of the window for a minute. Then she drew + her head back into the room again. She was dumbfounded. "Of course he is + eccentric," she meditated. "But running about London—in the height + of the season, too—in his socks!" A happy thought struck her. She + hastily put her bonnet on, seized his shoes, went into the hall, took down + his hat and light overcoat from the pegs, emerged upon the doorstep, and + hailed a cab that opportunely crawled by. "Drive me up the road and round + Havelock Crescent, and see if we can find a gentleman running about in a + velveteen coat and no hat." + </p> + <p> + "Velveteen coat, ma'am, and no 'at. Very good, ma'am." And the cabman + whipped up at once in the most matter-of-fact way, as if he drove to this + address every day in his life. + </p> + <p> + Some few minutes later the little group of cabmen and loafers that + collects round the cabman's shelter at Haverstock Hill were startled by + the passing of a cab with a ginger-coloured screw of a horse, driven + furiously. + </p> + <p> + They were silent as it went by, and then as it receded—"That's 'Arry + 'Icks. Wot's <i>he</i> got?" said the stout gentleman known as Old + Tootles. + </p> + <p> + "He's a-using his whip, he is, <i>to</i> rights," said the ostler boy. + </p> + <p> + "Hullo!" said poor old Tommy Byles; "here's another bloomin' loonatic. + Blowed if there ain't." + </p> + <p> + "It's old George," said Old Tootles, "and he's drivin' a loonatic, <i>as</i> + you say. Ain't he a-clawin' out of the keb? Wonder if he's after 'Arry + 'Icks?" + </p> + <p> + The group round the cabman's shelter became animated. Chorus: "Go it, + George!" "It's a race." "You'll ketch 'em!" "Whip up!" + </p> + <p> + "She's a goer, she is!" said the ostler boy. + </p> + <p> + "Strike me giddy!" cried Old Tootles. "Here! <i>I'm</i> a-goin' to begin + in a minute. Here's another comin'. If all the cabs in Hampstead ain't + gone mad this morning!" + </p> + <p> + "It's a fieldmale this time," said the ostler boy. + </p> + <p> + "She's a-followin' <i>him</i>," said Old Tootles. "Usually the other way + about." + </p> + <p> + "What's she got in her 'and?" + </p> + <p> + "Looks like a 'igh 'at." + </p> + <p> + "What a bloomin' lark it is! Three to one on old George," said the ostler + boy. "Nexst!" + </p> + <p> + Minnie went by in a perfect roar of applause. She did not like it, but she + felt that she was doing her duty, and whirled on down Haverstock Hill and + Camden Town High Street with her eyes ever intent on the animated back + view of old George, who was driving her vagrant husband so + incomprehensibly away from her. + </p> + <p> + The man in the foremost cab sat crouched in the corner, his arms tightly + folded, and the little tube that contained such vast possibilities of + destruction gripped in his hand. His mood was a singular mixture of fear + and exultation. Chiefly he was afraid of being caught before he could + accomplish his purpose, but behind this was a vaguer but larger fear of + the awfulness of his crime. But his exultation far exceeded his fear. No + Anarchist before him had ever approached this conception of his. Ravachol, + Vaillant, all those distinguished persons whose fame he had envied + dwindled into insignificance beside him. He had only to make sure of the + water supply, and break the little tube into a reservoir. How brilliantly + he had planned it, forged the letter of introduction and got into the + laboratory, and how brilliantly he had seized his opportunity! The world + should hear of him at last. All those people who had sneered at him, + neglected him, preferred other people to him, found his company + undesirable, should consider him at last. Death, death, death! They had + always treated him as a man of no importance. All the world had been in a + conspiracy to keep him under. He would teach them yet what it is to + isolate a man. What was this familiar street? Great Saint Andrew's Street, + of course! How fared the chase? He craned out of the cab. The + Bacteriologist was scarcely fifty yards behind. That was bad. He would be + caught and stopped yet. He felt in his pocket for money, and found half a + sovereign. This he thrust up through the trap in the top of the cab into + the man's face. "More," he shouted, "if only we get away." + </p> + <p> + The money was snatched out of his hand. "Right you are," said the cabman, + and the trap slammed, and the lash lay along the glistening side of the + horse. The cab swayed, and the Anarchist, half-standing under the trap, + put the hand containing the little glass tube upon the apron to preserve + his balance. He felt the brittle thing crack, and the broken half of it + rang upon the floor of the cab. He fell back into the seat with a curse, + and stared dismally at the two or three drops of moisture on the apron. + </p> + <p> + He shuddered. + </p> + <p> + "Well, I suppose I shall be the first. <i>Phew!</i> Anyhow, I shall be a + Martyr. That's something. But it is a filthy death, nevertheless. I wonder + if it hurts as much as they say." + </p> + <p> + Presently a thought occurred to him—he groped between his feet. A + little drop was still in the broken end of the tube, and he drank that to + make sure. It was better to make sure. At any rate, he would not fail. + </p> + <p> + Then it dawned upon him that there was no further need to escape the + Bacteriologist. In Wellington Street he told the cabman to stop, and got + out. He slipped on the step, and his head felt queer. It was rapid stuff, + this cholera poison. He waved his cabman out of existence, so to speak, + and stood on the pavement with his arms folded upon his breast awaiting + the arrival of the Bacteriologist. There was something tragic in his pose. + The sense of imminent death gave him a certain dignity. He greeted his + pursuer with a defiant laugh. + </p> + <p> + "Vive l'Anarchie! You are too late, my friend, I have drunk it. The + cholera is abroad!" + </p> + <p> + The Bacteriologist from his cab beamed curiously at him through his + spectacles. "You have drunk it! An Anarchist! I see now." He was about to + say something more, and then checked himself. A smile hung in the corner + of his mouth. He opened the apron of his cab as if to descend, at which + the Anarchist waved him a dramatic farewell and strode off towards + Waterloo Bridge, carefully jostling his infected body against as many + people as possible. The Bacteriologist was so preoccupied with the vision + of him that he scarcely manifested the slightest surprise at the + appearance of Minnie upon the pavement with his hat and shoes and + overcoat. "Very good of you to bring my things," he said, and remained + lost in contemplation of the receding figure of the Anarchist. + </p> + <p> + "You had better get in," he said, still staring. Minnie felt absolutely + convinced now that he was mad, and directed the cabman home on her own + responsibility. "Put on my shoes? Certainly, dear," said he, as the cab + began to turn, and hid the strutting black figure, now small in the + distance, from his eyes. Then suddenly something grotesque struck him, and + he laughed. Then he remarked, "It is really very serious, though. + </p> + <p> + "You see, that man came to my house to see me, and he is an Anarchist. No—don't + faint, or I cannot possibly tell you the rest. And I wanted to astonish + him, not knowing he was an Anarchist, and took up a cultivation of that + new species of Bacterium I was telling you of that infest, and I think + cause, the blue patches upon various monkeys; and, like a fool, I said it + was Asiatic cholera. And he ran away with it to poison the water of + London, and he certainly might have made things look blue for this + civilised city. And now he has swallowed it. Of course, I cannot say what + will happen, but you know it turned that kitten blue, and the three + puppies—in patches, and the sparrow—bright blue. But the + bother is, I shall have all the trouble and expense of preparing some + more. + </p> + <p> + "Put on my coat on this hot day! Why? Because we might meet Mrs. Jabber. + My dear, Mrs. Jabber is not a draught. But why should I wear a coat on a + hot day because of Mrs.——-. Oh! <i>very</i> well." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV. — THE FLOWERING OF THE STRANGE ORCHID. + </h2> + <p> + The buying of orchids always has in it a certain speculative flavour. You + have before you the brown shrivelled lump of tissue, and for the rest you + must trust your judgment, or the auctioneer, or your good luck, as your + taste may incline. The plant may be moribund or dead, or it may be just a + respectable purchase, fair value for your money, or perhaps—for the + thing has happened again and again—there slowly unfolds before the + delighted eyes of the happy purchaser, day after day, some new variety, + some novel richness, a strange twist of the labellum, or some subtler + colouration or unexpected mimicry. Pride, beauty, and profit blossom + together on one delicate green spike, and, it may be, even immortality. + For the new miracle of nature may stand in need of a new specific name, + and what so convenient as that of its discoverer? "John-smithia"! There + have been worse names. + </p> + <p> + It was perhaps the hope of some such happy discovery that made Winter + Wedderburn such a frequent attendant at these sales—that hope, and + also, maybe, the fact that he had nothing else of the slightest interest + to do in the world. He was a shy, lonely, rather ineffectual man, provided + with just enough income to keep off the spur of necessity, and not enough + nervous energy to make him seek any exacting employments. He might have + collected stamps or coins, or translated Horace, or bound books, or + invented new species of diatoms. But, as it happened, he grew orchids, and + had one ambitious little hothouse. + </p> + <p> + "I have a fancy," he said over his coffee, "that something is going to + happen to me to-day." He spoke—as he moved and thought—slowly. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, don't say <i>that</i>!" said his housekeeper—who was also his + remote cousin. For "something happening" was a euphemism that meant only + one thing to her. + </p> + <p> + "You misunderstand me. I mean nothing unpleasant...though what I do mean I + scarcely know. + </p> + <p> + "To-day," he continued, after a pause, "Peters' are going to sell a batch + of plants from the Andamans and the Indies. I shall go up and see what + they have. It may be I shall buy something good unawares. That may be it." + </p> + <p> + He passed his cup for his second cupful of coffee. + </p> + <p> + "Are these the things collected by that poor young fellow you told me of + the other day?" asked his cousin, as she filled his cup. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said, and became meditative over a piece of toast. + </p> + <p> + "Nothing ever does happen to me," he remarked presently, beginning to + think aloud. "I wonder why? Things enough happen to other people. There is + Harvey. Only the other week; on Monday he picked up sixpence, on Wednesday + his chicks all had the staggers, on Friday his cousin came home from + Australia, and on Saturday he broke his ankle. What a whirl of excitement!—compared + to me." + </p> + <p> + "I think I would rather be without so much excitement," said his + housekeeper. "It can't be good for you." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose it's troublesome. Still ... you see, nothing ever happens to + me. When I was a little boy I never had accidents. I never fell in love as + I grew up. Never married... I wonder how it feels to have something happen + to you, something really remarkable. + </p> + <p> + "That orchid-collector was only thirty-six—twenty years younger than + myself—when he died. And he had been married twice and divorced + once; he had had malarial fever four times, and once he broke his thigh. + He killed a Malay once, and once he was wounded by a poisoned dart. And in + the end he was killed by jungle-leeches. It must have all been very + troublesome, but then it must have been very interesting, you know—except, + perhaps, the leeches." + </p> + <p> + "I am sure it was not good for him," said the lady with conviction. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps not." And then Wedderburn looked at his watch. "Twenty-three + minutes past eight. I am going up by the quarter to twelve train, so that + there is plenty of time. I think I shall wear my alpaca jacket—it is + quite warm enough—and my grey felt hat and brown shoes. I suppose—" + </p> + <p> + He glanced out of the window at the serene sky and sunlit garden, and then + nervously at his cousin's face. + </p> + <p> + "I think you had better take an umbrella if you are going to London," she + said in a voice that admitted of no denial. "There's all between here and + the station coming back." + </p> + <p> + When he returned he was in a state of mild excitement. He had made a + purchase. It was rare that he could make up his mind quickly enough to + buy, but this time he had done so. + </p> + <p> + "There are Vandas," he said, "and a Dendrobe and some Palaeonophis." He + surveyed his purchases lovingly as he consumed his soup. They were laid + out on the spotless tablecloth before him, and he was telling his cousin + all about them as he slowly meandered through his dinner. It was his + custom to live all his visits to London over again in the evening for her + and his own entertainment. + </p> + <p> + "I knew something would happen to-day. And I have bought all these. Some + of them—some of them—I feel sure, do you know, that some of + them will be remarkable. I don't know how it is, but I feel just as sure + as if some one had told me that some of these will turn out remarkable. + </p> + <p> + "That one "—he pointed to a shrivelled rhizome—"was not + identified. It may be a Palaeonophis—or it may not. It may be a new + species, or even a new genus. And it was the last that poor Batten ever + collected." + </p> + <p> + "I don't like the look of it," said his housekeeper. "It's such an ugly + shape." + </p> + <p> + "To me it scarcely seems to have a shape." + </p> + <p> + "I don't like those things that stick out," said his housekeeper. + </p> + <p> + "It shall be put away in a pot to-morrow." + </p> + <p> + "It looks," said the housekeeper, "like a spider shamming dead." + </p> + <p> + Wedderburn smiled and surveyed the root with his head on one side. "It is + certainly not a pretty lump of stuff. But you can never judge of these + things from their dry appearance. It may turn out to be a very beautiful + orchid indeed. How busy I shall be to-morrow! I must see to-night just + exactly what to do with these things, and to-morrow I shall set to work." + </p> + <p> + "They found poor Batten lying dead, or dying, in a mangrove swamp—I + forget which," he began again presently, "with one of these very orchids + crushed up under his body. He had been unwell for some days with some kind + of native fever, and I suppose he fainted. These mangrove swamps are very + unwholesome. Every drop of blood, they say, was taken out of him by the + jungle-leeches. It may be that very plant that cost him his life to + obtain." + </p> + <p> + "I think none the better of it for that." + </p> + <p> + "Men must work though women may weep," said Wedderburn with profound + gravity. + </p> + <p> + "Fancy dying away from every comfort in a nasty swamp! Fancy being ill of + fever with nothing to take but chlorodyne and quinine—if men were + left to themselves they would live on chlorodyne and quinine—and no + one round you but horrible natives! They say the Andaman islanders are + most disgusting wretches—and, anyhow, they can scarcely make good + nurses, not having the necessary training. And just for people in England + to have orchids!" + </p> + <p> + "I don't suppose it was comfortable, but some men seem to enjoy that kind + of thing," said Wedderburn. "Anyhow, the natives of his party were + sufficiently civilised to take care of all his collection until his + colleague, who was an ornithologist, came back again from the interior; + though they could not tell the species of the orchid, and had let it + wither. And it makes these things more interesting." + </p> + <p> + "It makes them disgusting. I should be afraid of some of the malaria + clinging to them. And just think, there has been a dead body lying across + that ugly thing! I never thought of that before. There! I declare I cannot + eat another mouthful of dinner." + </p> + <p> + "I will take them off the table if you like, and put them in the + window-seat. I can see them just as well there." + </p> + <p> + The next few days he was indeed singularly busy in his steamy little + hothouse, fussing about with charcoal, lumps of teak, moss, and all the + other mysteries of the orchid cultivator. He considered he was having a + wonderfully eventful time. In the evening he would talk about these new + orchids to his friends, and over and over again he reverted to his + expectation of something strange. + </p> + <p> + Several of the Vandas and the Dendrobium died under his care, but + presently the strange orchid began to show signs of life. He was + delighted, and took his housekeeper right away from jam-making to see it + at once, directly he made the discovery. + </p> + <p> + "That is a bud," he said, "and presently there will be a lot of leaves + there, and those little things coming out here are aerial rootlets." + </p> + <p> + "They look to me like little white fingers poking out of the brown," said + his housekeeper. "I don't like them." + </p> + <p> + "Why not?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't know. They look like fingers trying to get at you. I can't help + my likes and dislikes." + </p> + <p> + "I don't know for certain, but I don't <i>think</i> there are any orchids + I know that have aerial rootlets quite like that. It may be my fancy, of + course. You see they are a little flattened at the ends." + </p> + <p> + "I don't like 'em," said his housekeeper, suddenly shivering and turning + away. "I know it's very silly of me—and I'm very sorry, particularly + as you like the thing so much. But I can't help thinking of that corpse." + </p> + <p> + "But it may not be that particular plant. That was merely a guess of + mine." + </p> + <p> + His housekeeper shrugged her shoulders. "Anyhow I don't like it," she + said. + </p> + <p> + Wedderburn felt a little hurt at her dislike to the plant. But that did + not prevent his talking to her about orchids generally, and this orchid in + particular, whenever he felt inclined. + </p> + <p> + "There are such queer things about orchids," he said one day; "such + possibilities of surprises. You know, Darwin studied their fertilisation, + and showed that the whole structure of an ordinary orchid flower was + contrived in order that moths might carry the pollen from plant to plant. + Well, it seems that there are lots of orchids known the flower of which + cannot possibly be used for fertilisation in that way. Some of the + Cypripediums, for instance; there are no insects known that can possibly + fertilise them, and some of them have never been found with seed." + </p> + <p> + "But how do they form new plants?" + </p> + <p> + "By runners and tubers, and that kind of outgrowth. That is easily + explained. The puzzle is, what are the flowers for? + </p> + <p> + "Very likely," he added, "<i>my</i> orchid may be something extraordinary + in that way. If so I shall study it. I have often thought of making + researches as Darwin did. But hitherto I have not found the time, or + something else has happened to prevent it. The leaves are beginning to + unfold now. I do wish you would come and see them!" + </p> + <p> + But she said that the orchid-house was so hot it gave her the headache. + She had seen the plant once again, and the aerial rootlets, which were now + some of them more than a foot long, had unfortunately reminded her of + tentacles reaching out after something; and they got into her dreams, + growing after her with incredible rapidity. So that she had settled to her + entire satisfaction that she would not see that plant again, and + Wedderburn had to admire its leaves alone. They were of the ordinary broad + form, and a deep glossy green, with splashes and dots of deep red towards + the base He knew of no other leaves quite like them. The plant was placed + on a low bench near the thermometer, and close by was a simple arrangement + by which a tap dripped on the hot-water pipes and kept the air steamy. And + he spent his afternoons now with some regularity meditating on the + approaching flowering of this strange plant. + </p> + <p> + And at last the great thing happened. Directly he entered the little glass + house he knew that the spike had burst out, although his great <i>Paloeonophis + Lowii</i> hid the corner where his new darling stood. There was a new + odour in the air, a rich, intensely sweet scent, that overpowered every + other in that crowded, steaming little greenhouse. + </p> + <p> + Directly he noticed this he hurried down to the strange orchid. And, + behold! the trailing green spikes bore now three great splashes of + blossom, from which this overpowering sweetness proceeded. He stopped + before them in an ecstasy of admiration. + </p> + <p> + The flowers were white, with streaks of golden orange upon the petals; the + heavy labellum was coiled into an intricate projection, and a wonderful + bluish purple mingled there with the gold. He could see at once that the + genus was altogether a new one. And the insufferable scent! How hot the + place was! The blossoms swam before his eyes. + </p> + <p> + He would see if the temperature was right. He made a step towards the + thermometer. Suddenly everything appeared unsteady. The bricks on the + floor were dancing up and down. Then the white blossoms, the green leaves + behind them, the whole greenhouse, seemed to sweep sideways, and then in a + curve upward. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + At half-past four his cousin made the tea, according to their invariable + custom. But Wedderburn did not come in for his tea. + </p> + <p> + "He is worshipping that horrid orchid," she told herself, and waited ten + minutes. "His watch must have stopped. I will go and call him." + </p> + <p> + She went straight to the hothouse, and, opening the door, called his name. + There was no reply. She noticed that the air was very close, and loaded + with an intense perfume. Then she saw something lying on the bricks + between the hot-water pipes. + </p> + <p> + For a minute, perhaps, she stood motionless. + </p> + <p> + He was lying, face upward, at the foot of the strange orchid. The + tentacle-like aerial rootlets no longer swayed freely in the air, but were + crowded together, a tangle of grey ropes, and stretched tight, with their + ends closely applied to his chin and neck and hands. + </p> + <p> + She did not understand. Then she saw from under one of the exultant + tentacles upon his cheek there trickled a little thread of blood. + </p> + <p> + With an inarticulate cry she ran towards him, and tried to pull him away + from the leech-like suckers. She snapped two of these tentacles, and their + sap dripped red. + </p> + <p> + Then the overpowering scent of the blossom began to make her head reel. + How they clung to him! She tore at the tough ropes, and he and the white + inflorescence swam about her. She felt she was fainting, knew she must + not. She left him and hastily opened the nearest door, and, after she had + panted for a moment in the fresh air, she had a brilliant inspiration. She + caught up a flower-pot and smashed in the windows at the end of the + greenhouse. Then she re-entered. She tugged now with renewed strength at + Wedderburn's motionless body, and brought the strange orchid crashing to + the floor. It still clung with the grimmest tenacity to its victim. In a + frenzy, she lugged it and him into the open air. + </p> + <p> + Then she thought of tearing through the sucker rootlets one by one, and in + another minute she had released him and was dragging him away from the + horror. + </p> + <p> + He was white and bleeding from a dozen circular patches. + </p> + <p> + The odd-job man was coming up the garden, amazed at the smashing of glass, + and saw her emerge, hauling the inanimate body with red-stained hands. For + a moment he thought impossible things. + </p> + <p> + "Bring some water!" she cried, and her voice dispelled his fancies. When, + with unnatural alacrity, he returned with the water, he found her weeping + with excitement, and with Wedderburn's head upon her knee, wiping the + blood from his face. + </p> + <p> + "What's the matter?" said Wedderburn, opening his eyes feebly, and closing + them again at once. + </p> + <p> + "Go and tell Annie to come out here to me, and then go for Dr. Haddon at + once," she said to the odd-job man so soon as he brought the water; and + added, seeing he hesitated, "I will tell you all about it when you come + back." + </p> + <p> + Presently Wedderburn opened his eyes again, and, seeing that he was + troubled by the puzzle of his position, she explained to him, "You fainted + in the hothouse." + </p> + <p> + "And the orchid?" + </p> + <p> + "I will see to that," she said. + </p> + <p> + Wedderburn had lost a good deal of blood, but beyond that he had suffered + no very great injury. They gave him brandy mixed with some pink extract of + meat, and carried him upstairs to bed. His housekeeper told her incredible + story in fragments to Dr. Haddon. "Come to the orchid-house and see," she + said. + </p> + <p> + The cold outer air was blowing in through the open door, and the sickly + perfume was almost dispelled. Most of the torn aerial rootlets lay already + withered amidst a number of dark stains upon the bricks. The stem of the + inflorescence was broken by the fall of the plant, and the flowers were + growing limp and brown at the edges of the petals. The doctor stooped + towards it, then saw that one of the aerial rootlets still stirred feebly, + and hesitated. + </p> + <p> + The next morning the strange orchid still lay there, black now and + putrescent. The door banged intermittently in the morning breeze, and all + the array of Wedderburn's orchids was shrivelled and prostrate. But + Wedderburn himself was bright and garrulous upstairs in the glory of his + strange adventure. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V. — IN THE AVU OBSERVATORY. + </h2> + <p> + The observatory at Avu, in Borneo, stands on the spur of the mountain. To + the north rises the old crater, black at night against the unfathomable + blue of the sky. From the little circular building, with its mushroom + dome, the slopes plunge steeply downward into the black mysteries of the + tropical forest beneath. The little house in which the observer and his + assistant live is about fifty yards from the observatory, and beyond this + are the huts of their native attendants. + </p> + <p> + Thaddy, the chief observer, was down with a slight fever. His assistant, + Woodhouse, paused for a moment in silent contemplation of the tropical + night before commencing his solitary vigil. The night was very still. Now + and then voices and laughter came from the native huts, or the cry of some + strange animal was heard from the midst of the mystery of the forest. + Nocturnal insects appeared in ghostly fashion out of the darkness, and + fluttered round his light. He thought, perhaps, of all the possibilities + of discovery that still lay in the black tangle beneath him; for to the + naturalist the virgin forests of Borneo are still a wonderland full of + strange questions and half-suspected discoveries. Woodhouse carried a + small lantern in his hand, and its yellow glow contrasted vividly with the + infinite series of tints between lavender-blue and black in which the + landscape was painted. His hands and face were smeared with ointment + against the attacks of the mosquitoes. + </p> + <p> + Even in these days of celestial photography, work done in a purely + temporary erection, and with only the most primitive appliances in + addition to the telescope, still involves a very large amount of cramped + and motionless watching. He sighed as he thought of the physical fatigues + before him, stretched himself, and entered the observatory. + </p> + <p> + The reader is probably familiar with the structure of an ordinary + astronomical observatory. The building is usually cylindrical in shape, + with a very light hemispherical roof capable of being turned round from + the interior. The telescope is supported upon a stone pillar in the + centre, and a clockwork arrangement compensates for the earth's rotation, + and allows a star once found to be continuously observed. Besides this, + there is a compact tracery of wheels and screws about its point of + support, by which the astronomer adjusts it. There is, of course, a slit + in the movable roof which follows the eye of the telescope in its survey + of the heavens. The observer sits or lies on a sloping wooden arrangement, + which he can wheel to any part of the observatory as the position of the + telescope may require. Within it is advisable to have things as dark as + possible, in order to enhance the brilliance of the stars observed. + </p> + <p> + The lantern flared as Woodhouse entered his circular den, and the general + darkness fled into black shadows behind the big machine, from which it + presently seemed to creep back over the whole place again as the light + waned. The slit was a profound transparent blue, in which six stars shone + with tropical brilliance, and their light lay, a pallid gleam, along the + black tube of the instrument. Woodhouse shifted the roof, and then + proceeding to the telescope, turned first one wheel and then another, the + great cylinder slowly swinging into a new position. Then he glanced + through the finder, the little companion telescope, moved the roof a + little more, made some further adjustments, and set the clockwork in + motion. He took off his jacket, for the night was very hot, and pushed + into position the uncomfortable seat to which he was condemned for the + next four hours. Then with a sigh he resigned himself to his watch upon + the mysteries of space. + </p> + <p> + There was no sound now in the observatory, and the lantern waned steadily. + Outside there was the occasional cry of some animal in alarm or pain, or + calling to its mate, and the intermittent sounds of the Malay and Dyak + servants. Presently one of the men began a queer chanting song, in which + the others joined at intervals. After this it would seem that they turned + in for the night, for no further sound came from their direction, and the + whispering stillness became more and more profound. + </p> + <p> + The clockwork ticked steadily. The shrill hum of a mosquito explored the + place and grew shriller in indignation at Woodhouse's ointment. Then the + lantern went out and all the observatory was black. + </p> + <p> + Woodhouse shifted his position presently, when the slow movement of the + telescope had carried it beyond the limits of his comfort. + </p> + <p> + He was watching a little group of stars in the Milky Way, in one of which + his chief had seen or fancied a remarkable colour variability. It was not + a part of the regular work for which the establishment existed, and for + that reason perhaps Woodhouse was deeply interested. He must have + forgotten things terrestrial. All his attention was concentrated upon the + great blue circle of the telescope field—a circle powdered, so it + seemed, with an innumerable multitude of stars, and all luminous against + the blackness of its setting. As he watched he seemed to himself to become + incorporeal, as if he too were floating in the ether of space. Infinitely + remote was the faint red spot he was observing. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly the stars were blotted out. A flash of blackness passed, and they + were visible again. + </p> + <p> + "Queer," said Woodhouse. "Must have been a bird." + </p> + <p> + The thing happened again, and immediately after the great tube shivered as + though it had been struck. Then the dome of the observatory resounded with + a series of thundering blows. The stars seemed to sweep aside as the + telescope—which had been unclamped—swung round and away from + the slit in the roof. + </p> + <p> + "Great Scott!" cried Woodhouse. "What's this?" + </p> + <p> + Some huge vague black shape, with a flapping something like a wing, seemed + to be struggling in the aperture of the roof. In another moment the slit + was clear again, and the luminous haze of the Milky Way shone warm and + bright. + </p> + <p> + The interior of the roof was perfectly black, and only a scraping sound + marked the whereabouts of the unknown creature. + </p> + <p> + Woodhouse had scrambled from the seat to his feet. He was trembling + violently and in a perspiration with the suddenness of the occurrence. Was + the thing, whatever it was, inside or out? It was big, whatever else it + might be. Something shot across the skylight, and the telescope swayed. He + started violently and put his arm up. It was in the observatory, then, + with him. It was clinging to the roof apparently. What the devil was it? + Could it see him? + </p> + <p> + He stood for perhaps a minute in a state of stupefaction. The beast, + whatever it was, clawed at the interior of the dome, and then something + flapped almost into his face, and he saw the momentary gleam of starlight + on a skin like oiled leather. His water-bottle was knocked off his little + table with a smash. + </p> + <p> + The sense of some strange bird-creature hovering a few yards from his face + in the darkness was indescribably unpleasant to Woodhouse. As his thought + returned he concluded that it must be some night-bird or large bat. At any + risk he would see what it was, and pulling a match from his pocket, he + tried to strike it on the telescope seat. There was a smoking streak of + phosphorescent light, the match flared for a moment, and he saw a vast + wing sweeping towards him, a gleam of grey-brown fur, and then he was + struck in the face and the match knocked out of his hand. The blow was + aimed at his temple, and a claw tore sideways down to his cheek. He reeled + and fell, and he heard the extinguished lantern smash. Another blow + followed as he fell. He was partly stunned, he felt his own warm blood + stream out upon his face. Instinctively he felt his eyes had been struck + at, and, turning over on his face to save them, tried to crawl under the + protection of the telescope. + </p> + <p> + He was struck again upon the back, and he heard his jacket rip, and then + the thing hit the roof of the observatory. He edged as far as he could + between the wooden seat and the eyepiece of the instrument, and turned his + body round so that it was chiefly his feet that were exposed. With these + he could at least kick. He was still in a mystified state. The strange + beast banged about in the darkness, and presently clung to the telescope, + making it sway and the gear rattle. Once it flapped near him, and he + kicked out madly and felt a soft body with his feet. He was horribly + scared now. It must be a big thing to swing the telescope like that. He + saw for a moment the outline of a head black against the starlight, with + sharply-pointed upstanding ears and a crest between them. It seemed to him + to be as big as a mastiff's. Then he began to bawl out as loudly as he + could for help. + </p> + <p> + At that the thing came down upon him again. As it did so his hand touched + something beside him on the floor. He kicked out, and the next moment his + ankle was gripped and held by a row of keen teeth. He yelled again, and + tried to free his leg by kicking with the other. Then he realised he had + the broken water-bottle at his hand, and, snatching it, he struggled into + a sitting posture, and feeling in the darkness towards his foot, gripped a + velvety ear, like the ear of a big cat. He had seized the water-bottle by + its neck and brought it down with a shivering crash upon the head of the + strange beast. He repeated the blow, and then stabbed and jabbed with the + jagged end of it, in the darkness, where he judged the face might be. + </p> + <p> + The small teeth relaxed their hold, and at once Woodhouse pulled his leg + free and kicked hard. He felt the sickening feel of fur and bone giving + under his boot. There was a tearing bite at his arm, and he struck over it + at the face, as he judged, and hit damp fur. + </p> + <p> + There was a pause; then he heard the sound of claws; and the dragging of a + heavy body away from him over the observatory floor. Then there was + silence, broken only by his own sobbing breathing, and a sound like + licking. Everything was black except the parallelogram of the blue + skylight with the luminous dust of stars, against which the end of the + telescope now appeared in silhouette. He waited, as it seemed, an + interminable time. + </p> + <p> + Was the thing coming on again? He felt in his trouser-pocket for some + matches, and found one remaining. He tried to strike this, but the floor + was wet, and it spat and went out. He cursed. He could not see where the + door was situated. In his struggle he had quite lost his bearings. The + strange beast, disturbed by the splutter of the match, began to move + again. "Time!" called Woodhouse, with a sudden gleam of mirth, but the + thing was not coming at him again. He must have hurt it, he thought, with + the broken bottle. He felt a dull pain in his ankle. Probably he was + bleeding there. He wondered if it would support him if he tried to stand + up. The night outside was very still. There was no sound of any one + moving. The sleepy fools had not heard those wings battering upon the + dome, nor his shouts. It was no good wasting strength in shouting. The + monster flapped its wings and startled him into a defensive attitude. He + hit his elbow against the seat, and it fell over with a crash. He cursed + this, and then he cursed the darkness. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly the oblong patch of starlight seemed to sway to and fro. Was he + going to faint? It would never do to faint. He clenched his fists and set + his teeth to hold himself together. Where had the door got to? It occurred + to him he could get his bearings by the stars visible through the + skylight. The patch of stars he saw was in Sagittarius and south-eastward; + the door was north—or was it north by west? He tried to think. If he + could get the door open he might retreat. It might be the thing was + wounded. The suspense was beastly. "Look here!" he said, "if you don't + come on, I shall come at you." + </p> + <p> + Then the thing began clambering up the side of the observatory, and he saw + its black outline gradually blot out the skylight. Was it in retreat? He + forgot about the door, and watched as the dome shifted and creaked. + Somehow he did not feel very frightened or excited now. He felt a curious + sinking sensation inside him. The sharply-defined patch of light, with the + black form moving across it, seemed to be growing smaller and smaller. + That was curious. He began to feel very thirsty, and yet he did not feel + inclined to get anything to drink. He seemed to be sliding down a long + funnel. + </p> + <p> + He felt a burning sensation in his throat, and then he perceived it was + broad daylight, and that one of the Dyak servants was looking at him with + a curious expression. Then there was the top of Thaddy's face upside down. + Funny fellow, Thaddy, to go about like that! Then he grasped the situation + better, and perceived that his head was on Thaddy's knee, and Thaddy was + giving him brandy. And then he saw the eyepiece of the telescope with a + lot of red smears on it. He began to remember. + </p> + <p> + "You've made this observatory in a pretty mess," said Thaddy. + </p> + <p> + The Dyak boy was beating up an egg in brandy. Woodhouse took this and sat + up. He felt a sharp twinge of pain. His ankle was tied up, so were his arm + and the side of his face. The smashed glass, red-stained, lay about the + floor, the telescope seat was overturned, and by the opposite wall was a + dark pool. The door was open, and he saw the grey summit of the mountain + against a brilliant background of blue sky. + </p> + <p> + "Pah!" said Woodhouse. "Who's been killing calves here? Take me out of + it." + </p> + <p> + Then he remembered the Thing, and the fight he had had with it. + </p> + <p> + "What <i>was</i> it?" he said to Thaddy—"the Thing I fought with?". + </p> + <p> + "<i>You</i> know that best," said Thaddy. "But, anyhow, don't worry + yourself now about it. Have some more to drink." + </p> + <p> + Thaddy, however, was curious enough, and it was a hard struggle between + duty and inclination to keep Woodhouse quiet until he was decently put + away in bed, and had slept upon the copious dose of meat extract Thaddy + considered advisable. They then talked it over together. + </p> + <p> + "It was," said Woodhouse, "more like a big bat than anything else in the + world. It had sharp, short ears, and soft fur, and its wings were + leathery. Its teeth were little but devilish sharp, and its jaw could not + have been very strong or else it would have bitten through my ankle." + </p> + <p> + "It has pretty nearly," said Thaddy. + </p> + <p> + "It seemed to me to hit out with its claws pretty freely. That is about as + much as I know about the beast. Our conversation was intimate, so to + speak, and yet not confidential." + </p> + <p> + "The Dyak chaps talk about a Big Colugo, a Klang-utang—whatever that + may be. It does not often attack man, but I suppose you made it nervous. + They say there is a Big Colugo and a Little Colugo, and a something else + that sounds like gobble. They all fly about at night. For my own part, I + know there are flying foxes and flying lemurs about here, but they are + none of them very big beasts." + </p> + <p> + "There are more things in heaven and earth," said Woodhouse—and + Thaddy groaned at the quotation—"and more particularly in the + forests of Borneo, than are dreamt of in our philosophies. On the whole, + if the Borneo fauna is going to disgorge any more of its novelties upon + me, I should prefer that it did so when I was not occupied in the + observatory at night and alone." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI. — AEPYORNIS ISLAND. + </h2> + <p> + The man with the scarred face leant over the table and looked at my + bundle. + </p> + <p> + "Orchids?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "A few," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Cypripediums," he said. + </p> + <p> + "Chiefly," said I. — "Anything new? I thought not. <i>I</i> did + these islands twenty-five— twenty-seven years ago. If you find + anything new here—well, it's brand new. I didn't leave much." + </p> + <p> + "I'm not a collector," said I. — "I was young then," he went on. + "Lord! how I used to fly round." He seemed to take my measure. "I was in + the East Indies two years, and in Brazil seven. Then I went to + Madagascar." + </p> + <p> + "I know a few explorers by name," I said, anticipating a yarn. "Whom did + you collect for?" + </p> + <p> + "Dawson's. I wonder if you've heard the name of Butcher ever?" + </p> + <p> + "Butcher—Butcher?" The name seemed vaguely present in my memory; + then I recalled <i>Butcher</i> v. <i>Dawson</i>. "Why!" said I, "you are + the man who sued them for four years' salary—got cast away on a + desert island..." + </p> + <p> + "Your servant," said the man with the scar, bowing. "Funny case, wasn't + it? Here was me, making a little fortune on that island, doing nothing for + it neither, and them quite unable to give me notice. It often used to + amuse me thinking over it while I was there. I did calculations of it—big—all + over the blessed atoll in ornamental figuring." + </p> + <p> + "How did it happen?" said I. "I don't rightly remember the case." + </p> + <p> + "Well... You've heard of the AEpyornis?" + </p> + <p> + "Rather. Andrews was telling me of a new species he was working on only a + month or so ago. Just before I sailed. They've got a thigh bone, it seems, + nearly a yard long. Monster the thing must have been!" + </p> + <p> + "I believe you," said the man with the scar. "It <i>was</i> a monster. + Sindbad's roc was just a legend of 'em. But when did they find these + bones?" + </p> + <p> + "Three or four years ago—'91, I fancy. Why?" + </p> + <p> + "Why? Because <i>I</i> found them—Lord!—it's nearly twenty + years ago. If Dawson's hadn't been silly about that salary they might have + made a perfect ring in 'em... <i>I</i> couldn't help the infernal boat + going adrift." + </p> + <p> + He paused. "I suppose it's the same place. A kind of swamp about ninety + miles north of Antananarivo. Do you happen to know? You have to go to it + along the coast by boats. You don't happen to remember, perhaps?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't. I fancy Andrews said something about a swamp." + </p> + <p> + "It must be the same. It's on the east coast. And somehow there's + something in the water that keeps things from decaying. Like creosote it + smells. It reminded me of Trinidad. Did they get any more eggs? Some of + the eggs I found were a foot-and-a-half long. The swamp goes circling + round, you know, and cuts off this bit. It's mostly salt, too. Well... + What a time I had of it! I found the things quite by accident. We went for + eggs, me and two native chaps, in one of those rum canoes all tied + together, and found the bones at the same time. We had a tent and + provisions for four days, and we pitched on one of the firmer places. To + think of it brings that odd tarry smell back even now. It's funny work. + You go probing into the mud with iron rods, you know. Usually the egg gets + smashed. I wonder how long it is since these AEpyornises really lived. The + missionaries say the natives have legends about when they were alive, but + I never heard any such stories myself.[*] But certainly those eggs we got + were as fresh as if they had been new laid. Fresh! Carrying them down to + the boat one of my nigger chaps dropped one on a rock and it smashed. How + I lammed into the beggar! But sweet it was, as if it was new laid, not + even smelly, and its mother dead these four hundred years, perhaps. Said a + centipede had bit him. However, I'm getting off the straight with the + story. It had taken us all day to dig into the slush and get these eggs + out unbroken, and we were all covered with beastly black mud, and + naturally I was cross. So far as I knew they were the only eggs that have + ever been got out not even cracked. I went afterwards to see the ones they + have at the Natural History Museum in London; all of them were cracked and + just stuck together like a mosaic, and bits missing. Mine were perfect, + and I meant to blow them when I got back. Naturally I was annoyed at the + silly duffer dropping three hours' work just on account of a centipede. I + hit him about rather." + </p> + + <p> + [ No European is known to + have seen a live AEpyornis, with the doubtful exception of MacAndrew, who + visited Madagascar in 1745.—H.G.W.] + </p> + <p> + The man with the scar took out a clay pipe. I placed my pouch before him. + He filled up absent-mindedly. + </p> + <p> + "How about the others? Did you get those home? I don't remember—" + </p> + <p> + "That's the queer part of the story. I had three others. Perfectly fresh + eggs. Well, we put 'em in the boat, and then I went up to the tent to make + some coffee, leaving my two heathens down by the beach—the one + fooling about with his sting and the other helping him. It never occurred + to me that the beggars would take advantage of the peculiar position I was + in to pick a quarrel. But I suppose the centipede poison and the kicking I + had given him had upset the one—he was always a cantankerous sort—and + he persuaded the other. + </p> + <p> + "I remember I was sitting and smoking and boiling up the water over a + spirit-lamp business I used to take on these expeditions. Incidentally I + was admiring the swamp under the sunset. All black and blood-red it was, + in streaks—a beautiful sight. And up beyond the land rose grey and + hazy to the hills, and the sky behind them red, like a furnace mouth. And + fifty yards behind the back of me was these blessed heathen—quite + regardless of the tranquil air of things—plotting to cut off with + the boat and leave me all alone with three days' provisions and a canvas + tent, and nothing to drink whatsoever beyond a little keg of water. I + heard a kind of yelp behind me, and there they were in this canoe affair—it + wasn't properly a boat—and, perhaps, twenty yards from land. I + realised what was up in a moment. My gun was in the tent, and, besides, I + had no bullets—only duck shot. They knew that. But I had a little + revolver in my pocket, and I pulled that out as I ran down to the beach. + </p> + <p> + "'Come back!' says I, flourishing it. + </p> + <p> + "They jabbered something at me, and the man that broke the egg jeered. I + aimed at the other—because he was unwounded and had the paddle, and + I missed. They laughed. However, I wasn't beat. I knew I had to keep cool, + and I tried him again and made him jump with the whang of it. He didn't + laugh that time. The third time I got his head, and over he went, and the + paddle with him. It was a precious lucky shot for a revolver. I reckon it + was fifty yards. He went right under. I don't know if he was shot, or + simply stunned and drowned. Then I began to shout to the other chap to + come back, but he huddled up in the canoe and refused to answer. So I + fired out my revolver at him and never got near him. + </p> + <p> + "I felt a precious fool, I can tell you. There I was on this rotten, black + beach, flat swamp all behind me, and the flat sea, cold after the sun set, + and just this black canoe drifting steadily out to sea. I tell you I + damned Dawson's and Jamrach's and Museums and all the rest of it just to + rights. I bawled to this nigger to come back, until my voice went up into + a scream. + </p> + <p> + "There was nothing for it but to swim after him and take my luck with the + sharks. So I opened my clasp-knife and put it in my mouth, and took off my + clothes and waded in. As soon as I was in the water I lost sight of the + canoe, but I aimed, as I judged, to head it off. I hoped the man in it was + too bad to navigate it, and that it would keep on drifting in the same + direction. Presently it came up over the horizon again to the + south-westward about. The afterglow of sunset was well over now and the + dim of night creeping up. The stars were coming through the blue. I swum + like a champion, though my legs and arms were soon aching. + </p> + <p> + "However, I came up to him by the time the stars were fairly out. As it + got darker I began to see all manner of glowing things in the water— + phosphorescence, you know. At times it made me giddy. I hardly knew which + was stars and which was phosphorescence, and whether I was swimming on my + head or my heels. The canoe was as black as sin, and the ripple under the + bows like liquid fire. I was naturally chary of clambering up into it. I + was anxious to see what he was up to first. He seemed to be lying cuddled + up in a lump in the bows, and the stern was all out of water. The thing + kept turning round slowly as it drifted—-kind of waltzing, don't you + know. I went to the stern and pulled it down, expecting him to wake up. + Then I began to clamber in with my knife in my hand, and ready for a rush. + But he never stirred. So there I sat in the stern of the little canoe, + drifting away over the calm phosphorescent sea, and with all the host of + the stars above me, waiting for something to happen. + </p> + <p> + "After a long time I called him by name, but he never answered. I was too + tired to take any risks by going along to him. So we sat there. I fancy I + dozed once or twice. When the dawn came I saw he was as dead as a doornail + and all puffed up and purple. My three eggs and the bones were lying in + the middle of the canoe, and the keg of water and some coffee and biscuits + wrapped in a Cape <i>Argus</i> by his feet, and a tin of methylated spirit + underneath him. There was no paddle, nor, in fact, anything except the + spirit-tin that I could use as one, so I settled to drift until I was + picked up. I held an inquest on him, brought in a verdict against some + snake, scorpion, or centipede unknown, and sent him overboard. + </p> + <p> + "After that I had a drink of water and a few biscuits, and took a look + round. I suppose a man low down as I was don't see very far; leastways, + Madagascar was clean out of sight, and any trace of land at all. I saw a + sail going south-westward—looked like a schooner but her hull never + came up. Presently the sun got high in the sky and began to beat down upon + me. Lord! it pretty near made my brains boil. I tried dipping my head in + the sea, but after a while my eye fell on the Cape <i>Argus</i>, and I lay + down flat in the canoe and spread this over me. Wonderful things these + newspapers! I never read one through thoroughly before, but it's odd what + you get up to when you're alone, as I was. I suppose I read that blessed + old Cape <i>Argus</i> twenty times. The pitch in the canoe simply reeked + with the heat and rose up into big blisters. + </p> + <p> + "I drifted ten days," said the man with the scar. "It's a little thing in + the telling, isn't it? Every day was like the last. Except in the morning + and the evening I never kept a look-out even—the blaze was so + infernal. I didn't see a sail after the first three days, and those I saw + took no notice of me. About the sixth night a ship went by scarcely half a + mile away from me, with all its lights ablaze and its ports open, looking + like a big firefly. There was music aboard. I stood up and shouted and + screamed at it. The second day I broached one of the AEpyornis eggs, + scraped the shell away at the end bit by bit, and tried it, and I was glad + to find it was good enough to eat. A bit flavoury—not bad, I mean—but + with something of the taste of a duck's egg. There was a kind of circular + patch, about six inches across, on one side of the yoke, and with streaks + of blood and a white mark like a ladder in it that I thought queer, but I + did not understand what this meant at the time, and I wasn't inclined to + be particular. The egg lasted me three days, with biscuits and a drink of + water. I chewed coffee berries too—invigorating stuff. The second + egg I opened about the eighth day, and it scared me." + </p> + <p> + The man with the scar paused. "Yes," he said, "developing." + </p> + <p> + "I daresay you find it hard to believe. <i>I</i> did, with the thing + before me. There the egg had been, sunk in that cold black mud, perhaps + three hundred years. But there was no mistaking it. There was the—what + is it?—embryo, with its big head and curved back, and its heart + beating under its throat, and the yolk shrivelled up and great membranes + spreading inside of the shell and all over the yolk. Here was I hatching + out the eggs of the biggest of all extinct birds, in a little canoe in the + midst of the Indian Ocean. If old Dawson had known that! It was worth four + years' salary. What do <i>you</i> think? + </p> + <p> + "However, I had to eat that precious thing up, every bit of it, before I + sighted the reef, and some of the mouthfuls were beastly unpleasant. I + left the third one alone. I held it up to the light, but the shell was too + thick for me to get any notion of what might be happening inside; and + though I fancied I heard blood pulsing, it might have been the rustle in + my own ears, like what you listen to in a seashell. + </p> + <p> + "Then came the atoll. Came out of the sunrise, as it were, suddenly, close + up to me. I drifted straight towards it until I was about half a mile from + shore, not more, and then the current took a turn, and I had to paddle as + hard as I could with my hands and bits of the AEpyornis shell to make the + place. However, I got there. It was just a common atoll about four miles + round, with a few trees growing and a spring in one place, and the lagoon + full of parrot-fish. I took the egg ashore and put it in a good place, + well above the tide lines and in the sun, to give it all the chance I + could, and pulled the canoe up safe, and loafed about prospecting. It's + rum how dull an atoll is. As soon as I had found a spring all the interest + seemed to vanish. When I was a kid I thought nothing could be finer or + more adventurous than the Robinson Crusoe business, but that place was as + monotonous as a book of sermons. I went round finding eatable things and + generally thinking; but I tell you I was bored to death before the first + day was out. It shows my luck—the very day I landed the weather + changed. A thunderstorm went by to the north and flicked its wing over the + island, and in the night there came a drencher and a howling wind slap + over us. It wouldn't have taken much, you know, to upset that canoe. + </p> + <p> + "I was sleeping under the canoe, and the egg was luckily among the sand + higher up the beach, and the first thing I remember was a sound like a + hundred pebbles hitting the boat at once, and a rush of water over my + body. I'd been dreaming of Antananarivo, and I sat up and holloaed to + Intoshi to ask her what the devil was up, and clawed out at the chair + where the matches used to be. Then I remembered where I was. There were + phosphorescent waves rolling up as if they meant to eat me, and all the + rest of the night as black as pitch. The air was simply yelling. The + clouds seemed down on your head almost, and the rain fell as if heaven was + sinking and they were baling out the waters above the firmament. One great + roller came writhing at me, like a fiery serpent, and I bolted. Then I + thought of the canoe, and ran down to it as the water went hissing back + again; but the thing had gone. I wondered about the egg then, and felt my + way to it. It was all right and well out of reach of the maddest waves, so + I sat down beside it and cuddled it for company. Lord! what a night that + was! + </p> + <p> + "The storm was over before the morning. There wasn't a rag of cloud left + in the sky when the dawn came, and all along the beach there were bits of + plank scattered—which was the disarticulated skeleton, so to speak, + of my canoe. However, that gave me something to do, for, taking advantage + of two of the trees being together, I rigged up a kind of storm-shelter + with these vestiges. And that day the egg hatched. + </p> + <p> + "Hatched, sir, when my head was pillowed on it and I was asleep. I heard a + whack and felt a jar and sat up, and there was the end of the egg pecked + out and a rum little brown head looking out at me. 'Lord!' I said, 'you're + welcome'; and with a little difficulty he came out. + </p> + <p> + "He was a nice friendly little chap at first, about the size of a small + hen—very much like most other young birds, only bigger. His plumage + was a dirty brown to begin with, with a sort of grey scab that fell off it + very soon, and scarcely feathers—a kind of downy hair. I can hardly + express how pleased I was to see him. I tell you, Robinson Crusoe don't + make near enough of his loneliness. But here was interesting company. He + looked at me and winked his eye from the front backwards, like a hen, and + gave a chirp and began to peck about at once, as though being hatched + three hundred years too late was just nothing. 'Glad to see you, Man + Friday!' says I, for I had naturally settled he was to be called Man + Friday if ever he was hatched, as soon as ever I found the egg in the + canoe had developed. I was a bit anxious about his feed, so I gave him a + lump of raw parrot-fish at once. He took it, and opened his beak for more. + I was glad of that for, under the circumstances, if he'd been at all + fanciful, I should have had to eat him after all. + </p> + <p> + "You'd be surprised what an interesting bird that AEpyornis chick was. He + followed me about from the very beginning. He used to stand by me and + watch while I fished in the lagoon, and go shares in anything I caught. + And he was sensible, too. There were nasty green warty things, like + pickled gherkins, used to lie about on the beach, and he tried one of + these and it upset him. He never even looked at any of them again. + </p> + <p> + "And he grew. You could almost see him grow. And as I was never much of a + society man, his quiet, friendly ways suited me to a T. For nearly two + years we were as happy as we could be on that island. I had no business + worries, for I knew my salary was mounting up at Dawsons'. We would see a + sail now and then, but nothing ever came near us. I amused myself, too, by + decorating the island with designs worked in sea-urchins and fancy shells + of various kinds. I put AEPYORNIS ISLAND all round the place very nearly, + in big letters, like what you see done with coloured stones at railway + stations in the old country, and mathematical calculations and drawings of + various sorts. And I used to lie watching the blessed bird stalking round + and growing, growing; and think how I could make a living out of him by + showing him about if I ever got taken off. After his first moult he began + to get handsome, with a crest and a blue wattle, and a lot of green + feathers at the behind of him. And then I used to puzzle whether Dawsons' + had any right to claim him or not. Stormy weather and in the rainy season + we lay snug under the shelter I had made out of the old canoe, and I used + to tell him lies about my friends at home. And after a storm we would go + round the island together to see if there was any drift. It was a kind of + idyll, you might say. If only I had had some tobacco it would have been + simply just like heaven. + </p> + <p> + "It was about the end of the second year our little paradise went wrong. + Friday was then about fourteen feet high to the bill of him, with a big, + broad head like the end of a pickaxe, and two huge brown eyes with yellow + rims, set together like a man's—not out of sight of each other like + a hen's. His plumage was fine—none of the half-mourning style of + your ostrich—more like a cassowary as far as colour and texture go. + And then it was he began to cock his comb at me and give himself airs, and + show signs of a nasty temper ... + </p> + <p> + "At last came a time when my fishing had been rather unlucky, and he began + to hang about me in a queer, meditative way. I thought he might have been + eating sea-cucumbers or something, but it was really just discontent on + his part. I was hungry too, and when at last I landed a fish I wanted it + for myself. Tempers were short that morning on both sides. He pecked at it + and grabbed it, and I gave him a whack on the head to make him leave go. + And at that he went for me. Lord! ... + </p> + <p> + "He gave me this in the face." The man indicated his scar. "Then he kicked + me. It was like a carthorse. I got up, and seeing he hadn't finished, I + started off full tilt with my arms doubled up over my face. But he ran on + those gawky legs of his faster than a racehorse, and kept landing out at + me with sledgehammer kicks, and bringing his pickaxe down on the back of + my head. I made for the lagoon, and went in up to my neck. He stopped at + the water, for he hated getting his feet wet, and began to make a shindy, + something like a peacock's, only hoarser. He started strutting up and down + the beach. I'll admit I felt small to see this blessed fossil lording it + there. And my head and face were all bleeding, and—well, my body + just one jelly of bruises. + </p> + <p> + "I decided to swim across the lagoon and leave him alone for a bit, until + the affair blew over. I shinned up the tallest palm-tree, and sat there + thinking of it all. I don't suppose I ever felt so hurt by anything before + or since. It was the brutal ingratitude of the creature. I'd been more + than a brother to him. I'd hatched him, educated him. A great gawky, + out-of-date bird! And me a human being—heir of the ages and all + that. + </p> + <p> + "I thought after a time he'd begin to see things in that light himself, + and feel a little sorry for his behaviour. I thought if I was to catch + some nice little bits of fish, perhaps, and go to him presently in a + casual kind of way, and offer them to him, he might do the sensible thing. + It took me some time to learn how unforgiving and cantankerous an extinct + bird can be. Malice! + </p> + <p> + "I won't tell you all the little devices I tried to get that bird round + again, I simply can't. It makes my cheek burn with shame even now to think + of the snubs and buffets I had from this infernal curiosity. I tried + violence. I chucked lumps of coral at him from a safe distance, but he + only swallowed them. I shied my open knife at him and almost lost it, + though it was too big for him to swallow. I tried starving him out and + struck fishing, but he took to picking along the beach at low water after + worms, and rubbed along on that. Half my time I spent up to my neck in the + lagoon, and the rest up the palm-trees. One of them was scarcely high + enough, and when he caught me up it he had a regular Bank Holiday with the + calves of my legs. It got unbearable. I don't know if you have ever tried + sleeping up a palm-tree. It gave me the most horrible nightmares. Think of + the shame of it, too! Here was this extinct animal mooning about my island + like a sulky duke, and me not allowed to rest the sole of my foot on the + place. I used to cry with weariness and vexation. I told him straight that + I didn't mean to be chased about a desert island by any damned + anachronisms. I told him to go and peck a navigator of his own age. But he + only snapped his beak at me. Great ugly bird, all legs and neck! + </p> + <p> + "I shouldn't like to say how long that went on altogether. I'd have killed + him sooner if I'd known how. However, I hit on a way of settling him at + last. It is a South American dodge. I joined all my fishing-lines together + with stems of seaweed and things, and made a stoutish string, perhaps + twelve yards in length or more, and I fastened two lumps of coral rock to + the ends of this. It took me some time to do, because every now and then I + had to go into the lagoon or up a tree as the fancy took me. This I + whirled rapidly round my head, and then let it go at him. The first time I + missed, but the next time the string caught his legs beautifully, and + wrapped round them again and again. Over he went. I threw it standing + waist-deep in the lagoon, and as soon as he went down I was out of the + water and sawing at his neck with my knife ... + </p> + <p> + "I don't like to think of that even now. I felt like a murderer while I + did it, though my anger was hot against him. When I stood over him and saw + him bleeding on the white sand, and his beautiful great legs and neck + writhing in his last agony ... Pah! + </p> + <p> + "With that tragedy loneliness came upon me like a curse. Good Lord! you + can't imagine how I missed that bird. I sat by his corpse and sorrowed + over him, and shivered as I looked round the desolate, silent reef. I + thought of what a jolly little bird he had been when he was hatched, and + of a thousand pleasant tricks he had played before he went wrong. I + thought if I'd only wounded him I might have nursed him round into a + better understanding. If I'd had any means of digging into the coral rock + I'd have buried him. I felt exactly as if he was human. As it was, I + couldn't think of eating him, so I put him in the lagoon, and the little + fishes picked him clean. I didn't even save the feathers. Then one day a + chap cruising about in a yacht had a fancy to see if my atoll still + existed. + </p> + <p> + "He didn't come a moment too soon, for I was about sick enough of the + desolation of it, and only hesitating whether I should walk out into the + sea and finish up the business that way, or fall back on the green + things... + </p> + <p> + "I sold the bones to a man named Winslow—a dealer near the British + Museum, and he says he sold them to old Havers. It seems Havers didn't + understand they were extra large, and it was only after his death they + attracted attention. They called 'em AEpyornis—what was it?" + </p> + <p> + "<i>AEpyornis vastus</i>," said I. "It's funny, the very thing was + mentioned to me by a friend of mine. When they found an AEpyornis, with a + thigh a yard long, they thought they had reached the top of the scale, and + called him <i>AEpyornis maximus</i>. Then some one turned up another + thigh-bone four feet six or more, and that they called <i>AEpyornis Titan</i>. + Then your <i>vastus</i> was found after old Havers died, in his + collection, and then a <i>vastissimus</i> turned up." + </p> + <p> + "Winslow was telling me as much," said the man with the scar. "If they get + any more AEpyornises, he reckons some scientific swell will go and burst a + blood-vessel. But it was a queer thing to happen to a man; wasn't it— + altogether?" + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII. — THE REMARKABLE CASE OF DAVIDSON'S EYES. + </h2> + <p> + I. — The transitory mental aberration of Sidney Davidson, remarkable + enough in itself, is still more remarkable if Wade's explanation is to be + credited. It sets one dreaming of the oddest possibilities of + intercommunication in the future, of spending an intercalary five minutes + on the other side of the world, or being watched in our most secret + operations by unsuspected eyes. It happened that I was the immediate + witness of Davidson's seizure, and so it falls naturally to me to put the + story upon paper. + </p> + <p> + When I say that I was the immediate witness of his seizure, I mean that I + was the first on the scene. The thing happened at the Harlow Technical + College, just beyond the Highgate Archway. He was alone in the larger + laboratory when the thing happened. I was in a smaller room, where the + balances are, writing up some notes. The thunderstorm had completely upset + my work, of course. It was just after one of the louder peals that I + thought I heard some glass smash in the other room. I stopped writing, and + turned round to listen. For a moment I heard nothing; the hail was playing + the devil's tattoo on the corrugated zinc of the roof. Then came another + sound, a smash—no doubt of it this time. Something heavy had been + knocked off the bench. I jumped up at once and went and opened the door + leading into the big laboratory. + </p> + <p> + I was surprised to hear a queer sort of laugh, and saw Davidson standing + unsteadily in the middle of the room, with a dazzled look on his face. My + first impression was that he was drunk. He did not notice me. He was + clawing out at something invisible a yard in front of his face. He put out + his hand, slowly, rather hesitatingly, and then clutched nothing. "What's + come to it?" he said. He held up his hands to his face, fingers spread + out. "Great Scott!" he said. The thing happened three or four years ago, + when every one swore by that personage. Then he began raising his feet + clumsily, as though he had expected to find them glued to the floor. + </p> + <p> + "Davidson!" cried I. "What's the matter with you?" He turned round in my + direction and looked about for me. He looked over me and at me and on + either side of me, without the slightest sign of seeing me. "Waves," he + said; "and a remarkably neat schooner. I'd swear that was Bellow's voice. + <i>Hullo</i>!" He shouted suddenly at the top of his voice. + </p> + <p> + I thought he was up to some foolery. Then I saw littered about his feet + the shattered remains of the best of our electrometers. "What's up, man?" + said I. "You've smashed the electrometer!" + </p> + <p> + "Bellows again!" said he. "Friends left, if my hands are gone. Something + about electrometers. Which way <i>are</i> you, Bellows?" He suddenly came + staggering towards me. "The damned stuff cuts like butter," he said. He + walked straight into the bench and recoiled. "None so buttery that!" he + said, and stood swaying. + </p> + <p> + I felt scared. "Davidson," said I, "what on earth's come over you?" + </p> + <p> + He looked round him in every direction. "I could swear that was Bellows. + Why don't you show yourself like a man, Bellows?" + </p> + <p> + It occurred to me that he must be suddenly struck blind. I walked round + the table and laid my hand upon his arm. I never saw a man more startled + in my life. He jumped away from me, and came round into an attitude of + self-defence, his face fairly distorted with terror. "Good God!" he cried. + "What was that?" + </p> + <p> + "It's I—Bellows. Confound it, Davidson!" + </p> + <p> + He jumped when I answered him and stared—how can I express it?—right + through me. He began talking, not to me, but to himself. "Here in broad + daylight on a clear beach. Not a place to hide in." He looked about him + wildly. "Here! I'm <i>off</i>." He suddenly turned and ran headlong into + the big electro-magnet—so violently that, as we found afterwards, he + bruised his shoulder and jawbone cruelly. At that he stepped back a pace, + and cried out with almost a whimper, "What, in Heaven's name, has come + over me?" He stood, blanched with terror and trembling violently, with his + right arm clutching his left, where that had collided with the magnet. + </p> + <p> + By that time I was excited and fairly scared. "Davidson," said I, "don't + be afraid." + </p> + <p> + He was startled at my voice, but not so excessively as before. I repeated + my words in as clear and as firm a tone as I could assume. "Bellows," he + said, "is that you?" + </p> + <p> + "Can't you see it's me?" + </p> + <p> + He laughed. "I can't even see it's myself. Where the devil are we?" + </p> + <p> + "Here," said I, "in the laboratory." + </p> + <p> + "The laboratory!" he answered in a puzzled tone, and put his hand to his + forehead. "I <i>was</i> in the laboratory—till that flash came, but + I'm hanged if I'm there now. What ship is that?" + </p> + <p> + "There's no ship," said I. "Do be sensible, old chap." + </p> + <p> + "No ship!" he repeated, and seemed to forget my denial forthwith. "I + suppose," said he slowly, "we're both dead. But the rummy part is I feel + just as though I still had a body. Don't get used to it all at once, I + suppose. The old shop was struck by lightning, I suppose. Jolly quick + thing, Bellows—eigh?" + </p> + <p> + "Don't talk nonsense. You're very much alive. You are in the laboratory, + blundering about. You've just smashed a new electrometer. I don't envy you + when Boyce arrives." + </p> + <p> + He stared away from me towards the diagrams of cryohydrates. "I must be + deaf," said he. "They've fired a gun, for there goes the puff of smoke, + and I never heard a sound." + </p> + <p> + I put my hand on his arm again, and this time he was less alarmed. "We + seem to have a sort of invisible bodies," said he. "By Jove! there's a + boat coming round the headland. It's very much like the old life after all—in + a different climate." + </p> + <p> + I shook his arm. "Davidson," I cried, "wake up!" + </p> + <p> + II. — It was just then that Boyce came in. So soon as he spoke + Davidson exclaimed: "Old Boyce! Dead too! What a lark!" I hastened to + explain that Davidson was in a kind of somnambulistic trance. Boyce was + interested at once. We both did all we could to rouse the fellow out of + his extraordinary state. He answered our questions, and asked us some of + his own, but his attention seemed distracted by his hallucination about a + beach and a ship. He kept interpolating observations concerning some boat + and the davits, and sails filling with the wind. It made one feel queer, + in the dusky laboratory, to hear him saying such things. + </p> + <p> + He was blind and helpless. We had to walk him down the passage, one at + each elbow, to Boyce's private room, and while Boyce talked to him there, + and humoured him about this ship idea, I went along the corridor and asked + old Wade to come and look at him. The voice of our Dean sobered him a + little, but not very much. He asked where his hands were, and why he had + to walk about up to his waist in the ground. Wade thought over him a long + time—you know how he knits his brows—and then made him feel + the couch, guiding his hands to it. "That's a couch," said Wade. "The + couch in the private room of Professor Boyce. Horse-hair stuffing." + </p> + <p> + Davidson felt about, and puzzled over it, and answered presently that he + could feel it all right, but he couldn't see it. + </p> + <p> + "What <i>do</i> you see?" asked Wade. Davidson said he could see nothing + but a lot of sand and broken-up shells. Wade gave him some other things to + feel, telling him what they were, and watching him keenly. + </p> + <p> + "The ship is almost hull down," said Davidson presently, <i>apropos</i> of + nothing. + </p> + <p> + "Never mind the ship," said Wade. "Listen to me, Davidson. Do you know + what hallucination means?" + </p> + <p> + "Rather," said Davidson. + </p> + <p> + "Well, everything you see is hallucinatory." + </p> + <p> + "Bishop Berkeley," said Davidson. + </p> + <p> + "Don't mistake me," said Wade. "You are alive and in this room of Boyce's. + But something has happened to your eyes. You cannot see; you can feel and + hear, but not see. Do you follow me?" + </p> + <p> + "It seems to me that I see too much." Davidson rubbed his knuckles into + his eyes. "Well?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "That's all. Don't let it perplex you. Bellows here and I will take you + home in a cab." + </p> + <p> + "Wait a bit." Davidson thought. "Help me to sit down," said he presently; + "and now—I'm sorry to trouble you—but will you tell me all + that over again?" + </p> + <p> + Wade repeated it very patiently. Davidson shut his eyes, and pressed his + hands upon his forehead. "Yes," said he. "It's quite right. Now my eyes + are shut I know you're right. That's you, Bellows, sitting by me on the + couch. I'm in England again. And we're in the dark." + </p> + <p> + Then he opened his eyes. "And there," said he, "is the sun just rising, + and the yards of the ship, and a tumbled sea, and a couple of birds + flying. I never saw anything so real. And I'm sitting up to my neck in a + bank of sand." + </p> + <p> + He bent forward and covered his face with his hands. Then he opened his + eyes again. "Dark sea and sunrise! And yet I'm sitting on a sofa in old + Boyce's room!... God help me!" + </p> + <p> + III. — That was the beginning. For three weeks this strange + affection of Davidson's eyes continued unabated. It was far worse than + being blind. He was absolutely helpless, and had to be fed like a + newly-hatched bird, and led about and undressed. If he attempted to move, + he fell over things or struck himself against walls or doors. After a day + or so he got used to hearing our voices without seeing us, and willingly + admitted he was at home, and that Wade was right in what he told him. My + sister, to whom he was engaged, insisted on coming to see him, and would + sit for hours every day while he talked about this beach of his. Holding + her hand seemed to comfort him immensely. He explained that when we left + the College and drove home—he lived in Hampstead village—it + appeared to him as if we drove right through a sandhill—it was + perfectly black until he emerged again—and through rocks and trees + and solid obstacles, and when he was taken to his own room it made him + giddy and almost frantic with the fear of falling, because going upstairs + seemed to lift him thirty or forty feet above the rocks of his imaginary + island. He kept saying he should smash all the eggs. The end was that he + had to be taken down into his father's consulting room and laid upon a + couch that stood there. + </p> + <p> + He described the island as being a bleak kind of place on the whole, with + very little vegetation, except some peaty stuff, and a lot of bare rock. + There were multitudes of penguins, and they made the rocks white and + disagreeable to see. The sea was often rough, and once there was a + thunderstorm, and he lay and shouted at the silent flashes. Once or twice + seals pulled up on the beach, but only on the first two or three days. He + said it was very funny the way in which the penguins used to waddle right + through him, and how he seemed to lie among them without disturbing them. + </p> + <p> + I remember one odd thing, and that was when he wanted very badly to smoke. + We put a pipe in his hands—he almost poked his eye out with it—and + lit it. But he couldn't taste anything. I've since found it's the same + with me—I don't know if it's the usual case—that I cannot + enjoy tobacco at all unless I can see the smoke. + </p> + <p> + But the queerest part of his vision came when Wade sent him out in a + Bath-chair to get fresh air. The Davidsons hired a chair, and got that + deaf and obstinate dependant of theirs, Widgery, to attend to it. + Widgery's ideas of healthy expeditions were peculiar. My sister, who had + been to the Dogs' Home, met them in Camden Town, towards King's Cross, + Widgery trotting along complacently, and Davidson, evidently most + distressed, trying in his feeble, blind way to attract Widgery's + attention. + </p> + <p> + He positively wept when my sister spoke to him. "Oh, get me out of this + horrible darkness!" he said, feeling for her hand. "I must get out of it, + or I shall die." He was quite incapable of explaining what was the matter, + but my sister decided he must go home, and presently, as they went uphill + towards Hampstead, the horror seemed to drop from him. He said it was good + to see the stars again, though it was then about noon and a blazing day. + </p> + <p> + "It seemed," he told me afterwards, "as if I was being carried + irresistibly towards the water. I was not very much alarmed at first. Of + course it was night there—a lovely night." + </p> + <p> + "Of course?" I asked, for that struck me as odd. + </p> + <p> + "Of course," said he. "It's always night there when it is day here... + Well, we went right into the water, which was calm and shining under the + moonlight—just a broad swell that seemed to grow broader and flatter + as I came down into it. The surface glistened just like a skin—it + might have been empty space underneath for all I could tell to the + contrary. Very slowly, for I rode slanting into it, the water crept up to + my eyes. Then I went under and the skin seemed to break and heal again + about my eyes. The moon gave a jump up in the sky and grew green and dim, + and fish, faintly glowing, came darting round me—and things that + seemed made of luminous glass; and I passed through a tangle of seaweeds + that shone with an oily lustre. And so I drove down into the sea, and the + stars went out one by one, and the moon grew greener and darker, and the + seaweed became a luminous purple-red. It was all very faint and + mysterious, and everything seemed to quiver. And all the while I could + hear the wheels of the Bath-chair creaking, and the footsteps of people + going by, and a man in the distance selling the special <i>Pall Mall</i>. + </p> + <p> + "I kept sinking down deeper and deeper into the water. It became inky + black about me, not a ray from above came down into that darkness, and the + phosphorescent things grew brighter and brighter. The snaky branches of + the deeper weeds flickered like the flames of spirit-lamps; but, after a + time, there were no more weeds. The fishes came staring and gaping towards + me, and into me and through me. I never imagined such fishes before. They + had lines of fire along the sides of them as though they had been outlined + with a luminous pencil. And there was a ghastly thing swimming backwards + with a lot of twining arms. And then I saw, coming very slowly towards me + through the gloom, a hazy mass of light that resolved itself as it drew + nearer into multitudes of fishes, struggling and darting round something + that drifted. I drove on straight towards it, and presently I saw in the + midst of the tumult, and by the light of the fish, a bit of splintered + spar looming over me, and a dark hull tilting over, and some glowing + phosphorescent forms that were shaken and writhed as the fish bit at them. + Then it was I began to try to attract Widgery's attention. A horror came + upon me. Ugh! I should have driven right into those half-eaten—things. + If your sister had not come! They had great holes in them, Bellows, and + ... Never mind. But it was ghastly!" + </p> + <p> + IV. — For three weeks Davidson remained in this singular state, + seeing what at the time we imagined was an altogether phantasmal world, + and stone blind to the world around him. Then, one Tuesday, when I called + I met old Davidson in the passage. "He can see his thumb!" the old + gentleman said, in a perfect transport. He was struggling into his + overcoat. "He can see his thumb, Bellows!" he said, with the tears in his + eyes. "The lad will be all right yet." + </p> + <p> + I rushed in to Davidson. He was holding up a little book before his face, + and looking at it and laughing in a weak kind of way. + </p> + <p> + "It's amazing," said he. "There's a kind of patch come there." He pointed + with his finger. "I'm on the rocks as usual, and the penguins are + staggering and flapping about as usual, and there's been a whale showing + every now and then, but it's got too dark now to make him out. But put + something <i>there</i>, and I see it—I do see it. It's very dim and + broken in places, but I see it all the same, like a faint spectre of + itself. I found it out this morning while they were dressing me. It's like + a hole in this infernal phantom world. Just put your hand by mine. No—not + there. Ah! Yes! I see it. The base of your thumb and a bit of cuff! It + looks like the ghost of a bit of your hand sticking out of the darkling + sky. Just by it there's a group of stars like a cross coming out." + </p> + <p> + From that time Davidson began to mend. His account of the change, like his + account of the vision, was oddly convincing. Over patches of his field of + vision, the phantom world grew fainter, grew transparent, as it were, and + through these translucent gaps he began to see dimly the real world about + him. The patches grew in size and number, ran together and spread until + only here and there were blind spots left upon his eyes. He was able to + get up and steer himself about, feed himself once more, read, smoke, and + behave like an ordinary citizen again. At first it was very confusing to + him to have these two pictures overlapping each other like the changing + views of a lantern, but in a little while he began to distinguish the real + from the illusory. + </p> + <p> + At first he was unfeignedly glad, and seemed only too anxious to complete + his cure by taking exercise and tonics. But as that odd island of his + began to fade away from him, he became queerly interested in it. He wanted + particularly to go down into the deep sea again, and would spend half his + time wandering about the low-lying parts of London, trying to find the + water-logged wreck he had seen drifting. The glare of real daylight very + soon impressed him so vividly as to blot out everything of his shadowy + world, but of a night-time, in a darkened room, he could still see the + white-splashed rocks of the island, and the clumsy penguins staggering to + and fro. But even these grew fainter and fainter, and, at last, soon after + he married my sister, he saw them for the last time. + </p> + <p> + V. — And now to tell of the queerest thing of all. About two years + after his cure I dined with the Davidsons, and after dinner a man named + Atkins called in. He is a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and a pleasant, + talkative man. He was on friendly terms with my brother-in-law, and was + soon on friendly terms with me. It came out that he was engaged to + Davidson's cousin, and incidentally he took out a kind of pocket + photograph case to show us a new rendering of his <i>fiancie</i>. "And, + by-the-by," said he, "here's the old <i>Fulmar</i>." + </p> + <p> + Davidson looked at it casually. Then suddenly his face lit up. "Good + heavens!" said he. "I could almost swear——" + </p> + <p> + "What?" said Atkins. + </p> + <p> + "That I had seen that ship before." + </p> + <p> + "Don't see how you can have. She hasn't been out of the South Seas for six + years, and before then——" + </p> + <p> + "But," began Davidson, and then, "Yes—that's the ship I dreamt of; + I'm sure that's the ship I dreamt of. She was standing off an island that + swarmed with penguins, and she fired a gun." + </p> + <p> + "Good Lord!" said Atkins, who had now heard the particulars of the + seizure. "How the deuce could you dream that?" + </p> + <p> + And then, bit by bit, it came out that on the very day Davidson was + seized, H.M.S. <i>Fulmar</i> had actually been off a little rock to the + south of Antipodes Island. A boat had landed overnight to get penguins' + eggs, had been delayed, and a thunderstorm drifting up, the boat's crew + had waited until the morning before rejoining the ship. Atkins had been + one of them, and he corroborated, word for word, the descriptions Davidson + had given of the island and the boat. There is not the slightest doubt in + any of our minds that Davidson has really seen the place. In some + unaccountable way, while he moved hither and thither in London, his sight + moved hither and thither in a manner that corresponded, about this distant + island. <i>How</i> is absolutely a mystery. + </p> + <p> + That completes the remarkable story of Davidson's eyes. It's perhaps the + best authenticated case in existence of real vision at a distance. + Explanation there is none forthcoming, except what Professor Wade has + thrown out. But his explanation invokes the Fourth Dimension, and a + dissertation on theoretical kinds of space. To talk of there being "a kink + in space" seems mere nonsense to me; it may be because I am no + mathematician. When I said that nothing would alter the fact that the + place is eight thousand miles away, he answered that two points might be a + yard away on a sheet of paper, and yet be brought together by bending the + paper round. The reader may grasp his argument, but I certainly do not. + His idea seems to be that Davidson, stooping between the poles of the big + electro-magnet, had some extraordinary twist given to his retinal elements + through the sudden change in the field of force due to the lightning. + </p> + <p> + He thinks, as a consequence of this, that it may be possible to live + visually in one part of the world, while one lives bodily in another. He + has even made some experiments in support of his views; but, so far, he + has simply succeeded in blinding a few dogs. I believe that is the net + result of his work, though I have not seen him for some weeks. Latterly I + have been so busy with my work in connection with the Saint Pancras + installation that I have had little opportunity of calling to see him. But + the whole of his theory seems fantastic to me. The facts concerning + Davidson stand on an altogether different footing, and I can testify + personally to the accuracy of every detail I have given. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VIII. — THE LORD OF THE DYNAMOS. + </h2> + <p> + The chief attendant of the three dynamos that buzzed and rattled at + Camberwell, and kept the electric railway going, came out of Yorkshire, + and his name was James Holroyd. He was a practical electrician, but fond + of whisky, a heavy, red-haired brute with irregular teeth. He doubted the + existence of the Deity, but accepted Carnot's cycle, and he had read + Shakespeare and found him weak in chemistry. His helper came out of the + mysterious East, and his name was Azuma-zi. But Holroyd called him + Pooh-bah. Holroyd liked a nigger help because he would stand kicking—a + habit with Holroyd—and did not pry into the machinery and try to + learn the ways of it. Certain odd possibilities of the negro mind brought + into abrupt contact with the crown of our civilisation Holroyd never fully + realised, though just at the end he got some inkling of them. + </p> + <p> + To define Azuma-zi was beyond ethnology. He was, perhaps, more negroid + than anything else, though his hair was curly rather than frizzy, and his + nose had a bridge. Moreover, his skin was brown rather than black, and the + whites of his eyes were yellow. His broad cheekbones and narrow chin gave + his face something of the viperine V. His head, too, was broad behind, and + low and narrow at the forehead, as if his brain had been twisted round in + the reverse way to a European's. He was short of stature and still shorter + of English. In conversation he made numerous odd noises of no known + marketable value, and his infrequent words were carved and wrought into + heraldic grotesqueness. Holroyd tried to elucidate his religious beliefs, + and—especially after whisky—lectured to him against + superstition and missionaries. Azuma-zi, however, shirked the discussion + of his gods, even though he was kicked for it. + </p> + <p> + Azuma-zi had come, clad in white but insufficient raiment, out of the + stoke-hole of the <i>Lord Clive</i>, from the Straits Settlements and + beyond, into London. He had heard even in his youth of the greatness and + riches of London, where all the women are white and fair, and even the + beggars in the streets are white, and he had arrived, with newly-earned + gold coins in his pocket, to worship at the shrine of civilisation. The + day of his landing was a dismal one; the sky was dun, and a wind-worried + drizzle filtered down to the greasy streets, but he plunged boldly into + the delights of Shadwell, and was presently cast up, shattered in health, + civilised in costume, penniless, and, except in matters of the direst + necessity, practically a dumb animal, to toil for James Holroyd, and to be + bullied by him in the dynamo shed at Camberwell. And to James Holroyd + bullying was a labour of love. + </p> + <p> + There were three dynamos with their engines at Camberwell. The two that + have been there since the beginning are small machines; the larger one was + new. The smaller machines made a reasonable noise; their straps hummed + over the drums, every now and then the brushes buzzed and fizzled, and the + air churned steadily, whoo! whoo! whoo! between their poles. One was loose + in its foundations and kept the shed vibrating. But the big dynamo drowned + these little noises altogether with the sustained drone of its iron core, + which somehow set part of the ironwork humming. The place made the + visitor's head reel with the throb, throb, throb of the engines, the + rotation of the big wheels, the spinning ball-valves, the occasional + spittings of the steam, and over all the deep, unceasing, surging note of + the big dynamo. This last noise was from an engineering point of view a + defect, but Azuma-zi accounted it unto the monster for mightiness and + pride. + </p> + <p> + If it were possible we would have the noises of that shed always about the + reader as he reads, we would tell all our story to such an accompaniment. + It was a steady stream of din, from which the ear picked out first one + thread and then another; there was the intermittent snorting, panting, and + seething of the steam engines, the suck and thud of their pistons, the + dull beat on the air as the spokes of the great driving wheels came round, + a note the leather straps made as they ran tighter and looser, and a + fretful tumult from the dynamos; and, over all, sometimes inaudible, as + the ear tired of it, and then creeping back upon the senses again, was + this trombone note of the big machine. The floor never felt steady and + quiet beneath one's feet, but quivered and jarred. It was a confusing, + unsteady place, and enough to send anyone's thoughts jerking into odd + zigzags. And for three months, while the big strike of the engineers was + in progress, Holroyd, who was a blackleg, and Azuma-zi, who was a mere + black, were never out of the stir and eddy of it, but slept and fed in the + little wooden shanty between the shed and the gates. + </p> + <p> + Holroyd delivered a theological lecture on the text of his big machine + soon after Azuma-zi came. He had to shout to be heard in the din. "Look at + that," said Holroyd; "where's your 'eathen idol to match 'im?" And + Azuma-zi looked. For a moment Holroyd was inaudible, and then Azuma-zi + heard: "Kill a hundred men. Twelve per cent, on the ordinary shares," said + Holroyd, "and that's something like a Gord." + </p> + <p> + Holroyd was proud of his big dynamo, and expatiated upon its size and + power to Azuma-zi until heaven knows what odd currents of thought that and + the incessant whirling and shindy set up within the curly black cranium. + He would explain in the most graphic manner the dozen or so ways in which + a man might be killed by it, and once he gave Azuma-zi a shock as a sample + of its quality. After that, in the breathing-times of his labour—it + was heavy labour, being not only his own, but most of Holroyd's—Azuma-zi + would sit and watch the big machine. Now and then the brushes would + sparkle and spit blue flashes, at which Holroyd would swear, but all the + rest was as smooth and rhythmic as breathing. The band ran shouting over + the shaft, and ever behind one as one watched was the complacent thud of + the piston. So it lived all day in this big airy shed, with him and + Holroyd to wait upon it; not prisoned up and slaving to drive a ship as + the other engines he knew—mere captive devils of the British Solomon—had + been, but a machine enthroned. Those two smaller dynamos Azuma-zi by force + of contrast despised; the large one he privately christened the Lord of + the Dynamos. They were fretful and irregular, but the big dynamo was + steady. How great it was! How serene and easy in its working! Greater and + calmer even than the Buddhas he had seen at Rangoon, and yet not + motionless, but living! The great black coils spun, spun, spun, the rings + ran round under the brushes, and the deep note of its coil steadied the + whole. It affected Azuma-zi queerly. + </p> + <p> + Azuma-zi was not fond of labour. He would sit about and watch the Lord of + the Dynamos while Holroyd went away to persuade the yard porter to get + whisky, although his proper place was not in the dynamo shed but behind + the engines, and, moreover, if Holroyd caught him skulking he got hit for + it with a rod of stout copper wire. He would go and stand close to the + colossus, and look up at the great leather band running overhead. There + was a black patch on the band that came round, and it pleased him somehow + among all the clatter to watch this return again and again. Odd thoughts + spun with the whirl of it. Scientific people tell us that savages give + souls to rocks and trees,—and a machine is a thousand times more + alive than a rock or a tree. And Azuma-zi was practically a savage still; + the veneer of civilisation lay no deeper than his slop suit, his bruises, + and the coal grime on his face and hands. His father before him had + worshipped a meteoric stone, kindred blood, it may be, had splashed the + broad wheels of Juggernaut. + </p> + <p> + He took every opportunity Holroyd gave him of touching and handling the + great dynamo that was fascinating him. He polished and cleaned it until + the metal parts were blinding in the sun. He felt a mysterious sense of + service in doing this. He would go up to it and touch its spinning coils + gently. The gods he had worshipped were all far away. The people in London + hid their gods. + </p> + <p> + At last his dim feelings grew more distinct, and took shape in thoughts, + and at last in acts. When he came into the roaring shed one morning he + salaamed to the Lord of the Dynamos, and then, when Holroyd was away, he + went and whispered to the thundering machine that he was its servant, and + prayed it to have pity on him and save him from Holroyd. As he did so a + rare gleam of light came in through the open archway of the throbbing + machine-shed, and the Lord of the Dynamos, as he whirled and roared, was + radiant with pale gold. Then Azuma-zi knew that his service was acceptable + to his Lord. After that he did not feel so lonely as he had done, and he + had indeed been very much alone in London. And even when his work-time was + over, which was rare, he loitered about the shed. + </p> + <p> + Then, the next time Holroyd maltreated him, Azuma-zi went presently to the + Lord of the Dynamos and whispered, "Thou seest, O my Lord!" and the angry + whirr of the machinery seemed to answer him. Thereafter it appeared to him + that whenever Holroyd came into the shed a different note came into the + sounds of the dynamo. "My Lord bides his time," said Azuma-zi to himself. + "The iniquity of the fool is not yet ripe." And he waited and watched for + the day of reckoning. One day there was evidence of short circuiting, and + Holroyd, making an unwary examination—it was in the afternoon—got + a rather severe shock. Azuma-zi from behind the engine saw him jump off + and curse at the peccant coil. + </p> + <p> + "He is warned," said Azuma-zi to himself. "Surely my Lord is very + patient." + </p> + <p> + Holroyd had at first initiated his "nigger" into such elementary + conceptions of the dynamo's working as would enable him to take temporary + charge of the shed in his absence. But when he noticed the manner in which + Azuma-zi hung about the monster he became suspicious. He dimly perceived + his assistant was "up to something," and connecting him with the anointing + of the coils with oil that had rotted the varnish in one place, he issued + an edict, shouted above the confusion of the machinery, "Don't 'ee go nigh + that big dynamo any more, Pooh-bah, or a'll take thy skin off!" Besides, + if it pleased Azuma-zi to be near the big machine, it was plain sense and + decency to keep him away from it. + </p> + <p> + Azuma-zi obeyed at the time, but later he was caught bowing before the + Lord of the Dynamos. At which Holroyd twisted his arm and kicked him as he + turned to go away. As Azuma-zi presently stood behind the engine and + glared at the back of the hated Holroyd, the noises of the machinery took + a new rhythm, and sounded like four words in his native tongue. + </p> + <p> + It is hard to say exactly what madness is. I fancy Azuma-zi was mad. The + incessant din and whirl of the dynamo shed may have churned up his little + store of knowledge and big store of superstitious fancy, at last, into + something akin to frenzy. At any rate, when the idea of making Holroyd a + sacrifice to the Dynamo Fetich was thus suggested to him, it filled him + with a strange tumult of exultant emotion. + </p> + <p> + That night the two men and their black shadows were alone in the shed + together. The shed was lit with one big arc light that winked and + flickered purple. The shadows lay black behind the dynamos, the ball + governors of the engines whirled from light to darkness, and their pistons + beat loud and steady. The world outside seen through the open end of the + shed seemed incredibly dim and remote. It seemed absolutely silent, too, + since the riot of the machinery drowned every external sound. Far away was + the black fence of the yard with grey shadowy houses behind, and above was + the deep blue sky and the pale little stars. Azuma-zi suddenly walked + across the centre of the shed above which the leather bands were running, + and went into the shadow by the big dynamo. Holroyd heard a click, and the + spin of the armature changed. + </p> + <p> + "What are you dewin' with that switch?" he bawled in surprise. "Han't I + told you——" + </p> + <p> + Then he saw the set expression of Azuma-zi's eyes as the Asiatic came out + of the shadow towards him. + </p> + <p> + In another moment the two men were grappling fiercely in front of the + great dynamo. + </p> + <p> + "You coffee-headed fool!" gasped Holroyd, with a brown hand at his throat. + "Keep off those contact rings." In another moment he was tripped and + reeling back upon the Lord of the Dynamos. He instinctively loosened his + grip upon his antagonist to save himself from the machine. + </p> + <p> + The messenger, sent in furious haste from the station to find out what had + happened in the dynamo shed, met Azuma-zi at the porter's lodge by the + gate. Azuma-zi tried to explain something, but the messenger could make + nothing of the black's incoherent English, and hurried on to the shed. The + machines were all noisily at work, and nothing seemed to be disarranged. + There was, however, a queer smell of singed hair. Then he saw an + odd-looking crumpled mass clinging to the front of the big dynamo, and, + approaching, recognised the distorted remains of Holroyd. + </p> + <p> + The man stared and hesitated a moment. Then he saw the face, and shut his + eyes convulsively. He turned on his heel before he opened them, so that he + should not see Holroyd again, and went out of the shed to get advice and + help. + </p> + <p> + When Azuma-zi saw Holroyd die in the grip of the Great Dynamo he had been + a little scared about the consequences of his act. Yet he felt strangely + elated, and knew that the favour of the Lord Dynamo was upon him. His plan + was already settled when he met the man coming from the station, and the + scientific manager who speedily arrived on the scene jumped at the obvious + conclusion of suicide. This expert scarcely noticed Azuma-zi, except to + ask a few questions. Did he see Holroyd kill himself? Azuma-zi explained + he had been out of sight at the engine furnace until he heard a difference + in the noise from the dynamo. It was not a difficult examination, being + untinctured by suspicion. + </p> + <p> + The distorted remains of Holroyd, which the electrician removed from the + machine, were hastily covered by the porter with a coffee-stained + table-cloth. Somebody, by a happy inspiration, fetched a medical man. The + expert was chiefly anxious to get the machine at work again, for seven or + eight trains had stopped midway in the stuffy tunnels of the electric + railway. Azuma-zi, answering or misunderstanding the questions of the + people who had by authority or impudence come into the shed, was presently + sent back to the stoke-hole by the scientific manager. Of course a crowd + collected outside the gates of the yard—a crowd, for no known + reason, always hovers for a day or two near the scene of a sudden death in + London—two or three reporters percolated somehow into the + engine-shed, and one even got to Azuma-zi; but the scientific expert + cleared them out again, being himself an amateur journalist. + </p> + <p> + Presently the body was carried away, and public interest departed with it. + Azuma-zi remained very quietly at his furnace, seeing over and over again + in the coals a figure that wriggled violently and became still. An hour + after the murder, to any one coming into the shed it would have looked + exactly as if nothing remarkable had ever happened there. Peeping + presently from his engine-room the black saw the Lord Dynamo spin and + whirl beside his little brothers, and the driving wheels were beating + round, and the steam in the pistons went thud, thud, exactly as it had + been earlier in the evening. After all, from the mechanical point of view, + it had been a most insignificant incident—the mere temporary + deflection of a current. But now the slender form and slender shadow of + the scientific manager replaced the sturdy outline of Holroyd travelling + up and down the lane of light upon the vibrating floor under the straps + between the engines and the dynamos. + </p> + <p> + "Have I not served my Lord?" said Azuma-zi inaudibly, from his shadow, and + the note of the great dynamo rang out full and clear. As he looked at the + big whirling mechanism the strange fascination of it that had been a + little in abeyance since Holroyd's death resumed its sway. + </p> + <p> + Never had Azuma-zi seen a man killed so swiftly and pitilessly. The big + humming machine had slain its victim without wavering for a second from + its steady beating. It was indeed a mighty god. + </p> + <p> + The unconscious scientific manager stood with his back to him, scribbling + on a piece of paper. His shadow lay at the foot of the monster. + </p> + <p> + Was the Lord Dynamo still hungry? His servant was ready. + </p> + <p> + Azuma-zi made a stealthy step forward; then stopped. The scientific + manager suddenly ceased his writing, walked down the shed to the endmost + of the dynamos, and began to examine the brushes. + </p> + <p> + Azuma-zi hesitated, and then slipped across noiselessly into the shadow by + the switch. There he waited. Presently the manager's footsteps could be + heard returning. He stopped in his old position, unconscious of the stoker + crouching ten feet away from him. Then the big dynamo suddenly fizzled, + and in another moment Azuma-zi had sprung out of the darkness upon him. + </p> + <p> + First, the scientific manager was gripped round the body and swung towards + the big dynamo, then, kicking with his knee and forcing his antagonist's + head down with his hands, he loosened the grip on his waist and swung + round away from the machine. Then the black grasped him again, putting a + curly head against his chest, and they swayed and panted as it seemed for + an age or so. Then the scientific manager was impelled to catch a black + ear in his teeth and bite furiously. The black yelled hideously. + </p> + <p> + They rolled over on the floor, and the black, who had apparently slipped + from the vice of the teeth or parted with some ear—the scientific + manager wondered which at the time—tried to throttle him. The + scientific manager was making some ineffectual efforts to claw something + with his hands and to kick, when the welcome sound of quick footsteps + sounded on the floor. The next moment Azuma-zi had left him and darted + towards the big dynamo. There was a splutter amid the roar. + </p> + <p> + The officer of the company who had entered stood staring as Azuma-zi + caught the naked terminals in his hands, gave one horrible convulsion, and + then hung motionless from the machine, his face violently distorted. + </p> + <p> + "I'm jolly glad you came in when you did," said the scientific manager, + still sitting on the floor. + </p> + <p> + He looked at the still quivering figure. "It is not a nice death to die, + apparently—but it is quick." + </p> + <p> + The official was still staring at the body. He was a man of slow + apprehension. + </p> + <p> + There was a pause. + </p> + <p> + The scientific manager got up on his feet rather awkwardly. He ran his + fingers along his collar thoughtfully, and moved his head to and fro + several times. + </p> + <p> + "Poor Holroyd! I see now." Then almost mechanically he went towards the + switch in the shadow and turned the current into the railway circuit + again. As he did so the singed body loosened its grip upon the machine and + fell forward on its face. The core of the dynamo roared out loud and + clear, and the armature beat the air. + </p> + <p> + So ended prematurely the worship of the Dynamo Deity, perhaps the most + short-lived of all religions. Yet withal it could at least boast a + Martyrdom and a Human Sacrifice. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IX. — THE MOTH. + </h2> + <p> + Probably you have heard of Hapley—not W. T. Hapley, the son, but the + celebrated Hapley, the Hapley of <i>Periplaneta Hapliia</i>, Hapley the + entomologist. + </p> + <p> + If so you know at least of the great feud between Hapley and Professor + Pawkins, though certain of its consequences may be new to you. For those + who have not, a word or two of explanation is necessary, which the idle + reader may go over with a glancing eye, if his indolence so incline him. + </p> + <p> + It is amazing how very widely diffused is the ignorance of such really + important matters as this Hapley-Pawkins feud. Those epoch-making + controversies, again, that have convulsed the Geological Society are, I + verily believe, almost entirely unknown outside the fellowship of that + body. I have heard men of fair general education even refer to the great + scenes at these meetings as vestry-meeting squabbles. Yet the great hate + of the English and Scotch geologists has lasted now half a century, and + has "left deep and abundant marks upon the body of the science." And this + Hapley-Pawkins business, though perhaps a more personal affair, stirred + passions as profound, if not profounder. Your common man has no conception + of the zeal that animates a scientific investigator, the fury of + contradiction you can arouse in him. It is the <i>odium theologicum</i> in + a new form. There are men, for instance, who would gladly burn Professor + Ray Lankester at Smithfield for his treatment of the Mollusca in the + Encyclopaedia. That fantastic extension of the Cephalopods to cover the + Pteropods ... But I wander from Hapley and Pawkins. + </p> + <p> + It began years and years ago, with a revision of the Microlepidoptera + (whatever these may be) by Pawkins, in which he extinguished a new species + created by Hapley. Hapley, who was always quarrelsome, replied by a + stinging impeachment of the entire classification of Pawkins.[A] Pawkins + in his "Rejoinder"[B] suggested that Hapley's microscope was as defective + as his power of observation, and called him an "irresponsible meddler"— + Hapley was not a professor at that time. Hapley in his retort,[C] spoke of + "blundering collectors," and described, as if inadvertently, Pawkins' + revision as a "miracle of ineptitude." It was war to the knife. However, + it would scarcely interest the reader to detail how these two great men + quarrelled, and how the split between them widened until from the + Microlepidoptera they were at war upon every open question in entomology. + There were memorable occasions. At times the Royal Entomological Society + meetings resembled nothing so much as the Chamber of Deputies. On the + whole, I fancy Pawkins was nearer the truth than Hapley. But Hapley was + skilful with his rhetoric, had a turn for ridicule rare in a scientific + man, was endowed with vast energy, and had a fine sense of injury in the + matter of the extinguished species; while Pawkins was a man of dull + presence, prosy of speech, in shape not unlike a water-barrel, over + conscientious with testimonials, and suspected of jobbing museum + appointments. So the young men gathered round Hapley and applauded him. It + was a long struggle, vicious from the beginning and growing at last to + pitiless antagonism. The successive turns of fortune, now an advantage to + one side and now to another—now Hapley tormented by some success of + Pawkins, and now Pawkins outshone by Hapley, belong rather to the history + of entomology than to this story. + </p> + + <p> + [A "Remarks on a Recent + Revision of Microlepidoptera." <i>Quart. Journ. Entomological Soc.</i>, + 1863.] + </p> + <p> + [B "Rejoinder to certain + Remarks," etc. <i>Ibid.</i> 1864.] + </p> + + <p> + [C "Further Remarks," etc. <i>Ibid.</i>] + </p> + <p> + But in 1891 Pawkins, whose health had been bad for some time, published + some work upon the "mesoblast" of the Death's Head Moth. What the + mesoblast of the Death's Head Moth may be does not matter a rap in this + story. But the work was far below his usual standard, and gave Hapley an + opening he had coveted for years. He must have worked night and day to + make the most of his advantage. + </p> + <p> + In an elaborate critique he rent Pawkins to tatters—one can fancy + the man's disordered black hair, and his queer dark eyes flashing as he + went for his antagonist—and Pawkins made a reply, halting, + ineffectual, with painful gaps of silence, and yet malignant. There was no + mistaking his will to wound Hapley, nor his incapacity to do it. But few + of those who heard him—I was absent from that meeting—realised + how ill the man was. + </p> + <p> + Hapley got his opponent down, and meant to finish him. He followed with a + simply brutal attack upon Pawkins, in the form of a paper upon the + development of moths in general, a paper showing evidence of a most + extraordinary amount of mental labour, and yet couched in a violently + controversial tone. Violent as it was, an editorial note witnesses that it + was modified. It must have covered Pawkins with shame and confusion of + face. It left no loophole; it was murderous in argument, and utterly + contemptuous in tone; an awful thing for the declining years of a man's + career. + </p> + <p> + The world of entomologists waited breathlessly for the rejoinder from + Pawkins. He would try one, for Pawkins had always been game. But when it + came it surprised them. For the rejoinder of Pawkins was to catch + influenza, proceed to pneumonia, and die. + </p> + <p> + It was perhaps as effectual a reply as he could make under the + circumstances, and largely turned the current of feeling against Hapley. + The very people who had most gleefully cheered on those gladiators became + serious at the consequence. There could be no reasonable doubt the fret of + the defeat had contributed to the death of Pawkins. There was a limit even + to scientific controversy, said serious people. Another crushing attack + was already in the press and appeared on the day before the funeral. I + don't think Hapley exerted himself to stop it. People remembered how + Hapley had hounded down his rival, and forgot that rival's defects. + Scathing satire reads ill over fresh mould. The thing provoked comment in + the daily papers. This it was that made me think that you had probably + heard of Hapley and this controversy. But, as I have already remarked, + scientific workers live very much in a world of their own; half the + people, I dare say, who go along Piccadilly to the Academy every year, + could not tell you where the learned societies abide. Many even think that + research is a kind of happy-family cage in which all kinds of men lie down + together in peace. + </p> + <p> + In his private thoughts Hapley could not forgive Pawkins for dying. In the + first place, it was a mean dodge to escape the absolute pulverisation + Hapley had in hand for him, and in the second, it left Hapley's mind with + a queer gap in it. For twenty years he had worked hard, sometimes far into + the night, and seven days a week, with microscope, scalpel, + collecting-net, and pen, and almost entirely with reference to Pawkins. + The European reputation he had won had come as an incident in that great + antipathy. He had gradually worked up to a climax in this last + controversy. It had killed Pawkins, but it had also thrown Hapley out of + gear, so to speak, and his doctor advised him to give up work for a time, + and rest. So Hapley went down into a quiet village in Kent, and thought + day and night of Pawkins, and good things it was now impossible to say + about him. + </p> + <p> + At last Hapley began to realise in what direction the pre-occupation + tended. He determined to make a fight for it, and started by trying to + read novels. But he could not get his mind off Pawkins, white in the face + and making his last speech—every sentence a beautiful opening for + Hapley. He turned to fiction—and found it had no grip on him. He + read the "Island Nights' Entertainments" until his "sense of causation" + was shocked beyond endurance by the Bottle Imp. Then he went to Kipling, + and found he "proved nothing," besides being irreverent and vulgar. These + scientific people have their limitations. Then unhappily, he tried + Besant's "Inner House," and the opening chapter set his mind upon learned + societies and Pawkins at once. + </p> + <p> + So Hapley turned to chess, and found it a little more soothing. He soon + mastered the moves and the chief gambits and commoner closing positions, + and began to beat the Vicar. But then the cylindrical contours of the + opposite king began to resemble Pawkins standing up and gasping + ineffectually against check-mate, and Hapley decided to give up chess. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps the study of some new branch of science would after all be better + diversion. The best rest is change of occupation. Hapley determined to + plunge at diatoms, and had one of his smaller microscopes and Halibut's + monograph sent down from London. He thought that perhaps if he could get + up a vigorous quarrel with Halibut, he might be able to begin life afresh + and forget Pawkins. And very soon he was hard at work in his habitual + strenuous fashion, at these microscopic denizens of the way-side pool. + </p> + <p> + It was on the third day of the diatoms that Hapley became aware of a novel + addition to the local fauna. He was working late at the microscope, and + the only light in the room was the brilliant little lamp with the special + form of green shade. Like all experienced microscopists, he kept both eyes + open. It is the only way to avoid excessive fatigue. One eye was over the + instrument, and bright and distinct before that was the circular field of + the microscope, across which a brown diatom was slowly moving. With the + other eye Hapley saw, as it were, without seeing. He was only dimly + conscious of the brass side of the instrument, the illuminated part of the + table-cloth, a sheet of notepaper, the foot of the lamp, and the darkened + room beyond. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly his attention drifted from one eye to the other. The table-cloth + was of the material called tapestry by shopmen, and rather brightly + coloured. The pattern was in gold, with a small amount of crimson and pale + blue upon a greyish ground. At one point the pattern seemed displaced, and + there was a vibrating movement of the colours at this point. + </p> + <p> + Hapley suddenly moved his head back and looked with both eyes. His mouth + fell open with astonishment. + </p> + <p> + It was a large moth or butterfly; its wings spread in butterfly fashion! + </p> + <p> + It was strange it should be in the room at all, for the windows were + closed. Strange that it should not have attracted his attention when + fluttering to its present position. Strange that it should match the + table-cloth. Stranger far that to him, Hapley, the great entomologist, it + was altogether unknown. There was no delusion. It was crawling slowly + towards the foot of the lamp. + </p> + <p> + "New Genus, by heavens! And in England!" said Hapley, staring. + </p> + <p> + Then he suddenly thought of Pawkins. Nothing would have maddened Pawkins + more...And Pawkins was dead! + </p> + <p> + Something about the head and body of the insect became singularly + suggestive of Pawkins, just as the chess king had been. + </p> + <p> + "Confound Pawkins!" said Hapley. "But I must catch this." And looking + round him for some means of capturing the moth, he rose slowly out of his + chair. Suddenly the insect rose, struck the edge of the lampshade—Hapley + heard the "ping"—and vanished into the shadow. + </p> + <p> + In a moment Hapley had whipped off the shade, so that the whole room was + illuminated. The thing had disappeared, but soon his practised eye + detected it upon the wall-paper near the door. He went towards it poising + the lamp-shade for capture. Before he was within striking distance, + however, it had risen and was fluttering round the room. After the fashion + of its kind, it flew with sudden starts and turns, seeming to vanish here + and reappear there. Once Hapley struck, and missed; then again. + </p> + <p> + The third time he hit his microscope. The instrument swayed, struck and + overturned the lamp, and fell noisily upon the floor. The lamp turned over + on the table and, very luckily, went out. Hapley was left in the dark. + With a start he felt the strange moth blunder into his face. + </p> + <p> + It was maddening. He had no lights. If he opened the door of the room the + thing would get away. In the darkness he saw Pawkins quite distinctly + laughing at him. Pawkins had ever an oily laugh. He swore furiously and + stamped his foot on the floor. + </p> + <p> + There was a timid rapping at the door. + </p> + <p> + Then it opened, perhaps a foot, and very slowly. The alarmed face of the + landlady appeared behind a pink candle flame; she wore a night-cap over + her grey hair and had some purple garment over her shoulders. "What <i>was</i> + that fearful smash?" she said. "Has anything——" The strange + moth appeared fluttering about the chink of the door. "Shut that door!" + said Hapley, and suddenly rushed at her. + </p> + <p> + The door slammed hastily. Hapley was left alone in the dark. Then in the + pause he heard his landlady scuttle upstairs, lock her door, and drag + something heavy across the room and put against it. + </p> + <p> + It became evident to Hapley that his conduct and appearance had been + strange and alarming. Confound the moth! and Pawkins! However, it was a + pity to lose the moth now. He felt his way into the hall and found the + matches, after sending his hat down upon the floor with a noise like a + drum. With the lighted candle he returned to the sitting-room. No moth was + to be seen. Yet once for a moment it seemed that the thing was fluttering + round his head. Hapley very suddenly decided to give up the moth and go to + bed. But he was excited. All night long his sleep was broken by dreams of + the moth, Pawkins, and his landlady. Twice in the night he turned out and + soused his head in cold water. + </p> + <p> + One thing was very clear to him. His landlady could not possibly + understand about the strange moth, especially as he had failed to catch + it. No one but an entomologist would understand quite how he felt. She was + probably frightened at his behaviour, and yet he failed to see how he + could explain it. He decided to say nothing further about the events of + last night. After breakfast he saw her in her garden, and decided to go + out and talk to reassure her. He talked to her about beans and potatoes, + bees, caterpillars, and the price of fruit. She replied in her usual + manner, but she looked at him a little suspiciously, and kept walking as + he walked, so that there was always a bed of flowers, or a row of beans, + or something of the sort, between them. After a while he began to feel + singularly irritated at this, and to conceal his vexation went indoors and + presently went out for a walk. + </p> + <p> + The moth, or butterfly, trailing an odd flavour of Pawkins with it, kept + coming into that walk, though he did his best to keep his mind off it. + Once he saw it quite distinctly, with its wings flattened out, upon the + old stone wall that runs along the west edge of the park, but going up to + it he found it was only two lumps of grey and yellow lichen. "This," said + Hapley, "is the reverse of mimicry. Instead of a butterfly looking like a + stone, here is a stone looking like a butterfly!" Once something hovered + and fluttered round his head, but by an effort of will he drove that + impression out of his mind again. + </p> + <p> + In the afternoon Hapley called upon the Vicar, and argued with him upon + theological questions. They sat in the little arbour covered with briar, + and smoked as they wrangled. "Look at that moth!" said Hapley, suddenly, + pointing to the edge of the wooden table. + </p> + <p> + "Where?" said the Vicar. + </p> + <p> + "You don't see a moth on the edge of the table there?" said Hapley. + </p> + <p> + "Certainly not," said the Vicar. + </p> + <p> + Hapley was thunderstruck. He gasped. The Vicar was staring at him. Clearly + the man saw nothing. "The eye of faith is no better than the eye of + science," said Hapley awkwardly. + </p> + <p> + "I don't see your point," said the Vicar, thinking it was part of the + argument. + </p> + <p> + That night Hapley found the moth crawling over his counterpane. He sat on + the edge of the bed in his shirt sleeves and reasoned with himself. Was it + pure hallucination? He knew he was slipping, and he battled for his sanity + with the same silent energy he had formerly displayed against Pawkins. So + persistent is mental habit, that he felt as if it were still a struggle + with Pawkins. He was well versed in psychology. He knew that such visual + illusions do come as a result of mental strain. But the point was, he did + not only <i>see</i> the moth, he had heard it when it touched the edge of + the lampshade, and afterwards when it hit against the wall, and he had + felt it strike his face in the dark. + </p> + <p> + He looked at it. It was not at all dreamlike, but perfectly clear and + solid-looking in the candle-light. He saw the hairy body, and the short + feathery antennae, the jointed legs, even a place where the down was + rubbed from the wing. He suddenly felt angry with himself for being afraid + of a little insect. + </p> + <p> + His landlady had got the servant to sleep with her that night, because she + was afraid to be alone. In addition she had locked the door, and put the + chest of drawers against it. They listened and talked in whispers after + they had gone to bed, but nothing occurred to alarm them. About eleven + they had ventured to put the candle out, and had both dozed off to sleep. + They woke up with a start, and sat up in bed, listening in the darkness. + </p> + <p> + Then they heard slippered feet going to and fro in Hapley's room. A chair + was overturned, and there was a violent dab at the wall. Then a china + mantel ornament smashed upon the fender. Suddenly the door of the room + opened, and they heard him upon the landing. They clung to one another, + listening. He seemed to be dancing upon the staircase. Now he would go + down three or four steps quickly, then up again, then hurry down into the + hall. They heard the umbrella stand go over, and the fanlight break. Then + the bolt shot and the chain rattled. He was opening the door. + </p> + <p> + They hurried to the window. It was a dim grey night; an almost unbroken + sheet of watery cloud was sweeping across the moon, and the hedge and + trees in front of the house were black against the pale roadway. They saw + Hapley, looking like a ghost in his shirt and white trousers, running to + and fro in the road, and beating the air. Now he would stop, now he would + dart very rapidly at something invisible, now he would move upon it with + stealthy strides. At last he went out of sight up the road towards the + down. Then, while they argued who should go down and lock the door, he + returned. He was walking very fast, and he came straight into the house, + closed the door carefully, and went quietly up to his bedroom. Then + everything was silent. + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Colville," said Hapley, calling down the staircase next morning, "I + hope I did not alarm you last night." + </p> + <p> + "You may well ask that!" said Mrs. Colville. + </p> + <p> + "The fact is, I am a sleep-walker, and the last two nights I have been + without my sleeping mixture. There is nothing to be alarmed about, really. + I am sorry I made such an ass of myself. I will go over the down to + Shoreham, and get some stuff to make me sleep soundly. I ought to have + done that yesterday." + </p> + <p> + But half-way over the down, by the chalk pits, the moth came upon Hapley + again. He went on, trying to keep his mind upon chess problems, but it was + no good. The thing fluttered into his face, and he struck at it with his + hat in self-defence. Then rage, the old rage—the rage he had so + often felt against Pawkins—came upon him again. He went on, leaping + and striking at the eddying insect. Suddenly he trod on nothing, and fell + headlong. + </p> + <p> + There was a gap in his sensations, and Hapley found himself sitting on the + heap of flints in front of the opening of the chalk-pits, with a leg + twisted back under him. The strange moth was still fluttering round his + head. He struck at it with his hand, and turning his head saw two men + approaching him. One was the village doctor. It occurred to Hapley that + this was lucky. Then it came into his mind with extraordinary vividness, + that no one would ever be able to see the strange moth except himself, and + that it behoved him to keep silent about it. + </p> + <p> + Late that night, however, after his broken leg was set, he was feverish + and forgot his self-restraint. He was lying flat on his bed, and he began + to run his eyes round the room to see if the moth was still about. He + tried not to do this, but it was no good. He soon caught sight of the + thing resting close to his hand, by the night-light, on the green + table-cloth. The wings quivered. With a sudden wave of anger he smote at + it with his fist, and the nurse woke up with a shriek. He had missed it. + </p> + <p> + "That moth!" he said; and then, "It was fancy. Nothing!" + </p> + <p> + All the time he could see quite clearly the insect going round the cornice + and darting across the room, and he could also see that the nurse saw + nothing of it and looked at him strangely. He must keep himself in hand. + He knew he was a lost man if he did not keep himself in hand. But as the + night waned the fever grew upon him, and the very dread he had of seeing + the moth made him see it. About five, just as the dawn was grey, he tried + to get out of bed and catch it, though his leg was afire with pain. The + nurse had to struggle with him. + </p> + <p> + On account of this, they tied him down to the bed. At this the moth grew + bolder, and once he felt it settle in his hair. Then, because he struck + out violently with his arms, they tied these also. At this the moth came + and crawled over his face, and Hapley wept, swore, screamed, prayed for + them to take it off him, unavailingly. + </p> + <p> + The doctor was a blockhead, a just-qualified general practitioner, and + quite ignorant of mental science. He simply said there was no moth. Had he + possessed the wit, he might still, perhaps, have saved Hapley from his + fate by entering into his delusion, and covering his face with gauze, as + he prayed might be done. But, as I say, the doctor was a blockhead, and + until the leg was healed Hapley was kept tied to his bed, and with the + imaginary moth crawling over him. It never left him while he was awake and + it grew to a monster in his dreams. While he was awake he longed for + sleep, and from sleep he awoke screaming. + </p> + <p> + So now Hapley is spending the remainder of his days in a padded room, + worried by a moth that no one else can see. The asylum doctor calls it + hallucination; but Hapley, when he is in his easier mood, and can talk, + says it is the ghost of Pawkins, and consequently a unique specimen and + well worth the trouble of catching. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + X. — THE TREASURE IN THE FOREST. + </h2> + <p> + The canoe was now approaching the land. The bay opened out, and a gap in + the white surf of the reef marked where the little river ran out to the + sea; the thicker and deeper green of the virgin forest showed its course + down the distant hill slope. The forest here came close to the beach. Far + beyond, dim and almost cloudlike in texture, rose the mountains, like + suddenly frozen waves. The sea was still save for an almost imperceptible + swell. The sky blazed. + </p> + <p> + The man with the carved paddle stopped. "It should be somewhere here," he + said. He shipped the paddle and held his arms out straight before him. + </p> + <p> + The other man had been in the fore part of the canoe, closely scrutinising + the land. He had a sheet of yellow paper on his knee. + </p> + <p> + "Come and look at this, Evans," he said. + </p> + <p> + Both men spoke in low tones, and their lips were hard and dry. + </p> + <p> + The man called Evans came swaying along the canoe until he could look over + his companion's shoulder. + </p> + <p> + The paper had the appearance of a rough map. By much folding it was + creased and worn to the pitch of separation, and the second man held the + discoloured fragments together where they had parted. On it one could + dimly make out, in almost obliterated pencil, the outline of the bay. + </p> + <p> + "Here," said Evans, "is the reef, and here is the gap." He ran his + thumb-nail over the chart. + </p> + <p> + "This curved and twisting line is the river—I could do with a drink + now!—and this star is the place." + </p> + <p> + "You see this dotted line," said the man with the map; "it is a straight + line, and runs from the opening of the reef to a clump of palm-trees. The + star comes just where it cuts the river. We must mark the place as we go + into the lagoon." + </p> + <p> + "It's queer," said Evans, after a pause, "what these little marks down + here are for. It looks like the plan of a house or something; but what all + these little dashes, pointing this way and that, may mean I can't get a + notion. And what's the writing?" + </p> + <p> + "Chinese," said the man with the map. + </p> + <p> + "Of course! <i>He</i> was a Chinee," said Evans. + </p> + <p> + "They all were," said the man with the map. + </p> + <p> + They both sat for some minutes staring at the land, while the canoe + drifted slowly. Then Evans looked towards the paddle. + </p> + <p> + "Your turn with the paddle now, Hooker," said he. + </p> + <p> + And his companion quietly folded up his map, put it in his pocket, passed + Evans carefully, and began to paddle. His movements were languid, like + those of a man whose strength was nearly exhausted. + </p> + <p> + Evans sat with his eyes half closed, watching the frothy breakwater of the + coral creep nearer and nearer. The sky was like a furnace, for the sun was + near the zenith. Though they were so near the Treasure he did not feel the + exaltation he had anticipated. The intense excitement of the struggle for + the plan, and the long night voyage from the mainland in the unprovisioned + canoe had, to use his own expression, "taken it out of him." He tried to + arouse himself by directing his mind to the ingots the Chinamen had spoken + of, but it would not rest there; it came back headlong to the thought of + sweet water rippling in the river, and to the almost unendurable dryness + of his lips and throat. The rhythmic wash of the sea upon the reef was + becoming audible now, and it had a pleasant sound in his ears; the water + washed along the side of the canoe, and the paddle dripped between each + stroke. Presently he began to doze. + </p> + <p> + He was still dimly conscious of the island, but a queer dream texture + interwove with his sensations. Once again it was the night when he and + Hooker had hit upon the Chinamen's secret; he saw the moonlit trees, the + little fire burning, and the black figures of the three Chinamen—silvered + on one side by moonlight, and on the other glowing from the firelight—and + heard them talking together in pigeon-English—for they came from + different provinces. Hooker had caught the drift of their talk first, and + had motioned to him to listen. Fragments of the conversation were + inaudible, and fragments incomprehensible. A Spanish galleon from the + Philippines hopelessly aground, and its treasure buried against the day of + return, lay in the background of the story; a shipwrecked crew thinned by + disease, a quarrel or so, and the needs of discipline, and at last taking + to their boats never to be heard of again. Then Chang-hi, only a year + since, wandering ashore, had happened upon the ingots hidden for two + hundred years, had deserted his junk, and reburied them with infinite + toil, single-handed but very safe. He laid great stress on the safety—it + was a secret of his. Now he wanted help to return and exhume them. + Presently the little map fluttered and the voices sank. A fine story for + two, stranded British wastrels to hear! Evans' dream shifted to the moment + when he had Chang-hi's pigtail in his hand. The life of a Chinaman is + scarcely sacred like a European's. The cunning little face of Chang-hi, + first keen and furious like a startled snake, and then fearful, + treacherous, and pitiful, became overwhelmingly prominent in the dream. At + the end Chang-hi had grinned, a most incomprehensible and startling grin. + Abruptly things became very unpleasant, as they will do at times in + dreams. Chang-hi gibbered and threatened him. He saw in his dream heaps + and heaps of gold, and Chang-hi intervening and struggling to hold him + back from it. He took Chang-hi by the pig-tail—how big the yellow + brute was, and how he struggled and grinned! He kept growing bigger, too. + Then the bright heaps of gold turned to a roaring furnace, and a vast + devil, surprisingly like Chang-hi, but with a huge black tail, began to + feed him with coals. They burnt his mouth horribly. Another devil was + shouting his name: "Evans, Evans, you sleepy fool!"—or was it + Hooker? + </p> + <p> + He woke up. They were in the mouth of the lagoon. + </p> + <p> + "There are the three palm-trees. It must be in a line with that clump of + bushes," said his companion. "Mark that. If we, go to those bushes and + then strike into the bush in a straight line from here, we shall come to + it when we come to the stream." + </p> + <p> + They could see now where the mouth of the stream opened out. At the sight + of it Evans revived. "Hurry up, man," he said, "or by heaven I shall have + to drink sea water!" He gnawed his hand and stared at the gleam of silver + among the rocks and green tangle. + </p> + <p> + Presently he turned almost fiercely upon Hooker. "Give <i>me</i> the + paddle," he said. + </p> + <p> + So they reached the river mouth. A little way up Hooker took some water in + the hollow of his hand, tasted it, and spat it out. A little further he + tried again. "This will do," he said, and they began drinking eagerly. + </p> + <p> + "Curse this!" said Evans suddenly. "It's too slow." And, leaning + dangerously over the fore part of the canoe, he began to suck up the water + with his lips. + </p> + <p> + Presently they made an end of drinking, and, running the canoe into a + little creek, were about to land among the thick growth that overhung the + water. + </p> + <p> + "We shall have to scramble through this to the beach to find our bushes + and get the line to the place," said Evans. + </p> + <p> + "We had better paddle round," said Hooker. + </p> + <p> + So they pushed out again into the river and paddled back down it to the + sea, and along the shore to the place where the clump of bushes grew. Here + they landed, pulled the light canoe far up the beach, and then went up + towards the edge of the jungle until they could see the opening of the + reef and the bushes in a straight line. Evans had taken a native implement + out of the canoe. It was L-shaped, and the transverse piece was armed with + polished stone. Hooker carried the paddle. "It is straight now in this + direction," said he; "we must push through this till we strike the stream. + Then we must prospect." + </p> + <p> + They pushed through a close tangle of reeds, broad fronds, and young + trees, and at first it was toilsome going, but very speedily the trees + became larger and the ground beneath them opened out. The blaze of the + sunlight was replaced by insensible degrees by cool shadow. The trees + became at last vast pillars that rose up to a canopy of greenery far + overhead. Dim white flowers hung from their stems, and ropy creepers swung + from tree to tree. The shadow deepened. On the ground, blotched fungi and + a red-brown incrustation became frequent. + </p> + <p> + Evans shivered. "It seems almost cold here after the blaze outside." + </p> + <p> + "I hope we are keeping to the straight," said Hooker. + </p> + <p> + Presently they saw, far ahead, a gap in the sombre darkness where white + shafts of hot sunlight smote into the forest. There also was brilliant + green undergrowth and coloured flowers. Then they heard the rush of water. + </p> + <p> + "Here is the river. We should be close to it now," said Hooker. + </p> + <p> + The vegetation was thick by the river bank. Great plants, as yet unnamed, + grew among the roots of the big trees, and spread rosettes of huge green + fans towards the strip of sky. Many flowers and a creeper with shiny + foliage clung to the exposed stems. On the water of the broad, quiet pool + which the treasure-seekers now overlooked there floated big oval leaves + and a waxen, pinkish-white flower not unlike a water-lily. Further, as the + river bent away from them, the water suddenly frothed and became noisy in + a rapid. + </p> + <p> + "Well?" said Evans. + </p> + <p> + "We have swerved a little from the straight," said Hooker. "That was to be + expected." + </p> + <p> + He turned and looked into the dim cool shadows of the silent forest behind + them. "If we beat a little way up and down the stream we should come to + something." + </p> + <p> + "You said—" began Evans. + </p> + <p> + "<i>He</i> said there was a heap of stones," said Hooker. + </p> + <p> + The two men looked at each other for a moment. + </p> + <p> + "Let us try a little down-stream first," said Evans. + </p> + <p> + They advanced slowly, looking curiously about them. Suddenly Evans + stopped. "What the devil's that?" he said. + </p> + <p> + Hooker followed his finger. "Something blue," he said. It had come into + view as they topped a gentle swell of the ground. Then he began to + distinguish what it was. + </p> + <p> + He advanced suddenly with hasty steps, until the body that belonged to the + limp hand and arm had become visible. His grip tightened on the implement + he carried. The thing was the figure of a Chinaman lying on his face. The + <i>abandon</i> of the pose was unmistakable. + </p> + <p> + The two men drew closer together, and stood staring silently at this + ominous dead body. It lay in a clear space among the trees. Near by was a + spade after the Chinese pattern, and further off lay a scattered heap of + stones, close to a freshly dug hole. + </p> + <p> + "Somebody has been here before," said Hooker, clearing his throat. + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly Evans began to swear and rave, and stamp upon the ground. + </p> + <p> + Hooker turned white but said nothing. He advanced towards the prostrate + body. He saw the neck was puffed and purple, and the hands and ankles + swollen. "Pah!" he said, and suddenly turned away and went towards the + excavation. He gave a cry of surprise. He shouted to Evans, who was + following him slowly. + </p> + <p> + "You fool! It's all right. It's here still." Then he turned again and + looked at the dead Chinaman, and then again at the hole. + </p> + <p> + Evans hurried to the hole. Already half exposed by the ill-fated wretch + beside them lay a number of dull yellow bars. He bent down in the hole, + and, clearing off the soil with his bare hands, hastily pulled one of the + heavy masses out. As he did so a little thorn pricked his hand. He pulled + the delicate spike out with his fingers and lifted the ingot. + </p> + <p> + "Only gold or lead could weigh like this," he said exultantly. + </p> + <p> + Hooker was still looking at the dead Chinaman. He was puzzled. + </p> + <p> + "He stole a march on his friends," he said at last. "He came here alone, + and some poisonous snake has killed him... I wonder how he found the + place." + </p> + <p> + Evans stood with the ingot in his hands. What did a dead Chinaman signify? + "We shall have to take this stuff to the mainland piecemeal, and bury it + there for a while. How shall we get it to the canoe?" + </p> + <p> + He took his jacket off and spread it on the ground, and flung two or three + ingots into it. Presently he found that another little thorn had punctured + his skin. + </p> + <p> + "This is as much as we can carry," said he. Then suddenly, with a queer + rush of irritation, "What are you staring at?" + </p> + <p> + Hooker turned to him. "I can't stand him ..." He nodded towards the + corpse. "It's so like——" + </p> + <p> + "Rubbish!" said Evans. "All Chinamen are alike." + </p> + <p> + Hooker looked into his face. "I'm going to bury <i>that</i>, anyhow, + before I lend a hand with this stuff." + </p> + <p> + "Don't be a fool, Hooker," said Evans, "Let that mass of corruption bide." + </p> + <p> + Hooker hesitated, and then his eye went carefully over the brown soil + about them. "It scares me somehow," he said. + </p> + <p> + "The thing is," said Evans, "what to do with these ingots. Shall we + re-bury them over here, or take them across the strait in the canoe?" + </p> + <p> + Hooker thought. His puzzled gaze wandered among the tall tree-trunks, and + up into the remote sunlit greenery overhead. He shivered again as his eye + rested upon the blue figure of the Chinaman. He stared searchingly among + the grey depths between the trees. + </p> + <p> + "What's come to you, Hooker?" said Evans. "Have you lost your wits?" + </p> + <p> + "Let's get the gold out of this place, anyhow," said Hooker. + </p> + <p> + He took the ends of the collar of the coat in his hands, and Evans took + the opposite corners, and they lifted the mass. "Which way?" said Evans. + "To the canoe?" + </p> + <p> + "It's queer," said Evans, when they had advanced only a few steps, "but my + arms ache still with that paddling." + </p> + <p> + "Curse it!" he said. "But they ache! I must rest." + </p> + <p> + They let the coat down, Evans' face was white, and little drops of sweat + stood out upon his forehead. "It's stuffy, somehow, in this forest." + </p> + <p> + Then with an abrupt transition to unreasonable anger: "What is the good of + waiting here all the day? Lend a hand, I say! You have done nothing but + moon since we saw the dead Chinaman." + </p> + <p> + Hooker was looking steadfastly at his companion's face. He helped raise + the coat bearing the ingots, and they went forward perhaps a hundred yards + in silence. Evans began to breathe heavily. "Can't you speak?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "What's the matter with you?" said Hooker. + </p> + <p> + Evans stumbled, and then with a sudden curse flung the coat from him. He + stood for a moment staring at Hooker, and then with a groan clutched at + his own throat. + </p> + <p> + "Don't come near me," he said, and went and leant against a tree. Then in + a steadier voice, "I'll be better in a minute." + </p> + <p> + Presently his grip upon the trunk loosened, and he slipped slowly down the + stem of the tree until he was a crumpled heap at its foot. His hands were + clenched convulsively. His face became distorted with pain. Hooker + approached him. + </p> + <p> + "Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" said Evans in a stifled voice. "Put the + gold back on the coat." + </p> + <p> + "Can't I do anything for you?" said Hooker. + </p> + <p> + "Put the gold back on the coat." + </p> + <p> + As Hooker handled the ingots he felt a little prick on the ball of his + thumb. He looked at his hand and saw a slender thorn, perhaps two inches + in length. + </p> + <p> + Evans gave an inarticulate cry and rolled over. + </p> + <p> + Hooker's jaw dropped. He stared at the thorn for a moment with dilated + eyes. Then he looked at Evans, who was now crumpled together on the + ground, his back bending and straightening spasmodically. Then he looked + through the pillars of the trees and net-work of creeper stems, to where + in the dim grey shadow the blue-clad body of the Chinaman was still + indistinctly visible. He thought of the little dashes in the corner of the + plan, and in a moment he understood. + </p> + <p> + "God help me!" he said. For the thorns were similar to those the Dyaks + poison and use in their blowing-tubes. He understood now what Chang-hi's + assurance of the safety of his treasure meant. He understood that grin + now. + </p> + <p> + "Evans!" he cried. + </p> + <p> + But Evans was silent and motionless, save for a horrible spasmodic + twitching of his limbs. A profound silence brooded over the forest. + </p> + <p> + Then Hooker began to suck furiously at the little pink spot on the ball of + his thumb—sucking for dear life. Presently he felt a strange aching + pain in his arms and shoulders, and his fingers seemed difficult to bend. + Then he knew that sucking was no good. + </p> + <p> + Abruptly he stopped, and sitting down by the pile of ingots, and resting + his chin upon his hands and his elbows upon his knees, stared at the + distorted but still quivering body of his companion. Chang-hi's grin came + into his mind again. The dull pain spread towards his throat and grew + slowly in intensity. Far above him a faint breeze stirred the greenery, + and the white petals of some unknown flower came floating down through the + gloom. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XI. — THE STORY OF THE LATE MR. ELVESHAM. + </h2> + <p> + I set this story down, not expecting it will be believed, but, if + possible, to prepare a way of escape for the next victim. He, perhaps, may + profit by my misfortune. My own case, I know, is hopeless, and I am now in + some measure prepared to meet my fate. + </p> + <p> + My name is Edward George Eden. I was born at Trentham, in Staffordshire, + my father being employed in the gardens there. I lost my mother when I was + three years old, and my father when I was five, my uncle, George Eden, + then adopting me as his own son. He was a single man, self-educated, and + well-known in Birmingham as an enterprising journalist; he educated me + generously, fired my ambition to succeed in the world, and at his death, + which happened four years ago, left me his entire fortune, a matter of + about five hundred pounds after all outgoing charges were paid. I was then + eighteen. He advised me in his will to expend the money in completing my + education. I had already chosen the profession of medicine, and through + his posthumous generosity and my good fortune in a scholarship + competition, I became a medical student at University College, London. At + the time of the beginning of my story I lodged at 11A University Street in + a little upper room, very shabbily furnished and draughty, overlooking the + back of Shoolbred's premises. I used this little room both to live in and + sleep in, because I was anxious to eke out my means to the very last + shillings-worth. + </p> + <p> + I was taking a pair of shoes to be mended at a shop in the Tottenham Court + Road when I first encountered the little old man with the yellow face, + with whom my life has now become so inextricably entangled. He was + standing on the kerb, and staring at the number on the door in a doubtful + way, as I opened it. His eyes—they were dull grey eyes, and reddish + under the rims—fell to my face, and his countenance immediately + assumed an expression of corrugated amiability. + </p> + <p> + "You come," he said, "apt to the moment. I had forgotten the number of + your house. How do you do, Mr. Eden?" + </p> + <p> + I was a little astonished at his familiar address, for I had never set + eyes on the man before. I was a little annoyed, too, at his catching me + with my boots under my arm. He noticed my lack of cordiality. + </p> + <p> + "Wonder who the deuce I am, eh? A friend, let me assure you. I have seen + you before, though you haven't seen me. Is there anywhere where I can talk + to you?" + </p> + <p> + I hesitated. The shabbiness of my room upstairs was not a matter for every + stranger. "Perhaps," said I, "we might walk down the street. I'm + unfortunately prevented—" My gesture explained the sentence before I + had spoken it. + </p> + <p> + "The very thing," he said, and faced this way, and then that. "The street? + Which way shall we go?" I slipped my boots down in the passage. "Look + here!" he said abruptly; "this business of mine is a rigmarole. Come and + lunch with me, Mr. Eden. I'm an old man, a very old man, and not good at + explanations, and what with my piping voice and the clatter of the traffic——" + </p> + <p> + He laid a persuasive skinny hand that trembled a little upon my arm. + </p> + <p> + I was not so old that an old man might not treat me to a lunch. Yet at the + same time I was not altogether pleased by this abrupt invitation. "I had + rather——" I began. "But I had rather," he said, catching me + up, "and a certain civility is surely due to my grey hairs." + </p> + <p> + And so I consented, and went with him. + </p> + <p> + He took me to Blavitiski's; I had to walk slowly to accommodate myself to + his paces; and over such a lunch as I had never tasted before, he fended + off my leading question, and I took a better note of his appearance. His + clean-shaven face was lean and wrinkled, his shrivelled, lips fell over a + set of false teeth, and his white hair was thin and rather long; he seemed + small to me,—though indeed, most people seemed small to me,—and + his shoulders were rounded and bent. And watching him, I could not help + but observe that he too was taking note of me, running his eyes, with a + curious touch of greed in them, over me, from my broad shoulders to my + suntanned hands, and up to my freckled face again. "And now," said he, as + we lit our cigarettes, "I must tell you of the business in hand. + </p> + <p> + "I must tell you, then, that I am an old man, a very old man." He paused + momentarily. "And it happens that I have money that I must presently be + leaving, and never a child have I to leave it to." I thought of the + confidence trick, and resolved I would be on the alert for the vestiges of + my five hundred pounds. He proceeded to enlarge on his loneliness, and the + trouble he had to find a proper disposition of his money. "I have weighed + this plan and that plan, charities, institutions, and scholarships, and + libraries, and I have come to this conclusion at last,"—he fixed his + eyes on my face,—"that I will find some young fellow, ambitious, + pure-minded, and poor, healthy in body and healthy in mind, and, in short, + make him my heir, give him all that I have." He repeated, "Give him all + that I have. So that he will suddenly be lifted out of all the trouble and + struggle in which his sympathies have been educated, to freedom and + influence." + </p> + <p> + I tried to seem disinterested. With a transparent hypocrisy I said, "And + you want my help, my professional services maybe, to find that person." + </p> + <p> + He smiled, and looked at me over his cigarette, and I laughed at his quiet + exposure of my modest pretence. + </p> + <p> + "What a career such a man might have!" he said. "It fills me with envy to + think how I have accumulated that another man may spend—— + </p> + <p> + "But there are conditions, of course, burdens to be imposed. He must, for + instance, take my name. You cannot expect everything without some return. + And I must go into all the circumstances of his life before I can accept + him. He <i>must</i> be sound. I must know his heredity, how his parents + and grandparents died, have the strictest inquiries made into his private + morals." + </p> + <p> + This modified my secret congratulations a little. + </p> + <p> + "And do I understand," said I, "that I——" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said, almost fiercely. "You. <i>You</i>." + </p> + <p> + I answered never a word. My imagination was dancing wildly, my innate + scepticism was useless to modify its transports. There was not a particle + of gratitude in my mind—I did not know what to say nor how to say + it. "But why me in particular?" I said at last. + </p> + <p> + He had chanced to hear of me from Professor Haslar; he said, as a + typically sound and sane young man, and he wished, as far as possible, to + leave his money where health and integrity were assured. + </p> + <p> + That was my first meeting with the little old man. He was mysterious about + himself; he would not give his name yet, he said, and after I had answered + some questions of his, he left me at the Blavitiski portal. I noticed that + he drew a handful of gold coins from his pocket when it came to paying for + the lunch. His insistence upon bodily health was curious. In accordance + with an arrangement we had made I applied that day for a life policy in + the Loyal Insurance Company for a large sum, and I was exhaustively + overhauled by the medical advisers of that company in the subsequent week. + Even that did not satisfy him, and he insisted I must be re-examined by + the great Doctor Henderson. + </p> + <p> + It was Friday in Whitsun week before he came to a decision. He called me + down, quite late in the evening,—nearly nine it was,—from + cramming chemical equations for my Preliminary Scientific examination. He + was standing in the passage under the feeble gas-lamp, and his face was a + grotesque interplay of shadows. He seemed more bowed than when I had first + seen him, and his cheeks had sunk in a little. + </p> + <p> + His voice shook with emotion. "Everything is satisfactory, Mr. Eden," he + said. "Everything is quite, quite satisfactory. And this night of all + nights, you must dine with me and celebrate your—accession." He was + interrupted by a cough. "You won't have long to wait, either," he said, + wiping his handkerchief across his lips, and gripping my hand with his + long bony claw that was disengaged. "Certainly not very long to wait." + </p> + <p> + We went into the street and called a cab. I remember every incident of + that drive vividly, the swift, easy motion, the vivid contrast of gas and + oil and electric light, the crowds of people in the streets, the place in + Regent Street to which we went, and the sumptuous dinner we were served + with there. I was disconcerted at first by the well-dressed waiter's + glances at my rough clothes, bothered by the stones of the olives, but as + the champagne warmed my blood, my confidence revived. At first the old man + talked of himself. He had already told me his name in the cab; he was + Egbert Elvesham, the great philosopher, whose name I had known since I was + a lad at school. It seemed incredible to me that this man, whose + intelligence had so early dominated mine, this great abstraction, should + suddenly realise itself as this decrepit, familiar figure. I daresay every + young fellow who has suddenly fallen among celebrities has felt something + of my disappointment. He told me now of the future that the feeble streams + of his life would presently leave dry for me, houses, copyrights, + investments; I had never suspected that philosophers were so rich. He + watched me drink and eat with a touch of envy. "What a capacity for living + you have!" he said; and then with a sigh, a sigh of relief I could have + thought it, "it will not be long." + </p> + <p> + "Ay," said I, my head swimming now with champagne; "I have a future + perhaps—of a passing agreeable sort, thanks to you. I shall now have + the honour of your name. But you have a past. Such a past as is worth all + my future." + </p> + <p> + He shook his head and smiled, as I thought, with half sad appreciation of + my flattering admiration. "That future," he said, "would you in truth + change it?" The waiter came with liqueurs. "You will not perhaps mind + taking my name, taking my position, but would you indeed—willingly—take + my years?" + </p> + <p> + "With your achievements," said I gallantly. + </p> + <p> + He smiled again. "Kummel—both," he said to the waiter, and turned + his attention to a little paper packet he had taken from his pocket. "This + hour," said he, "this after-dinner hour is the hour of small things. Here + is a scrap of my unpublished wisdom." He opened the packet with his + shaking yellow fingers, and showed a little pinkish powder on the paper. + "This," said he—"well, you must guess what it is. But Kummel—put + but a dash of this powder in it—is Himmel." + </p> + <p> + His large greyish eyes watched mine with an inscrutable expression. + </p> + <p> + It was a bit of a shock to me to find this great teacher gave his mind to + the flavour of liqueurs. However, I feigned an interest in his weakness, + for I was drunk enough for such small sycophancy. + </p> + <p> + He parted the powder between the little glasses, and, rising suddenly, + with a strange unexpected dignity, held out his hand towards me. I + imitated his action, and the glasses rang. "To a quick succession," said + he, and raised his glass towards his lips. + </p> + <p> + "Not that," I said hastily. "Not that." + </p> + <p> + He paused with the liqueur at the level of his chin, and his eyes blazing + into mine. + </p> + <p> + "To a long life," said I. — He hesitated. "To a long life," said he, + with a sudden bark of laughter, and with eyes fixed on one another we + tilted the little glasses. His eyes looked straight into mine, and as I + drained the stuff off, I felt a curiously intense sensation. The first + touch of it set my brain in a furious tumult; I seemed to feel an actual + physical stirring in my skull, and a seething humming filled my ears. I + did not notice the flavour in my mouth, the aroma that filled my throat; I + saw only the grey intensity of his gaze that burnt into mine. The draught, + the mental confusion, the noise and stirring in my head, seemed to last an + interminable time. Curious vague impressions of half-forgotten things + danced and vanished on the edge of my consciousness. At last he broke the + spell. With a sudden explosive sigh he put down his glass. + </p> + <p> + "Well?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "It's glorious," said I, though I had not tasted the stuff. + </p> + <p> + My head was spinning. I sat down. My brain was chaos. Then my perception + grew clear and minute as though I saw things in a concave mirror. His + manner seemed to have changed into something nervous and hasty. He pulled + out his watch and grimaced at it. "Eleven-seven! And to-night I must— + Seven-twenty-five. Waterloo! I must go at once." He called for the bill, + and struggled with his coat. Officious waiters came to our assistance. In + another moment I was wishing him good-bye, over the apron of a cab, and + still with an absurd feeling of minute distinctness, as though—how + can I express it?—I not only saw but <i>felt</i> through an inverted + opera-glass. + </p> + <p> + "That stuff," he said. He put his hand to his forehead. "I ought not to + have given it to you. It will make your head split to-morrow. Wait a + minute. Here." He handed me out a little flat thing like a + seidlitz-powder. "Take that in water as you are going to bed. The other + thing was a drug. Not till you're ready to go to bed, mind. It will clear + your head. That's all. One more shake—Futurus!" + </p> + <p> + I gripped his shrivelled claw. "Good-bye," he said, and by the droop of + his eyelids I judged he too was a little under the influence of that + brain-twisting cordial. + </p> + <p> + He recollected something else with a start, felt in his breast-pocket, and + produced another packet, this time a cylinder the size and shape of a + shaving-stick. "Here," said he. "I'd almost forgotten. Don't open this + until I come to-morrow—but take it now." + </p> + <p> + It was so heavy that I wellnigh dropped it. "All ri'!" said I, and he + grinned at me through the cab window as the cabman flicked his horse into + wakefulness. It was a white packet he had given me, with red seals at + either end and along its edge. "If this isn't money," said I, "it's + platinum or lead." + </p> + <p> + I stuck it with elaborate care into my pocket, and with a whirling brain + walked home through the Regent Street loiterers and the dark back streets + beyond Portland Road. I remember the sensations of that walk very vividly, + strange as they were. I was still so far myself that I could notice my + strange mental state, and wonder whether this stuff I had had was opium—a + drug beyond my experience. It is hard now to describe the peculiarity of + my mental strangeness—mental doubling vaguely expresses it. As I was + walking up Regent Street I found in my mind a queer persuasion that it was + Waterloo Station, and had an odd impulse to get into the Polytechnic as a + man might get into a train. I put a knuckle in my eye, and it was Regent + Street. How can I express it? You see a skilful actor looking quietly at + you, he pulls a grimace, and lo!—another person. Is it too + extravagant if I tell you that it seemed to me as if Regent Street had, + for the moment, done that? Then, being persuaded it was Regent Street + again, I was oddly muddled about some fantastic reminiscences that cropped + up. "Thirty years ago," thought I, "it was here that I quarrelled with my + brother." Then I burst out laughing, to the astonishment and encouragement + of a group of night prowlers. Thirty years ago I did not exist, and never + in my life had I boasted a brother. The stuff was surely liquid folly, for + the poignant regret for that lost brother still clung to me. Along + Portland Road the madness took another turn. I began to recall vanished + shops, and to compare the street with what it used to be. Confused, + troubled thinking is comprehensible enough after the drink I had taken, + but what puzzled me were these curiously vivid phantasm memories that had + crept into my mind, and not only the memories that had crept in, but also + the memories that had slipped out. I stopped opposite Stevens', the + natural history dealer's, and cudgelled my brains to think what he had to + do with me. A 'bus went by, and sounded exactly like the rumbling of a + train. I seemed to be dipping into some dark, remote pit for the + recollection. "Of course," said I, at last, "he has promised me three + frogs to-morrow. Odd I should have forgotten." + </p> + <p> + Do they still show children dissolving views? In those I remember one view + would begin like a faint ghost, and grow and oust another. In just that + way it seemed to me that a ghostly set of new sensations was struggling + with those of my ordinary self. + </p> + <p> + I went on through Euston Road to Tottenham Court Road, puzzled, and a + little frightened, and scarcely noticed the unusual way I was taking, for + commonly I used to cut through the intervening network of back streets. I + turned into University Street, to discover that I had forgotten my number. + Only by a strong effort did I recall 11A, and even then it seemed to me + that it was a thing some forgotten person had told me. I tried to steady + my mind by recalling the incidents of the dinner, and for the life of me I + could conjure up no picture of my host's face; I saw him only as a shadowy + outline, as one might see oneself reflected in a window through which one + was looking. In his place, however, I had a curious exterior vision of + myself, sitting at a table, flushed, bright-eyed, and talkative. + </p> + <p> + "I must take this other powder," said I. "This is getting impossible." + </p> + <p> + I tried the wrong side of the hall for my candle and the matches, and had + a doubt of which landing my room might be on. "I'm drunk," I said, "that's + certain," and blundered needlessly on the staircase to sustain the + proposition. + </p> + <p> + At the first glance my room seemed unfamiliar. "What rot!" I said, and + stared about me. I seemed to bring myself back by the effort, and the odd + phantasmal quality passed into the concrete familiar. There was the old + glass still, with my notes on the albumens stuck in the corner of the + frame, my old everyday suit of clothes pitched about the floor. And yet it + was not so real after all. I felt an idiotic persuasion trying to creep + into my mind, as it were, that I was in a railway carriage in a train just + stopping, that I was peering out of the window at some unknown station. I + gripped the bed-rail firmly to reassure myself. "It's clairvoyance, + perhaps," I said. "I must write to the Psychical Research Society." + </p> + <p> + I put the rouleau on my dressing-table, sat on my bed, and began to take + off my boots. It was as if the picture of my present sensations was + painted over some other picture that was trying to show through. "Curse + it!" said I; "my wits are going, or am I in two places at once?" + Half-undressed, I tossed the powder into a glass and drank it off. It + effervesced, and became a fluorescent amber colour. Before I was in bed my + mind was already tranquillised. I felt the pillow at my cheek, and + thereupon I must have fallen asleep. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + I awoke abruptly out of a dream of strange beasts, and found myself lying + on my back. Probably every one knows that dismal, emotional dream from + which one escapes, awake indeed, but strangely cowed. There was a curious + taste in my mouth, a tired feeling in my limbs, a sense of cutaneous + discomfort. I lay with my head motionless on my pillow, expecting that my + feeling of strangeness and terror would pass away, and that I should then + doze off again to sleep. But instead of that, my uncanny sensations + increased. At first I could perceive nothing wrong about me. There was a + faint light in the room, so faint that it was the very next thing to + darkness, and the furniture stood out in it as vague blots of absolute + darkness. I stared with my eyes just over the bedclothes. + </p> + <p> + It came into my mind that some one had entered the room to rob me of my + rouleau of money, but after lying for some moments, breathing regularly to + simulate sleep, I realised this was mere fancy. Nevertheless, the uneasy + assurance of something wrong kept fast hold of me. With an effort I raised + my head from the pillow, and peered about me at the dark. What it was I + could not conceive. I looked at the dim shapes around me, the greater and + lesser darknesses that indicated curtains, table, fireplace, bookshelves, + and so forth. Then I began to perceive something unfamiliar in the forms + of the darkness. Had the bed turned round? Yonder should be the + bookshelves, and something shrouded and pallid rose there, something that + would not answer to the bookshelves, however I looked at it. It was far + too big to be my shirt thrown on a chair. + </p> + <p> + Overcoming a childish terror, I threw back the bedclothes and thrust my + leg out of bed. Instead of coming out of my truckle-bed upon the floor, I + found my foot scarcely reached the edge of the mattress. I made another + step, as it were, and sat up on the edge of the bed. By the side of my bed + should be the candle, and the matches upon the broken chair. I put out my + hand and touched—nothing. I waved my hand in the darkness, and it + came against some heavy hanging, soft and thick in texture, which gave a + rustling noise at my touch. I grasped this and pulled it; it appeared to + be a curtain suspended over the head of my bed. + </p> + <p> + I was now thoroughly awake, and beginning to realise that I was in a + strange room. I was puzzled. I tried to recall the overnight + circumstances, and I found them now, curiously enough, vivid in my memory: + the supper, my reception of the little packages, my wonder whether I was + intoxicated, my slow undressing, the coolness to my flushed face of my + pillow. I felt a sudden distrust. Was that last night, or the night + before? At any rate, this room was strange to me, and I could not imagine + how I had got into it. The dim, pallid outline was growing paler, and I + perceived it was a window, with the dark shape of an oval toilet-glass + against the weak intimation of the dawn that filtered through the blind. I + stood up, and was surprised by a curious feeling of weakness and + unsteadiness. With trembling hands outstretched, I walked slowly towards + the window, getting, nevertheless, a bruise on the knee from a chair by + the way. I fumbled round the glass, which was large, with handsome brass + sconces, to find the blind cord. I could not find any. By chance I took + hold of the tassel, and with the click of a spring the blind ran up. + </p> + <p> + I found myself looking out upon a scene that was altogether strange to me. + The night was overcast, and through the flocculent grey of the heaped + clouds there filtered a faint half-light of dawn. Just at the edge of the + sky the cloud-canopy had a blood-red rim. Below, everything was dark and + indistinct, dim hills in the distance, a vague mass of buildings running + up into pinnacles, trees like spilt ink, and below the window a tracery of + black bushes and pale grey paths. It was so unfamiliar that for the moment + I thought myself still dreaming. I felt the toilet-table; it appeared to + be made of some polished wood, and was rather elaborately furnished—there + were little cut-glass bottles and a brush upon it. There was also a queer + little object, horse-shoe shape it felt, with smooth, hard projections, + lying in a saucer. I could find no matches nor candlestick. + </p> + <p> + I turned my eyes to the room again. Now the blind was up, faint spectres + of its furnishing came out of the darkness. There was a huge curtained + bed, and the fireplace at its foot had a large white mantel with something + of the shimmer of marble. + </p> + <p> + I leant against the toilet-table, shut my eyes and opened them again, and + tried to think. The whole thing was far too real for dreaming. I was + inclined to imagine there was still some hiatus in my memory, as a + consequence of my draught of that strange liqueur; that I had come into my + inheritance perhaps, and suddenly lost my recollection of everything since + my good fortune had been announced. Perhaps if I waited a little, things + would be clearer to me again. Yet my dinner with old Elvesham was now + singularly vivid and recent. The champagne, the observant waiters, the + powder, and the liqueurs—I could have staked my soul it all happened + a few hours ago. + </p> + <p> + And then occurred a thing so trivial and yet so terrible to me that I + shiver now to think of that moment. I spoke aloud. I said, "How the devil + did I get here?" ... <i>And the voice was not my own</i>. + </p> + <p> + It was not my own, it was thin, the articulation was slurred, the + resonance of my facial bones was different. Then, to reassure myself I ran + one hand over the other, and felt loose folds of skin, the bony laxity of + age. "Surely," I said, in that horrible voice that had somehow established + itself in my throat, "surely this thing is a dream!" Almost as quickly as + if I did it involuntarily, I thrust my fingers into my mouth. My teeth had + gone. My finger-tips ran on the flaccid surface of an even row of + shrivelled gums. I was sick with dismay and disgust. + </p> + <p> + I felt then a passionate desire to see myself, to realise at once in its + full horror the ghastly change that had come upon me. I tottered to the + mantel, and felt along it for matches. As I did so, a barking cough sprang + up in my throat, and I clutched the thick flannel nightdress I found about + me. There were no matches there, and I suddenly realised that my + extremities were cold. Sniffing and coughing, whimpering a little, + perhaps, I fumbled back to bed. "It is surely a dream," I whispered to + myself as I clambered back, "surely a dream." It was a senile repetition. + I pulled the bedclothes over my shoulders, over my ears, I thrust my + withered hand under the pillow, and determined to compose myself to sleep. + Of course it was a dream. In the morning the dream would be over, and I + should wake up strong and vigorous again to my youth and studies. I shut + my eyes, breathed regularly, and, finding myself wakeful, began to count + slowly through the powers of three. + </p> + <p> + But the thing I desired would not come. I could not get to sleep. And the + persuasion of the inexorable reality of the change that had happened to me + grew steadily. Presently I found myself with my eyes wide open, the powers + of three forgotten, and my skinny fingers upon my shrivelled gums, I was, + indeed, suddenly and abruptly, an old man. I had in some unaccountable + manner fallen through my life and come to old age, in some way I had been + cheated of all the best of my life, of love, of struggle, of strength, and + hope. I grovelled into the pillow and tried to persuade myself that such + hallucination was possible. Imperceptibly, steadily, the dawn grew + clearer. + </p> + <p> + At last, despairing of further sleep, I sat up in bed and looked about me. + A chill twilight rendered the whole chamber visible. It was spacious and + well-furnished, better furnished than any room I had ever slept in before. + A candle and matches became dimly visible upon a little pedestal in a + recess. I threw back the bedclothes, and, shivering with the rawness of + the early morning, albeit it was summer-time, I got out and lit the + candle. Then, trembling horribly, so that the extinguisher rattled on its + spike, I tottered to the glass and saw—<i>Elvesham's face</i>! It + was none the less horrible because I had already dimly feared as much. He + had already seemed physically weak and pitiful to me, but seen now, + dressed only in a coarse flannel nightdress, that fell apart and showed + the stringy neck, seen now as my own body, I cannot describe its desolate + decrepitude. The hollow cheeks, the straggling tail of dirty grey hair, + the rheumy bleared eyes, the quivering, shrivelled lips, the lower + displaying a gleam of the pink interior lining, and those horrible dark + gums showing. You who are mind and body together, at your natural years, + cannot imagine what this fiendish imprisonment meant to me. To be young + and full of the desire and energy of youth, and to be caught, and + presently to be crushed in this tottering ruin of a body... + </p> + <p> + But I wander from the course of my story. For some time I must have been + stunned at this change that had come upon me. It was daylight when I did + so far gather myself together as to think. In some inexplicable way I had + been changed, though how, short of magic, the thing had been done, I could + not say. And as I thought, the diabolical ingenuity of Elvesham came home + to me. It seemed plain to me that as I found myself in his, so he must be + in possession of <i>my</i> body, of my strength, that is, and my future. + But how to prove it? Then, as I thought, the thing became so incredible, + even to me, that my mind reeled, and I had to pinch myself, to feel my + toothless gums, to see myself in the glass, and touch the things about me, + before I could steady myself to face the facts again. Was all life + hallucination? Was I indeed Elvesham, and he me? Had I been dreaming of + Eden overnight? Was there any Eden? But if I was Elvesham, I should + remember where I was on the previous morning, the name of the town in + which I lived, what happened before the dream began. I struggled with my + thoughts. I recalled the queer doubleness of my memories overnight. But + now my mind was clear. Not the ghost of any memories but those proper to + Eden could I raise. + </p> + <p> + "This way lies insanity!" I cried in my piping voice. I staggered to my + feet, dragged my feeble, heavy limbs to the washhand-stand, and plunged my + grey head into a basin of cold water. Then, towelling myself, I tried + again. It was no good. I felt beyond all question that I was indeed Eden, + not Elvesham. But Eden in Elvesham's body! + </p> + <p> + Had I been a man of any other age, I might have given myself up to my fate + as one enchanted. But in these sceptical days miracles do not pass + current. Here was some trick of psychology. What a drug and a steady stare + could do, a drug and a steady stare, or some similar treatment, could + surely undo. Men have lost their memories before. But to exchange memories + as one does umbrellas! I laughed. Alas! not a healthy laugh, but a + wheezing, senile titter. I could have fancied old Elvesham laughing at my + plight, and a gust of petulant anger, unusual to me, swept across my + feelings. I began dressing eagerly in the clothes I found lying about on + the floor, and only realised when I was dressed that it was an evening + suit I had assumed. I opened the wardrobe and found some more ordinary + clothes, a pair of plaid trousers, and an old-fashioned dressing-gown. I + put a venerable smoking-cap on my venerable head, and, coughing a little + from my exertions, tottered out upon the landing. + </p> + <p> + It was then, perhaps, a quarter to six, and the blinds were closely drawn + and the house quite silent. The landing was a spacious one, a broad, + richly-carpeted staircase went down into the darkness of the hall below, + and before me a door ajar showed me a writing-desk, a revolving bookcase, + the back of a study chair, and a fine array of bound books, shelf upon + shelf. + </p> + <p> + "My study," I mumbled, and walked across the landing. Then at the sound of + my voice a thought struck me, and I went back to the bedroom and put in + the set of false teeth. They slipped in with the ease of old, habit. + "That's better," said I, gnashing them, and so returned to the study. + </p> + <p> + The drawers of the writing-desk were locked. Its revolving top was also + locked. I could see no indications of the keys, and there were none in the + pockets of my trousers. I shuffled back at once to the bedroom, and went + through the dress suit, and afterwards the pockets of all the garments I + could find. I was very eager, and one might have imagined that burglars + had been at work, to see my room when I had done. Not only were there no + keys to be found, but not a coin, nor a scrap of paper—save only the + receipted bill of the overnight dinner. + </p> + <p> + A curious weariness asserted itself. I sat down and stared at the garments + flung here and there, their pockets turned inside out. My first frenzy had + already flickered out. Every moment I was beginning to realise the immense + intelligence of the plans of my enemy, to see more and more clearly the + hopelessness of my position. With an effort I rose and hurried hobbling + into the study again. On the staircase was a housemaid pulling up the + blinds. She stared, I think, at the expression of my face. I shut the door + of the study behind me, and, seizing a poker, began an attack upon the + desk. That is how they found me. The cover of the desk was split, the lock + smashed, the letters torn out of the pigeon-holes, and tossed about the + room. In my senile rage I had flung about the pens and other such light + stationery, and overturned the ink. Moreover, a large vase upon the mantel + had got broken—I do not know how. I could find no cheque-book, no + money, no indications of the slightest use for the recovery of my body. I + was battering madly at the drawers, when the butler, backed by two + women-servants, intruded upon me. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + That simply is the story of my change. No one will believe my frantic + assertions. I am treated as one demented, and even at this moment I am + under restraint. But I am sane, absolutely sane, and to prove it I have + sat down to write this story minutely as the things happened to me. I + appeal to the reader, whether there is any trace of insanity in the style + or method, of the story he has been reading. I am a young man locked away + in an old man's body. But the clear fact is incredible to everyone. + Naturally I appear demented to those who will not believe this, naturally + I do not know the names of my secretaries, of the doctors who come to see + me, of my servants and neighbours, of this town (wherever it is) where I + find myself. Naturally I lose myself in my own house, and suffer + inconveniences of every sort. Naturally I ask the oddest questions. + Naturally I weep and cry out, and have paroxysms of despair. I have no + money and no cheque-book. The bank will not recognise my signature, for I + suppose that, allowing for the feeble muscles I now have, my handwriting + is still Eden's. These people about me will not let me go to the bank + personally. It seems, indeed, that there is no bank in this town, and that + I have an account in some part of London. It seems that Elvesham kept the + name of his solicitor secret from all his household. I can ascertain + nothing. Elvesham was, of course, a profound student of mental science, + and all my declarations of the facts of the case merely confirm the theory + that my insanity is the outcome of overmuch brooding upon psychology. + Dreams of the personal identity indeed! Two days ago I was a healthy + youngster, with all life before me; now I am a furious old man, unkempt, + and desperate, and miserable, prowling about a great, luxurious, strange + house, watched, feared, and avoided as a lunatic by everyone about me. And + in London is Elvesham beginning life again in a vigorous body, and with + all the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of threescore and ten. He has + stolen my life. + </p> + <p> + What has happened I do not clearly know. In the study are volumes of + manuscript notes referring chiefly to the psychology of memory, and parts + of what may be either calculations or ciphers in symbols absolutely + strange to me. In some passages there are indications that he was also + occupied with the philosophy of mathematics. I take it he has transferred + the whole of his memories, the accumulation that makes up his personality, + from this old withered brain of his to mine, and, similarly, that he has + transferred mine to his discarded tenement. Practically, that is, he has + changed bodies. But how such a change may be possible is without the range + of my philosophy. I have been a materialist for all my thinking life, but + here, suddenly, is a clear case of man's detachability from matter. + </p> + <p> + One desperate experiment I am about to try. I sit writing here before + putting the matter to issue. This morning, with the help of a table-knife + that I had secreted at breakfast, I succeeded in breaking open a fairly + obvious secret drawer in this wrecked writing-desk. I discovered nothing + save a little green glass phial containing a white powder. Round the neck + of the phial was a label, and thereon was written this one word, "<i>Release</i>." + This may be—is most probably—poison. I can understand Elvesham + placing poison in my way, and I should be sure that it was his intention + so to get rid of the only living witness against him, were it not for this + careful concealment. The man has practically solved the problem of + immortality. Save for the spite of chance, he will live in my body until + it has aged, and then, again, throwing that aside, he will assume some + other victim's youth and strength. When one remembers his heartlessness, + it is terrible to think of the ever-growing experience that... How long + has he been leaping from body to body?... But I tire of writing. The + powder appears to be soluble in water. The taste is not unpleasant. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + There the narrative found upon Mr. Elvesham's desk ends. His dead body lay + between the desk and the chair. The latter had been pushed back, probably + by his last convulsions. The story was written in pencil and in a crazy + hand, quite unlike his usual minute characters. There remain only two + curious facts to record. Indisputably there was some connection between + Eden and Elvesham, since the whole of Elvesham's property was bequeathed + to the young man. But he never inherited. When Elvesham committed suicide, + Eden was, strangely enough, already dead. Twenty-four hours before, he had + been knocked down by a cab and killed instantly, at the crowded crossing + at the intersection of Gower Street and Euston Road. So that the only + human being who could have thrown light upon this fantastic narrative is + beyond the reach of questions. Without further comment I leave this + extraordinary matter to the reader's individual judgment. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XII. — UNDER THE KNIFE. + </h2> + <p> + "What if I die under it?" The thought recurred again and again, as I + walked home from Haddon's. It was a purely personal question. I was spared + the deep anxieties of a married man, and I knew there were few of my + intimate friends but would find my death troublesome chiefly on account of + their duty of regret. I was surprised indeed, and perhaps a little + humiliated, as I turned the matter over, to think how few could possibly + exceed the conventional requirement. Things came before me stripped of + glamour, in a clear dry light, during that walk from Haddon's house over + Primrose Hill. There were the friends of my youth: I perceived now that + our affection was a tradition, which we foregathered rather laboriously to + maintain. There were the rivals and helpers of my later career: I suppose + I had been cold-blooded or undemonstrative—one perhaps implies the + other. It may be that even the capacity for friendship is a question of + physique. There had been a time in my own life when I had grieved bitterly + enough at the loss of a friend; but as I walked home that afternoon the + emotional side of my imagination was dormant. I could not pity myself, nor + feel sorry for my friends, nor conceive of them as grieving for me. + </p> + <p> + I was interested in this deadness of my emotional nature—no doubt a + concomitant of my stagnating physiology; and my thoughts wandered off + along the line it suggested. Once before, in my hot youth, I had suffered + a sudden loss of blood, and had been within an ace of death. I remembered + now that my affections as well as my passions had drained out of me, + leaving scarce anything but a tranquil resignation, a dreg of self-pity. + It had been weeks before the old ambitions and tendernesses and all the + complex moral interplay of a man had reasserted themselves. It occurred to + me that the real meaning of this numbness might be a gradual slipping away + from the pleasure-pain guidance of the animal man. It has been proven, I + take it, as thoroughly as anything can be proven in this world, that the + higher emotions, the moral feelings, even the subtle unselfishness of + love, are evolved from the elemental desires and fears of the simple + animal: they are the harness in which man's mental freedom goes. And it + may be that as death overshadows us, as our possibility of acting + diminishes, this complex growth of balanced impulse, propensity and + aversion, whose interplay inspires our acts, goes with it. Leaving what? + </p> + <p> + I was suddenly brought back to reality by an imminent collision with the + butcher-boy's tray. I found that I was crossing the bridge over the Regent's + Park Canal, which runs parallel with that in the Zoological Gardens. The + boy in blue had been looking over his shoulder at a black barge advancing + slowly, towed by a gaunt white horse. In the Gardens a nurse was leading + three happy little children over the bridge. The trees were bright green; + the spring hopefulness was still unstained by the dusts of summer; the sky + in the water was bright and clear, but broken by long waves, by quivering + bands of black, as the barge drove through. The breeze was stirring; but + it did not stir me as the spring breeze used to do. + </p> + <p> + Was this dulness of feeling in itself an anticipation? It was curious that + I could reason and follow out a network of suggestion as clearly as ever: + so, at least, it seemed to me. It was calmness rather than dulness that + was coming upon me. Was there any ground for the relief in the + presentiment of death? Did a man near to death begin instinctively to + withdraw himself from the meshes of matter and sense, even before the cold + hand was laid upon his? I felt strangely isolated—isolated without + regret—from the life and existence about me. The children playing in + the sun and gathering strength and experience for the business of life, + the park-keeper gossiping with a nursemaid, the nursing mother, the young + couple intent upon each other as they passed me, the trees by the wayside + spreading new pleading leaves to the sunlight, the stir in their branches—I + had been part of it all, but I had nearly done with it now. + </p> + <p> + Some way down the Broad Walk I perceived that I was tired, and that my + feet were heavy. It was hot that afternoon, and I turned aside and sat + down on one of the green chairs that line the way. In a minute I had dozed + into a dream, and the tide of my thoughts washed up a vision of the + resurrection. I was still sitting in the chair, but I thought myself + actually dead, withered, tattered, dried, one eye (I saw) pecked out by + birds. "Awake!" cried a voice; and incontinently the dust of the path and + the mould under the grass became insurgent. I had never before thought of + Regent's Park as a cemetery, but now, through the trees, stretching as far + as eye could see, I beheld a flat plain of writhing graves and heeling + tombstones. There seemed to be some trouble: the rising dead appeared to + stifle as they struggled upward, they bled in their struggles, the red + flesh was torn away from the white bones. "Awake!" cried a voice; but I + determined I would not rise to such horrors. "Awake!" They would not let + me alone. "Wake up!" said an angry voice. A cockney angel! The man who + sells the tickets was shaking me, demanding my penny. + </p> + <p> + I paid my penny, pocketed my ticket, yawned, stretched my legs, and, + feeling now rather less torpid, got up and walked on towards Langham + Place. I speedily lost myself again in a shifting maze of thoughts about + death. Going across Marylebone Road into that crescent at the end of + Langham Place, I had the narrowest escape from the shaft of a cab, and + went on my way with a palpitating heart and a bruised shoulder. It struck + me that it would have been curious if my meditations on my death on the + morrow had led to my death that day. + </p> + <p> + But I will not weary you with more of my experiences that day and the + next. I knew more and more certainly that I should die under the + operation; at times I think I was inclined to pose to myself. The doctors + were coming at eleven, and I did not get up. It seemed scarce worth while + to trouble about washing and dressing, and though I read my newspapers and + the letters that came by the first post, I did not find them very + interesting. There was a friendly note from Addison, my old school-friend, + calling my attention to two discrepancies and a printer's error in my new + book, with one from Langridge venting some vexation over Minton. The rest + were business communications. I breakfasted in bed. The glow of pain at my + side seemed more massive. I knew it was pain, and yet, if you can + understand, I did not find it very painful. I had been awake and hot and + thirsty in the night, but in the morning bed felt comfortable. In the + night-time I had lain thinking of things that were past; in the morning I + dozed over the question of immortality. Haddon came, punctual to the + minute, with a neat black bag; and Mowbray soon followed. Their arrival + stirred me up a little. I began to take a more personal interest in the + proceedings. Haddon moved the little octagonal table close to the bedside, + and, with his broad back to me, began taking things out of his bag. I + heard the light click of steel upon steel. My imagination, I found, was + not altogether stagnant. "Will you hurt me much?" I said in an off-hand + tone. + </p> + <p> + "Not a bit," Haddon answered over his shoulder. "We shall chloroform you. + Your heart's as sound as a bell." And as he spoke, I had a whiff of the + pungent sweetness of the anaesthetic. + </p> + <p> + They stretched me out, with a convenient exposure of my side, and, almost + before I realised what was happening, the chloroform was being + administered. It stings the nostrils, and there is a suffocating sensation + at first. I knew I should die—that this was the end of consciousness + for me. And suddenly I felt that I was not prepared for death: I had a + vague sense of a duty overlooked—I knew not what. What was it I had + not done? I could think of nothing more to do, nothing desirable left in + life; and yet I had the strangest disinclination to death. And the + physical sensation was painfully oppressive. Of course the doctors did not + know they were going to kill me. Possibly I struggled. Then I fell + motionless, and a great silence, a monstrous silence, and an impenetrable + blackness came upon me. + </p> + <p> + There must have been an interval of absolute unconsciousness, seconds or + minutes. Then with a chilly, unemotional clearness, I perceived that I was + not yet dead. I was still in my body; but all the multitudinous sensations + that come sweeping from it to make up the background of consciousness had + gone, leaving me free of it all. No, not free of it all; for as yet + something still held me to the poor stark flesh upon the bed—held + me, yet not so closely that I did not feel myself external to it, + independent of it, straining away from it. I do not think I saw, I do not + think I heard; but I perceived all that was going on, and it was as if I + both heard and saw. Haddon was bending over me, Mowbray behind me; the + scalpel—it was a large scalpel—was cutting my flesh at the + side under the flying ribs. It was interesting to see myself cut like + cheese, without a pang, without even a qualm. The interest was much of a + quality with that one might feel in a game of chess between strangers. + Haddon's face was firm and his hand steady; but I was surprised to + perceive (<i>how</i> I know not) that he was feeling the gravest doubt as + to his own wisdom in the conduct of the operation. + </p> + <p> + Mowbray's thoughts, too, I could see. He was thinking that Haddon's manner + showed too much of the specialist. New suggestions came up like bubbles + through a stream of frothing meditation, and burst one after another in + the little bright spot of his consciousness. He could not help noticing + and admiring Haddon's swift dexterity, in spite of his envious quality and + his disposition to detract. I saw my liver exposed. I was puzzled at my + own condition. I did not feel that I was dead, but I was different in some + way from my living self. The grey depression, that had weighed on me for a + year or more and coloured all my thoughts, was gone. I perceived and + thought without any emotional tint at all. I wondered if everyone + perceived things in this way under chloroform, and forgot it again when he + came out of it. It would be inconvenient to look into some heads, and not + forget. + </p> + <p> + Although I did not think that I was dead, I still perceived quite clearly + that I was soon to die. This brought me back to the consideration of + Haddon's proceedings. I looked into his mind, and saw that he was afraid + of cutting a branch of the portal vein. My attention was distracted from + details by the curious changes going on in his mind. His consciousness was + like the quivering little spot of light which is thrown by the mirror of a + galvanometer. His thoughts ran under it like a stream, some through the + focus bright and distinct, some shadowy in the half-light of the edge. + Just now the little glow was steady; but the least movement on Mowbray's + part, the slightest sound from outside, even a faint difference in the + slow movement of the living flesh he was cutting, set the light-spot + shivering and spinning. A new sense-impression came rushing up through the + flow of thoughts; and lo! the light-spot jerked away towards it, swifter + than a frightened fish. It was wonderful to think that upon that unstable, + fitful thing depended all the complex motions of the man; that for the + next five minutes, therefore, my life hung upon its movements. And he was + growing more and more nervous in his work. It was as if a little picture + of a cut vein grew brighter, and struggled to oust from his brain another + picture of a cut falling short of the mark. He was afraid: his dread of + cutting too little was battling with his dread of cutting too far. + </p> + <p> + Then, suddenly, like an escape of water from under a lock-gate, a great + uprush of horrible realisation set all his thoughts swirling, and + simultaneously I perceived that the vein was cut. He started back with a + hoarse exclamation, and I saw the brown-purple blood gather in a swift + bead, and run trickling. He was horrified. He pitched the red-stained + scalpel on to the octagonal table; and instantly both doctors flung + themselves upon me, making hasty and ill-conceived efforts to remedy the + disaster. "Ice!" said Mowbray, gasping. But I knew that I was killed, + though my body still clung to me. + </p> + <p> + I will not describe their belated endeavours to save me, though I + perceived every detail. My perceptions were sharper and swifter than they + had ever been in life; my thoughts rushed through my mind with incredible + swiftness, but with perfect definition. I can only compare their crowded + clarity to the effects of a reasonable dose of opium. In a moment it would + all be over, and I should be free. I knew I was immortal, but what would + happen I did not know. Should I drift off presently, like a puff of smoke + from a gun, in some kind of half-material body, an attenuated version of + my material self? Should I find myself suddenly among the innumerable + hosts of the dead, and know the world about me for the phantasmagoria it + had always seemed? Should I drift to some spiritualistic <i>siance</i>, + and there make foolish, incomprehensible attempts to affect a purblind + medium? It was a state of unemotional curiosity, of colourless + expectation. And then I realised a growing stress upon me, a feeling as + though some huge human magnet was drawing me upward out of my body. The + stress grew and grew. I seemed an atom for which monstrous forces were + fighting. For one brief, terrible moment sensation came back to me. That + feeling of falling headlong which comes in nightmares, that feeling a + thousand times intensified, that and a black horror swept across my + thoughts in a torrent. Then the two doctors, the naked body with its cut + side, the little room, swept away from under me and vanished, as a speck + of foam vanishes down an eddy. + </p> + <p> + I was in mid-air. Far below was the West End of London, receding rapidly,—for + I seemed to be flying swiftly upward,—and as it receded, passing + westward like a panorama. I could see, through the faint haze of smoke, + the innumerable roofs chimney-set, the narrow roadways, stippled with + people and conveyances, the little specks of squares, and the church + steeples like thorns sticking out of the fabric. But it spun away as the + earth rotated on its axis, and in a few seconds (as it seemed) I was over + the scattered clumps of town about Ealing, the little Thames a thread of + blue to the south, and the Chiltern Hills and the North Downs coming up + like the rim of a basin, far away and faint with haze. Up I rushed. And at + first I had not the faintest conception what this headlong rush upward + could mean. + </p> + <p> + Every moment the circle of scenery beneath me grew wider and wider, and + the details of town and field, of hill and valley, got more and more hazy + and pale and indistinct, a luminous grey was mingled more and more with + the blue of the hills and the green of the open meadows; and a little + patch of cloud, low and far to the west, shone ever more dazzlingly white. + Above, as the veil of atmosphere between myself and outer space grew + thinner, the sky, which had been a fair springtime blue at first, grew + deeper and richer in colour, passing steadily through the intervening + shades, until presently it was as dark as the blue sky of midnight, and + presently as black as the blackness of a frosty starlight, and at last as + black as no blackness I had ever beheld. And first one star, and then + many, and at last an innumerable host broke out upon the sky: more stars + than anyone has ever seen from the face of the earth. For the blueness of + the sky in the light of the sun and stars sifted and spread abroad + blindingly: there is diffused light even in the darkest skies of winter, + and we do not see the stars by day only because of the dazzling + irradiation of the sun. But now I saw things—I know not how; + assuredly with no mortal eyes—and that defect of bedazzlement + blinded me no longer. The sun was incredibly strange and wonderful. The + body of it was a disc of blinding white light: not yellowish, as it seems + to those who live upon the earth, but livid white, all streaked with + scarlet streaks and rimmed about with a fringe of writhing tongues of red + fire. And shooting half-way across the heavens from either side of it and + brighter than the Milky Way, were two pinions of silver white, making it + look more like those winged globes I have seen in Egyptian sculpture than + anything else I can remember upon earth. These I knew for the solar + corona, though I had never seen anything of it but a picture during the + days of my earthly life. + </p> + <p> + When my attention came back to the earth again, I saw that it had fallen + very far away from me. Field and town were long since indistinguishable, + and all the varied hues of the country were merging into a uniform bright + grey, broken only by the brilliant white of the clouds that lay scattered + in flocculent masses over Ireland and the west of England. For now I could + see the outlines of the north of France and Ireland, and all this Island + of Britain, save where Scotland passed over the horizon to the north, or + where the coast was blurred or obliterated by cloud. The sea was a dull + grey, and darker than the land; and the whole panorama was rotating slowly + towards the east. + </p> + <p> + All this had happened so swiftly that until I was some thousand miles or + so from the earth I had no thought for myself. But now I perceived I had + neither hands nor feet, neither parts nor organs, and that I felt neither + alarm nor pain. All about me I perceived that the vacancy (for I had + already left the air behind) was cold beyond the imagination of man; but + it troubled me not. The sun's rays shot through the void, powerless to + light or heat until they should strike on matter in their course. I saw + things with a serene self-forgetfulness, even as if I were God. And down + below there, rushing away from me,—countless miles in a second,—where + a little dark spot on the grey marked the position of London, two doctors + were struggling to restore life to the poor hacked and outworn shell I had + abandoned. I felt then such release, such serenity as I can compare to no + mortal delight I have ever known. + </p> + <p> + It was only after I had perceived all these things that the meaning of + that headlong rush of the earth grew into comprehension. Yet it was so + simple, so obvious, that I was amazed at my never anticipating the thing + that was happening to me. I had suddenly been cut adrift from matter: all + that was material of me was there upon earth, whirling away through space, + held to the earth by gravitation, partaking of the earth-inertia, moving + in its wreath of epicycles round the sun, and with the sun and the planets + on their vast march through space. But the immaterial has no inertia, + feels nothing of the pull of matter for matter: where it parts from its + garment of flesh, there it remains (so far as space concerns it any + longer) immovable in space. <i>I</i> was not leaving the earth: the earth + was leaving <i>me</i>, and not only the earth but the whole solar system + was streaming past. And about me in space, invisible to me, scattered in + the wake of the earth upon its journey, there must be an innumerable + multitude of souls, stripped like myself of the material, stripped like + myself of the passions of the individual and the generous emotions of the + gregarious brute, naked intelligences, things of new-born wonder and + thought, marvelling at the strange release that had suddenly come on them! + </p> + <p> + As I receded faster and faster from the strange white sun in the black + heavens, and from the broad and shining earth upon which my being had + begun, I seemed to grow in some incredible manner vast: vast as regards + this world I had left, vast as regards the moments and periods of a human + life. Very soon I saw the full circle of the earth, slightly gibbous, like + the moon when she nears her full, but very large; and the silvery shape of + America was now in the noonday blaze wherein (as it seemed) little England + had been basking but a few minutes ago. At first the earth was large, and + shone in the heavens, filling a great part of them; but every moment she + grew smaller and more distant. As she shrank, the broad moon in its third + quarter crept into view over the rim of her disc. I looked for the + constellations. Only that part of Aries directly behind the sun and the + Lion, which the earth covered, were hidden. I recognised the tortuous, + tattered band of the Milky Way with Vega very bright between sun and + earth; and Sirius and Orion shone splendid against the unfathomable + blackness in the opposite quarter of the heavens. The Pole Star was + overhead, and the Great Bear hung over the circle of the earth. And away + beneath and beyond the shining corona of the sun were strange groupings of + stars I had never seen in my life—notably a dagger-shaped group that + I knew for the Southern Cross. All these were no larger than when they had + shone on earth, but the little stars that one scarce sees shone now + against the setting of black vacancy as brightly as the first-magnitudes + had done, while the larger worlds were points of indescribable glory and + colour. Aldebaran was a spot of blood-red fire, and Sirius condensed to + one point the light of innumerable sapphires. And they shone steadily: + they did not scintillate, they were calmly glorious. My impressions had an + adamantine hardness and brightness: there was no blurring softness, no + atmosphere, nothing but infinite darkness set with the myriads of these + acute and brilliant points and specks of light. Presently, when I looked + again, the little earth seemed no bigger than the sun, and it dwindled and + turned as I looked, until in a second's space (as it seemed to me), it was + halved; and so it went on swiftly dwindling. Far away in the opposite + direction, a little pinkish pin's head of light, shining steadily, was the + planet Mars. I swam motionless in vacancy, and, without a trace of terror + or astonishment, watched the speck of cosmic dust we call the world fall + away from me. + </p> + <p> + Presently it dawned upon me that my sense of duration had changed; that my + mind was moving not faster but infinitely slower, that between each + separate impression there was a period of many days. The moon spun once + round the earth as I noted this; and I perceived clearly the motion of + Mars in his orbit. Moreover, it appeared as if the time between thought + and thought grew steadily greater, until at last a thousand years was but + a moment in my perception. + </p> + <p> + At first the constellations had shone motionless against the black + background of infinite space; but presently it seemed as though the group + of stars about Hercules and the Scorpion was contracting, while Orion and + Aldebaran and their neighbours were scattering apart. Flashing suddenly + out of the darkness there came a flying multitude of particles of rock, + glittering like dust-specks in a sunbeam, and encompassed in a faintly + luminous cloud. They swirled all about me, and vanished again in a + twinkling far behind. And then I saw that a bright spot of light, that + shone a little to one side of my path, was growing very rapidly larger, + and perceived that it was the planet Saturn rushing towards me. Larger and + larger it grew, swallowing up the heavens behind it, and hiding every + moment a fresh multitude, of stars. I perceived its flattened, whirling + body, its disc-like belt, and seven of its little satellites. It grew and + grew, till it towered enormous; and then I plunged amid a streaming + multitude of clashing stones and dancing dust-particles and gas-eddies, + and saw for a moment the mighty triple belt like three concentric arches + of moonlight above me, its shadow black on the boiling tumult below. These + things happened in one-tenth of the time it takes to tell them. The planet + went by like a flash of lightning; for a few seconds it blotted out the + sun, and there and then became a mere black, dwindling, winged patch + against the light. The earth, the mother mote of my being, I could no + longer see. + </p> + <p> + So with a stately swiftness, in the profoundest silence, the solar system + fell from me as it had been a garment, until the sun was a mere star amid + the multitude of stars, with its eddy of planet-specks lost in the + confused glittering of the remoter light. I was no longer a denizen of the + solar system: I had come to the outer Universe, I seemed to grasp and + comprehend the whole world of matter. Ever more swiftly the stars closed + in about the spot where Antares and Vega had vanished in a phosphorescent + haze, until that part of the sky had the semblance of a whirling mass of + nebulae, and ever before me yawned vaster gaps of vacant blackness, and + the stars shone fewer and fewer. It seemed as if I moved towards a point + between Orion's belt and sword; and the void about that region opened + vaster and vaster every second, an incredible gulf of nothingness into + which I was falling. Faster and ever faster the universe rushed by, a + hurry of whirling motes at last, speeding silently into the void. Stars + glowing brighter and brighter, with their circling planets catching the + light in a ghostly fashion as I neared them, shone out and vanished again + into inexistence; faint comets, clusters of meteorites, winking specks of + matter, eddying light-points, whizzed past, some perhaps a hundred + millions of miles or so from me at most, few nearer, travelling with + unimaginable rapidity, shooting constellations, momentary darts of fire, + through that black, enormous night. More than anything else it was like a + dusty draught, sunbeam-lit. Broader and wider and deeper grew the starless + space, the vacant Beyond, into which I was being drawn. At last a quarter + of the heavens was black and blank, and the whole headlong rush of stellar + universe closed in behind me like a veil of light that is gathered + together. It drove away from me like a monstrous jack-o'-lantern driven by + the wind. I had come out into the wilderness of space. Ever the vacant + blackness grew broader, until the hosts of the stars seemed only like a + swarm of fiery specks hurrying away from me, inconceivably remote, and the + darkness, the nothingness and emptiness, was about me on every side. Soon + the little universe of matter, the cage of points in which I had begun to + be, was dwindling, now to a whirling disc of luminous glittering, and now + to one minute disc of hazy light. In a little while it would shrink to a + point, and at last would vanish altogether. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly feeling came back to me—feeling in the shape of + overwhelming terror; such a dread of those dark vastitudes as no words can + describe, a passionate resurgence of sympathy and social desire. Were + there other souls, invisible to me as I to them, about me in the + blackness? or was I indeed, even as I felt, alone? Had I passed out of + being into something that was neither being nor not-being? The covering of + the body, the covering of matter, had been torn from me, and the + hallucinations of companionship and security. Everything was black and + silent. I had ceased to be. I was nothing. There was nothing, save only + that infinitesimal dot of light that dwindled in the gulf. I strained + myself to hear and see, and for a while there was naught but infinite + silence, intolerable darkness, horror, and despair. + </p> + <p> + Then I saw that about the spot of light into which the whole world of + matter had shrunk there was a faint glow. And in a band on either side of + that the darkness was not absolute. I watched it for ages, as it seemed to + me, and through the long waiting the haze grew imperceptibly more + distinct. And then about the band appeared an irregular cloud of the + faintest, palest brown. I felt a passionate impatience; but the things + grew brighter so slowly that they scarce seemed to change. What was + unfolding itself? What was this strange reddish dawn in the interminable + night of space? + </p> + <p> + The cloud's shape was grotesque. It seemed to be looped along its lower + side into four projecting masses, and, above, it ended in a straight line. + What phantom was it? I felt assured I had seen that figure before; but I + could not think what, nor where, nor when it was. Then the realisation + rushed upon me. <i>It was a clenched Hand.</i> I was alone in space, alone + with this huge, shadowy Hand, upon which the whole Universe of Matter lay + like an unconsidered speck of dust. It seemed as though I watched it + through vast periods of time. On the forefinger glittered a ring; and the + universe from which I had come was but a spot of light upon the ring's + curvature. And the thing that the hand gripped had the likeness of a black + rod. Through a long eternity I watched this Hand, with the ring and the + rod, marvelling and fearing and waiting helplessly on what might follow. + It seemed as though nothing could follow: that I should watch for ever, + seeing only the Hand and the thing it held, and understanding nothing of + its import. Was the whole universe but a refracting speck upon some + greater Being? Were our worlds but the atoms of another universe, and + those again of another, and so on through an endless progression? And what + was I? Was I indeed immaterial? A vague persuasion of a body gathering + about me came into my suspense. The abysmal darkness about the Hand filled + with impalpable suggestions, with uncertain, fluctuating shapes. + </p> + <p> + Then, suddenly, came a sound, like the sound of a tolling bell: faint, as + if infinitely far; muffled, as though heard through thick swathings of + darkness: a deep, vibrating resonance, with vast gulfs of silence between + each stroke. And the Hand appeared to tighten on the rod. And I saw far + above the Hand, towards the apex of the darkness, a circle of dim + phosphorescence, a ghostly sphere whence these sounds came throbbing; and + at the last stroke the Hand vanished, for the hour had come, and I heard a + noise of many waters. But the black rod remained as a great band across + the sky. And then a voice, which seemed to run to the uttermost parts of + space, spoke, saying, "There will be no more pain." + </p> + <p> + At that an almost intolerable gladness and radiance rushed in upon me, and + I saw the circle shining white and bright, and the rod black and shining, + and many things else distinct and clear. And the circle was the face of + the clock, and the rod the rail of my bed. Haddon was standing at the + foot, against the rail, with a small pair of scissors on his fingers; and + the hands of my clock on the mantel over his shoulder were clasped + together over the hour of twelve. Mowbray was washing something in a basin + at the octagonal table, and at my side I felt a subdued feeling that could + scarce be spoken of as pain. + </p> + <p> + The operation had not killed me. And I perceived, suddenly, that the dull + melancholy of half a year was lifted from my mind. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIII. — THE SEA RAIDERS. + </h2> + <p> + I. — Until the extraordinary affair at Sidmouth, the peculiar + species <i>Haploteuthis ferox</i> was known to science only generically, + on the strength of a half-digested tentacle obtained near the Azores, and + a decaying body pecked by birds and nibbled by fish, found early in 1896 + by Mr. Jennings, near Land's End. + </p> + <p> + In no department of zoological science, indeed, are we quite so much in + the dark as with regard to the deep-sea cephalopods. A mere accident, for + instance, it was that led to the Prince of Monaco's discovery of nearly a + dozen new forms in the summer of 1895, a discovery in which the + before-mentioned tentacle was included. It chanced that a cachalot was + killed off Terceira by some sperm whalers, and in its last struggles + charged almost to the Prince's yacht, missed it, rolled under, and died + within twenty yards of his rudder. And in its agony it threw up a number + of large objects, which the Prince, dimly perceiving they were strange and + important, was, by a happy expedient, able to secure before they sank. He + set his screws in motion, and kept them circling in the vortices thus + created until a boat could be lowered. And these specimens were whole + cephalopods and fragments of cephalopods, some of gigantic proportions, + and almost all of them unknown to science! + </p> + <p> + It would seem, indeed, that these large and agile creatures, living in the + middle depths of the sea, must, to a large extent, for ever remain unknown + to us, since under water they are too nimble for nets, and it is only by + such rare, unlooked-for accidents that specimens can be obtained. In the + case of <i>Haploteuthis ferox</i>, for instance, we are still altogether + ignorant of its habitat, as ignorant as we are of the breeding-ground of + the herring or the sea-ways of the salmon. And zoologists are altogether + at a loss to account for its sudden appearance on our coast. Possibly it + was the stress of a hunger migration that drove it hither out of the deep. + But it will be, perhaps, better to avoid necessarily inconclusive + discussion, and to proceed at once with our narrative. + </p> + <p> + The first human being to set eyes upon a living <i>Haploteuthis</i>—the + first human being to survive, that is, for there can be little doubt now + that the wave of bathing fatalities and boating accidents that travelled + along the coast of Cornwall and Devon in early May was due to this cause—was + a retired tea-dealer of the name of Fison, who was stopping at a Sidmouth + boarding-house. It was in the afternoon, and he was walking along the + cliff path between Sidmouth and Ladram Bay. The cliffs in this direction + are very high, but down the red face of them in one place a kind of ladder + staircase has been made. He was near this when his attention was attracted + by what at first he thought to be a cluster of birds struggling over a + fragment of food that caught the sunlight, and glistened pinkish-white. + The tide was right out, and this object was not only far below him, but + remote across a broad waste of rock reefs covered with dark seaweed and + interspersed with silvery shining tidal pools. And he was, moreover, + dazzled by the brightness of the further water. + </p> + <p> + In a minute, regarding this again, he perceived that his judgment was in + fault, for over this struggle circled a number of birds, jackdaws and + gulls for the most part, the latter gleaming blindingly when the sunlight + smote their wings, and they seemed minute in comparison with it. And his + curiosity was, perhaps, aroused all the more strongly because of his first + insufficient explanations. + </p> + <p> + As he had nothing better to do than amuse himself, he decided to make this + object, whatever it was, the goal of his afternoon walk, instead of Ladram + Bay, conceiving it might perhaps be a great fish of some sort, stranded by + some chance, and flapping about in its distress. And so he hurried down + the long steep ladder, stopping at intervals of thirty feet or so to take + breath and scan the mysterious movement. + </p> + <p> + At the foot of the cliff he was, of course, nearer his object than he had + been; but, on the other hand, it now came up against the incandescent sky, + beneath the sun, so as to seem dark and indistinct. Whatever was pinkish + of it was now hidden by a skerry of weedy boulders. But he perceived that + it was made up of seven rounded bodies distinct or connected, and that the + birds kept up a constant croaking and screaming, but seemed afraid to + approach it too closely. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fison, torn by curiosity, began picking his way across the wave-worn + rocks, and finding the wet seaweed that covered them thickly rendered them + extremely slippery, he stopped, removed his shoes and socks, and rolled + his trousers above his knees. His object was, of course, merely to avoid + stumbling into the rocky pools about him, and perhaps he was rather glad, + as all men are, of an excuse to resume, even for a moment, the sensations + of his boyhood. At any rate, it is to this, no doubt, that he owes his + life. + </p> + <p> + He approached his mark with all the assurance which the absolute security + of this country against all forms of animal life gives its inhabitants. + The round bodies moved to and fro, but it was only when he surmounted the + skerry of boulders I have mentioned that he realised the horrible nature + of the discovery. It came upon him with some suddenness. + </p> + <p> + The rounded bodies fell apart as he came into sight over the ridge, and + displayed the pinkish object to be the partially devoured body of a human + being, but whether of a man or woman he was unable to say. And the rounded + bodies were new and ghastly-looking creatures, in shape somewhat + resembling an octopus, with huge and very long and flexible tentacles, + coiled copiously on the ground. The skin had a glistening texture, + unpleasant to see, like shiny leather. The downward bend of the + tentacle-surrounded mouth, the curious excrescence at the bend, the + tentacles, and the large intelligent eyes, gave the creatures a grotesque + suggestion of a face. They were the size of a fair-sized swine about the + body, and the tentacles seemed to him to be many feet in length. There + were, he thinks, seven or eight at least of the creatures. Twenty yards + beyond them, amid the surf of the now returning tide, two others were + emerging from the sea. + </p> + <p> + Their bodies lay flatly on the rocks, and their eyes regarded him with + evil interest; but it does not appear that Mr. Fison was afraid, or that + he realised that he was in any danger. Possibly his confidence is to be + ascribed to the limpness of their attitudes. But he was horrified, of + course, and intensely excited and indignant, at such revolting creatures + preying upon human flesh. He thought they had chanced upon a drowned body. + He shouted to them, with the idea of driving them off, and finding they + did not budge, cast about him, picked up a big rounded lump of rock, and + flung it at one. + </p> + <p> + And then, slowly uncoiling their tentacles, they all began moving towards + him—creeping at first deliberately, and making a soft purring sound + to each other. + </p> + <p> + In a moment Mr. Fison realised that he was in danger. He shouted again, + threw both his boots, and started off, with a leap, forthwith. Twenty + yards off he stopped and faced about, judging them slow, and behold! the + tentacles of their leader were already pouring over the rocky ridge on + which he had just been standing! + </p> + <p> + At that he shouted again, but this time not threatening, but a cry of + dismay, and began jumping, striding, slipping, wading across the uneven + expanse between him and the beach. The tall red cliffs seemed suddenly at + a vast distance, and he saw, as though they were creatures in another + world, two minute workmen engaged in the repair of the ladder-way, and + little suspecting the race for life that was beginning below them. At one + time he could hear the creatures splashing in the pools not a dozen feet + behind him, and once he slipped and almost fell. + </p> + <p> + They chased him to the very foot of the cliffs, and desisted only when he + had been joined by the workmen at the foot of the ladder-way up the cliff. + All three of the men pelted them with stones for a time, and then hurried + to the cliff top and along the path towards Sidmouth, to secure assistance + and a boat, and to rescue the desecrated body from the clutches of these + abominable creatures. + </p> + <p> + II. — And, as if he had not already been in sufficient peril that + day, Mr. Fison went with the boat to point out the exact spot of his + adventure. + </p> + <p> + As the tide was down, it required a considerable detour to reach the spot, + and when at last they came off the ladder-way, the mangled body had + disappeared. The water was now running in, submerging first one slab of + slimy rock and then another, and the four men in the boat—the + workmen, that is, the boatman, and Mr. Fison—now turned their + attention from the bearings off shore to the water beneath the keel. + </p> + <p> + At first they could see little below them, save a dark jungle of + laminaria, with an occasional darting fish. Their minds were set on + adventure, and they expressed their disappointment freely. But presently + they saw one of the monsters swimming through the water seaward, with a + curious rolling motion that suggested to Mr. Fison the spinning roll of a + captive balloon. Almost immediately after, the waving streamers of + laminaria were extraordinarily perturbed, parted for a moment, and three + of these beasts became darkly visible, struggling for what was probably + some fragment of the drowned man. In a moment the copious olive-green + ribbons had poured again over this writhing group. + </p> + <p> + At that all four men, greatly excited, began beating the water with oars + and shouting, and immediately they saw a tumultuous movement among the + weeds. They desisted to see more clearly, and as soon as the water was + smooth, they saw, as it seemed to them, the whole sea bottom among the + weeds set with eyes. + </p> + <p> + "Ugly swine!" cried one of the men. "Why, there's dozens!" + </p> + <p> + And forthwith the things began to rise through the water about them. Mr. + Fison has since described to the writer this startling eruption out of the + waving laminaria meadows. To him it seemed to occupy a considerable time, + but it is probable that really it was an affair of a few seconds only. For + a time nothing but eyes, and then he speaks of tentacles streaming out and + parting the weed fronds this way and that. Then these things, growing + larger, until at last the bottom was hidden by their intercoiling forms, + and the tips of tentacles rose darkly here and there into the air above + the swell of the waters. + </p> + <p> + One came up boldly to the side of the boat, and clinging to this with + three of its sucker-set tentacles, threw four others over the gunwale, as + if with an intention either of oversetting the boat or of clambering into + it. Mr. Fison at once caught up the boat-hook, and, jabbing furiously at + the soft tentacles, forced it to desist. He was struck in the back and + almost pitched overboard by the boatman, who was using his oar to resist a + similar attack on the other side of the boat. But the tentacles on either + side at once relaxed their hold, slid out of sight, and splashed into the + water. + </p> + <p> + "We'd better get out of this," said Mr. Fison, who was trembling + violently. He went to the tiller, while the boatman and one of the workmen + seated themselves and began rowing. The other workman stood up in the fore + part of the boat, with the boat-hook, ready to strike any more tentacles + that might appear. Nothing else seems to have been said. Mr. Fison had + expressed the common feeling beyond amendment. In a hushed, scared mood, + with faces white and drawn, they set about escaping from the position into + which they had so recklessly blundered. + </p> + <p> + But the oars had scarcely dropped into the water before dark, tapering, + serpentine ropes had bound them, and were about the rudder; and creeping + up the sides of the boat with a looping motion came the suckers again. The + men gripped their oars and pulled, but it was like trying to move a boat + in a floating raft of weeds. "Help here!" cried the boatman, and Mr. Fison + and the second workman rushed to help lug at the oar. + </p> + <p> + Then the man with the boat-hook—his name was Ewan, or Ewen—sprang + up with a curse and began striking downward over the side, as far as he + could reach, at the bank of tentacles that now clustered along the boat's + bottom. And, at the same time, the two rowers stood up to get a better + purchase for the recovery of their oars. The boatman handed his to Mr. + Fison, who lugged desperately, and, meanwhile, the boatman opened a big + clasp-knife, and leaning over the side of the boat, began hacking at the + spiring arms upon the oar shaft. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fison, staggering with the quivering rocking of the boat, his teeth + set, his breath coming short, and the veins starting on his hands as he + pulled at his oar, suddenly cast his eyes seaward. And there, not fifty + yards off, across the long rollers of the incoming tide, was a large boat + standing in towards them, with three women and a little child in it. A + boatman was rowing, and a little man in a pink-ribboned straw hat and + whites stood in the stern hailing them. For a moment, of course, Mr. Fison + thought of help, and then he thought of the child. He abandoned his oar + forthwith, threw up his arms in a frantic gesture, and screamed to the + party in the boat to keep away "for God's sake!" It says much for the + modesty and courage of Mr. Fison that he does not seem to be aware that + there was any quality of heroism in his action at this juncture. The oar + he had abandoned was at once drawn under, and presently reappeared + floating about twenty yards away. + </p> + <p> + At the same moment Mr. Fison felt the boat under him lurch violently, and + a hoarse scream, a prolonged cry of terror from Hill, the boatman, caused + him to forget the party of excursionists altogether. He turned, and saw + Hill crouching by the forward row-lock, his face convulsed with terror, + and his right arm over the side and drawn tightly down. He gave now a + succession of short, sharp cries, "Oh! oh! oh!—oh!" Mr. Fison + believes that he must have been hacking at the tentacles below the + water-line, and have been grasped by them, but, of course, it is quite + impossible to say now certainly what had happened. The boat was heeling + over, so that the gunwale was within ten inches of the water, and both + Ewan and the other labourer were striking down into the water, with oar + and boat-hook, on either side of Hill's arm. Mr. Fison instinctively + placed himself to counterpoise them. + </p> + <p> + Then Hill, who was a burly, powerful man, made a strenuous effort, and + rose almost to a standing position. He lifted his arm, indeed, clean out + of the water. Hanging to it was a complicated tangle of brown ropes, and + the eyes of one of the brutes that had hold of him, glaring straight and + resolute, showed momentarily above the surface. The boat heeled more and + more, and the green-brown water came pouring in a cascade over the side. + Then Hill slipped and fell with his ribs across the side, and his arm and + the mass of tentacles about it splashed back into the water. He rolled + over; his boot kicked Mr. Fison's knee as that gentleman rushed forward to + seize him, and in another moment fresh tentacles had whipped about his + waist and neck, and after a brief, convulsive struggle, in which the boat + was nearly capsized, Hill was lugged overboard. The boat righted with a + violent jerk that all but sent Mr. Fison over the other side, and hid the + struggle in the water from his eyes. + </p> + <p> + He stood staggering to recover his balance for a moment, and as he did so + he became aware that the struggle and the inflowing tide had carried them + close upon the weedy rocks again. Not four yards off a table of rock still + rose in rhythmic movements above the in-wash of the tide. In a moment Mr. + Fison seized the oar from Ewan, gave one vigorous stroke, then dropping + it, ran to the bows and leapt. He felt his feet slide over the rock, and, + by a frantic effort, leapt again towards a further mass. He stumbled over + this, came to his knees, and rose again. + </p> + <p> + "Look out!" cried someone, and a large drab body struck him. He was + knocked flat into a tidal pool by one of the workmen, and as he went down + he heard smothered, choking cries, that he believed at the time came from + Hill. Then he found himself marvelling at the shrillness and variety of + Hill's voice. Someone jumped over him, and a curving rush of foamy water + poured over him, and passed. He scrambled to his feet dripping, and + without looking seaward, ran as fast as his terror would let him + shoreward. Before him, over the flat space of scattered rocks, stumbled + the two work-men—one a dozen yards in front of the other. + </p> + <p> + He looked over his shoulder at last, and seeing that he was not pursued, + faced about. He was astonished. From the moment of the rising of the + cephalopods out of the water he had been acting too swiftly to fully + comprehend his actions. Now it seemed to him as if he had suddenly jumped + out of an evil dream. + </p> + <p> + For there were the sky, cloudless and blazing with the afternoon sun, the + sea weltering under its pitiless brightness, the soft creamy foam of the + breaking water, and the low, long, dark ridges of rock. The righted boat + floated, rising and falling gently on the swell about a dozen yards from + shore. Hill and the monsters, all the stress and tumult of that fierce + fight for life, had vanished as though they had never been. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fison's heart was beating violently; he was throbbing to the + finger-tips, and his breath came deep. + </p> + <p> + There was something missing. For some seconds he could not think clearly + enough what this might be. Sun, sky, sea, rocks—what was it? Then he + remembered the boat-load of excursionists. It had vanished. He wondered + whether he had imagined it. He turned, and saw the two workmen standing + side by side under the projecting masses of the tall pink cliffs. He + hesitated whether he should make one last attempt to save the man Hill. + His physical excitement seemed to desert him suddenly, and leave him + aimless and helpless. He turned shoreward, stumbling and wading towards + his two companions. + </p> + <p> + He looked back again, and there were now two boats floating, and the one + farthest out at sea pitched clumsily, bottom upward. + </p> + <p> + III. — So it was <i>Haploteuthis ferox</i> made its appearance upon + the Devonshire coast. So far, this has been its most serious aggression. + Mr. Fison's account, taken together with the wave of boating and bathing + casualties to which I have already alluded, and the absence of fish from + the Cornish coasts that year, points clearly to a shoal of these voracious + deep-sea monsters prowling slowly along the sub-tidal coast-line. Hunger + migration has, I know, been suggested as the force that drove them hither; + but, for my own part, I prefer to believe the alternative theory of + Hemsley. Hemsley holds that a pack or shoal of these creatures may have + become enamoured of human flesh by the accident of a foundered ship + sinking among them, and have wandered in search of it out of their + accustomed zone; first waylaying and following ships, and so coming to our + shores in the wake of the Atlantic traffic. But to discuss Hemsley's + cogent and admirably-stated arguments would be out of place here. + </p> + <p> + It would seem that the appetites of the shoal were satisfied by the catch + of eleven people—for, so far as can be ascertained, there were ten + people in the second boat, and certainly these creatures gave no further + signs of their presence off Sidmouth that day. The coast between Seaton + and Budleigh Salterton was patrolled all that evening and night by four + Preventive Service boats, the men in which were armed with harpoons and + cutlasses, and as the evening advanced, a number of more or less similarly + equipped expeditions, organised by private individuals, joined them. Mr. + Fison took no part in any of these expeditions. + </p> + <p> + About midnight excited hails were heard from a boat about a couple of + miles out at sea to the south-east of Sidmouth, and a lantern was seen + waving in a strange manner to and fro and up and down. The nearer boats at + once hurried towards the alarm. The venturesome occupants of the boat—a + seaman, a curate, and two schoolboys—had actually seen the monsters + passing under their boat. The creatures, it seems, like most deep-sea + organisms, were phosphorescent, and they had been floating, five fathoms + deep or so, like creatures of moonshine through the blackness of the + water, their tentacles retracted and as if asleep, rolling over and over, + and moving slowly in a wedge-like formation towards the south-east. + </p> + <p> + These people told their story in gesticulated fragments, as first one boat + drew alongside and then another. At last there was a little fleet of eight + or nine boats collected together, and from them a tumult, like the chatter + of a market-place, rose into the stillness of the night. There was little + or no disposition to pursue the shoal, the people had neither weapons nor + experience for such a dubious chase, and presently—even with a + certain relief, it may be—the boats turned shoreward. + </p> + <p> + And now to tell what is perhaps the most astonishing fact in this whole + astonishing raid. We have not the slightest knowledge of the subsequent + movements of the shoal, although the whole south-west coast was now alert + for it. But it may, perhaps, be significant that a cachalot was stranded + off Sark on June 3. Two weeks and three days after this Sidmouth affair, a + living <i>Haploteuthis</i> came ashore on Calais sands. It was alive, + because several witnesses saw its tentacles moving in a convulsive way. + But it is probable that it was dying. A gentleman named Pouchet obtained a + rifle and shot it. + </p> + <p> + That was the last appearance of a living <i>Haploteuthis</i>. No others + were seen on the French coast. On the 15th of June a dead carcass, almost + complete, was washed ashore near Torquay, and a few days later a boat from + the Marine Biological station, engaged in dredging off Plymouth, picked up + a rotting specimen, slashed deeply with a cutlass wound. How the former + had come by its death it is impossible to say. And on the last day of + June, Mr. Egbert Caine, an artist, bathing near Newlyn, threw up his arms, + shrieked, and was drawn under. A friend bathing with him made no attempt + to save him, but swam at once for the shore. This is the last fact to tell + of this extraordinary raid from the deeper sea. Whether it is really the + last of these horrible creatures it is, as yet, premature to say. But it + is believed, and certainly it is to be hoped, that they have returned now, + and returned for good, to the sunless depths of the middle seas, out of + which they have so strangely and so mysteriously arisen. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIV. — THE OBLITERATED MAN. + </h2> + <p> + I was—you shall hear immediately why I am not now—Egbert + Craddock Cummins. The name remains. I am still (Heaven help me!) Dramatic + Critic to the <i>Fiery Cross</i>. What I shall be in a little while I do + not know. I write in great trouble and confusion of mind. I will do what I + can to make myself clear in the face of terrible difficulties. You must + bear with me a little. When a man is rapidly losing his own identity, he + naturally finds a difficulty in expressing himself. I will make it + perfectly plain in a minute, when once I get my grip upon the story. Let + me see—where <i>am</i> I? I wish I knew. Ah, I have it! Dead self! + Egbert Craddock Cummins! + </p> + <p> + In the past I should have disliked writing anything quite so full of "I" + as this story must be. It is full of "I's" before and behind, like the + beast in Revelation—the one with a head like a calf, I am afraid. + But my tastes have changed since I became a Dramatic Critic and studied + the masters—G.A.S., G.B.S., G.R.S., and the others. Everything has + changed since then. At least the story is about myself—so that there + is some excuse for me. And it is really not egotism, because, as I say, + since those days my identity has undergone an entire alteration. + </p> + <p> + That past!... I was—in those days—rather a nice fellow, rather + shy— taste for grey in my clothes, weedy little moustache, face + "interesting," slight stutter which I had caught in my early life from a + schoolfellow. Engaged to a very nice girl, named Delia. Fairly new, she + was— cigarettes—liked me because I was human and original. + Considered I was like Lamb—on the strength of the stutter, I + believe. Father, an eminent authority on postage stamps. She read a great + deal in the British Museum. (A perfect pairing ground for literary people, + that British Museum—you should read George Egerton and Justin Huntly + M'Carthy and Gissing and the rest of them.) We loved in our intellectual + way, and shared the brightest hopes. (All gone now.) And her father liked + me because I seemed honestly eager to hear about stamps. She had no + mother. Indeed, I had the happiest prospects a young man could have. I + never went to theatres in those days. My Aunt Charlotte before she died + had told me not to. + </p> + <p> + Then Barnaby, the editor of the <i>Fiery Cross</i>, made me—in spite + of my spasmodic efforts to escape—Dramatic Critic. He is a fine, + healthy man, Barnaby, with an enormous head of frizzy black hair and a + convincing manner, and he caught me on the staircase going to see Wembly. + He had been dining, and was more than usually buoyant. "Hullo, Cummins!" + he said. "The very man I want!" He caught me by the shoulder or the collar + or something, ran me up the little passage, and flung me over the + waste-paper basket into the arm-chair in his office. "Pray be seated," he + said, as he did so. Then he ran across the room and came back with some + pink and yellow tickets and pushed them into my hand. "Opera Comique," he + said, "Thursday; Friday, the Surrey; Saturday, the Frivolity. That's all, + I think." + </p> + <p> + "But—" I began. + </p> + <p> + "Glad you're free," he said, snatching some proofs off the desk and + beginning to read. + </p> + <p> + "I don't quite understand," I said. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Eigh</i>?" he said, at the top of his voice, as though he thought I + had gone and was startled at my remark. + </p> + <p> + "Do you want me to criticise these plays?" + </p> + <p> + "Do something with 'em... Did you think it was a treat?" + </p> + <p> + "But I can't." + </p> + <p> + "Did you call me a fool?" + </p> + <p> + "Well, I've never been to a theatre in my life." + </p> + <p> + "Virgin soil." + </p> + <p> + "But I don't know anything about it, you know." + </p> + <p> + "That's just it. New view. No habits. No <i>clichis</i> in stock. Ours is + a live paper, not a bag of tricks. None of your clockwork professional + journalism in this office. And I can rely on your integrity——" + </p> + <p> + "But I've conscientious scruples——" + </p> + <p> + He caught me up suddenly and put me outside his door. "Go and talk to + Wembly about that," he said. "He'll explain." + </p> + <p> + As I stood perplexed, he opened the door again, said, "I forgot this," + thrust a fourth ticket into my hand (it was for that night—in twenty + minutes' time) and slammed the door upon me. His expression was quite + calm, but I caught his eye. + </p> + <p> + I hate arguments. I decided that I would take his hint and become (to my + own destruction) a Dramatic Critic. I walked slowly down the passage to + Wembly. That Barnaby has a remarkable persuasive way. He has made few + suggestions during our very pleasant intercourse of four years that he has + not ultimately won me round to adopting. It may be, of course, that I am + of a yielding disposition; certainly I am too apt to take my colour from + my circumstances. It is, indeed, to my unfortunate susceptibility to vivid + impressions that all my misfortunes are due. I have already alluded to the + slight stammer I had acquired from a schoolfellow in my youth. However, + this is a digression... I went home in a cab to dress. + </p> + <p> + I will not trouble the reader with my thoughts about the first-night + audience, strange assembly as it is,—those I reserve for my Memoirs,—nor + the humiliating story of how I got lost during the <i>entr'acte</i> in a + lot of red plush passages, and saw the third act from the gallery. The + only point upon which I wish to lay stress was the remarkable effect of + the acting upon me. You must remember I had lived a quiet and retired + life, and had never been to the theatre before, and that I am extremely + sensitive to vivid impressions. At the risk of repetition I must insist + upon these points. + </p> + <p> + The first effect was a profound amazement, not untinctured by alarm. The + phenomenal unnaturalness of acting is a thing discounted in the minds of + most people by early visits to the theatre. They get used to the fantastic + gestures, the flamboyant emotions, the weird mouthings, melodious + snortings, agonising yelps, lip-gnawings, glaring horrors, and other + emotional symbolism of the stage. It becomes at last a mere deaf-and-dumb + language to them, which they read intelligently <i>pari passu</i> with the + hearing of the dialogue. But all this was new to me. The thing was called + a modern comedy, the people were supposed to be English and were dressed + like fashionable Americans of the current epoch, and I fell into the + natural error of supposing that the actors were trying to represent human + beings. I looked round on my first-night audience with a kind of wonder, + discovered—as all new Dramatic Critics do—that it rested with + me to reform the Drama, and, after a supper choked with emotion, went off + to the office to write a column, piebald with "new paragraphs" (as all my + stuff is—it fills out so) and purple with indignation. Barnaby was + delighted. + </p> + <p> + But I could not sleep that night. I dreamt of actors—actors glaring, + actors smiting their chests, actors flinging out a handful of extended + fingers, actors smiling bitterly, laughing despairingly, falling + hopelessly, dying idiotically. I got up at eleven with a slight headache, + read my notice in the <i>Fiery Cross</i>, breakfasted, and went back to my + room to shave, (It's my habit to do so.) Then an odd thing happened. I + could not find my razor. Suddenly it occurred to me that I had not + unpacked it the day before. + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" said I, in front of the looking-glass. Then "Hullo!" + </p> + <p> + Quite involuntarily, when I had thought of my portmanteau, I had flung up + the left arm (fingers fully extended) and clutched at my diaphragm with my + right hand. I am an acutely self-conscious man at all times. The gesture + struck me as absolutely novel for me. I repeated it, for my own + satisfaction. "Odd!" Then (rather puzzled) I turned to my portmanteau. + </p> + <p> + After shaving, my mind reverted to the acting I had seen, and I + entertained myself before the cheval glass with some imitations of + Jafferay's more exaggerated gestures. "Really, one might think it a + disease," I said—"Stage-Walkitis!" (There's many a truth spoken in + jest.) Then, if I remember rightly, I went off to see Wembly, and + afterwards lunched at the British Museum with Delia. We actually spoke + about our prospects, in the light of my new appointment. + </p> + <p> + But that appointment was the beginning of my downfall. From that day I + necessarily became a persistent theatre-goer, and almost insensibly I + began to change. The next thing I noticed after the gesture about the + razor was to catch myself bowing ineffably when I met Delia, and stooping + in an old-fashioned, courtly way over her hand. Directly I caught myself, + I straightened myself up and became very uncomfortable. I remember she + looked at me curiously. Then, in the office, I found myself doing "nervous + business," fingers on teeth, when Barnaby asked me a question I could not + very well answer. Then, in some trifling difference with Delia, I clasped + my hand to my brow. And I pranced through my social transactions at times + singularly like an actor! I tried not to—no one could be more keenly + alive to the arrant absurdity of the histrionic bearing. And I did! + </p> + <p> + It began to dawn on me what it all meant. The acting, I saw, was too much + for my delicately-strung nervous system. I have always, I know, been too + amenable to the suggestions of my circumstances. Night after night of + concentrated attention to the conventional attitudes and intonation of the + English stage was gradually affecting my speech and carriage. I was giving + way to the infection of sympathetic imitation. Night after night my + plastic nervous system took the print of some new amazing gesture, some + new emotional exaggeration—and retained it. A kind of theatrical + veneer threatened to plate over and obliterate my private individuality + altogether. I saw myself in a kind of vision. Sitting by myself one night, + my new self seemed to me to glide, posing and gesticulating, across the + room. He clutched his throat, he opened his fingers, he opened his legs in + walking like a high-class marionette. He went from attitude to attitude. + He might have been clockwork. Directly after this I made an ineffectual + attempt to resign my theatrical work. But Barnaby persisted in talking + about the Polywhiddle Divorce all the time I was with him, and I could get + no opportunity of saying what I wished. + </p> + <p> + And then Delia's manner began to change towards me. The ease of our + intercourse vanished. I felt she was learning to dislike me. I grinned, + and capered, and scowled, and posed at her in a thousand ways, and knew—with + what a voiceless agony!—that I did it all the time. I tried to + resign again, and Barnaby talked about "X" and "Z" and "Y" in the <i>New + Review,</i> and gave me a strong cigar to smoke, and so routed me. And + then I walked up the Assyrian Gallery in the manner of Irving to meet + Delia, and so precipitated the crisis. + </p> + <p> + "Ah!—<i>Dear</i>!" I said, with more sprightliness and emotion in my + voice than had ever been in all my life before I became (to my own + undoing) a Dramatic Critic. + </p> + <p> + She held out her hand rather coldly, scrutinising my face as she did so. I + prepared, with a new-won grace, to walk by her side. "Egbert," she said, + standing still, and thought. Then she looked at me. + </p> + <p> + I said nothing. I felt what was coming. I tried to be the old Egbert + Craddock Cummins of shambling gait and stammering sincerity, whom she + loved, but I felt even as I did so that I was a new thing, a thing of + surging emotions and mysterious fixity—like no human being that ever + lived, except upon the stage. "Egbert," she said, "you are not yourself." + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" Involuntarily I clutched my diaphragm and averted my head (as is the + way with them). + </p> + <p> + "There!" she said. + </p> + <p> + "<i>What do you mean</i>?" I said, whispering in vocal italics—you + know how they do it—turning on her, perplexity on face, right hand + down, left on brow. I knew quite well what she meant. I knew quite well + the dramatic unreality of my behaviour. But I struggled against it in + vain. "What do you mean?" I said, and, in a kind of hoarse whisper, "I + don't understand!" + </p> + <p> + She really looked as though she disliked me. "What do you keep on posing + for?" she said. "I don't like it. You didn't use to." + </p> + <p> + "Didn't use to!" I said slowly, repeating this twice. I glared up and down + the gallery with short, sharp glances. "We are alone," I said swiftly. "<i>Listen!</i>" + I poked my forefinger towards her, and glared at her. "I am under a + curse." + </p> + <p> + I saw her hand tighten upon her sunshade. "You are under some bad + influence or other," said Delia. "You should give it up. I never knew + anyone change as you have done." + </p> + <p> + "Delia!" I said, lapsing into the pathetic. "Pity me, Augh! Delia! <i>Pit</i>—y + me!" + </p> + <p> + She eyed me critically. "<i>Why</i> you keep playing the fool like this I + don't know," she said. "Anyhow, I really cannot go about with a man who + behaves as you do. You made us both ridiculous on Wednesday. Frankly, I + dislike you, as you are now. I met you here to tell you so—as it's + about the only place where we can be sure of being alone together——" + </p> + <p> + "Delia!" said I, with intensity, knuckles of clenched hands white. "You + don't mean——" + </p> + <p> + "I do," said Delia. "A woman's lot is sad enough at the best of times. But + with you——" + </p> + <p> + I clapped my hand on my brow. + </p> + <p> + "So, good-bye," said Delia, without emotion. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Delia!" I said. "Not <i>this</i>?" + </p> + <p> + "Good-bye, Mr. Cummins," she said. + </p> + <p> + By a violent effort I controlled myself and touched her hand. I tried to + say some word of explanation to her. She looked into my working face and + winced. "I <i>must</i> do it," she said hopelessly. Then she turned from + me and began walking rapidly down the gallery. + </p> + <p> + Heavens! How the human agony cried within me! I loved Delia. But nothing + found expression—I was already too deeply crusted with my acquired + self. + </p> + <p> + "Good-baye!" I said at last, watching her retreating figure. How I hated + myself for doing it! After she had vanished, I repeated in a dreamy way, + "Good-baye!" looking hopelessly round me. Then, with a kind of + heart-broken cry, I shook my clenched fists in the air, staggered to the + pedestal of a winged figure, buried my face in my arms, and made my + shoulders heave. Something within me said "Ass!" as I did so. (I had the + greatest difficulty in persuading the Museum policeman, who was attracted + by my cry of agony, that I was not intoxicated, but merely suffering from + a transient indisposition.) + </p> + <p> + But even this great sorrow has not availed to save me from my fate. I see + it; everyone sees it: I grow more "theatrical" every day. And no one could + be more painfully aware of the pungent silliness of theatrical ways. The + quiet, nervous, but pleasing E.C. Cummins vanishes. I cannot save him. I + am driven like a dead leaf before the winds of March. My tailor even + enters into the spirit of my disorder. He has a peculiar sense of what is + fitting. I tried to get a dull grey suit from him this spring, and he + foisted a brilliant blue upon me, and I see he has put braid down the + sides of my new dress trousers. My hairdresser insists upon giving me a + "wave." + </p> + <p> + I am beginning to associate with actors. I detest them, but it is only in + their company that I can feel I am not glaringly conspicuous. Their talk + infects me. I notice a growing tendency to dramatic brevity, to dashes and + pauses in my style, to a punctuation of bows and attitudes. Barnaby has + remarked it too. I offended Wembly by calling him "Dear Boy" yesterday. I + dread the end, but I cannot escape from it. + </p> + <p> + The fact is, I am being obliterated. Living a grey, retired life all my + youth, I came to the theatre a delicate sketch of a man, a thing of tints + and faint lines. Their gorgeous colouring has effaced me altogether. + People forget how much mode of expression, method of movement, are a + matter of contagion. I have heard of stage-struck people before, and + thought it a figure of speech. I spoke of it jestingly, as a disease. It + is no jest. It is a disease. And I have got it badly! Deep down within me + I protest against the wrong done to my personality—unavailingly. For + three hours or more a week I have to go and concentrate my attention on + some fresh play, and the suggestions of the drama strengthen their awful + hold upon me. My manners grow so flamboyant, my passions so professional, + that I doubt, as I said at the outset, whether it is really myself that + behaves in such a manner. I feel merely the core to this dramatic casing, + that grows thicker and presses upon me—me and mine. I feel like King + John's abbot in his cope of lead. + </p> + <p> + I doubt, indeed, whether I should not abandon the struggle altogether— + leave this sad world of ordinary life for which I am so ill fitted, + abandon the name of Cummins for some professional pseudonym, complete my + self-effacement, and—a thing of tricks and tatters, of posing and + pretence—go upon the stage. It seems my only resort—"to hold + the mirror up to Nature." For in the ordinary life, I will confess, no one + now seems to regard me as both sane and sober. Only upon the stage, I feel + convinced, will people take me seriously. That will be the end of it. I <i>know</i> + that will be the end of it. And yet ... I will frankly confess ... all + that marks off your actor from your common man ... I <i>detest</i>. I am + still largely of my Aunt Charlotte's opinion, that play-acting is unworthy + of a pure-minded man's attention, much more participation. Even now I + would resign my dramatic criticism and try a rest. Only I can't get hold + of Barnaby. Letters of resignation he never notices. He says it is against + the etiquette of journalism to write to your Editor. And when I go to see + him, he gives me another big cigar and some strong whisky and soda, and + then something always turns up to prevent my explanation. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XV. — THE PLATTNER STORY. + </h2> + <p> + Whether the story of Gottfried Plattner is to be credited or not is a + pretty question in the value of evidence. On the one hand, we have seven + witnesses—to be perfectly exact, we have six and a half pairs of + eyes, and one undeniable fact; and on the other we have—what is it?—prejudice, + common-sense, the inertia of opinion. Never were there seven more + honest-seeming witnesses; never was there a more undeniable fact than the + inversion of Gottfried Plattner's anatomical structure, and—never + was there a more preposterous story than the one they have to tell! The + most preposterous part of the story is the worthy Gottfried's contribution + (for I count him as one of the seven). Heaven forbid that I should be led + into giving countenance to superstition by a passion for impartiality, and + so come to share the fate of Eusapia's patrons! Frankly, I believe there + is something crooked about this business of Gottfried Plattner; but what + that crooked factor is, I will admit as frankly, I do not know. I have + been surprised at the credit accorded to the story in the most unexpected + and authoritative quarters. The fairest way to the reader, however, will + be for me to tell it without further comment. + </p> + <p> + Gottfried Plattner is, in spite of his name, a freeborn Englishman. His + father was an Alsatian who came to England in the 'sixties, married a + respectable English girl of unexceptionable antecedents, and died, after a + wholesome and uneventful life (devoted, I understand, chiefly to the + laying of parquet flooring), in 1887. Gottfried's age is seven-and-twenty. + He is, by virtue of his heritage of three languages, Modern Languages + Master in a small private school in the south of England. To the casual + observer he is singularly like any other Modern Languages Master in any + other small private school. His costume is neither very costly nor very + fashionable, but, on the other hand, it is not markedly cheap or shabby; + his complexion, like his height and his bearing, is inconspicuous. You + would notice, perhaps, that, like the majority of people, his face was not + absolutely symmetrical, his right eye a little larger than the left, and + his jaw a trifle heavier on the right side. If you, as an ordinary + careless person, were to bare his chest and feel his heart beating, you + would probably find it quite like the heart of anyone else. But here you + and the trained observer would part company. If you found his heart quite + ordinary, the trained observer would find it quite otherwise. And once the + thing was pointed out to you, you too would perceive the peculiarity + easily enough. It is that Gottfried's heart beats on the right side of his + body. + </p> + <p> + Now, that is not the only singularity of Gottfried's structure, although + it is the only one that would appeal to the untrained mind. Careful + sounding of Gottfried's internal arrangements by a well-known surgeon + seems to point to the fact that all the other unsymmetrical parts of his + body are similarly misplaced. The right lobe of his liver is on the left + side, the left on his right; while his lungs, too, are similarly + contraposed. What is still more singular, unless Gottfried is a consummate + actor, we must believe that his right hand has recently become his left. + Since the occurrences we are about to consider (as impartially as + possible), he has found the utmost difficulty in writing, except from + right to left across the paper with his left hand. He cannot throw with + his right hand, he is perplexed at meal-times between knife and fork, and + his ideas of the rule of the road—he is a cyclist—are still a + dangerous confusion. And there is not a scrap of evidence to show that + before these occurrences Gottfried was at all left-handed. + </p> + <p> + There is yet another wonderful fact in this preposterous business. + Gottfried produces three photographs of himself. You have him at the age + of five or six, thrusting fat legs at you from under a plaid frock, and + scowling. In that photograph his left eye is a little larger than his + right, and his jaw is a trifle heavier on the left side. This is the + reverse of his present living condition. The photograph of Gottfried at + fourteen seems to contradict these facts, but that is because it is one of + those cheap "Gem" photographs that were then in vogue, taken direct upon + metal, and therefore reversing things just as a looking-glass would. The + third photograph represents him at one-and-twenty, and confirms the record + of the others. There seems here evidence of the strongest confirmatory + character that Gottfried has exchanged his left side for his right. Yet + how a human being can be so changed, short of a fantastic and pointless + miracle, it is exceedingly hard to suggest. + </p> + <p> + In one way, of course, these facts might be explicable on the supposition + that Plattner has undertaken an elaborate mystification, on the strength + of his heart's displacement. Photographs may be faked, and left-handedness + imitated. But the character of the man does not lend itself to any such + theory. He is quiet, practical, unobtrusive, and thoroughly sane, from the + Nordau standpoint. He likes beer, and smokes moderately, takes walking + exercise daily, and has a healthily high estimate of the value of his + teaching. He has a good but untrained tenor voice, and takes a pleasure in + singing airs of a popular and cheerful character. He is fond, but not + morbidly fond, of reading,—chiefly fiction pervaded with a vaguely + pious optimism,—sleeps well, and rarely dreams. He is, in fact, the + very last person to evolve a fantastic fable. Indeed, so far from forcing + this story upon the world, he has been singularly reticent on the matter. + He meets enquirers with a certain engaging—bashfulness is almost the + word, that disarms the most suspicious. He seems genuinely ashamed that + anything so unusual has occurred to him. + </p> + <p> + It is to be regretted that Plattner's aversion to the idea of post-mortem + dissection may postpone, perhaps for ever, the positive proof that his + entire body has had its left and right sides transposed. Upon that fact + mainly the credibility of his story hangs. There is no way of taking a man + and moving him about in space as ordinary people understand space, that + will result in our changing his sides. Whatever you do, his right is still + his right, his left his left. You can do that with a perfectly thin and + flat thing, of course. If you were to cut a figure out of paper, any + figure with a right and left side, you could change its sides simply by + lifting it up and turning it over. But with a solid it is different. + Mathematical theorists tell us that the only way in which the right and + left sides of a solid body can be changed is by taking that body clean out + of space as we know it,—taking it out of ordinary existence, that + is, and turning it somewhere outside space. This is a little abstruse, no + doubt, but anyone with any knowledge of mathematical theory will assure + the reader of its truth. To put the thing in technical language, the + curious inversion of Plattner's right and left sides is proof that he has + moved out of our space into what is called the Fourth Dimension, and that + he has returned again to our world. Unless we choose to consider ourselves + the victims of an elaborate and motiveless fabrication, we are almost + bound to believe that this has occurred. + </p> + <p> + So much for the tangible facts. We come now to the account of the + phenomena that attended his temporary disappearance from the world. It + appears that in the Sussexville Proprietary School, Plattner not only + discharged the duties of Modern Languages Master, but also taught + chemistry, commercial geography, bookkeeping, shorthand, drawing, and any + other additional subject to which the changing fancies of the boys' + parents might direct attention. He knew little or nothing of these various + subjects, but in secondary as distinguished from Board or elementary + schools, knowledge in the teacher is, very properly, by no means so + necessary as high moral character and gentlemanly tone. In chemistry he + was particularly deficient, knowing, he says, nothing beyond the Three + Gases (whatever the three gases may be). As, however, his pupils began by + knowing nothing, and derived all their information from him, this caused + him (or anyone) but little inconvenience for several terms. Then a little + boy named Whibble joined the school, who had been educated (it seems) by + some mischievous relative into an inquiring habit of mind. This little boy + followed Plattner's lessons with marked and sustained interest, and in + order to exhibit his zeal on the subject, brought, at various times, + substances for Plattner to analyse. Plattner, flattered by this evidence + of his power of awakening interest, and trusting to the boy's ignorance, + analysed these, and even, made general statements as to their composition. + Indeed, he was so far stimulated by his pupil as to obtain a work upon + analytical chemistry, and study it during his supervision of the evening's + preparation. He was surprised to find chemistry quite an interesting + subject. + </p> + <p> + So far the story is absolutely commonplace. But now the greenish powder + comes upon the scene. The source of that greenish powder seems, + unfortunately, lost. Master Whibble tells a tortuous story of finding it + done up in a packet in a disused limekiln near the Downs. It would have + been an excellent thing for Plattner, and possibly for Master Whibble's + family, if a match could have been applied to that powder there and then. + The young gentleman certainly did not bring it to school in a packet, but + in a common eight-ounce graduated medicine bottle, plugged with masticated + newspaper. He gave it to Plattner at the end of the afternoon school. Four + boys had been detained after school prayers in order to complete some + neglected tasks, and Plattner was supervising these in the small + class-room in which the chemical teaching was conducted. The appliances + for the practical teaching of chemistry in the Sussexville Proprietary + School, as in most small schools in this country, are characterised by a + severe simplicity. They are kept in a small cupboard standing in a recess, + and having about the same capacity as a common travelling trunk. Plattner, + being bored with his passive superintendence, seems to have welcomed the + intervention of Whibble with his green powder as an agreeable diversion, + and, unlocking this cupboard, proceeded at once with his analytical + experiments. Whibble sat, luckily for himself, at a safe distance, + regarding him. The four malefactors, feigning a profound absorption in + their work, watched him furtively with the keenest interest. For even + within the limits of the Three Gases, Plattner's practical chemistry was, + I understand, temerarious. + </p> + <p> + They are practically unanimous in their account of Plattner's proceedings. + He poured a little of the green powder into a test-tube, and tried the + substance with water, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and sulphuric acid + in succession. Getting no result, he emptied out a little heap—nearly + half the bottleful, in fact—upon a slate and tried a match. He held + the medicine bottle in his left hand. The stuff began to smoke and melt, + and then exploded with deafening violence and a blinding flash. + </p> + <p> + The five boys, seeing the flash and being prepared for catastrophes, + ducked below their desks, and were none of them seriously hurt. The window + was blown out into the playground, and the blackboard on its easel was + upset. The slate was smashed to atoms. Some plaster fell from the ceiling. + No other damage was done to the school edifice or appliances, and the boys + at first, seeing nothing of Plattner, fancied he was knocked down and + lying out of their sight below the desks. They jumped out of their places + to go to his assistance, and were amazed to find the space empty. Being + still confused by the sudden violence of the report, they hurried to the + open door, under the impression that he must have been hurt, and have + rushed out of the room. But Carson, the foremost, nearly collided in the + doorway with the principal, Mr. Lidgett. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Lidgett is a corpulent, excitable man with one eye. The boys describe + him as stumbling into the room mouthing some of those tempered expletives + irritable schoolmasters accustom themselves to use—lest worse + befall. "Wretched mumchancer!" he said. "Where's Mr. Plattner?" The boys + are agreed on the very words. ("Wobbler," "snivelling puppy," and + "mumchancer" are, it seems, among the ordinary small change of Mr. + Lidgett's scholastic commerce.) + </p> + <p> + Where's Mr. Plattner? That was a question that was to be repeated many + times in the next few days. It really seemed as though that frantic + hyperbole, "blown to atoms," had for once realised itself. There was not a + visible particle of Plattner to be seen; not a drop of blood nor a stitch + of clothing to be found. Apparently he had been blown clean out of + existence and left not a wrack behind. Not so much as would cover a + sixpenny piece, to quote a proverbial expression! The evidence of his + absolute disappearance as a consequence of that explosion is indubitable. + </p> + <p> + It is not necessary to enlarge here upon the commotion excited in the + Sussexville Proprietary School, and in Sussexville and elsewhere, by this + event. It is quite possible, indeed, that some of the readers of these + pages may recall the hearing of some remote and dying version of that + excitement during the last summer holidays. Lidgett, it would seem, did + everything in his power to suppress and minimise the story. He instituted + a penalty of twenty-five lines for any mention of Plattner's name among + the boys, and stated in the schoolroom that he was clearly aware of his + assistant's whereabouts. He was afraid, he explains, that the possibility + of an explosion happening, in spite of the elaborate precautions taken to + minimise the practical teaching of chemistry, might injure the reputation + of the school; and so might any mysterious quality in Plattner's + departure. Indeed, he did everything in his power to make the occurrence + seem as ordinary as possible. In particular, he cross-examined the five + eye-witnesses of the occurrence so searchingly that they began to doubt + the plain evidence of their senses. But, in spite of these efforts, the + tale, in a magnified and distorted state, made a nine days' wonder in the + district, and several parents withdrew their sons on colourable pretexts. + Not the least remarkable point in the matter is the fact that a large + number of people in the neighbourhood dreamed singularly vivid dreams of + Plattner during the period of excitement before his return, and that these + dreams had a curious uniformity. In almost all of them Plattner was seen, + sometimes singly, sometimes in company, wandering about through a + coruscating iridescence. In all cases his face was pale and distressed, + and in some he gesticulated towards the dreamer. One or two of the boys, + evidently under the influence of nightmare, fancied that Plattner + approached them with remarkable swiftness, and seemed to look closely into + their very eyes. Others fled with Plattner from the pursuit of vague and + extraordinary creatures of a globular shape. But all these fancies were + forgotten in inquiries and speculations when on the Wednesday next but one + after the Monday of the explosion, Plattner returned. + </p> + <p> + The circumstances of his return were as singular as those of his + departure. So far as Mr. Lidgett's somewhat choleric outline can be filled + in from Plattner's hesitating statements, it would appear that on + Wednesday evening, towards the hour of sunset, the former gentleman, + having dismissed evening preparation, was engaged in his garden, picking + and eating strawberries, a fruit of which he is inordinately fond. It is a + large old-fashioned garden, secured from observation, fortunately, by a + high and ivy-covered red-brick wall. Just as he was stooping over a + particularly prolific plant, there was a flash in the air and a heavy + thud, and before he could look round, some heavy body struck him violently + from behind. He was pitched forward, crushing the strawberries he held in + his hand, and that so roughly, that his silk hat—Mr. Lidgett adheres + to the older ideas of scholastic costume—was driven violently down + upon his forehead, and almost over one eye. This heavy missile, which slid + over him sideways and collapsed into a sitting posture among the + strawberry plants, proved to be our long-lost Mr. Gottfried Plattner, in + an extremely dishevelled condition. He was collarless and hatless, his + linen was dirty, and there was blood upon his hands. Mr. Lidgett was so + indignant and surprised that he remained on all-fours, and with his hat + jammed down on his eye, while he expostulated vehemently with Plattner for + his disrespectful and unaccountable conduct. + </p> + <p> + This scarcely idyllic scene completes what I may call the exterior version + of the Plattner story—its exoteric aspect. It is quite unnecessary + to enter here into all the details of his dismissal by Mr. Lidgett. Such + details, with the full names and dates and references, will be found in + the larger report of these occurrences that was laid before the Society + for the Investigation of Abnormal Phenomena. The singular transposition of + Plattner's right and left sides was scarcely observed for the first day or + so, and then first in connection with his disposition to write from right + to left across the blackboard. He concealed rather than ostended this + curious confirmatory circumstance, as he considered it would unfavourably + affect his prospects in a new situation. The displacement of his heart was + discovered some months after, when he was having a tooth extracted under + anaesthetics. He then, very unwillingly, allowed a cursory surgical + examination to be made of himself, with a view to a brief account in the + <i>Journal of Anatomy</i>. That exhausts the statement of the material + facts; and we may now go on to consider Plattner's account of the matter. + </p> + <p> + But first let us clearly differentiate between the preceding portion of + this story and what is to follow. All I have told thus far is established + by such evidence as even a criminal lawyer would approve. Every one of the + witnesses is still alive; the reader, if he have the leisure, may hunt the + lads out to-morrow, or even brave the terrors of the redoubtable Lidgett, + and cross-examine and trap and test to his heart's content; Gottfried + Plattner himself, and his twisted heart and his three photographs, are + producible. It may be taken as proved that he did disappear for nine days + as the consequence of an explosion; that he returned almost as violently, + under circumstances in their nature annoying to Mr. Lidgett, whatever the + details of those circumstances may be; and that he returned inverted, just + as a reflection returns from a mirror. From the last fact, as I have + already stated, it follows almost inevitably that Plattner, during those + nine days, must have been in some state of existence altogether out of + space. The evidence to these statements is, indeed, far stronger than that + upon which most murderers are hanged. But for his own particular account + of where he had been, with its confused explanations and wellnigh + self-contradictory details, we have only Mr. Gottfried Plattner's word. I + do not wish to discredit that, but I must point out—what so many + writers upon obscure psychic phenomena fail to do—that we are + passing here from the practically undeniable to that kind of matter which + any reasonable man is entitled to believe or reject as he thinks proper. + The previous statements render it plausible; its discordance with common + experience tilts it towards the incredible. I would prefer not to sway the + beam of the reader's judgment either way, but simply to tell the story as + Plattner told it me. + </p> + <p> + He gave me his narrative, I may state, at my house at Chislehurst, and so + soon as he had left me that evening, I went into my study and wrote down + everything as I remembered it. Subsequently he was good enough to read + over a type-written copy, so that its substantial correctness is + undeniable. + </p> + <p> + He states that at the moment of the explosion he distinctly thought he was + killed. He felt lifted off his feet and driven forcibly backward. It is a + curious fact for psychologists that he thought clearly during his backward + flight, and wondered whether he should hit the chemistry cupboard or the + blackboard easel. His heels struck ground, and he staggered and fell + heavily into a sitting position on something soft and firm. For a moment + the concussion stunned him. He became aware at once of a vivid scent of + singed hair, and he seemed to hear the voice of Lidgett asking for him. + You will understand that for a time his mind was greatly confused. + </p> + <p> + At first he was under the impression that he was still standing in the + class-room. He perceived quite distinctly the surprise of the boys and the + entry of Mr. Lidgett. He is quite positive upon that score. He did not + hear their remarks; but that he ascribed to the deafening effect of the + experiment. Things about him seemed curiously dark and faint, but his mind + explained that on the obvious but mistaken idea that the explosion had + engendered a huge volume of dark smoke. Through the dimness the figures of + Lidgett and the boys moved, as faint and silent as ghosts. Plattner's face + still tingled with the stinging heat of the flash. He, was, he says, "all + muddled." His first definite thoughts seem to have been of his personal + safety. He thought he was perhaps blinded and deafened. He felt his limbs + and face in a gingerly manner. Then his perceptions grew clearer, and he + was astonished to miss the old familiar desks and other schoolroom + furniture about him. Only dim, uncertain, grey shapes stood in the place + of these. Then came a thing that made him shout aloud, and awoke his + stunned faculties to instant activity. <i>Two of the boys, gesticulating, + walked one after the other clean through him</i>! Neither manifested the + slightest consciousness of his presence. It is difficult to imagine the + sensation he felt. They came against him, he says, with no more force than + a wisp of mist. + </p> + <p> + Plattner's first thought after that was that he was dead. Having been + brought up with thoroughly sound views in these matters, however, he was a + little surprised to find his body still about him. His second conclusion + was that he was not dead, but that the others were: that the explosion had + destroyed the Sussexville Proprietary School and every soul in it except + himself. But that, too, was scarcely satisfactory. He was thrown back upon + astonished observation. + </p> + <p> + Everything about him was profoundly dark: at first it seemed to have an + altogether ebony blackness. Overhead was a black firmament. The only touch + of light in the scene was a faint greenish glow at the edge of the sky in + one direction, which threw into prominence a horizon of undulating black + hills. This, I say, was his impression at first. As his eye grew + accustomed to the darkness, he began to distinguish a faint quality of + differentiating greenish colour in the circumambient night. Against this + background the furniture and occupants of the class-room, it seems, stood + out like phosphorescent spectres, faint and impalpable. He extended his + hand, and thrust it without an effort through the wall of the room by the + fireplace. + </p> + <p> + He describes himself as making a strenuous effort to attract attention. He + shouted to Lidgett, and tried to seize the boys as they went to and fro. + He only desisted from these attempts when Mrs. Lidgett, whom he (as an + Assistant Master) naturally disliked, entered the room. He says the + sensation of being in the world, and yet not a part of it, was an + extraordinarily disagreeable one. He compared his feelings, not inaptly, + to those of a cat watching a mouse through a window. Whenever he made a + motion to communicate with the dim, familiar world about him, he found an + invisible, incomprehensible barrier preventing intercourse. + </p> + <p> + He then turned his attention to his solid environment. He found the + medicine bottle still unbroken in his hand, with the remainder of the + green powder therein. He put this in his pocket, and began to feel about + him. Apparently he was sitting on a boulder of rock covered with a velvety + moss. The dark country about him he was unable to see, the faint, misty + picture of the schoolroom blotting it out, but he had a feeling (due + perhaps to a cold wind) that he was near the crest of a hill, and that a + steep valley fell away beneath his feet. The green glow along the edge of + the sky seemed to be growing in extent and intensity. He stood up, rubbing + his eyes. + </p> + <p> + It would seem that he made a few steps, going steeply downhill, and then + stumbled, nearly fell, and sat down again upon a jagged mass of rock to + watch the dawn. He became aware that the world about him was absolutely + silent. It was as still as it was dark, and though there was a cold wind + blowing up the hill-face, the rustle of grass, the soughing of the boughs + that should have accompanied it, were absent. He could hear, therefore, if + he could not see, that the hillside upon which he stood was rocky and + desolate. The green grew brighter every moment, and as it did so a faint, + transparent blood-red mingled with, but did not mitigate, the blackness of + the sky overhead and the rocky desolations about him. Having regard to + what follows, I am inclined to think that that redness may have been an + optical effect due to contrast. Something black fluttered momentarily + against the livid yellow-green of the lower sky, and then the thin and + penetrating voice of a bell rose out of the black gulf below him. An + oppressive expectation grew with the growing light. + </p> + <p> + It is probable that an hour or more elapsed while he sat there, the + strange green light growing brighter every moment, and spreading slowly, + in flamboyant fingers, upward towards the zenith. As it grew, the spectral + vision of <i>our</i> world became relatively or absolutely fainter. + Probably both, for the time must have been about that of our earthly + sunset. So far as his vision of our world went, Plattner, by his few steps + downhill, had passed through the floor of the class-room, and was now, it + seemed, sitting in mid-air in the larger schoolroom downstairs. He saw the + boarders distinctly, but much more faintly than he had seen Lidgett. They + were preparing their evening tasks, and he noticed with interest that + several were cheating with their Euclid riders by means of a crib, a + compilation whose existence he had hitherto never suspected. As the time + passed, they faded steadily, as steadily as the light of the green dawn + increased. + </p> + <p> + Looking down into the valley, he saw that the light had crept far down its + rocky sides, and that the profound blackness of the abyss was now broken + by a minute green glow, like the light of a glow-worm. And almost + immediately the limb of a huge heavenly body of blazing green rose over + the basaltic undulations of the distant hills, and the monstrous + hill-masses about him came out gaunt and desolate, in green light and + deep, ruddy black shadows. He became aware of a vast number of ball-shaped + objects drifting as thistledown drifts over the high ground. There were + none of these nearer to him than the opposite side of the gorge. The bell + below twanged quicker and quicker, with something like impatient + insistence, and several lights moved hither and thither. The boys at work + at their desks were now almost imperceptibly faint. + </p> + <p> + This extinction of our world, when the green sun of this other universe + rose, is a curious point upon which Plattner insists. During the + Other-World night it is difficult to move about, on account of the + vividness with which the things of this world are visible. It becomes a + riddle to explain why, if this is the case, we in this world catch no + glimpse of the Other-World. It is due, perhaps, to the comparatively vivid + illumination of this world of ours. Plattner describes the midday of the + Other-World, at its brightest, as not being nearly so bright as this world + at full moon, while its night is profoundly black. Consequently, the + amount of light, even in an ordinary dark room, is sufficient to render + the things of the Other-World invisible, on the same principle that faint + phosphorescence is only visible in the profoundest darkness. I have tried, + since he told me his story, to see something of the Other-World by sitting + for a long space in a photographer's dark room at night. I have certainly + seen indistinctly the form of greenish slopes and rocks, but only, I must + admit, very indistinctly indeed. The reader may possibly be more + successful. Plattner tells me that since his return he has dreamt and seen + and recognised places in the Other-World, but this is probably due to his + memory of these scenes. It seems quite possible that people with unusually + keen eyesight may occasionally catch a glimpse of this strange Other-World + about us. + </p> + <p> + However, this is a digression. As the green sun rose, a long street of + black buildings became perceptible, though only darkly and indistinctly, + in the gorge, and after some hesitation, Plattner began to clamber down + the precipitous descent towards them. The descent was long and exceedingly + tedious, being so not only by the extraordinary steepness, but also by + reason of the looseness of the boulders with which the whole face of the + hill was strewn. The noise of his descent—now and then his heels + struck fire from the rocks—seemed now the only sound in the + universe, for the beating of the bell had ceased. As he drew nearer, he + perceived that the various edifices had a singular resemblance to tombs + and mausoleums and monuments, saving only that they were all uniformly + black instead of being white, as most sepulchres are. And then he saw, + crowding out of the largest building, very much as people disperse from + church, a number of pallid, rounded, pale-green figures. These dispersed + in several directions about the broad street of the place, some going + through side alleys and reappearing upon the steepness of the hill, others + entering some of the small black buildings which lined the way. + </p> + <p> + At the sight of these things drifting up towards him, Plattner stopped, + staring. They were not walking, they were indeed limbless, and they had + the appearance of human heads, beneath which a tadpole-like body swung. He + was too astonished at their strangeness, too full, indeed, of strangeness, + to be seriously alarmed by them. They drove towards him, in front of the + chill wind that was blowing uphill, much as soap-bubbles drive before a + draught. And as he looked at the nearest of those approaching, he saw it + was indeed a human head, albeit with singularly large eyes, and wearing + such an expression of distress and anguish as he had never seen before + upon mortal countenance. He was surprised to find that it did not turn to + regard him, but seemed to be watching and following some unseen moving + thing. For a moment he was puzzled, and then it occurred to him that this + creature was watching with its enormous eyes something that was happening + in the world he had just left. Nearer it came, and nearer, and he was too + astonished to cry out. It made a very faint fretting sound as it came + close to him. Then it struck his face with a gentle pat—its touch + was very cold—and drove past him, and upward towards the crest of + the hill. + </p> + <p> + An extraordinary conviction flashed across Plattner's mind that this head + had a strong likeness to Lidgett. Then he turned his attention to the + other heads that were now swarming thickly up the hill-side. None made the + slightest sign of recognition. One or two, indeed, came close to his head + and almost followed the example of the first, but he dodged convulsively + out of the way. Upon most of them he saw the same expression of unavailing + regret he had seen upon the first, and heard the same faint sounds of + wretchedness from them. One or two wept, and one rolling swiftly uphill + wore an expression of diabolical rage. But others were cold, and several + had a look of gratified interest in their eyes. One, at least, was almost + in an ecstasy of happiness. Plattner does not remember that he recognised + any more likenesses in those he saw at this time. + </p> + <p> + For several hours, perhaps, Plattner watched these strange things + dispersing themselves over the hills, and not till long after they had + ceased to issue from the clustering black buildings in the gorge, did he + resume his downward climb. The darkness about him increased so much that + he had a difficulty in stepping true. Overhead the sky was now a bright, + pale green. He felt neither hunger nor thirst. Later, when he did, he + found a chilly stream running down the centre of the gorge, and the rare + moss upon the boulders, when he tried it at last in desperation, was good + to eat. + </p> + <p> + He groped about among the tombs that ran down the gorge, seeking vaguely + for some clue to these inexplicable things. After a long time he came to + the entrance of the big mausoleum-like building from which the heads had + issued. In this he found a group of green lights burning upon a kind of + basaltic altar, and a bell-rope from a belfry overhead hanging down into + the centre of the place. Round the wall ran a lettering of fire in a + character unknown to him. While he was still wondering at the purport of + these things, he heard the receding tramp of heavy feet echoing far down + the street. He ran out into the darkness again, but he could see nothing. + He had a mind to pull the bell-rope, and finally decided to follow the + footsteps. But, although he ran far, he never overtook them; and his + shouting was of no avail. The gorge seemed to extend an interminable + distance. It was as dark as earthly starlight throughout its length, while + the ghastly green day lay along the upper edge of its precipices. There + were none of the heads, now, below. They were all, it seemed, busily + occupied along the upper slopes. Looking up, he saw them drifting hither + and thither, some hovering stationary, some flying swiftly through the + air. It reminded him, he said, of "big snowflakes"; only these were black + and pale green. + </p> + <p> + In pursuing the firm, undeviating footsteps that he never overtook, in + groping into new regions of this endless devil's dyke, in clambering up + and down the pitiless heights, in wandering about the summits, and in + watching the drifting faces, Plattner states that he spent the better part + of seven or eight days. He did not keep count, he says. Though once or + twice he found eyes watching him, he had word with no living soul. He + slept among the rocks on the hillside. In the gorge things earthly were + invisible, because, from the earthly standpoint, it was far underground. + On the altitudes, so soon as the earthly day began, the world became + visible to him. He found himself sometimes stumbling over the dark green + rocks, or arresting himself on a precipitous brink, while all about him + the green branches of the Sussexville lanes were swaying; or, again, he + seemed to be walking through the Sussexville streets, or watching unseen + the private business of some household. And then it was he discovered, + that to almost every human being in our world there pertained some of + these drifting heads; that everyone in the world is watched intermittently + by these helpless disembodiments. + </p> + <p> + What are they—these Watchers of the Living? Plattner never learned. + But two, that presently found and followed him, were like his childhood's + memory of his father and mother. Now and then other faces turned their + eyes upon him: eyes like those of dead people who had swayed him, or + injured him, or helped him in his youth and manhood. Whenever they looked + at him, Plattner was overcome with a strange sense of responsibility. To + his mother he ventured to speak; but she made no answer. She looked sadly, + steadfastly, and tenderly—a little reproachfully, too, it seemed—into + his eyes. + </p> + <p> + He simply tells this story: he does not endeavour to explain. We are left + to surmise who these Watchers of the Living may be, or, if they are indeed + the Dead, why they should so closely and passionately watch a world they + have left for ever. It may be—indeed to my mind it seems just—that, + when our life has closed, when evil or good is no longer a choice for us, + we may still have to witness the working out of the train of consequences + we have laid. If human souls continue after death, then surely human + interests continue after death. But that is merely my own guess at the + meaning of the things seen. Plattner offers no interpretation, for none + was given him. It is well the reader should understand this clearly. Day + after day, with his head reeling, he wandered about this strange lit world + outside the world, weary and, towards the end, weak and hungry. By day—by + our earthly day, that is—the ghostly vision of the old familiar + scenery of Sussexville, all about him, irked and worried him. He could not + see where to put his feet, and ever and again with a chilly touch one of + these Watching Souls would come against his face. And after dark the + multitude of these Watchers about him, and their intent distress, confused + his mind beyond describing. A great longing to return to the earthly life + that was so near and yet so remote consumed him. The unearthliness of + things about him produced a positively painful mental distress. He was + worried beyond describing by his own particular followers. He would shout + at them to desist from staring at him, scold at them, hurry away from + them. They were always mute and intent. Run as he might over the uneven + ground, they followed his destinies. + </p> + <p> + On the ninth day, towards evening, Plattner heard the invisible footsteps + approaching, far away down the gorge. He was then wandering over the broad + crest of the same hill upon which he had fallen in his entry into this + strange Other-World of his. He turned to hurry down into the gorge, + feeling his way hastily, and was arrested by the sight of the thing that + was happening in a room in a back street near the school. Both of the + people in the room he knew by sight. The windows were open, the blinds up, + and the setting sun shone clearly into it, so that it came out quite + brightly at first, a vivid oblong of room, lying like a magic-lantern + picture upon the black landscape and the livid green dawn. In addition to + the sunlight, a candle had just been lit in the room. + </p> + <p> + On the bed lay a lank man, his ghastly white face terrible upon the + tumbled pillow. His clenched hands were raised above his head. A little + table beside the bed carried a few medicine bottles, some toast and water, + and an empty glass. Every now and then the lank man's lips fell apart, to + indicate a word he could not articulate. But the woman did not notice that + he wanted anything, because she was busy turning out papers from an + old-fashioned bureau in the opposite corner of the room. At first the + picture was very vivid indeed, but as the green dawn behind it grew + brighter and brighter, so it became fainter and more and more transparent. + </p> + <p> + As the echoing footsteps paced nearer and nearer, those footsteps that + sound so loud in that Other-World and come so silently in this, Plattner + perceived about him a great multitude of dim faces gathering together out + of the darkness and watching the two people in the room. Never before had + he seen so many of the Watchers of the Living. A multitude had eyes only + for the sufferer in the room, another multitude, in infinite anguish, + watched the woman as she hunted with greedy eyes for something she could + not find. They crowded about Plattner, they came across his sight and + buffeted his face, the noise of their unavailing regrets was all about + him. He saw clearly only now and then. At other times the picture quivered + dimly, through the veil of green reflections upon their movements. In the + room it must have been very still, and Plattner says the candle flame + streamed up into a perfectly vertical line of smoke, but in his ears each + footfall and its echoes beat like a clap of thunder. And the faces! Two, + more particularly near the woman's: one a woman's also, white and + clear-featured, a face which might have once been cold and hard, but which + was now softened by the touch of a wisdom strange to earth. The other + might have been the woman's father. Both were evidently absorbed in the + contemplation of some act of hateful meanness, so it seemed, which they + could no longer guard against and prevent. Behind were others, teachers, + it may be, who had taught ill, friends whose influence had failed. And + over the man, too—a multitude, but none that seemed to be parents or + teachers! Faces that might once have been coarse, now purged to strength + by sorrow! And in the forefront one face, a girlish one, neither angry nor + remorseful, but merely patient and weary, and, as it seemed to Plattner, + waiting for relief. His powers of description fail him at the memory of + this multitude of ghastly countenances. They gathered on the stroke of the + bell. He saw them all in the space of a second. It would seem that he was + so worked on by his excitement that, quite involuntarily, his restless + fingers took the bottle of green powder out of his pocket and held it + before him. But he does not remember that. + </p> + <p> + Abruptly the footsteps ceased. He waited for the next, and there was + silence, and then suddenly, cutting through the unexpected stillness like + a keen, thin blade, came the first stroke of the bell. At that the + multitudinous faces swayed to and fro, and a louder crying began all about + him. The woman did not hear; she was burning something now in the candle + flame. At the second stroke everything grew dim, and a breath of wind, icy + cold, blew through the host of watchers. They swirled about him like an + eddy of dead leaves in the spring, and at the third stroke something was + extended through them to the bed. You have heard of a beam of light. This + was like a beam of darkness, and looking again at it, Plattner saw that it + was a shadowy arm and hand. + </p> + <p> + The green sun was now topping the black desolations of the horizon, and + the vision of the room was very faint. Plattner could see that the white + of the bed struggled, and was convulsed; and that the woman looked round + over her shoulder at it, startled. + </p> + <p> + The cloud of watchers lifted high like a puff of green dust before the + wind, and swept swiftly downward towards the temple in the gorge. Then + suddenly Plattner understood the meaning of the shadowy black arm that + stretched across his shoulder and clutched its prey. He did not dare turn + his head to see the Shadow behind the arm. With a violent effort, and + covering his eyes, he set himself to run, made, perhaps, twenty strides, + then slipped on a boulder, and fell. He fell forward on his hands; and the + bottle smashed and exploded as he touched the ground. + </p> + <p> + In another moment he found himself, stunned and bleeding, sitting face to + face with Lidgett in the old walled garden behind the school. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + There the story of Plattner's experiences ends. I have resisted, I believe + successfully, the natural disposition of a writer of fiction to dress up + incidents of this sort. I have told the thing as far as possible in the + order in which Plattner told it to me. I have carefully avoided any + attempt at style, effect, or construction. It would have been easy, for + instance, to have worked the scene of the death-bed into a kind of plot in + which Plattner might have been involved. But, quite apart from the + objectionableness of falsifying a most extraordinary true story, any such + trite devices would spoil, to my mind, the peculiar effect of this dark + world, with its livid green illumination and its drifting Watchers of the + Living, which, unseen and unapproachable to us, is yet lying all about us. + </p> + <p> + It remains to add that a death did actually occur in Vincent Terrace, just + beyond the school garden, and, so far as can be proved, at the moment of + Plattner's return. Deceased was a rate-collector and insurance agent. His + widow, who was much younger than himself, married last month a Mr. + Whymper, a veterinary surgeon of Allbeeding. As the portion of this story + given here has in various forms circulated orally in Sussexville, she has + consented to my use of her name, on condition that I make it distinctly + known that she emphatically contradicts every detail of Plattner's account + of her husband's last moments. She burnt no will, she says, although + Plattner never accused her of doing so; her husband made but one will, and + that just after their marriage. Certainly, from a man who had never seen + it, Plattner's account of the furniture of the room was curiously + accurate. + </p> + <p> + One other thing, even at the risk of an irksome repetition, I must insist + upon, lest I seem to favour the credulous, superstitious view. Plattner's + absence from the world for nine days is, I think, proved. But that does + not prove his story. It is quite conceivable that even outside space + hallucinations may be possible. That, at least, the reader must bear + distinctly in mind. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVI. — THE RED ROOM. + </h2> + <p> + "I can assure you," said I, "that it will take a very tangible ghost to + frighten me." And I stood up before the fire with my glass in my hand. + </p> + <p> + "It is your own choosing," said the man with the withered arm, and glanced + at me askance. + </p> + <p> + "Eight-and-twenty years," said I, "I have lived, and never a ghost have I + seen as yet." + </p> + <p> + The old woman sat staring hard into the fire, her pale eyes wide open. + "Ay," she broke in; "and eight-and-twenty years you have lived and never + seen the likes of this house, I reckon. There's a many things to see, when + one's still but eight-and-twenty." She swayed her head slowly from side to + side. "A many things to see and sorrow for." + </p> + <p> + I half suspected the old people were trying to enhance the spiritual + terrors of their house by their droning insistence. I put down my empty + glass on the table and looked about the room, and caught a glimpse of + myself, abbreviated and broadened to an impossible sturdiness, in the + queer old mirror at the end of the room. "Well," I said, "if I see + anything to-night, I shall be so much the wiser. For I come to the + business with an open mind." + </p> + <p> + "It's your own choosing," said the man with the withered arm once more. + </p> + <p> + I heard the sound of a stick and a shambling step on the flags in the + passage outside, and the door creaked on its hinges as a second old man + entered, more bent, more wrinkled, more aged even than the first. He + supported himself by a single crutch, his eyes were covered by a shade, + and his lower lip, half averted, hung pale and pink from his decaying + yellow teeth. He made straight for an arm-chair on the opposite side of + the table, sat down clumsily, and began to cough. The man with the + withered arm gave this new-comer a short glance of positive dislike; the + old woman took no notice of his arrival, but remained with her eyes fixed + steadily on the fire. + </p> + <p> + "I said—it's your own choosing," said the man with the withered arm, + when the coughing had ceased for a while. + </p> + <p> + "It's my own choosing," I answered. + </p> + <p> + The man with the shade became aware of my presence for the first time, and + threw his head back for a moment and sideways, to see me. I caught a + momentary glimpse of his eyes, small and bright and inflamed. Then he + began to cough and splutter again. + </p> + <p> + "Why don't you drink?" said the man with the withered arm, pushing the + beer towards him. The man with the shade poured out a glassful with a + shaky hand that splashed half as much again on the deal table. A monstrous + shadow of him crouched upon the wall and mocked his action as he poured + and drank. I must confess I had scarce expected these grotesque + custodians. There is to my mind something inhuman in senility, something + crouching and atavistic; the human qualities seem to drop from old people + insensibly day by day. The three of them made me feel uncomfortable, with + their gaunt silences, their bent carriage, their evident unfriendliness to + me and to one another. + </p> + <p> + "If," said I, "you will show me to this haunted room of yours, I will make + myself comfortable there." + </p> + <p> + The old man with the cough jerked his head back so suddenly that it + startled me, and shot another glance of his red eyes at me from under the + shade; but no one answered me. I waited a minute, glancing from one to the + other. + </p> + <p> + "If," I said a little louder, "if you will show me to this haunted room of + yours, I will relieve you from the task of entertaining me." + </p> + <p> + "There's a candle on the slab outside the door," said the man with the + withered arm, looking at my feet as he addressed me. "But if you go to the + red room to-night——" + </p> + <p> + ("This night of all nights!" said the old woman.) + </p> + <p> + "You go alone." + </p> + <p> + "Very well," I answered. "And which way do I go?" + </p> + <p> + "You go along the passage for a bit," said he, "until you come to a door, + and through that is a spiral staircase, and half-way up that is a landing + and another door covered with baize. Go through that and down the long + corridor to the end, and the red room is on your left up the steps." + </p> + <p> + "Have I got that right?" I said, and repeated his directions. He corrected + me in one particular. + </p> + <p> + "And are you really going?" said the man with the shade, looking at me + again for the third time, with that queer, unnatural tilting of the face. + </p> + <p> + ("This night of all nights!" said the old woman.) + </p> + <p> + "It is what I came for," I said, and moved towards the door. As I did so, + the old man with the shade rose and staggered round the table, so as to be + closer to the others and to the fire. At the door I turned and looked at + them, and saw they were all close together, dark against the firelight, + staring at me over their shoulders, with an intent expression on their + ancient faces. + </p> + <p> + "Good-night," I said, setting the door open. + </p> + <p> + "It's your own choosing," said the man with the withered arm. + </p> + <p> + I left the door wide open until the candle was well alight, and then I + shut them in and walked down the chilly, echoing passage. + </p> + <p> + I must confess that the oddness of these three old pensioners in whose + charge her ladyship had left the castle, and the deep-toned, old-fashioned + furniture of the housekeeper's room in which they foregathered, affected + me in spite of my efforts to keep myself at a matter-of-fact phase. They + seemed to belong to another age, an older age, an age when things + spiritual were different from this of ours, less certain; an age when + omens and witches were credible, and ghosts beyond denying. Their very + existence was spectral; the cut of their clothing, fashions born in dead + brains. The ornaments and conveniences of the room about them were ghostly—the + thoughts of vanished men, which still haunted rather than participated in + the world of to-day. But with an effort I sent such thoughts to the + right-about. The long, draughty subterranean passage was chilly and dusty, + and my candle flared and made the shadows cower and quiver. The echoes + rang up and down the spiral staircase, and a shadow came sweeping up after + me, and one fled before me into the darkness overhead. I came to the + landing and stopped there for a moment, listening to a rustling that I + fancied I heard; then, satisfied of the absolute silence, I pushed open + the baize-covered door and stood in the corridor. + </p> + <p> + The effect was scarcely what I expected, for the moonlight, coming in by + the great window on the grand staircase, picked out everything in vivid + black shadow or silvery illumination. Everything was in its place: the + house might have been deserted on the yesterday instead of eighteen months + ago. There were candles in the sockets of the sconces, and whatever dust + had gathered on the carpets or upon the polished flooring was distributed + so evenly as to be invisible in the moonlight. I was about to advance, and + stopped abruptly. A bronze group stood upon the landing, hidden from me by + the corner of the wall, but its shadow fell with marvellous distinctness + upon the white panelling, and gave me the impression of someone crouching + to waylay me. I stood rigid for half a minute perhaps. Then, with my hand + in the pocket that held my revolver, I advanced, only to discover a + Ganymede and Eagle glistening in the moonlight. That incident for a time + restored my nerve, and a porcelain Chinaman on a buhl table, whose head + rocked silently as I passed him, scarcely startled me. + </p> + <p> + The door to the red room and the steps up to it were in a shadowy corner. + I moved my candle from side to side, in order to see clearly the nature of + the recess in which I stood before opening the door. Here it was, thought + I, that my predecessor was found, and the memory of that story gave me a + sudden twinge of apprehension. I glanced over my shoulder at the Ganymede + in the moonlight, and opened the door of the red room rather hastily, with + my face half turned to the pallid silence of the landing. + </p> + <p> + I entered, closed the door behind me at once, turned the key I found in + the lock within, and stood with the candle held aloft, surveying the scene + of my vigil, the great red room of Lorraine Castle, in which the young + duke had died. Or, rather, in which he had begun his dying, for he had + opened the door and fallen headlong down the steps I had just ascended. + That had been the end of his vigil, of his gallant attempt to conquer the + ghostly tradition of the place, and never, I thought, had apoplexy better + served the ends of superstition. And there were other and older stories + that clung to the room, back to the half-credible beginning of it all, the + tale of a timid wife and the tragic end that came to her husband's jest of + frightening her. And looking around that large sombre room, with its + shadowy window bays, its recesses and alcoves, one could well understand + the legends that had sprouted in its black corners, its germinating + darkness. My candle was a little tongue of light in its vastness, that + failed to pierce the opposite end of the room, and left an ocean of + mystery and suggestion beyond its island of light. + </p> + <p> + I resolved to make a systematic examination of the place at once, and + dispel the fanciful suggestions of its obscurity before they obtained a + hold upon me. After satisfying myself of the fastening of the door, I + began to walk about the room, peering round each article of furniture, + tucking up the valances of the bed, and opening its curtains wide. I + pulled up the blinds and examined the fastenings of the several windows + before closing the shutters, leant forward and looked up the blackness of + the wide chimney, and tapped the dark oak panelling for any secret + opening. There were two big mirrors in the room, each with a pair of + sconces bearing candles, and on the mantelshelf, too, were more candles in + china candlesticks. All these I lit one after the other. The fire was + laid, an unexpected consideration from the old housekeeper,—and I + lit it, to keep down any disposition to shiver, and when it was burning + well, I stood round with my back to it and regarded the room again. I had + pulled up a chintz-covered arm-chair and a table, to form a kind of + barricade before me, and on this lay my revolver ready to hand. My precise + examination had done me good, but I still found the remoter darkness of + the place, and its perfect stillness, too stimulating for the imagination. + The echoing of the stir and crackling of the fire was no sort of comfort + to me. The shadow in the alcove at the end in particular, had that + undefinable quality of a presence, that odd suggestion of a lurking, + living thing, that comes so easily in silence and solitude. At last, to + reassure myself, I walked with a candle into it, and satisfied myself that + there was nothing tangible there. I stood that candle upon the floor of + the alcove, and left it in that position. + </p> + <p> + By this time I was in a state of considerable nervous tension, although to + my reason there was no adequate cause for the condition. My mind, however, + was perfectly clear. I postulated quite unreservedly that nothing + supernatural could happen, and to pass the time I began to string some + rhymes together, Ingoldsby fashion, of the original legend of the place. A + few I spoke aloud, but the echoes were not pleasant. For the same reason I + also abandoned, after a time, a conversation with myself upon the + impossibility of ghosts and haunting. My mind reverted to the three old + and distorted people downstairs, and I tried to keep it upon that topic. + The sombre reds and blacks of the room troubled, me; even with seven + candles the place was merely dim. The one in the alcove flared in a + draught, and the fire-flickering kept the shadows and penumbra perpetually + shifting and stirring. Casting about for a remedy, I recalled the candles + I had seen in the passage, and, with a slight effort, walked out into the + moonlight, carrying a candle and leaving the door open, and presently + returned with as many as ten. These I put in various knick-knacks of china + with which the room was sparsely adorned, lit and placed where the shadows + had lain deepest, some on the floor, some in the window recesses, until at + last my seventeen candles were so arranged that not an inch of the room + but had the direct light of at least one of them. It occurred to me that + when the ghost came, I could warn him not to trip over them. The room was + now quite brightly illuminated. There was something very cheery and + reassuring in these little streaming flames, and snuffing them gave me an + occupation, and afforded a helpful sense of the passage of time. Even with + that, however, the brooding expectation of the vigil weighed heavily upon + me. It was after midnight that the candle in the alcove suddenly went out, + and the black shadow sprang back to its place there. I did not see the + candle go out; I simply turned and saw that the darkness was there, as one + might start and see the unexpected presence of a stranger. "By Jove!" said + I aloud; "that draught's a strong one!" and, taking the matches from the + table, I walked across the room in a leisurely manner, to relight the + corner again. My first match would not strike, and as I succeeded with the + second, something seemed to blink on the wall before me. I turned my head + involuntarily, and saw that the two candles on the little table by the + fireplace were extinguished. I rose at once to my feet. + </p> + <p> + "Odd!" I said. "Did I do that myself in a flash of absent-mindedness?" + </p> + <p> + I walked back, relit one, and as I did so, I saw the candle in the right + sconce of one of the mirrors wink and go right out, and almost immediately + its companion followed it. There was no mistake about it. The flame + vanished, as if the wicks had been suddenly nipped between a finger and a + thumb, leaving the wick neither glowing nor smoking, but black. While I + stood gaping, the candle at the foot of the bed went out, and the shadows + seemed to take another step towards me. + </p> + <p> + "This won't do!" said I, and first one and then another candle on the + mantelshelf followed. + </p> + <p> + "What's up?" I cried, with a queer high note getting into my voice + somehow. At that the candle on the wardrobe went out, and the one I had + relit in the alcove followed. + </p> + <p> + "Steady on!" I said. "These candles are wanted," speaking with a + half-hysterical facetiousness, and scratching away at a match the while + for the mantel candlesticks. My hands trembled so much that twice I missed + the rough paper of the matchbox. As the mantel emerged from darkness + again, two candles in the remoter end of the window were eclipsed. But + with the same match I also relit the larger mirror candles, and those on + the floor near the doorway, so that for the moment I seemed to gain on the + extinctions. But then in a volley there vanished four lights at once in + different corners of the room, and I struck another match in quivering + haste, and stood hesitating whither to take it. + </p> + <p> + As I stood undecided, an invisible hand seemed to sweep out the two + candles on the table. With a cry of terror, I dashed at the alcove, then + into the corner, and then into the window, relighting three, as two more + vanished by the fireplace; then, perceiving a better way, I dropped the + matches on the iron-bound deed-box in the corner, and caught up the + bedroom candlestick. With this I avoided the delay of striking matches; + but for all that the steady process of extinction went on, and the shadows + I feared and fought against returned, and crept in upon me, first a step + gained on this side of me and then on that. It was like a ragged + storm-cloud sweeping out the stars. Now and then one returned for a + minute, and was lost again. I was now almost frantic with the horror of + the coming darkness, and my self-possession deserted me. I leaped panting + and dishevelled from candle to candle, in a vain struggle against that + remorseless advance. + </p> + <p> + I bruised myself on the thigh against the table, I sent a chair headlong, + I stumbled and fell and whisked the cloth from the table in my fall. My + candle rolled away from me, and I snatched another as I rose. Abruptly + this was blown out, as I swung it off the table by the wind of my sudden + movement, and immediately the two remaining candles followed. But there + was light still in the room, a red light that staved off the shadows from + me. The fire! Of course I could still thrust my candle between the bars + and relight it! + </p> + <p> + I turned to where the flames were still dancing between the glowing coals, + and splashing red reflections upon the furniture, made two steps towards + the grate, and incontinently the flames dwindled and vanished, the glow + vanished, the reflections rushed together and vanished, and as I thrust + the candle between the bars darkness closed upon me like the shutting of + an eye, wrapped about me in a stifling embrace, sealed my vision, and + crushed the last vestiges of reason from my brain. The candle fell from my + hand. I flung out my arms in a vain effort to thrust that ponderous + blackness away from me, and, lifting up my voice, screamed with all my + might—once, twice, thrice. Then I think I must have staggered to my + feet. I know I thought suddenly of the moonlit corridor, and, with my head + bowed and my arms over my face, made a run for the door. + </p> + <p> + But I had forgotten the exact position of the door, and struck myself + heavily against the corner of the bed. I staggered back, turned, and was + either struck or struck myself against some other bulky furniture. I have + a vague memory of battering myself thus, to and fro in the darkness, of a + cramped struggle, and of my own wild crying as I darted to and fro, of a + heavy blow at last upon my forehead, a horrible sensation of falling that + lasted an age, of my last frantic effort to keep my footing, and then I + remember no more. + </p> + <p> + I opened my eyes in daylight. My head was roughly bandaged, and the man + with the withered arm was watching my face. I looked about me, trying to + remember what had happened, and for a space I could not recollect. I + rolled my eyes into the corner, and saw the old woman, no longer + abstracted, pouring out some drops of medicine from a little blue phial + into a glass. "Where am I?" I asked; "I seem to remember you, and yet I + cannot remember who you are." + </p> + <p> + They told me then, and I heard of the haunted Red Room as one who hears a + tale. "We found you at dawn," said he, "and there was blood on your + forehead and lips." + </p> + <p> + It was very slowly I recovered my memory of my experience. "You believe + now," said the old man, "that the room is haunted?" He spoke no longer as + one who greets an intruder, but as one who grieves for a broken friend. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said I; "the room is haunted." + </p> + <p> + "And you have seen it. And we, who have lived here all our lives, have + never set eyes upon it. Because we have never dared... Tell us, is it + truly the old earl who——" + </p> + <p> + "No," said I; "it is not." + </p> + <p> + "I told you so," said the old lady, with the glass in her hand. "It is his + poor young countess who was frightened——" + </p> + <p> + "It is not," I said. "There is neither ghost of earl nor ghost of countess + in that room, there is no ghost there at all; but worse, far worse——" + </p> + <p> + "Well?" they said. + </p> + <p> + "The worst of all the things that haunt poor mortal man," said I; "and + that is, in all its nakedness—Fear that will not have light nor + sound, that will not bear with reason, that deafens and darkens and + overwhelms. It followed me through the corridor, it fought against me in + the room——" + </p> + <p> + I stopped abruptly. There was an interval of silence. My hand went up to + my bandages. + </p> + <p> + Then the man with the shade sighed and spoke. "That is it," said he. "I + knew that was it. A power of darkness. To put such a curse upon a woman! + It lurks there always. You can feel it even in the daytime, even of a + bright summer's day, in the hangings, in the curtains, keeping behind you + however you face about. In the dusk it creeps along the corridor and + follows you, so that you dare not turn. There is Fear in that room of hers—black + Fear, and there will be—so long as this house of sin endures." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVII. — THE PURPLE PILEUS + </h2> + <p> + Mr. Coombes was sick of life. He walked away from his unhappy home, and, + sick not only of his own existence but of everybody else's, turned aside + down Gaswork Lane to avoid the town, and, crossing the wooden bridge that + goes over the canal to Starling's Cottages, was presently alone in the + damp pine woods and out of sight and sound of human habitation. He would + stand it no longer. He repeated aloud with blasphemies unusual to him that + he would stand it no longer. + </p> + <p> + He was a pale-faced little man, with dark eyes and a fine and very black + moustache. He had a very stiff, upright collar slightly frayed, that gave + him an illusory double chin, and his overcoat (albeit shabby) was trimmed + with astrachan. His gloves were a bright brown with black stripes over the + knuckles, and split at the finger ends. His appearance, his wife had said + once in the dear, dead days beyond recall—before he married her, + that is—was military. But now she called him—it seems a + dreadful thing to tell of between husband and wife, but she called him "a + little grub." It wasn't the only thing she had called him, either. + </p> + <p> + The row had arisen about that beastly Jennie again. Jennie was his wife's + friend, and, by no invitation of Mr. Coombes, she came in every blessed + Sunday to dinner, and made a shindy all the afternoon. She was a big, + noisy girl, with a taste for loud colours and a strident laugh; and this + Sunday she had outdone all her previous intrusions by bringing in a fellow + with her, a chap as showy as herself. And Mr. Coombes, in a starchy, clean + collar and his Sunday frock-coat, had sat dumb and wrathful at his own + table, while his wife and her guests talked foolishly and undesirably, and + laughed aloud. Well, he stood that, and after dinner (which, "as usual," + was late), what must Miss Jennie do but go to the piano and play banjo + tunes, for all the world as if it were a week-day! Flesh and blood could + not endure such goings on. They would hear next door, they would hear in + the road, it was a public announcement of their disrepute. He had to + speak. + </p> + <p> + He had felt himself go pale, and a kind of rigour had affected his + respiration as he delivered himself. He had been sitting on one of the + chairs by the window—the new guest had taken possession of the + arm-chair. He turned his head. "Sun Day!" he said over the collar, in the + voice of one who warns. "Sun Day!" What people call a "nasty" tone, it + was. + </p> + <p> + Jennie had kept on playing, but his wife, who was looking through some + music that was piled on the top of the piano, had stared at him. "What's + wrong now?" she said; "can't people enjoy themselves?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't mind rational 'njoyment, at all," said little Coombes, "but I + ain't a-going to have week-day tunes playing on a Sunday in this house." + </p> + <p> + "What's wrong with my playing now?" said Jennie, stopping and twirling + round on the music-stool with a monstrous rustle of flounces. + </p> + <p> + Coombes saw it was going to be a row, and opened too vigorously, as is + common with your timid, nervous men all the world over. "Steady on with + that music-stool!" said he; "it ain't made for 'eavy-weights." + </p> + <p> + "Never you mind about weights," said Jennie, incensed. "What was you + saying behind my back about my playing?" + </p> + <p> + "Surely you don't 'old with not having a bit of music on a Sunday, Mr. + Coombes?" said the new guest, leaning back in the arm-chair, blowing a + cloud of cigarette smoke and smiling in a kind of pitying way. And + simultaneously his wife said something to Jennie about "Never mind 'im. + You go on, Jinny." + </p> + <p> + "I do," said Mr. Coombes, addressing the new guest. + </p> + <p> + "May I arst why?" said the new guest, evidently enjoying both his + cigarette and the prospect of an argument. He was, by-the-by, a lank young + man, very stylishly dressed in bright drab, with a white cravat and a + pearl and silver pin. It had been better taste to come in a black coat, + Mr. Coombes thought. + </p> + <p> + "Because," began Mr. Coombes, "it don't suit me. I'm a business man. I + 'ave to study my connection. Rational 'njoyment—" + </p> + <p> + "His connection!" said Mrs. Coombes scornfully. "That's what he's always + a-saying. We got to do this, and we got to do that—" + </p> + <p> + "If you don't mean to study my connection," said Mr. Coombes, "what did + you marry me for?" + </p> + <p> + "I wonder," said Jennie, and turned back to the piano. + </p> + <p> + "I never saw such a man as you," said Mrs. Coombes. + </p> + <p> + "You've altered all round since we were married. Before—" + </p> + <p> + Then Jennie began at the turn, turn, turn again. + </p> + <p> + "Look here!" said Mr. Coombes, driven at last to revolt, standing up and + raising his voice. "I tell you I won't have that." The frock-coat heaved + with his indignation. + </p> + <p> + "No vi'lence, now," said the long young man in drab, sitting up. + </p> + <p> + "Who the juice are you?" said Mr. Coombes fiercely. + </p> + <p> + Whereupon they all began talking at once. The new guest said he was + Jennie's "intended," and meant to protect her, and Mr. Coombes said he was + welcome to do so anywhere but in his (Mr. Coombes') house; and Mrs. + Coombes said he ought to be ashamed of insulting his guests, and (as I + have already mentioned) that he was getting a regular little grub; and the + end was, that Mr. Coombes ordered his visitors out of the house, and they + wouldn't go, and so he said he would go himself. With his face burning and + tears of excitement in his eyes, he went into the passage, and as he + struggled with his overcoat—his frock-coat sleeves got concertinaed + up his arm—and gave a brush at his silk hat, Jennie began again at + the piano, and strummed him insultingly out of the house. Turn, turn, + turn. He slammed the shop door so that the house quivered. That, briefly, + was the immediate making of his mood. You will perhaps begin to understand + his disgust with existence. + </p> + <p> + As he walked along the muddy path under the firs,—it was late + October, and the ditches and heaps of fir needles were gorgeous with + clumps of fungi,—he recapitulated the melancholy history of his + marriage. It was brief and commonplace enough. He now perceived with + sufficient clearness that his wife had married him out of a natural + curiosity and in order to escape from her worrying, laborious, and + uncertain life in the workroom; and, like the majority of her class, she + was far too stupid to realise that it was her duty to co-operate with him + in his business. She was greedy of enjoyment, loquacious, and + socially-minded, and evidently disappointed to find the restraints of + poverty still hanging about her. His worries exasperated her, and the + slightest attempt to control her proceedings resulted in a charge of + "grumbling." Why couldn't he be nice— as he used to be? And Coombes + was such a harmless little man, too, nourished mentally on <i>Self-Help</i>, + and with a meagre ambition of self-denial and competition, that was to end + in a "sufficiency." Then Jennie came in as a female Mephistopheles, a + gabbling chronicle of "fellers," and was always wanting his wife to go to + theatres, and "all that." And in addition were aunts of his wife, and + cousins (male and female) to eat up capital, insult him personally, upset + business arrangements, annoy good customers, and generally blight his + life. It was not the first occasion by many that Mr. Coombes had fled his + home in wrath and indignation, and something like fear, vowing furiously + and even aloud that he wouldn't stand it, and so frothing away his energy + along the line of least resistance. But never before had he been quite so + sick of life as on this particular Sunday afternoon. The Sunday dinner may + have had its share in his despair—and the greyness of the sky. + Perhaps, too, he was beginning to realise his unendurable frustration as a + business man as the consequence of his marriage. Presently bankruptcy, and + after that—— Perhaps she might have reason to repent when it + was too late. And destiny, as I have already intimated, had planted the + path through the wood with evil-smelling fungi, thickly and variously + planted it, not only on the right side, but on the left. + </p> + <p> + A small shopman is in such a melancholy position, if his wife turns out a + disloyal partner. His capital is all tied up in his business, and to leave + her means to join the unemployed in some strange part of the earth. The + luxuries of divorce are beyond him altogether. So that the good old + tradition of marriage for better or worse holds inexorably for him, and + things work up to tragic culminations. Bricklayers kick their wives to + death, and dukes betray theirs; but it is among the small clerks and + shopkeepers nowadays that it comes most often to a cutting of throats. + Under the circumstances it is not so very remarkable—and you must + take it as charitably as you can—that the mind of Mr. Coombes ran + for a while on some such glorious close to his disappointed hopes, and + that he thought of razors, pistols, bread-knives, and touching letters to + the coroner denouncing his enemies by name, and praying piously for + forgiveness. After a time his fierceness gave way to melancholia. He had + been married in this very overcoat, in his first and only frock-coat that + was buttoned up beneath it. He began to recall their courting along this + very walk, his years of penurious saving to get capital, and the bright + hopefulness of his marrying days. For it all to work out like this! Was + there no sympathetic ruler anywhere in the world? He reverted to death as + a topic. + </p> + <p> + He thought of the canal he had just crossed, and doubted whether he + shouldn't stand with his head out, even in the middle, and it was while + drowning was in his mind that the purple pileus caught his eye. He looked + at it mechanically for a moment, and stopped and stooped towards it to + pick it up, under the impression that it was some such small leather + object as a purse. Then he saw that it was the purple top of a fungus, a + peculiarly poisonous-looking purple: slimy, shiny, and emitting a sour + odour. He hesitated with his hand an inch or so from it, and the thought + of poison crossed his mind. With that he picked the thing, and stood up + again with it in his hand. + </p> + <p> + The odour was certainly strong—acrid, but by no means disgusting. He + broke off a piece, and the fresh surface was a creamy white, that changed + like magic in the space of ten seconds to a yellowish-green colour. It was + even an inviting-looking change. He broke off two other pieces to see it + repeated. They were wonderful things these fungi, thought Mr. Coombes, and + all of them the deadliest poisons, as his father had often told him. + Deadly poisons! + </p> + <p> + There is no time like the present for a rash resolve. Why not here and + now? thought Mr. Coombes. He tasted a little piece, a very little piece + indeed—a mere crumb. It was so pungent that he almost spat it out + again, then merely hot and full-flavoured: a kind of German mustard with a + touch of horse-radish and—well, mushroom. He swallowed it in the + excitement of the moment. Did he like it or did he not? His mind was + curiously careless. He would try another bit. It really wasn't bad—it + was good. He forgot his troubles in the interest of the immediate moment. + Playing with death it was. He took another bite, and then deliberately + finished a mouthful. A curious, tingling sensation began in his + finger-tips and toes. His pulse began to move faster. The blood in his + ears sounded like a mill-race. "Try bi' more," said Mr. Coombes. He turned + and looked about him, and found his feet unsteady. He saw, and struggled + towards, a little patch of purple a dozen yards away. "Jol' goo' stuff," + said Mr. Coombes. "E—lomore ye'." He pitched forward and fell on his + face, his hands outstretched towards the cluster of pilei. But he did not + eat any more of them. He forgot forthwith. + </p> + <p> + He rolled over and sat up with a look of astonishment on his face. His + carefully brushed silk hat had rolled away towards the ditch. He pressed + his hand to his brow. Something had happened, but he could not rightly + determine what it was. Anyhow, he was no longer dull—he felt bright, + cheerful. And his throat was afire. He laughed in the sudden gaiety of his + heart. Had he been dull? He did not know; but at any rate he would be dull + no longer. He got up and stood unsteadily, regarding the universe with an + agreeable smile. He began to remember. He could not remember very well, + because of a steam roundabout that was beginning in his head. And he knew + he had been disagreeable at home, just because they wanted to be happy. + They were quite right; life should be as gay as possible. He would go home + and make it up, and reassure them. And why not take some of this + delightful toadstool with him, for them to eat? A hatful, no less. Some of + those red ones with white spots as well, and a few yellow. He had been a + dull dog, an enemy to merriment; he would make up for it. It would be gay + to turn his coat-sleeves inside out, and stick some yellow gorse into his + waistcoat pockets. Then home—singing—-for a jolly evening. + </p> + <p> + After the departure of Mr. Coombes, Jennie discontinued playing, and + turned round on the music-stool again. "What a fuss about nothing!" said + Jennie. + </p> + <p> + "You see, Mr. Clarence, what I've got to put up with," said Mrs. Coombes. + </p> + <p> + "He is a bit hasty," said Mr. Clarence judicially. + </p> + <p> + "He ain't got the slightest sense of our position," said Mrs. Coombes; + "that's what I complain of. He cares for nothing but his old shop; and if + I have a bit of company, or buy anything to keep myself decent, or get any + little thing I want out of the housekeeping money, there's disagreeables. + 'Economy' he says; 'struggle for life,' and all that. He lies awake of + nights about it, worrying how he can screw me out of a shilling. He wanted + us to eat Dorset butter once. If once I was to give in to him—there!" + </p> + <p> + "Of course," said Jennie. + </p> + <p> + "If a man values a woman," said Mr. Clarence, lounging back in the + arm-chair, "he must be prepared to make sacrifices for her. For my own + part," said Mr. Clarence, with his eye on Jennie, "I shouldn't think of + marrying till I was in a position to do the thing in style. It's downright + selfishness. A man ought to go through the rough-and-tumble by himself, + and not drag her—" + </p> + <p> + "I don't agree altogether with that," said Jennie. "I don't see why a man + shouldn't have a woman's help, provided he doesn't treat her meanly, you + know. It's meanness—" + </p> + <p> + "You wouldn't believe," said Mrs. Coombes. "But I was a fool to 'ave 'im. + I might 'ave known. If it 'adn't been for my father, we shouldn't 'ave 'ad + not a carriage to our wedding." + </p> + <p> + "Lord! he didn't stick out at that?" said Mr. Clarence, quite shocked. + </p> + <p> + "Said he wanted the money for his stock, or some such rubbish. Why, he + wouldn't have a woman in to help me once a week if it wasn't for my + standing out plucky. And the fusses he makes about money—comes to + me, well, pretty near crying, with sheets of paper and figgers. 'If only + we can tide over this year,' he says, 'the business is bound to go.' 'If + only we can tide over this year,' I says; 'then it'll be, if only we can + tide over next year. I know you,' I says. 'And you don't catch me screwing + myself lean and ugly. Why didn't you marry a slavey?' I says, 'if you + wanted one—instead of a respectable girl,' I says." + </p> + <p> + So Mrs. Coombes. But we will not follow this unedifying conversation + further. Suffice it that Mr. Coombes was very satisfactorily disposed of, + and they had a snug little time round the fire. Then Mrs. Coombes went to + get the tea, and Jennie sat coquettishly on the arm of Mr. Clarence's + chair until the tea-things clattered outside. "What was that I heard?" + asked Mrs. Coombes playfully, as she entered, and there was badinage about + kissing. They were just sitting down to the little circular table when the + first intimation of Mr. Coombes' return was heard. + </p> + <p> + This was a fumbling at the latch of the front door. + </p> + <p> + "'Ere's my lord," said Mrs. Coombes. "Went out like a lion and comes back + like a lamb, I'll lay." + </p> + <p> + Something fell over in the shop: a chair, it sounded like. Then there was + a sound as of some complicated step exercise in the passage. Then the door + opened and Coombes appeared. But it was Coombes transfigured. The + immaculate collar had been torn carelessly from his throat. His + carefully-brushed silk hat, half-full of a crush of fungi, was under one + arm; his coat was inside out, and his waistcoat adorned with bunches of + yellow-blossomed furze. These little eccentricities of Sunday costume, + however, were quite overshadowed by the change in his face; it was livid + white, his eyes were unnaturally large and bright, and his pale blue lips + were drawn back in a cheerless grin. "Merry!" he said. He had stopped + dancing to open the door. "Rational 'njoyment. Dance." He made three + fantastic steps into the room, and stood bowing. + </p> + <p> + "Jim!" shrieked Mrs. Coombes, and Mr. Clarence sat petrified, with a + dropping lower jaw. + </p> + <p> + "Tea," said Mr. Coombes. "Jol' thing, tea. Tose-stools, too. Brosher." + </p> + <p> + "He's drunk," said Jennie in a weak voice. Never before had she seen this + intense pallor in a drunken man, or such shining, dilated eyes. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Coombes held out a handful of scarlet agaric to Mr. Clarence. "Jo' + stuff," said he; "ta' some." + </p> + <p> + At that moment he was genial. Then at the sight of their startled faces he + changed, with the swift transition of insanity, into overbearing fury. And + it seemed as if he had suddenly recalled the quarrel of his departure. In + such a huge voice as Mrs. Coombes had never heard before, he shouted, "My + house. I'm master 'ere. Eat what I give yer!" He bawled this, as it + seemed, without an effort, without a violent gesture, standing there as + motionless as one who whispers, holding out a handful of fungus. + </p> + <p> + Clarence approved himself a coward. He could not meet the mad fury in + Coombes' eyes; he rose to his feet, pushing back his chair, and turned, + stooping. At that Coombes rushed at him. Jennie saw her opportunity, and, + with the ghost of a shriek, made for the door. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Coombes followed her. Clarence tried to dodge. Over went the + tea-table with a smash as Coombes clutched him by the collar and tried to + thrust the fungus into his mouth. Clarence was content to leave his collar + behind him, and shot out into the passage with red patches of fly agaric + still adherent to his face. "Shut 'im in!" cried Mrs. Coombes, and would + have closed the door, but her supports deserted her; Jennie saw the shop + door open, and vanished thereby, locking it behind her, while Clarence + went on hastily into the kitchen. Mr. Coombes came heavily against the + door, and Mrs. Coombes, finding the key was inside, fled upstairs and + locked herself in the spare bedroom. + </p> + <p> + So the new convert to <i>joie de vivre</i> emerged upon the passage, his + decorations a little scattered, but that respectable hatful of fungi still + under his arm. He hesitated at the three ways, and decided on the kitchen. + Whereupon Clarence, who was fumbling with the key, gave up the attempt to + imprison his host, and fled into the scullery, only to be captured before + he could open the door into the yard. Mr. Clarence is singularly reticent + of the details of what occurred. It seems that Mr. Coombes' transitory + irritation had vanished again, and he was once more a genial playfellow. + And as there were knives and meat choppers about, Clarence very generously + resolved to humour him and so avoid anything tragic. It is beyond dispute + that Mr. Coombes played with Mr. Clarence to his heart's content; they + could not have been more playful and familiar if they had known each other + for years. He insisted gaily on Clarence trying the fungi, and, after a + friendly tussle, was smitten with remorse at the mess he was making of his + guest's face. It also appears that Clarence was dragged under the sink and + his face scrubbed with the blacking brush—he being still resolved to + humour the lunatic at any cost—and that finally, in a somewhat + dishevelled, chipped, and discoloured condition, he was assisted to his + coat and shown out by the back door, the shopway being barred by Jennie. + Mr. Coombes' wandering thoughts then turned to Jennie. Jennie had been + unable to unfasten the shop door, but she shot the bolts against Mr. + Coombes' latch-key, and remained in possession of the shop for the rest of + the evening. + </p> + <p> + It would appear that Mr. Coombes then returned to the kitchen, still in + pursuit of gaiety, and, albeit a strict Good Templar, drank (or spilt down + the front of the first and only frock-coat) no less than five bottles of + the stout Mrs. Coombes insisted upon having for her health's sake. He made + cheerful noises by breaking off the necks of the bottles with several of + his wife's wedding-present dinner-plates, and during the earlier part of + this great drunk he sang divers merry ballads. He cut his finger rather + badly with one of the bottles—the only bloodshed in this story—and + what with that, and the systematic convulsion of his inexperienced + physiology by the liquorish brand of Mrs. Coombes' stout, it may be the + evil of the fungus poison was somehow allayed. But we prefer to draw a + veil over the concluding incidents of this Sunday afternoon. They ended in + the coal cellar, in a deep and healing sleep. + </p> + <p> + An interval of five years elapsed. Again it was a Sunday afternoon in + October, and again Mr. Coombes walked through the pine wood beyond the + canal. He was still the same dark-eyed, black-moustached little man that + he was at the outset of the story, but his double chin was now scarcely so + illusory as it had been. His overcoat was new, with a velvet lapel, and a + stylish collar with turn-down corners, free of any coarse starchiness, had + replaced the original all-round article. His hat was glossy, his gloves + newish—though one finger had split and been carefully mended. And a + casual observer would have noticed about him a certain rectitude of + bearing, a certain erectness of head that marks the man who thinks well of + himself. He was a master now, with three assistants. Beside him walked a + larger sunburnt parody of himself, his brother Tom, just back from + Australia. They were recapitulating their early struggles, and Mr. Coombes + had just been making a financial statement. + </p> + <p> + "It's a very nice little business, Jim," said brother Tom. "In these days + of competition you're jolly lucky to have worked it up so. And you're + jolly lucky, too, to have a wife who's willing to help like yours does." + </p> + <p> + "Between ourselves," said Mr. Coombes, "it wasn't always so. It wasn't + always like this. To begin with, the missus was a bit giddy. Girls are + funny creatures." + </p> + <p> + "Dear me!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes. You'd hardly think it, but she was downright extravagant, and always + having slaps at me. I was a bit too easy and loving, and all that, and she + thought the whole blessed show was run for her. Turned the 'ouse into a + regular caravansery, always having her relations and girls from business + in, and their chaps. Comic songs a' Sunday, it was getting to, and driving + trade away. And she was making eyes at the chaps, too! I tell you, Tom, + the place wasn't my own." + </p> + <p> + "Shouldn't 'a' thought it." + </p> + <p> + "It was so. Well—I reasoned with her. I said, 'I ain't a duke, to + keep a wife like a pet animal. I married you for 'elp and company.' I + said, 'You got to 'elp and pull the business through.' She wouldn't 'ear + of it. 'Very well,' I says?? 'I'm a mild man till I'm roused,' I says, + 'and it's getting to that.' But she wouldn't 'ear of no warnings." + </p> + <p> + "Well?" + </p> + <p> + "It's the way with women. She didn't think I 'ad it in me to be roused. + Women of her sort (between ourselves, Tom) don't respect a man until + they're a bit afraid of him. So I just broke out to show her. In comes a + girl named Jennie, that used to work with her, and her chap. We 'ad a bit + of a row, and I came out 'ere—it was just such another day as this—and + I thought it all out. Then I went back and pitched into them." + </p> + <p> + "You did?" + </p> + <p> + "I did. I was mad, I can tell you. I wasn't going to 'it 'er if I could + 'elp it, so I went back and licked into this chap, just to show 'er what I + could do. 'E was a big chap, too. Well, I chucked him, and smashed things + about, and gave 'er a scaring, and she ran up and locked 'erself into the + spare room." + </p> + <p> + "Well?" + </p> + <p> + "That's all. I says to 'er the next morning, 'Now you know,' I says, 'what + I'm like when I'm roused.' And I didn't have to say anything more." + </p> + <p> + "And you've been happy ever after, eh?" + </p> + <p> + "So to speak. There's nothing like putting your foot down with them. If it + 'adn't been for that afternoon I should 'a' been tramping the roads now, + and she'd 'a' been grumbling at me, and all her family grumbling for + bringing her to poverty—I know their little ways. But we're all + right now. And it's a very decent little business, as you say." + </p> + <p> + They proceeded on their way meditatively. "Women are funny creatures," + said Brother Tom. + </p> + <p> + "They want a firm hand," says Coombes. + </p> + <p> + "What a lot of these funguses there are about here!" remarked Brother Tom + presently. "I can't see what use they are in the world." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Coombes looked. "I dessay they're sent for some wise purpose," said + Mr. Coombes. + </p> + <p> + And that was as much thanks as the purple pileus ever got for maddening + this absurd little man to the pitch of decisive action, and so altering + the whole course of his life. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVIII. — A SLIP UNDER THE MICROSCOPE. + </h2> + <p> + Outside the laboratory windows was a watery-grey fog, and within a close + warmth and the yellow light of the green-shaded gas lamps that stood two + to each table down its narrow length. On each table stood a couple of + glass jars containing the mangled vestiges of the crayfish, mussels, + frogs, and guinea-pigs upon which the students had been working, and down + the side of the room, facing the windows, were shelves bearing bleached + dissections in spirits, surmounted by a row of beautifully executed + anatomical drawings in white-wood frames and overhanging a row of cubical + lockers. All the doors of the laboratory were panelled with blackboard, + and on these were the half-erased diagrams of the previous day's work. The + laboratory was empty, save for the demonstrator, who sat near the + preparation-room door, and silent, save for a low, continuous murmur and + the clicking of the rocker microtome at which he was working. But + scattered about the room were traces of numerous students: hand-bags, + polished boxes of instruments, in one place a large drawing covered by + newspaper, and in another a prettily bound copy of <i>News from Nowhere</i>, + a book oddly at variance with its surroundings. These things had been put + down hastily as the students had arrived and hurried at once to secure + their seats in the adjacent lecture theatre. Deadened by the closed door, + the measured accents of the professor sounded as a featureless muttering. + </p> + <p> + Presently, faint through the closed windows came the sound of the Oratory + clock striking the hour of eleven. The clicking of the microtome ceased, + and the demonstrator looked at his watch, rose, thrust his hands into his + pockets, and walked slowly down the laboratory towards the lecture theatre + door. He stood listening for a moment, and then his eye fell on the little + volume by William Morris. He picked it up, glanced at the title, smiled, + opened it, looked at the name on the fly-leaf, ran the leaves through with + his hand, and put it down. Almost immediately the even murmur of the + lecturer ceased, there was a sudden burst of pencils rattling on the desks + in the lecture theatre, a stirring, a scraping of feet, and a number of + voices speaking together. Then a firm footfall approached the door, which + began to open, and stood ajar, as some indistinctly heard question + arrested the new-comer. + </p> + <p> + The demonstrator turned, walked slowly back past the microtome, and left + the laboratory by the preparation-room door. As he did so, first one, and + then several students carrying notebooks entered the laboratory from the + lecture theatre, and distributed themselves among the little tables, or + stood in a group about the doorway. They were an exceptionally + heterogeneous assembly, for while Oxford and Cambridge still recoil from + the blushing prospect of mixed classes, the College of Science anticipated + America in the matter years ago—mixed socially, too, for the + prestige of the College is high, and its scholarships, free of any age + limit, dredge deeper even than do those of the Scotch universities. The + class numbered one-and-twenty, but some remained in the theatre + questioning the professor, copying the black-board diagrams before they + were washed off, or examining the special specimens he had produced to + illustrate the day's teaching. Of the nine who had come into the + laboratory three were girls, one of whom, a little fair woman, wearing + spectacles and dressed in greyish-green, was peering out of the window at + the fog, while the other two, both wholesome-looking, plain-faced + schoolgirls, unrolled and put on the brown holland aprons they wore while + dissecting. Of the men, two went down the laboratory to their places, one + a pallid, dark-bearded man, who had once been a tailor; the other a + pleasant-featured, ruddy young man of twenty, dressed in a well-fitting + brown suit; young Wedderburn, the son of Wedderburn, the eye specialist. + The others formed a little knot near the theatre door. One of these, a + dwarfed, spectacled figure, with a hunchback, sat on a bent wood stool; + two others, one a short, dark youngster, and the other a flaxen-haired, + reddish-complexioned young man, stood leaning side by side against the + slate sink, while the fourth stood facing them, and maintained the larger + share of the conversation. + </p> + <p> + This last person was named Hill. He was a sturdily built young fellow, of + the same age as Wedderburn; he had a white face, dark grey eyes, hair of + an indeterminate colour, and prominent, irregular features. He talked + rather louder than was needful, and thrust his hands deeply into his + pockets. His collar was frayed and blue with the starch of a careless + laundress, his clothes were evidently ready-made, and there was a patch on + the side of his boot near the toe. And as he talked or listened to the + others, he glanced now and again towards the lecture theatre door. They + were discussing the depressing peroration of the lecture they had just + heard, the last lecture it was in the introductory course in zoology. + "From ovum to ovum is the goal of the higher vertebrata," the lecturer had + said in his melancholy tones, and so had neatly rounded off the sketch of + comparative anatomy he had been developing. The spectacled hunchback had + repeated it, with noisy appreciation, had tossed it towards the + fair-haired student with an evident provocation, and had started one of + these vague, rambling discussions on generalities, so unaccountably dear + to the student mind all the world over. + </p> + <p> + "That is our goal, perhaps—I admit it, as far as science goes," said + the fair-haired student, rising to the challenge. "But there are things + above science." + </p> + <p> + "Science," said Hill confidently, "is systematic knowledge. Ideas that + don't come into the system—must anyhow—be loose ideas." He was + not quite sure whether that was a clever saying or a fatuity until his + hearers took it seriously. + </p> + <p> + "The thing I cannot understand," said the hunchback, at large, "is whether + Hill is a materialist or not." + </p> + <p> + "There is one thing above matter," said Hill promptly, feeling he had a + better thing this time; aware, too, of someone in the doorway behind him, + and raising his voice a trifle for her benefit, "and that is, the delusion + that there is something above matter." + </p> + <p> + "So we have your gospel at last," said the fair student. "It's all a + delusion, is it? All our aspirations to lead something more than dogs' + lives, all our work for anything beyond ourselves. But see how + inconsistent you are. Your socialism, for instance. Why do you trouble + about the interests of the race? Why do you concern yourself about the + beggar in the gutter? Why are you bothering yourself to lend that book "— + he indicated William Morris by a movement of the head—"to everyone + in the lab.?" + </p> + <p> + "Girl," said the hunchback indistinctly, and glanced guiltily over his + shoulder. + </p> + <p> + The girl in brown, with the brown eyes, had come into the laboratory, and + stood on the other side of the table behind him, with her rolled-up apron + in one hand, looking over her shoulder, listening to the discussion. She + did not notice the hunchback, because she was glancing from Hill to his + interlocutor. Hill's consciousness of her presence betrayed itself to her + only in his studious ignorance of the fact; but she understood that, and + it pleased her. "I see no reason," said he, "why a man should live like a + brute because he knows of nothing beyond matter, and does not expect to + exist a hundred years hence." + </p> + <p> + "Why shouldn't he?" said the fair-haired student. + </p> + <p> + "Why <i>should</i> he?" said Hill. + </p> + <p> + "What inducement has he?" + </p> + <p> + "That's the way with all you religious people. It's all a business of + inducements. Cannot a man seek after righteousness for righteousness' + sake?" + </p> + <p> + There was a pause. The fair man answered, with a kind of vocal padding, + "But—you see—inducement—when I said inducement," to gain + time. And then the hunchback came to his rescue and inserted a question. + He was a terrible person in the debating society with his questions, and + they invariably took one form—a demand for a definition, "What's + your definition of righteousness?" said the hunchback at this stage. + </p> + <p> + Hill experienced a sudden loss of complacency at this question, but even + as it was asked, relief came in the person of Brooks, the laboratory + attendant, who entered by the preparation-room door, carrying a number of + freshly killed guinea-pigs by their hind legs. "This is the last batch of + material this session," said the youngster who had not previously spoken. + Brooks advanced up the laboratory, smacking down a couple of guinea-pigs + at each table. The rest of the class, scenting the prey from afar, came + crowding in by the lecture theatre door, and the discussion perished + abruptly as the students who were not already in their places hurried to + them to secure the choice of a specimen. There was a noise of keys + rattling on split rings as lockers were opened and dissecting instruments + taken out. Hill was already standing by his table, and his box of scalpels + was sticking out of his pocket. The girl in brown came a step towards him, + and, leaning over his table, said softly, "Did you see that I returned + your book, Mr. Hill?" + </p> + <p> + During the whole scene she and the book had been vividly present in his + consciousness; but he made a clumsy pretence of looking at the book and + seeing it for the first time. "Oh, yes," he said, taking it up. "I see. + Did you like it?" + </p> + <p> + "I want to ask you some questions about it—some time." + </p> + <p> + "Certainly," said Hill. "I shall be glad." He stopped awkwardly. "You + liked it?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "It's a wonderful book. Only some things I don't understand." + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly the laboratory was hushed by a curious, braying noise. It + was the demonstrator. He was at the blackboard ready to begin the day's + instruction, and it was his custom to demand silence by a sound midway + between the "Er" of common intercourse and the blast of a trumpet. The + girl in brown slipped back to her place: it was immediately in front of + Hill's, and Hill, forgetting her forthwith, took a notebook out of the + drawer of his table, turned over its leaves hastily, drew a stumpy pencil + from his pocket, and prepared to make a copious note of the coming + demonstration. For demonstrations and lectures are the sacred text of the + College students. Books, saving only the Professor's own, you may—it + is even expedient to—ignore. + </p> + <p> + Hill was the son of a Landport cobbler, and had been hooked by a chance + blue paper the authorities had thrown out to the Landport Technical + College. He kept himself in London on his allowance of a guinea a week, + and found that, with proper care, this also covered his clothing + allowance, an occasional waterproof collar, that is; and ink and needles + and cotton, and such-like necessaries for a man about town. This was his + first year and his first session, but the brown old man in Landport had + already got himself detested in many public-houses by boasting of his son, + "the Professor." Hill was a vigorous youngster, with a serene contempt for + the clergy of all denominations, and a fine ambition to reconstruct the + world. He regarded his scholarship as a brilliant opportunity. He had + begun to read at seven, and had read steadily whatever came in his way, + good or bad, since then. His worldly experience had been limited to the + island of Portsea, and acquired chiefly in the wholesale boot factory in + which he had worked by day, after passing the seventh standard of the + Board school. He had a considerable gift of speech, as the College + Debating Society, which met amidst the crushing machines and mine models + in the metallurgical theatre downstairs, already recognised—recognised + by a violent battering of desks whenever he rose. And he was just at that + fine emotional age when life opens at the end of a narrow pass like a + broad valley at one's feet, full of the promise of wonderful discoveries + and tremendous achievements. And his own limitations, save that he knew + that he knew neither Latin nor French, were all unknown to him. + </p> + <p> + At first his interest had been divided pretty equally between his + biological work at the College and social and theological theorising, an + employment which he took in deadly earnest. Of a night, when the big + museum library was not open, he would sit on the bed of his room in + Chelsea with his coat and a muffler on, and write out the lecture notes + and revise his dissection memoranda, until Thorpe called him out by a + whistle—the landlady objected to open the door to attic visitors—and + then the two would go prowling about the shadowy, shiny, gas-lit streets, + talking, very much in the fashion of the sample just given, of the God + idea, and Righteousness, and Carlyle, and the Reorganisation of Society. + And in the midst of it all, Hill, arguing not only for Thorpe, but for the + casual passer-by, would lose the thread of his argument glancing at some + pretty painted face that looked meaningly at him as he passed. Science and + Righteousness! But once or twice lately there had been signs that a third + interest was creeping into his life, and he had found his attention + wandering from the fate of the mesoblastic somites or the probable meaning + of the blastopore, to the thought of the girl with the brown eyes who sat + at the table before him. + </p> + <p> + She was a paying student; she descended inconceivable social altitudes to + speak to him. At the thought of the education she must have had, and the + accomplishments she must possess, the soul of Hill became abject within + him. She had spoken to him first over a difficulty about the alisphenoid + of a rabbit's skull, and he had found that, in biology at least, he had no + reason for self-abasement. And from that, after the manner of young people + starting from any starting-point, they got to generalities, and while Hill + attacked her upon the question of socialism—some instinct told him + to spare her a direct assault upon her religion—she was gathering + resolution to undertake what she told herself was his aesthetic education. + She was a year or two older than he, though the thought never occurred to + him. The loan of <i>News from Nowhere</i> was the beginning of a series of + cross loans. Upon some absurd first principle of his, Hill had never + "wasted time" upon poetry, and it seemed an appalling deficiency to her. + One day in the lunch hour, when she chanced upon him alone in the little + museum where the skeletons were arranged, shamefully eating the bun that + constituted his midday meal, she retreated, and returned to lend him, with + a slightly furtive air, a volume of Browning. He stood sideways towards + her and took the book rather clumsily, because he was holding the bun in + the other hand. And in the retrospect his voice lacked the cheerful + clearness he could have wished. + </p> + <p> + That occurred after the examination in comparative anatomy, on the day + before the College turned out its students, and was carefully locked up by + the officials, for the Christmas holidays. The excitement of cramming for + the first trial of strength had for a little while dominated Hill, to the + exclusion of his other interests. In the forecasts of the result in which + everyone indulged he was surprised to find that no one regarded him as a + possible competitor for the Harvey Commemoration Medal, of which this and + the two subsequent examinations disposed. It was about this time that + Wedderburn, who so far had lived inconspicuously on the uttermost margin + of Hill's perceptions, began to take on the appearance of an obstacle. By + a mutual agreement, the nocturnal prowlings with Thorpe ceased for the + three weeks before the examination, and his landlady pointed out that she + really could not supply so much lamp oil at the price. He walked to and + fro from the College with little slips of mnemonics in his hand, lists of + crayfish appendages, rabbits' skull-bones, and vertebrate nerves, for + example, and became a positive nuisance to foot passengers in the opposite + direction. + </p> + <p> + But, by a natural reaction, Poetry and the girl with the brown eyes ruled + the Christmas holiday. The pending results of the examination became such + a secondary consideration that Hill marvelled at his father's excitement. + Even had he wished it, there was no comparative anatomy to read in + Landport, and he was too poor to buy books, but the stock of poets in the + library was extensive, and Hill's attack was magnificently sustained. He + saturated himself with the fluent numbers of Longfellow and Tennyson, and + fortified himself with Shakespeare; found a kindred soul in Pope, and a + master in Shelley, and heard and fled the siren voices of Eliza Cook and + Mrs. Hemans. But he read no more Browning, because he hoped for the loan + of other volumes from Miss Haysman when he returned to London. + </p> + <p> + He walked from his lodgings to the College with that volume of Browning in + his shiny black bag, and his mind teeming with the finest general + propositions about poetry. Indeed, he framed first this little speech and + then that with which to grace the return. The morning was an exceptionally + pleasant one for London; there was a clear, hard frost and undeniable blue + in the sky, a thin haze softened every outline, and warm shafts of + sunlight struck between the house blocks and turned the sunny side of the + street to amber and gold. In the hall of the College he pulled off his + glove and signed his name with fingers so stiff with cold that the + characteristic dash under the signature he cultivated became a quivering + line. He imagined Miss Haysman about him everywhere. He turned at the + staircase, and there, below, he saw a crowd struggling at the foot of the + notice-board. This, possibly, was the biology list. He forgot Browning and + Miss Haysman for the moment, and joined the scrimmage. And at last, with + his cheek flattened against the sleeve of the man on the step above him, + he read the list— + </p> + <p> + CLASS I H. J. Somers Wedderburn William Hill + </p> + <p> + and thereafter followed a second class that is outside our present + sympathies. It was characteristic that he did not trouble to look for + Thorpe on the physics list, but backed out of the struggle at once, and in + a curious emotional state between pride over common second-class humanity + and acute disappointment at Wedderburn's success, went on his way + upstairs. At the top, as he was hanging up his coat in the passage, the + zoological demonstrator, a young man from Oxford, who secretly regarded + him as a blatant "mugger" of the very worst type, offered his heartiest + congratulations. + </p> + <p> + At the laboratory door Hill stopped for a second to get his breath, and + then entered. He looked straight up the laboratory and saw all five girl + students grouped in their places, and Wedderburn, the once retiring + Wedderburn, leaning rather gracefully against the window, playing with the + blind tassel and talking, apparently, to the five of them. Now, Hill could + talk bravely enough and even overbearingly to one girl, and he could have + made a speech to a roomful of girls, but this business of standing at ease + and appreciating, fencing, and returning quick remarks round a group was, + he knew, altogether beyond him. Coming up the staircase his feelings for + Wedderburn had been generous, a certain admiration perhaps, a willingness + to shake his hand conspicuously and heartily as one who had fought but the + first round. But before Christmas Wedderburn had never gone up to that end + of the room to talk. In a flash Hill's mist of vague excitement condensed + abruptly to a vivid dislike of Wedderburn. Possibly his expression + changed. As he came up to his place, Wedderburn nodded carelessly to him, + and the others glanced round. Miss Haysman looked at him and away again, + the faintest touch of her eyes. "I can't agree with you, Mr. Wedderburn," + she said. + </p> + <p> + "I must congratulate you on your first-class, Mr. Hill," said the + spectacled girl in green, turning round and beaming at him. + </p> + <p> + "It's nothing," said Hill, staring at Wedderburn and Miss Haysman talking + together, and eager to hear what they talked about. + </p> + <p> + "We poor folks in the second class don't think so," said the girl in + spectacles. + </p> + <p> + What was it Wedderburn was saying? Something about William Morris! Hill + did not answer the girl in spectacles, and the smile died out of his face. + He could not hear, and failed to see how he could "cut in." Confound + Wedderburn! He sat down, opened his bag, hesitated whether to return the + volume of Browning forthwith, in the sight of all, and instead drew out + his new notebooks for the short course in elementary botany that was now + beginning, and which would terminate in February. As he did so, a fat, + heavy man, with a white face and pale grey eyes—Bindon, the + professor of botany, who came up from Kew for January and February—came + in by the lecture theatre door, and passed, rubbing his hands together and + smiling, in silent affability down the laboratory. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + In the subsequent six weeks Hill experienced some very rapid and curiously + complex emotional developments. For the most part he had Wedderburn in + focus—a fact that Miss Haysman never suspected. She told Hill (for + in the comparative privacy of the museum she talked a good deal to him of + socialism and Browning and general propositions) that she had met + Wedderburn at the house of some people she knew, and "he's inherited his + cleverness; for his father, you know, is the great eye-specialist." + </p> + <p> + "<i>My</i> father is a cobbler," said Hill, quite irrelevantly, and + perceived the want of dignity even as he said it. But the gleam of + jealousy did not offend her. She conceived herself the fundamental source + of it. He suffered bitterly from a sense of Wedderburn's unfairness, and a + realisation of his own handicap. Here was this Wedderburn had picked up a + prominent man for a father, and instead of his losing so many marks on the + score of that advantage, it was counted to him for righteousness! And + while Hill had to introduce himself and talk to Miss Haysman clumsily over + mangled guinea-pigs in the laboratory, this Wedderburn, in some backstairs + way, had access to her social altitudes, and could converse in a polished + argot that Hill understood perhaps, but felt incapable of speaking. Not, + of course, that he wanted to. Then it seemed to Hill that for Wedderburn + to come there day after day with cuffs unfrayed, neatly tailored, + precisely barbered, quietly perfect, was in itself an ill-bred, sneering + sort of proceeding. Moreover, it was a stealthy thing for Wedderburn to + behave insignificantly for a space, to mock modesty, to lead Hill to fancy + that he himself was beyond dispute the man of the year, and then suddenly + to dart in front of him, and incontinently to swell up in this fashion. In + addition to these things, Wedderburn displayed an increasing disposition + to join in any conversational grouping that included Miss Haysman, and + would venture, and indeed seek occasion, to pass opinions derogatory to + socialism and atheism. He goaded Hill to incivilities by neat, shallow, + and exceedingly effective personalities about the socialist leaders, until + Hill hated Bernard Shaw's graceful egotisms, William Morris's limited + editions and luxurious wall-papers, and Walter Crane's charmingly absurd + ideal working men, about as much as he hated Wedderburn. The dissertations + in the laboratory, that had been his glory in the previous term, became a + danger, degenerated into inglorious tussels with Wedderburn, and Hill kept + to them only out of an obscure perception that his honour was involved. In + the debating society Hill knew quite clearly that, to a thunderous + accompaniment of banged desks, he could have pulverised Wedderburn. Only + Wedderburn never attended the debating society to be pulverised, because—nauseous + affectation!—he "dined late." + </p> + <p> + You must not imagine that these things presented themselves in quite such + a crude form to Hill's perception. Hill was a born generaliser. Wedderburn + to him was not so much an individual obstacle as a type, the salient angle + of a class. The economic theories that, after infinite ferment, had shaped + themselves in Hill's mind, became abruptly concrete at the contact. The + world became full of easy-mannered, graceful, gracefully-dressed, + conversationally dexterous, finally shallow Wedderburns, Bishops + Wedderburn, Wedderburn M.P.'s, Professors Wedderburn, Wedderburn + landlords, all with finger-bowl shibboleths and epigrammatic cities of + refuge from a sturdy debater. And everyone ill-clothed or ill-dressed, + from the cobbler to the cab-runner, was a man and a brother, a + fellow-sufferer, to Hill's imagination. So that he became, as it were, a + champion of the fallen and oppressed, albeit to outward seeming only a + self-assertive, ill-mannered young man, and an unsuccessful champion at + that. Again and again a skirmish over the afternoon tea that the girl + students had inaugurated left Hill with flushed cheeks and a tattered + temper, and the debating society noticed a new quality of sarcastic + bitterness in his speeches. + </p> + <p> + You will understand now how it was necessary, if only in the interests of + humanity, that Hill should demolish Wedderburn in the forthcoming + examination and outshine him in the eyes of Miss Haysman; and you will + perceive, too, how Miss Haysman fell into some common feminine + misconceptions. The Hill-Wedderburn quarrel, for in his unostentatious way + Wedderburn reciprocated Hill's ill-veiled rivalry, became a tribute to her + indefinable charm; she was the Queen of Beauty in a tournament of scalpels + and stumpy pencils. To her confidential friend's secret annoyance, it even + troubled her conscience, for she was a good girl, and painfully aware, + from Ruskin and contemporary fiction, how entirely men's activities are + determined by women's attitudes. And if Hill never by any chance mentioned + the topic of love to her, she only credited him with the finer modesty for + that omission. So the time came on for the second examination, and Hill's + increasing pallor confirmed the general rumour that he was working hard. + In the aerated bread shop near South Kensington Station you would see him, + breaking his bun and sipping his milk, with his eyes intent upon a paper + of closely written notes. In his bedroom there were propositions about + buds and stems round his looking-glass, a diagram to catch his eye, if + soap should chance to spare it, above his washing basin. He missed several + meetings of the debating society, but he found the chance encounters with + Miss Haysman in the spacious ways of the adjacent art museum, or in the + little museum at the top of the College, or in the College corridors, more + frequent and very restful. In particular, they used to meet in a little + gallery full of wrought-iron chests and gates, near the art library, and + there Hill used to talk, under the gentle stimulus of her flattering + attention, of Browning and his personal ambitions. A characteristic she + found remarkable in him was his freedom from avarice. He contemplated + quite calmly the prospect of living all his life on an income below a + hundred pounds a year. But he was determined to be famous, to make, + recognisably in his own proper person, the world a better place to live + in. He took Bradlaugh and John Burns for his leaders and models, poor, + even impecunious, great men. But Miss Haysman thought that such lives were + deficient on the aesthetic side, by which, though she did not know it, she + meant good wall-paper and upholstery, pretty books, tasteful clothes, + concerts, and meals nicely cooked and respectfully served. + </p> + <p> + At last came the day of the second examination, and the professor of + botany, a fussy, conscientious man, rearranged all the tables in a long + narrow laboratory to prevent copying, and put his demonstrator on a chair + on a table (where he felt, he said, like a Hindoo god), to see all the + cheating, and stuck a notice outside the door, "Door closed," for no + earthly reason that any human being could discover. And all the morning + from ten till one the quill of Wedderburn shrieked defiance at Hill's, and + the quills of the others chased their leaders in a tireless pack, and so + also it was in the afternoon. Wedderburn was a little quieter than usual, + and Hill's face was hot all day, and his overcoat bulged with textbooks + and notebooks against the last moment's revision. And the next day, in the + morning and in the afternoon, was the practical examination, when sections + had to be cut and slides identified. In the morning Hill was depressed + because he knew he had cut a thick section, and in the afternoon came the + mysterious slip. + </p> + <p> + It was just the kind of thing that the botanical professor was always + doing. Like the income tax, it offered a premium to the cheat. It was a + preparation under the microscope, a little glass slip, held in its place + on the stage of the instrument by light steel clips, and the inscription + set forth that the slip was not to be moved. Each student was to go in + turn to it, sketch it, write in his book of answers what he considered it + to be, and return to his place. Now, to move such a slip is a thing one + can do by a chance movement of the finger, and in a fraction of a second. + The professor's reason for decreeing that the slip should not be moved + depended on the fact that the object he wanted identified was + characteristic of a certain tree stem. In the position in which it was + placed it was a difficult thing to recognise, but once the slip was moved + so as to bring other parts of the preparation into view, its nature was + obvious enough. + </p> + <p> + Hill came to this, flushed from a contest with staining re-agents, sat + down on the little stool before the microscope, turned the mirror to get + the best light, and then, out of sheer habit, shifted the slips. At once + he remembered the prohibition, and, with an almost continuous motion of + his hands, moved it back, and sat paralysed with astonishment at his + action. + </p> + <p> + Then, slowly, he turned his head. The professor was out of the room; the + demonstrator sat aloft on his impromptu rostrum, reading the <i>Q. Jour. + Mi. Sci</i>.; the rest of the examinees were busy, and with their backs to + him. Should he own up to the accident now? He knew quite clearly what the + thing was. It was a lenticel, a characteristic preparation from the + elder-tree. His eyes roved over his intent fellow-students, and Wedderburn + suddenly glanced over his shoulder at him with a queer expression in his + eyes. The mental excitement that had kept Hill at an abnormal pitch of + vigour these two days gave way to a curious nervous tension. His book of + answers was beside him. He did not write down what the thing was, but with + one eye at the microscope he began making a hasty sketch of it. His mind + was full of this grotesque puzzle in ethics that had suddenly been sprung + upon him. Should he identify it? or should he leave this question + unanswered? In that case Wedderburn would probably come out first in the + second result. How could he tell now whether he might not have identified + the thing without shifting it? It was possible that Wedderburn had failed + to recognise it, of course. Suppose Wedderburn too had shifted the slide? + He looked up at the clock. There were fifteen minutes in which to make up + his mind. He gathered up his book of answers and the coloured pencils he + used in illustrating his replies and walked back to his seat. + </p> + <p> + He read through his manuscript, and then sat thinking and gnawing his + knuckle. It would look queer now if he owned up. He <i>must</i> beat + Wedderburn. He forgot the examples of those starry gentlemen, John Burns + and Bradlaugh. Besides, he reflected, the glimpse of the rest of the slip + he had had was, after all, quite accidental, forced upon him by chance, a + kind of providential revelation rather than an unfair advantage. It was + not nearly so dishonest to avail himself of that as it was of Broome, who + believed in the efficacy of prayer, to pray daily for a first-class. "Five + minutes more," said the demonstrator, folding up his paper and becoming + observant. Hill watched the clock hands until two minutes remained; then + he opened the book of answers, and, with hot ears and an affectation of + ease, gave his drawing of the lenticel its name. + </p> + <p> + When the second pass list appeared, the previous positions of Wedderburn + and Hill were reversed, and the spectacled girl in green, who knew the + demonstrator in private life (where he was practically human), said that + in the result of the two examinations taken together Hill had the + advantage of a mark—167 to 166 out of a possible 200. Everyone + admired Hill in a way, though the suspicion of "mugging" clung to him. But + Hill was to find congratulations and Miss Haysman's enhanced opinion of + him, and even the decided decline in the crest of Wedderburn, tainted by + an unhappy memory. He felt a remarkable access of energy at first, and the + note of a democracy marching to triumph returned to his debating-society + speeches; he worked at his comparative anatomy with tremendous zeal and + effect, and he went on with his aesthetic education. But through it all, a + vivid little picture was continually coming before his mind's eye—of + a sneakish person manipulating a slide. + </p> + <p> + No human being had witnessed the act, and he was cocksure that no higher + power existed to see, it; but for all that it worried him. Memories are + not dead things but alive; they dwindle in disuse, but they harden and + develop in all sorts of queer ways if they are being continually fretted. + Curiously enough, though at the time he perceived clearly that the + shifting was accidental, as the days wore on, his memory became confused + about it, until at last he was not sure—although he assured himself + that he <i>was</i> sure—whether the movement had been absolutely + involuntary. Then it is possible that Hill's dietary was conducive to + morbid conscientiousness; a breakfast frequently eaten in a hurry, a + midday bun, and, at such hours after five as chanced to be convenient, + such meat as his means determined, usually in a chop-house in a back + street off the Brompton Road. Occasionally he treated himself to + threepenny or ninepenny classics, and they usually represented a + suppression of potatoes or chops. It is indisputable that outbreaks of + self-abasement and emotional revival have a distinct relation to periods + of scarcity. But apart from this influence on the feelings, there was in + Hill a distinct aversion to falsity that the blasphemous Landport cobbler + had inculcated by strap and tongue from his earliest years. Of one fact + about professed atheists I am convinced; they may be—they usually + are—fools, void of subtlety, revilers of holy institutions, brutal + speakers, and mischievous knaves, but they lie with difficulty. If it were + not so, if they had the faintest grasp of the idea of compromise, they + would simply be liberal churchmen. And, moreover, this memory poisoned his + regard for Miss Haysman. For she now so evidently preferred him to + Wedderburn that he felt sure he cared for her, and began reciprocating her + attentions by timid marks of personal regard; at one time he even bought a + bunch of violets, carried it about in his pocket, and produced it, with a + stumbling explanation, withered and dead, in the gallery of old iron. It + poisoned, too, the denunciation of capitalist dishonesty that had been one + of his life's pleasures. And, lastly, it poisoned his triumph in + Wedderburn. Previously he had been Wedderburn's superior in his own eyes, + and had raged simply at a want of recognition. Now he began to fret at the + darker suspicion of positive inferiority. He fancied he found + justifications for his position in Browning, but they vanished on + analysis. At last—moved, curiously enough, by exactly the same + motive forces that had resulted in his dishonesty—he went to + Professor Bindon, and made a clean breast of the whole affair. As Hill was + a paid student, Professor Bindon did not ask him to sit down, and he stood + before the professor's desk as he made his confession. + </p> + <p> + "It's a curious story," said Professor Bindon, slowly realising how the + thing reflected on himself, and then letting his anger rise,—"a most + remarkable story. I can't understand your doing it, and I can't understand + this avowal. You're a type of student—Cambridge men would never + dream—I suppose I ought to have thought—why <i>did</i> you + cheat?" + </p> + <p> + "I didn't cheat," said Hill. + </p> + <p> + "But you have just been telling me you did." + </p> + <p> + "I thought I explained—" + </p> + <p> + "Either you cheated or you did not cheat." + </p> + <p> + "I said my motion was involuntary." + </p> + <p> + "I am not a metaphysician, I am a servant of science—of fact. You + were told not to move the slip. You did move the slip. If that is not + cheating—" + </p> + <p> + "If I was a cheat," said Hill, with the note of hysterics in his voice, + "should I come here and tell you?" + </p> + <p> + "Your repentance, of course, does you credit," said Professor Bindon, "but + it does not alter the original facts." + </p> + <p> + "No, sir," said Hill, giving in in utter self-abasement. + </p> + <p> + "Even now you cause an enormous amount of trouble. The examination list + will have to be revised." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose so, sir." + </p> + <p> + "Suppose so? Of course it must be revised. And I don't see how I can + conscientiously pass you." + </p> + <p> + "Not pass me?" said Hill. "Fail me?" + </p> + <p> + "It's the rule in all examinations. Or where should we be? What else did + you expect? You don't want to shirk the consequences of your own acts?" + </p> + <p> + "I thought, perhaps——" said Hill. And then, "Fail me? I + thought, as I told you, you would simply deduct the marks given for that + slip." + </p> + <p> + "Impossible!" said Bindon. "Besides, it would still leave you above + Wedderburn. Deduct only the marks! Preposterous! The Departmental + Regulations distinctly say——" + </p> + <p> + "But it's my own admission, sir." + </p> + <p> + "The Regulations say nothing whatever of the manner in which the matter + comes to light. They simply provide——" + </p> + <p> + "It will ruin me. If I fail this examination, they won't renew my + scholarship." + </p> + <p> + "You should have thought of that before." + </p> + <p> + "But, sir, consider all my circumstances——" + </p> + <p> + "I cannot consider anything. Professors in this College are machines. The + Regulations will not even let us recommend our students for appointments. + I am a machine, and you have worked me. I have to do——" + </p> + <p> + "It's very hard, sir." + </p> + <p> + "Possibly it is." + </p> + <p> + "If I am to be failed this examination, I might as well go home at once." + </p> + <p> + "That is as you think proper." Bindon's voice softened a little; he + perceived he had been unjust, and, provided he did not contradict himself, + he was disposed to amelioration. "As a private person," he said, "I think + this confession of yours goes far to mitigate your offence. But you have + set the machinery in motion, and now it must take its course. I—I am + really sorry you gave way." + </p> + <p> + A wave of emotion prevented Hill from answering. Suddenly, very vividly, + he saw the heavily-lined face of the old Landport cobbler, his father. + "Good God! What a fool I have been!" he said hotly and abruptly. + </p> + <p> + "I hope," said Bindon, "that it will be a lesson to you." + </p> + <p> + But, curiously enough, they were not thinking of quite the same + indiscretion. + </p> + <p> + There was a pause. + </p> + <p> + "I would like a day to think, sir, and then I will let you know—about + going home, I mean," said Hill, moving towards the door. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The next day Hill's place was vacant. The spectacled girl in green was, as + usual, first with the news. Wedderburn and Miss Haysman were talking of a + performance of <i>The Meistersingers</i> when she came up to them. + </p> + <p> + "Have you heard?" she said. + </p> + <p> + "Heard what?" + </p> + <p> + "There was cheating in the examination." + </p> + <p> + "Cheating!" said Wedderburn, with his face suddenly hot. "How?" + </p> + <p> + "That slide—" + </p> + <p> + "Moved? Never!" + </p> + <p> + "It was. That slide that we weren't to move—" + </p> + <p> + "Nonsense!" said Wedderburn. "Why! How could they find out? Who do they + say—?" + </p> + <p> + "It was Mr. Hill." + </p> + <p> + <i>Hill</i>!" + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Hill!" + </p> + <p> + "Not—surely not the immaculate Hill?" said Wedderburn, recovering. + </p> + <p> + "I don't believe it," said Miss Haysman. "How do you know?" + </p> + <p> + "I <i>didn't</i>," said the girl in spectacles. "But I know it now for a + fact. Mr. Hill went and confessed to Professor Bindon himself." + </p> + <p> + "By Jove!" said Wedderburn. "Hill of all people. But I am always inclined + to distrust these philanthropists-on-principle—" + </p> + <p> + "Are you quite sure?" said Miss Haysman, with a catch in her breath. + </p> + <p> + "Quite. It's dreadful, isn't it? But, you know, what can you expect? His + father is a cobbler." + </p> + <p> + Then Miss Haysman astonished the girl in spectacles. + </p> + <p> + "I don't care. I will not believe it," she said, flushing darkly under her + warm-tinted skin. "I will not believe it until he has told me so himself— + face to face. I would scarcely believe it then," and abruptly she turned + her back on the girl in spectacles, and walked to her own place. + </p> + <p> + "It's true, all the same," said the girl in spectacles, peering and + smiling at Wedderburn. + </p> + <p> + But Wedderburn did not answer her. She was indeed one of those people who + seemed destined to make unanswered remarks. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIX. — THE CRYSTAL EGG. + </h2> + <p> + There was, until a year ago, a little and very grimy-looking shop near + Seven Dials, over which, in weather-worn yellow lettering, the name of "C. + Cave, Naturalist and Dealer in Antiquities," was inscribed. The contents + of its window were curiously variegated. They comprised some elephant + tusks and an imperfect set of chessmen, beads and weapons, a box of eyes, + two skulls of tigers and one human, several moth-eaten stuffed monkeys + (one holding a lamp), an old-fashioned cabinet, a fly-blown ostrich egg or + so, some fishing-tackle, and an extraordinarily dirty, empty glass + fish-tank. There was also, at the moment the story begins, a mass of + crystal, worked into the shape of an egg and brilliantly polished. And at + that two people who stood outside the window were looking, one of them a + tall, thin clergyman, the other a black-bearded young man of dusky + complexion and unobtrusive costume. The dusky young man spoke with eager + gesticulation, and seemed anxious for his companion to purchase the + article. + </p> + <p> + While they were there, Mr. Cave came into his shop, his beard still + wagging with the bread and butter of his tea. When he saw these men and + the object of their regard, his countenance fell. He glanced guiltily over + his shoulder, and softly shut the door. He was a little old man, with pale + face and peculiar watery blue eyes; his hair was a dirty grey, and he wore + a shabby blue frock-coat, an ancient silk hat, and carpet slippers very + much down at heel. He remained watching the two men as they talked. The + clergyman went deep into his trouser pocket, examined a handful of money, + and showed his teeth in an agreeable smile. Mr. Cave seemed still more + depressed when they came into the shop. + </p> + <p> + The clergyman, without any ceremony, asked the price of the crystal egg. + Mr. Cave glanced nervously towards the door leading into the parlour, and + said five pounds. The clergyman protested that the price was high, to his + companion as well as to Mr. Cave—it was, indeed, very much more than + Mr. Cave had intended to ask when he had stocked the article—and an + attempt at bargaining ensued. Mr. Cave stepped to the shop door, and held + it open. "Five pounds is my price," he said, as though he wished to save + himself the trouble of unprofitable discussion. As he did so, the upper + portion of a woman's face appeared above the blind in the glass upper + panel of the door leading into the parlour, and stared curiously at the + two customers. "Five pounds is my price," said Mr. Cave, with a quiver in + his voice. + </p> + <p> + The swarthy young man had so far remained a spectator, watching Cave + keenly. Now he spoke. "Give him five pounds," he said. The clergyman + glanced at him to see if he were in earnest, and when he looked at Mr. + Cave again, he saw that the latter's face was white. "It's a lot of + money," said the clergyman, and, diving into his pocket, began counting + his resources. He had little more than thirty shillings, and he appealed + to his companion, with whom he seemed to be on terms of considerable + intimacy. This gave Mr. Cave an opportunity of collecting his thoughts, + and he began to explain in an agitated manner that the crystal was not, as + a matter of fact, entirely free for sale. His two customers were naturally + surprised at this, and inquired why he had not thought of that before he + began to bargain. Mr. Cave became confused, but he stuck to his story, + that the crystal was not in the market that afternoon, that a probable + purchaser of it had already appeared. The two, treating this as an attempt + to raise the price still further, made as if they would leave the shop. + But at this point the parlour door opened, and the owner of the dark + fringe and the little eyes appeared. + </p> + <p> + She was a coarse-featured, corpulent woman, younger and very much larger + than Mr. Cave; she walked heavily, and her face was flushed. "That crystal + <i>is</i> for sale," she said. "And five pounds is a good enough price for + it. I can't think what you're about, Cave, not to take the gentleman's + offer!" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Cave, greatly perturbed by the irruption, looked angrily at her over + the rims of his spectacles, and, without excessive assurance, asserted his + right to manage his business in his own way. An altercation began. The two + customers watched the scene with interest and some amusement, occasionally + assisting Mrs. Cave with suggestions. Mr. Cave, hard driven, persisted in + a confused and impossible story of an inquiry for the crystal that + morning, and his agitation became painful. But he stuck to his point with + extraordinary persistence. It was the young Oriental who ended this + curious controversy. He proposed that they should call again in the course + of two days—so as to give the alleged inquirer a fair chance. "And + then we must insist," said the clergyman. "Five pounds." Mrs. Cave took it + on herself to apologise for her husband, explaining that he was sometimes + "a little odd," and as the two customers left, the couple prepared for a + free discussion of the incident in all its bearings. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Cave talked to her husband with singular directness. The poor little + man, quivering with emotion, muddled himself between his stories, + maintaining on the one hand that he had another customer in view, and on + the other asserting that the crystal was honestly worth ten guineas. "Why + did you ask five pounds?" said his wife. "<i>Do</i> let me manage my + business my own way!" said Mr. Cave. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Cave had living with him a step-daughter and a step-son, and at supper + that night the transaction was re-discussed. None of them had a high + opinion of Mr. Cave's business methods, and this action seemed a + culminating folly. + </p> + <p> + "It's my opinion he's refused that crystal before," said the step-son, a + loose-limbed lout of eighteen. + </p> + <p> + "But <i>Five Pounds</i>!" said the step-daughter, an argumentative young + woman of six-and-twenty. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Cave's answers were wretched; he could only mumble weak assertions + that he knew his own business best. They drove him from his half-eaten + supper into the shop, to close it for the night, his ears aflame and tears + of vexation behind his spectacles. Why had he left the crystal in the + window so long? The folly of it! That was the trouble closest in his mind. + For a time he could see no way of evading sale. + </p> + <p> + After supper his step-daughter and step-son smartened themselves up and + went out and his wife retired upstairs to reflect upon the business + aspects of the crystal, over a little sugar and lemon and so forth in hot + water. Mr. Cave went into the shop, and stayed there until late, + ostensibly to make ornamental rockeries for gold-fish cases, but really + for a private purpose that will be better explained later. The next day + Mrs. Cave found that the crystal had been removed from the window, and was + lying behind some second-hand books on angling. She replaced it in a + conspicuous position. But she did not argue further about it, as a nervous + headache disinclined her from debate. Mr. Cave was always disinclined. The + day passed disagreeably. Mr. Cave was, if anything, more absent-minded + than usual, and uncommonly irritable withal. In the afternoon, when his + wife was taking her customary sleep, he removed the crystal from the + window again. + </p> + <p> + The next day Mr. Cave had to deliver a consignment of dog-fish at one of + the hospital schools, where they were needed for dissection. In his + absence Mrs. Cave's mind reverted to the topic of the crystal, and the + methods of expenditure suitable to a windfall of five pounds. She had + already devised some very agreeable expedients, among others a dress of + green silk for herself and a trip to Richmond, when a jangling of the + front door bell summoned her into the shop. The customer was an + examination coach who came to complain of the non-delivery of certain + frogs asked for the previous day. Mrs. Cave did not approve of this + particular branch of Mr. Cave's business, and the gentleman, who had + called in a somewhat aggressive mood, retired after a brief exchange of + words—entirely civil, so far as he was concerned. Mrs. Cave's eye + then naturally turned to the window; for the sight of the crystal was an + assurance of the five pounds and of her dreams. What was her surprise to + find it gone! + </p> + <p> + She went to the place behind the locker on the counter, where she had + discovered it the day before. It was not there; and she immediately began + an eager search about the shop. + </p> + <p> + When Mr. Cave returned from his business with the dogfish, about a quarter + to two in the afternoon, he found the shop in some confusion, and his + wife, extremely exasperated and on her knees behind the counter, routing + among his taxidermic material. Her face came up hot and angry over the + counter, as the jangling bell announced his return, and she forthwith + accused him of "hiding it." + </p> + <p> + "Hid <i>what</i>?" asked Mr. Cave. + </p> + <p> + "The crystal!" + </p> + <p> + At that Mr. Cave, apparently much surprised, rushed to the window. "Isn't + it here?" he said. "Great Heavens! what has become of it?" + </p> + <p> + Just then Mr. Cave's step-son re-entered the shop from, the inner room—he + had come home a minute or so before Mr. Cave—and he was blaspheming + freely. He was apprenticed to a second-hand furniture dealer down the + road, but he had his meals at home, and he was naturally annoyed to find + no dinner ready. + </p> + <p> + But when he heard of the loss of the crystal, he forgot his meal, and his + anger was diverted from his mother to his step-father. Their first idea, + of course, was that he had hidden it. But Mr. Cave stoutly denied all + knowledge of its fate, freely offering his bedabbled affidavit in the + matter—and at last was worked up to the point of accusing, first, + his wife and then his stepson of having taken it with a view to a private + sale. So began an exceedingly acrimonious and emotional discussion, which + ended for Mrs. Cave in a peculiar nervous condition midway between + hysterics and amuck, and caused the step-son to be half-an-hour late at + the furniture establishment in the afternoon. Mr. Cave took refuge from + his wife's emotions in the shop. + </p> + <p> + In the evening the matter was resumed, with less passion and in a judicial + spirit, under the presidency of the step-daughter. The supper passed + unhappily and culminated in a painful scene. Mr. Cave gave way at last to + extreme exasperation, and went out banging the front door violently. The + rest of the family, having discussed him with the freedom his absence + warranted, hunted the house from garret to cellar, hoping to light upon + the crystal. + </p> + <p> + The next day the two customers called again. They were received by Mrs. + Cave almost in tears. It transpired that no one <i>could</i> imagine all + that she had stood from Cave at various times in her married pilgrimage. + ... She also gave a garbled account of the disappearance. The clergyman + and the Oriental laughed silently at one another, and said it was very + extraordinary. As Mrs. Cave seemed disposed to give them the complete + history of her life they made to leave the shop. Thereupon Mrs. Cave, + still clinging to hope, asked for the clergyman's address, so that, if she + could get anything out of Cave, she might communicate it. The address was + duly given, but apparently was afterwards mislaid. Mrs. Cave can remember + nothing about it. + </p> + <p> + In the evening of that day the Caves seem to have exhausted their + emotions, and Mr. Cave, who had been out in the afternoon, supped in a + gloomy isolation that contrasted pleasantly with the impassioned + controversy of the previous days. For some time matters were very badly + strained in the Cave household, but neither crystal nor customer + reappeared. + </p> + <p> + Now, without mincing the matter, we must admit that Mr. Cave was a liar. + He knew perfectly well where the crystal was. It was in the rooms of Mr. + Jacoby Wace, Assistant Demonstrator at St. Catherine's Hospital, + Westbourne Street. It stood on the sideboard partially covered by a black + velvet cloth, and beside a decanter of American whisky. It is from Mr. + Wace, indeed, that the particulars upon which this narrative is based were + derived. Cave had taken off the thing to the hospital hidden in the + dog-fish sack, and there had pressed the young investigator to keep it for + him. Mr. Wace was a little dubious at first. His relationship to Cave was + peculiar. He had a taste for singular characters, and he had more than + once invited the old man to smoke and drink in his rooms, and to unfold + his rather amusing views of life in general and of his wife in particular. + Mr. Wace had encountered Mrs. Cave, too, on occasions when Mr. Cave was + not at home to attend to him. He knew the constant interference to which + Cave was subjected, and having weighed the story judicially, he decided to + give the crystal a refuge. Mr. Cave promised to explain the reasons for + his remarkable affection for the crystal more fully on a later occasion, + but he spoke distinctly of seeing visions therein. He called on Mr. Wace + the same evening. + </p> + <p> + He told a complicated story. The crystal he said had come into his + possession with other oddments at the forced sale of another curiosity + dealer's effects, and not knowing what its value might be, he had ticketed + it at ten shillings. It had hung upon his hands at that price for some + months, and he was thinking of "reducing the figure," when he made a + singular discovery. + </p> + <p> + At that time his health was very bad—and it must be borne in mind + that, throughout all this experience, his physical condition was one of + ebb—and he was in considerable distress by reason of the negligence, + the positive ill-treatment even, he received from his wife and + step-children. His wife was vain, extravagant, unfeeling, and had a + growing taste for private drinking; his step-daughter was mean and + over-reaching; and his step-son had conceived a violent dislike for him, + and lost no chance of showing it. The requirements of his business pressed + heavily upon him, and Mr. Wace does not think that he was altogether free + from occasional intemperance. He had begun life in a comfortable position, + he was a man of fair education, and he suffered, for weeks at a stretch, + from melancholia and insomnia. Afraid to disturb his family, he would slip + quietly from his wife's side, when his thoughts became intolerable, and + wander about the house. And about three o'clock one morning, late in + August, chance directed him into the shop. + </p> + <p> + The dirty little place was impenetrably black except in one spot, where he + perceived an unusual glow of light. Approaching this, he discovered it to + be the crystal egg, which was standing on the corner of the counter + towards the window. A thin ray smote through a crack in the shutters, + impinged upon the object, and seemed as it were to fill its entire + interior. + </p> + <p> + It occurred to Mr. Cave that this was not in accordance with the laws of + optics as he had known them in his younger days. He could understand the + rays being refracted by the crystal and coming to a focus in its interior, + but this diffusion jarred with his physical conceptions. He approached the + crystal nearly, peering into it and round it, with a transient revival of + the scientific curiosity that in his youth had determined his choice of a + calling. He was surprised to find the light not steady, but writhing + within the substance of the egg, as though that object was a hollow sphere + of some luminous vapour. In moving about to get different points of view, + he suddenly found that he had come between it and the ray, and that the + crystal none the less remained luminous. Greatly astonished, he lifted it + out of the light ray and carried it to the darkest part of the shop. It + remained bright for some four or five minutes, when it slowly faded and + went out. He placed it in the thin streak of daylight, and its + luminousness was almost immediately restored. + </p> + <p> + So far, at least, Mr. Wace was able to verify the remarkable story of Mr. + Cave. He has himself repeatedly held this crystal in a ray of light (which + had to be of a less diameter than one millimetre). And in a perfect + darkness, such as could be produced by velvet wrapping, the crystal did + undoubtedly appear very faintly phosphorescent. It would seem, however, + that the luminousness was of some exceptional sort, and not equally + visible to all eyes; for Mr. Harbinger—whose name will be familiar + to the scientific reader in connection with the Pasteur Institute—was + quite unable to see any light whatever. And Mr. Wace's own capacity for + its appreciation was out of comparison inferior to that of Mr. Cave's. + Even with Mr. Cave the power varied very considerably: his vision was most + vivid during states of extreme weakness and fatigue. + </p> + <p> + Now, from the outset, this light in the crystal exercised a curious + fascination upon Mr. Cave. And it says more for his loneliness of soul + than a volume of pathetic writing could do, that he told no human being of + his curious observations. He seems to have been living in such an + atmosphere of petty spite that to admit the existence of a pleasure would + have been to risk the loss of it. He found that as the dawn advanced, and + the amount of diffused light increased, the crystal became to all + appearance non-luminous. And for some time he was unable to see anything + in it, except at night-time, in dark corners of the shop. + </p> + <p> + But the use of an old velvet cloth, which he used as a background for a + collection of minerals, occurred to him, and by doubling this, and putting + it over his head and hands, he was able to get a sight of the luminous + movement within the crystal even in the day-time. He was very cautious + lest he should be thus discovered by his wife, and he practised this + occupation only in the afternoons, while she was asleep upstairs, and then + circumspectly in a hollow under the counter. And one day, turning the + crystal about in his hands, he saw something. It came and went like a + flash, but it gave him the impression that the object had for a moment + opened to him the view of a wide and spacious and strange country; and + turning it about, he did, just as the light faded, see the same vision + again. + </p> + <p> + Now it would be tedious and unnecessary to state all the phases of Mr. + Cave's discovery from this point. Suffice that the effect was this: the + crystal, being peered into at an angle of about 137 degrees from the + direction of the illuminating ray, gave a clear and consistent picture of + a wide and peculiar country-side. It was not dream-like at all: it + produced a definite impression of reality, and the better the light the + more real and solid it seemed. It was a moving picture: that is to say, + certain objects moved in it, but slowly in an orderly manner like real + things, and, according as the direction of the lighting and vision + changed, the picture changed also. It must, indeed, have been like looking + through an oval glass at a view, and turning the glass about to get at + different aspects. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Cave's statements, Mr. Wace assures me, were extremely circumstantial, + and entirely free from any of that emotional quality that taints + hallucinatory impressions. But it must be remembered that all the efforts + of Mr. Wace to see any similar clarity in the faint opalescence of the + crystal were wholly unsuccessful, try as he would. The difference in + intensity of the impressions received by the two men was very great, and + it is quite conceivable that what was a view to Mr. Cave was a mere + blurred nebulosity to Mr. Wace. + </p> + <p> + The view, as Mr. Cave described it, was invariably of an extensive plain, + and he seemed always to be looking at it from a considerable height, as if + from a tower or a mast. To the east and to the west the plain was bounded + at a remote distance by vast reddish cliffs, which reminded him of those + he had seen in some picture; but what the picture was Mr. Wace was unable + to ascertain. These cliffs passed north and south—he could tell the + points of the compass by the stars that were visible of a night—receding + in an almost illimitable perspective and fading into the mists of the + distance before they met. He was nearer the eastern set of cliffs; on the + occasion of his first vision the sun was rising over them, and black + against the sunlight and pale against their shadow appeared a multitude of + soaring forms that Mr. Cave regarded as birds. A vast range of buildings + spread below him; he seemed to be looking down upon them; and as they + approached the blurred and refracted edge of the picture they became + indistinct. There were also trees curious in shape, and in colouring a + deep mossy green and an exquisite grey, beside a wide and shining canal. + And something great and brilliantly coloured flew across the picture. But + the first time Mr. Cave saw these pictures he saw only in flashes, his + hands shook, his head moved, the vision came and went, and grew foggy and + indistinct. And at first he had the greatest difficulty in finding the + picture again once the direction of it was lost. + </p> + <p> + His next clear vision, which came about a week after the first, the + interval having yielded nothing but tantalising glimpses and some useful + experience, showed him the view down the length of the valley. The view + was different, but he had a curious persuasion, which his subsequent + observations abundantly confirmed, that he was regarding the strange world + from exactly the same spot, although he was looking in a different + direction. The long façade of the great building, whose roof he had looked + down upon before, was now receding in perspective. He recognised the roof. + In the front of the façade was a terrace of massive proportions and + extraordinary length, and down the middle of the terrace, at certain + intervals, stood huge but very graceful masts, bearing small shiny objects + which reflected the setting sun. The import of these small objects did not + occur to Mr. Cave until some time after, as he was describing the scene to + Mr. Wace. The terrace overhung a thicket of the most luxuriant and + graceful vegetation, and beyond this was a wide grassy lawn on which + certain broad creatures, in form like beetles but enormously larger, + reposed. Beyond this again was a richly decorated causeway of pinkish + stone; and beyond that, and lined with dense red weeds, and passing up the + valley exactly parallel with the distant cliffs, was a broad and + mirror-like expanse of water. The air seemed full of squadrons of great + birds, manoeuvring in stately curves; and across the river was a multitude + of splendid buildings, richly coloured and glittering with metallic + tracery and facets, among a forest of moss-like and lichenous trees. And + suddenly something flapped repeatedly across the vision, like the + fluttering of a jewelled fan or the beating of a wing, and a face, or + rather the upper part of a face with very large eyes, came as it were + close to his own and as if on the other side of the crystal. Mr. Cave was + so startled and so impressed by the absolute reality of these eyes that he + drew his head back from the crystal to look behind it. He had become so + absorbed in watching that he was quite surprised to find himself in the + cool darkness of his little shop, with its familiar odour of methyl, + mustiness, and decay. And as he blinked about him, the glowing crystal + faded and went out. + </p> + <p> + Such were the first general impressions of Mr. Cave. The story is + curiously direct and circumstantial. From the outset, when the valley + first flashed momentarily on his senses, his imagination was strangely + affected, and as he began to appreciate the details of the scene he saw, + his wonder rose to the point of a passion. He went about his business + listless and distraught, thinking only of the time when he should be able + to return to his watching. And then a few weeks after his first sight of + the valley came the two customers, the stress and excitement of their + offer, and the narrow escape of the crystal from sale, as I have already + told. + </p> + <p> + Now, while the thing was Mr. Cave's secret, it remained a mere wonder, a + thing to creep to covertly and peep at, as a child might peep upon a + forbidden garden. But Mr. Wace has, for a young scientific investigator, a + particularly lucid and consecutive habit of mind. Directly the crystal and + its story came to him, and he had satisfied himself, by seeing the + phosphorescence with his own eyes, that there really was a certain + evidence for Mr. Cave's statements, he proceeded to develop the matter + systematically. Mr. Cave was only too eager to come and feast his eyes on + this wonderland he saw, and he came every night from half-past eight until + half-past ten, and sometimes, in Mr. Wace's absence, during the day. On + Sunday afternoons, also, he came. From the outset Mr. Wace made copious + notes, and it was due to his scientific method that the relation between + the direction from which the initiating ray entered the crystal and the + orientation of the picture were proved. And, by covering the crystal in a + box perforated only with a small aperture to admit the exciting ray, and + by substituting black holland for his buff blinds, he greatly improved the + conditions of the observations; so that in a little while they were able + to survey the valley in any direction they desired. + </p> + <p> + So having cleared the way, we may give a brief account of this visionary + world within the crystal. The things were in all cases seen by Mr. Cave, + and the method of working was invariably for him to watch the crystal and + report what he saw, while Mr. Wace (who as a science student had learnt + the trick of writing in the dark) wrote a brief note of his report. When + the crystal faded, it was put into its box in the proper position and the + electric light turned on. Mr. Wace asked questions, and suggested + observations to clear up difficult points. Nothing, indeed, could have + been less visionary and more matter-of-fact. + </p> + <p> + The attention of Mr. Cave had been speedily directed to the bird-like + creatures he had seen so abundantly present in each of his earlier + visions. His first impression was soon corrected, and he considered for a + time that they might represent a diurnal species of bat. Then he thought, + grotesquely enough, that they might be cherubs. Their heads were round and + curiously human, and it was the eyes of one of them that had so startled + him on his second observation. They had broad, silvery wings, not + feathered, but glistening almost as brilliantly as new-killed fish and + with the same subtle play of colour, and these wings were not built on the + plan of bird-wing or bat, Mr. Wace learned, but supported by curved ribs + radiating from the body. (A sort of butterfly wing with curved ribs seems + best to express their appearance.) The body was small, but fitted with two + bunches of prehensile organs, like long tentacles, immediately under the + mouth. Incredible as it appeared to Mr. Wace, the persuasion at last + became irresistible that it was these creatures which owned the great + quasi-human buildings and the magnificent garden that made the broad + valley so splendid. And Mr. Cave perceived that the buildings, with other + peculiarities, had no doors, but that the great circular windows, which + opened freely, gave the creatures egress and entrance. They would alight + upon their tentacles, fold their wings to a smallness almost rod-like, and + hop into the interior. But among them was a multitude of smaller-winged + creatures, like great dragon-flies and moths and flying beetles, and + across the greensward brilliantly-coloured gigantic ground-beetles crawled + lazily to and fro. Moreover, on the causeways and terraces, large-headed + creatures similar to the greater winged flies, but wingless, were visible, + hopping busily upon their hand-like tangle of tentacles. + </p> + <p> + Allusion has already been made to the glittering objects upon masts that + stood upon the terrace of the nearer building. It dawned upon Mr. Cave, + after regarding one of these masts very fixedly on one particularly vivid + day that the glittering object there was a crystal exactly like that into + which he peered. And a still more careful scrutiny convinced him that each + one in a vista of nearly twenty carried a similar object. + </p> + <p> + Occasionally one of the large flying creatures would flutter up to one, + and folding its wings and coiling a number of its tentacles about the + mast, would regard the crystal fixedly for a space,—sometimes for as + long as fifteen minutes. And a series of observations, made at the + suggestion of Mr. Wace, convinced both watchers that, so far as this + visionary world was concerned, the crystal into which they peered actually + stood at the summit of the end-most mast on the terrace, and that on one + occasion at least one of these inhabitants of this other world had looked + into Mr. Cave's face while he was making these observations. + </p> + <p> + So much for the essential facts of this very singular story. Unless we + dismiss it all as the ingenious fabrication of Mr. Wace, we have to + believe one of two things: either that Mr. Cave's crystal was in two + worlds at once, and that while it was carried about in one, it remained + stationary in the other, which seems altogether absurd; or else that it + had some peculiar relation of sympathy with another and exactly similar + crystal in this other world, so that what was seen in the interior of the + one in this world was, under suitable conditions, visible to an observer + in the corresponding crystal in the other world; and <i>vice versa</i>. At + present, indeed, we do not know of any way in which two crystals could so + come <i>en rapport</i>, but nowadays we know enough to understand that the + thing is not altogether impossible. This view of the crystals as <i>en + rapport</i> was the supposition that occurred to Mr. Wace, and to me at + least it seems extremely plausible... + </p> + <p> + And where was this other world? On this, also, the alert intelligence of + Mr. Wace speedily threw light. After sunset, the sky darkened rapidly— + there was a very brief twilight interval indeed—and the stars shone + out. They were recognisably the same as those we see, arranged in the same + constellations. Mr. Cave recognised the Bear, the Pleiades, Aldebaran, and + Sirius; so that the other world must be somewhere in the solar system, + and, at the utmost, only a few hundreds of millions of miles from our own. + Following up this clue, Mr. Wace learned that the midnight sky was a + darker blue even than our midwinter sky, and that the sun seemed a little + smaller. <i>And there were two small moons!</i> "like our moon but + smaller, and quite differently marked," one of which moved so rapidly that + its motion was clearly visible as one regarded it. These moons were never + high in the sky, but vanished as they rose: that is, every time they + revolved they were eclipsed because they were so near their primary + planet. And all this answers quite completely, although Mr. Cave did not + know it, to what must be the condition of things on Mars. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, it seems an exceedingly plausible conclusion that peering into + this crystal Mr. Cave did actually see the planet Mars and its + inhabitants. And if that be the case, then the evening star that shone so + brilliantly in the sky of that distant vision was neither more nor less + than our own familiar earth. + </p> + <p> + For a time the Martians—if they were Martians—do not seem to + have known of Mr. Cave's inspection. Once or twice one would come to peer, + and go away very shortly to some other mast, as though the vision was + unsatisfactory. During this time Mr. Cave was able to watch the + proceedings of these winged people without being disturbed by their + attentions, and although his report is necessarily vague and fragmentary, + it is nevertheless very suggestive. Imagine the impression of humanity a + Martian observer would get who, after a difficult process of preparation + and with considerable fatigue to the eyes, was able to peer at London from + the steeple of St. Martin's Church for stretches, at longest, of four + minutes at a time. Mr. Cave was unable to ascertain if the winged Martians + were the same as the Martians who hopped about the causeways and terraces, + and if the latter could put on wings at will. He several times saw certain + clumsy bipeds, dimly suggestive of apes, white and partially translucent, + feeding among certain of the lichenous trees, and once some of these fled + before one of the hopping, round-headed Martians. The latter caught one in + its tentacles, and then the picture faded suddenly and left Mr. Cave most + tantalisingly in the dark. On another occasion a vast thing, that Mr. Cave + thought at first was some gigantic insect, appeared advancing along the + causeway beside the canal with extraordinary rapidity. As this drew nearer + Mr. Cave perceived that it was a mechanism of shining metals and of + extraordinary complexity. And then, when he looked again, it had passed + out of sight. + </p> + <p> + After a time Mr. Wace aspired to attract the attention of the Martians, + and the next time that the strange eyes of one of them appeared close to + the crystal Mr. Cave cried out and sprang away, and they immediately + turned on the light and began to gesticulate in a manner suggestive of + signalling. But when at last Mr. Cave examined the crystal again the + Martian had departed. + </p> + <p> + Thus far these observations had progressed in early November, and then Mr. + Cave, feeling that the suspicions of his family about the crystal were + allayed, began to take it to and fro with him in order that, as occasion + arose in the daytime or night, he might comfort himself with what was fast + becoming the most real thing in his existence. + </p> + <p> + In December Mr. Wace's work in connection with a forthcoming examination + became heavy, the sittings were reluctantly suspended for a week, and for + ten or eleven days—he is not quite sure which—he saw nothing + of Cave. He then grew anxious to resume these investigations, and, the + stress of his seasonal labours being abated, he went down to Seven Dials. + At the corner he noticed a shutter before a bird fancier's window, and + then another at a cobbler's. Mr. Cave's shop was closed. + </p> + <p> + He rapped and the door was opened by the step-son in black. He at once + called Mrs. Cave, who was, Mr. Wace could not but observe, in cheap but + ample widow's weeds of the most imposing pattern. Without any very great + surprise Mr. Wace learnt that Cave was dead and already buried. She was in + tears, and her voice was a little thick. She had just returned from + Highgate. Her mind seemed occupied with her own prospects and the + honourable details of the obsequies, but Mr. Wace was at last able to + learn the particulars of Cave's death. He had been found dead in his shop + in the early morning, the day after his last visit to Mr. Wace, and the + crystal had been clasped in his stone-cold hands. His face was smiling, + said Mrs. Cave, and the velvet cloth from the minerals lay on the floor at + his feet. He must have been dead five or six hours when he was found. + </p> + <p> + This came as a great shock to Wace, and he began to reproach himself + bitterly for having neglected the plain symptoms of the old man's + ill-health. But his chief thought was of the crystal. He approached that + topic in a gingerly manner, because he knew Mrs. Cave's peculiarities. He + was dumfounded to learn that it was sold. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Cave's first impulse, directly Cave's body had been taken upstairs, + had been to write to the mad clergyman who had offered five pounds for the + crystal, informing him of its recovery; but after a violent hunt, in which + her daughter joined her, they were convinced of the loss of his address. + As they were without the means required to mourn and bury Cave in the + elaborate style the dignity of an old Seven Dials inhabitant demands, they + had appealed to a friendly fellow-tradesman in Great Portland Street. He + had very kindly taken over a portion of the stock at a valuation. The + valuation was his own, and the crystal egg was included in one of the + lots. Mr. Wace, after a few suitable condolences, a little off-handedly + proffered perhaps, hurried at once to Great Portland Street. But there he + learned that the crystal egg had already been sold to a tall, dark man in + grey. And there the material facts in this curious, and to me at least + very suggestive, story come abruptly to an end. The Great Portland Street + dealer did not know who the tall dark man in grey was, nor had he observed + him with sufficient attention to describe him minutely. He did not even + know which way this person had gone after leaving the shop. For a time Mr. + Wace remained in the shop, trying the dealer's patience with hopeless + questions, venting his own exasperation. And at last, realising abruptly + that the whole thing had passed out of his hands, had vanished like a + vision of the night, he returned to his own rooms, a little astonished to + find the notes he had made still tangible and visible upon, his untidy + table. + </p> + <p> + His annoyance and disappointment were naturally very great. He made a + second call (equally ineffectual) upon the Great Portland Street dealer, + and he resorted to advertisements in such periodicals as were lively to + come into the hands of a <i>bric-a-brac</i> collector. He also wrote + letters to <i>The Daily Chronicle</i> and <i>Nature</i>, but both those + periodicals, suspecting a hoax, asked him to reconsider his action before + they printed, and he was advised that such a strange story, unfortunately + so bare of supporting evidence, might imperil his reputation as an + investigator. Moreover, the calls of his proper work were urgent. So that + after a month or so, save for an occasional reminder to certain dealers, + he had reluctantly to abandon the quest for the crystal egg, and from that + day to this it remains undiscovered. Occasionally, however, he tells me, + and I can quite believe him, he has bursts of zeal, in which he abandons + his more urgent occupation and resumes the search. + </p> + <p> + Whether or not it will remain lost for ever, with the material and origin + of it, are things equally speculative at the present time. If the present + purchaser is a collector, one would have expected the enquiries of Mr. + Wace to have reached him through the dealers. He has been able to discover + Mr. Cave's clergyman and "Oriental"—no other than the Rev. James + Parker and the young Prince of Bosso-Kuni in Java. I am obliged to them + for certain particulars. The object of the Prince was simply curiosity—and + extravagance. He was so eager to buy because Cave was so oddly reluctant + to sell. It is just as possible that the buyer in the second instance was + simply a casual purchaser and not a collector at all, and the crystal egg, + for all I know, may at the present moment be within a mile of me, + decorating a drawing-room or serving as a paper-weight—its + remarkable functions all unknown. Indeed, it is partly with the idea of + such a possibility that I have thrown this narrative into a form that will + give it a chance of being read by the ordinary consumer of fiction. + </p> + <p> + My own ideas in the matter are practically identical with those of Mr. + Wace. I believe the crystal on the mast in Mars and the crystal egg of Mr. + Cave's to be in some physical, but at present quite inexplicable, way <i>en + rapport</i>, and we both believe further that the terrestrial crystal must + have been—possibly at some remote date—sent hither from that + planet, in order to give the Martians a near view of our affairs. Possibly + the fellows to the crystals on the other masts are also on our globe. No + theory of hallucination suffices for the facts. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XX. — THE STAR. + </h2> + <p> + It was on the first day of the new year that the announcement was made, + almost simultaneously from three observatories, that the motion of the + planet Neptune, the outermost of all the planets that wheel about the sun, + had become very erratic. Ogilvy had already called attention to a + suspected retardation in its velocity in December. Such a piece of news + was scarcely calculated to interest a world the greater portion of whose + inhabitants were unaware of the existence of the planet Neptune, nor + outside the astronomical profession did the subsequent discovery of a + faint remote speck of light in the region of the perturbed planet cause + any very great excitement. Scientific people, however, found the + intelligence remarkable enough, even before it became known that the new + body was rapidly growing larger and brighter, that its motion was quite + different from the orderly progress of the planets, and that the + deflection of Neptune and its satellite was becoming now of an + unprecedented kind. + </p> + <p> + Few people without a training in science can realise the huge isolation of + the solar system. The sun with its specks of planets, its dust of + planetoids, and its impalpable comets, swims in a vacant immensity that + almost defeats the imagination. Beyond the orbit of Neptune there is + space, vacant so far as human observation has penetrated, without warmth + or light or sound, blank emptiness, for twenty million times a million + miles. That is the smallest estimate of the distance to be traversed + before the very nearest of the stars is attained. And, saving a few comets + more unsubstantial than the thinnest flame, no matter had ever to human + knowledge crossed this gulf of space until early in the twentieth century + this strange wanderer appeared. A vast mass of matter it was, bulky, + heavy, rushing without warning out of the black mystery of the sky into + the radiance of the sun. By the second day it was clearly visible to any + decent instrument, as a speck with a barely sensible diameter, in the + constellation Leo near Regulus. In a little while an opera glass could + attain it. + </p> + <p> + On the third day of the new year the newspaper readers of two hemispheres + were made aware for the first time of the real importance of this unusual + apparition in the heavens. "A Planetary Collision," one London paper + headed the news, and proclaimed Duchaine's opinion that this strange new + planet would probably collide with Neptune. The leader-writers enlarged + upon the topic. So that in most of the capitals of the world, on January + 3rd, there was an expectation, however vague, of some imminent phenomenon + in the sky; and as the night followed the sunset round the globe, + thousands of men turned their eyes skyward to see—the old familiar + stars just as they had always been. + </p> + <p> + Until it was dawn in London and Pollux setting and the stars overhead + grown pale. The Winter's dawn it was, a sickly filtering accumulation of + daylight, and the light of gas and candles shone yellow in the windows to + show where people were astir. But the yawning policeman saw the thing, the + busy crowds in the markets stopped agape, workmen going to their work + betimes, milkmen, the drivers of news-carts, dissipation going home jaded + and pale, homeless wanderers, sentinels on their beats, and, in the + country, labourers trudging afield, poachers slinking home, all over the + dusky quickening country it could be seen—and out at sea by seamen + watching for the day—a great white star, come suddenly into the + westward sky! + </p> + <p> + Brighter it was than any star in our skies; brighter than the evening star + at its brightest. It still glowed out white and large, no mere twinkling + spot of light, but a small, round, clear shining disc, an hour after the + day had come. And where science has not reached, men stared and feared, + telling one another of the wars and pestilences that are foreshadowed by + these fiery signs in the Heavens. Sturdy Boers, dusky Hottentots, Gold + Coast negroes, Frenchmen, Spaniards, Portuguese, stood in the warmth of + the sunrise watching the setting of this strange new star. + </p> + <p> + And in a hundred observatories there had been suppressed excitement, + rising almost to shouting pitch, as the two remote bodies had rushed + together, and a hurrying to and fro, to gather photographic apparatus and + spectroscope, and this appliance and that, to record this novel, + astonishing sight, the destruction of a world. For it was a world, a + sister planet of our earth, far greater than our earth indeed, that had so + suddenly flashed into flaming death. Neptune it was had been struck, + fairly and squarely, by the strange planet from outer space, and the heat + of the concussion had incontinently turned two solid globes into one vast + mass of incandescence. Round the world that day, two hours before the + dawn, went the pallid great white star, fading only as it sank westward + and the sun mounted above it. Everywhere men marvelled at it, but of all + those who saw it none could have marvelled more than those sailors, + habitual watchers of the stars, who far away at sea had heard nothing of + its advent and saw it now rise like a pigmy moon and climb zenithward and + hang overhead and sink westward with the passing of the night. + </p> + <p> + And when next it rose over Europe everywhere were crowds of watchers on + hilly slopes, on house-roofs, in open spaces, staring eastward for the + rising of the great new star. It rose with a white glow in front of it, + like the glare of a white fire, and those who had seen it come into + existence the night before cried out at the sight of it. "It is larger," + they cried. "It is brighter!" And indeed the moon, a quarter full and + sinking in the west, was in its apparent size beyond comparison, but + scarcely in all its breadth had it as much brightness now as the little + circle of the strange new star. + </p> + <p> + "It is brighter!" cried the people clustering in the streets. But in the + dim observatories the watchers held their breath and peered at one + another. "<i>It is nearer</i>!" they said. "<i>Nearer</i>!" + </p> + <p> + And voice after voice repeated, "It is nearer," and the clicking telegraph + took that up, and it trembled along telephone wires, and in a thousand + cities grimy compositors fingered the type. "It is nearer." Men writing in + offices, struck with a strange realisation, flung down their pens, men + talking in a thousand places suddenly came upon a grotesque possibility in + those words, "It is nearer." It hurried along awakening streets, it was + shouted down the frost-stilled ways of quiet villages, men who had read + these things from the throbbing tape stood in yellow-lit doorways shouting + the news to the passers-by. "It is nearer," Pretty women, flushed and + glittering, heard the news told jestingly between the dances, and feigned + an intelligent interest they did not feel. "Nearer! Indeed. How curious! + How very, very clever people must be to find out things like that!" + </p> + <p> + Lonely tramps faring through the wintry night murmured those words to + comfort themselves—looking skyward. "It has need to be nearer, for + the night's as cold as charity. Don't seem much warmth from it if it <i>is</i> + nearer, all the same." + </p> + <p> + "What is a new star to me?" cried the weeping woman, kneeling beside her + dead. + </p> + <p> + The schoolboy, rising early for his examination work, puzzled it out for + himself—with the great white star shining broad and bright through + the frost-flowers of his window. "Centrifugal, centripetal," he said, with + his chin on his fist. "Stop a planet in its flight, rob it of its + centrifugal force, what then? Centripetal has it, and down it falls into + the sun! And this—! + </p> + <p> + "Do <i>we</i> come in the way? I wonder—" + </p> + <p> + The light of that day went the way of its brethren, and with the later + watches of the frosty darkness rose the strange star again. And it was now + so bright that the waxing moon seemed but a pale yellow ghost of itself, + hanging huge in the sunset. In a South African city a great man had + married, and the streets were alight to welcome his return with his bride. + "Even the skies have illuminated," said the flatterer. Under Capricorn, + two negro lovers, daring the wild beasts and evil spirits for love of one + another, crouched together in a cane brake where the fire-flies hovered. + "That is our star," they whispered, and felt strangely comforted by the + sweet brilliance of its light. + </p> + <p> + The master mathematician sat in his private room and pushed the papers + from him. His calculations were already finished. In a small white phial + there still remained a little of the drug that had kept him awake and + active for four long nights. Each day, serene, explicit, patient as ever, + he had given his lecture to his students, and then had come back at once + to this momentous calculation. His face was grave, a little drawn and + hectic from his drugged activity. For some time he seemed lost in thought. + Then he went to the window, and the blind went up with a click. Half-way + up the sky, over the clustering roofs, chimneys, and steeples of the city, + hung the star. + </p> + <p> + He looked at it as one might look into the eyes of a brave enemy. "You may + kill me," he said after a silence. "But I can hold you—and all the + universe for that matter—in the grip of this small brain. I would + not change. Even now." + </p> + <p> + He looked at the little phial. "There will be no need of sleep again," he + said. The next day at noon, punctual to the minute, he entered his lecture + theatre, put his hat on the end of the table as his habit was, and + carefully selected a large piece of chalk. It was a joke among his + students that he could not lecture without that piece of chalk to fumble + in his fingers, and once he had been stricken to impotence by their hiding + his supply. He came and looked under his grey eyebrows at the rising tiers + of young fresh faces, and spoke with his accustomed studied commonness of + phrasing. + </p> + <p> + "Circumstances have arisen—circumstances beyond my control," he + said, and paused, "which will debar me from completing the course I had + designed. It would seem, gentlemen, if I may put the thing clearly and + briefly, that—Man has lived in vain." + </p> + <p> + The students glanced at one another. Had they heard aright? Mad? Raised + eyebrows and grinning lips there were, but one or two faces remained + intent upon his calm grey-fringed face. "It will be interesting," he was + saying, "to devote this morning to an exposition, so far as I can make it + clear to you, of the calculations that have led me to this conclusion. Let + us assume——" + </p> + <p> + He turned towards the blackboard, meditating a diagram in the way that was + usual to him. "What was that about 'lived in vain'?" whispered one student + to another. "Listen," said the other, nodding towards the lecturer. + </p> + <p> + And presently they began to understand. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + That night the star rose later, for its proper eastward motion had carried + it some way across Leo towards Virgo, and its brightness was so great that + the sky became a luminous blue as it rose, and every star was hidden in + its turn, save only Jupiter near the zenith, Capella, Aldebaran, Sirius, + and the pointers of the Bear. It was very white and beautiful. In many + parts of the world that night a pallid halo encircled it about. It was + perceptibly larger; in the clear refractive sky of the tropics it seemed + as if it were nearly a quarter the size of the moon. The frost was still + on the ground in England, but the world was as brightly lit as if it were + midsummer moonlight. One could see to read quite ordinary print by that + cold, clear light, and in the cities the lamps burnt yellow and wan. + </p> + <p> + And everywhere the world was awake that night, and throughout Christendom + a sombre murmur hung in the keen air over the country-side like the + belling of bees in the heather, and this murmurous tumult grew to a + clangour in the cities. It was the tolling of the bells in a million + belfry towers and steeples, summoning the people to sleep no more, to sin + no more, but to gather in their churches and pray. And overhead, growing + larger and brighter, as the earth rolled on its way and the night passed, + rose the dazzling star. + </p> + <p> + And the streets and houses were alight in all the cities, the shipyards + glared, and whatever roads led to high country were lit and crowded all + night long. And in all the seas about the civilized lands, ships with + throbbing engines, and ships with bellying sails, crowded with men and + living creatures, were standing out to ocean and the north. For already + the warning of the master mathematician had been telegraphed all over the + world and translated into a hundred tongues. The new planet and Neptune, + locked in a fiery embrace, were whirling headlong, ever faster and faster + towards the sun. Already every second this blazing mass flew a hundred + miles, and every second its terrific velocity increased. As it flew now, + indeed, it must pass a hundred million of miles, wide of the earth and + scarcely affect it. But near its destined path, as yet only slightly + perturbed, spun the mighty planet Jupiter and his moons sweeping splendid + round the sun. Every moment now the attraction between the fiery star and + the greatest of the planets grew stronger. And the result of that + attraction? Inevitably Jupiter would be deflected from its orbit into an + elliptical path, and the burning star, swung by his attraction wide of its + sunward rush, would "describe a curved path," and perhaps collide with, + and certainly pass very close to, our earth. "Earthquakes, volcanic + outbreaks, cyclones, sea waves, floods, and a steady rise in temperature + to I know not what limit"—so prophesied the master mathematician. + </p> + <p> + And overhead, to carry out his words, lonely and cold and livid blazed the + star of the coming doom. + </p> + <p> + To many who stared at it that night until their eyes ached it seemed that + it was visibly approaching. And that night, too, the weather changed, and + the frost that had gripped all Central Europe and France and England + softened towards a thaw. + </p> + <p> + But you must not imagine, because I have spoken of people praying through + the night and people going aboard ships and people fleeing towards + mountainous country, that the whole world was already in a terror because + of the star. As a matter of fact, use and wont still ruled the world, and + save for the talk of idle moments and the splendour of the night, nine + human beings out of ten were still busy at their common occupations. In + all the cities the shops, save one here and there, opened and closed at + their proper hours, the doctor and the undertaker plied their trades, the + workers gathered in the factories, soldiers drilled, scholars studied, + lovers sought one another, thieves lurked and fled, politicians planned + their schemes. The presses of the newspapers roared through the nights, + and many a priest of this church and that would not open his holy building + to further what he considered a foolish panic. The newspapers insisted on + the lesson of the year 1000—for then, too, people had anticipated + the end. The star was no star—mere gas—a comet; and were it a + star it could not possibly strike the earth. There was no precedent for + such a thing. Common-sense was sturdy everywhere, scornful, jesting, a + little inclined to persecute the obdurate fearful. That night, at + seven-fifteen by Greenwich time, the star would be at its nearest to + Jupiter. Then the world would see the turn things would take. The master + mathematician's grim warnings were treated by many as so much mere + elaborate self-advertisement. Common-sense at last, a little heated by + argument, signified its unalterable convictions by going to bed. So, too, + barbarism and savagery, already tired of the novelty, went about their + nightly business, and, save for a howling dog here and there, the beast + world left the star unheeded. + </p> + <p> + And yet, when at last the watchers in the European States saw the star + rise, an hour later, it is true, but no larger than it had been the night + before, there were still plenty awake to laugh at the master mathematician—to + take the danger as if it had passed. + </p> + <p> + But hereafter the laughter ceased. The star grew—it grew with a + terrible steadiness hour after hour, a little larger each hour, a little + nearer the midnight zenith, and brighter and brighter, until it had turned + night into a second day. Had it come straight to the earth instead of in a + curved path, had it lost no velocity to Jupiter, it must have leapt the + intervening gulf in a day; but as it was, it took five days altogether to + come by our planet. The next night it had become a third the size of the + moon before it set to English eyes, and the thaw was assured. It rose over + America near the size of the moon, but blinding white to look at, and <i>hot</i>; + and a breath of hot wind blew now with its rising and gathering strength, + and in Virginia, and Brazil, and down the St. Lawrence valley, it shone + intermittently through a driving reek of thunder-clouds, flickering violet + lightning, and hail unprecedented. In Manitoba was a thaw and devastating + floods. And upon all the mountains of the earth the snow and ice began to + melt that night, and all the rivers coming out of high country flowed + thick and turbid, and soon—in their upper reaches— with + swirling trees and the bodies of beasts and men. They rose steadily, + steadily in the ghostly brilliance, and came trickling over their banks at + last, behind the flying population of their valleys. + </p> + <p> + And along the coast of Argentina and up the South Atlantic the tides were + higher than had ever been in the memory of man, and the storms drove the + waters in many cases scores of miles inland, drowning whole cities. And so + great grew the heat during the night that the rising of the sun was like + the coming of a shadow. The earthquakes began and grew until all down + America from the Arctic Circle to Cape Horn, hillsides were sliding, + fissures were opening, and houses and walls crumbling to destruction. The + whole side of Cotopaxi slipped out in one vast convulsion, and a tumult of + lava poured out so high and broad and swift and liquid that in one day it + reached the sea. + </p> + <p> + So the star, with the wan moon in its wake, marched across the Pacific, + trailed the thunder-storms like the hem of a robe, and the growing tidal + wave that toiled behind it, frothing and eager, poured over island and + island and swept them clear of men: until that wave came at last—in + a blinding light and with the breath of a furnace, swift and terrible it + came—a wall of water, fifty feet high, roaring hungrily, upon the + long coasts of Asia, and swept inland across the plains of China. For a + space the star, hotter now and larger and brighter than the sun in its + strength, showed with pitiless brilliance the wide and populous country; + towns and villages with their pagodas and trees, roads, wide cultivated + fields, millions of sleepless people staring in helpless terror at the + incandescent sky; and then, low and growing, came the murmur of the flood. + And thus it was with millions of men that night—a flight nowhither, + with limbs heavy with heat and breath fierce and scant, and the flood like + a wall swift and white behind. And then death. + </p> + <p> + China was lit glowing white, but over Japan and Java and all the islands + of Eastern Asia the great star was a ball of dull red fire because of the + steam and smoke and ashes the volcanoes were spouting forth to salute its + coming. Above was the lava, hot gases and ash, and below the seething + floods, and the whole earth swayed and rumbled with the earthquake shocks. + Soon the immemorial snows of Thibet and the Himalaya were melting and + pouring down by ten million deepening converging channels upon the plains + of Burmah and Hindostan. The tangled summits of the Indian jungles were + aflame in a thousand places, and below the hurrying waters around the + stems were dark objects that still struggled feebly and reflected the + blood-red tongues of fire. And in a rudderless confusion a multitude of + men and women fled down the broad river-ways to that one last hope of men—the + open sea. + </p> + <p> + Larger grew the star, and larger, hotter, and brighter with a terrible + swiftness now. The tropical ocean had lost its phosphorescence, and the + whirling steam rose in ghostly wreaths from the black waves that plunged + incessantly, speckled with storm-tossed ships. + </p> + <p> + And then came a wonder. It seemed to those who in Europe watched for the + rising of the star that the world must have ceased its rotation. In a + thousand open spaces of down and upland the people who had fled thither + from the floods and the falling houses and sliding slopes of hill watched + for that rising in vain. Hour followed hour through a terrible suspense, + and the star rose not. Once again men set their eyes upon the old + constellations they had counted lost to them for ever. In England it was + hot and clear overhead, though the ground quivered perpetually, but in the + tropics, Sirius and Capella and Aldebaran showed through a veil of steam. + And when at last the great star rose near ten hours late, the sun rose + close upon it, and in the centre of its white heart was a disc of black. + </p> + <p> + Over Asia it was the star had begun to fall behind the movement of the + sky, and then suddenly, as it hung over India, its light had been veiled. + All the plain of India from the mouth of the Indus to the mouths of the + Ganges was a shallow waste of shining water that night, out of which rose + temples and palaces, mounds and hills, black with people. Every minaret + was a clustering mass of people, who fell one by one into the turbid + waters, as heat and terror overcame them. The whole land seemed a-wailing, + and suddenly there swept a shadow across that furnace of despair, and a + breath of cold wind, and a gathering of clouds, out of the cooling air. + Men looking up, near blinded, at the star, saw that a black disc was + creeping across the light. It was the moon, coming between the star and + the earth. And even as men cried to God at this respite, out of the East + with a strange inexplicable swiftness sprang the sun. And then star, sun, + and moon rushed together across the heavens. + </p> + <p> + So it was that presently to the European watchers star and sun rose close + upon each other, drove headlong for a space and then slower, and at last + came to rest, star and sun merged into one glare of flame at the zenith of + the sky. The moon no longer eclipsed the star but was lost to sight in the + brilliance of the sky. And though those who were still alive regarded it + for the most part with that dull stupidity that hunger, fatigue, heat and + despair engender, there were still men who could perceive the meaning of + these signs. Star and earth had been at their nearest, had swung about one + another, and the star had passed. Already it was receding, swifter and + swifter, in the last stage of its headlong journey downward into the sun. + </p> + <p> + And then the clouds gathered, blotting out the vision of the sky, the + thunder and lightning wove a garment round the world; all over the earth + was such a downpour of rain as men had never before seen, and where the + volcanoes flared red against the cloud canopy there descended torrents of + mud. Everywhere the waters were pouring off the land, leaving mud-silted + ruins, and the earth littered like a storm-worn beach with all that had + floated, and the dead bodies of the men and brutes, its children. For days + the water streamed off the land, sweeping away soil and trees and houses + in the way, and piling huge dykes and scooping out Titanic gullies over + the country-side. Those were the days of darkness that followed the star + and the heat. All through them, and for many weeks and months, the + earthquakes continued. + </p> + <p> + But the star had passed, and men, hunger-driven and gathering courage only + slowly, might creep back to their ruined cities, buried granaries, and + sodden fields. Such few ships as had escaped the storms of that time came + stunned and shattered and sounding their way cautiously through the new + marks and shoals of once familiar ports. And as the storms subsided men + perceived that everywhere the days were hotter than of yore, and the sun + larger, and the moon, shrunk to a third of its former size, took now + fourscore days between its new and new. + </p> + <p> + But of the new brotherhood that grew presently among men, of the saving of + laws and books and machines, of the strange change that had come over + Iceland and Greenland and the shores of Baffin's Bay, so that the sailors + coming there presently found them green and gracious, and could scarce + believe their eyes, this story does not tell. Nor of the movement of + mankind, now that the earth was hotter, northward and southward towards + the poles of the earth. It concerns itself only with the coming and the + passing of the star. + </p> + <p> + The Martian astronomers—for there are astronomers on Mars, although + they are very different beings from men—were naturally profoundly + interested by these things. They saw them from their own standpoint of + course. "Considering the mass and temperature of the missile that was + flung through our solar system into the sun," one wrote, "it is + astonishing what a little damage the earth, which it missed so narrowly, + has sustained. All the familiar continental markings and the masses of the + seas remain intact, and indeed the only difference seems to be a shrinkage + of the white discolouration (supposed to be frozen water) round either + pole." Which only shows how small the vastest of human catastrophes may + seem at a distance of a few million miles. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXI. — THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES. + </h2> + <h3> + A PANTOUM IN PROSE. + </h3> + <p> + It is doubtful whether the gift was innate. For my own part, I think it + came to him suddenly. Indeed, until he was thirty he was a sceptic, and + did not believe in miraculous powers. And here, since it is the most + convenient place, I must mention that he was a little man, and had eyes of + a hot brown, very erect red hair, a moustache with ends that he twisted + up, and freckles. His name was George McWhirter Fotheringay—not the + sort of name by any means to lead to any expectation of miracles—and + he was clerk at Gomshott's. He was greatly addicted to assertive argument. + It was while he was asserting the impossibility of miracles that he had + his first intimation of his extraordinary powers. This particular argument + was being held in the bar of the Long Dragon, and Toddy Beamish was + conducting the opposition by a monotonous but effective "So <i>you</i> + say," that drove Mr. Fotheringay to the very limit of his patience. + </p> + <p> + There were present, besides these two, a very dusty cyclist, landlord Cox, + and Miss Maybridge, the perfectly respectable and rather portly barmaid of + the Dragon. Miss Maybridge was standing with her back to Mr. Fotheringay, + washing glasses; the others were watching him, more or less amused by the + present ineffectiveness of the assertive method. Goaded by the Torres + Vedras tactics of Mr. Beamish, Mr. Fotheringay determined to make an + unusual rhetorical effort. "Looky here, Mr. Beamish," said Mr. + Fotheringay. "Let us clearly understand what a miracle is. It's something + contrariwise to the course of nature, done by power of will, something + what couldn't happen without being specially willed." + </p> + <p> + "So <i>you</i> say," said Mr. Beamish, repulsing him. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay appealed to the cyclist, who had hitherto been a silent + auditor, and received his assent—given with a hesitating cough and a + glance at Mr. Beamish. The landlord would express no opinion, and Mr. + Fotheringay, returning to Mr. Beamish, received the unexpected concession + of a qualified assent to his definition of a miracle. + </p> + <p> + "For instance," said Mr. Fotheringay, greatly encouraged. "Here would be a + miracle. That lamp, in the natural course of nature, couldn't burn like + that upsy-down, could it, Beamish?" + </p> + <p> + "<i>You</i> say it couldn't," said Beamish. + </p> + <p> + "And you?" said Fotheringay. "You don't mean to say—eh?" + </p> + <p> + "No," said Beamish reluctantly. "No, it couldn't." + </p> + <p> + "Very well," said Mr. Fotheringay. "Then here comes someone, as it might + be me, along here, and stands as it might be here, and says to that lamp, + as I might do, collecting all my will—Turn upsy-down without + breaking, and go on burning steady, and—Hullo!" + </p> + <p> + It was enough to make anyone say "Hullo!" The impossible, the incredible, + was visible to them all. The lamp hung inverted in the air, burning + quietly with its flame pointing down. It was as solid, as indisputable as + ever a lamp was, the prosaic common lamp of the Long Dragon bar. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay stood with an extended forefinger and the knitted brows of + one anticipating a catastrophic smash. The cyclist, who was sitting next + the lamp, ducked and jumped across the bar. Everybody jumped, more or + less. Miss Maybridge turned and screamed. For nearly three seconds the + lamp remained still. A faint cry of mental distress came from Mr. + Fotheringay. "I can't keep it up," he said, "any longer." He staggered + back, and the inverted lamp suddenly flared, fell against the corner of + the bar, bounced aside, smashed upon the floor, and went out. + </p> + <p> + It was lucky it had a metal receiver, or the whole place would have been + in a blaze. Mr. Cox was the first to speak, and his remark, shorn of + needless excrescences, was to the effect that Fotheringay was a fool. + Fotheringay was beyond disputing even so fundamental a proposition as + that! He was astonished beyond measure at the thing that had occurred. The + subsequent conversation threw absolutely no light on the matter so far as + Fotheringay was concerned; the general opinion not only followed Mr. Cox + very closely but very vehemently. Everyone accused Fotheringay of a silly + trick, and presented him to himself as a foolish destroyer of comfort and + security. His mind was in a tornado of perplexity, he was himself inclined + to agree with them, and he made a remarkably ineffectual opposition to the + proposal of his departure. + </p> + <p> + He went home flushed and heated, coat-collar crumpled, eyes smarting, and + ears red. He watched each of the ten street lamps nervously as he passed + it. It was only when he found himself alone in his little bedroom in + Church Row that he was able to grapple seriously with his memories of the + occurrence, and ask, "What on earth happened?" + </p> + <p> + He had removed his coat and boots, and was sitting on the bed with his + hands in his pockets repeating the text of his defence for the seventeenth + time, "I didn't want the confounded thing to upset," when it occurred to + him that at the precise moment he had said the commanding words he had + inadvertently willed the thing he said, and that when he had seen the lamp + in the air he had felt that it depended on him to maintain it there + without being clear how this was to be done. He had not a particularly + complex mind, or he might have stuck for a time at that "inadvertently + willed," embracing, as it does, the abstrusest problems of voluntary + action; but as it was, the idea came to him with a quite acceptable + haziness. And from that, following, as I must admit, no clear logical + path, he came to the test of experiment. + </p> + <p> + He pointed resolutely to his candle and collected his mind, though he felt + he did a foolish thing. "Be raised up," he said. But in a second that + feeling vanished. The candle was raised, hung in the air one giddy moment, + and as Mr. Fotheringay gasped, fell with a smash on his toilet-table, + leaving him in darkness save for the expiring glow of its wick. + </p> + <p> + For a time Mr. Fotheringay sat in the darkness, perfectly still. "It did + happen, after all," he said. "And 'ow <i>I'm</i> to explain it I <i>don't</i> + know." He sighed heavily, and began feeling in his pockets for a match. He + could find none, and he rose and groped about the toilet-table. "I wish I + had a match," he said. He resorted to his coat, and there was none there, + and then it dawned upon him that miracles were possible even with matches. + He extended a hand and scowled at it in the dark. "Let there be a match in + that hand," he said. He felt some light object fall across his palm and + his fingers closed upon a match. + </p> + <p> + After several ineffectual attempts to light this, he discovered it was a + safety match. He threw it down, and then it occurred to him that he might + have willed it lit. He did, and perceived it burning in the midst of his + toilet-table mat. He caught it up hastily, and it went out. His perception + of possibilities enlarged, and he felt for and replaced the candle in its + candlestick. "Here! <i>you</i> be lit," said Mr. Fotheringay, and + forthwith the candle was flaring, and he saw a little black hole in the + toilet-cover, with a wisp of smoke rising from it. For a time he stared + from this to the little flame and back, and then looked up and met his own + gaze in the looking-glass. By this help he communed with himself in + silence for a time. + </p> + <p> + "How about miracles now?" said Mr. Fotheringay at last, addressing his + reflection. + </p> + <p> + The subsequent meditations of Mr. Fotheringay were of a severe but + confused description. So far, he could see it was a case of pure willing + with him. The nature of his experiences so far disinclined him for any + further experiments, at least until he had reconsidered them. But he + lifted a sheet of paper, and turned a glass of water pink and then green, + and he created a snail, which he miraculously annihilated, and got himself + a miraculous new tooth-brush. Somewhere in the small hours he had reached + the fact that his will-power must be of a particularly rare and pungent + quality, a fact of which he had indeed had inklings before, but no certain + assurance. The scare and perplexity of his first discovery was now + qualified by pride in this evidence of singularity and by vague + intimations of advantage. He became aware that the church clock was + striking one, and as it did not occur to him that his daily duties at + Gomshott's might be miraculously dispensed with, he resumed undressing, in + order to get to bed without further delay. As he struggled to get his + shirt over his head, he was struck with a brilliant idea. "Let me be in + bed," he said, and found himself so. "Undressed," he stipulated; and, + finding the sheets cold, added hastily, "and in my nightshirt—ho, in + a nice soft woollen nightshirt. Ah!" he said with immense enjoyment. "And + now let me be comfortably asleep..." + </p> + <p> + He awoke at his usual hour and was pensive all through breakfast-time, + wondering whether his over-night experience might not be a particularly + vivid dream. At length his mind turned again to cautious experiments. For + instance, he had three eggs for breakfast; two his landlady had supplied, + good, but shoppy, and one was a delicious fresh goose-egg, laid, cooked, + and served by his extraordinary will. He hurried off to Gomshott's in a + state of profound but carefully concealed excitement, and only remembered + the shell of the third egg when his landlady spoke of it that night. All + day he could do no work because of this astonishing new self-knowledge, + but this caused him no inconvenience, because he made up for it + miraculously in his last ten minutes. + </p> + <p> + As the day wore on his state of mind passed from wonder to elation, albeit + the circumstances of his dismissal from the Long Dragon were still + disagreeable to recall, and a garbled account of the matter that had + reached his colleagues led to some badinage. It was evident he must be + careful how he lifted frangible articles, but in other ways his gift + promised more and more as he turned it over in his mind. He intended among + other things to increase his personal property by unostentatious acts of + creation. He called into existence a pair of very splendid diamond studs, + and hastily annihilated them again as young Gomshott came across the + counting-house to his desk. He was afraid young Gomshott might wonder how + he had come by them. He saw quite clearly the gift required caution and + watchfulness in its exercise, but so far as he could judge the + difficulties attending its mastery would be no greater than those he had + already faced in the study of cycling. It was that analogy, perhaps, quite + as much as the feeling that he would be unwelcome in the Long Dragon, that + drove him out after supper into the lane beyond the gasworks, to rehearse + a few miracles in private. + </p> + <p> + There was possibly a certain want of originality in his attempts, for, + apart from his will-power, Mr. Fotheringay was not a very exceptional man. + The miracle of Moses' rod came to his mind, but the night was dark and + unfavourable to the proper control of large miraculous snakes. Then he + recollected the story of "Tannhduser" that he had read on the back of the + Philharmonic programme. That seemed to him singularly attractive and + harmless. He stuck his walking-stick—a very nice Poona-Penang lawyer— + into the turf that edged the footpath, and commanded the dry wood to + blossom. The air was immediately full of the scent of roses, and by means + of a match he saw for himself that this beautiful miracle was indeed + accomplished. His satisfaction was ended by advancing footsteps. Afraid of + a premature discovery of his powers, he addressed the blossoming stick + hastily: "Go back." What he meant was "Change back;" but of course he was + confused. The stick receded at a considerable velocity, and incontinently + came a cry of anger and a bad word from the approaching person. "Who are + you throwing brambles at, you fool?" cried a voice. "That got me on the + shin." + </p> + <p> + "I'm sorry, old chap," said Mr. Fotheringay, and then, realising the + awkward nature of the explanation, caught nervously at his moustache. He + saw Winch, one of the three Immering constables, advancing. + </p> + <p> + "What d'yer mean by it?" asked the constable. "Hullo! it's you, is it? The + gent that broke the lamp at the Long Dragon!" + </p> + <p> + "I don't mean anything by it," said Mr. Fotheringay. "Nothing at all." + </p> + <p> + "What d'yer do it for then?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, bother!" said Mr. Fotheringay. + </p> + <p> + "Bother indeed! D'yer know that stick hurt? What d'yer do it for, eh?" + </p> + <p> + For the moment Mr. Fotheringay could not think what he had done it for. + His silence seemed to irritate Mr. Winch. "You've been assaulting the + police, young man, this time. That's what <i>you</i> done." + </p> + <p> + "Look here, Mr. Winch," said Mr. Fotheringay, annoyed and confused, "I'm + sorry, very. The fact is——" + </p> + <p> + "Well?" + </p> + <p> + He could think of no way but the truth. "I was working a miracle." He + tried to speak in an off-hand way, but try as he would he couldn't. + </p> + <p> + "Working a—! 'Ere, don't you talk rot. Working a miracle, indeed! + Miracle! Well, that's downright funny! Why, you's the chap that don't + believe in miracles... Fact is, this is another of your silly conjuring + tricks—that's what this is. Now, I tell you—" + </p> + <p> + But Mr. Fotheringay never heard what Mr. Winch was going to tell him. He + realised he had given himself away, flung his valuable secret to all the + winds of heaven. A violent gust of irritation swept him to action. He + turned on the constable swiftly and fiercely. "Here," he said, "I've had + enough of this, I have! I'll show you a silly conjuring trick, I will! Go + to Hades! Go, now!" + </p> + <p> + He was alone! + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay performed no more miracles that night, nor did he trouble + to see what had become of his flowering stick. He returned to the town, + scared and very quiet, and went to his bedroom. "Lord!" he said, "it's a + powerful gift—an extremely powerful gift. I didn't hardly mean as + much as that. Not really... I wonder what Hades is like!" + </p> + <p> + He sat on the bed taking off his boots. Struck by a happy thought he + transferred the constable to San Francisco, and without any more + interference with normal causation went soberly to bed. In the night he + dreamt of the anger of Winch. + </p> + <p> + The next day Mr. Fotheringay heard two interesting items of news. Someone + had planted a most beautiful climbing rose against the elder Mr. + Gomshott's private house in the Lullaborough Road, and the river as far as + Rawling's Mill was to be dragged for Constable Winch. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay was abstracted and thoughtful all that day, and performed + no miracles except certain provisions for Winch, and the miracle of + completing his day's work with punctual perfection in spite of all the + bee-swarm of thoughts that hummed through his mind. And the extraordinary + abstraction and meekness of his manner was remarked by several people, and + made a matter for jesting. For the most part he was thinking of Winch. + </p> + <p> + On Sunday evening he went to chapel, and oddly enough, Mr. Maydig, who + took a certain interest in occult matters, preached about "things that are + not lawful." Mr. Fotheringay was not a regular chapelgoer, but the system + of assertive scepticism, to which I have already alluded, was now very + much shaken. The tenor of the sermon threw an entirely new light on these + novel gifts, and he suddenly decided to consult Mr. Maydig immediately + after the service. So soon as that was determined, he found himself + wondering why he had not done so before. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Maydig, a lean, excitable man with quite remarkably long wrists and + neck, was gratified at a request for a private conversation from a young + man whose carelessness in religious matters was a subject for general + remark in the town. After a few necessary delays, he conducted him to the + study of the manse, which was contiguous to the chapel, seated him + comfortably, and, standing in front of a cheerful fire—his legs + threw a Rhodian arch of shadow on the opposite wall—requested Mr. + Fotheringay to state his business. + </p> + <p> + At first Mr. Fotheringay was a little abashed, and found some difficulty + in opening the matter. "You will scarcely believe me, Mr. Maydig, I am + afraid"—and so forth for some time. He tried a question at last, and + asked Mr. Maydig his opinion of miracles. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Maydig was still saying "Well" in an extremely judicial tone, when Mr. + Fotheringay interrupted again: "You don't believe, I suppose, that some + common sort of person—like myself, for instance—as it might be + sitting here now, might have some sort of twist inside him that made him + able to do things by his will." + </p> + <p> + "It's possible," said Mr. Maydig. "Something of the sort, perhaps, is + possible." + </p> + <p> + "If I might make free with something here, I think I might show you by a + sort of experiment," said Mr. Fotheringay. "Now, take that tobacco-jar on + the table, for instance. What I want to know is whether what I am going to + do with it is a miracle or not. Just half a minute, Mr. Maydig, please." + </p> + <p> + He knitted his brows, pointed to the tobacco-jar and said: "Be a bowl of + vi'lets." + </p> + <p> + The tobacco-jar did as it was ordered. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Maydig started violently at the change, and stood looking from the + thaumaturgist to the bowl of flowers. He said nothing. Presently he + ventured to lean over the table and smell the violets; they were + fresh-picked and very fine ones. Then he stared at Mr. Fotheringay again. + </p> + <p> + "How did you do that?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay pulled his moustache. "Just told it—and there you + are. Is that a miracle, or is it black art, or what is it? And what do you + think's the matter with me? That's what I want to ask." + </p> + <p> + "It's a most extraordinary occurrence." + </p> + <p> + "And this day last week I knew no more that I could do things like that + than you did. It came quite sudden. It's something odd about my will, I + suppose, and that's as far as I can see." + </p> + <p> + "Is that—the only thing. Could you do other things besides that?" + </p> + <p> + "Lord, yes!" said Mr. Fotheringay. "Just anything." He thought, and + suddenly recalled a conjuring entertainment he had seen. "Here!" he + pointed, "change into a bowl of fish—no, not that—change into + a glass bowl full of water with goldfish swimming in it. That's better! + You see that, Mr. Maydig?" + </p> + <p> + "It's astonishing. It's incredible. You are either a most extraordinary... + But no——" + </p> + <p> + "I could change it into anything," said Mr. Fotheringay. "Just anything. + Here! be a pigeon, will you?" + </p> + <p> + In another moment a blue pigeon was fluttering round the room and making + Mr. Maydig duck every time it came near him. "Stop there, will you?" said + Mr. Fotheringay; and the pigeon hung motionless in the air. "I could + change it back to a bowl of flowers," he said, and after replacing the + pigeon on the table worked that miracle. "I expect you will want your pipe + in a bit," he said, and restored the tobacco-jar. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Maydig had followed all these later changes in a sort of ejaculatory + silence. He stared at Mr. Fotheringay and in a very gingerly manner picked + up the tobacco-jar, examined it, replaced it on the table. "<i>Well</i>!" + was the only expression of his feelings. + </p> + <p> + "Now, after that it's easier to explain what I came about," said Mr. + Fotheringay; and proceeded to a lengthy and involved narrative of his + strange experiences, beginning with the affair of the lamp in the Long + Dragon and complicated by persistent allusions to Winch. As he went on, + the transient pride Mr. Maydig's consternation had caused passed away; he + became the very ordinary Mr. Fotheringay of everyday intercourse again. + Mr. Maydig listened intently, the tobacco-jar in his hand, and his bearing + changed also with the course of the narrative. Presently, while Mr. + Fotheringay was dealing with the miracle of the third egg, the minister + interrupted with a fluttering, extended hand. + </p> + <p> + "It is possible," he said. "It is credible. It is amazing, of course, but + it reconciles a number of amazing difficulties. The power to work miracles + is a gift—a peculiar quality like genius or second sight; hitherto + it has come very rarely and to exceptional people. But in this case...I + have always wondered at the miracles of Mahomet, and at Yogi's miracles, + and the miracles of Madame Blavatsky. But, of course—Yes, it is + simply a gift! It carries out so beautifully the arguments of that great + thinker"— Mr. Maydig's voice sank—"his Grace the Duke of + Argyll. Here we plumb some profounder law—deeper than the ordinary + laws of nature. Yes—yes. Go on. Go on!" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay proceeded to tell of his misadventure with Winch, and Mr. + Maydig, no longer overawed or scared, began to jerk his limbs about and + interject astonishment. "It's this what troubled me most," proceeded Mr. + Fotheringay; "it's this I'm most mijitly in want of advice for; of course + he's at San Francisco—wherever San Francisco may be—but of + course it's awkward for both of us, as you'll see, Mr. Maydig. I don't see + how he can understand what has happened, and I daresay he's scared and + exasperated something tremendous, and trying to get at me. I daresay he + keeps on starting off to come here. I send him back, by a miracle, every + few hours, when I think of it. And, of course, that's a thing he won't be + able to understand, and it's bound to annoy him; and, of course, if he + takes a ticket every time it will cost him a lot of money. I done the best + I could for him, but, of course, it's difficult for him to put himself in + my place. I thought afterwards that his clothes might have got scorched, + you know—if Hades is all it's supposed to be—before I shifted + him. In that case I suppose they'd have locked him up in San Francisco. Of + course I willed him a new suit of clothes on him directly I thought of it. + But, you see, I'm already in a deuce of a tangle——" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Maydig looked serious. "I see you are in a tangle. Yes, it's a + difficult position. How you are to end it..." He became diffuse and + inconclusive. + </p> + <p> + "However, we'll leave Winch for a little and discuss the larger question. + I don't think this is a case of the black art or anything of the sort. I + don't think there is any taint of criminality about it at all, Mr. + Fotheringay—none whatever, unless you are suppressing material + facts. No, it's miracles—pure miracles—miracles, if I may say + so, of the very highest class." + </p> + <p> + He began to pace the hearthrug and gesticulate, while Mr. Fotheringay sat + with his arm on the table and his head on his arm, looking worried. "I + don't see how I'm to manage about Winch," he said. + </p> + <p> + "A gift of working miracles—apparently a very powerful gift," said + Mr. Maydig, "will find a way about Winch—never fear. My dear sir, + you are a most important man—a man of the most astonishing + possibilities. As evidence, for example! And in other ways, the things you + may do..." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, <i>I've</i> thought of a thing or two," said Mr. Fotheringay. "But— + some of the things came a bit twisty. You saw that fish at first? Wrong + sort of bowl and wrong sort of fish. And I thought I'd ask someone." + </p> + <p> + "A proper course," said Mr. Maydig, "a very proper course—altogether + the proper course." He stopped and looked at Mr. Fotheringay. "It's + practically an unlimited gift. Let us test your powers, for instance. If + they really <i>are</i> ... If they really are all they seem to be." + </p> + <p> + And so, incredible as it may seem, in the study of the little house behind + the Congregational Chapel, on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 10, 1896, Mr. + Fotheringay, egged on and inspired by Mr. Maydig, began to work miracles. + The reader's attention is specially and definitely called to the date. He + will object, probably has already objected, that certain points in this + story are improbable, that if any things of the sort already described had + indeed occurred, they would have been in all the papers at that time. The + details immediately following he will find particularly hard to accept, + because among other things they involve the conclusion that he or she, the + reader in question, must have been killed in a violent and unprecedented + manner more than a year ago. Now a miracle is nothing if not improbable, + and as a matter of fact the reader <i>was</i> killed in a violent and + unprecedented manner in 1896. In the subsequent course of this story that + will become perfectly clear and credible, as every right-minded and + reasonable reader will admit. But this is not the place for the end of the + story, being but little beyond the hither side of the middle. And at first + the miracles worked by Mr. Fotheringay were timid little miracles—little + things with the cups and parlour fitments, as feeble as the miracles of + Theosophists, and, feeble as they were, they were received with awe by his + collaborator. He would have preferred to settle the Winch business out of + hand, but Mr. Maydig would not let him. But after they had worked a dozen + of these domestic trivialities, their sense of power grew, their + imagination began to show signs of stimulation, and their ambition + enlarged. Their first larger enterprise was due to hunger and the + negligence of Mrs. Minchin, Mr. Maydig's housekeeper. The meal to which + the minister conducted Mr. Fotheringay was certainly ill-laid and + uninviting as refreshment for two industrious miracle-workers; but they + were seated, and Mr. Maydig was descanting in sorrow rather than in anger + upon his housekeeper's shortcomings, before it occurred to Mr. Fotheringay + that an opportunity lay before him. "Don't you think, Mr. Maydig," he + said, "if it isn't a liberty, <i>I</i>——" + </p> + <p> + "My dear Mr. Fotheringay! Of course! No—I didn't think." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay waved his hand. "What shall we have?" he said, in a large, + inclusive spirit, and, at Mr. Maydig's order, revised the supper very + thoroughly. "As for me," he said, eyeing Mr. Maydig's selection, "I am + always particularly fond of a tankard of stout and a nice Welsh rarebit, + and I'll order that. I ain't much given to Burgundy," and forthwith stout + and Welsh rarebit promptly appeared at his command. They sat long at their + supper, talking like equals, as Mr. Fotheringay presently perceived, with + a glow of surprise and gratification, of all the miracles they would + presently do. "And, by-the-by, Mr. Maydig," said Mr. Fotheringay, "I might + perhaps be able to help you—in a domestic way." + </p> + <p> + "Don't quite follow," said Mr. Maydig, pouring out a glass of miraculous + old Burgundy. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay helped himself to a second Welsh rarebit out of vacancy, + and took a mouthful. "I was thinking," he said, "I might be able (<i>chum, + chum</i>) to work (<i>chum, chum</i>) a miracle with Mrs. Minchin (<i>chum, + chum</i>)—make her a better woman." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Maydig put down the glass and looked doubtful. + </p> + <p> + "She's——She strongly objects to interference, you know, Mr. + Fotheringay. And—as a matter of fact—it's well past eleven and + she's probably in bed and asleep. Do you think, on the whole——" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay considered these objections. "I don't see that it + shouldn't be done in her sleep." + </p> + <p> + For a time Mr. Maydig opposed the idea, and then he yielded. Mr. + Fotheringay issued his orders, and a little less at their ease, perhaps, + the two gentlemen proceeded with their repast. Mr. Maydig was enlarging on + the changes he might expect in his housekeeper next day, with an optimism, + that seemed even to Mr. Fotheringay's supper senses a little forced and + hectic, when a series of confused noises from upstairs began. Their eyes + exchanged interrogations, and Mr. Maydig left the room hastily. Mr. + Fotheringay heard him calling up to his housekeeper and then his footsteps + going softly up to her. + </p> + <p> + In a minute or so the minister returned, his step light, his face radiant. + "Wonderful!" he said, "and touching! Most touching!" + </p> + <p> + He began pacing the hearthrug. "A repentance—a most touching + repentance— through the crack of the door. Poor woman! A most + wonderful change! She had got up. She must have got up at once. She had + got up out of her sleep to smash a private bottle of brandy in her box. + And to confess it too!... But this gives us—it opens—a most + amazing vista of possibilities. If we can work this miraculous change in + <i>her</i>..." + </p> + <p> + "The thing's unlimited seemingly," said Mr. Fotheringay. "And about Mr. + Winch——" + </p> + <p> + "Altogether unlimited." And from the hearthrug Mr. Maydig, waving the + Winch difficulty aside, unfolded a series of wonderful proposals— + proposals he invented as he went along. + </p> + <p> + Now what those proposals were does not concern the essentials of this + story. Suffice it that they were designed in a spirit of infinite + benevolence, the sort of benevolence that used to be called post-prandial. + Suffice it, too, that the problem of Winch remained unsolved. Nor is it + necessary to describe how far that series got to its fulfilment. There + were astonishing changes. The small hours found Mr. Maydig and Mr. + Fotheringay careering across the chilly market square under the still + moon, in a sort of ecstasy of thaumaturgy, Mr. Maydig all flap and + gesture, Mr. Fotheringay short and bristling, and no longer abashed at his + greatness. They had reformed every drunkard in the Parliamentary division, + changed all the beer and alcohol to water (Mr. Maydig had overruled Mr. + Fotheringay on this point); they had, further, greatly improved the + railway communication of the place, drained Flinder's swamp, improved the + soil of One Tree Hill, and cured the vicar's wart. And they were going to + see what could be done with the injured pier at South Bridge. "The place," + gasped Mr. Maydig, "won't be the same place to-morrow. How surprised and + thankful everyone will be!" And just at that moment the church clock + struck three. + </p> + <p> + "I say," said Mr. Fotheringay, "that's three o'clock! I must be getting + back. I've got to be at business by eight. And besides, Mrs. Wimms——" + </p> + <p> + "We're only beginning," said Mr. Maydig, full of the sweetness of + unlimited power. "We're only beginning. Think of all the good we're doing. + When people wake——" + </p> + <p> + "But——," said Mr. Fotheringay. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Maydig gripped his arm suddenly. His eyes were bright and wild. "My + dear chap," he said, "there's no hurry. Look"—he pointed to the moon + at the zenith—"Joshua!" + </p> + <p> + "Joshua?" said Mr. Fotheringay. + </p> + <p> + "Joshua," said Mr. Maydig. "Why not? Stop it." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay looked at the moon. + </p> + <p> + "That's a bit tall," he said, after a pause. + </p> + <p> + "Why not?" said Mr. Maydig. "Of course it doesn't stop. You stop the + rotation of the earth, you know. Time stops. It isn't as if we were doing + harm." + </p> + <p> + "H'm!" said Mr. Fotheringay. "Well," he sighed, "I'll try. Here!" + </p> + <p> + He buttoned up his jacket and addressed himself to the habitable globe, + with as good an assumption of confidence as lay in his power. "Jest stop + rotating, will you?" said Mr. Fotheringay. + </p> + <p> + Incontinently he was flying head over heels through the air at the rate of + dozens of miles a minute. In spite of the innumerable circles he was + describing per second, he thought; for thought is wonderful—sometimes + as sluggish as flowing pitch, sometimes as instantaneous as light. He + thought in a second, and willed. "Let me come down safe and sound. + Whatever else happens, let me down safe and sound." + </p> + <p> + He willed it only just in time, for his clothes, heated by his rapid + flight through the air, were already beginning to singe. He came down with + a forcible, but by no means injurious, bump in what appeared to be a mound + of fresh-turned earth. A large mass of metal and masonry, extraordinarily + like the clock-tower in the middle of the market square, hit the earth + near him, ricochetted over him, and flew into stonework, bricks, and + cement, like a bursting bomb. A hurtling cow hit one of the larger blocks + and smashed like an egg. There was a crash that made all the most violent + crashes of his past life seem like the sound of falling dust, and this was + followed by a descending series of lesser crashes. A vast wind roared + throughout earth and heaven, so that he could scarcely lift his head to + look. For a while he was too breathless and astonished even to see where + he was or what had happened. And his first movement was to feel his head + and reassure himself that his streaming hair was still his own. + </p> + <p> + "Lord!" gasped Mr. Fotheringay, scarce able to speak for the gale, "I've + had a squeak! What's gone wrong? Storms and thunder. And only a minute ago + a fine night. It's Maydig set me on to this sort of thing. <i>What</i> a + wind! If I go on fooling in this way I'm bound to have a thundering + accident!... + </p> + <p> + "Where's Maydig? + </p> + <p> + "What a confounded mess everything's in!" + </p> + <p> + He looked about him so far as his flapping jacket would permit. The + appearance of things was really extremely strange. "The sky's all right + anyhow," said Mr. Fotheringay. "And that's about all that is all right. + And even there it looks like a terrific gale coming up. But there's the + moon overhead. Just as it was just now. Bright as midday. But as for the + rest——Where's the village? Where's—where's anything? And + what on earth set this wind a-blowing? I didn't order no wind." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fotheringay struggled to get to his feet in vain, and after one + failure, remained on all fours, holding on. He surveyed the moonlit world + to leeward, with the tails of his jacket streaming over his head. "There's + something seriously wrong," said Mr. Fotheringay. "And what it is— + goodness knows." + </p> + <p> + Far and wide nothing was visible in the white glare through the haze of + dust that drove before a screaming gale but tumbled masses of earth and + heaps of inchoate ruins, no trees, no houses, no familiar shapes, only a + wilderness of disorder, vanishing at last into the darkness beneath the + whirling columns and streamers, the lightnings and thunderings of a + swiftly rising storm. Near him in the livid glare was something that might + once have been an elm-tree, a smashed mass of splinters, shivered from + boughs to base, and further a twisted mass of iron girders—only too + evidently the viaduct—rose out of the piled confusion. + </p> + <p> + You see, when Mr. Fotheringay had arrested the rotation of the solid + globe, he had made no stipulation concerning the trifling movables upon + its surface. And the earth spins so fast that the surface at its equator + is travelling at rather more than a thousand miles an hour, and in these + latitudes at more than half that pace. So that the village, and Mr. + Maydig, and Mr. Fotheringay, and everybody and everything had been jerked + violently forward at about nine miles per second—that is to say, + much more violently than if they had been fired out of a cannon. And every + human being, every living creature, every house, and every tree—all + the world as we know it—had been so jerked and smashed and utterly + destroyed. That was all. + </p> + <p> + These things Mr. Fotheringay did not, of course, fully appreciate. But he + perceived that his miracle had miscarried, and with that a great disgust + of miracles came upon him. He was in darkness now, for the clouds had + swept together and blotted out his momentary glimpse of the moon, and the + air was full of fitful struggling tortured wraiths of hail. A great + roaring of wind and waters filled earth and sky, and peering under his + hand through the dust and sleet to windward, he saw by the play of the + lightnings a vast wall of water pouring towards him. + </p> + <p> + "Maydig!" screamed Mr. Fotheringay's feeble voice amid the elemental + uproar. "Here!—Maydig! + </p> + <p> + "Stop!" cried Mr. Fotheringay to the advancing water. "Oh, for goodness' + sake, stop! + </p> + <p> + "Just a moment," said Mr. Fotheringay to the lightnings and thunder. "Stop + jest a moment while I collect my thoughts... And now what shall I do?" he + said. "What <i>shall</i> I do? Lord! I wish Maydig was about." + </p> + <p> + "I know," said Mr. Fotheringay. "And for goodness' sake let's have it + right <i>this</i> time." + </p> + <p> + He remained on all fours, leaning against the wind, very intent to have + everything right. + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" he said. "Let nothing what I'm going to order happen until I say + 'Off!'...Lord! I wish I'd thought of that before!" + </p> + <p> + He lifted his little voice against the whirlwind, shouting louder and + louder in the vain desire to hear himself speak. "Now then!—here + goes! Mind about that what I said just now. In the first place, when all + I've got to say is done, let me lose my miraculous power, let my will + become just like anybody else's will, and all these dangerous miracles be + stopped. I don't like them. I'd rather I didn't work 'em. Ever so much. + That's the first thing. And the second is—let me be back just before + the miracles begin; let everything be just as it was before that blessed + lamp turned up. It's a big job, but it's the last. Have you got it? No + more miracles, everything as it was—me back in the Long Dragon just + before I drank my half-pint. That's it! Yes." + </p> + <p> + He dug his fingers into the mould, closed his eyes, and said "Off!" + </p> + <p> + Everything became perfectly still. He perceived that he was standing + erect. + </p> + <p> + "So <i>you</i> say," said a voice. + </p> + <p> + He opened his eyes. He was in the bar of the Long Dragon, arguing about + miracles with Toddy Beamish. He had a vague sense of some great thing + forgotten that instantaneously passed. You see that, except for the loss + of his miraculous powers, everything was back as it had been, his mind and + memory therefore were now just as they had been at the time when this + story began. So that he knew absolutely nothing of all that is told here— + knows nothing of all that is told here to this day. And among other + things, of course, he still did not believe in miracles. + </p> + <p> + "I tell you that miracles, properly speaking, can't possibly happen," he + said, "whatever you like to hold. And I'm prepared to prove it up to the + hilt." + </p> + <p> + "That's what <i>you</i> think," said Toddy Beamish, and "Prove it if you + can." + </p> + <p> + "Looky here, Mr. Beamish," said Mr. Fotheringay. "Let us clearly + understand what a miracle is. It's something contrariwise to the course of + nature done by power of Will..." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXII. — A VISION OF JUDGMENT. + </h2> + <p> + I. — Bru-a-a-a. + </p> + <p> + I listened, not understanding. + </p> + <p> + Wa-ra-ra-ra. + </p> + <p> + "Good Lord!" said I, still only half awake. "What an infernal shindy!" + </p> + <p> + Ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra Ta-ra-rra-ra. + </p> + <p> + "It's enough," said I, "to wake——" and stopped short. Where + was I. — Ta-rra-rara—louder and louder. + </p> + <p> + "It's either some new invention——" + </p> + <p> + Toora-toora-toora! Deafening! + </p> + <p> + "No," said I, speaking loud in order to hear myself. "That's the Last + Trump." + </p> + <p> + Tooo-rraa! + </p> + <p> + II. — The last note jerked me out of my grave like a hooked minnow. + </p> + <p> + I saw my monument (rather a mean little affair, and I wished I knew who'd + done it), and the old elm tree and the sea view vanished like a puff of + steam, and then all about me—a multitude no man could number, + nations, tongues, kingdoms, peoples—children of all the ages, in an + amphitheatral space as vast as the sky. And over against us, seated on a + throne of dazzling white cloud, the Lord God and all the host of his + angels. I recognised Azrael by his darkness and Michael by his sword, and + the great angel who had blown the trumpet stood with the trumpet still + half raised. + </p> + <p> + III. — "Prompt," said the little man beside me. "Very prompt. Do you + see the angel with the book?" + </p> + <p> + He was ducking and craning his head about to see over and under and + between the souls that crowded round us. "Everybody's here," he said. + "Everybody. And now we shall know— + </p> + <p> + "There's Darwin," he said, going off at a tangent. "<i>He'll</i> catch it! + And there—you see?—that tall, important-looking man trying to + catch the eye of the Lord God, that's the Duke. But there's a lot of + people one doesn't know. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! there's Priggles, the publisher. I have always wondered about + printers' overs. Priggles was a clever man ... But we shall know now—even + about him. + </p> + <p> + "I shall hear all that. I shall get most of the fun before ... <i>My</i> + letter's S." + </p> + <p> + He drew the air in between his teeth. + </p> + <p> + "Historical characters, too. See? That's Henry the Eighth. There'll be a + good bit of evidence. Oh, damn! He's Tudor." + </p> + <p> + He lowered his voice. "Notice this chap, just in front of us, all covered + with hair. Paleolithic, you know. And there again—" + </p> + <p> + But I did not heed him, because I was looking at the Lord God. + </p> + <p> + IV. — "Is this <i>all</i>?" asked the Lord God. + </p> + <p> + The angel at the book—it was one of countless volumes, like the + British Museum Reading-room Catalogue, glanced at us and seemed to count + us in the instant. + </p> + <p> + "That's all," he said, and added: "It was, O God, a very little planet." + </p> + <p> + The eyes of God surveyed us. + </p> + <p> + "Let us begin," said the Lord God. + </p> + <p> + V. — The angel opened the book and read a name. It was a name full + of A's, and the echoes of it came back out of the uttermost parts of + space. I did not catch it clearly, because the little man beside me said, + in a sharp jerk, "<i>What's</i> that?" It sounded like "Ahab" to me; but + it could not have been the Ahab of Scripture. + </p> + <p> + Instantly a small black figure was lifted up to a puffy cloud at the very + feet of God. It was a stiff little figure, dressed in rich outlandish + robes and crowned, and it folded its arms and scowled. + </p> + <p> + "Well?" said God, looking down at him. + </p> + <p> + We were privileged to hear the reply, and indeed the acoustic properties + of the place were marvellous. + </p> + <p> + "I plead guilty," said the little figure. + </p> + <p> + "Tell them what you have done," said the Lord God. + </p> + <p> + "I was a king," said the little figure, "a great king, and I was lustful + and proud and cruel. I made wars, I devastated countries, I built palaces, + and the mortar was the blood of men. Hear, O God, the witnesses against + me, calling to you for vengeance. Hundreds and thousands of witnesses." He + waved his hands towards us. "And worse! I took a prophet—one of your + prophets——" + </p> + <p> + "One of my prophets," said the Lord God. + </p> + <p> + "And because he would not bow to me, I tortured him for four days and + nights, and in the end he died. I did more, O God, I blasphemed. I robbed + you of your honours——" + </p> + <p> + "Robbed me of my honours," said the Lord God. + </p> + <p> + "I caused myself to be worshipped in your stead. No evil was there but I + practised it; no cruelty wherewith I did not stain my soul. And at last + you smote me, O God!" + </p> + <p> + God raised his eyebrows slightly. + </p> + <p> + "And I was slain in battle. And so I stand before you, meet for your + nethermost Hell! Out of your greatness daring no lies, daring no pleas, + but telling the truth of my iniquities before all mankind." + </p> + <p> + He ceased. His face I saw distinctly, and it seemed to me white and + terrible and proud and strangely noble. I thought of Milton's Satan. + </p> + <p> + "Most of that is from the Obelisk," said the Recording Angel, finger on + page. + </p> + <p> + "It is," said the Tyrannous Man, with a faint touch of surprise. + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly God bent forward and took this man in his hand, and held him + up on his palm as if to see him better. He was just a little dark stroke + in the middle of God's palm. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Did</i> he do all this?" said the Lord God. + </p> + <p> + The Recording Angel flattened his book with his hand. + </p> + <p> + "In a way," said the Recording Angel, carelessly. Now when I looked again + at the little man his face had changed in a very curious manner. He was + looking at the Recording Angel with a strange apprehension in his eyes, + and one hand fluttered to his mouth. Just the movement of a muscle or so, + and all that dignity of defiance was gone. + </p> + <p> + "Read," said the Lord God. + </p> + <p> + And the angel read, explaining very carefully and fully all the wickedness + of the Wicked Man. It was quite an intellectual treat.—A little + "daring" in places, I thought, but of course Heaven has its privileges... + </p> + <p> + VI. — Everybody was laughing. Even the prophet of the Lord whom the + Wicked Man had tortured had a smile on his face. The Wicked Man was really + such a preposterous little fellow. + </p> + <p> + "And then," read the Recording Angel, with a smile that set us all agog, + "one day, when he was a little irascible from over-eating, he—" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, not <i>that</i>," cried the Wicked Man, "nobody knew of <i>that</i>. + </p> + <p> + "It didn't happen," screamed the Wicked Man. "I was bad—I was really + bad. Frequently bad, but there was nothing so silly—so absolutely + silly—" + </p> + <p> + The angel went on reading. + </p> + <p> + "O God!" cried the Wicked Man. "Don't let them know that! I'll repent! + I'll apologise..." + </p> + <p> + The Wicked Man on God's hand began to dance and weep. Suddenly shame + overcame him. He made a wild rush to jump off the ball of God's little + finger, but God stopped him by a dexterous turn of the wrist. Then he made + a rush for the gap between hand and thumb, but the thumb closed. And all + the while the angel went on reading—reading. The Wicked Man rushed + to and fro across God's palm, and then suddenly turned about and fled up + the sleeve of God. + </p> + <p> + I expected God would turn him out, but the mercy of God is infinite. + </p> + <p> + The Recording Angel paused. + </p> + <p> + "Eh?" said the Recording Angel. + </p> + <p> + "Next," said God, and before the Recording Angel could call the name a + hairy creature in filthy rags stood upon God's palm. + </p> + <p> + VII. — "Has God got Hell up his sleeve then?" said the little man + beside me. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Is</i> there a Hell?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "If you notice," he said—he peered between the feet of the great + angels— "there's no particular indication of a Celestial City." + </p> + <p> + "'Ssh!" said a little woman near us, scowling. "Hear this blessed Saint!" + </p> + <p> + VIII. — "He was Lord of the Earth, but I was the prophet of the God + of Heaven," cried the Saint, "and all the people marvelled at the sign. + For I, O God, knew of the glories of thy Paradise. No pain, no hardship, + gashing with knives, splinters thrust under my nails, strips of flesh + flayed off, all for the glory and honour of God." + </p> + <p> + God smiled. + </p> + <p> + "And at last I went, I in my rags and sores, smelling of my holy + discomforts——" + </p> + <p> + Gabriel laughed abruptly. + </p> + <p> + "And lay outside his gates, as a sign, as a wonder——" + </p> + <p> + "As a perfect nuisance," said the Recording Angel, and began to read, + heedless of the fact that the saint was still speaking of the gloriously + unpleasant things he had done that Paradise might be his. + </p> + <p> + And behold, in that book the record of the Saint also was a revelation, a + marvel. + </p> + <p> + It seemed not ten seconds before the Saint also was rushing to and fro + over the great palm of God. Not ten seconds! And at last he also shrieked + beneath that pitiless and cynical exposition, and fled also, even as the + Wicked Man had fled, into the shadow of the sleeve. And it was permitted + us to see into the shadow of the sleeve. And the two sat side by side, + stark of all delusions, in the shadow of the robe of God's charity, like + brothers. + </p> + <p> + And thither also I fled in my turn. + </p> + <p> + IX. — "And now," said God, as he shook us out of his sleeve upon the + planet he had given us to live upon, the planet that whirled about green + Sirius for a sun, "now that you understand me and each other a little + better,...try again." + </p> + <p> + Then he and his great angels turned themselves about and suddenly had + vanished... + </p> + <p> + The Throne had vanished. + </p> + <p> + All about me was a beautiful land, more beautiful than any I had ever seen + before—waste, austere, and wonderful; and all about me were the + enlightened souls of men in new clean bodies... + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIII. — JIMMY GOGGLES THE GOD. + </h2> + <p> + "It isn't every one who's been a god," said the sunburnt man. "But it's + happened to me—among other things." + </p> + <p> + I intimated my sense of his condescension. + </p> + <p> + "It don't leave much for ambition, does it?" said the sunburnt man. + </p> + <p> + "I was one of those men who were saved from the <i>Ocean Pioneer</i>. + Gummy! how time flies! It's twenty years ago. I doubt if you'll remember + anything of the <i>Ocean Pioneer</i>?" + </p> + <p> + The name was familiar, and I tried to recall when and where I had read it. + The <i>Ocean Pioneer</i>? "Something about gold dust," I said vaguely, + "but the precise—" + </p> + <p> + "That's it," he said. "In a beastly little channel she hadn't no business + in—dodging pirates. It was before they'd put the kybosh on that + business. And there'd been volcanoes or something and all the rocks was + wrong. There's places about by Soona where you fair have to follow the + rocks about to see where they're going next. Down she went in twenty + fathoms before you could have dealt for whist, with fifty thousand pounds + worth of gold aboard, it was said, in one form or another." + </p> + <p> + "Survivors?" + </p> + <p> + "Three." + </p> + <p> + "I remember the case now," I said. "There was something about salvage——" + </p> + <p> + But at the word salvage the sunburnt man exploded into language so + extraordinarily horrible that I stopped aghast. He came down to more + ordinary swearing, and pulled himself up abruptly. "Excuse me," he said, + "but—salvage!" + </p> + <p> + He leant over towards me. "I was in that job," he said. "Tried to make + myself a rich man, and got made a god instead. I've got my feelings—— + </p> + <p> + "It ain't all jam being a god," said the sunburnt man, and for some time + conversed by means of such pithy but unprogressive axioms. At last he took + up his tale again. + </p> + <p> + "There was me," said the sunburnt man, "and a seaman named Jacobs, and + Always, the mate of the <i>Ocean Pioneer</i>. And him it was that set the + whole thing going. I remember him now, when we was in the jolly-boat, + suggesting it all to our minds just by one sentence. He was a wonderful + hand at suggesting things. 'There was forty thousand pounds,' he said, 'on + that ship, and it's for me to say just where she went down.' It didn't + need much brains to tumble to that. And he was the leader from the first + to the last. He got hold of the Sanderses and their brig; they were + brothers, and the brig was the <i>Pride of Banya</i>, and he it was bought + the diving dress—a second-hand one with a compressed air apparatus + instead of pumping. He'd have done the diving too, if it hadn't made him + sick going down. And the salvage people were mucking about with a chart + he'd cooked up, as solemn as could be, at Starr Race, a hundred and twenty + miles away. + </p> + <p> + "I can tell you we was a happy lot aboard that brig, jokes and drink and + bright hopes all the time. It all seemed so neat and clean and + straightforward, and what rough chaps call a 'cert.' And we used to + speculate how the other blessed lot, the proper salvagers, who'd started + two days before us, were getting on, until our sides fairly ached. We all + messed together in the Sanderses' cabin—it was a curious crew, all + officers and no men—and there stood the diving-dress waiting its + turn. Young Sanders was a humorous sort of chap, and there certainly was + something funny in the confounded thing's great fat head and its stare, + and he made us see it too. 'Jimmy Goggles,' he used to call it, and talk + to it like a Christian. Asked if he was married, and how Mrs. Goggles was, + and all the little Goggleses. Fit to make you split. And every blessed day + all of us used to drink the health of Jimmy Goggles in rum, and unscrew + his eye and pour a glass of rum in him, until, instead of that nasty + mackintosheriness, he smelt as nice in his inside as a cask of rum. It was + jolly times we had in those days, I can tell you—little suspecting, + poor chaps! what was a-coming. + </p> + <p> + "We weren't going to throw away our chances by any blessed hurry, you + know, and we spent a whole day sounding our way towards where the <i>Ocean + Pioneer</i> had gone down, right between two chunks of ropy grey rock—lava + rocks that rose nearly out of the water. We had to lay off about half a + mile to get a safe anchorage, and there was a thundering row who should + stop on board. And there she lay just as she had gone down, so that you + could see the top of the masts that was still standing perfectly + distinctly. The row ended in all coming in the boat. I went down in the + diving-dress on Friday morning directly it was light. + </p> + <p> + "What a surprise it was! I can see it all now quite distinctly. It was a + queer-looking place, and the light was just coming. People over here think + every blessed place in the tropics is a flat shore and palm-trees and + surf, bless 'em! This place, for instance, wasn't a bit that way. Not + common rocks they were, undermined by waves; but great curved banks like + ironwork cinder heaps, with green slime below, and thorny shrubs and + things just waving upon them here and there, and the water glassy calm and + clear, and showing you a kind of dirty gray-black shine, with huge flaring + red-brown weeds spreading motionless, and crawling and darting things + going through it. And far away beyond the ditches and pools and the heaps + was a forest on the mountain flank, growing again after the fires and + cinder showers of the last eruption. And the other way forest, too, and a + kind of broken—what is it?—amby-theatre of black and rusty + cinders rising out of it all, and the sea in a kind of bay in the middle. + </p> + <p> + "The dawn, I say, was just coming, and there wasn't much colour about + things, and not a human being but ourselves anywhere in sight up or down + the channel. Except the <i>Pride of Banya</i>, lying out beyond a lump of + rocks towards the line of the sea. + </p> + <p> + "Not a human being in sight," he repeated, and paused. + </p> + <p> + "<i>I</i> don't know where they came from, not a bit. And we were feeling + so safe that we were all alone that poor young Sanders was a-singing. I + was in Jimmy Goggles, all except the helmet. 'Easy,' says Always, 'there's + her mast.' And after I'd had just one squint over the gunwale, I caught up + the bogey, and almost tipped out as old Sanders brought the boat round. + When the windows were screwed and everything was all right, I shut the + valve from the air-belt in order to help my sinking, and jumped overboard, + feet foremost—for we hadn't a ladder. I left the boat pitching, and + all of them staring down into water after me, as my head sank down into + the weeds and blackness that lay about the mast. I suppose nobody, not the + most cautious chap in the world, would have bothered about a look-out at + such a desolate place. It stunk of solitude. + </p> + <p> + "Of course you must understand that I was a greenhorn at diving. None of + us were divers. We'd had to muck about with the thing to get the way of + it, and this was the first time I'd been deep. It feels damnable. Your + ears hurt beastly. I don't know if you've ever hurt yourself yawning or + sneezing, but it takes you like that, only ten times worse. And a pain + over the eyebrows here—splitting—and a feeling like influenza + in the head. And it isn't all heaven in your lungs and things. And going + down feels like the beginning of a lift, only it keeps on. And you can't + turn your head to see what's above you, and you can't get a fair squint at + what's happening to your feet without bending down something painful. And + being deep it was dark, let alone the blackness of the ashes and mud that + formed the bottom. It was like going down out of the dawn back into the + night, so to speak. + </p> + <p> + "The mast came up like a ghost out of the black, and then a lot of fishes, + and then a lot of flapping red seaweed, and then whack I came with a kind + of dull bang on the deck of the <i>Ocean Pioneer</i>, and the fishes that + had been feeding on the dead rose about me like a swarm of flies from road + stuff in summer-time. I turned on the compressed air again—for the + suit was a bit thick and mackintoshery after all, in spite of the rum—and + stood recovering myself. It struck coolish down there, and that helped + take off the stuffiness a bit." + </p> + <p> + "When I began to feel easier, I started looking about me. It was an + extraordinary sight. Even the light was extraordinary, a kind of + reddy-coloured twilight, on account of the streamers of seaweed that + floated up on either side of the ship. And far overhead just a moony, deep + green blue. The deck of the ship, except for a slight list to starboard, + was level, and lay all dark and long between the weeds, clear except where + the masts had snapped when she rolled, and vanishing into black night + towards the forecastle. There wasn't any dead on the decks, most were in + the weeds alongside, I suppose; but afterwards I found two skeletons lying + in the passengers' cabins, where death had come to them. It was curious to + stand on that deck and recognise it all, bit by bit; a place against the + rail where I'd been fond of smoking by starlight, and the corner where an + old chap from Sydney used to flirt with a widow we had aboard. A + comfortable couple they'd been, only a month ago, and now you couldn't + have got a meal for a baby crab off either of them. + </p> + <p> + "I've always had a bit of a philosophical turn, and I daresay I spent the + best part of five minutes in such thoughts before I went below to find + where the blessed dust was stored. It was slow work hunting, feeling it + was for the most part, pitchy dark, with confusing blue gleams down the + companion. And there were things moving about, a dab at my glass once, and + once a pinch at my leg. Crabs, I expect. I kicked a lot of loose stuff + that puzzled me, and stooped and picked up something all knobs and spikes. + What do you think? Backbone! But I never had any particular feeling for + bones. We had talked the affair over pretty thoroughly, and Always knew + just where the stuff was stowed. I found it that trip. I lifted a box one + end an inch or more." + </p> + <p> + He broke off in his story. "I've lifted it," he said, "as near as that! + Forty thousand pounds' worth of pure gold! Gold! I shouted inside my + helmet as a kind of cheer, and hurt my ears. I was getting confounded + stuffy and tired by this time—I must have been down twenty-five + minutes or more—and I thought this was good enough. I went up the + companion again, and as my eyes came up flush with the deck, a thundering + great crab gave a kind of hysterical jump and went scuttling off sideways. + Quite a start it gave me. I stood up clear on deck and shut the valve + behind the helmet to let the air accumulate to carry me up again—I + noticed a kind of whacking from above, as though they were hitting the + water with an oar, but I didn't look up. I fancied they were signalling me + to come up. + </p> + <p> + "And then something shot down by me—something heavy, and stood + a-quiver in the planks. I looked, and there was a long knife I'd seen + young Sanders handling. Thinks I, he's dropped it, and I was still calling + him this kind of fool and that—-for it might have hurt me serious—when + I began to lift and drive up towards the daylight. Just about the level of + the top spars of the <i>Ocean Pioneer</i>, whack! I came against something + sinking down, and a boot knocked in front of my helmet. Then something + else, struggling frightful. It was a big weight atop of me, whatever it + was, and moving and twisting about. I'd have thought it a big octopus, or + some such thing, if it hadn't been for the boot. But octopuses don't wear + boots. It was all in a moment, of course. + </p> + <p> + "I felt myself sinking down again, and I threw my arms about to keep + steady, and the whole lot rolled free of me and shot down as I went up—" + </p> + <p> + He paused. + </p> + <p> + "I saw young Sanders's face, over a naked black shoulder, and a spear + driven clean through his neck, and out of his mouth and neck what looked + like spirts of pink smoke in the water. And down they went clutching one + another, and turning over, and both too far gone to leave go. And in + another second my helmet came a whack, fit to split, against the niggers' + canoe. It was niggers! Two canoes full. + </p> + <p> + "It was lively times I tell you? Overboard came Always with three spears + in him. There was the legs of three or four black chaps kicking about me + in the water. I couldn't see much, but I saw the game was up at a glance, + gave my valve a tremendous twist, and went bubbling down again after poor + Always, in as awful a state of scare and astonishment as you can well + imagine. I passed young Sanders and the nigger going up again and + struggling still a bit, and in another moment I was standing in the dim + again on the deck of the <i>Ocean Pioneer</i>. + </p> + <p> + "Gummy, thinks I, here's a fix! Niggers? At first I couldn't see anything + for it but Stifle below or Stabs above. I didn't properly understand how + much air there was to last me out, but I didn't feel like standing very + much more of it down below. I was hot and frightfully heady, quite apart + from the blue funk I was in. We'd never reckoned with these beastly + natives, filthy Papuan beasts. It wasn't any good coming up where I was, + but I had to do something. On the spur of the moment, I clambered over the + side of the brig and landed among the weeds, and set off through the + darkness as fast as I could. I just stopped once and knelt, and twisted + back my head in the helmet and had a look up. It was a most extraordinary + bright green-blue above, and the two canoes and the boat floating there + very small and distant like a kind of twisted H. And it made me feel sick + to squint up at it, and think what the pitching and swaying of the three + meant. + </p> + <p> + "It was just about the most horrible ten minutes I ever had, blundering + about in that darkness—pressure something awful, like being buried + in sand, pain across the chest, sick with funk, and breathing nothing as + it seemed but the smell of rum and mackintosh. Gummy! After a bit, I found + myself going up a steepish sort of slope. I had another squint to see if + anything was visible of the canoes and boats, and then kept on. I stopped + with my head a foot from the surface, and tried to see where I was going, + but, of course, nothing was to be seen but the reflection of the bottom. + Then out I dashed, like knocking my head through a mirror. Directly I got + my eyes out of the water, I saw I'd come up a kind of beach near the + forest. I had a look round, but the natives and the brig were both hidden + by a big hummucky heap of twisted lava. The born fool in me suggested a + run for the woods. I didn't take the helmet off, but I eased open one of + the windows, and, after a bit of a pant, went on out of the water. You'd + hardly imagine how clean and light the air tasted. + </p> + <p> + "Of course, with four inches of lead in your boot soles, and your head in + a copper knob the size of a football, and been thirty-five minutes under + water, you don't break any records running. I ran like a ploughboy going + to work. And half-way to the trees I saw a dozen niggers or more, coming + out in a gaping, astonished sort of way to meet me. + </p> + <p> + "I just stopped dead, and cursed myself for all the fools out of London. I + had about as much chance of cutting back to the water as a turned turtle. + I just screwed up my window again to leave my hands free, and waited for + them. There wasn't anything else for me to do. + </p> + <p> + "But they didn't come on very much. I began to suspect why. 'Jimmy + Goggles,' I says, 'it's your beauty does it.' I was inclined to be a + little lightheaded, I think, with all these dangers about and the change + in the pressure of the blessed air. 'Who're ye staring at?' I said, as if + the savages could hear me. 'What d'ye take me for? I'm hanged if I don't + give you something to stare at,' I said, and with that I screwed up the + escape valve and turned on the compressed air from the belt, until I was + swelled out like a blown frog. Regular imposing it must have been. I'm + blessed if they'd come on a step; and presently one and then another went + down on their hands and knees. They didn't know what to make of me, and + they was doing the extra polite, which was very wise and reasonable of + them. I had half a mind to edge back seaward and cut and run, but it + seemed too hopeless. A step back and they'd have been after me. And out of + sheer desperation I began to march towards them up the beach, with slow, + heavy steps, and waving my blown-out arms about, in a dignified manner. + And inside of me I was singing as small as a tomtit. + </p> + <p> + "But there's nothing like a striking appearance to help a man over a + difficulty,—I've found that before and since. People like ourselves, + who're up to diving dresses by the time we're seven, can scarcely imagine + the effect of one on a simple-minded savage. One or two of these niggers + cut and run, the others started in a great hurry trying to knock their + brains out on the ground. And on I went as slow and solemn and + silly-looking and artful as a jobbing plumber. It was evident they took me + for something immense. + </p> + <p> + "Then up jumped one and began pointing, making extraordinary gestures to + me as he did so, and all the others began sharing their attention between + me and something out at; sea. 'What's the matter now?' I said. I turned + slowly on account of my dignity, and there I saw, coming round a point, + the poor old <i>Pride of Banya</i> towed by a couple of canoes. The sight + fairly made me sick. But they evidently expected some recognition, so I + waved my arms in a striking sort of non-committal manner. And then I + turned and stalked on towards the trees again. At that time I was praying + like mad, I remember, over and over again: 'Lord help me through with it! + Lord help me through with it!' It's only fools who know nothing of danger + can afford to laugh at praying." + </p> + <p> + "But these niggers weren't going to let me walk through and away like + that. They started a kind of bowing dance about me, and sort of pressed me + to take a pathway that lay through the trees. It was clear to me they + didn't take me for a British citizen, whatever else they thought of me, + and for my own part I was never less anxious to own up to the old country. + </p> + <p> + "You'd hardly believe it, perhaps, unless you're familiar with savages, + but these poor, misguided, ignorant creatures took me straight to their + kind of joss place to present me to the blessed old black stone there. By + this time I was beginning to sort of realise the depth of their ignorance, + and directly I set eyes on this deity I took my cue. I started a baritone + howl, 'wow-wow,' very long on one note, and began waving my arms about a + lot, and then very slowly and ceremoniously turned their image over on its + side and sat down on it. I wanted to sit down badly, for diving dresses + ain't much wear in the tropics. Or, to put it different like, they're a + sight too much. It took away their breath, I could see, my sitting on + their joss, but in less time than a minute they made up their minds and + were hard at work worshipping me. And I can tell you I felt a bit relieved + to see things turning out so well, in spite of the weight on my shoulders + and feet. + </p> + <p> + "But what made me anxious was what the chaps in the canoes might think + when they came back. If they'd seen me in the boat before I went down, and + without the helmet on—for they might have been spying and hiding + since over night—they would very likely take a different view from + the others. I was in a deuce of a stew about that for hours, as it seemed, + until the shindy of the arrival began. + </p> + <p> + "But they took it down—the whole blessed village took it down. At + the cost of sitting up stiff and stern, as much like those sitting + Egyptian images one sees as I could manage, for pretty nearly twelve + hours, I should guess at least, on end, I got over it. You'd hardly think + what it meant in that heat and stink. I don't think any of them dreamt of + the man inside. I was just a wonderful leathery great joss that had come + up with luck out of the water. But the fatigue! the heat! the beastly + closeness! the mackintosheriness and the rum! and the fuss! They lit a + stinking fire on a kind of lava slab there was before me, and brought in a + lot of gory muck—the worst parts of what they were feasting on + outside, the Beasts— and burnt it all in my honour. I was getting a + bit hungry, but I understand now how gods manage to do without eating, + what with the smell of burnt-offerings about them. And they brought in a + lot of the stuff they'd got off the brig and, among other stuff, what I + was a bit relieved to see, the kind of pneumatic pump that was used for + the compressed air affair, and then a lot of chaps and girls came in and + danced about me something disgraceful. It's extraordinary the different + ways different people have of showing respect. If I'd had a hatchet handy + I'd have gone for the lot of them—they made me feel that wild. All + this time I sat as stiff as company, not knowing anything better to do. + And at last, when nightfall came, and the wattle joss-house place got a + bit too shadowy for their taste—all these here savages are afraid of + the dark, you know—and I started a sort of 'Moo' noise, they built + big bonfires outside and left me alone in peace in the darkness of my hut, + free to unscrew my windows a bit and think things over, and feel just as + bad as I liked. And Lord! I was sick. + </p> + <p> + "I was weak and hungry, and my mind kept on behaving like a beetle on a + pin, tremendous activity and nothing done at the end of it. Come round + just where it was before. There was sorrowing for the other chaps, beastly + drunkards certainly, but not deserving such a fate, and young Sanders with + the spear through his neck wouldn't go out of my mind. There was the + treasure down there in the <i>Ocean Pioneer</i>, and how one might get it + and hide it somewhere safer, and get away and come back for it. And there + was the puzzle where to get anything to eat. I tell you I was fair + rambling. I was afraid to ask by signs for food, for fear of behaving too + human, and so there I sat and hungered until very near the dawn. Then the + village got a bit quiet, and I couldn't stand it any longer, and I went + out and got some stuff like artichokes in a bowl and some sour milk. What + was left of these I put away among the other offerings, just to give them + a hint of my tastes. And in the morning they came to worship, and found me + sitting up stiff and respectable on their previous god, just as they'd + left me overnight. I'd got my back against the central pillar of the hut, + and, practically, I was asleep. And that's how I became a god among the + heathen—false god, no doubt, and blasphemous, but one can't always + pick and choose. + </p> + <p> + "Now, I don't want to crack myself up as a god beyond my merits, but I + must confess that while I was god to these people they was extraordinary + successful. I don't say there's anything in it, mind you. They won a + battle with another tribe—I got a lot of offerings I didn't want + through it—they had wonderful fishing, and their crop of pourra was + exceptional fine. And they counted the capture of the brig among the + benefits I brought 'em. I must say I don't think that was a poor record + for a perfectly new hand. And, though perhaps you'd scarcely credit it, I + was the tribal god of those beastly savages for pretty nearly four + months... + </p> + <p> + "What else could I do, man? But I didn't wear that diving-dress all the + time. I made 'em rig me up a sort of holy of holies, and a deuce of a time + I had too, making them understand what it was I wanted them to do. That + indeed was the great difficulty—making them understand my wishes. I + couldn't let myself down by talking their lingo badly, even if I'd been + able to speak at all, and I couldn't go flapping a lot of gestures at + them. So I drew pictures in sand and sat down beside them and hooted like + one o'clock. Sometimes they did the things I wanted all right, and + sometimes they did them all wrong. They was always very willing, + certainly. All the while I was puzzling how I was to get the confounded + business settled. Every night before the dawn I used to march out in full + rig and go off to a place where I could see the channel in which the <i>Ocean + Pioneer</i> lay sunk, and once even, one moonlight night, I tried to walk + out to her, but the weeds and rocks and dark clean beat me. I didn't get + back till full day, and then I found all those silly niggers out on the + beach praying their sea-god to return to them. I was that vexed and tired, + messing and tumbling about, and coming up and going down again, I could + have punched their silly heads all round when they started rejoicing. + Hanged if I like so much ceremony. + </p> + <p> + "And then came the missionary. That missionary! <i>What</i> a Guy! Gummy! + It was in the afternoon, and I was sitting in state in my outer temple + place, sitting on that old black stone of theirs, when he came. I heard a + row outside and jabbering, and then his voice speaking to an interpreter. + 'They worship stocks and stones,' he said, and I knew what was up, in a + flash. I had one of my windows out for comfort, and I sang out straight + away on the spur of the moment. 'Stocks and stones!' I says. 'You come + inside,' I says, 'and I'll punch your blooming Exeter Hall of a head.' + </p> + <p> + "There was a kind of silence and more jabbering, and in he came, Bible in + hand, after the manner of them—a little sandy chap in specks and a + pith helmet. I flatter myself that me sitting there in the shadows, with + my copper head and my big goggles, struck him a bit of a heap at first. + 'Well,' I says, 'how's the trade in scissors?' for I don't hold with + missionaries. + </p> + <p> + "I had a lark with that missionary. He was a raw hand, and quite + outclassed by a man like me. He gasped out who was I, and I told him to + read the inscription at my feet if he wanted to know. There wasn't no + inscription; why should there be? but down he goes to read, and his + interpreter, being of course as superstitious as any of them, more so by + reason of his seeing missionary close to, took it for an act of worship + and plumped down like a shot. All my people gave a howl of triumph, and + there wasn't any more business to be done in my village after that + journey, not by the likes of him. + </p> + <p> + "But, of course, I was a fool to choke him off like that. If I'd had any + sense I should have told him straight away of the treasure and taken him + into Co. I've no doubt he'd have come into Co. A child, with a few hours + to think it over, could have seen the connection between my diving dress + and the loss of the <i>Ocean Pioneer</i>. A week after he left I went out + one morning and saw the <i>Motherhood</i>, the salver's ship from Starr + Race, towing up the channel and sounding. The whole blessed game was up, + and all my trouble thrown away. Gummy! How wild I felt! And guying it in + that stinking silly dress! Four months!" + </p> + <p> + The sunburnt man's story degenerated again. "Think of it," he said, when + he emerged to linguistic purity once more. "Forty thousand pounds' worth + of gold." + </p> + <p> + "Did the little missionary come back?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Oh yes! bless him! And he pledged his reputation there was a man inside + the god, and started out to see as much with tremendous ceremony. But + wasn't—he got sold again. I always did hate scenes and explanations, + and long before he came I was out of it all—going home to Banya + along the coast, hiding in bushes by day, and thieving food from the + villages by night. Only weapon, a spear. No clothes, no money. Nothing. My + face, my fortune, as the saying is. And just a squeak of eight thousand + pounds of gold—fifth share. But the natives cut up rusty, thank + goodness, because they thought it was him had driven their luck away." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIV. — MISS WINCHELSEA'S HEART. + </h2> + <p> + Miss Winchelsea was going to Rome. The matter had filled her mind for a + month or more, and had overflowed so abundantly into her conversation that + quite a number of people who were not going to Rome, and who were not + likely to go to Rome, had made it a personal grievance against her. Some + indeed had attempted quite unavailingly to convince her that Rome was not + nearly such a desirable place as it was reported to be, and others had + gone so far as to suggest behind her back that she was dreadfully "stuck + up" about "that Rome of hers." And little Lily Hardhurst had told her + friend Mr. Binns that so far as she was concerned Miss Winchelsea might + "go to her old Rome and stop there; <i>she</i> (Miss Lily Hardhurst) + wouldn't grieve." And the way in which Miss Winchelsea put herself upon + terms of personal tenderness with Horace and Benvenuto Cellini and Raphael + and Shelley and Keats—if she had been Shelley's widow she could not + have professed a keener interest in his grave—was a matter of + universal astonishment. Her dress was a triumph of tactful discretion, + sensible, but not too "touristy"'—Miss Winchelsea had a great dread + of being "touristy"—and her Baedeker was carried in a cover of grey + to hide its glaring red. She made a prim and pleasant little figure on the + Charing Cross platform, in spite of her swelling pride, when at last the + great day dawned, and she could start for Rome. The day was bright, the + Channel passage would be pleasant, and all the omens promised well. There + was the gayest sense of adventure in this unprecedented departure. + </p> + <p> + She was going with two friends who had been fellow-students with her at + the training college, nice honest girls both, though not so good at + history and literature as Miss Winchelsea. They both looked up to her + immensely, though physically they had to look down, and she anticipated + some pleasant times to be spent in "stirring them up" to her own pitch of + AEsthetic and historical enthusiasm. They had secured seats already, and + welcomed her effusively at the carriage door. In the instant criticism of + the encounter she noted that Fanny had a slightly "touristy" leather + strap, and that Helen had succumbed to a serge jacket with side pockets, + into which her hands were thrust. But they were much too happy with + themselves and the expedition for their friend to attempt any hint at the + moment about these things. As soon as the first ecstasies were over— + Fanny's enthusiasm was a little noisy and crude, and consisted mainly in + emphatic repetitions of "Just <i>fancy</i>! we're going to Rome, my dear!—Rome!"—they + gave their attention to their fellow-travellers. Helen was anxious to + secure a compartment to themselves, and, in order to discourage intruders, + got out and planted herself firmly on the step. Miss Winchelsea peeped out + over her shoulder, and made sly little remarks about the accumulating + people on the platform, at which Fanny laughed gleefully. + </p> + <p> + They were travelling with one of Mr. Thomas Gunn's parties—fourteen + days in Rome for fourteen pounds. They did not belong to the personally + conducted party, of course—Miss Winchelsea had seen to that—but + they travelled with it because of the convenience of that arrangement. The + people were the oddest mixture, and wonderfully amusing. There was a + vociferous red-faced polyglot personal conductor in a pepper-and-salt + suit, very long in the arms and legs and very active. He shouted + proclamations. When he wanted to speak to people he stretched out an arm + and held them until his purpose was accomplished. One hand was full of + papers, tickets, counterfoils of tourists. The people of the personally + conducted party were, it seemed, of two sorts; people the conductor wanted + and could not find, and people he did not want and who followed him in a + steadily growing tail up and down the platform. These people seemed, + indeed, to think that their one chance of reaching Rome lay in keeping + close to him. Three little old ladies were particularly energetic in his + pursuit, and at last maddened him to the pitch of clapping them into a + carriage and daring them to emerge again. For the rest of the time, one, + two, or three of their heads protruded from the window wailing inquiries + about "a little wicker-work box" whenever he drew near. There was a very + stout man with a very stout wife in shiny black; there was a little old + man like an aged hostler. + </p> + <p> + "What <i>can</i> such people want in Rome?" asked Miss Winchelsea. "What + can it mean to them?" There was a very tall curate in a very small straw + hat, and a very short curate encumbered by a long camera stand. The + contrast amused Fanny very much. Once they heard some one calling for + "Snooks." "I always thought that name was invented by novelists," said + Miss Winchelsea. "Fancy! Snooks. I wonder which <i>is</i> Mr. Snooks." + Finally they picked out a very stout and resolute little man in a large + check suit. "If he isn't Snooks, he ought to be," said Miss Winchelsea. + </p> + <p> + Presently the conductor discovered Helen's attempt at a corner in + carriages. "Room for five," he bawled with a parallel translation on his + fingers. A party of four together—mother, father, and two daughters— + blundered in, all greatly excited. "It's all right, Ma—you let me," + said one of the daughters, hitting her mother's bonnet with a handbag she + struggled to put in the rack. Miss Winchelsea detested people who banged + about and called their mother "Ma." A young man travelling alone followed. + He was not at all "touristy" in his costume, Miss Winchelsea observed; his + Gladstone bag was of good pleasant leather with labels reminiscent of + Luxembourg and Ostend, and his boots, though brown, were not vulgar. He + carried an overcoat on his arm. Before these people had properly settled + in their places, came an inspection of tickets and a slamming of doors, + and behold! they were gliding out of Charing Cross Station on their way to + Rome. + </p> + <p> + "Fancy!" cried Fanny, "we are going to Rome, my dear! Rome! I don't seem + to believe it, even now." + </p> + <p> + Miss Winchelsea suppressed Fanny's emotions with a little smile, and the + lady who was called "Ma" explained to people in general why they had "cut + it so close" at the station. The two daughters called her "Ma" several + times, toned her down in a tactless, effective way, and drove her at last + to the muttered inventory of a basket of travelling requisites. Presently + she looked up. "Lor!" she said, "I didn't bring <i>them</i>!" Both the + daughters said "Oh, Ma!" But what "them" was did not appear. + </p> + <p> + Presently Fanny produced Hare's <i>Walks in Rome</i>, a sort of mitigated + guide-book very popular among Roman visitors; and the father of the two + daughters began to examine his books of tickets minutely, apparently in a + search after English words. When he had looked at the tickets for a long + time right way up, he turned them upside down. Then he produced a fountain + pen and dated them with considerable care. The young man having completed + an unostentatious survey of his fellow-travellers produced a book and fell + to reading. When Helen and Fanny were looking out of the window at + Chislehurst—the place interested Fanny because the poor dear Empress + of the French used to live there—Miss Winchelsea took the + opportunity to observe the book the young man held. It was not a + guide-book but a little thin volume of poetry—<i>bound</i>. She + glanced at his face—it seemed a refined, pleasant face to her hasty + glance. He wore a little gilt <i>pince-nez</i>. "Do you think she lives + there now?" said Fanny, and Miss Winchelsea's inspection came to an end. + </p> + <p> + For the rest of the journey Miss Winchelsea talked little, and what she + said was as agreeable and as stamped with refinement as she could make it. + Her voice was always low and clear and pleasant, and she took care that on + this occasion it was particularly low and clear and pleasant. As they came + under the white cliffs the young man put his book of poetry away, and when + at last the train stopped beside the boat, he displayed a graceful + alacrity with the impedimenta of Miss Winchelsea and her friends. Miss + Winchelsea "hated nonsense," but she was pleased to see the young man + perceived at once that they were ladies, and helped them without any + violent geniality; and how nicely he showed that his civilities were to be + no excuse for further intrusions. None of her little party had been out of + England before, and they were all excited and a little nervous at the + Channel passage. They stood in a little group in a good place near the + middle of the boat—the young man had taken Miss Winchelsea's + carry-all there and had told her it was a good place—and they + watched the white shores of Albion recede and quoted Shakespeare and made + quiet fun of their fellow-travellers in the English way. + </p> + <p> + They were particularly amused at the precautions the bigger-sized people + had taken against the little waves—cut lemons and flasks prevailed, + one lady lay full length in a deck chair with a handkerchief over her + face, and a very broad resolute man in a bright brown "touristy" suit + walked all the way from England to France along the deck, with his legs as + widely apart as Providence permitted. These were all excellent + precautions, and nobody was ill. The personally-conducted party pursued + the conductor about the deck with inquiries, in a manner that suggested to + Helen's mind the rather vulgar image of hens with a piece of bacon rind, + until at last he went into hiding below. And the young man with the thin + volume of poetry stood at the stern watching England receding, looking + rather lonely and sad to Miss Winchelsea's eye. + </p> + <p> + And then came Calais and tumultuous novelties, and the young man had not + forgotten Miss Winchelsea's hold-all and the other little things. All + three girls, though they had passed Government examinations in French to + any extent, were stricken with a dumb shame of their accents, and the + young man was very useful. And he did not intrude. He put them in a + comfortable carriage and raised his hat and went away. Miss Winchelsea + thanked him in her best manner—a pleasing, cultivated manner—and + Fanny said he was "nice" almost before he was out of earshot. "I wonder + what he can be," said Helen. "He's going to Italy, because I noticed green + tickets in his book." Miss Winchelsea almost told them of the poetry, and + decided not to do so. And presently the carriage windows seized hold upon + them and the young man was forgotten. It made them feel that they were + doing an educated sort of thing to travel through a country whose + commonest advertisements were in idiomatic French, and Miss Winchelsea + made unpatriotic comparisons because there were weedy little sign-board + advertisements by the rail side instead of the broad hoardings that deface + the landscape in our land. But the north of France is really uninteresting + country, and after a time Fanny reverted to Hare's <i>Walks</i>, and Helen + initiated lunch. Miss Winchelsea awoke out of a happy reverie; she had + been trying to realise, she said, that she was actually going to Rome, but + she perceived at Helen's suggestion that she was hungry, and they lunched + out of their baskets very cheerfully. In the afternoon they were tired and + silent until Helen made tea. Miss Winchelsea might have dozed, only she + knew Fanny slept with her mouth open; and as their fellow-passengers were + two rather nice, critical-looking ladies of uncertain age—who knew + French well enough to talk it—she employed herself in keeping Fanny + awake. The rhythm of the train became insistent, and the streaming + landscape outside became at last quite painful to the eye. They were + already dreadfully tired of travelling before their night's stoppage came. + </p> + <p> + The stoppage for the night was brightened by the appearance of the young + man, and his manners were all that could be desired and his French quite + serviceable. + </p> + <p> + His coupons availed for the same hotel as theirs, and by chance, as it + seemed, he sat next Miss Winchelsea at the <i>table d'htte.