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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/1188-h.zip b/1188-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5cb9c03 --- /dev/null +++ b/1188-h.zip diff --git a/1188-h/1188-h.htm b/1188-h/1188-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c7e815c --- /dev/null +++ b/1188-h/1188-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5465 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" /> +<title>The Lair of the White Worm</title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1, H2 { + text-align: center; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + } + H3, H4 { + text-align: left; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h2> +<a href="#startoftext">The Lair of the White Worm, by Bram Stoker</a> +</h2> +<pre> +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Lair of the White Worm, by Bram Stoker + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Lair of the White Worm + + +Author: Bram Stoker + +Release Date: March 27, 2005 [eBook #1188] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM*** +</pre> +<p><a name="startoftext"></a></p> +<p>Transcribed form the 1911 W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd. edition by David +Price, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk</p> +<h1>THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM</h1> +<p>To my friend Bertha Nicoll with affectionate esteem.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER I—ADAM SALTON ARRIVES</h2> +<p>Adam Salton sauntered into the Empire Club, Sydney, and found awaiting +him a letter from his grand-uncle. He had first heard from the +old gentleman less than a year before, when Richard Salton had claimed +kinship, stating that he had been unable to write earlier, as he had +found it very difficult to trace his grand-nephew’s address. +Adam was delighted and replied cordially; he had often heard his father +speak of the older branch of the family with whom his people had long +lost touch. Some interesting correspondence had ensued. +Adam eagerly opened the letter which had only just arrived, and conveyed +a cordial invitation to stop with his grand-uncle at Lesser Hill, for +as long a time as he could spare.</p> +<p>“Indeed,” Richard Salton went on, “I am in hopes +that you will make your permanent home here. You see, my dear +boy, you and I are all that remain of our race, and it is but fitting +that you should succeed me when the time comes. In this year of +grace, 1860, I am close on eighty years of age, and though we have been +a long-lived race, the span of life cannot be prolonged beyond reasonable +bounds. I am prepared to like you, and to make your home with +me as happy as you could wish. So do come at once on receipt of +this, and find the welcome I am waiting to give you. I send, in +case such may make matters easy for you, a banker’s draft for +£200. Come soon, so that we may both of us enjoy many happy +days together. If you are able to give me the pleasure of seeing +you, send me as soon as you can a letter telling me when to expect you. +Then when you arrive at Plymouth or Southampton or whatever port you +are bound for, wait on board, and I will meet you at the earliest hour +possible.”</p> +<p>* * * * *</p> +<p>Old Mr. Salton was delighted when Adam’s reply arrived and +sent a groom hot-foot to his crony, Sir Nathaniel de Salis, to inform +him that his grand-nephew was due at Southampton on the twelfth of June.</p> +<p>Mr. Salton gave instructions to have ready a carriage early on the +important day, to start for Stafford, where he would catch the 11.40 +a.m. train. He would stay that night with his grand-nephew, either +on the ship, which would be a new experience for him, or, if his guest +should prefer it, at a hotel. In either case they would start +in the early morning for home. He had given instructions to his +bailiff to send the postillion carriage on to Southampton, to be ready +for their journey home, and to arrange for relays of his own horses +to be sent on at once. He intended that his grand-nephew, who +had been all his life in Australia, should see something of rural England +on the drive. He had plenty of young horses of his own breeding +and breaking, and could depend on a journey memorable to the young man. +The luggage would be sent on by rail to Stafford, where one of his carts +would meet it. Mr. Salton, during the journey to Southampton, +often wondered if his grand-nephew was as much excited as he was at +the idea of meeting so near a relation for the first time; and it was +with an effort that he controlled himself. The endless railway +lines and switches round the Southampton Docks fired his anxiety afresh.</p> +<p>As the train drew up on the dockside, he was getting his hand traps +together, when the carriage door was wrenched open and a young man jumped +in.</p> +<p>“How are you, uncle? I recognised you from the photo +you sent me! I wanted to meet you as soon as I could, but everything +is so strange to me that I didn’t quite know what to do. +However, here I am. I am glad to see you, sir. I have been +dreaming of this happiness for thousands of miles; now I find that the +reality beats all the dreaming!” As he spoke the old man +and the young one were heartily wringing each other’s hands.</p> +<p>The meeting so auspiciously begun proceeded well. Adam, seeing +that the old man was interested in the novelty of the ship, suggested +that he should stay the night on board, and that he would himself be +ready to start at any hour and go anywhere that the other suggested. +This affectionate willingness to fall in with his own plans quite won +the old man’s heart. He warmly accepted the invitation, +and at once they became not only on terms of affectionate relationship, +but almost like old friends. The heart of the old man, which had +been empty for so long, found a new delight. The young man found, +on landing in the old country, a welcome and a surrounding in full harmony +with all his dreams throughout his wanderings and solitude, and the +promise of a fresh and adventurous life. It was not long before +the old man accepted him to full relationship by calling him by his +Christian name. After a long talk on affairs of interest, they +retired to the cabin, which the elder was to share. Richard Salton +put his hands affectionately on the boy’s shoulders—though +Adam was in his twenty-seventh year, he was a boy, and always would +be, to his grand-uncle.</p> +<p>“I am so glad to find you as you are, my dear boy—just +such a young man as I had always hoped for as a son, in the days when +I still had such hopes. However, that is all past. But thank +God there is a new life to begin for both of us. To you must be +the larger part—but there is still time for some of it to be shared +in common. I have waited till we should have seen each other to +enter upon the subject; for I thought it better not to tie up your young +life to my old one till we should have sufficient personal knowledge +to justify such a venture. Now I can, so far as I am concerned, +enter into it freely, since from the moment my eyes rested on you I +saw my son—as he shall be, God willing—if he chooses such +a course himself.”</p> +<p>“Indeed I do, sir—with all my heart!”</p> +<p>“Thank you, Adam, for that.” The old, man’s +eyes filled and his voice trembled. Then, after a long silence +between them, he went on: “When I heard you were coming I made +my will. It was well that your interests should be protected from +that moment on. Here is the deed—keep it, Adam. All +I have shall belong to you; and if love and good wishes, or the memory +of them, can make life sweeter, yours shall be a happy one. Now, +my dear boy, let us turn in. We start early in the morning and +have a long drive before us. I hope you don’t mind driving? +I was going to have the old travelling carriage in which my grandfather, +your great-grand-uncle, went to Court when William IV. was king. +It is all right—they built well in those days—and it has +been kept in perfect order. But I think I have done better: I +have sent the carriage in which I travel myself. The horses are +of my own breeding, and relays of them shall take us all the way. +I hope you like horses? They have long been one of my greatest +interests in life.”</p> +<p>“I love them, sir, and I am happy to say I have many of my +own. My father gave me a horse farm for myself when I was eighteen. +I devoted myself to it, and it has gone on. Before I came away, +my steward gave me a memorandum that we have in my own place more than +a thousand, nearly all good.”</p> +<p>“I am glad, my boy. Another link between us.”</p> +<p>“Just fancy what a delight it will be, sir, to see so much +of England—and with you!”</p> +<p>“Thank you again, my boy. I will tell you all about your +future home and its surroundings as we go. We shall travel in +old-fashioned state, I tell you. My grandfather always drove four-in-hand; +and so shall we.”</p> +<p>“Oh, thanks, sir, thanks. May I take the ribbons sometimes?”</p> +<p>“Whenever you choose, Adam. The team is your own. +Every horse we use to-day is to be your own.”</p> +<p>“You are too generous, uncle!”</p> +<p>“Not at all. Only an old man’s selfish pleasure. +It is not every day that an heir to the old home comes back. And—oh, +by the way . . . No, we had better turn in now—I shall tell you +the rest in the morning.”</p> +<h2>CHAPTER II—THE CASWALLS OF CASTRA REGIS</h2> +<p>Mr. Salton had all his life been an early riser, and necessarily +an early waker. But early as he woke on the next morning—and +although there was an excuse for not prolonging sleep in the constant +whirr and rattle of the “donkey” engine winches of the great +ship—he met the eyes of Adam fixed on him from his berth. +His grand-nephew had given him the sofa, occupying the lower berth himself. +The old man, despite his great strength and normal activity, was somewhat +tired by his long journey of the day before, and the prolonged and exciting +interview which followed it. So he was glad to lie still and rest +his body, whilst his mind was actively exercised in taking in all he +could of his strange surroundings. Adam, too, after the pastoral +habit to which he had been bred, woke with the dawn, and was ready to +enter on the experiences of the new day whenever it might suit his elder +companion. It was little wonder, then, that, so soon as each realised +the other’s readiness, they simultaneously jumped up and began +to dress. The steward had by previous instructions early breakfast +prepared, and it was not long before they went down the gangway on shore +in search of the carriage.</p> +<p>They found Mr. Salton’s bailiff looking out for them on the +dock, and he brought them at once to where the carriage was waiting +in the street. Richard Salton pointed out with pride to his young +companion the suitability of the vehicle for every need of travel. +To it were harnessed four useful horses, with a postillion to each pair.</p> +<p>“See,” said the old man proudly, “how it has all +the luxuries of useful travel—silence and isolation as well as +speed. There is nothing to obstruct the view of those travelling +and no one to overhear what they may say. I have used that trap +for a quarter of a century, and I never saw one more suitable for travel. +You shall test it shortly. We are going to drive through the heart +of England; and as we go I’ll tell you what I was speaking of +last night. Our route is to be by Salisbury, Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham, +Worcester, Stafford; and so home.”</p> +<p>Adam remained silent a few minutes, during which he seemed all eyes, +for he perpetually ranged the whole circle of the horizon.</p> +<p>“Has our journey to-day, sir,” he asked, “any special +relation to what you said last night that you wanted to tell me?”</p> +<p>“Not directly; but indirectly, everything.”</p> +<p>“Won’t you tell me now—I see we cannot be overheard—and +if anything strikes you as we go along, just run it in. I shall +understand.”</p> +<p>So old Salton spoke:</p> +<p>“To begin at the beginning, Adam. That lecture of yours +on ‘The Romans in Britain,’ a report of which you posted +to me, set me thinking—in addition to telling me your tastes. +I wrote to you at once and asked you to come home, for it struck me +that if you were fond of historical research—as seemed a fact—this +was exactly the place for you, in addition to its being the home of +your own forbears. If you could learn so much of the British Romans +so far away in New South Wales, where there cannot be even a tradition +of them, what might you not make of the same amount of study on the +very spot. Where we are going is in the real heart of the old +kingdom of Mercia, where there are traces of all the various nationalities +which made up the conglomerate which became Britain.”</p> +<p>“I rather gathered that you had some more definite—more +personal reason for my hurrying. After all, history can keep—except +in the making!”</p> +<p>“Quite right, my boy. I had a reason such as you very +wisely guessed. I was anxious for you to be here when a rather +important phase of our local history occurred.”</p> +<p>“What is that, if I may ask, sir?”</p> +<p>“Certainly. The principal landowner of our part of the +county is on his way home, and there will be a great home-coming, which +you may care to see. The fact is, for more than a century the +various owners in the succession here, with the exception of a short +time, have lived abroad.”</p> +<p>“How is that, sir, if I may ask?”</p> +<p>“The great house and estate in our part of the world is Castra +Regis, the family seat of the Caswall family. The last owner who +lived here was Edgar Caswall, grandfather of the man who is coming here—and +he was the only one who stayed even a short time. This man’s +grandfather, also named Edgar—they keep the tradition of the family +Christian name—quarrelled with his family and went to live abroad, +not keeping up any intercourse, good or bad, with his relatives, although +this particular Edgar, as I told you, did visit his family estate, yet +his son was born and lived and died abroad, while his grandson, the +latest inheritor, was also born and lived abroad till he was over thirty—his +present age. This was the second line of absentees. The +great estate of Castra Regis has had no knowledge of its owner for five +generations—covering more than a hundred and twenty years. +It has been well administered, however, and no tenant or other connected +with it has had anything of which to complain. All the same, there +has been much natural anxiety to see the new owner, and we are all excited +about the event of his coming. Even I am, though I own my own +estate, which, though adjacent, is quite apart from Castra Regis.—Here +we are now in new ground for you. That is the spire of Salisbury +Cathedral, and when we leave that we shall be getting close to the old +Roman county, and you will naturally want your eyes. So we shall +shortly have to keep our minds on old Mercia. However, you need +not be disappointed. My old friend, Sir Nathaniel de Salis, who, +like myself, is a free-holder near Castra Regis—his estate, Doom +Tower, is over the border of Derbyshire, on the Peak—is coming +to stay with me for the festivities to welcome Edgar Caswall. +He is just the sort of man you will like. He is devoted to history, +and is President of the Mercian Archaeological Society. He knows +more of our own part of the country, with its history and its people, +than anyone else. I expect he will have arrived before us, and +we three can have a long chat after dinner. He is also our local +geologist and natural historian. So you and he will have many +interests in common. Amongst other things he has a special knowledge +of the Peak and its caverns, and knows all the old legends of prehistoric +times.”</p> +<p>They spent the night at Cheltenham, and on the following morning +resumed their journey to Stafford. Adam’s eyes were in constant +employment, and it was not till Salton declared that they had now entered +on the last stage of their journey, that he referred to Sir Nathaniel’s +coming.</p> +<p>As the dusk was closing down, they drove on to Lesser Hill, Mr. Salton’s +house. It was now too dark to see any details of their surroundings. +Adam could just see that it was on the top of a hill, not quite so high +as that which was covered by the Castle, on whose tower flew the flag, +and which was all ablaze with moving lights, manifestly used in the +preparations for the festivities on the morrow. So Adam deferred +his curiosity till daylight. His grand-uncle was met at the door +by a fine old man, who greeted him warmly.</p> +<p>“I came over early as you wished. I suppose this is your +grand-nephew—I am glad to meet you, Mr. Adam Salton. I am +Nathaniel de Salis, and your uncle is one of my oldest friends.”</p> +<p>Adam, from the moment of their eyes meeting, felt as if they were +already friends. The meeting was a new note of welcome to those +that had already sounded in his ears.</p> +<p>The cordiality with which Sir Nathaniel and Adam met, made the imparting +of information easy. Sir Nathaniel was a clever man of the world, +who had travelled much, and within a certain area studied deeply. +He was a brilliant conversationalist, as was to be expected from a successful +diplomatist, even under unstimulating conditions. But he had been +touched and to a certain extent fired by the younger man’s evident +admiration and willingness to learn from him. Accordingly the +conversation, which began on the most friendly basis, soon warmed to +an interest above proof, as the old man spoke of it next day to Richard +Salton. He knew already that his old friend wanted his grand-nephew +to learn all he could of the subject in hand, and so had during his +journey from the Peak put his thoughts in sequence for narration and +explanation. Accordingly, Adam had only to listen and he must +learn much that he wanted to know. When dinner was over and the +servants had withdrawn, leaving the three men at their wine, Sir Nathaniel +began.</p> +<p>“I gather from your uncle—by the way, I suppose we had +better speak of you as uncle and nephew, instead of going into exact +relationship? In fact, your uncle is so old and dear a friend, +that, with your permission, I shall drop formality with you altogether +and speak of you and to you as Adam, as though you were his son.”</p> +<p>“I should like,” answered the young man, “nothing +better!”</p> +<p>The answer warmed the hearts of both the old men, but, with the usual +avoidance of Englishmen of emotional subjects personal to themselves, +they instinctively returned to the previous question. Sir Nathaniel +took the lead.</p> +<p>“I understand, Adam, that your uncle has posted you regarding +the relationships of the Caswall family?”</p> +<p>“Partly, sir; but I understood that I was to hear minuter details +from you—if you would be so good.”</p> +<p>“I shall be delighted to tell you anything so far as my knowledge +goes. Well, the first Caswall in our immediate record is an Edgar, +head of the family and owner of the estate, who came into his kingdom +just about the time that George III. did. He had one son of about +twenty-four. There was a violent quarrel between the two. +No one of this generation has any idea of the cause; but, considering +the family characteristics, we may take it for granted that though it +was deep and violent, it was on the surface trivial.</p> +<p>“The result of the quarrel was that the son left the house +without a reconciliation or without even telling his father where he +was going. He never came back again. A few years after, +he died, without having in the meantime exchanged a word or a letter +with his father. He married abroad and left one son, who seems +to have been brought up in ignorance of all belonging to him. +The gulf between them appears to have been unbridgable; for in time +this son married and in turn had a son, but neither joy nor sorrow brought +the sundered together. Under such conditions no <i>rapprochement</i> +was to be looked for, and an utter indifference, founded at best on +ignorance, took the place of family affection—even on community +of interests. It was only due to the watchfulness of the lawyers +that the birth of this new heir was ever made known. He actually +spent a few months in the ancestral home.</p> +<p>“After this the family interest merely rested on heirship of +the estate. As no other children have been born to any of the +newer generations in the intervening years, all hopes of heritage are +now centred in the grandson of this man.</p> +<p>“Now, it will be well for you to bear in mind the prevailing +characteristics of this race. These were well preserved and unchanging; +one and all they are the same: cold, selfish, dominant, reckless of +consequences in pursuit of their own will. It was not that they +did not keep faith, though that was a matter which gave them little +concern, but that they took care to think beforehand of what they should +do in order to gain their own ends. If they should make a mistake, +someone else should bear the burthen of it. This was so perpetually +recurrent that it seemed to be a part of a fixed policy. It was +no wonder that, whatever changes took place, they were always ensured +in their own possessions. They were absolutely cold and hard by +nature. Not one of them—so far as we have any knowledge—was +ever known to be touched by the softer sentiments, to swerve from his +purpose, or hold his hand in obedience to the dictates of his heart. +The pictures and effigies of them all show their adherence to the early +Roman type. Their eyes were full; their hair, of raven blackness, +grew thick and close and curly. Their figures were massive and +typical of strength.</p> +<p>“The thick black hair, growing low down on the neck, told of +vast physical strength and endurance. But the most remarkable +characteristic is the eyes. Black, piercing, almost unendurable, +they seem to contain in themselves a remarkable will power which there +is no gainsaying. It is a power that is partly racial and partly +individual: a power impregnated with some mysterious quality, partly +hypnotic, partly mesmeric, which seems to take away from eyes that meet +them all power of resistance—nay, all power of wishing to resist. +With eyes like those, set in that all-commanding face, one would need +to be strong indeed to think of resisting the inflexible will that lay +behind.</p> +<p>“You may think, Adam, that all this is imagination on my part, +especially as I have never seen any of them. So it is, but imagination +based on deep study. I have made use of all I know or can surmise +logically regarding this strange race. With such strange compelling +qualities, is it any wonder that there is abroad an idea that in the +race there is some demoniac possession, which tends to a more definite +belief that certain individuals have in the past sold themselves to +the Devil?</p> +<p>“But I think we had better go to bed now. We have a lot +to get through to-morrow, and I want you to have your brain clear, and +all your susceptibilities fresh. Moreover, I want you to come +with me for an early walk, during which we may notice, whilst the matter +is fresh in our minds, the peculiar disposition of this place—not +merely your grand-uncle’s estate, but the lie of the country around +it. There are many things on which we may seek—and perhaps +find—enlightenment. The more we know at the start, the more +things which may come into our view will develop themselves.”</p> +<h2>CHAPTER III—DIANA’S GROVE</h2> +<p>Curiosity took Adam Salton out of bed in the early morning, but when +he had dressed and gone downstairs; he found that, early as he was, +Sir Nathaniel was ahead of him. The old gentleman was quite prepared +for a long walk, and they started at once.</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel, without speaking, led the way to the east, down the +hill. When they had descended and risen again, they found themselves +on the eastern brink of a steep hill. It was of lesser height +than that on which the Castle was situated; but it was so placed that +it commanded the various hills that crowned the ridge. All along +the ridge the rock cropped out, bare and bleak, but broken in rough +natural castellation. The form of the ridge was a segment of a +circle, with the higher points inland to the west. In the centre +rose the Castle, on the highest point of all. Between the various +rocky excrescences were groups of trees of various sizes and heights, +amongst some of which were what, in the early morning light, looked +like ruins. These—whatever they were—were of massive +grey stone, probably limestone rudely cut—if indeed they were +not shaped naturally. The fall of the ground was steep all along +the ridge, so steep that here and there both trees and rocks and buildings +seemed to overhang the plain far below, through which ran many streams.</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel stopped and looked around, as though to lose nothing +of the effect. The sun had climbed the eastern sky and was making +all details clear. He pointed with a sweeping gesture, as though +calling Adam’s attention to the extent of the view. Having +done so, he covered the ground more slowly, as though inviting attention +to detail. Adam was a willing and attentive pupil, and followed +his motions exactly, missing—or trying to miss—nothing.</p> +<p>“I have brought you here, Adam, because it seems to me that +this is the spot on which to begin our investigations. You have +now in front of you almost the whole of the ancient kingdom of Mercia. +In fact, we see the whole of it except that furthest part, which is +covered by the Welsh Marches and those parts which are hidden from where +we stand by the high ground of the immediate west. We can see—theoretically—the +whole of the eastern bound of the kingdom, which ran south from the +Humber to the Wash. I want you to bear in mind the trend of the +ground, for some time, sooner or later, we shall do well to have it +in our mind’s eye when we are considering the ancient traditions +and superstitions, and are trying to find the <i>rationale</i> of them. +Each legend, each superstition which we receive, will help in the understanding +and possible elucidation of the others. And as all such have a +local basis, we can come closer to the truth—or the probability—by +knowing the local conditions as we go along. It will help us to +bring to our aid such geological truth as we may have between us. +For instance, the building materials used in various ages can afford +their own lessons to understanding eyes. The very heights and +shapes and materials of these hills—nay, even of the wide plain +that lies between us and the sea—have in themselves the materials +of enlightening books.”</p> +<p>“For instance, sir?” said Adam, venturing a question.</p> +<p>“Well, look at those hills which surround the main one where +the site for the Castle was wisely chosen—on the highest ground. +Take the others. There is something ostensible in each of them, +and in all probability something unseen and unproved, but to be imagined, +also.”</p> +<p>“For instance?” continued Adam.</p> +<p>“Let us take them <i>seriatim</i>. That to the east, +where the trees are, lower down—that was once the location of +a Roman temple, possibly founded on a pre-existing Druidical one. +Its name implies the former, and the grove of ancient oaks suggests +the latter.”</p> +<p>“Please explain.”</p> +<p>“The old name translated means ‘Diana’s Grove.’ +Then the next one higher than it, but just beyond it, is called ‘<i>Mercy</i>’—in +all probability a corruption or familiarisation of the word <i>Mercia</i>, +with a Roman pun included. We learn from early manuscripts that +the place was called <i>Vilula Misericordiae</i>. It was originally +a nunnery, founded by Queen Bertha, but done away with by King Penda, +the reactionary to Paganism after St. Augustine. Then comes your +uncle’s place—Lesser Hill. Though it is so close to +the Castle, it is not connected with it. It is a freehold, and, +so far as we know, of equal age. It has always belonged to your +family.”</p> +<p>“Then there only remains the Castle!”</p> +<p>“That is all; but its history contains the histories of all +the others—in fact, the whole history of early England.” +Sir Nathaniel, seeing the expectant look on Adam’s face, went +on:</p> +<p>“The history of the Castle has no beginning so far as we know. +The furthest records or surmises or inferences simply accept it as existing. +Some of these—guesses, let us call them—seem to show that +there was some sort of structure there when the Romans came, therefore +it must have been a place of importance in Druid times—if indeed +that was the beginning. Naturally the Romans accepted it, as they +did everything of the kind that was, or might be, useful. The +change is shown or inferred in the name Castra. It was the highest +protected ground, and so naturally became the most important of their +camps. A study of the map will show you that it must have been +a most important centre. It both protected the advances already +made to the north, and helped to dominate the sea coast. It sheltered +the western marches, beyond which lay savage Wales—and danger. +It provided a means of getting to the Severn, round which lay the great +Roman roads then coming into existence, and made possible the great +waterway to the heart of England—through the Severn and its tributaries. +It brought the east and the west together by the swiftest and easiest +ways known to those times. And, finally, it provided means of +descent on London and all the expanse of country watered by the Thames.</p> +<p>“With such a centre, already known and organised, we can easily +see that each fresh wave of invasion—the Angles, the Saxons, the +Danes, and the Normans—found it a desirable possession and so +ensured its upholding. In the earlier centuries it was merely +a vantage ground. But when the victorious Romans brought with +them the heavy solid fortifications impregnable to the weapons of the +time, its commanding position alone ensured its adequate building and +equipment. Then it was that the fortified camp of the Caesars +developed into the castle of the king. As we are as yet ignorant +of the names of the first kings of Mercia, no historian has been able +to guess which of them made it his ultimate defence; and I suppose we +shall never know now. In process of time, as the arts of war developed, +it increased in size and strength, and although recorded details are +lacking, the history is written not merely in the stone of its building, +but is inferred in the changes of structure. Then the sweeping +changes which followed the Norman Conquest wiped out all lesser records +than its own. To-day we must accept it as one of the earliest +castles of the Conquest, probably not later than the time of Henry I. +Roman and Norman were both wise in their retention of places of approved +strength or utility. So it was that these surrounding heights, +already established and to a certain extent proved, were retained. +Indeed, such characteristics as already pertained to them were preserved, +and to-day afford to us lessons regarding things which have themselves +long since passed away.</p> +<p>“So much for the fortified heights; but the hollows too have +their own story. But how the time passes! We must hurry +home, or your uncle will wonder what has become of us.”</p> +<p>He started with long steps towards Lesser Hill, and Adam was soon +furtively running in order to keep up with him.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER IV—THE LADY ARABELLA MARCH</h2> +<p>“Now, there is no hurry, but so soon as you are both ready +we shall start,” Mr. Salton said when breakfast had begun. +“I want to take you first to see a remarkable relic of Mercia, +and then we’ll go to Liverpool through what is called ‘The +Great Vale of Cheshire.’ You may be disappointed, but take +care not to prepare your mind”—this to Adam—“for +anything stupendous or heroic. You would not think the place a +vale at all, unless you were told so beforehand, and had confidence +in the veracity of the teller. We should get to the Landing Stage +in time to meet the <i>West African</i>, and catch Mr. Caswall as he +comes ashore. We want to do him honour—and, besides, it +will be more pleasant to have the introductions over before we go to +his <i>fête</i> at the Castle.”</p> +<p>The carriage was ready, the same as had been used the previous day, +but there were different horses—magnificent animals, and keen +for work. Breakfast was soon over, and they shortly took their +places. The postillions had their orders, and were quickly on +their way at an exhilarating pace.</p> +<p>Presently, in obedience to Mr. Salton’s signal, the carriage +drew up opposite a great heap of stones by the wayside.</p> +<p>“Here, Adam,” he said, “is something that you of +all men should not pass by unnoticed. That heap of stones brings +us at once to the dawn of the Anglian kingdom. It was begun more +than a thousand years ago—in the latter part of the seventh century—in +memory of a murder. Wulfere, King of Mercia, nephew of Penda, +here murdered his two sons for embracing Christianity. As was +the custom of the time, each passer-by added a stone to the memorial +heap. Penda represented heathen reaction after St. Augustine’s +mission. Sir Nathaniel can tell you as much as you want about +this, and put you, if you wish, on the track of such accurate knowledge +as there is.”</p> +<p>Whilst they were looking at the heap of stones, they noticed that +another carriage had drawn up beside them, and the passenger—there +was only one—was regarding them curiously. The carriage +was an old heavy travelling one, with arms blazoned on it gorgeously. +The men took off their hats, as the occupant, a lady, addressed them.</p> +<p>“How do you do, Sir Nathaniel? How do you do, Mr. Salton? +I hope you have not met with any accident. Look at me!”</p> +<p>As she spoke she pointed to where one of the heavy springs was broken +across, the broken metal showing bright. Adam spoke up at once:</p> +<p>“Oh, that can soon be put right.”</p> +<p>“Soon? There is no one near who can mend a break like +that.”</p> +<p>“I can.”</p> +<p>“You!” She looked incredulously at the dapper young +gentleman who spoke. “You—why, it’s a workman’s +job.”</p> +<p>“All right, I am a workman—though that is not the only +sort of work I do. I am an Australian, and, as we have to move +about fast, we are all trained to farriery and such mechanics as come +into travel—I am quite at your service.”</p> +<p>“I hardly know how to thank you for your kindness, of which +I gladly avail myself. I don’t know what else I can do, +as I wish to meet Mr. Caswall of Castra Regis, who arrives home from +Africa to-day. It is a notable home-coming; all the countryside +want to do him honour.” She looked at the old men and quickly +made up her mind as to the identity of the stranger. “You +must be Mr. Adam Salton of Lesser Hill. I am Lady Arabella March +of Diana’s Grove.” As she spoke she turned slightly +to Mr. Salton, who took the hint and made a formal introduction.</p> +<p>So soon as this was done, Adam took some tools from his uncle’s +carriage, and at once began work on the broken spring. He was +an expert workman, and the breach was soon made good. Adam was +gathering the tools which he had been using—which, after the manner +of all workmen, had been scattered about—when he noticed that +several black snakes had crawled out from the heap of stones and were +gathering round him. This naturally occupied his mind, and he +was not thinking of anything else when he noticed Lady Arabella, who +had opened the door of the carriage, slip from it with a quick gliding +motion. She was already among the snakes when he called out to +warn her. But there seemed to be no need of warning. The +snakes had turned and were wriggling back to the mound as quickly as +they could. He laughed to himself behind his teeth as he whispered, +“No need to fear there. They seem much more afraid of her +than she of them.” All the same he began to beat on the +ground with a stick which was lying close to him, with the instinct +of one used to such vermin. In an instant he was alone beside +the mound with Lady Arabella, who appeared quite unconcerned at the +incident. Then he took a long look at her, and her dress alone +was sufficient to attract attention. She was clad in some kind +of soft white stuff, which clung close to her form, showing to the full +every movement of her sinuous figure. She wore a close-fitting +cap of some fine fur of dazzling white. Coiled round her white +throat was a large necklace of emeralds, whose profusion of colour dazzled +when the sun shone on them. Her voice was peculiar, very low and +sweet, and so soft that the dominant note was of sibilation. Her +hands, too, were peculiar—long, flexible, white, with a strange +movement as of waving gently to and fro.</p> +<p>She appeared quite at ease, and, after thanking Adam, said that if +any of his uncle’s party were going to Liverpool she would be +most happy to join forces.</p> +<p>“Whilst you are staying here, Mr. Salton, you must look on +the grounds of Diana’s Grove as your own, so that you may come +and go just as you do in Lesser Hill. There are some fine views, +and not a few natural curiosities which are sure to interest you, if +you are a student of natural history—specially of an earlier kind, +when the world was younger.”</p> +<p>The heartiness with which she spoke, and the warmth of her words—not +of her manner, which was cold and distant—made him suspicious. +In the meantime both his uncle and Sir Nathaniel had thanked her for +the invitation—of which, however, they said they were unable to +avail themselves. Adam had a suspicion that, though she answered +regretfully, she was in reality relieved. When he had got into +the carriage with the two old men, and they had driven off, he was not +surprised when Sir Nathaniel spoke.</p> +<p>“I could not but feel that she was glad to be rid of us. +She can play her game better alone!”</p> +<p>“What is her game?” asked Adam unthinkingly.</p> +<p>“All the county knows it, my boy. Caswall is a very rich +man. Her husband was rich when she married him—or seemed +to be. When he committed suicide, it was found that he had nothing +left, and the estate was mortgaged up to the hilt. Her only hope +is in a rich marriage. I suppose I need not draw any conclusion; +you can do that as well as I can.”</p> +<p>Adam remained silent nearly all the time they were travelling through +the alleged Vale of Cheshire. He thought much during that journey +and came to several conclusions, though his lips were unmoved. +One of these conclusions was that he would be very careful about paying +any attention to Lady Arabella. He was himself a rich man, how +rich not even his uncle had the least idea, and would have been surprised +had he known.</p> +<p>The remainder of the journey was uneventful, and upon arrival at +Liverpool they went aboard the <i>West African</i>, which had just come +to the landing-stage. There his uncle introduced himself to Mr. +Caswall, and followed this up by introducing Sir Nathaniel and then +Adam. The new-comer received them graciously, and said what a +pleasure it was to be coming home after so long an absence of his family +from their old seat. Adam was pleased at the warmth of the reception; +but he could not avoid a feeling of repugnance at the man’s face. +He was trying hard to overcome this when a diversion was caused by the +arrival of Lady Arabella. The diversion was welcome to all; the +two Saltons and Sir Nathaniel were shocked at Caswall’s face—so +hard, so ruthless, so selfish, so dominant. “God help any,” +was the common thought, “who is under the domination of such a +man!”</p> +<p>Presently his African servant approached him, and at once their thoughts +changed to a larger toleration. Caswall looked indeed a savage—but +a cultured savage. In him were traces of the softening civilisation +of ages—of some of the higher instincts and education of man, +no matter how rudimentary these might be. But the face of Oolanga, +as his master called him, was unreformed, unsoftened savage, and inherent +in it were all the hideous possibilities of a lost, devil-ridden child +of the forest and the swamp—the lowest of all created things that +could be regarded as in some form ostensibly human. Lady Arabella +and Oolanga arrived almost simultaneously, and Adam was surprised to +notice what effect their appearance had on each other. The woman +seemed as if she would not—could not—condescend to exhibit +any concern or interest in such a creature. On the other hand, +the negro’s bearing was such as in itself to justify her pride. +He treated her not merely as a slave treats his master, but as a worshipper +would treat a deity. He knelt before her with his hands out-stretched +and his forehead in the dust. So long as she remained he did not +move; it was only when she went over to Caswall that he relaxed his +attitude of devotion and stood by respectfully.</p> +<p>Adam spoke to his own man, Davenport, who was standing by, having +arrived with the bailiff of Lesser Hill, who had followed Mr. Salton +in a pony trap. As he spoke, he pointed to an attentive ship’s +steward, and presently the two men were conversing.</p> +<p>“I think we ought to be moving,” Mr. Salton said to Adam. +“I have some things to do in Liverpool, and I am sure that both +Mr. Caswall and Lady Arabella would like to get under weigh for Castra +Regis.”</p> +<p>“I too, sir, would like to do something,” replied Adam. +“I want to find out where Ross, the animal merchant, lives—I +want to take a small animal home with me, if you don’t mind. +He is only a little thing, and will be no trouble.”</p> +<p>“Of course not, my boy. What kind of animal is it that +you want?”</p> +<p>“A mongoose.”</p> +<p>“A mongoose! What on earth do you want it for?”</p> +<p>“To kill snakes.”</p> +<p>“Good!” The old man remembered the mound of stones. +No explanation was needed.</p> +<p>When Ross heard what was wanted, he asked:</p> +<p>“Do you want something special, or will an ordinary mongoose +do?”</p> +<p>“Well, of course I want a good one. But I see no need +for anything special. It is for ordinary use.”</p> +<p>“I can let you have a choice of ordinary ones. I only +asked, because I have in stock a very special one which I got lately +from Nepaul. He has a record of his own. He killed a king +cobra that had been seen in the Rajah’s garden. But I don’t +suppose we have any snakes of the kind in this cold climate—I +daresay an ordinary one will do.”</p> +<p>When Adam got back to the carriage, carefully carrying the box with +the mongoose, Sir Nathaniel said: “Hullo! what have you got there?”</p> +<p>“A mongoose.”</p> +<p>“What for?”</p> +<p>“To kill snakes!”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel laughed.</p> +<p>“I heard Lady Arabella’s invitation to you to come to +Diana’s Grove.”</p> +<p>“Well, what on earth has that got to do with it?”</p> +<p>“Nothing directly that I know of. But we shall see.” +Adam waited, and the old man went on: “Have you by any chance +heard the other name which was given long ago to that place.”</p> +<p>“No, sir.”</p> +<p>“It was called—Look here, this subject wants a lot of +talking over. Suppose we wait till we are alone and have lots +of time before us.”</p> +<p>“All right, sir.” Adam was filled with curiosity, +but he thought it better not to hurry matters. All would come +in good time. Then the three men returned home, leaving Mr. Caswall +to spend the night in Liverpool.</p> +<p>The following day the Lesser Hill party set out for Castra Regis, +and for the time Adam thought no more of Diana’s Grove or of what +mysteries it had contained—or might still contain.</p> +<p>The guests were crowding in, and special places were marked for important +people. Adam, seeing so many persons of varied degree, looked +round for Lady Arabella, but could not locate her. It was only +when he saw the old-fashioned travelling carriage approach and heard +the sound of cheering which went with it, that he realised that Edgar +Caswall had arrived. Then, on looking more closely, he saw that +Lady Arabella, dressed as he had seen her last, was seated beside him. +When the carriage drew up at the great flight of steps, the host jumped +down and gave her his hand.</p> +<p>It was evident to all that she was the chief guest at the festivities. +It was not long before the seats on the daïs were filled, while +the tenants and guests of lesser importance had occupied all the coigns +of vantage not reserved. The order of the day had been carefully +arranged by a committee. There were some speeches, happily neither +many nor long; and then festivities were suspended till the time for +feasting arrived. In the interval Caswall walked among his guests, +speaking to all in a friendly manner and expressing a general welcome. +The other guests came down from the daïs and followed his example, +so there was unceremonious meeting and greeting between gentle and simple.</p> +<p>Adam Salton naturally followed with his eyes all that went on within +their scope, taking note of all who seemed to afford any interest. +He was young and a man and a stranger from a far distance; so on all +these accounts he naturally took stock rather of the women than of the +men, and of these, those who were young and attractive. There +were lots of pretty girls among the crowd, and Adam, who was a handsome +young man and well set up, got his full share of admiring glances. +These did not concern him much, and he remained unmoved until there +came along a group of three, by their dress and bearing, of the farmer +class. One was a sturdy old man; the other two were good-looking +girls, one of a little over twenty, the other not quite so old. +So soon as Adam’s eyes met those of the younger girl, who stood +nearest to him, some sort of electricity flashed—that divine spark +which begins by recognition, and ends in obedience. Men call it +“Love.”</p> +<p>Both his companions noticed how much Adam was taken by the pretty +girl, and spoke of her to him in a way which made his heart warm to +them.</p> +<p>“Did you notice that party that passed? The old man is +Michael Watford, one of the tenants of Mr. Caswall. He occupies +Mercy Farm, which Sir Nathaniel pointed out to you to-day. The +girls are his grand-daughters, the elder, Lilla, being the only child +of his elder son, who died when she was less than a year old. +His wife died on the same day. She is a good girl—as good +as she is pretty. The other is her first cousin, the daughter +of Watford’s second son. He went for a soldier when he was +just over twenty, and was drafted abroad. He was not a good correspondent, +though he was a good enough son. A few letters came, and then +his father heard from the colonel of his regiment that he had been killed +by dacoits in Burmah. He heard from the same source that his boy +had been married to a Burmese, and that there was a daughter only a +year old. Watford had the child brought home, and she grew up +beside Lilla. The only thing that they heard of her birth was +that her name was Mimi. The two children adored each other, and +do to this day. Strange how different they are! Lilla all +fair, like the old Saxon stock from which she is sprung; Mimi showing +a trace of her mother’s race. Lilla is as gentle as a dove, +but Mimi’s black eyes can glow whenever she is upset. The +only thing that upsets her is when anything happens to injure or threaten +or annoy Lilla. Then her eyes glow as do the eyes of a bird when +her young are menaced.”</p> +<h2>CHAPTER V—THE WHITE WORM</h2> +<p>Mr. Salton introduced Adam to Mr. Watford and his grand-daughters, +and they all moved on together. Of course neighbours in the position +of the Watfords knew all about Adam Salton, his relationship, circumstances, +and prospects. So it would have been strange indeed if both girls +did not dream of possibilities of the future. In agricultural +England, eligible men of any class are rare. This particular man +was specially eligible, for he did not belong to a class in which barriers +of caste were strong. So when it began to be noticed that he walked +beside Mimi Watford and seemed to desire her society, all their friends +endeavoured to give the promising affair a helping hand. When +the gongs sounded for the banquet, he went with her into the tent where +her grandfather had seats. Mr. Salton and Sir Nathaniel noticed +that the young man did not come to claim his appointed place at the +daïs table; but they understood and made no remark, or indeed did +not seem to notice his absence.</p> +<p>Lady Arabella sat as before at Edgar Caswall’s right hand. +She was certainly a striking and unusual woman, and to all it seemed +fitting from her rank and personal qualities that she should be the +chosen partner of the heir on his first appearance. Of course +nothing was said openly by those of her own class who were present; +but words were not necessary when so much could be expressed by nods +and smiles. It seemed to be an accepted thing that at last there +was to be a mistress of Castra Regis, and that she was present amongst +them. There were not lacking some who, whilst admitting all her +charm and beauty, placed her in the second rank, Lilla Watford being +marked as first. There was sufficient divergence of type, as well +as of individual beauty, to allow of fair comment; Lady Arabella represented +the aristocratic type, and Lilla that of the commonalty.</p> +<p>When the dusk began to thicken, Mr. Salton and Sir Nathaniel walked +home—the trap had been sent away early in the day—leaving +Adam to follow in his own time. He came in earlier than was expected, +and seemed upset about something. Neither of the elders made any +comment. They all lit cigarettes, and, as dinner-time was close +at hand, went to their rooms to get ready.</p> +<p>Adam had evidently been thinking in the interval. He joined +the others in the drawing-room, looking ruffled and impatient—a +condition of things seen for the first time. The others, with +the patience—or the experience—of age, trusted to time to +unfold and explain things. They had not long to wait. After +sitting down and standing up several times, Adam suddenly burst out.</p> +<p>“That fellow seems to think he owns the earth. Can’t +he let people alone! He seems to think that he has only to throw +his handkerchief to any woman, and be her master.”</p> +<p>This outburst was in itself enlightening. Only thwarted affection +in some guise could produce this feeling in an amiable young man. +Sir Nathaniel, as an old diplomatist, had a way of understanding, as +if by foreknowledge, the true inwardness of things, and asked suddenly, +but in a matter-of-fact, indifferent voice:</p> +<p>“Was he after Lilla?”</p> +<p>“Yes, and the fellow didn’t lose any time either. +Almost as soon as they met, he began to butter her up, and tell her +how beautiful she was. Why, before he left her side, he had asked +himself to tea to-morrow at Mercy Farm. Stupid ass! He might +see that the girl isn’t his sort! I never saw anything like +it. It was just like a hawk and a pigeon.”</p> +<p>As he spoke, Sir Nathaniel turned and looked at Mr. Salton—a +keen look which implied a full understanding.</p> +<p>“Tell us all about it, Adam. There are still a few minutes +before dinner, and we shall all have better appetites when we have come +to some conclusion on this matter.”</p> +<p>“There is nothing to tell, sir; that is the worst of it. +I am bound to say that there was not a word said that a human being +could object to. He was very civil, and all that was proper—just +what a landlord might be to a tenant’s daughter . . . Yet—yet—well, +I don’t know how it was, but it made my blood boil.”</p> +<p>“How did the hawk and the pigeon come in?” Sir +Nathaniel’s voice was soft and soothing, nothing of contradiction +or overdone curiosity in it—a tone eminently suited to win confidence.</p> +<p>“I can hardly explain. I can only say that he looked +like a hawk and she like a dove—and, now that I think of it, that +is what they each did look like; and do look like in their normal condition.”</p> +<p>“That is so!” came the soft voice of Sir Nathaniel.</p> +<p>Adam went on:</p> +<p>“Perhaps that early Roman look of his set me off. But +I wanted to protect her; she seemed in danger.”</p> +<p>“She seems in danger, in a way, from all you young men. +I couldn’t help noticing the way that even you looked—as +if you wished to absorb her!”</p> +<p>“I hope both you young men will keep your heads cool,” +put in Mr. Salton. “You know, Adam, it won’t do to +have any quarrel between you, especially so soon after his home-coming +and your arrival here. We must think of the feelings and happiness +of our neighbours; mustn’t we?”</p> +<p>“I hope so, sir. I assure you that, whatever may happen, +or even threaten, I shall obey your wishes in this as in all things.”</p> +<p>“Hush!” whispered Sir Nathaniel, who heard the servants +in the passage bringing dinner.</p> +<p>After dinner, over the walnuts and the wine, Sir Nathaniel returned +to the subject of the local legends.</p> +<p>“It will perhaps be a less dangerous topic for us to discuss +than more recent ones.”</p> +<p>“All right, sir,” said Adam heartily. “I +think you may depend on me now with regard to any topic. I can +even discuss Mr. Caswall. Indeed, I may meet him to-morrow. +He is going, as I said, to call at Mercy Farm at three o’clock—but +I have an appointment at two.”</p> +<p>“I notice,” said Mr. Salton, “that you do not lose +any time.”</p> +<p>The two old men once more looked at each other steadily. Then, +lest the mood of his listener should change with delay, Sir Nathaniel +began at once:</p> +<p>“I don’t propose to tell you all the legends of Mercia, +or even to make a selection of them. It will be better, I think, +for our purpose if we consider a few facts—recorded or unrecorded—about +this neighbourhood. I think we might begin with Diana’s +Grove. It has roots in the different epochs of our history, and +each has its special crop of legend. The Druid and the Roman are +too far off for matters of detail; but it seems to me the Saxon and +the Angles are near enough to yield material for legendary lore. +We find that this particular place had another name besides Diana’s +Grove. This was manifestly of Roman origin, or of Grecian accepted +as Roman. The other is more pregnant of adventure and romance +than the Roman name. In Mercian tongue it was ‘The Lair +of the White Worm.’ This needs a word of explanation at +the beginning.</p> +<p>“In the dawn of the language, the word ‘worm’ had +a somewhat different meaning from that in use to-day. It was an +adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon ‘wyrm,’ meaning a dragon or +snake; or from the Gothic ‘waurms,’ a serpent; or the Icelandic +‘ormur,’ or the German ‘wurm.’ We gather +that it conveyed originally an idea of size and power, not as now in +the diminutive of both these meanings. Here legendary history +helps us. We have the well-known legend of the ‘Worm Well’ +of Lambton Castle, and that of the ‘Laidly Worm of Spindleston +Heugh’ near Bamborough. In both these legends the ‘worm’ +was a monster of vast size and power—a veritable dragon or serpent, +such as legend attributes to vast fens or quags where there was illimitable +room for expansion. A glance at a geological map will show that +whatever truth there may have been of the actuality of such monsters +in the early geologic periods, at least there was plenty of possibility. +In England there were originally vast plains where the plentiful supply +of water could gather. The streams were deep and slow, and there +were holes of abysmal depth, where any kind and size of antediluvian +monster could find a habitat. In places, which now we can see +from our windows, were mud-holes a hundred or more feet deep. +Who can tell us when the age of the monsters which flourished in slime +came to an end? There must have been places and conditions which +made for greater longevity, greater size, greater strength than was +usual. Such over-lappings may have come down even to our earlier +centuries. Nay, are there not now creatures of a vastness of bulk +regarded by the generality of men as impossible? Even in our own +day there are seen the traces of animals, if not the animals themselves, +of stupendous size—veritable survivals from earlier ages, preserved +by some special qualities in their habitats. I remember meeting +a distinguished man in India, who had the reputation of being a great +shikaree, who told me that the greatest temptation he had ever had in +his life was to shoot a giant snake which he had come across in the +Terai of Upper India. He was on a tiger-shooting expedition, and +as his elephant was crossing a nullah, it squealed. He looked +down from his howdah and saw that the elephant had stepped across the +body of a snake which was dragging itself through the jungle. +‘So far as I could see,’ he said, ‘it must have been +eighty or one hundred feet in length. Fully forty or fifty feet +was on each side of the track, and though the weight which it dragged +had thinned it, it was as thick round as a man’s body. I +suppose you know that when you are after tiger, it is a point of honour +not to shoot at anything else, as life may depend on it. I could +easily have spined this monster, but I felt that I must not—so, +with regret, I had to let it go.’</p> +<p>“Just imagine such a monster anywhere in this country, and +at once we could get a sort of idea of the ‘worms,’ which +possibly did frequent the great morasses which spread round the mouths +of many of the great European rivers.”</p> +<p>“I haven’t the least doubt, sir, that there may have +been such monsters as you have spoken of still existing at a much later +period than is generally accepted,” replied Adam. “Also, +if there were such things, that this was the very place for them. +I have tried to think over the matter since you pointed out the configuration +of the ground. But it seems to me that there is a hiatus somewhere. +Are there not mechanical difficulties?”</p> +<p>“In what way?”</p> +<p>“Well, our antique monster must have been mighty heavy, and +the distances he had to travel were long and the ways difficult. +From where we are now sitting down to the level of the mud-holes is +a distance of several hundred feet—I am leaving out of consideration +altogether any lateral distance. Is it possible that there was +a way by which a monster could travel up and down, and yet no chance +recorder have ever seen him? Of course we have the legends; but +is not some more exact evidence necessary in a scientific investigation?”</p> +<p>“My dear Adam, all you say is perfectly right, and, were we +starting on such an investigation, we could not do better than follow +your reasoning. But, my dear boy, you must remember that all this +took place thousands of years ago. You must remember, too, that +all records of the kind that would help us are lacking. Also, +that the places to be considered were desert, so far as human habitation +or population are considered. In the vast desolation of such a +place as complied with the necessary conditions, there must have been +such profusion of natural growth as would bar the progress of men formed +as we are. The lair of such a monster would not have been disturbed +for hundreds—or thousands—of years. Moreover, these +creatures must have occupied places quite inaccessible to man. +A snake who could make himself comfortable in a quagmire, a hundred +feet deep, would be protected on the outskirts by such stupendous morasses +as now no longer exist, or which, if they exist anywhere at all, can +be on very few places on the earth’s surface. Far be it +from me to say that in more elemental times such things could not have +been. The condition belongs to the geologic age—the great +birth and growth of the world, when natural forces ran riot, when the +struggle for existence was so savage that no vitality which was not +founded in a gigantic form could have even a possibility of survival. +That such a time existed, we have evidences in geology, but there only; +we can never expect proofs such as this age demands. We can only +imagine or surmise such things—or such conditions and such forces +as overcame them.”</p> +<h2>CHAPTER VI—HAWK AND PIGEON</h2> +<p>At breakfast-time next morning Sir Nathaniel and Mr. Salton were +seated when Adam came hurriedly into the room.</p> +<p>“Any news?” asked his uncle mechanically.</p> +<p>“Four.”</p> +<p>“Four what?” asked Sir Nathaniel.</p> +<p>“Snakes,” said Adam, helping himself to a grilled kidney.</p> +<p>“Four snakes. I don’t understand.”</p> +<p>“Mongoose,” said Adam, and then added explanatorily: +“I was out with the mongoose just after three.”</p> +<p>“Four snakes in one morning! Why, I didn’t know +there were so many on the Brow”—the local name for the western +cliff. “I hope that wasn’t the consequence of our +talk of last night?”</p> +<p>“It was, sir. But not directly.”</p> +<p>“But, God bless my soul, you didn’t expect to get a snake +like the Lambton worm, did you? Why, a mongoose, to tackle a monster +like that—if there were one—would have to be bigger than +a haystack.”</p> +<p>“These were ordinary snakes, about as big as a walking-stick.”</p> +<p>“Well, it’s pleasant to be rid of them, big or little. +That is a good mongoose, I am sure; he’ll clear out all such vermin +round here,” said Mr. Salton.</p> +<p>Adam went quietly on with his breakfast. Killing a few snakes +in a morning was no new experience to him. He left the room the +moment breakfast was finished and went to the study that his uncle had +arranged for him. Both Sir Nathaniel and Mr. Salton took it that +he wanted to be by himself, so as to avoid any questioning or talk of +the visit that he was to make that afternoon. They saw nothing +further of him till about half-an-hour before dinner-time. Then +he came quietly into the smoking-room, where Mr. Salton and Sir Nathaniel +were sitting together, ready dressed.</p> +<p>“I suppose there is no use waiting. We had better get +it over at once,” remarked Adam.</p> +<p>His uncle, thinking to make things easier for him, said: “Get +what over?”</p> +<p>There was a sign of shyness about him at this. He stammered +a little at first, but his voice became more even as he went on.</p> +<p>“My visit to Mercy Farm.”</p> +<p>Mr. Salton waited eagerly. The old diplomatist simply smiled.</p> +<p>“I suppose you both know that I was much interested yesterday +in the Watfords?” There was no denial or fending off the +question. Both the old men smiled acquiescence. Adam went +on: “I meant you to see it—both of you. You, uncle, +because you are my uncle and the nearest of my own kin, and, moreover, +you couldn’t have been more kind to me or made me more welcome +if you had been my own father.” Mr. Salton said nothing. +He simply held out his hand, and the other took it and held it for a +few seconds. “And you, sir, because you have shown me something +of the same affection which in my wildest dreams of home I had no right +to expect.” He stopped for an instant, much moved.</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel answered softly, laying his hand on the youth’s +shoulder.</p> +<p>“You are right, my boy; quite right. That is the proper +way to look at it. And I may tell you that we old men, who have +no children of our own, feel our hearts growing warm when we hear words +like those.”</p> +<p>Then Adam hurried on, speaking with a rush, as if he wanted to come +to the crucial point.</p> +<p>“Mr. Watford had not come in, but Lilla and Mimi were at home, +and they made me feel very welcome. They have all a great regard +for my uncle. I am glad of that any way, for I like them all—much. +We were having tea, when Mr. Caswall came to the door, attended by the +negro. Lilla opened the door herself. The window of the +living-room at the farm is a large one, and from within you cannot help +seeing anyone coming. Mr. Caswall said he had ventured to call, +as he wished to make the acquaintance of all his tenants, in a less +formal way, and more individually, than had been possible to him on +the previous day. The girls made him welcome—they are very +sweet girls those, sir; someone will be very happy some day there—with +either of them.”</p> +<p>“And that man may be you, Adam,” said Mr. Salton heartily.</p> +<p>A sad look came over the young man’s eyes, and the fire his +uncle had seen there died out. Likewise the timbre left his voice, +making it sound lonely.</p> +<p>“Such might crown my life. But that happiness, I fear, +is not for me—or not without pain and loss and woe.”</p> +<p>“Well, it’s early days yet!” cried Sir Nathaniel +heartily.</p> +<p>The young man turned on him his eyes, which had now grown excessively +sad.</p> +<p>“Yesterday—a few hours ago—that remark would have +given me new hope—new courage; but since then I have learned too +much.”</p> +<p>The old man, skilled in the human heart, did not attempt to argue +in such a matter.</p> +<p>“Too early to give in, my boy.”</p> +<p>“I am not of a giving-in kind,” replied the young man +earnestly. “But, after all, it is wise to realise a truth. +And when a man, though he is young, feels as I do—as I have felt +ever since yesterday, when I first saw Mimi’s eyes—his heart +jumps. He does not need to learn things. He knows.”</p> +<p>There was silence in the room, during which the twilight stole on +imperceptibly. It was Adam who again broke the silence.</p> +<p>“Do you know, uncle, if we have any second sight in our family?”</p> +<p>“No, not that I ever heard about. Why?”</p> +<p>“Because,” he answered slowly, “I have a conviction +which seems to answer all the conditions of second sight.”</p> +<p>“And then?” asked the old man, much perturbed.</p> +<p>“And then the usual inevitable. What in the Hebrides +and other places, where the Sight is a cult—a belief—is +called ‘the doom’—the court from which there is no +appeal. I have often heard of second sight—we have many +western Scots in Australia; but I have realised more of its true inwardness +in an instant of this afternoon than I did in the whole of my life previously—a +granite wall stretching up to the very heavens, so high and so dark +that the eye of God Himself cannot see beyond. Well, if the Doom +must come, it must. That is all.”</p> +<p>The voice of Sir Nathaniel broke in, smooth and sweet and grave.</p> +<p>“Can there not be a fight for it? There can for most +things.”</p> +<p>“For most things, yes, but for the Doom, no. What a man +can do I shall do. There will be—must be—a fight. +When and where and how I know not, but a fight there will be. +But, after all, what is a man in such a case?”</p> +<p>“Adam, there are three of us.” Salton looked at +his old friend as he spoke, and that old friend’s eyes blazed.</p> +<p>“Ay, three of us,” he said, and his voice rang.</p> +<p>There was again a pause, and Sir Nathaniel endeavoured to get back +to less emotional and more neutral ground.</p> +<p>“Tell us of the rest of the meeting. Remember we are +all pledged to this. It is a fight <i>à l’outrance</i>, +and we can afford to throw away or forgo no chance.”</p> +<p>“We shall throw away or lose nothing that we can help. +We fight to win, and the stake is a life—perhaps more than one—we +shall see.” Then he went on in a conversational tone, such +as he had used when he spoke of the coming to the farm of Edgar Caswall: +“When Mr. Caswall came in, the negro went a short distance away +and there remained. It gave me the idea that he expected to be +called, and intended to remain in sight, or within hail. Then +Mimi got another cup and made fresh tea, and we all went on together.”</p> +<p>“Was there anything uncommon—were you all quite friendly?” +asked Sir Nathaniel quietly.</p> +<p>“Quite friendly. There was nothing that I could notice +out of the common—except,” he went on, with a slight hardening +of the voice, “except that he kept his eyes fixed on Lilla, in +a way which was quite intolerable to any man who might hold her dear.”</p> +<p>“Now, in what way did he look?” asked Sir Nathaniel.</p> +<p>“There was nothing in itself offensive; but no one could help +noticing it.”</p> +<p>“You did. Miss Watford herself, who was the victim, and +Mr. Caswall, who was the offender, are out of range as witnesses. +Was there anyone else who noticed?”</p> +<p>“Mimi did. Her face flamed with anger as she saw the +look.”</p> +<p>“What kind of look was it? Over-ardent or too admiring, +or what? Was it the look of a lover, or one who fain would be? +You understand?”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir, I quite understand. Anything of that sort +I should of course notice. It would be part of my preparation +for keeping my self-control—to which I am pledged.”</p> +<p>“If it were not amatory, was it threatening? Where was +the offence?”</p> +<p>Adam smiled kindly at the old man.</p> +<p>“It was not amatory. Even if it was, such was to be expected. +I should be the last man in the world to object, since I am myself an +offender in that respect. Moreover, not only have I been taught +to fight fair, but by nature I believe I am just. I would be as +tolerant of and as liberal to a rival as I should expect him to be to +me. No, the look I mean was nothing of that kind. And so +long as it did not lack proper respect, I should not of my own part +condescend to notice it. Did you ever study the eyes of a hound?”</p> +<p>“At rest?”</p> +<p>“No, when he is following his instincts! Or, better still,” +Adam went on, “the eyes of a bird of prey when he is following +his instincts. Not when he is swooping, but merely when he is +watching his quarry?”</p> +<p>“No,” said Sir Nathaniel, “I don’t know that +I ever did. Why, may I ask?”</p> +<p>“That was the look. Certainly not amatory or anything +of that kind—yet it was, it struck me, more dangerous, if not +so deadly as an actual threatening.”</p> +<p>Again there was a silence, which Sir Nathaniel broke as he stood +up:</p> +<p>“I think it would be well if we all thought over this by ourselves. +Then we can renew the subject.”</p> +<h2>CHAPTER VII—OOLANGA</h2> +<p>Mr. Salton had an appointment for six o’clock at Liverpool. +When he had driven off, Sir Nathaniel took Adam by the arm.</p> +<p>“May I come with you for a while to your study? I want +to speak to you privately without your uncle knowing about it, or even +what the subject is. You don’t mind, do you? It is +not idle curiosity. No, no. It is on the subject to which +we are all committed.”</p> +<p>“Is it necessary to keep my uncle in the dark about it? +He might be offended.”</p> +<p>“It is not necessary; but it is advisable. It is for +his sake that I asked. My friend is an old man, and it might concern +him unduly—even alarm him. I promise you there shall be +nothing that could cause him anxiety in our silence, or at which he +could take umbrage.”</p> +<p>“Go on, sir!” said Adam simply.</p> +<p>“You see, your uncle is now an old man. I know it, for +we were boys together. He has led an uneventful and somewhat self-contained +life, so that any such condition of things as has now arisen is apt +to perplex him from its very strangeness. In fact, any new matter +is trying to old people. It has its own disturbances and its own +anxieties, and neither of these things are good for lives that should +be restful. Your uncle is a strong man, with a very happy and +placid nature. Given health and ordinary conditions of life, there +is no reason why he should not live to be a hundred. You and I, +therefore, who both love him, though in different ways, should make +it our business to protect him from all disturbing influences. +I am sure you will agree with me that any labour to this end would be +well spent. All right, my boy! I see your answer in your +eyes; so we need say no more of that. And now,” here his +voice changed, “tell me all that took place at that interview. +There are strange things in front of us—how strange we cannot +at present even guess. Doubtless some of the difficult things +to understand which lie behind the veil will in time be shown to us +to see and to understand. In the meantime, all we can do is to +work patiently, fearlessly, and unselfishly, to an end that we think +is right. You had got so far as where Lilla opened the door to +Mr. Caswall and the negro. You also observed that Mimi was disturbed +in her mind at the way Mr. Caswall looked at her cousin.”</p> +<p>“Certainly—though ‘disturbed’ is a poor way +of expressing her objection.”</p> +<p>“Can you remember well enough to describe Caswall’s eyes, +and how Lilla looked, and what Mimi said and did? Also Oolanga, +Caswall’s West African servant.”</p> +<p>“I’ll do what I can, sir. All the time Mr. Caswall +was staring, he kept his eyes fixed and motionless—but not as +if he was in a trance. His forehead was wrinkled up, as it is +when one is trying to see through or into something. At the best +of times his face has not a gentle expression; but when it was screwed +up like that it was almost diabolical. It frightened poor Lilla +so that she trembled, and after a bit got so pale that I thought she +had fainted. However, she held up and tried to stare back, but +in a feeble kind of way. Then Mimi came close and held her hand. +That braced her up, and—still, never ceasing her return stare—she +got colour again and seemed more like herself.”</p> +<p>“Did he stare too?”</p> +<p>“More than ever. The weaker Lilla seemed, the stronger +he became, just as if he were feeding on her strength. All at +once she turned round, threw up her hands, and fell down in a faint. +I could not see what else happened just then, for Mimi had thrown herself +on her knees beside her and hid her from me. Then there was something +like a black shadow between us, and there was the nigger, looking more +like a malignant devil than ever. I am not usually a patient man, +and the sight of that ugly devil is enough to make one’s blood +boil. When he saw my face, he seemed to realise danger—immediate +danger—and slunk out of the room as noiselessly as if he had been +blown out. I learned one thing, however—he is an enemy, +if ever a man had one.”</p> +<p>“That still leaves us three to two!” put in Sir Nathaniel.</p> +<p>“Then Caswall slunk out, much as the nigger had done. +When he had gone, Lilla recovered at once.”</p> +<p>“Now,” said Sir Nathaniel, anxious to restore peace, +“have you found out anything yet regarding the negro? I +am anxious to be posted regarding him. I fear there will be, or +may be, grave trouble with him.”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir, I’ve heard a good deal about him—of +course it is not official; but hearsay must guide us at first. +You know my man Davenport—private secretary, confidential man +of business, and general factotum. He is devoted to me, and has +my full confidence. I asked him to stay on board the <i>West African</i> +and have a good look round, and find out what he could about Mr. Caswall. +Naturally, he was struck with the aboriginal savage. He found +one of the ship’s stewards, who had been on the regular voyages +to South Africa. He knew Oolanga and had made a study of him. +He is a man who gets on well with niggers, and they open their hearts +to him. It seems that this Oolanga is quite a great person in +the nigger world of the African West Coast. He has the two things +which men of his own colour respect: he can make them afraid, and he +is lavish with money. I don’t know whose money—but +that does not matter. They are always ready to trumpet his greatness. +Evil greatness it is—but neither does that matter. Briefly, +this is his history. He was originally a witch-finder—about +as low an occupation as exists amongst aboriginal savages. Then +he got up in the world and became an Obi-man, which gives an opportunity +to wealth <i>via</i> blackmail. Finally, he reached the highest +honour in hellish service. He became a user of Voodoo, which seems +to be a service of the utmost baseness and cruelty. I was told +some of his deeds of cruelty, which are simply sickening. They +made me long for an opportunity of helping to drive him back to hell. +You might think to look at him that you could measure in some way the +extent of his vileness; but it would be a vain hope. Monsters +such as he is belong to an earlier and more rudimentary stage of barbarism. +He is in his way a clever fellow—for a nigger; but is none the +less dangerous or the less hateful for that. The men in the ship +told me that he was a collector: some of them had seen his collections. +Such collections! All that was potent for evil in bird or beast, +or even in fish. Beaks that could break and rend and tear—all +the birds represented were of a predatory kind. Even the fishes +are those which are born to destroy, to wound, to torture. The +collection, I assure you, was an object lesson in human malignity. +This being has enough evil in his face to frighten even a strong man. +It is little wonder that the sight of it put that poor girl into a dead +faint!”</p> +<p>Nothing more could be done at the moment, so they separated.</p> +<p>Adam was up in the early morning and took a smart walk round the +Brow. As he was passing Diana’s Grove, he looked in on the +short avenue of trees, and noticed the snakes killed on the previous +morning by the mongoose. They all lay in a row, straight and rigid, +as if they had been placed by hands. Their skins seemed damp and +sticky, and they were covered all over with ants and other insects. +They looked loathsome, so after a glance, he passed on.</p> +<p>A little later, when his steps took him, naturally enough, past the +entrance to Mercy Farm, he was passed by the negro, moving quickly under +the trees wherever there was shadow. Laid across one extended +arm, looking like dirty towels across a rail, he had the horrid-looking +snakes. He did not seem to see Adam. No one was to be seen +at Mercy except a few workmen in the farmyard, so, after waiting on +the chance of seeing Mimi, Adam began to go slowly home.</p> +<p>Once more he was passed on the way. This time it was by Lady +Arabella, walking hurriedly and so furiously angry that she did not +recognise him, even to the extent of acknowledging his bow.</p> +<p>When Adam got back to Lesser Hill, he went to the coach-house where +the box with the mongoose was kept, and took it with him, intending +to finish at the Mound of Stone what he had begun the previous morning +with regard to the extermination. He found that the snakes were +even more easily attacked than on the previous day; no less than six +were killed in the first half-hour. As no more appeared, he took +it for granted that the morning’s work was over, and went towards +home. The mongoose had by this time become accustomed to him, +and was willing to let himself be handled freely. Adam lifted +him up and put him on his shoulder and walked on. Presently he +saw a lady advancing towards him, and recognised Lady Arabella.</p> +<p>Hitherto the mongoose had been quiet, like a playful affectionate +kitten; but when the two got close, Adam was horrified to see the mongoose, +in a state of the wildest fury, with every hair standing on end, jump +from his shoulder and run towards Lady Arabella. It looked so +furious and so intent on attack that he called a warning.</p> +<p>“Look out—look out! The animal is furious and means +to attack.”</p> +<p>Lady Arabella looked more than ever disdainful and was passing on; +the mongoose jumped at her in a furious attack. Adam rushed forward +with his stick, the only weapon he had. But just as he got within +striking distance, the lady drew out a revolver and shot the animal, +breaking his backbone. Not satisfied with this, she poured shot +after shot into him till the magazine was exhausted. There was +no coolness or hauteur about her now; she seemed more furious even than +the animal, her face transformed with hate, and as determined to kill +as he had appeared to be. Adam, not knowing exactly what to do, +lifted his hat in apology and hurried on to Lesser Hill.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII—SURVIVALS</h2> +<p>At breakfast Sir Nathaniel noticed that Adam was put out about something, +but he said nothing. The lesson of silence is better remembered +in age than in youth. When they were both in the study, where +Sir Nathaniel followed him, Adam at once began to tell his companion +of what had happened. Sir Nathaniel looked graver and graver as +the narration proceeded, and when Adam had stopped he remained silent +for several minutes, before speaking.</p> +<p>“This is very grave. I have not formed any opinion yet; +but it seems to me at first impression that this is worse than anything +I had expected.”</p> +<p>“Why, sir?” said Adam. “Is the killing of +a mongoose—no matter by whom—so serious a thing as all that?”</p> +<p>His companion smoked on quietly for quite another few minutes before +he spoke.</p> +<p>“When I have properly thought it over I may moderate my opinion, +but in the meantime it seems to me that there is something dreadful +behind all this—something that may affect all our lives—that +may mean the issue of life or death to any of us.”</p> +<p>Adam sat up quickly.</p> +<p>“Do tell me, sir, what is in your mind—if, of course, +you have no objection, or do not think it better to withhold it.”</p> +<p>“I have no objection, Adam—in fact, if I had, I should +have to overcome it. I fear there can be no more reserved thoughts +between us.”</p> +<p>“Indeed, sir, that sounds serious, worse than serious!”</p> +<p>“Adam, I greatly fear that the time has come for us—for +you and me, at all events—to speak out plainly to one another. +Does not there seem something very mysterious about this?”</p> +<p>“I have thought so, sir, all along. The only difficulty +one has is what one is to think and where to begin.”</p> +<p>“Let us begin with what you have told me. First take +the conduct of the mongoose. He was quiet, even friendly and affectionate +with you. He only attacked the snakes, which is, after all, his +business in life.”</p> +<p>“That is so!”</p> +<p>“Then we must try to find some reason why he attacked Lady +Arabella.”</p> +<p>“May it not be that a mongoose may have merely the instinct +to attack, that nature does not allow or provide him with the fine reasoning +powers to discriminate who he is to attack?”</p> +<p>“Of course that may be so. But, on the other hand, should +we not satisfy ourselves why he does wish to attack anything? +If for centuries, this particular animal is known to attack only one +kind of other animal, are we not justified in assuming that when one +of them attacks a hitherto unclassed animal, he recognises in that animal +some quality which it has in common with the hereditary enemy?”</p> +<p>“That is a good argument, sir,” Adam went on, “but +a dangerous one. If we followed it out, it would lead us to believe +that Lady Arabella is a snake.”</p> +<p>“We must be sure, before going to such an end, that there is +no point as yet unconsidered which would account for the unknown thing +which puzzles us.”</p> +<p>“In what way?”</p> +<p>“Well, suppose the instinct works on some physical basis—for +instance, smell. If there were anything in recent juxtaposition +to the attacked which would carry the scent, surely that would supply +the missing cause.”</p> +<p>“Of course!” Adam spoke with conviction.</p> +<p>“Now, from what you tell me, the negro had just come from the +direction of Diana’s Grove, carrying the dead snakes which the +mongoose had killed the previous morning. Might not the scent +have been carried that way?”</p> +<p>“Of course it might, and probably was. I never thought +of that. Is there any possible way of guessing approximately how +long a scent will remain? You see, this is a natural scent, and +may derive from a place where it has been effective for thousands of +years. Then, does a scent of any kind carry with it any form or +quality of another kind, either good or evil? I ask you because +one ancient name of the house lived in by the lady who was attacked +by the mongoose was ‘The Lair of the White Worm.’ +If any of these things be so, our difficulties have multiplied indefinitely. +They may even change in kind. We may get into moral entanglements; +before we know it, we may be in the midst of a struggle between good +and evil.”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel smiled gravely.</p> +<p>“With regard to the first question—so far as I know, +there are no fixed periods for which a scent may be active—I think +we may take it that that period does not run into thousands of years. +As to whether any moral change accompanies a physical one, I can only +say that I have met no proof of the fact. At the same time, we +must remember that ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are terms +so wide as to take in the whole scheme of creation, and all that is +implied by them and by their mutual action and reaction. Generally, +I would say that in the scheme of a First Cause anything is possible. +So long as the inherent forces or tendencies of any one thing are veiled +from us we must expect mystery.”</p> +<p>“There is one other question on which I should like to ask +your opinion. Suppose that there are any permanent forces appertaining +to the past, what we may call ‘survivals,’ do these belong +to good as well as to evil? For instance, if the scent of the +primaeval monster can so remain in proportion to the original strength, +can the same be true of things of good import?”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel thought for a while before he answered.</p> +<p>“We must be careful not to confuse the physical and the moral. +I can see that already you have switched on the moral entirely, so perhaps +we had better follow it up first. On the side of the moral, we +have certain justification for belief in the utterances of revealed +religion. For instance, ‘the effectual fervent prayer of +a righteous man availeth much’ is altogether for good. We +have nothing of a similar kind on the side of evil. But if we +accept this dictum we need have no more fear of ‘mysteries’: +these become thenceforth merely obstacles.”</p> +<p>Adam suddenly changed to another phase of the subject.</p> +<p>“And now, sir, may I turn for a few minutes to purely practical +things, or rather to matters of historical fact?”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel bowed acquiescence.</p> +<p>“We have already spoken of the history, so far as it is known, +of some of the places round us—‘Castra Regis,’ ‘Diana’s +Grove,’ and ‘The Lair of the White Worm.’ I +would like to ask if there is anything not necessarily of evil import +about any of the places?”</p> +<p>“Which?” asked Sir Nathaniel shrewdly.</p> +<p>“Well, for instance, this house and Mercy Farm?”</p> +<p>“Here we turn,” said Sir Nathaniel, “to the other +side, the light side of things. Let us take Mercy Farm first. +When Augustine was sent by Pope Gregory to Christianise England, in +the time of the Romans, he was received and protected by Ethelbert, +King of Kent, whose wife, daughter of Charibert, King of Paris, was +a Christian, and did much for Augustine. She founded a nunnery +in memory of Columba, which was named <i>Sedes misericordioe</i>, the +House of Mercy, and, as the region was Mercian, the two names became +involved. As Columba is the Latin for dove, the dove became a +sort of signification of the nunnery. She seized on the idea and +made the newly-founded nunnery a house of doves. Someone sent +her a freshly-discovered dove, a sort of carrier, but which had in the +white feathers of its head and neck the form of a religious cowl. +The nunnery flourished for more than a century, when, in the time of +Penda, who was the reactionary of heathendom, it fell into decay. +In the meantime the doves, protected by religious feeling, had increased +mightily, and were known in all Catholic communities. When King +Offa ruled in Mercia, about a hundred and fifty years later, he restored +Christianity, and under its protection the nunnery of St. Columba was +restored and its doves flourished again. In process of time this +religious house again fell into desuetude; but before it disappeared +it had achieved a great name for good works, and in especial for the +piety of its members. If deeds and prayers and hopes and earnest +thinking leave anywhere any moral effect, Mercy Farm and all around +it have almost the right to be considered holy ground.”</p> +<p>“Thank you, sir,” said Adam earnestly, and was silent. +Sir Nathaniel understood.</p> +<p>After lunch that day, Adam casually asked Sir Nathaniel to come for +a walk with him. The keen-witted old diplomatist guessed that +there must be some motive behind the suggestion, and he at once agreed.</p> +<p>As soon as they were free from observation, Adam began.</p> +<p>“I am afraid, sir, that there is more going on in this neighbourhood +than most people imagine. I was out this morning, and on the edge +of the small wood, I came upon the body of a child by the roadside. +At first, I thought she was dead, and while examining her, I noticed +on her neck some marks that looked like those of teeth.”</p> +<p>“Some wild dog, perhaps?” put in Sir Nathaniel.</p> +<p>“Possibly, sir, though I think not—but listen to the +rest of my news. I glanced around, and to my surprise, I noticed +something white moving among the trees. I placed the child down +carefully, and followed, but I could not find any further traces. +So I returned to the child and resumed my examination, and, to my delight, +I discovered that she was still alive. I chafed her hands and +gradually she revived, but to my disappointment she remembered nothing—except +that something had crept up quietly from behind, and had gripped her +round the throat. Then, apparently, she fainted.”</p> +<p>“Gripped her round the throat! Then it cannot have been +a dog.”</p> +<p>“No, sir, that is my difficulty, and explains why I brought +you out here, where we cannot possibly be overheard. You have +noticed, of course, the peculiar sinuous way in which Lady Arabella +moves—well, I feel certain that the white thing that I saw in +the wood was the mistress of Diana’s Grove!”</p> +<p>“Good God, boy, be careful what you say.”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir, I fully realise the gravity of my accusation, but +I feel convinced that the marks on the child’s throat were human—and +made by a woman.”</p> +<p>Adam’s companion remained silent for some time, deep in thought.</p> +<p>“Adam, my boy,” he said at last, “this matter appears +to me to be far more serious even than you think. It forces me +to break confidence with my old friend, your uncle—but, in order +to spare him, I must do so. For some time now, things have been +happening in this district that have been worrying him dreadfully—several +people have disappeared, without leaving the slightest trace; a dead +child was found by the roadside, with no visible or ascertainable cause +of death—sheep and other animals have been found in the fields, +bleeding from open wounds. There have been other matters—many +of them apparently trivial in themselves. Some sinister influence +has been at work, and I admit that I have suspected Lady Arabella—that +is why I questioned you so closely about the mongoose and its strange +attack upon Lady Arabella. You will think it strange that I should +suspect the mistress of Diana’s Grove, a beautiful woman of aristocratic +birth. Let me explain—the family seat is near my own place, +Doom Tower, and at one time I knew the family well. When still +a young girl, Lady Arabella wandered into a small wood near her home, +and did not return. She was found unconscious and in a high fever—the +doctor said that she had received a poisonous bite, and the girl being +at a delicate and critical age, the result was serious—so much +so that she was not expected to recover. A great London physician +came down but could do nothing—indeed, he said that the girl would +not survive the night. All hope had been abandoned, when, to everyone’s +surprise, Lady Arabella made a sudden and startling recovery. +Within a couple of days she was going about as usual! But to the +horror of her people, she developed a terrible craving for cruelty, +maiming and injuring birds and small animals—even killing them. +This was put down to a nervous disturbance due to her age, and it was +hoped that her marriage to Captain March would put this right. +However, it was not a happy marriage, and eventually her husband was +found shot through the head. I have always suspected suicide, +though no pistol was found near the body. He may have discovered +something—God knows what!—so possibly Lady Arabella may +herself have killed him. Putting together many small matters that +have come to my knowledge, I have come to the conclusion that the foul +White Worm obtained control of her body, just as her soul was leaving +its earthly tenement—that would explain the sudden revival of +energy, the strange and inexplicable craving for maiming and killing, +as well as many other matters with which I need not trouble you now, +Adam. As I said just now, God alone knows what poor Captain March +discovered—it must have been something too ghastly for human endurance, +if my theory is correct that the once beautiful human body of Lady Arabella +is under the control of this ghastly White Worm.”</p> +<p>Adam nodded.</p> +<p>“But what can we do, sir—it seems a most difficult problem.”</p> +<p>“We can do nothing, my boy—that is the important part +of it. It would be impossible to take action—all we can +do is to keep careful watch, especially as regards Lady Arabella, and +be ready to act, promptly and decisively, if the opportunity occurs.”</p> +<p>Adam agreed, and the two men returned to Lesser Hill.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER IX—SMELLING DEATH</h2> +<p>Adam Salton, though he talked little, did not let the grass grow +under his feet in any matter which he had undertaken, or in which he +was interested. He had agreed with Sir Nathaniel that they should +not do anything with regard to the mystery of Lady Arabella’s +fear of the mongoose, but he steadily pursued his course in being <i>prepared</i> +to act whenever the opportunity might come. He was in his own +mind perpetually casting about for information or clues which might +lead to possible lines of action. Baffled by the killing of the +mongoose, he looked around for another line to follow. He was +fascinated by the idea of there being a mysterious link between the +woman and the animal, but he was already preparing a second string to +his bow. His new idea was to use the faculties of Oolanga, so +far as he could, in the service of discovery. His first move was +to send Davenport to Liverpool to try to find the steward of the <i>West +African</i>, who had told him about Oolanga, and if possible secure +any further information, and then try to induce (by bribery or other +means) the nigger to come to the Brow. So soon as he himself could +have speech of the Voodoo-man he would be able to learn from him something +useful. Davenport was successful in his missions, for he had to +get another mongoose, and he was able to tell Adam that he had seen +the steward, who told him much that he wanted to know, and had also +arranged for Oolanga to come to Lesser Hill the following day. +At this point Adam saw his way sufficiently clear to admit Davenport +to some extent into his confidence. He had come to the conclusion +that it would be better—certainly at first—not himself to +appear in the matter, with which Davenport was fully competent to deal. +It would be time for himself to take a personal part when matters had +advanced a little further.</p> +<p>If what the nigger said was in any wise true, the man had a rare +gift which might be useful in the quest they were after. He could, +as it were, “smell death.” If any one was dead, if +any one had died, or if a place had been used in connection with death, +he seemed to know the broad fact by intuition. Adam made up his +mind that to test this faculty with regard to several places would be +his first task. Naturally he was anxious, and the time passed +slowly. The only comfort was the arrival the next morning of a +strong packing case, locked, from Ross, the key being in the custody +of Davenport. In the case were two smaller boxes, both locked. +One of them contained a mongoose to replace that killed by Lady Arabella; +the other was the special mongoose which had already killed the king-cobra +in Nepaul. When both the animals had been safely put under lock +and key, he felt that he might breathe more freely. No one was +allowed to know the secret of their existence in the house, except himself +and Davenport. He arranged that Davenport should take Oolanga +round the neighbourhood for a walk, stopping at each of the places which +he designated. Having gone all along the Brow, he was to return +the same way and induce him to touch on the same subjects in talking +with Adam, who was to meet them as if by chance at the farthest part—that +beyond Mercy Farm.</p> +<p>The incidents of the day proved much as Adam expected. At Mercy +Farm, at Diana’s Grove, at Castra Regis, and a few other spots, +the negro stopped and, opening his wide nostrils as if to sniff boldly, +said that he smelled death. It was not always in the same form. +At Mercy Farm he said there were many small deaths. At Diana’s +Grove his bearing was different. There was a distinct sense of +enjoyment about him, especially when he spoke of many great deaths. +Here, too, he sniffed in a strange way, like a bloodhound at check, +and looked puzzled. He said no word in either praise or disparagement, +but in the centre of the Grove, where, hidden amongst ancient oak stumps, +was a block of granite slightly hollowed on the top, he bent low and +placed his forehead on the ground. This was the only place where +he showed distinct reverence. At the Castle, though he spoke of +much death, he showed no sign of respect.</p> +<p>There was evidently something about Diana’s Grove which both +interested and baffled him. Before leaving, he moved all over +the place unsatisfied, and in one spot, close to the edge of the Brow, +where there was a deep hollow, he appeared to be afraid. After +returning several times to this place, he suddenly turned and ran in +a panic of fear to the higher ground, crossing as he did so the outcropping +rock. Then he seemed to breathe more freely, and recovered some +of his jaunty impudence.</p> +<p>All this seemed to satisfy Adam’s expectations. He went +back to Lesser Hill with a serene and settled calm upon him. Sir +Nathaniel followed him into his study.</p> +<p>“By the way, I forgot to ask you details about one thing. +When that extraordinary staring episode of Mr. Caswall went on, how +did Lilla take it—how did she bear herself?”</p> +<p>“She looked frightened, and trembled just as I have seen a +pigeon with a hawk, or a bird with a serpent.”</p> +<p>“Thanks. It is just as I expected. There have been +circumstances in the Caswall family which lead one to believe that they +have had from the earliest times some extraordinary mesmeric or hypnotic +faculty. Indeed, a skilled eye could read so much in their physiognomy. +That shot of yours, whether by instinct or intention, of the hawk and +the pigeon was peculiarly apposite. I think we may settle on that +as a fixed trait to be accepted throughout our investigation.”</p> +<p>When dusk had fallen, Adam took the new mongoose—not the one +from Nepaul—and, carrying the box slung over his shoulder, strolled +towards Diana’s Grove. Close to the gateway he met Lady +Arabella, clad as usual in tightly fitting white, which showed off her +slim figure.</p> +<p>To his intense astonishment the mongoose allowed her to pet him, +take him up in her arms and fondle him. As she was going in his +direction, they walked on together.</p> +<p>Round the roadway between the entrances of Diana’s Grove and +Lesser Hill were many trees, with not much foliage except at the top. +In the dusk this place was shadowy, and the view was hampered by the +clustering trunks. In the uncertain, tremulous light which fell +through the tree-tops, it was hard to distinguish anything clearly, +and at last, somehow, he lost sight of her altogether, and turned back +on his track to find her. Presently he came across her close to +her own gate. She was leaning over the paling of split oak branches +which formed the paling of the avenue. He could not see the mongoose, +so he asked her where it had gone.</p> +<p>“He slipt out of my arms while I was petting him,” she +answered, “and disappeared under the hedges.”</p> +<p>They found him at a place where the avenue widened so as to let carriages +pass each other. The little creature seemed quite changed. +He had been ebulliently active; now he was dull and spiritless—seemed +to be dazed. He allowed himself to be lifted by either of the +pair; but when he was alone with Lady Arabella he kept looking round +him in a strange way, as though trying to escape. When they had +come out on the roadway Adam held the mongoose tight to him, and, lifting +his hat to his companion, moved quickly towards Lesser Hill; he and +Lady Arabella lost sight of each other in the thickening gloom.</p> +<p>When Adam got home, he put the mongoose in his box, and locked the +door of the room. The other mongoose—the one from Nepaul—was +safely locked in his own box, but he lay quiet and did not stir. +When he got to his study Sir Nathaniel came in, shutting the door behind +him.</p> +<p>“I have come,” he said, “while we have an opportunity +of being alone, to tell you something of the Caswall family which I +think will interest you. There is, or used to be, a belief in +this part of the world that the Caswall family had some strange power +of making the wills of other persons subservient to their own. +There are many allusions to the subject in memoirs and other unimportant +works, but I only know of one where the subject is spoken of definitely. +It is <i>Mercia and its Worthies</i>, written by Ezra Toms more than +a hundred years ago. The author goes into the question of the +close association of the then Edgar Caswall with Mesmer in Paris. +He speaks of Caswall being a pupil and the fellow worker of Mesmer, +and states that though, when the latter left France, he took away with +him a vast quantity of philosophical and electric instruments, he was +never known to use them again. He once made it known to a friend +that he had given them to his old pupil. The term he used was +odd, for it was ‘bequeathed,’ but no such bequest of Mesmer +was ever made known. At any rate the instruments were missing, +and never turned up.”</p> +<p>A servant came into the room to tell Adam that there was some strange +noise coming from the locked room into which he had gone when he came +in. He hurried off to the place at once, Sir Nathaniel going with +him. Having locked the door behind them, Adam opened the packing-case +where the boxes of the two mongooses were locked up. There was +no sound from one of them, but from the other a queer restless struggling. +Having opened both boxes, he found that the noise was from the Nepaul +animal, which, however, became quiet at once. In the other box +the new mongoose lay dead, with every appearance of having been strangled!</p> +<h2>CHAPTER X—THE KITE</h2> +<p>On the following day, a little after four o’clock, Adam set +out for Mercy.</p> +<p>He was home just as the clocks were striking six. He was pale +and upset, but otherwise looked strong and alert. The old man +summed up his appearance and manner thus: “Braced up for battle.”</p> +<p>“Now!” said Sir Nathaniel, and settled down to listen, +looking at Adam steadily and listening attentively that he might miss +nothing—even the inflection of a word.</p> +<p>“I found Lilla and Mimi at home. Watford had been detained +by business on the farm. Miss Watford received me as kindly as +before; Mimi, too, seemed glad to see me. Mr. Caswall came so +soon after I arrived, that he, or someone on his behalf, must have been +watching for me. He was followed closely by the negro, who was +puffing hard as if he had been running—so it was probably he who +watched. Mr. Caswall was very cool and collected, but there was +a more than usually iron look about his face that I did not like. +However, we got on very well. He talked pleasantly on all sorts +of questions. The nigger waited a while and then disappeared as +on the other occasion. Mr. Caswall’s eyes were as usual +fixed on Lilla. True, they seemed to be very deep and earnest, +but there was no offence in them. Had it not been for the drawing +down of the brows and the stern set of the jaws, I should not at first +have noticed anything. But the stare, when presently it began, +increased in intensity. I could see that Lilla began to suffer +from nervousness, as on the first occasion; but she carried herself +bravely. However, the more nervous she grew, the harder Mr. Caswall +stared. It was evident to me that he had come prepared for some +sort of mesmeric or hypnotic battle. After a while he began to +throw glances round him and then raised his hand, without letting either +Lilla or Mimi see the action. It was evidently intended to give +some sign to the negro, for he came, in his usual stealthy way, quietly +in by the hall door, which was open. Then Mr. Caswall’s +efforts at staring became intensified, and poor Lilla’s nervousness +grew greater. Mimi, seeing that her cousin was distressed, came +close to her, as if to comfort or strengthen her with the consciousness +of her presence. This evidently made a difficulty for Mr. Caswall, +for his efforts, without appearing to get feebler, seemed less effective. +This continued for a little while, to the gain of both Lilla and Mimi. +Then there was a diversion. Without word or apology the door opened, +and Lady Arabella March entered the room. I had seen her coming +through the great window. Without a word she crossed the room +and stood beside Mr. Caswall. It really was very like a fight +of a peculiar kind; and the longer it was sustained the more earnest—the +fiercer—it grew. That combination of forces—the over-lord, +the white woman, and the black man—would have cost some—probably +all of them—their lives in the Southern States of America. +To us it was simply horrible. But all that you can understand. +This time, to go on in sporting phrase, it was understood by all to +be a ‘fight to a finish,’ and the mixed group did not slacken +a moment or relax their efforts. On Lilla the strain began to +tell disastrously. She grew pale—a patchy pallor, which +meant that her nerves were out of order. She trembled like an +aspen, and though she struggled bravely, I noticed that her legs would +hardly support her. A dozen times she seemed about to collapse +in a faint, but each time, on catching sight of Mimi’s eyes, she +made a fresh struggle and pulled through.</p> +<p>“By now Mr. Caswall’s face had lost its appearance of +passivity. His eyes glowed with a fiery light. He was still +the old Roman in inflexibility of purpose; but grafted on to the Roman +was a new Berserker fury. His companions in the baleful work seemed +to have taken on something of his feeling. Lady Arabella looked +like a soulless, pitiless being, not human, unless it revived old legends +of transformed human beings who had lost their humanity in some transformation +or in the sweep of natural savagery. As for the negro—well, +I can only say that it was solely due to the self-restraint which you +impressed on me that I did not wipe him out as he stood—without +warning, without fair play—without a single one of the graces +of life and death. Lilla was silent in the helpless concentration +of deadly fear; Mimi was all resolve and self-forgetfulness, so intent +on the soul-struggle in which she was engaged that there was no possibility +of any other thought. As for myself, the bonds of will which held +me inactive seemed like bands of steel which numbed all my faculties, +except sight and hearing. We seemed fixed in an <i>impasse</i>. +Something must happen, though the power of guessing was inactive. +As in a dream, I saw Mimi’s hand move restlessly, as if groping +for something. Mechanically it touched that of Lilla, and in that +instant she was transformed. It was as if youth and strength entered +afresh into something already dead to sensibility and intention. +As if by inspiration, she grasped the other’s band with a force +which blenched the knuckles. Her face suddenly flamed, as if some +divine light shone through it. Her form expanded till it stood +out majestically. Lifting her right hand, she stepped forward +towards Caswall, and with a bold sweep of her arm seemed to drive some +strange force towards him. Again and again was the gesture repeated, +the man falling back from her at each movement. Towards the door +he retreated, she following. There was a sound as of the cooing +sob of doves, which seemed to multiply and intensify with each second. +The sound from the unseen source rose and rose as he retreated, till +finally it swelled out in a triumphant peal, as she with a fierce sweep +of her arm, seemed to hurl something at her foe, and he, moving his +hands blindly before his face, appeared to be swept through the doorway +and out into the open sunlight.</p> +<p>“All at once my own faculties were fully restored; I could +see and hear everything, and be fully conscious of what was going on. +Even the figures of the baleful group were there, though dimly seen +as through a veil—a shadowy veil. I saw Lilla sink down +in a swoon, and Mimi throw up her arms in a gesture of triumph. +As I saw her through the great window, the sunshine flooded the landscape, +which, however, was momentarily becoming eclipsed by an onrush of a +myriad birds.”</p> +<p>By the next morning, daylight showed the actual danger which threatened. +From every part of the eastern counties reports were received concerning +the enormous immigration of birds. Experts were sending—on +their own account, on behalf of learned societies, and through local +and imperial governing bodies—reports dealing with the matter, +and suggesting remedies.</p> +<p>The reports closer to home were even more disturbing. All day +long it would seem that the birds were coming thicker from all quarters. +Doubtless many were going as well as coming, but the mass seemed never +to get less. Each bird seemed to sound some note of fear or anger +or seeking, and the whirring of wings never ceased nor lessened. +The air was full of a muttered throb. No window or barrier could +shut out the sound, till the ears of any listener became dulled by the +ceaseless murmur. So monotonous it was, so cheerless, so disheartening, +so melancholy, that all longed, but in vain, for any variety, no matter +how terrible it might be.</p> +<p>The second morning the reports from all the districts round were +more alarming than ever. Farmers began to dread the coming of +winter as they saw the dwindling of the timely fruitfulness of the earth. +And as yet it was only a warning of evil, not the evil accomplished; +the ground began to look bare whenever some passing sound temporarily +frightened the birds.</p> +<p>Edgar Caswall tortured his brain for a long time unavailingly, to +think of some means of getting rid of what he, as well as his neighbours, +had come to regard as a plague of birds. At last he recalled a +circumstance which promised a solution of the difficulty. The +experience was of some years ago in China, far up-country, towards the +head-waters of the Yang-tze-kiang, where the smaller tributaries spread +out in a sort of natural irrigation scheme to supply the wilderness +of paddy-fields. It was at the time of the ripening rice, and +the myriads of birds which came to feed on the coming crop was a serious +menace, not only to the district, but to the country at large. +The farmers, who were more or less afflicted with the same trouble every +season, knew how to deal with it. They made a vast kite, which +they caused to be flown over the centre spot of the incursion. +The kite was shaped like a great hawk; and the moment it rose into the +air the birds began to cower and seek protection—and then to disappear. +So long as that kite was flying overhead the birds lay low and the crop +was saved. Accordingly Caswall ordered his men to construct an +immense kite, adhering as well as they could to the lines of a hawk. +Then he and his men, with a sufficiency of cord, began to fly it high +overhead. The experience of China was repeated. The moment +the kite rose, the birds hid or sought shelter. The following +morning, the kite was still flying high, no bird was to be seen as far +as the eye could reach from Castra Regis. But there followed in +turn what proved even a worse evil. All the birds were cowed; +their sounds stopped. Neither song nor chirp was heard—silence +seemed to have taken the place of the normal voices of bird life. +But that was not all. The silence spread to all animals.</p> +<p>The fear and restraint which brooded amongst the denizens of the +air began to affect all life. Not only did the birds cease song +or chirp, but the lowing of the cattle ceased in the fields and the +varied sounds of life died away. In place of these things was +only a soundless gloom, more dreadful, more disheartening, more soul-killing +than any concourse of sounds, no matter how full of fear and dread. +Pious individuals put up constant prayers for relief from the intolerable +solitude. After a little there were signs of universal depression +which those who ran might read. One and all, the faces of men +and women seemed bereft of vitality, of interest, of thought, and, most +of all, of hope. Men seemed to have lost the power of expression +of their thoughts. The soundless air seemed to have the same effect +as the universal darkness when men gnawed their tongues with pain.</p> +<p>From this infliction of silence there was no relief. Everything +was affected; gloom was the predominant note. Joy appeared to +have passed away as a factor of life, and this creative impulse had +nothing to take its place. That giant spot in high air was a plague +of evil influence. It seemed like a new misanthropic belief which +had fallen on human beings, carrying with it the negation of all hope.</p> +<p>After a few days, men began to grow desperate; their very words as +well as their senses seemed to be in chains. Edgar Caswall again +tortured his brain to find any antidote or palliative of this greater +evil than before. He would gladly have destroyed the kite, or +caused its flying to cease; but the instant it was pulled down, the +birds rose up in even greater numbers; all those who depended in any +way on agriculture sent pitiful protests to Castra Regis.</p> +<p>It was strange indeed what influence that weird kite seemed to exercise. +Even human beings were affected by it, as if both it and they were realities. +As for the people at Mercy Farm, it was like a taste of actual death. +Lilla felt it most. If she had been indeed a real dove, with a +real kite hanging over her in the air, she could not have been more +frightened or more affected by the terror this created.</p> +<p>Of course, some of those already drawn into the vortex noticed the +effect on individuals. Those who were interested took care to +compare their information. Strangely enough, as it seemed to the +others, the person who took the ghastly silence least to heart was the +negro. By nature he was not sensitive to, or afflicted by, nerves. +This alone would not have produced the seeming indifference, so they +set their minds to discover the real cause. Adam came quickly +to the conclusion that there was for him some compensation that the +others did not share; and he soon believed that that compensation was +in one form or another the enjoyment of the sufferings of others. +Thus the black had a never-failing source of amusement.</p> +<p>Lady Arabella’s cold nature rendered her immune to anything +in the way of pain or trouble concerning others. Edgar Caswall +was far too haughty a person, and too stern of nature, to concern himself +about poor or helpless people, much less the lower order of mere animals. +Mr. Watford, Mr. Salton, and Sir Nathaniel were all concerned in the +issue, partly from kindness of heart—for none of them could see +suffering, even of wild birds, unmoved—and partly on account of +their property, which had to be protected, or ruin would stare them +in the face before long.</p> +<p>Lilla suffered acutely. As time went on, her face became pinched, +and her eyes dull with watching and crying. Mimi suffered too +on account of her cousin’s suffering. But as she could do +nothing, she resolutely made up her mind to self-restraint and patience. +Adam’s frequent visits comforted her.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XI—MESMER’S CHEST</h2> +<p>After a couple of weeks had passed, the kite seemed to give Edgar +Caswall a new zest for life. He was never tired of looking at +its movements. He had a comfortable armchair put out on the tower, +wherein he sat sometimes all day long, watching as though the kite was +a new toy and he a child lately come into possession of it. He +did not seem to have lost interest in Lilla, for he still paid an occasional +visit at Mercy Farm.</p> +<p>Indeed, his feeling towards her, whatever it had been at first, had +now so far changed that it had become a distinct affection of a purely +animal kind. Indeed, it seemed as though the man’s nature +had become corrupted, and that all the baser and more selfish and more +reckless qualities had become more conspicuous. There was not +so much sternness apparent in his nature, because there was less self-restraint. +Determination had become indifference.</p> +<p>The visible change in Edgar was that he grew morbid, sad, silent; +the neighbours thought he was going mad. He became absorbed in +the kite, and watched it not only by day, but often all night long. +It became an obsession to him.</p> +<p>Caswall took a personal interest in the keeping of the great kite +flying. He had a vast coil of cord efficient for the purpose, +which worked on a roller fixed on the parapet of the tower. There +was a winch for the pulling in of the slack; the outgoing line being +controlled by a racket. There was invariably one man at least, +day and night, on the tower to attend to it. At such an elevation +there was always a strong wind, and at times the kite rose to an enormous +height, as well as travelling for great distances laterally. In +fact, the kite became, in a short time, one of the curiosities of Castra +Regis and all around it. Edgar began to attribute to it, in his +own mind, almost human qualities. It became to him a separate +entity, with a mind and a soul of its own. Being idle-handed all +day, he began to apply to what he considered the service of the kite +some of his spare time, and found a new pleasure—a new object +in life—in the old schoolboy game of sending up “runners” +to the kite. The way this is done is to get round pieces of paper +so cut that there is a hole in the centre, through which the string +of the kite passes. The natural action of the wind-pressure takes +the paper along the string, and so up to the kite itself, no matter +how high or how far it may have gone.</p> +<p>In the early days of this amusement Edgar Caswall spent hours. +Hundreds of such messengers flew along the string, until soon he bethought +him of writing messages on these papers so that he could make known +his ideas to the kite. It may be that his brain gave way under +the opportunities given by his illusion of the entity of the toy and +its power of separate thought. From sending messages he came to +making direct speech to the kite—without, however, ceasing to +send the runners. Doubtless, the height of the tower, seated as +it was on the hill-top, the rushing of the ceaseless wind, the hypnotic +effect of the lofty altitude of the speck in the sky at which he gazed, +and the rushing of the paper messengers up the string till sight of +them was lost in distance, all helped to further affect his brain, undoubtedly +giving way under the strain of beliefs and circumstances which were +at once stimulating to the imagination, occupative of his mind, and +absorbing.</p> +<p>The next step of intellectual decline was to bring to bear on the +main idea of the conscious identity of the kite all sorts of subjects +which had imaginative force or tendency of their own. He had, +in Castra Regis, a large collection of curious and interesting things +formed in the past by his forebears, of similar tastes to his own. +There were all sorts of strange anthropological specimens, both old +and new, which had been collected through various travels in strange +places: ancient Egyptian relics from tombs and mummies; curios from +Australia, New Zealand, and the South Seas; idols and images—from +Tartar ikons to ancient Egyptian, Persian, and Indian objects of worship; +objects of death and torture of American Indians; and, above all, a +vast collection of lethal weapons of every kind and from every place—Chinese +“high pinders,” double knives, Afghan double-edged scimitars +made to cut a body in two, heavy knives from all the Eastern countries, +ghost daggers from Thibet, the terrible kukri of the Ghourka and other +hill tribes of India, assassins’ weapons from Italy and Spain, +even the knife which was formerly carried by the slave-drivers of the +Mississippi region. Death and pain of every kind were fully represented +in that gruesome collection.</p> +<p>That it had a fascination for Oolanga goes without saying. +He was never tired of visiting the museum in the tower, and spent endless +hours in inspecting the exhibits, till he was thoroughly familiar with +every detail of all of them. He asked permission to clean and +polish and sharpen them—a favour which was readily granted. +In addition to the above objects, there were many things of a kind to +awaken human fear. Stuffed serpents of the most objectionable +and horrid kind; giant insects from the tropics, fearsome in every detail; +fishes and crustaceans covered with weird spikes; dried octopuses of +great size. Other things, too, there were, not less deadly though +seemingly innocuous—dried fungi, traps intended for birds, beasts, +fishes, reptiles, and insects; machines which could produce pain of +any kind and degree, and the only mercy of which was the power of producing +speedy death.</p> +<p>Caswall, who had never before seen any of these things, except those +which he had collected himself, found a constant amusement and interest +in them. He studied them, their uses, their mechanism—where +there was such—and their places of origin, until he had an ample +and real knowledge of all concerning them. Many were secret and +intricate, but he never rested till he found out all the secrets. +When once he had become interested in strange objects, and the way to +use them, he began to explore various likely places for similar finds. +He began to inquire of his household where strange lumber was kept. +Several of the men spoke of old Simon Chester as one who knew everything +in and about the house. Accordingly, he sent for the old man, +who came at once. He was very old, nearly ninety years of age, +and very infirm. He had been born in the Castle, and had served +its succession of masters—present or absent—ever since. +When Edgar began to question him on the subject regarding which he had +sent for him, old Simon exhibited much perturbation. In fact, +he became so frightened that his master, fully believing that he was +concealing something, ordered him to tell at once what remained unseen, +and where it was hidden away. Face to face with discovery of his +secret, the old man, in a pitiable state of concern, spoke out even +more fully than Mr. Caswall had expected.</p> +<p>“Indeed, indeed, sir, everything is here in the tower that +has ever been put away in my time except—except—” +here he began to shake and tremble it—“except the chest +which Mr. Edgar—he who was Mr. Edgar when I first took service—brought +back from France, after he had been with Dr. Mesmer. The trunk +has been kept in my room for safety; but I shall send it down here now.”</p> +<p>“What is in it?” asked Edgar sharply.</p> +<p>“That I do not know. Moreover, it is a peculiar trunk, +without any visible means of opening.”</p> +<p>“Is there no lock?”</p> +<p>“I suppose so, sir; but I do not know. There is no keyhole.”</p> +<p>“Send it here; and then come to me yourself.”</p> +<p>The trunk, a heavy one with steel bands round it, but no lock or +keyhole, was carried in by two men. Shortly afterwards old Simon +attended his master. When he came into the room, Mr. Caswall himself +went and closed the door; then he asked:</p> +<p>“How do you open it?”</p> +<p>“I do not know, sir.”</p> +<p>“Do you mean to say that you never opened it?”</p> +<p>“Most certainly I say so, your honour. How could I? +It was entrusted to me with the other things by my master. To +open it would have been a breach of trust.”</p> +<p>Caswall sneered.</p> +<p>“Quite remarkable! Leave it with me. Close the +door behind you. Stay—did no one ever tell you about it—say +anything regarding it—make any remark?”</p> +<p>Old Simon turned pale, and put his trembling hands together.</p> +<p>“Oh, sir, I entreat you not to touch it. That trunk probably +contains secrets which Dr. Mesmer told my master. Told them to +his ruin!”</p> +<p>“How do you mean? What ruin?”</p> +<p>“Sir, he it was who, men said, sold his soul to the Evil One; +I had thought that that time and the evil of it had all passed away.”</p> +<p>“That will do. Go away; but remain in your own room, +or within call. I may want you.”</p> +<p>The old man bowed deeply and went out trembling, but without speaking +a word.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XII—THE CHEST OPENED</h2> +<p>Left alone in the turret-room, Edgar Caswall carefully locked the +door and hung a handkerchief over the keyhole. Next, he inspected +the windows, and saw that they were not overlooked from any angle of +the main building. Then he carefully examined the trunk, going +over it with a magnifying glass. He found it intact: the steel +bands were flawless; the whole trunk was compact. After sitting +opposite to it for some time, and the shades of evening beginning to +melt into darkness, he gave up the task and went to his bedroom, after +locking the door of the turret-room behind him and taking away the key.</p> +<p>He woke in the morning at daylight, and resumed his patient but unavailing +study of the metal trunk. This he continued during the whole day +with the same result—humiliating disappointment, which overwrought +his nerves and made his head ache. The result of the long strain +was seen later in the afternoon, when he sat locked within the turret-room +before the still baffling trunk, distrait, listless and yet agitated, +sunk in a settled gloom. As the dusk was falling he told the steward +to send him two men, strong ones. These he ordered to take the +trunk to his bedroom. In that room he then sat on into the night, +without pausing even to take any food. His mind was in a whirl, +a fever of excitement. The result was that when, late in the night, +he locked himself in his room his brain was full of odd fancies; he +was on the high road to mental disturbance. He lay down on his +bed in the dark, still brooding over the mystery of the closed trunk.</p> +<p>Gradually he yielded to the influences of silence and darkness. +After lying there quietly for some time, his mind became active again. +But this time there were round him no disturbing influences; his brain +was active and able to work freely and to deal with memory. A +thousand forgotten—or only half-known—incidents, fragments +of conversations or theories long ago guessed at and long forgotten, +crowded on his mind. He seemed to hear again around him the legions +of whirring wings to which he had been so lately accustomed. Even +to himself he knew that that was an effort of imagination founded on +imperfect memory. But he was content that imagination should work, +for out of it might come some solution of the mystery which surrounded +him. And in this frame of mind, sleep made another and more successful +essay. This time he enjoyed peaceful slumber, restful alike to +his wearied body and his overwrought brain.</p> +<p>In his sleep he arose, and, as if in obedience to some influence +beyond and greater than himself, lifted the great trunk and set it on +a strong table at one side of the room, from which he had previously +removed a quantity of books. To do this, he had to use an amount +of strength which was, he knew, far beyond him in his normal state. +As it was, it seemed easy enough; everything yielded before his touch. +Then he became conscious that somehow—how, he never could remember—the +chest was open. He unlocked his door, and, taking the chest on +his shoulder, carried it up to the turret-room, the door of which also +he unlocked. Even at the time he was amazed at his own strength, +and wondered whence it had come. His mind, lost in conjecture, +was too far off to realise more immediate things. He knew that +the chest was enormously heavy. He seemed, in a sort of vision +which lit up the absolute blackness around, to see the two sturdy servant +men staggering under its great weight. He locked himself again +in the turret-room, and laid the opened chest on a table, and in the +darkness began to unpack it, laying out the contents, which were mainly +of metal and glass—great pieces in strange forms—on another +table. He was conscious of being still asleep, and of acting rather +in obedience to some unseen and unknown command than in accordance with +any reasonable plan, to be followed by results which he understood. +This phase completed, he proceeded to arrange in order the component +parts of some large instruments, formed mostly of glass. His fingers +seemed to have acquired a new and exquisite subtlety and even a volition +of their own. Then weariness of brain came upon him; his head +sank down on his breast, and little by little everything became wrapped +in gloom.</p> +<p>He awoke in the early morning in his bedroom, and looked around him, +now clear-headed, in amazement. In its usual place on the strong +table stood the great steel-hooped chest without lock or key. +But it was now locked. He arose quietly and stole to the turret-room. +There everything was as it had been on the previous evening. He +looked out of the window where high in air flew, as usual, the giant +kite. He unlocked the wicket gate of the turret stair and went +out on the roof. Close to him was the great coil of cord on its +reel. It was humming in the morning breeze, and when he touched +the string it sent a quick thrill through hand and arm. There +was no sign anywhere that there had been any disturbance or displacement +of anything during the night.</p> +<p>Utterly bewildered, he sat down in his room to think. Now for +the first time he <i>felt</i> that he was asleep and dreaming. +Presently he fell asleep again, and slept for a long time. He +awoke hungry and made a hearty meal. Then towards evening, having +locked himself in, he fell asleep again. When he woke he was in +darkness, and was quite at sea as to his whereabouts. He began +feeling about the dark room, and was recalled to the consequences of +his position by the breaking of a large piece of glass. Having +obtained a light, he discovered this to be a glass wheel, part of an +elaborate piece of mechanism which he must in his sleep have taken from +the chest, which was now opened. He had once again opened it whilst +asleep, but he had no recollection of the circumstances.</p> +<p>Caswall came to the conclusion that there had been some sort of dual +action of his mind, which might lead to some catastrophe or some discovery +of his secret plans; so he resolved to forgo for a while the pleasure +of making discoveries regarding the chest. To this end, he applied +himself to quite another matter—an investigation of the other +treasures and rare objects in his collections. He went amongst +them in simple, idle curiosity, his main object being to discover some +strange item which he might use for experiment with the kite. +He had already resolved to try some runners other than those made of +paper. He had a vague idea that with such a force as the great +kite straining at its leash, this might be used to lift to the altitude +of the kite itself heavier articles. His first experiment with +articles of little but increasing weight was eminently successful. +So he added by degrees more and more weight, until he found out that +the lifting power of the kite was considerable. He then determined +to take a step further, and send to the kite some of the articles which +lay in the steel-hooped chest. The last time he had opened it +in sleep, it had not been shut again, and he had inserted a wedge so +that he could open it at will. He made examination of the contents, +but came to the conclusion that the glass objects were unsuitable. +They were too light for testing weight, and they were so frail as to +be dangerous to send to such a height.</p> +<p>So he looked around for something more solid with which to experiment. +His eye caught sight of an object which at once attracted him. +This was a small copy of one of the ancient Egyptian gods—that +of Bes, who represented the destructive power of nature. It was +so bizarre and mysterious as to commend itself to his mad humour. +In lifting it from the cabinet, he was struck by its great weight in +proportion to its size. He made accurate examination of it by +the aid of some instruments, and came to the conclusion that it was +carved from a lump of lodestone. He remembered that he had read +somewhere of an ancient Egyptian god cut from a similar substance, and, +thinking it over, he came to the conclusion that he must have read it +in Sir Thomas Brown’s <i>Popular Errors</i>, a book of the seventeenth +century. He got the book from the library, and looked out the +passage:</p> +<p>“A great example we have from the observation of our learned +friend Mr. Graves, in an AEgyptian idol cut out of Loadstone and found +among the Mummies; which still retains its attraction, though probably +taken out of the mine about two thousand years ago.”</p> +<p>The strangeness of the figure, and its being so close akin to his +own nature, attracted him. He made from thin wood a large circular +runner, and in front of it placed the weighty god, sending it up to +the flying kite along the throbbing cord.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII—OOLANGA’S HALLUCINATIONS</h2> +<p>During the last few days Lady Arabella had been getting exceedingly +impatient. Her debts, always pressing, were growing to an embarrassing +amount. The only hope she had of comfort in life was a good marriage; +but the good marriage on which she had fixed her eye did not seem to +move quickly enough—indeed, it did not seem to move at all—in +the right direction. Edgar Caswall was not an ardent wooer. +From the very first he seemed <i>difficile</i>, but he had been keeping +to his own room ever since his struggle with Mimi Watford. On +that occasion Lady Arabella had shown him in an unmistakable way what +her feelings were; indeed, she had made it known to him, in a more overt +way than pride should allow, that she wished to help and support him. +The moment when she had gone across the room to stand beside him in +his mesmeric struggle, had been the very limit of her voluntary action. +It was quite bitter enough, she felt, that he did not come to her, but +now that she had made that advance, she felt that any withdrawal on +his part would, to a woman of her class, be nothing less than a flaming +insult. Had she not classed herself with his nigger servant, an +unreformed savage? Had she not shown her preference for him at +the festival of his home-coming? Had she not . . . Lady Arabella +was cold-blooded, and she was prepared to go through all that might +be necessary of indifference, and even insult, to become chatelaine +of Castra Regis. In the meantime, she would show no hurry—she +must wait. She might, in an unostentatious way, come to him again. +She knew him now, and could make a keen guess at his desires with regard +to Lilla Watford. With that secret in her possession, she could +bring pressure to bear on Caswall which would make it no easy matter +for him to evade her. The great difficulty was how to get near +him. He was shut up within his Castle, and guarded by a defence +of convention which she could not pass without danger of ill repute +to herself. Over this question she thought and thought for days +and nights. At last she decided that the only way would be to +go to him openly at Castra Regis. Her rank and position would +make such a thing possible, if carefully done. She could explain +matters afterwards if necessary. Then when they were alone, she +would use her arts and her experience to make him commit himself. +After all, he was only a man, with a man’s dislike of difficult +or awkward situations. She felt quite sufficient confidence in +her own womanhood to carry her through any difficulty which might arise.</p> +<p>From Diana’s Grove she heard each day the luncheon-gong from +Castra Regis sound, and knew the hour when the servants would be in +the back of the house. She would enter the house at that hour, +and, pretending that she could not make anyone hear her, would seek +him in his own rooms. The tower was, she knew, away from all the +usual sounds of the house, and moreover she knew that the servants had +strict orders not to interrupt him when he was in the turret chamber. +She had found out, partly by the aid of an opera-glass and partly by +judicious questioning, that several times lately a heavy chest had been +carried to and from his room, and that it rested in the room each night. +She was, therefore, confident that he had some important work on hand +which would keep him busy for long spells.</p> +<p>Meanwhile, another member of the household at Castra Regis had schemes +which he thought were working to fruition. A man in the position +of a servant has plenty of opportunity of watching his betters and forming +opinions regarding them. Oolanga was in his way a clever, unscrupulous +rogue, and he felt that with things moving round him in this great household +there should be opportunities of self-advancement. Being unscrupulous +and stealthy—and a savage—he looked to dishonest means. +He saw plainly enough that Lady Arabella was making a dead set at his +master, and he was watchful of the slightest sign of anything which +might enhance this knowledge. Like the other men in the house, +he knew of the carrying to and fro of the great chest, and had got it +into his head that the care exercised in its porterage indicated that +it was full of treasure. He was for ever lurking around the turret-rooms +on the chance of making some useful discovery. But he was as cautious +as he was stealthy, and took care that no one else watched him.</p> +<p>It was thus that the negro became aware of Lady Arabella’s +venture into the house, as she thought, unseen. He took more care +than ever, since he was watching another, that the positions were not +reversed. More than ever he kept his eyes and ears open and his +mouth shut. Seeing Lady Arabella gliding up the stairs towards +his master’s room, he took it for granted that she was there for +no good, and doubled his watching intentness and caution.</p> +<p>Oolanga was disappointed, but he dared not exhibit any feeling lest +it should betray that he was hiding. Therefore he slunk downstairs +again noiselessly, and waited for a more favourable opportunity of furthering +his plans. It must be borne in mind that he thought that the heavy +trunk was full of valuables, and that he believed that Lady Arabella +had come to try to steal it. His purpose of using for his own +advantage the combination of these two ideas was seen later in the day. +Oolanga secretly followed her home. He was an expert at this game, +and succeeded admirably on this occasion. He watched her enter +the private gate of Diana’s Grove, and then, taking a roundabout +course and keeping out of her sight, he at last overtook her in a thick +part of the Grove where no one could see the meeting.</p> +<p>Lady Arabella was much surprised. She had not seen the negro +for several days, and had almost forgotten his existence. Oolanga +would have been startled had he known and been capable of understanding +the real value placed on him, his beauty, his worthiness, by other persons, +and compared it with the value in these matters in which he held himself. +Doubtless Oolanga had his dreams like other men. In such cases +he saw himself as a young sun-god, as beautiful as the eye of dusky +or even white womanhood had ever dwelt upon. He would have been +filled with all noble and captivating qualities—or those regarded +as such in West Africa. Women would have loved him, and would +have told him so in the overt and fervid manner usual in affairs of +the heart in the shadowy depths of the forest of the Gold Coast.</p> +<p>Oolanga came close behind Lady Arabella, and in a hushed voice, suitable +to the importance of his task, and in deference to the respect he had +for her and the place, began to unfold the story of his love. +Lady Arabella was not usually a humorous person, but no man or woman +of the white race could have checked the laughter which rose spontaneously +to her lips. The circumstances were too grotesque, the contrast +too violent, for subdued mirth. The man a debased specimen of +one of the most primitive races of the earth, and of an ugliness which +was simply devilish; the woman of high degree, beautiful, accomplished. +She thought that her first moment’s consideration of the outrage—it +was nothing less in her eyes—had given her the full material for +thought. But every instant after threw new and varied lights on +the affront. Her indignation was too great for passion; only irony +or satire would meet the situation. Her cold, cruel nature helped, +and she did not shrink to subject this ignorant savage to the merciless +fire-lash of her scorn.</p> +<p>Oolanga was dimly conscious that he was being flouted; but his anger +was no less keen because of the measure of his ignorance. So he +gave way to it, as does a tortured beast. He ground his great +teeth together, raved, stamped, and swore in barbarous tongues and with +barbarous imagery. Even Lady Arabella felt that it was well she +was within reach of help, or he might have offered her brutal violence—even +have killed her.</p> +<p>“Am I to understand,” she said with cold disdain, so +much more effective to wound than hot passion, “that you are offering +me your love? Your—love?”</p> +<p>For reply he nodded his head. The scorn of her voice, in a +sort of baleful hiss, sounded—and felt—like the lash of +a whip.</p> +<p>“And you dared! you—a savage—a slave—the +basest thing in the world of vermin! Take care! I don’t +value your worthless life more than I do that of a rat or a spider. +Don’t let me ever see your hideous face here again, or I shall +rid the earth of you.”</p> +<p>As she was speaking, she had taken out her revolver and was pointing +it at him. In the immediate presence of death his impudence forsook +him, and he made a weak effort to justify himself. His speech +was short, consisting of single words. To Lady Arabella it sounded +mere gibberish, but it was in his own dialect, and meant love, marriage, +wife. From the intonation of the words, she guessed, with her +woman’s quick intuition, at their meaning; but she quite failed +to follow, when, becoming more pressing, he continued to urge his suit +in a mixture of the grossest animal passion and ridiculous threats. +He warned her that he knew she had tried to steal his master’s +treasure, and that he had caught her in the act. But if she would +be his, he would share the treasure with her, and they could live in +luxury in the African forests. But if she refused, he would tell +his master, who would flog and torture her and then give her to the +police, who would kill her.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIV—BATTLE RENEWED</h2> +<p>The consequences of that meeting in the dusk of Diana’s Grove +were acute and far-reaching, and not only to the two engaged in it. +From Oolanga, this might have been expected by anyone who knew the character +of the tropical African savage. To such, there are two passions +that are inexhaustible and insatiable—vanity and that which they +are pleased to call love. Oolanga left the Grove with an absorbing +hatred in his heart. His lust and greed were afire, while his +vanity had been wounded to the core. Lady Arabella’s icy +nature was not so deeply stirred, though she was in a seething passion. +More than ever she was set upon bringing Edgar Caswall to her feet. +The obstacles she had encountered, the insults she had endured, were +only as fuel to the purpose of revenge which consumed her.</p> +<p>As she sought her own rooms in Diana’s Grove, she went over +the whole subject again and again, always finding in the face of Lilla +Watford a key to a problem which puzzled her—the problem of a +way to turn Caswall’s powers—his very existence—to +aid her purpose.</p> +<p>When in her boudoir, she wrote a note, taking so much trouble over +it that she destroyed, and rewrote, till her dainty waste-basket was +half-full of torn sheets of notepaper. When quite satisfied, she +copied out the last sheet afresh, and then carefully burned all the +spoiled fragments. She put the copied note in an emblazoned envelope, +and directed it to Edgar Caswall at Castra Regis. This she sent +off by one of her grooms. The letter ran:</p> +<blockquote><p>“DEAR MR. CASWALL,</p> +<p>“I want to have a chat with you on a subject in which I believe +you are interested. Will you kindly call for me one day after +lunch—say at three or four o’clock, and we can walk a little +way together. Only as far as Mercy Farm, where I want to see Lilla +and Mimi Watford. We can take a cup of tea at the Farm. +Do not bring your African servant with you, as I am afraid his face +frightens the girls. After all, he is not pretty, is he? +I have an idea you will be pleased with your visit this time.</p> +<p>“Yours sincerely,</p> +<p>“ARABELLA MARCH.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>At half-past three next day, Edgar Caswall called at Diana’s +Grove. Lady Arabella met him on the roadway outside the gate. +She wished to take the servants into her confidence as little as possible. +She turned when she saw him coming, and walked beside him towards Mercy +Farm, keeping step with him as they walked. When they got near +Mercy, she turned and looked around her, expecting to see Oolanga or +some sign of him. He was, however, not visible. He had received +from his master peremptory orders to keep out of sight—an order +for which the African scored a new offence up against her. They +found Lilla and Mimi at home and seemingly glad to see them, though +both the girls were surprised at the visit coming so soon after the +other.</p> +<p>The proceedings were a repetition of the battle of souls of the former +visit. On this occasion, however, Edgar Caswall had only the presence +of Lady Arabella to support him—Oolanga being absent; but Mimi +lacked the support of Adam Salton, which had been of such effective +service before. This time the struggle for supremacy of will was +longer and more determined. Caswall felt that if he could not +achieve supremacy he had better give up the idea, so all his pride was +enlisted against Mimi. When they had been waiting for the door +to be opened, Lady Arabella, believing in a sudden attack, had said +to him in a low voice, which somehow carried conviction:</p> +<p>“This time you should win. Mimi is, after all, only a +woman. Show her no mercy. That is weakness. Fight +her, beat her, trample on her—kill her if need be. She stands +in your way, and I hate her. Never take your eyes off her. +Never mind Lilla—she is afraid of you. You are already her +master. Mimi will try to make you look at her cousin. There +lies defeat. Let nothing take your attention from Mimi, and you +will win. If she is overcoming you, take my hand and hold it hard +whilst you are looking into her eyes. If she is too strong for +you, I shall interfere. I’ll make a diversion, and under +cover of it you must retire unbeaten, even if not victorious. +Hush! they are coming.”</p> +<p>The two girls came to the door together. Strange sounds were +coming up over the Brow from the west. It was the rustling and +crackling of the dry reeds and rushes from the low lands. The +season had been an unusually dry one. Also the strong east wind +was helping forward enormous flocks of birds, most of them pigeons with +white cowls. Not only were their wings whirring, but their cooing +was plainly audible. From such a multitude of birds the mass of +sound, individually small, assumed the volume of a storm. Surprised +at the influx of birds, to which they had been strangers so long, they +all looked towards Castra Regis, from whose high tower the great kite +had been flying as usual. But even as they looked, the cord broke, +and the great kite fell headlong in a series of sweeping dives. +Its own weight, and the aerial force opposed to it, which caused it +to rise, combined with the strong easterly breeze, had been too much +for the great length of cord holding it.</p> +<p>Somehow, the mishap to the kite gave new hope to Mimi. It was +as though the side issues had been shorn away, so that the main struggle +was thenceforth on simpler lines. She had a feeling in her heart, +as though some religious chord had been newly touched. It may, +of course, have been that with the renewal of the bird voices a fresh +courage, a fresh belief in the good issue of the struggle came too. +In the misery of silence, from which they had all suffered for so long, +any new train of thought was almost bound to be a boon. As the +inrush of birds continued, their wings beating against the crackling +rushes, Lady Arabella grew pale, and almost fainted.</p> +<p>“What is that?” she asked suddenly.</p> +<p>To Mimi, born and bred in Siam, the sound was strangely like an exaggeration +of the sound produced by a snake-charmer.</p> +<p>Edgar Caswall was the first to recover from the interruption of the +falling kite. After a few minutes he seemed to have quite recovered +his <i>sang froid</i>, and was able to use his brains to the end which +he had in view. Mimi too quickly recovered herself, but from a +different cause. With her it was a deep religious conviction that +the struggle round her was of the powers of Good and Evil, and that +Good was triumphing. The very appearance of the snowy birds, with +the cowls of Saint Columba, heightened the impression. With this +conviction strong upon her, she continued the strange battle with fresh +vigour. She seemed to tower over Caswall, and he to give back +before her oncoming. Once again her vigorous passes drove him +to the door. He was just going out backward when Lady Arabella, +who had been gazing at him with fixed eyes, caught his hand and tried +to stop his movement. She was, however, unable to do any good, +and so, holding hands, they passed out together. As they did so, +the strange music which had so alarmed Lady Arabella suddenly stopped. +Instinctively they all looked towards the tower of Castra Regis, and +saw that the workmen had refixed the kite, which had risen again and +was beginning to float out to its former station.</p> +<p>As they were looking, the door opened and Michael Watford came into +the room. By that time all had recovered their self-possession, +and there was nothing out of the common to attract his attention. +As he came in, seeing inquiring looks all around him, he said:</p> +<p>“The new influx of birds is only the annual migration of pigeons +from Africa. I am told that it will soon be over.”</p> +<p>The second victory of Mimi Watford made Edgar Caswall more moody +than ever. He felt thrown back on himself, and this, added to +his absorbing interest in the hope of a victory of his mesmeric powers, +became a deep and settled purpose of revenge. The chief object +of his animosity was, of course, Mimi, whose will had overcome his, +but it was obscured in greater or lesser degree by all who had opposed +him. Lilla was next to Mimi in his hate—Lilla, the harmless, +tender-hearted, sweet-natured girl, whose heart was so full of love +for all things that in it was no room for the passions of ordinary life—whose +nature resembled those doves of St. Columba, whose colour she wore, +whose appearance she reflected. Adam Salton came next—after +a gap; for against him Caswall had no direct animosity. He regarded +him as an interference, a difficulty to be got rid of or destroyed. +The young Australian had been so discreet that the most he had against +him was his knowledge of what had been. Caswall did not understand +him, and to such a nature as his, ignorance was a cause of alarm, of +dread.</p> +<p>Caswall resumed his habit of watching the great kite straining at +its cord, varying his vigils in this way by a further examination of +the mysterious treasures of his house, especially Mesmer’s chest. +He sat much on the roof of the tower, brooding over his thwarted passion. +The vast extent of his possessions, visible to him at that altitude, +might, one would have thought, have restored some of his complacency. +But the very extent of his ownership, thus perpetually brought before +him, created a fresh sense of grievance. How was it, he thought, +that with so much at command that others wished for, he could not achieve +the dearest wishes of his heart?</p> +<p>In this state of intellectual and moral depravity, he found a solace +in the renewal of his experiments with the mechanical powers of the +kite. For a couple of weeks he did not see Lady Arabella, who +was always on the watch for a chance of meeting him; neither did he +see the Watford girls, who studiously kept out of his way. Adam +Salton simply marked time, keeping ready to deal with anything that +might affect his friends. He called at the farm and heard from +Mimi of the last battle of wills, but it had only one consequence. +He got from Ross several more mongooses, including a second king-cobra-killer, +which he generally carried with him in its box whenever he walked out.</p> +<p>Mr. Caswall’s experiments with the kite went on successfully. +Each day he tried the lifting of greater weight, and it seemed almost +as if the machine had a sentience of its own, which was increasing with +the obstacles placed before it. All this time the kite hung in +the sky at an enormous height. The wind was steadily from the +north, so the trend of the kite was to the south. All day long, +runners of increasing magnitude were sent up. These were only +of paper or thin cardboard, or leather, or other flexible materials. +The great height at which the kite hung made a great concave curve in +the string, so that as the runners went up they made a flapping sound. +If one laid a finger on the string, the sound answered to the flapping +of the runner in a sort of hollow intermittent murmur. Edgar Caswall, +who was now wholly obsessed by the kite and all belonging to it, found +a distinct resemblance between that intermittent rumble and the snake-charming +music produced by the pigeons flying through the dry reeds.</p> +<p>One day he made a discovery in Mesmer’s chest which he thought +he would utilise with regard to the runners. This was a great +length of wire, “fine as human hair,” coiled round a finely +made wheel, which ran to a wondrous distance freely, and as lightly. +He tried this on runners, and found it work admirably. Whether +the runner was alone, or carried something much more weighty than itself, +it worked equally well. Also it was strong enough and light enough +to draw back the runner without undue strain. He tried this a +good many times successfully, but it was now growing dusk and he found +some difficulty in keeping the runner in sight. So he looked for +something heavy enough to keep it still. He placed the Egyptian +image of Bes on the fine wire, which crossed the wooden ledge which +protected it. Then, the darkness growing, he went indoors and +forgot all about it.</p> +<p>He had a strange feeling of uneasiness that night—not sleeplessness, +for he seemed conscious of being asleep. At daylight he rose, +and as usual looked out for the kite. He did not see it in its +usual position in the sky, so looked round the points of the compass. +He was more than astonished when presently he saw the missing kite struggling +as usual against the controlling cord. But it had gone to the +further side of the tower, and now hung and strained <i>against the +wind</i> to the north. He thought it so strange that he determined +to investigate the phenomenon, and to say nothing about it in the meantime.</p> +<p>In his many travels, Edgar Caswall had been accustomed to use the +sextant, and was now an expert in the matter. By the aid of this +and other instruments, he was able to fix the position of the kite and +the point over which it hung. He was startled to find that exactly +under it—so far as he could ascertain—was Diana’s +Grove. He had an inclination to take Lady Arabella into his confidence +in the matter, but he thought better of it and wisely refrained. +For some reason which he did not try to explain to himself, he was glad +of his silence, when, on the following morning, he found, on looking +out, that the point over which the kite then hovered was Mercy Farm. +When he had verified this with his instruments, he sat before the window +of the tower, looking out and thinking. The new locality was more +to his liking than the other; but the why of it puzzled him, all the +same. He spent the rest of the day in the turret-room, which he +did not leave all day. It seemed to him that he was now drawn +by forces which he could not control—of which, indeed, he had +no knowledge—in directions which he did not understand, and which +were without his own volition. In sheer helpless inability to +think the problem out satisfactorily, he called up a servant and told +him to tell Oolanga that he wanted to see him at once in the turret-room. +The answer came back that the African had not been seen since the previous +evening.</p> +<p>Caswall was now so irritable that even this small thing upset him. +As he was distrait and wanted to talk to somebody, he sent for Simon +Chester, who came at once, breathless with hurrying and upset by the +unexpected summons. Caswall bade him sit down, and when the old +man was in a less uneasy frame of mind, he again asked him if he had +ever seen what was in Mesmer’s chest or heard it spoken about.</p> +<p>Chester admitted that he had once, in the time of “the then +Mr. Edgar,” seen the chest open, which, knowing something of its +history and guessing more, so upset him that he had fainted. When +he recovered, the chest was closed. From that time the then Mr. +Edgar had never spoken about it again.</p> +<p>When Caswall asked him to describe what he had seen when the chest +was open, he got very agitated, and, despite all his efforts to remain +calm, he suddenly went off into a faint. Caswall summoned servants, +who applied the usual remedies. Still the old man did not recover. +After the lapse of a considerable time, the doctor who had been summoned +made his appearance. A glance was sufficient for him to make up +his mind. Still, he knelt down by the old man, and made a careful +examination. Then he rose to his feet, and in a hushed voice said:</p> +<p>“I grieve to say, sir, that he has passed away.”</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XV—ON THE TRACK</h2> +<p>Those who had seen Edgar Caswall familiarly since his arrival, and +had already estimated his cold-blooded nature at something of its true +value, were surprised that he took so to heart the death of old Chester. +The fact was that not one of them had guessed correctly at his character. +They thought, naturally enough, that the concern which he felt was that +of a master for a faithful old servant of his family. They little +thought that it was merely the selfish expression of his disappointment, +that he had thus lost the only remaining clue to an interesting piece +of family history—one which was now and would be for ever wrapped +in mystery. Caswall knew enough about the life of his ancestor +in Paris to wish to know more fully and more thoroughly all that had +been. The period covered by that ancestor’s life in Paris +was one inviting every form of curiosity.</p> +<p>Lady Arabella, who had her own game to play, saw in the <i>métier</i> +of sympathetic friend, a series of meetings with the man she wanted +to secure. She made the first use of the opportunity the day after +old Chester’s death; indeed, as soon as the news had filtered +in through the back door of Diana’s Grove. At that meeting, +she played her part so well that even Caswall’s cold nature was +impressed.</p> +<p>Oolanga was the only one who did not credit her with at least some +sense of fine feeling in the matter. In emotional, as in other +matters, Oolanga was distinctly a utilitarian, and as he could not understand +anyone feeling grief except for his own suffering, pain, or for the +loss of money, he could not understand anyone simulating such an emotion +except for show intended to deceive. He thought that she had come +to Castra Regis again for the opportunity of stealing something, and +was determined that on this occasion the chance of pressing his advantage +over her should not pass. He felt, therefore, that the occasion +was one for extra carefulness in the watching of all that went on. +Ever since he had come to the conclusion that Lady Arabella was trying +to steal the treasure-chest, he suspected nearly everyone of the same +design, and made it a point to watch all suspicious persons and places. +As Adam was engaged on his own researches regarding Lady Arabella, it +was only natural that there should be some crossing of each other’s +tracks. This is what did actually happen.</p> +<p>Adam had gone for an early morning survey of the place in which he +was interested, taking with him the mongoose in its box. He arrived +at the gate of Diana’s Grove just as Lady Arabella was preparing +to set out for Castra Regis on what she considered her mission of comfort. +Seeing Adam from her window going through the shadows of the trees round +the gate, she thought that he must be engaged on some purpose similar +to her own. So, quickly making her toilet, she quietly left the +house, and, taking advantage of every shadow and substance which could +hide her, followed him on his walk.</p> +<p>Oolanga, the experienced tracker, followed her, but succeeded in +hiding his movements better than she did. He saw that Adam had +on his shoulder a mysterious box, which he took to contain something +valuable. Seeing that Lady Arabella was secretly following Adam, +he was confirmed in this idea. His mind—such as it was—was +fixed on her trying to steal, and he credited her at once with making +use of this new opportunity.</p> +<p>In his walk, Adam went into the grounds of Castra Regis, and Oolanga +saw her follow him with great secrecy. He feared to go closer, +as now on both sides of him were enemies who might make discovery. +When he realised that Lady Arabella was bound for the Castle, he devoted +himself to following her with singleness of purpose. He therefore +missed seeing that Adam branched off the track and returned to the high +road.</p> +<p>That night Edgar Caswall had slept badly. The tragic occurrence +of the day was on his mind, and he kept waking and thinking of it. +After an early breakfast, he sat at the open window watching the kite +and thinking of many things. From his room he could see all round +the neighbourhood, but the two places that interested him most were +Mercy Farm and Diana’s Grove. At first the movements about +those spots were of a humble kind—those that belong to domestic +service or agricultural needs—the opening of doors and windows, +the sweeping and brushing, and generally the restoration of habitual +order.</p> +<p>From his high window—whose height made it a screen from the +observation of others—he saw the chain of watchers move into his +own grounds, and then presently break up—Adam Salton going one +way, and Lady Arabella, followed by the nigger, another. Then +Oolanga disappeared amongst the trees; but Caswall could see that he +was still watching. Lady Arabella, after looking around her, slipped +in by the open door, and he could, of course, see her no longer.</p> +<p>Presently, however, he heard a light tap at his door, then the door +opened slowly, and he could see the flash of Lady Arabella’s white +dress through the opening.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XVI—A VISIT OF SYMPATHY</h2> +<p>Caswall was genuinely surprised when he saw Lady Arabella, though +he need not have been, after what had already occurred in the same way. +The look of surprise on his face was so much greater than Lady Arabella +had expected—though she thought she was prepared to meet anything +that might occur—that she stood still, in sheer amazement. +Cold-blooded as she was and ready for all social emergencies, she was +nonplussed how to go on. She was plucky, however, and began to +speak at once, although she had not the slightest idea what she was +going to say.</p> +<p>“I came to offer you my very warm sympathy with the grief you +have so lately experienced.”</p> +<p>“My grief? I’m afraid I must be very dull; but +I really do not understand.”</p> +<p>Already she felt at a disadvantage, and hesitated.</p> +<p>“I mean about the old man who died so suddenly—your old +. . . retainer.”</p> +<p>Caswall’s face relaxed something of its puzzled concentration.</p> +<p>“Oh, he was only a servant; and he had over-stayed his three-score +and ten years by something like twenty years. He must have been +ninety!”</p> +<p>“Still, as an old servant . . . ”</p> +<p>Caswall’s words were not so cold as their inflection.</p> +<p>“I never interfere with servants. He was kept on here +merely because he had been so long on the premises. I suppose +the steward thought it might make him unpopular if the old fellow had +been dismissed.”</p> +<p>How on earth was she to proceed on such a task as hers if this was +the utmost geniality she could expect? So she at once tried another +tack—this time a personal one.</p> +<p>“I am sorry I disturbed you. I am really not unconventional—though +certainly no slave to convention. Still there are limits . . . +it is bad enough to intrude in this way, and I do not know what you +can say or think of the time selected, for the intrusion.”</p> +<p>After all, Edgar Caswall was a gentleman by custom and habit, so +he rose to the occasion.</p> +<p>“I can only say, Lady Arabella, that you are always welcome +at any time you may deign to honour my house with your presence.”</p> +<p>She smiled at him sweetly.</p> +<p>“Thank you <i>so</i> much. You <i>do</i> put one at ease. +My breach of convention makes me glad rather than sorry. I feel +that I can open my heart to you about anything.”</p> +<p>Forthwith she proceeded to tell him about Oolanga and his strange +suspicions of her honesty. Caswall laughed and made her explain +all the details. His final comment was enlightening.</p> +<p>“Let me give you a word of advice: If you have the slightest +fault to find with that infernal nigger, shoot him at sight. A +swelled-headed nigger, with a bee in his bonnet, is one of the worst +difficulties in the world to deal with. So better make a clean +job of it, and wipe him out at once!”</p> +<p>“But what about the law, Mr. Caswall?”</p> +<p>“Oh, the law doesn’t concern itself much about dead niggers. +A few more or less do not matter. To my mind it’s rather +a relief!”</p> +<p>“I’m afraid of you,” was her only comment, made +with a sweet smile and in a soft voice.</p> +<p>“All right,” he said, “let us leave it at that. +Anyhow, we shall be rid of one of them!”</p> +<p>“I don’t love niggers any more than you do,” she +replied, “and I suppose one mustn’t be too particular where +that sort of cleaning up is concerned.” Then she changed +in voice and manner, and asked genially: “And now tell me, am +I forgiven?”</p> +<p>“You are, dear lady—if there is anything to forgive.”</p> +<p>As he spoke, seeing that she had moved to go, he came to the door +with her, and in the most natural way accompanied her downstairs. +He passed through the hall with her and down the avenue. As he +went back to the house, she smiled to herself.</p> +<p>“Well, that is all right. I don’t think the morning +has been altogether thrown away.”</p> +<p>And she walked slowly back to Diana’s Grove.</p> +<p>Adam Salton followed the line of the Brow, and refreshed his memory +as to the various localities. He got home to Lesser Hill just +as Sir Nathaniel was beginning lunch. Mr. Salton had gone to Walsall +to keep an early appointment; so he was all alone. When the meal +was over—seeing in Adam’s face that he had something to +speak about—he followed into the study and shut the door.</p> +<p>When the two men had lighted their pipes, Sir Nathaniel began.</p> +<p>“I have remembered an interesting fact about Diana’s +Grove—there is, I have long understood, some strange mystery about +that house. It may be of some interest, or it may be trivial, +in such a tangled skein as we are trying to unravel.”</p> +<p>“Please tell me all you know’ or suspect. To begin, +then, of what sort is the mystery—physical, mental, moral, historical, +scientific, occult? Any kind of hint will help me.”</p> +<p>“Quite right. I shall try to tell you what I think; but +I have not put my thoughts on the subject in sequence, so you must forgive +me if due order is not observed in my narration. I suppose you +have seen the house at Diana’s Grove?”</p> +<p>“The outside of it; but I have that in my mind’s eye, +and I can fit into my memory whatever you may mention.”</p> +<p>“The house is very old—probably the first house of some +sort that stood there was in the time of the Romans. This was +probably renewed—perhaps several times at later periods. +The house stands, or, rather, used to stand here when Mercia was a kingdom—I +do not suppose that the basement can be later than the Norman Conquest. +Some years ago, when I was President of the Mercian Archaeological Society, +I went all over it very carefully. This was when it was purchased +by Captain March. The house had then been done up, so as to be +suitable for the bride. The basement is very strong,—almost +as strong and as heavy as if it had been intended as a fortress. +There are a whole series of rooms deep underground. One of them +in particular struck me. The room itself is of considerable size, +but the masonry is more than massive. In the middle of the room +is a sunk well, built up to floor level and evidently going deep underground. +There is no windlass nor any trace of there ever having been any—no +rope—nothing. Now, we know that the Romans had wells of +immense depth, from which the water was lifted by the ‘old rag +rope’; that at Woodhull used to be nearly a thousand feet. +Here, then, we have simply an enormously deep well-hole. The door +of the room was massive, and was fastened with a lock nearly a foot +square. It was evidently intended for some kind of protection +to someone or something; but no one in those days had ever heard of +anyone having been allowed even to see the room. All this is <i>à +propos</i> of a suggestion on my part that the well-hole was a way by +which the White Worm (whatever it was) went and came. At that +time I would have had a search made—even excavation if necessary—at +my own expense, but all suggestions were met with a prompt and explicit +negative. So, of course, I took no further step in the matter. +Then it died out of recollection—even of mine.”</p> +<p>“Do you remember, sir,” asked Adam, “what was the +appearance of the room where the well-hole was? Was there furniture—in +fact, any sort of thing in the room?”</p> +<p>“The only thing I remember was a sort of green light—very +clouded, very dim—which came up from the well. Not a fixed +light, but intermittent and irregular—quite unlike anything I +had ever seen.”</p> +<p>“Do you remember how you got into the well-room? Was +there a separate door from outside, or was there any interior room or +passage which opened into it?”</p> +<p>“I think there must have been some room with a way into it. +I remember going up some steep steps; they must have been worn smooth +by long use or something of the kind, for I could hardly keep my feet +as I went up. Once I stumbled and nearly fell into the well-hole.”</p> +<p>“Was there anything strange about the place—any queer +smell, for instance?”</p> +<p>“Queer smell—yes! Like bilge or a rank swamp. +It was distinctly nauseating; when I came out I felt as if I had just +been going to be sick. I shall try back on my visit and see if +I can recall any more of what I saw or felt.”</p> +<p>“Then perhaps, sir, later in the day you will tell me anything +you may chance to recollect.”</p> +<p>“I shall be delighted, Adam. If your uncle has not returned +by then, I’ll join you in the study after dinner, and we can resume +this interesting chat.”</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XVII—THE MYSTERY OF “THE GROVE”</h2> +<p>That afternoon Adam decided to do a little exploring. As he +passed through the wood outside the gate of Diana’s Grove, he +thought he saw the African’s face for an instant. So he +went deeper into the undergrowth, and followed along parallel to the +avenue to the house. He was glad that there was no workman or +servant about, for he did not care that any of Lady Arabella’s +people should find him wandering about her grounds. Taking advantage +of the denseness of the trees, he came close to the house and skirted +round it. He was repaid for his trouble, for on the far side of +the house, close to where the rocky frontage of the cliff fell away, +he saw Oolanga crouched behind the irregular trunk of a great oak. +The man was so intent on watching someone, or something, that he did +not guard against being himself watched. This suited Adam, for +he could thus make scrutiny at will.</p> +<p>The thick wood, though the trees were mostly of small girth, threw +a heavy shadow, so that the steep declension, in front of which grew +the tree behind which the African lurked, was almost in darkness. +Adam drew as close as he could, and was amazed to see a patch of light +on the ground before him; when he realised what it was, he was determined, +more than ever to follow on his quest. The nigger had a dark lantern +in his hand, and was throwing the light down the steep incline. +The glare showed a series of stone steps, which ended in a low-lying +heavy iron door fixed against the side of the house. All the strange +things he had heard from Sir Nathaniel, and all those, little and big, +which he had himself noticed, crowded into his mind in a chaotic way. +Instinctively he took refuge behind a thick oak stem, and set himself +down, to watch what might occur.</p> +<p>After a short time it became apparent that the African was trying +to find out what was behind the heavy door. There was no way of +looking in, for the door fitted tight into the massive stone slabs. +The only opportunity for the entrance of light was through a small hole +between the great stones above the door. This hole was too high +up to look through from the ground level. Oolanga, having tried +standing tiptoe on the highest point near, and holding the lantern as +high as he could, threw the light round the edges of the door to see +if he could find anywhere a hole or a flaw in the metal through which +he could obtain a glimpse. Foiled in this, he brought from the +shrubbery a plank, which he leant against the top of the door and then +climbed up with great dexterity. This did not bring him near enough +to the window-hole to look in, or even to throw the light of the lantern +through it, so he climbed down and carried the plank back to the place +from which he had got it. Then he concealed himself near the iron +door and waited, manifestly with the intent of remaining there till +someone came near. Presently Lady Arabella, moving noiselessly +through the shade, approached the door. When he saw her close +enough to touch it, Oolanga stepped forward from his concealment, and +spoke in a whisper, which through the gloom sounded like a hiss.</p> +<p>“I want to see you, missy—soon and secret.”</p> +<p>“What do you want?”</p> +<p>“You know well, missy; I told you already.”</p> +<p>She turned on him with blazing eyes, the green tint in them glowing +like emeralds.</p> +<p>“Come, none of that. If there is anything sensible which +you wish to say to me, you can see me here, just where we are, at seven +o’clock.”</p> +<p>He made no reply in words, but, putting the backs of his hands together, +bent lower and lower till his forehead touched the earth. Then +he rose and went slowly away.</p> +<p>Adam Salton, from his hiding-place, saw and wondered. In a +few minutes he moved from his place and went home to Lesser Hill, fully +determined that seven o’clock would find him in some hidden place +behind Diana’s Grove.</p> +<p>At a little before seven Adam stole softly out of the house and took +the back-way to the rear of Diana’s Grove. The place seemed +silent and deserted, so he took the opportunity of concealing himself +near the spot whence he had seen Oolanga trying to investigate whatever +was concealed behind the iron door. He waited, perfectly still, +and at last saw a gleam of white passing soundlessly through the undergrowth. +He was not surprised when he recognised the colour of Lady Arabella’s +dress. She came close and waited, with her face to the iron door. +From some place of concealment near at hand Oolanga appeared, and came +close to her. Adam noticed, with surprised amusement, that over +his shoulder was the box with the mongoose. Of course the African +did not know that he was seen by anyone, least of all by the man whose +property he had with him.</p> +<p>Silent-footed as he was, Lady Arabella heard him coming, and turned +to meet him. It was somewhat hard to see in the gloom, for, as +usual, he was all in black, only his collar and cuffs showing white. +Lady Arabella opened the conversation which ensued between the two.</p> +<p>“What do you want? To rob me, or murder me?”</p> +<p>“No, to lub you!”</p> +<p>This frightened her a little, and she tried to change the tone.</p> +<p>“Is that a coffin you have with you? If so, you are wasting +your time. It would not hold me.”</p> +<p>When a nigger suspects he is being laughed at, all the ferocity of +his nature comes to the front; and this man was of the lowest kind.</p> +<p>“Dis ain’t no coffin for nobody. Dis box is for +you. Somefin you lub. Me give him to you!”</p> +<p>Still anxious to keep off the subject of affection, on which she +believed him to have become crazed, she made another effort to keep +his mind elsewhere.</p> +<p>“Is this why you want to see me?” He nodded. +“Then come round to the other door. But be quiet. +I have no desire to be seen so close to my own house in conversation +with a—a—a nigger like you!”</p> +<p>She had chosen the word deliberately. She wished to meet his +passion with another kind. Such would, at all events, help to +keep him quiet. In the deep gloom she could not see the anger +which suffused his face. Rolling eyeballs and grinding teeth are, +however, sufficient signs of anger to be decipherable in the dark. +She moved round the corner of the house to her right. Oolanga +was following her, when she stopped him by raising her hand.