</i> In spite + of her enthusiasm for Rome, she had thought out some such possibility very + thoroughly, and when he ventured to make a remark upon the tediousness of + travelling—he let the soup and fish go by before he did this—she + did not simply assent to his proposition, but responded with another. They + were soon comparing their journeys, and Helen and Fanny were cruelly + overlooked in the conversation.. It was to be the same journey, they + found; one day for the galleries at Florence—"from what I hear," + said the young man, "it is barely enough,"—and the rest at Rome. He + talked of Rome very pleasantly; he was evidently quite well read, and he + quoted Horace about Soracte. Miss Winchelsea had "done" that book of + Horace for her matriculation, and was delighted to cap his quotation. It + gave a sort of tone to things, this incident—a touch of refinement + to mere chatting. Fanny expressed a few emotions, and Helen interpolated a + few sensible remarks, but the bulk of the talk on the girls' side + naturally fell to Miss Winchelsea. + </p> + <p> + Before they reached Rome this young man was tacitly of their party. They + did not know his name nor what he was, but it seemed he taught, and Miss + Winchelsea had a shrewd idea he was an extension lecturer. At any rate he + was something of that sort, something gentlemanly and refined without + being opulent and impossible. She tried once or twice to ascertain whether + he came from Oxford or Cambridge, but he missed her timid opportunities. + She tried to get him to make remarks about those places to see if he would + say "come up" to them instead of "go down,"—she knew that was how + you told a 'Varsity man. He used the word "'Varsity"—not university—in + quite the proper way. + </p> + <p> + They saw as much of Mr. Ruskin's Florence as the brief time permitted; he + met them in the Pitti Gallery and went round with them, chatting brightly, + and evidently very grateful for their recognition. He knew a great deal + about art, and all four enjoyed the morning immensely. It was fine to go + round recognising old favourites and finding new beauties, especially + while so many people fumbled helplessly with Baedeker. Nor was he a bit of + a prig, Miss Winchelsea said, and indeed she detested prigs. He had a + distinct undertone of humour, and was funny, for example, without being + vulgar, at the expense of the quaint work of Beato Angelico. He had a + grave seriousness beneath it all, and was quick to seize the moral lessons + of the pictures. Fanny went softly among these masterpieces; she admitted + "she knew so little about them," and she confessed that to her they were + "all beautiful." Fanny's "beautiful" inclined to be a little monotonous, + Miss Winchelsea thought. She had been quite glad when the last sunny Alp + had vanished, because of the staccato of Fanny's admiration. Helen said + little, but Miss Winchelsea had found her a trifle wanting on the + aesthetic side in the old days and was not surprised; sometimes she + laughed at the young man's hesitating, delicate jests and sometimes she + didn't, and sometimes she seemed quite lost to the art about them in the + contemplation of the dresses of the other visitors. + </p> + <p> + At Rome the young man was with them intermittently. A rather "touristy" + friend of his took him away at times. He complained comically to Miss + Winchelsea. "I have only two short weeks in Rome," he said, "and my friend + Leonard wants to spend a whole day at Tivoli looking at a waterfall." + </p> + <p> + "What is your friend Leonard?" asked Miss Winchelsea abruptly. + </p> + <p> + "He's the most enthusiastic pedestrian I ever met," the young man replied—amusingly, + but a little unsatisfactorily, Miss Winchelsea thought. + </p> + <p> + They had some glorious times, and Fanny could not think what they would + have done without him. Miss Winchelsea's interest and Fanny's enormous + capacity for admiration were insatiable. They never flagged—through + pictures and sculpture galleries, immense crowded churches, ruins and + museums, Judas trees and prickly pears, wine carts and palaces, they + admired their way unflinchingly. They never saw a stone pine or a + eucalyptus but they named and admired it; they never glimpsed Soracte but + they exclaimed. Their common ways were made wonderful by imaginative play. + "Here Caesar may have walked," they would say. "Raphael may have seen + Soracte from this very point." They happened on the tomb of Bibulus. "Old + Bibulus," said the young man. "The oldest monument of Republican Rome!" + said Miss Winchelsea. + </p> + <p> + "I'm dreadfully stupid," said Fanny, "but who <i>was</i> Bibulus?" + </p> + <p> + There was a curious little pause. + </p> + <p> + "Wasn't he the person who built the wall?" said Helen. + </p> + <p> + The young man glanced quickly at her and laughed. "That was Balbus," he + said. Helen reddened, but neither he nor Miss Winchelsea threw any light + upon Fanny's ignorance about Bibulus. + </p> + <p> + Helen was more taciturn than the other three, but then she was always + taciturn, and usually she took care of the tram tickets and things like + that, or kept her eye on them if the young man took them, and told him + where they were when he wanted them. Glorious times they had, these young + people, in that pale brown cleanly city of memories that was once the + world. Their only sorrow was the shortness of the time. They said indeed + that the electric trams and the '70 buildings, and that criminal + advertisement that glares upon the Forum, outraged their aesthetic + feelings unspeakably; but that was only part of the fun. And indeed Rome + is such a wonderful place that it made Miss Winchelsea forget some of her + most carefully prepared enthusiasms at times, and Helen, taken unawares, + would suddenly admit the beauty of unexpected things. Yet Fanny and Helen + would have liked a shop window or so in the English quarter if Miss + Winchelsea's uncompromising hostility to all other English visitors had + not rendered that district impossible. + </p> + <p> + The intellectual and aesthetic fellowship of Miss Winchelsea and the + scholarly young man passed insensibly towards a deeper feeling. The + exuberant Fanny did her best to keep pace with their recondite admiration + by playing her "beautiful" with vigour, and saying "Oh! <i>let's</i> go," + with enormous appetite whenever a new place of interest was mentioned. But + Helen developed a certain want of sympathy towards the end that + disappointed Miss Winchelsea a little. She refused to see "anything" in + the face of Beatrice Cenci—Shelley's Beatrice Cenci!—in the + Barberini Gallery; and one day, when they were deploring the electric + trams, she said rather snappishly that "people must get about somehow, and + it's better than torturing horses up these horrid little hills." She spoke + of the Seven Hills of Rome as "horrid little hills "! + </p> + <p> + And the day they went on the Palatine—though Miss Winchelsea did not + know of this—she remarked suddenly to Fanny, "Don't hurry like that, + my dear; <i>they</i> don't want us to overtake them. And we don't say the + right things for them when we <i>do</i> get near." + </p> + <p> + "I wasn't trying to overtake them," said Fanny, slackening her excessive + pace; "I wasn't indeed." And for a minute she was short of breath. + </p> + <p> + But Miss Winchelsea had come upon happiness. It was only when she came to + look back across an intervening tragedy that she quite realised how happy + she had been pacing among the cypress-shadowed ruins, and exchanging the + very highest class of information the human mind can possess, the most + refined impressions it is possible to convey. Insensibly emotion crept + into their intercourse, sunning itself openly and pleasantly at last when + Helen's modernity was not too near. Insensibly their interest drifted from + the wonderful associations about them to their more intimate and personal + feelings. In a tentative way information was supplied; she spoke + allusively of her school, of her examination successes, of her gladness + that the days of "Cram" were over. He made it quite clear that he also was + a teacher. They spoke of the greatness of their calling, of the necessity + of sympathy to face its irksome details, of a certain loneliness they + sometimes felt. + </p> + <p> + That was in the Colosseum, and it was as far as they got that day, because + Helen returned with Fanny—she had taken her into the upper + galleries. Yet the private dreams of Miss Winchelsea, already vivid and + concrete enough, became now realistic in the highest degree. She figured + that pleasant young man lecturing in the most edifying way to his + students, herself modestly prominent as his intellectual mate and helper; + she figured a refined little home, with two bureaus, with white shelves of + high-class books, and autotypes of the pictures of Rossetti and Burne + Jones, with Morris's wall-papers and flowers in pots of beaten copper. + Indeed she figured many things. On the Pincio the two had a few precious + moments together, while Helen marched Fanny off to see the <i>muro Torto</i>, + and he spoke at once plainly. He said he hoped their friendship was only + beginning, that he already found her company very precious to him, that + indeed it was more than that. + </p> + <p> + He became nervous, thrusting at his glasses with trembling fingers as + though he fancied his emotions made them unstable. "I should of course," + he said, "tell you things about myself. I know it is rather unusual my + speaking to you like this. Only our meeting has been so accidental—or + providential—and I am snatching at things. I came to Rome expecting + a lonely tour ... and I have been so very happy, so very happy. Quite + recently I have found myself in a position—I have dared to think——, + And——" + </p> + <p> + He glanced over his shoulder and stopped. He said "Demn!" quite distinctly—and + she did not condemn him for that manly lapse into profanity. She looked + and saw his friend Leonard advancing. He drew nearer; he raised his hat to + Miss Winchelsea, and his smile was almost a grin. "I've been looking for + you everywhere, Snooks," he said. "You promised to be on the Piazza steps + half-an-hour ago." + </p> + <p> + Snooks! The name struck Miss Winchelsea like a blow in the face. She did + not hear his reply. She thought afterwards that Leonard must have + considered her the vaguest-minded person. To this day she is not sure + whether she was introduced to Leonard or not, nor what she said to him. A + sort of mental paralysis was upon her. Of all offensive surnames—Snooks! + </p> + <p> + Helen and Fanny were returning, there were civilities, and the young men + were receding. By a great effort she controlled herself to face the + inquiring eyes of her friends. All that afternoon she lived the life of a + heroine under the indescribable outrage of that name, chatting, observing, + with "Snooks" gnawing at her heart. From the moment that it first rang + upon her ears, the dream of her happiness was prostrate in the dust. All + the refinement she had figured was ruined and defaced by that cognomen's + unavoidable vulgarity. + </p> + <p> + What was that refined little home to her now, spite of autotypes, Morris + papers, and bureaus? Athwart it in letters of fire ran an incredible + inscription: "Mrs. Snooks." That may seem a little thing to the reader, + but consider the delicate refinement of Miss Winchelsea's mind. Be as + refined as you can and then think of writing yourself down:—"Snooks." + She conceived herself being addressed as Mrs. Snooks by all the people she + liked least, conceived the patronymic touched with a vague quality of + insult. She figured a card of grey and silver bearing 'Winchelsea' + triumphantly effaced by an arrow, Cupid's arrow, in favour of "Snooks." + Degrading confession of feminine weakness! She imagined the terrible + rejoicings of certain girl friends, of certain grocer cousins from whom + her growing refinement had long since estranged her. How they would make + it sprawl across the envelope that would bring their sarcastic + congratulations. Would even his pleasant company compensate her for that? + "It is impossible," she muttered; "impossible! <i>Snooks!</i>" + </p> + <p> + She was sorry for him, but not so sorry as she was for herself. For him + she had a touch of indignation. To be so nice, so refined, while all the + time he was "Snooks," to hide under a pretentious gentility of demeanour + the badge sinister of his surname seemed a sort of treachery. To put it in + the language of sentimental science she felt he had "led her on." + </p> + <p> + There were, of course, moments of terrible vacillation, a period even when + something almost like passion bid her throw refinement to the winds. And + there was something in her, an unexpurgated vestige of vulgarity that made + a strenuous attempt at proving that Snooks was not so very bad a name + after all. Any hovering hesitation flew before Fanny's manner, when Fanny + came with an air of catastrophe to tell that she also knew the horror. + Fanny's voice fell to a whisper when she said <i>Snooks</i>. Miss + Winchelsea would not give him any answer when at last, in the Borghese, + she could have a minute with him; but she promised him a note. + </p> + <p> + She handed him that note in the little book of poetry he had lent her, the + little book that had first drawn them together. Her refusal was ambiguous, + allusive. She could no more tell him why she rejected him than she could + have told a cripple of his hump. He too must feel something of the + unspeakable quality of his name. Indeed he had avoided a dozen chances of + telling it, she now perceived. So she spoke of "obstacles she could not + reveal"—"reasons why the thing he spoke of was impossible." She + addressed the note with a shiver, "E.K. Snooks." + </p> + <p> + Things were worse than she had dreaded; he asked her to explain. How <i>could</i> + she explain? Those last two days in Rome were dreadful. She was haunted by + his air of astonished perplexity. She knew she had given him intimate + hopes, she had not the courage to examine her mind thoroughly for the + extent of her encouragement. She knew he must think her the most + changeable of beings. Now that she was in full retreat, she would not even + perceive his hints of a possible correspondence. But in that matter he did + a thing that seemed to her at once delicate and romantic. He made a + go-between of Fanny. Fanny could not keep the secret, and came and told + her that night under a transparent pretext of needed advice. "Mr. Snooks," + said Fanny, "wants to write to me. Fancy! I had no idea. But should I let + him?" They talked it over long and earnestly, and Miss Winchelsea was + careful to keep the veil over her heart. She was already repenting his + disregarded hints. Why should she not hear of him sometimes—painful + though his name must be to her? Miss Winchelsea decided it might be + permitted, and Fanny kissed her good-night with unusual emotion. After she + had gone Miss Winchelsea sat for a long time at the window of her little + room. It was moonlight, and down the street a man sang "Santa Lucia" with + almost heart-dissolving tenderness... She sat very still. + </p> + <p> + She breathed a word very softly to herself. The word was "<i>Snooks</i>." + Then she got up with a profound sigh, and went to bed. The next morning he + said to her meaningly, "I shall hear of you through your friend." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Snooks saw them off from Rome with that pathetic interrogative + perplexity still on his face, and if it had not been for Helen he would + have retained Miss Winchelsea's hold-all in his hand as a sort of + encyclopaedic keepsake. On their way back to England Miss Winchelsea on + six separate occasions made Fanny promise to write to her the longest of + long letters. Fanny, it seemed, would be quite near Mr. Snooks. Her new + school—she was always going to new schools—would be only five + miles from Steely Bank, and it was in the Steely Bank Polytechnic, and one + or two first-class schools, that Mr. Snooks did his teaching. He might + even see her at times. They could not talk much of him—she and Fanny + always spoke of "him," never of Mr. Snooks—because Helen was apt to + say unsympathetic things about him. Her nature had coarsened very much, + Miss Winchelsea perceived, since the old Training College days; she had + become hard and cynical. She thought he had a weak face, mistaking + refinement for weakness as people of her stamp are apt to do, and when she + heard his name was Snooks, she said she had expected something of the + sort. Miss Winchelsea was careful to spare her own feelings after that, + but Fanny was less circumspect. + </p> + <p> + The girls parted in London, and Miss Winchelsea returned, with a new + interest in life, to the Girls' High School in which she had been an + increasingly valuable assistant for the last three years. Her new interest + in life was Fanny as a correspondent, and to give her a lead she wrote her + a lengthy descriptive letter within a fortnight of her return. Fanny + answered, very disappointingly. Fanny indeed had no literary gift, but it + was new to Miss Winchelsea to find herself deploring the want of gifts in + a friend. That letter was even criticised aloud in the safe solitude of + Miss Winchelsea's study, and her criticism, spoken with great bitterness, + was "Twaddle!" It was full of just the things Miss Winchelsea's letter had + been full of, particulars of the school. And of Mr. Snooks, only this + much: "I have had a letter from Mr. Snooks, and he has been over to see me + on two Saturday afternoons running. He talked about Rome and you; we both + talked about you. Your ears must have burnt, my dear..." + </p> + <p> + Miss Winchelsea repressed a desire to demand more explicit information, + and wrote the sweetest, long letter again. "Tell me all about yourself, + dear. That journey has quite refreshed our ancient friendship, and I do so + want to keep in touch with you." About Mr. Snooks she simply wrote on the + fifth page that she was glad Fanny had seen him, and that if he <i>should</i> + ask after her, she was to be remembered to him <i>very kindly</i> + (underlined). And Fanny replied most obtusely in the key of that "ancient + friendship," reminding Miss Winchelsea of a dozen foolish things of those + old schoolgirl days at the Training College, and saying not a word about + Mr. Snooks! + </p> + <p> + For nearly a week Miss Winchelsea was so angry at the failure of Fanny as + a go-between that she could not write to her. And then she wrote less + effusively, and in her letter she asked point-blank, "Have you seen Mr. + Snooks?" Fanny's letter was unexpectedly satisfactory. "I <i>have</i> seen + Mr. Snooks," she wrote, and having once named him she kept on about him; + it was all Snooks—Snooks this and Snooks that. He was to give a + public lecture, said Fanny, among other things. Yet Miss Winchelsea, after + the first glow of gratification, still found this letter a little + unsatisfactory. Fanny did not report Mr. Snooks as saying anything about + Miss Winchelsea, nor as looking a little white and worn, as he ought to + have been doing. And behold! before she had replied, came a second letter + from Fanny on the same theme, quite a gushing letter, and covering six + sheets with her loose feminine hand. + </p> + <p> + And about this second letter was a rather odd little thing that Miss + Winchelsea only noticed as she re-read it the third time. Fanny's natural + femininity had prevailed even against the round and clear traditions of + the Training College; she was one of those she-creatures born to make all + her <i>m'</i>s and <i>n'</i>s and <i>u'</i>s and <i>r'</i>s and <i>e'</i>s + alike, and to leave her <i>o'</i>s and <i>a'</i>s open and her <i>i'</i>s + undotted. So that it was only after an elaborate comparison of word with + word that Miss Winchelsea felt assured Mr. Snooks was not really "Mr. + Snooks" at all! In Fanny's first letter of gush he was Mr. "Snooks," in + her second the spelling was changed to Mr. "Senoks." Miss Winchelsea's + hand positively trembled as she turned the sheet over—it meant so + much to her. For it had already begun to seem to her that even the name of + Mrs. Snooks might be avoided at too great a price, and suddenly—this + possibility! She turned over the six sheets, all dappled with that + critical name, and everywhere the first letter had the form of an <i>e</i>! + For a time she walked the room with a hand pressed upon her heart. + </p> + <p> + She spent a whole day pondering this change, weighing a letter of inquiry + that should be at once discreet and effectual; weighing, too, what action + she should take after the answer came. She was resolved that if this + altered spelling was anything more than a quaint fancy of Fanny's, she + would write forthwith to Mr. Snooks. She had now reached a stage when the + minor refinements of behaviour disappear. Her excuse remained uninvented, + but she had the subject of her letter clear in her mind, even to the hint + that "circumstances in my life have changed very greatly since we talked + together." But she never gave that hint. There came a third letter from + that fitful correspondent Fanny. The first line proclaimed her "the + happiest girl alive." + </p> + <p> + Miss Winchelsea crushed the letter in her hand—the rest unread—and + sat with her face suddenly very still. She had received it just before + morning school, and had opened it when the junior mathematicians were well + under way. Presently she resumed reading with an appearance of great calm. + But after the first sheet she went on reading the third without + discovering the error:—"told him frankly I did not like his name," + the third sheet began. "He told me he did not like it himself—you + know that sort of sudden, frank way he has"—Miss Winchelsea did + know. "So I said, 'couldn't you change it?' He didn't see it at first. + Well, you know, dear, he had told me what it really meant; it means + Sevenoaks, only it has got down to Snooks—both Snooks and Noaks, + dreadfully vulgar surnames though they be, are really worn forms of + Sevenoaks. So I said—even I have my bright ideas at times—'If + it got down from Sevenoaks to Snooks, why not get it back from Snooks to + Sevenoaks?' And the long and the short of it is, dear, he couldn't refuse + me, and he changed his spelling there and then to Senoks for the bills of + the new lecture. And afterwards, when we are married, we shall put in the + apostrophe and make it Se'noks. Wasn't it kind of him to mind that fancy + of mine, when many men would have taken offence? But it is just like him + all over; he is as kind as he is clever. Because he knew as well as I did + that I would have had him in spite of it, had he been ten times Snooks. + But he did it all the same." + </p> + <p> + The class was startled by the sound of paper being viciously torn, and + looked up to see Miss Winchelsea white in the face and with some very + small pieces of paper clenched in one hand. For a few seconds they stared + at her stare, and then her expression changed back to a more familiar one. + "Has any one finished number three?" she asked in an even tone. She + remained calm after that. But impositions ruled high that day. And she + spent two laborious evenings writing letters of various sorts to Fanny, + before she found a decent congratulatory vein. Her reason struggled + hopelessly against the persuasion that Fanny had behaved in an exceedingly + treacherous manner. + </p> + <p> + One may be extremely refined and still capable of a very sore heart. + Certainly Miss Winchelsea's heart was very sore. She had moods of sexual + hostility, in which she generalised uncharitably about mankind. "He forgot + himself with me," she said. "But Fanny is pink and pretty and soft and a + fool—a very excellent match for a Man." And by way of a wedding + present she sent Fanny a gracefully bound volume of poetry by George + Meredith, and Fanny wrote back a grossly happy letter to say that it was "<i>all</i> + beautiful." Miss Winchelsea hoped that some day Mr. Senoks might take up + that slim book and think for a moment of the donor. Fanny wrote several + times before and about her marriage, pursuing that fond legend of their + "ancient friendship," and giving her happiness in the fullest detail. And + Miss Winchelsea wrote to Helen for the first time after the Roman journey, + saying nothing about the marriage, but expressing very cordial feelings. + </p> + <p> + They had been in Rome at Easter, and Fanny was married in the August + vacation. She wrote a garrulous letter to Miss Winchelsea, describing her + home-coming and the astonishing arrangements of their "teeny, weeny" + little house. Mr. Se'noks was now beginning to assume a refinement in Miss + Winchelsea's memory out of all proportion to the facts of the case, and + she tried in vain to imagine his cultured greatness in a "teeny weeny" + little house. "Am busy enamelling a cosy corner," said Fanny, sprawling to + the end of her third sheet, "so excuse more." Miss Winchelsea answered in + her best style, gently poking fun at Fanny's arrangements, and hoping + intensely that Mr. Se'noks might see the letter. Only this hope enabled + her to write at all, answering not only that letter but one in November + and one at Christmas. + </p> + <p> + The two latter communications contained urgent invitations for her to come + to Steely Bank on a visit during the Christmas holidays. She tried to + think that <i>he</i> had told her to ask that, but it was too much like + Fanny's opulent good-nature. She could not but believe that he must be + sick of his blunder by this time; and she had more than a hope that he + would presently write her a letter beginning "Dear Friend." Something + subtly tragic in the separation was a great support to her, a sad + misunderstanding. To have been jilted would have been intolerable. But he + never wrote that letter beginning "Dear Friend." + </p> + <p> + For two years Miss Winchelsea could not go to see her friends, in spite of + the reiterated invitations of Mrs. Sevenoaks—it became full + Sevenoaks in the second year. Then one day near the Easter rest she felt + lonely and without a soul to understand her in the world, and her mind ran + once more on what is called Platonic friendship. Fanny was clearly happy + and busy in her new sphere of domesticity, but no doubt <i>he</i> had his + lonely hours. Did he ever think of those days in Rome, gone now beyond + recalling? No one had understood her as he had done; no one in all the + world. It would be a sort of melancholy pleasure to talk to him again, and + what harm could it do? Why should she deny herself? That night she wrote a + sonnet, all but the last two lines of the octave—which would not + come; and the next day she composed a graceful little note to tell Fanny + she was coming down. + </p> + <p> + And so she saw him again. + </p> + <p> + Even at the first encounter it was evident he had changed; he seemed + stouter and less nervous, and it speedily appeared that his conversation + had already lost much of its old delicacy. There even seemed a + justification for Helen's description of weakness in his face—in + certain lights it <i>was</i> weak. He seemed busy and preoccupied about + his affairs, and almost under the impression that Miss Winchelsea had come + for the sake of Fanny. He discussed his dinner with Fanny in an + intelligent way. They only had one good long talk together, and that came + to nothing. He did not refer to Rome, and spent some time abusing a man + who had stolen an idea he had had for a text-book. It did not seem a very + wonderful idea to Miss Winchelsea. She discovered he had forgotten the + names of more than half the painters whose work they had rejoiced over in + Florence. + </p> + <p> + It was a sadly disappointing week, and Miss Winchelsea was glad when it + came to an end. Under various excuses she avoided visiting them again. + After a time the visitor's room was occupied by their two little boys, and + Fanny's invitations ceased. The intimacy of her letters had long since + faded away. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXV. — A DREAM OF ARMAGEDDON. + </h2> + <p> + The man with the white face entered the carriage at Rugby. He moved slowly + in spite of the urgency of his porter, and even while he was still on the + platform I noted how ill he seemed. He dropped into the corner over + against me with a sigh, made an incomplete attempt to arrange his + travelling shawl, and became motionless, with his eyes staring vacantly. + Presently he was moved by a sense of my observation, looked up at me, and + put out a spiritless hand for his newspaper. Then he glanced again in my + direction. + </p> + <p> + I feigned to read. I feared I had unwittingly embarrassed him, and in a + moment I was surprised to find him speaking. + </p> + <p> + "I beg your pardon?" said I. — "That book," he repeated, pointing a + lean finger, "is about dreams." + </p> + <p> + "Obviously," I answered, for it was Fortnum-Roscoe's <i>Dream States</i>, + and the title was on the cover. + </p> + <p> + He hung silent for a space as if he sought words. "Yes," he said, at last, + "but they tell you nothing." + </p> + <p> + I did not catch his meaning for a second. + </p> + <p> + "They don't know," he added. + </p> + <p> + I looked a little more attentively at his face. + </p> + <p> + "There are dreams," he said, "and dreams." That sort of proposition I + never dispute. "I suppose——" he hesitated. "Do you ever dream? + I mean vividly." + </p> + <p> + "I dream very little," I answered. "I doubt if I have three vivid dreams + in a year." + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" he said, and seemed for a moment to collect his thoughts. + </p> + <p> + "Your dreams don't mix with your memories?" he asked abruptly. "You don't + find yourself in doubt: did this happen or did it not?" + </p> + <p> + "Hardly ever. Except just for a momentary hesitation now and then. I + suppose few people do." + </p> + <p> + "Does <i>he</i> say——" he indicated the book. + </p> + <p> + "Says it happens at times and gives the usual explanation about intensity + of impression and the like to account for its not happening as a rule. I + suppose you know something of these theories——" + </p> + <p> + "Very little—except that they are wrong." + </p> + <p> + His emaciated hand played with the strap of the window for a time. I + prepared to resume reading, and that seemed to precipitate his next + remark. He leant forward almost as though he would touch me. + </p> + <p> + "Isn't there something called consecutive dreaming—that goes on + night after night?" + </p> + <p> + "I believe there is. There are cases given in most books on mental + trouble." + </p> + <p> + "Mental trouble! Yes. I daresay there are. It's the right place for them. + But what I mean——" He looked at his bony knuckles. "Is that + sort of thing always dreaming? <i>Is</i> it dreaming? Or is it something + else? Mightn't it be something else?" + </p> + <p> + I should have snubbed his persistent conversation but for the drawn + anxiety of his face. I remember now the look of his faded eyes and the + lids red stained—perhaps you know that look. + </p> + <p> + "I'm not just arguing about a matter of opinion," he said. "The thing's + killing me." + </p> + <p> + "Dreams?" + </p> + <p> + "If you call them dreams. Night after night. Vivid!—so vivid ... + this—" (he indicated the landscape that went streaming by the + window) "seems unreal in comparison! I can scarcely remember who I am, + what business I am on ..." + </p> + <p> + He paused. "Even now—" + </p> + <p> + "The dream is always the same—do you mean?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "It's over." + </p> + <p> + "You mean?" + </p> + <p> + "I died." + </p> + <p> + "Died?" + </p> + <p> + "Smashed and killed, and now so much of me as that dream was is dead. Dead + for ever. I dreamt I was another man, you know, living in a different part + of the world and in a different time. I dreamt that night after night. + Night after night I woke into that other life. Fresh scenes and fresh + happenings—until I came upon the last—" + </p> + <p> + "When you died?" + </p> + <p> + "When I died." + </p> + <p> + "And since then—" + </p> + <p> + "No," he said. "Thank God! that was the end of the dream..." + </p> + <p> + It was clear I was in for this dream. And, after all, I had an hour before + me, the light was fading fast, and Fortnum-Roscoe has a dreary way with + him. "Living in a different time," I said: "do you mean in some different + age?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + "Past?" + </p> + <p> + "No, to come—to come." + </p> + <p> + "The year three thousand, for example?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't know what year it was. I did when I was asleep, when I was + dreaming, that is, but not now—not now that I am awake. There's a + lot of things I have forgotten since I woke out of these dreams, though I + knew them at the time when I was—I suppose it was dreaming. They + called the year differently from our way of calling the year... What <i>did</i> + they call it?" He put his hand to his forehead. "No," said he, "I forget." + </p> + <p> + He sat smiling weakly. For a moment I feared he did not mean to tell me + his dream. As a rule, I hate people who tell their dreams, but this struck + me differently. I proffered assistance even. "It began——" I + suggested. + </p> + <p> + "It was vivid from the first. I seemed to wake up in it suddenly. And it's + curious that in these dreams I am speaking of I never remembered this life + I am living now. It seemed as if the dream life was enough while it + lasted. Perhaps——But I will tell you how I find myself when I + do my best to recall it all. I don't remember anything clearly until I + found myself sitting in a sort of loggia looking out over the sea. I had + been dozing, and suddenly I woke up—fresh and vivid—not a bit + dreamlike— because the girl had stopped fanning me." + </p> + <p> + "The girl?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, the girl. You must not interrupt or you will put me out." + </p> + <p> + He stopped abruptly. "You won't think I'm mad?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "No," I answered; "you've been dreaming. Tell me your dream." + </p> + <p> + "I woke up, I say, because the girl had stopped fanning me. I was not + surprised to find myself there or anything of that sort, you understand. I + did not feel I had fallen into it suddenly. I simply took it up at that + point. Whatever memory I had of <i>this</i> life, this nineteenth-century + life, faded as I woke, vanished like a dream. I knew all about myself, + knew that my name was no longer Cooper but Hedon, and all about my + position in the world. I've forgotten a lot since I woke—there's a + want of connection—but it was all quite clear and matter-of-fact + then." + </p> + <p> + He hesitated again, gripping the window strap, putting his face forward, + and looking up to me appealingly. + </p> + <p> + "This seems bosh to you?" + </p> + <p> + "No, no!" I cried. "Go on. Tell me what this loggia was like." + </p> + <p> + "It was not really a loggia—I don't know what to call it. It faced + south. It was small. It was all in shadow except the semicircle above the + balcony that showed the sky and sea and the corner where the girl stood. I + was on a couch—it was a metal couch with light striped cushions—and + the girl was leaning over the balcony with her back to me. The light of + the sunrise fell on her ear and cheek. Her pretty white neck and the + little curls that nestled there, and her white shoulder were in the sun, + and all the grace of her body was in the cool blue shadow. She was dressed—how + can I describe it? It was easy and flowing. And altogether there she + stood, so that it came to me how beautiful and desirable she was, as + though I had never seen her before. And when at last I sighed and raised + myself upon my arm she turned her face to me—" + </p> + <p> + He stopped. + </p> + <p> + "I have lived three-and-fifty years in this world. I have had mother, + sisters, friends, wife and daughters—all their faces, the play of + their faces, I know. But the face of this girl—it is much more real + to me. I can bring it back into memory so that I see it again—I + could draw it or paint it. And after all—" + </p> + <p> + He stopped—but I said nothing. + </p> + <p> + "The face of a dream—the face of a dream. She was beautiful. Not + that beauty which is terrible, cold, and worshipful, like the beauty of a + saint; nor that beauty that stirs fierce passions; but a sort of + radiation, sweet lips that softened into smiles, and grave gray eyes. And + she moved gracefully, she seemed to have part with all pleasant and + gracious things—" + </p> + <p> + He stopped, and his face was downcast and hidden. Then he looked up at me + and went on, making no further attempt to disguise his absolute belief in + the reality of his story. + </p> + <p> + "You see, I had thrown up my plans and ambitions, thrown up all I had ever + worked for or desired, for her sake. I had been a master man away there in + the north, with influence and property and a great reputation, but none of + it had seemed worth having beside her. I had come to the place, this city + of sunny pleasures, with her, and left all those things to wreck and ruin + just to save a remnant at least of my life. While I had been in love with + her before I knew that she had any care for me, before I had imagined that + she would dare—that we should dare—all my life had seemed vain + and hollow, dust and ashes. It <i>was</i> dust and ashes. Night after + night, and through the long days I had longed and desired—my soul + had beaten against the thing forbidden! + </p> + <p> + "But it is impossible for one man to tell another just these things. It's + emotion, it's a tint, a light that comes and goes. Only while it's there, + everything changes, everything. The thing is I came away and left them in + their crisis to do what they could." + </p> + <p> + "Left whom?" I asked, puzzled. + </p> + <p> + "The people up in the north there. You see—in this dream, anyhow—I + had been a big man, the sort of man men come to trust in, to group + themselves about. Millions of men who had never seen me were ready to do + things and risk things because of their confidence in me. I had been + playing that game for years, that big laborious game, that vague, + monstrous political game amidst intrigues and betrayals, speech and + agitation. It was a vast weltering world, and at last I had a sort of + leadership against the Gang— you know it was called the Gang—a + sort of compromise of scoundrelly projects and base ambitions and vast + public emotional stupidities and catch-words—the Gang that kept the + world noisy and blind year by year, and all the while that it was + drifting, drifting towards infinite disaster. But I can't expect you to + understand the shades and complications of the year—the year + something or other ahead. I had it all—down to the smallest details—in + my dream. I suppose I had been dreaming of it before I awoke, and the + fading outline of some queer new development I had imagined still hung + about me as I rubbed my eyes. It was some grubby affair that made me thank + God for the sunlight. I sat up on the couch and remained looking at the + woman, and rejoicing—rejoicing that I had come away out of all that + tumult and folly and violence before it was too late. After all, I + thought, this is life—love and beauty, desire and delight, are they + not worth all those dismal struggles for vague, gigantic ends? And I + blamed myself for having ever sought to be a leader when I might have + given my days to love. But then, thought I, if I had not spent my early + days sternly and austerely, I might have wasted myself upon vain and + worthless women, and at the thought all my being went out in love and + tenderness to my dear mistress, my dear lady, who had come at last and + compelled me—compelled me by her invincible charm for me—to + lay that life aside. + </p> + <p> + "'You are worth it,' I said, speaking without intending her to hear; 'you + are worth it, my dearest one; worth pride and praise and all things. Love! + to have <i>you</i> is worth them all together.' And at the murmur of my + voice she turned about. + </p> + <p> + "'Come and see,' she cried—I can hear her now—come and see the + sunrise upon Monte Solaro.' + </p> + <p> + "I remember how I sprang to my feet and joined her at the balcony. She put + a white hand upon my shoulder and pointed towards great masses of + limestone flushing, as it were, into life. I looked. But first I noted the + sunlight on her face caressing the lines of her cheeks and neck. How can I + describe to you the scene we had before us? We were at Capri——" + </p> + <p> + "I have been there," I said. "I have clambered up Monte Solaro and drunk + <i>vero Capri</i>—muddy stuff like cider—at the summit." + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" said the man with the white face; "then perhaps you can tell me—you + will know if this was indeed Capri. For in this life I have never been + there. Let me describe it. We were in a little room, one of a vast + multitude of little rooms, very cool and sunny, hollowed out of the + limestone of a sort of cape, very high above the sea. The whole island, + you know, was one enormous hotel, complex beyond explaining, and on the + other side there were miles of floating hotels, and huge floating stages + to which the flying machines came. They called it a Pleasure City. Of + course, there was none of that in your time—rather, I should say, <i>is</i> + none of that <i>now</i>. Of course. Now!—yes. + </p> + <p> + "Well, this room of ours was at the extremity of the cape, so that one + could see east and west. Eastward was a great cliff—a thousand feet + high perhaps, coldly grey except for one bright edge of gold, and beyond + it the Isle of the Sirens, and a falling coast that faded and passed into + the hot sunrise. And when one turned to the west, distinct and near was a + little bay, a little beach still in shadow. And out of that shadow rose + Solaro, straight and tall, flushed and golden-crested, like a beauty + throned, and the white moon was floating behind her in the sky. And before + us from east to west stretched the many-tinted sea all dotted with little + sailing-boats. + </p> + <p> + "To the eastward, of course, these little boats were gray and very minute + and clear, but to the westward they were little boats of gold—shining + gold—almost like little flames. And just below us was a rock with an + arch worn through it. The blue sea-water broke to green and foam all round + the rock, and a galley came gliding out of the arch." + </p> + <p> + "I know that rock," I said. "I was nearly drowned there. It is called the + Faraglioni." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Faraglioni</i>? Yes, <i>she</i> called it that," answered the man with + the white face. "There was some story—but that——" + </p> + <p> + He put his hand to his forehead again. "No," he said, "I forget that + story. + </p> + <p> + "Well, that is the first thing I remember, the first dream I had, that + little shaded room and the beautiful air and sky and that dear lady of + mine, with her shining arms and her graceful robe, and how we sat and + talked in half whispers to one another. We talked in whispers, not because + there was any one to hear, but because there was still such a freshness of + mind between us that our thoughts were a little frightened, I think, to + find themselves at last in words. And so they went softly. + </p> + <p> + "Presently we were hungry, and we went from our apartment, going by a + strange passage with a moving floor, until we came to the great + breakfast-room—there was a fountain and music. A pleasant and joyful + place it was, with its sunlight and splashing, and the murmur of plucked + strings. And we sat and ate and smiled at one another, and I would not + heed a man who was watching me from a table near by. + </p> + <p> + "And afterwards we went on to the dancing-hall. But I cannot describe that + hall. The place was enormous, larger than any building you have ever seen—and + in one place there was the old gate of Capri, caught into the wall of a + gallery high overhead. Light girders, stems and threads of gold, burst + from the pillars like fountains, streamed like an Aurora across the roof + and interlaced, like—like conjuring tricks. All about the great + circle for the dancers there were beautiful figures, strange dragons, and + intricate and wonderful grotesques bearing lights. The place was inundated + with artificial light that shamed the newborn day. And as we went through + the throng the people turned about and looked at us, for all through the + world my name and face were known, and how I had suddenly thrown up pride, + and struggle to come to this place. And they looked also at the lady + beside me, though half the story of how at last she had come to me was + unknown or mistold. And few of the men who were there, I know, but judged + me a happy man, in spite of all the shame and dishonour that had come upon + my name. + </p> + <p> + "The air was full of music, full of harmonious scents, full of the rhythm + of beautiful motions. Thousands of beautiful people swarmed about the + hall, crowded the galleries, sat in a myriad recesses; they were dressed + in splendid colours and crowned with flowers; thousands danced about the + great circle beneath the white images of the ancient gods, and glorious + processions of youths and maidens came and went. We two danced, not the + dreary monotonies of your days—of this time, I mean—but dances + that were beautiful, intoxicating. And even now I can see my lady dancing—dancing + joyously. She danced, you know, with a serious face; she danced with a + serious dignity, and yet she was smiling at me and caressing me—smiling + and caressing with her eyes. + </p> + <p> + "The music was different," he murmured. "It went—I cannot describe + it; but it was infinitely richer and more varied than any music that has + ever come to me awake. + </p> + <p> + "And then—it was when we had done dancing—a man came to speak + to me. He was a lean, resolute man, very soberly clad for that place, and + already I had marked his face watching me in the breakfasting hall, and + afterwards as we went along the passage I had avoided his eye. But now, as + we sat in a little alcove smiling at the pleasure of all the people who + went to and fro across the shining floor, he came and touched me, and + spoke to me so that I was forced to listen. And he asked that he might + speak to me for a little time apart. + </p> + <p> + "'No,' I said. 'I have no secrets from this lady. What do you want to tell + me?' + </p> + <p> + "He said it was a trivial matter, or at least a dry matter, for a lady to + hear. + </p> + <p> + "'Perhaps for me to hear,' said I. — "He glanced at her, as though + almost he would appeal to her. Then he asked me suddenly if I had heard + of a great and avenging declaration that Gresham had made. Now, Gresham + had always before been the man next to myself in the leadership of that + great party in the north. He was a forcible, hard, and tactless man, and + only I had been able to control and soften him. It was on his account even + more than my own, I think, that the others had been so dismayed at my + retreat. So this question about what he had done re-awakened my old + interest in the life I had put aside just for a moment. + </p> + <p> + "'I have taken no heed of any news for many days,' I said. 'What has + Gresham been saying?' + </p> + <p> + "And with that the man began, nothing loth, and I must confess ever; I was + struck by Gresham's reckless folly in the wild and threatening words he + had used. And this messenger they had sent to me not only told me of + Gresham's speech, but went on to ask counsel and to point out what need + they had of me. While he talked, my lady sat a little forward and watched + his face and mine. + </p> + <p> + "My old habits of scheming and organising reasserted themselves. I could + even see myself suddenly returning to the north, and all the dramatic + effect of it. All that this man said witnessed to the disorder of the + party indeed, but not to its damage. I should go back stronger than I had + come. And then I thought of my lady. You see—how can I tell you? + There were certain peculiarities of our relationship—as things are I + need not tell about that—which would render her presence with me + impossible. I should have had to leave her; indeed, I should have had to + renounce her clearly and openly, if I was to do all that I could do in the + north. And the man knew <i>that</i>, even as he talked to her and me, knew + it as well as she did, that my steps to duty were—first, separation, + then abandonment. At the touch of that thought my dream of a return was + shattered. I turned on the man suddenly, as he was imagining his eloquence + was gaining ground with me. + </p> + <p> + "'What have I to do with these things now?' I said. 'I have done with + them. Do you think I am coquetting with your people in coming here?' + </p> + <p> + "'No,' he said; 'but——' + </p> + <p> + "'Why cannot you leave me alone? I have done with these things. I have + ceased to be anything but a private man.' + </p> + <p> + "'Yes,' he answered. 'But have you thought?—this talk of war, these + reckless challenges, these wild aggressions——' + </p> + <p> + "I stood up. + </p> + <p> + "'No,' I cried. 'I won't hear you. I took count of all those things, I + weighed them—and I have come away." + </p> + <p> + "He seemed to consider the possibility of persistence. He looked from me + to where the lady sat regarding us. + </p> + <p> + "'War,' he said, as if he were speaking to himself, and then turned slowly + from me and walked away. + </p> + <p> + "I stood, caught in the whirl of thoughts his appeal had set going. + </p> + <p> + "I heard my lady's voice. + </p> + <p> + "'Dear,' she said; 'but if they have need of you—' + </p> + <p> + "She did not finish her sentence, she let it rest there. I turned to her + sweet face, and the balance of my mood swayed and reeled. + </p> + <p> + "'They want me only to do the thing they dare not do themselves,' I said. + 'If they distrust Gresham they must settle with him themselves.' + </p> + <p> + "She looked at me doubtfully. + </p> + <p> + "'But war—' she said. + </p> + <p> + "I saw a doubt on her face that I had seen before, a doubt of herself and + me, the first shadow of the discovery that, seen strongly and completely, + must drive us apart for ever. + </p> + <p> + "Now, I was an older mind than hers, and I could sway her to this belief + or that. + </p> + <p> + "'My dear one,' I said, 'you must not trouble over these things. There + will be no war. Certainly there will be no war. The age of wars is past. + Trust me to know the justice of this case. They have no right upon me, + dearest, and no one has a right upon me. I have been free to choose my + life, and I have chosen this.' + </p> + <p> + "'But <i>war</i>—' she said. + </p> + <p> + "I sat down beside her. I put an arm behind her and took her hand in mine. + I set myself to drive that doubt away—I set myself to fill her mind + with pleasant things again. I lied to her, and in lying to her I lied also + to myself. And she was only too ready to believe me, only too ready to + forget. + </p> + <p> + "Very soon the shadow had gone again, and we were hastening to our + bathing-place in the Grotta del Bovo Marino, where it was our custom to + bathe every day. We swam and splashed one another, and in that buoyant + water I seemed to become something lighter and stronger than a man. And at + last we came out dripping and rejoicing and raced among the rocks. And + then I put on a dry bathing-dress, and we sat to bask in the sun, and + presently I nodded, resting my head against her knee, and she put her hand + upon my hair and stroked it softly and I dozed. And behold! as it were + with the snapping of the string of a violin, I was awakening, and I was in + my own bed in Liverpool, in the life of to-day. + </p> + <p> + "Only for a time I could not believe that all these vivid moments had been + no more than the substance of a dream. + </p> + <p> + "In truth, I could not believe it a dream, for all the sobering reality of + things about me. I bathed and dressed as it were by habit, and as I shaved + I argued why I of all men should leave the woman I loved to go back to + fantastic politics in the hard and strenuous north. Even if Gresham did + force the world back to war, what was that to me? I was a man, with the + heart of a man, and why should I feel the responsibility of a deity for + the way the world might go? + </p> + <p> + "You know that is not quite the way I think about affairs, about my real + affairs. I am a solicitor, you know, with a point of view. + </p> + <p> + "The vision was so real, you must understand, so utterly unlike a dream, + that I kept perpetually recalling little irrelevant details; even the + ornament of a bookcover that lay on my wife's sewing-machine in the + breakfast-room recalled with the utmost vividness the gilt line that ran + about the seat in the alcove where I had talked with the messenger from my + deserted party. Have you ever heard of a dream that had a quality like + that?" + </p> + <p> + "Like—?" + </p> + <p> + "So that afterwards you remembered little details you had forgotten." + </p> + <p> + I thought. I had never noticed the point before, but he was right. + </p> + <p> + "Never," I said. "That is what you never seem to do with dreams." + </p> + <p> + "No," he answered. "But that is just what I did. I am a solicitor, you + must understand, in Liverpool, and I could not help wondering what the + clients and business people I found myself talking to in my office would + think if I told them suddenly I was in love with a girl who would be born + a couple of hundred years or so hence, and worried about the politics of + my great-great-great-grandchildren. I was chiefly busy that day + negotiating a ninety-nine-year building lease. It was a private builder in + a hurry, and we wanted to tie him in every possible way. I had an + interview with him, and he showed a certain want of temper that sent me to + bed still irritated. That night I had no dream. Nor did I dream the next + night, at least, to remember. + </p> + <p> + "Something of that intense reality of conviction vanished. I began to feel + sure it <i>was</i> a dream. And then it came again. + </p> + <p> + "When the dream came again, nearly four days later, it was very different. + I think it certain that four days had also elapsed <i>in</i> the dream. + Many things had happened in the north, and the shadow of them was back + again between us, and this time it was not so easily dispelled. I began, I + know, with moody musings. Why, in spite of all, should I go back, go back + for all the rest of my days, to toil and stress, insults, and perpetual + dissatisfaction, simply to save hundreds of millions of common people, + whom I did not love, whom too often I could not do other than despise, + from the stress and anguish of war and infinite misrule? And, after all, I + might fail. <i>They</i> all sought their own narrow ends, and why should + not I—why should not I also live as a man? And out of such thoughts + her voice summoned me, and I lifted my eyes. + </p> + <p> + "I found myself awake and walking. We had come out above the Pleasure + City, we were near the summit of Monte Solaro and looking towards the bay. + It was the late afternoon and very clear. Far away to the left Ischia hung + in a golden haze between sea and sky, and Naples was coldly white against + the hills, and before us was Vesuvius with a tall and slender streamer + feathering at last towards the south, and the ruins of Torre dell' + Annunziata and Castellammare glittering and near." + </p> + <p> + I interrupted suddenly: "You have been to Capri, of course?" + </p> + <p> + "Only in this dream," he said, "only in this dream. All across the bay + beyond Sorrento were the floating palaces of the Pleasure City moored and + chained. And northward were the broad floating stages that received the + aeroplanes. Aeroplanes fell out of the sky every afternoon, each bringing + its thousands of pleasure-seekers from the uttermost parts of the earth to + Capri and its delights. All these things, I say, stretched below. + </p> + <p> + "But we noticed them only incidentally because of an unusual sight that + evening had to show. Five war aeroplanes that had long slumbered useless + in the distant arsenals of the Rhine-mouth were manoeuvring now in the + eastward sky. Gresham had astonished the world by producing them and + others, and sending them to circle here and there. It was the threat + material in the great game of bluff he was playing, and it had taken even + me by surprise. He was one of those incredibly stupid energetic people who + seem sent by heaven to create disasters. His energy to the first glance + seemed so wonderfully like capacity! But he had no imagination, no + invention, only a stupid, vast, driving force of will, and a mad faith in + his stupid idiot 'luck' to pull him through. I remember how we stood out + upon the headland watching the squadron circling far away, and how I + weighed the full meaning of the sight, seeing clearly the way things must + <i>go</i>. And then even it was not too late. I might have gone back, I + think, and saved the world. The people of the north would follow me, I + knew, granted only that in one thing I respected their moral standards. + The east and south would trust me as they would trust no other northern + man. And I knew I had only to put it to her and she would have let me + go... Not because she did not love me! + </p> + <p> + "Only I did not want to go; my will was all the other way about. I had so + newly thrown off the incubus of responsibility: I was still so fresh a + renegade from duty that the daylight clearness of what I <i>ought</i> to + do had no power at all to touch my will. My will was to live, to gather + pleasures, and make my dear lady happy. But though this sense of vast + neglected duties had no power to draw me, it could make me silent and + preoccupied, it robbed the days I had spent of half their brightness and + roused me into dark meditations in the silence of the night. And as I + stood and watched Gresham's aeroplanes sweep to and fro—those birds + of infinite ill omen—she stood beside me, watching me, perceiving + the trouble indeed, but not perceiving it clearly—her eyes + questioning my face, her expression shaded with perplexity. Her face was + grey because the sunset was fading out of the sky. It was no fault of hers + that she held me. She had asked me to go from her, and again in the + night-time and with tears she had asked me to go. + </p> + <p> + "At last it was the sense of her that roused me from my mood. I turned + upon her suddenly and challenged her to race down the mountain slopes. + 'No,' she said, as if I jarred with her gravity, but I was resolved to end + that gravity and made her run—no one can be very grey and sad who is + out of breath—-and when she stumbled I ran with my hand beneath her + arm. We ran down past a couple of men, who turned back staring in + astonishment at my behaviour—they must have recognised my face. And + half-way down the slope came a tumult in the air—clang-clank, + clang-clank—and we stopped, and presently over the hill-crest those + war things came flying one behind the other." + </p> + <p> + The man seemed hesitating on the verge of a description. + </p> + <p> + "What were, they like?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "They had never fought," he said. "They were just like our ironclads are + nowadays; they had never fought. No one knew what they might do, with + excited men inside them; few even cared to speculate. They were great + driving things shaped like spear-heads without a shaft, with a propeller + in the place of the shaft." + </p> + <p> + "Steel?" + </p> + <p> + "Not steel." + </p> + <p> + "Aluminium?" + </p> + <p> + "No, no, nothing of that sort. An alloy that was very common—as + common as brass, for example. It was called—let me see—" He + squeezed his forehead with the fingers of one hand. "I am forgetting + everything," he said. + </p> + <p> + "And they carried guns?" + </p> + <p> + "Little guns, firing high explosive shells. They fired the guns backwards, + out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak. That + was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought. No one could + tell exactly what was going to happen. And meanwhile I suppose it was very + fine to go whirling through the air like a flight of young swallows, swift + and easy. I guess the captains tried not to think too clearly what the + real thing would be like. And these flying war machines, you know, were + only one sort of the endless war contrivances that had been invented and + had fallen into abeyance during the long peace. There were all sorts of + these things that people were routing out and furbishing up; infernal + things, silly things; things that had never been tried; big engines, + terrible explosives, great guns. You know the silly way of these ingenious + sort of men who make these things; they turn 'em out as beavers build + dams, and with no more sense of the rivers they're going to divert and the + lands they're going to flood! + </p> + <p> + "As we went down the winding stepway to our hotel again in the twilight I + foresaw it all: I saw how clearly and inevitably things were driving for + war in Gresham's silly, violent hands, and I had some inkling of what war + was bound to be under these new conditions. And even then, though I knew + it was drawing near the limit of my opportunity, I could find no will to + go back." + </p> + <p> + He sighed. + </p> + <p> + "That was my last chance. + </p> + <p> + "We did not go into the city until the sky was full of stars, so we walked + out upon the high terrace, to and fro, and—she counselled me to go + back. + </p> + <p> + "'My dearest,' she said, and her sweet face looked up to me, 'this is + Death. This life you lead is Death. Go back to them, go back to your duty—' + </p> + <p> + "She began to weep, saying between her sobs, and clinging to my arm as she + said it, 'Go back—go back.' + </p> + <p> + "Then suddenly she fell mute, and glancing down at her face, I read in an + instant the thing she had thought to do. It was one of those moments when + one <i>sees</i>. + </p> + <p> + "'No!' I said. + </p> + <p> + "'No?' she asked, in surprise, and I think a little fearful at the answer + to her thought. + </p> + <p> + "'Nothing,' I said, 'shall send me back. Nothing! I have chosen. Love, I + have chosen, and the world must go. Whatever happens, I will live this + life—I will live for <i>you</i>! It—nothing shall turn me + aside; nothing, my dear one. Even if you died—even if you died—' + </p> + <p> + "'Yes?' she murmured, softly. + </p> + <p> + "'Then—I also would die.' + </p> + <p> + "And before she could speak again I began to talk, talking eloquently—as + I <i>could</i> do in that life—talking to exalt love, to make the + life we were living seem heroic and glorious; and the thing I was + deserting something hard and enormously ignoble that it was a fine thing + to set aside. I bent all my mind to throw that glamour upon it, seeking + not only to convert her but myself to that. We talked, and she clung to + me, torn too between all that she deemed noble and all that she knew was + sweet. And at last I did make it heroic, made all the thickening disaster + of the world only a sort of glorious setting to our unparalleled love, and + we two poor foolish souls strutted there at last, clad in that splendid + delusion, drunken rather with that glorious delusion, under the still + stars. + </p> + <p> + "And so my moment passed. + </p> + <p> + "It was my last chance. Even as we went to and fro there, the leaders of + the south and east were gathering their resolve, and the hot answer that + shattered Gresham's bluffing for ever took shape and waited. And all over + Asia, and the ocean, and the south, the air and the wires were throbbing + with their warnings to prepare—prepare. + </p> + <p> + "No one living, you know, knew what war was; no one could imagine, with + all these new inventions, what horror war might bring. I believe most + people still believed it would be a matter of bright uniforms and shouting + charges and triumphs and flags and bands—in a time when half the + world drew its food-supply from regions ten thousand miles away——" + </p> + <p> + The man with the white face paused. I glanced at him, and his face was + intent on the floor of the carriage. A little railway station, a string of + loaded trucks, a signal-box, and the back of a cottage shot by the + carriage window, and a bridge passed with a clap of noise, echoing the + tumult of the train. + </p> + <p> + "After that," he said, "I dreamt often. For three weeks of nights that + dream was my life. And the worst of it was there were nights when I could + not dream, when I lay tossing on a bed in <i>this</i> accursed life; and + <i>there</i>—somewhere lost to me—things were happening—momentous, + terrible things... I lived at nights—my days, my waking days, this + life I am living now, became a faded, far-away dream, a drab setting, the + cover of the book." + </p> + <p> + He thought. + </p> + <p> + "I could tell you all, tell you every little thing in the dream, but as to + what I did in the daytime—no. I could not tell—I do not + remember. My memory—my memory has gone. The business of life slips + from me—" + </p> + <p> + He leant forward, and pressed his hands upon his eyes. For a long time he + said nothing. + </p> + <p> + "And then?" said I. — "The war burst like a hurricane." + </p> + <p> + He stared before him at unspeakable things. + </p> + <p> + "And then?" I urged again. + </p> + <p> + "One touch of unreality," he said, in the low tone of a man who speaks to + himself, "and they would have been nightmares. But they were not + nightmares—they were not nightmares. <i>No</i>!" + </p> + <p> + He was silent for so long that it dawned upon me that there was a danger + of losing the rest of the story. But he went on talking again in the same + tone of questioning self-communion. + </p> + <p> + "What was there to do but flight? I had not thought the war would touch + Capri—I had seemed to see Capri as being out of it all, as the + contrast to it all; but two nights after the whole place was shouting and + bawling, every woman almost and every other man wore a badge—Gresham's + badge—and there was no music but a jangling war-song over and over + again, and everywhere men enlisting, and in the dancing halls they were + drilling. The whole island was a-whirl with rumours; it was said again and + again, that fighting had begun. I had not expected this. I had seen so + little of the life of pleasure that I had failed to reckon with this + violence of the amateurs. And as for me, I was out of it. I was like a man + who might have prevented the firing of a magazine. The time had gone. I + was no one; the vainest stripling with a badge counted for more than I. + The crowd jostled us and bawled in our ears; that accursed song deafened + us; a woman shrieked at my lady because no badge was on her, and we two + went back to our own place again, ruffled and insulted—my lady white + and silent, and I a-quiver with rage. So furious was I, I could have + quarrelled with her if I could have found one shade of accusation in her + eyes. + </p> + <p> + "All my magnificence had gone from me. I walked up and down our rock cell, + and outside was the darkling sea and a light to the southward that flared + and passed and came again. + </p> + <p> + "'We must get out of this place,' I said over and over. 'I have made my + choice, and I will have no hand in these troubles. I will have nothing of + this war. We have taken our lives out of all these things. This is no + refuge for us. Let us go.' + </p> + <p> + "And the next day we were already in flight from the war that covered the + world. + </p> + <p> + "And all the rest was Flight—all the rest was Flight." + </p> + <p> + He mused darkly. + </p> + <p> + "How much was there of it?" + </p> + <p> + He made no answer. + </p> + <p> + "How many days?" + </p> + <p> + His face was white and drawn and his hands were clenched. He took no heed + of my curiosity. + </p> + <p> + I tried to draw him back to his story with questions. + </p> + <p> + "Where did you go?" I said. + </p> + <p> + "When?" + </p> + <p> + "When you left Capri." + </p> + <p> + "South-west," he said, and glanced at me for a second. "We went in a + boat." + </p> + <p> + "But I should have thought an aeroplane?" + </p> + <p> + "They had been seized." + </p> + <p> + I questioned him no more. Presently I thought he was beginning again. He + broke out in an argumentative monotone: + </p> + <p> + "But why should it be? If, indeed, this battle, this slaughter and stress, + <i>is</i> life, why have we this craving for pleasure and beauty? If there + <i>is</i> no refuge, if there is no place of peace, and if all our dreams + of quiet places are a folly and a snare, why have we such dreams? Surely + it was no ignoble cravings, no base intentions, had brought us to this; it + was love had isolated us. Love had come to me with her eyes and robed in + her beauty, more glorious than all else in life, in the very shape and + colour of life, and summoned me away. I had silenced all the voices, I had + answered all the questions—I had come to her. And suddenly there was + nothing but War and Death!" + </p> + <p> + I had an inspiration. "After all," I said, "it could have been only a + dream." + </p> + <p> + "A dream!" he cried, flaming upon me, "a dream—when, even now—" + </p> + <p> + For the first time he became animated. A faint flush crept into his cheek. + He raised his open hand and clenched it, and dropped it to his knee. He + spoke, looking away from me, and for all the rest of the time he looked + away. "We are but phantoms," he said, "and the phantoms of phantoms, + desires like cloud shadows and wills of straw that eddy in the wind; the + days pass, use and wont carry us through as a train carries the shadow of + its lights—so be it? But one thing is real and certain, one thing is + no dream stuff, but eternal and enduring. It is the centre of my life, and + all other things about it are subordinate or altogether vain. I loved her, + that woman of a dream. And she and I are dead together! + </p> + <p> + "A dream! How can it be a dream, when it drenched a living life with + unappeasable sorrow, when it makes all that I have lived for and cared for + worthless and unmeaning? + </p> + <p> + "Until that very moment when she was killed I believed we had still a + chance of getting away," he said. "All through the night and morning that + we sailed across the sea from Capri to Salerno we talked of escape. We + were full of hope, and it clung about us to the end, hope for the life + together we should lead, out of it all, out of the battle and struggle, + the wild and empty passions, the empty, arbitrary 'thou shalt' and 'thou + shalt not' of the world. We were uplifted, as though our quest was a holy + thing, as though love for one another was a mission... + </p> + <p> + "Even when from our boat we saw the fair face of that great rock Capri— + already scarred and gashed by the gun emplacements and hiding-places that + were to make it a fastness—we reckoned nothing of the imminent + slaughter, though the fury of preparation hung about in puffs and clouds + of dust at a hundred points amidst the grey; but, indeed, I made a text of + that and talked. There, you know, was the rock, still beautiful for all + its scars, with its countless windows and arches and ways, tier upon tier, + for a thousand feet, a vast carving of grey, broken by vine-clad terraces, + and lemon and orange groves, and masses of agave and prickly pear, and + puffs of almond blossom. And out under the archway that is built over the + Piccola Marina other boats were coming; and as we came round the cape and + within sight of the mainland, another little string of boats came into + view, driving before the wind towards the south-west. In a little while a + multitude had come out, the remoter just little specks of ultramarine in + the shadow of the eastward cliff. + </p> + <p> + "'It is love and reason,' I said, 'fleeing from all this madness of war.' + </p> + <p> + "And though we presently saw a squadron of aeroplanes flying across the + southern sky we did not heed it. There it was—a line of little dots + in the sky—and then more, dotting the south-eastern horizon, and + then still more, until all that quarter of the sky was stippled with blue + specks. Now they were all thin little strokes of blue, and now one and now + a multitude would heel and catch the sun and become short flashes of + light. They came, rising and falling and growing larger, like some huge + flight of gulls or rooks or such-like birds, moving with a marvellous + uniformity, and ever as they drew nearer they spread over a greater width + of sky. The southward wing flung itself in an arrow-headed cloud athwart + the sun. And then suddenly they swept round to the eastward and streamed + eastward, growing smaller and smaller and clearer and clearer again until + they vanished from the sky. And after that we noted to the northward, and + very high, Gresham's fighting machines hanging high over Naples like an + evening swarm of gnats. + </p> + <p> + "It seemed to have no more to do with us than a flight of birds. + </p> + <p> + "Even the mutter of guns far away in the south-east seemed to us to + signify nothing... + </p> + <p> + "Each day, each dream after that, we were still exalted, still seeking + that refuge where we might live and love. Fatigue had come upon us, pain + and many distresses. For though we were dusty and stained by our toilsome + tramping, and half starved, and with the horror of the dead men we had + seen and the flight of the peasants—for very soon a gust of fighting + swept up the peninsula—with these things haunting our minds it still + resulted only in a deepening resolution to escape. Oh, but she was brave + and patient! She who had never faced hardship and exposure had courage for + herself—and me. We went to and fro seeking an outlet, over a country + all commandeered and ransacked by the gathering hosts of war. Always we + went on foot. At first there were other fugitives, but we did not mingle + with them. Some escaped northward, some were caught in the torrent of + peasantry that swept along the main roads; many gave themselves into the + hands of the soldiery and were sent northward. Many of the men were + impressed. But we kept away from these things; we had brought no money to + bribe a passage north, and I feared for my lady at the hands of these + conscript crowds. We had landed at Salerno, and we had been turned back + from Cava, and we had tried to cross towards Taranto by a pass over Mount + Alburno, but we had been driven back for want of food, and so we had come + down among the marshes by Paestum, where those great temples stand alone. + I had some vague idea that by Paestum it might be possible to find a boat + or something, and take once more to sea. And there it was the battle + overtook us. + </p> + <p> + "A sort of soul-blindness had me. Plainly I could see that we were being + hemmed in; that the great net of that giant Warfare had us in its toils. + Many times we had seen the levies that had come down from the north going + to and fro, and had come upon them in the distance amidst the mountains + making ways for the ammunition and preparing the mounting of the guns. + Once we fancied they had fired at us, taking us for spies—at any + rate a shot had gone shuddering over us. Several times we had hidden in + woods from hovering aeroplanes. + </p> + <p> + "But all these things do not matter now, these nights of flight and + pain... We were in an open place near those great temples at Paestum, at + last, on a blank stony place dotted with spiky bushes, empty and desolate + and so flat that a grove of eucalyptus far away showed to the feet of its + stems. How I can see it! My lady was sitting down under a bush resting a + little, for she was very weak and weary, and I was standing up watching to + see if I could tell the distance of the firing that came and went. They + were still, you know, fighting far from each other, with these terrible + new weapons that had never before been used: guns that would carry beyond + sight, and aeroplanes that would do——What <i>they</i> would do + no man could foretell. + </p> + <p> + "I knew that we were between the two armies, and that they drew together. + I knew we were in danger, and that we could not stop there and rest! + </p> + <p> + "Though all those things were in my mind, they were in the background. + They seemed to be affairs beyond our concern. Chiefly, I was thinking of + my lady. An aching distress filled me. For the first time she had owned + herself beaten and had fallen a-weeping. Behind me I could hear her + sobbing, but I would not turn round to her because I knew she had need of + weeping, and had held herself so far and so long for me. It was well, I + thought, that she would weep and rest, and then we would toil on again, + for I had no inkling of the thing that hung so near. Even now I can see + her as she sat there, her lovely hair upon her shoulder, can mark again + the deepening hollow of her cheek. + </p> + <p> + "'If we had parted,' she said, 'if I had let you go—' + </p> + <p> + "'No,' said I. 'Even now I do not repent. I will not repent; I made my + choice, and I will hold on to the end.' + </p> + <p> + "And then— + </p> + <p> + "Overhead in the sky flashed something and burst, and all about us I heard + the bullets making a noise like a handful of peas suddenly thrown. They + chipped the stones about us, and whirled fragments from the bricks and + passed..." + </p> + <p> + He put his hand to his mouth, and then moistened his lips. + </p> + <p> + "At the flash I had turned about... + </p> + <p> + "You know—she stood up— + </p> + <p> + "She stood up, you know, and moved a step towards me— + </p> + <p> + "As though she wanted to reach me— + </p> + <p> + "And she had been shot through the heart." + </p> + <p> + He stopped and stared at me. I felt all that foolish incapacity an + Englishman feels on such occasions. I met his eyes for a moment, and then + stared out of the window. For a long space we kept silence. When at last I + looked at him he was sitting back in his corner, his arms folded and his + teeth gnawing at his knuckles. + </p> + <p> + He bit his nail suddenly, and stared at it. + </p> + <p> + "I carried her," he said, "towards the temples, in my arms—as though + it mattered. I don't know why. They seemed a sort of sanctuary, you know, + they had lasted so long, I suppose. + </p> + <p> + "She must have died almost instantly. Only—I talked to her—all + the way." + </p> + <p> + Silence again. + </p> + <p> + "I have seen those temples," I said abruptly, and indeed he had brought + those still, sunlit arcades of worn sandstone very vividly before me. + </p> + <p> + "It was the brown one, the big brown one. I sat down on a fallen pillar + and held her in my arms... Silent after the first babble was over. And + after a little while the lizards came out and ran about again, as though + nothing unusual was going on, as though nothing had changed... It was + tremendously still there, the sun high and the shadows still; even the + shadows of the weeds upon the entablature were still—in spite of the + thudding and banging that went all about the sky. + </p> + <p> + "I seem to remember that the aeroplanes came up out of the south, and that + the battle went away to the west. One aeroplane was struck, and overset + and fell. I remember that—though it didn't interest me in the least. + It didn't seem to signify. It was like a wounded gull, you know—flapping + for a time in the water. I could see it down the aisle of the temple—a + black thing in the bright blue water. + </p> + <p> + "Three or four times shells burst about the beach, and then that ceased. + Each time that happened all the lizards scuttled in and hid for a space. + That was all the mischief done, except that once a stray bullet gashed the + stone hard by—made just a fresh bright surface. + </p> + <p> + "As the shadows grew longer, the stillness seemed greater. + </p> + <p> + "The curious thing," he remarked, with the manner of a man who makes a + trivial conversation, "is that I didn't <i>think</i>—I didn't think + at all. I sat with her in my arms amidst the stones—in a sort of + lethargy— stagnant. + </p> + <p> + "And I don't remember waking up. I don't remember dressing that day. I + know I found myself in my office, with my letters all slit open in front + of me, and how I was struck by the absurdity of being there, seeing that + in reality I was sitting, stunned, in that Paestum Temple with a dead + woman in my arms. I read my letters like a machine. I have forgotten what + they were about." + </p> + <p> + He stopped, and there was a long silence. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly I perceived that we were running down the incline from Chalk Farm + to Euston. I started at this passing of time. I turned on him with a + brutal question with the tone of "Now or never." + </p> + <p> + "And did you dream again?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + He seemed to force himself to finish. His voice was very low. + </p> + <p> + "Once more, and as it were only for a few instants. I seemed to have + suddenly awakened out of a great apathy, to have risen into a sitting + position, and the body lay there on the stones beside me. A gaunt body. + Not her, you know. So soon—it was not her... + </p> + <p> + "I may have heard voices. I do not know. Only I knew clearly that men were + coming into the solitude and that that was a last outrage. + </p> + <p> + "I stood up and walked through the temple, and then there came into sight—first + one man with a yellow face, dressed in a uniform of dirty white, trimmed + with blue, and then several, climbing to the crest of the old wall of the + vanished city, and crouching there. They were little bright figures in the + sunlight, and there they hung, weapon in hand, peering cautiously before + them. + </p> + <p> + "And further away I saw others, and then more at another point in the + wall. It was a long lax line of men in open order. + </p> + <p> + "Presently the man I had first seen stood up and shouted a command, and + his men came tumbling down the wall and into the high weeds towards the + temple. He scrambled down with them and led them. He came facing towards + me, and when he saw me he stopped. + </p> + <p> + "At first I had watched these men with a mere curiosity, but when I had + seen they meant to come to the temple I was moved to forbid them. I + shouted to the officer. + </p> + <p> + "'You must not come here,' I cried, '<i>I</i> am here. I am here with my + dead.' + </p> + <p> + "He stared, and then shouted a question back to me in some unknown tongue. + </p> + <p> + "I repeated what I had said. + </p> + <p> + "He shouted again, and I folded my arms and stood still. Presently he + spoke to his men and came forward. He carried a drawn sword. + </p> + <p> + "I signed to him to keep away, but he continued to advance. I told him + again very patiently and clearly: 'You must not come here. These are old + temples, and I am here with my dead.' + </p> + <p> + "Presently he was so close I could see his face clearly. It was a narrow + face, with dull grey eyes, and a black moustache. He had a scar on his + upper lip, and he was dirty and unshaven. He kept shouting unintelligible + things, questions perhaps, at me. + </p> + <p> + "I know now that he was afraid of me, but at the time that did not occur + to me. As I tried to explain to him he interrupted me in imperious tones, + bidding me, I suppose, stand aside. + </p> + <p> + "He made to go past me, and I caught hold of him. + </p> + <p> + "I saw his face change at my grip. + </p> + <p> + "'You fool,' I cried. 'Don't you know? She is dead!' + </p> + <p> + "He started back. He looked at me with cruel eyes. + </p> + <p> + "I saw a sort of exultant resolve leap into them—delight. Then + suddenly, with a scowl, he swept his sword back—<i>so</i>—and + thrust." + </p> + <p> + He stopped abruptly. + </p> + <p> + I became aware of a change in the rhythm of the train. The brakes lifted + their voices and the carriage jarred and jerked. This present world + insisted upon itself, became clamorous. I saw through the steamy window + huge electric lights glaring down from tall masts upon a fog, saw rows of + stationary empty carriages passing by, and then a signal-box, hoisting its + constellation of green and red into the murky London twilight, marched + after them. I looked again at his drawn features. + </p> + <p> + "He ran me through the heart. It was with a sort of astonishment—no + fear, no pain—but just amazement, that I felt it pierce me, felt the + sword drive home into my body. It didn't hurt, you know. It didn't hurt at + all." + </p> + <p> + The yellow platform lights came into the field of view, passing first + rapidly, then slowly, and at last stopping with a jerk. Dim shapes of men + passed to and fro without. + </p> + <p> + "Euston!" cried a voice. + </p> + <p> + "Do you mean—?" + </p> + <p> + "There was no pain, no sting or smart. Amazement and then darkness + sweeping over everything. The hot, brutal face before me, the face of the + man who had killed me, seemed to recede. It swept out of existence—" + </p> + <p> + "Euston!" clamoured the voices outside; "Euston!" + </p> + <p> + The carriage door opened, admitting a flood of sound, and a porter stood + regarding us. The sounds of doors slamming, and the hoof-clatter of + cab-horses, and behind these things the featureless remote roar of the + London cobble-stones, came to my ears. A truck-load of lighted lamps + blazed along the platform. + </p> + <p> + "A darkness, a flood of darkness that opened and spread and blotted out + all things." + </p> + <p> + "Any luggage, sir?" said the porter. + </p> + <p> + "And that was the end?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + He seemed to hesitate. Then, almost inaudibly, he answered, "<i>No</i>." + </p> + <p> + "You mean?" + </p> + <p> + "I couldn't get to her. She was there on the other side of the temple— + And then—" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I insisted. "Yes?" + </p> + <p> + "Nightmares," he cried; "nightmares indeed! My God! Great birds that + fought and tore." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVI. — THE VALLEY OF SPIDERS. + </h2> + <p> + Towards mid-day the three pursuers came abruptly round a bend in the + torrent bed upon the sight of a very broad and spacious valley. The + difficult and winding trench of pebbles along which they had tracked the + fugitives for so long expanded to a broad slope, and with a common impulse + the three men left the trail, and rode to a little eminence set with + olive-dun trees, and there halted, the two others, as became them, a + little behind the man with the silver-studded bridle. + </p> + <p> + For a space they scanned the great expanse below them with eager eyes. It + spread remoter and remoter, with only a few clusters of sere thorn bushes + here and there, and the dim suggestions of some now waterless ravine to + break its desolation of yellow grass. Its purple distances melted at last + into the bluish slopes of the further hills—hills it might be of a + greener kind—and above them, invisibly supported, and seeming indeed + to hang in the blue, were the snow-clad summits of mountains—that + grew larger and bolder to the northwestward as the sides of the valley + drew together. And westward the valley opened until a distant darkness + under the sky told where the forests began. But the three men looked + neither east nor west, but only steadfastly across the valley. + </p> + <p> + The gaunt man with the scarred lip was the first to speak. "Nowhere," he + said, with a sigh of disappointment in his voice. "But, after all, they + had a full day's start." + </p> + <p> + "They don't know we are after them," said the little man on the white + horse. + </p> + <p> + "<i>She</i> would know," said the leader bitterly, as if speaking to + himself. + </p> + <p> + "Even then they can't go fast. They've got no beast but the mule, and all + to-day the girl's foot has been bleeding——" + </p> + <p> + The man with the silver bridle flashed a quick intensity of rage on him. + "Do you think I haven't seen that?" he snarled. + </p> + <p> + "It helps, anyhow," whispered the little man to himself. + </p> + <p> + The gaunt man with the scarred lip stared impassively. "They can't be over + the valley," he said. "If we ride hard——" + </p> + <p> + He glanced at the white horse and paused. + </p> + <p> + "Curse all white horses!" said the man with the silver bridle, and turned + to scan the beast his curse included. + </p> + <p> + The little man looked down between the melancholy ears of his steed. + </p> + <p> + "I did my best," he said. + </p> + <p> + The two others stared again across the valley for a space. The gaunt man + passed the back of his hand across the scarred lip. + </p> + <p> + "Come up!" said the man who owned the silver bridle, suddenly. The little + man started and jerked his rein, and the horse hoofs of the three made a + multitudinous faint pattering upon the withered grass as they turned back + towards the trail... + </p> + <p> + They rode cautiously down the long slope before them, and so came through + a waste of prickly twisted bushes and strange dry shapes of thorny + branches that grew amongst the rocks, into the levels below. And there the + trail grew faint, for the soil was scanty, and the only herbage was this + scorched dead straw that lay upon the ground. Still, by hard scanning, by + leaning beside the horses' necks and pausing ever and again, even these + white men could contrive to follow after their prey. + </p> + <p> + There were trodden places, bent and broken blades of the coarse grass, and + ever and again the sufficient intimation of a footmark. And once the + leader saw a brown smear of blood where the half-caste girl may have trod. + And at that under his breath he cursed her for a fool. + </p> + <p> + The gaunt man checked his leader's tracking, and the little man on the + white horse rode behind, a man lost in a dream. They rode one after + another, the man with the silver bridle led the way, and they spoke never + a word. After a time it came to the little man on the white horse that the + world was very still. He started out of his dream. Besides the little + noises of their horses and equipment, the whole great valley kept the + brooding quiet of a painted scene. + </p> + <p> + Before him went his master and his fellow, each intently leaning forward + to the left, each impassively moving with the paces of his horse; their + shadows went before them—still, noiseless, tapering attendants; and + nearer a crouched cool shape was his own. He looked about him. What was it + had gone? Then he remembered the reverberation from the banks of the gorge + and the perpetual accompaniment of shifting, jostling pebbles. And, + moreover——? There was no breeze. That was it! What a vast, + still place it was, a monotonous afternoon slumber! And the sky open and + blank except for a sombre veil of haze that had gathered in the upper + valley. + </p> + <p> + He straightened his back, fretted with his bridle, puckered his lips to + whistle, and simply sighed. He turned in his saddle for a time, and stared + at the throat of the mountain gorge out of which they had come. Blank! + Blank slopes on either side, with never a sign of a decent beast or tree— + much less a man. What a land it was! What a wilderness! He dropped again + into his former pose. + </p> + <p> + It filled him with a momentary pleasure to see a wry stick of purple black + flash out into the form of a snake, and vanish amidst the brown. After + all, the infernal valley <i>was</i> alive. And then, to rejoice him still + more, came a little breath across his face, a whisper that came and went, + the faintest inclination of a stiff black-antlered bush upon a little + crest, the first intimations of a possible breeze. Idly he wetted his + finger, and held it up. + </p> + <p> + He pulled up sharply to avoid a collision with the gaunt man, who had + stopped at fault upon the trail. Just at that guilty moment he caught his + master's eye looking towards him. + </p> + <p> + For a time he forced an interest in the tracking. Then, as they rode on + again, he studied his master's shadow and hat and shoulder, appearing and + disappearing behind the gaunt man's nearer contours. They had ridden four + days out of the very limits of the world into this desolate place, short + of water, with nothing but a strip of dried meat under their saddles, over + rocks and mountains, where surely none but these fugitives had ever been + before—for <i>that</i>! + </p> + <p> + And all this was for a girl, a mere wilful child! And the man had whole + cityfuls of people to do his basest bidding—girls, women! Why in the + name of passionate folly <i>this</i> one in particular? asked the little + man, and scowled at the world, and licked his parched lips with a + blackened tongue. It was the way of the master, and that was all he knew. + Just because she sought to evade him... + </p> + <p> + His eye caught a whole row of high-plumed canes bending in unison, and + then the tails of silk that hung before his neck flapped and fell. The + breeze was growing stronger. Somehow it took the stiff stillness out of + things—and that was well. + </p> + <p> + "Hullo!" said the gaunt man. + </p> + <p> + All three stopped abruptly. + </p> + <p> + "What?" asked the master. "What?" + </p> + <p> + "Over there," said the gaunt man, pointing up the valley. + </p> + <p> + "What?" + </p> + <p> + "Something coming towards us." + </p> + <p> + And as he spoke a yellow animal crested a rise and came bearing down upon + them. It was a big wild dog, coming before the wind, tongue out, at a + steady pace, and running with such an intensity of purpose that he did not + seem to see the horsemen he approached. He ran with his nose up, + following, it was plain, neither scent nor quarry. As he drew nearer the + little man felt for his sword. "He's mad," said the gaunt rider. + </p> + <p> + "Shout!" said the little man, and shouted. + </p> + <p> + The dog came on. Then when the little man's blade was already out, it + swerved aside and went panting by them and passed. The eyes of the little + man followed its flight. "There was no foam," he said. For a space the man + with the silver-studded bridle stared up the valley. "Oh, come on!" he + cried at last. "What does it matter?" and jerked his horse into movement + again. + </p> + <p> + The little man left the insoluble mystery of a dog that fled from nothing + but the wind, and lapsed into profound musings on human character. "Come + on!" he whispered to himself. "Why should it be given to one man to say + 'Come on!' with that stupendous violence of effect? Always, all his life, + the man with the silver bridle has been saying that. If <i>I</i> said it—!" + thought the little man. But people marvelled when the master was disobeyed + even in the wildest things. This half-caste girl seemed to him, seemed to + every one, mad—blasphemous almost. The little man, by way of + comparison, reflected on the gaunt rider with the scarred lip, as stalwart + as his master, as brave and, indeed, perhaps braver, and yet for him there + was obedience, nothing but to give obedience duly and stoutly... + </p> + <p> + Certain sensations of the hands and knees called the little man back to + more immediate things. He became aware of something. He rode up beside his + gaunt fellow. "Do you notice the horses?" he said in an undertone. + </p> + <p> + The gaunt face looked interrogation. + </p> + <p> + "They don't like this wind," said the little man, and dropped behind as + the man with the silver bridle turned upon him. + </p> + <p> + "It's all right," said the gaunt-faced man. + </p> + <p> + They rode on again for a space in silence. The foremost two rode downcast + upon the trail, the hindmost man watched the haze that crept down the + vastness of the valley, nearer and nearer, and noted how the wind grew in + strength moment by moment. Far away on the left he saw a line of dark + bulks—wild hog, perhaps, galloping down the valley, but of that he + said nothing, nor did he remark again upon the uneasiness of the horses. + </p> + <p> + And then he saw first one and then a second great white ball, a great + shining white ball like a gigantic head of thistledown, that drove before + the wind athwart the path. These balls soared high in the air, and dropped + and rose again and caught for a moment, and hurried on and passed, but at + the sight of them the restlessness of the horses increased. + </p> + <p> + Then presently he saw that more of these drifting globes—and then + soon very many more—were hurrying towards him down the valley. + </p> + <p> + They became aware of a squealing. Athwart the path a huge boar rushed, + turning his head but for one instant to glance at them, and then hurling + on down the valley again. And at that all three stopped and sat in their + saddles, staring into the thickening haze that was coming upon them. + </p> + <p> + "If it were not for this thistle-down—" began the leader. + </p> + <p> + But now a big globe came drifting past within a score of yards of them. It + was really not an even sphere at all, but a vast, soft, ragged, filmy + thing, a sheet gathered by the corners, an aerial jelly-fish, as it were, + but rolling over and over as it advanced, and trailing long cobwebby + threads and streamers that floated in its wake. + </p> + <p> + "It isn't thistle-down," said the little man. + </p> + <p> + "I don't like the stuff," said the gaunt man. + </p> + <p> + And they looked at one another. + </p> + <p> + "Curse it!" cried the leader. "The air's full of lit up there. If it keeps + on at this pace long, it will stop us altogether." + </p> + <p> + An instinctive feeling, such as lines out a herd of deer at the approach + of some ambiguous thing, prompted them to turn their horses to the wind, + ride forward for a few paces, and stare at that advancing multitude of + floating masses. They came on before the wind with a sort of smooth + swiftness, rising and falling noiselessly, sinking to earth, rebounding + high, soaring—all with a perfect unanimity, with a still, deliberate + assurance. + </p> + <p> + Right and left of the horsemen the pioneers of this strange army passed. + At one that rolled along the ground, breaking shapelessly and trailing out + reluctantly into long grappling ribbons and bands, all three horses began + to shy and dance. The master was seized with a sudden, unreasonable + impatience. He cursed the drifting globes roundly. "Get on!" he cried; + "get on! What do these things matter? How <i>can</i> they matter? Back to + the trail!" He fell swearing at his horse and sawed the bit across its + mouth. + </p> + <p> + He shouted aloud with rage. "I will follow that trail, I tell you," he + cried. "Where is the trail?" + </p> + <p> + He gripped the bridle of his prancing horse and searched amidst the grass. + A long and clinging thread fell across his face, a grey streamer dropped + about his bridle arm, some big, active thing with many legs ran down the + back of his head. He looked up to discover one of those grey masses + anchored as it were above him by these things and flapping out ends as a + sail flaps when a boat comes about—but noiselessly. + </p> + <p> + He had an impression of many eyes, of a dense crew of squat bodies, of + long, many-jointed limbs hauling at their mooring ropes to bring the thing + down upon him. For a space he stared up, reining in his prancing horse + with the instinct born of years of horsemanship. Then the flat of a sword + smote his back, and a blade flashed overhead and cut the drifting balloon + of spider-web free, and the whole mass lifted softly and drove clear and + away. + </p> + <p> + "Spiders!" cried the voice of the gaunt man. "The things are full of big + spiders! Look, my lord!" + </p> + <p> + The man with the silver bridle still followed the mass that drove away. + </p> + <p> + "Look, my lord!" + </p> + <p> + The master found himself staring down at a red smashed thing on the ground + that, in spite of partial obliteration, could still wriggle unavailing + legs. Then, when the gaunt man pointed to another mass that bore down upon + them, he drew his sword hastily. Up the valley now it was like a fog bank + torn to rags. He tried to grasp the situation. + </p> + <p> + "Ride for it!" the little man was shouting. "Ride for it down the valley." + </p> + <p> + What happened then was like the confusion of a battle. The man with the + silver bridle saw the little man go past him, slashing furiously at + imaginary cobwebs, saw him cannon into the horse of the gaunt man and hurl + it and its rider to earth. His own horse went a dozen paces before he + could rein it in. Then he looked up to avoid imaginary dangers, and then + back again to see a horse rolling on the ground, the gaunt man standing + and slashing over it at a rent and fluttering mass of grey that streamed + and wrapped about them both. And thick and fast as thistle-down on waste + land on a windy day in July the cobweb masses were coming on. + </p> + <p> + The little man had dismounted, but he dared not release his horse. He was + endeavouring to lug the struggling brute back with the strength of one + arm, while with the other he slashed aimlessly. The tentacles of a second + grey mass had entangled themselves with the struggle, and this second grey + mass came to its moorings, and slowly sank. + </p> + <p> + The master set his teeth, gripped his bridle, lowered his head, and + spurred his horse forward. The horse on the ground rolled over, there was + blood and moving shapes upon the flanks, and the gaunt man suddenly + leaving it, ran forward towards his master, perhaps ten paces. His legs + were swathed and encumbered with grey; he made ineffectual movements with + his sword. Grey streamers waved from him; there was a thin veil of grey + across his face. With his left hand he beat at something on his body, and + suddenly he stumbled and fell. He struggled to rise, and fell again, and + suddenly, horribly, began to howl, "Oh—ohoo, ohooh!" + </p> + <p> + The master could see the great spiders upon him, and others upon the + ground. + </p> + <p> + As he strove to force his horse nearer to this gesticulating, screaming + grey object that struggled up and down, there came a clatter of hoofs, and + the little man, in act of mounting, swordless, balanced on his belly + athwart the white horse, and clutching its mane, whirled past. And again a + clinging thread of grey gossamer swept across the master's face. All about + him, and over him, it seemed this drifting, noiseless cobweb circled and + drew nearer him... + </p> + <p> + To the day of his death he never knew just how the event of that moment + happened. Did he, indeed, turn his horse, or did it really of its own + accord stampede after its fellow? Suffice it that in another second he was + galloping full tilt down the valley with his sword whirling furiously + overhead. And all about him on the quickening breeze, the spiders' + air-ships, their air bundles and air sheets, seemed to him to hurry in a + conscious pursuit. + </p> + <p> + Clatter, clatter, thud, thud,—the man with the silver bridle rode, + heedless of his direction, with his fearful face looking up now right, now + left, and his sword arm ready to slash. And a few hundred yards ahead of + him, with a tail of torn cobweb trailing behind him, rode the little man + on the white horse, still but imperfectly in the saddle. The reeds bent + before them, the wind blew fresh and strong, over his shoulder the master + could see the webs hurrying to overtake... + </p> + <p> + He was so intent to escape the spiders' webs that only as his horse + gathered together for a leap did he realise the ravine ahead. And then he + realised it only to misunderstand and interfere. He was leaning forward on + his horse's neck and sat up and back all too late. + </p> + <p> + But if in his excitement he had failed to leap, at any rate he had not + forgotten how to fall. He was horseman again in mid-air. He came off clear + with a mere bruise upon his shoulder, and his horse rolled, kicking + spasmodic legs, and lay still. But the master's sword drove its point into + the hard soil, and snapped clean across, as though Chance refused him any + longer as her Knight, and the splintered end missed his face by an inch or + so. + </p> + <p> + He was on his feet in a moment, breathlessly scanning the on-rushing + spider-webs. For a moment he was minded to run, and then thought of the + ravine, and turned back. He ran aside once to dodge one drifting terror, + and then he was swiftly clambering down the precipitous sides, and out of + the touch of the gale. + </p> + <p> + There, under the lee of the dry torrent's steeper banks, he might crouch + and watch these strange, grey masses pass and pass in safety till the wind + fell, and it became possible to escape. And there for a long time he + crouched, watching the strange, grey, ragged masses trail their streamers + across his narrowed sky. + </p> + <p> + Once a stray spider fell into the ravine close beside him—a full + foot it measured from leg to leg and its body was half a man's hand—and + after he had watched its monstrous alacrity of search and escape for a + little while and tempted it to bite his broken sword, he lifted up his + iron-heeled boot and smashed it into a pulp. He swore as he did so, and + for a time sought up and down for another. + </p> + <p> + Then presently, when he was surer these spider swarms could not drop into + the ravine, he found a place where he could sit down, and sat and fell + into deep thought and began, after his manner, to gnaw his knuckles and + bite his nails. And from this he was moved by the coming of the man with + the white horse. + </p> + <p> + He heard him long before he saw him, as a clattering of hoofs, stumbling + footsteps, and a reassuring voice. Then the little man appeared, a rueful + figure, still with a tail of white cobweb trailing behind him. They + approached each other without speaking, without a salutation. The little + man was fatigued and shamed to the pitch of hopeless bitterness, and came + to a stop at last, face to face with his seated master. The latter winced + a little under his dependent's eye. "Well?" he said at last, with no + pretence of authority. + </p> + <p> + "You left him?" + </p> + <p> + "My horse bolted." + </p> + <p> + "I know. So did mine." + </p> + <p> + He laughed at his master mirthlessly. + </p> + <p> + "I say my horse bolted," said the man who once had a silver-studded + bridle. + </p> + <p> + "Cowards both," said the little man. + </p> + <p> + The other gnawed his knuckle through some meditative moments, with his eye + on his inferior. + </p> + <p> + "Don't call me a coward," he said at length. + </p> + <p> + "You are a coward, like myself." + </p> + <p> + "A coward possibly. There is a limit beyond which every man must fear. + That I have learnt at last. But not like yourself. That is where the + difference comes in." + </p> + <p> + "I never could have dreamt you would have left him. He saved your life two + minutes before... Why are you our lord?" + </p> + <p> + The master gnawed his knuckles again, and his countenance was dark. + </p> + <p> + "No man calls me a coward," he said. "No ... A broken sword is better than + none ... One spavined white horse cannot be expected to carry two men a + four days' journey. I hate white horses, but this time it cannot be + helped. You begin to understand me? I perceive that you are minded, on the + strength of what you have seen and fancy, to taint my reputation. It is + men of your sort who unmake kings. Besides which—I never liked you." + </p> + <p> + "My lord!" said the little man. + </p> + <p> + "No," said the master. "<i>No!