</p> +<p>“No, not that door,” she said; “that is not for +niggers. The other door will do well enough for you!”</p> +<p>Lady Arabella took in her hand a small key which hung at the end +of her watch-chain, and moved to a small door, low down, round the corner, +and a little downhill from the edge of the Brow. Oolanga, in obedience +to her gesture, went back to the iron door. Adam looked carefully +at the mongoose box as the African went by, and was glad to see that +it was intact. Unconsciously, as he looked, he fingered the key +that was in his waistcoat pocket. When Oolanga was out of sight, +Adam hurried after Lady Arabella.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XVIII—EXIT OOLANGA</h2> +<p>The woman turned sharply as Adam touched her shoulder.</p> +<p>“One moment whilst we are alone. You had better not trust +that nigger!” he whispered.</p> +<p>Her answer was crisp and concise:</p> +<p>“I don’t.”</p> +<p>“Forewarned is forearmed. Tell me if you will—it +is for your own protection. Why do you mistrust him?”</p> +<p>“My friend, you have no idea of that man’s impudence. +Would you believe that he wants me to marry him?”</p> +<p>“No!” said Adam incredulously, amused in spite of himself.</p> +<p>“Yes, and wanted to bribe me to do it by sharing a chest of +treasure—at least, he thought it was—stolen from Mr. Caswall. +Why do you distrust him, Mr. Salton?”</p> +<p>“Did you notice that box he had slung on his shoulder? +That belongs to me. I left it in the gun-room when I went to lunch. +He must have crept in and stolen it. Doubtless he thinks that +it, too, is full of treasure.”</p> +<p>“He does!”</p> +<p>“How on earth do you know?” asked Adam.</p> +<p>“A little while ago he offered to give it to me—another +bribe to accept him. Faugh! I am ashamed to tell you such +a thing. The beast!”</p> +<p>Whilst they had been speaking, she had opened the door, a narrow +iron one, well hung, for it opened easily and closed tightly without +any creaking or sound of any kind. Within all was dark; but she +entered as freely and with as little misgiving or restraint as if it +had been broad daylight. For Adam, there was just sufficient green +light from somewhere for him to see that there was a broad flight of +heavy stone steps leading upward; but Lady Arabella, after shutting +the door behind her, when it closed tightly without a clang, tripped +up the steps lightly and swiftly. For an instant all was dark, +but there came again the faint green light which enabled him to see +the outlines of things. Another iron door, narrow like the first +and fairly high, led into another large room, the walls of which were +of massive stones, so closely joined together as to exhibit only one +smooth surface. This presented the appearance of having at one +time been polished. On the far side, also smooth like the walls, +was the reverse of a wide, but not high, iron door. Here there +was a little more light, for the high-up aperture over the door opened +to the air.</p> +<p>Lady Arabella took from her girdle another small key, which she inserted +in a keyhole in the centre of a massive lock. The great bolt seemed +wonderfully hung, for the moment the small key was turned, the bolts +of the great lock moved noiselessly and the iron doors swung open. +On the stone steps outside stood Oolanga, with the mongoose box slung +over his shoulder. Lady Arabella stood a little on one side, and +the African, accepting the movement as an invitation, entered in an +obsequious way. The moment, however, that he was inside, he gave +a quick look around him.</p> +<p>“Much death here—big death. Many deaths. +Good, good!”</p> +<p>He sniffed round as if he was enjoying the scent. The matter +and manner of his speech were so revolting that instinctively Adam’s +hand wandered to his revolver, and, with his finger on the trigger, +he rested satisfied that he was ready for any emergency.</p> +<p>There was certainly opportunity for the nigger’s enjoyment, +for the open well-hole was almost under his nose, sending up such a +stench as almost made Adam sick, though Lady Arabella seemed not to +mind it at all. It was like nothing that Adam had ever met with. +He compared it with all the noxious experiences he had ever had—the +drainage of war hospitals, of slaughter-houses, the refuse of dissecting +rooms. None of these was like it, though it had something of them +all, with, added, the sourness of chemical waste and the poisonous effluvium +of the bilge of a water-logged ship whereon a multitude of rats had +been drowned.</p> +<p>Then, quite unexpectedly, the negro noticed the presence of a third +person—Adam Salton! He pulled out a pistol and shot at him, +happily missing. Adam was himself usually a quick shot, but this +time his mind had been on something else and he was not ready. +However, he was quick to carry out an intention, and he was not a coward. +In another moment both men were in grips. Beside them was the +dark well-hole, with that horrid effluvium stealing up from its mysterious +depths.</p> +<p>Adam and Oolanga both had pistols; Lady Arabella, who had not one, +was probably the most ready of them all in the theory of shooting, but +that being impossible, she made her effort in another way. Gliding +forward, she tried to seize the African; but he eluded her grasp, just +missing, in doing so, falling into the mysterious hole. As he +swayed back to firm foothold, he turned his own gun on her and shot. +Instinctively Adam leaped at his assailant; clutching at each other, +they tottered on the very brink.</p> +<p>Lady Arabella’s anger, now fully awake, was all for Oolanga. +She moved towards him with her hands extended, and had just seized him +when the catch of the locked box—due to some movement from within—flew +open, and the king-cobra-killer flew at her with a venomous fury impossible +to describe. As it seized her throat, she caught hold of it, and, +with a fury superior to its own, tore it in two just as if it had been +a sheet of paper. The strength used for such an act must have +been terrific. In an instant, it seemed to spout blood and entrails, +and was hurled into the well-hole. In another instant she had +seized Oolanga, and with a swift rush had drawn him, her white arms +encircling him, down with her into the gaping aperture.</p> +<p>Adam saw a medley of green and red lights blaze in a whirling circle, +and as it sank down into the well, a pair of blazing green eyes became +fixed, sank lower and lower with frightful rapidity, and disappeared, +throwing upward the green light which grew more and more vivid every +moment. As the light sank into the noisome depths, there came +a shriek which chilled Adam’s blood—a prolonged agony of +pain and terror which seemed to have no end.</p> +<p>Adam Salton felt that he would never be able to free his mind from +the memory of those dreadful moments. The gloom which surrounded +that horrible charnel pit, which seemed to go down to the very bowels +of the earth, conveyed from far down the sights and sounds of the nethermost +hell. The ghastly fate of the African as he sank down to his terrible +doom, his black face growing grey with terror, his white eyeballs, now +like veined bloodstone, rolling in the helpless extremity of fear. +The mysterious green light was in itself a milieu of horror. And +through it all the awful cry came up from that fathomless pit, whose +entrance was flooded with spots of fresh blood. Even the death +of the fearless little snake-killer—so fierce, so frightful, as +if stained with a ferocity which told of no living force above earth, +but only of the devils of the pit—was only an incident. +Adam was in a state of intellectual tumult, which had no parallel in +his experience. He tried to rush away from the horrible place; +even the baleful green light, thrown up through the gloomy well-shaft, +was dying away as its source sank deeper into the primeval ooze. +The darkness was closing in on him in overwhelming density—darkness +in such a place and with such a memory of it!</p> +<p>He made a wild rush forward—slipt on the steps in some sticky, +acrid-smelling mass that felt and smelt like blood, and, falling forward, +felt his way into the inner room, where the well-shaft was not.</p> +<p>Then he rubbed his eyes in sheer amazement. Up the stone steps +from the narrow door by which he had entered, glided the white-clad +figure of Lady Arabella, the only colour to be seen on her being blood-marks +on her face and hands and throat. Otherwise, she was calm and +unruffled, as when earlier she stood aside for him to pass in through +the narrow iron door.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIX—AN ENEMY IN THE DARK</h2> +<p>Adam Salton went for a walk before returning to Lesser Hill; he felt +that it might be well, not only to steady his nerves, shaken by the +horrible scene, but to get his thoughts into some sort of order, so +as to be ready to enter on the matter with Sir Nathaniel. He was +a little embarrassed as to telling his uncle, for affairs had so vastly +progressed beyond his original view that he felt a little doubtful as +to what would be the old gentleman’s attitude when he should hear +of the strange events for the first time. Mr. Salton would certainly +not be satisfied at being treated as an outsider with regard to such +things, most of which had points of contact with the inmates of his +own house. It was with an immense sense of relief that Adam heard +that his uncle had telegraphed to the housekeeper that he was detained +by business at Walsall, where he would remain for the night; and that +he would be back in the morning in time for lunch.</p> +<p>When Adam got home after his walk, he found Sir Nathaniel just going +to bed. He did not say anything to him then of what had happened, +but contented himself with arranging that they would walk together in +the early morning, as he had much to say that would require serious +attention.</p> +<p>Strangely enough he slept well, and awoke at dawn with his mind clear +and his nerves in their usual unshaken condition. The maid brought +up, with his early morning cup of tea, a note which had been found in +the letter-box. It was from Lady Arabella, and was evidently intended +to put him on his guard as to what he should say about the previous +evening.</p> +<p>He read it over carefully several times, before he was satisfied +that he had taken in its full import.</p> +<blockquote><p>“DEAR MR. SALTON,</p> +<p>“I cannot go to bed until I have written to you, so you must +forgive me if I disturb you, and at an unseemly time. Indeed, +you must also forgive me if, in trying to do what is right, I err in +saying too much or too little. The fact is that I am quite upset +and unnerved by all that has happened in this terrible night. +I find it difficult even to write; my hands shake so that they are not +under control, and I am trembling all over with memory of the horrors +we saw enacted before our eyes. I am grieved beyond measure that +I should be, however remotely, a cause of this horror coming on you. +Forgive me if you can, and do not think too hardly of me. This +I ask with confidence, for since we shared together the danger—the +very pangs—of death, I feel that we should be to one another something +more than mere friends, that I may lean on you and trust you, assured +that your sympathy and pity are for me. You really must let me +thank you for the friendliness, the help, the confidence, the real aid +at a time of deadly danger and deadly fear which you showed me. +That awful man—I shall see him for ever in my dreams. His +black, malignant face will shut out all memory of sunshine and happiness. +I shall eternally see his evil eyes as he threw himself into that well-hole +in a vain effort to escape from the consequences of his own misdoing. +The more I think of it, the more apparent it seems to me that he had +premeditated the whole thing—of course, except his own horrible +death.</p> +<p>“Perhaps you have noticed a fur collar I occasionally wear. +It is one of my most valued treasures—an ermine collar studded +with emeralds. I had often seen the nigger’s eyes gleam +covetously when he looked at it. Unhappily, I wore it yesterday. +That may have been the cause that lured the poor man to his doom. +On the very brink of the abyss he tore the collar from my neck—that +was the last I saw of him. When he sank into the hole, I was rushing +to the iron door, which I pulled behind me. When I heard that +soul-sickening yell, which marked his disappearance in the chasm, I +was more glad than I can say that my eyes were spared the pain and horror +which my ears had to endure.</p> +<p>“When I tore myself out of the negro’s grasp as he sank +into the well-hole; I realised what freedom meant. Freedom! +Freedom! Not only from that noisome prison-house, which has now +such a memory, but from the more noisome embrace of that hideous monster. +Whilst I live, I shall always thank you for my freedom. A woman +must sometimes express her gratitude; otherwise it becomes too great +to bear. I am not a sentimental girl, who merely likes to thank +a man; I am a woman who knows all, of bad as well as good, that life +can give. I have known what it is to love and to lose. But +you must not let me bring any unhappiness into your life. I must +live on—as I have lived—alone, and, in addition, bear with +other woes the memory of this latest insult and horror. In the +meantime, I must get away as quickly as possible from Diana’s +Grove. In the morning I shall go up to town, where I shall remain +for a week—I cannot stay longer, as business affairs demand my +presence here. I think, however, that a week in the rush of busy +London, surrounded with multitudes of commonplace people, will help +to soften—I cannot expect total obliteration—the terrible +images of the bygone night. When I can sleep easily—which +will be, I hope, after a day or two—I shall be fit to return home +and take up again the burden which will, I suppose, always be with me.</p> +<p>“I shall be most happy to see you on my return—or earlier, +if my good fortune sends you on any errand to London. I shall +stay at the Mayfair Hotel. In that busy spot we may forget some +of the dangers and horrors we have shared together. Adieu, and +thank you, again and again, for all your kindness and consideration +to me.</p> +<p>“ARABELLA MARSH.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Adam was surprised by this effusive epistle, but he determined to +say nothing of it to Sir Nathaniel until he should have thought it well +over. When Adam met Sir Nathaniel at breakfast, he was glad that +he had taken time to turn things over in his mind. The result +had been that not only was he familiar with the facts in all their bearings, +but he had already so far differentiated them that he was able to arrange +them in his own mind according to their values. Breakfast had +been a silent function, so it did not interfere in any way with the +process of thought.</p> +<p>So soon as the door was closed, Sir Nathaniel began:</p> +<p>“I see, Adam, that something has occurred, and that you have +much to tell me.”</p> +<p>“That is so, sir. I suppose I had better begin by telling +you all I know—all that has happened since I left you yesterday?”</p> +<p>Accordingly Adam gave him details of all that had happened during +the previous evening. He confined himself rigidly to the narration +of circumstances, taking care not to colour events by any comment of +his own, or any opinion of the meaning of things which he did not fully +understand. At first, Sir Nathaniel seemed disposed to ask questions, +but shortly gave this up when he recognised that the narration was concise +and self-explanatory. Thenceforth, he contented himself with quick +looks and glances, easily interpreted, or by some acquiescent motions +of his hands, when such could be convenient, to emphasise his idea of +the correctness of any inference. Until Adam ceased speaking, +having evidently come to an end of what he had to say with regard to +this section of his story, the elder man made no comment whatever. +Even when Adam took from his pocket Lady Arabella’s letter, with +the manifest intention of reading it, he did not make any comment. +Finally, when Adam folded up the letter and put it, in its envelope, +back in his pocket, as an intimation that he had now quite finished, +the old diplomatist carefully made a few notes in his pocket-book.</p> +<p>“Your narrative, my dear Adam, is altogether admirable. +I think I may now take it that we are both well versed in the actual +facts, and that our conference had better take the shape of a mutual +exchange of ideas. Let us both ask questions as they may arise; +and I do not doubt that we shall arrive at some enlightening conclusions.”</p> +<p>“Will you kindly begin, sir? I do not doubt that, with +your longer experience, you will be able to dissipate some of the fog +which envelops certain of the things which we have to consider.”</p> +<p>“I hope so, my dear boy. For a beginning, then, let me +say that Lady Arabella’s letter makes clear some things which +she intended—and also some things which she did not intend. +But, before I begin to draw deductions, let me ask you a few questions. +Adam, are you heart-whole, quite heart-whole, in the matter of Lady +Arabella?”</p> +<p>His companion answered at once, each looking the other straight in +the eyes during question and answer.</p> +<p>“Lady Arabella, sir, is a charming woman, and I should have +deemed it a privilege to meet her—to talk to her—even—since +I am in the confessional—to flirt a little with her. But +if you mean to ask if my affections are in any way engaged, I can emphatically +answer ‘No!’—as indeed you will understand when presently +I give you the reason. Apart from that, there are the unpleasant +details we discussed the other day.”</p> +<p>“Could you—would you mind giving me the reason now? +It will help us to understand what is before us, in the way of difficulty.”</p> +<p>“Certainly, sir. My reason, on which I can fully depend, +is that I love another woman!”</p> +<p>“That clinches it. May I offer my good wishes, and, I +hope, my congratulations?”</p> +<p>“I am proud of your good wishes, sir, and I thank you for them. +But it is too soon for congratulations—the lady does not even +know my hopes yet. Indeed, I hardly knew them myself, as definite, +till this moment.”</p> +<p>“I take it then, Adam, that at the right time I may be allowed +to know who the lady is?”</p> +<p>Adam laughed a low, sweet laugh, such as ripples from a happy heart.</p> +<p>“There need not be an hour’s, a minute’s delay. +I shall be glad to share my secret with you, sir. The lady, sir, +whom I am so happy as to love, and in whom my dreams of life-long happiness +are centred, is Mimi Watford!”</p> +<p>“Then, my dear Adam, I need not wait to offer congratulations. +She is indeed a very charming young lady. I do not think I ever +saw a girl who united in such perfection the qualities of strength of +character and sweetness of disposition. With all my heart, I congratulate +you. Then I may take it that my question as to your heart-wholeness +is answered in the affirmative?”</p> +<p>“Yes; and now, sir, may I ask in turn why the question?”</p> +<p>“Certainly! I asked because it seems to me that we are +coming to a point where my questions might be painful to you.”</p> +<p>“It is not merely that I love Mimi, but I have reason to look +on Lady Arabella as her enemy,” Adam continued.</p> +<p>“Her enemy?”</p> +<p>“Yes. A rank and unscrupulous enemy who is bent on her +destruction.”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel went to the door, looked outside it and returned, locking +it carefully behind him.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XX—METABOLISM</h2> +<p>“Am I looking grave?” asked Sir Nathaniel inconsequently +when he re-entered the room.</p> +<p>“You certainly are, sir.”</p> +<p>“We little thought when first we met that we should be drawn +into such a vortex. Already we are mixed up in robbery, and probably +murder, but—a thousand times worse than all the crimes in the +calendar—in an affair of ghastly mystery which has no bottom and +no end—with forces of the most unnerving kind, which had their +origin in an age when the world was different from the world which we +know. We are going back to the origin of superstition—to +an age when dragons tore each other in their slime. We must fear +nothing—no conclusion, however improbable, almost impossible it +may be. Life and death is hanging on our judgment, not only for +ourselves, but for others whom we love. Remember, I count on you +as I hope you count on me.”</p> +<p>“I do, with all confidence.”</p> +<p>“Then,” said Sir Nathaniel, “let us think justly +and boldly and fear nothing, however terrifying it may seem. I +suppose I am to take as exact in every detail your account of all the +strange things which happened whilst you were in Diana’s Grove?”</p> +<p>“So far as I know, yes. Of course I may be mistaken in +recollection of some detail or another, but I am certain that in the +main what I have said is correct.”</p> +<p>“You feel sure that you saw Lady Arabella seize the negro round +the neck, and drag him down with her into the hole?”</p> +<p>“Absolutely certain, sir, otherwise I should have gone to her +assistance.”</p> +<p>“We have, then, an account of what happened from an eye-witness +whom we trust—that is yourself. We have also another account, +written by Lady Arabella under her own hand. These two accounts +do not agree. Therefore we must take it that one of the two is +lying.”</p> +<p>“Apparently, sir.”</p> +<p>“And that Lady Arabella is the liar!”</p> +<p>“Apparently—as I am not.”</p> +<p>“We must, therefore, try to find a reason for her lying. +She has nothing to fear from Oolanga, who is dead. Therefore the +only reason which could actuate her would be to convince someone else +that she was blameless. This ‘someone’ could not be +you, for you had the evidence of your own eyes. There was no one +else present; therefore it must have been an absent person.”</p> +<p>“That seems beyond dispute, sir.”</p> +<p>“There is only one other person whose good opinion she could +wish to keep—Edgar Caswall. He is the only one who fills +the bill. Her lies point to other things besides the death of +the African. She evidently wanted it to be accepted that his falling +into the well was his own act. I cannot suppose that she expected +to convince you, the eye-witness; but if she wished later on to spread +the story, it was wise of her to try to get your acceptance of it.”</p> +<p>“That is so!”</p> +<p>“Then there were other matters of untruth. That, for +instance, of the ermine collar embroidered with emeralds. If an +understandable reason be required for this, it would be to draw attention +away from the green lights which were seen in the room, and especially +in the well-hole. Any unprejudiced person would accept the green +lights to be the eyes of a great snake, such as tradition pointed to +living in the well-hole. In fine, therefore, Lady Arabella wanted +the general belief to be that there was no snake of the kind in Diana’s +Grove. For my own part, I don’t believe in a partial liar—this +art does not deal in veneer; a liar is a liar right through. Self-interest +may prompt falsity of the tongue; but if one prove to be a liar, nothing +that he says can ever be believed. This leads us to the conclusion +that because she said or inferred that there was no snake, we should +look for one—and expect to find it, too.</p> +<p>“Now let me digress. I live, and have for many years +lived, in Derbyshire, a county more celebrated for its caves than any +other county in England. I have been through them all, and am +familiar with every turn of them; as also with other great caves in +Kentucky, in France, in Germany, and a host of other places—in +many of these are tremendously deep caves of narrow aperture, which +are valued by intrepid explorers, who descend narrow gullets of abysmal +depth—and sometimes never return. In many of the caverns +in the Peak I am convinced that some of the smaller passages were used +in primeval times as the lairs of some of the great serpents of legend +and tradition. It may have been that such caverns were formed +in the usual geologic way—bubbles or flaws in the earth’s +crust—which were later used by the monsters of the period of the +young world. It may have been, of course, that some of them were +worn originally by water; but in time they all found a use when suitable +for living monsters.</p> +<p>“This brings us to another point, more difficult to accept +and understand than any other requiring belief in a base not usually +accepted, or indeed entered on—whether such abnormal growths could +have ever changed in their nature. Some day the study of metabolism +may progress so far as to enable us to accept structural changes proceeding +from an intellectual or moral base. We may lean towards a belief +that great animal strength may be a sound base for changes of all sorts. +If this be so, what could be a more fitting subject than primeval monsters +whose strength was such as to allow a survival of thousands of years? +We do not know yet if brain can increase and develop independently of +other parts of the living structure.</p> +<p>“After all, the mediaeval belief in the Philosopher’s +Stone which could transmute metals, has its counterpart in the accepted +theory of metabolism which changes living tissue. In an age of +investigation like our own, when we are returning to science as the +base of wonders—almost of miracles—we should be slow to +refuse to accept facts, however impossible they may seem to be.</p> +<p>“Let us suppose a monster of the early days of the world—a +dragon of the prime—of vast age running into thousands of years, +to whom had been conveyed in some way—it matters not—a brain +just sufficient for the beginning of growth. Suppose the monster +to be of incalculable size and of a strength quite abnormal—a +veritable incarnation of animal strength. Suppose this animal +is allowed to remain in one place, thus being removed from accidents +of interrupted development; might not, would not this creature, in process +of time—ages, if necessary—have that rudimentary intelligence +developed? There is no impossibility in this; it is only the natural +process of evolution. In the beginning, the instincts of animals +are confined to alimentation, self-protection, and the multiplication +of their species. As time goes on and the needs of life become +more complex, power follows need. We have been long accustomed +to consider growth as applied almost exclusively to size in its various +aspects. But Nature, who has no doctrinaire ideas, may equally +apply it to concentration. A developing thing may expand in any +given way or form. Now, it is a scientific law that increase implies +gain and loss of various kinds; what a thing gains in one direction +it may lose in another. May it not be that Mother Nature may deliberately +encourage decrease as well as increase—that it may be an axiom +that what is gained in concentration is lost in size? Take, for +instance, monsters that tradition has accepted and localised, such as +the Worm of Lambton or that of Spindleston Heugh. If such a creature +were, by its own process of metabolism, to change much of its bulk for +intellectual growth, we should at once arrive at a new class of creature—more +dangerous, perhaps, than the world has ever had any experience of—a +force which can think, which has no soul and no morals, and therefore +no acceptance of responsibility. A snake would be a good illustration +of this, for it is cold-blooded, and therefore removed from the temptations +which often weaken or restrict warm-blooded creatures. If, for +instance, the Worm of Lambton—if such ever existed—were +guided to its own ends by an organised intelligence capable of expansion, +what form of creature could we imagine which would equal it in potentialities +of evil? Why, such a being would devastate a whole country. +Now, all these things require much thought, and we want to apply the +knowledge usefully, and we should therefore be exact. Would it +not be well to resume the subject later in the day?”</p> +<p>“I quite agree, sir. I am in a whirl already; and want +to attend carefully to what you say; so that I may try to digest it.”</p> +<p>Both men seemed fresher and better for the “easy,” and +when they met in the afternoon each of them had something to contribute +to the general stock of information. Adam, who was by nature of +a more militant disposition than his elderly friend, was glad to see +that the conference at once assumed a practical trend. Sir Nathaniel +recognised this, and, like an old diplomatist, turned it to present +use.</p> +<p>“Tell me now, Adam, what is the outcome, in your own mind, +of our conversation?”</p> +<p>“That the whole difficulty already assumes practical shape; +but with added dangers, that at first I did not imagine.”</p> +<p>“What is the practical shape, and what are the added dangers? +I am not disputing, but only trying to clear my own ideas by the consideration +of yours—”</p> +<p>So Adam went on:</p> +<p>“In the past, in the early days of the world, there were monsters +who were so vast that they could exist for thousands of years. +Some of them must have overlapped the Christian era. They may +have progressed intellectually in process of time. If they had +in any way so progressed, or even got the most rudimentary form of brain, +they would be the most dangerous things that ever were in the world. +Tradition says that one of these monsters lived in the Marsh of the +East, and came up to a cave in Diana’s Grove, which was also called +the Lair of the White Worm. Such creatures may have grown down +as well as up. They <i>may</i> have grown into, or something like, +human beings. Lady Arabella March is of snake nature. She +has committed crimes to our knowledge. She retains something of +the vast strength of her primal being—can see in the dark—has +the eyes of a snake. She used the nigger, and then dragged him +through the snake’s hole down to the swamp; she is intent on evil, +and hates some one we love. Result . . . ”</p> +<p>“Yes, the result?”</p> +<p>“First, that Mimi Watford should be taken away at once—then—”</p> +<p>“Yes?”</p> +<p>“The monster must be destroyed.”</p> +<p>“Bravo! That is a true and fearless conclusion. +At whatever cost, it must be carried out.”</p> +<p>“At once?”</p> +<p>“Soon, at all events. That creature’s very existence +is a danger. Her presence in this neighbourhood makes the danger +immediate.”</p> +<p>As he spoke, Sir Nathaniel’s mouth hardened and his eyebrows +came down till they met. There was no doubting his concurrence +in the resolution, or his readiness to help in carrying it out. +But he was an elderly man with much experience and knowledge of law +and diplomacy. It seemed to him to be a stern duty to prevent +anything irrevocable taking place till it had been thought out and all +was ready. There were all sorts of legal cruxes to be thought +out, not only regarding the taking of life, even of a monstrosity in +human form, but also of property. Lady Arabella, be she woman +or snake or devil, owned the ground she moved in, according to British +law, and the law is jealous and swift to avenge wrongs done within its +ken. All such difficulties should be—must be—avoided +for Mr. Salton’s sake, for Adam’s own sake, and, most of +all, for Mimi Watford’s sake.</p> +<p>Before he spoke again, Sir Nathaniel had made up his mind that he +must try to postpone decisive action until the circumstances on which +they depended—which, after all, were only problematical—should +have been tested satisfactorily, one way or another. When he did +speak, Adam at first thought that his friend was wavering in his intention, +or “funking” the responsibility. However, his respect +for Sir Nathaniel was so great that he would not act, or even come to +a conclusion on a vital point, without his sanction.</p> +<p>He came close and whispered in his ear:</p> +<p>“We will prepare our plans to combat and destroy this horrible +menace, after we have cleared up some of the more baffling points. +Meanwhile, we must wait for the night—I hear my uncle’s +footsteps echoing down the hall.”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel nodded his approval.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXI—GREEN LIGHT</h2> +<p>When old Mr. Salton had retired for the night, Adam and Sir Nathaniel +returned to the study. Things went with great regularity at Lesser +Hill, so they knew that there would be no interruption to their talk.</p> +<p>When their cigars were lighted, Sir Nathaniel began.</p> +<p>“I hope, Adam, that you do not think me either slack or changeable +of purpose. I mean to go through this business to the bitter end—whatever +it may be. Be satisfied that my first care is, and shall be, the +protection of Mimi Watford. To that I am pledged; my dear boy, +we who are interested are all in the same danger. That semi-human +monster out of the pit hates and means to destroy us all—you and +me certainly, and probably your uncle. I wanted especially to +talk with you to-night, for I cannot help thinking that the time is +fast coming—if it has not come already—when we must take +your uncle into our confidence. It was one thing when fancied +evils threatened, but now he is probably marked for death, and it is +only right that he should know all.”</p> +<p>“I am with you, sir. Things have changed since we agreed +to keep him out of the trouble. Now we dare not; consideration +for his feelings might cost his life. It is a duty—and no +light or pleasant one, either. I have not a shadow of doubt that +he will want to be one with us in this. But remember, we are his +guests; his name, his honour, have to be thought of as well as his safety.”</p> +<p>“All shall be as you wish, Adam. And now as to what we +are to do? We cannot murder Lady Arabella off-hand. Therefore +we shall have to put things in order for the killing, and in such a +way that we cannot be taxed with a crime.”</p> +<p>“It seems to me, sir, that we are in an exceedingly tight place. +Our first difficulty is to know where to begin. I never thought +this fighting an antediluvian monster would be such a complicated job. +This one is a woman, with all a woman’s wit, combined with the +heartlessness of a <i>cocotte</i>. She has the strength and impregnability +of a diplodocus. We may be sure that in the fight that is before +us there will be no semblance of fair-play. Also that our unscrupulous +opponent will not betray herself!”</p> +<p>“That is so—but being feminine, she will probably over-reach +herself. Now, Adam, it strikes me that, as we have to protect +ourselves and others against feminine nature, our strong game will be +to play our masculine against her feminine. Perhaps we had better +sleep on it. She is a thing of the night; and the night may give +us some ideas.”</p> +<p>So they both turned in.</p> +<p>Adam knocked at Sir Nathaniel’s door in the grey of the morning, +and, on being bidden, came into the room. He had several letters +in his hand. Sir Nathaniel sat up in bed.</p> +<p>“Well!”</p> +<p>“I should like to read you a few letters, but, of course, I +shall not send them unless you approve. In fact”—with +a smile and a blush—“there are several things which I want +to do; but I hold my hand and my tongue till I have your approval.”</p> +<p>“Go on!” said the other kindly. “Tell me +all, and count at any rate on my sympathy, and on my approval and help +if I can see my way.”</p> +<p>Accordingly Adam proceeded:</p> +<p>“When I told you the conclusions at which I had arrived, I +put in the foreground that Mimi Watford should, for the sake of her +own safety, be removed—and that the monster which had wrought +all the harm should be destroyed.”</p> +<p>“Yes, that is so.”</p> +<p>“To carry this into practice, sir, one preliminary is required—unless +harm of another kind is to be faced. Mimi should have some protector +whom all the world would recognise. The only form recognised by +convention is marriage!”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel smiled in a fatherly way.</p> +<p>“To marry, a husband is required. And that husband should +be you.”</p> +<p>“Yes, yes.”</p> +<p>“And the marriage should be immediate and secret—or, +at least, not spoken of outside ourselves. Would the young lady +be agreeable to that proceeding?”</p> +<p>“I do not know, sir!”</p> +<p>“Then how are we to proceed?”</p> +<p>“I suppose that we—or one of us—must ask her.”</p> +<p>“Is this a sudden idea, Adam, a sudden resolution?”</p> +<p>“A sudden resolution, sir, but not a sudden idea. If +she agrees, all is well and good. The sequence is obvious.”</p> +<p>“And it is to be kept a secret amongst ourselves?”</p> +<p>“I want no secret, sir, except for Mimi’s good. +For myself, I should like to shout it from the house-tops! But +we must be discreet; untimely knowledge to our enemy might work incalculable +harm.”</p> +<p>“And how would you suggest, Adam, that we could combine the +momentous question with secrecy?”</p> +<p>Adam grew red and moved uneasily.</p> +<p>“Someone must ask her—as soon as possible!”</p> +<p>“And that someone?”</p> +<p>“I thought that you, sir, would be so good!”</p> +<p>“God bless my soul! This is a new kind of duty to take +on—at my time of life. Adam, I hope you know that you can +count on me to help in any way I can!”</p> +<p>“I have already counted on you, sir, when I ventured to make +such a suggestion. I can only ask,” he added, “that +you will be more than ever kind to me—to us—and look on +the painful duty as a voluntary act of grace, prompted by kindness and +affection.”</p> +<p>“Painful duty!”</p> +<p>“Yes,” said Adam boldly. “Painful to you, +though to me it would be all joyful.”</p> +<p>“It is a strange job for an early morning! Well, we all +live and learn. I suppose the sooner I go the better. You +had better write a line for me to take with me. For, you see, +this is to be a somewhat unusual transaction, and it may be embarrassing +to the lady, even to myself. So we ought to have some sort of +warrant, something to show that we have been mindful of her feelings. +It will not do to take acquiescence for granted—although we act +for her good.”</p> +<p>“Sir Nathaniel, you are a true friend; I am sure that both +Mimi and I shall be grateful to you for all our lives—however +long they may be!”</p> +<p>So the two talked it over and agreed as to points to be borne in +mind by the ambassador. It was striking ten when Sir Nathaniel +left the house, Adam seeing him quietly off.</p> +<p>As the young man followed him with wistful eyes—almost jealous +of the privilege which his kind deed was about to bring him—he +felt that his own heart was in his friend’s breast.</p> +<p>The memory of that morning was like a dream to all those concerned +in it. Sir Nathaniel had a confused recollection of detail and +sequence, though the main facts stood out in his memory boldly and clearly. +Adam Salton’s recollection was of an illimitable wait, filled +with anxiety, hope, and chagrin, all dominated by a sense of the slow +passage of time and accompanied by vague fears. Mimi could not +for a long time think at all, or recollect anything, except that Adam +loved her and was saving her from a terrible danger. When she +had time to think, later on, she wondered when she had any ignorance +of the fact that Adam loved her, and that she loved him with all her +heart. Everything, every recollection however small, every feeling, +seemed to fit into those elemental facts as though they had all been +moulded together. The main and crowning recollection was her saying +goodbye to Sir Nathaniel, and entrusting to him loving messages, straight +from her heart, to Adam Salton, and of his bearing when—with an +impulse which she could not check—she put her lips to his and +kissed him. Later, when she was alone and had time to think, it +was a passing grief to her that she would have to be silent, for a time, +to Lilla on the happy events of that strange mission.</p> +<p>She had, of course, agreed to keep all secret until Adam should give +her leave to speak.</p> +<p>The advice and assistance of Sir Nathaniel was a great help to Adam +in carrying out his idea of marrying Mimi Watford without publicity. +He went with him to London, and, with his influence, the young man obtained +the license of the Archbishop of Canterbury for a private marriage. +Sir Nathaniel then persuaded old Mr. Salton to allow his nephew to spend +a few weeks with him at Doom Tower, and it was here that Mimi became +Adam’s wife. But that was only the first step in their plans; +before going further, however, Adam took his bride off to the Isle of +Man. He wished to place a stretch of sea between Mimi and the +White Worm, while things matured. On their return, Sir Nathaniel +met them and drove them at once to Doom, taking care to avoid any one +that he knew on the journey.</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel had taken care to have the doors and windows shut and +locked—all but the door used for their entry. The shutters +were up and the blinds down. Moreover, heavy curtains were drawn +across the windows. When Adam commented on this, Sir Nathaniel +said in a whisper:</p> +<p>“Wait till we are alone, and I’ll tell you why this is +done; in the meantime not a word or a sign. You will approve when +we have had a talk together.”</p> +<p>They said no more on the subject till after dinner, when they were +ensconced in Sir Nathaniel’s study, which was on the top storey. +Doom Tower was a lofty structure, situated on an eminence high up in +the Peak. The top commanded a wide prospect, ranging from the +hills above the Ribble to the near side of the Brow, which marked the +northern bound of ancient Mercia. It was of the early Norman period, +less than a century younger than Castra Regis. The windows of +the study were barred and locked, and heavy dark curtains closed them +in. When this was done not a gleam of light from the tower could +be seen from outside.</p> +<p>When they were alone, Sir Nathaniel explained that he had taken his +old friend, Mr. Salton, into full confidence, and that in future all +would work together.</p> +<p>“It is important for you to be extremely careful. In +spite of the fact that our marriage was kept secret, as also your temporary +absence, both are known.”</p> +<p>“How? To whom?”</p> +<p>“How, I know not; but I am beginning to have an idea.”</p> +<p>“To her?” asked Adam, in momentary consternation.</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel shivered perceptibly.</p> +<p>“The White Worm—yes!”</p> +<p>Adam noticed that from now on, his friend never spoke of Lady Arabella +otherwise, except when he wished to divert the suspicion of others.</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel switched off the electric light, and when the room +was pitch dark, he came to Adam, took him by the hand, and led him to +a seat set in the southern window. Then he softly drew back a +piece of the curtain and motioned his companion to look out.</p> +<p>Adam did so, and immediately shrank back as though his eyes had opened +on pressing danger. His companion set his mind at rest by saying +in a low voice:</p> +<p>“It is all right; you may speak, but speak low. There +is no danger here—at present!”</p> +<p>Adam leaned forward, taking care, however, not to press his face +against the glass. What he saw would not under ordinary circumstances +have caused concern to anybody. With his special knowledge, it +was appalling—though the night was now so dark that in reality +there was little to be seen.</p> +<p>On the western side of the tower stood a grove of old trees, of forest +dimensions. They were not grouped closely, but stood a little +apart from each other, producing the effect of a row widely planted. +Over the tops of them was seen a green light, something like the danger +signal at a railway-crossing. It seemed at first quite still; +but presently, when Adam’s eye became accustomed to it, he could +see that it moved as if trembling. This at once recalled to Adam’s +mind the light quivering above the well-hole in the darkness of that +inner room at Diana’s Grove, Oolanga’s awful shriek, and +the hideous black face, now grown grey with terror, disappearing into +the impenetrable gloom of the mysterious orifice. Instinctively +he laid his hand on his revolver, and stood up ready to protect his +wife. Then, seeing that nothing happened, and that the light and +all outside the tower remained the same, he softly pulled the curtain +over the window.</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel switched on the light again, and in its comforting +glow they began to talk freely.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXII—AT CLOSE QUARTERS</h2> +<p>“She has diabolical cunning,” said Sir Nathaniel. +“Ever since you left, she has ranged along the Brow and wherever +you were accustomed to frequent. I have not heard whence the knowledge +of your movements came to her, nor have I been able to learn any data +whereon to found an opinion. She seems to have heard both of your +marriage and your absence; but I gather, by inference, that she does +not actually know where you and Mimi are, or of your return. So +soon as the dusk fails, she goes out on her rounds, and before dawn +covers the whole ground round the Brow, and away up into the heart of +the Peak. The White Worm, in her own proper shape, certainly has +great facilities for the business on which she is now engaged. +She can look into windows of any ordinary kind. Happily, this +house is beyond her reach, if she wishes—as she manifestly does—to +remain unrecognised. But, even at this height, it is wise to show +no lights, lest she might learn something of our presence or absence.”</p> +<p>“Would it not be well, sir, if one of us could see this monster +in her real shape at close quarters? I am willing to run the risk—for +I take it there would be no slight risk in the doing. I don’t +suppose anyone of our time has seen her close and lived to tell the +tale.”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel held up an expostulatory hand.</p> +<p>“Good God, lad, what are you suggesting? Think of your +wife, and all that is at stake.”</p> +<p>“It is of Mimi that I think—for her sake that I am willing +to risk whatever is to be risked.”</p> +<p>Adam’s young bride was proud of her man, but she blanched at +the thought of the ghastly White Worm. Adam saw this and at once +reassured her.</p> +<p>“So long as her ladyship does not know whereabout I am, I shall +have as much safety as remains to us; bear in mind, my darling, that +we cannot be too careful.”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel realised that Adam was right; the White Worm had no +supernatural powers and could not harm them until she discovered their +hiding place. It was agreed, therefore, that the two men should +go together.</p> +<p>When the two men slipped out by the back door of the house, they +walked cautiously along the avenue which trended towards the west. +Everything was pitch dark—so dark that at times they had to feel +their way by the palings and tree-trunks. They could still see, +seemingly far in front of them and high up, the baleful light which +at the height and distance seemed like a faint line. As they were +now on the level of the ground, the light seemed infinitely higher than +it had from the top of the tower. At the sight Adam’s heart +fell; the danger of the desperate enterprise which he had undertaken +burst upon him. But this feeling was shortly followed by another +which restored him to himself—a fierce loathing, and a desire +to kill, such as he had never experienced before.</p> +<p>They went on for some distance on a level road, fairly wide, from +which the green light was visible. Here Sir Nathaniel spoke softly, +placing his lips to Adam’s ear for safety.</p> +<p>“We know nothing whatever of this creature’s power of +hearing or smelling, though I presume that both are of no great strength. +As to seeing, we may presume the opposite, but in any case we must try +to keep in the shade behind the tree-trunks. The slightest error +would be fatal to us.”</p> +<p>Adam only nodded, in case there should be any chance of the monster +seeing the movement.</p> +<p>After a time that seemed interminable, they emerged from the circling +wood. It was like coming out into sunlight by comparison with +the misty blackness which had been around them. There was light +enough to see by, though not sufficient to distinguish things at a distance. +Adam’s eyes sought the green light in the sky. It was still +in about the same place, but its surroundings were more visible. +It was now at the summit of what seemed to be a long white pole, near +the top of which were two pendant white masses, like rudimentary arms +or fins. The green light, strangely enough, did not seem lessened +by the surrounding starlight, but had a clearer effect and a deeper +green. Whilst they were carefully regarding this—Adam with +the aid of an opera-glass—their nostrils were assailed by a horrid +stench, something like that which rose from the well-hole in Diana’s +Grove.</p> +<p>By degrees, as their eyes got the right focus, they saw an immense +towering mass that seemed snowy white. It was tall and thin. +The lower part was hidden by the trees which lay between, but they could +follow the tall white shaft and the duplicate green lights which topped +it. As they looked there was a movement—the shaft seemed +to bend, and the line of green light descended amongst the trees. +They could see the green light twinkle as it passed between the obstructing +branches.</p> +<p>Seeing where the head of the monster was, the two men ventured a +little further forward, and saw that the hidden mass at the base of +the shaft was composed of vast coils of the great serpent’s body, +forming a base from which the upright mass rose. As they looked, +this lower mass moved, the glistening folds catching the moonlight, +and they could see that the monster’s progress was along the ground. +It was coming towards them at a swift pace, so they turned and ran, +taking care to make as little noise as possible, either by their footfalls +or by disturbing the undergrowth close to them. They did not stop +or pause till they saw before them the high dark tower of Doom.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIII—IN THE ENEMY’S HOUSE</h2> +<p>Sir Nathaniel was in the library next morning, after breakfast, when +Adam came to him carrying a letter.</p> +<p>“Her ladyship doesn’t lose any time. She has begun +work already!”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel, who was writing at a table near the window, looked +up.</p> +<p>“What is it?” said he.</p> +<p>Adam held out the letter he was carrying. It was in a blazoned +envelope.</p> +<p>“Ha!” said Sir Nathaniel, “from the White Worm! +I expected something of the kind.”</p> +<p>“But,” said Adam, “how could she have known we +were here? She didn’t know last night.”</p> +<p>“I don’t think we need trouble about that, Adam. +There is so much we do not understand. This is only another mystery. +Suffice it that she does know—perhaps it is all the better and +safer for us.”</p> +<p>“How is that?” asked Adam with a puzzled look.</p> +<p>“General process of reasoning, my boy; and the experience of +some years in the diplomatic world. This creature is a monster +without heart or consideration for anything or anyone. She is +not nearly so dangerous in the open as when she has the dark to protect +her. Besides, we know, by our own experience of her movements, +that for some reason she shuns publicity. In spite of her vast +bulk and abnormal strength, she is afraid to attack openly. After +all, she is only a snake and with a snake’s nature, which is to +keep low and squirm, and proceed by stealth and cunning. She will +never attack when she can run away, although she knows well that running +away would probably be fatal to her. What is the letter about?”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel’s voice was calm and self-possessed. When +he was engaged in any struggle of wits he was all diplomatist.</p> +<p>“She asks Mimi and me to tea this afternoon at Diana’s +Grove, and hopes that you also will favour her.”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel smiled.</p> +<p>“Please ask Mrs. Salton to accept for us all.”</p> +<p>“She means some deadly mischief. Surely—surely +it would be wiser not.”</p> +<p>“It is an old trick that we learn early in diplomacy, Adam—to +fight on ground of your own choice. It is true that she suggested +the place on this occasion; but by accepting it we make it ours. +Moreover, she will not be able to understand our reason for doing so, +and her own bad conscience—if she has any, bad or good—and +her own fears and doubts will play our game for us. No, my dear +boy, let us accept, by all means.”</p> +<p>Adam said nothing, but silently held out his hand, which his companion +shook: no words were necessary.</p> +<p>When it was getting near tea-time, Mimi asked Sir Nathaniel how they +were going.</p> +<p>“We must make a point of going in state. We want all +possible publicity.” Mimi looked at him inquiringly. +“Certainly, my dear, in the present circumstances publicity is +a part of safety. Do not be surprised if, whilst we are at Diana’s +Grove, occasional messages come for you—for all or any of us.”</p> +<p>“I see!” said Mrs. Salton. “You are taking +no chances.”</p> +<p>“None, my dear. All I have learned at foreign courts, +and amongst civilised and uncivilised people, is going to be utilised +within the next couple of hours.”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel’s voice was full of seriousness, and it brought +to Mimi in a convincing way the awful gravity of the occasion.</p> +<p>In due course, they set out in a carriage drawn by a fine pair of +horses, who soon devoured the few miles of their journey. Before +they came to the gate, Sir Nathaniel turned to Mimi.</p> +<p>“I have arranged with Adam certain signals which may be necessary +if certain eventualities occur. These need be nothing to do with +you directly. But bear in mind that if I ask you or Adam to do +anything, do not lose a second in the doing of it. We must try +to pass off such moments with an appearance of unconcern. In all +probability, nothing requiring such care will occur. The White +Worm will not try force, though she has so much of it to spare. +Whatever she may attempt to-day, of harm to any of us, will be in the +way of secret plot. Some other time she may try force, but—if +I am able to judge such a thing—not to-day. The messengers +who may ask for any of us will not be witnesses only, they may help +to stave off danger.” Seeing query in her face, he went +on: “Of what kind the danger may be, I know not, and cannot guess. +It will doubtless be some ordinary circumstance; but none the less dangerous +on that account. Here we are at the gate. Now, be careful +in all matters, however small. To keep your head is half the battle.”</p> +<p>There were a number of men in livery in the hall when they arrived. +The doors of the drawing-room were thrown open, and Lady Arabella came +forth and offered them cordial welcome. This having been got over, +Lady Arabella led them into another room where tea was served.</p> +<p>Adam was acutely watchful and suspicious of everything, and saw on +the far side of this room a panelled iron door of the same colour and +configuration as the outer door of the room where was the well-hole +wherein Oolanga had disappeared. Something in the sight alarmed +him, and he quietly stood near the door. He made no movement, +even of his eyes, but he could see that Sir Nathaniel was watching him +intently, and, he fancied, with approval.</p> +<p>They all sat near the table spread for tea, Adam still near the door. +Lady Arabella fanned herself, complaining of heat, and told one of the +footmen to throw all the outer doors open.</p> +<p>Tea was in progress when Mimi suddenly started up with a look of +fright on her face; at the same moment, the men became cognisant of +a thick smoke which began to spread through the room—a smoke which +made those who experienced it gasp and choke. The footmen began +to edge uneasily towards the inner door. Denser and denser grew +the smoke, and more acrid its smell. Mimi, towards whom the draught +from the open door wafted the smoke, rose up choking, and ran to the +inner door, which she threw open to its fullest extent, disclosing on +the outside a curtain of thin silk, fixed to the doorposts. The +draught from the open door swayed the thin silk towards her, and in +her fright, she tore down the curtain, which enveloped her from head +to foot. Then she ran through the still open door, heedless of +the fact that she could not see where she was going. Adam, followed +by Sir Nathaniel, rushed forward and joined her—Adam catching +his wife by the arm and holding her tight. It was well that he +did so, for just before her lay the black orifice of the well-hole, +which, of course, she could not see with the silk curtain round her +head. The floor was extremely slippery; something like thick oil +had been spilled where she had to pass; and close to the edge of the +hole her feet shot from under her, and she stumbled forward towards +the well-hole.</p> +<p>When Adam saw Mimi slip, he flung himself backward, still holding +her. His weight told, and he dragged her up from the hole and +they fell together on the floor outside the zone of slipperiness. +In a moment he had raised her up, and together they rushed out through +the open door into the sunlight, Sir Nathaniel close behind them. +They were all pale except the old diplomatist, who looked both calm +and cool. It sustained and cheered Adam and his wife to see him +thus master of himself. Both managed to follow his example, to +the wonderment of the footmen, who saw the three who had just escaped +a terrible danger walking together gaily, as, under the guiding pressure +of Sir Nathaniel’s hand, they turned to re-enter the house.</p> +<p>Lady Arabella, whose face had blanched to a deadly white, now resumed +her ministrations at the tea-board as though nothing unusual had happened. +The slop-basin was full of half-burned brown paper, over which tea had +been poured.</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel had been narrowly observing his hostess, and took the +first opportunity afforded him of whispering to Adam:</p> +<p>“The real attack is to come—she is too quiet. When +I give my hand to your wife to lead her out, come with us—and +caution her to hurry. Don’t lose a second, even if you have +to make a scene. Hs-s-s-h!”</p> +<p>Then they resumed their places close to the table, and the servants, +in obedience to Lady Arabella’s order, brought in fresh tea.</p> +<p>Thence on, that tea-party seemed to Adam, whose faculties were at +their utmost intensity, like a terrible dream. As for poor Mimi, +she was so overwrought both with present and future fear, and with horror +at the danger she had escaped, that her faculties were numb. However, +she was braced up for a trial, and she felt assured that whatever might +come she would be able to go through with it. Sir Nathaniel seemed +just as usual—suave, dignified, and thoughtful—perfect master +of himself.</p> +<p>To her husband, it was evident that Mimi was ill at ease. The +way she kept turning her head to look around her, the quick coming and +going of the colour of her face, her hurried breathing, alternating +with periods of suspicious calm, were evidences of mental perturbation. +To her, the attitude of Lady Arabella seemed compounded of social sweetness +and personal consideration. It would be hard to imagine more thoughtful +and tender kindness towards an honoured guest.</p> +<p>When tea was over and the servants had come to clear away the cups, +Lady Arabella, putting her arm round Mimi’s waist, strolled with +her into an adjoining room, where she collected a number of photographs +which were scattered about, and, sitting down beside her guest, began +to show them to her. While she was doing this, the servants closed +all the doors of the suite of rooms, as well as that which opened from +the room outside—that of the well-hole into the avenue. +Suddenly, without any seeming cause, the light in the room began to +grow dim. Sir Nathaniel, who was sitting close to Mimi, rose to +his feet, and, crying, “Quick!” caught hold of her hand +and began to drag her from the room. Adam caught her other hand, +and between them they drew her through the outer door which the servants +were beginning to close. It was difficult at first to find the +way, the darkness was so great; but to their relief when Adam whistled +shrilly, the carriage and horses, which had been waiting in the angle +of the avenue, dashed up. Her husband and Sir Nathaniel lifted—almost +threw—Mimi into the carriage. The postillion plied whip +and spur, and the vehicle, rocking with its speed, swept through the +gate and tore up the road. Behind them was a hubbub—servants +rushing about, orders being shouted out, doors shutting, and somewhere, +seemingly far back in the house, a strange noise. Every nerve +of the horses was strained as they dashed recklessly along the road. +The two men held Mimi between them, the arms of both of them round her +as though protectingly. As they went, there was a sudden rise +in the ground; but the horses, breathing heavily, dashed up it at racing +speed, not slackening their pace when the hill fell away again, leaving +them to hurry along the downgrade.</p> +<p>It would be foolish to say that neither Adam nor Mimi had any fear +in returning to Doom Tower. Mimi felt it more keenly than her +husband, whose nerves were harder, and who was more inured to danger. +Still she bore up bravely, and as usual the effort was helpful to her. +When once she was in the study in the top of the turret, she almost +forgot the terrors which lay outside in the dark. She did not +attempt to peep out of the window; but Adam did—and saw nothing. +The moonlight showed all the surrounding country, but nowhere was to +be observed that tremulous line of green light.</p> +<p>The peaceful night had a good effect on them all; danger, being unseen, +seemed far off. At times it was hard to realise that it had ever +been. With courage restored, Adam rose early and walked along +the Brow, seeing no change in the signs of life in Castra Regis. +What he did see, to his wonder and concern, on his returning homeward, +was Lady Arabella, in her tight-fitting white dress and ermine collar, +but without her emeralds; she was emerging from the gate of Diana’s +Grove and walking towards the Castle. Pondering on this, and trying +to find some meaning in it, occupied his thoughts till he joined Mimi +and Sir Nathaniel at breakfast. They began the meal in silence. +What had been had been, and was known to them all. Moreover, it +was not a pleasant topic.</p> +<p>A fillip was given to the conversation when Adam told of his seeing +Lady Arabella, on her way to Castra Regis. They each had something +to say of her, and of what her wishes or intentions were towards Edgar +Caswall. Mimi spoke bitterly of her in every aspect. She +had not forgotten—and never would—never could—the +occasion when, to harm Lilla, the woman had consorted even with the +nigger. As a social matter, she was disgusted with her for following +up the rich landowner—“throwing herself at his head so shamelessly,” +was how she expressed it. She was interested to know that the +great kite still flew from Caswall’s tower. But beyond such +matters she did not try to go. The only comment she made was of +strongly expressed surprise at her ladyship’s “cheek” +in ignoring her own criminal acts, and her impudence in taking it for +granted that others had overlooked them also.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIV—A STARTLING PROPOSITION</h2> +<p>The more Mimi thought over the late events, the more puzzled she +was. What did it all mean—what could it mean, except that +there was an error of fact somewhere. Could it be possible that +some of them—all of them had been mistaken, that there had been +no White Worm at all? On either side of her was a belief impossible +of reception. Not to believe in what seemed apparent was to destroy +the very foundations of belief . . . yet in old days there had been +monsters on the earth, and certainly some people had believed in just +such mysterious changes of identity. It was all very strange. +Just fancy how any stranger—say a doctor—would regard her, +if she were to tell him that she had been to a tea-party with an antediluvian +monster, and that they had been waited on by up-to-date men-servants.</p> +<p>Adam had returned, exhilarated by his walk, and more settled in his +mind than he had been for some time. Like Mimi, he had gone through +the phase of doubt and inability to believe in the reality of things, +though it had not affected him to the same extent. The idea, however, +that his wife was suffering ill-effects from her terrible ordeal, braced +him up. He remained with her for a time, then he sought Sir Nathaniel +in order to talk over the matter with him. He knew that the calm +common sense and self-reliance of the old man, as well as his experience, +would be helpful to them all.</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel had come to the conclusion that, for some reason which +he did not understand, Lady Arabella had changed her plans, and, for +the present at all events, was pacific. He was inclined to attribute +her changed demeanour to the fact that her influence over Edgar Caswall +was so far increased, as to justify a more fixed belief in his submission +to her charms.</p> +<p>As a matter of fact, she had seen Caswall that morning when she visited +Castra Regis, and they had had a long talk together, during which the +possibility of their union had been discussed. Caswall, without +being enthusiastic on the subject, had been courteous and attentive; +as she had walked back to Diana’s Grove, she almost congratulated +herself on her new settlement in life. That the idea was becoming +fixed in her mind, was shown by a letter which she wrote later in the +day to Adam Salton, and sent to him by hand. It ran as follows:</p> +<blockquote><p>“DEAR MR. SALTON,</p> +<p>“I wonder if you would kindly advise, and, if possible, help +me in a matter of business. I have been for some time trying to +make up my mind to sell Diana’s Grove, I have put off and put +off the doing of it till now. The place is my own property, and +no one has to be consulted with regard to what I may wish to do about +it. It was bought by my late husband, Captain Adolphus Ranger +March, who had another residence, The Crest, Appleby. He acquired +all rights of all kinds, including mining and sporting. When he +died, he left his whole property to me. I shall feel leaving this +place, which has become endeared to me by many sacred memories and affections—the +recollection of many happy days of my young married life, and the more +than happy memories of the man I loved and who loved me so much. +I should be willing to sell the place for any fair price—so long, +of course, as the purchaser was one I liked and of whom I approved. +May I say that you yourself would be the ideal person. But I dare +not hope for so much. It strikes me, however, that among your +Australian friends may be someone who wishes to make a settlement in +the Old Country, and would care to fix the spot in one of the most historic +regions in England, full of romance and legend, and with a never-ending +vista of historical interest—an estate which, though small, is +in perfect condition and with illimitable possibilities of development, +and many doubtful—or unsettled—rights which have existed +before the time of the Romans or even Celts, who were the original possessors. +In addition, the house has been kept up to the <i>dernier cri</i>. +Immediate possession can be arranged. My lawyers can provide you, +or whoever you may suggest, with all business and historical details. +A word from you of acceptance or refusal is all that is necessary, and +we can leave details to be thrashed out by our agents. Forgive +me, won’t you, for troubling you in the matter, and believe me, +yours very sincerely.</p> +<p>“ARABELLA MARCH.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Adam read this over several times, and then, his mind being made +up, he went to Mimi and asked if she had any objection. She answered—after +a shudder—that she was, in this, as in all things, willing to +do whatever he might wish.</p> +<p>“Dearest, I am willing that you should judge what is best for +us. Be quite free to act as you see your duty, and as your inclination +calls. We are in the hands of God, and He has hitherto guided +us, and will do so to His own end.”</p> +<p>From his wife’s room Adam Salton went straight to the study +in the tower, where he knew Sir Nathaniel would be at that hour. +The old man was alone, so, when he had entered in obedience to the “Come +in,” which answered his query, he closed the door and sat down +beside him.</p> +<p>“Do you think, sir, that it would be well for me to buy Diana’s +Grove?”</p> +<p>“God bless my soul!” said the old man, startled, “why +on earth would you want to do that?”</p> +<p>“Well, I have vowed to destroy that White Worm, and my being +able to do whatever I may choose with the Lair would facilitate matters +and avoid complications.”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel hesitated longer than usual before speaking. +He was thinking deeply.</p> +<p>“Yes, Adam, there is much common sense in your suggestion, +though it startled me at first. I think that, for all reasons, +you would do well to buy the property and to have the conveyance settled +at once. If you want more money than is immediately convenient, +let me know, so that I may be your banker.”</p> +<p>“Thank you, sir, most heartily; but I have more money at immediate +call than I shall want. I am glad you approve.”</p> +<p>“The property is historic, and as time goes on it will increase +in value. Moreover, I may tell you something, which indeed is +only a surmise, but which, if I am right, will add great value to the +place.” Adam listened. “Has it ever struck you +why the old name, ‘The Lair of the White Worm,’ was given? +We know that there was a snake which in early days was called a worm; +but why white?”</p> +<p>“I really don’t know, sir; I never thought of it. +I simply took it for granted.”</p> +<p>“So did I at first—long ago. But later I puzzled +my brain for a reason.”</p> +<p>“And what was the reason, sir?”</p> +<p>“Simply and solely because the snake or worm <i>was</i> white. +We are near the county of Stafford, where the great industry of china-burning +was originated and grew. Stafford owes much of its wealth to the +large deposits of the rare china clay found in it from time to time. +These deposits become in time pretty well exhausted; but for centuries +Stafford adventurers looked for the special clay, as Ohio and Pennsylvania +farmers and explorers looked for oil. Anyone owning real estate +on which china clay can be discovered strikes a sort of gold mine.”</p> +<p>“Yes, and then—” The young man looked puzzled.</p> +<p>“The original ‘Worm’ so-called, from which the +name of the place came, had to find a direct way down to the marshes +and the mud-holes. Now, the clay is easily penetrable, and the +original hole probably pierced a bed of china clay. When once +the way was made it would become a sort of highway for the Worm. +But as much movement was necessary to ascend such a great height, some +of the clay would become attached to its rough skin by attrition. +The downway must have been easy work, but the ascent was different, +and when the monster came to view in the upper world, it would be fresh +from contact with the white clay. Hence the name, which has no +cryptic significance, but only fact. Now, if that surmise be true—and +I do not see why not—there must be a deposit of valuable clay—possibly +of immense depth.”</p> +<p>Adam’s comment pleased the old gentleman.</p> +<p>“I have it in my bones, sir, that you have struck—or +rather reasoned out—a great truth.”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel went on cheerfully. “When the world of +commerce wakes up to the value of your find, it will be as well that +your title to ownership has been perfectly secured. If anyone +ever deserved such a gain, it is you.”</p> +<p>With his friend’s aid, Adam secured the property without loss +of time. Then he went to see his uncle, and told him about it. +Mr. Salton was delighted to find his young relative already constructively +the owner of so fine an estate—one which gave him an important +status in the county. He made many anxious enquiries about Mimi, +and the doings of the White Worm, but Adam reassured him.</p> +<p>The next morning, when Adam went to his host in the smoking-room, +Sir Nathaniel asked him how he purposed to proceed with regard to keeping +his vow.</p> +<p>“It is a difficult matter which you have undertaken. +To destroy such a monster is something like one of the labours of Hercules, +in that not only its size and weight and power of using them in little-known +ways are against you, but the occult side is alone an unsurpassable +difficulty. The Worm is already master of all the elements except +fire—and I do not see how fire can be used for the attack. +It has only to sink into the earth in its usual way, and you could not +overtake it if you had the resources of the biggest coal-mine in existence. +But I daresay you have mapped out some plan in your mind,” he +added courteously.</p> +<p>“I have, sir. But, of course, it may not stand the test +of practice.”</p> +<p>“May I know the idea?”</p> +<p>“Well, sir, this was my argument: At the time of the Chartist +trouble, an idea spread amongst financial circles that an attack was +going to be made on the Bank of England. Accordingly, the directors +of that institution consulted many persons who were supposed to know +what steps should be taken, and it was finally decided that the best +protection against fire—which is what was feared—was not +water but sand. To carry the scheme into practice great store +of fine sea-sand—the kind that blows about and is used to fill +hour-glasses—was provided throughout the building, especially +at the points liable to attack, from which it could be brought into +use.</p> +<p>“I propose to provide at Diana’s Grove, as soon as it +comes into my possession, an enormous amount of such sand, and shall +take an early occasion of pouring it into the well-hole, which it will +in time choke. Thus Lady Arabella, in her guise of the White Worm, +will find herself cut off from her refuge. The hole is a narrow +one, and is some hundreds of feet deep. The weight of the sand +this can contain would not in itself be sufficient to obstruct; but +the friction of such a body working up against it would be tremendous.”</p> +<p>“One moment. What use would the sand be for destruction?”</p> +<p>“None, directly; but it would hold the struggling body in place +till the rest of my scheme came into practice.”</p> +<p>“And what is the rest?”</p> +<p>“As the sand is being poured into the well-hole, quantities +of dynamite can also be thrown in!”</p> +<p>“Good. But how would the dynamite explode—for, +of course, that is what you intend. Would not some sort of wire +or fuse he required for each parcel of dynamite?”</p> +<p>Adam smiled.</p> +<p>“Not in these days, sir. That was proved in New York. +A thousand pounds of dynamite, in sealed canisters, was placed about +some workings. At the last a charge of gunpowder was fired, and +the concussion exploded the dynamite. It was most successful. +Those who were non-experts in high explosives expected that every pane +of glass in New York would be shattered. But, in reality, the +explosive did no harm outside the area intended, although sixteen acres +of rock had been mined and only the supporting walls and pillars had +been left intact. The whole of the rocks were shattered.”</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel nodded approval.</p> +<p>“That seems a good plan—a very excellent one. But +if it has to tear down so many feet of precipice, it may wreck the whole +neighbourhood.”</p> +<p>“And free it for ever from a monster,” added Adam, as +he left the room to find his wife.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXV—THE LAST BATTLE</h2> +<p>Lady Arabella had instructed her solicitors to hurry on with the +conveyance of Diana’s Grove, so no time was lost in letting Adam +Salton have formal possession of the estate. After his interview +with Sir Nathaniel, he had taken steps to begin putting his plan into +action. In order to accumulate the necessary amount of fine sea-sand, +he ordered the steward to prepare for an elaborate system of top-dressing +all the grounds. A great heap of the sand, brought from bays on +the Welsh coast, began to grow at the back of the Grove. No one +seemed to suspect that it was there for any purpose other than what +had been given out.</p> +<p>Lady Arabella, who alone could have guessed, was now so absorbed +in her matrimonial pursuit of Edgar Caswall, that she had neither time +nor inclination for thought extraneous to this. She had not yet +moved from the house, though she had formally handed over the estate.</p> +<p>Adam put up a rough corrugated-iron shed behind the Grove, in which +he stored his explosives. All being ready for his great attempt +whenever the time should come, he was now content to wait, and, in order +to pass the time, interested himself in other things—even in Caswall’s +great kite, which still flew from the high tower of Castra Regis.</p> +<p>The mound of fine sand grew to proportions so vast as to puzzle the +bailiffs and farmers round the Brow. The hour of the intended +cataclysm was approaching apace. Adam wished—but in vain—for +an opportunity, which would appear to be natural, of visiting Caswall +in the turret of Castra Regis. At last, one morning, he met Lady +Arabella moving towards the Castle, so he took his courage <i>à +deux mains</i> and asked to be allowed to accompany her. She was +glad, for her own purposes, to comply with his wishes. So together +they entered, and found their way to the turret-room. Caswall +was much surprised to see Adam come to his house, but lent himself to +the task of seeming to be pleased. He played the host so well +as to deceive even Adam. They all went out on the turret roof, +where he explained to his guests the mechanism for raising and lowering +the kite, taking also the opportunity of testing the movements of the +multitudes of birds, how they answered almost instantaneously to the +lowering or raising of the kite.</p> +<p>As Lady Arabella walked home with Adam from Castra Regis, she asked +him if she might make a request. Permission having been accorded, +she explained that before she finally left Diana’s Grove, where +she had lived so long, she had a desire to know the depth of the well-hole. +Adam was really happy to meet her wishes, not from any sentiment, but +because he wished to give some valid and ostensible reason for examining +the passage of the Worm, which would obviate any suspicion resulting +from his being on the premises. He brought from London a Kelvin +sounding apparatus, with a sufficient length of piano-wire for testing +any probable depth. The wire passed easily over the running wheel, +and when this was once fixed over the hole, he was satisfied to wait +till the most advantageous time for his final experiment.</p> +<p>* * * * *</p> +<p>In the meantime, affairs had been going quietly at Mercy Farm. +Lilla, of course, felt lonely in the absence of her cousin, but the +even tenor of life went on for her as for others. After the first +shock of parting was over, things went back to their accustomed routine. +In one respect, however, there was a marked difference. So long +as home conditions had remained unchanged, Lilla was content to put +ambition far from her, and to settle down to the life which had been +hers as long as she could remember. But Mimi’s marriage +set her thinking; naturally, she came to the conclusion that she too +might have a mate. There was not for her much choice—there +was little movement in the matrimonial direction at the farmhouse. +She did not approve of the personality of Edgar Caswall, and his struggle +with Mimi had frightened her; but he was unmistakably an excellent <i>parti</i>, +much better than she could have any right to expect. This weighs +much with a woman, and more particularly one of her class. So, +on the whole, she was content to let things take their course, and to +abide by the issue.</p> +<p>As time went on, she had reason to believe that things did not point +to happiness. She could not shut her eyes to certain disturbing +facts, amongst which were the existence of Lady Arabella and her growing +intimacy with Edgar Caswall; as well as his own cold and haughty nature, +so little in accord with the ardour which is the foundation of a young +maid’s dreams of happiness. How things would, of necessity, +alter if she were to marry, she was afraid to think. All told, +the prospect was not happy for her, and she had a secret longing that +something might occur to upset the order of things as at present arranged.</p> +<p>When Lilla received a note from Edgar Caswall asking if he might +come to tea on the following afternoon, her heart sank within her. +If it was only for her father’s sake, she must not refuse him +or show any disinclination which he might construe into incivility. +She missed Mimi more than she could say or even dared to think. +Hitherto, she had always looked to her cousin for sympathy, for understanding, +for loyal support. Now she and all these things, and a thousand +others—gentle, assuring, supporting—were gone. And +instead there was a horrible aching void.</p> +<p>For the whole afternoon and evening, and for the following forenoon, +poor Lilla’s loneliness grew to be a positive agony. For +the first time she began to realise the sense of her loss, as though +all the previous suffering had been merely a preparation. Everything +she looked at, everything she remembered or thought of, became laden +with poignant memory. Then on the top of all was a new sense of +dread. The reaction from the sense of security, which had surrounded +her all her life, to a never-quieted apprehension, was at times almost +more than she could bear. It so filled her with fear that she +had a haunting feeling that she would as soon die as live. However, +whatever might be her own feelings, duty had to be done, and as she +had been brought up to consider duty first, she braced herself to go +through, to the very best of her ability, what was before her.</p> +<p>Still, the severe and prolonged struggle for self-control told upon +Lilla. She looked, as she felt, ill and weak. She was really +in a nerveless and prostrate condition, with black circles round her +eyes, pale even to her lips, and with an instinctive trembling which +she was quite unable to repress. It was for her a sad mischance +that Mimi was away, for her love would have seen through all obscuring +causes, and have brought to light the girl’s unhappy condition +of health. Lilla was utterly unable to do anything to escape from +the ordeal before her; but her cousin, with the experience of her former +struggles with Mr. Caswall and of the condition in which these left +her, would have taken steps—even peremptory ones, if necessary—to +prevent a repetition.</p> +<p>Edgar arrived punctually to the time appointed by herself. +When Lilla, through the great window, saw him approaching the house, +her condition of nervous upset was pitiable. She braced herself +up, however, and managed to get through the interview in its preliminary +stages without any perceptible change in her normal appearance and bearing. +It had been to her an added terror that the black shadow of Oolanga, +whom she dreaded, would follow hard on his master. A load was +lifted from her mind when he did not make his usual stealthy approach. +She had also feared, though in lesser degree, lest Lady Arabella should +be present to make trouble for her as before.</p> +<p>With a woman’s natural forethought in a difficult position, +she had provided the furnishing of the tea-table as a subtle indication +of the social difference between her and her guest. She had chosen +the implements of service, as well as all the provender set forth, of +the humblest kind. Instead of arranging the silver teapot and +china cups, she had set out an earthen teapot, such as was in common +use in the farm kitchen. The same idea was carried out in the +cups and saucers of thick homely delft, and in the cream-jug of similar +kind. The bread was of simple whole-meal, home-baked. The +butter was good, since she had made it herself, while the preserves +and honey came from her own garden. Her face beamed with satisfaction +when the guest eyed the appointments with a supercilious glance. +It was a shock to the poor girl herself, for she enjoyed offering to +a guest the little hospitalities possible to her; but that had to be +sacrificed with other pleasures.</p> +<p>Caswall’s face was more set and iron-clad than ever—his +piercing eyes seemed from the very beginning to look her through and +through. Her heart quailed when she thought of what would follow—of +what would be the end, when this was only the beginning. As some +protection, though it could be only of a sentimental kind, she brought +from her own room the photographs of Mimi, of her grandfather, and of +Adam Salton, whom by now she had grown to look on with reliance, as +a brother whom she could trust. She kept the pictures near her +heart, to which her hand naturally strayed when her feelings of constraint, +distrust, or fear became so poignant as to interfere with the calm which +she felt was necessary to help her through her ordeal.</p> +<p>At first Edgar Caswall was courteous and polite, even thoughtful; +but after a little while, when he found her resistance to his domination +grow, he abandoned all forms of self-control and appeared in the same +dominance as he had previously shown. She was prepared, however, +for this, both by her former experience and the natural fighting instinct +within her. By this means, as the minutes went on, both developed +the power and preserved the equality in which they had begun.</p> +<p>Without warning, the psychic battle between the two individualities +began afresh. This time both the positive and negative causes +were all in favour of the man. The woman was alone and in bad +spirits, unsupported; nothing at all was in her favour except the memory +of the two victorious contests; whereas the man, though unaided, as +before, by either Lady Arabella or Oolanga, was in full strength, well +rested, and in flourishing circumstances. It was not, therefore, +to be wondered at that his native dominance of character had full opportunity +of asserting itself. He began his preliminary stare with a conscious +sense of power, and, as it appeared to have immediate effect on the +girl, he felt an ever-growing conviction of ultimate victory.</p> +<p>After a little Lilla’s resolution began to flag. She +felt that the contest was unequal—that she was unable to put forth +her best efforts. As she was an unselfish person, she could not +fight so well in her own battle as in that of someone whom she loved +and to whom she was devoted. Edgar saw the relaxing of the muscles +of face and brow, and the almost collapse of the heavy eyelids which +seemed tumbling downward in sleep. Lilla made gallant efforts +to brace her dwindling powers, but for a time unsuccessfully. +At length there came an interruption, which seemed like a powerful stimulant. +Through the wide window she saw Lady Arabella enter the plain gateway +of the farm, and advance towards the hall door. She was clad as +usual in tight-fitting white, which accentuated her thin, sinuous figure.</p> +<p>The sight did for Lilla what no voluntary effort could have done. +Her eyes flashed, and in an instant she felt as though a new life had +suddenly developed within her. Lady Arabella’s entry, in +her usual unconcerned, haughty, supercilious way, heightened the effect, +so that when the two stood close to each other battle was joined. +Mr. Caswall, too, took new courage from her coming, and all his masterfulness +and power came back to him. His looks, intensified, had more obvious +effect than had been noticeable that day. Lilla seemed at last +overcome by his dominance. Her face became red and pale—violently +red and ghastly pale—by rapid turns. Her strength seemed +gone. Her knees collapsed, and she was actually sinking on the +floor, when to her surprise and joy Mimi came into the room, running +hurriedly and breathing heavily.</p> +<p>Lilla rushed to her, and the two clasped hands. With that, +a new sense of power, greater than Lilla had ever seen in her, seemed +to quicken her cousin. Her hand swept the air in front of Edgar +Caswall, seeming to drive him backward more and more by each movement, +till at last he seemed to be actually hurled through the door which +Mimi’s entrance had left open, and fell at full length on the +gravel path without.</p> +<p>Then came the final and complete collapse of Lilla, who, without +a sound, sank down on the floor.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVI—FACE TO FACE</h2> +<p>Mimi was greatly distressed when she saw her cousin lying prone. +She had a few times in her life seen Lilla on the verge of fainting, +but never senseless; and now she was frightened. She threw herself +on her knees beside Lilla, and tried, by rubbing her hands and other +measures commonly known, to restore her. But all her efforts were +unavailing. Lilla still lay white and senseless. In fact, +each moment she looked worse; her breast, that had been heaving with +the stress, became still, and the pallor of her face grew like marble.