</i>" + </p> + <p> + He stood up sharply as the little man moved. For a minute perhaps they + faced one another. Overhead the spiders' balls went driving. There was a + quick movement among the pebbles; a running of feet, a cry of despair, a + gasp and a blow... + </p> + <p> + Towards nightfall the wind fell. The sun set in a calm serenity, and the + man who had once possessed the silver bridle came at last very cautiously + and by an easy slope out of the ravine again; but now he led the white + horse that once belonged to the little man. He would have gone back to his + horse to get his silver-mounted bridle again, but he feared night and a + quickening breeze might still find him in the valley, and besides, he + disliked greatly to think he might discover his horse all swathed in + cobwebs and perhaps unpleasantly eaten. + </p> + <p> + And as he thought of those cobwebs, and of all the dangers he had been + through, and the manner in which he had been preserved that day, his hand + sought a little reliquary that hung about his neck, and he clasped it for + a moment with heartfelt gratitude. As he did so his eyes went across the + valley. + </p> + <p> + "I was hot with passion," he said, "and now she has met her reward. They + also, no doubt—" + </p> + <p> + And behold! far away out of the wooded slopes across the valley, but in + the clearness of the sunset, distinct and unmistakable, he saw a little + spire of smoke. + </p> + <p> + At that his expression of serene resignation changed to an amazed anger. + Smoke? He turned the head of the white horse about, and hesitated. And as + he did so a little rustle of air went through the grass about him. Far + away upon some reeds swayed a tattered sheet of grey. He looked at the + cobwebs; he looked at the smoke. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps, after all, it is not them," he said at last. + </p> + <p> + But he knew better. + </p> + <p> + After he had stared at the smoke for some time, he mounted the white + horse. + </p> + <p> + As he rode, he picked his way amidst stranded masses of web. For some + reason there were many dead spiders on the ground, and those that lived + feasted guiltily on their fellows. At the sound of his horse's hoofs they + fled. + </p> + <p> + Their time had passed. From the ground, without either a wind to carry + them or a winding-sheet ready, these things, for all their poison, could + do him little evil. + </p> + <p> + He flicked with his belt at those he fancied came too near. Once, where a + number ran together over a bare place, he was minded to dismount and + trample them with his boots, but this impulse he overcame. Ever and again + he turned in his saddle, and looked back at the smoke. + </p> + <p> + "Spiders," he muttered over and over again. "Spiders. Well, well... The + next time I must spin a web." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVII. — THE NEW ACCELERATOR. + </h2> + <p> + Certainly, if ever a man found a guinea when he was looking for a pin, it + is my good friend Professor Gibberne. I have heard before of investigators + overshooting the mark, but never quite to the extent that he has done. He + has really, this time at any rate, without any touch of exaggeration in + the phrase, found something to revolutionise human life. And that when he + was simply seeking an all-round nervous stimulant to bring languid people + up to the stresses of these pushful days. I have tasted the stuff now + several times, and I cannot do better than describe the effect the thing + had on me. That there are astonishing experiences in store for all in + search of new sensations will become apparent enough. + </p> + <p> + Professor Gibberne, as many people know, is my neighbour in Folkestone. + Unless my memory plays me a trick, his portrait at various ages has + already appeared in <i>The Strand Magazine</i>—think late in 1899 + but I am unable to look it up because I have lent that volume to someone + who has never sent it back. The reader may, perhaps, recall the high + forehead and the singularly long black eyebrows that give such a + Mephistophelean touch to his face. He occupies one of those pleasant + little detached houses in the mixed style that make the western end of the + Upper Sandgate Road so interesting. His is the one with the Flemish gables + and the Moorish portico, and it is in the little room with the mullioned + bay window that he works when he is down here, and in which of an evening + we have so often smoked and talked together. He is a mighty jester, but, + besides, he likes to talk to me about his work; he is one of those men who + find a help and stimulus in talking, and so I have been able to follow the + conception of the New Accelerator right up from a very early stage. Of + course, the greater portion of his experimental work is not done in + Folkestone, but in Gower Street, in the fine new laboratory next to the + hospital that he has been the first to use. + </p> + <p> + As every one knows, or at least as all intelligent people know, the + special department in which Gibberne has gained so great and deserved a + reputation among physiologists is the action of drugs upon the nervous + system. Upon soporifics, sedatives, and anaesthetics he is, I am told, + unequalled. He is also a chemist of considerable eminence, and I suppose + in the subtle and complex jungle of riddles that centres about the + ganglion cell and the axis fibre there are little cleared places of his + making, little glades of illumination, that, until he sees fit to publish + his results, are still inaccessible to every other living man. And in the + last few years he has been particularly assiduous upon this question of + nervous stimulants, and already, before the discovery of the New + Accelerator, very successful with them. Medical science has to thank him + for at least three distinct and absolutely safe invigorators of unrivalled + value to practising men. In cases of exhaustion the preparation known as + Gibberne's B Syrup has, I suppose, saved more lives already than any + lifeboat round the coast. + </p> + <p> + "But none of these little things begin to satisfy me yet," he told me + nearly a year ago. "Either they increase the central energy without + affecting the nerves, or they simply increase the available energy by + lowering the nervous conductivity; and all of them are unequal and local + in their operation. One wakes up the heart and viscera and leaves the + brain stupefied, one gets at the brain champagne fashion, and does nothing + good for the solar plexus, and what I want—and what, if it's an + earthly possibility, I mean to have—is a stimulant that stimulates + all round, that wakes you up for a time from the crown of your head to the + tip of your great toe, and makes you go two—or even three—to + everybody else's one. Eh? That's the thing I'm after." + </p> + <p> + "It would tire a man," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Not a doubt of it. And you'd eat double or treble—and all that. But + just think what the thing would mean. Imagine yourself with a little phial + like this"—he held up a little bottle of green glass and marked his + points with it—"and in this precious phial is the power to think + twice as fast, move twice as quickly, do twice as much work in a given + time as you could otherwise do." + </p> + <p> + "But is such a thing possible?" + </p> + <p> + "I believe so. If it isn't, I've wasted my time for a year. These various + preparations of the hypophosphites, for example, seem to show that + something of the sort... Even if it was only one and a half times as fast + it would do." + </p> + <p> + "It <i>would</i> do," I said. + </p> + <p> + "If you were a statesman in a corner, for example, time rushing up against + you, something urgent to be done, eh?" + </p> + <p> + "He could dose his private secretary," I said. + </p> + <p> + "And gain—double time. And think if <i>you</i>, for example, wanted + to finish a book." + </p> + <p> + "Usually," I said, "I wish I'd never begun 'em." + </p> + <p> + "Or a doctor, driven to death, wants to sit down and think out a case. Or + a barrister—or a man cramming for an examination." + </p> + <p> + "Worth a guinea a drop," said I, "and more—to men like that." + </p> + <p> + "And in a duel, again," said Gibberne, "where it all depends on your + quickness in pulling the trigger." + </p> + <p> + "Or in fencing," I echoed. + </p> + <p> + "You see," said Gibberne, "if I get it as an all-round thing, it will + really do you no harm at all—except perhaps to an infinitesimal + degree it brings you nearer old age. You will just have lived twice to + other people's once—" + </p> + <p> + "I suppose," I meditated, "in a duel—it would be fair?" + </p> + <p> + "That's a question for the seconds," said Gibberne. + </p> + <p> + I harked back further. "And you really think such a thing <i>is</i> + possible?" I said. + </p> + <p> + "As possible," said Gibberne, and glanced at something that went throbbing + by the window, "as a motor-bus. As a matter of fact—" + </p> + <p> + He paused and smiled at me deeply, and tapped slowly on the edge of his + desk with the green phial. "I think I know the stuff... Already I've got + something coming." The nervous smile upon his face betrayed the gravity of + his revelation. He rarely talked of his actual experimental work unless + things were very near the end. "And it may be, it may be—I shouldn't + be surprised—it may even do the thing at a greater rate than twice." + </p> + <p> + "It will be rather a big thing," I hazarded. + </p> + <p> + "It will be, I think, rather a big thing." + </p> + <p> + But I don't think he quite knew what a big thing it was to be, for all + that. + </p> + <p> + I remember we had several talks about the stuff after that. "The New + Accelerator" he called it, and his tone about it grew more confident on + each occasion. Sometimes he talked nervously of unexpected physiological + results its use might have, and then he would get a little unhappy; at + others he was frankly mercenary, and we debated long and anxiously how the + preparation might be turned to commercial account. "It's a good thing," + said Gibberne, "a tremendous thing. I know I'm giving the world something, + and I think it only reasonable we should expect the world to pay. The + dignity of science is all very well, but I think somehow I must have the + monopoly of the stuff for, say, ten years. I don't see why <i>all</i> the + fun in life should go to the dealers in ham." + </p> + <p> + My own interest in the coming drug certainly did not wane in the time. I + have always had a queer little twist towards metaphysics in my mind. I + have always been given to paradoxes about space and time, and it seemed to + me that Gibberne was really preparing no less than the absolute + acceleration of life. Suppose a man repeatedly dosed with such a + preparation: he would live an active and record life indeed, but he would + be an adult at eleven, middle-aged at twenty-five, and by thirty well on + the road to senile decay. It seemed to me that so far Gibberne was only + going to do for any one who took his drug exactly what Nature has done for + the Jews and Orientals, who are men in their teens and aged by fifty, and + quicker in thought and act than we are all the time. The marvel of drugs + has always been great to my mind; you can madden a man, calm a man, make + him incredibly strong and alert or a helpless log, quicken this passion + and allay that, all by means of drugs, and here was a new miracle to be + added to this strange armoury of phials the doctors use! But Gibberne was + far too eager upon his technical points to enter very keenly into my + aspect of the question. + </p> + <p> + It was the 7th or 8th of August when he told me the distillation that + would decide his failure or success for a time was going forward as we + talked, and it was on the 10th that he told me the thing was done and the + New Accelerator a tangible reality in the world. I met him as I was going + up the Sandgate Hill towards Folkestone—I think I was going to get + my hair cut, and he came hurrying down to meet me—I suppose he was + coming to my house to tell me at once of his success. I remember that his + eyes were unusually bright and his face flushed, and I noted even then the + swift alacrity of his step. + </p> + <p> + "It's done," he cried, and gripped my hand, speaking very fast; "it's more + than done. Come up to my house and see." + </p> + <p> + "Really?" + </p> + <p> + "Really!" he shouted. "Incredibly! Come up and see." + </p> + <p> + "And it does—twice?" + </p> + <p> + "It does more, much more. It scares me. Come up and see the stuff. Taste + it! Try it! It's the most amazing stuff on earth." He gripped my arm and; + walking at such a pace that he forced me into a trot, went shouting with + me up the hill. A whole <i>char-`-banc</i>-ful of people turned and stared + at us in unison after the manner of people in <i>chars-`-banc</i>. It was + one of those hot, clear days that Folkestone sees so much of, every colour + incredibly bright and every outline hard. There was a breeze, of course, + but not so much breeze as sufficed under these conditions to keep me cool + and dry. I panted for mercy. + </p> + <p> + "I'm not walking fast, am I?" cried Gibberne, and slackened his pace to a + quick march. + </p> + <p> + "You've been taking some of this stuff," I puffed. + </p> + <p> + "No," he said. "At the utmost a drop of water that stood in a beaker from + which I had washed out the last traces of the stuff. I took some last + night, you know. But that is ancient history now." + </p> + <p> + "And it goes twice?" I said, nearing his doorway in a grateful + perspiration. + </p> + <p> + "It goes a thousand times, many thousand times!" cried Gibberne, with a + dramatic gesture, flinging open his Early English carved oak gate. + </p> + <p> + "Phew!" said I, and followed him to the door. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know how many times it goes," he said, with his latch-key in his + hand. + </p> + <p> + "And you——" + </p> + <p> + "It throws all sorts of light on nervous physiology, it kicks the theory + of vision into a perfectly new shape! ... Heaven knows how many thousand + times. We'll try all that after——The thing is to try the stuff + now." + </p> + <p> + "Try the stuff?" I said, as we went along the passage. + </p> + <p> + "Rather," said Gibberne, turning on me in his study. "There it is in that + little green phial there! Unless you happen to be afraid?" + </p> + <p> + I am a careful man by nature, and only theoretically adventurous. I <i>was</i> + afraid. But on the other hand, there is pride. + </p> + <p> + "Well," I haggled. "You say you've tried it?" + </p> + <p> + "I've tried it," he said, "and I don't look hurt by it, do I? I don't even + look livery, and I <i>feel</i>——" + </p> + <p> + I sat down. "Give me the potion," I said. "If the worst comes to the worst + it will save having my hair cut, and that, I think, is one of the most + hateful duties of a civilised man. How do you take the mixture?" + </p> + <p> + "With water," said Gibberne, whacking down a carafe. + </p> + <p> + He stood up in front of his desk and regarded me in his easy-chair; his + manner was suddenly affected by a touch of the Harley Street specialist. + "It's rum stuff, you know," he said. + </p> + <p> + I made a gesture with my hand. + </p> + <p> + "I must warn you, in the first place, as soon as you've got it down to + shut your eyes, and open them very cautiously in a minute or so's time. + One still sees. The sense of vision is a question of length of vibration, + and not of multitude of impacts; but there's a kind of shock to the + retina, a nasty giddy confusion just at the time if the eyes are open. + Keep 'em shut." + </p> + <p> + "Shut," I said. "Good!" + </p> + <p> + "And the next thing is, keep still. Don't begin to whack about. You may + fetch something a nasty rap if you do. Remember you will be going several + thousand times faster than you ever did before, heart, lungs, muscles, + brain—everything—and you will hit hard without knowing it. You + won't know it, you know. You'll feel just as you do now. Only everything + in the world will seem to be going ever so many thousand times slower than + it ever went before. That's what makes it so deuced queer." + </p> + <p> + "Lor," I said. "And you mean——" + </p> + <p> + "You'll see," said he, and took up a little measure. He glanced at the + material on his desk. "Glasses," he said, "water. All here. Mustn't take + too much for the first attempt." + </p> + <p> + The little phial glucked out its precious contents. "Don't forget what I + told you," he said, turning the contents of the measure into a glass in + the manner of an Italian waiter measuring whisky. "Sit with the eyes + tightly shut and in absolute stillness for two minutes," he said. "Then + you will hear me speak." + </p> + <p> + He added an inch or so of water to the little dose in each glass. + </p> + <p> + "By-the-by," he said, "don't put your glass down. Keep it in your hand and + rest your hand on your knee. Yes—so. And now——" + </p> + <p> + He raised his glass. + </p> + <p> + "The New Accelerator," I said. + </p> + <p> + "The New Accelerator," he answered, and we touched glasses and drank, and + instantly I closed my eyes. + </p> + <p> + You know that blank non-existence into which one drops when one has taken + "gas." For an indefinite interval it was like that. Then I heard Gibberne + telling me to wake up, and I stirred and opened my eyes. There he stood as + he had been standing, glass still in hand. It was empty, that was all the + difference. + </p> + <p> + "Well?" said I. — "Nothing out of the way?" + </p> + <p> + "Nothing. A slight feeling of exhilaration, perhaps. Nothing more." + </p> + <p> + "Sounds?" + </p> + <p> + "Things are still," I said. "By Jove! yes! They <i>are</i> still. Except + the sort of faint pat, patter, like rain falling on different things. What + is it?" + </p> + <p> + "Analysed sounds," I think he said, but I am not sure. He glanced at the + window. "Have you ever seen a curtain before a window fixed in that way + before?" + </p> + <p> + I followed his eyes, and there was the end of the curtain, frozen, as it + were, corner high, in the act of flapping briskly in the breeze. + </p> + <p> + "No," said I; "that's odd." + </p> + <p> + "And here," he said, and opened the hand that held the glass. Naturally I + winced, expecting the glass to smash. But so far from smashing, it did not + even seem to stir; it hung in mid-air—motionless. "Roughly + speaking," said Gibberne, "an object in these latitudes falls 16 feet in + the first second. This glass is falling 16 feet in a second now. Only, you + see, it hasn't been falling yet for the hundredth part of a second. That + gives you some idea of the pace of my Accelerator." + </p> + <p> + And he waved his hand round and round, over and under the slowly sinking + glass. Finally he took it by the bottom, pulled it down and placed it very + carefully on the table. "Eh?" he said to me, and laughed. + </p> + <p> + "That seems all right," I said, and began very gingerly to raise myself + from my chair. I felt perfectly well, very light and comfortable, and + quite confident in my mind. I was going fast all over. My heart, for + example, was beating a thousand times a second, but that caused me no + discomfort at all. I looked out of the window. An immovable cyclist, head + down and with a frozen puff of dust behind his driving-wheel, scorched to + overtake a galloping <i>char-`-banc</i> that did not stir. I gaped in + amazement at this incredible spectacle. "Gibberne," I cried, "how long + will this confounded stuff last?" + </p> + <p> + "Heaven knows!" he answered. "Last time I took it I went to bed and slept + it off. I tell you, I was frightened. It must have lasted some minutes, I + think—it seemed like hours. But after a bit it slows down rather + suddenly, I believe." + </p> + <p> + I was proud to observe that I did not feel frightened—I suppose + because there were two of us. "Why shouldn't we go out?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Why not?" + </p> + <p> + "They'll see us." + </p> + <p> + "Not they. Goodness, no! Why, we shall be going a thousand times faster + than the quickest conjuring trick that was ever done. Come along! Which + way shall we go? Window, or door?" + </p> + <p> + And out by the window we went. + </p> + <p> + Assuredly of all the strange experiences that I have ever had, or + imagined, or read of other people having or imagining, that little raid I + made with Gibberne on the Folkestone Leas, under the influence of the New + Accelerator, was the strangest and maddest of all. We went out by his gate + into the road, and there we made a minute examination of the statuesque + passing traffic. The tops of the wheels and some of the legs of the horses + of this <i>char-`-banc,</i> the end of the whip-lash and the lower jaw of + the conductor—who was just beginning to yawn—were perceptibly + in motion, but all the rest of the lumbering conveyance seemed still. And + quite noiseless except for a faint rattling that came from one man's + throat. And as parts of this frozen edifice there were a driver, you know, + and a conductor, and eleven people! The effect as we walked about the + thing began by being madly queer and ended by being—disagreeable. + There they were, people like ourselves and yet not like ourselves, frozen + in careless attitudes, caught in mid-gesture. A girl and a man smiled at + one another, a leering smile that threatened to last for evermore; a woman + in a floppy capelline rested her arm on the rail and stared at Gibberne's + house with the unwinking stare of eternity; a man stroked his moustache + like a figure of wax, and another stretched a tiresome stiff hand with + extended fingers towards his loosened hat. We stared at them, we laughed + at them, we made faces at them, and then a sort of disgust of them came + upon us, and we turned away and walked round in front of the cyclist + towards the Leas. + </p> + <p> + "Goodness!" cried Gibberne, suddenly; "look there!" + </p> + <p> + He pointed, and there at the tip of his finger and sliding down the air + with wings flapping slowly and at the speed of an exceptionally languid + snail—was a bee. + </p> + <p> + And so we came out upon the Leas. There the thing seemed madder than ever. + The band was playing in the upper stand, though all the sound it made for + us was a low-pitched, wheezy rattle, a sort of prolonged last sigh that + passed at times into a sound like the slow, muffled ticking of some + monstrous clock. Frozen people stood erect, strange, silent, + self-conscious-looking dummies hung unstably in mid-stride, promenading + upon the grass. I passed close to a little poodle dog suspended in the act + of leaping, and watched the slow movement of his legs as he sank to earth. + "Lord, look <i>here</i>!" cried Gibberne, and we halted for a moment + before a magnificent person in white faint—striped flannels, white + shoes, and a Panama hat, who turned back to wink at two gaily dressed + ladies he had passed. A wink, studied with such leisurely deliberation as + we could afford, is an unattractive thing. It loses any quality of alert + gaiety, and one remarks that the winking eye does not completely close, + that under its drooping lid appears the lower edge of an eyeball and a + little line of white. "Heaven give me memory," said I, "and I will never + wink again." + </p> + <p> + "Or smile," said Gibberne, with his eye on the lady's answering teeth. + </p> + <p> + "It's infernally hot, somehow," said I, "Let's go slower." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, come along!" said Gibberne. + </p> + <p> + We picked our way among the bath-chairs in the path. Many of the people + sitting in the chairs seemed almost natural in their passive poses, but + the contorted scarlet of the bandsmen was not a restful thing to see. A + purple-faced little gentleman was frozen in the midst of a violent + struggle to refold his newspaper against the wind; there were many + evidences that all these people in their sluggish way were exposed to a + considerable breeze, a breeze that had no existence so far as our + sensations went. We came out and walked a little way from the crowd, and + turned and regarded it. To see all that multitude changed to a picture, + smitten rigid, as it were, into the semblance of realistic wax, was + impossibly wonderful. It was absurd, of course; but it filled me with an + irrational, an exultant sense of superior advantage. Consider the wonder + of it! All that I had said, and thought, and done since the stuff had + begun to work in my veins had happened, so far as those people, so far as + the world in general went, in the twinkling of an eye. "The New + Accelerator——" I began, but Gibberne interrupted me. + </p> + <p> + "There's that infernal old woman!" he said. + </p> + <p> + "What old woman?" + </p> + <p> + "Lives next door to me," said Gibberne. "Has a lapdog that yaps. Gods! The + temptation is strong!" + </p> + <p> + There is something very boyish and impulsive about Gibberne at times. + Before I could expostulate with him he had dashed forward, snatched the + unfortunate animal out of visible existence, and was running violently + with it towards the cliff of the Leas. It was most extraordinary. The + little brute, you know, didn't bark or wriggle or make the slightest sign + of vitality. It kept quite stiffly in an attitude of somnolent repose, and + Gibberne held it by the neck. It was like running about with a dog of + wood. "Gibberne," I cried, "put it down!" Then I said something else. "If + you run like that, Gibberne," I cried, "you'll set your clothes on fire. + Your linen trousers are going brown as it is!" + </p> + <p> + He clapped his hand on his thigh and stood hesitating on the verge. + "Gibberne," I cried, coming up, "put it down. This heat is too much! It's + our running so! Two or three miles a second! Friction of the air!" + </p> + <p> + "What?" he said, glancing at the dog. + </p> + <p> + "Friction of the air," I shouted. "Friction of the air. Going too fast. + Like meteorites and things. Too hot. And, Gibberne! Gibberne! I'm all over + pricking and a sort of perspiration. You can see people stirring slightly. + I believe the stuff's working off! Put that dog down." + </p> + <p> + "Eh?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "It's working off," I repeated. "We're too hot and the stuff's working + off! I'm wet through." + </p> + <p> + He stared at me, then at the band, the wheezy rattle of whose performance + was certainly going faster. Then with a tremendous sweep of the arm he + hurled the dog away from him and it went spinning upward, still inanimate, + and hung at last over the grouped parasols of a knot of chattering people. + Gibberne was gripping my elbow. "By Jove!" he cried, "I believe it is! A + sort of hot pricking and—yes. That man's moving his + pocket-handkerchief! Perceptibly. We must get out of this sharp." + </p> + <p> + But we could not get out of it sharply enough. Luckily, perhaps! For we + might have run, and if we had run we should, I believe, have burst into + flames. Almost certainly we should have burst into flames! You know we had + neither of us thought of that... But before we could even begin to run the + action of the drug had ceased. It was the business of a minute fraction of + a second. The effect of the New Accelerator passed like the drawing of a + curtain, vanished in the movement of a hand. I heard Gibberne's voice in + infinite alarm. "Sit down," he said, and flop, down upon the turf at the + edge of the Leas I sat—scorching as I sat. There is a patch of burnt + grass there still where I sat down. The whole stagnation seemed to wake up + as I did so, the disarticulated vibration of the band rushed together into + a blast of music, the promenaders put their feet down and walked their + ways, the papers and flags began flapping, smiles passed into words, the + winker finished his wink and went on his way complacently, and all the + seated people moved and spoke. + </p> + <p> + The whole world had come alive again, was going as fast as we were, or + rather we were going no faster than the rest of the world. It was like + slowing down as one comes into a railway station. Everything seemed to + spin round for a second or two, I had the most transient feeling of + nausea, and that was all. And the little dog, which had seemed to hang for + a moment when the force of Gibberne's arm was expended, fell with a swift + acceleration clean through a lady's parasol! + </p> + <p> + That was the saving of us. Unless it was for one corpulent old gentleman + in a bath-chair, who certainly did start at the sight of us, and + afterwards regarded us at intervals with a darkly suspicious eye, and, + finally, I believe, said something to his nurse about us, I doubt if a + solitary person remarked our sudden appearance among them. Plop! We must + have appeared abruptly. We ceased to smoulder almost at once, though the + turf beneath me was uncomfortably hot. The attention of every one— + including even the Amusements' Association band, which on this occasion, + for the only time in its history, got out of tune—was arrested by + the amazing fact, and the still more amazing yapping and uproar caused by + the fact, that a respectable, over-fed lapdog sleeping quietly to the east + of the bandstand should suddenly fall through the parasol of a lady on the + west—in a slightly singed condition due to the extreme velocity of + its movements through the air. In these absurd days, too, when we are all + trying to be as psychic, and silly, and superstitious as possible! People + got up and trod on other people, chairs were overturned, the Leas + policeman ran. How the matter settled itself I do not know—we were + much too anxious to disentangle ourselves from the affair and get out of + range of the eye of the old gentleman in the bath-chair to make minute + inquiries. As soon as we were sufficiently cool and sufficiently recovered + from our giddiness and nausea and confusion of mind to do so we stood up, + and skirting the crowd, directed our steps back along the road below the + Metropole towards Gibberne's house. But amidst the din I heard very + distinctly the gentleman who had been sitting beside the lady of the + ruptured sunshade using quite unjustifiable threats and language to one of + those chair-attendants who have "Inspector" written on their caps: "If you + didn't throw the dog," he said, "who <i>did</i>?" + </p> + <p> + The sudden return of movement and familiar noises, and our natural anxiety + about ourselves (our clothes were still dreadfully hot, and the fronts of + the thighs of Gibberne's white trousers were scorched a drabbish brown), + prevented the minute observations I should have liked to make on all these + things. Indeed, I really made no observations of any scientific value on + that return. The bee, of course, had gone. I looked for that cyclist, but + he was already out of sight as we came into the Upper Sandgate Road or + hidden from us by traffic; the <i>char-`-banc</i>, however, with its + people now all alive and stirring, was clattering along at a spanking pace + almost abreast of the nearer church. + </p> + <p> + We noted, however, that the window-sill on which we had stepped in getting + out of the house was slightly singed, and that the impressions of our feet + on the gravel of the path were unusually deep. + </p> + <p> + So it was I had my first experience of the New Accelerator. Practically we + had been running about and saying and doing all sorts of things in the + space of a second or so of time. We had lived half an hour while the band + had played, perhaps, two bars. But the effect it had upon us was that the + whole world had stopped for our convenient inspection. Considering all + things, and particularly considering our rashness in venturing out of the + house, the experience might certainly have been much more disagreeable + than it was. It showed, no doubt, that Gibberne has still much to learn + before his preparation is a manageable convenience, but its practicability + it certainly demonstrated beyond all cavil. + </p> + <p> + Since that adventure he has been steadily bringing its use under control, + and I have several times, and without the slightest bad result, taken + measured doses under his direction; though I must confess I have not yet + ventured abroad again while under its influence. I may mention, for + example, that this story has been written at one sitting and without + interruption, except for the nibbling of some chocolate, by its means. I + began at 6.25, and my watch is now very nearly at the minute past the + half-hour. The convenience of securing a long, uninterrupted spell of work + in the midst of a day full of engagements cannot be exaggerated. Gibberne + is now working at the quantitative handling of his preparation, with + especial reference to its distinctive effects upon different types of + constitution. He then hopes to find a Retarder, with which to dilute its + present rather excessive potency. The Retarder will, of course, have the + reverse effect to the Accelerator; used alone it should enable the patient + to spread a few seconds over many hours of ordinary time, and so to + maintain an apathetic inaction, a glacier-like absence of alacrity, amidst + the most animated or irritating surroundings. The two things together must + necessarily work an entire revolution in civilised existence. It is the + beginning of our escape from that Time Garment of which Carlyle speaks. + While this Accelerator will enable us to concentrate ourselves with + tremendous impact upon any moment or occasion that demands our utmost + sense and vigour, the Retarder will enable us to pass in passive + tranquillity through infinite hardship and tedium. Perhaps I am a little + optimistic about the Retarder, which has indeed still to be discovered, + but about the Accelerator there is no possible sort of doubt whatever. Its + appearance upon the market in a convenient, controllable, and assimilable + form is a matter of the next few months. It will be obtainable of all + chemists and druggists, in small green bottles, at a high but, considering + its extraordinary qualities, by no means excessive price. Gibberne's + Nervous Accelerator it will be called, and he hopes to be able to supply + it in three strengths: one in 200, one in 900, and one in 2000, + distinguished by yellow, pink, and white labels respectively. + </p> + <p> + No doubt its use renders a great number of very extraordinary things + possible; for, of course, the most remarkable and, possibly, even criminal + proceedings may be effected with impunity by thus dodging, as it were, + into the interstices of time. Like all potent preparations, it will be + liable to abuse. We have, however, discussed this aspect of the question + very thoroughly, and we have decided that this is purely a matter of + medical jurisprudence and altogether outside our province. We shall + manufacture and sell the Accelerator, and as for the consequences—we + shall see. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0029" id="link2H_4_0029"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVIII. — THE TRUTH ABOUT PYECRAFT. + </h2> + <p> + He sits not a dozen yards away. If I glance over my shoulder I can see + him. And if I catch his eye—and usually I catch his eye—it + meets me with an expression—— + </p> + <p> + It is mainly an imploring look—and yet with suspicion in it. + </p> + <p> + Confound his suspicion! If I wanted to tell on him I should have told long + ago. I don't tell and I don't tell, and he ought to feel at his ease. As + if anything so gross and fat as he could feel at ease! Who would believe + me if I did tell? + </p> + <p> + Poor old Pyecraft! Great, uneasy jelly of substance! The fattest clubman + in London. + </p> + <p> + He sits at one of the little club tables in the huge bay by the fire, + stuffing. What is he stuffing? I glance judiciously, and catch him biting + at a round of hot buttered teacake, with his eyes on me. Confound him! + —with his eyes on me! + </p> + <p> + That settles it, Pyecraft! Since you <i>will</i> be abject, since you <i>will</i> + behave as though I was not a man of honour, here, right under your + embedded eyes, I write the thing down—the plain truth about + Pyecraft. The man I helped, the man I shielded, and who has requited me by + making my club unendurable, absolutely unendurable, with his liquid + appeal, with the perpetual "don't tell" of his looks. + </p> + <p> + And, besides, why does he keep on eternally eating? + </p> + <p> + Well, here goes for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! + </p> + <p> + Pyecraft——. I made the acquaintance of Pyecraft in this very + smoking-room. I was a young, nervous new member, and he saw it. I was + sitting all alone, wishing I knew more of the members, and suddenly he + came, a great rolling front of chins and abdomina, towards me, and grunted + and sat down in a chair close by me and wheezed for a space, and scraped + for a space with a match and lit a cigar, and then addressed me. I forget + what he said—something about the matches not lighting properly, and + afterwards as he talked he kept stopping the waiters one by one as they + went by, and telling them about the matches in that thin, fluty voice he + has. But, anyhow, it was in some such way we began our talking. + </p> + <p> + He talked about various things and came round to games. And thence to my + figure and complexion. "<i>You</i> ought to be a good cricketer," he said. + I suppose I am slender, slender to what some people would call lean, and I + suppose I am rather dark, still——I am not ashamed of having a + Hindu great-grandmother, but, for all that, I don't want casual strangers + to see through me at a glance to <i>her</i>. So that I was set against + Pyecraft from the beginning. + </p> + <p> + But he only talked about me in order to get to himself. + </p> + <p> + "I expect," he said, "you take no more exercise than I do, and probably + you eat no less." (Like all excessively obese people he fancied he ate + nothing.) "Yet"—and he smiled an oblique smile—"we differ." + </p> + <p> + And then he began to talk about his fatness and his fatness; all he did + for his fatness and all he was going to do for his fatness; what people + had advised him to do for his fatness and what he had heard of people + doing for fatness similar to his. "<i>A priori</i>," he said, "one would + think a question of nutrition could be answered by dietary and a question + of assimilation by drugs." It was stifling. It was dumpling talk. It made + me feel swelled to hear him. + </p> + <p> + One stands that sort of thing once in a way at a club, but a time came + when I fancied I was standing too much. He took to me altogether too + conspicuously. I could never go into the smoking-room but he would come + wallowing towards me, and sometimes he came and gormandised round and + about me while I had my lunch. He seemed at times almost to be clinging to + me. He was a bore, but not so fearful a bore as to be limited to me and + from the first there was something in his manner—almost as though he + knew, almost as though he penetrated to the fact that I <i>might</i>—that + there was a remote, exceptional chance in me that no one else presented. + </p> + <p> + "I'd give anything to get it down," he would say—"anything," and + peer at me over his vast cheeks and pant. Poor old Pyecraft! He has just + gonged; no doubt to order another buttered teacake! + </p> + <p> + He came to the actual thing one day. "Our Pharmacopoeia," he said, "our + Western Pharmacopoeia, is anything but the last word of medical science. + In the East, I've been told——" + </p> + <p> + He stopped and stared at me. It was like being at an aquarium. + </p> + <p> + I was quite suddenly angry with him. "Look here," I said, "who told you + about my great-grandmother's recipes?" + </p> + <p> + "Well," he fenced. + </p> + <p> + "Every time we've met for a week," I said—"and we've met pretty + often— you've given me a broad hint or so about that little secret + of mine." + </p> + <p> + "Well," he said, "now the cat's out of the bag, I'll admit, yes, it is so. + I had it——" + </p> + <p> + "From Pattison?" + </p> + <p> + "Indirectly," he said, which I believe was lying, "yes." + </p> + <p> + "Pattison," I said, "took that stuff at his own risk." He pursed his mouth + and bowed. + </p> + <p> + "My great-grandmother's recipes," I said, "are queer things to handle. My + father was near making me promise——" + </p> + <p> + "He didn't?" + </p> + <p> + "No. But he warned me. He himself used one—once." + </p> + <p> + "Ah! ... But do you think——? Suppose—suppose there did + happen to be one——" + </p> + <p> + "The things are curious documents," I said. "Even the smell of 'em ... + No!" + </p> + <p> + But after going so far Pyecraft was resolved I should go farther. I was + always a little afraid if I tried his patience too much he would fall on + me suddenly and smother me. I own I was weak. But I was also annoyed with + Pyecraft. I had got to that state of feeling for him that disposed me to + say, "Well, <i>take</i> the risk!" The little affair of Pattison to which + I have alluded was a different matter altogether. What it was doesn't + concern us now, but I knew, anyhow, that the particular recipe I used then + was safe. The rest I didn't know so much about, and, on the whole, I was + inclined to doubt their safety pretty completely. + </p> + <p> + Yet even if Pyecraft got poisoned—— + </p> + <p> + I must confess the poisoning of Pyecraft struck me as an immense + undertaking. + </p> + <p> + That evening I took that queer, odd-scented sandal-wood box out of my + safe, and turned the rustling skins over. The gentleman who wrote the + recipes for my great-grandmother evidently had a weakness for skins of a + miscellaneous origin, and his handwriting was cramped to the last degree. + Some of the things are quite unreadable to me—though my family, with + its Indian Civil Service associations, has kept up a knowledge of + Hindustani from generation to generation—and none are absolutely + plain sailing. But I found the one that I knew was there soon enough, and + sat on the floor by my safe for some time looking at it. + </p> + <p> + "Look here," said I to Pyecraft next day, and snatched the slip away from + his eager grasp. + </p> + <p> + "So far as I can make it out, this is a recipe for Loss of Weight. ("Ah!" + said Pyecraft.) I'm not absolutely sure, but I think it's that. And if you + take my advice you'll leave it alone. Because, you know—I blacken my + blood in your interest, Pyecraft—my ancestors on that side were, so + far as I can gather, a jolly queer lot. See?" + </p> + <p> + "Let me try it," said Pyecraft. + </p> + <p> + I leant back in my chair. My imagination made one mighty effort and fell + flat within me. "What in Heaven's name, Pyecraft," I asked, "do you think + you'll look like when you get thin?" + </p> + <p> + He was impervious to reason, I made him promise never to say a word to me + about his disgusting fatness again whatever happened—never, and then + I handed him that little piece of skin. + </p> + <p> + "It's nasty stuff," I said. + </p> + <p> + "No matter," he said, and took it. + </p> + <p> + He goggled at it. "But—but—" he said + </p> + <p> + He had just discovered that it wasn't English. + </p> + <p> + "To the best of my ability," I said, "I will do you a translation." + </p> + <p> + I did my best. After that we didn't speak for a fortnight. Whenever he + approached me I frowned and motioned him away, and he respected our + compact, but at the end of the fortnight he was as fat as ever. And then + he got a word in. + </p> + <p> + "I must speak," he said, "It isn't fair. There's something wrong. It's + done me no good. You're not doing your great-grandmother justice." + </p> + <p> + "Where's the recipe?" + </p> + <p> + He produced it gingerly from his pocket-book. + </p> + <p> + I ran my eye over the items. "Was the egg addled?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "No. Ought it to have been?" + </p> + <p> + "That," I said, "goes without saying in all my poor dear + great-grandmother's recipes. When condition or quality is not specified + you must get the worst. She was drastic or nothing... And there's one or + two possible alternatives to some of these other things. You got <i>fresh</i> + rattlesnake venom?" + </p> + <p> + "I got a rattlesnake from Jamrach's. It cost—it cost——" + </p> + <p> + "That's your affair anyhow. This last item——" + </p> + <p> + "I know a man who——" + </p> + <p> + "Yes. H'm. Well, I'll write the alternatives down. So far as I know the + language, the spelling of this recipe is particularly atrocious. + By-the-by, dog here probably means pariah dog." + </p> + <p> + For a month after that I saw Pyecraft constantly at the club and as fat + and anxious as ever. He kept our treaty, but at times he broke the spirit + of it by shaking his head despondently. Then one day in the cloakroom he + said, "Your great-grandmother——" + </p> + <p> + "Not a word against her," I said; and he held his peace. + </p> + <p> + I could have fancied he had desisted, and I saw him one day talking to + three new members about his fatness as though he was in search of other + recipes. And then, quite unexpectedly, his telegram came. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Formalyn!" bawled a page-boy under my nose, and I took the telegram + and opened it at once. + </p> + <p> + "<i>For Heaven's sake come</i>.—<i>Pyecraft</i>." + </p> + <p> + "H'm," said I, and to tell the truth I was so pleased at the + rehabilitation of my great-grandmother's reputation this evidently + promised that I made a most excellent lunch. + </p> + <p> + I got Pyecraft's address from the hall porter. Pyecraft inhabited the + upper half of a house in Bloomsbury, and I went there so soon as I had + done my coffee and Trappistine. I did not wait to finish my cigar. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Pyecraft?" said I, at the front door. + </p> + <p> + They believed he was ill; he hadn't been out for two days. + </p> + <p> + "He expects me," said I, and they sent me up. + </p> + <p> + I rang the bell at the lattice-door upon the landing. + </p> + <p> + "He shouldn't have tried it, anyhow," I said to myself. "A man who eats + like a pig ought to look like a pig." + </p> + <p> + An obviously worthy woman, with an anxious face and a carelessly placed + cap, came and surveyed me through the lattice. + </p> + <p> + I gave my name and she let me in in a dubious fashion. + </p> + <p> + "Well?" said I, as we stood together inside Pyecraft's piece of the + landing. + </p> + <p> + "'E said you was to come in if you came," she said, and regarded me, + making no motion to show me anywhere. And then, confidentially, "'E's + locked in, sir." + </p> + <p> + "Locked in?" + </p> + <p> + "Locked 'imself in yesterday morning and 'asn't let any one in since, sir. + And ever and again <i>swearing</i>. Oh, my!" + </p> + <p> + I stared at the door she indicated by her glances. "In there?" I said. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir." + </p> + <p> + "What's up?" + </p> + <p> + She shook her head sadly. "'E keeps on calling for vittles, sir. '<i>Eavy</i> + vittles 'e wants. I get 'im what I can. Pork 'e's had, sooit puddin', + sossiges, noo bread. Everythink like that. Left outside, if you please, + and me go away. 'E's eatin', sir, somethink <i>awful</i>." + </p> + <p> + There came a piping bawl from inside the door: "That Formalyn?" + </p> + <p> + "That you, Pyecraft?" I shouted, and went and banged the door. + </p> + <p> + "Tell her to go away." + </p> + <p> + I did. + </p> + <p> + Then I could hear a curious pattering upon the door, almost like some one + feeling for the handle in the dark, and Pyecraft's familiar grunts. + </p> + <p> + "It's all right," I said, "she's gone." + </p> + <p> + But for a long time the door didn't open. + </p> + <p> + I heard the key turn. Then Pyecraft's voice said, "Come in." + </p> + <p> + I turned the handle and opened the door. Naturally I expected to see + Pyecraft. + </p> + <p> + Well, you know, he wasn't there! + </p> + <p> + I never had such a shock in my life. There was his sitting-room in a state + of untidy disorder, plates and dishes among the books and writing things, + and several chairs overturned, but Pyecraft—— + </p> + <p> + "It's all right, old man; shut the door," he said, and then I discovered + him. + </p> + <p> + There he was, right up close to the cornice in the corner by the door, as + though some one had glued him to the ceiling. His face was anxious and + angry. He panted and gesticulated. "Shut the door," he said. "If that + woman gets hold of it——" + </p> + <p> + I shut the door, and went and stood away from him and stared. + </p> + <p> + "If anything gives way and you tumble down," I said, "you'll break your + neck, Pyecraft." + </p> + <p> + "I wish I could," he wheezed. + </p> + <p> + "A man of your age and weight getting up to kiddish gymnastics——" + </p> + <p> + "Don't," he said, and looked agonised. + </p> + <p> + "I'll tell you," he said, and gesticulated. + </p> + <p> + "How the deuce," said I, "are you holding on up there?" + </p> + <p> + And then abruptly I realised that he was not holding on at all, that he + was floating up there—just as a gas-filled bladder might have + floated in the same position. He began a struggle to thrust himself away + from the ceiling and to clamber down the wall to me. "It's that + prescription," he panted, as he did so. "Your great-gran——" + </p> + <p> + He took hold of a framed engraving rather carelessly as he spoke and it + gave way, and he flew back to the ceiling again, while the picture smashed + on to the sofa. Bump he went against the ceiling, and I knew then why he + was all over white on the more salient curves and angles of his person. He + tried again more carefully, coming down by way of the mantel. + </p> + <p> + It was really a most extraordinary spectacle, that great, fat, + apoplectic-looking man upside down and trying to get from the ceiling to + the floor. "That prescription," he said. "Too successful." + </p> + <p> + "How?" + </p> + <p> + "Loss of weight—almost complete." + </p> + <p> + And then, of course, I understood. + </p> + <p> + "By Jove, Pyecraft," said I, "what you wanted was a cure for fatness! But + you always called it weight. You would call it weight." + </p> + <p> + Somehow I was extremely delighted. I quite liked Pyecraft for the time. + "Let me help you!" I said, and took his hand and pulled him down. He + kicked about, trying to get foothold somewhere. It was very like holding a + flag on a windy day. + </p> + <p> + "That table," he said, pointing, "is solid mahogany and very heavy. If you + can put me under that——" + </p> + <p> + I did, and there he wallowed about like a captive balloon, while I stood + on his hearthrug and talked to him. + </p> + <p> + I lit a cigar. "Tell me," I said, "what happened?" + </p> + <p> + "I took it," he said. + </p> + <p> + "How did it taste?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, <i>beastly</i>!" + </p> + <p> + I should fancy they all did. Whether one regards the ingredients or the + probable compound or the possible results, almost all my + great-grandmother's remedies appear to me at least to be extraordinarily + uninviting. For my own part—— + </p> + <p> + "I took a little sip first." + </p> + <p> + "Yes?" + </p> + <p> + "And as I felt lighter and better after an hour, I decided to take the + draught." + </p> + <p> + "My dear Pyecraft!" + </p> + <p> + "I held my nose," he explained. "And then I kept on getting lighter and + lighter—and helpless, you know." + </p> + <p> + He gave way suddenly to a burst of passion. "What the goodness am I to <i>do?</i>" + he said. + </p> + <p> + "There's one thing pretty evident," I said, "that you mustn't do. If you + go out of doors you'll go up and up." I waved an arm upward. "They'd have + to send Santos-Dumont after you to bring you down again." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose it will wear off?" + </p> + <p> + I shook my head. "I don't think you can count on that," I said. + </p> + <p> + And then there was another burst of passion, and he kicked out at adjacent + chairs and banged the floor. He behaved just as I should have expected a + great, fat, self-indulgent man to behave under trying circumstances—that + is to say, very badly. He spoke of me and of my great-grandmother with an + utter want of discretion. + </p> + <p> + "I never asked you to take the stuff," I said. + </p> + <p> + And generously disregarding the insults he was putting upon me, I sat down + in his armchair and began to talk to him in a sober, friendly fashion. + </p> + <p> + I pointed out to him that this was a trouble he had brought upon himself, + and that it had almost an air of poetical justice. He had eaten too much. + This he disputed, and for a time we argued the point. + </p> + <p> + He became noisy and violent, so I desisted from this aspect of his lesson. + "And then," said I, "you committed the sin of euphuism. You called it, not + Fat, which is just and inglorious, but Weight. You——" + </p> + <p> + He interrupted to say that he recognised all that. What was he to <i>do?</i> + </p> + <p> + I suggested he should adapt himself to his new conditions. So we came to + the really sensible part of the business. I suggested that it would not be + difficult for him to learn to walk about on the ceiling with his hands—— + </p> + <p> + "I can't sleep," he said. + </p> + <p> + But that was no great difficulty. It was quite possible, I pointed out, to + make a shake-up under a wire mattress, fasten the under things on with + tapes, and have a blanket, sheet, and coverlet to button at the side. He + would have to confide in his housekeeper, I said; and after some + squabbling he agreed to that. (Afterwards it was quite delightful to see + the beautifully matter-of-fact way with which the good lady took all these + amazing inversions.) He could have a library ladder in his room, and all + his meals could be laid on the top of his bookcase. We also hit on an + ingenious device by which he could get to the floor whenever he wanted, + which was simply to put the <i>British Encyclopaedia</i> (tenth edition) + on the top of his open shelves. He just pulled out a couple of volumes and + held on, and down he came. And we agreed there must be iron staples along + the skirting, so that he could cling to those whenever he wanted to get + about the room on the lower level. + </p> + <p> + As we got on with the thing I found myself almost keenly interested. It + was I who called in the housekeeper and broke matters to her, and it was I + chiefly who fixed up the inverted bed. In fact, I spent two whole days at + his flat. I am a handy, interfering sort of man with a screw-driver, and I + made all sorts of ingenious adaptations for him—ran a wire to bring + his bells within reach, turned all his electric lights up instead of down, + and so on. The whole affair was extremely curious and interesting to me, + and it was delightful to think of Pyecraft like some great, fat blow-fly, + crawling about on his ceiling and clambering round the lintel of his doors + from one room to another, and never, never, never coming to the club any + more... + </p> + <p> + Then, you know, my fatal ingenuity got the better of me. I was sitting by + his fire drinking his whisky, and he was up in his favourite corner by the + cornice, tacking a Turkey carpet to the ceiling, when the idea struck me. + "By Jove, Pyecraft!" I said, "all this is totally unnecessary." + </p> + <p> + And before I could calculate the complete consequences of my notion I + blurted it out. "Lead underclothing," said I, and the mischief was done. + </p> + <p> + Pyecraft received the thing almost in tears. "To be right ways up again——" + he said. + </p> + <p> + I gave him the whole secret before I saw where it would take me. "Buy + sheet lead," I said, "stamp it into discs. Sew 'em all over your + underclothes until you have enough. Have lead-soled boots, carry a bag of + solid lead, and the thing is done! Instead of being a prisoner here you + may go abroad again, Pyecraft; you may travel——" + </p> + <p> + A still happier idea came to me. "You need never fear a shipwreck. All you + need do is just slip off some or all of your clothes, take the necessary + amount of luggage in your hand, and float up in the air——" + </p> + <p> + In his emotion he dropped the tack-hammer within an ace of my head. "By + Jove!" he said, "I shall be able to come back to the club again." + </p> + <p> + "The thing pulled me up short. By Jove!" I said, faintly. "Yes. Of course—you + will." + </p> + <p> + He did. He does. There he sits behind me now, stuffing—as I live!—a + third go of buttered teacake. And no one in the whole world knows—except + his housekeeper and me—-that he weighs practically nothing; that he + is a mere boring mass of assimilatory matter, mere clouds in clothing, <i>niente, + nefas</i>, the most inconsiderable of men. There he sits watching until I + have done this writing. Then, if he can, he will waylay me. He will come + billowing up to me... + </p> + <p> + He will tell me over again all about it, how it feels, how it doesn't + feel, how he sometimes hopes it is passing off a little. And always + somewhere in that fat, abundant discourse he will say, "The secret's + keeping, eh? If any one knew of it—I should be so ashamed... Makes a + fellow look such a fool, you know. Crawling about on a ceiling and all + that..." + </p> + <p> + And now to elude Pyecraft, occupying, as he does, an admirable strategic + position between me and the door. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIX. — THE MAGIC SHOP. + </h2> + <p> + I had seen the Magic Shop from afar several times; I had passed it once or + twice, a shop window of alluring little objects, magic balls, magic hens, + wonderful cones, ventriloquist dolls, the material of the basket trick, + packs of cards that <i>looked</i> all right, and all that sort of thing, + but never had I thought of going in until one day, almost without warning, + Gip hauled me by my finger right up to the window, and so conducted + himself that there was nothing for it but to take him in. I had not + thought the place was there, to tell the truth—a modest-sized + frontage in Regent Street, between the picture shop and the place where + the chicks run about just out of patent incubators,—but there it was + sure enough. I had fancied it was down nearer the Circus, or round the + corner in Oxford Street, or even in Holborn; always over the way and a + little inaccessible it had been, with something of the mirage in its + position; but here it was now quite indisputably, and the fat end of Gip's + pointing finger made a noise upon the glass. + </p> + <p> + "If I was rich," said Gip, dabbing a finger at the Disappearing Egg, "I'd + buy myself that. And that"—which was The Crying Baby, Very Human—"and + that," which was a mystery, and called, so a neat card asserted, "Buy One + and Astonish Your Friends." + </p> + <p> + "Anything," said Gip, "will disappear under one of those cones. I have + read about it in a book. + </p> + <p> + "And there, dadda, is the Vanishing Halfpenny—only they've put it + this way up so's we can't see how it's done." + </p> + <p> + Gip, dear boy, inherits his mother's breeding, and he did not propose to + enter the shop or worry in any way; only, you know, quite unconsciously, + he lugged my finger doorward, and he made his interest clear. + </p> + <p> + "That," he said, and pointed to the Magic Bottle. + </p> + <p> + "If you had that?" I said; at which promising inquiry he looked up with a + sudden radiance. + </p> + <p> + "I could show it to Jessie," he said, thoughtful as ever of others. + </p> + <p> + "It's less than a hundred days to your birthday, Gibbles," I said, and + laid my hand on the door-handle. + </p> + <p> + Gip made no answer, but his grip tightened on my finger, and so we came + into the shop. + </p> + <p> + It was no common shop this; it was a magic shop, and all the prancing + precedence Gip would have taken in the matter of mere toys was wanting. He + left the burthen of the conversation to me. + </p> + <p> + It was a little, narrow shop, not very well lit, and the door-bell pinged + again with a plaintive note as we closed it behind us. For a moment or so + we were alone and could glance about us. There was a tiger in <i>papier-machi</i> + on the glass case that covered, the low counter—a grave, kind-eyed + tiger that waggled his head in a methodical manner; there were several + crystal spheres, a china hand holding magic cards, a stock of magic + fish-bowls in various sizes, and an immodest magic hat that shamelessly + displayed its springs. On the floor were magic mirrors; one to draw you + out long and thin, one to swell your head and vanish your legs, and one to + make you short and fat like a draught; and while, we were laughing at + these the shopman, as I suppose, came in. + </p> + <p> + At any rate, there he was behind the counter—a curious, sallow, dark + man, with one ear larger than the other and a chin like the toe-cap of a + boot. + </p> + <p> + "What can we have the pleasure?" he said, spreading his long magic fingers + on the glass case; and so with a start we were aware of him. + </p> + <p> + "I want," I said, "to buy my little boy a few simple tricks." + </p> + <p> + "Legerdemain?" he asked. "Mechanical? Domestic?" + </p> + <p> + "Anything amusing?" said I. — "Um!" said the shopman, and scratched + his head for a moment as if thinking. Then, quite distinctly, he drew from + his head a glass ball. "Something in this way?" he said, and held it out. + </p> + <p> + The action was unexpected. I had seen the trick done at entertainments + endless times before—it's part of the common stock of conjurers—but + I had not expected it here. "That's good," I said, with a laugh. + </p> + <p> + "Isn't it?" said the shopman. + </p> + <p> + Gip stretched out his disengaged hand to take this object and found merely + a blank palm. + </p> + <p> + "It's in your pocket," said the shopman, and there it was! + </p> + <p> + "How much will that be?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "We make no charge for glass balls," said the shopman politely. "We get + them"—he picked one out of his elbow as he spoke—"free." He + produced another from the back of his neck, and laid it beside its + predecessor on the counter. Gip regarded his glass ball sagely, then + directed a look of inquiry at the two on the counter, and finally brought + his round-eyed scrutiny to the shopman, who smiled. "You may have those + two," said the shopman, "and, if you <i>don't</i> mind one from my mouth. + <i>So!</i>" + </p> + <p> + Gip counselled me mutely for a moment, and then in a profound silence put + away the four balls, resumed my reassuring finger, and nerved himself for + the next event. + </p> + <p> + "We get all our smaller tricks in that way," the shopman remarked. + </p> + <p> + I laughed in the manner of one who subscribes to a jest. "Instead of going + to the wholesale shop," I said. "Of course, it's cheaper." + </p> + <p> + "In a way," the shopman said. "Though we pay in the end. But not so + heavily—as people suppose... Our larger tricks, and our daily + provisions and all the other things we want, we get out of that hat... And + you know, sir, if you'll excuse my saying it, there <i>isn't</i> a + wholesale shop, not for Genuine Magic goods, sir. I don't know if you + noticed our inscription—the Genuine Magic Shop." He drew a business + card from his cheek and handed it to me. "Genuine," he said, with his + finger on the word, and added, "There is absolutely no deception, sir." + </p> + <p> + He seemed to be carrying out the joke pretty thoroughly, I thought. + </p> + <p> + He turned to Gip with a smile of remarkable affability. "You, you know, + are the Right Sort of Boy." + </p> + <p> + I was surprised at his knowing that, because, in the interests of + discipline, we keep it rather a secret even at home; but Gip received it + in unflinching silence, keeping a steadfast eye on him. + </p> + <p> + "It's only the Right Sort of Boy gets through that doorway." + </p> + <p> + And, as if by way of illustration, there came a rattling at the door, and + a squeaking little voice could be faintly heard. "Nyar! I <i>warn</i> 'a + go in there, dadda, I WARN 'a go in there. Ny-a-a-ah!" and then the + accents of a downtrodden parent, urging consolations and propitiations. + "It's locked, Edward," he said. + </p> + <p> + "But it isn't," said I. — "It is, sir," said the shopman, "always—for + that sort of child," and as he spoke we had a glimpse of the other + youngster, a little, white face, pallid from sweet-eating and over-sapid + food, and distorted by evil passions, a ruthless little egotist, pawing at + the enchanted pane. "It's no good, sir," said the shopman, as I moved, + with my natural helpfulness, doorward, and presently the spoilt child was + carried off howling. + </p> + <p> + "How do you manage that?" I said, breathing a little more freely. + </p> + <p> + "Magic!" said the shopman, with a careless wave of the hand, and behold! + sparks of coloured fire flew out of his fingers and vanished into the + shadows of the shop. + </p> + <p> + "You were saying," he said, addressing himself to Gip, "before you came + in, that you would like one of our 'Buy One and Astonish your Friends' + boxes?" + </p> + <p> + Gip, after a gallant effort, said "Yes." + </p> + <p> + "It's in your pocket." + </p> + <p> + And leaning over the counter—he really had an extraordinary long + body— this amazing person produced the article in the customary + conjurer's manner. "Paper," he said, and took a sheet out of the empty hat + with the springs; "string," and behold his mouth was a string box, from + which he drew an unending thread, which when he had tied his parcel he bit + off— and, it seemed to me, swallowed the ball of string. And then he + lit a candle at the nose of one of the ventriloquist's dummies, stuck one + of his fingers (which had become sealing-wax red) into the flame, and so + sealed the parcel. "Then there was the Disappearing Egg," he remarked, and + produced one from within my coat-breast and packed it, and also The Crying + Baby, Very Human. I handed each parcel to Gip as it was ready, and he + clasped them to his chest. + </p> + <p> + He said very little, but his eyes were eloquent; the clutch of his arms + was eloquent. He was the playground of unspeakable emotions. These, you + know, were <i>real</i> Magics. + </p> + <p> + Then, with a start, I discovered something moving about in my hat— + something soft and jumpy. I whipped it off, and a ruffled pigeon—no + doubt a confederate—dropped out and ran on the counter, and went, I + fancy, into a cardboard box behind the <i>papier-machi</i> tiger. + </p> + <p> + "Tut, tut!" said the shopman, dexterously relieving, me of my headdress; + "careless bird, and—as I live—nesting!" + </p> + <p> + He shook my hat, and shook out into his extended hand, two or three eggs, + a large marble, a watch, about half a dozen of the inevitable glass balls, + and then crumpled, crinkled paper, more and more and more, talking all the + time of the way in which people neglect to brush their hats <i>inside</i> + as well as out—politely, of course, but with a certain personal + application. "All sorts of things accumulate, sir... Not <i>you</i>, of + course, in particular... Nearly every customer... Astonishing what they + carry about with them..." The crumpled paper rose and billowed on the + counter more and more and more, until he was nearly hidden from us, until + he was altogether hidden, and still his voice went on and on. "We none of + us know what the fair semblance of a human being may conceal, Sir. Are we + all then no better than brushed exteriors, whited sepulchres——-" + </p> + <p> + His voice stopped—exactly like when you hit a neighbour's gramophone + with a well-aimed brick, the same instant silence—and the rustle of + the paper stopped, and everything was still... + </p> + <p> + "Have you done with my hat?" I said, after an interval. + </p> + <p> + There was no answer. + </p> + <p> + I stared at Gip, and Gip stared at me, and there were our distortions in + the magic mirrors, looking very rum, and grave, and quiet... + </p> + <p> + "I think we'll go now," I said. "Will you tell me how much all this comes + to?... + </p> + <p> + "I say," I said, on a rather louder note, "I want the bill; and my hat, + please." + </p> + <p> + It might have been a sniff from behind the paper pile... + </p> + <p> + "Let's look behind the counter, Gip," I said. "He's making fun of us." + </p> + <p> + I led Gip round the head-wagging tiger, and what do you think there was + behind the counter? No one at all! Only my hat on the floor, and a common + conjurer's lop-eared white rabbit lost in meditation, and looking as + stupid and crumpled as only a conjurer's rabbit can do. I resumed my hat, + and the rabbit lolloped a lollop or so out of my way. + </p> + <p> + "Dadda!" said Gip, in a guilty whisper. + </p> + <p> + "What is it, Gip?" said I. — "I <i>do</i> like this shop, dadda." + </p> + <p> + "So should I," I said to myself, "if the counter wouldn't suddenly extend + itself to shut one off from the door." But I didn't call Gip's attention + to that. "Pussy!" he said, with a hand out to the rabbit as it came + lolloping past us; "Pussy, do Gip a magic!" and his eyes followed it as it + squeezed through a door I had certainly not remarked a moment before. Then + this door opened wider, and the man with one ear larger than the other + appeared again. He was smiling still, but his eye met mine with something + between amusement and defiance. "You'd like to see our showroom, sir," he + said, with an innocent suavity. Gip tugged my finger forward. I glanced at + the counter and met the shopman's eye again. I was beginning to think the + magic just a little too genuine. "We haven't <i>very</i> much time," I + said. But somehow we were inside the showroom before I could finish that. + </p> + <p> + "All goods of the same quality," said the shopman, rubbing his flexible + hands together, "and that is the Best. Nothing in the place that isn't + genuine Magic, and warranted thoroughly rum. Excuse me, sir!" + </p> + <p> + I felt him pull at something that clung to my coat-sleeve, and then I saw + he held a little, wriggling red demon by the tail—the little + creature bit and fought and tried to get at his hand—and in a moment + he tossed it carelessly behind a counter. No doubt the thing was only an + image of twisted indiarubber, but for the moment—! And his gesture + was exactly that of a man who handles some petty biting bit of vermin. I + glanced at Gip, but Gip was looking at a magic rocking-horse. I was glad + he hadn't seen the thing. "I say," I said, in an undertone, and indicating + Gip and the red demon with my eyes, "you haven't many things like <i>that</i> + about, have you?" + </p> + <p> + "None of ours! Probably brought it with you," said the shopman—also + in an undertone, and with a more dazzling smile than ever. "Astonishing + what people <i>will</i>, carry about with them unawares!" And then to Gip, + "Do you see anything you fancy here?" + </p> + <p> + There were many things that Gip fancied there. + </p> + <p> + He turned to this astonishing tradesman with mingled confidence and + respect. "Is that a Magic Sword?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "A Magic Toy Sword. It neither bends, breaks, nor cuts the fingers. It + renders the bearer invincible in battle against any one under eighteen. + Half a crown to seven and sixpence, according to size. These panoplies on + cards are for juvenile knights-errant and very useful—shield of + safety, sandals of swiftness, helmet of invisibility." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, dadda!" gasped Gip. + </p> + <p> + I tried to find out what they cost, but the shopman did not heed me. He + had got Gip now; he had got him away from my finger; he had embarked upon + the exposition of all his confounded stock, and nothing was going to stop + him. Presently I saw with a qualm of distrust and something very like + jealousy that Gip had hold of this person's finger as usually he has hold + of mine. No doubt the fellow was interesting, I thought, and had an + interestingly faked lot of stuff, really <i>good</i> faked stuff, still—— + </p> + <p> + I wandered after them, saying very little, but keeping an eye on this + prestidigital fellow. After all, Gip was enjoying it. And no doubt when + the time came to go we should be able to go quite easily. + </p> + <p> + It was a long, rambling place, that showroom, a gallery broken up by + stands and stalls and pillars, with archways leading off to other + departments, in which the queerest-looking assistants loafed and stared at + one, and with perplexing mirrors and curtains. So perplexing, indeed, were + these that I was presently unable to make out the door by which we had + come. + </p> + <p> + The shopman showed Gip magic trains that ran without steam or clockwork, + just as you set the signals, and then some very, very valuable boxes of + soldiers that all came alive directly you took off the lid and said——I + myself haven't a very quick ear, and it was a tongue-twisting sound, but + Gip—he has his mother's ear—got it in no time. "Bravo!" said + the shopman, putting the men back into the box unceremoniously and handing + it to Gip. "Now," said the shopman, and in a moment Gip had made them all + alive again. + </p> + <p> + "You'll take that box?" asked the shopman. + </p> + <p> + "We'll take that box," said I, "unless you charge its full value. In which + case it would need a Trust Magnate——" + </p> + <p> + "Dear heart! <i>No!</i>" and the shopman swept the little men back again, + shut the lid, waved the box in the air, and there it was, in brown paper, + tied up and—<i>with Gip's full name and address on the paper!</i> + </p> + <p> + The shopman laughed at my amazement. + </p> + <p> + "This is the genuine magic," he said. "The real thing." + </p> + <p> + "It's a little too genuine for my taste," I said again. + </p> + <p> + After that he fell to showing Gip tricks, odd tricks, and still odder the + way they were done. He explained them, he turned them inside out, and + there was the dear little chap nodding his busy bit of a head in the + sagest manner. + </p> + <p> + I did not attend as well as I might. "Hey, presto!" said the Magic + Shopman, and then would come the clear, small "Hey, presto!" of the boy. + But I was distracted by other things. It was being borne in upon me just + how tremendously rum this place was; it was, so to speak, inundated by a + sense of rumness. There was something a little rum about the fixtures + even, about the ceiling, about the floor, about the casually distributed + chairs. I had a queer feeling that whenever I wasn't looking at them + straight they went askew, and moved about, and played a noiseless + puss-in-the-corner behind my back. And the cornice had a serpentine design + with masks—masks altogether too expressive for proper plaster. + </p> + <p> + Then abruptly my attention was caught by one of the odd-looking + assistants. He was some way off and evidently unaware of my presence—I + saw a sort of three-quarter length of him over a pile of toys and through + an arch—and, you know, he was leaning against a pillar in an idle + sort of way doing the most horrid things with his features! The particular + horrid thing he did was with his nose. He did it just as though he was + idle and wanted to amuse himself. First of all it was a short, blobby + nose, and then suddenly he shot it out like a telescope, and then out it + flew and became thinner and thinner until it was like a long, red flexible + whip. Like a thing in a nightmare it was! He flourished it about and flung + it forth as a fly-fisher flings his line. + </p> + <p> + My instant thought was that Gip mustn't see him. I turned about, and there + was Gip quite preoccupied with the shopman, and thinking no evil. They + were whispering together and looking at me. Gip was standing on a little + stool, and the shopman was holding a sort of big drum in his hand. + </p> + <p> + "Hide and seek, dadda!" cried Gip. "You're He!" + </p> + <p> + And before I could do anything to prevent it, the shopman had clapped the + big drum over him. + </p> + <p> + I saw what was up directly. "Take that off," I cried, "this instant! + You'll frighten the boy. Take it off!" + </p> + <p> + The shopman with the unequal ears did so without a word, and held the big + cylinder towards me to show its emptiness. And the little stool was + vacant! In that instant my boy had utterly disappeared!... + </p> + <p> + You know, perhaps, that sinister something that comes like a hand out of + the unseen and grips your heart about. You know it takes your common self + away and leaves you tense and deliberate, neither slow nor hasty, neither + angry nor afraid. So it was with me. + </p> + <p> + I came up to this grinning shopman and kicked his stool aside. + </p> + <p> + "Stop this folly!" I said. "Where is my boy?" + </p> + <p> + "You see," he said, still displaying the drum's interior, "there is no + deception——" + </p> + <p> + I put out my hand to grip him, and he eluded me by a dexterous movement. I + snatched again, and he turned from me and pushed open a door to escape. + "Stop!" I said, and he laughed, receding. I leapt after him—into + utter darkness. + </p> + <p> + <i>Thud!</i> + </p> + <p> + "Lor' bless my 'eart! I didn't see you coming, sir!" + </p> + <p> + I was in Regent Street, and I had collided with a decent-looking working + man; and a yard away, perhaps, and looking a little perplexed with + himself, was Gip. There was some sort of apology, and then Gip had turned + and come to me with a bright little smile, as though for a moment he had + missed me. + </p> + <p> + And he was carrying four parcels in his arm! + </p> + <p> + He secured immediate possession of my finger. + </p> + <p> + For the second I was rather at a loss. I stared round to see the door of + the Magic Shop, and, behold, it was not there! There was no door, no shop, + nothing, only the common pilaster between the shop where they sell + pictures and the window with the chicks! ... + </p> + <p> + I did the only thing possible in that mental tumult; I walked straight to + the kerbstone and held up my umbrella for a cab. + </p> + <p> + "'Ansoms," said Gip, in a note of culminating exultation. + </p> + <p> + I helped him in, recalled my address with an effort, and got in also. + Something unusual proclaimed itself in my tail-coat pocket, and I felt and + discovered a glass ball. With a petulant expression I flung it into the + street. + </p> + <p> + Gip said nothing. + </p> + <p> + For a space neither of us spoke. + </p> + <p> + "Dadda!" said Gip, at last, "that <i>was</i> a proper shop!" + </p> + <p> + I came round with that to the problem of just how the whole thing had + seemed to him. He looked completely undamaged—so far, good; he was + neither scared nor unhinged, he was simply tremendously satisfied with the + afternoon's entertainment, and there in his arms were the four parcels. + </p> + <p> + Confound it! what could be in them? + </p> + <p> + "Um!" I said. "Little boys can't go to shops like that every day." + </p> + <p> + He received this with his usual stoicism, and for a moment I was sorry I + was his father and not his mother, and so couldn't suddenly there, <i>coram + publico,</i> in our hansom, kiss him. After all, I thought, the thing + wasn't so very bad. + </p> + <p> + But it was only when we opened the parcels that I really began to be + reassured. Three of them contained boxes of soldiers, quite ordinary lead + soldiers, but of so good a quality as to make Gip altogether forget that + originally these parcels had been Magic Tricks of the only genuine sort, + and the fourth contained a kitten, a little living white kitten, in + excellent health and appetite and temper. + </p> + <p> + I saw this unpacking with a sort of provisional relief. I hung about in + the nursery for quite an unconscionable time... + </p> + <p> + That happened six months ago. And now I am beginning to believe it is all + right. The kitten had only the magic natural to all kittens, and the + soldiers seemed as steady a company as any colonel could desire. And Gip——? + </p> + <p> + The intelligent parent will understand that I have to go cautiously with + Gip. + </p> + <p> + But I went so far as this one day. I said, "How would you like your + soldiers to come alive, Gip, and march about by themselves?" + </p> + <p> + "Mine do," said Gip. "I just have to say a word I know before I open the + lid." + </p> + <p> + "Then they march about alone?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, <i>quite</i>, dadda. I shouldn't like them if they didn't do that." + </p> + <p> + I displayed no unbecoming surprise, and since then I have taken occasion + to drop in upon him once or twice, unannounced, when the soldiers were + about, but so far I have never discovered them performing in anything like + a magical manner... + </p> + <p> + It's so difficult to tell. + </p> + <p> + There's also a question of finance. I have an incurable habit of paying + bills. I have been up and down Regent Street several times looking for + that shop. I am inclined to think, indeed, that in that matter honour is + satisfied, and that, since Gip's name and address are known to them, I may + very well leave it to these people, whoever they may be, to send in their + bill in their own time. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0031" id="link2H_4_0031"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXX. — THE EMPIRE OF THE ANTS. + </h2> + <p> + When Captain Gerilleau received instructions to take his new gunboat, the + <i>Benjamin Constant,</i> to Badama on the Batemo arm of the Guaramadema + and there assist the inhabitants against a plague of ants, he suspected + the authorities of mockery. His promotion had been romantic and irregular, + the affections of a prominent Brazilian lady and the captain's liquid eyes + had played a part in the process, and the <i>Diario</i> and <i>O Futuro</i> + had been lamentably disrespectful in their comments. He felt he was to + give further occasion for disrespect. + </p> + <p> + He was a Creole, his conceptions of etiquette and discipline were + pure-blooded Portuguese, and it was only to Holroyd, the Lancashire + engineer who had come over with the boat, and as an exercise in the use of + English—his "th" sounds were very uncertain—that he opened his + heart. + </p> + <p> + "It is in effect," he said, "to make me absurd! What can a man do against + ants? Dey come, dey go." + </p> + <p> + "They say," said Holroyd, "that these don't go. That chap you said was a + Sambo——" + </p> + <p> + "Zambo;—it is a sort of mixture of blood." + </p> + <p> + "Sambo. He said the people are going!" + </p> + <p> + The captain smoked fretfully for a time. "Dese tings 'ave to happen," he + said at last. "What is it? Plagues of ants and suchlike as God wills. Dere + was a plague in Trinidad—the little ants that carry leaves. Orl der + orange-trees, all der mangoes! What does it matter? Sometimes ant armies + come into your houses—fighting ants; a different sort. You go and + they clean the house. Then you come back again;—the house is clean, + like new! No cockroaches, no fleas, no jiggers in the floor." + </p> + <p> + "That Sambo chap," said Holroyd, "says these are a different sort of ant." + </p> + <p> + The captain shrugged his shoulders, fumed, and gave his attention to a + cigarette. + </p> + <p> + Afterwards he reopened the subject. "My dear 'Olroyd, what am I to do + about dese infernal ants?" + </p> + <p> + The captain reflected. "It is ridiculous," he said. But in the afternoon + he put on his full uniform and went ashore, and jars and boxes came back + to the ship and subsequently he did. And Holroyd sat on deck in the + evening coolness and smoked profoundly and marvelled at Brazil. They were + six days up the Amazon, some hundreds of miles from the ocean, and east + and west of him there was a horizon like the sea, and to the south nothing + but a sand-bank island with some tufts of scrub. The water was always + running like a sluice, thick with dirt, animated with crocodiles and + hovering birds, and fed by some inexhaustible source of tree trunks; and + the waste of it, the headlong waste of it, filled his soul. The town of + Alemquer, with its meagre church, its thatched sheds for houses, its + discoloured ruins of ampler days, seemed a little thing lost in this + wilderness of Nature, a sixpence dropped on Sahara. He was a young man, + this was his first sight of the tropics, he came straight from England, + where Nature is hedged, ditched, and drained, into the perfection of + submission, and he had suddenly discovered the insignificance of man. For + six days they had been steaming up from the sea by unfrequented channels; + and man had been as rare as a rare butterfly. One saw one day a canoe, + another day a distant station, the next no men at all. He began to + perceive that man is indeed a rare animal, having but a precarious hold + upon this land. + </p> + <p> + He perceived it more clearly as the days passed, and he made his devious + way to the Batemo, in the company of this remarkable commander, who ruled + over one big gun, and was forbidden to waste his ammunition. Holroyd was + learning Spanish industriously, but he was still in the present tense and + substantive stage of speech, and the only other person who had any words + of English was a negro stoker, who had them all wrong. The second in + command was a Portuguese, da Cunha, who spoke French, but it was a + different sort of French from the French Holroyd had learnt in Southport, + and their intercourse was confined to politenesses and simple propositions + about the weather. And the weather, like everything else in this amazing + new world, the weather had no human aspect, and was hot by night and hot + by day, and the air steam, even the wind was hot steam, smelling of + vegetation in decay: and the alligators and the strange birds, the flies + of many sorts and sizes, the beetles, the ants, the snakes and monkeys + seemed to wonder what man was doing in an atmosphere that had no gladness + in its sunshine and no coolness in its night. To wear clothing was + intolerable, but to cast it aside was to scorch by day, and expose an + ampler area to the mosquitoes by night; to go on deck by day was to be + blinded by glare and to stay below was to suffocate. And in the daytime + came certain flies, extremely clever and noxious about one's wrist and + ankle. Captain Gerilleau, who was Holroyd's sole distraction from these + physical distresses, developed into a formidable bore, telling the simple + story of his heart's affections day by day, a string of anonymous women, + as if he was telling beads. Sometimes he suggested sport, and they shot at + alligators, and at rare intervals they came to human aggregations in the + waste of trees, and stayed for a day or so, and drank and sat about, and, + one night, danced with Creole girls, who found Holroyd's poor elements of + Spanish, without either past tense or future, amply sufficient for their + purposes. But these were mere luminous chinks in the long grey passage of + the streaming river, up which the throbbing engines beat. A certain + liberal heathen deity, in the shape of a demi-john, held seductive court + aft, and, it is probable, forward. + </p> + <p> + But Gerilleau learnt things about the ants, more things and more, at this + stopping-place and that, and became interested in his mission. + </p> + <p> + "Dey are a new sort of ant," he said. "We have got to be—what do you + call it?—entomologie? Big. Five centimetres! Some bigger! It is + ridiculous. We are like the monkeys—-sent to pick insects... But dey + are eating up the country." + </p> + <p> + He burst out indignantly. "Suppose—suddenly, there are complications + with Europe. Here am I—soon we shall be above the Rio Negro—and + my gun, useless!" + </p> + <p> + He nursed his knee and mused. + </p> + <p> + "Dose people who were dere at de dancing place, dey 'ave come down. Dey + 'ave lost all they got. De ants come to deir house one afternoon. Everyone + run out. You know when de ants come one must—everyone runs out and + they go over the house. If you stayed they'd eat you. See? Well, presently + dey go back; dey say, 'The ants 'ave gone.' ... De ants <i>'aven't</i> + gone. Dey try to go in—de son, 'e goes in. De ants fight." + </p> + <p> + "Swarm over him?" + </p> + <p> + "Bite 'im. Presently he comes out again—screaming and running. He + runs past them to the river. See? He gets into de water and drowns de ants— + yes." Gerilleau paused, brought his liquid eyes close to Holroyd's face, + tapped Holroyd's knee with his knuckle. "That night he dies, just as if he + was stung by a snake." + </p> + <p> + "Poisoned—by the ants?" + </p> + <p> + "Who knows?" Gerilleau shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps they bit him + badly... When I joined dis service I joined to fight men. Dese things, + dese ants, dey come and go. It is no business for men." + </p> + <p> + After that he talked frequently of the ants to Holroyd, and whenever they + chanced to drift against any speck of humanity in that waste of water and + sunshine and distant trees, Holroyd's improving knowledge of the language + enabled him to recognise the ascendant word <i>Sa|ba</i>, more and more + completely dominating the whole. + </p> + <p> + He perceived the ants were becoming interesting, and the nearer he drew to + them the more interesting they became. Gerilleau abandoned his old themes + almost suddenly, and the Portuguese lieutenant became a conversational + figure; he knew something about the leaf-cutting ant, and expanded his + knowledge. Gerilleau sometimes rendered what he had to tell to Holroyd. He + told of the little workers that swarm and fight, and the big workers that + command and rule, and how these latter always crawled to the neck and how + their bites drew blood. He told how they cut leaves and made fungus beds, + and how their nests in Caracas are sometimes a hundred yards across. Two + days the three men spent disputing whether ants have eyes. The discussion + grew dangerously heated on the second afternoon, and Holroyd saved the + situation by going ashore in a boat to catch ants and see. He captured + various specimens and returned, and some had eyes and some hadn't. Also, + they argued, do ants bite or sting? + </p> + <p> + "Dese ants," said Gerilleau, after collecting information at a rancho, + "have big eyes. They don't run about blind—not as most ants do. No! + Dey get in corners and watch what you do." + </p> + <p> + "And they sting?" asked Holroyd. + </p> + <p> + "Yes. Dey sting. Dere is poison in the sting." He meditated. "I do not see + what men can do against ants. Dey come and go." + </p> + <p> + "But these don't go." + </p> + <p> + "They will," said Gerilleau. + </p> + <p> + Past Tamandu there is a long low coast of eighty miles without any + population, and then one comes to the confluence of the main river and the + Batemo arm like a great lake, and then the forest came nearer, came at + last intimately near. The character of the channel changes, snags abound, + and the <i>Benjamin Constant</i> moored by a cable that night, under the + very shadow of dark trees. For the first time for many days came a spell + of coolness, and Holroyd and Gerilleau sat late, smoking cigars and + enjoying this delicious sensation. Gerilleau's mind was full of ants and + what they could do. He decided to sleep at last, and lay down on a + mattress on deck, a man hopelessly perplexed, his last words, when he + already seemed asleep, were to ask, with a flourish of despair, "What can + one do with ants?... De whole thing is absurd." + </p> + <p> + Holroyd was left to scratch his bitten wrists, and meditate alone. + </p> + <p> + He sat on the bulwark and listened to the little changes in Gerilleau's + breathing until he was fast asleep, and then the ripple and lap of the + stream took his mind, and brought back that sense of immensity that had + been growing upon him since first he had left Para and come up the river. + The monitor showed but one small light, and there was first a little + talking forward and then stillness. His eyes went from the dim black + outlines of the middle works of the gunboat towards the bank, to the black + overwhelming mysteries of forest, lit now and then by a fire-fly, and + never still from the murmur of alien and mysterious activities... + </p> + <p> + It was the inhuman immensity of this land that astonished and oppressed + him. He knew the skies were empty of men, the stars were specks in an + incredible vastness of space; he knew the ocean was enormous and + untamable, but in England he had come to think of the land as man's. In + England it is indeed man's, the wild things live by sufferance, grow on + lease, everywhere the roads, the fences, and absolute security runs. In an + atlas, too, the land is man's, and all coloured to show his claim to it— + in vivid contrast to the universal independent blueness of the sea. He had + taken it for granted that a day would come when everywhere about the + earth, plough and culture, light tramways and good roads, an ordered + security, would prevail. But now, he doubted. + </p> + <p> + This forest was interminable, it had an air of being invincible, and Man + seemed at best an infrequent precarious intruder. One travelled for miles, + amidst the still, silent struggle of giant trees, of strangulating + creepers, of assertive flowers, everywhere the alligator, the turtle, and + endless varieties of birds and insects seemed at home, dwelt irreplaceably—but + man, man at most held a footing upon resentful clearings, fought weeds, + fought beasts and insects for the barest foothold, fell a prey to snake + and beast, insect and fever, and was presently carried away. In many + places down the river he had been manifestly driven back, this deserted + creek or that preserved the name of a <i>casa</i>, and here and there + ruinous white walls and a shattered tower enforced the lesson. The puma, + the jaguar, were more the masters here... + </p> + <p> + Who were the real masters? + </p> + <p> + In a few miles of this forest there must be more ants than there are men + in the whole world! This seemed to Holroyd a perfectly new idea. In a few + thousand years men had emerged from barbarism to a stage of civilisation + that made them feel lords of the future and masters of the earth! But what + was to prevent the ants evolving also? Such ants as one knew lived in + little communities of a few thousand individuals, made no concerted + efforts against the greater world. But they had a language, they had an + intelligence! Why should things stop at that any more than men had stopped + at the barbaric stage? Suppose presently the ants began to store + knowledge, just as men had done by means of books and records, use + weapons, form great empires, sustain a planned and organised war? + </p> + <p> + Things came back to him that Gerilleau had gathered about these ants they + were approaching. They used a poison like the poison of snakes. They + obeyed greater leaders even as the leaf-cutting ants do. They were + carnivorous, and where they came they stayed... + </p> + <p> + The forest was very still. The water lapped incessantly against the side. + About the lantern overhead there eddied a noiseless whirl of phantom + moths. + </p> + <p> + Gerilleau stirred in the darkness and sighed. "What can one <i>do?</i>" he + murmured, and turned over and was still again. + </p> + <p> + Holroyd was roused from meditations that were becoming sinister by the hum + of a mosquito. + </p> + <p> + II. — The next morning Holroyd learnt they were within forty + kilometres of Badama, and his interest in the banks intensified. He came + up whenever an opportunity offered to examine his surroundings. He could + see no signs of human occupation whatever, save for a weedy ruin of a + house and the green-stained facade of the long-deserted monastery at Moj{, + with a forest tree growing out of a vacant window space, and great + creepers netted across its vacant portals. Several flights of strange + yellow butterflies with semi-transparent wings crossed the river that + morning, and many alighted on the monitor and were killed by the men. It + was towards afternoon that they came upon the derelict <i>cuberta</i>. + </p> + <p> + She did not at first appear to be derelict; both her sails were set and + hanging slack in the afternoon calm, and there was the figure of a man + sitting on the fore planking beside the shipped sweeps. Another man + appeared to be sleeping face downwards on the sort of longitudinal bridge + these big canoes have in the waist. But it was presently apparent, from + the sway of her rudder and the way she drifted into the course of the + gunboat, that something was out of order with her. Gerilleau surveyed her + through a field-glass, and became interested in the queer darkness of the + face of the sitting man, a red-faced man he seemed, without a nose— + crouching he was rather than sitting, and the longer the captain looked + the less he liked to look at him, and the less able he was to take his + glasses away. + </p> + <p> + But he did so at last, and went a little way to call up Holroyd. Then he + went back to hail the cuberta. He hailed her again, and so she drove past + him. <i>Santa Rosa</i> stood out clearly as her name. + </p> + <p> + As she came by and into the wake of the monitor, she pitched a little, and + suddenly the figure of the crouching man collapsed as though all its + joints had given way. His hat fell off, his head was not nice to look at, + and his body flopped lax and rolled out of sight behind the bulwarks. + </p> + <p> + "Caramba!" cried Gerilleau, and resorted to Holroyd forthwith. + </p> + <p> + Holroyd was half-way up the companion. "Did you see dat?" said the + captain. + </p> + <p> + "Dead!" said Holroyd. "Yes. You'd better send a boat aboard. There's + something wrong." + </p> + <p> + "Did you—by any chance—see his face?" + </p> + <p> + "What was it like?" + </p> + <p> + "It was—ugh!—I have no words." And the captain suddenly turned + his back on Holroyd and became an active and strident commander. + </p> + <p> + The gunboat came about, steamed parallel to the erratic course of the + canoe, and dropped the boat with Lieutenant da Cunha and three sailors to + board her. Then the curiosity of the captain made him draw up almost + alongside as the lieutenant got aboard, so that the whole of the <i>Santa + Rosa</i>, deck and hold, was visible to Holroyd. + </p> + <p> + He saw now clearly that the sole crew of the vessel was these two dead + men, and though he could not see their faces, he saw by their outstretched + hands, which were all of ragged flesh, that they had been subjected to + some strange exceptional process of decay. For a moment his attention + concentrated on those two enigmatical bundles of dirty clothes and laxly + flung limbs, and then his eyes went forward to discover the open hold + piled high with trunks and cases, and aft, to where the little cabin gaped + inexplicably empty. Then he became aware that the planks of the middle + decking were dotted with moving black specks. + </p> + <p> + His attention was riveted by these specks. They were all walking in + directions radiating from the fallen man in a manner—the image came + unsought to his mind—like the crowd dispersing from a bull-fight. + </p> + <p> + He became aware of Gerilleau beside him. "Capo," he said, "have you your + glasses? Can you focus as closely as those planks there?" + </p> + <p> + Gerilleau made an effort, grunted, and handed him the glasses. + </p> + <p> + There followed a moment of scrutiny. "It's ants," said the Englishman, and + handed the focused field-glass back to Gerilleau. + </p> + <p> + His impression of them was of a crowd of large black ants, very like + ordinary ants except for their size, and for the fact that some of the + larger of them bore a sort of clothing of grey. But at the time his + inspection was too brief for particulars. The head of Lieutenant da Cunha + appeared over the side of the cuberta, and a brief colloquy ensued. + </p> + <p> + "You must go aboard," said Gerilleau. + </p> + <p> + The lieutenant objected that the boat was full of ants. + </p> + <p> + "You have your boots," said Gerilleau. + </p> + <p> + The lieutenant changed the subject. "How did these men die?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + Captain Gerilleau embarked upon speculations that Holroyd could not + follow, and the two men disputed with a certain increasing vehemence. + Holroyd took up the field-glass and resumed his scrutiny, first of the + ants and then of the dead man amidships. + </p> + <p> + He has described these ants to me very particularly. + </p> + <p> + He says they were as large as any ants he has ever seen, black and moving + with a steady deliberation very different from the mechanical fussiness of + the common ant. About one in twenty was much larger than its fellows, and + with an exceptionally large head. These reminded him at once of the master + workers who are said to rule over the leaf-cutter ants; like them they + seemed to be directing and co-ordinating the general movements. They + tilted their bodies back in a manner altogether singular as if they made + some use of the fore feet. And he had a curious fancy that he was too far + off to verify, that most of these ants of both kinds were wearing + accoutrements, had things strapped about their bodies by bright white + bands like white metal threads... + </p> + <p> + He put down the glasses abruptly, realising that the question of + discipline between the captain and his subordinate had become acute. + </p> + <p> + "It is your duty," said the captain, "to go aboard. It is my + instructions." + </p> + <p> + The lieutenant seemed on the verge of refusing. The head of one of the + mulatto sailors appeared beside him. + </p> + <p> + "I believe these men were killed by the ants," said Holroyd abruptly in + English. + </p> + <p> + The captain burst into a rage. He made no answer to Holroyd. "I have + commanded you to go aboard," he screamed to his subordinate in Portuguese. + "If you do not go aboard forthwith it is mutiny—rank mutiny. Mutiny + and cowardice! Where is the courage that should animate us? I will have + you in irons, I will have you shot like a dog." He began a torrent of + abuse and curses, he danced to and fro. He shook his fists, he behaved as + if beside himself with rage, and the lieutenant, white and still, stood + looking at him. The crew appeared forward, with amazed faces. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, in a pause of this outbreak, the lieutenant came to some heroic + decision, saluted, drew himself together and clambered upon the deck of + the cuberta. + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" said Gerilleau, and his mouth shut like a trap. Holroyd saw the ants + retreating before da Cunha's boots. The Portuguese walked slowly to the + fallen man, stooped down, hesitated, clutched his coat and turned him + over. A black swarm of ants rushed out of the clothes, and da Cunha + stepped back very quickly and trod two or three times on the deck. + </p> + <p> + Holroyd put up the glasses. He saw the scattered ants about the invader's + feet, and doing what he had never seen ants doing before. They had nothing + of the blind movements of the common ant; they were looking at him—as + a rallying crowd of men might look at some gigantic monster that had + dispersed it. + </p> + <p> + "How did he die?" the captain shouted. + </p> + <p> + Holroyd understood the Portuguese to say the body was too much eaten to + tell. + </p> + <p> + "What is there forward?" asked Gerilleau. + </p> + <p> + The lieutenant walked a few paces, and began his answer in Portuguese. He + stopped abruptly and beat off something from his leg. He made some + peculiar steps as if he was trying to stamp on something invisible, and + went quickly towards the side. Then he controlled himself, turned about, + walked deliberately forward to the hold, clambered up to the fore decking, + from which the sweeps are worked, stooped for a time over the second man, + groaned audibly, and made his way back and aft to the cabin, moving very + rigidly. He turned and began a conversation with his captain, cold and + respectful in tone on either side, contrasting vividly with the wrath and + insult of a few moments before. Holroyd gathered only fragments of its + purport. + </p> + <p> + He reverted to the field-glass, and was surprised to find the ants had + vanished from all the exposed surfaces of the deck. He turned towards the + shadows beneath the decking, and it seemed to him they were full of + watching eyes. + </p> + <p> + The cuberta, it was agreed; was derelict, but too full of ants to put men + aboard to sit and sleep: it must be towed. The lieutenant went forward to + take in and adjust the cable, and the men in the boat stood up to be ready + to help him. Holroyd's glasses searched the canoe. + </p> + <p> + He became more and more impressed by the fact that a great if minute and + furtive activity was going on. He perceived that a number of gigantic ants—they + seemed nearly a couple of inches in length—carrying oddly-shaped + burthens for which he could imagine no use—were moving in rushes + from one point of obscurity to another. They did not move in columns + across the exposed places, but in open, spaced-out lines, oddly suggestive + of the rushes of modern infantry advancing under fire. A number were + taking cover under the dead man's clothes, and a perfect swarm was + gathering along the side over which da Cunha must presently go. + </p> + <p> + He did not see them actually rush for the lieutenant as he returned, but + he has no doubt they did make a concerted rush. Suddenly the lieutenant + was shouting and cursing and beating at his legs. "I'm stung!" he shouted, + with a face of hate and accusation towards Gerilleau. + </p> + <p> + Then he vanished over the side, dropped into his boat, and plunged at once + into the water. Holroyd heard the splash. + </p> + <p> + The three men in the boat pulled him out and brought him aboard, and that + night he died. + </p> + <p> + III. — Holroyd and the captain came out of the cabin in which the + swollen and contorted body of the lieutenant lay and stood together at the + stern of the monitor, staring at the sinister vessel they trailed behind + them. It was a close, dark night that had only phantom flickerings of + sheet lightning to illuminate it. The cuberta, a vague black triangle, + rocked about in the steamer's wake, her sails bobbing and flapping, and + the black smoke from the funnels, spark-lit ever and again, streamed over + her swaying masts. + </p> + <p> + Gerilleau's mind was inclined to run on the unkind things the lieutenant + had said in the heat of his last fever. + </p> + <p> + "He says I murdered 'im," he protested. "It is simply absurd. Someone <i>'ad</i> + to go aboard. Are we to run away from these confounded ants whenever they + show up?" + </p> + <p> + Holroyd said nothing. He was thinking of a disciplined rush of little + black shapes across bare sunlit planking. + </p> + <p> + "It was his place to go," harped Gerilleau. "He died in the execution of + his duty. What has he to complain of? Murdered!... But the poor fellow was—what + is it?—demented. He was not in his right mind. The poison swelled + him... U'm." + </p> + <p> + They came to a long silence. + </p> + <p> + "We will sink that canoe—burn it." + </p> + <p> + "And then?" + </p> + <p> + The inquiry irritated Gerilleau. His shoulders went up, his hands flew out + at right angles from his body. "What is one to <i>do?</i>" he said, his + voice going up to an angry squeak. + </p> + <p> + "Anyhow," he broke out vindictively, "every ant in dat cuberta!—I + will burn dem alive!" + </p> + <p> + Holroyd was not moved to conversation. A distant ululation of howling + monkeys filled the sultry night with foreboding sounds, and as the gunboat + drew near the black mysterious banks this was reinforced by a depressing + clamour of frogs. + </p> + <p> + "What is one to <i>do?