</p> +<p>At these succeeding changes Mimi’s fright grew, till it altogether +mastered her. She succeeded in controlling herself only to the +extent that she did not scream.</p> +<p>Lady Arabella had followed Caswall, when he had recovered sufficiently +to get up and walk—though stumblingly—in the direction of +Castra Regis. When Mimi was quite alone with Lilla and the need +for effort had ceased, she felt weak and trembled. In her own +mind, she attributed it to a sudden change in the weather—it was +momentarily becoming apparent that a storm was coming on.</p> +<p>She raised Lilla’s head and laid it on her warm young breast, +but all in vain. The cold of the white features thrilled through +her, and she utterly collapsed when it was borne in on her that Lilla +had passed away.</p> +<p>The dusk gradually deepened and the shades of evening closed in, +but Mimi did not seem to notice or to care. She sat on the floor +with her arms round the body of the girl whom she loved. Darker +and blacker grew the sky as the coming storm and the closing night joined +forces. Still she sat on—alone—tearless—unable +to think. Mimi did not know how long she sat there. Though +it seemed to her that ages had passed, it could not have been more than +half-an-hour. She suddenly came to herself, and was surprised +to find that her grandfather had not returned. For a while she +lay quiet, thinking of the immediate past. Lilla’s hand +was still in hers, and to her surprise it was still warm. Somehow +this helped her consciousness, and without any special act of will she +stood up. She lit a lamp and looked at her cousin. There +was no doubt that Lilla was dead; but when the lamp-light fell on her +eyes, they seemed to look at Mimi with intent—with meaning. +In this state of dark isolation a new resolution came to her, and grew +and grew until it became a fixed definite purpose. She would face +Caswall and call him to account for his murder of Lilla—that was +what she called it to herself. She would also take steps—she +knew not what or how—to avenge the part taken by Lady Arabella.</p> +<p>In this frame of mind she lit all the lamps in the room, got water +and linen from her room, and set about the decent ordering of Lilla’s +body. This took some time; but when it was finished, she put on +her hat and cloak, put out the lights, and set out quietly for Castra +Regis.</p> +<p>As Mimi drew near the Castle, she saw no lights except those in and +around the tower room. The lights showed her that Mr. Caswall +was there, so she entered by the hall door, which as usual was open, +and felt her way in the darkness up the staircase to the lobby of the +room. The door was ajar, and the light from within showed brilliantly +through the opening. She saw Edgar Caswall walking restlessly +to and fro in the room, with his hands clasped behind his back. +She opened the door without knocking, and walked right into the room. +As she entered, he ceased walking, and stared at her in surprise. +She made no remark, no comment, but continued the fixed look which he +had seen on her entrance.</p> +<p>For a time silence reigned, and the two stood looking fixedly at +each other. Mimi was the first to speak.</p> +<p>“You murderer! Lilla is dead!”</p> +<p>“Dead! Good God! When did she die?”</p> +<p>“She died this afternoon, just after you left her.”</p> +<p>“Are you sure?”</p> +<p>“Yes—and so are you—or you ought to be. You +killed her!”</p> +<p>“I killed her! Be careful what you say!”</p> +<p>“As God sees us, it is true; and you know it. You came +to Mercy Farm on purpose to break her—if you could. And +the accomplice of your guilt, Lady Arabella March, came for the same +purpose.”</p> +<p>“Be careful, woman,” he said hotly. “Do not +use such names in that way, or you shall suffer for it.”</p> +<p>“I am suffering for it—have suffered for it—shall +suffer for it. Not for speaking the truth as I have done, but +because you two, with devilish malignity, did my darling to death. +It is you and your accomplice who have to dread punishment, not I.”</p> +<p>“Take care!” he said again.</p> +<p>“Oh, I am not afraid of you or your accomplice,” she +answered spiritedly. “I am content to stand by every word +I have said, every act I have done. Moreover, I believe in God’s +justice. I fear not the grinding of His mills; if necessary I +shall set the wheels in motion myself. But you don’t care +for God, or believe in Him. Your god is your great kite, which +cows the birds of a whole district. But be sure that His hand, +when it rises, always falls at the appointed time. It may be that +your name is being called even at this very moment at the Great Assize. +Repent while there is still time. Happy you, if you may be allowed +to enter those mighty halls in the company of the pure-souled angel +whose voice has only to whisper one word of justice, and you disappear +for ever into everlasting torment.”</p> +<p>The sudden death of Lilla caused consternation among Mimi’s +friends and well-wishers. Such a tragedy was totally unexpected, +as Adam and Sir Nathaniel had been expecting the White Worm’s +vengeance to fall upon themselves.</p> +<p>Adam, leaving his wife free to follow her own desires with regard +to Lilla and her grandfather, busied himself with filling the well-hole +with the fine sand prepared for the purpose, taking care to have lowered +at stated intervals quantities of the store of dynamite, so as to be +ready for the final explosion. He had under his immediate supervision +a corps of workmen, and was assisted by Sir Nathaniel, who had come +over for the purpose, and all were now staying at Lesser Hill.</p> +<p>Mr. Salton, too, showed much interest in the job, and was constantly +coming in and out, nothing escaping his observation.</p> +<p>Since her marriage to Adam and their coming to stay at Doom Tower, +Mimi had been fettered by fear of the horrible monster at Diana’s +Grove. But now she dreaded it no longer. She accepted the +fact of its assuming at will the form of Lady Arabella. She had +still to tax and upbraid her for her part in the unhappiness which had +been wrought on Lilla, and for her share in causing her death.</p> +<p>One evening, when Mimi entered her own room, she went to the window +and threw an eager look round the whole circle of sight. A single +glance satisfied her that the White Worm in <i>propriâ personâ</i> +was not visible. So she sat down in the window-seat and enjoyed +the pleasure of a full view, from which she had been so long cut off. +The maid who waited on her had told her that Mr. Salton had not yet +returned home, so she felt free to enjoy the luxury of peace and quiet.</p> +<p>As she looked out of the window, she saw something thin and white +move along the avenue. She thought she recognised the figure of +Lady Arabella, and instinctively drew back behind the curtain. +When she had ascertained, by peeping out several times, that the lady +had not seen her, she watched more carefully, all her instinctive hatred +flooding back at the sight of her. Lady Arabella was moving swiftly +and stealthily, looking back and around her at intervals, as if she +feared to be followed. This gave Mimi an idea that she was up +to no good, so she determined to seize the occasion for watching her +in more detail.</p> +<p>Hastily putting on a dark cloak and hat, she ran downstairs and out +into the avenue. Lady Arabella had moved, but the sheen of her +white dress was still to be seen among the young oaks around the gateway. +Keeping in shadow, Mimi followed, taking care not to come so close as +to awake the other’s suspicion, and watched her quarry pass along +the road in the direction of Castra Regis.</p> +<p>She followed on steadily through the gloom of the trees, depending +on the glint of the white dress to keep her right. The wood began +to thicken, and presently, when the road widened and the trees grew +farther back, she lost sight of any indication of her whereabouts. +Under the present conditions it was impossible for her to do any more, +so, after waiting for a while, still hidden in the shadow to see if +she could catch another glimpse of the white frock, she determined to +go on slowly towards Castra Regis, and trust to the chapter of accidents +to pick up the trail again. She went on slowly, taking advantage +of every obstacle and shadow to keep herself concealed.</p> +<p>At last she entered on the grounds of the Castle, at a spot from +which the windows of the turret were dimly visible, without having seen +again any sign of Lady Arabella.</p> +<p>Meanwhile, during most of the time that Mimi Salton had been moving +warily along in the gloom, she was in reality being followed by Lady +Arabella, who had caught sight of her leaving the house and had never +again lost touch with her. It was a case of the hunter being hunted. +For a time Mimi’s many turnings, with the natural obstacles that +were perpetually intervening, caused Lady Arabella some trouble; but +when she was close to Castra Regis, there was no more possibility of +concealment, and the strange double following went swiftly on.</p> +<p>When she saw Mimi close to the hall door of Castra Regis and ascending +the steps, she followed. When Mimi entered the dark hall and felt +her way up the staircase, still, as she believed, following Lady Arabella, +the latter kept on her way. When they reached the lobby of the +turret-rooms, Mimi believed that the object of her search was ahead +of her.</p> +<p>Edgar Caswall sat in the gloom of the great room, occasionally stirred +to curiosity when the drifting clouds allowed a little light to fall +from the storm-swept sky. But nothing really interested him now. +Since he had heard of Lilla’s death, the gloom of his remorse, +emphasised by Mimi’s upbraiding, had made more hopeless his cruel, +selfish, saturnine nature. He heard no sound, for his normal faculties +seemed benumbed.</p> +<p>Mimi, when she came to the door, which stood ajar, gave a light tap. +So light was it that it did not reach Caswall’s ears. Then, +taking her courage in both hands, she boldly pushed the door and entered. +As she did so, her heart sank, for now she was face to face with a difficulty +which had not, in her state of mental perturbation, occurred to her.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVII—ON THE TURRET ROOF</h2> +<p>The storm which was coming was already making itself manifest, not +only in the wide scope of nature, but in the hearts and natures of human +beings. Electrical disturbance in the sky and the air is reproduced +in animals of all kinds, and particularly in the highest type of them +all—the most receptive—the most electrical. So it +was with Edgar Caswall, despite his selfish nature and coldness of blood. +So it was with Mimi Salton, despite her unselfish, unchanging devotion +for those she loved. So it was even with Lady Arabella, who, under +the instincts of a primeval serpent, carried the ever-varying wishes +and customs of womanhood, which is always old—and always new.</p> +<p>Edgar, after he had turned his eyes on Mimi, resumed his apathetic +position and sullen silence. Mimi quietly took a seat a little +way apart, whence she could look on the progress of the coming storm +and study its appearance throughout the whole visible circle of the +neighbourhood. She was in brighter and better spirits than she +had been for many days past. Lady Arabella tried to efface herself +behind the now open door.</p> +<p>Without, the clouds grew thicker and blacker as the storm-centre +came closer. As yet the forces, from whose linking the lightning +springs, were held apart, and the silence of nature proclaimed the calm +before the storm. Caswall felt the effect of the gathering electric +force. A sort of wild exultation grew upon him, such as he had +sometimes felt just before the breaking of a tropical storm. As +he became conscious of this, he raised his head and caught sight of +Mimi. He was in the grip of an emotion greater than himself; in +the mood in which he was he felt the need upon him of doing some desperate +deed. He was now absolutely reckless, and as Mimi was associated +with him in the memory which drove him on, he wished that she too should +be engaged in this enterprise. He had no knowledge of the proximity +of Lady Arabella, and thought that he was far removed from all he knew +and whose interests he shared—alone with the wild elements, which +were being lashed to fury, and with the woman who had struggled with +him and vanquished him, and on whom he would shower the full measure +of his hate.</p> +<p>The fact was that Edgar Caswall was, if not mad, close to the border-line. +Madness in its first stage—monomania—is a lack of proportion. +So long as this is general, it is not always noticeable, for the uninspired +onlooker is without the necessary means of comparison. But in +monomania the errant faculty protrudes itself in a way that may not +be denied. It puts aside, obscures, or takes the place of something +else—just as the head of a pin placed before the centre of the +iris will block out the whole scope of vision. The most usual +form of monomania has commonly the same beginning as that from which +Edgar Caswall suffered—an over-large idea of self-importance. +Alienists, who study the matter exactly, probably know more of human +vanity and its effects than do ordinary men. Caswall’s mental +disturbance was not hard to identify. Every asylum is full of +such cases—men and women, who, naturally selfish and egotistical, +so appraise to themselves their own importance that every other circumstance +in life becomes subservient to it. The disease supplies in itself +the material for self-magnification. When the decadence attacks +a nature naturally proud and selfish and vain, and lacking both the +aptitude and habit of self-restraint, the development of the disease +is more swift, and ranges to farther limits. It is such persons +who become imbued with the idea that they have the attributes of the +Almighty—even that they themselves are the Almighty.</p> +<p>Mimi had a suspicion—or rather, perhaps, an intuition—of +the true state of things when she heard him speak, and at the same time +noticed the abnormal flush on his face, and his rolling eyes. +There was a certain want of fixedness of purpose which she had certainly +not noticed before—a quick, spasmodic utterance which belongs +rather to the insane than to those of intellectual equilibrium. +She was a little frightened, not only by his thoughts, but by his staccato +way of expressing them.</p> +<p>Caswall moved to the door leading to the turret stair by which the +roof was reached, and spoke in a peremptory way, whose tone alone made +her feel defiant.</p> +<p>“Come! I want you.”</p> +<p>She instinctively drew back—she was not accustomed to such +words, more especially to such a tone. Her answer was indicative +of a new contest.</p> +<p>“Why should I go? What for?”</p> +<p>He did not at once reply—another indication of his overwhelming +egotism. She repeated her questions; habit reasserted itself, +and he spoke without thinking the words which were in his heart.</p> +<p>“I want you, if you will be so good, to come with me to the +turret roof. I am much interested in certain experiments with +the kite, which would be, if not a pleasure, at least a novel experience +to you. You would see something not easily seen otherwise.”</p> +<p>“I will come,” she answered simply; Edgar moved in the +direction of the stair, she following close behind him.</p> +<p>She did not like to be left alone at such a height, in such a place, +in the darkness, with a storm about to break. Of himself she had +no fear; all that had been seemed to have passed away with her two victories +over him in the struggle of wills. Moreover, the more recent apprehension—that +of his madness—had also ceased. In the conversation of the +last few minutes he seemed so rational, so clear, so unaggressive, that +she no longer saw reason for doubt. So satisfied was she that +even when he put out a hand to guide her to the steep, narrow stairway, +she took it without thought in the most conventional way.</p> +<p>Lady Arabella, crouching in the lobby behind the door, heard every +word that had been said, and formed her own opinion of it. It +seemed evident to her that there had been some rapprochement between +the two who had so lately been hostile to each other, and that made +her furiously angry. Mimi was interfering with her plans! +She had made certain of her capture of Edgar Caswall, and she could +not tolerate even the lightest and most contemptuous fancy on his part +which might divert him from the main issue. When she became aware +that he wished Mimi to come with him to the roof and that she had acquiesced, +her rage got beyond bounds. She became oblivious to any danger +there might be in a visit to such an exposed place at such a time, and +to all lesser considerations, and made up her mind to forestall them. +She stealthily and noiselessly crept through the wicket, and, ascending +the stair, stepped out on the roof. It was bitterly cold, for +the fierce gusts of the storm which swept round the turret drove in +through every unimpeded way, whistling at the sharp corners and singing +round the trembling flagstaff. The kite-string and the wire which +controlled the runners made a concourse of weird sounds which somehow, +perhaps from the violence which surrounded them, acting on their length, +resolved themselves into some kind of harmony—a fitting accompaniment +to the tragedy which seemed about to begin.</p> +<p>Mimi’s heart beat heavily. Just before leaving the turret-chamber +she had a shock which she could not shake off. The lights of the +room had momentarily revealed to her, as they passed out, Edgar’s +face, concentrated as it was whenever he intended to use his mesmeric +power. Now the black eyebrows made a thick line across his face, +under which his eyes shone and glittered ominously. Mimi recognised +the danger, and assumed the defiant attitude that had twice already +served her so well. She had a fear that the circumstances and +the place were against her, and she wanted to be forearmed.</p> +<p>The sky was now somewhat lighter than it had been. Either there +was lightning afar off, whose reflections were carried by the rolling +clouds, or else the gathered force, though not yet breaking into lightning, +had an incipient power of light. It seemed to affect both the +man and the woman. Edgar seemed altogether under its influence. +His spirits were boisterous, his mind exalted. He was now at his +worst; madder than he had been earlier in the night.</p> +<p>Mimi, trying to keep as far from him as possible, moved across the +stone floor of the turret roof, and found a niche which concealed her. +It was not far from Lady Arabella’s place of hiding.</p> +<p>Edgar, left thus alone on the centre of the turret roof, found himself +altogether his own master in a way which tended to increase his madness. +He knew that Mimi was close at hand, though he had lost sight of her. +He spoke loudly, and the sound of his own voice, though it was carried +from him on the sweeping wind as fast as the words were spoken, seemed +to exalt him still more. Even the raging of the elements round +him appeared to add to his exaltation. To him it seemed that these +manifestations were obedient to his own will. He had reached the +sublime of his madness; he was now in his own mind actually the Almighty, +and whatever might happen would be the direct carrying out of his own +commands. As he could not see Mimi, nor fix whereabout she was, +he shouted loudly:</p> +<p>“Come to me! You shall see now what you are despising, +what you are warring against. All that you see is mine—the +darkness as well as the light. I tell you that I am greater than +any other who is, or was, or shall be. When the Master of Evil +took Christ up on a high place and showed Him all the kingdoms of the +earth, he was doing what he thought no other could do. He was +wrong—he forgot <i>Me</i>. I shall send you light, up to +the very ramparts of heaven. A light so great that it shall dissipate +those black clouds that are rushing up and piling around us. Look! +Look! At the very touch of my hand that light springs into being +and mounts up—and up—and up!”</p> +<p>He made his way whilst he was speaking to the corner of the turret +whence flew the giant kite, and from which the runners ascended. +Mimi looked on, appalled and afraid to speak lest she should precipitate +some calamity. Within the niche Lady Arabella cowered in a paroxysm +of fear.</p> +<p>Edgar took up a small wooden box, through a hole in which the wire +of the runner ran. This evidently set some machinery in motion, +for a sound as of whirring came. From one side of the box floated +what looked like a piece of stiff ribbon, which snapped and crackled +as the wind took it. For a few seconds Mimi saw it as it rushed +along the sagging line to the kite. When close to it, there was +a loud crack, and a sudden light appeared to issue from every chink +in the box. Then a quick flame flashed along the snapping ribbon, +which glowed with an intense light—a light so great that the whole +of the countryside around stood out against the background of black +driving clouds. For a few seconds the light remained, then suddenly +disappeared in the blackness around. It was simply a magnesium +light, which had been fired by the mechanism within the box and carried +up to the kite. Edgar was in a state of tumultuous excitement, +shouting and yelling at the top of his voice and dancing about like +a lunatic.</p> +<p>This was more than Lady Arabella’s curious dual nature could +stand—the ghoulish element in her rose triumphant, and she abandoned +all idea of marriage with Edgar Caswall, gloating fiendishly over the +thought of revenge.</p> +<p>She must lure him to the White Worm’s hole—but how? +She glanced around and quickly made up her mind. The man’s +whole thoughts were absorbed by his wonderful kite, which he was showing +off, in order to fascinate her imaginary rival, Mimi.</p> +<p>On the instant she glided through the darkness to the wheel whereon +the string of the kite was wound. With deft fingers she unshipped +this, took it with her, reeling out the wire as she went, thus keeping, +in a way, in touch with the kite. Then she glided swiftly to the +wicket, through which she passed, locking the gate behind her as she +went.</p> +<p>Down the turret stair she ran quickly, letting the wire run from +the wheel which she carried carefully, and, passing out of the hall +door, hurried down the avenue with all her speed. She soon reached +her own gate, ran down the avenue, and with her key opened the iron +door leading to the well-hole.</p> +<p>She felt well satisfied with herself. All her plans were maturing, +or had already matured. The Master of Castra Regis was within +her grasp. The woman whose interference she had feared, Lilla +Watford, was dead. Truly, all was well, and she felt that she +might pause a while and rest. She tore off her clothes, with feverish +fingers, and in full enjoyment of her natural freedom, stretched her +slim figure in animal delight. Then she lay down on the sofa—to +await her victim! Edgar Caswall’s life blood would more +than satisfy her for some time to come.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII—THE BREAKING OF THE STORM</h2> +<p>When Lady Arabella had crept away in her usual noiseless fashion, +the two others remained for a while in their places on the turret roof: +Caswall because he had nothing to say, Mimi because she had much to +say and wished to put her thoughts in order. For quite a while—which +seemed interminable—silence reigned between them. At last +Mimi made a beginning—she had made up her mind how to act.</p> +<p>“Mr. Caswall,” she said loudly, so as to make sure of +being heard through the blustering of the wind and the perpetual cracking +of the electricity.</p> +<p>Caswall said something in reply, but his words were carried away +on the storm. However, one of her objects was effected: she knew +now exactly whereabout on the roof he was. So she moved close +to the spot before she spoke again, raising her voice almost to a shout.</p> +<p>“The wicket is shut. Please to open it. I can’t +get out.”</p> +<p>As she spoke, she was quietly fingering a revolver which Adam had +given to her in case of emergency and which now lay in her breast. +She felt that she was caged like a rat in a trap, but did not mean to +be taken at a disadvantage, whatever happened. Caswall also felt +trapped, and all the brute in him rose to the emergency. In a +voice which was raucous and brutal—much like that which is heard +when a wife is being beaten by her husband in a slum—he hissed +out, his syllables cutting through the roaring of the storm:</p> +<p>“You came of your own accord—without permission, or even +asking it. Now you can stay or go as you choose. But you +must manage it for yourself; I’ll have nothing to do with it.”</p> +<p>Her answer was spoken with dangerous suavity</p> +<p>“I am going. Blame yourself if you do not like the time +and manner of it. I daresay Adam—my husband—will have +a word to say to you about it!”</p> +<p>“Let him say, and be damned to him, and to you too! I’ll +show you a light. You shan’t be able to say that you could +not see what you were doing.”</p> +<p>As he spoke, he was lighting another piece of the magnesium ribbon, +which made a blinding glare in which everything was plainly discernible, +down to the smallest detail. This exactly suited Mimi. She +took accurate note of the wicket and its fastening before the glare +had died away. She took her revolver out and fired into the lock, +which was shivered on the instant, the pieces flying round in all directions, +but happily without causing hurt to anyone. Then she pushed the +wicket open and ran down the narrow stair, and so to the hall door. +Opening this also, she ran down the avenue, never lessening her speed +till she stood outside the door of Lesser Hill. The door was opened +at once on her ringing.</p> +<p>“Is Mr. Adam Salton in?” she asked.</p> +<p>“He has just come in, a few minutes ago. He has gone +up to the study,” replied a servant.</p> +<p>She ran upstairs at once and joined him. He seemed relieved +when he saw her, but scrutinised her face keenly. He saw that +she had been in some concern, so led her over to the sofa in the window +and sat down beside her.</p> +<p>“Now, dear, tell me all about it!” he said.</p> +<p>She rushed breathlessly through all the details of her adventure +on the turret roof. Adam listened attentively, helping her all +he could, and not embarrassing her by any questioning. His thoughtful +silence was a great help to her, for it allowed her to collect and organise +her thoughts.</p> +<p>“I must go and see Caswall to-morrow, to hear what he has to +say on the subject.”</p> +<p>“But, dear, for my sake, don’t have any quarrel with +Mr. Caswall. I have had too much trial and pain lately to wish +it increased by any anxiety regarding you.”</p> +<p>“You shall not, dear—if I can help it—please God,” +he said solemnly, and he kissed her.</p> +<p>Then, in order to keep her interested so that she might forget the +fears and anxieties that had disturbed her, he began to talk over the +details of her adventure, making shrewd comments which attracted and +held her attention. Presently, <i>inter alia</i>, he said:</p> +<p>“That’s a dangerous game Caswall is up to. It seems +to me that that young man—though he doesn’t appear to know +it—is riding for a fall!”</p> +<p>“How, dear? I don’t understand.”</p> +<p>“Kite flying on a night like this from a place like the tower +of Castra Regis is, to say the least of it, dangerous. It is not +merely courting death or other accident from lightning, but it is bringing +the lightning into where he lives. Every cloud that is blowing +up here—and they all make for the highest point—is bound +to develop into a flash of lightning. That kite is up in the air +and is bound to attract the lightning. Its cord makes a road for +it on which to travel to earth. When it does come, it will strike +the top of the tower with a weight a hundred times greater than a whole +park of artillery, and will knock Castra Regis into pieces. Where +it will go after that, no one can tell. If there should be any +metal by which it can travel, such will not only point the road, but +be the road itself.”</p> +<p>“Would it be dangerous to be out in the open air when such +a thing is taking place?” she asked.</p> +<p>“No, little woman. It would be the safest possible place—so +long as one was not in the line of the electric current.”</p> +<p>“Then, do let us go outside. I don’t want to run +into any foolish danger—or, far more, to ask you to do so. +But surely if the open is safest, that is the place for us.”</p> +<p>Without another word, she put on again the cloak she had thrown off, +and a small, tight-fitting cap. Adam too put on his cap, and, +after seeing that his revolver was all right, gave her his hand, and +they left the house together.</p> +<p>“I think the best thing we can do will be to go round all the +places which are mixed up in this affair.”</p> +<p>“All right, dear, I am ready. But, if you don’t +mind, we might go first to Mercy. I am anxious about grandfather, +and we might see that—as yet, at all events—nothing has +happened there.”</p> +<p>So they went on the high-hung road along the top of the Brow. +The wind here was of great force, and made a strange booming noise as +it swept high overhead; though not the sound of cracking and tearing +as it passed through the woods of high slender trees which grew on either +side of the road. Mimi could hardly keep her feet. She was +not afraid; but the force to which she was opposed gave her a good excuse +to hold on to her husband extra tight.</p> +<p>At Mercy there was no one up—at least, all the lights were +out. But to Mimi, accustomed to the nightly routine of the house, +there were manifest signs that all was well, except in the little room +on the first floor, where the blinds were down. Mimi could not +bear to look at that, to think of it. Adam understood her pain, +for he had been keenly interested in poor Lilla. He bent over +and kissed her, and then took her hand and held it hard. Thus +they passed on together, returning to the high road towards Castra Regis.</p> +<p>At the gate of Castra Regis they were extra careful. When drawing +near, Adam stumbled upon the wire that Lady Arabella had left trailing +on the ground.</p> +<p>Adam drew his breath at this, and spoke in a low, earnest whisper:</p> +<p>“I don’t want to frighten you, Mimi dear, but wherever +that wire is there is danger.”</p> +<p>“Danger! How?”</p> +<p>“That is the track where the lightning will go; at any moment, +even now whilst we are speaking and searching, a fearful force may be +loosed upon us. Run on, dear; you know the way to where the avenue +joins the highroad. If you see any sign of the wire, keep away +from it, for God’s sake. I shall join you at the gateway.”</p> +<p>“Are you going to follow that wire alone?”</p> +<p>“Yes, dear. One is sufficient for that work. I +shall not lose a moment till I am with you.”</p> +<p>“Adam, when I came with you into the open, my main wish was +that we should be together if anything serious happened. You wouldn’t +deny me that right, would you, dear?”</p> +<p>“No, dear, not that or any right. Thank God that my wife +has such a wish. Come; we will go together. We are in the +hands of God. If He wishes, we shall be together at the end, whenever +or wherever that may be.”</p> +<p>They picked up the trail of the wire on the steps and followed it +down the avenue, taking care not to touch it with their feet. +It was easy enough to follow, for the wire, if not bright, was self-coloured, +and showed clearly. They followed it out of the gateway and into +the avenue of Diana’s Grove.</p> +<p>Here a new gravity clouded Adam’s face, though Mimi saw no +cause for fresh concern. This was easily enough explained. +Adam knew of the explosive works in progress regarding the well-hole, +but the matter had been kept from his wife. As they stood near +the house, Adam asked Mimi to return to the road, ostensibly to watch +the course of the wire, telling her that there might be a branch wire +leading somewhere else. She was to search the undergrowth, and +if she found it, was to warn him by the Australian native “Coo-ee!”</p> +<p>Whilst they were standing together, there came a blinding flash of +lightning, which lit up for several seconds the whole area of earth +and sky. It was only the first note of the celestial prelude, +for it was followed in quick succession by numerous flashes, whilst +the crash and roll of thunder seemed continuous.</p> +<p>Adam, appalled, drew his wife to him and held her close. As +far as he could estimate by the interval between lightning and thunder-clap, +the heart of the storm was still some distance off, so he felt no present +concern for their safety. Still, it was apparent that the course +of the storm was moving swiftly in their direction. The lightning +flashes came faster and faster and closer together; the thunder-roll +was almost continuous, not stopping for a moment—a new crash beginning +before the old one had ceased. Adam kept looking up in the direction +where the kite strained and struggled at its detaining cord, but, of +course, the dull evening light prevented any distinct scrutiny.</p> +<p>At length there came a flash so appallingly bright that in its glare +Nature seemed to be standing still. So long did it last, that +there was time to distinguish its configuration. It seemed like +a mighty tree inverted, pendent from the sky. The whole country +around within the angle of vision was lit up till it seemed to glow. +Then a broad ribbon of fire seemed to drop on to the tower of Castra +Regis just as the thunder crashed. By the glare, Adam could see +the tower shake and tremble, and finally fall to pieces like a house +of cards. The passing of the lightning left the sky again dark, +but a blue flame fell downward from the tower, and, with inconceivable +rapidity, running along the ground in the direction of Diana’s +Grove, reached the dark silent house, which in the instant burst into +flame at a hundred different points.</p> +<p>At the same moment there rose from the house a rending, crashing +sound of woodwork, broken or thrown about, mixed with a quick scream +so appalling that Adam, stout of heart as he undoubtedly was, felt his +blood turn into ice. Instinctively, despite the danger and their +consciousness of it, husband and wife took hands and listened, trembling. +Something was going on close to them, mysterious, terrible, deadly! +The shrieks continued, though less sharp in sound, as though muffled. +In the midst of them was a terrific explosion, seemingly from deep in +the earth.</p> +<p>The flames from Castra Regis and from Diana’s Grove made all +around almost as light as day, and now that the lightning had ceased +to flash, their eyes, unblinded, were able to judge both perspective +and detail. The heat of the burning house caused the iron doors +to warp and collapse. Seemingly of their own accord, they fell +open, and exposed the interior. The Saltons could now look through +to the room beyond, where the well-hole yawned, a deep narrow circular +chasm. From this the agonised shrieks were rising, growing ever +more terrible with each second that passed.</p> +<p>But it was not only the heart-rending sound that almost paralysed +poor Mimi with terror. What she saw was sufficient to fill her +with evil dreams for the remainder of her life. The whole place +looked as if a sea of blood had been beating against it. Each +of the explosions from below had thrown out from the well-hole, as if +it had been the mouth of a cannon, a mass of fine sand mixed with blood, +and a horrible repulsive slime in which were great red masses of rent +and torn flesh and fat. As the explosions kept on, more and more +of this repulsive mass was shot up, the great bulk of it falling back +again. Many of the awful fragments were of something which had +lately been alive. They quivered and trembled and writhed as though +they were still in torment, a supposition to which the unending scream +gave a horrible credence. At moments some mountainous mass of +flesh surged up through the narrow orifice, as though forced by a measureless +power through an opening infinitely smaller than itself. Some +of these fragments were partially covered with white skin as of a human +being, and others—the largest and most numerous—with scaled +skin as of a gigantic lizard or serpent. Once, in a sort of lull +or pause, the seething contents of the hole rose, after the manner of +a bubbling spring, and Adam saw part of the thin form of Lady Arabella, +forced up to the top amid a mass of blood and slime, and what looked +as if it had been the entrails of a monster torn into shreds. +Several times some masses of enormous bulk were forced up through the +well-hole with inconceivable violence, and, suddenly expanding as they +came into larger space, disclosed sections of the White Worm which Adam +and Sir Nathaniel had seen looking over the trees with its enormous +eyes of emerald-green flickering like great lamps in a gale.</p> +<p>At last the explosive power, which was not yet exhausted, evidently +reached the main store of dynamite which had been lowered into the worm +hole. The result was appalling. The ground for far around +quivered and opened in long deep chasms, whose edges shook and fell +in, throwing up clouds of sand which fell back and hissed amongst the +rising water. The heavily built house shook to its foundations. +Great stones were thrown up as from a volcano, some of them, great masses +of hard stone, squared and grooved with implements wrought by human +hands, breaking up and splitting in mid air as though riven by some +infernal power. Trees near the house—and therefore presumably +in some way above the hole, which sent up clouds of dust and steam and +fine sand mingled, and which carried an appalling stench which sickened +the spectators—were torn up by the roots and hurled into the air. +By now, flames were bursting violently from all over the ruins, so dangerously +that Adam caught up his wife in his arms, and ran with her from the +proximity of the flames.</p> +<p>Then almost as quickly as it had begun, the whole cataclysm ceased, +though a deep-down rumbling continued intermittently for some time. +Then silence brooded over all—silence so complete that it seemed +in itself a sentient thing—silence which seemed like incarnate +darkness, and conveyed the same idea to all who came within its radius. +To the young people who had suffered the long horror of that awful night, +it brought relief—relief from the presence or the fear of all +that was horrible—relief which seemed perfected when the red rays +of sunrise shot up over the far eastern sea, bringing a promise of a +new order of things with the coming day.</p> +<p>* * * * *</p> +<p>His bed saw little of Adam Salton for the remainder of that night. +He and Mimi walked hand in hand in the brightening dawn round by the +Brow to Castra Regis and on to Lesser Hill. They did so deliberately, +in an attempt to think as little as possible of the terrible experiences +of the night. The morning was bright and cheerful, as a morning +sometimes is after a devastating storm. The clouds, of which there +were plenty in evidence, brought no lingering idea of gloom. All +nature was bright and joyous, being in striking contrast to the scenes +of wreck and devastation, the effects of obliterating fire and lasting +ruin.</p> +<p>The only evidence of the once stately pile of Castra Regis and its +inhabitants was a shapeless huddle of shattered architecture, dimly +seen as the keen breeze swept aside the cloud of acrid smoke which marked +the site of the once lordly castle. As for Diana’s Grove, +they looked in vain for a sign which had a suggestion of permanence. +The oak trees of the Grove were still to be seen—some of them—emerging +from a haze of smoke, the great trunks solid and erect as ever, but +the larger branches broken and twisted and rent, with bark stripped +and chipped, and the smaller branches broken and dishevelled looking +from the constant stress and threshing of the storm.</p> +<p>Of the house as such, there was, even at the short distance from +which they looked, no trace. Adam resolutely turned his back on +the devastation and hurried on. Mimi was not only upset and shocked +in many ways, but she was physically “dog tired,” and falling +asleep on her feet. Adam took her to her room and made her undress +and get into bed, taking care that the room was well lighted both by +sunshine and lamps. The only obstruction was from a silk curtain, +drawn across the window to keep out the glare. He sat beside her, +holding her hand, well knowing that the comfort of his presence was +the best restorative for her. He stayed with her till sleep had +overmastered her wearied body. Then he went softly away. +He found his uncle and Sir Nathaniel in the study, having an early cup +of tea, amplified to the dimensions of a possible breakfast. Adam +explained that he had not told his wife that he was going over the horrible +places again, lest it should frighten her, for the rest and sleep in +ignorance would help her and make a gap of peacefulness between the +horrors.</p> +<p>Sir Nathaniel agreed.</p> +<p>“We know, my boy,” he said, “that the unfortunate +Lady Arabella is dead, and that the foul carcase of the Worm has been +torn to pieces—pray God that its evil soul will never more escape +from the nethermost hell.”</p> +<p>They visited Diana’s Grove first, not only because it was nearer, +but also because it was the place where most description was required, +and Adam felt that he could tell his story best on the spot. The +absolute destruction of the place and everything in it seen in the broad +daylight was almost inconceivable. To Sir Nathaniel, it was as +a story of horror full and complete. But to Adam it was, as it +were, only on the fringes. He knew what was still to be seen when +his friends had got over the knowledge of externals. As yet, they +had only seen the outside of the house—or rather, where the outside +of the house once had been. The great horror lay within. +However, age—and the experience of age—counts.</p> +<p>A strange, almost elemental, change in the aspect had taken place +in the time which had elapsed since the dawn. It would almost +seem as if Nature herself had tried to obliterate the evil signs of +what had occurred. True, the utter ruin of the house was made +even more manifest in the searching daylight; but the more appalling +destruction which lay beneath was not visible. The rent, torn, +and dislocated stonework looked worse than before; the upheaved foundations, +the piled-up fragments of masonry, the fissures in the torn earth—all +were at the worst. The Worm’s hole was still evident, a +round fissure seemingly leading down into the very bowels of the earth. +But all the horrid mass of blood and slime, of torn, evil-smelling flesh +and the sickening remnants of violent death, were gone. Either +some of the later explosions had thrown up from the deep quantities +of water which, though foul and corrupt itself, had still some cleansing +power left, or else the writhing mass which stirred from far below had +helped to drag down and obliterate the items of horror. A grey +dust, partly of fine sand, partly of the waste of the falling ruin, +covered everything, and, though ghastly itself, helped to mask something +still worse.</p> +<p>After a few minutes of watching, it became apparent to the three +men that the turmoil far below had not yet ceased. At short irregular +intervals the hell-broth in the hole seemed as if boiling up. +It rose and fell again and turned over, showing in fresh form much of +the nauseous detail which had been visible earlier. The worst +parts were the great masses of the flesh of the monstrous Worm, in all +its red and sickening aspect. Such fragments had been bad enough +before, but now they were infinitely worse. Corruption comes with +startling rapidity to beings whose destruction has been due wholly or +in part to lightning—the whole mass seemed to have become all +at once corrupt! The whole surface of the fragments, once alive, +was covered with insects, worms, and vermin of all kinds. The +sight was horrible enough, but, with the awful smell added, was simply +unbearable. The Worm’s hole appeared to breathe forth death +in its most repulsive forms. The friends, with one impulse, moved +to the top of the Brow, where a fresh breeze from the sea was blowing +up.</p> +<p>At the top of the Brow, beneath them as they looked down, they saw +a shining mass of white, which looked strangely out of place amongst +such wreckage as they had been viewing. It appeared so strange +that Adam suggested trying to find a way down, so that they might see +it more closely.</p> +<p>“We need not go down; I know what it is,” Sir Nathaniel +said. “The explosions of last night have blown off the outside +of the cliffs—that which we see is the vast bed of china clay +through which the Worm originally found its way down to its lair. +I can catch the glint of the water of the deep quags far down below. +Well, her ladyship didn’t deserve such a funeral—or such +a monument.”</p> +<p>* * * * *</p> +<p>The horrors of the last few hours had played such havoc with Mimi’s +nerves, that a change of scene was imperative—if a permanent breakdown +was to be avoided.</p> +<p>“I think,” said old Mr. Salton, “it is quite time +you young people departed for that honeymoon of yours!” +There was a twinkle in his eye as he spoke.</p> +<p>Mimi’s soft shy glance at her stalwart husband, was sufficient +answer.</p> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM***</p> +<pre> + + +***** This file should be named 1188-h.htm or 1188-h.zip****** + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/1/8/1188 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Lair of the White Worm + + +Author: Bram Stoker + +Release Date: March 27, 2005 [eBook #1188] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM*** + + + + + +Transcribed form the 1911 W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd. edition by David Price, +email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk + + + + + +THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM + + +To my friend Bertha Nicoll with affectionate esteem. + + + + +CHAPTER I--ADAM SALTON ARRIVES + + +Adam Salton sauntered into the Empire Club, Sydney, and found awaiting +him a letter from his grand-uncle. He had first heard from the old +gentleman less than a year before, when Richard Salton had claimed +kinship, stating that he had been unable to write earlier, as he had +found it very difficult to trace his grand-nephew's address. Adam was +delighted and replied cordially; he had often heard his father speak of +the older branch of the family with whom his people had long lost touch. +Some interesting correspondence had ensued. Adam eagerly opened the +letter which had only just arrived, and conveyed a cordial invitation to +stop with his grand-uncle at Lesser Hill, for as long a time as he could +spare. + +"Indeed," Richard Salton went on, "I am in hopes that you will make your +permanent home here. You see, my dear boy, you and I are all that remain +of our race, and it is but fitting that you should succeed me when the +time comes. In this year of grace, 1860, I am close on eighty years of +age, and though we have been a long-lived race, the span of life cannot +be prolonged beyond reasonable bounds. I am prepared to like you, and to +make your home with me as happy as you could wish. So do come at once on +receipt of this, and find the welcome I am waiting to give you. I send, +in case such may make matters easy for you, a banker's draft for 200 +pounds. Come soon, so that we may both of us enjoy many happy days +together. If you are able to give me the pleasure of seeing you, send me +as soon as you can a letter telling me when to expect you. Then when you +arrive at Plymouth or Southampton or whatever port you are bound for, +wait on board, and I will meet you at the earliest hour possible." + +* * * * * + +Old Mr. Salton was delighted when Adam's reply arrived and sent a groom +hot-foot to his crony, Sir Nathaniel de Salis, to inform him that his +grand-nephew was due at Southampton on the twelfth of June. + +Mr. Salton gave instructions to have ready a carriage early on the +important day, to start for Stafford, where he would catch the 11.40 a.m. +train. He would stay that night with his grand-nephew, either on the +ship, which would be a new experience for him, or, if his guest should +prefer it, at a hotel. In either case they would start in the early +morning for home. He had given instructions to his bailiff to send the +postillion carriage on to Southampton, to be ready for their journey +home, and to arrange for relays of his own horses to be sent on at once. +He intended that his grand-nephew, who had been all his life in +Australia, should see something of rural England on the drive. He had +plenty of young horses of his own breeding and breaking, and could depend +on a journey memorable to the young man. The luggage would be sent on by +rail to Stafford, where one of his carts would meet it. Mr. Salton, +during the journey to Southampton, often wondered if his grand-nephew was +as much excited as he was at the idea of meeting so near a relation for +the first time; and it was with an effort that he controlled himself. The +endless railway lines and switches round the Southampton Docks fired his +anxiety afresh. + +As the train drew up on the dockside, he was getting his hand traps +together, when the carriage door was wrenched open and a young man jumped +in. + +"How are you, uncle? I recognised you from the photo you sent me! I +wanted to meet you as soon as I could, but everything is so strange to me +that I didn't quite know what to do. However, here I am. I am glad to +see you, sir. I have been dreaming of this happiness for thousands of +miles; now I find that the reality beats all the dreaming!" As he spoke +the old man and the young one were heartily wringing each other's hands. + +The meeting so auspiciously begun proceeded well. Adam, seeing that the +old man was interested in the novelty of the ship, suggested that he +should stay the night on board, and that he would himself be ready to +start at any hour and go anywhere that the other suggested. This +affectionate willingness to fall in with his own plans quite won the old +man's heart. He warmly accepted the invitation, and at once they became +not only on terms of affectionate relationship, but almost like old +friends. The heart of the old man, which had been empty for so long, +found a new delight. The young man found, on landing in the old country, +a welcome and a surrounding in full harmony with all his dreams +throughout his wanderings and solitude, and the promise of a fresh and +adventurous life. It was not long before the old man accepted him to +full relationship by calling him by his Christian name. After a long +talk on affairs of interest, they retired to the cabin, which the elder +was to share. Richard Salton put his hands affectionately on the boy's +shoulders--though Adam was in his twenty-seventh year, he was a boy, and +always would be, to his grand-uncle. + +"I am so glad to find you as you are, my dear boy--just such a young man +as I had always hoped for as a son, in the days when I still had such +hopes. However, that is all past. But thank God there is a new life to +begin for both of us. To you must be the larger part--but there is still +time for some of it to be shared in common. I have waited till we should +have seen each other to enter upon the subject; for I thought it better +not to tie up your young life to my old one till we should have +sufficient personal knowledge to justify such a venture. Now I can, so +far as I am concerned, enter into it freely, since from the moment my +eyes rested on you I saw my son--as he shall be, God willing--if he +chooses such a course himself." + +"Indeed I do, sir--with all my heart!" + +"Thank you, Adam, for that." The old, man's eyes filled and his voice +trembled. Then, after a long silence between them, he went on: "When I +heard you were coming I made my will. It was well that your interests +should be protected from that moment on. Here is the deed--keep it, +Adam. All I have shall belong to you; and if love and good wishes, or +the memory of them, can make life sweeter, yours shall be a happy one. +Now, my dear boy, let us turn in. We start early in the morning and have +a long drive before us. I hope you don't mind driving? I was going to +have the old travelling carriage in which my grandfather, your +great-grand-uncle, went to Court when William IV. was king. It is all +right--they built well in those days--and it has been kept in perfect +order. But I think I have done better: I have sent the carriage in which +I travel myself. The horses are of my own breeding, and relays of them +shall take us all the way. I hope you like horses? They have long been +one of my greatest interests in life." + +"I love them, sir, and I am happy to say I have many of my own. My +father gave me a horse farm for myself when I was eighteen. I devoted +myself to it, and it has gone on. Before I came away, my steward gave me +a memorandum that we have in my own place more than a thousand, nearly +all good." + +"I am glad, my boy. Another link between us." + +"Just fancy what a delight it will be, sir, to see so much of England--and +with you!" + +"Thank you again, my boy. I will tell you all about your future home and +its surroundings as we go. We shall travel in old-fashioned state, I +tell you. My grandfather always drove four-in-hand; and so shall we." + +"Oh, thanks, sir, thanks. May I take the ribbons sometimes?" + +"Whenever you choose, Adam. The team is your own. Every horse we use to- +day is to be your own." + +"You are too generous, uncle!" + +"Not at all. Only an old man's selfish pleasure. It is not every day +that an heir to the old home comes back. And--oh, by the way . . . No, +we had better turn in now--I shall tell you the rest in the morning." + + + + +CHAPTER II--THE CASWALLS OF CASTRA REGIS + + +Mr. Salton had all his life been an early riser, and necessarily an early +waker. But early as he woke on the next morning--and although there was +an excuse for not prolonging sleep in the constant whirr and rattle of +the "donkey" engine winches of the great ship--he met the eyes of Adam +fixed on him from his berth. His grand-nephew had given him the sofa, +occupying the lower berth himself. The old man, despite his great +strength and normal activity, was somewhat tired by his long journey of +the day before, and the prolonged and exciting interview which followed +it. So he was glad to lie still and rest his body, whilst his mind was +actively exercised in taking in all he could of his strange surroundings. +Adam, too, after the pastoral habit to which he had been bred, woke with +the dawn, and was ready to enter on the experiences of the new day +whenever it might suit his elder companion. It was little wonder, then, +that, so soon as each realised the other's readiness, they simultaneously +jumped up and began to dress. The steward had by previous instructions +early breakfast prepared, and it was not long before they went down the +gangway on shore in search of the carriage. + +They found Mr. Salton's bailiff looking out for them on the dock, and he +brought them at once to where the carriage was waiting in the street. +Richard Salton pointed out with pride to his young companion the +suitability of the vehicle for every need of travel. To it were +harnessed four useful horses, with a postillion to each pair. + +"See," said the old man proudly, "how it has all the luxuries of useful +travel--silence and isolation as well as speed. There is nothing to +obstruct the view of those travelling and no one to overhear what they +may say. I have used that trap for a quarter of a century, and I never +saw one more suitable for travel. You shall test it shortly. We are +going to drive through the heart of England; and as we go I'll tell you +what I was speaking of last night. Our route is to be by Salisbury, +Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham, Worcester, Stafford; and so home." + +Adam remained silent a few minutes, during which he seemed all eyes, for +he perpetually ranged the whole circle of the horizon. + +"Has our journey to-day, sir," he asked, "any special relation to what +you said last night that you wanted to tell me?" + +"Not directly; but indirectly, everything." + +"Won't you tell me now--I see we cannot be overheard--and if anything +strikes you as we go along, just run it in. I shall understand." + +So old Salton spoke: + +"To begin at the beginning, Adam. That lecture of yours on 'The Romans +in Britain,' a report of which you posted to me, set me thinking--in +addition to telling me your tastes. I wrote to you at once and asked you +to come home, for it struck me that if you were fond of historical +research--as seemed a fact--this was exactly the place for you, in +addition to its being the home of your own forbears. If you could learn +so much of the British Romans so far away in New South Wales, where there +cannot be even a tradition of them, what might you not make of the same +amount of study on the very spot. Where we are going is in the real +heart of the old kingdom of Mercia, where there are traces of all the +various nationalities which made up the conglomerate which became +Britain." + +"I rather gathered that you had some more definite--more personal reason +for my hurrying. After all, history can keep--except in the making!" + +"Quite right, my boy. I had a reason such as you very wisely guessed. I +was anxious for you to be here when a rather important phase of our local +history occurred." + +"What is that, if I may ask, sir?" + +"Certainly. The principal landowner of our part of the county is on his +way home, and there will be a great home-coming, which you may care to +see. The fact is, for more than a century the various owners in the +succession here, with the exception of a short time, have lived abroad." + +"How is that, sir, if I may ask?" + +"The great house and estate in our part of the world is Castra Regis, the +family seat of the Caswall family. The last owner who lived here was +Edgar Caswall, grandfather of the man who is coming here--and he was the +only one who stayed even a short time. This man's grandfather, also +named Edgar--they keep the tradition of the family Christian +name--quarrelled with his family and went to live abroad, not keeping up +any intercourse, good or bad, with his relatives, although this +particular Edgar, as I told you, did visit his family estate, yet his son +was born and lived and died abroad, while his grandson, the latest +inheritor, was also born and lived abroad till he was over thirty--his +present age. This was the second line of absentees. The great estate of +Castra Regis has had no knowledge of its owner for five +generations--covering more than a hundred and twenty years. It has been +well administered, however, and no tenant or other connected with it has +had anything of which to complain. All the same, there has been much +natural anxiety to see the new owner, and we are all excited about the +event of his coming. Even I am, though I own my own estate, which, +though adjacent, is quite apart from Castra Regis.--Here we are now in +new ground for you. That is the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, and when +we leave that we shall be getting close to the old Roman county, and you +will naturally want your eyes. So we shall shortly have to keep our +minds on old Mercia. However, you need not be disappointed. My old +friend, Sir Nathaniel de Salis, who, like myself, is a free-holder near +Castra Regis--his estate, Doom Tower, is over the border of Derbyshire, +on the Peak--is coming to stay with me for the festivities to welcome +Edgar Caswall. He is just the sort of man you will like. He is devoted +to history, and is President of the Mercian Archaeological Society. He +knows more of our own part of the country, with its history and its +people, than anyone else. I expect he will have arrived before us, and +we three can have a long chat after dinner. He is also our local +geologist and natural historian. So you and he will have many interests +in common. Amongst other things he has a special knowledge of the Peak +and its caverns, and knows all the old legends of prehistoric times." + +They spent the night at Cheltenham, and on the following morning resumed +their journey to Stafford. Adam's eyes were in constant employment, and +it was not till Salton declared that they had now entered on the last +stage of their journey, that he referred to Sir Nathaniel's coming. + +As the dusk was closing down, they drove on to Lesser Hill, Mr. Salton's +house. It was now too dark to see any details of their surroundings. +Adam could just see that it was on the top of a hill, not quite so high +as that which was covered by the Castle, on whose tower flew the flag, +and which was all ablaze with moving lights, manifestly used in the +preparations for the festivities on the morrow. So Adam deferred his +curiosity till daylight. His grand-uncle was met at the door by a fine +old man, who greeted him warmly. + +"I came over early as you wished. I suppose this is your grand-nephew--I +am glad to meet you, Mr. Adam Salton. I am Nathaniel de Salis, and your +uncle is one of my oldest friends." + +Adam, from the moment of their eyes meeting, felt as if they were already +friends. The meeting was a new note of welcome to those that had already +sounded in his ears. + +The cordiality with which Sir Nathaniel and Adam met, made the imparting +of information easy. Sir Nathaniel was a clever man of the world, who +had travelled much, and within a certain area studied deeply. He was a +brilliant conversationalist, as was to be expected from a successful +diplomatist, even under unstimulating conditions. But he had been +touched and to a certain extent fired by the younger man's evident +admiration and willingness to learn from him. Accordingly the +conversation, which began on the most friendly basis, soon warmed to an +interest above proof, as the old man spoke of it next day to Richard +Salton. He knew already that his old friend wanted his grand-nephew to +learn all he could of the subject in hand, and so had during his journey +from the Peak put his thoughts in sequence for narration and explanation. +Accordingly, Adam had only to listen and he must learn much that he +wanted to know. When dinner was over and the servants had withdrawn, +leaving the three men at their wine, Sir Nathaniel began. + +"I gather from your uncle--by the way, I suppose we had better speak of +you as uncle and nephew, instead of going into exact relationship? In +fact, your uncle is so old and dear a friend, that, with your permission, +I shall drop formality with you altogether and speak of you and to you as +Adam, as though you were his son." + +"I should like," answered the young man, "nothing better!" + +The answer warmed the hearts of both the old men, but, with the usual +avoidance of Englishmen of emotional subjects personal to themselves, +they instinctively returned to the previous question. Sir Nathaniel took +the lead. + +"I understand, Adam, that your uncle has posted you regarding the +relationships of the Caswall family?" + +"Partly, sir; but I understood that I was to hear minuter details from +you--if you would be so good." + +"I shall be delighted to tell you anything so far as my knowledge goes. +Well, the first Caswall in our immediate record is an Edgar, head of the +family and owner of the estate, who came into his kingdom just about the +time that George III. did. He had one son of about twenty-four. There +was a violent quarrel between the two. No one of this generation has any +idea of the cause; but, considering the family characteristics, we may +take it for granted that though it was deep and violent, it was on the +surface trivial. + +"The result of the quarrel was that the son left the house without a +reconciliation or without even telling his father where he was going. He +never came back again. A few years after, he died, without having in the +meantime exchanged a word or a letter with his father. He married abroad +and left one son, who seems to have been brought up in ignorance of all +belonging to him. The gulf between them appears to have been +unbridgable; for in time this son married and in turn had a son, but +neither joy nor sorrow brought the sundered together. Under such +conditions no _rapprochement_ was to be looked for, and an utter +indifference, founded at best on ignorance, took the place of family +affection--even on community of interests. It was only due to the +watchfulness of the lawyers that the birth of this new heir was ever made +known. He actually spent a few months in the ancestral home. + +"After this the family interest merely rested on heirship of the estate. +As no other children have been born to any of the newer generations in +the intervening years, all hopes of heritage are now centred in the +grandson of this man. + +"Now, it will be well for you to bear in mind the prevailing +characteristics of this race. These were well preserved and unchanging; +one and all they are the same: cold, selfish, dominant, reckless of +consequences in pursuit of their own will. It was not that they did not +keep faith, though that was a matter which gave them little concern, but +that they took care to think beforehand of what they should do in order +to gain their own ends. If they should make a mistake, someone else +should bear the burthen of it. This was so perpetually recurrent that it +seemed to be a part of a fixed policy. It was no wonder that, whatever +changes took place, they were always ensured in their own possessions. +They were absolutely cold and hard by nature. Not one of them--so far as +we have any knowledge--was ever known to be touched by the softer +sentiments, to swerve from his purpose, or hold his hand in obedience to +the dictates of his heart. The pictures and effigies of them all show +their adherence to the early Roman type. Their eyes were full; their +hair, of raven blackness, grew thick and close and curly. Their figures +were massive and typical of strength. + +"The thick black hair, growing low down on the neck, told of vast +physical strength and endurance. But the most remarkable characteristic +is the eyes. Black, piercing, almost unendurable, they seem to contain +in themselves a remarkable will power which there is no gainsaying. It +is a power that is partly racial and partly individual: a power +impregnated with some mysterious quality, partly hypnotic, partly +mesmeric, which seems to take away from eyes that meet them all power of +resistance--nay, all power of wishing to resist. With eyes like those, +set in that all-commanding face, one would need to be strong indeed to +think of resisting the inflexible will that lay behind. + +"You may think, Adam, that all this is imagination on my part, especially +as I have never seen any of them. So it is, but imagination based on +deep study. I have made use of all I know or can surmise logically +regarding this strange race. With such strange compelling qualities, is +it any wonder that there is abroad an idea that in the race there is some +demoniac possession, which tends to a more definite belief that certain +individuals have in the past sold themselves to the Devil? + +"But I think we had better go to bed now. We have a lot to get through +to-morrow, and I want you to have your brain clear, and all your +susceptibilities fresh. Moreover, I want you to come with me for an +early walk, during which we may notice, whilst the matter is fresh in our +minds, the peculiar disposition of this place--not merely your +grand-uncle's estate, but the lie of the country around it. There are +many things on which we may seek--and perhaps find--enlightenment. The +more we know at the start, the more things which may come into our view +will develop themselves." + + + + +CHAPTER III--DIANA'S GROVE + + +Curiosity took Adam Salton out of bed in the early morning, but when he +had dressed and gone downstairs; he found that, early as he was, Sir +Nathaniel was ahead of him. The old gentleman was quite prepared for a +long walk, and they started at once. + +Sir Nathaniel, without speaking, led the way to the east, down the hill. +When they had descended and risen again, they found themselves on the +eastern brink of a steep hill. It was of lesser height than that on +which the Castle was situated; but it was so placed that it commanded the +various hills that crowned the ridge. All along the ridge the rock +cropped out, bare and bleak, but broken in rough natural castellation. +The form of the ridge was a segment of a circle, with the higher points +inland to the west. In the centre rose the Castle, on the highest point +of all. Between the various rocky excrescences were groups of trees of +various sizes and heights, amongst some of which were what, in the early +morning light, looked like ruins. These--whatever they were--were of +massive grey stone, probably limestone rudely cut--if indeed they were +not shaped naturally. The fall of the ground was steep all along the +ridge, so steep that here and there both trees and rocks and buildings +seemed to overhang the plain far below, through which ran many streams. + +Sir Nathaniel stopped and looked around, as though to lose nothing of the +effect. The sun had climbed the eastern sky and was making all details +clear. He pointed with a sweeping gesture, as though calling Adam's +attention to the extent of the view. Having done so, he covered the +ground more slowly, as though inviting attention to detail. Adam was a +willing and attentive pupil, and followed his motions exactly, missing--or +trying to miss--nothing. + +"I have brought you here, Adam, because it seems to me that this is the +spot on which to begin our investigations. You have now in front of you +almost the whole of the ancient kingdom of Mercia. In fact, we see the +whole of it except that furthest part, which is covered by the Welsh +Marches and those parts which are hidden from where we stand by the high +ground of the immediate west. We can see--theoretically--the whole of +the eastern bound of the kingdom, which ran south from the Humber to the +Wash. I want you to bear in mind the trend of the ground, for some time, +sooner or later, we shall do well to have it in our mind's eye when we +are considering the ancient traditions and superstitions, and are trying +to find the _rationale_ of them. Each legend, each superstition which we +receive, will help in the understanding and possible elucidation of the +others. And as all such have a local basis, we can come closer to the +truth--or the probability--by knowing the local conditions as we go +along. It will help us to bring to our aid such geological truth as we +may have between us. For instance, the building materials used in +various ages can afford their own lessons to understanding eyes. The +very heights and shapes and materials of these hills--nay, even of the +wide plain that lies between us and the sea--have in themselves the +materials of enlightening books." + +"For instance, sir?" said Adam, venturing a question. + +"Well, look at those hills which surround the main one where the site for +the Castle was wisely chosen--on the highest ground. Take the others. +There is something ostensible in each of them, and in all probability +something unseen and unproved, but to be imagined, also." + +"For instance?" continued Adam. + +"Let us take them _seriatim_. That to the east, where the trees are, +lower down--that was once the location of a Roman temple, possibly +founded on a pre-existing Druidical one. Its name implies the former, +and the grove of ancient oaks suggests the latter." + +"Please explain." + +"The old name translated means 'Diana's Grove.' Then the next one higher +than it, but just beyond it, is called '_Mercy_'--in all probability a +corruption or familiarisation of the word _Mercia_, with a Roman pun +included. We learn from early manuscripts that the place was called +_Vilula Misericordiae_. It was originally a nunnery, founded by Queen +Bertha, but done away with by King Penda, the reactionary to Paganism +after St. Augustine. Then comes your uncle's place--Lesser Hill. Though +it is so close to the Castle, it is not connected with it. It is a +freehold, and, so far as we know, of equal age. It has always belonged +to your family." + +"Then there only remains the Castle!" + +"That is all; but its history contains the histories of all the others--in +fact, the whole history of early England." Sir Nathaniel, seeing the +expectant look on Adam's face, went on: + +"The history of the Castle has no beginning so far as we know. The +furthest records or surmises or inferences simply accept it as existing. +Some of these--guesses, let us call them--seem to show that there was +some sort of structure there when the Romans came, therefore it must have +been a place of importance in Druid times--if indeed that was the +beginning. Naturally the Romans accepted it, as they did everything of +the kind that was, or might be, useful. The change is shown or inferred +in the name Castra. It was the highest protected ground, and so +naturally became the most important of their camps. A study of the map +will show you that it must have been a most important centre. It both +protected the advances already made to the north, and helped to dominate +the sea coast. It sheltered the western marches, beyond which lay savage +Wales--and danger. It provided a means of getting to the Severn, round +which lay the great Roman roads then coming into existence, and made +possible the great waterway to the heart of England--through the Severn +and its tributaries. It brought the east and the west together by the +swiftest and easiest ways known to those times. And, finally, it +provided means of descent on London and all the expanse of country +watered by the Thames. + +"With such a centre, already known and organised, we can easily see that +each fresh wave of invasion--the Angles, the Saxons, the Danes, and the +Normans--found it a desirable possession and so ensured its upholding. In +the earlier centuries it was merely a vantage ground. But when the +victorious Romans brought with them the heavy solid fortifications +impregnable to the weapons of the time, its commanding position alone +ensured its adequate building and equipment. Then it was that the +fortified camp of the Caesars developed into the castle of the king. As +we are as yet ignorant of the names of the first kings of Mercia, no +historian has been able to guess which of them made it his ultimate +defence; and I suppose we shall never know now. In process of time, as +the arts of war developed, it increased in size and strength, and +although recorded details are lacking, the history is written not merely +in the stone of its building, but is inferred in the changes of +structure. Then the sweeping changes which followed the Norman Conquest +wiped out all lesser records than its own. To-day we must accept it as +one of the earliest castles of the Conquest, probably not later than the +time of Henry I. Roman and Norman were both wise in their retention of +places of approved strength or utility. So it was that these surrounding +heights, already established and to a certain extent proved, were +retained. Indeed, such characteristics as already pertained to them were +preserved, and to-day afford to us lessons regarding things which have +themselves long since passed away. + +"So much for the fortified heights; but the hollows too have their own +story. But how the time passes! We must hurry home, or your uncle will +wonder what has become of us." + +He started with long steps towards Lesser Hill, and Adam was soon +furtively running in order to keep up with him. + + + + +CHAPTER IV--THE LADY ARABELLA MARCH + + +"Now, there is no hurry, but so soon as you are both ready we shall +start," Mr. Salton said when breakfast had begun. "I want to take you +first to see a remarkable relic of Mercia, and then we'll go to Liverpool +through what is called 'The Great Vale of Cheshire.' You may be +disappointed, but take care not to prepare your mind"--this to Adam--"for +anything stupendous or heroic. You would not think the place a vale at +all, unless you were told so beforehand, and had confidence in the +veracity of the teller. We should get to the Landing Stage in time to +meet the _West African_, and catch Mr. Caswall as he comes ashore. We +want to do him honour--and, besides, it will be more pleasant to have the +introductions over before we go to his _fete_ at the Castle." + +The carriage was ready, the same as had been used the previous day, but +there were different horses--magnificent animals, and keen for work. +Breakfast was soon over, and they shortly took their places. The +postillions had their orders, and were quickly on their way at an +exhilarating pace. + +Presently, in obedience to Mr. Salton's signal, the carriage drew up +opposite a great heap of stones by the wayside. + +"Here, Adam," he said, "is something that you of all men should not pass +by unnoticed. That heap of stones brings us at once to the dawn of the +Anglian kingdom. It was begun more than a thousand years ago--in the +latter part of the seventh century--in memory of a murder. Wulfere, King +of Mercia, nephew of Penda, here murdered his two sons for embracing +Christianity. As was the custom of the time, each passer-by added a +stone to the memorial heap. Penda represented heathen reaction after St. +Augustine's mission. Sir Nathaniel can tell you as much as you want +about this, and put you, if you wish, on the track of such accurate +knowledge as there is." + +Whilst they were looking at the heap of stones, they noticed that another +carriage had drawn up beside them, and the passenger--there was only +one--was regarding them curiously. The carriage was an old heavy +travelling one, with arms blazoned on it gorgeously. The men took off +their hats, as the occupant, a lady, addressed them. + +"How do you do, Sir Nathaniel? How do you do, Mr. Salton? I hope you +have not met with any accident. Look at me!" + +As she spoke she pointed to where one of the heavy springs was broken +across, the broken metal showing bright. Adam spoke up at once: + +"Oh, that can soon be put right." + +"Soon? There is no one near who can mend a break like that." + +"I can." + +"You!" She looked incredulously at the dapper young gentleman who spoke. +"You--why, it's a workman's job." + +"All right, I am a workman--though that is not the only sort of work I +do. I am an Australian, and, as we have to move about fast, we are all +trained to farriery and such mechanics as come into travel--I am quite at +your service." + +"I hardly know how to thank you for your kindness, of which I gladly +avail myself. I don't know what else I can do, as I wish to meet Mr. +Caswall of Castra Regis, who arrives home from Africa to-day. It is a +notable home-coming; all the countryside want to do him honour." She +looked at the old men and quickly made up her mind as to the identity of +the stranger. "You must be Mr. Adam Salton of Lesser Hill. I am Lady +Arabella March of Diana's Grove." As she spoke she turned slightly to +Mr. Salton, who took the hint and made a formal introduction. + +So soon as this was done, Adam took some tools from his uncle's carriage, +and at once began work on the broken spring. He was an expert workman, +and the breach was soon made good. Adam was gathering the tools which he +had been using--which, after the manner of all workmen, had been +scattered about--when he noticed that several black snakes had crawled +out from the heap of stones and were gathering round him. This naturally +occupied his mind, and he was not thinking of anything else when he +noticed Lady Arabella, who had opened the door of the carriage, slip from +it with a quick gliding motion. She was already among the snakes when he +called out to warn her. But there seemed to be no need of warning. The +snakes had turned and were wriggling back to the mound as quickly as they +could. He laughed to himself behind his teeth as he whispered, "No need +to fear there. They seem much more afraid of her than she of them." All +the same he began to beat on the ground with a stick which was lying +close to him, with the instinct of one used to such vermin. In an +instant he was alone beside the mound with Lady Arabella, who appeared +quite unconcerned at the incident. Then he took a long look at her, and +her dress alone was sufficient to attract attention. She was clad in +some kind of soft white stuff, which clung close to her form, showing to +the full every movement of her sinuous figure. She wore a close-fitting +cap of some fine fur of dazzling white. Coiled round her white throat +was a large necklace of emeralds, whose profusion of colour dazzled when +the sun shone on them. Her voice was peculiar, very low and sweet, and +so soft that the dominant note was of sibilation. Her hands, too, were +peculiar--long, flexible, white, with a strange movement as of waving +gently to and fro. + +She appeared quite at ease, and, after thanking Adam, said that if any of +his uncle's party were going to Liverpool she would be most happy to join +forces. + +"Whilst you are staying here, Mr. Salton, you must look on the grounds of +Diana's Grove as your own, so that you may come and go just as you do in +Lesser Hill. There are some fine views, and not a few natural +curiosities which are sure to interest you, if you are a student of +natural history--specially of an earlier kind, when the world was +younger." + +The heartiness with which she spoke, and the warmth of her words--not of +her manner, which was cold and distant--made him suspicious. In the +meantime both his uncle and Sir Nathaniel had thanked her for the +invitation--of which, however, they said they were unable to avail +themselves. Adam had a suspicion that, though she answered regretfully, +she was in reality relieved. When he had got into the carriage with the +two old men, and they had driven off, he was not surprised when Sir +Nathaniel spoke. + +"I could not but feel that she was glad to be rid of us. She can play +her game better alone!" + +"What is her game?" asked Adam unthinkingly. + +"All the county knows it, my boy. Caswall is a very rich man. Her +husband was rich when she married him--or seemed to be. When he +committed suicide, it was found that he had nothing left, and the estate +was mortgaged up to the hilt. Her only hope is in a rich marriage. I +suppose I need not draw any conclusion; you can do that as well as I +can." + +Adam remained silent nearly all the time they were travelling through the +alleged Vale of Cheshire. He thought much during that journey and came +to several conclusions, though his lips were unmoved. One of these +conclusions was that he would be very careful about paying any attention +to Lady Arabella. He was himself a rich man, how rich not even his uncle +had the least idea, and would have been surprised had he known. + +The remainder of the journey was uneventful, and upon arrival at +Liverpool they went aboard the _West African_, which had just come to the +landing-stage. There his uncle introduced himself to Mr. Caswall, and +followed this up by introducing Sir Nathaniel and then Adam. The new- +comer received them graciously, and said what a pleasure it was to be +coming home after so long an absence of his family from their old seat. +Adam was pleased at the warmth of the reception; but he could not avoid a +feeling of repugnance at the man's face. He was trying hard to overcome +this when a diversion was caused by the arrival of Lady Arabella. The +diversion was welcome to all; the two Saltons and Sir Nathaniel were +shocked at Caswall's face--so hard, so ruthless, so selfish, so dominant. +"God help any," was the common thought, "who is under the domination of +such a man!" + +Presently his African servant approached him, and at once their thoughts +changed to a larger toleration. Caswall looked indeed a savage--but a +cultured savage. In him were traces of the softening civilisation of +ages--of some of the higher instincts and education of man, no matter how +rudimentary these might be. But the face of Oolanga, as his master +called him, was unreformed, unsoftened savage, and inherent in it were +all the hideous possibilities of a lost, devil-ridden child of the forest +and the swamp--the lowest of all created things that could be regarded as +in some form ostensibly human. Lady Arabella and Oolanga arrived almost +simultaneously, and Adam was surprised to notice what effect their +appearance had on each other. The woman seemed as if she would not--could +not--condescend to exhibit any concern or interest in such a creature. On +the other hand, the negro's bearing was such as in itself to justify her +pride. He treated her not merely as a slave treats his master, but as a +worshipper would treat a deity. He knelt before her with his hands out- +stretched and his forehead in the dust. So long as she remained he did +not move; it was only when she went over to Caswall that he relaxed his +attitude of devotion and stood by respectfully. + +Adam spoke to his own man, Davenport, who was standing by, having arrived +with the bailiff of Lesser Hill, who had followed Mr. Salton in a pony +trap. As he spoke, he pointed to an attentive ship's steward, and +presently the two men were conversing. + +"I think we ought to be moving," Mr. Salton said to Adam. "I have some +things to do in Liverpool, and I am sure that both Mr. Caswall and Lady +Arabella would like to get under weigh for Castra Regis." + +"I too, sir, would like to do something," replied Adam. "I want to find +out where Ross, the animal merchant, lives--I want to take a small animal +home with me, if you don't mind. He is only a little thing, and will be +no trouble." + +"Of course not, my boy. What kind of animal is it that you want?" + +"A mongoose." + +"A mongoose! What on earth do you want it for?" + +"To kill snakes." + +"Good!" The old man remembered the mound of stones. No explanation was +needed. + +When Ross heard what was wanted, he asked: + +"Do you want something special, or will an ordinary mongoose do?" + +"Well, of course I want a good one. But I see no need for anything +special. It is for ordinary use." + +"I can let you have a choice of ordinary ones. I only asked, because I +have in stock a very special one which I got lately from Nepaul. He has +a record of his own. He killed a king cobra that had been seen in the +Rajah's garden. But I don't suppose we have any snakes of the kind in +this cold climate--I daresay an ordinary one will do." + +When Adam got back to the carriage, carefully carrying the box with the +mongoose, Sir Nathaniel said: "Hullo! what have you got there?" + +"A mongoose." + +"What for?" + +"To kill snakes!" + +Sir Nathaniel laughed. + +"I heard Lady Arabella's invitation to you to come to Diana's Grove." + +"Well, what on earth has that got to do with it?" + +"Nothing directly that I know of. But we shall see." Adam waited, and +the old man went on: "Have you by any chance heard the other name which +was given long ago to that place." + +"No, sir." + +"It was called--Look here, this subject wants a lot of talking over. +Suppose we wait till we are alone and have lots of time before us." + +"All right, sir." Adam was filled with curiosity, but he thought it +better not to hurry matters. All would come in good time. Then the +three men returned home, leaving Mr. Caswall to spend the night in +Liverpool. + +The following day the Lesser Hill party set out for Castra Regis, and for +the time Adam thought no more of Diana's Grove or of what mysteries it +had contained--or might still contain. + +The guests were crowding in, and special places were marked for important +people. Adam, seeing so many persons of varied degree, looked round for +Lady Arabella, but could not locate her. It was only when he saw the old- +fashioned travelling carriage approach and heard the sound of cheering +which went with it, that he realised that Edgar Caswall had arrived. +Then, on looking more closely, he saw that Lady Arabella, dressed as he +had seen her last, was seated beside him. When the carriage drew up at +the great flight of steps, the host jumped down and gave her his hand. + +It was evident to all that she was the chief guest at the festivities. It +was not long before the seats on the dais were filled, while the tenants +and guests of lesser importance had occupied all the coigns of vantage +not reserved. The order of the day had been carefully arranged by a +committee. There were some speeches, happily neither many nor long; and +then festivities were suspended till the time for feasting arrived. In +the interval Caswall walked among his guests, speaking to all in a +friendly manner and expressing a general welcome. The other guests came +down from the dais and followed his example, so there was unceremonious +meeting and greeting between gentle and simple. + +Adam Salton naturally followed with his eyes all that went on within +their scope, taking note of all who seemed to afford any interest. He +was young and a man and a stranger from a far distance; so on all these +accounts he naturally took stock rather of the women than of the men, and +of these, those who were young and attractive. There were lots of pretty +girls among the crowd, and Adam, who was a handsome young man and well +set up, got his full share of admiring glances. These did not concern +him much, and he remained unmoved until there came along a group of +three, by their dress and bearing, of the farmer class. One was a sturdy +old man; the other two were good-looking girls, one of a little over +twenty, the other not quite so old. So soon as Adam's eyes met those of +the younger girl, who stood nearest to him, some sort of electricity +flashed--that divine spark which begins by recognition, and ends in +obedience. Men call it "Love." + +Both his companions noticed how much Adam was taken by the pretty girl, +and spoke of her to him in a way which made his heart warm to them. + +"Did you notice that party that passed? The old man is Michael Watford, +one of the tenants of Mr. Caswall. He occupies Mercy Farm, which Sir +Nathaniel pointed out to you to-day. The girls are his grand-daughters, +the elder, Lilla, being the only child of his elder son, who died when +she was less than a year old. His wife died on the same day. She is a +good girl--as good as she is pretty. The other is her first cousin, the +daughter of Watford's second son. He went for a soldier when he was just +over twenty, and was drafted abroad. He was not a good correspondent, +though he was a good enough son. A few letters came, and then his father +heard from the colonel of his regiment that he had been killed by dacoits +in Burmah. He heard from the same source that his boy had been married +to a Burmese, and that there was a daughter only a year old. Watford had +the child brought home, and she grew up beside Lilla. The only thing +that they heard of her birth was that her name was Mimi. The two +children adored each other, and do to this day. Strange how different +they are! Lilla all fair, like the old Saxon stock from which she is +sprung; Mimi showing a trace of her mother's race. Lilla is as gentle as +a dove, but Mimi's black eyes can glow whenever she is upset. The only +thing that upsets her is when anything happens to injure or threaten or +annoy Lilla. Then her eyes glow as do the eyes of a bird when her young +are menaced." + + + + +CHAPTER V--THE WHITE WORM + + +Mr. Salton introduced Adam to Mr. Watford and his grand-daughters, and +they all moved on together. Of course neighbours in the position of the +Watfords knew all about Adam Salton, his relationship, circumstances, and +prospects. So it would have been strange indeed if both girls did not +dream of possibilities of the future. In agricultural England, eligible +men of any class are rare. This particular man was specially eligible, +for he did not belong to a class in which barriers of caste were strong. +So when it began to be noticed that he walked beside Mimi Watford and +seemed to desire her society, all their friends endeavoured to give the +promising affair a helping hand. When the gongs sounded for the banquet, +he went with her into the tent where her grandfather had seats. Mr. +Salton and Sir Nathaniel noticed that the young man did not come to claim +his appointed place at the dais table; but they understood and made no +remark, or indeed did not seem to notice his absence. + +Lady Arabella sat as before at Edgar Caswall's right hand. She was +certainly a striking and unusual woman, and to all it seemed fitting from +her rank and personal qualities that she should be the chosen partner of +the heir on his first appearance. Of course nothing was said openly by +those of her own class who were present; but words were not necessary +when so much could be expressed by nods and smiles. It seemed to be an +accepted thing that at last there was to be a mistress of Castra Regis, +and that she was present amongst them. There were not lacking some who, +whilst admitting all her charm and beauty, placed her in the second rank, +Lilla Watford being marked as first. There was sufficient divergence of +type, as well as of individual beauty, to allow of fair comment; Lady +Arabella represented the aristocratic type, and Lilla that of the +commonalty. + +When the dusk began to thicken, Mr. Salton and Sir Nathaniel walked +home--the trap had been sent away early in the day--leaving Adam to +follow in his own time. He came in earlier than was expected, and seemed +upset about something. Neither of the elders made any comment. They all +lit cigarettes, and, as dinner-time was close at hand, went to their +rooms to get ready. + +Adam had evidently been thinking in the interval. He joined the others +in the drawing-room, looking ruffled and impatient--a condition of things +seen for the first time. The others, with the patience--or the +experience--of age, trusted to time to unfold and explain things. They +had not long to wait. After sitting down and standing up several times, +Adam suddenly burst out. + +"That fellow seems to think he owns the earth. Can't he let people +alone! He seems to think that he has only to throw his handkerchief to +any woman, and be her master." + +This outburst was in itself enlightening. Only thwarted affection in +some guise could produce this feeling in an amiable young man. Sir +Nathaniel, as an old diplomatist, had a way of understanding, as if by +foreknowledge, the true inwardness of things, and asked suddenly, but in +a matter-of-fact, indifferent voice: + +"Was he after Lilla?" + +"Yes, and the fellow didn't lose any time either. Almost as soon as they +met, he began to butter her up, and tell her how beautiful she was. Why, +before he left her side, he had asked himself to tea to-morrow at Mercy +Farm. Stupid ass! He might see that the girl isn't his sort! I never +saw anything like it. It was just like a hawk and a pigeon." + +As he spoke, Sir Nathaniel turned and looked at Mr. Salton--a keen look +which implied a full understanding. + +"Tell us all about it, Adam. There are still a few minutes before +dinner, and we shall all have better appetites when we have come to some +conclusion on this matter." + +"There is nothing to tell, sir; that is the worst of it. I am bound to +say that there was not a word said that a human being could object to. He +was very civil, and all that was proper--just what a landlord might be to +a tenant's daughter . . . Yet--yet--well, I don't know how it was, but it +made my blood boil." + +"How did the hawk and the pigeon come in?" Sir Nathaniel's voice was +soft and soothing, nothing of contradiction or overdone curiosity in it--a +tone eminently suited to win confidence. + +"I can hardly explain. I can only say that he looked like a hawk and she +like a dove--and, now that I think of it, that is what they each did look +like; and do look like in their normal condition." + +"That is so!" came the soft voice of Sir Nathaniel. + +Adam went on: + +"Perhaps that early Roman look of his set me off. But I wanted to +protect her; she seemed in danger." + +"She seems in danger, in a way, from all you young men. I couldn't help +noticing the way that even you looked--as if you wished to absorb her!" + +"I hope both you young men will keep your heads cool," put in Mr. Salton. +"You know, Adam, it won't do to have any quarrel between you, especially +so soon after his home-coming and your arrival here. We must think of +the feelings and happiness of our neighbours; mustn't we?" + +"I hope so, sir. I assure you that, whatever may happen, or even +threaten, I shall obey your wishes in this as in all things." + +"Hush!" whispered Sir Nathaniel, who heard the servants in the passage +bringing dinner. + +After dinner, over the walnuts and the wine, Sir Nathaniel returned to +the subject of the local legends. + +"It will perhaps be a less dangerous topic for us to discuss than more +recent ones." + +"All right, sir," said Adam heartily. "I think you may depend on me now +with regard to any topic. I can even discuss Mr. Caswall. Indeed, I may +meet him to-morrow. He is going, as I said, to call at Mercy Farm at +three o'clock--but I have an appointment at two." + +"I notice," said Mr. Salton, "that you do not lose any time." + +The two old men once more looked at each other steadily. Then, lest the +mood of his listener should change with delay, Sir Nathaniel began at +once: + +"I don't propose to tell you all the legends of Mercia, or even to make a +selection of them. It will be better, I think, for our purpose if we +consider a few facts--recorded or unrecorded--about this neighbourhood. I +think we might begin with Diana's Grove. It has roots in the different +epochs of our history, and each has its special crop of legend. The +Druid and the Roman are too far off for matters of detail; but it seems +to me the Saxon and the Angles are near enough to yield material for +legendary lore. We find that this particular place had another name +besides Diana's Grove. This was manifestly of Roman origin, or of +Grecian accepted as Roman. The other is more pregnant of adventure and +romance than the Roman name. In Mercian tongue it was 'The Lair of the +White Worm.' This needs a word of explanation at the beginning. + +"In the dawn of the language, the word 'worm' had a somewhat different +meaning from that in use to-day. It was an adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon +'wyrm,' meaning a dragon or snake; or from the Gothic 'waurms,' a +serpent; or the Icelandic 'ormur,' or the German 'wurm.' We gather that +it conveyed originally an idea of size and power, not as now in the +diminutive of both these meanings. Here legendary history helps us. We +have the well-known legend of the 'Worm Well' of Lambton Castle, and that +of the 'Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh' near Bamborough. In both these +legends the 'worm' was a monster of vast size and power--a veritable +dragon or serpent, such as legend attributes to vast fens or quags where +there was illimitable room for expansion. A glance at a geological map +will show that whatever truth there may have been of the actuality of +such monsters in the early geologic periods, at least there was plenty of +possibility. In England there were originally vast plains where the +plentiful supply of water could gather. The streams were deep and slow, +and there were holes of abysmal depth, where any kind and size of +antediluvian monster could find a habitat. In places, which now we can +see from our windows, were mud-holes a hundred or more feet deep. Who +can tell us when the age of the monsters which flourished in slime came +to an end? There must have been places and conditions which made for +greater longevity, greater size, greater strength than was usual. Such +over-lappings may have come down even to our earlier centuries. Nay, are +there not now creatures of a vastness of bulk regarded by the generality +of men as impossible? Even in our own day there are seen the traces of +animals, if not the animals themselves, of stupendous size--veritable +survivals from earlier ages, preserved by some special qualities in their +habitats. I remember meeting a distinguished man in India, who had the +reputation of being a great shikaree, who told me that the greatest +temptation he had ever had in his life was to shoot a giant snake which +he had come across in the Terai of Upper India. He was on a +tiger-shooting expedition, and as his elephant was crossing a nullah, it +squealed. He looked down from his howdah and saw that the elephant had +stepped across the body of a snake which was dragging itself through the +jungle. 'So far as I could see,' he said, 'it must have been eighty or +one hundred feet in length. Fully forty or fifty feet was on each side +of the track, and though the weight which it dragged had thinned it, it +was as thick round as a man's body. I suppose you know that when you are +after tiger, it is a point of honour not to shoot at anything else, as +life may depend on it. I could easily have spined this monster, but I +felt that I must not--so, with regret, I had to let it go.' + +"Just imagine such a monster anywhere in this country, and at once we +could get a sort of idea of the 'worms,' which possibly did frequent the +great morasses which spread round the mouths of many of the great +European rivers." + +"I haven't the least doubt, sir, that there may have been such monsters +as you have spoken of still existing at a much later period than is +generally accepted," replied Adam. "Also, if there were such things, +that this was the very place for them. I have tried to think over the +matter since you pointed out the configuration of the ground. But it +seems to me that there is a hiatus somewhere. Are there not mechanical +difficulties?" + +"In what way?" + +"Well, our antique monster must have been mighty heavy, and the distances +he had to travel were long and the ways difficult. From where we are now +sitting down to the level of the mud-holes is a distance of several +hundred feet--I am leaving out of consideration altogether any lateral +distance. Is it possible that there was a way by which a monster could +travel up and down, and yet no chance recorder have ever seen him? Of +course we have the legends; but is not some more exact evidence necessary +in a scientific investigation?" + +"My dear Adam, all you say is perfectly right, and, were we starting on +such an investigation, we could not do better than follow your reasoning. +But, my dear boy, you must remember that all this took place thousands of +years ago. You must remember, too, that all records of the kind that +would help us are lacking. Also, that the places to be considered were +desert, so far as human habitation or population are considered. In the +vast desolation of such a place as complied with the necessary +conditions, there must have been such profusion of natural growth as +would bar the progress of men formed as we are. The lair of such a +monster would not have been disturbed for hundreds--or thousands--of +years. Moreover, these creatures must have occupied places quite +inaccessible to man. A snake who could make himself comfortable in a +quagmire, a hundred feet deep, would be protected on the outskirts by +such stupendous morasses as now no longer exist, or which, if they exist +anywhere at all, can be on very few places on the earth's surface. Far +be it from me to say that in more elemental times such things could not +have been. The condition belongs to the geologic age--the great birth +and growth of the world, when natural forces ran riot, when the struggle +for existence was so savage that no vitality which was not founded in a +gigantic form could have even a possibility of survival. That such a +time existed, we have evidences in geology, but there only; we can never +expect proofs such as this age demands. We can only imagine or surmise +such things--or such conditions and such forces as overcame them." + + + + +CHAPTER VI--HAWK AND PIGEON + + +At breakfast-time next morning Sir Nathaniel and Mr. Salton were seated +when Adam came hurriedly into the room. + +"Any news?" asked his uncle mechanically. + +"Four." + +"Four what?" asked Sir Nathaniel. + +"Snakes," said Adam, helping himself to a grilled kidney. + +"Four snakes. I don't understand." + +"Mongoose," said Adam, and then added explanatorily: "I was out with the +mongoose just after three." + +"Four snakes in one morning! Why, I didn't know there were so many on +the Brow"--the local name for the western cliff. "I hope that wasn't the +consequence of our talk of last night?" + +"It was, sir. But not directly." + +"But, God bless my soul, you didn't expect to get a snake like the +Lambton worm, did you? Why, a mongoose, to tackle a monster like that--if +there were one--would have to be bigger than a haystack." + +"These were ordinary snakes, about as big as a walking-stick." + +"Well, it's pleasant to be rid of them, big or little. That is a good +mongoose, I am sure; he'll clear out all such vermin round here," said +Mr. Salton. + +Adam went quietly on with his breakfast. Killing a few snakes in a +morning was no new experience to him. He left the room the moment +breakfast was finished and went to the study that his uncle had arranged +for him. Both Sir Nathaniel and Mr. Salton took it that he wanted to be +by himself, so as to avoid any questioning or talk of the visit that he +was to make that afternoon. They saw nothing further of him till about +half-an-hour before dinner-time. Then he came quietly into the smoking- +room, where Mr. Salton and Sir Nathaniel were sitting together, ready +dressed. + +"I suppose there is no use waiting. We had better get it over at once," +remarked Adam. + +His uncle, thinking to make things easier for him, said: "Get what over?" + +There was a sign of shyness about him at this. He stammered a little at +first, but his voice became more even as he went on. + +"My visit to Mercy Farm." + +Mr. Salton waited eagerly. The old diplomatist simply smiled. + +"I suppose you both know that I was much interested yesterday in the +Watfords?" There was no denial or fending off the question. Both the +old men smiled acquiescence. Adam went on: "I meant you to see it--both +of you. You, uncle, because you are my uncle and the nearest of my own +kin, and, moreover, you couldn't have been more kind to me or made me +more welcome if you had been my own father." Mr. Salton said nothing. He +simply held out his hand, and the other took it and held it for a few +seconds. "And you, sir, because you have shown me something of the same +affection which in my wildest dreams of home I had no right to expect." +He stopped for an instant, much moved. + +Sir Nathaniel answered softly, laying his hand on the youth's shoulder. + +"You are right, my boy; quite right. That is the proper way to look at +it. And I may tell you that we old men, who have no children of our own, +feel our hearts growing warm when we hear words like those." + +Then Adam hurried on, speaking with a rush, as if he wanted to come to +the crucial point. + +"Mr. Watford had not come in, but Lilla and Mimi were at home, and they +made me feel very welcome. They have all a great regard for my uncle. I +am glad of that any way, for I like them all--much. We were having tea, +when Mr. Caswall came to the door, attended by the negro. Lilla opened +the door herself. The window of the living-room at the farm is a large +one, and from within you cannot help seeing anyone coming. Mr. Caswall +said he had ventured to call, as he wished to make the acquaintance of +all his tenants, in a less formal way, and more individually, than had +been possible to him on the previous day. The girls made him +welcome--they are very sweet girls those, sir; someone will be very happy +some day there--with either of them." + +"And that man may be you, Adam," said Mr. Salton heartily. + +A sad look came over the young man's eyes, and the fire his uncle had +seen there died out. Likewise the timbre left his voice, making it sound +lonely. + +"Such might crown my life. But that happiness, I fear, is not for me--or +not without pain and loss and woe." + +"Well, it's early days yet!" cried Sir Nathaniel heartily. + +The young man turned on him his eyes, which had now grown excessively +sad. + +"Yesterday--a few hours ago--that remark would have given me new hope--new +courage; but since then I have learned too much." + +The old man, skilled in the human heart, did not attempt to argue in such +a matter. + +"Too early to give in, my boy." + +"I am not of a giving-in kind," replied the young man earnestly. "But, +after all, it is wise to realise a truth. And when a man, though he is +young, feels as I do--as I have felt ever since yesterday, when I first +saw Mimi's eyes--his heart jumps. He does not need to learn things. He +knows." + +There was silence in the room, during which the twilight stole on +imperceptibly. It was Adam who again broke the silence. + +"Do you know, uncle, if we have any second sight in our family?" + +"No, not that I ever heard about. Why?" + +"Because," he answered slowly, "I have a conviction which seems to answer +all the conditions of second sight." + +"And then?" asked the old man, much perturbed. + +"And then the usual inevitable. What in the Hebrides and other places, +where the Sight is a cult--a belief--is called 'the doom'--the court from +which there is no appeal. I have often heard of second sight--we have +many western Scots in Australia; but I have realised more of its true +inwardness in an instant of this afternoon than I did in the whole of my +life previously--a granite wall stretching up to the very heavens, so +high and so dark that the eye of God Himself cannot see beyond. Well, if +the Doom must come, it must. That is all." + +The voice of Sir Nathaniel broke in, smooth and sweet and grave. + +"Can there not be a fight for it? There can for most things." + +"For most things, yes, but for the Doom, no. What a man can do I shall +do. There will be--must be--a fight. When and where and how I know not, +but a fight there will be. But, after all, what is a man in such a +case?" + +"Adam, there are three of us." Salton looked at his old friend as he +spoke, and that old friend's eyes blazed. + +"Ay, three of us," he said, and his voice rang. + +There was again a pause, and Sir Nathaniel endeavoured to get back to +less emotional and more neutral ground. + +"Tell us of the rest of the meeting. Remember we are all pledged to +this. It is a fight _a l'outrance_, and we can afford to throw away or +forgo no chance." + +"We shall throw away or lose nothing that we can help. We fight to win, +and the stake is a life--perhaps more than one--we shall see." Then he +went on in a conversational tone, such as he had used when he spoke of +the coming to the farm of Edgar Caswall: "When Mr. Caswall came in, the +negro went a short distance away and there remained. It gave me the idea +that he expected to be called, and intended to remain in sight, or within +hail. Then Mimi got another cup and made fresh tea, and we all went on +together." + +"Was there anything uncommon--were you all quite friendly?" asked Sir +Nathaniel quietly. + +"Quite friendly. There was nothing that I could notice out of the +common--except," he went on, with a slight hardening of the voice, +"except that he kept his eyes fixed on Lilla, in a way which was quite +intolerable to any man who might hold her dear." + +"Now, in what way did he look?" asked Sir Nathaniel. + +"There was nothing in itself offensive; but no one could help noticing +it." + +"You did. Miss Watford herself, who was the victim, and Mr. Caswall, who +was the offender, are out of range as witnesses. Was there anyone else +who noticed?" + +"Mimi did. Her face flamed with anger as she saw the look." + +"What kind of look was it? Over-ardent or too admiring, or what? Was it +the look of a lover, or one who fain would be? You understand?" + +"Yes, sir, I quite understand. Anything of that sort I should of course +notice. It would be part of my preparation for keeping my +self-control--to which I am pledged." + +"If it were not amatory, was it threatening? Where was the offence?" + +Adam smiled kindly at the old man. + +"It was not amatory. Even if it was, such was to be expected. I should +be the last man in the world to object, since I am myself an offender in +that respect. Moreover, not only have I been taught to fight fair, but +by nature I believe I am just. I would be as tolerant of and as liberal +to a rival as I should expect him to be to me. No, the look I mean was +nothing of that kind. And so long as it did not lack proper respect, I +should not of my own part condescend to notice it. Did you ever study +the eyes of a hound?" + +"At rest?" + +"No, when he is following his instincts! Or, better still," Adam went +on, "the eyes of a bird of prey when he is following his instincts. Not +when he is swooping, but merely when he is watching his quarry?" + +"No," said Sir Nathaniel, "I don't know that I ever did. Why, may I +ask?" + +"That was the look. Certainly not amatory or anything of that kind--yet +it was, it struck me, more dangerous, if not so deadly as an actual +threatening." + +Again there was a silence, which Sir Nathaniel broke as he stood up: + +"I think it would be well if we all thought over this by ourselves. Then +we can renew the subject." + + + + +CHAPTER VII--OOLANGA + + +Mr. Salton had an appointment for six o'clock at Liverpool. When he had +driven off, Sir Nathaniel took Adam by the arm. + +"May I come with you for a while to your study? I want to speak to you +privately without your uncle knowing about it, or even what the subject +is. You don't mind, do you? It is not idle curiosity. No, no. It is +on the subject to which we are all committed." + +"Is it necessary to keep my uncle in the dark about it? He might be +offended." + +"It is not necessary; but it is advisable. It is for his sake that I +asked. My friend is an old man, and it might concern him unduly--even +alarm him. I promise you there shall be nothing that could cause him +anxiety in our silence, or at which he could take umbrage." + +"Go on, sir!" said Adam simply. + +"You see, your uncle is now an old man. I know it, for we were boys +together. He has led an uneventful and somewhat self-contained life, so +that any such condition of things as has now arisen is apt to perplex him +from its very strangeness. In fact, any new matter is trying to old +people. It has its own disturbances and its own anxieties, and neither +of these things are good for lives that should be restful. Your uncle is +a strong man, with a very happy and placid nature. Given health and +ordinary conditions of life, there is no reason why he should not live to +be a hundred. You and I, therefore, who both love him, though in +different ways, should make it our business to protect him from all +disturbing influences. I am sure you will agree with me that any labour +to this end would be well spent. All right, my boy! I see your answer +in your eyes; so we need say no more of that. And now," here his voice +changed, "tell me all that took place at that interview. There are +strange things in front of us--how strange we cannot at present even +guess. Doubtless some of the difficult things to understand which lie +behind the veil will in time be shown to us to see and to understand. In +the meantime, all we can do is to work patiently, fearlessly, and +unselfishly, to an end that we think is right. You had got so far as +where Lilla opened the door to Mr. Caswall and the negro. You also +observed that Mimi was disturbed in her mind at the way Mr. Caswall +looked at her cousin." + +"Certainly--though 'disturbed' is a poor way of expressing her +objection." + +"Can you remember well enough to describe Caswall's eyes, and how Lilla +looked, and what Mimi said and did? Also Oolanga, Caswall's West African +servant." + +"I'll do what I can, sir. All the time Mr. Caswall was staring, he kept +his eyes fixed and motionless--but not as if he was in a trance. His +forehead was wrinkled up, as it is when one is trying to see through or +into something. At the best of times his face has not a gentle +expression; but when it was screwed up like that it was almost +diabolical. It frightened poor Lilla so that she trembled, and after a +bit got so pale that I thought she had fainted. However, she held up and +tried to stare back, but in a feeble kind of way. Then Mimi came close +and held her hand. That braced her up, and--still, never ceasing her +return stare--she got colour again and seemed more like herself." + +"Did he stare too?" + +"More than ever. The weaker Lilla seemed, the stronger he became, just +as if he were feeding on her strength. All at once she turned round, +threw up her hands, and fell down in a faint. I could not see what else +happened just then, for Mimi had thrown herself on her knees beside her +and hid her from me. Then there was something like a black shadow +between us, and there was the nigger, looking more like a malignant devil +than ever. I am not usually a patient man, and the sight of that ugly +devil is enough to make one's blood boil. When he saw my face, he seemed +to realise danger--immediate danger--and slunk out of the room as +noiselessly as if he had been blown out. I learned one thing, however--he +is an enemy, if ever a man had one." + +"That still leaves us three to two!" put in Sir Nathaniel. + +"Then Caswall slunk out, much as the nigger had done. When he had gone, +Lilla recovered at once." + +"Now," said Sir Nathaniel, anxious to restore peace, "have you found out +anything yet regarding the negro? I am anxious to be posted regarding +him. I fear there will be, or may be, grave trouble with him." + +"Yes, sir, I've heard a good deal about him--of course it is not +official; but hearsay must guide us at first. You know my man +Davenport--private secretary, confidential man of business, and general +factotum. He is devoted to me, and has my full confidence. I asked him +to stay on board the _West African_ and have a good look round, and find +out what he could about Mr. Caswall. Naturally, he was struck with the +aboriginal savage. He found one of the ship's stewards, who had been on +the regular voyages to South Africa. He knew Oolanga and had made a +study of him. He is a man who gets on well with niggers, and they open +their hearts to him. It seems that this Oolanga is quite a great person +in the nigger world of the African West Coast. He has the two things +which men of his own colour respect: he can make them afraid, and he is +lavish with money. I don't know whose money--but that does not matter. +They are always ready to trumpet his greatness. Evil greatness it is--but +neither does that matter. Briefly, this is his history. He was +originally a witch-finder--about as low an occupation as exists amongst +aboriginal savages. Then he got up in the world and became an Obi-man, +which gives an opportunity to wealth _via_ blackmail. Finally, he +reached the highest honour in hellish service. He became a user of +Voodoo, which seems to be a service of the utmost baseness and cruelty. I +was told some of his deeds of cruelty, which are simply sickening. They +made me long for an opportunity of helping to drive him back to hell. You +might think to look at him that you could measure in some way the extent +of his vileness; but it would be a vain hope. Monsters such as he is +belong to an earlier and more rudimentary stage of barbarism. He is in +his way a clever fellow--for a nigger; but is none the less dangerous or +the less hateful for that. The men in the ship told me that he was a +collector: some of them had seen his collections. Such collections! All +that was potent for evil in bird or beast, or even in fish. Beaks that +could break and rend and tear--all the birds represented were of a +predatory kind. Even the fishes are those which are born to destroy, to +wound, to torture. The collection, I assure you, was an object lesson in +human malignity. This being has enough evil in his face to frighten even +a strong man. It is little wonder that the sight of it put that poor +girl into a dead faint!" + +Nothing more could be done at the moment, so they separated. + +Adam was up in the early morning and took a smart walk round the Brow. As +he was passing Diana's Grove, he looked in on the short avenue of trees, +and noticed the snakes killed on the previous morning by the mongoose. +They all lay in a row, straight and rigid, as if they had been placed by +hands. Their skins seemed damp and sticky, and they were covered all +over with ants and other insects. They looked loathsome, so after a +glance, he passed on. + +A little later, when his steps took him, naturally enough, past the +entrance to Mercy Farm, he was passed by the negro, moving quickly under +the trees wherever there was shadow. Laid across one extended arm, +looking like dirty towels across a rail, he had the horrid-looking +snakes. He did not seem to see Adam. No one was to be seen at Mercy +except a few workmen in the farmyard, so, after waiting on the chance of +seeing Mimi, Adam began to go slowly home. + +Once more he was passed on the way. This time it was by Lady Arabella, +walking hurriedly and so furiously angry that she did not recognise him, +even to the extent of acknowledging his bow. + +When Adam got back to Lesser Hill, he went to the coach-house where the +box with the mongoose was kept, and took it with him, intending to finish +at the Mound of Stone what he had begun the previous morning with regard +to the extermination. He found that the snakes were even more easily +attacked than on the previous day; no less than six were killed in the +first half-hour. As no more appeared, he took it for granted that the +morning's work was over, and went towards home. The mongoose had by this +time become accustomed to him, and was willing to let himself be handled +freely. Adam lifted him up and put him on his shoulder and walked on. +Presently he saw a lady advancing towards him, and recognised Lady +Arabella. + +Hitherto the mongoose had been quiet, like a playful affectionate kitten; +but when the two got close, Adam was horrified to see the mongoose, in a +state of the wildest fury, with every hair standing on end, jump from his +shoulder and run towards Lady Arabella. It looked so furious and so +intent on attack that he called a warning. + +"Look out--look out! The animal is furious and means to attack." + +Lady Arabella looked more than ever disdainful and was passing on; the +mongoose jumped at her in a furious attack. Adam rushed forward with his +stick, the only weapon he had. But just as he got within striking +distance, the lady drew out a revolver and shot the animal, breaking his +backbone. Not satisfied with this, she poured shot after shot into him +till the magazine was exhausted. There was no coolness or hauteur about +her now; she seemed more furious even than the animal, her face +transformed with hate, and as determined to kill as he had appeared to +be. Adam, not knowing exactly what to do, lifted his hat in apology and +hurried on to Lesser Hill. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII--SURVIVALS + + +At breakfast Sir Nathaniel noticed that Adam was put out about something, +but he said nothing. The lesson of silence is better remembered in age +than in youth. When they were both in the study, where Sir Nathaniel +followed him, Adam at once began to tell his companion of what had +happened. Sir Nathaniel looked graver and graver as the narration +proceeded, and when Adam had stopped he remained silent for several +minutes, before speaking. + +"This is very grave. I have not formed any opinion yet; but it seems to +me at first impression that this is worse than anything I had expected." + +"Why, sir?" said Adam. "Is the killing of a mongoose--no matter by +whom--so serious a thing as all that?" + +His companion smoked on quietly for quite another few minutes before he +spoke. + +"When I have properly thought it over I may moderate my opinion, but in +the meantime it seems to me that there is something dreadful behind all +this--something that may affect all our lives--that may mean the issue of +life or death to any of us." + +Adam sat up quickly. + +"Do tell me, sir, what is in your mind--if, of course, you have no +objection, or do not think it better to withhold it." + +"I have no objection, Adam--in fact, if I had, I should have to overcome +it. I fear there can be no more reserved thoughts between us." + +"Indeed, sir, that sounds serious, worse than serious!" + +"Adam, I greatly fear that the time has come for us--for you and me, at +all events--to speak out plainly to one another. Does not there seem +something very mysterious about this?" + +"I have thought so, sir, all along. The only difficulty one has is what +one is to think and where to begin." + +"Let us begin with what you have told me. First take the conduct of the +mongoose. He was quiet, even friendly and affectionate with you. He +only attacked the snakes, which is, after all, his business in life." + +"That is so!" + +"Then we must try to find some reason why he attacked Lady Arabella." + +"May it not be that a mongoose may have merely the instinct to attack, +that nature does not allow or provide him with the fine reasoning powers +to discriminate who he is to attack?" + +"Of course that may be so. But, on the other hand, should we not satisfy +ourselves why he does wish to attack anything? If for centuries, this +particular animal is known to attack only one kind of other animal, are +we not justified in assuming that when one of them attacks a hitherto +unclassed animal, he recognises in that animal some quality which it has +in common with the hereditary enemy?" + +"That is a good argument, sir," Adam went on, "but a dangerous one. If +we followed it out, it would lead us to believe that Lady Arabella is a +snake." + +"We must be sure, before going to such an end, that there is no point as +yet unconsidered which would account for the unknown thing which puzzles +us." + +"In what way?" + +"Well, suppose the instinct works on some physical basis--for instance, +smell. If there were anything in recent juxtaposition to the attacked +which would carry the scent, surely that would supply the missing cause." + +"Of course!" Adam spoke with conviction. + +"Now, from what you tell me, the negro had just come from the direction +of Diana's Grove, carrying the dead snakes which the mongoose had killed +the previous morning. Might not the scent have been carried that way?" + +"Of course it might, and probably was. I never thought of that. Is +there any possible way of guessing approximately how long a scent will +remain? You see, this is a natural scent, and may derive from a place +where it has been effective for thousands of years. Then, does a scent +of any kind carry with it any form or quality of another kind, either +good or evil? I ask you because one ancient name of the house lived in +by the lady who was attacked by the mongoose was 'The Lair of the White +Worm.' If any of these things be so, our difficulties have multiplied +indefinitely. They may even change in kind. We may get into moral +entanglements; before we know it, we may be in the midst of a struggle +between good and evil." + +Sir Nathaniel smiled gravely. + +"With regard to the first question--so far as I know, there are no fixed +periods for which a scent may be active--I think we may take it that that +period does not run into thousands of years. As to whether any moral +change accompanies a physical one, I can only say that I have met no +proof of the fact. At the same time, we must remember that 'good' and +'evil' are terms so wide as to take in the whole scheme of creation, and +all that is implied by them and by their mutual action and reaction. +Generally, I would say that in the scheme of a First Cause anything is +possible. So long as the inherent forces or tendencies of any one thing +are veiled from us we must expect mystery." + +"There is one other question on which I should like to ask your opinion. +Suppose that there are any permanent forces appertaining to the past, +what we may call 'survivals,' do these belong to good as well as to evil? +For instance, if the scent of the primaeval monster can so remain in +proportion to the original strength, can the same be true of things of +good import?" + +Sir Nathaniel thought for a while before he answered. + +"We must be careful not to confuse the physical and the moral. I can see +that already you have switched on the moral entirely, so perhaps we had +better follow it up first. On the side of the moral, we have certain +justification for belief in the utterances of revealed religion. For +instance, 'the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much' +is altogether for good. We have nothing of a similar kind on the side of +evil. But if we accept this dictum we need have no more fear of +'mysteries': these become thenceforth merely obstacles." + +Adam suddenly changed to another phase of the subject. + +"And now, sir, may I turn for a few minutes to purely practical things, +or rather to matters of historical fact?" + +Sir Nathaniel bowed acquiescence. + +"We have already spoken of the history, so far as it is known, of some of +the places round us--'Castra Regis,' 'Diana's Grove,' and 'The Lair of +the White Worm.' I would like to ask if there is anything not +necessarily of evil import about any of the places?" + +"Which?" asked Sir Nathaniel shrewdly. + +"Well, for instance, this house and Mercy Farm?" + +"Here we turn," said Sir Nathaniel, "to the other side, the light side of +things. Let us take Mercy Farm first. When Augustine was sent by Pope +Gregory to Christianise England, in the time of the Romans, he was +received and protected by Ethelbert, King of Kent, whose wife, daughter +of Charibert, King of Paris, was a Christian, and did much for Augustine. +She founded a nunnery in memory of Columba, which was named _Sedes +misericordioe_, the House of Mercy, and, as the region was Mercian, the +two names became involved. As Columba is the Latin for dove, the dove +became a sort of signification of the nunnery. She seized on the idea +and made the newly-founded nunnery a house of doves. Someone sent her a +freshly-discovered dove, a sort of carrier, but which had in the white +feathers of its head and neck the form of a religious cowl. The nunnery +flourished for more than a century, when, in the time of Penda, who was +the reactionary of heathendom, it fell into decay. In the meantime the +doves, protected by religious feeling, had increased mightily, and were +known in all Catholic communities. When King Offa ruled in Mercia, about +a hundred and fifty years later, he restored Christianity, and under its +protection the nunnery of St. Columba was restored and its doves +flourished again. In process of time this religious house again fell +into desuetude; but before it disappeared it had achieved a great name +for good works, and in especial for the piety of its members. If deeds +and prayers and hopes and earnest thinking leave anywhere any moral +effect, Mercy Farm and all around it have almost the right to be +considered holy ground." + +"Thank you, sir," said Adam earnestly, and was silent. Sir Nathaniel +understood. + +After lunch that day, Adam casually asked Sir Nathaniel to come for a +walk with him. The keen-witted old diplomatist guessed that there must +be some motive behind the suggestion, and he at once agreed. + +As soon as they were free from observation, Adam began. + +"I am afraid, sir, that there is more going on in this neighbourhood than +most people imagine. I was out this morning, and on the edge of the +small wood, I came upon the body of a child by the roadside. At first, I +thought she was dead, and while examining her, I noticed on her neck some +marks that looked like those of teeth." + +"Some wild dog, perhaps?" put in Sir Nathaniel. + +"Possibly, sir, though I think not--but listen to the rest of my news. I +glanced around, and to my surprise, I noticed something white moving +among the trees. I placed the child down carefully, and followed, but I +could not find any further traces. So I returned to the child and +resumed my examination, and, to my delight, I discovered that she was +still alive. I chafed her hands and gradually she revived, but to my +disappointment she remembered nothing--except that something had crept up +quietly from behind, and had gripped her round the throat. Then, +apparently, she fainted." + +"Gripped her round the throat! Then it cannot have been a dog." + +"No, sir, that is my difficulty, and explains why I brought you out here, +where we cannot possibly be overheard. You have noticed, of course, the +peculiar sinuous way in which Lady Arabella moves--well, I feel certain +that the white thing that I saw in the wood was the mistress of Diana's +Grove!" + +"Good God, boy, be careful what you say." + +"Yes, sir, I fully realise the gravity of my accusation, but I feel +convinced that the marks on the child's throat were human--and made by a +woman." + +Adam's companion remained silent for some time, deep in thought. + +"Adam, my boy," he said at last, "this matter appears to me to be far +more serious even than you think. It forces me to break confidence with +my old friend, your uncle--but, in order to spare him, I must do so. For +some time now, things have been happening in this district that have been +worrying him dreadfully--several people have disappeared, without leaving +the slightest trace; a dead child was found by the roadside, with no +visible or ascertainable cause of death--sheep and other animals have +been found in the fields, bleeding from open wounds. There have been +other matters--many of them apparently trivial in themselves. Some +sinister influence has been at work, and I admit that I have suspected +Lady Arabella--that is why I questioned you so closely about the mongoose +and its strange attack upon Lady Arabella. You will think it strange +that I should suspect the mistress of Diana's Grove, a beautiful woman of +aristocratic birth. Let me explain--the family seat is near my own +place, Doom Tower, and at one time I knew the family well. When still a +young girl, Lady Arabella wandered into a small wood near her home, and +did not return. She was found unconscious and in a high fever--the +doctor said that she had received a poisonous bite, and the girl being at +a delicate and critical age, the result was serious--so much so that she +was not expected to recover. A great London physician came down but +could do nothing--indeed, he said that the girl would not survive the +night. All hope had been abandoned, when, to everyone's surprise, Lady +Arabella made a sudden and startling recovery. Within a couple of days +she was going about as usual! But to the horror of her people, she +developed a terrible craving for cruelty, maiming and injuring birds and +small animals--even killing them. This was put down to a nervous +disturbance due to her age, and it was hoped that her marriage to Captain +March would put this right. However, it was not a happy marriage, and +eventually her husband was found shot through the head. I have always +suspected suicide, though no pistol was found near the body. He may have +discovered something--God knows what!--so possibly Lady Arabella may +herself have killed him. Putting together many small matters that have +come to my knowledge, I have come to the conclusion that the foul White +Worm obtained control of her body, just as her soul was leaving its +earthly tenement--that would explain the sudden revival of energy, the +strange and inexplicable craving for maiming and killing, as well as many +other matters with which I need not trouble you now, Adam. As I said +just now, God alone knows what poor Captain March discovered--it must +have been something too ghastly for human endurance, if my theory is +correct that the once beautiful human body of Lady Arabella is under the +control of this ghastly White Worm." + +Adam nodded. + +"But what can we do, sir--it seems a most difficult problem." + +"We can do nothing, my boy--that is the important part of it. It would +be impossible to take action--all we can do is to keep careful watch, +especially as regards Lady Arabella, and be ready to act, promptly and +decisively, if the opportunity occurs." + +Adam agreed, and the two men returned to Lesser Hill. + + + + +CHAPTER IX--SMELLING DEATH + + +Adam Salton, though he talked little, did not let the grass grow under +his feet in any matter which he had undertaken, or in which he was +interested. He had agreed with Sir Nathaniel that they should not do +anything with regard to the mystery of Lady Arabella's fear of the +mongoose, but he steadily pursued his course in being _prepared_ to act +whenever the opportunity might come. He was in his own mind perpetually +casting about for information or clues which might lead to possible lines +of action. Baffled by the killing of the mongoose, he looked around for +another line to follow. He was fascinated by the idea of there being a +mysterious link between the woman and the animal, but he was already +preparing a second string to his bow. His new idea was to use the +faculties of Oolanga, so far as he could, in the service of discovery. +His first move was to send Davenport to Liverpool to try to find the +steward of the _West African_, who had told him about Oolanga, and if +possible secure any further information, and then try to induce (by +bribery or other means) the nigger to come to the Brow. So soon as he +himself could have speech of the Voodoo-man he would be able to learn +from him something useful. Davenport was successful in his missions, for +he had to get another mongoose, and he was able to tell Adam that he had +seen the steward, who told him much that he wanted to know, and had also +arranged for Oolanga to come to Lesser Hill the following day. At this +point Adam saw his way sufficiently clear to admit Davenport to some +extent into his confidence. He had come to the conclusion that it would +be better--certainly at first--not himself to appear in the matter, with +which Davenport was fully competent to deal. It would be time for +himself to take a personal part when matters had advanced a little +further. + +If what the nigger said was in any wise true, the man had a rare gift +which might be useful in the quest they were after. He could, as it +were, "smell death." If any one was dead, if any one had died, or if a +place had been used in connection with death, he seemed to know the broad +fact by intuition. Adam made up his mind that to test this faculty with +regard to several places would be his first task. Naturally he was +anxious, and the time passed slowly. The only comfort was the arrival +the next morning of a strong packing case, locked, from Ross, the key +being in the custody of Davenport. In the case were two smaller boxes, +both locked. One of them contained a mongoose to replace that killed by +Lady Arabella; the other was the special mongoose which had already +killed the king-cobra in Nepaul. When both the animals had been safely +put under lock and key, he felt that he might breathe more freely. No +one was allowed to know the secret of their existence in the house, +except himself and Davenport. He arranged that Davenport should take +Oolanga round the neighbourhood for a walk, stopping at each of the +places which he designated. Having gone all along the Brow, he was to +return the same way and induce him to touch on the same subjects in +talking with Adam, who was to meet them as if by chance at the farthest +part--that beyond Mercy Farm. + +The incidents of the day proved much as Adam expected. At Mercy Farm, at +Diana's Grove, at Castra Regis, and a few other spots, the negro stopped +and, opening his wide nostrils as if to sniff boldly, said that he +smelled death. It was not always in the same form. At Mercy Farm he +said there were many small deaths. At Diana's Grove his bearing was +different. There was a distinct sense of enjoyment about him, especially +when he spoke of many great deaths. Here, too, he sniffed in a strange +way, like a bloodhound at check, and looked puzzled. He said no word in +either praise or disparagement, but in the centre of the Grove, where, +hidden amongst ancient oak stumps, was a block of granite slightly +hollowed on the top, he bent low and placed his forehead on the ground. +This was the only place where he showed distinct reverence. At the +Castle, though he spoke of much death, he showed no sign of respect. + +There was evidently something about Diana's Grove which both interested +and baffled him. Before leaving, he moved all over the place +unsatisfied, and in one spot, close to the edge of the Brow, where there +was a deep hollow, he appeared to be afraid. After returning several +times to this place, he suddenly turned and ran in a panic of fear to the +higher ground, crossing as he did so the outcropping rock. Then he +seemed to breathe more freely, and recovered some of his jaunty +impudence. + +All this seemed to satisfy Adam's expectations. He went back to Lesser +Hill with a serene and settled calm upon him. Sir Nathaniel followed him +into his study. + +"By the way, I forgot to ask you details about one thing. When that +extraordinary staring episode of Mr. Caswall went on, how did Lilla take +it--how did she bear herself?" + +"She looked frightened, and trembled just as I have seen a pigeon with a +hawk, or a bird with a serpent." + +"Thanks. It is just as I expected. There have been circumstances in the +Caswall family which lead one to believe that they have had from the +earliest times some extraordinary mesmeric or hypnotic faculty. Indeed, +a skilled eye could read so much in their physiognomy. That shot of +yours, whether by instinct or intention, of the hawk and the pigeon was +peculiarly apposite. I think we may settle on that as a fixed trait to +be accepted throughout our investigation." + +When dusk had fallen, Adam took the new mongoose--not the one from +Nepaul--and, carrying the box slung over his shoulder, strolled towards +Diana's Grove. Close to the gateway he met Lady Arabella, clad as usual +in tightly fitting white, which showed off her slim figure. + +To his intense astonishment the mongoose allowed her to pet him, take him +up in her arms and fondle him. As she was going in his direction, they +walked on together. + +Round the roadway between the entrances of Diana's Grove and Lesser Hill +were many trees, with not much foliage except at the top. In the dusk +this place was shadowy, and the view was hampered by the clustering +trunks. In the uncertain, tremulous light which fell through the tree- +tops, it was hard to distinguish anything clearly, and at last, somehow, +he lost sight of her altogether, and turned back on his track to find +her. Presently he came across her close to her own gate. She was +leaning over the paling of split oak branches which formed the paling of +the avenue. He could not see the mongoose, so he asked her where it had +gone. + +"He slipt out of my arms while I was petting him," she answered, "and +disappeared under the hedges." + +They found him at a place where the avenue widened so as to let carriages +pass each other. The little creature seemed quite changed. He had been +ebulliently active; now he was dull and spiritless--seemed to be dazed. +He allowed himself to be lifted by either of the pair; but when he was +alone with Lady Arabella he kept looking round him in a strange way, as +though trying to escape. When they had come out on the roadway Adam held +the mongoose tight to him, and, lifting his hat to his companion, moved +quickly towards Lesser Hill; he and Lady Arabella lost sight of each +other in the thickening gloom. + +When Adam got home, he put the mongoose in his box, and locked the door +of the room. The other mongoose--the one from Nepaul--was safely locked +in his own box, but he lay quiet and did not stir. When he got to his +study Sir Nathaniel came in, shutting the door behind him. + +"I have come," he said, "while we have an opportunity of being alone, to +tell you something of the Caswall family which I think will interest you. +There is, or used to be, a belief in this part of the world that the +Caswall family had some strange power of making the wills of other +persons subservient to their own. There are many allusions to the +subject in memoirs and other unimportant works, but I only know of one +where the subject is spoken of definitely. It is _Mercia and its +Worthies_, written by Ezra Toms more than a hundred years ago. The +author goes into the question of the close association of the then Edgar +Caswall with Mesmer in Paris. He speaks of Caswall being a pupil and the +fellow worker of Mesmer, and states that though, when the latter left +France, he took away with him a vast quantity of philosophical and +electric instruments, he was never known to use them again. He once made +it known to a friend that he had given them to his old pupil. The term +he used was odd, for it was 'bequeathed,' but no such bequest of Mesmer +was ever made known. At any rate the instruments were missing, and never +turned up." + +A servant came into the room to tell Adam that there was some strange +noise coming from the locked room into which he had gone when he came in. +He hurried off to the place at once, Sir Nathaniel going with him. Having +locked the door behind them, Adam opened the packing-case where the boxes +of the two mongooses were locked up. There was no sound from one of +them, but from the other a queer restless struggling. Having opened both +boxes, he found that the noise was from the Nepaul animal, which, +however, became quiet at once. In the other box the new mongoose lay +dead, with every appearance of having been strangled! + + + + +CHAPTER X--THE KITE + + +On the following day, a little after four o'clock, Adam set out for +Mercy. + +He was home just as the clocks were striking six. He was pale and upset, +but otherwise looked strong and alert. The old man summed up his +appearance and manner thus: "Braced up for battle." + +"Now!" said Sir Nathaniel, and settled down to listen, looking at Adam +steadily and listening attentively that he might miss nothing--even the +inflection of a word. + +"I found Lilla and Mimi at home. Watford had been detained by business +on the farm. Miss Watford received me as kindly as before; Mimi, too, +seemed glad to see me. Mr. Caswall came so soon after I arrived, that +he, or someone on his behalf, must have been watching for me. He was +followed closely by the negro, who was puffing hard as if he had been +running--so it was probably he who watched. Mr. Caswall was very cool +and collected, but there was a more than usually iron look about his face +that I did not like. However, we got on very well. He talked pleasantly +on all sorts of questions. The nigger waited a while and then +disappeared as on the other occasion. Mr. Caswall's eyes were as usual +fixed on Lilla. True, they seemed to be very deep and earnest, but there +was no offence in them. Had it not been for the drawing down of the +brows and the stern set of the jaws, I should not at first have noticed +anything. But the stare, when presently it began, increased in +intensity. I could see that Lilla began to suffer from nervousness, as +on the first occasion; but she carried herself bravely. However, the +more nervous she grew, the harder Mr. Caswall stared. It was evident to +me that he had come prepared for some sort of mesmeric or hypnotic +battle. After a while he began to throw glances round him and then +raised his hand, without letting either Lilla or Mimi see the action. It +was evidently intended to give some sign to the negro, for he came, in +his usual stealthy way, quietly in by the hall door, which was open. Then +Mr. Caswall's efforts at staring became intensified, and poor Lilla's +nervousness grew greater. Mimi, seeing that her cousin was distressed, +came close to her, as if to comfort or strengthen her with the +consciousness of her presence. This evidently made a difficulty for Mr. +Caswall, for his efforts, without appearing to get feebler, seemed less +effective. This continued for a little while, to the gain of both Lilla +and Mimi. Then there was a diversion. Without word or apology the door +opened, and Lady Arabella March entered the room. I had seen her coming +through the great window. Without a word she crossed the room and stood +beside Mr. Caswall. It really was very like a fight of a peculiar kind; +and the longer it was sustained the more earnest--the fiercer--it grew. +That combination of forces--the over-lord, the white woman, and the black +man--would have cost some--probably all of them--their lives in the +Southern States of America. To us it was simply horrible. But all that +you can understand. This time, to go on in sporting phrase, it was +understood by all to be a 'fight to a finish,' and the mixed group did +not slacken a moment or relax their efforts. On Lilla the strain began +to tell disastrously. She grew pale--a patchy pallor, which meant that +her nerves were out of order. She trembled like an aspen, and though she +struggled bravely, I noticed that her legs would hardly support her. A +dozen times she seemed about to collapse in a faint, but each time, on +catching sight of Mimi's eyes, she made a fresh struggle and pulled +through. + +"By now Mr. Caswall's face had lost its appearance of passivity. His +eyes glowed with a fiery light. He was still the old Roman in +inflexibility of purpose; but grafted on to the Roman was a new Berserker +fury. His companions in the baleful work seemed to have taken on +something of his feeling. Lady Arabella looked like a soulless, pitiless +being, not human, unless it revived old legends of transformed human +beings who had lost their humanity in some transformation or in the sweep +of natural savagery. As for the negro--well, I can only say that it was +solely due to the self-restraint which you impressed on me that I did not +wipe him out as he stood--without warning, without fair play--without a +single one of the graces of life and death. Lilla was silent in the +helpless concentration of deadly fear; Mimi was all resolve and +self-forgetfulness, so intent on the soul-struggle in which she was +engaged that there was no possibility of any other thought. As for +myself, the bonds of will which held me inactive seemed like bands of +steel which numbed all my faculties, except sight and hearing. We seemed +fixed in an _impasse_. Something must happen, though the power of +guessing was inactive. As in a dream, I saw Mimi's hand move restlessly, +as if groping for something. Mechanically it touched that of Lilla, and +in that instant she was transformed. It was as if youth and strength +entered afresh into something already dead to sensibility and intention. +As if by inspiration, she grasped the other's band with a force which +blenched the knuckles. Her face suddenly flamed, as if some divine light +shone through it. Her form expanded till it stood out majestically. +Lifting her right hand, she stepped forward towards Caswall, and with a +bold sweep of her arm seemed to drive some strange force towards him. +Again and again was the gesture repeated, the man falling back from her +at each movement. Towards the door he retreated, she following. There +was a sound as of the cooing sob of doves, which seemed to multiply and +intensify with each second. The sound from the unseen source rose and +rose as he retreated, till finally it swelled out in a triumphant peal, +as she with a fierce sweep of her arm, seemed to hurl something at her +foe, and he, moving his hands blindly before his face, appeared to be +swept through the doorway and out into the open sunlight. + +"All at once my own faculties were fully restored; I could see and hear +everything, and be fully conscious of what was going on. Even the +figures of the baleful group were there, though dimly seen as through a +veil--a shadowy veil. I saw Lilla sink down in a swoon, and Mimi throw +up her arms in a gesture of triumph. As I saw her through the great +window, the sunshine flooded the landscape, which, however, was +momentarily becoming eclipsed by an onrush of a myriad birds." + +By the next morning, daylight showed the actual danger which threatened. +From every part of the eastern counties reports were received concerning +the enormous immigration of birds. Experts were sending--on their own +account, on behalf of learned societies, and through local and imperial +governing bodies--reports dealing with the matter, and suggesting +remedies. + +The reports closer to home were even more disturbing. All day long it +would seem that the birds were coming thicker from all quarters. +Doubtless many were going as well as coming, but the mass seemed never to +get less. Each bird seemed to sound some note of fear or anger or +seeking, and the whirring of wings never ceased nor lessened. The air +was full of a muttered throb. No window or barrier could shut out the +sound, till the ears of any listener became dulled by the ceaseless +murmur. So monotonous it was, so cheerless, so disheartening, so +melancholy, that all longed, but in vain, for any variety, no matter how +terrible it might be. + +The second morning the reports from all the districts round were more +alarming than ever. Farmers began to dread the coming of winter as they +saw the dwindling of the timely fruitfulness of the earth. And as yet it +was only a warning of evil, not the evil accomplished; the ground began +to look bare whenever some passing sound temporarily frightened the +birds. + +Edgar Caswall tortured his brain for a long time unavailingly, to think +of some means of getting rid of what he, as well as his neighbours, had +come to regard as a plague of birds. At last he recalled a circumstance +which promised a solution of the difficulty. The experience was of some +years ago in China, far up-country, towards the head-waters of the Yang- +tze-kiang, where the smaller tributaries spread out in a sort of natural +irrigation scheme to supply the wilderness of paddy-fields. It was at +the time of the ripening rice, and the myriads of birds which came to +feed on the coming crop was a serious menace, not only to the district, +but to the country at large. The farmers, who were more or less +afflicted with the same trouble every season, knew how to deal with it. +They made a vast kite, which they caused to be flown over the centre spot +of the incursion. The kite was shaped like a great hawk; and the moment +it rose into the air the birds began to cower and seek protection--and +then to disappear. So long as that kite was flying overhead the birds +lay low and the crop was saved. Accordingly Caswall ordered his men to +construct an immense kite, adhering as well as they could to the lines of +a hawk. Then he and his men, with a sufficiency of cord, began to fly it +high overhead. The experience of China was repeated. The moment the +kite rose, the birds hid or sought shelter. The following morning, the +kite was still flying high, no bird was to be seen as far as the eye +could reach from Castra Regis. But there followed in turn what proved +even a worse evil. All the birds were cowed; their sounds stopped. +Neither song nor chirp was heard--silence seemed to have taken the place +of the normal voices of bird life. But that was not all. The silence +spread to all animals. + +The fear and restraint which brooded amongst the denizens of the air +began to affect all life. Not only did the birds cease song or chirp, +but the lowing of the cattle ceased in the fields and the varied sounds +of life died away. In place of these things was only a soundless gloom, +more dreadful, more disheartening, more soul-killing than any concourse +of sounds, no matter how full of fear and dread. Pious individuals put +up constant prayers for relief from the intolerable solitude. After a +little there were signs of universal depression which those who ran might +read. One and all, the faces of men and women seemed bereft of vitality, +of interest, of thought, and, most of all, of hope. Men seemed to have +lost the power of expression of their thoughts. The soundless air seemed +to have the same effect as the universal darkness when men gnawed their +tongues with pain. + +From this infliction of silence there was no relief. Everything was +affected; gloom was the predominant note. Joy appeared to have passed +away as a factor of life, and this creative impulse had nothing to take +its place. That giant spot in high air was a plague of evil influence. +It seemed like a new misanthropic belief which had fallen on human +beings, carrying with it the negation of all hope. + +After a few days, men began to grow desperate; their very words as well +as their senses seemed to be in chains. Edgar Caswall again tortured his +brain to find any antidote or palliative of this greater evil than +before. He would gladly have destroyed the kite, or caused its flying to +cease; but the instant it was pulled down, the birds rose up in even +greater numbers; all those who depended in any way on agriculture sent +pitiful protests to Castra Regis. + +It was strange indeed what influence that weird kite seemed to exercise. +Even human beings were affected by it, as if both it and they were +realities. As for the people at Mercy Farm, it was like a taste of +actual death. Lilla felt it most. If she had been indeed a real dove, +with a real kite hanging over her in the air, she could not have been +more frightened or more affected by the terror this created. + +Of course, some of those already drawn into the vortex noticed the effect +on individuals. Those who were interested took care to compare their +information. Strangely enough, as it seemed to the others, the person +who took the ghastly silence least to heart was the negro. By nature he +was not sensitive to, or afflicted by, nerves. This alone would not have +produced the seeming indifference, so they set their minds to discover +the real cause. Adam came quickly to the conclusion that there was for +him some compensation that the others did not share; and he soon believed +that that compensation was in one form or another the enjoyment of the +sufferings of others. Thus the black had a never-failing source of +amusement. + +Lady Arabella's cold nature rendered her immune to anything in the way of +pain or trouble concerning others. Edgar Caswall was far too haughty a +person, and too stern of nature, to concern himself about poor or +helpless people, much less the lower order of mere animals. Mr. Watford, +Mr. Salton, and Sir Nathaniel were all concerned in the issue, partly +from kindness of heart--for none of them could see suffering, even of +wild birds, unmoved--and partly on account of their property, which had +to be protected, or ruin would stare them in the face before long. + +Lilla suffered acutely. As time went on, her face became pinched, and +her eyes dull with watching and crying. Mimi suffered too on account of +her cousin's suffering. But as she could do nothing, she resolutely made +up her mind to self-restraint and patience. Adam's frequent visits +comforted her. + + + + +CHAPTER XI--MESMER'S CHEST + + +After a couple of weeks had passed, the kite seemed to give Edgar Caswall +a new zest for life. He was never tired of looking at its movements. He +had a comfortable armchair put out on the tower, wherein he sat sometimes +all day long, watching as though the kite was a new toy and he a child +lately come into possession of it. He did not seem to have lost interest +in Lilla, for he still paid an occasional visit at Mercy Farm. + +Indeed, his feeling towards her, whatever it had been at first, had now +so far changed that it had become a distinct affection of a purely animal +kind. Indeed, it seemed as though the man's nature had become corrupted, +and that all the baser and more selfish and more reckless qualities had +become more conspicuous. There was not so much sternness apparent in his +nature, because there was less self-restraint. Determination had become +indifference. + +The visible change in Edgar was that he grew morbid, sad, silent; the +neighbours thought he was going mad. He became absorbed in the kite, and +watched it not only by day, but often all night long. It became an +obsession to him. + +Caswall took a personal interest in the keeping of the great kite flying. +He had a vast coil of cord efficient for the purpose, which worked on a +roller fixed on the parapet of the tower. There was a winch for the +pulling in of the slack; the outgoing line being controlled by a racket. +There was invariably one man at least, day and night, on the tower to +attend to it. At such an elevation there was always a strong wind, and +at times the kite rose to an enormous height, as well as travelling for +great distances laterally. In fact, the kite became, in a short time, +one of the curiosities of Castra Regis and all around it. Edgar began to +attribute to it, in his own mind, almost human qualities. It became to +him a separate entity, with a mind and a soul of its own. Being idle- +handed all day, he began to apply to what he considered the service of +the kite some of his spare time, and found a new pleasure--a new object +in life--in the old schoolboy game of sending up "runners" to the kite. +The way this is done is to get round pieces of paper so cut that there is +a hole in the centre, through which the string of the kite passes. The +natural action of the wind-pressure takes the paper along the string, and +so up to the kite itself, no matter how high or how far it may have gone. + +In the early days of this amusement Edgar Caswall spent hours. Hundreds +of such messengers flew along the string, until soon he bethought him of +writing messages on these papers so that he could make known his ideas to +the kite. It may be that his brain gave way under the opportunities +given by his illusion of the entity of the toy and its power of separate +thought. From sending messages he came to making direct speech to the +kite--without, however, ceasing to send the runners. Doubtless, the +height of the tower, seated as it was on the hill-top, the rushing of the +ceaseless wind, the hypnotic effect of the lofty altitude of the speck in +the sky at which he gazed, and the rushing of the paper messengers up the +string till sight of them was lost in distance, all helped to further +affect his brain, undoubtedly giving way under the strain of beliefs and +circumstances which were at once stimulating to the imagination, +occupative of his mind, and absorbing. + +The next step of intellectual decline was to bring to bear on the main +idea of the conscious identity of the kite all sorts of subjects which +had imaginative force or tendency of their own. He had, in Castra Regis, +a large collection of curious and interesting things formed in the past +by his forebears, of similar tastes to his own. There were all sorts of +strange anthropological specimens, both old and new, which had been +collected through various travels in strange places: ancient Egyptian +relics from tombs and mummies; curios from Australia, New Zealand, and +the South Seas; idols and images--from Tartar ikons to ancient Egyptian, +Persian, and Indian objects of worship; objects of death and torture of +American Indians; and, above all, a vast collection of lethal weapons of +every kind and from every place--Chinese "high pinders," double knives, +Afghan double-edged scimitars made to cut a body in two, heavy knives +from all the Eastern countries, ghost daggers from Thibet, the terrible +kukri of the Ghourka and other hill tribes of India, assassins' weapons +from Italy and Spain, even the knife which was formerly carried by the +slave-drivers of the Mississippi region. Death and pain of every kind +were fully represented in that gruesome collection. + +That it had a fascination for Oolanga goes without saying. He was never +tired of visiting the museum in the tower, and spent endless hours in +inspecting the exhibits, till he was thoroughly familiar with every +detail of all of them. He asked permission to clean and polish and +sharpen them--a favour which was readily granted. In addition to the +above objects, there were many things of a kind to awaken human fear. +Stuffed serpents of the most objectionable and horrid kind; giant insects +from the tropics, fearsome in every detail; fishes and crustaceans +covered with weird spikes; dried octopuses of great size. Other things, +too, there were, not less deadly though seemingly innocuous--dried fungi, +traps intended for birds, beasts, fishes, reptiles, and insects; machines +which could produce pain of any kind and degree, and the only mercy of +which was the power of producing speedy death. + +Caswall, who had never before seen any of these things, except those +which he had collected himself, found a constant amusement and interest +in them. He studied them, their uses, their mechanism--where there was +such--and their places of origin, until he had an ample and real +knowledge of all concerning them. Many were secret and intricate, but he +never rested till he found out all the secrets. When once he had become +interested in strange objects, and the way to use them, he began to +explore various likely places for similar finds. He began to inquire of +his household where strange lumber was kept. Several of the men spoke of +old Simon Chester as one who knew everything in and about the house. +Accordingly, he sent for the old man, who came at once. He was very old, +nearly ninety years of age, and very infirm. He had been born in the +Castle, and had served its succession of masters--present or absent--ever +since. When Edgar began to question him on the subject regarding which +he had sent for him, old Simon exhibited much perturbation. In fact, he +became so frightened that his master, fully believing that he was +concealing something, ordered him to tell at once what remained unseen, +and where it was hidden away. Face to face with discovery of his secret, +the old man, in a pitiable state of concern, spoke out even more fully +than Mr. Caswall had expected. + +"Indeed, indeed, sir, everything is here in the tower that has ever been +put away in my time except--except--" here he began to shake and tremble +it--"except the chest which Mr. Edgar--he who was Mr. Edgar when I first +took service--brought back from France, after he had been with Dr. +Mesmer. The trunk has been kept in my room for safety; but I shall send +it down here now." + +"What is in it?" asked Edgar sharply. + +"That I do not know. Moreover, it is a peculiar trunk, without any +visible means of opening." + +"Is there no lock?" + +"I suppose so, sir; but I do not know. There is no keyhole." + +"Send it here; and then come to me yourself." + +The trunk, a heavy one with steel bands round it, but no lock or keyhole, +was carried in by two men. Shortly afterwards old Simon attended his +master. When he came into the room, Mr. Caswall himself went and closed +the door; then he asked: + +"How do you open it?" + +"I do not know, sir." + +"Do you mean to say that you never opened it?" + +"Most certainly I say so, your honour. How could I? It was entrusted to +me with the other things by my master. To open it would have been a +breach of trust." + +Caswall sneered. + +"Quite remarkable! Leave it with me. Close the door behind you. +Stay--did no one ever tell you about it--say anything regarding it--make +any remark?" + +Old Simon turned pale, and put his trembling hands together. + +"Oh, sir, I entreat you not to touch it. That trunk probably contains +secrets which Dr. Mesmer told my master. Told them to his ruin!" + +"How do you mean? What ruin?" + +"Sir, he it was who, men said, sold his soul to the Evil One; I had +thought that that time and the evil of it had all passed away." + +"That will do. Go away; but remain in your own room, or within call. I +may want you." + +The old man bowed deeply and went out trembling, but without speaking a +word. + + + + +CHAPTER XII--THE CHEST OPENED + + +Left alone in the turret-room, Edgar Caswall carefully locked the door +and hung a handkerchief over the keyhole. Next, he inspected the +windows, and saw that they were not overlooked from any angle of the main +building. Then he carefully examined the trunk, going over it with a +magnifying glass. He found it intact: the steel bands were flawless; the +whole trunk was compact. After sitting opposite to it for some time, and +the shades of evening beginning to melt into darkness, he gave up the +task and went to his bedroom, after locking the door of the turret-room +behind him and taking away the key. + +He woke in the morning at daylight, and resumed his patient but +unavailing study of the metal trunk. This he continued during the whole +day with the same result--humiliating disappointment, which overwrought +his nerves and made his head ache. The result of the long strain was +seen later in the afternoon, when he sat locked within the turret-room +before the still baffling trunk, distrait, listless and yet agitated, +sunk in a settled gloom. As the dusk was falling he told the steward to +send him two men, strong ones. These he ordered to take the trunk to his +bedroom. In that room he then sat on into the night, without pausing +even to take any food. His mind was in a whirl, a fever of excitement. +The result was that when, late in the night, he locked himself in his +room his brain was full of odd fancies; he was on the high road to mental +disturbance. He lay down on his bed in the dark, still brooding over the +mystery of the closed trunk. + +Gradually he yielded to the influences of silence and darkness. After +lying there quietly for some time, his mind became active again. But +this time there were round him no disturbing influences; his brain was +active and able to work freely and to deal with memory. A thousand +forgotten--or only half-known--incidents, fragments of conversations or +theories long ago guessed at and long forgotten, crowded on his mind. He +seemed to hear again around him the legions of whirring wings to which he +had been so lately accustomed. Even to himself he knew that that was an +effort of imagination founded on imperfect memory. But he was content +that imagination should work, for out of it might come some solution of +the mystery which surrounded him. And in this frame of mind, sleep made +another and more successful essay. This time he enjoyed peaceful +slumber, restful alike to his wearied body and his overwrought brain. + +In his sleep he arose, and, as if in obedience to some influence beyond +and greater than himself, lifted the great trunk and set it on a strong +table at one side of the room, from which he had previously removed a +quantity of books. To do this, he had to use an amount of strength which +was, he knew, far beyond him in his normal state. As it was, it seemed +easy enough; everything yielded before his touch. Then he became +conscious that somehow--how, he never could remember--the chest was open. +He unlocked his door, and, taking the chest on his shoulder, carried it +up to the turret-room, the door of which also he unlocked. Even at the +time he was amazed at his own strength, and wondered whence it had come. +His mind, lost in conjecture, was too far off to realise more immediate +things. He knew that the chest was enormously heavy. He seemed, in a +sort of vision which lit up the absolute blackness around, to see the two +sturdy servant men staggering under its great weight. He locked himself +again in the turret-room, and laid the opened chest on a table, and in +the darkness began to unpack it, laying out the contents, which were +mainly of metal and glass--great pieces in strange forms--on another +table. He was conscious of being still asleep, and of acting rather in +obedience to some unseen and unknown command than in accordance with any +reasonable plan, to be followed by results which he understood. This +phase completed, he proceeded to arrange in order the component parts of +some large instruments, formed mostly of glass. His fingers seemed to +have acquired a new and exquisite subtlety and even a volition of their +own. Then weariness of brain came upon him; his head sank down on his +breast, and little by little everything became wrapped in gloom. + +He awoke in the early morning in his bedroom, and looked around him, now +clear-headed, in amazement. In its usual place on the strong table stood +the great steel-hooped chest without lock or key. But it was now locked. +He arose quietly and stole to the turret-room. There everything was as +it had been on the previous evening. He looked out of the window where +high in air flew, as usual, the giant kite. He unlocked the wicket gate +of the turret stair and went out on the roof. Close to him was the great +coil of cord on its reel. It was humming in the morning breeze, and when +he touched the string it sent a quick thrill through hand and arm. There +was no sign anywhere that there had been any disturbance or displacement +of anything during the night. + +Utterly bewildered, he sat down in his room to think. Now for the first +time he _felt_ that he was asleep and dreaming. Presently he fell asleep +again, and slept for a long time. He awoke hungry and made a hearty +meal. Then towards evening, having locked himself in, he fell asleep +again. When he woke he was in darkness, and was quite at sea as to his +whereabouts. He began feeling about the dark room, and was recalled to +the consequences of his position by the breaking of a large piece of +glass. Having obtained a light, he discovered this to be a glass wheel, +part of an elaborate piece of mechanism which he must in his sleep have +taken from the chest, which was now opened. He had once again opened it +whilst asleep, but he had no recollection of the circumstances. + +Caswall came to the conclusion that there had been some sort of dual +action of his mind, which might lead to some catastrophe or some +discovery of his secret plans; so he resolved to forgo for a while the +pleasure of making discoveries regarding the chest. To this end, he +applied himself to quite another matter--an investigation of the other +treasures and rare objects in his collections. He went amongst them in +simple, idle curiosity, his main object being to discover some strange +item which he might use for experiment with the kite. He had already +resolved to try some runners other than those made of paper. He had a +vague idea that with such a force as the great kite straining at its +leash, this might be used to lift to the altitude of the kite itself +heavier articles. His first experiment with articles of little but +increasing weight was eminently successful. So he added by degrees more +and more weight, until he found out that the lifting power of the kite +was considerable. He then determined to take a step further, and send to +the kite some of the articles which lay in the steel-hooped chest. The +last time he had opened it in sleep, it had not been shut again, and he +had inserted a wedge so that he could open it at will. He made +examination of the contents, but came to the conclusion that the glass +objects were unsuitable. They were too light for testing weight, and +they were so frail as to be dangerous to send to such a height. + +So he looked around for something more solid with which to experiment. +His eye caught sight of an object which at once attracted him. This was +a small copy of one of the ancient Egyptian gods--that of Bes, who +represented the destructive power of nature. It was so bizarre and +mysterious as to commend itself to his mad humour. In lifting it from +the cabinet, he was struck by its great weight in proportion to its size. +He made accurate examination of it by the aid of some instruments, and +came to the conclusion that it was carved from a lump of lodestone. He +remembered that he had read somewhere of an ancient Egyptian god cut from +a similar substance, and, thinking it over, he came to the conclusion +that he must have read it in Sir Thomas Brown's _Popular Errors_, a book +of the seventeenth century. He got the book from the library, and looked +out the passage: + +"A great example we have from the observation of our learned friend Mr. +Graves, in an AEgyptian idol cut out of Loadstone and found among the +Mummies; which still retains its attraction, though probably taken out of +the mine about two thousand years ago." + +The strangeness of the figure, and its being so close akin to his own +nature, attracted him. He made from thin wood a large circular runner, +and in front of it placed the weighty god, sending it up to the flying +kite along the throbbing cord. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII--OOLANGA'S HALLUCINATIONS + + +During the last few days Lady Arabella had been getting exceedingly +impatient. Her debts, always pressing, were growing to an embarrassing +amount. The only hope she had of comfort in life was a good marriage; +but the good marriage on which she had fixed her eye did not seem to move +quickly enough--indeed, it did not seem to move at all--in the right +direction. Edgar Caswall was not an ardent wooer. From the very first +he seemed _difficile_, but he had been keeping to his own room ever since +his struggle with Mimi Watford. On that occasion Lady Arabella had shown +him in an unmistakable way what her feelings were; indeed, she had made +it known to him, in a more overt way than pride should allow, that she +wished to help and support him. The moment when she had gone across the +room to stand beside him in his mesmeric struggle, had been the very +limit of her voluntary action. It was quite bitter enough, she felt, +that he did not come to her, but now that she had made that advance, she +felt that any withdrawal on his part would, to a woman of her class, be +nothing less than a flaming insult. Had she not classed herself with his +nigger servant, an unreformed savage? Had she not shown her preference +for him at the festival of his home-coming? Had she not . . . Lady +Arabella was cold-blooded, and she was prepared to go through all that +might be necessary of indifference, and even insult, to become chatelaine +of Castra Regis. In the meantime, she would show no hurry--she must +wait. She might, in an unostentatious way, come to him again. She knew +him now, and could make a keen guess at his desires with regard to Lilla +Watford. With that secret in her possession, she could bring pressure to +bear on Caswall which would make it no easy matter for him to evade her. +The great difficulty was how to get near him. He was shut up within his +Castle, and guarded by a defence of convention which she could not pass +without danger of ill repute to herself. Over this question she thought +and thought for days and nights. At last she decided that the only way +would be to go to him openly at Castra Regis. Her rank and position +would make such a thing possible, if carefully done. She could explain +matters afterwards if necessary. Then when they were alone, she would +use her arts and her experience to make him commit himself. After all, +he was only a man, with a man's dislike of difficult or awkward +situations. She felt quite sufficient confidence in her own womanhood to +carry her through any difficulty which might arise. + +From Diana's Grove she heard each day the luncheon-gong from Castra Regis +sound, and knew the hour when the servants would be in the back of the +house. She would enter the house at that hour, and, pretending that she +could not make anyone hear her, would seek him in his own rooms. The +tower was, she knew, away from all the usual sounds of the house, and +moreover she knew that the servants had strict orders not to interrupt +him when he was in the turret chamber. She had found out, partly by the +aid of an opera-glass and partly by judicious questioning, that several +times lately a heavy chest had been carried to and from his room, and +that it rested in the room each night. She was, therefore, confident +that he had some important work on hand which would keep him busy for +long spells. + +Meanwhile, another member of the household at Castra Regis had schemes +which he thought were working to fruition. A man in the position of a +servant has plenty of opportunity of watching his betters and forming +opinions regarding them. Oolanga was in his way a clever, unscrupulous +rogue, and he felt that with things moving round him in this great +household there should be opportunities of self-advancement. Being +unscrupulous and stealthy--and a savage--he looked to dishonest means. He +saw plainly enough that Lady Arabella was making a dead set at his +master, and he was watchful of the slightest sign of anything which might +enhance this knowledge. Like the other men in the house, he knew of the +carrying to and fro of the great chest, and had got it into his head that +the care exercised in its porterage indicated that it was full of +treasure. He was for ever lurking around the turret-rooms on the chance +of making some useful discovery. But he was as cautious as he was +stealthy, and took care that no one else watched him. + +It was thus that the negro became aware of Lady Arabella's venture into +the house, as she thought, unseen. He took more care than ever, since he +was watching another, that the positions were not reversed. More than +ever he kept his eyes and ears open and his mouth shut. Seeing Lady +Arabella gliding up the stairs towards his master's room, he took it for +granted that she was there for no good, and doubled his watching +intentness and caution. + +Oolanga was disappointed, but he dared not exhibit any feeling lest it +should betray that he was hiding. Therefore he slunk downstairs again +noiselessly, and waited for a more favourable opportunity of furthering +his plans. It must be borne in mind that he thought that the heavy trunk +was full of valuables, and that he believed that Lady Arabella had come +to try to steal it. His purpose of using for his own advantage the +combination of these two ideas was seen later in the day. Oolanga +secretly followed her home. He was an expert at this game, and succeeded +admirably on this occasion. He watched her enter the private gate of +Diana's Grove, and then, taking a roundabout course and keeping out of +her sight, he at last overtook her in a thick part of the Grove where no +one could see the meeting. + +Lady Arabella was much surprised. She had not seen the negro for several +days, and had almost forgotten his existence. Oolanga would have been +startled had he known and been capable of understanding the real value +placed on him, his beauty, his worthiness, by other persons, and compared +it with the value in these matters in which he held himself. Doubtless +Oolanga had his dreams like other men. In such cases he saw himself as a +young sun-god, as beautiful as the eye of dusky or even white womanhood +had ever dwelt upon. He would have been filled with all noble and +captivating qualities--or those regarded as such in West Africa. Women +would have loved him, and would have told him so in the overt and fervid +manner usual in affairs of the heart in the shadowy depths of the forest +of the Gold Coast. + +Oolanga came close behind Lady Arabella, and in a hushed voice, suitable +to the importance of his task, and in deference to the respect he had for +her and the place, began to unfold the story of his love. Lady Arabella +was not usually a humorous person, but no man or woman of the white race +could have checked the laughter which rose spontaneously to her lips. The +circumstances were too grotesque, the contrast too violent, for subdued +mirth. The man a debased specimen of one of the most primitive races of +the earth, and of an ugliness which was simply devilish; the woman of +high degree, beautiful, accomplished. She thought that her first +moment's consideration of the outrage--it was nothing less in her +eyes--had given her the full material for thought. But every instant +after threw new and varied lights on the affront. Her indignation was +too great for passion; only irony or satire would meet the situation. Her +cold, cruel nature helped, and she did not shrink to subject this +ignorant savage to the merciless fire-lash of her scorn. + +Oolanga was dimly conscious that he was being flouted; but his anger was +no less keen because of the measure of his ignorance. So he gave way to +it, as does a tortured beast. He ground his great teeth together, raved, +stamped, and swore in barbarous tongues and with barbarous imagery. Even +Lady Arabella felt that it was well she was within reach of help, or he +might have offered her brutal violence--even have killed her. + +"Am I to understand," she said with cold disdain, so much more effective +to wound than hot passion, "that you are offering me your love? +Your--love?" + +For reply he nodded his head. The scorn of her voice, in a sort of +baleful hiss, sounded--and felt--like the lash of a whip. + +"And you dared! you--a savage--a slave--the basest thing in the world of +vermin! Take care! I don't value your worthless life more than I do +that of a rat or a spider. Don't let me ever see your hideous face here +again, or I shall rid the earth of you." + +As she was speaking, she had taken out her revolver and was pointing it +at him. In the immediate presence of death his impudence forsook him, +and he made a weak effort to justify himself. His speech was short, +consisting of single words. To Lady Arabella it sounded mere gibberish, +but it was in his own dialect, and meant love, marriage, wife. From the +intonation of the words, she guessed, with her woman's quick intuition, +at their meaning; but she quite failed to follow, when, becoming more +pressing, he continued to urge his suit in a mixture of the grossest +animal passion and ridiculous threats. He warned her that he knew she +had tried to steal his master's treasure, and that he had caught her in +the act. But if she would be his, he would share the treasure with her, +and they could live in luxury in the African forests. But if she +refused, he would tell his master, who would flog and torture her and +then give her to the police, who would kill her. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV--BATTLE RENEWED + + +The consequences of that meeting in the dusk of Diana's Grove were acute +and far-reaching, and not only to the two engaged in it. From Oolanga, +this might have been expected by anyone who knew the character of the +tropical African savage. To such, there are two passions that are +inexhaustible and insatiable--vanity and that which they are pleased to +call love. Oolanga left the Grove with an absorbing hatred in his heart. +His lust and greed were afire, while his vanity had been wounded to the +core. Lady Arabella's icy nature was not so deeply stirred, though she +was in a seething passion. More than ever she was set upon bringing +Edgar Caswall to her feet. The obstacles she had encountered, the +insults she had endured, were only as fuel to the purpose of revenge +which consumed her. + +As she sought her own rooms in Diana's Grove, she went over the whole +subject again and again, always finding in the face of Lilla Watford a +key to a problem which puzzled her--the problem of a way to turn +Caswall's powers--his very existence--to aid her purpose. + +When in her boudoir, she wrote a note, taking so much trouble over it +that she destroyed, and rewrote, till her dainty waste-basket was half- +full of torn sheets of notepaper. When quite satisfied, she copied out +the last sheet afresh, and then carefully burned all the spoiled +fragments. She put the copied note in an emblazoned envelope, and +directed it to Edgar Caswall at Castra Regis. This she sent off by one +of her grooms. The letter ran: + + "DEAR MR. CASWALL, + + "I want to have a chat with you on a subject in which I believe you + are interested. Will you kindly call for me one day after lunch--say + at three or four o'clock, and we can walk a little way together. Only + as far as Mercy Farm, where I want to see Lilla and Mimi Watford. We + can take a cup of tea at the Farm. Do not bring your African servant + with you, as I am afraid his face frightens the girls. After all, he + is not pretty, is he? I have an idea you will be pleased with your + visit this time. + + "Yours sincerely, + + "ARABELLA MARCH." + +At half-past three next day, Edgar Caswall called at Diana's Grove. Lady +Arabella met him on the roadway outside the gate. She wished to take the +servants into her confidence as little as possible. She turned when she +saw him coming, and walked beside him towards Mercy Farm, keeping step +with him as they walked. When they got near Mercy, she turned and looked +around her, expecting to see Oolanga or some sign of him. He was, +however, not visible. He had received from his master peremptory orders +to keep out of sight--an order for which the African scored a new offence +up against her. They found Lilla and Mimi at home and seemingly glad to +see them, though both the girls were surprised at the visit coming so +soon after the other. + +The proceedings were a repetition of the battle of souls of the former +visit. On this occasion, however, Edgar Caswall had only the presence of +Lady Arabella to support him--Oolanga being absent; but Mimi lacked the +support of Adam Salton, which had been of such effective service before. +This time the struggle for supremacy of will was longer and more +determined. Caswall felt that if he could not achieve supremacy he had +better give up the idea, so all his pride was enlisted against Mimi. When +they had been waiting for the door to be opened, Lady Arabella, believing +in a sudden attack, had said to him in a low voice, which somehow carried +conviction: + +"This time you should win. Mimi is, after all, only a woman. Show her +no mercy. That is weakness. Fight her, beat her, trample on her--kill +her if need be. She stands in your way, and I hate her. Never take your +eyes off her. Never mind Lilla--she is afraid of you. You are already +her master. Mimi will try to make you look at her cousin. There lies +defeat. Let nothing take your attention from Mimi, and you will win. If +she is overcoming you, take my hand and hold it hard whilst you are +looking into her eyes. If she is too strong for you, I shall interfere. +I'll make a diversion, and under cover of it you must retire unbeaten, +even if not victorious. Hush! they are coming." + +The two girls came to the door together. Strange sounds were coming up +over the Brow from the west. It was the rustling and crackling of the +dry reeds and rushes from the low lands. The season had been an +unusually dry one. Also the strong east wind was helping forward +enormous flocks of birds, most of them pigeons with white cowls. Not +only were their wings whirring, but their cooing was plainly audible. +From such a multitude of birds the mass of sound, individually small, +assumed the volume of a storm. Surprised at the influx of birds, to +which they had been strangers so long, they all looked towards Castra +Regis, from whose high tower the great kite had been flying as usual. But +even as they looked, the cord broke, and the great kite fell headlong in +a series of sweeping dives. Its own weight, and the aerial force opposed +to it, which caused it to rise, combined with the strong easterly breeze, +had been too much for the great length of cord holding it. + +Somehow, the mishap to the kite gave new hope to Mimi. It was as though +the side issues had been shorn away, so that the main struggle was +thenceforth on simpler lines. She had a feeling in her heart, as though +some religious chord had been newly touched. It may, of course, have +been that with the renewal of the bird voices a fresh courage, a fresh +belief in the good issue of the struggle came too. In the misery of +silence, from which they had all suffered for so long, any new train of +thought was almost bound to be a boon. As the inrush of birds continued, +their wings beating against the crackling rushes, Lady Arabella grew +pale, and almost fainted. + +"What is that?" she asked suddenly. + +To Mimi, born and bred in Siam, the sound was strangely like an +exaggeration of the sound produced by a snake-charmer. + +Edgar Caswall was the first to recover from the interruption of the +falling kite. After a few minutes he seemed to have quite recovered his +_sang froid_, and was able to use his brains to the end which he had in +view. Mimi too quickly recovered herself, but from a different cause. +With her it was a deep religious conviction that the struggle round her +was of the powers of Good and Evil, and that Good was triumphing. The +very appearance of the snowy birds, with the cowls of Saint Columba, +heightened the impression. With this conviction strong upon her, she +continued the strange battle with fresh vigour. She seemed to tower over +Caswall, and he to give back before her oncoming. Once again her +vigorous passes drove him to the door. He was just going out backward +when Lady Arabella, who had been gazing at him with fixed eyes, caught +his hand and tried to stop his movement. She was, however, unable to do +any good, and so, holding hands, they passed out together. As they did +so, the strange music which had so alarmed Lady Arabella suddenly +stopped. Instinctively they all looked towards the tower of Castra +Regis, and saw that the workmen had refixed the kite, which had risen +again and was beginning to float out to its former station. + +As they were looking, the door opened and Michael Watford came into the +room. By that time all had recovered their self-possession, and there +was nothing out of the common to attract his attention. As he came in, +seeing inquiring looks all around him, he said: + +"The new influx of birds is only the annual migration of pigeons from +Africa. I am told that it will soon be over." + +The second victory of Mimi Watford made Edgar Caswall more moody than +ever. He felt thrown back on himself, and this, added to his absorbing +interest in the hope of a victory of his mesmeric powers, became a deep +and settled purpose of revenge. The chief object of his animosity was, +of course, Mimi, whose will had overcome his, but it was obscured in +greater or lesser degree by all who had opposed him. Lilla was next to +Mimi in his hate--Lilla, the harmless, tender-hearted, sweet-natured +girl, whose heart was so full of love for all things that in it was no +room for the passions of ordinary life--whose nature resembled those +doves of St. Columba, whose colour she wore, whose appearance she +reflected. Adam Salton came next--after a gap; for against him Caswall +had no direct animosity. He regarded him as an interference, a +difficulty to be got rid of or destroyed. The young Australian had been +so discreet that the most he had against him was his knowledge of what +had been. Caswall did not understand him, and to such a nature as his, +ignorance was a cause of alarm, of dread. + +Caswall resumed his habit of watching the great kite straining at its +cord, varying his vigils in this way by a further examination of the +mysterious treasures of his house, especially Mesmer's chest. He sat +much on the roof of the tower, brooding over his thwarted passion. The +vast extent of his possessions, visible to him at that altitude, might, +one would have thought, have restored some of his complacency. But the +very extent of his ownership, thus perpetually brought before him, +created a fresh sense of grievance. How was it, he thought, that with so +much at command that others wished for, he could not achieve the dearest +wishes of his heart? + +In this state of intellectual and moral depravity, he found a solace in +the renewal of his experiments with the mechanical powers of the kite. +For a couple of weeks he did not see Lady Arabella, who was always on the +watch for a chance of meeting him; neither did he see the Watford girls, +who studiously kept out of his way. Adam Salton simply marked time, +keeping ready to deal with anything that might affect his friends. He +called at the farm and heard from Mimi of the last battle of wills, but +it had only one consequence. He got from Ross several more mongooses, +including a second king-cobra-killer, which he generally carried with him +in its box whenever he walked out. + +Mr. Caswall's experiments with the kite went on successfully. Each day +he tried the lifting of greater weight, and it seemed almost as if the +machine had a sentience of its own, which was increasing with the +obstacles placed before it. All this time the kite hung in the sky at an +enormous height. The wind was steadily from the north, so the trend of +the kite was to the south. All day long, runners of increasing magnitude +were sent up. These were only of paper or thin cardboard, or leather, or +other flexible materials. The great height at which the kite hung made a +great concave curve in the string, so that as the runners went up they +made a flapping sound. If one laid a finger on the string, the sound +answered to the flapping of the runner in a sort of hollow intermittent +murmur. Edgar Caswall, who was now wholly obsessed by the kite and all +belonging to it, found a distinct resemblance between that intermittent +rumble and the snake-charming music produced by the pigeons flying +through the dry reeds. + +One day he made a discovery in Mesmer's chest which he thought he would +utilise with regard to the runners. This was a great length of wire, +"fine as human hair," coiled round a finely made wheel, which ran to a +wondrous distance freely, and as lightly. He tried this on runners, and +found it work admirably. Whether the runner was alone, or carried +something much more weighty than itself, it worked equally well. Also it +was strong enough and light enough to draw back the runner without undue +strain. He tried this a good many times successfully, but it was now +growing dusk and he found some difficulty in keeping the runner in sight. +So he looked for something heavy enough to keep it still. He placed the +Egyptian image of Bes on the fine wire, which crossed the wooden ledge +which protected it. Then, the darkness growing, he went indoors and +forgot all about it. + +He had a strange feeling of uneasiness that night--not sleeplessness, for +he seemed conscious of being asleep. At daylight he rose, and as usual +looked out for the kite. He did not see it in its usual position in the +sky, so looked round the points of the compass. He was more than +astonished when presently he saw the missing kite struggling as usual +against the controlling cord. But it had gone to the further side of the +tower, and now hung and strained _against the wind_ to the north. He +thought it so strange that he determined to investigate the phenomenon, +and to say nothing about it in the meantime. + +In his many travels, Edgar Caswall had been accustomed to use the +sextant, and was now an expert in the matter. By the aid of this and +other instruments, he was able to fix the position of the kite and the +point over which it hung. He was startled to find that exactly under +it--so far as he could ascertain--was Diana's Grove. He had an +inclination to take Lady Arabella into his confidence in the matter, but +he thought better of it and wisely refrained. For some reason which he +did not try to explain to himself, he was glad of his silence, when, on +the following morning, he found, on looking out, that the point over +which the kite then hovered was Mercy Farm. When he had verified this +with his instruments, he sat before the window of the tower, looking out +and thinking. The new locality was more to his liking than the other; +but the why of it puzzled him, all the same. He spent the rest of the +day in the turret-room, which he did not leave all day. It seemed to him +that he was now drawn by forces which he could not control--of which, +indeed, he had no knowledge--in directions which he did not understand, +and which were without his own volition. In sheer helpless inability to +think the problem out satisfactorily, he called up a servant and told him +to tell Oolanga that he wanted to see him at once in the turret-room. The +answer came back that the African had not been seen since the previous +evening. + +Caswall was now so irritable that even this small thing upset him. As he +was distrait and wanted to talk to somebody, he sent for Simon Chester, +who came at once, breathless with hurrying and upset by the unexpected +summons. Caswall bade him sit down, and when the old man was in a less +uneasy frame of mind, he again asked him if he had ever seen what was in +Mesmer's chest or heard it spoken about. + +Chester admitted that he had once, in the time of "the then Mr. Edgar," +seen the chest open, which, knowing something of its history and guessing +more, so upset him that he had fainted. When he recovered, the chest was +closed. From that time the then Mr. Edgar had never spoken about it +again. + +When Caswall asked him to describe what he had seen when the chest was +open, he got very agitated, and, despite all his efforts to remain calm, +he suddenly went off into a faint. Caswall summoned servants, who +applied the usual remedies. Still the old man did not recover. After +the lapse of a considerable time, the doctor who had been summoned made +his appearance. A glance was sufficient for him to make up his mind. +Still, he knelt down by the old man, and made a careful examination. Then +he rose to his feet, and in a hushed voice said: + +"I grieve to say, sir, that he has passed away." + + + + +CHAPTER XV--ON THE TRACK + + +Those who had seen Edgar Caswall familiarly since his arrival, and had +already estimated his cold-blooded nature at something of its true value, +were surprised that he took so to heart the death of old Chester. The +fact was that not one of them had guessed correctly at his character. +They thought, naturally enough, that the concern which he felt was that +of a master for a faithful old servant of his family. They little +thought that it was merely the selfish expression of his disappointment, +that he had thus lost the only remaining clue to an interesting piece of +family history--one which was now and would be for ever wrapped in +mystery. Caswall knew enough about the life of his ancestor in Paris to +wish to know more fully and more thoroughly all that had been. The +period covered by that ancestor's life in Paris was one inviting every +form of curiosity. + +Lady Arabella, who had her own game to play, saw in the _metier_ of +sympathetic friend, a series of meetings with the man she wanted to +secure. She made the first use of the opportunity the day after old +Chester's death; indeed, as soon as the news had filtered in through the +back door of Diana's Grove. At that meeting, she played her part so well +that even Caswall's cold nature was impressed. + +Oolanga was the only one who did not credit her with at least some sense +of fine feeling in the matter. In emotional, as in other matters, +Oolanga was distinctly a utilitarian, and as he could not understand +anyone feeling grief except for his own suffering, pain, or for the loss +of money, he could not understand anyone simulating such an emotion +except for show intended to deceive. He thought that she had come to +Castra Regis again for the opportunity of stealing something, and was +determined that on this occasion the chance of pressing his advantage +over her should not pass. He felt, therefore, that the occasion was one +for extra carefulness in the watching of all that went on. Ever since he +had come to the conclusion that Lady Arabella was trying to steal the +treasure-chest, he suspected nearly everyone of the same design, and made +it a point to watch all suspicious persons and places. As Adam was +engaged on his own researches regarding Lady Arabella, it was only +natural that there should be some crossing of each other's tracks. This +is what did actually happen. + +Adam had gone for an early morning survey of the place in which he was +interested, taking with him the mongoose in its box. He arrived at the +gate of Diana's Grove just as Lady Arabella was preparing to set out for +Castra Regis on what she considered her mission of comfort. Seeing Adam +from her window going through the shadows of the trees round the gate, +she thought that he must be engaged on some purpose similar to her own. +So, quickly making her toilet, she quietly left the house, and, taking +advantage of every shadow and substance which could hide her, followed +him on his walk. + +Oolanga, the experienced tracker, followed her, but succeeded in hiding +his movements better than she did. He saw that Adam had on his shoulder +a mysterious box, which he took to contain something valuable. Seeing +that Lady Arabella was secretly following Adam, he was confirmed in this +idea. His mind--such as it was--was fixed on her trying to steal, and he +credited her at once with making use of this new opportunity. + +In his walk, Adam went into the grounds of Castra Regis, and Oolanga saw +her follow him with great secrecy. He feared to go closer, as now on +both sides of him were enemies who might make discovery. When he +realised that Lady Arabella was bound for the Castle, he devoted himself +to following her with singleness of purpose. He therefore missed seeing +that Adam branched off the track and returned to the high road. + +That night Edgar Caswall had slept badly. The tragic occurrence of the +day was on his mind, and he kept waking and thinking of it. After an +early breakfast, he sat at the open window watching the kite and thinking +of many things. From his room he could see all round the neighbourhood, +but the two places that interested him most were Mercy Farm and Diana's +Grove. At first the movements about those spots were of a humble +kind--those that belong to domestic service or agricultural needs--the +opening of doors and windows, the sweeping and brushing, and generally +the restoration of habitual order. + +From his high window--whose height made it a screen from the observation +of others--he saw the chain of watchers move into his own grounds, and +then presently break up--Adam Salton going one way, and Lady Arabella, +followed by the nigger, another. Then Oolanga disappeared amongst the +trees; but Caswall could see that he was still watching. Lady Arabella, +after looking around her, slipped in by the open door, and he could, of +course, see her no longer. + +Presently, however, he heard a light tap at his door, then the door +opened slowly, and he could see the flash of Lady Arabella's white dress +through the opening. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI--A VISIT OF SYMPATHY + + +Caswall was genuinely surprised when he saw Lady Arabella, though he need +not have been, after what had already occurred in the same way. The look +of surprise on his face was so much greater than Lady Arabella had +expected--though she thought she was prepared to meet anything that might +occur--that she stood still, in sheer amazement. Cold-blooded as she was +and ready for all social emergencies, she was nonplussed how to go on. +She was plucky, however, and began to speak at once, although she had not +the slightest idea what she was going to say. + +"I came to offer you my very warm sympathy with the grief you have so +lately experienced." + +"My grief? I'm afraid I must be very dull; but I really do not +understand." + +Already she felt at a disadvantage, and hesitated. + +"I mean about the old man who died so suddenly--your old . . . retainer." + +Caswall's face relaxed something of its puzzled concentration. + +"Oh, he was only a servant; and he had over-stayed his three-score and +ten years by something like twenty years. He must have been ninety!" + +"Still, as an old servant . . . " + +Caswall's words were not so cold as their inflection. + +"I never interfere with servants. He was kept on here merely because he +had been so long on the premises. I suppose the steward thought it might +make him unpopular if the old fellow had been dismissed." + +How on earth was she to proceed on such a task as hers if this was the +utmost geniality she could expect? So she at once tried another +tack--this time a personal one. + +"I am sorry I disturbed you. I am really not unconventional--though +certainly no slave to convention. Still there are limits . . . it is bad +enough to intrude in this way, and I do not know what you can say or +think of the time selected, for the intrusion." + +After all, Edgar Caswall was a gentleman by custom and habit, so he rose +to the occasion. + +"I can only say, Lady Arabella, that you are always welcome at any time +you may deign to honour my house with your presence." + +She smiled at him sweetly. + +"Thank you _so_ much. You _do_ put one at ease. My breach of convention +makes me glad rather than sorry. I feel that I can open my heart to you +about anything." + +Forthwith she proceeded to tell him about Oolanga and his strange +suspicions of her honesty. Caswall laughed and made her explain all the +details. His final comment was enlightening. + +"Let me give you a word of advice: If you have the slightest fault to +find with that infernal nigger, shoot him at sight. A swelled-headed +nigger, with a bee in his bonnet, is one of the worst difficulties in the +world to deal with. So better make a clean job of it, and wipe him out +at once!" + +"But what about the law, Mr. Caswall?" + +"Oh, the law doesn't concern itself much about dead niggers. A few more +or less do not matter. To my mind it's rather a relief!" + +"I'm afraid of you," was her only comment, made with a sweet smile and in +a soft voice. + +"All right," he said, "let us leave it at that. Anyhow, we shall be rid +of one of them!" + +"I don't love niggers any more than you do," she replied, "and I suppose +one mustn't be too particular where that sort of cleaning up is +concerned." Then she changed in voice and manner, and asked genially: +"And now tell me, am I forgiven?" + +"You are, dear lady--if there is anything to forgive." + +As he spoke, seeing that she had moved to go, he came to the door with +her, and in the most natural way accompanied her downstairs. He passed +through the hall with her and down the avenue. As he went back to the +house, she smiled to herself. + +"Well, that is all right. I don't think the morning has been altogether +thrown away." + +And she walked slowly back to Diana's Grove. + +Adam Salton followed the line of the Brow, and refreshed his memory as to +the various localities. He got home to Lesser Hill just as Sir Nathaniel +was beginning lunch. Mr. Salton had gone to Walsall to keep an early +appointment; so he was all alone. When the meal was over--seeing in +Adam's face that he had something to speak about--he followed into the +study and shut the door. + +When the two men had lighted their pipes, Sir Nathaniel began. + +"I have remembered an interesting fact about Diana's Grove--there is, I +have long understood, some strange mystery about that house. It may be +of some interest, or it may be trivial, in such a tangled skein as we are +trying to unravel." + +"Please tell me all you know or suspect. To begin, then, of what sort +is the mystery--physical, mental, moral, historical, scientific, occult? +Any kind of hint will help me." + +"Quite right. I shall try to tell you what I think; but I have not put +my thoughts on the subject in sequence, so you must forgive me if due +order is not observed in my narration. I suppose you have seen the house +at Diana's Grove?" + +"The outside of it; but I have that in my mind's eye, and I can fit into +my memory whatever you may mention." + +"The house is very old--probably the first house of some sort that stood +there was in the time of the Romans. This was probably renewed--perhaps +several times at later periods. The house stands, or, rather, used to +stand here when Mercia was a kingdom--I do not suppose that the basement +can be later than the Norman Conquest. Some years ago, when I was +President of the Mercian Archaeological Society, I went all over it very +carefully. This was when it was purchased by Captain March. The house +had then been done up, so as to be suitable for the bride. The basement +is very strong,--almost as strong and as heavy as if it had been intended +as a fortress. There are a whole series of rooms deep underground. One +of them in particular struck me. The room itself is of considerable +size, but the masonry is more than massive. In the middle of the room is +a sunk well, built up to floor level and evidently going deep +underground. There is no windlass nor any trace of there ever having +been any--no rope--nothing. Now, we know that the Romans had wells of +immense depth, from which the water was lifted by the 'old rag rope'; +that at Woodhull used to be nearly a thousand feet. Here, then, we have +simply an enormously deep well-hole. The door of the room was massive, +and was fastened with a lock nearly a foot square. It was evidently +intended for some kind of protection to someone or something; but no one +in those days had ever heard of anyone having been allowed even to see +the room. All this is _a propos_ of a suggestion on my part that the +well-hole was a way by which the White Worm (whatever it was) went and +came. At that time I would have had a search made--even excavation if +necessary--at my own expense, but all suggestions were met with a prompt +and explicit negative. So, of course, I took no further step in the +matter. Then it died out of recollection--even of mine." + +"Do you remember, sir," asked Adam, "what was the appearance of the room +where the well-hole was? Was there furniture--in fact, any sort of thing +in the room?" + +"The only thing I remember was a sort of green light--very clouded, very +dim--which came up from the well. Not a fixed light, but intermittent +and irregular--quite unlike anything I had ever seen." + +"Do you remember how you got into the well-room? Was there a separate +door from outside, or was there any interior room or passage which opened +into it?" + +"I think there must have been some room with a way into it. I remember +going up some steep steps; they must have been worn smooth by long use or +something of the kind, for I could hardly keep my feet as I went up. Once +I stumbled and nearly fell into the well-hole." + +"Was there anything strange about the place--any queer smell, for +instance?" + +"Queer smell--yes! Like bilge or a rank swamp. It was distinctly +nauseating; when I came out I felt as if I had just been going to be +sick. I shall try back on my visit and see if I can recall any more of +what I saw or felt." + +"Then perhaps, sir, later in the day you will tell me anything you may +chance to recollect." + +"I shall be delighted, Adam. If your uncle has not returned by then, +I'll join you in the study after dinner, and we can resume this +interesting chat." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII--THE MYSTERY OF "THE GROVE" + + +That afternoon Adam decided to do a little exploring. As he passed +through the wood outside the gate of Diana's Grove, he thought he saw the +African's face for an instant. So he went deeper into the undergrowth, +and followed along parallel to the avenue to the house. He was glad that +there was no workman or servant about, for he did not care that any of +Lady Arabella's people should find him wandering about her grounds. +Taking advantage of the denseness of the trees, he came close to the +house and skirted round it. He was repaid for his trouble, for on the +far side of the house, close to where the rocky frontage of the cliff +fell away, he saw Oolanga crouched behind the irregular trunk of a great +oak. The man was so intent on watching someone, or something, that he +did not guard against being himself watched. This suited Adam, for he +could thus make scrutiny at will. + +The thick wood, though the trees were mostly of small girth, threw a +heavy shadow, so that the steep declension, in front of which grew the +tree behind which the African lurked, was almost in darkness. Adam drew +as close as he could, and was amazed to see a patch of light on the +ground before him; when he realised what it was, he was determined, more +than ever to follow on his quest. The nigger had a dark lantern in his +hand, and was throwing the light down the steep incline. The glare +showed a series of stone steps, which ended in a low-lying heavy iron +door fixed against the side of the house. All the strange things he had +heard from Sir Nathaniel, and all those, little and big, which he had +himself noticed, crowded into his mind in a chaotic way. Instinctively +he took refuge behind a thick oak stem, and set himself down, to watch +what might occur. + +After a short time it became apparent that the African was trying to find +out what was behind the heavy door. There was no way of looking in, for +the door fitted tight into the massive stone slabs. The only opportunity +for the entrance of light was through a small hole between the great +stones above the door. This hole was too high up to look through from +the ground level. Oolanga, having tried standing tiptoe on the highest +point near, and holding the lantern as high as he could, threw the light +round the edges of the door to see if he could find anywhere a hole or a +flaw in the metal through which he could obtain a glimpse. Foiled in +this, he brought from the shrubbery a plank, which he leant against the +top of the door and then climbed up with great dexterity. This did not +bring him near enough to the window-hole to look in, or even to throw the +light of the lantern through it, so he climbed down and carried the plank +back to the place from which he had got it. Then he concealed himself +near the iron door and waited, manifestly with the intent of remaining +there till someone came near. Presently Lady Arabella, moving +noiselessly through the shade, approached the door. When he saw her +close enough to touch it, Oolanga stepped forward from his concealment, +and spoke in a whisper, which through the gloom sounded like a hiss. + +"I want to see you, missy--soon and secret." + +"What do you want?" + +"You know well, missy; I told you already." + +She turned on him with blazing eyes, the green tint in them glowing like +emeralds. + +"Come, none of that. If there is anything sensible which you wish to say +to me, you can see me here, just where we are, at seven o'clock." + +He made no reply in words, but, putting the backs of his hands together, +bent lower and lower till his forehead touched the earth. Then he rose +and went slowly away. + +Adam Salton, from his hiding-place, saw and wondered. In a few minutes +he moved from his place and went home to Lesser Hill, fully determined +that seven o'clock would find him in some hidden place behind Diana's +Grove. + +At a little before seven Adam stole softly out of the house and took the +back-way to the rear of Diana's Grove. The place seemed silent and +deserted, so he took the opportunity of concealing himself near the spot +whence he had seen Oolanga trying to investigate whatever was concealed +behind the iron door. He waited, perfectly still, and at last saw a +gleam of white passing soundlessly through the undergrowth. He was not +surprised when he recognised the colour of Lady Arabella's dress. She +came close and waited, with her face to the iron door. From some place +of concealment near at hand Oolanga appeared, and came close to her. Adam +noticed, with surprised amusement, that over his shoulder was the box +with the mongoose. Of course the African did not know that he was seen +by anyone, least of all by the man whose property he had with him. + +Silent-footed as he was, Lady Arabella heard him coming, and turned to +meet him. It was somewhat hard to see in the gloom, for, as usual, he +was all in black, only his collar and cuffs showing white. Lady Arabella +opened the conversation which ensued between the two. + +"What do you want? To rob me, or murder me?" + +"No, to lub you!" + +This frightened her a little, and she tried to change the tone. + +"Is that a coffin you have with you? If so, you are wasting your time. +It would not hold me." + +When a nigger suspects he is being laughed at, all the ferocity of his +nature comes to the front; and this man was of the lowest kind. + +"Dis ain't no coffin for nobody. Dis box is for you. Somefin you lub. +Me give him to you!" + +Still anxious to keep off the subject of affection, on which she believed +him to have become crazed, she made another effort to keep his mind +elsewhere. + +"Is this why you want to see me?" He nodded. "Then come round to the +other door. But be quiet. I have no desire to be seen so close to my +own house in conversation with a--a--a nigger like you!" + +She had chosen the word deliberately. She wished to meet his passion +with another kind. Such would, at all events, help to keep him quiet. In +the deep gloom she could not see the anger which suffused his face. +Rolling eyeballs and grinding teeth are, however, sufficient signs of +anger to be decipherable in the dark. She moved round the corner of the +house to her right. Oolanga was following her, when she stopped him by +raising her hand. + +"No, not that door," she said; "that is not for niggers. The other door +will do well enough for you!" + +Lady Arabella took in her hand a small key which hung at the end of her +watch-chain, and moved to a small door, low down, round the corner, and a +little downhill from the edge of the Brow. Oolanga, in obedience to her +gesture, went back to the iron door. Adam looked carefully at the +mongoose box as the African went by, and was glad to see that it was +intact. Unconsciously, as he looked, he fingered the key that was in his +waistcoat pocket. When Oolanga was out of sight, Adam hurried after Lady +Arabella. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII--EXIT OOLANGA + + +The woman turned sharply as Adam touched her shoulder. + +"One moment whilst we are alone. You had better not trust that nigger!" +he whispered. + +Her answer was crisp and concise: + +"I don't." + +"Forewarned is forearmed. Tell me if you will--it is for your own +protection. Why do you mistrust him?" + +"My friend, you have no idea of that man's impudence. Would you believe +that he wants me to marry him?" + +"No!" said Adam incredulously, amused in spite of himself. + +"Yes, and wanted to bribe me to do it by sharing a chest of treasure--at +least, he thought it was--stolen from Mr. Caswall. Why do you distrust +him, Mr. Salton?" + +"Did you notice that box he had slung on his shoulder? That belongs to +me. I left it in the gun-room when I went to lunch. He must have crept +in and stolen it. Doubtless he thinks that it, too, is full of +treasure." + +"He does!" + +"How on earth do you know?" asked Adam. + +"A little while ago he offered to give it to me--another bribe to accept +him. Faugh! I am ashamed to tell you such a thing. The beast!" + +Whilst they had been speaking, she had opened the door, a narrow iron +one, well hung, for it opened easily and closed tightly without any +creaking or sound of any kind. Within all was dark; but she entered as +freely and with as little misgiving or restraint as if it had been broad +daylight. For Adam, there was just sufficient green light from somewhere +for him to see that there was a broad flight of heavy stone steps leading +upward; but Lady Arabella, after shutting the door behind her, when it +closed tightly without a clang, tripped up the steps lightly and swiftly. +For an instant all was dark, but there came again the faint green light +which enabled him to see the outlines of things. Another iron door, +narrow like the first and fairly high, led into another large room, the +walls of which were of massive stones, so closely joined together as to +exhibit only one smooth surface. This presented the appearance of having +at one time been polished. On the far side, also smooth like the walls, +was the reverse of a wide, but not high, iron door. Here there was a +little more light, for the high-up aperture over the door opened to the +air. + +Lady Arabella took from her girdle another small key, which she inserted +in a keyhole in the centre of a massive lock. The great bolt seemed +wonderfully hung, for the moment the small key was turned, the bolts of +the great lock moved noiselessly and the iron doors swung open. On the +stone steps outside stood Oolanga, with the mongoose box slung over his +shoulder. Lady Arabella stood a little on one side, and the African, +accepting the movement as an invitation, entered in an obsequious way. +The moment, however, that he was inside, he gave a quick look around him. + +"Much death here--big death. Many deaths. Good, good!" + +He sniffed round as if he was enjoying the scent. The matter and manner +of his speech were so revolting that instinctively Adam's hand wandered +to his revolver, and, with his finger on the trigger, he rested satisfied +that he was ready for any emergency. + +There was certainly opportunity for the nigger's enjoyment, for the open +well-hole was almost under his nose, sending up such a stench as almost +made Adam sick, though Lady Arabella seemed not to mind it at all. It +was like nothing that Adam had ever met with. He compared it with all +the noxious experiences he had ever had--the drainage of war hospitals, +of slaughter-houses, the refuse of dissecting rooms. None of these was +like it, though it had something of them all, with, added, the sourness +of chemical waste and the poisonous effluvium of the bilge of a water- +logged ship whereon a multitude of rats had been drowned. + +Then, quite unexpectedly, the negro noticed the presence of a third +person--Adam Salton! He pulled out a pistol and shot at him, happily +missing. Adam was himself usually a quick shot, but this time his mind +had been on something else and he was not ready. However, he was quick +to carry out an intention, and he was not a coward. In another moment +both men were in grips. Beside them was the dark well-hole, with that +horrid effluvium stealing up from its mysterious depths. + +Adam and Oolanga both had pistols; Lady Arabella, who had not one, was +probably the most ready of them all in the theory of shooting, but that +being impossible, she made her effort in another way. Gliding forward, +she tried to seize the African; but he eluded her grasp, just missing, in +doing so, falling into the mysterious hole. As he swayed back to firm +foothold, he turned his own gun on her and shot. Instinctively Adam +leaped at his assailant; clutching at each other, they tottered on the +very brink. + +Lady Arabella's anger, now fully awake, was all for Oolanga. She moved +towards him with her hands extended, and had just seized him when the +catch of the locked box--due to some movement from within--flew open, and +the king-cobra-killer flew at her with a venomous fury impossible to +describe. As it seized her throat, she caught hold of it, and, with a +fury superior to its own, tore it in two just as if it had been a sheet +of paper. The strength used for such an act must have been terrific. In +an instant, it seemed to spout blood and entrails, and was hurled into +the well-hole. In another instant she had seized Oolanga, and with a +swift rush had drawn him, her white arms encircling him, down with her +into the gaping aperture. + +Adam saw a medley of green and red lights blaze in a whirling circle, and +as it sank down into the well, a pair of blazing green eyes became fixed, +sank lower and lower with frightful rapidity, and disappeared, throwing +upward the green light which grew more and more vivid every moment. As +the light sank into the noisome depths, there came a shriek which chilled +Adam's blood--a prolonged agony of pain and terror which seemed to have +no end. + +Adam Salton felt that he would never be able to free his mind from the +memory of those dreadful moments. The gloom which surrounded that +horrible charnel pit, which seemed to go down to the very bowels of the +earth, conveyed from far down the sights and sounds of the nethermost +hell. The ghastly fate of the African as he sank down to his terrible +doom, his black face growing grey with terror, his white eyeballs, now +like veined bloodstone, rolling in the helpless extremity of fear. The +mysterious green light was in itself a milieu of horror. And through it +all the awful cry came up from that fathomless pit, whose entrance was +flooded with spots of fresh blood. Even the death of the fearless little +snake-killer--so fierce, so frightful, as if stained with a ferocity +which told of no living force above earth, but only of the devils of the +pit--was only an incident. Adam was in a state of intellectual tumult, +which had no parallel in his experience. He tried to rush away from the +horrible place; even the baleful green light, thrown up through the +gloomy well-shaft, was dying away as its source sank deeper into the +primeval ooze. The darkness was closing in on him in overwhelming +density--darkness in such a place and with such a memory of it! + +He made a wild rush forward--slipt on the steps in some sticky, acrid- +smelling mass that felt and smelt like blood, and, falling forward, felt +his way into the inner room, where the well-shaft was not. + +Then he rubbed his eyes in sheer amazement. Up the stone steps from the +narrow door by which he had entered, glided the white-clad figure of Lady +Arabella, the only colour to be seen on her being blood-marks on her face +and hands and throat. Otherwise, she was calm and unruffled, as when +earlier she stood aside for him to pass in through the narrow iron door. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX--AN ENEMY IN THE DARK + + +Adam Salton went for a walk before returning to Lesser Hill; he felt that +it might be well, not only to steady his nerves, shaken by the horrible +scene, but to get his thoughts into some sort of order, so as to be ready +to enter on the matter with Sir Nathaniel. He was a little embarrassed +as to telling his uncle, for affairs had so vastly progressed beyond his +original view that he felt a little doubtful as to what would be the old +gentleman's attitude when he should hear of the strange events for the +first time. Mr. Salton would certainly not be satisfied at being treated +as an outsider with regard to such things, most of which had points of +contact with the inmates of his own house. It was with an immense sense +of relief that Adam heard that his uncle had telegraphed to the +housekeeper that he was detained by business at Walsall, where he would +remain for the night; and that he would be back in the morning in time +for lunch. + +When Adam got home after his walk, he found Sir Nathaniel just going to +bed. He did not say anything to him then of what had happened, but +contented himself with arranging that they would walk together in the +early morning, as he had much to say that would require serious +attention. + +Strangely enough he slept well, and awoke at dawn with his mind clear and +his nerves in their usual unshaken condition. The maid brought up, with +his early morning cup of tea, a note which had been found in the letter- +box. It was from Lady Arabella, and was evidently intended to put him on +his guard as to what he should say about the previous evening. + +He read it over carefully several times, before he was satisfied that he +had taken in its full import. + + "DEAR MR. SALTON, + + "I cannot go to bed until I have written to you, so you must forgive + me if I disturb you, and at an unseemly time. Indeed, you must also + forgive me if, in trying to do what is right, I err in saying too much + or too little. The fact is that I am quite upset and unnerved by all + that has happened in this terrible night. I find it difficult even to + write; my hands shake so that they are not under control, and I am + trembling all over with memory of the horrors we saw enacted before + our eyes. I am grieved beyond measure that I should be, however + remotely, a cause of this horror coming on you. Forgive me if you + can, and do not think too hardly of me. This I ask with confidence, + for since we shared together the danger--the very pangs--of death, I + feel that we should be to one another something more than mere + friends, that I may lean on you and trust you, assured that your + sympathy and pity are for me. You really must let me thank you for + the friendliness, the help, the confidence, the real aid at a time of + deadly danger and deadly fear which you showed me. That awful man--I + shall see him for ever in my dreams. His black, malignant face will + shut out all memory of sunshine and happiness. I shall eternally see + his evil eyes as he threw himself into that well-hole in a vain effort + to escape from the consequences of his own misdoing. The more I think + of it, the more apparent it seems to me that he had premeditated the + whole thing--of course, except his own horrible death. + + "Perhaps you have noticed a fur collar I occasionally wear. It is one + of my most valued treasures--an ermine collar studded with emeralds. I + had often seen the nigger's eyes gleam covetously when he looked at + it. Unhappily, I wore it yesterday. That may have been the cause + that lured the poor man to his doom. On the very brink of the abyss + he tore the collar from my neck--that was the last I saw of him. When + he sank into the hole, I was rushing to the iron door, which I pulled + behind me. When I heard that soul-sickening yell, which marked his + disappearance in the chasm, I was more glad than I can say that my + eyes were spared the pain and horror which my ears had to endure. + + "When I tore myself out of the negro's grasp as he sank into the well- + hole; I realised what freedom meant. Freedom! Freedom! Not only + from that noisome prison-house, which has now such a memory, but from + the more noisome embrace of that hideous monster. Whilst I live, I + shall always thank you for my freedom. A woman must sometimes express + her gratitude; otherwise it becomes too great to bear. I am not a + sentimental girl, who merely likes to thank a man; I am a woman who + knows all, of bad as well as good, that life can give. I have known + what it is to love and to lose. But you must not let me bring any + unhappiness into your life. I must live on--as I have lived--alone, + and, in addition, bear with other woes the memory of this latest + insult and horror. In the meantime, I must get away as quickly as + possible from Diana's Grove. In the morning I shall go up to town, + where I shall remain for a week--I cannot stay longer, as business + affairs demand my presence here. I think, however, that a week in the + rush of busy London, surrounded with multitudes of commonplace people, + will help to soften--I cannot expect total obliteration--the terrible + images of the bygone night. When I can sleep easily--which will be, I + hope, after a day or two--I shall be fit to return home and take up + again the burden which will, I suppose, always be with me. + + "I shall be most happy to see you on my return--or earlier, if my good + fortune sends you on any errand to London. I shall stay at the + Mayfair Hotel. In that busy spot we may forget some of the dangers + and horrors we have shared together. Adieu, and thank you, again and + again, for all your kindness and consideration to me. + + "ARABELLA MARSH." + +Adam was surprised by this effusive epistle, but he determined to say +nothing of it to Sir Nathaniel until he should have thought it well over. +When Adam met Sir Nathaniel at breakfast, he was glad that he had taken +time to turn things over in his mind. The result had been that not only +was he familiar with the facts in all their bearings, but he had already +so far differentiated them that he was able to arrange them in his own +mind according to their values. Breakfast had been a silent function, so +it did not interfere in any way with the process of thought. + +So soon as the door was closed, Sir Nathaniel began: + +"I see, Adam, that something has occurred, and that you have much to tell +me." + +"That is so, sir. I suppose I had better begin by telling you all I +know--all that has happened since I left you yesterday?" + +Accordingly Adam gave him details of all that had happened during the +previous evening. He confined himself rigidly to the narration of +circumstances, taking care not to colour events by any comment of his +own, or any opinion of the meaning of things which he did not fully +understand. At first, Sir Nathaniel seemed disposed to ask questions, +but shortly gave this up when he recognised that the narration was +concise and self-explanatory. Thenceforth, he contented himself with +quick looks and glances, easily interpreted, or by some acquiescent +motions of his hands, when such could be convenient, to emphasise his +idea of the correctness of any inference. Until Adam ceased speaking, +having evidently come to an end of what he had to say with regard to this +section of his story, the elder man made no comment whatever. Even when +Adam took from his pocket Lady Arabella's letter, with the manifest +intention of reading it, he did not make any comment. Finally, when Adam +folded up the letter and put it, in its envelope, back in his pocket, as +an intimation that he had now quite finished, the old diplomatist +carefully made a few notes in his pocket-book. + +"Your narrative, my dear Adam, is altogether admirable. I think I may +now take it that we are both well versed in the actual facts, and that +our conference had better take the shape of a mutual exchange of ideas. +Let us both ask questions as they may arise; and I do not doubt that we +shall arrive at some enlightening conclusions." + +"Will you kindly begin, sir? I do not doubt that, with your longer +experience, you will be able to dissipate some of the fog which envelops +certain of the things which we have to consider." + +"I hope so, my dear boy. For a beginning, then, let me say that Lady +Arabella's letter makes clear some things which she intended--and also +some things which she did not intend. But, before I begin to draw +deductions, let me ask you a few questions. Adam, are you heart-whole, +quite heart-whole, in the matter of Lady Arabella?" + +His companion answered at once, each looking the other straight in the +eyes during question and answer. + +"Lady Arabella, sir, is a charming woman, and I should have deemed it a +privilege to meet her--to talk to her--even--since I am in the +confessional--to flirt a little with her. But if you mean to ask if my +affections are in any way engaged, I can emphatically answer 'No!'--as +indeed you will understand when presently I give you the reason. Apart +from that, there are the unpleasant details we discussed the other day." + +"Could you--would you mind giving me the reason now? It will help us to +understand what is before us, in the way of difficulty." + +"Certainly, sir. My reason, on which I can fully depend, is that I love +another woman!" + +"That clinches it. May I offer my good wishes, and, I hope, my +congratulations?" + +"I am proud of your good wishes, sir, and I thank you for them. But it +is too soon for congratulations--the lady does not even know my hopes +yet. Indeed, I hardly knew them myself, as definite, till this moment." + +"I take it then, Adam, that at the right time I may be allowed to know +who the lady is?" + +Adam laughed a low, sweet laugh, such as ripples from a happy heart. + +"There need not be an hour's, a minute's delay. I shall be glad to share +my secret with you, sir. The lady, sir, whom I am so happy as to love, +and in whom my dreams of life-long happiness are centred, is Mimi +Watford!" + +"Then, my dear Adam, I need not wait to offer congratulations. She is +indeed a very charming young lady. I do not think I ever saw a girl who +united in such perfection the qualities of strength of character and +sweetness of disposition. With all my heart, I congratulate you. Then I +may take it that my question as to your heart-wholeness is answered in +the affirmative?" + +"Yes; and now, sir, may I ask in turn why the question?" + +"Certainly! I asked because it seems to me that we are coming to a point +where my questions might be painful to you." + +"It is not merely that I love Mimi, but I have reason to look on Lady +Arabella as her enemy," Adam continued. + +"Her enemy?" + +"Yes. A rank and unscrupulous enemy who is bent on her destruction." + +Sir Nathaniel went to the door, looked outside it and returned, locking +it carefully behind him. + + + + +CHAPTER XX--METABOLISM + + +"Am I looking grave?" asked Sir Nathaniel inconsequently when he +re-entered the room. + +"You certainly are, sir." + +"We little thought when first we met that we should be drawn into such a +vortex. Already we are mixed up in robbery, and probably murder, but--a +thousand times worse than all the crimes in the calendar--in an affair of +ghastly mystery which has no bottom and no end--with forces of the most +unnerving kind, which had their origin in an age when the world was +different from the world which we know. We are going back to the origin +of superstition--to an age when dragons tore each other in their slime. +We must fear nothing--no conclusion, however improbable, almost +impossible it may be. Life and death is hanging on our judgment, not +only for ourselves, but for others whom we love. Remember, I count on +you as I hope you count on me." + +"I do, with all confidence." + +"Then," said Sir Nathaniel, "let us think justly and boldly and fear +nothing, however terrifying it may seem. I suppose I am to take as exact +in every detail your account of all the strange things which happened +whilst you were in Diana's Grove?" + +"So far as I know, yes. Of course I may be mistaken in recollection of +some detail or another, but I am certain that in the main what I have +said is correct." + +"You feel sure that you saw Lady Arabella seize the negro round the neck, +and drag him down with her into the hole?" + +"Absolutely certain, sir, otherwise I should have gone to her +assistance." + +"We have, then, an account of what happened from an eye-witness whom we +trust--that is yourself. We have also another account, written by Lady +Arabella under her own hand. These two accounts do not agree. Therefore +we must take it that one of the two is lying." + +"Apparently, sir." + +"And that Lady Arabella is the liar!" + +"Apparently--as I am not." + +"We must, therefore, try to find a reason for her lying. She has nothing +to fear from Oolanga, who is dead. Therefore the only reason which could +actuate her would be to convince someone else that she was blameless. +This 'someone' could not be you, for you had the evidence of your own +eyes. There was no one else present; therefore it must have been an +absent person." + +"That seems beyond dispute, sir." + +"There is only one other person whose good opinion she could wish to +keep--Edgar Caswall. He is the only one who fills the bill. Her lies +point to other things besides the death of the African. She evidently +wanted it to be accepted that his falling into the well was his own act. +I cannot suppose that she expected to convince you, the eye-witness; but +if she wished later on to spread the story, it was wise of her to try to +get your acceptance of it." + +"That is so!" + +"Then there were other matters of untruth. That, for instance, of the +ermine collar embroidered with emeralds. If an understandable reason be +required for this, it would be to draw attention away from the green +lights which were seen in the room, and especially in the well-hole. Any +unprejudiced person would accept the green lights to be the eyes of a +great snake, such as tradition pointed to living in the well-hole. In +fine, therefore, Lady Arabella wanted the general belief to be that there +was no snake of the kind in Diana's Grove. For my own part, I don't +believe in a partial liar--this art does not deal in veneer; a liar is a +liar right through. Self-interest may prompt falsity of the tongue; but +if one prove to be a liar, nothing that he says can ever be believed. +This leads us to the conclusion that because she said or inferred that +there was no snake, we should look for one--and expect to find it, too. + +"Now let me digress. I live, and have for many years lived, in +Derbyshire, a county more celebrated for its caves than any other county +in England. I have been through them all, and am familiar with every +turn of them; as also with other great caves in Kentucky, in France, in +Germany, and a host of other places--in many of these are tremendously +deep caves of narrow aperture, which are valued by intrepid explorers, +who descend narrow gullets of abysmal depth--and sometimes never return. +In many of the caverns in the Peak I am convinced that some of the +smaller passages were used in primeval times as the lairs of some of the +great serpents of legend and tradition. It may have been that such +caverns were formed in the usual geologic way--bubbles or flaws in the +earth's crust--which were later used by the monsters of the period of the +young world. It may have been, of course, that some of them were worn +originally by water; but in time they all found a use when suitable for +living monsters. + +"This brings us to another point, more difficult to accept and understand +than any other requiring belief in a base not usually accepted, or indeed +entered on--whether such abnormal growths could have ever changed in +their nature. Some day the study of metabolism may progress so far as to +enable us to accept structural changes proceeding from an intellectual or +moral base. We may lean towards a belief that great animal strength may +be a sound base for changes of all sorts. If this be so, what could be a +more fitting subject than primeval monsters whose strength was such as to +allow a survival of thousands of years? We do not know yet if brain can +increase and develop independently of other parts of the living +structure. + +"After all, the mediaeval belief in the Philosopher's Stone which could +transmute metals, has its counterpart in the accepted theory of +metabolism which changes living tissue. In an age of investigation like +our own, when we are returning to science as the base of wonders--almost +of miracles--we should be slow to refuse to accept facts, however +impossible they may seem to be. + +"Let us suppose a monster of the early days of the world--a dragon of the +prime--of vast age running into thousands of years, to whom had been +conveyed in some way--it matters not--a brain just sufficient for the +beginning of growth. Suppose the monster to be of incalculable size and +of a strength quite abnormal--a veritable incarnation of animal strength. +Suppose this animal is allowed to remain in one place, thus being removed +from accidents of interrupted development; might not, would not this +creature, in process of time--ages, if necessary--have that rudimentary +intelligence developed? There is no impossibility in this; it is only +the natural process of evolution. In the beginning, the instincts of +animals are confined to alimentation, self-protection, and the +multiplication of their species. As time goes on and the needs of life +become more complex, power follows need. We have been long accustomed to +consider growth as applied almost exclusively to size in its various +aspects. But Nature, who has no doctrinaire ideas, may equally apply it +to concentration. A developing thing may expand in any given way or +form. Now, it is a scientific law that increase implies gain and loss of +various kinds; what a thing gains in one direction it may lose in +another. May it not be that Mother Nature may deliberately encourage +decrease as well as increase--that it may be an axiom that what is gained +in concentration is lost in size? Take, for instance, monsters that +tradition has accepted and localised, such as the Worm of Lambton or that +of Spindleston Heugh. If such a creature were, by its own process of +metabolism, to change much of its bulk for intellectual growth, we should +at once arrive at a new class of creature--more dangerous, perhaps, than +the world has ever had any experience of--a force which can think, which +has no soul and no morals, and therefore no acceptance of responsibility. +A snake would be a good illustration of this, for it is cold-blooded, and +therefore removed from the temptations which often weaken or restrict +warm-blooded creatures. If, for instance, the Worm of Lambton--if such +ever existed--were guided to its own ends by an organised intelligence +capable of expansion, what form of creature could we imagine which would +equal it in potentialities of evil? Why, such a being would devastate a +whole country. Now, all these things require much thought, and we want +to apply the knowledge usefully, and we should therefore be exact. Would +it not be well to resume the subject later in the day?" + +"I quite agree, sir. I am in a whirl already; and want to attend +carefully to what you say; so that I may try to digest it." + +Both men seemed fresher and better for the "easy," and when they met in +the afternoon each of them had something to contribute to the general +stock of information. Adam, who was by nature of a more militant +disposition than his elderly friend, was glad to see that the conference +at once assumed a practical trend. Sir Nathaniel recognised this, and, +like an old diplomatist, turned it to present use. + +"Tell me now, Adam, what is the outcome, in your own mind, of our +conversation?" + +"That the whole difficulty already assumes practical shape; but with +added dangers, that at first I did not imagine." + +"What is the practical shape, and what are the added dangers? I am not +disputing, but only trying to clear my own ideas by the consideration of +yours--" + +So Adam went on: + +"In the past, in the early days of the world, there were monsters who +were so vast that they could exist for thousands of years. Some of them +must have overlapped the Christian era. They may have progressed +intellectually in process of time. If they had in any way so progressed, +or even got the most rudimentary form of brain, they would be the most +dangerous things that ever were in the world. Tradition says that one of +these monsters lived in the Marsh of the East, and came up to a cave in +Diana's Grove, which was also called the Lair of the White Worm. Such +creatures may have grown down as well as up. They _may_ have grown into, +or something like, human beings. Lady Arabella March is of snake nature. +She has committed crimes to our knowledge. She retains something of the +vast strength of her primal being--can see in the dark--has the eyes of a +snake. She used the nigger, and then dragged him through the snake's +hole down to the swamp; she is intent on evil, and hates some one we +love. Result . . . " + +"Yes, the result?" + +"First, that Mimi Watford should be taken away at once--then--" + +"Yes?" + +"The monster must be destroyed." + +"Bravo! That is a true and fearless conclusion. At whatever cost, it +must be carried out." + +"At once?" + +"Soon, at all events. That creature's very existence is a danger. Her +presence in this neighbourhood makes the danger immediate." + +As he spoke, Sir Nathaniel's mouth hardened and his eyebrows came down +till they met. There was no doubting his concurrence in the resolution, +or his readiness to help in carrying it out. But he was an elderly man +with much experience and knowledge of law and diplomacy. It seemed to +him to be a stern duty to prevent anything irrevocable taking place till +it had been thought out and all was ready. There were all sorts of legal +cruxes to be thought out, not only regarding the taking of life, even of +a monstrosity in human form, but also of property. Lady Arabella, be she +woman or snake or devil, owned the ground she moved in, according to +British law, and the law is jealous and swift to avenge wrongs done +within its ken. All such difficulties should be--must be--avoided for +Mr. Salton's sake, for Adam's own sake, and, most of all, for Mimi +Watford's sake. + +Before he spoke again, Sir Nathaniel had made up his mind that he must +try to postpone decisive action until the circumstances on which they +depended--which, after all, were only problematical--should have been +tested satisfactorily, one way or another. When he did speak, Adam at +first thought that his friend was wavering in his intention, or "funking" +the responsibility. However, his respect for Sir Nathaniel was so great +that he would not act, or even come to a conclusion on a vital point, +without his sanction. + +He came close and whispered in his ear: + +"We will prepare our plans to combat and destroy this horrible menace, +after we have cleared up some of the more baffling points. Meanwhile, we +must wait for the night--I hear my uncle's footsteps echoing down the +hall." + +Sir Nathaniel nodded his approval. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI--GREEN LIGHT + + +When old Mr. Salton had retired for the night, Adam and Sir Nathaniel +returned to the study. Things went with great regularity at Lesser Hill, +so they knew that there would be no interruption to their talk. + +When their cigars were lighted, Sir Nathaniel began. + +"I hope, Adam, that you do not think me either slack or changeable of +purpose. I mean to go through this business to the bitter end--whatever +it may be. Be satisfied that my first care is, and shall be, the +protection of Mimi Watford. To that I am pledged; my dear boy, we who +are interested are all in the same danger. That semi-human monster out +of the pit hates and means to destroy us all--you and me certainly, and +probably your uncle. I wanted especially to talk with you to-night, for +I cannot help thinking that the time is fast coming--if it has not come +already--when we must take your uncle into our confidence. It was one +thing when fancied evils threatened, but now he is probably marked for +death, and it is only right that he should know all." + +"I am with you, sir. Things have changed since we agreed to keep him out +of the trouble. Now we dare not; consideration for his feelings might +cost his life. It is a duty--and no light or pleasant one, either. I +have not a shadow of doubt that he will want to be one with us in this. +But remember, we are his guests; his name, his honour, have to be thought +of as well as his safety." + +"All shall be as you wish, Adam. And now as to what we are to do? We +cannot murder Lady Arabella off-hand. Therefore we shall have to put +things in order for the killing, and in such a way that we cannot be +taxed with a crime." + +"It seems to me, sir, that we are in an exceedingly tight place. Our +first difficulty is to know where to begin. I never thought this +fighting an antediluvian monster would be such a complicated job. This +one is a woman, with all a woman's wit, combined with the heartlessness +of a _cocotte_. She has the strength and impregnability of a diplodocus. +We may be sure that in the fight that is before us there will be no +semblance of fair-play. Also that our unscrupulous opponent will not +betray herself!" + +"That is so--but being feminine, she will probably over-reach herself. +Now, Adam, it strikes me that, as we have to protect ourselves and others +against feminine nature, our strong game will be to play our masculine +against her feminine. Perhaps we had better sleep on it. She is a thing +of the night; and the night may give us some ideas." + +So they both turned in. + +Adam knocked at Sir Nathaniel's door in the grey of the morning, and, on +being bidden, came into the room. He had several letters in his hand. +Sir Nathaniel sat up in bed. + +"Well!" + +"I should like to read you a few letters, but, of course, I shall not +send them unless you approve. In fact"--with a smile and a blush--"there +are several things which I want to do; but I hold my hand and my tongue +till I have your approval." + +"Go on!" said the other kindly. "Tell me all, and count at any rate on +my sympathy, and on my approval and help if I can see my way." + +Accordingly Adam proceeded: + +"When I told you the conclusions at which I had arrived, I put in the +foreground that Mimi Watford should, for the sake of her own safety, be +removed--and that the monster which had wrought all the harm should be +destroyed." + +"Yes, that is so." + +"To carry this into practice, sir, one preliminary is required--unless +harm of another kind is to be faced. Mimi should have some protector +whom all the world would recognise. The only form recognised by +convention is marriage!" + +Sir Nathaniel smiled in a fatherly way. + +"To marry, a husband is required. And that husband should be you." + +"Yes, yes." + +"And the marriage should be immediate and secret--or, at least, not +spoken of outside ourselves. Would the young lady be agreeable to that +proceeding?" + +"I do not know, sir!" + +"Then how are we to proceed?" + +"I suppose that we--or one of us--must ask her." + +"Is this a sudden idea, Adam, a sudden resolution?" + +"A sudden resolution, sir, but not a sudden idea. If she agrees, all is +well and good. The sequence is obvious." + +"And it is to be kept a secret amongst ourselves?" + +"I want no secret, sir, except for Mimi's good. For myself, I should +like to shout it from the house-tops! But we must be discreet; untimely +knowledge to our enemy might work incalculable harm." + +"And how would you suggest, Adam, that we could combine the momentous +question with secrecy?" + +Adam grew red and moved uneasily. + +"Someone must ask her--as soon as possible!" + +"And that someone?" + +"I thought that you, sir, would be so good!" + +"God bless my soul! This is a new kind of duty to take on--at my time of +life. Adam, I hope you know that you can count on me to help in any way +I can!" + +"I have already counted on you, sir, when I ventured to make such a +suggestion. I can only ask," he added, "that you will be more than ever +kind to me--to us--and look on the painful duty as a voluntary act of +grace, prompted by kindness and affection." + +"Painful duty!" + +"Yes," said Adam boldly. "Painful to you, though to me it would be all +joyful." + +"It is a strange job for an early morning! Well, we all live and learn. +I suppose the sooner I go the better. You had better write a line for me +to take with me. For, you see, this is to be a somewhat unusual +transaction, and it may be embarrassing to the lady, even to myself. So +we ought to have some sort of warrant, something to show that we have +been mindful of her feelings. It will not do to take acquiescence for +granted--although we act for her good." + +"Sir Nathaniel, you are a true friend; I am sure that both Mimi and I +shall be grateful to you for all our lives--however long they may be!" + +So the two talked it over and agreed as to points to be borne in mind by +the ambassador. It was striking ten when Sir Nathaniel left the house, +Adam seeing him quietly off. + +As the young man followed him with wistful eyes--almost jealous of the +privilege which his kind deed was about to bring him--he felt that his +own heart was in his friend's breast. + +The memory of that morning was like a dream to all those concerned in it. +Sir Nathaniel had a confused recollection of detail and sequence, though +the main facts stood out in his memory boldly and clearly. Adam Salton's +recollection was of an illimitable wait, filled with anxiety, hope, and +chagrin, all dominated by a sense of the slow passage of time and +accompanied by vague fears. Mimi could not for a long time think at all, +or recollect anything, except that Adam loved her and was saving her from +a terrible danger. When she had time to think, later on, she wondered +when she had any ignorance of the fact that Adam loved her, and that she +loved him with all her heart. Everything, every recollection however +small, every feeling, seemed to fit into those elemental facts as though +they had all been moulded together. The main and crowning recollection +was her saying goodbye to Sir Nathaniel, and entrusting to him loving +messages, straight from her heart, to Adam Salton, and of his bearing +when--with an impulse which she could not check--she put her lips to his +and kissed him. Later, when she was alone and had time to think, it was +a passing grief to her that she would have to be silent, for a time, to +Lilla on the happy events of that strange mission. + +She had, of course, agreed to keep all secret until Adam should give her +leave to speak. + +The advice and assistance of Sir Nathaniel was a great help to Adam in +carrying out his idea of marrying Mimi Watford without publicity. He +went with him to London, and, with his influence, the young man obtained +the license of the Archbishop of Canterbury for a private marriage. Sir +Nathaniel then persuaded old Mr. Salton to allow his nephew to spend a +few weeks with him at Doom Tower, and it was here that Mimi became Adam's +wife. But that was only the first step in their plans; before going +further, however, Adam took his bride off to the Isle of Man. He wished +to place a stretch of sea between Mimi and the White Worm, while things +matured. On their return, Sir Nathaniel met them and drove them at once +to Doom, taking care to avoid any one that he knew on the journey. + +Sir Nathaniel had taken care to have the doors and windows shut and +locked--all but the door used for their entry. The shutters were up and +the blinds down. Moreover, heavy curtains were drawn across the windows. +When Adam commented on this, Sir Nathaniel said in a whisper: + +"Wait till we are alone, and I'll tell you why this is done; in the +meantime not a word or a sign. You will approve when we have had a talk +together." + +They said no more on the subject till after dinner, when they were +ensconced in Sir Nathaniel's study, which was on the top storey. Doom +Tower was a lofty structure, situated on an eminence high up in the Peak. +The top commanded a wide prospect, ranging from the hills above the +Ribble to the near side of the Brow, which marked the northern bound of +ancient Mercia. It was of the early Norman period, less than a century +younger than Castra Regis. The windows of the study were barred and +locked, and heavy dark curtains closed them in. When this was done not a +gleam of light from the tower could be seen from outside. + +When they were alone, Sir Nathaniel explained that he had taken his old +friend, Mr. Salton, into full confidence, and that in future all would +work together. + +"It is important for you to be extremely careful. In spite of the fact +that our marriage was kept secret, as also your temporary absence, both +are known." + +"How? To whom?" + +"How, I know not; but I am beginning to have an idea." + +"To her?" asked Adam, in momentary consternation. + +Sir Nathaniel shivered perceptibly. + +"The White Worm--yes!" + +Adam noticed that from now on, his friend never spoke of Lady Arabella +otherwise, except when he wished to divert the suspicion of others. + +Sir Nathaniel switched off the electric light, and when the room was +pitch dark, he came to Adam, took him by the hand, and led him to a seat +set in the southern window. Then he softly drew back a piece of the +curtain and motioned his companion to look out. + +Adam did so, and immediately shrank back as though his eyes had opened on +pressing danger. His companion set his mind at rest by saying in a low +voice: + +"It is all right; you may speak, but speak low. There is no danger +here--at present!" + +Adam leaned forward, taking care, however, not to press his face against +the glass. What he saw would not under ordinary circumstances have +caused concern to anybody. With his special knowledge, it was +appalling--though the night was now so dark that in reality there was +little to be seen. + +On the western side of the tower stood a grove of old trees, of forest +dimensions. They were not grouped closely, but stood a little apart from +each other, producing the effect of a row widely planted. Over the tops +of them was seen a green light, something like the danger signal at a +railway-crossing. It seemed at first quite still; but presently, when +Adam's eye became accustomed to it, he could see that it moved as if +trembling. This at once recalled to Adam's mind the light quivering +above the well-hole in the darkness of that inner room at Diana's Grove, +Oolanga's awful shriek, and the hideous black face, now grown grey with +terror, disappearing into the impenetrable gloom of the mysterious +orifice. Instinctively he laid his hand on his revolver, and stood up +ready to protect his wife. Then, seeing that nothing happened, and that +the light and all outside the tower remained the same, he softly pulled +the curtain over the window. + +Sir Nathaniel switched on the light again, and in its comforting glow +they began to talk freely. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII--AT CLOSE QUARTERS + + +"She has diabolical cunning," said Sir Nathaniel. "Ever since you left, +she has ranged along the Brow and wherever you were accustomed to +frequent. I have not heard whence the knowledge of your movements came +to her, nor have I been able to learn any data whereon to found an +opinion. She seems to have heard both of your marriage and your absence; +but I gather, by inference, that she does not actually know where you and +Mimi are, or of your return. So soon as the dusk fails, she goes out on +her rounds, and before dawn covers the whole ground round the Brow, and +away up into the heart of the Peak. The White Worm, in her own proper +shape, certainly has great facilities for the business on which she is +now engaged. She can look into windows of any ordinary kind. Happily, +this house is beyond her reach, if she wishes--as she manifestly does--to +remain unrecognised. But, even at this height, it is wise to show no +lights, lest she might learn something of our presence or absence." + +"Would it not be well, sir, if one of us could see this monster in her +real shape at close quarters? I am willing to run the risk--for I take +it there would be no slight risk in the doing. I don't suppose anyone of +our time has seen her close and lived to tell the tale." + +Sir Nathaniel held up an expostulatory hand. + +"Good God, lad, what are you suggesting? Think of your wife, and all +that is at stake." + +"It is of Mimi that I think--for her sake that I am willing to risk +whatever is to be risked." + +Adam's young bride was proud of her man, but she blanched at the thought +of the ghastly White Worm. Adam saw this and at once reassured her. + +"So long as her ladyship does not know whereabout I am, I shall have as +much safety as remains to us; bear in mind, my darling, that we cannot be +too careful." + +Sir Nathaniel realised that Adam was right; the White Worm had no +supernatural powers and could not harm them until she discovered their +hiding place. It was agreed, therefore, that the two men should go +together. + +When the two men slipped out by the back door of the house, they walked +cautiously along the avenue which trended towards the west. Everything +was pitch dark--so dark that at times they had to feel their way by the +palings and tree-trunks. They could still see, seemingly far in front of +them and high up, the baleful light which at the height and distance +seemed like a faint line. As they were now on the level of the ground, +the light seemed infinitely higher than it had from the top of the tower. +At the sight Adam's heart fell; the danger of the desperate enterprise +which he had undertaken burst upon him. But this feeling was shortly +followed by another which restored him to himself--a fierce loathing, and +a desire to kill, such as he had never experienced before. + +They went on for some distance on a level road, fairly wide, from which +the green light was visible. Here Sir Nathaniel spoke softly, placing +his lips to Adam's ear for safety. + +"We know nothing whatever of this creature's power of hearing or +smelling, though I presume that both are of no great strength. As to +seeing, we may presume the opposite, but in any case we must try to keep +in the shade behind the tree-trunks. The slightest error would be fatal +to us." + +Adam only nodded, in case there should be any chance of the monster +seeing the movement. + +After a time that seemed interminable, they emerged from the circling +wood. It was like coming out into sunlight by comparison with the misty +blackness which had been around them. There was light enough to see by, +though not sufficient to distinguish things at a distance. Adam's eyes +sought the green light in the sky. It was still in about the same place, +but its surroundings were more visible. It was now at the summit of what +seemed to be a long white pole, near the top of which were two pendant +white masses, like rudimentary arms or fins. The green light, strangely +enough, did not seem lessened by the surrounding starlight, but had a +clearer effect and a deeper green. Whilst they were carefully regarding +this--Adam with the aid of an opera-glass--their nostrils were assailed +by a horrid stench, something like that which rose from the well-hole in +Diana's Grove. + +By degrees, as their eyes got the right focus, they saw an immense +towering mass that seemed snowy white. It was tall and thin. The lower +part was hidden by the trees which lay between, but they could follow the +tall white shaft and the duplicate green lights which topped it. As they +looked there was a movement--the shaft seemed to bend, and the line of +green light descended amongst the trees. They could see the green light +twinkle as it passed between the obstructing branches. + +Seeing where the head of the monster was, the two men ventured a little +further forward, and saw that the hidden mass at the base of the shaft +was composed of vast coils of the great serpent's body, forming a base +from which the upright mass rose. As they looked, this lower mass moved, +the glistening folds catching the moonlight, and they could see that the +monster's progress was along the ground. It was coming towards them at a +swift pace, so they turned and ran, taking care to make as little noise +as possible, either by their footfalls or by disturbing the undergrowth +close to them. They did not stop or pause till they saw before them the +high dark tower of Doom. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII--IN THE ENEMY'S HOUSE + + +Sir Nathaniel was in the library next morning, after breakfast, when Adam +came to him carrying a letter. + +"Her ladyship doesn't lose any time. She has begun work already!" + +Sir Nathaniel, who was writing at a table near the window, looked up. + +"What is it?" said he. + +Adam held out the letter he was carrying. It was in a blazoned envelope. + +"Ha!" said Sir Nathaniel, "from the White Worm! I expected something of +the kind." + +"But," said Adam, "how could she have known we were here? She didn't +know last night." + +"I don't think we need trouble about that, Adam. There is so much we do +not understand. This is only another mystery. Suffice it that she does +know--perhaps it is all the better and safer for us." + +"How is that?" asked Adam with a puzzled look. + +"General process of reasoning, my boy; and the experience of some years +in the diplomatic world. This creature is a monster without heart or +consideration for anything or anyone. She is not nearly so dangerous in +the open as when she has the dark to protect her. Besides, we know, by +our own experience of her movements, that for some reason she shuns +publicity. In spite of her vast bulk and abnormal strength, she is +afraid to attack openly. After all, she is only a snake and with a +snake's nature, which is to keep low and squirm, and proceed by stealth +and cunning. She will never attack when she can run away, although she +knows well that running away would probably be fatal to her. What is the +letter about?" + +Sir Nathaniel's voice was calm and self-possessed. When he was engaged +in any struggle of wits he was all diplomatist. + +"She asks Mimi and me to tea this afternoon at Diana's Grove, and hopes +that you also will favour her." + +Sir Nathaniel smiled. + +"Please ask Mrs. Salton to accept for us all." + +"She means some deadly mischief. Surely--surely it would be wiser not." + +"It is an old trick that we learn early in diplomacy, Adam--to fight on +ground of your own choice. It is true that she suggested the place on +this occasion; but by accepting it we make it ours. Moreover, she will +not be able to understand our reason for doing so, and her own bad +conscience--if she has any, bad or good--and her own fears and doubts +will play our game for us. No, my dear boy, let us accept, by all +means." + +Adam said nothing, but silently held out his hand, which his companion +shook: no words were necessary. + +When it was getting near tea-time, Mimi asked Sir Nathaniel how they were +going. + +"We must make a point of going in state. We want all possible +publicity." Mimi looked at him inquiringly. "Certainly, my dear, in the +present circumstances publicity is a part of safety. Do not be surprised +if, whilst we are at Diana's Grove, occasional messages come for you--for +all or any of us." + +"I see!" said Mrs. Salton. "You are taking no chances." + +"None, my dear. All I have learned at foreign courts, and amongst +civilised and uncivilised people, is going to be utilised within the next +couple of hours." + +Sir Nathaniel's voice was full of seriousness, and it brought to Mimi in +a convincing way the awful gravity of the occasion. + +In due course, they set out in a carriage drawn by a fine pair of horses, +who soon devoured the few miles of their journey. Before they came to +the gate, Sir Nathaniel turned to Mimi. + +"I have arranged with Adam certain signals which may be necessary if +certain eventualities occur. These need be nothing to do with you +directly. But bear in mind that if I ask you or Adam to do anything, do +not lose a second in the doing of it. We must try to pass off such +moments with an appearance of unconcern. In all probability, nothing +requiring such care will occur. The White Worm will not try force, +though she has so much of it to spare. Whatever she may attempt to-day, +of harm to any of us, will be in the way of secret plot. Some other time +she may try force, but--if I am able to judge such a thing--not to-day. +The messengers who may ask for any of us will not be witnesses only, they +may help to stave off danger." Seeing query in her face, he went on: "Of +what kind the danger may be, I know not, and cannot guess. It will +doubtless be some ordinary circumstance; but none the less dangerous on +that account. Here we are at the gate. Now, be careful in all matters, +however small. To keep your head is half the battle." + +There were a number of men in livery in the hall when they arrived. The +doors of the drawing-room were thrown open, and Lady Arabella came forth +and offered them cordial welcome. This having been got over, Lady +Arabella led them into another room where tea was served. + +Adam was acutely watchful and suspicious of everything, and saw on the +far side of this room a panelled iron door of the same colour and +configuration as the outer door of the room where was the well-hole +wherein Oolanga had disappeared. Something in the sight alarmed him, and +he quietly stood near the door. He made no movement, even of his eyes, +but he could see that Sir Nathaniel was watching him intently, and, he +fancied, with approval. + +They all sat near the table spread for tea, Adam still near the door. +Lady Arabella fanned herself, complaining of heat, and told one of the +footmen to throw all the outer doors open. + +Tea was in progress when Mimi suddenly started up with a look of fright +on her face; at the same moment, the men became cognisant of a thick +smoke which began to spread through the room--a smoke which made those +who experienced it gasp and choke. The footmen began to edge uneasily +towards the inner door. Denser and denser grew the smoke, and more acrid +its smell. Mimi, towards whom the draught from the open door wafted the +smoke, rose up choking, and ran to the inner door, which she threw open +to its fullest extent, disclosing on the outside a curtain of thin silk, +fixed to the doorposts. The draught from the open door swayed the thin +silk towards her, and in her fright, she tore down the curtain, which +enveloped her from head to foot. Then she ran through the still open +door, heedless of the fact that she could not see where she was going. +Adam, followed by Sir Nathaniel, rushed forward and joined her--Adam +catching his wife by the arm and holding her tight. It was well that he +did so, for just before her lay the black orifice of the well-hole, +which, of course, she could not see with the silk curtain round her head. +The floor was extremely slippery; something like thick oil had been +spilled where she had to pass; and close to the edge of the hole her feet +shot from under her, and she stumbled forward towards the well-hole. + +When Adam saw Mimi slip, he flung himself backward, still holding her. +His weight told, and he dragged her up from the hole and they fell +together on the floor outside the zone of slipperiness. In a moment he +had raised her up, and together they rushed out through the open door +into the sunlight, Sir Nathaniel close behind them. They were all pale +except the old diplomatist, who looked both calm and cool. It sustained +and cheered Adam and his wife to see him thus master of himself. Both +managed to follow his example, to the wonderment of the footmen, who saw +the three who had just escaped a terrible danger walking together gaily, +as, under the guiding pressure of Sir Nathaniel's hand, they turned to re- +enter the house. + +Lady Arabella, whose face had blanched to a deadly white, now resumed her +ministrations at the tea-board as though nothing unusual had happened. +The slop-basin was full of half-burned brown paper, over which tea had +been poured. + +Sir Nathaniel had been narrowly observing his hostess, and took the first +opportunity afforded him of whispering to Adam: + +"The real attack is to come--she is too quiet. When I give my hand to +your wife to lead her out, come with us--and caution her to hurry. Don't +lose a second, even if you have to make a scene. Hs-s-s-h!" + +Then they resumed their places close to the table, and the servants, in +obedience to Lady Arabella's order, brought in fresh tea. + +Thence on, that tea-party seemed to Adam, whose faculties were at their +utmost intensity, like a terrible dream. As for poor Mimi, she was so +overwrought both with present and future fear, and with horror at the +danger she had escaped, that her faculties were numb. However, she was +braced up for a trial, and she felt assured that whatever might come she +would be able to go through with it. Sir Nathaniel seemed just as +usual--suave, dignified, and thoughtful--perfect master of himself. + +To her husband, it was evident that Mimi was ill at ease. The way she +kept turning her head to look around her, the quick coming and going of +the colour of her face, her hurried breathing, alternating with periods +of suspicious calm, were evidences of mental perturbation. To her, the +attitude of Lady Arabella seemed compounded of social sweetness and +personal consideration. It would be hard to imagine more thoughtful and +tender kindness towards an honoured guest. + +When tea was over and the servants had come to clear away the cups, Lady +Arabella, putting her arm round Mimi's waist, strolled with her into an +adjoining room, where she collected a number of photographs which were +scattered about, and, sitting down beside her guest, began to show them +to her. While she was doing this, the servants closed all the doors of +the suite of rooms, as well as that which opened from the room +outside--that of the well-hole into the avenue. Suddenly, without any +seeming cause, the light in the room began to grow dim. Sir Nathaniel, +who was sitting close to Mimi, rose to his feet, and, crying, "Quick!" +caught hold of her hand and began to drag her from the room. Adam caught +her other hand, and between them they drew her through the outer door +which the servants were beginning to close. It was difficult at first to +find the way, the darkness was so great; but to their relief when Adam +whistled shrilly, the carriage and horses, which had been waiting in the +angle of the avenue, dashed up. Her husband and Sir Nathaniel +lifted--almost threw--Mimi into the carriage. The postillion plied whip +and spur, and the vehicle, rocking with its speed, swept through the gate +and tore up the road. Behind them was a hubbub--servants rushing about, +orders being shouted out, doors shutting, and somewhere, seemingly far +back in the house, a strange noise. Every nerve of the horses was +strained as they dashed recklessly along the road. The two men held Mimi +between them, the arms of both of them round her as though protectingly. +As they went, there was a sudden rise in the ground; but the horses, +breathing heavily, dashed up it at racing speed, not slackening their +pace when the hill fell away again, leaving them to hurry along the +downgrade. + +It would be foolish to say that neither Adam nor Mimi had any fear in +returning to Doom Tower. Mimi felt it more keenly than her husband, +whose nerves were harder, and who was more inured to danger. Still she +bore up bravely, and as usual the effort was helpful to her. When once +she was in the study in the top of the turret, she almost forgot the +terrors which lay outside in the dark. She did not attempt to peep out +of the window; but Adam did--and saw nothing. The moonlight showed all +the surrounding country, but nowhere was to be observed that tremulous +line of green light. + +The peaceful night had a good effect on them all; danger, being unseen, +seemed far off. At times it was hard to realise that it had ever been. +With courage restored, Adam rose early and walked along the Brow, seeing +no change in the signs of life in Castra Regis. What he did see, to his +wonder and concern, on his returning homeward, was Lady Arabella, in her +tight-fitting white dress and ermine collar, but without her emeralds; +she was emerging from the gate of Diana's Grove and walking towards the +Castle. Pondering on this, and trying to find some meaning in it, +occupied his thoughts till he joined Mimi and Sir Nathaniel at breakfast. +They began the meal in silence. What had been had been, and was known to +them all. Moreover, it was not a pleasant topic. + +A fillip was given to the conversation when Adam told of his seeing Lady +Arabella, on her way to Castra Regis. They each had something to say of +her, and of what her wishes or intentions were towards Edgar Caswall. +Mimi spoke bitterly of her in every aspect. She had not forgotten--and +never would--never could--the occasion when, to harm Lilla, the woman had +consorted even with the nigger. As a social matter, she was disgusted +with her for following up the rich landowner--"throwing herself at his +head so shamelessly," was how she expressed it. She was interested to +know that the great kite still flew from Caswall's tower. But beyond +such matters she did not try to go. The only comment she made was of +strongly expressed surprise at her ladyship's "cheek" in ignoring her own +criminal acts, and her impudence in taking it for granted that others had +overlooked them also. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV--A STARTLING PROPOSITION + + +The more Mimi thought over the late events, the more puzzled she was. +What did it all mean--what could it mean, except that there was an error +of fact somewhere. Could it be possible that some of them--all of them +had been mistaken, that there had been no White Worm at all? On either +side of her was a belief impossible of reception. Not to believe in what +seemed apparent was to destroy the very foundations of belief . . . yet +in old days there had been monsters on the earth, and certainly some +people had believed in just such mysterious changes of identity. It was +all very strange. Just fancy how any stranger--say a doctor--would +regard her, if she were to tell him that she had been to a tea-party with +an antediluvian monster, and that they had been waited on by up-to-date +men-servants. + +Adam had returned, exhilarated by his walk, and more settled in his mind +than he had been for some time. Like Mimi, he had gone through the phase +of doubt and inability to believe in the reality of things, though it had +not affected him to the same extent. The idea, however, that his wife +was suffering ill-effects from her terrible ordeal, braced him up. He +remained with her for a time, then he sought Sir Nathaniel in order to +talk over the matter with him. He knew that the calm common sense and +self-reliance of the old man, as well as his experience, would be helpful +to them all. + +Sir Nathaniel had come to the conclusion that, for some reason which he +did not understand, Lady Arabella had changed her plans, and, for the +present at all events, was pacific. He was inclined to attribute her +changed demeanour to the fact that her influence over Edgar Caswall was +so far increased, as to justify a more fixed belief in his submission to +her charms. + +As a matter of fact, she had seen Caswall that morning when she visited +Castra Regis, and they had had a long talk together, during which the +possibility of their union had been discussed. Caswall, without being +enthusiastic on the subject, had been courteous and attentive; as she had +walked back to Diana's Grove, she almost congratulated herself on her new +settlement in life. That the idea was becoming fixed in her mind, was +shown by a letter which she wrote later in the day to Adam Salton, and +sent to him by hand. It ran as follows: + + "DEAR MR. SALTON, + + "I wonder if you would kindly advise, and, if possible, help me in a + matter of business. I have been for some time trying to make up my + mind to sell Diana's Grove, I have put off and put off the doing of it + till now. The place is my own property, and no one has to be + consulted with regard to what I may wish to do about it. It was + bought by my late husband, Captain Adolphus Ranger March, who had + another residence, The Crest, Appleby. He acquired all rights of all + kinds, including mining and sporting. When he died, he left his whole + property to me. I shall feel leaving this place, which has become + endeared to me by many sacred memories and affections--the + recollection of many happy days of my young married life, and the more + than happy memories of the man I loved and who loved me so much. I + should be willing to sell the place for any fair price--so long, of + course, as the purchaser was one I liked and of whom I approved. May + I say that you yourself would be the ideal person. But I dare not + hope for so much. It strikes me, however, that among your Australian + friends may be someone who wishes to make a settlement in the Old + Country, and would care to fix the spot in one of the most historic + regions in England, full of romance and legend, and with a + never-ending vista of historical interest--an estate which, though + small, is in perfect condition and with illimitable possibilities of + development, and many doubtful--or unsettled--rights which have + existed before the time of the Romans or even Celts, who were the + original possessors. In addition, the house has been kept up to the + _dernier cri_. Immediate possession can be arranged. My lawyers can + provide you, or whoever you may suggest, with all business and + historical details. A word from you of acceptance or refusal is all + that is necessary, and we can leave details to be thrashed out by our + agents. Forgive me, won't you, for troubling you in the matter, and + believe me, yours very sincerely. + + "ARABELLA MARCH." + +Adam read this over several times, and then, his mind being made up, he +went to Mimi and asked if she had any objection. She answered--after a +shudder--that she was, in this, as in all things, willing to do whatever +he might wish. + +"Dearest, I am willing that you should judge what is best for us. Be +quite free to act as you see your duty, and as your inclination calls. We +are in the hands of God, and He has hitherto guided us, and will do so to +His own end." + +From his wife's room Adam Salton went straight to the study in the tower, +where he knew Sir Nathaniel would be at that hour. The old man was +alone, so, when he had entered in obedience to the "Come in," which +answered his query, he closed the door and sat down beside him. + +"Do you think, sir, that it would be well for me to buy Diana's Grove?" + +"God bless my soul!" said the old man, startled, "why on earth would you +want to do that?" + +"Well, I have vowed to destroy that White Worm, and my being able to do +whatever I may choose with the Lair would facilitate matters and avoid +complications." + +Sir Nathaniel hesitated longer than usual before speaking. He was +thinking deeply. + +"Yes, Adam, there is much common sense in your suggestion, though it +startled me at first. I think that, for all reasons, you would do well +to buy the property and to have the conveyance settled at once. If you +want more money than is immediately convenient, let me know, so that I +may be your banker." + +"Thank you, sir, most heartily; but I have more money at immediate call +than I shall want. I am glad you approve." + +"The property is historic, and as time goes on it will increase in value. +Moreover, I may tell you something, which indeed is only a surmise, but +which, if I am right, will add great value to the place." Adam listened. +"Has it ever struck you why the old name, 'The Lair of the White Worm,' +was given? We know that there was a snake which in early days was called +a worm; but why white?" + +"I really don't know, sir; I never thought of it. I simply took it for +granted." + +"So did I at first--long ago. But later I puzzled my brain for a +reason." + +"And what was the reason, sir?" + +"Simply and solely because the snake or worm _was_ white. We are near +the county of Stafford, where the great industry of china-burning was +originated and grew. Stafford owes much of its wealth to the large +deposits of the rare china clay found in it from time to time. These +deposits become in time pretty well exhausted; but for centuries Stafford +adventurers looked for the special clay, as Ohio and Pennsylvania farmers +and explorers looked for oil. Anyone owning real estate on which china +clay can be discovered strikes a sort of gold mine." + +"Yes, and then--" The young man looked puzzled. + +"The original 'Worm' so-called, from which the name of the place came, +had to find a direct way down to the marshes and the mud-holes. Now, the +clay is easily penetrable, and the original hole probably pierced a bed +of china clay. When once the way was made it would become a sort of +highway for the Worm. But as much movement was necessary to ascend such +a great height, some of the clay would become attached to its rough skin +by attrition. The downway must have been easy work, but the ascent was +different, and when the monster came to view in the upper world, it would +be fresh from contact with the white clay. Hence the name, which has no +cryptic significance, but only fact. Now, if that surmise be true--and I +do not see why not--there must be a deposit of valuable clay--possibly of +immense depth." + +Adam's comment pleased the old gentleman. + +"I have it in my bones, sir, that you have struck--or rather reasoned +out--a great truth." + +Sir Nathaniel went on cheerfully. "When the world of commerce wakes up +to the value of your find, it will be as well that your title to +ownership has been perfectly secured. If anyone ever deserved such a +gain, it is you." + +With his friend's aid, Adam secured the property without loss of time. +Then he went to see his uncle, and told him about it. Mr. Salton was +delighted to find his young relative already constructively the owner of +so fine an estate--one which gave him an important status in the county. +He made many anxious enquiries about Mimi, and the doings of the White +Worm, but Adam reassured him. + +The next morning, when Adam went to his host in the smoking-room, Sir +Nathaniel asked him how he purposed to proceed with regard to keeping his +vow. + +"It is a difficult matter which you have undertaken. To destroy such a +monster is something like one of the labours of Hercules, in that not +only its size and weight and power of using them in little-known ways are +against you, but the occult side is alone an unsurpassable difficulty. +The Worm is already master of all the elements except fire--and I do not +see how fire can be used for the attack. It has only to sink into the +earth in its usual way, and you could not overtake it if you had the +resources of the biggest coal-mine in existence. But I daresay you have +mapped out some plan in your mind," he added courteously. + +"I have, sir. But, of course, it may not stand the test of practice." + +"May I know the idea?" + +"Well, sir, this was my argument: At the time of the Chartist trouble, an +idea spread amongst financial circles that an attack was going to be made +on the Bank of England. Accordingly, the directors of that institution +consulted many persons who were supposed to know what steps should be +taken, and it was finally decided that the best protection against +fire--which is what was feared--was not water but sand. To carry the +scheme into practice great store of fine sea-sand--the kind that blows +about and is used to fill hour-glasses--was provided throughout the +building, especially at the points liable to attack, from which it could +be brought into use. + +"I propose to provide at Diana's Grove, as soon as it comes into my +possession, an enormous amount of such sand, and shall take an early +occasion of pouring it into the well-hole, which it will in time choke. +Thus Lady Arabella, in her guise of the White Worm, will find herself cut +off from her refuge. The hole is a narrow one, and is some hundreds of +feet deep. The weight of the sand this can contain would not in itself +be sufficient to obstruct; but the friction of such a body working up +against it would be tremendous." + +"One moment. What use would the sand be for destruction?" + +"None, directly; but it would hold the struggling body in place till the +rest of my scheme came into practice." + +"And what is the rest?" + +"As the sand is being poured into the well-hole, quantities of dynamite +can also be thrown in!" + +"Good. But how would the dynamite explode--for, of course, that is what +you intend. Would not some sort of wire or fuse he required for each +parcel of dynamite?" + +Adam smiled. + +"Not in these days, sir. That was proved in New York. A thousand pounds +of dynamite, in sealed canisters, was placed about some workings. At the +last a charge of gunpowder was fired, and the concussion exploded the +dynamite. It was most successful. Those who were non-experts in high +explosives expected that every pane of glass in New York would be +shattered. But, in reality, the explosive did no harm outside the area +intended, although sixteen acres of rock had been mined and only the +supporting walls and pillars had been left intact. The whole of the +rocks were shattered." + +Sir Nathaniel nodded approval. + +"That seems a good plan--a very excellent one. But if it has to tear +down so many feet of precipice, it may wreck the whole neighbourhood." + +"And free it for ever from a monster," added Adam, as he left the room to +find his wife. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV--THE LAST BATTLE + + +Lady Arabella had instructed her solicitors to hurry on with the +conveyance of Diana's Grove, so no time was lost in letting Adam Salton +have formal possession of the estate. After his interview with Sir +Nathaniel, he had taken steps to begin putting his plan into action. In +order to accumulate the necessary amount of fine sea-sand, he ordered the +steward to prepare for an elaborate system of top-dressing all the +grounds. A great heap of the sand, brought from bays on the Welsh coast, +began to grow at the back of the Grove. No one seemed to suspect that it +was there for any purpose other than what had been given out. + +Lady Arabella, who alone could have guessed, was now so absorbed in her +matrimonial pursuit of Edgar Caswall, that she had neither time nor +inclination for thought extraneous to this. She had not yet moved from +the house, though she had formally handed over the estate. + +Adam put up a rough corrugated-iron shed behind the Grove, in which he +stored his explosives. All being ready for his great attempt whenever +the time should come, he was now content to wait, and, in order to pass +the time, interested himself in other things--even in Caswall's great +kite, which still flew from the high tower of Castra Regis. + +The mound of fine sand grew to proportions so vast as to puzzle the +bailiffs and farmers round the Brow. The hour of the intended cataclysm +was approaching apace. Adam wished--but in vain--for an opportunity, +which would appear to be natural, of visiting Caswall in the turret of +Castra Regis. At last, one morning, he met Lady Arabella moving towards +the Castle, so he took his courage _a deux mains_ and asked to be allowed +to accompany her. She was glad, for her own purposes, to comply with his +wishes. So together they entered, and found their way to the +turret-room. Caswall was much surprised to see Adam come to his house, +but lent himself to the task of seeming to be pleased. He played the +host so well as to deceive even Adam. They all went out on the turret +roof, where he explained to his guests the mechanism for raising and +lowering the kite, taking also the opportunity of testing the movements +of the multitudes of birds, how they answered almost instantaneously to +the lowering or raising of the kite. + +As Lady Arabella walked home with Adam from Castra Regis, she asked him +if she might make a request. Permission having been accorded, she +explained that before she finally left Diana's Grove, where she had lived +so long, she had a desire to know the depth of the well-hole. Adam was +really happy to meet her wishes, not from any sentiment, but because he +wished to give some valid and ostensible reason for examining the passage +of the Worm, which would obviate any suspicion resulting from his being +on the premises. He brought from London a Kelvin sounding apparatus, +with a sufficient length of piano-wire for testing any probable depth. +The wire passed easily over the running wheel, and when this was once +fixed over the hole, he was satisfied to wait till the most advantageous +time for his final experiment. + +* * * * * + +In the meantime, affairs had been going quietly at Mercy Farm. Lilla, of +course, felt lonely in the absence of her cousin, but the even tenor of +life went on for her as for others. After the first shock of parting was +over, things went back to their accustomed routine. In one respect, +however, there was a marked difference. So long as home conditions had +remained unchanged, Lilla was content to put ambition far from her, and +to settle down to the life which had been hers as long as she could +remember. But Mimi's marriage set her thinking; naturally, she came to +the conclusion that she too might have a mate. There was not for her +much choice--there was little movement in the matrimonial direction at +the farmhouse. She did not approve of the personality of Edgar Caswall, +and his struggle with Mimi had frightened her; but he was unmistakably an +excellent _parti_, much better than she could have any right to expect. +This weighs much with a woman, and more particularly one of her class. +So, on the whole, she was content to let things take their course, and to +abide by the issue. + +As time went on, she had reason to believe that things did not point to +happiness. She could not shut her eyes to certain disturbing facts, +amongst which were the existence of Lady Arabella and her growing +intimacy with Edgar Caswall; as well as his own cold and haughty nature, +so little in accord with the ardour which is the foundation of a young +maid's dreams of happiness. How things would, of necessity, alter if she +were to marry, she was afraid to think. All told, the prospect was not +happy for her, and she had a secret longing that something might occur to +upset the order of things as at present arranged. + +When Lilla received a note from Edgar Caswall asking if he might come to +tea on the following afternoon, her heart sank within her. If it was +only for her father's sake, she must not refuse him or show any +disinclination which he might construe into incivility. She missed Mimi +more than she could say or even dared to think. Hitherto, she had always +looked to her cousin for sympathy, for understanding, for loyal support. +Now she and all these things, and a thousand others--gentle, assuring, +supporting--were gone. And instead there was a horrible aching void. + +For the whole afternoon and evening, and for the following forenoon, poor +Lilla's loneliness grew to be a positive agony. For the first time she +began to realise the sense of her loss, as though all the previous +suffering had been merely a preparation. Everything she looked at, +everything she remembered or thought of, became laden with poignant +memory. Then on the top of all was a new sense of dread. The reaction +from the sense of security, which had surrounded her all her life, to a +never-quieted apprehension, was at times almost more than she could bear. +It so filled her with fear that she had a haunting feeling that she would +as soon die as live. However, whatever might be her own feelings, duty +had to be done, and as she had been brought up to consider duty first, +she braced herself to go through, to the very best of her ability, what +was before her. + +Still, the severe and prolonged struggle for self-control told upon +Lilla. She looked, as she felt, ill and weak. She was really in a +nerveless and prostrate condition, with black circles round her eyes, +pale even to her lips, and with an instinctive trembling which she was +quite unable to repress. It was for her a sad mischance that Mimi was +away, for her love would have seen through all obscuring causes, and have +brought to light the girl's unhappy condition of health. Lilla was +utterly unable to do anything to escape from the ordeal before her; but +her cousin, with the experience of her former struggles with Mr. Caswall +and of the condition in which these left her, would have taken steps--even +peremptory ones, if necessary--to prevent a repetition. + +Edgar arrived punctually to the time appointed by herself. When Lilla, +through the great window, saw him approaching the house, her condition of +nervous upset was pitiable. She braced herself up, however, and managed +to get through the interview in its preliminary stages without any +perceptible change in her normal appearance and bearing. It had been to +her an added terror that the black shadow of Oolanga, whom she dreaded, +would follow hard on his master. A load was lifted from her mind when he +did not make his usual stealthy approach. She had also feared, though in +lesser degree, lest Lady Arabella should be present to make trouble for +her as before. + +With a woman's natural forethought in a difficult position, she had +provided the furnishing of the tea-table as a subtle indication of the +social difference between her and her guest. She had chosen the +implements of service, as well as all the provender set forth, of the +humblest kind. Instead of arranging the silver teapot and china cups, +she had set out an earthen teapot, such as was in common use in the farm +kitchen. The same idea was carried out in the cups and saucers of thick +homely delft, and in the cream-jug of similar kind. The bread was of +simple whole-meal, home-baked. The butter was good, since she had made +it herself, while the preserves and honey came from her own garden. Her +face beamed with satisfaction when the guest eyed the appointments with a +supercilious glance. It was a shock to the poor girl herself, for she +enjoyed offering to a guest the little hospitalities possible to her; but +that had to be sacrificed with other pleasures. + +Caswall's face was more set and iron-clad than ever--his piercing eyes +seemed from the very beginning to look her through and through. Her +heart quailed when she thought of what would follow--of what would be the +end, when this was only the beginning. As some protection, though it +could be only of a sentimental kind, she brought from her own room the +photographs of Mimi, of her grandfather, and of Adam Salton, whom by now +she had grown to look on with reliance, as a brother whom she could +trust. She kept the pictures near her heart, to which her hand naturally +strayed when her feelings of constraint, distrust, or fear became so +poignant as to interfere with the calm which she felt was necessary to +help her through her ordeal. + +At first Edgar Caswall was courteous and polite, even thoughtful; but +after a little while, when he found her resistance to his domination +grow, he abandoned all forms of self-control and appeared in the same +dominance as he had previously shown. She was prepared, however, for +this, both by her former experience and the natural fighting instinct +within her. By this means, as the minutes went on, both developed the +power and preserved the equality in which they had begun. + +Without warning, the psychic battle between the two individualities began +afresh. This time both the positive and negative causes were all in +favour of the man. The woman was alone and in bad spirits, unsupported; +nothing at all was in her favour except the memory of the two victorious +contests; whereas the man, though unaided, as before, by either Lady +Arabella or Oolanga, was in full strength, well rested, and in +flourishing circumstances. It was not, therefore, to be wondered at that +his native dominance of character had full opportunity of asserting +itself. He began his preliminary stare with a conscious sense of power, +and, as it appeared to have immediate effect on the girl, he felt an ever- +growing conviction of ultimate victory. + +After a little Lilla's resolution began to flag. She felt that the +contest was unequal--that she was unable to put forth her best efforts. +As she was an unselfish person, she could not fight so well in her own +battle as in that of someone whom she loved and to whom she was devoted. +Edgar saw the relaxing of the muscles of face and brow, and the almost +collapse of the heavy eyelids which seemed tumbling downward in sleep. +Lilla made gallant efforts to brace her dwindling powers, but for a time +unsuccessfully. At length there came an interruption, which seemed like +a powerful stimulant. Through the wide window she saw Lady Arabella +enter the plain gateway of the farm, and advance towards the hall door. +She was clad as usual in tight-fitting white, which accentuated her thin, +sinuous figure. + +The sight did for Lilla what no voluntary effort could have done. Her +eyes flashed, and in an instant she felt as though a new life had +suddenly developed within her. Lady Arabella's entry, in her usual +unconcerned, haughty, supercilious way, heightened the effect, so that +when the two stood close to each other battle was joined. Mr. Caswall, +too, took new courage from her coming, and all his masterfulness and +power came back to him. His looks, intensified, had more obvious effect +than had been noticeable that day. Lilla seemed at last overcome by his +dominance. Her face became red and pale--violently red and ghastly +pale--by rapid turns. Her strength seemed gone. Her knees collapsed, +and she was actually sinking on the floor, when to her surprise and joy +Mimi came into the room, running hurriedly and breathing heavily. + +Lilla rushed to her, and the two clasped hands. With that, a new sense +of power, greater than Lilla had ever seen in her, seemed to quicken her +cousin. Her hand swept the air in front of Edgar Caswall, seeming to +drive him backward more and more by each movement, till at last he seemed +to be actually hurled through the door which Mimi's entrance had left +open, and fell at full length on the gravel path without. + +Then came the final and complete collapse of Lilla, who, without a sound, +sank down on the floor. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI--FACE TO FACE + + +Mimi was greatly distressed when she saw her cousin lying prone. She had +a few times in her life seen Lilla on the verge of fainting, but never +senseless; and now she was frightened. She threw herself on her knees +beside Lilla, and tried, by rubbing her hands and other measures commonly +known, to restore her. But all her efforts were unavailing. Lilla still +lay white and senseless. In fact, each moment she looked worse; her +breast, that had been heaving with the stress, became still, and the +pallor of her face grew like marble. + +At these succeeding changes Mimi's fright grew, till it altogether +mastered her. She succeeded in controlling herself only to the extent +that she did not scream. + +Lady Arabella had followed Caswall, when he had recovered sufficiently to +get up and walk--though stumblingly--in the direction of Castra Regis. +When Mimi was quite alone with Lilla and the need for effort had ceased, +she felt weak and trembled. In her own mind, she attributed it to a +sudden change in the weather--it was momentarily becoming apparent that a +storm was coming on. + +She raised Lilla's head and laid it on her warm young breast, but all in +vain. The cold of the white features thrilled through her, and she +utterly collapsed when it was borne in on her that Lilla had passed away. + +The dusk gradually deepened and the shades of evening closed in, but Mimi +did not seem to notice or to care. She sat on the floor with her arms +round the body of the girl whom she loved. Darker and blacker grew the +sky as the coming storm and the closing night joined forces. Still she +sat on--alone--tearless--unable to think. Mimi did not know how long she +sat there. Though it seemed to her that ages had passed, it could not +have been more than half-an-hour. She suddenly came to herself, and was +surprised to find that her grandfather had not returned. For a while she +lay quiet, thinking of the immediate past. Lilla's hand was still in +hers, and to her surprise it was still warm. Somehow this helped her +consciousness, and without any special act of will she stood up. She lit +a lamp and looked at her cousin. There was no doubt that Lilla was dead; +but when the lamp-light fell on her eyes, they seemed to look at Mimi +with intent--with meaning. In this state of dark isolation a new +resolution came to her, and grew and grew until it became a fixed +definite purpose. She would face Caswall and call him to account for his +murder of Lilla--that was what she called it to herself. She would also +take steps--she knew not what or how--to avenge the part taken by Lady +Arabella. + +In this frame of mind she lit all the lamps in the room, got water and +linen from her room, and set about the decent ordering of Lilla's body. +This took some time; but when it was finished, she put on her hat and +cloak, put out the lights, and set out quietly for Castra Regis. + +As Mimi drew near the Castle, she saw no lights except those in and +around the tower room. The lights showed her that Mr. Caswall was there, +so she entered by the hall door, which as usual was open, and felt her +way in the darkness up the staircase to the lobby of the room. The door +was ajar, and the light from within showed brilliantly through the +opening. She saw Edgar Caswall walking restlessly to and fro in the +room, with his hands clasped behind his back. She opened the door +without knocking, and walked right into the room. As she entered, he +ceased walking, and stared at her in surprise. She made no remark, no +comment, but continued the fixed look which he had seen on her entrance. + +For a time silence reigned, and the two stood looking fixedly at each +other. Mimi was the first to speak. + +"You murderer! Lilla is dead!" + +"Dead! Good God! When did she die?" + +"She died this afternoon, just after you left her." + +"Are you sure?" + +"Yes--and so are you--or you ought to be. You killed her!" + +"I killed her! Be careful what you say!" + +"As God sees us, it is true; and you know it. You came to Mercy Farm on +purpose to break her--if you could. And the accomplice of your guilt, +Lady Arabella March, came for the same purpose." + +"Be careful, woman," he said hotly. "Do not use such names in that way, +or you shall suffer for it." + +"I am suffering for it--have suffered for it--shall suffer for it. Not +for speaking the truth as I have done, but because you two, with devilish +malignity, did my darling to death. It is you and your accomplice who +have to dread punishment, not I." + +"Take care!" he said again. + +"Oh, I am not afraid of you or your accomplice," she answered spiritedly. +"I am content to stand by every word I have said, every act I have done. +Moreover, I believe in God's justice. I fear not the grinding of His +mills; if necessary I shall set the wheels in motion myself. But you +don't care for God, or believe in Him. Your god is your great kite, +which cows the birds of a whole district. But be sure that His hand, +when it rises, always falls at the appointed time. It may be that your +name is being called even at this very moment at the Great Assize. Repent +while there is still time. Happy you, if you may be allowed to enter +those mighty halls in the company of the pure-souled angel whose voice +has only to whisper one word of justice, and you disappear for ever into +everlasting torment." + +The sudden death of Lilla caused consternation among Mimi's friends and +well-wishers. Such a tragedy was totally unexpected, as Adam and Sir +Nathaniel had been expecting the White Worm's vengeance to fall upon +themselves. + +Adam, leaving his wife free to follow her own desires with regard to +Lilla and her grandfather, busied himself with filling the well-hole with +the fine sand prepared for the purpose, taking care to have lowered at +stated intervals quantities of the store of dynamite, so as to be ready +for the final explosion. He had under his immediate supervision a corps +of workmen, and was assisted by Sir Nathaniel, who had come over for the +purpose, and all were now staying at Lesser Hill. + +Mr. Salton, too, showed much interest in the job, and was constantly +coming in and out, nothing escaping his observation. + +Since her marriage to Adam and their coming to stay at Doom Tower, Mimi +had been fettered by fear of the horrible monster at Diana's Grove. But +now she dreaded it no longer. She accepted the fact of its assuming at +will the form of Lady Arabella. She had still to tax and upbraid her for +her part in the unhappiness which had been wrought on Lilla, and for her +share in causing her death. + +One evening, when Mimi entered her own room, she went to the window and +threw an eager look round the whole circle of sight. A single glance +satisfied her that the White Worm in _propria persona_ was not visible. +So she sat down in the window-seat and enjoyed the pleasure of a full +view, from which she had been so long cut off. The maid who waited on +her had told her that Mr. Salton had not yet returned home, so she felt +free to enjoy the luxury of peace and quiet. + +As she looked out of the window, she saw something thin and white move +along the avenue. She thought she recognised the figure of Lady +Arabella, and instinctively drew back behind the curtain. When she had +ascertained, by peeping out several times, that the lady had not seen +her, she watched more carefully, all her instinctive hatred flooding back +at the sight of her. Lady Arabella was moving swiftly and stealthily, +looking back and around her at intervals, as if she feared to be +followed. This gave Mimi an idea that she was up to no good, so she +determined to seize the occasion for watching her in more detail. + +Hastily putting on a dark cloak and hat, she ran downstairs and out into +the avenue. Lady Arabella had moved, but the sheen of her white dress +was still to be seen among the young oaks around the gateway. Keeping in +shadow, Mimi followed, taking care not to come so close as to awake the +other's suspicion, and watched her quarry pass along the road in the +direction of Castra Regis. + +She followed on steadily through the gloom of the trees, depending on the +glint of the white dress to keep her right. The wood began to thicken, +and presently, when the road widened and the trees grew farther back, she +lost sight of any indication of her whereabouts. Under the present +conditions it was impossible for her to do any more, so, after waiting +for a while, still hidden in the shadow to see if she could catch another +glimpse of the white frock, she determined to go on slowly towards Castra +Regis, and trust to the chapter of accidents to pick up the trail again. +She went on slowly, taking advantage of every obstacle and shadow to keep +herself concealed. + +At last she entered on the grounds of the Castle, at a spot from which +the windows of the turret were dimly visible, without having seen again +any sign of Lady Arabella. + +Meanwhile, during most of the time that Mimi Salton had been moving +warily along in the gloom, she was in reality being followed by Lady +Arabella, who had caught sight of her leaving the house and had never +again lost touch with her. It was a case of the hunter being hunted. For +a time Mimi's many turnings, with the natural obstacles that were +perpetually intervening, caused Lady Arabella some trouble; but when she +was close to Castra Regis, there was no more possibility of concealment, +and the strange double following went swiftly on. + +When she saw Mimi close to the hall door of Castra Regis and ascending +the steps, she followed. When Mimi entered the dark hall and felt her +way up the staircase, still, as she believed, following Lady Arabella, +the latter kept on her way. When they reached the lobby of the turret- +rooms, Mimi believed that the object of her search was ahead of her. + +Edgar Caswall sat in the gloom of the great room, occasionally stirred to +curiosity when the drifting clouds allowed a little light to fall from +the storm-swept sky. But nothing really interested him now. Since he +had heard of Lilla's death, the gloom of his remorse, emphasised by +Mimi's upbraiding, had made more hopeless his cruel, selfish, saturnine +nature. He heard no sound, for his normal faculties seemed benumbed. + +Mimi, when she came to the door, which stood ajar, gave a light tap. So +light was it that it did not reach Caswall's ears. Then, taking her +courage in both hands, she boldly pushed the door and entered. As she +did so, her heart sank, for now she was face to face with a difficulty +which had not, in her state of mental perturbation, occurred to her. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII--ON THE TURRET ROOF + + +The storm which was coming was already making itself manifest, not only +in the wide scope of nature, but in the hearts and natures of human +beings. Electrical disturbance in the sky and the air is reproduced in +animals of all kinds, and particularly in the highest type of them +all--the most receptive--the most electrical. So it was with Edgar +Caswall, despite his selfish nature and coldness of blood. So it was +with Mimi Salton, despite her unselfish, unchanging devotion for those +she loved. So it was even with Lady Arabella, who, under the instincts +of a primeval serpent, carried the ever-varying wishes and customs of +womanhood, which is always old--and always new. + +Edgar, after he had turned his eyes on Mimi, resumed his apathetic +position and sullen silence. Mimi quietly took a seat a little way +apart, whence she could look on the progress of the coming storm and +study its appearance throughout the whole visible circle of the +neighbourhood. She was in brighter and better spirits than she had been +for many days past. Lady Arabella tried to efface herself behind the now +open door. + +Without, the clouds grew thicker and blacker as the storm-centre came +closer. As yet the forces, from whose linking the lightning springs, +were held apart, and the silence of nature proclaimed the calm before the +storm. Caswall felt the effect of the gathering electric force. A sort +of wild exultation grew upon him, such as he had sometimes felt just +before the breaking of a tropical storm. As he became conscious of this, +he raised his head and caught sight of Mimi. He was in the grip of an +emotion greater than himself; in the mood in which he was he felt the +need upon him of doing some desperate deed. He was now absolutely +reckless, and as Mimi was associated with him in the memory which drove +him on, he wished that she too should be engaged in this enterprise. He +had no knowledge of the proximity of Lady Arabella, and thought that he +was far removed from all he knew and whose interests he shared--alone +with the wild elements, which were being lashed to fury, and with the +woman who had struggled with him and vanquished him, and on whom he would +shower the full measure of his hate. + +The fact was that Edgar Caswall was, if not mad, close to the +border-line. Madness in its first stage--monomania--is a lack of +proportion. So long as this is general, it is not always noticeable, for +the uninspired onlooker is without the necessary means of comparison. But +in monomania the errant faculty protrudes itself in a way that may not be +denied. It puts aside, obscures, or takes the place of something +else--just as the head of a pin placed before the centre of the iris will +block out the whole scope of vision. The most usual form of monomania +has commonly the same beginning as that from which Edgar Caswall +suffered--an over-large idea of self-importance. Alienists, who study +the matter exactly, probably know more of human vanity and its effects +than do ordinary men. Caswall's mental disturbance was not hard to +identify. Every asylum is full of such cases--men and women, who, +naturally selfish and egotistical, so appraise to themselves their own +importance that every other circumstance in life becomes subservient to +it. The disease supplies in itself the material for self-magnification. +When the decadence attacks a nature naturally proud and selfish and vain, +and lacking both the aptitude and habit of self-restraint, the +development of the disease is more swift, and ranges to farther limits. +It is such persons who become imbued with the idea that they have the +attributes of the Almighty--even that they themselves are the Almighty. + +Mimi had a suspicion--or rather, perhaps, an intuition--of the true state +of things when she heard him speak, and at the same time noticed the +abnormal flush on his face, and his rolling eyes. There was a certain +want of fixedness of purpose which she had certainly not noticed before--a +quick, spasmodic utterance which belongs rather to the insane than to +those of intellectual equilibrium. She was a little frightened, not only +by his thoughts, but by his staccato way of expressing them. + +Caswall moved to the door leading to the turret stair by which the roof +was reached, and spoke in a peremptory way, whose tone alone made her +feel defiant. + +"Come! I want you." + +She instinctively drew back--she was not accustomed to such words, more +especially to such a tone. Her answer was indicative of a new contest. + +"Why should I go? What for?" + +He did not at once reply--another indication of his overwhelming egotism. +She repeated her questions; habit reasserted itself, and he spoke without +thinking the words which were in his heart. + +"I want you, if you will be so good, to come with me to the turret roof. +I am much interested in certain experiments with the kite, which would +be, if not a pleasure, at least a novel experience to you. You would see +something not easily seen otherwise." + +"I will come," she answered simply; Edgar moved in the direction of the +stair, she following close behind him. + +She did not like to be left alone at such a height, in such a place, in +the darkness, with a storm about to break. Of himself she had no fear; +all that had been seemed to have passed away with her two victories over +him in the struggle of wills. Moreover, the more recent +apprehension--that of his madness--had also ceased. In the conversation +of the last few minutes he seemed so rational, so clear, so unaggressive, +that she no longer saw reason for doubt. So satisfied was she that even +when he put out a hand to guide her to the steep, narrow stairway, she +took it without thought in the most conventional way. + +Lady Arabella, crouching in the lobby behind the door, heard every word +that had been said, and formed her own opinion of it. It seemed evident +to her that there had been some rapprochement between the two who had so +lately been hostile to each other, and that made her furiously angry. +Mimi was interfering with her plans! She had made certain of her capture +of Edgar Caswall, and she could not tolerate even the lightest and most +contemptuous fancy on his part which might divert him from the main +issue. When she became aware that he wished Mimi to come with him to the +roof and that she had acquiesced, her rage got beyond bounds. She became +oblivious to any danger there might be in a visit to such an exposed +place at such a time, and to all lesser considerations, and made up her +mind to forestall them. She stealthily and noiselessly crept through the +wicket, and, ascending the stair, stepped out on the roof. It was +bitterly cold, for the fierce gusts of the storm which swept round the +turret drove in through every unimpeded way, whistling at the sharp +corners and singing round the trembling flagstaff. The kite-string and +the wire which controlled the runners made a concourse of weird sounds +which somehow, perhaps from the violence which surrounded them, acting on +their length, resolved themselves into some kind of harmony--a fitting +accompaniment to the tragedy which seemed about to begin. + +Mimi's heart beat heavily. Just before leaving the turret-chamber she +had a shock which she could not shake off. The lights of the room had +momentarily revealed to her, as they passed out, Edgar's face, +concentrated as it was whenever he intended to use his mesmeric power. +Now the black eyebrows made a thick line across his face, under which his +eyes shone and glittered ominously. Mimi recognised the danger, and +assumed the defiant attitude that had twice already served her so well. +She had a fear that the circumstances and the place were against her, and +she wanted to be forearmed. + +The sky was now somewhat lighter than it had been. Either there was +lightning afar off, whose reflections were carried by the rolling clouds, +or else the gathered force, though not yet breaking into lightning, had +an incipient power of light. It seemed to affect both the man and the +woman. Edgar seemed altogether under its influence. His spirits were +boisterous, his mind exalted. He was now at his worst; madder than he +had been earlier in the night. + +Mimi, trying to keep as far from him as possible, moved across the stone +floor of the turret roof, and found a niche which concealed her. It was +not far from Lady Arabella's place of hiding. + +Edgar, left thus alone on the centre of the turret roof, found himself +altogether his own master in a way which tended to increase his madness. +He knew that Mimi was close at hand, though he had lost sight of her. He +spoke loudly, and the sound of his own voice, though it was carried from +him on the sweeping wind as fast as the words were spoken, seemed to +exalt him still more. Even the raging of the elements round him appeared +to add to his exaltation. To him it seemed that these manifestations +were obedient to his own will. He had reached the sublime of his +madness; he was now in his own mind actually the Almighty, and whatever +might happen would be the direct carrying out of his own commands. As he +could not see Mimi, nor fix whereabout she was, he shouted loudly: + +"Come to me! You shall see now what you are despising, what you are +warring against. All that you see is mine--the darkness as well as the +light. I tell you that I am greater than any other who is, or was, or +shall be. When the Master of Evil took Christ up on a high place and +showed Him all the kingdoms of the earth, he was doing what he thought no +other could do. He was wrong--he forgot _Me_. I shall send you light, +up to the very ramparts of heaven. A light so great that it shall +dissipate those black clouds that are rushing up and piling around us. +Look! Look! At the very touch of my hand that light springs into being +and mounts up--and up--and up!" + +He made his way whilst he was speaking to the corner of the turret whence +flew the giant kite, and from which the runners ascended. Mimi looked +on, appalled and afraid to speak lest she should precipitate some +calamity. Within the niche Lady Arabella cowered in a paroxysm of fear. + +Edgar took up a small wooden box, through a hole in which the wire of the +runner ran. This evidently set some machinery in motion, for a sound as +of whirring came. From one side of the box floated what looked like a +piece of stiff ribbon, which snapped and crackled as the wind took it. +For a few seconds Mimi saw it as it rushed along the sagging line to the +kite. When close to it, there was a loud crack, and a sudden light +appeared to issue from every chink in the box. Then a quick flame +flashed along the snapping ribbon, which glowed with an intense light--a +light so great that the whole of the countryside around stood out against +the background of black driving clouds. For a few seconds the light +remained, then suddenly disappeared in the blackness around. It was +simply a magnesium light, which had been fired by the mechanism within +the box and carried up to the kite. Edgar was in a state of tumultuous +excitement, shouting and yelling at the top of his voice and dancing +about like a lunatic. + +This was more than Lady Arabella's curious dual nature could stand--the +ghoulish element in her rose triumphant, and she abandoned all idea of +marriage with Edgar Caswall, gloating fiendishly over the thought of +revenge. + +She must lure him to the White Worm's hole--but how? She glanced around +and quickly made up her mind. The man's whole thoughts were absorbed by +his wonderful kite, which he was showing off, in order to fascinate her +imaginary rival, Mimi. + +On the instant she glided through the darkness to the wheel whereon the +string of the kite was wound. With deft fingers she unshipped this, took +it with her, reeling out the wire as she went, thus keeping, in a way, in +touch with the kite. Then she glided swiftly to the wicket, through +which she passed, locking the gate behind her as she went. + +Down the turret stair she ran quickly, letting the wire run from the +wheel which she carried carefully, and, passing out of the hall door, +hurried down the avenue with all her speed. She soon reached her own +gate, ran down the avenue, and with her key opened the iron door leading +to the well-hole. + +She felt well satisfied with herself. All her plans were maturing, or +had already matured. The Master of Castra Regis was within her grasp. +The woman whose interference she had feared, Lilla Watford, was dead. +Truly, all was well, and she felt that she might pause a while and rest. +She tore off her clothes, with feverish fingers, and in full enjoyment of +her natural freedom, stretched her slim figure in animal delight. Then +she lay down on the sofa--to await her victim! Edgar Caswall's life +blood would more than satisfy her for some time to come. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII--THE BREAKING OF THE STORM + + +When Lady Arabella had crept away in her usual noiseless fashion, the two +others remained for a while in their places on the turret roof: Caswall +because he had nothing to say, Mimi because she had much to say and +wished to put her thoughts in order. For quite a while--which seemed +interminable--silence reigned between them. At last Mimi made a +beginning--she had made up her mind how to act. + +"Mr. Caswall," she said loudly, so as to make sure of being heard through +the blustering of the wind and the perpetual cracking of the electricity. + +Caswall said something in reply, but his words were carried away on the +storm. However, one of her objects was effected: she knew now exactly +whereabout on the roof he was. So she moved close to the spot before she +spoke again, raising her voice almost to a shout. + +"The wicket is shut. Please to open it. I can't get out." + +As she spoke, she was quietly fingering a revolver which Adam had given +to her in case of emergency and which now lay in her breast. She felt +that she was caged like a rat in a trap, but did not mean to be taken at +a disadvantage, whatever happened. Caswall also felt trapped, and all +the brute in him rose to the emergency. In a voice which was raucous and +brutal--much like that which is heard when a wife is being beaten by her +husband in a slum--he hissed out, his syllables cutting through the +roaring of the storm: + +"You came of your own accord--without permission, or even asking it. Now +you can stay or go as you choose. But you must manage it for yourself; +I'll have nothing to do with it." + +Her answer was spoken with dangerous suavity + +"I am going. Blame yourself if you do not like the time and manner of +it. I daresay Adam--my husband--will have a word to say to you about +it!" + +"Let him say, and be damned to him, and to you too! I'll show you a +light. You shan't be able to say that you could not see what you were +doing." + +As he spoke, he was lighting another piece of the magnesium ribbon, which +made a blinding glare in which everything was plainly discernible, down +to the smallest detail. This exactly suited Mimi. She took accurate +note of the wicket and its fastening before the glare had died away. She +took her revolver out and fired into the lock, which was shivered on the +instant, the pieces flying round in all directions, but happily without +causing hurt to anyone. Then she pushed the wicket open and ran down the +narrow stair, and so to the hall door. Opening this also, she ran down +the avenue, never lessening her speed till she stood outside the door of +Lesser Hill. The door was opened at once on her ringing. + +"Is Mr. Adam Salton in?" she asked. + +"He has just come in, a few minutes ago. He has gone up to the study," +replied a servant. + +She ran upstairs at once and joined him. He seemed relieved when he saw +her, but scrutinised her face keenly. He saw that she had been in some +concern, so led her over to the sofa in the window and sat down beside +her. + +"Now, dear, tell me all about it!" he said. + +She rushed breathlessly through all the details of her adventure on the +turret roof. Adam listened attentively, helping her all he could, and +not embarrassing her by any questioning. His thoughtful silence was a +great help to her, for it allowed her to collect and organise her +thoughts. + +"I must go and see Caswall to-morrow, to hear what he has to say on the +subject." + +"But, dear, for my sake, don't have any quarrel with Mr. Caswall. I have +had too much trial and pain lately to wish it increased by any anxiety +regarding you." + +"You shall not, dear--if I can help it--please God," he said solemnly, +and he kissed her. + +Then, in order to keep her interested so that she might forget the fears +and anxieties that had disturbed her, he began to talk over the details +of her adventure, making shrewd comments which attracted and held her +attention. Presently, _inter alia_, he said: + +"That's a dangerous game Caswall is up to. It seems to me that that +young man--though he doesn't appear to know it--is riding for a fall!" + +"How, dear? I don't understand." + +"Kite flying on a night like this from a place like the tower of Castra +Regis is, to say the least of it, dangerous. It is not merely courting +death or other accident from lightning, but it is bringing the lightning +into where he lives. Every cloud that is blowing up here--and they all +make for the highest point--is bound to develop into a flash of +lightning. That kite is up in the air and is bound to attract the +lightning. Its cord makes a road for it on which to travel to earth. +When it does come, it will strike the top of the tower with a weight a +hundred times greater than a whole park of artillery, and will knock +Castra Regis into pieces. Where it will go after that, no one can tell. +If there should be any metal by which it can travel, such will not only +point the road, but be the road itself." + +"Would it be dangerous to be out in the open air when such a thing is +taking place?" she asked. + +"No, little woman. It would be the safest possible place--so long as one +was not in the line of the electric current." + +"Then, do let us go outside. I don't want to run into any foolish +danger--or, far more, to ask you to do so. But surely if the open is +safest, that is the place for us." + +Without another word, she put on again the cloak she had thrown off, and +a small, tight-fitting cap. Adam too put on his cap, and, after seeing +that his revolver was all right, gave her his hand, and they left the +house together. + +"I think the best thing we can do will be to go round all the places +which are mixed up in this affair." + +"All right, dear, I am ready. But, if you don't mind, we might go first +to Mercy. I am anxious about grandfather, and we might see that--as yet, +at all events--nothing has happened there." + +So they went on the high-hung road along the top of the Brow. The wind +here was of great force, and made a strange booming noise as it swept +high overhead; though not the sound of cracking and tearing as it passed +through the woods of high slender trees which grew on either side of the +road. Mimi could hardly keep her feet. She was not afraid; but the +force to which she was opposed gave her a good excuse to hold on to her +husband extra tight. + +At Mercy there was no one up--at least, all the lights were out. But to +Mimi, accustomed to the nightly routine of the house, there were manifest +signs that all was well, except in the little room on the first floor, +where the blinds were down. Mimi could not bear to look at that, to +think of it. Adam understood her pain, for he had been keenly interested +in poor Lilla. He bent over and kissed her, and then took her hand and +held it hard. Thus they passed on together, returning to the high road +towards Castra Regis. + +At the gate of Castra Regis they were extra careful. When drawing near, +Adam stumbled upon the wire that Lady Arabella had left trailing on the +ground. + +Adam drew his breath at this, and spoke in a low, earnest whisper: + +"I don't want to frighten you, Mimi dear, but wherever that wire is there +is danger." + +"Danger! How?" + +"That is the track where the lightning will go; at any moment, even now +whilst we are speaking and searching, a fearful force may be loosed upon +us. Run on, dear; you know the way to where the avenue joins the +highroad. If you see any sign of the wire, keep away from it, for God's +sake. I shall join you at the gateway." + +"Are you going to follow that wire alone?" + +"Yes, dear. One is sufficient for that work. I shall not lose a moment +till I am with you." + +"Adam, when I came with you into the open, my main wish was that we +should be together if anything serious happened. You wouldn't deny me +that right, would you, dear?" + +"No, dear, not that or any right. Thank God that my wife has such a +wish. Come; we will go together. We are in the hands of God. If He +wishes, we shall be together at the end, whenever or wherever that may +be." + +They picked up the trail of the wire on the steps and followed it down +the avenue, taking care not to touch it with their feet. It was easy +enough to follow, for the wire, if not bright, was self-coloured, and +showed clearly. They followed it out of the gateway and into the avenue +of Diana's Grove. + +Here a new gravity clouded Adam's face, though Mimi saw no cause for +fresh concern. This was easily enough explained. Adam knew of the +explosive works in progress regarding the well-hole, but the matter had +been kept from his wife. As they stood near the house, Adam asked Mimi +to return to the road, ostensibly to watch the course of the wire, +telling her that there might be a branch wire leading somewhere else. She +was to search the undergrowth, and if she found it, was to warn him by +the Australian native "Coo-ee!" + +Whilst they were standing together, there came a blinding flash of +lightning, which lit up for several seconds the whole area of earth and +sky. It was only the first note of the celestial prelude, for it was +followed in quick succession by numerous flashes, whilst the crash and +roll of thunder seemed continuous. + +Adam, appalled, drew his wife to him and held her close. As far as he +could estimate by the interval between lightning and thunder-clap, the +heart of the storm was still some distance off, so he felt no present +concern for their safety. Still, it was apparent that the course of the +storm was moving swiftly in their direction. The lightning flashes came +faster and faster and closer together; the thunder-roll was almost +continuous, not stopping for a moment--a new crash beginning before the +old one had ceased. Adam kept looking up in the direction where the kite +strained and struggled at its detaining cord, but, of course, the dull +evening light prevented any distinct scrutiny. + +At length there came a flash so appallingly bright that in its glare +Nature seemed to be standing still. So long did it last, that there was +time to distinguish its configuration. It seemed like a mighty tree +inverted, pendent from the sky. The whole country around within the +angle of vision was lit up till it seemed to glow. Then a broad ribbon +of fire seemed to drop on to the tower of Castra Regis just as the +thunder crashed. By the glare, Adam could see the tower shake and +tremble, and finally fall to pieces like a house of cards. The passing +of the lightning left the sky again dark, but a blue flame fell downward +from the tower, and, with inconceivable rapidity, running along the +ground in the direction of Diana's Grove, reached the dark silent house, +which in the instant burst into flame at a hundred different points. + +At the same moment there rose from the house a rending, crashing sound of +woodwork, broken or thrown about, mixed with a quick scream so appalling +that Adam, stout of heart as he undoubtedly was, felt his blood turn into +ice. Instinctively, despite the danger and their consciousness of it, +husband and wife took hands and listened, trembling. Something was going +on close to them, mysterious, terrible, deadly! The shrieks continued, +though less sharp in sound, as though muffled. In the midst of them was +a terrific explosion, seemingly from deep in the earth. + +The flames from Castra Regis and from Diana's Grove made all around +almost as light as day, and now that the lightning had ceased to flash, +their eyes, unblinded, were able to judge both perspective and detail. +The heat of the burning house caused the iron doors to warp and collapse. +Seemingly of their own accord, they fell open, and exposed the interior. +The Saltons could now look through to the room beyond, where the well- +hole yawned, a deep narrow circular chasm. From this the agonised +shrieks were rising, growing ever more terrible with each second that +passed. + +But it was not only the heart-rending sound that almost paralysed poor +Mimi with terror. What she saw was sufficient to fill her with evil +dreams for the remainder of her life. The whole place looked as if a sea +of blood had been beating against it. Each of the explosions from below +had thrown out from the well-hole, as if it had been the mouth of a +cannon, a mass of fine sand mixed with blood, and a horrible repulsive +slime in which were great red masses of rent and torn flesh and fat. As +the explosions kept on, more and more of this repulsive mass was shot up, +the great bulk of it falling back again. Many of the awful fragments +were of something which had lately been alive. They quivered and +trembled and writhed as though they were still in torment, a supposition +to which the unending scream gave a horrible credence. At moments some +mountainous mass of flesh surged up through the narrow orifice, as though +forced by a measureless power through an opening infinitely smaller than +itself. Some of these fragments were partially covered with white skin +as of a human being, and others--the largest and most numerous--with +scaled skin as of a gigantic lizard or serpent. Once, in a sort of lull +or pause, the seething contents of the hole rose, after the manner of a +bubbling spring, and Adam saw part of the thin form of Lady Arabella, +forced up to the top amid a mass of blood and slime, and what looked as +if it had been the entrails of a monster torn into shreds. Several times +some masses of enormous bulk were forced up through the well-hole with +inconceivable violence, and, suddenly expanding as they came into larger +space, disclosed sections of the White Worm which Adam and Sir Nathaniel +had seen looking over the trees with its enormous eyes of emerald-green +flickering like great lamps in a gale. + +At last the explosive power, which was not yet exhausted, evidently +reached the main store of dynamite which had been lowered into the worm +hole. The result was appalling. The ground for far around quivered and +opened in long deep chasms, whose edges shook and fell in, throwing up +clouds of sand which fell back and hissed amongst the rising water. The +heavily built house shook to its foundations. Great stones were thrown +up as from a volcano, some of them, great masses of hard stone, squared +and grooved with implements wrought by human hands, breaking up and +splitting in mid air as though riven by some infernal power. Trees near +the house--and therefore presumably in some way above the hole, which +sent up clouds of dust and steam and fine sand mingled, and which carried +an appalling stench which sickened the spectators--were torn up by the +roots and hurled into the air. By now, flames were bursting violently +from all over the ruins, so dangerously that Adam caught up his wife in +his arms, and ran with her from the proximity of the flames. + +Then almost as quickly as it had begun, the whole cataclysm ceased, +though a deep-down rumbling continued intermittently for some time. Then +silence brooded over all--silence so complete that it seemed in itself a +sentient thing--silence which seemed like incarnate darkness, and +conveyed the same idea to all who came within its radius. To the young +people who had suffered the long horror of that awful night, it brought +relief--relief from the presence or the fear of all that was +horrible--relief which seemed perfected when the red rays of sunrise shot +up over the far eastern sea, bringing a promise of a new order of things +with the coming day. + +* * * * * + +His bed saw little of Adam Salton for the remainder of that night. He +and Mimi walked hand in hand in the brightening dawn round by the Brow to +Castra Regis and on to Lesser Hill. They did so deliberately, in an +attempt to think as little as possible of the terrible experiences of the +night. The morning was bright and cheerful, as a morning sometimes is +after a devastating storm. The clouds, of which there were plenty in +evidence, brought no lingering idea of gloom. All nature was bright and +joyous, being in striking contrast to the scenes of wreck and +devastation, the effects of obliterating fire and lasting ruin. + +The only evidence of the once stately pile of Castra Regis and its +inhabitants was a shapeless huddle of shattered architecture, dimly seen +as the keen breeze swept aside the cloud of acrid smoke which marked the +site of the once lordly castle. As for Diana's Grove, they looked in +vain for a sign which had a suggestion of permanence. The oak trees of +the Grove were still to be seen--some of them--emerging from a haze of +smoke, the great trunks solid and erect as ever, but the larger branches +broken and twisted and rent, with bark stripped and chipped, and the +smaller branches broken and dishevelled looking from the constant stress +and threshing of the storm. + +Of the house as such, there was, even at the short distance from which +they looked, no trace. Adam resolutely turned his back on the +devastation and hurried on. Mimi was not only upset and shocked in many +ways, but she was physically "dog tired," and falling asleep on her feet. +Adam took her to her room and made her undress and get into bed, taking +care that the room was well lighted both by sunshine and lamps. The only +obstruction was from a silk curtain, drawn across the window to keep out +the glare. He sat beside her, holding her hand, well knowing that the +comfort of his presence was the best restorative for her. He stayed with +her till sleep had overmastered her wearied body. Then he went softly +away. He found his uncle and Sir Nathaniel in the study, having an early +cup of tea, amplified to the dimensions of a possible breakfast. Adam +explained that he had not told his wife that he was going over the +horrible places again, lest it should frighten her, for the rest and +sleep in ignorance would help her and make a gap of peacefulness between +the horrors. + +Sir Nathaniel agreed. + +"We know, my boy," he said, "that the unfortunate Lady Arabella is dead, +and that the foul carcase of the Worm has been torn to pieces--pray God +that its evil soul will never more escape from the nethermost hell." + +They visited Diana's Grove first, not only because it was nearer, but +also because it was the place where most description was required, and +Adam felt that he could tell his story best on the spot. The absolute +destruction of the place and everything in it seen in the broad daylight +was almost inconceivable. To Sir Nathaniel, it was as a story of horror +full and complete. But to Adam it was, as it were, only on the fringes. +He knew what was still to be seen when his friends had got over the +knowledge of externals. As yet, they had only seen the outside of the +house--or rather, where the outside of the house once had been. The +great horror lay within. However, age--and the experience of age--counts. + +A strange, almost elemental, change in the aspect had taken place in the +time which had elapsed since the dawn. It would almost seem as if Nature +herself had tried to obliterate the evil signs of what had occurred. +True, the utter ruin of the house was made even more manifest in the +searching daylight; but the more appalling destruction which lay beneath +was not visible. The rent, torn, and dislocated stonework looked worse +than before; the upheaved foundations, the piled-up fragments of masonry, +the fissures in the torn earth--all were at the worst. The Worm's hole +was still evident, a round fissure seemingly leading down into the very +bowels of the earth. But all the horrid mass of blood and slime, of +torn, evil-smelling flesh and the sickening remnants of violent death, +were gone. Either some of the later explosions had thrown up from the +deep quantities of water which, though foul and corrupt itself, had still +some cleansing power left, or else the writhing mass which stirred from +far below had helped to drag down and obliterate the items of horror. A +grey dust, partly of fine sand, partly of the waste of the falling ruin, +covered everything, and, though ghastly itself, helped to mask something +still worse. + +After a few minutes of watching, it became apparent to the three men that +the turmoil far below had not yet ceased. At short irregular intervals +the hell-broth in the hole seemed as if boiling up. It rose and fell +again and turned over, showing in fresh form much of the nauseous detail +which had been visible earlier. The worst parts were the great masses of +the flesh of the monstrous Worm, in all its red and sickening aspect. +Such fragments had been bad enough before, but now they were infinitely +worse. Corruption comes with startling rapidity to beings whose +destruction has been due wholly or in part to lightning--the whole mass +seemed to have become all at once corrupt! The whole surface of the +fragments, once alive, was covered with insects, worms, and vermin of all +kinds. The sight was horrible enough, but, with the awful smell added, +was simply unbearable. The Worm's hole appeared to breathe forth death +in its most repulsive forms. The friends, with one impulse, moved to the +top of the Brow, where a fresh breeze from the sea was blowing up. + +At the top of the Brow, beneath them as they looked down, they saw a +shining mass of white, which looked strangely out of place amongst such +wreckage as they had been viewing. It appeared so strange that Adam +suggested trying to find a way down, so that they might see it more +closely. + +"We need not go down; I know what it is," Sir Nathaniel said. "The +explosions of last night have blown off the outside of the cliffs--that +which we see is the vast bed of china clay through which the Worm +originally found its way down to its lair. I can catch the glint of the +water of the deep quags far down below. Well, her ladyship didn't +deserve such a funeral--or such a monument." + +* * * * * + +The horrors of the last few hours had played such havoc with Mimi's +nerves, that a change of scene was imperative--if a permanent breakdown +was to be avoided. + +"I think," said old Mr. Salton, "it is quite time you young people +departed for that honeymoon of yours!" There was a twinkle in his eye as +he spoke. + +Mimi's soft shy glance at her stalwart husband, was sufficient answer. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM*** + + +******* This file should be named 1188.txt or 1188.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/1/8/1188 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +The Lair of the White Worm + +by Bram Stoker + + + + +CHAPTER I--ADAM SALTON ARRIVES + + + +Adam Salton sauntered into the Empire Club, Sydney, and found +awaiting him a letter from his grand-uncle. He had first heard from +the old gentleman less than a year before, when Richard Salton had +claimed kinship, stating that he had been unable to write earlier, +as he had found it very difficult to trace his grand-nephew's +address. Adam was delighted and replied cordially; he had often +heard his father speak of the older branch of the family with whom +his people had long lost touch. Some interesting correspondence had +ensued. Adam eagerly opened the letter which had only just arrived, +and conveyed a cordial invitation to stop with his grand-uncle at +Lesser Hill, for as long a time as he could spare. + +"Indeed," Richard Salton went on, "I am in hopes that you will make +your permanent home here. You see, my dear boy, you and I are all +that remain of our race, and it is but fitting that you should +succeed me when the time comes. In this year of grace, 1860, I am +close on eighty years of age, and though we have been a long-lived +race, the span of life cannot be prolonged beyond reasonable bounds. +I am prepared to like you, and to make your home with me as happy as +you could wish. So do come at once on receipt of this, and find the +welcome I am waiting to give you. I send, in case such may make +matters easy for you, a banker's draft for 200 pounds. Come soon, +so that we may both of us enjoy many happy days together. If you +are able to give me the pleasure of seeing you, send me as soon as +you can a letter telling me when to expect you. Then when you +arrive at Plymouth or Southampton or whatever port you are bound +for, wait on board, and I will meet you at the earliest hour +possible." + + +Old Mr. Salton was delighted when Adam's reply arrived and sent a +groom hot-foot to his crony, Sir Nathaniel de Salis, to inform him +that his grand-nephew was due at Southampton on the twelfth of June. + +Mr. Salton gave instructions to have ready a carriage early on the +important day, to start for Stafford, where he would catch the 11.40 +a.m. train. He would stay that night with his grand-nephew, either +on the ship, which would be a new experience for him, or, if his +guest should prefer it, at a hotel. In either case they would start +in the early morning for home. He had given instructions to his +bailiff to send the postillion carriage on to Southampton, to be +ready for their journey home, and to arrange for relays of his own +horses to be sent on at once. He intended that his grand-nephew, +who had been all his life in Australia, should see something of +rural England on the drive. He had plenty of young horses of his +own breeding and breaking, and could depend on a journey memorable +to the young man. The luggage would be sent on by rail to Stafford, +where one of his carts would meet it. Mr. Salton, during the +journey to Southampton, often wondered if his grand-nephew was as +much excited as he was at the idea of meeting so near a relation for +the first time; and it was with an effort that he controlled +himself. The endless railway lines and switches round the +Southampton Docks fired his anxiety afresh. + +As the train drew up on the dockside, he was getting his hand traps +together, when the carriage door was wrenched open and a young man +jumped in. + +"How are you, uncle? I recognised you from the photo you sent me! +I wanted to meet you as soon as I could, but everything is so +strange to me that I didn't quite know what to do. However, here I +am. I am glad to see you, sir. I have been dreaming of this +happiness for thousands of miles; now I find that the reality beats +all the dreaming!" As he spoke the old man and the young one were +heartily wringing each other's hands. + +The meeting so auspiciously begun proceeded well. Adam, seeing that +the old man was interested in the novelty of the ship, suggested +that he should stay the night on board, and that he would himself be +ready to start at any hour and go anywhere that the other suggested. +This affectionate willingness to fall in with his own plans quite +won the old man's heart. He warmly accepted the invitation, and at +once they became not only on terms of affectionate relationship, but +almost like old friends. The heart of the old man, which had been +empty for so long, found a new delight. The young man found, on +landing in the old country, a welcome and a surrounding in full +harmony with all his dreams throughout his wanderings and solitude, +and the promise of a fresh and adventurous life. It was not long +before the old man accepted him to full relationship by calling him +by his Christian name. After a long talk on affairs of interest, +they retired to the cabin, which the elder was to share. Richard +Salton put his hands affectionately on the boy's shoulders--though +Adam was in his twenty-seventh year, he was a boy, and always would +be, to his grand-uncle. + +"I am so glad to find you as you are, my dear boy--just such a young +man as I had always hoped for as a son, in the days when I still had +such hopes. However, that is all past. But thank God there is a +new life to begin for both of us. To you must be the larger part-- +but there is still time for some of it to be shared in common. I +have waited till we should have seen each other to enter upon the +subject; for I thought it better not to tie up your young life to my +old one till we should have sufficient personal knowledge to justify +such a venture. Now I can, so far as I am concerned, enter into it +freely, since from the moment my eyes rested on you I saw my son--as +he shall be, God willing--if he chooses such a course himself." + +"Indeed I do, sir--with all my heart!" + +"Thank you, Adam, for that." The old, man's eyes filled and his +voice trembled. Then, after a long silence between them, he went +on: "When I heard you were coming I made my will. It was well that +your interests should be protected from that moment on. Here is the +deed--keep it, Adam. All I have shall belong to you; and if love +and good wishes, or the memory of them, can make life sweeter, yours +shall be a happy one. Now, my dear boy, let us turn in. We start +early in the morning and have a long drive before us. I hope you +don't mind driving? I was going to have the old travelling carriage +in which my grandfather, your great-grand-uncle, went to Court when +William IV. was king. It is all right--they built well in those +days--and it has been kept in perfect order. But I think I have +done better: I have sent the carriage in which I travel myself. +The horses are of my own breeding, and relays of them shall take us +all the way. I hope you like horses? They have long been one of my +greatest interests in life." + +"I love them, sir, and I am happy to say I have many of my own. My +father gave me a horse farm for myself when I was eighteen. I +devoted myself to it, and it has gone on. Before I came away, my +steward gave me a memorandum that we have in my own place more than +a thousand, nearly all good." + +"I am glad, my boy. Another link between us." + +"Just fancy what a delight it will be, sir, to see so much of +England--and with you!" + +"Thank you again, my boy. I will tell you all about your future +home and its surroundings as we go. We shall travel in old- +fashioned state, I tell you. My grandfather always drove four-in- +hand; and so shall we." + +"Oh, thanks, sir, thanks. May I take the ribbons sometimes?" + +"Whenever you choose, Adam. The team is your own. Every horse we +use to-day is to be your own." + +"You are too generous, uncle!" + +"Not at all. Only an old man's selfish pleasure. It is not every +day that an heir to the old home comes back. And--oh, by the way. . +. No, we had better turn in now--I shall tell you the rest in the +morning." + + + +CHAPTER II--THE CASWALLS OF CASTRA REGIS + + + +Mr. Salton had all his life been an early riser, and necessarily an +early waker. But early as he woke on the next morning--and although +there was an excuse for not prolonging sleep in the constant whirr +and rattle of the "donkey" engine winches of the great ship--he met +the eyes of Adam fixed on him from his berth. His grand-nephew had +given him the sofa, occupying the lower berth himself. The old man, +despite his great strength and normal activity, was somewhat tired +by his long journey of the day before, and the prolonged and +exciting interview which followed it. So he was glad to lie still +and rest his body, whilst his mind was actively exercised in taking +in all he could of his strange surroundings. Adam, too, after the +pastoral habit to which he had been bred, woke with the dawn, and +was ready to enter on the experiences of the new day whenever it +might suit his elder companion. It was little wonder, then, that, +so soon as each realised the other's readiness, they simultaneously +jumped up and began to dress. The steward had by previous +instructions early breakfast prepared, and it was not long before +they went down the gangway on shore in search of the carriage. + +They found Mr. Salton's bailiff looking out for them on the dock, +and he brought them at once to where the carriage was waiting in the +street. Richard Salton pointed out with pride to his young +companion the suitability of the vehicle for every need of travel. +To it were harnessed four useful horses, with a postillion to each +pair. + +"See," said the old man proudly, "how it has all the luxuries of +useful travel--silence and isolation as well as speed. There is +nothing to obstruct the view of those travelling and no one to +overhear what they may say. I have used that trap for a quarter of +a century, and I never saw one more suitable for travel. You shall +test it shortly. We are going to drive through the heart of +England; and as we go I'll tell you what I was speaking of last +night. Our route is to be by Salisbury, Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham, +Worcester, Stafford; and so home." + +Adam remained silent a few minutes, during which he seemed all eyes, +for he perpetually ranged the whole circle of the horizon. + +"Has our journey to-day, sir," he asked, "any special relation to +what you said last night that you wanted to tell me?" + +"Not directly; but indirectly, everything." + +"Won't you tell me now--I see we cannot be overheard--and if +anything strikes you as we go along, just run it in. I shall +understand." + +So old Salton spoke: + +"To begin at the beginning, Adam. That lecture of yours on 'The +Romans in Britain,' a report of which you posted to me, set me +thinking--in addition to telling me your tastes. I wrote to you at +once and asked you to come home, for it struck me that if you were +fond of historical research--as seemed a fact--this was exactly the +place for you, in addition to its being the home of your own +forbears. If you could learn so much of the British Romans so far +away in New South Wales, where there cannot be even a tradition of +them, what might you not make of the same amount of study on the +very spot. Where we are going is in the real heart of the old +kingdom of Mercia, where there are traces of all the various +nationalities which made up the conglomerate which became Britain." + +"I rather gathered that you had some more definite--more personal +reason for my hurrying. After all, history can keep--except in the +making!" + +"Quite right, my boy. I had a reason such as you very wisely +guessed. I was anxious for you to be here when a rather important +phase of our local history occurred." + +"What is that, if I may ask, sir?" + +"Certainly. The principal land-owner of our part of the county is +on his way home, and there will be a great home-coming, which you +may care to see. The fact is, for more than a century the various +owners in the succession here, with the exception of a short time, +have lived abroad." + +"How is that, sir, if I may ask?" + +"The great house and estate in our part of the world is Castra +Regis, the family seat of the Caswall family. The last owner who +lived here was Edgar Caswall, grandfather of the man who is coming +here--and he was the only one who stayed even a short time. This +man's grandfather, also named Edgar--they keep the tradition of the +family Christian name--quarrelled with his family and went to live +abroad, not keeping up any intercourse, good or bad, with his +relatives, although this particular Edgar, as I told you, did visit +his family estate, yet his son was born and lived and died abroad, +while his grandson, the latest inheritor, was also born and lived +abroad till he was over thirty--his present age. This was the +second line of absentees. The great estate of Castra Regis has had +no knowledge of its owner for five generations--covering more than a +hundred and twenty years. It has been well administered, however, +and no tenant or other connected with it has had anything of which +to complain. All the same, there has been much natural anxiety to +see the new owner, and we are all excited about the event of his +coming. Even I am, though I own my own estate, which, though +adjacent, is quite apart from Castra Regis.--Here we are now in new +ground for you. That is the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, and when +we leave that we shall be getting close to the old Roman county, and +you will naturally want your eyes. So we shall shortly have to keep +our minds on old Mercia. However, you need not be disappointed. My +old friend, Sir Nathaniel de Salis, who, like myself, is a free- +holder near Castra Regis--his estate, Doom Tower, is over the border +of Derbyshire, on the Peak--is coming to stay with me for the +festivities to welcome Edgar Caswall. He is just the sort of man +you will like. He is devoted to history, and is President of the +Mercian Archaeological Society. He knows more of our own part of +the country, with its history and its people, than anyone else. I +expect he will have arrived before us, and we three can have a long +chat after dinner. He is also our local geologist and natural +historian. So you and he will have many interests in common. +Amongst other things he has a special knowledge of the Peak and its +caverns, and knows all the old legends of prehistoric times." + +They spent the night at Cheltenham, and on the following morning +resumed their journey to Stafford. Adam's eyes were in constant +employment, and it was not till Salton declared that they had now +entered on the last stage of their journey, that he referred to Sir +Nathaniel's coming. + +As the dusk was closing down, they drove on to Lesser Hill, Mr. +Salton's house. It was now too dark to see any details of their +surroundings. Adam could just see that it was on the top of a hill, +not quite so high as that which was covered by the Castle, on whose +tower flew the flag, and which was all ablaze with moving lights, +manifestly used in the preparations for the festivities on the +morrow. So Adam deferred his curiosity till daylight. His grand- +uncle was met at the door by a fine old man, who greeted him warmly. + +"I came over early as you wished. I suppose this is your grand- +nephew--I am glad to meet you, Mr. Adam Salton. I am Nathaniel de +Salis, and your uncle is one of my oldest friends." + +Adam, from the moment of their eyes meeting, felt as if they were +already friends. The meeting was a new note of welcome to those +that had already sounded in his ears. + +The cordiality with which Sir Nathaniel and Adam met, made the +imparting of information easy. Sir Nathaniel was a clever man of +the world, who had travelled much, and within a certain area studied +deeply. He was a brilliant conversationalist, as was to be expected +from a successful diplomatist, even under unstimulating conditions. +But he had been touched and to a certain extent fired by the younger +man's evident admiration and willingness to learn from him. +Accordingly the conversation, which began on the most friendly +basis, soon warmed to an interest above proof, as the old man spoke +of it next day to Richard Salton. He knew already that his old +friend wanted his grand-nephew to learn all he could of the subject +in hand, and so had during his journey from the Peak put his +thoughts in sequence for narration and explanation. Accordingly, +Adam had only to listen and he must learn much that he wanted to +know. When dinner was over and the servants had withdrawn, leaving +the three men at their wine, Sir Nathaniel began. + +"I gather from your uncle--by the way, I suppose we had better speak +of you as uncle and nephew, instead of going into exact +relationship? In fact, your uncle is so old and dear a friend, +that, with your permission, I shall drop formality with you +altogether and speak of you and to you as Adam, as though you were +his son." + +"I should like," answered the young man, "nothing better!" + +The answer warmed the hearts of both the old men, but, with the +usual avoidance of Englishmen of emotional subjects personal to +themselves, they instinctively returned to the previous question. +Sir Nathaniel took the lead. + +"I understand, Adam, that your uncle has posted you regarding the +relationships of the Caswall family?" + +"Partly, sir; but I understood that I was to hear minuter details +from you--if you would be so good." + +"I shall be delighted to tell you anything so far as my knowledge +goes. Well, the first Caswall in our immediate record is an Edgar, +head of the family and owner of the estate, who came into his +kingdom just about the time that George III. did. He had one son of +about twenty-four. There was a violent quarrel between the two. No +one of this generation has any idea of the cause; but, considering +the family characteristics, we may take it for granted that though +it was deep and violent, it was on the surface trivial. + +"The result of the quarrel was that the son left the house without a +reconciliation or without even telling his father where he was +going. He never came back again. A few years after, he died, +without having in the meantime exchanged a word or a letter with his +father. He married abroad and left one son, who seems to have been +brought up in ignorance of all belonging to him. The gulf between +them appears to have been unbridgable; for in time this son married +and in turn had a son, but neither joy nor sorrow brought the +sundered together. Under such conditions no RAPPROCHEMENT was to be +looked for, and an utter indifference, founded at best on ignorance, +took the place of family affection--even on community of interests. +It was only due to the watchfulness of the lawyers that the birth of +this new heir was ever made known. He actually spent a few months +in the ancestral home. + +"After this the family interest merely rested on heirship of the +estate. As no other children have been born to any of the newer +generations in the intervening years, all hopes of heritage are now +centred in the grandson of this man. + +"Now, it will be well for you to bear in mind the prevailing +characteristics of this race. These were well preserved and +unchanging; one and all they are the same: cold, selfish, dominant, +reckless of consequences in pursuit of their own will. It was not +that they did not keep faith, though that was a matter which gave +them little concern, but that they took care to think beforehand of +what they should do in order to gain their own ends. If they should +make a mistake, someone else should bear the burthen of it. This +was so perpetually recurrent that it seemed to be a part of a fixed +policy. It was no wonder that, whatever changes took place, they +were always ensured in their own possessions. They were absolutely +cold and hard by nature. Not one of them--so far as we have any +knowledge--was ever known to be touched by the softer sentiments, to +swerve from his purpose, or hold his hand in obedience to the +dictates of his heart. The pictures and effigies of them all show +their adherence to the early Roman type. Their eyes were full; +their hair, of raven blackness, grew thick and close and curly. +Their figures were massive and typical of strength. + +"The thick black hair, growing low down on the neck, told of vast +physical strength and endurance. But the most remarkable +characteristic is the eyes. Black, piercing, almost unendurable, +they seem to contain in themselves a remarkable will power which +there is no gainsaying. It is a power that is partly racial and +partly individual: a power impregnated with some mysterious +quality, partly hypnotic, partly mesmeric, which seems to take away +from eyes that meet them all power of resistance--nay, all power of +wishing to resist. With eyes like those, set in that all-commanding +face, one would need to be strong indeed to think of resisting the +inflexible will that lay behind. + +"You may think, Adam, that all this is imagination on my part, +especially as I have never seen any of them. So it is, but +imagination based on deep study. I have made use of all I know or +can surmise logically regarding this strange race. With such +strange compelling qualities, is it any wonder that there is abroad +an idea that in the race there is some demoniac possession, which +tends to a more definite belief that certain individuals have in the +past sold themselves to the Devil? + +"But I think we had better go to bed now. We have a lot to get +through to-morrow, and I want you to have your brain clear, and all +your susceptibilities fresh. Moreover, I want you to come with me +for an early walk, during which we may notice, whilst the matter is +fresh in our minds, the peculiar disposition of this place--not +merely your grand-uncle's estate, but the lie of the country around +it. There are many things on which we may seek--and perhaps find-- +enlightenment. The more we know at the start, the more things which +may come into our view will develop themselves." + + + +CHAPTER III--DIANA'S GROVE + + + +Curiosity took Adam Salton out of bed in the early morning, but when +he had dressed and gone downstairs; he found that, early as he was, +Sir Nathaniel was ahead of him. The old gentleman was quite +prepared for a long walk, and they started at once. + +Sir Nathaniel, without speaking, led the way to the east, down the +hill. When they had descended and risen again, they found +themselves on the eastern brink of a steep hill. It was of lesser +height than that on which the Castle was situated; but it was so +placed that it commanded the various hills that crowned the ridge. +All along the ridge the rock cropped out, bare and bleak, but broken +in rough natural castellation. The form of the ridge was a segment +of a circle, with the higher points inland to the west. In the +centre rose the Castle, on the highest point of all. Between the +various rocky excrescences were groups of trees of various sizes and +heights, amongst some of which were what, in the early morning +light, looked like ruins. These--whatever they were--were of +massive grey stone, probably limestone rudely cut--if indeed they +were not shaped naturally. The fall of the ground was steep all +along the ridge, so steep that here and there both trees and rocks +and buildings seemed to overhang the plain far below, through which +ran many streams. + +Sir Nathaniel stopped and looked around, as though to lose nothing +of the effect. The sun had climbed the eastern sky and was making +all details clear. He pointed with a sweeping gesture, as though +calling Adam's attention to the extent of the view. Having done so, +he covered the ground more slowly, as though inviting attention to +detail. Adam was a willing and attentive pupil, and followed his +motions exactly, missing--or trying to miss--nothing. + +"I have brought you here, Adam, because it seems to me that this is +the spot on which to begin our investigations. You have now in +front of you almost the whole of the ancient kingdom of Mercia. In +fact, we see the whole of it except that furthest part, which is +covered by the Welsh Marches and those parts which are hidden from +where we stand by the high ground of the immediate west. We can +see--theoretically--the whole of the eastern bound of the kingdom, +which ran south from the Humber to the Wash. I want you to bear in +mind the trend of the ground, for some time, sooner or later, we +shall do well to have it in our mind's eye when we are considering +the ancient traditions and superstitions, and are trying to find the +RATIONALE of them. Each legend, each superstition which we receive, +will help in the understanding and possible elucidation of the +others. And as all such have a local basis, we can come closer to +the truth--or the probability--by knowing the local conditions as we +go along. It will help us to bring to our aid such geological truth +as we may have between us. For instance, the building materials +used in various ages can afford their own lessons to understanding +eyes. The very heights and shapes and materials of these hills-- +nay, even of the wide plain that lies between us and the sea--have +in themselves the materials of enlightening books." + +"For instance, sir?" said Adam, venturing a question. + +"Well, look at those hills which surround the main one where the +site for the Castle was wisely chosen--on the highest ground. Take +the others. There is something ostensible in each of them, and in +all probability something unseen and unproved, but to be imagined, +also." + +"For instance?" continued Adam. + +"Let us take them SERIATIM. That to the east, where the trees are, +lower down--that was once the location of a Roman temple, possibly +founded on a pre-existing Druidical one. Its name implies the +former, and the grove of ancient oaks suggests the latter." + +"Please explain." + +"The old name translated means 'Diana's Grove.' Then the next one +higher than it, but just beyond it, is called 'MERCY'--in all +probability a corruption or familiarisation of the word MERCIA, with +a Roman pun included. We learn from early manuscripts that the +place was called VILULA MISERICORDIAE. It was originally a nunnery, +founded by Queen Bertha, but done away with by King Penda, the +reactionary to Paganism after St. Augustine. Then comes your +uncle's place--Lesser Hill. Though it is so close to the Castle, it +is not connected with it. It is a freehold, and, so far as we know, +of equal age. It has always belonged to your family." + +"Then there only remains the Castle!" + +"That is all; but its history contains the histories of all the +others--in fact, the whole history of early England." Sir +Nathaniel, seeing the expectant look on Adam's face, went on: + +"The history of the Castle has no beginning so far as we know. The +furthest records or surmises or inferences simply accept it as +existing. Some of these--guesses, let us call them--seem to show +that there was some sort of structure there when the Romans came, +therefore it must have been a place of importance in Druid times--if +indeed that was the beginning. Naturally the Romans accepted it, as +they did everything of the kind that was, or might be, useful. The +change is shown or inferred in the name Castra. It was the highest +protected ground, and so naturally became the most important of +their camps. A study of the map will show you that it must have +been a most important centre. It both protected the advances +already made to the north, and helped to dominate the sea coast. It +sheltered the western marches, beyond which lay savage Wales--and +danger. It provided a means of getting to the Severn, round which +lay the great Roman roads then coming into existence, and made +possible the great waterway to the heart of England--through the +Severn and its tributaries. It brought the east and the west +together by the swiftest and easiest ways known to those times. +And, finally, it provided means of descent on London and all the +expanse of country watered by the Thames. + +"With such a centre, already known and organised, we can easily see +that each fresh wave of invasion--the Angles, the Saxons, the Danes, +and the Normans--found it a desirable possession and so ensured its +upholding. In the earlier centuries it was merely a vantage ground. +But when the victorious Romans brought with them the heavy solid +fortifications impregnable to the weapons of the time, its +commanding position alone ensured its adequate building and +equipment. Then it was that the fortified camp of the Caesars +developed into the castle of the king. As we are as yet ignorant of +the names of the first kings of Mercia, no historian has been able +to guess which of them made it his ultimate defence; and I suppose +we shall never know now. In process of time, as the arts of war +developed, it increased in size and strength, and although recorded +details are lacking, the history is written not merely in the stone +of its building, but is inferred in the changes of structure. Then +the sweeping changes which followed the Norman Conquest wiped out +all lesser records than its own. To-day we must accept it as one of +the earliest castles of the Conquest, probably not later than the +time of Henry I. Roman and Norman were both wise in their retention +of places of approved strength or utility. So it was that these +surrounding heights, already established and to a certain extent +proved, were retained. Indeed, such characteristics as already +pertained to them were preserved, and to-day afford to us lessons +regarding things which have themselves long since passed away. + +"So much for the fortified heights; but the hollows too have their +own story. But how the time passes! We must hurry home, or your +uncle will wonder what has become of us." + +He started with long steps towards Lesser Hill, and Adam was soon +furtively running in order to keep up with him. + + + +CHAPTER IV--THE LADY ARABELLA MARCH + + + +"Now, there is no hurry, but so soon as you are both ready we shall +start," Mr. Salton said when breakfast had begun. "I want to take +you first to see a remarkable relic of Mercia, and then we'll go to +Liverpool through what is called 'The Great Vale of Cheshire.' You +may be disappointed, but take care not to prepare your mind"--this +to Adam--"for anything stupendous or heroic. You would not think +the place a vale at all, unless you were told so beforehand, and had +confidence in the veracity of the teller. We should get to the +Landing Stage in time to meet the WEST AFRICAN, and catch Mr. +Caswall as he comes ashore. We want to do him honour--and, besides, +it will be more pleasant to have the introductions over before we go +to his FETE at the Castle." + +The carriage was ready, the same as had been used the previous day, +but there were different horses--magnificent animals, and keen for +work. Breakfast was soon over, and they shortly took their places. +The postillions had their orders, and were quickly on their way at +an exhilarating pace. + +Presently, in obedience to Mr. Salton's signal, the carriage drew up +opposite a great heap of stones by the wayside. + +"Here, Adam," he said, "is something that you of all men should not +pass by unnoticed. That heap of stones brings us at once to the +dawn of the Anglian kingdom. It was begun more than a thousand +years ago--in the latter part of the seventh century--in memory of a +murder. Wulfere, King of Mercia, nephew of Penda, here murdered his +two sons for embracing Christianity. As was the custom of the time, +each passer-by added a stone to the memorial heap. Penda +represented heathen reaction after St. Augustine's mission. Sir +Nathaniel can tell you as much as you want about this, and put you, +if you wish, on the track of such accurate knowledge as there is." + +Whilst they were looking at the heap of stones, they noticed that +another carriage had drawn up beside them, and the passenger--there +was only one--was regarding them curiously. The carriage was an old +heavy travelling one, with arms blazoned on it gorgeously. The men +took off their hats, as the occupant, a lady, addressed them. + +"How do you do, Sir Nathaniel? How do you do, Mr. Salton? I hope +you have not met with any accident. Look at me!" + +As she spoke she pointed to where one of the heavy springs was +broken across, the broken metal showing bright. Adam spoke up at +once: + +"Oh, that can soon be put right." + +"Soon? There is no one near who can mend a break like that." + +"I can." + +"You!" She looked incredulously at the dapper young gentleman who +spoke. "You--why, it's a workman's job." + +"All right, I am a workman--though that is not the only sort of work +I do. I am an Australian, and, as we have to move about fast, we +are all trained to farriery and such mechanics as come into travel-- +I am quite at your service." + +"I hardly know how to thank you for your kindness, of which I gladly +avail myself. I don't know what else I can do, as I wish to meet +Mr. Caswall of Castra Regis, who arrives home from Africa to-day. +It is a notable home-coming; all the countryside want to do him +honour." She looked at the old men and quickly made up her mind as +to the identity of the stranger. "You must be Mr. Adam Salton of +Lesser Hill. I am Lady Arabella March of Diana's Grove." As she +spoke she turned slightly to Mr. Salton, who took the hint and made +a formal introduction. + +So soon as this was done, Adam took some tools from his uncle's +carriage, and at once began work on the broken spring. He was an +expert workman, and the breach was soon made good. Adam was +gathering the tools which he had been using--which, after the manner +of all workmen, had been scattered about--when he noticed that +several black snakes had crawled out from the heap of stones and +were gathering round him. This naturally occupied his mind, and he +was not thinking of anything else when he noticed Lady Arabella, who +had opened the door of the carriage, slip from it with a quick +gliding motion. She was already among the snakes when he called out +to warn her. But there seemed to be no need of warning. The snakes +had turned and were wriggling back to the mound as quickly as they +could. He laughed to himself behind his teeth as he whispered, "No +need to fear there. They seem much more afraid of her than she of +them." All the same he began to beat on the ground with a stick +which was lying close to him, with the instinct of one used to such +vermin. In an instant he was alone beside the mound with Lady +Arabella, who appeared quite unconcerned at the incident. Then he +took a long look at her, and her dress alone was sufficient to +attract attention. She was clad in some kind of soft white stuff, +which clung close to her form, showing to the full every movement of +her sinuous figure. She wore a close-fitting cap of some fine fur +of dazzling white. Coiled round her white throat was a large +necklace of emeralds, whose profusion of colour dazzled when the sun +shone on them. Her voice was peculiar, very low and sweet, and so +soft that the dominant note was of sibilation. Her hands, too, were +peculiar--long, flexible, white, with a strange movement as of +waving gently to and fro. + +She appeared quite at ease, and, after thanking Adam, said that if +any of his uncle's party were going to Liverpool she would be most +happy to join forces. + +"Whilst you are staying here, Mr. Salton, you must look on the +grounds of Diana's Grove as your own, so that you may come and go +just as you do in Lesser Hill. There are some fine views, and not a +few natural curiosities which are sure to interest you, if you are a +student of natural history--specially of an earlier kind, when the +world was younger." + +The heartiness with which she spoke, and the warmth of her words-- +not of her manner, which was cold and distant--made him suspicious. +In the meantime both his uncle and Sir Nathaniel had thanked her for +the invitation--of which, however, they said they were unable to +avail themselves. Adam had a suspicion that, though she answered +regretfully, she was in reality relieved. When he had got into the +carriage with the two old men, and they had driven off, he was not +surprised when Sir Nathaniel spoke. + +"I could not but feel that she was glad to be rid of us. She can +play her game better alone!" + +"What is her game?" asked Adam unthinkingly. + +"All the county knows it, my boy. Caswall is a very rich man. Her +husband was rich when she married him--or seemed to be. When he +committed suicide, it was found that he had nothing left, and the +estate was mortgaged up to the hilt. Her only hope is in a rich +marriage. I suppose I need not draw any conclusion; you can do that +as well as I can." + +Adam remained silent nearly all the time they were travelling +through the alleged Vale of Cheshire. He thought much during that +journey and came to several conclusions, though his lips were +unmoved. One of these conclusions was that he would be very careful +about paying any attention to Lady Arabella. He was himself a rich +man, how rich not even his uncle had the least idea, and would have +been surprised had he known. + +The remainder of the journey was uneventful, and upon arrival at +Liverpool they went aboard the WEST AFRICAN, which had just come to +the landing-stage. There his uncle introduced himself to Mr. +Caswall, and followed this up by introducing Sir Nathaniel and then +Adam. The new-comer received them graciously, and said what a +pleasure it was to be coming home after so long an absence of his +family from their old seat. Adam was pleased at the warmth of the +reception; but he could not avoid a feeling of repugnance at the +man's face. He was trying hard to overcome this when a diversion +was caused by the arrival of Lady Arabella. The diversion was +welcome to all; the two Saltons and Sir Nathaniel were shocked at +Caswall's face--so hard, so ruthless, so selfish, so dominant. "God +help any," was the common thought, "who is under the domination of +such a man!" + +Presently his African servant approached him, and at once their +thoughts changed to a larger toleration. Caswall looked indeed a +savage--but a cultured savage. In him were traces of the softening +civilisation of ages--of some of the higher instincts and education +of man, no matter how rudimentary these might be. But the face of +Oolanga, as his master called him, was unreformed, unsoftened +savage, and inherent in it were all the hideous possibilities of a +lost, devil-ridden child of the forest and the swamp--the lowest of +all created things that could be regarded as in some form ostensibly +human. Lady Arabella and Oolanga arrived almost simultaneously, and +Adam was surprised to notice what effect their appearance had on +each other. The woman seemed as if she would not--could not-- +condescend to exhibit any concern or interest in such a creature. +On the other hand, the negro's bearing was such as in itself to +justify her pride. He treated her not merely as a slave treats his +master, but as a worshipper would treat a deity. He knelt before +her with his hands out-stretched and his forehead in the dust. So +long as she remained he did not move; it was only when she went over +to Caswall that he relaxed his attitude of devotion and stood by +respectfully. + +Adam spoke to his own man, Davenport, who was standing by, having +arrived with the bailiff of Lesser Hill, who had followed Mr. Salton +in a pony trap. As he spoke, he pointed to an attentive ship's +steward, and presently the two men were conversing. + +"I think we ought to be moving," Mr. Salton said to Adam. "I have +some things to do in Liverpool, and I am sure that both Mr. Caswall +and Lady Arabella would like to get under weigh for Castra Regis." + +"I too, sir, would like to do something," replied Adam. "I want to +find out where Ross, the animal merchant, lives--I want to take a +small animal home with me, if you don't mind. He is only a little +thing, and will be no trouble." + +"Of course not, my boy. What kind of animal is it that you want?" + +"A mongoose." + +"A mongoose! What on earth do you want it for?" + +"To kill snakes." + +"Good!" The old man remembered the mound of stones. No explanation +was needed. + +When Ross heard what was wanted, he asked: + +"Do you want something special, or will an ordinary mongoose do?" + +"Well, of course I want a good one. But I see no need for anything +special. It is for ordinary use." + +"I can let you have a choice of ordinary ones. I only asked, +because I have in stock a very special one which I got lately from +Nepaul. He has a record of his own. He killed a king cobra that +had been seen in the Rajah's garden. But I don't suppose we have +any snakes of the kind in this cold climate--I daresay an ordinary +one will do." + +When Adam got back to the carriage, carefully carrying the box with +the mongoose, Sir Nathaniel said: "Hullo! what have you got there?" + +"A mongoose." + +"What for?" + +"To kill snakes!" + +Sir Nathaniel laughed. + +"I heard Lady Arabella's invitation to you to come to Diana's +Grove." + +"Well, what on earth has that got to do with it?" + +"Nothing directly that I know of. But we shall see." Adam waited, +and the old man went on: "Have you by any chance heard the other +name which was given long ago to that place." + +"No, sir." + +"It was called-- Look here, this subject wants a lot of talking +over. Suppose we wait till we are alone and have lots of time +before us." + +"All right, sir." Adam was filled with curiosity, but he thought it +better not to hurry matters. All would come in good time. Then the +three men returned home, leaving Mr. Caswall to spend the night in +Liverpool. + +The following day the Lesser Hill party set out for Castra Regis, +and for the time Adam thought no more of Diana's Grove or of what +mysteries it had contained--or might still contain. + +The guests were crowding in, and special places were marked for +important people. Adam, seeing so many persons of varied degree, +looked round for Lady Arabella, but could not locate her. It was +only when he saw the old-fashioned travelling carriage approach and +heard the sound of cheering which went with it, that he realised +that Edgar Caswall had arrived. Then, on looking more closely, he +saw that Lady Arabella, dressed as he had seen her last, was seated +beside him. When the carriage drew up at the great flight of steps, +the host jumped down and gave her his hand. + +It was evident to all that she was the chief guest at the +festivities. It was not long before the seats on the dais were +filled, while the tenants and guests of lesser importance had +occupied all the coigns of vantage not reserved. The order of the +day had been carefully arranged by a committee. There were some +speeches, happily neither many nor long; and then festivities were +suspended till the time for feasting arrived. In the interval +Caswall walked among his guests, speaking to all in a friendly +manner and expressing a general welcome. The other guests came down +from the dais and followed his example, so there was unceremonious +meeting and greeting between gentle and simple. + +Adam Salton naturally followed with his eyes all that went on within +their scope, taking note of all who seemed to afford any interest. +He was young and a man and a stranger from a far distance; so on all +these accounts he naturally took stock rather of the women than of +the men, and of these, those who were young and attractive. There +were lots of pretty girls among the crowd, and Adam, who was a +handsome young man and well set up, got his full share of admiring +glances. These did not concern him much, and he remained unmoved +until there came along a group of three, by their dress and bearing, +of the farmer class. One was a sturdy old man; the other two were +good-looking girls, one of a little over twenty, the other not quite +so old. So soon as Adam's eyes met those of the younger girl, who +stood nearest to him, some sort of electricity flashed--that divine +spark which begins by recognition, and ends in obedience. Men call +it "Love." + +Both his companions noticed how much Adam was taken by the pretty +girl, and spoke of her to him in a way which made his heart warm to +them. + +"Did you notice that party that passed? The old man is Michael +Watford, one of the tenants of Mr. Caswall. He occupies Mercy Farm, +which Sir Nathaniel pointed out to you to-day. The girls are his +grand-daughters, the elder, Lilla, being the only child of his elder +son, who died when she was less than a year old. His wife died on +the same day. She is a good girl--as good as she is pretty. The +other is her first cousin, the daughter of Watford's second son. He +went for a soldier when he was just over twenty, and was drafted +abroad. He was not a good correspondent, though he was a good +enough son. A few letters came, and then his father heard from the +colonel of his regiment that he had been killed by dacoits in +Burmah. He heard from the same source that his boy had been married +to a Burmese, and that there was a daughter only a year old. +Watford had the child brought home, and she grew up beside Lilla. +The only thing that they heard of her birth was that her name was +Mimi. The two children adored each other, and do to this day. +Strange how different they are! Lilla all fair, like the old Saxon +stock from which she is sprung; Mimi showing a trace of her mother's +race. Lilla is as gentle as a dove, but Mimi's black eyes can glow +whenever she is upset. The only thing that upsets her is when +anything happens to injure or threaten or annoy Lilla. Then her +eyes glow as do the eyes of a bird when her young are menaced." + + + +CHAPTER V--THE WHITE WORM + + + +Mr. Salton introduced Adam to Mr. Watford and his grand-daughters, +and they all moved on together. Of course neighbours in the +position of the Watfords knew all about Adam Salton, his +relationship, circumstances, and prospects. So it would have been +strange indeed if both girls did not dream of possibilities of the +future. In agricultural England, eligible men of any class are +rare. This particular man was specially eligible, for he did not +belong to a class in which barriers of caste were strong. So when +it began to be noticed that he walked beside Mimi Watford and seemed +to desire her society, all their friends endeavoured to give the +promising affair a helping hand. When the gongs sounded for the +banquet, he went with her into the tent where her grandfather had +seats. Mr. Salton and Sir Nathaniel noticed that the young man did +not come to claim his appointed place at the dais table; but they +understood and made no remark, or indeed did not seem to notice his +absence. + +Lady Arabella sat as before at Edgar Caswall's right hand. She was +certainly a striking and unusual woman, and to all it seemed fitting +from her rank and personal qualities that she should be the chosen +partner of the heir on his first appearance. Of course nothing was +said openly by those of her own class who were present; but words +were not necessary when so much could be expressed by nods and +smiles. It seemed to be an accepted thing that at last there was to +be a mistress of Castra Regis, and that she was present amongst +them. There were not lacking some who, whilst admitting all her +charm and beauty, placed her in the second rank, Lilla Watford being +marked as first. There was sufficient divergence of type, as well +as of individual beauty, to allow of fair comment; Lady Arabella +represented the aristocratic type, and Lilla that of the commonalty. + +When the dusk began to thicken, Mr. Salton and Sir Nathaniel walked +home--the trap had been sent away early in the day--leaving Adam to +follow in his own time. He came in earlier than was expected, and +seemed upset about something. Neither of the elders made any +comment. They all lit cigarettes, and, as dinner-time was close at +hand, went to their rooms to get ready. + +Adam had evidently been thinking in the interval. He joined the +others in the drawing-room, looking ruffled and impatient--a +condition of things seen for the first time. The others, with the +patience--or the experience--of age, trusted to time to unfold and +explain things. They had not long to wait. After sitting down and +standing up several times, Adam suddenly burst out. + +"That fellow seems to think he owns the earth. Can't he let people +alone! He seems to think that he has only to throw his handkerchief +to any woman, and be her master." + +This outburst was in itself enlightening. Only thwarted affection +in some guise could produce this feeling in an amiable young man. +Sir Nathaniel, as an old diplomatist, had a way of understanding, as +if by foreknowledge, the true inwardness of things, and asked +suddenly, but in a matter-of-fact, indifferent voice: + +"Was he after Lilla?" + +"Yes, and the fellow didn't lose any time either. Almost as soon as +they met, he began to butter her up, and tell her how beautiful she +was. Why, before he left her side, he had asked himself to tea to- +morrow at Mercy Farm. Stupid ass! He might see that the girl isn't +his sort! I never saw anything like it. It was just like a hawk +and a pigeon." + +As he spoke, Sir Nathaniel turned and looked at Mr. Salton--a keen +look which implied a full understanding. + +"Tell us all about it, Adam. There are still a few minutes before +dinner, and we shall all have better appetites when we have come to +some conclusion on this matter." + +"There is nothing to tell, sir; that is the worst of it. I am bound +to say that there was not a word said that a human being could +object to. He was very civil, and all that was proper--just what a +landlord might be to a tenant's daughter. . . Yet--yet--well, I +don't know how it was, but it made my blood boil." + +"How did the hawk and the pigeon come in?" Sir Nathaniel's voice +was soft and soothing, nothing of contradiction or overdone +curiosity in it--a tone eminently suited to win confidence. + +"I can hardly explain. I can only say that he looked like a hawk +and she like a dove--and, now that I think of it, that is what they +each did look like; and do look like in their normal condition." + +"That is so!" came the soft voice of Sir Nathaniel. + +Adam went on: + +"Perhaps that early Roman look of his set me off. But I wanted to +protect her; she seemed in danger." + +"She seems in danger, in a way, from all you young men. I couldn't +help noticing the way that even you looked--as if you wished to +absorb her!" + +"I hope both you young men will keep your heads cool," put in Mr. +Salton. "You know, Adam, it won't do to have any quarrel between +you, especially so soon after his home-coming and your arrival here. +We must think of the feelings and happiness of our neighbours; +mustn't we?" + +"I hope so, sir. I assure you that, whatever may happen, or even +threaten, I shall obey your wishes in this as in all things." + +"Hush!" whispered Sir Nathaniel, who heard the servants in the +passage bringing dinner. + +After dinner, over the walnuts and the wine, Sir Nathaniel returned +to the subject of the local legends. + +"It will perhaps be a less dangerous topic for us to discuss than +more recent ones." + +"All right, sir," said Adam heartily. "I think you may depend on me +now with regard to any topic. I can even discuss Mr. Caswall. +Indeed, I may meet him to-morrow. He is going, as I said, to call +at Mercy Farm at three o'clock--but I have an appointment at two." + +"I notice," said Mr. Salton, "that you do not lose any time." + +The two old men once more looked at each other steadily. Then, lest +the mood of his listener should change with delay, Sir Nathaniel +began at once: + +"I don't propose to tell you all the legends of Mercia, or even to +make a selection of them. It will be better, I think, for our +purpose if we consider a few facts--recorded or unrecorded--about +this neighbourhood. I think we might begin with Diana's Grove. It +has roots in the different epochs of our history, and each has its +special crop of legend. The Druid and the Roman are too far off for +matters of detail; but it seems to me the Saxon and the Angles are +near enough to yield material for legendary lore. We find that this +particular place had another name besides Diana's Grove. This was +manifestly of Roman origin, or of Grecian accepted as Roman. The +other is more pregnant of adventure and romance than the Roman name. +In Mercian tongue it was 'The Lair of the White Worm.' This needs a +word of explanation at the beginning. + +"In the dawn of the language, the word 'worm' had a somewhat +different meaning from that in use to-day. It was an adaptation of +the Anglo-Saxon 'wyrm,' meaning a dragon or snake; or from the +Gothic 'waurms,' a serpent; or the Icelandic 'ormur,' or the German +'wurm.' We gather that it conveyed originally an idea of size and +power, not as now in the diminutive of both these meanings. Here +legendary history helps us. We have the well-known legend of the +'Worm Well' of Lambton Castle, and that of the 'Laidly Worm of +Spindleston Heugh' near Bamborough. In both these legends the +'worm' was a monster of vast size and power--a veritable dragon or +serpent, such as legend attributes to vast fens or quags where there +was illimitable room for expansion. A glance at a geological map +will show that whatever truth there may have been of the actuality +of such monsters in the early geologic periods, at least there was +plenty of possibility. In England there were originally vast plains +where the plentiful supply of water could gather. The streams were +deep and slow, and there were holes of abysmal depth, where any kind +and size of antediluvian monster could find a habitat. In places, +which now we can see from our windows, were mud-holes a hundred or +more feet deep. Who can tell us when the age of the monsters which +flourished in slime came to an end? There must have been places and +conditions which made for greater longevity, greater size, greater +strength than was usual. Such over-lappings may have come down even +to our earlier centuries. Nay, are there not now creatures of a +vastness of bulk regarded by the generality of men as impossible? +Even in our own day there are seen the traces of animals, if not the +animals themselves, of stupendous size--veritable survivals from +earlier ages, preserved by some special qualities in their habitats. +I remember meeting a distinguished man in India, who had the +reputation of being a great shikaree, who told me that the greatest +temptation he had ever had in his life was to shoot a giant snake +which he had come across in the Terai of Upper India. He was on a +tiger-shooting expedition, and as his elephant was crossing a +nullah, it squealed. He looked down from his howdah and saw that +the elephant had stepped across the body of a snake which was +dragging itself through the jungle. 'So far as I could see,' he +said, 'it must have been eighty or one hundred feet in length. +Fully forty or fifty feet was on each side of the track, and though +the weight which it dragged had thinned it, it was as thick round as +a man's body. I suppose you know that when you are after tiger, it +is a point of honour not to shoot at anything else, as life may +depend on it. I could easily have spined this monster, but I felt +that I must not--so, with regret, I had to let it go.' + +"Just imagine such a monster anywhere in this country, and at once +we could get a sort of idea of the 'worms,' which possibly did +frequent the great morasses which spread round the mouths of many of +the great European rivers." + +"I haven't the least doubt, sir, that there may have been such +monsters as you have spoken of still existing at a much later period +than is generally accepted," replied Adam. "Also, if there were +such things, that this was the very place for them. I have tried to +think over the matter since you pointed out the configuration of the +ground. But it seems to me that there is a hiatus somewhere. Are +there not mechanical difficulties?" + +"In what way?" + +"Well, our antique monster must have been mighty heavy, and the +distances he had to travel were long and the ways difficult. From +where we are now sitting down to the level of the mud-holes is a +distance of several hundred feet--I am leaving out of consideration +altogether any lateral distance. Is it possible that there was a +way by which a monster could travel up and down, and yet no chance +recorder have ever seen him? Of course we have the legends; but is +not some more exact evidence necessary in a scientific +investigation?" + +"My dear Adam, all you say is perfectly right, and, were we starting +on such an investigation, we could not do better than follow your +reasoning. But, my dear boy, you must remember that all this took +place thousands of years ago. You must remember, too, that all +records of the kind that would help us are lacking. Also, that the +places to be considered were desert, so far as human habitation or +population are considered. In the vast desolation of such a place +as complied with the necessary conditions, there must have been such +profusion of natural growth as would bar the progress of men formed +as we are. The lair of such a monster would not have been disturbed +for hundreds--or thousands--of years. Moreover, these creatures +must have occupied places quite inaccessible to man. A snake who +could make himself comfortable in a quagmire, a hundred feet deep, +would be protected on the outskirts by such stupendous morasses as +now no longer exist, or which, if they exist anywhere at all, can be +on very few places on the earth's surface. Far be it from me to say +that in more elemental times such things could not have been. The +condition belongs to the geologic age--the great birth and growth of +the world, when natural forces ran riot, when the struggle for +existence was so savage that no vitality which was not founded in a +gigantic form could have even a possibility of survival. That such +a time existed, we have evidences in geology, but there only; we can +never expect proofs such as this age demands. We can only imagine +or surmise such things--or such conditions and such forces as +overcame them." + + + +CHAPTER VI--HAWK AND PIGEON + + + +At breakfast-time next morning Sir Nathaniel and Mr. Salton were +seated when Adam came hurriedly into the room. + +"Any news?" asked his uncle mechanically. + +"Four." + +"Four what?" asked Sir Nathaniel. + +"Snakes," said Adam, helping himself to a grilled kidney. + +"Four snakes. I don't understand." + +"Mongoose," said Adam, and then added explanatorily: "I was out +with the mongoose just after three." + +"Four snakes in one morning! Why, I didn't know there were so many +on the Brow"--the local name for the western cliff. "I hope that +wasn't the consequence of our talk of last night?" + +"It was, sir. But not directly." + +"But, God bless my soul, you didn't expect to get a snake like the +Lambton worm, did you? Why, a mongoose, to tackle a monster like +that--if there were one--would have to be bigger than a haystack." + +"These were ordinary snakes, about as big as a walking-stick." + +"Well, it's pleasant to be rid of them, big or little. That is a +good mongoose, I am sure; he'll clear out all such vermin round +here," said Mr. Salton. + +Adam went quietly on with his breakfast. Killing a few snakes in a +morning was no new experience to him. He left the room the moment +breakfast was finished and went to the study that his uncle had +arranged for him. Both Sir Nathaniel and Mr. Salton took it that he +wanted to be by himself, so as to avoid any questioning or talk of +the visit that he was to make that afternoon. They saw nothing +further of him till about half-an-hour before dinner-time. Then he +came quietly into the smoking-room, where Mr. Salton and Sir +Nathaniel were sitting together, ready dressed. + +"I suppose there is no use waiting. We had better get it over at +once," remarked Adam. + +His uncle, thinking to make things easier for him, said: "Get what +over?" + +There was a sign of shyness about him at this. He stammered a +little at first, but his voice became more even as he went on. + +"My visit to Mercy Farm." + +Mr. Salton waited eagerly. The old diplomatist simply smiled. + +"I suppose you both know that I was much interested yesterday in the +Watfords?" There was no denial or fending off the question. Both +the old men smiled acquiescence. Adam went on: "I meant you to see +it--both of you. You, uncle, because you are my uncle and the +nearest of my own kin, and, moreover, you couldn't have been more +kind to me or made me more welcome if you had been my own father." +Mr. Salton said nothing. He simply held out his hand, and the other +took it and held it for a few seconds. "And you, sir, because you +have shown me something of the same affection which in my wildest +dreams of home I had no right to expect." He stopped for an +instant, much moved. + +Sir Nathaniel answered softly, laying his hand on the youth's +shoulder. + +"You are right, my boy; quite right. That is the proper way to look +at it. And I may tell you that we old men, who have no children of +our own, feel our hearts growing warm when we hear words like +those." + +Then Adam hurried on, speaking with a rush, as if he wanted to come +to the crucial point. + +"Mr. Watford had not come in, but Lilla and Mimi were at home, and +they made me feel very welcome. They have all a great regard for my +uncle. I am glad of that any way, for I like them all--much. We +were having tea, when Mr. Caswall came to the door, attended by the +negro. Lilla opened the door herself. The window of the living- +room at the farm is a large one, and from within you cannot help +seeing anyone coming. Mr. Caswall said he had ventured to call, as +he wished to make the acquaintance of all his tenants, in a less +formal way, and more individually, than had been possible to him on +the previous day. The girls made him welcome--they are very sweet +girls those, sir; someone will be very happy some day there--with +either of them." + +"And that man may be you, Adam," said Mr. Salton heartily. + +A sad look came over the young man's eyes, and the fire his uncle +had seen there died out. Likewise the timbre left his voice, making +it sound lonely. + +"Such might crown my life. But that happiness, I fear, is not for +me--or not without pain and loss and woe." + +"Well, it's early days yet!" cried Sir Nathaniel heartily. + +The young man turned on him his eyes, which had now grown +excessively sad. + +"Yesterday--a few hours ago--that remark would have given me new +hope--new courage; but since then I have learned too much." + +The old man, skilled in the human heart, did not attempt to argue in +such a matter. + +"Too early to give in, my boy." + +"I am not of a giving-in kind," replied the young man earnestly. +"But, after all, it is wise to realise a truth. And when a man, +though he is young, feels as I do--as I have felt ever since +yesterday, when I first saw Mimi's eyes--his heart jumps. He does +not need to learn things. He knows." + +There was silence in the room, during which the twilight stole on +imperceptibly. It was Adam who again broke the silence. + +"Do you know, uncle, if we have any second sight in our family?" + +"No, not that I ever heard about. Why?" + +"Because," he answered slowly, "I have a conviction which seems to +answer all the conditions of second sight." + +"And then?" asked the old man, much perturbed. + +"And then the usual inevitable. What in the Hebrides and other +places, where the Sight is a cult--a belief--is called 'the doom'-- +the court from which there is no appeal. I have often heard of +second sight--we have many western Scots in Australia; but I have +realised more of its true inwardness in an instant of this afternoon +than I did in the whole of my life previously--a granite wall +stretching up to the very heavens, so high and so dark that the eye +of God Himself cannot see beyond. Well, if the Doom must come, it +must. That is all." + +The voice of Sir Nathaniel broke in, smooth and sweet and grave. + +"Can there not be a fight for it? There can for most things." + +"For most things, yes, but for the Doom, no. What a man can do I +shall do. There will be--must be--a fight. When and where and how +I know not, but a fight there will be. But, after all, what is a +man in such a case?" + +"Adam, there are three of us." Salton looked at his old friend as +he spoke, and that old friend's eyes blazed. + +"Ay, three of us," he said, and his voice rang. + +There was again a pause, and Sir Nathaniel endeavoured to get back +to less emotional and more neutral ground. + +"Tell us of the rest of the meeting. Remember we are all pledged to +this. It is a fight E L'OUTRANCE, and we can afford to throw away +or forgo no chance." + +"We shall throw away or lose nothing that we can help. We fight to +win, and the stake is a life--perhaps more than one--we shall see." +Then he went on in a conversational tone, such as he had used when +he spoke of the coming to the farm of Edgar Caswall: "When Mr. +Caswall came in, the negro went a short distance away and there +remained. It gave me the idea that he expected to be called, and +intended to remain in sight, or within hail. Then Mimi got another +cup and made fresh tea, and we all went on together." + +"Was there anything uncommon--were you all quite friendly?" asked +Sir Nathaniel quietly. + +"Quite friendly. There was nothing that I could notice out of the +common--except," he went on, with a slight hardening of the voice, +"except that he kept his eyes fixed on Lilla, in a way which was +quite intolerable to any man who might hold her dear." + +"Now, in what way did he look?" asked Sir Nathaniel. + +"There was nothing in itself offensive; but no one could help +noticing it." + +"You did. Miss Watford herself, who was the victim, and Mr. +Caswall, who was the offender, are out of range as witnesses. Was +there anyone else who noticed?" + +"Mimi did. Her face flamed with anger as she saw the look." + +"What kind of look was it? Over-ardent or too admiring, or what? +Was it the look of a lover, or one who fain would be? You +understand?" + +"Yes, sir, I quite understand. Anything of that sort I should of +course notice. It would be part of my preparation for keeping my +self-control--to which I am pledged." + +"If it were not amatory, was it threatening? Where was the +offence?" + +Adam smiled kindly at the old man. + +"It was not amatory. Even if it was, such was to be expected. I +should be the last man in the world to object, since I am myself an +offender in that respect. Moreover, not only have I been taught to +fight fair, but by nature I believe I am just. I would be as +tolerant of and as liberal to a rival as I should expect him to be +to me. No, the look I mean was nothing of that kind. And so long +as it did not lack proper respect, I should not of my own part +condescend to notice it. Did you ever study the eyes of a hound?" + +"At rest?" + +"No, when he is following his instincts! Or, better still," Adam +went on, "the eyes of a bird of prey when he is following his +instincts. Not when he is swooping, but merely when he is watching +his quarry?" + +"No," said Sir Nathaniel, "I don't know that I ever did. Why, may I +ask?" + +"That was the look. Certainly not amatory or anything of that kind- +-yet it was, it struck me, more dangerous, if not so deadly as an +actual threatening." + +Again there was a silence, which Sir Nathaniel broke as he stood up: + +"I think it would be well if we all thought over this by ourselves. +Then we can renew the subject." + + + +CHAPTER VII--OOLANGA + + + +Mr. Salton had an appointment for six o'clock at Liverpool. When he +had driven off, Sir Nathaniel took Adam by the arm. + +"May I come with you for a while to your study? I want to speak to +you privately without your uncle knowing about it, or even what the +subject is. You don't mind, do you? It is not idle curiosity. No, +no. It is on the subject to which we are all committed." + +"Is it necessary to keep my uncle in the dark about it? He might be +offended." + +"It is not necessary; but it is advisable. It is for his sake that +I asked. My friend is an old man, and it might concern him unduly-- +even alarm him. I promise you there shall be nothing that could +cause him anxiety in our silence, or at which he could take +umbrage." + +"Go on, sir!" said Adam simply. + +"You see, your uncle is now an old man. I know it, for we were boys +together. He has led an uneventful and somewhat self-contained +life, so that any such condition of things as has now arisen is apt +to perplex him from its very strangeness. In fact, any new matter +is trying to old people. It has its own disturbances and its own +anxieties, and neither of these things are good for lives that +should be restful. Your uncle is a strong man, with a very happy +and placid nature. Given health and ordinary conditions of life, +there is no reason why he should not live to be a hundred. You and +I, therefore, who both love him, though in different ways, should +make it our business to protect him from all disturbing influences. +I am sure you will agree with me that any labour to this end would +be well spent. All right, my boy! I see your answer in your eyes; +so we need say no more of that. And now," here his voice changed, +"tell me all that took place at that interview. There are strange +things in front of us--how strange we cannot at present even guess. +Doubtless some of the difficult things to understand which lie +behind the veil will in time be shown to us to see and to +understand. In the meantime, all we can do is to work patiently, +fearlessly, and unselfishly, to an end that we think is right. You +had got so far as where Lilla opened the door to Mr. Caswall and the +negro. You also observed that Mimi was disturbed in her mind at the +way Mr. Caswall looked at her cousin." + +"Certainly--though 'disturbed' is a poor way of expressing her +objection." + +"Can you remember well enough to describe Caswall's eyes, and how +Lilla looked, and what Mimi said and did? Also Oolanga, Caswall's +West African servant." + +"I'll do what I can, sir. All the time Mr. Caswall was staring, he +kept his eyes fixed and motionless--but not as if he was in a +trance. His forehead was wrinkled up, as it is when one is trying +to see through or into something. At the best of times his face has +not a gentle expression; but when it was screwed up like that it was +almost diabolical. It frightened poor Lilla so that she trembled, +and after a bit got so pale that I thought she had fainted. +However, she held up and tried to stare back, but in a feeble kind +of way. Then Mimi came close and held her hand. That braced her +up, and--still, never ceasing her return stare--she got colour again +and seemed more like herself." + +"Did he stare too?" + +"More than ever. The weaker Lilla seemed, the stronger he became, +just as if he were feeding on her strength. All at once she turned +round, threw up her hands, and fell down in a faint. I could not +see what else happened just then, for Mimi had thrown herself on her +knees beside her and hid her from me. Then there was something like +a black shadow between us, and there was the nigger, looking more +like a malignant devil than ever. I am not usually a patient man, +and the sight of that ugly devil is enough to make one's blood boil. +When he saw my face, he seemed to realise danger--immediate danger-- +and slunk out of the room as noiselessly as if he had been blown +out. I learned one thing, however--he is an enemy, if ever a man +had one." + +"That still leaves us three to two!" put in Sir Nathaniel. + +"Then Caswall slunk out, much as the nigger had done. When he had +gone, Lilla recovered at once." + +"Now," said Sir Nathaniel, anxious to restore peace, "have you found +out anything yet regarding the negro? I am anxious to be posted +regarding him. I fear there will be, or may be, grave trouble with +him." + +"Yes, sir, I've heard a good deal about him--of course it is not +official; but hearsay must guide us at first. You know my man +Davenport--private secretary, confidential man of business, and +general factotum. He is devoted to me, and has my full confidence. +I asked him to stay on board the WEST AFRICAN and have a good look +round, and find out what he could about Mr. Caswall. Naturally, he +was struck with the aboriginal savage. He found one of the ship's +stewards, who had been on the regular voyages to South Africa. He +knew Oolanga and had made a study of him. He is a man who gets on +well with niggers, and they open their hearts to him. It seems that +this Oolanga is quite a great person in the nigger world of the +African West Coast. He has the two things which men of his own +colour respect: he can make them afraid, and he is lavish with +money. I don't know whose money--but that does not matter. They +are always ready to trumpet his greatness. Evil greatness it is-- +but neither does that matter. Briefly, this is his history. He was +originally a witch-finder--about as low an occupation as exists +amongst aboriginal savages. Then he got up in the world and became +an Obi-man, which gives an opportunity to wealth VIA blackmail. +Finally, he reached the highest honour in hellish service. He +became a user of Voodoo, which seems to be a service of the utmost +baseness and cruelty. I was told some of his deeds of cruelty, +which are simply sickening. They made me long for an opportunity of +helping to drive him back to hell. You might think to look at him +that you could measure in some way the extent of his vileness; but +it would be a vain hope. Monsters such as he is belong to an +earlier and more rudimentary stage of barbarism. He is in his way a +clever fellow--for a nigger; but is none the less dangerous or the +less hateful for that. The men in the ship told me that he was a +collector: some of them had seen his collections. Such +collections! All that was potent for evil in bird or beast, or even +in fish. Beaks that could break and rend and tear--all the birds +represented were of a predatory kind. Even the fishes are those +which are born to destroy, to wound, to torture. The collection, I +assure you, was an object lesson in human malignity. This being has +enough evil in his face to frighten even a strong man. It is little +wonder that the sight of it put that poor girl into a dead faint!" + +Nothing more could be done at the moment, so they separated. + +Adam was up in the early morning and took a smart walk round the +Brow. As he was passing Diana's Grove, he looked in on the short +avenue of trees, and noticed the snakes killed on the previous +morning by the mongoose. They all lay in a row, straight and rigid, +as if they had been placed by hands. Their skins seemed damp and +sticky, and they were covered all over with ants and other insects. +They looked loathsome, so after a glance, he passed on. + +A little later, when his steps took him, naturally enough, past the +entrance to Mercy Farm, he was passed by the negro, moving quickly +under the trees wherever there was shadow. Laid across one extended +arm, looking like dirty towels across a rail, he had the horrid- +looking snakes. He did not seem to see Adam. No one was to be seen +at Mercy except a few workmen in the farmyard, so, after waiting on +the chance of seeing Mimi, Adam began to go slowly home. + +Once more he was passed on the way. This time it was by Lady +Arabella, walking hurriedly and so furiously angry that she did not +recognise him, even to the extent of acknowledging his bow. + +When Adam got back to Lesser Hill, he went to the coach-house where +the box with the mongoose was kept, and took it with him, intending +to finish at the Mound of Stone what he had begun the previous +morning with regard to the extermination. He found that the snakes +were even more easily attacked than on the previous day; no less +than six were killed in the first half-hour. As no more appeared, +he took it for granted that the morning's work was over, and went +towards home. The mongoose had by this time become accustomed to +him, and was willing to let himself be handled freely. Adam lifted +him up and put him on his shoulder and walked on. Presently he saw +a lady advancing towards him, and recognised Lady Arabella. + +Hitherto the mongoose had been quiet, like a playful affectionate +kitten; but when the two got close, Adam was horrified to see the +mongoose, in a state of the wildest fury, with every hair standing +on end, jump from his shoulder and run towards Lady Arabella. It +looked so furious and so intent on attack that he called a warning. + +"Look out--look out! The animal is furious and means to attack." + +Lady Arabella looked more than ever disdainful and was passing on; +the mongoose jumped at her in a furious attack. Adam rushed forward +with his stick, the only weapon he had. But just as he got within +striking distance, the lady drew out a revolver and shot the animal, +breaking his backbone. Not satisfied with this, she poured shot +after shot into him till the magazine was exhausted. There was no +coolness or hauteur about her now; she seemed more furious even than +the animal, her face transformed with hate, and as determined to +kill as he had appeared to be. Adam, not knowing exactly what to +do, lifted his hat in apology and hurried on to Lesser Hill. + + + +CHAPTER VIII--SURVIVALS + + + +At breakfast Sir Nathaniel noticed that Adam was put out about +something, but he said nothing. The lesson of silence is better +remembered in age than in youth. When they were both in the study, +where Sir Nathaniel followed him, Adam at once began to tell his +companion of what had happened. Sir Nathaniel looked graver and +graver as the narration proceeded, and when Adam had stopped he +remained silent for several minutes, before speaking. + +"This is very grave. I have not formed any opinion yet; but it +seems to me at first impression that this is worse than anything I +had expected." + +"Why, sir?" said Adam. "Is the killing of a mongoose--no matter by +whom--so serious a thing as all that?" + +His companion smoked on quietly for quite another few minutes before +he spoke. + +"When I have properly thought it over I may moderate my opinion, but +in the meantime it seems to me that there is something dreadful +behind all this--something that may affect all our lives--that may +mean the issue of life or death to any of us." + +Adam sat up quickly. + +"Do tell me, sir, what is in your mind--if, of course, you have no +objection, or do not think it better to withhold it." + +"I have no objection, Adam--in fact, if I had, I should have to +overcome it. I fear there can be no more reserved thoughts between +us." + +"Indeed, sir, that sounds serious, worse than serious!" + +"Adam, I greatly fear that the time has come for us--for you and me, +at all events--to speak out plainly to one another. Does not there +seem something very mysterious about this?" + +"I have thought so, sir, all along. The only difficulty one has is +what one is to think and where to begin." + +"Let us begin with what you have told me. First take the conduct of +the mongoose. He was quiet, even friendly and affectionate with +you. He only attacked the snakes, which is, after all, his business +in life." + +"That is so!" + +"Then we must try to find some reason why he attacked Lady +Arabella." + +"May it not be that a mongoose may have merely the instinct to +attack, that nature does not allow or provide him with the fine +reasoning powers to discriminate who he is to attack?" + +"Of course that may be so. But, on the other hand, should we not +satisfy ourselves why he does wish to attack anything? If for +centuries, this particular animal is known to attack only one kind +of other animal, are we not justified in assuming that when one of +them attacks a hitherto unclassed animal, he recognises in that +animal some quality which it has in common with the hereditary +enemy?" + +"That is a good argument, sir," Adam went on, "but a dangerous one. +If we followed it out, it would lead us to believe that Lady +Arabella is a snake." + +"We must be sure, before going to such an end, that there is no +point as yet unconsidered which would account for the unknown thing +which puzzles us." + +"In what way?" + +"Well, suppose the instinct works on some physical basis--for +instance, smell. If there were anything in recent juxtaposition to +the attacked which would carry the scent, surely that would supply +the missing cause." + +"Of course!" Adam spoke with conviction. + +"Now, from what you tell me, the negro had just come from the +direction of Diana's Grove, carrying the dead snakes which the +mongoose had killed the previous morning. Might not the scent have +been carried that way?" + +"Of course it might, and probably was. I never thought of that. Is +there any possible way of guessing approximately how long a scent +will remain? You see, this is a natural scent, and may derive from +a place where it has been effective for thousands of years. Then, +does a scent of any kind carry with it any form or quality of +another kind, either good or evil? I ask you because one ancient +name of the house lived in by the lady who was attacked by the +mongoose was 'The Lair of the White Worm.' If any of these things +be so, our difficulties have multiplied indefinitely. They may even +change in kind. We may get into moral entanglements; before we know +it, we may be in the midst of a struggle between good and evil." + +Sir Nathaniel smiled gravely. + +"With regard to the first question--so far as I know, there are no +fixed periods for which a scent may be active--I think we may take +it that that period does not run into thousands of years. As to +whether any moral change accompanies a physical one, I can only say +that I have met no proof of the fact. At the same time, we must +remember that 'good' and 'evil' are terms so wide as to take in the +whole scheme of creation, and all that is implied by them and by +their mutual action and reaction. Generally, I would say that in +the scheme of a First Cause anything is possible. So long as the +inherent forces or tendencies of any one thing are veiled from us we +must expect mystery." + +"There is one other question on which I should like to ask your +opinion. Suppose that there are any permanent forces appertaining +to the past, what we may call 'survivals,' do these belong to good +as well as to evil? For instance, if the scent of the primaeval +monster can so remain in proportion to the original strength, can +the same be true of things of good import?" + +Sir Nathaniel thought for a while before he answered. + +"We must be careful not to confuse the physical and the moral. I +can see that already you have switched on the moral entirely, so +perhaps we had better follow it up first. On the side of the moral, +we have certain justification for belief in the utterances of +revealed religion. For instance, 'the effectual fervent prayer of a +righteous man availeth much' is altogether for good. We have +nothing of a similar kind on the side of evil. But if we accept +this dictum we need have no more fear of 'mysteries': these become +thenceforth merely obstacles." + +Adam suddenly changed to another phase of the subject. + +"And now, sir, may I turn for a few minutes to purely practical +things, or rather to matters of historical fact?" + +Sir Nathaniel bowed acquiescence. + +"We have already spoken of the history, so far as it is known, of +some of the places round us--'Castra Regis,' 'Diana's Grove,' and +'The Lair of the White Worm.' I would like to ask if there is +anything not necessarily of evil import about any of the places?" + +"Which?" asked Sir Nathaniel shrewdly. + +"Well, for instance, this house and Mercy Farm?" + +"Here we turn," said Sir Nathaniel, "to the other side, the light +side of things. Let us take Mercy Farm first. When Augustine was +sent by Pope Gregory to Christianise England, in the time of the +Romans, he was received and protected by Ethelbert, King of Kent, +whose wife, daughter of Charibert, King of Paris, was a Christian, +and did much for Augustine. She founded a nunnery in memory of +Columba, which was named SEDES MISERICORDIOE, the House of Mercy, +and, as the region was Mercian, the two names became involved. As +Columba is the Latin for dove, the dove became a sort of +signification of the nunnery. She seized on the idea and made the +newly-founded nunnery a house of doves. Someone sent her a freshly- +discovered dove, a sort of carrier, but which had in the white +feathers of its head and neck the form of a religious cowl. The +nunnery flourished for more than a century, when, in the time of +Penda, who was the reactionary of heathendom, it fell into decay. +In the meantime the doves, protected by religious feeling, had +increased mightily, and were known in all Catholic communities. +When King Offa ruled in Mercia, about a hundred and fifty years +later, he restored Christianity, and under its protection the +nunnery of St. Columba was restored and its doves flourished again. +In process of time this religious house again fell into desuetude; +but before it disappeared it had achieved a great name for good +works, and in especial for the piety of its members. If deeds and +prayers and hopes and earnest thinking leave anywhere any moral +effect, Mercy Farm and all around it have almost the right to be +considered holy ground." + +"Thank you, sir," said Adam earnestly, and was silent. Sir +Nathaniel understood. + +After lunch that day, Adam casually asked Sir Nathaniel to come for +a walk with him. The keen-witted old diplomatist guessed that there +must be some motive behind the suggestion, and he at once agreed. + +As soon as they were free from observation, Adam began. + +"I am afraid, sir, that there is more going on in this neighbourhood +than most people imagine. I was out this morning, and on the edge +of the small wood, I came upon the body of a child by the roadside. +At first, I thought she was dead, and while examining her, I noticed +on her neck some marks that looked like those of teeth." + +"Some wild dog, perhaps?" put in Sir Nathaniel. + +"Possibly, sir, though I think not--but listen to the rest of my +news. I glanced around, and to my surprise, I noticed something +white moving among the trees. I placed the child down carefully, +and followed, but I could not find any further traces. So I +returned to the child and resumed my examination, and, to my +delight, I discovered that she was still alive. I chafed her hands +and gradually she revived, but to my disappointment she remembered +nothing--except that something had crept up quietly from behind, and +had gripped her round the throat. Then, apparently, she fainted." + +"Gripped her round the throat! Then it cannot have been a dog." + +"No, sir, that is my difficulty, and explains why I brought you out +here, where we cannot possibly be overheard. You have noticed, of +course, the peculiar sinuous way in which Lady Arabella moves--well, +I feel certain that the white thing that I saw in the wood was the +mistress of Diana's Grove!" + +"Good God, boy, be careful what you say." + +"Yes, sir, I fully realise the gravity of my accusation, but I feel +convinced that the marks on the child's throat were human--and made +by a woman." + +Adam's companion remained silent for some time, deep in thought. + +"Adam, my boy," he said at last, "this matter appears to me to be +far more serious even than you think. It forces me to break +confidence with my old friend, your uncle--but, in order to spare +him, I must do so. For some time now, things have been happening in +this district that have been worrying him dreadfully--several people +have disappeared, without leaving the slightest trace; a dead child +was found by the roadside, with no visible or ascertainable cause of +death--sheep and other animals have been found in the fields, +bleeding from open wounds. There have been other matters--many of +them apparently trivial in themselves. Some sinister influence has +been at work, and I admit that I have suspected Lady Arabella--that +is why I questioned you so closely about the mongoose and its +strange attack upon Lady Arabella. You will think it strange that I +should suspect the mistress of Diana's Grove, a beautiful woman of +aristocratic birth. Let me explain--the family seat is near my own +place, Doom Tower, and at one time I knew the family well. When +still a young girl, Lady Arabella wandered into a small wood near +her home, and did not return. She was found unconscious and in a +high fever--the doctor said that she had received a poisonous bite, +and the girl being at a delicate and critical age, the result was +serious--so much so that she was not expected to recover. A great +London physician came down but could do nothing--indeed, he said +that the girl would not survive the night. All hope had been +abandoned, when, to everyone's surprise, Lady Arabella made a sudden +and startling recovery. Within a couple of days she was going about +as usual! But to the horror of her people, she developed a terrible +craving for cruelty, maiming and injuring birds and small animals-- +even killing them. This was put down to a nervous disturbance due +to her age, and it was hoped that her marriage to Captain March +would put this right. However, it was not a happy marriage, and +eventually her husband was found shot through the head. I have +always suspected suicide, though no pistol was found near the body. +He may have discovered something--God knows what!--so possibly Lady +Arabella may herself have killed him. Putting together many small +matters that have come to my knowledge, I have come to the +conclusion that the foul White Worm obtained control of her body, +just as her soul was leaving its earthly tenement--that would +explain the sudden revival of energy, the strange and inexplicable +craving for maiming and killing, as well as many other matters with +which I need not trouble you now, Adam. As I said just now, God +alone knows what poor Captain March discovered--it must have been +something too ghastly for human endurance, if my theory is correct +that the once beautiful human body of Lady Arabella is under the +control of this ghastly White Worm." + +Adam nodded. + +"But what can we do, sir--it seems a most difficult problem." + +"We can do nothing, my boy--that is the important part of it. It +would be impossible to take action--all we can do is to keep careful +watch, especially as regards Lady Arabella, and be ready to act, +promptly and decisively, if the opportunity occurs." + +Adam agreed, and the two men returned to Lesser Hill. + + + +CHAPTER IX--SMELLING DEATH + + + +Adam Salton, though he talked little, did not let the grass grow +under his feet in any matter which he had undertaken, or in which he +was interested. He had agreed with Sir Nathaniel that they should +not do anything with regard to the mystery of Lady Arabella's fear +of the mongoose, but he steadily pursued his course in being +PREPARED to act whenever the opportunity might come. He was in his +own mind perpetually casting about for information or clues which +might lead to possible lines of action. Baffled by the killing of +the mongoose, he looked around for another line to follow. He was +fascinated by the idea of there being a mysterious link between the +woman and the animal, but he was already preparing a second string +to his bow. His new idea was to use the faculties of Oolanga, so +far as he could, in the service of discovery. His first move was to +send Davenport to Liverpool to try to find the steward of the WEST +AFRICAN, who had told him about Oolanga, and if possible secure any +further information, and then try to induce (by bribery or other +means) the nigger to come to the Brow. So soon as he himself could +have speech of the Voodoo-man he would be able to learn from him +something useful. Davenport was successful in his missions, for he +had to get another mongoose, and he was able to tell Adam that he +had seen the steward, who told him much that he wanted to know, and +had also arranged for Oolanga to come to Lesser Hill the following +day. At this point Adam saw his way sufficiently clear to admit +Davenport to some extent into his confidence. He had come to the +conclusion that it would be better--certainly at first--not himself +to appear in the matter, with which Davenport was fully competent to +deal. It would be time for himself to take a personal part when +matters had advanced a little further. + +If what the nigger said was in any wise true, the man had a rare +gift which might be useful in the quest they were after. He could, +as it were, "smell death." If any one was dead, if any one had +died, or if a place had been used in connection with death, he +seemed to know the broad fact by intuition. Adam made up his mind +that to test this faculty with regard to several places would be his +first task. Naturally he was anxious, and the time passed slowly. +The only comfort was the arrival the next morning of a strong +packing case, locked, from Ross, the key being in the custody of +Davenport. In the case were two smaller boxes, both locked. One of +them contained a mongoose to replace that killed by Lady Arabella; +the other was the special mongoose which had already killed the +king-cobra in Nepaul. When both the animals had been safely put +under lock and key, he felt that he might breathe more freely. No +one was allowed to know the secret of their existence in the house, +except himself and Davenport. He arranged that Davenport should +take Oolanga round the neighbourhood for a walk, stopping at each of +the places which he designated