</i>" the captain repeated after a vast interval, + and suddenly becoming active and savage and blasphemous, decided to burn + the <i>Santa Rosa</i> without further delay. Everyone aboard was pleased + by that idea, everyone helped with zest; they pulled in the cable, cut it, + and dropped the boat and fired her with tow and kerosene, and soon the + cuberta was crackling and flaring merrily amidst the immensities of the + tropical night. Holroyd watched the mounting yellow flare against the + blackness, and the livid flashes of sheet lightning that came and went + above the forest summits, throwing them into momentary silhouette, and his + stoker stood behind him watching also. + </p> + <p> + The stoker was stirred to the depths of his linguistics. "<i>Sa|ba</i> go + pop, pop," he said, "Wahaw" and laughed richly. + </p> + <p> + But Holroyd was thinking that these little creatures on the decked canoe + had also eyes and brains. + </p> + <p> + The whole thing impressed him as incredibly foolish and wrong, but—what + was one to <i>do</i>? This question came back enormously reinforced on the + morrow, when at last the gunboat reached Badama. + </p> + <p> + This place, with its leaf-thatch-covered houses and sheds, its + creeper-invaded sugar-mill, its little jetty of timber and canes, was very + still in the morning heat, and showed never a sign of living men. Whatever + ants there were at that distance were too small to see. + </p> + <p> + "All the people have gone," said Gerilleau, "but we will do one thing + anyhow. We will 'oot and vissel." + </p> + <p> + So Holroyd hooted and whistled. + </p> + <p> + Then the captain fell into a doubting fit of the worst kind. "Dere is one + thing we can do," he said presently, "What's that?" said Holroyd. + </p> + <p> + "'Oot and vissel again." + </p> + <p> + So they did. + </p> + <p> + The captain walked his deck and gesticulated to himself. He seemed to have + many things on his mind. Fragments of speeches came from his lips. He + appeared to be addressing some imaginary public tribunal either in Spanish + or Portuguese. Holroyd's improving ear detected something about + ammunition. He came out of these preoccupations suddenly into English. "My + dear 'Olroyd!" he cried, and broke off with "But what <i>can</i> one do?" + </p> + <p> + They took the boat and the field-glasses, and went close in to examine the + place. They made out a number of big ants, whose still postures had a + certain effect of watching them, dotted about the edge of the rude + embarkation jetty. Gerilleau tried ineffectual pistol shots at these. + Holroyd thinks he distinguished curious earthworks running between the + nearer houses, that may have been the work of the insect conquerors of + those human habitations. The explorers pulled past the jetty, and became + aware of a human skeleton wearing a loin cloth, and very bright and clean + and shining, lying beyond. They came to a pause regarding this... + </p> + <p> + "I 'ave all dose lives to consider," said Gerilleau suddenly. + </p> + <p> + Holroyd turned and stared at the captain, realising slowly that he + referred to the unappetising mixture of races that constituted his crew. + </p> + <p> + "To send a landing party—it is impossible—impossible. They + will be poisoned, they will swell, they will swell up and abuse me and + die. It is totally impossible... If we land, I must land alone, alone, in + thick boots and with my life in my hand. Perhaps I should live. Or again—I + might not land. I do not know. I do not know." + </p> + <p> + Holroyd thought he did, but he said nothing. + </p> + <p> + "De whole thing," said Gerilleau suddenly, "'as been got up to make me + ridiculous. De whole thing!" + </p> + <p> + They paddled about and regarded the clean white skeleton from various + points of view, and then they returned to the gunboat. Then Gerilleau's + indecisions became terrible. Steam was got up, and in the afternoon the + monitor went on up the river with an air of going to ask somebody + something, and by sunset came back again and anchored. A thunderstorm + gathered and broke furiously, and then the night became beautifully cool + and quiet and everyone slept on deck. Except Gerilleau, who tossed about + and muttered. In the dawn he awakened Holroyd. + </p> + <p> + "Lord!" said Holroyd, "what now?" + </p> + <p> + "I have decided," said the captain. + </p> + <p> + "What—to land?" said Holroyd, sitting up brightly. + </p> + <p> + "No!" said the captain, and was for a time very reserved. "I have + decided," he repeated, and Holroyd manifested symptoms of impatience. + </p> + <p> + "Well,—yes," said the captain, "<i>I shall fire de big gun!</i>" + </p> + <p> + And he did! Heaven knows what the ants thought of it, but he did. He fired + it twice with great sternness and ceremony. All the crew had wadding in + their ears, and there was an effect of going into action about the whole + affair, and first they hit and wrecked the old sugar-mill, and then they + smashed the abandoned store behind the jetty. And then Gerilleau + experienced the inevitable reaction. + </p> + <p> + "It is no good," he said to Holroyd; "no good at all. No sort of bally + good. We must go back—for instructions. Dere will be de devil of a + row about dis ammunition—oh! de <i>devil</i> of a row! You don't + know, 'Olroyd..." + </p> + <p> + He stood regarding the world in infinite perplexity for a space. + </p> + <p> + "But what else was there to <i>do?</i>" he cried. + </p> + <p> + In the afternoon the monitor started down stream again, and in the evening + a landing party took the body of the lieutenant and buried it on the bank + upon which the new ants have so far not appeared... + </p> + <p> + IV. — I heard this story in a fragmentary state from Holroyd not + three weeks ago. + </p> + <p> + These new ants have got into his brain, and he has come back to England + with the idea, as he says, of "exciting people" about them "before it is + too late." He says they threaten British Guiana, which cannot be much over + a trifle of a thousand miles from their present sphere of activity, and + that the Colonial Office ought to get to work upon them at once. He + declaims with great passion: "These are intelligent ants. Just think what + that means!" + </p> + <p> + There can be no doubt they are a serious pest, and that the Brazilian + Government is well advised in offering a prize of five hundred pounds for + some effectual method of extirpation. It is certain too that since they + first appeared in the hills beyond Badama, about three years ago, they + have achieved extraordinary conquests. The whole of the south bank of the + Batemo River, for nearly sixty miles, they have in their effectual + occupation; they have driven men out completely, occupied plantations and + settlements, and boarded and captured at least one ship. It is even said + they have in some inexplicable way bridged the very considerable Capuarana + arm and pushed many miles towards the Amazon itself. There can be little + doubt that they are far more reasonable and with a far better social + organisation than any previously known ant species; instead of being in + dispersed societies they are organised into what is in effect a single + nation; but their peculiar and immediate formidableness lies not so much + in this as in the intelligent use they make of poison against their larger + enemies. It would seem this poison of theirs is closely akin to snake + poison, and it is highly probable they actually manufacture it, and that + the larger individuals among them carry the needle-like crystals of it in + their attacks upon men. + </p> + <p> + Of course it is extremely difficult to get any detailed information about + these new competitors for the sovereignty of the globe. No eye-witnesses + of their activity, except for such glimpses as Holroyd's, have survived + the encounter. The most extraordinary legends of their prowess and + capacity are in circulation in the region of the Upper Amazon, and grow + daily as the steady advance of the invader stimulates men's imaginations + through their fears. These strange little creatures are credited not only + with the use of implements and a knowledge of fire and metals and with + organised feats of engineering that stagger our northern minds—unused + as we are to such feats as that of the Sa|bas of Rio de Janeiro, who in + 1841 drove a tunnel under the Parahyba where it is as wide as the Thames + at London Bridge—but with an organised and detailed method of record + and communication analogous to our books. So far their action has been a + steady progressive settlement, involving the flight or slaughter of every + human being in the new areas they invade. They are increasing rapidly in + numbers, and Holroyd at least is firmly convinced that they will finally + dispossess man over the whole of tropical South America. + </p> + <p> + And why should they stop at tropical South America? + </p> + <p> + Well, there they are, anyhow. By 1911 or thereabouts, if they go on as + they are going, they ought to strike the Capuarana Extension Railway, and + force themselves upon the attention of the European capitalist. + </p> + <p> + By 1920 they will be half-way down the Amazon. I fix 1950 or '60 at the + latest for the discovery of Europe. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0032" id="link2H_4_0032"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXI. — THE DOOR IN THE WALL. + </h2> + <p> + I. — One confidential evening, not three months ago, Lionel Wallace + told me this story of the Door in the Wall. And at the time I thought that + so far as he was concerned it was a true story. + </p> + <p> + He told it me with such a direct simplicity of conviction that I could not + do otherwise than believe in him. But in the morning, in my own flat, I + woke to a different atmosphere, and as I lay in bed and recalled the + things he had told me, stripped of the glamour of his earnest slow voice, + denuded of the focussed, shaded table light, the shadowy atmosphere that + wrapped about him and me, and the pleasant bright things, the dessert and + glasses and napery of the dinner we had shared, making them for the time a + bright little world quite cut off from everyday realities, I saw it all as + frankly incredible. "He was mystifying!" I said, and then: "How well he + did it!... It isn't quite the thing I should have expected him, of all + people, to do well." + </p> + <p> + Afterwards as I sat up in bed and sipped my morning tea, I found myself + trying to account for the flavour of reality that perplexed me in his + impossible reminiscences, by supposing they did in some way suggest, + present, convey—I hardly know which word to use—experiences it + was otherwise impossible to tell. + </p> + <p> + Well, I don't resort to that explanation now. I have got over my + intervening doubts. I believe now, as I believed at the moment of telling, + that Wallace did to the very best of his ability strip the truth of his + secret for me. But whether he himself saw, or only thought he saw, whether + he himself was the possessor of an inestimable privilege or the victim of + a fantastic dream, I cannot pretend to guess. Even the facts of his death, + which ended my doubts for ever, throw no light on that. + </p> + <p> + That much the reader must judge for himself. + </p> + <p> + I forget now what chance comment or criticism of mine moved so reticent a + man to confide in me. He was, I think, defending himself against an + imputation of slackness and unreliability I had made in relation to a + great public movement, in which he had disappointed me. But he plunged + suddenly. "I have," he said, "a preoccupation—— + </p> + <p> + "I know," he went on, after a pause, "I have been negligent. The fact is— + it isn't a case of ghosts or apparitions—but—it's an odd thing + to tell of, Redmond—I am haunted. I am haunted by something—that + rather takes the light out of things, that fills me with longings..." + </p> + <p> + He paused, checked by that English shyness that so often overcomes us when + we would speak of moving or grave or beautiful things. "You were at Saint + Aethelstan's all through," he said, and for a moment that seemed to me + quite irrelevant. "Well"—and he paused. Then very haltingly at + first, but afterwards more easily, he began to tell of the thing that was + hidden in his life, the haunting memory of a beauty and a happiness that + filled his heart with insatiable longings, that made all the interests and + spectacle of worldly life seem dull and tedious and vain to him. + </p> + <p> + Now that I have the clue to it, the thing seems written visibly in his + face. I have a photograph in which that look of detachment has been caught + and intensified. It reminds me of what a woman once said of him—a + woman who had loved him greatly. "Suddenly," she said, "the interest goes + out of him. He forgets you. He doesn't care a rap for you—under his + very nose..." + </p> + <p> + Yet the interest was not always out of him, and when he was holding his + attention to a thing Wallace could contrive to be an extremely successful + man. His career, indeed, is set with successes. He left me behind him long + ago: he soared up over my head, and cut a figure in the world that I + couldn't cut—anyhow. He was still a year short of forty, and they + say now that he would have been in office and very probably in the new + Cabinet if he had lived. At school he always beat me without effort—as + it were by nature. We were at school together at Saint Aethelstan's + College in West Kensington for almost all our school-time. He came into + the school as my coequal, but he left far above me, in a blaze of + scholarships and brilliant performance. Yet I think I made a fair average + running. And it was at school I heard first of the "Door in the Wall"—that + I was to hear of a second time only a month before his death. + </p> + <p> + To him at least the Door in the Wall was a real door, leading through a + real wall to immortal realities. Of that I am now quite assured. + </p> + <p> + And it came into his life quite early, when he was a little fellow between + five and six. I remember how, as he sat making his confession to me with a + slow gravity, he reasoned and reckoned the date of it. "There was," he + said, "a crimson Virginia creeper in it—all one bright uniform + crimson, in a clear amber sunshine against a white wall. That came into + the impression somehow, though I don't clearly remember how, and there + were horse-chestnut leaves upon the clean pavement outside the green door. + They were blotched yellow and green, you know, not brown nor dirty, so + that they must have been new fallen. I take it that means October. I look + out for horse-chestnut leaves every year and I ought to know. + </p> + <p> + "If I'm right in that, I was about five years and four months old." + </p> + <p> + He was, he said, rather a precocious little boy—he learnt to talk at + an abnormally early age, and he was so sane and "old-fashioned," as people + say, that he was permitted an amount of initiative that most children + scarcely attain by seven or eight. His mother died when he was two, and he + was under the less vigilant and authoritative care of a nursery governess. + His father was a stern, preoccupied lawyer, who gave him little attention, + and expected great things of him. For all his brightness he found life a + little grey and dull, I think. And one day he wandered. + </p> + <p> + He could not recall the particular neglect that enabled him to get away, + nor the course he took among the West Kensington roads. All that had faded + among the incurable blurs of memory. But the white wall and the green door + stood out quite distinctly. + </p> + <p> + As his memory of that childish experience ran, he did at the very first + sight of that door experience a peculiar emotion, an attraction, a desire + to get to the door and open it and walk in. And at the same time he had + the clearest conviction that either it was unwise or it was wrong of him— + he could not tell which—to yield to this attraction. He insisted + upon it as a curious thing that he knew from the very beginning—unless + memory has played him the queerest trick—that the door was + unfastened, and that he could go in as he chose. + </p> + <p> + I seem to see the figure of that little boy, drawn and repelled. And it + was very clear in his mind, too, though why it should be so was never + explained, that his father would be very angry if he went in through that + door. + </p> + <p> + Wallace described all these moments of hesitation to me with the utmost + particularity. He went right past the door, and then, with his hands in + his pockets and making an infantile attempt to whistle, strolled right + along beyond the end of the wall. There he recalls a number of mean dirty + shops, and particularly that of a plumber and decorator with a dusty + disorder of earthenware pipes, sheet lead, ball taps, pattern books of + wall paper, and tins of enamel. He stood pretending to examine these + things, and <i>coveting</i>, passionately desiring, the green door. + </p> + <p> + Then, he said, he had a gust of emotion. He made a run for it, lest + hesitation should grip him again; he went plump with outstretched hand + through the green door and let it slam behind him. And so, in a trice, he + came into the garden that has haunted all his life. + </p> + <p> + It was very difficult for Wallace to give me his full sense of that garden + into which he came. + </p> + <p> + There was something in the very air of it that exhilarated, that gave one + a sense of lightness and good happening and well-being; there was + something in the sight of it that made all its colour clean and perfect + and subtly luminous. In the instant of coming into it one was exquisitely + glad—as only in rare moments, and when one is young and joyful one + can be glad in this world. And everything was beautiful there... + </p> + <p> + Wallace mused before he went on telling me. "You see," he said, with the + doubtful inflection of a man who pauses at incredible things, "there were + two great panthers there... Yes, spotted panthers. And I was not afraid. + There was a long wide path with marble-edged flower borders on either + side, and these two huge velvety beasts were playing there with a ball. + One looked up and came towards me, a little curious as it seemed. It came + right up to me, rubbed its soft round ear very gently against the small + hand I held out, and purred. It was, I tell you, an enchanted garden. I + know. And the size? Oh! it stretched far and wide, this way and that. I + believe there were hills far away. Heaven knows where West Kensington had + suddenly got to. And somehow it was just like coming home. + </p> + <p> + "You know, in the very moment the door swung to behind me, I forgot the + road with its fallen chestnut leaves, its cabs and tradesmen's carts, I + forgot the sort of gravitational pull back to the discipline and obedience + of home, I forgot all hesitations and fear, forgot discretion, forgot all + the intimate realities of this life. I became in a moment a very glad and + wonder-happy little boy—in another world. It was a world with a + different quality, a warmer, more penetrating and mellower light, with a + faint clear gladness in its air, and wisps of sun-touched cloud in the + blueness of its sky. And before me ran this long wide path, invitingly, + with weedless beds on either side, rich with untended flowers, and these + two great panthers. I put my little hands fearlessly on their soft fur, + and caressed their round ears and the sensitive corners under their ears, + and played with them, and it was as though they welcomed me home. There + was a keen sense of home-coming in my mind, and when presently a tall, + fair girl appeared in the pathway and came to meet me, smiling, and said + 'Well?' to me, and lifted me, and kissed me, and put me down, and led me + by the hand, there was no amazement, but only an impression of delightful + rightness, of being reminded of happy things that had in some strange way + been overlooked. There were broad red steps, I remember, that came into + view between spikes of delphinium, and up these we went to a great avenue + between very old and shady dark trees. All down this avenue, you know, + between the red chapped stems, were marble seats of honour and statuary, + and very tame and friendly white doves... + </p> + <p> + "Along this cool avenue my girl-friend led me, looking down—I recall + the pleasant lines, the finely-modelled chin of her sweet kind face—asking + me questions in a soft, agreeable voice, and telling me things, pleasant + things I know, though what they were I was never able to recall... + Presently a little Capuchin monkey, very clean, with a fur of ruddy brown + and kindly hazel eyes, came down a tree to us and ran beside me, looking + up at me and grinning, and presently leapt to my shoulder. So we two went + on our way in great happiness." + </p> + <p> + He paused. + </p> + <p> + "Go on," I said. + </p> + <p> + "I remember little things. We passed an old man musing among laurels, I + remember, and a place gay with paroquets, and came through a broad shaded + colonnade to a spacious cool palace, full of pleasant fountains, full of + beautiful things, full of the quality and promise of heart's desire. And + there were many things and many people, some that still seem to stand out + clearly and some that are a little vague; but all these people were + beautiful and kind. In some way—I don't know how—it was + conveyed to me that they all were kind to me, glad to have me there, and + filling me with gladness by their gestures, by the touch of their hands, + by the welcome and love in their eyes. Yes——" + </p> + <p> + He mused for a while. "Playmates I found there. That was very much to me, + because I was a lonely little boy. They played delightful games in a + grass-covered court where there was a sun-dial set about with flowers. And + as one played one loved... + </p> + <p> + "But—it's odd—there's a gap in my memory. I don't remember the + games we played. I never remembered. Afterwards, as a child, I spent long + hours trying, even with tears, to recall the form of that happiness. I + wanted to play it all over again—in my nursery—by myself. No! + All I remember is the happiness and two dear playfellows who were most + with me... Then presently came a sombre dark woman, with a grave, pale + face and dreamy eyes, a sombre woman, wearing a soft long robe of pale + purple, who carried a book, and beckoned and took me aside with her into a + gallery above a hall—though my playmates were loth to have me go, + and ceased their game and stood watching as I was carried away. Come back + to us!' they cried. 'Come back to us soon!' I looked up at her face, but + she heeded them not at all. Her face was very gentle and grave. She took + me to a seat in the gallery, and I stood beside her, ready to look at her + book as she opened it upon her knee. The pages fell open. She pointed, and + I looked, marvelling, for in the living pages of that book I saw myself; + it was a story about myself, and in it were all the things that had + happened to me since ever I was born... + </p> + <p> + "It was wonderful to me, because the pages of that book were not pictures, + you understand, but realities." + </p> + <p> + Wallace paused gravely—looked at me doubtfully. + </p> + <p> + "Go on," I said. "I understand." + </p> + <p> + "They were realities—-yes, they must have been; people moved and + things came and went in them; my dear mother, whom I had near forgotten; + then my father, stern and upright, the servants, the nursery, all the + familiar things of home. Then the front door and the busy streets, with + traffic to and fro. I looked and marvelled, and looked half doubtfully + again into the woman's face and turned the pages over, skipping this and + that, to see more of this book and more, and so at last I came to myself + hovering and hesitating outside the green door in the long white wall, and + felt again the conflict and the fear. + </p> + <p> + "'And next?' I cried, and would have turned on, but the cool hand of the + grave woman delayed me. + </p> + <p> + "'Next?' I insisted, and struggled gently with her hand, pulling up her + fingers with all my childish strength, and as she yielded and the page + came over she bent down upon me like a shadow and kissed my brow. + </p> + <p> + "But the page did not show the enchanted garden, nor the panthers, nor the + girl who had led me by the hand, nor the playfellows who had been so loth + to let me go. It showed a long grey street in West Kensington, in that + chill hour of afternoon before the lamps are lit, and I was there, a + wretched little figure, weeping aloud, for all that I could do to restrain + myself, and I was weeping because I could not return to my dear + playfellows who had called after me, 'Come back to us! Come back to us + soon!' I was there. This was no page in a book, but harsh reality; that + enchanted place and the restraining hand of the grave mother at whose knee + I stood had gone—whither had they gone?" + </p> + <p> + He halted again, and remained for a time staring into the fire. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! the woefulness of that return!" he murmured. + </p> + <p> + "Well?" I said, after a minute or so. + </p> + <p> + "Poor little wretch I was!—brought back to this grey world again! As + I realised the fulness of what had happened to me, I gave way to quite + ungovernable grief. And the shame and humiliation of that public weeping + and my disgraceful home-coming remain with me still. I see again the + benevolent-looking old gentleman in gold spectacles who stopped and spoke + to me—prodding me first with his umbrella. 'Poor little chap,' said + he; 'and are you lost then?'—and me a London boy of five and more! + And he must needs bring in a kindly young policeman and make a crowd of + me, and so march me home. Sobbing, conspicuous, and frightened, I came + back from the enchanted garden to the steps of my father's house. + </p> + <p> + "That is as well as I can remember my vision of that garden—the + garden that haunts me still. Of course, I can convey nothing of that + indescribable quality of translucent unreality, that <i>difference</i> + from the common things of experience that hung about it all; but that— + that is what happened. If it was a dream, I am sure it was a day-time and + altogether extraordinary dream... H'm!—naturally there followed a + terrible questioning, by my aunt, my father, the nurse, the governess— + everyone... + </p> + <p> + "I tried to tell them, and my father gave me my first thrashing for + telling lies. When afterwards I tried to tell my aunt, she punished me + again for my wicked persistence. Then, as I said, everyone was forbidden + to listen to me, to hear a word about it. Even my fairytale books were + taken away from me for a time—because I was too 'imaginative.' Eh? + Yes, they did that! My father belonged to the old school... And my story + was driven back upon myself. I whispered it to my pillow—my pillow + that was often damp and salt to my whispering lips with childish tears. + And I added always to my official and less fervent prayers this one + heartfelt request: 'Please God I may dream of the garden. Oh! take me back + to my garden!' Take me back to my garden! I dreamt often of the garden. I + may have added to it, I may have changed it; I do not know... All this, + you understand, is an attempt to reconstruct from fragmentary memories a + very early experience. Between that and the other consecutive memories of + my boyhood there is a gulf. A time came when it seemed impossible I should + ever speak of that wonder glimpse again." + </p> + <p> + I asked an obvious question. + </p> + <p> + "No," he said. "I don't remember that I ever attempted to find my way back + to the garden in those early years. This seems odd to me now, but I think + that very probably a closer watch was kept on my movements after this + misadventure to prevent my going astray. No, it wasn't till you knew me + that I tried for the garden again. And I believe there was a period— + incredible as it seems now—when I forgot the garden altogether—when + I was about eight or nine it may have been. Do you remember me as a kid at + Saint Aethelstan's?" + </p> + <p> + "Rather!" + </p> + <p> + "I didn't show any signs, did I, in those days of having a secret dream?" + </p> + <p> + II. — He looked up with a sudden smile. + </p> + <p> + "Did you ever play North-West Passage with me?... No, of course you didn't + come my way!" + </p> + <p> + "It was the sort of game," he went on, "that every imaginative child plays + all day. The idea was the discovery of a North-West Passage to school. The + way to school was plain enough; the game consisted in finding some way + that wasn't plain, starting off ten minutes early in some almost hopeless + direction, and working my way round through unaccustomed streets to my + goal. And one day I got entangled among some rather low-class streets on + the other side of Campden Hill, and I began to think that for once the + game would be against me and that I should get to school late. I tried + rather desperately a street that seemed a <i>cul-de-sac</i>, and found a + passage at the end. I hurried through that with renewed hope. 'I shall do + it yet,' I said, and passed a row of frowsy little shops that were + inexplicably familiar to me, and behold! there was my long white wall and + the green door that led to the enchanted garden! + </p> + <p> + "The thing whacked upon me suddenly. Then, after all, that garden, that + wonderful garden, wasn't a dream!" + </p> + <p> + He paused. + </p> + <p> + "I suppose my second experience with the green door marks the world of + difference there is between the busy life of a schoolboy and the infinite + leisure of a child. Anyhow, this second time I didn't for a moment think + of going in straight away. You see——. For one thing, my mind + was full of the idea of getting to school in time—set on not + breaking my record for punctuality. I must surely have felt <i>some</i> + little desire at least to try the door—yes. I must have felt that... + But I seem to remember the attraction of the door mainly as another + obstacle to my overmastering determination to get to school. I was + immensely interested by this discovery I had made, of course—I went + on with my mind full of it—but I went on. It didn't check me. I ran + past, tugging out my watch, found I had ten minutes still to spare, and + then I was going downhill into familiar surroundings. I got to school, + breathless, it is true, and wet with perspiration, but in time. I can + remember hanging up my coat and hat... Went right by it and left it behind + me. Odd, eh?" + </p> + <p> + He looked at me thoughtfully, "Of course I didn't know then that it + wouldn't always be there. Schoolboys have limited imaginations. I suppose + I thought it was an awfully jolly thing to have it there, to know my way + back to it, but there was the school tugging at me. I expect I was a good + deal distraught and inattentive that morning, recalling what I could of + the beautiful strange people I should presently see again. Oddly enough I + had no doubt in my mind that they would be glad to see me... Yes, I must + have thought of the garden that morning just as a jolly sort of place to + which one might resort in the interludes of a strenuous scholastic career. + </p> + <p> + "I didn't go that day at all. The next day was a half holiday, and that + may have weighed with me. Perhaps, too, my state of inattention brought + down impositions upon me, and docked the margin of time necessary for the + <i>detour</i>. I don't know. What I do know is that in the meantime the + enchanted garden was so much upon my mind that I could not keep it to + myself. + </p> + <p> + "I told. What was his name?—a ferrety-looking youngster we used to + call Squiff." + </p> + <p> + "Young Hopkins," said I. — "Hopkins it was. I did not like telling + him. I had a feeling that in some way it was against the rules to tell + him, but I did. He was walking part of the way home with me; he was + talkative, and if we had not talked about the enchanted garden we should + have talked of something else, and it was intolerable to me to think about + any other subject. So I blabbed. + </p> + <p> + "Well, he told my secret. The next day in the play interval I found myself + surrounded by half a dozen bigger boys, half teasing, and wholly curious + to hear more of the enchanted garden. There was that big Fawcett—you + remember him?—and Carnaby and Morley Reynolds. You weren't there by + any chance? No, I think I should have remembered if you were... + </p> + <p> + "A boy is a creature of odd feelings. I was, I really believe, in spite of + my secret self-disgust, a little flattered to have the attention of these + big fellows. I remember particularly a moment of pleasure caused by the + praise of Crawshaw—you remember Crawshaw major, the son of Crawshaw + the composer?—who said it was the best lie he had ever heard. But at + the same time there was a really painful undertow of shame at telling what + I felt was indeed a sacred secret. That beast Fawcett made a joke about + the girl in green——" + </p> + <p> + Wallace's voice sank with the keen memory of that shame. "I pretended not + to hear," he said. "Well, then Carnaby suddenly called me a young liar, + and disputed with me when I said the thing was true. I said I knew where + to find the green door, could lead them all there in ten minutes. Carnaby + became outrageously virtuous, and said I'd have to—and bear out my + words or suffer. Did you ever have Carnaby twist your arm? Then perhaps + you'll understand how it went with me. I swore my story was true. There + was nobody in the school then to save a chap from Carnaby, though Crawshaw + put in a word or so. Carnaby had got his game. I grew excited and + red-eared, and a little frightened. I behaved altogether like a silly + little chap, and the outcome of it all was that instead of starting alone + for my enchanted garden, I led the way presently—cheeks flushed, + ears hot, eyes smarting, and my soul one burning misery and shame—for + a party of six mocking, curious, and threatening schoolfellows. + </p> + <p> + "We never found the white wall and the green door..." + </p> + <p> + "You mean——?" + </p> + <p> + "I mean I couldn't find it. I would have found it if I could. + </p> + <p> + "And afterwards when I could go alone I couldn't find it. I never found + it. I seem now to have been always looking for it through my school-boy + days, but I never came upon it—never." + </p> + <p> + "Did the fellows—make it disagreeable?" + </p> + <p> + "Beastly... Carnaby held a council over me for wanton lying. I remember + how I sneaked home and upstairs to hide the marks of my blubbering. But + when I cried myself to sleep at last it wasn't for Carnaby, but for the + garden, for the beautiful afternoon I had hoped for, for the sweet + friendly women and the waiting playfellows, and the game I had hoped to + learn again, that beautiful forgotten game... + </p> + <p> + "I believed firmly that if I had not told—... I had bad times after + that—crying at night and wool-gathering by day. For two terms I + slackened and had bad reports. Do you remember? Of course you would! It + was <i>you</i>—your beating me in mathematics that brought me back + to the grind again." + </p> + <p> + III. — For a time my friend stared silently into the red heart of + the fire. Then he said: "I never saw it again until I was seventeen. + </p> + <p> + "It leapt upon me for the third time—as I was driving to Paddington + on my way to Oxford and a scholarship. I had just one momentary glimpse. I + was leaning over the apron of my hansom smoking a cigarette, and no doubt + thinking myself no end of a man of the world, and suddenly there was the + door, the wall, the dear sense of unforgettable and still attainable + things. + </p> + <p> + "We clattered by—I too taken by surprise to stop my cab until we + were well past and round a corner. Then I had a queer moment, a double and + divergent movement of my will: I tapped the little door in the roof of the + cab, and brought my arm down to pull out my watch. 'Yes, sir!' said the + cabman, smartly. 'Er—well—it's nothing,' I cried. '<i>My</i> + mistake! We haven't much time! Go on!' And he went on... + </p> + <p> + "I got my scholarship. And the night after I was told of that I sat over + my fire in my little upper room, my study, in my father's house, with his + praise—his rare praise—and his sound counsels ringing in my + ears, and I smoked my favourite pipe—the formidable bulldog of + adolescence—and thought of that door in the long white wall. 'If I + had stopped,' I thought, 'I should have missed my scholarship, I should + have missed Oxford—muddled all the fine career before me! I begin to + see things better!' I fell musing deeply, but I did not doubt then this + career of mine was a thing that merited sacrifice. + </p> + <p> + "Those dear friends and that clear atmosphere seemed very sweet to me, + very fine but remote. My grip was fixing now upon the world. I saw another + door opening—the door of my career." + </p> + <p> + He stared again into the fire. Its red light picked out a stubborn + strength in his face for just one flickering moment, and then it vanished + again. + </p> + <p> + "Well," he said and sighed, "I have served that career. I have done—much + work, much hard work. But I have dreamt of the enchanted garden a thousand + dreams, and seen its door, or at least glimpsed its door, four times since + then. Yes—four times. For a while this world was so bright and + interesting, seemed so full of meaning and opportunity, that the + half-effaced charm of the garden was by comparison gentle and remote. Who + wants to pat panthers on the way to dinner with pretty women and + distinguished men? I came down to London from Oxford, a man of bold + promise that I have done something to redeem. Something—and yet + there have been disappointments... + </p> + <p> + "Twice I have been in love—I will not dwell on that—but once, + as I went to someone who, I knew, doubted whether I dared to come, I took + a short cut at a venture through an unfrequented road near Earl's Court, + and so happened on a white wall and a familiar green door. 'Odd!' said I + to myself, 'but I thought this place was on Campden Hill. It's the place I + never could find somehow—like counting Stonehenge—the place of + that queer daydream of mine.' And I went by it intent upon my purpose. It + had no appeal to me that afternoon. + </p> + <p> + "I had just a moment's impulse to try the door, three steps aside were + needed at the most—though I was sure enough in my heart that it + would open to me—and then I thought that doing so might delay me on + the way to that appointment in which I thought my honour was involved. + Afterwards I was sorry for my punctuality—might at least have peeped + in, I thought, and waved a hand to those panthers, but I knew enough by + this time not to seek again belatedly that which is not found by seeking. + Yes, that time made me very sorry... + </p> + <p> + "Years of hard work after that, and never a sight of the door. It's only + recently it has come back to me. With it there has come a sense as though + some thin tarnish had spread itself over my world. I began to think of it + as a sorrowful and bitter thing that I should never see that door again. + Perhaps I was suffering a little from overwork—perhaps it was what + I've heard spoken of as the feeling of forty. I don't know. But certainly + the keen brightness that makes effort easy has gone out of things + recently, and that just at a time—with all these new political + developments—when I ought to be working. Odd, isn't it? But I do + begin to find life toilsome, its rewards, as I come near them, cheap. I + began a little while ago to want the garden quite badly. Yes—and + I've seen it three times." + </p> + <p> + "The garden?" + </p> + <p> + "No—-the door! And I haven't gone in!" + </p> + <p> + He leant over the table to me, with an enormous sorrow in his voice as he + spoke. "Thrice I have had my chance—<i>thrice</i>! If ever that door + offers itself to me again, I swore, I will go in, out of this dust and + heat, out of this dry glitter of vanity, out of these toilsome futilities. + I will go and never return. This time I will stay... I swore it, and when + the time came—<i>I didn't go</i>. + </p> + <p> + "Three times in one year have I passed that door and failed to enter. + Three times in the last year. + </p> + <p> + "The first time was on the night of the snatch division on the Tenants' + Redemption Bill, on which the Government was saved by a majority of three. + You remember? No one on our side—perhaps very few on the opposite + side— expected the end that night. Then the debate collapsed like + eggshells. I and Hotchkiss were dining with his cousin at Brentford; we + were both unpaired, and we were called up by telephone, and set off at + once in his cousin's motor. We got in barely in time, and on the way we + passed my wall and door—livid in the moonlight, blotched with hot + yellow as the glare of our lamps lit it, but unmistakable. 'My God!' cried + I. 'What?' said Hotchkiss. 'Nothing!' I answered, and the moment passed. + </p> + <p> + "'I've made a great sacrifice,' I told the whip as I got in. 'They all + have,' he said, and hurried by. + </p> + <p> + "I do not see how I could have done otherwise then. And the next occasion + was as I rushed to my father's bedside to bid that stern old man farewell. + Then, too, the claims of life were imperative. But the third time was + different; it happened a week ago. It fills me with hot remorse to recall + it. I was with Gurker and Ralphs—it's no secret now, you know, that + I've had my talk with Gurker. We had been dining at Frobisher's, and the + talk had become intimate between us. The question of my place in the + reconstructed Ministry lay always just over the boundary of the + discussion. Yes—yes. That's all settled. It needn't be talked about + yet, but there's no reason to keep a secret from you... Yes—thanks! + thanks! But let me tell you my story. + </p> + <p> + "Then, on that night things were very much in the air. My position was a + very delicate one. I was keenly anxious to get some definite word from + Gurker, but was hampered by Ralphs' presence. I was using the best power + of my brain to keep that light and careless talk not too obviously + directed to the point that concerned me. I had to. Ralphs' behaviour since + has more than justified my caution... Ralphs, I knew, would leave us + beyond the Kensington High Street, and then I could surprise Gurker by a + sudden frankness. One has sometimes to resort to these little devices... + And then it was that in the margin of my field of vision I became aware + once more of the white wall, the green door before us down the road. + </p> + <p> + "We passed it talking. I passed it. I can still see the shadow of Gurker's + marked profile, his opera hat tilted forward over his prominent nose, the + many folds of his neck wrap going before my shadow and Ralphs' as we + sauntered past. + </p> + <p> + "I passed within twenty inches of the door. 'If I say good-night to them, + and go in,' I asked myself, 'what will happen?' And I was all a-tingle for + that word with Gurker. + </p> + <p> + "I could not answer that question in the tangle of my other problems. + 'They will think me mad,' I thought. 'And suppose I vanish now!—-Amazing + disappearance of a prominent politician!' That weighed with me. A thousand + inconceivably petty worldlinesses weighed with me in that crisis." + </p> + <p> + Then he turned on me with a sorrowful smile, and, speaking slowly, "Here I + am!" he said. + </p> + <p> + "Here I am!" he repeated, "and my chance has gone from me. Three times in + one year the door has been offered me—the door that goes into peace, + into delight, into a beauty beyond dreaming, a kindness no man on earth + can know. And I have rejected it, Redmond, and it has gone——" + </p> + <p> + "How do you know?" + </p> + <p> + "I know. I know. I am left now to work it out, to stick to the tasks that + held me so strongly when my moments came. You say I have success—this + vulgar, tawdry, irksome, envied thing. I have it." He had a walnut in his + big hand. "If that was my success," he said, and crushed it, and held it + out for me to see. + </p> + <p> + "Let me tell you something, Redmond. This loss is destroying me. For two + months, for ten weeks nearly now, I have done no work at all, except the + most necessary and urgent duties. My soul is full of inappeasable regrets. + At nights—when it is less likely I shall be recognised—I go + out. I wander. Yes. I wonder what people would think of that if they knew. + A Cabinet Minister, the responsible head of that most vital of all + departments, wandering alone—grieving—sometimes near audibly + lamenting— for a door, for a garden!" + </p> + <p> + IV. — I can see now his rather pallid face, and the unfamiliar + sombre fire that had come into his eyes. I see him very vividly to-night. + I sit recalling his words, his tones, and last evening's <i>Westminster + Gazette</i> still lies on my sofa, containing the notice of his death. At + lunch to-day the club was busy with his death. We talked of nothing else. + </p> + <p> + They found his body very early yesterday morning in a deep excavation near + East Kensington Station. It is one of two shafts that have been made in + connection with an extension of the railway southward. It is protected + from the intrusion of the public by a hoarding upon the high road, in + which a small doorway has been cut for the convenience of some of the + workmen who live in that direction. The doorway was left unfastened + through a misunderstanding between two gangers, and through it he made his + way... + </p> + <p> + My mind is darkened with questions and riddles. + </p> + <p> + It would seem he walked all the way from the House that night—he has + frequently walked home during the past Session—and so it is I figure + his dark form coming along the late and empty streets, wrapped up, intent. + And then did the pale electric lights near the station cheat the rough + planking into a semblance of white? Did that fatal unfastened door awaken + some memory? + </p> + <p> + Was there, after all, ever any green door in the wall at all? + </p> + <p> + I do not know. I have told his story as he told it to me. There are times + when I believe that Wallace was no more than the victim of the coincidence + between a rare but not unprecedented type of hallucination and a careless + trap, but that indeed is not my profoundest belief. You may think me + superstitious, if you will, and foolish; but, indeed, I am more than half + convinced that he had, in truth, an abnormal gift, and a sense, something—I + know not what—-that in the guise of wall and door offered him an + outlet, a secret and peculiar passage of escape into another and + altogether more beautiful world. At any rate, you will say, it betrayed + him in the end. But did it betray him? There you touch the inmost mystery + of these dreamers, these men of vision and the imagination. We see our + world fair and common, the hoarding and the pit. By our daylight standard + he walked out of security into darkness, danger, and death. + </p> + <p> + But did he see like that? + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0033" id="link2H_4_0033"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXII. — THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND. + </h2> + <p> + Three hundred miles and more from Chimborazo, one hundred from the snows + of Cotopaxi, in the wildest wastes of Ecuador's Andes, there lies that + mysterious mountain valley, cut off from the world of men, the Country of + the Blind. Long years ago that valley lay so far open to the world that + men might come at last through frightful gorges and over an icy pass into + its equable meadows; and thither indeed men came, a family or so of + Peruvian half-breeds fleeing from the lust and tyranny of an evil Spanish + ruler. Then came the stupendous outbreak of Mindobamba, when it was night + in Quito for seventeen days, and the water was boiling at Yaguachi and all + the fish floating dying even as far as Guayaquil; everywhere along the + Pacific slopes there were land-slips and swift thawings and sudden floods, + and one whole side of the old Arauca crest slipped and came down in + thunder, and cut off the Country of the Blind for ever from the exploring + feet of men. But one of these early settlers had chanced to be on the + hither side of the gorges when the world had so terribly shaken itself, + and he perforce had to forget his wife and his child and all the friends + and possessions he had left up there, and start life over again in the + lower world. He started it again but ill, blindness overtook him, and he + died of punishment in the mines; but the story he told begot a legend that + lingers along the length of the Cordilleras of the Andes to this day. + </p> + <p> + He told of his reason for venturing back from that fastness, into which he + had first been carried lashed to a llama, beside a vast bale of gear, when + he was a child. The valley, he said, had in it all that the heart of man + could desire—sweet water, pasture, and even climate, slopes of rich + brown soil with tangles of a shrub that bore an excellent fruit, and on + one side great hanging forests of pine that held the avalanches high. Far + overhead, on three sides, vast cliffs of grey-green rock were capped by + cliffs of ice; but the glacier stream came not to them but flowed away by + the farther slopes, and only now and then huge ice masses fell on the + valley side. In this valley it neither rained nor snowed, but the abundant + springs gave a rich green pasture, that irrigation would spread over all + the valley space. The settlers did well indeed there. Their beasts did + well and multiplied, and but one thing marred their happiness. Yet it was + enough to mar it greatly. A strange disease had come upon them, and had + made all the children born to them there—and indeed, several older + children also—blind. It was to seek some charm or antidote against + this plague of blindness that he had with fatigue and danger and + difficulty returned down the gorge. In those days, in such cases, men did + not think of germs and infections but of sins; and it seemed to him that + the reason of this affliction must lie in the negligence of these + priestless immigrants to set up a shrine so soon as they entered the + valley. He wanted a shrine—a handsome, cheap, effectual shrine—to + be erected in the valley; he wanted relics and such-like potent things of + faith, blessed objects and mysterious medals and prayers. In his wallet he + had a bar of native silver for which he would not account; he insisted + there was none in the valley with something of the insistence of an + inexpert liar. They had all clubbed their money and ornaments together, + having little need for such treasure up there, he said, to buy them holy + help against their ill. I figure this dim-eyed young mountaineer, + sunburnt, gaunt, and anxious, hat-brim clutched feverishly, a man all + unused to the ways of the lower world, telling this story to some + keen-eyed, attentive priest before the great convulsion; I can picture him + presently seeking to return with pious and infallible remedies against + that trouble, and the infinite dismay with which he must have faced the + tumbled vastness where the gorge had once come out. But the rest of his + story of mischances is lost to me, save that I know of his evil death + after several years. Poor stray from that remoteness! The stream that had + once made the gorge now bursts from the mouth of a rocky cave, and the + legend his poor, ill-told story set going developed into the legend of a + race of blind men somewhere "over there" one may still hear to-day. + </p> + <p> + And amidst the little population of that now isolated and forgotten valley + the disease ran its course. The old became groping and purblind, the young + saw but dimly, and the children that were born to them saw never at all. + But life was very easy in that snow-rimmed basin, lost to all the world, + with neither thorns nor briars, with no evil insects nor any beasts save + the gentle breed of llamas they had lugged and thrust and followed up the + beds of the shrunken rivers in the gorges up which they had come. The + seeing had become purblind so gradually that they scarcely noted their + loss. They guided the sightless youngsters hither and thither until they + knew the whole Valley marvellously, and when at last sight died out among + them the race lived on. They had even time to adapt themselves to the + blind control of fire, which they made carefully in stoves of stone. They + were a simple strain of people at the first, unlettered, only slightly + touched with the Spanish civilisation, but with something of a tradition + of the arts of old Peru and of its lost philosophy. Generation followed + generation. They forgot many things; they devised many things. Their + tradition of the greater world they came from became mythical in colour + and uncertain. In all things save sight they were strong and able, and + presently the chance of birth and heredity sent one who had an original + mind and who could talk and persuade among them, and then afterwards + another. These two passed, leaving their effects, and the little community + grew in numbers and in understanding, and met and settled social and + economic problems that arose. Generation followed generation. Generation + followed generation. There came a time when a child was born who was + fifteen generations from that ancestor who went out of the valley with a + bar of silver to seek God's aid, and who never returned. Thereabouts it + chanced that a man came into this community from the outer world. And this + is the story of that man. + </p> + <p> + He was a mountaineer from the country near Quito, a man who had been down + to the sea and had seen the world, a reader of books in an original way, + an acute and enterprising man, and he was taken on by a party of + Englishmen who had come out to Ecuador to climb mountains, to replace one + of their three Swiss guides who had fallen ill. He climbed here and he + climbed there, and then came the attempt on Parascotopetl, the Matterhorn + of the Andes, in which he was lost to the outer world. The story of the + accident has been written a dozen times. Pointer's narrative is the best. + He tells how the little party worked their difficult and almost vertical + way up to the very foot of the last and greatest precipice, and how they + built a night shelter amidst the snow upon a little shelf of rock, and, + with a touch of real dramatic power, how presently they found Nunez had + gone from them. They shouted, and there was no reply; shouted and + whistled, and for the rest of that night they slept no more. + </p> + <p> + As the morning broke they saw the traces of his fall. It seems impossible + he could have uttered a sound. He had slipped eastward towards the unknown + side of the mountain; far below he had struck a steep slope of snow, and + ploughed his way down it in the midst of a snow avalanche. His track went + straight to the edge of a frightful precipice, and beyond that everything + was hidden. Far, far below, and hazy with distance, they could see trees + rising out of a narrow, shut-in valley—the lost Country of the + Blind. But they did not know it was the lost Country of the Blind, nor + distinguish it in any way from any other narrow streak of upland valley. + Unnerved by this disaster, they abandoned their attempt in the afternoon, + and Pointer was called away to the war before he could make another + attack. To this day Parascotopetl lifts an unconquered crest, and + Pointer's shelter crumbles unvisited amidst the snows. + </p> + <p> + And the man who fell survived. + </p> + <p> + At the end of the slope he fell a thousand feet, and came down in the + midst of a cloud of snow upon a snow slope even steeper than the one + above. Down this he was whirled, stunned and insensible, but without a + bone broken in his body; and then at last came to gentler slopes, and at + last rolled out and lay still, buried amidst a softening heap of the white + masses that had accompanied and saved him. He came to himself with a dim + fancy that he was ill in bed; then realised his position with a + mountaineer's intelligence, and worked himself loose and, after a rest or + so, out until he saw the stars. He rested flat upon his chest for a space, + wondering where he was and what had happened to him. He explored his + limbs, and discovered that several of his buttons were gone and his coat + turned over his head. His knife had gone from his pocket and his hat was + lost, though he had tied it under his chin. He recalled that he had been + looking for loose stones to raise his piece of the shelter wall. His + ice-axe had disappeared. + </p> + <p> + He decided he must have fallen, and looked up to see, exaggerated by the + ghastly light of the rising moon, the tremendous flight he had taken. For + a while he lay, gazing blankly at that vast pale cliff towering above, + rising moment by moment out of a subsiding tide of darkness. Its + phantasmal, mysterious beauty held him for a space, and then he was seized + with a paroxysm of sobbing laughter... + </p> + <p> + After a great interval of time he became aware that he was near the lower + edge of the snow. Below, down what was now a moonlit and practicable + slope, he saw the dark and broken appearance of rock-strewn turf. He + struggled to his feet, aching in every joint and limb, got down painfully + from the heaped loose snow about him, went downward until he was on the + turf, and there dropped rather than lay beside a boulder, drank deep from + the flask in his inner pocket, and instantly fell asleep... + </p> + <p> + He was awakened by the singing of birds in the trees far below. + </p> + <p> + He sat up and perceived he was on a little alp at the foot of a vast + precipice, that was grooved by the gully down which he and his snow had + come. Over against him another wall of rock reared itself against the sky. + The gorge between these precipices ran east and west and was full of the + morning sunlight, which lit to the westward the mass of fallen mountain + that closed the descending gorge. Below him it seemed there was a + precipice equally steep, but behind the snow in the gully he found a sort + of chimney-cleft dripping with snow-water down which a desperate man might + venture. He found it easier than it seemed, and came at last to another + desolate alp, and then after a rock climb of no particular difficulty to a + steep slope of trees. He took his bearings and turned his face up the + gorge, for he saw it opened out above upon green meadows, among which he + now glimpsed quite distinctly a cluster of stone huts of unfamiliar + fashion. At times his progress was like clambering along the face of a + wall, and after a time the rising sun ceased to strike along the gorge, + the voices of the singing birds died away, and the air grew cold and dark + about him. But the distant valley with its houses was all the brighter for + that. He came presently to talus, and among the rocks he noted—for + he was an observant man—an unfamiliar fern that seemed to clutch out + of the crevices with intense green hands. He picked a frond or so and + gnawed its stalk and found it helpful. + </p> + <p> + About midday he came at last out of the throat of the gorge into the plain + and the sunlight. He was stiff and weary; he sat down in the shadow of a + rock, filled up his flask with water from a spring and drank it down, and + remained for a time resting before he went on to the houses. + </p> + <p> + They were very strange to his eyes, and indeed the whole aspect of that + valley became, as he regarded it, queerer and more unfamiliar. The greater + part of its surface was lush green meadow, starred with many beautiful + flowers, irrigated with extraordinary care, and bearing evidence of + systematic cropping piece by piece. High up and ringing the valley about + was a wall, and what appeared to be a circumferential water-channel, from + which the little trickles of water that fed the meadow plants came, and on + the higher slopes above this flocks of llamas cropped the scanty herbage. + Sheds, apparently shelters or feeding-places for the llamas, stood against + the boundary wall here and there. The irrigation streams ran together into + a main channel down the centre of the valley, and this was enclosed on + either side by a wall breast high. This gave a singularly urban quality to + this secluded place, a quality that was greatly enhanced by the fact that + a number of paths paved with black and white stones, and each with a + curious little kerb at the side, ran hither and thither in an orderly + manner. The houses of the central village were quite unlike the casual and + higgledy-piggledy agglomeration of the mountain villages he knew; they + stood in a continuous row on either side of a central street of + astonishing cleanness; here and there their particoloured facade was + pierced by a door, and not a solitary window broke their even frontage. + They were particoloured with extraordinary irregularity, smeared with a + sort of plaster that was sometimes grey, sometimes drab, sometimes + slate-coloured or dark brown; and it was the sight of this wild plastering + first brought the word "blind" into the thoughts of the explorer. "The + good man who did that," he thought, "must have been as blind as a bat." + </p> + <p> + He descended a steep place, and so came to the wall and channel that ran + about the valley, near where the latter spouted out its surplus contents + into the deeps of the gorge in a thin and wavering thread of cascade. He + could now see a number of men and women resting on piled heaps of grass, + as if taking a siesta, in the remoter part of the meadow, and nearer the + village a number of recumbent children, and then nearer at hand three men + carrying pails on yokes along a little path that ran from the encircling + wall towards the houses. These latter were clad in garments of llama cloth + and boots and belts of leather, and they wore caps of cloth with back and + ear flaps. They followed one another in single file, walking slowly and + yawning as they walked, like men who have been up all night. There was + something so reassuringly prosperous and respectable in their bearing that + after a moment's hesitation Nunez stood forward as conspicuously as + possible upon his rock, and gave vent to a mighty shout that echoed round + the valley. + </p> + <p> + The three men stopped, and moved their heads as though they were looking + about them. They turned their faces this way and that, and Nunez + gesticulated with freedom. But they did not appear to see him for all his + gestures, and after a time, directing themselves towards the mountains far + away to the right, they shouted as if in answer. Nunez bawled again, and + then once more, and as he gestured ineffectually the word "blind" came up + to the top of his thoughts. "The fools must be blind," he said. + </p> + <p> + When at last, after much shouting and wrath, Nunez crossed the stream by a + little bridge, came through a gate in the wall, and approached them, he + was sure that they were blind. He was sure that this was the Country of + the Blind of which the legends told. Conviction had sprung upon him, and a + sense of great and rather enviable adventure. The three stood side by + side, not looking at him, but with their ears directed towards him, + judging him by his unfamiliar steps. They stood close together like men a + little afraid, and he could see their eyelids closed and sunken, as though + the very balls beneath had shrunk away. There was an expression near awe + on their faces. + </p> + <p> + "A man," one said, in hardly recognisable Spanish—"a man it is—a + man or a spirit—coming down from the rocks." + </p> + <p> + But Nunez advanced with the confident steps of a youth who enters upon + life. All the old stories of the lost valley and the Country of the Blind + had come back to his mind, and through his thoughts ran this old proverb, + as if it were a refrain— + </p> + <p> + "In the Country of the Blind the One-eyed Man is King." + </p> + <p> + "In the Country of the Blind the One-eyed Man is King." + </p> + <p> + And very civilly he gave them greeting. He talked to them and used his + eyes. + </p> + <p> + "Where does he come from, brother Pedro?" asked one. + </p> + <p> + "Down out of the rocks." + </p> + <p> + "Over the mountains I come," said Nunez, "out of the country beyond there—where + men can see. From near Bogota, where there are a hundred thousands of + people, and where the city passes out of sight." + </p> + <p> + "Sight?" muttered Pedro. "Sight?" + </p> + <p> + "He comes," said the second blind man, "out of the rocks." + </p> + <p> + The cloth of their coats Nunez saw was curiously fashioned, each with a + different sort of stitching. + </p> + <p> + They startled him by a simultaneous movement towards him, each with a hand + outstretched. He stepped back from the advance of these spread fingers. + </p> + <p> + "Come hither," said the third blind man, following his motion and + clutching him neatly. + </p> + <p> + And they held Nunez and felt him over, saying no word further until they + had done so. + </p> + <p> + "Carefully," he cried, with a finger in his eye, and found they thought + that organ, with its fluttering lids, a queer thing in him. They went over + it again. + </p> + <p> + "A strange creature, Correa," said the one called Pedro. "Feel the + coarseness of his hair. Like a llama's hair." + </p> + <p> + "Rough he is as the rocks that begot him," said Correa, investigating + Nunez's unshaven chin with a soft and slightly moist hand. "Perhaps he + will grow finer." Nunez struggled a little under their examination, but + they gripped him firm. + </p> + <p> + "Carefully," he said again. + </p> + <p> + "He speaks," said the third man. "Certainly he is a man." + </p> + <p> + "Ugh!" said Pedro, at the roughness of his coat. + </p> + <p> + "And you have come into the world?" asked Pedro. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Out</i> of the world. Over mountains and glaciers; right over above + there, half-way to the sun. Out of the great big world that goes down, + twelve days' journey to the sea." + </p> + <p> + They scarcely seemed to heed him. "Our fathers have told us men may be + made by the forces of Nature," said Correa. "It is the warmth of things + and moisture, and rottenness—rottenness." + </p> + <p> + "Let us lead him to the elders," said Pedro. + </p> + <p> + "Shout first," said Correa, "lest the children be afraid... This is a + marvellous occasion." + </p> + <p> + So they shouted, and Pedro went first and took Nunez by the hand to lead + him to the houses. + </p> + <p> + He drew his hand away. "I can see," he said. + </p> + <p> + "See?" said Correa. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, see," said Nunez, turning towards him, and stumbled against Pedro's + pail. + </p> + <p> + "His senses are still imperfect," said the third blind man. "He stumbles, + and talks unmeaning words. Lead him by the hand." + </p> + <p> + "As you will," said Nunez, and was led along, laughing. + </p> + <p> + It seemed they knew nothing of sight. + </p> + <p> + Well, all in good time he would teach them. + </p> + <p> + He heard people shouting, and saw a number of figures gathering together + in the middle roadway of the village. + </p> + <p> + He found it tax his nerve and patience more than he had anticipated, that + first encounter with the population of the Country of the Blind. The place + seemed larger as he drew near to it, and the smeared plasterings queerer, + and a crowd of children and men and women (the women and girls, he was + pleased to note, had some of them quite sweet faces, for all that their + eyes were shut and sunken) came about him, holding on to him, touching him + with soft, sensitive hands, smelling at him, and listening at every word + he spoke. Some of the maidens and children, however, kept aloof as if + afraid, and indeed his voice seemed coarse and rude beside their softer + notes. They mobbed him. His three guides kept close to him with an effect + of proprietorship, and said again and again, "A wild man out of the rock." + </p> + <p> + "Bogota," he said. "Bogota. Over the mountain crests." + </p> + <p> + "A wild man—using wild words," said Pedro. "Did you hear that— + <i>Bogota</i>? His mind is hardly formed yet. He has only the beginnings + of speech." + </p> + <p> + A little boy nipped his hand. "Bogota!" he said mockingly. + </p> + <p> + "Ay! A city to your village. I come from the great world—where men + have eyes and see." + </p> + <p> + "His name's Bogota," they said. + </p> + <p> + "He stumbled," said Correa, "stumbled twice as we came hither." + </p> + <p> + "Bring him to the elders." + </p> + <p> + And they thrust him suddenly through a doorway into a room as black as + pitch, save at the end there faintly glowed a fire. The crowd closed in + behind him and shut out all but the faintest glimmer of day, and before he + could arrest himself he had fallen headlong over the feet of a seated man. + His arm, outflung, struck the face of someone else as he went down; he + felt the soft impact of features and heard a cry of anger, and for a + moment he struggled against a number of hands that clutched him. It was a + one-sided fight. An inkling of the situation came to him, and he lay + quiet. + </p> + <p> + "I fell down," he said; "I couldn't see in this pitchy darkness." + </p> + <p> + There was a pause as if the unseen persons about him tried to understand + his words. Then the voice of Correa said: "He is but newly formed. He + stumbles as he walks and mingles words that mean nothing with his speech." + </p> + <p> + Others also said things about him that he heard or understood imperfectly. + </p> + <p> + "May I sit up?" he asked, in a pause. "I will not struggle against you + again." + </p> + <p> + They consulted and let him rise. + </p> + <p> + The voice of an older man began to question him, and Nunez found himself + trying to explain the great world out of which he had fallen, and the sky + and mountains and sight and such-like marvels, to these elders who sat in + darkness in the Country of the Blind. And they would believe and + understand nothing whatever he told them, a thing quite outside his + expectation. They would not even understand many of his words. For + fourteen generations these people had been blind and cut off from all the + seeing world; the names for all the things of sight had faded and changed; + the story of the outer world was faded and changed to a child's story; and + they had ceased to concern themselves with anything beyond the rocky + slopes above their circling wall. Blind men of genius had arisen among + them and questioned the shreds of belief and tradition they had brought + with them from their seeing days, and had dismissed all these things as + idle fancies, and replaced them with new and saner explanations. Much of + their imagination had shrivelled with their eyes, and they had made for + themselves new imaginations with their ever more sensitive ears and + finger-tips. Slowly Nunez realised this; that his expectation of wonder + and reverence at his origin and his gifts was not to be borne out; and + after his poor attempt to explain sight to them had been set aside as the + confused version of a new-made being describing the marvels of his + incoherent sensations, he subsided, a little dashed, into listening to + their instruction. And the eldest of the blind men explained to him life + and philosophy and religion, how that the world (meaning their valley) had + been first an empty hollow in the rocks, and then had come, first, + inanimate things without the gift of touch, and llamas and a few other + creatures that had little sense, and then men, and at last angels, whom + one could hear singing and making fluttering sounds, but whom no one could + touch at all, which puzzled Nunez greatly until he thought of the birds. + </p> + <p> + He went on to tell Nunez how this time had been divided into the warm and + the cold, which are the blind equivalents of day and night, and how it was + good to sleep in the warm and work during the cold, so that now, but for + his advent, the whole town of the blind would have been asleep. He said + Nunez must have been specially created to learn and serve the wisdom, they + had acquired, and that for all his mental incoherency and stumbling + behaviour he must have courage, and do his best to learn, and at that all + the people in the doorway murmured encouragingly. He said the night—for + the blind call their day night—was now far gone, and it behoved + every one to go back to sleep. He asked Nunez if he knew how to sleep, and + Nunez said he did, but that before sleep he wanted food. + </p> + <p> + They brought him food—llama's milk in a bowl, and rough salted bread—and + led him into a lonely place, to eat out of their hearing, and afterwards + to slumber until the chill of the mountain evening roused them to begin + their day again. But Nunez slumbered not at all. + </p> + <p> + Instead, he sat up in the place where they had left him, resting his limbs + and turning the unanticipated circumstances of his arrival over and over + in his mind. + </p> + <p> + Every now and then he laughed, sometimes with amusement, and sometimes + with indignation. + </p> + <p> + "Unformed mind!" he said. "Got no senses yet! They little know they've + been insulting their heaven-sent king and master. I see I must bring them + to reason. Let me think—let me think." + </p> + <p> + He was still thinking when the sun set. + </p> + <p> + Nunez had an eye for all beautiful things, and it seemed to him that the + glow upon the snowfields and glaciers that rose about the valley on every + side was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His eyes went from + that inaccessible glory to the village and irrigated fields, fast sinking + into the twilight, and suddenly a wave of emotion took him, and he thanked + God from the bottom of his heart that the power of sight had been given + him. + </p> + <p> + He heard a voice calling to him from out of the village. "Ya ho there, + Bogota! Come hither!" + </p> + <p> + At that he stood up smiling. He would show these people once and for all + what sight would do for a man. They would seek him, but not find him. + </p> + <p> + "You move not, Bogota," said the voice. + </p> + <p> + He laughed noiselessly, and made two stealthy steps aside from the path. + </p> + <p> + "Trample not on the grass, Bogota; that is not allowed." + </p> + <p> + Nunez had scarcely heard the sound he made himself. He stopped amazed. + </p> + <p> + The owner of the voice came running up the piebald path towards him. + </p> + <p> + He stepped back into the pathway. "Here I am," he said. + </p> + <p> + "Why did you not come when I called you?" said the blind man. "Must you be + led like a child? Cannot you hear the path as you walk?" + </p> + <p> + Nunez laughed. "I can see it," he said. + </p> + <p> + "There is no such word as <i>see</i>," said the blind man, after a pause. + "Cease this folly, and follow the sound of my feet." + </p> + <p> + Nunez followed, a little annoyed. + </p> + <p> + "My time will come," he said. + </p> + <p> + "You'll learn," the blind man answered. "There is much to learn in the + world." + </p> + <p> + "Has no one told you, 'In the Country of the Blind the One-eyed Man is + King'?" + </p> + <p> + "What is blind?" asked the blind man carelessly over his shoulder. + </p> + <p> + Four days passed, and the fifth found the King of the Blind still + incognito, as a clumsy and useless stranger among his subjects. + </p> + <p> + It was, he found, much more difficult to proclaim himself than he had + supposed, and in the meantime, while he meditated his <i>coup d'itat,</i> + he did what he was told and learnt the manners and customs of the Country + of the Blind. He found working and going about at night a particularly + irksome thing, and he decided that that should be the first thing he would + change. + </p> + <p> + They led a simple, laborious life, these people, with all the elements of + virtue and happiness, as these things can be understood by men. They + toiled, but not oppressively; they had food and clothing sufficient for + their needs; they had days and seasons of rest; they made much of music + and singing, and there was love among them, and little children. + </p> + <p> + It was marvellous with what confidence and precision they went about their + ordered world. Everything, you see, had been made to fit their needs; each + of the radiating paths of the valley area had a constant angle to the + others, and was distinguished by a special notch upon its kerbing; all + obstacles and irregularities of path or meadow had long since been cleared + away; all their methods and procedure arose naturally from their special + needs. Their senses had become marvellously acute; they could hear and + judge the slightest gesture of a man a dozen paces away—could hear + the very beating of his heart. Intonation had long replaced expression + with them, and touches gesture, and their work with hoe and spade and fork + was as free and confident as garden work can be. Their sense of smell was + extraordinarily fine; they could distinguish individual differences as + readily as a dog can, and they went about the tending of the llamas, who + lived among the rocks above and came to the wall for food and shelter, + with ease and confidence. It was only when at last Nunez sought to assert + himself that he found how easy and confident their movements could be. + </p> + <p> + He rebelled only after he had tried persuasion. + </p> + <p> + He tried at first on several occasions to tell them of sight. "Look you + here, you people," he said. "There are things you do not understand in + me." + </p> + <p> + Once or twice one or two of them attended to him; they sat with faces + downcast and ears turned intelligently towards him, and he did his best to + tell them what it was to see. Among his hearers was a girl, with eyelids + less red and sunken than the others, so that one could almost fancy she + was hiding eyes, whom especially he hoped to persuade. He spoke of the + beauties of sight, of watching the mountains, of the sky and the sunrise, + and they heard him with amused incredulity that presently became + condemnatory. They told him there were indeed no mountains at all, but + that the end of the rocks where the llamas grazed was indeed the end of + the world; thence sprang a cavernous roof of the universe, from which the + dew and the avalanches fell; and when he maintained stoutly the world had + neither end nor roof such as they supposed, they said his thoughts were + wicked. So far as he could describe sky and clouds and stars to them it + seemed to them a hideous void, a terrible blankness in the place of the + smooth roof to things in which they believed—it was an article of + faith with them that the cavern roof was exquisitely smooth to the touch. + He saw that in some manner he shocked them, and gave up that aspect of the + matter altogether, and tried to show them the practical value of sight. + One morning he saw Pedro in the path called Seventeen and coming towards + the central houses, but still too far off for hearing or scent, and he + told them as much. "In a little while," he prophesied, "Pedro will be + here." An old man remarked that Pedro had no business on path Seventeen, + and then, as if in confirmation, that individual as he drew near turned + and went transversely into path Ten, and so back with nimble paces towards + the outer wall. They mocked Nunez when Pedro did not arrive, and + afterwards, when he asked Pedro questions to clear his character, Pedro + denied and outfaced him, and was afterwards hostile to him. + </p> + <p> + Then he induced them to let him go a long way up the sloping meadows + towards the wall with one complacent individual, and to him he promised to + describe all that happened among the houses. He noted certain goings and + comings, but the things that really seemed to signify to these people + happened inside of or behind the windowless houses—the only things + they took note of to test him by—and of these he could see or tell + nothing; and it was after the failure of this attempt, and the ridicule + they could not repress, that he resorted to force. He thought of seizing a + spade and suddenly smiting one or two of them to earth, and so in fair + combat showing the advantage of eyes. He went so far with that resolution + as to seize his spade, and then he discovered a new thing about himself, + and that was that it was impossible for him to hit a blind man in cold + blood. + </p> + <p> + He hesitated, and found them all aware that he had snatched up the spade. + They stood alert, with their heads on one side, and bent ears towards him + for what he would do next. + </p> + <p> + "Put that spade down," said one, and he felt a sort of helpless horror. He + came near obedience. + </p> + <p> + Then he thrust one backwards against a house wall, and fled past him and + out of the village. + </p> + <p> + He went athwart one of their meadows, leaving a track of trampled grass + behind his feet, and presently sat down by the side of one of their ways. + He felt something of the buoyancy that comes to all men in the beginning + of a fight, but more perplexity. He began to realise that you cannot even + fight happily with creatures who stand upon a different mental basis to + yourself. Far away he saw a number of men carrying spades and sticks come + out of the street of houses, and advance in a spreading line along the + several paths towards him. They advanced slowly, speaking frequently to + one another, and ever and again the whole cordon would halt and sniff the + air and listen. + </p> + <p> + The first time they did this Nunez laughed. But afterwards he did not + laugh. + </p> + <p> + One struck his trail in the meadow grass, and came stooping and feeling + his way along it. + </p> + <p> + For five minutes he watched the slow extension of the cordon, and then his + vague disposition to do something forthwith became frantic. He stood up, + went a pace or so towards the circumferential wall, turned, and went back + a little way. There they all stood in a crescent, still and listening. + </p> + <p> + He also stood still, gripping his spade very tightly in both hands. Should + he charge them? + </p> + <p> + The pulse in his ears ran into the rhythm of "In the Country of the Blind + the One-eyed Man is King!" + </p> + <p> + Should he charge them? + </p> + <p> + He looked back at the high and unclimbable wall behind—unclimbable + because of its smooth plastering, but withal pierced with many little + doors, and at the approaching line of seekers. Behind these others were + now coming out of the street of houses. + </p> + <p> + Should he charge them? + </p> + <p> + "Bogota!" called one. "Bogota! where are you?" + </p> + <p> + He gripped his spade still tighter, and advanced down the meadows towards + the place of habitations, and directly he moved they converged upon him. + "I'll hit them if they touch me," he swore; "by Heaven, I will. I'll hit." + He called aloud, "Look here, I'm going to do what I like in this valley. + Do you hear? I'm going to do what I like and go where I like!" + </p> + <p> + They were moving in upon him quickly, groping, yet moving rapidly. It was + like playing blind man's buff, with everyone blindfolded except one. "Get + hold of him!" cried one. He found himself in the arc of a loose curve of + pursuers. He felt suddenly he must be active and resolute. + </p> + <p> + "You don't understand," he cried in a voice that was meant to be great and + resolute, and which broke. "You are blind, and I can see. Leave me alone!" + </p> + <p> + "Bogota! Put down that spade, and come off the grass!" + </p> + <p> + The last order, grotesque in its urban familiarity, produced a gust of + anger. + </p> + <p> + "I'll hurt you," he said, sobbing with emotion. "By Heaven, I'll hurt you. + Leave me alone!" + </p> + <p> + He began to run, not knowing clearly where to run. He ran from the nearest + blind man, because it was a horror to hit him. He stopped, and then made a + dash to escape from their closing ranks. He made for where a gap was wide, + and the men on either side, with a quick perception of the approach of his + paces, rushed in on one another. He sprang forward, and then saw he must + be caught, and <i>swish</i>! the spade had struck. He felt the soft thud + of hand and arm, and the man was down with a yell of pain, and he was + through. + </p> + <p> + Through! And then he was close to the street of houses again, and blind + men, whirling spades and stakes, were running with a sort of reasoned + swiftness hither and thither. + </p> + <p> + He heard steps behind him just in time, and found a tall man rushing + forward and swiping at the sound of him. He lost his nerve, hurled his + spade a yard wide at his antagonist, and whirled about and fled, fairly + yelling as he dodged another. + </p> + <p> + He was panic-stricken. He ran furiously to and fro, dodging when there was + no need to dodge, and in his anxiety to see on every side of him at once, + stumbling. For a moment he was down and they heard his fall. Far away in + the circumferential wall a little doorway looked like heaven, and he set + off in a wild rush for it. He did not even look round at his pursuers + until it was gained, and he had stumbled across the bridge, clambered a + little way among the rocks, to the surprise and dismay of a young llama, + who went leaping out of sight, and lay down sobbing for breath. + </p> + <p> + And so his <i>coup d'itat</i> came to an end. + </p> + <p> + He stayed outside the wall of the valley of the Blind for two nights and + days without food or shelter, and meditated upon the unexpected. During + these meditations he repeated very frequently and always with a profounder + note of derision the exploded proverb: "In the Country of the Blind the + One-Eyed Man is King." He thought chiefly of ways of fighting and + conquering these people, and it grew clear that for him no practicable way + was possible. He had no weapons, and now it would be hard to get one. + </p> + <p> + The canker of civilisation had got to him even in Bogota, and he could not + find it in himself to go down and assassinate a blind man. Of course, if + he did that, he might then dictate terms on the threat of assassinating + them all. But—sooner or later he must sleep!... + </p> + <p> + He tried also to find food among the pine trees, to be comfortable under + pine boughs while the frost fell at night, and—with less confidence—to + catch a llama by artifice in order to try to kill it—perhaps by + hammering it with a stone—and so finally, perhaps, to eat some of + it. But the llamas had a doubt of him and regarded him with distrustful + brown eyes, and spat when he drew near. Fear came on him the second day + and fits of shivering. Finally he crawled down to the wall of the Country + of the Blind and tried to make terms. He crawled along by the stream, + shouting, until two blind men came out to the gate and talked to him. + </p> + <p> + "I was mad," he said. "But I was only newly made." + </p> + <p> + They said that was better. + </p> + <p> + He told them he was wiser now, and repented of all he had done. + </p> + <p> + Then he wept without intention, for he was very weak and ill now, and they + took that as a favourable sign. + </p> + <p> + They asked him if he still thought he could "<i>see</i>" + </p> + <p> + "No," he said. "That was folly. The word means nothing—less than + nothing!" + </p> + <p> + They asked him what was overhead. + </p> + <p> + "About ten times ten the height of a man there is a roof above the world— + of rock—and very, very smooth." ... He burst again into hysterical + tears. "Before you ask me any more, give me some food or I shall die." + </p> + <p> + He expected dire punishments, but these blind people were capable of + toleration. They regarded his rebellion as but one more proof of his + general idiocy and inferiority; and after they had whipped him they + appointed him to do the simplest and heaviest work they had for anyone to + do, and he, seeing no other way of living, did submissively what he was + told. + </p> + <p> + He was ill for some days, and they nursed him kindly. That refined his + submission. But they insisted on his lying in the dark, and that was a + great misery. And blind philosophers came and talked to him of the wicked + levity of his mind, and reproved him so impressively for his doubts about + the lid of rock that covered their cosmic casserole that he almost doubted + whether indeed he was not the victim of hallucination in not seeing it + overhead. + </p> + <p> + So Nunez became a citizen of the Country of the Blind, and these people + ceased to be a generalised people and became individualities and familiar + to him, while the world beyond the mountains became more and more remote + and unreal. There was Yacob, his master, a kindly man when not annoyed; + there was Pedro, Yacob's nephew; and there was Medina-saroti, who was the + youngest daughter of Yacob. She was little esteemed in the world of the + blind, because she had a clear-cut face, and lacked that satisfying, + glossy smoothness that is the blind man's ideal of feminine beauty; but + Nunez thought her beautiful at first, and presently the most beautiful + thing in the whole creation. Her closed eyelids were not sunken and red + after the common way of the valley, but lay as though they might open + again at any moment; and she had long eyelashes, which were considered a + grave disfigurement. And her voice was strong, and did not satisfy the + acute hearing of the valley swains. So that she had no lover. + </p> + <p> + There came a time when Nunez thought that, could he win her, he would be + resigned to live in the valley for all the rest of his days. + </p> + <p> + He watched her; he sought opportunities of doing her little services, and + presently he found that she observed him. Once at a rest-day gathering + they sat side by side in the dim starlight, and the music was sweet. His + hand came upon hers and he dared to clasp it. Then very tenderly she + returned his pressure. And one day, as they were at their meal in the + darkness, he felt her hand very softly seeking him, and as it chanced the + fire leapt then and he saw the tenderness of her face. + </p> + <p> + He sought to speak to her. + </p> + <p> + He went to her one day when she was sitting in the summer moonlight + spinning. The light made her a thing of silver and mystery. He sat down at + her feet and told her he loved her, and told her how beautiful she seemed + to him. He had a lover's voice, he spoke with a tender reverence that came + near to awe, and she had never before been touched by adoration. She made + him no definite answer, but it was clear his words pleased her. + </p> + <p> + After that he talked to her whenever he could take an opportunity. The + valley became the world for him, and the world beyond the mountains where + men lived in sunlight seemed no more than a fairy tale he would some day + pour into her ears. Very tentatively and timidly he spoke to her of sight. + </p> + <p> + Sight seemed to her the most poetical of fancies, and she listened to his + description of the stars and the mountains and her own sweet white-lit + beauty as though it was a guilty indulgence. She did not believe, she + could only half understand, but she was mysteriously delighted, and it + seemed to him that she completely understood. + </p> + <p> + His love lost its awe and took courage. Presently he was for demanding her + of Yacob and the elders in marriage, but she became fearful and delayed. + And it was one of her elder sisters who first told Yacob that + Medina-saroti and Nunez were in love. + </p> + <p> + There was from the first very great opposition to the marriage of Nunez + and Medina-saroti; not so much because they valued her as because they + held him as a being apart, an idiot, incompetent thing below the + permissible level of a man. Her sisters opposed it bitterly as bringing + discredit on them all; and old Yacob, though he had formed a sort of + liking for his clumsy, obedient serf, shook his head and said the thing + could not be. The young men were all angry at the idea of corrupting the + race, and one went so far as to revile and strike Nunez. He struck back. + Then for the first time he found an advantage in seeing, even by twilight, + and after that fight was over no one was disposed to raise a hand against + him. But they still found his marriage impossible. + </p> + <p> + Old Yacob had a tenderness for his last little daughter, and was grieved + to have her weep upon his shoulder. + </p> + <p> + "You see, my dear, he's an idiot. He has delusions; he can't do anything + right." + </p> + <p> + "I know," wept Medina-saroti. "But he's better than he was. He's getting + better. And he's strong, dear father, and kind—stronger and kinder + than any other man in the world. And he loves me—and, father, I + love him." + </p> + <p> + Old Yacob was greatly distressed to find her inconsolable, and, besides— + what made it more distressing—he liked Nunez for many things. So he + went and sat in the windowless council-chamber with the other elders and + watched the trend of the talk, and said, at the proper time, "He's better + than he was. Very likely, some day, we shall find him as sane as + ourselves." + </p> + <p> + Then afterwards one of the elders, who thought deeply, had an idea. He was + the great doctor among these people, their medicine-man, and he had a very + philosophical and inventive mind, and the idea of curing Nunez of his + peculiarities appealed to him. One day when Yacob was present he returned + to the topic of Nunez. + </p> + <p> + "I have examined Bogota," he said, "and the case is clearer to me. I think + very probably he might be cured." + </p> + <p> + "That is what I have always hoped," said old Yacob. + </p> + <p> + "His brain is affected," said the blind doctor. + </p> + <p> + The elders murmured assent. + </p> + <p> + "Now, <i>what</i> affects it?" + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" said old Yacob. + </p> + <p> + "<i>This</i>," said the doctor, answering his own question. "Those queer + things that are called the eyes, and which exist to make an agreeable soft + depression in the face, are diseased, in the case of Bogota, in such a way + as to affect his brain. They are greatly distended, he has eyelashes, and + his eyelids move, and consequently his brain is in a state of constant + irritation and distraction." + </p> + <p> + "Yes?" said old Yacob. "Yes?" + </p> + <p> + "And I think I may say with reasonable certainty that, in order to cure + him completely, all that we need do is a simple and easy surgical + operation—namely, to remove these irritant bodies." + </p> + <p> + "And then he will be sane?" + </p> + <p> + "Then he will be perfectly sane, and a quite admirable citizen." + </p> + <p> + "Thank Heaven for science!" said old Yacob, and went forth at once to tell + Nunez of his happy hopes. + </p> + <p> + But Nunez's manner of receiving the good news struck him as being cold and + disappointing. + </p> + <p> + "One might think," he said, "from the tone you take, that you did not care + for my daughter." + </p> + <p> + It was Medina-saroti who persuaded Nunez to face the blind surgeons. + </p> + <p> + "<i>You</i> do not want me," he said, "to lose my gift of sight?" + </p> + <p> + She shook her head. + </p> + <p> + "My world is sight." + </p> + <p> + Her head drooped lower. + </p> + <p> + "There are the beautiful things, the beautiful little things—the + flowers, the lichens among the rocks, the lightness and softness on a + piece of fur, the far sky with its drifting down of clouds, the sunsets + and the stars. And there is <i>you</i>. For you alone it is good to have + sight, to see your sweet, serene face, your kindly lips, your dear, + beautiful hands folded together... It is these eyes of mine you won, these + eyes that hold me to you, that these idiots seek. Instead, I must touch + you, hear you, and never see you again. I must come under that roof of + rock and stone and darkness, that horrible roof under which your + imagination stoops... No; you would not have me do that?" + </p> + <p> + A disagreeable doubt had arisen in him. He stopped, and left the thing a + question. + </p> + <p> + "I wish," she said, "sometimes——" She paused. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said he, a little apprehensively. + </p> + <p> + "I wish sometimes—you would not talk like that." + </p> + <p> + "Like what?" + </p> + <p> + "I know it's pretty—it's your imagination. I love it, but <i>now</i>——" + </p> + <p> + He felt cold. "<i>Now</i>?" he said faintly. + </p> + <p> + She sat quite still. + </p> + <p> + "You mean—you think—I should be better, better perhaps——-" + </p> + <p> + He was realising things very swiftly. He felt anger, indeed, anger at the + dull course of fate, but also sympathy for her lack of understanding—a + sympathy near akin to pity. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dear</i>," he said, and he could see by her whiteness how intensely + her spirit pressed against the things she could not say. He put his arms + about her, he kissed her ear, and they sat for a time in silence. + </p> + <p> + "If I were to consent to this?" he said at last, in a voice that was very + gentle. + </p> + <p> + She flung her arms about him, weeping wildly. "Oh, if you would," she + sobbed, "if only you would!" + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + For a week before the operation that was to raise him from his servitude + and inferiority to the level of a blind citizen, Nunez knew nothing of + sleep, and all through the warm sunlit hours, while the others slumbered + happily, he sat brooding or wandered aimlessly, trying to bring his mind + to bear on his dilemma. He had given his answer, he had given his consent, + and still he was not sure. And at last work-time was over, the sun rose in + splendour over the golden crests, and his last day of vision began for + him. He had a few minutes with Medina-saroti before she went apart to + sleep. + </p> + <p> + "To-morrow," he said, "I shall see no more." + </p> + <p> + "Dear heart!" she answered, and pressed his hands with all her strength. + </p> + <p> + "They will hurt you but little," she said; "and you are going through this + pain—you are going through it, dear lover, for <i>me</i>... Dear, if + a woman's heart and life can do it, I will repay you. My dearest one, my + dearest with the tender voice, I will repay." + </p> + <p> + He was drenched in pity for himself and her. + </p> + <p> + He held her in his arms, and pressed his lips to hers, and looked on her + sweet face for the last time. "Good-bye!" he whispered at that dear sight, + "good-bye!" + </p> + <p> + And then in silence he turned away from her. + </p> + <p> + She could hear his slow retreating footsteps, and something in the rhythm + of them threw her into a passion of weeping. + </p> + <p> + He had fully meant to go to a lonely place where the meadows were + beautiful with white narcissus, and there remain until the hour of his + sacrifice should come, but as he went he lifted up his eyes and saw the + morning, the morning like an angel in golden armour, marching down the + steeps... + </p> + <p> + It seemed to him that before this splendour he, and this blind world in + the valley, and his love, and all, were no more than a pit of sin. + </p> + <p> + He did not turn aside as he had meant to do, but went on, and passed + through the wall of the circumference and out upon the rocks, and his eyes + were always upon the sunlit ice and snow. + </p> + <p> + He saw their infinite beauty, and his imagination soared over them to the + things beyond he was now to resign for ever. + </p> + <p> + He thought of that great free world he was parted from, the world that was + his own, and he had a vision of those further slopes, distance beyond + distance, with Bogota, a place of multitudinous stirring beauty, a glory + by day, a luminous mystery by night, a place of palaces and fountains and + statues and white houses, lying beautifully in the middle distance. He + thought how for a day or so one might come down through passes, drawing + ever nearer and nearer to its busy streets and ways. He thought of the + river journey, day by day, from great Bogota to the still vaster world + beyond, through towns and villages, forest and desert places, the rushing + river day by day, until its banks receded and the big steamers came + splashing by, and one had reached the sea—the limitless sea, with + its thousand islands, its thousands of islands, and its ships seen dimly + far away in their incessant journeyings round and about that greater + world. And there, unpent by mountains, one saw the sky—the sky, not + such a disc as one saw it here, but an arch of immeasurable blue, a deep + of deeps in which the circling stars were floating... + </p> + <p> + His eyes scrutinised the great curtain of the mountains with a keener + inquiry. + </p> + <p> + For example, if one went so, up that gully and to that chimney there, then + one might come out high among those stunted pines that ran round in a sort + of shelf and rose still higher and higher as it passed above the gorge. + And then? That talus might be managed. Thence perhaps a climb might be + found to take him up to the precipice that came below the snow; and if + that chimney failed, then another farther to the east might serve his + purpose better. And then? Then one would be out upon the amber-lit snow + there, and half-way up to the crest of those beautiful desolations. + </p> + <p> + He glanced back at the village, then turned right round and regarded it + steadfastly. + </p> + <p> + He thought of Medina-saroti, and she had become small and remote. + </p> + <p> + He turned again towards the mountain wall, down which the day had come to + him. + </p> + <p> + Then very circumspectly he began to climb. + </p> + <p> + When sunset came he was no longer climbing, but he was far and high. He + had been higher, but he was still very high. His clothes were torn, his + limbs were blood-stained, he was bruised in many places, but he lay as if + he were at his ease, and there was a smile on his face. + </p> + <p> + From where he rested the valley seemed as if it were in a pit and nearly a + mile below. Already it was dim with haze and shadow, though the mountain + summits around him were things of light and fire. The mountain summits + around him were things of light and fire, and the little details of the + rocks near at hand were drenched with subtle beauty—a vein of green + mineral piercing the grey, the flash of crystal faces here and there, a + minute, minutely-beautiful orange lichen close beside his face. There were + deep mysterious shadows in the gorge, blue deepening into purple, and + purple into a luminous darkness, and overhead was the illimitable vastness + of the sky. But he heeded these things no longer, but lay quite inactive + there, smiling as if he were satisfied merely to have escaped from the + valley of the Blind in which he had thought to be King. + </p> + <p> + The glow of the sunset passed, and the night came, and still he lay + peacefully contented under the cold clear stars. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0034" id="link2H_4_0034"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXIII. — THE BEAUTIFUL SUIT. + </h2> + <p> + There was once a little man whose mother made him a beautiful suit of + clothes. It was green and gold, and woven so that I cannot describe how + delicate and fine it was, and there was a tie of orange fluffiness that + tied up under his chin. And the buttons in their newness shone like stars. + He was proud and pleased by his suit beyond measure, and stood before the + long looking-glass when first he put it on, so astonished and delighted + with it that he could hardly turn himself away. He wanted to wear it + everywhere, and show it to all sorts of people. He thought over all the + places he had ever visited, and all the scenes he had ever heard + described, and tried to imagine what the feel of it would be if he were to + go now to those scenes and places wearing his shining suit, and he wanted + to go out forthwith into the long grass and the hot sunshine of the meadow + wearing it. Just to wear it! But his mother told him "No." She told him he + must take great care of his suit, for never would he have another nearly + so fine; he must save it and save it, and only wear it on rare and great + occasions. It was his wedding-suit, she said. And she took the buttons and + twisted them up with tissue paper for fear their bright newness should be + tarnished, and she tacked little guards over the cuffs and elbows, and + wherever the suit was most likely to come to harm. He hated and resisted + these things, but what could he do? And at last her warnings and + persuasions had effect, and he consented to take off his beautiful suit + and fold it into its proper creases, and put it away. It was almost as + though he gave it up again. But he was always thinking of wearing it, and + of the supreme occasions when some day it might be worn without the + guards, without the tissue paper on the buttons, utterly and delightfully, + never caring, beautiful beyond measure. + </p> + <p> + One night, when he was dreaming of it after his habit, he dreamt he took + the tissue paper from one of the buttons, and found its brightness a + little faded, and that distressed him mightily in his dream. He polished + the poor faded button and polished it, and, if anything, it grew duller. + He woke up and lay awake, thinking of the brightness a little dulled, and + wondering how he would feel if perhaps when the great occasion (whatever + it might be) should arrive, one button should chance to be ever so little + short of its first glittering freshness, and for days and days that + thought remained with him distressingly. And when next his mother let him + wear his suit, he was tempted and nearly gave way to the temptation just + to fumble off one little bit of tissue paper and see if indeed the buttons + were keeping as bright as ever. + </p> + <p> + He went trimly along on his way to church, full of this wild desire. For + you must know his mother did, with repeated and careful warnings, let him + wear his suit at times, on Sundays, for example, to and fro from church, + when there was no threatening of rain, no dust blowing, nor anything to + injure it, with its buttons covered and its protections tacked upon it, + and a sun-shade in his hand to shadow it if there seemed too strong a + sunlight for its colours. And always, after such occasions, he brushed it + over and folded it exquisitely as she had taught him, and put it away + again. + </p> + <p> + Now all these restrictions his mother set to the wearing of his suit he + obeyed, always he obeyed them, until one strange night he woke up and saw + the moonlight shining outside his window. It seemed to him the moonlight + was not common moonlight, nor the night a common night, and for awhile he + lay quite drowsily, with this odd persuasion in his mind. Thought joined + on to thought like things that whisper warmly in the shadows. Then he sat + up in his little bed suddenly very alert, with his heart beating very + fast, and a quiver in his body from top to toe. He had made up his mind. + He knew that now he was going to wear his suit as it should be worn. He + had no doubt in the matter. He was afraid, terribly afraid, but glad, + glad. + </p> + <p> + He got out of his bed and stood for a moment by the window looking at the + moonshine-flooded garden, and trembling at the thing he meant to do. The + air was full of a minute clamour of crickets and murmurings, of the + infinitesimal shoutings of little living things. He went very gently + across the creaking boards, for fear that he might wake the sleeping + house, to the big dark clothes-press wherein his beautiful suit lay + folded, and he took it out garment by garment, and softly and very eagerly + tore off its tissue-paper covering and its tacked protections until there + it was, perfect and delightful as he had seen it when first his mother had + given it to him—a long time it seemed ago. Not a button had + tarnished, not a thread had faded on this dear suit of his; he was glad + enough for weeping as in a noiseless hurry he put it on. And then back he + went, soft and quick, to the window that looked out upon the garden, and + stood there for a minute, shining in the moonlight, with his buttons + twinkling like stars, before he got out on the sill, and, making as little + of a rustling as he could, clambered down to the garden path below. He + stood before his mother's house, and it was white and nearly as plain as + by day, with every window-blind but his own shut like an eye that sleeps. + The trees cast still shadows like intricate black lace upon the wall. + </p> + <p> + The garden in the moonlight was very different from the garden by day; + moonshine was tangled in the hedges and stretched in phantom cobwebs from + spray to spray. Every flower was gleaming white or crimson black, and the + air was a-quiver with the thridding of small crickets and nightingales + singing unseen in the depths of the trees. + </p> + <p> + There was no darkness in the world, but only warm, mysterious shadows, and + all the leaves and spikes were edged and lined with iridescent jewels of + dew. The night was warmer than any night had ever been, the heavens by + some miracle at once vaster and nearer, and, spite of the great + ivory-tinted moon that ruled the world, the sky was full of stars. + </p> + <p> + The little man did not shout nor sing for all his infinite gladness. He + stood for a time like one awestricken, and then, with a queer small cry + and holding out his arms, he ran out as if he would embrace at once the + whole round immensity of the world. He did not follow the neat set paths + that cut the garden squarely, but thrust across the beds and through the + wet, tall, scented herbs, through the night-stock and the nicotine and the + clusters of phantom white mallow flowers and through the thickets of + southernwood and lavender, and knee-deep across a wide space of + mignonette. He came to the great hedge, and he thrust his way through it; + and though the thorns of the brambles scored him deeply and tore threads + from his wonderful suit, and though burrs and goose-grass and havers + caught and clung to him, he did not care. He did not care, for he knew it + was all part of the wearing for which he had longed. "I am glad I put on + my suit," he said; "I am glad I wore my suit." + </p> + <p> + Beyond the hedge he came to the duck-pond, or at least to what was the + duck-pond by day. But by night it was a great bowl of silver moonshine all + noisy with singing frogs, of wonderful silver moonshine twisted and + clotted with strange patternings, and the little man ran down into its + waters between the thin black rushes, knee-deep and waist-deep and to his + shoulders, smiting the water to black and shining wavelets with either + hand, swaying and shivering wavelets, amidst which the stars were netted + in the tangled reflections of the brooding trees upon the bank. He waded + until he swam, and so he crossed the pond and came out upon the other + side, trailing, as it seemed to him, not duckweed, but very silver in + long, clinging, dripping masses. And up he went through the transfigured + tangles of the willow-herb and the uncut seeding grasses of the farther + bank. He came glad and breathless into the high-road. "I am glad," he + said, "beyond measure, that I had clothes that fitted this occasion." + </p> + <p> + The high-road ran straight as an arrow flies, straight into the deep-blue + pit of sky beneath the moon, a white and shining road between the singing + nightingales, and along it he went, running now and leaping, and now + walking and rejoicing, in the clothes his mother had made for him with + tireless, loving hands. The road was deep in dust, but that for him was + only soft whiteness; and as he went a great dim moth came fluttering round + his wet and shimmering and hastening figure. At first he did not heed the + moth, and then he waved his hands at it, and made a sort of dance with it + as it circled round his head. "Soft moth!" he cried, "dear moth! And + wonderful night, wonderful night of the world! Do you think my clothes are + beautiful, dear moth? As beautiful as your scales and all this silver + vesture of the earth and sky?" + </p> + <p> + And the moth circled closer and closer until at last its velvet wings just + brushed his lips... + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + And next morning they found him dead, with his neck broken, in the bottom + of the stone pit, with his beautiful clothes a little bloody, and foul and + stained with the duckweed from the pond. But his face was a face of such + happiness that, had you seen it, you would have understood indeed how that + he had died happy, never knowing that cool and streaming silver for the + duckweed in the pond. + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11870 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + |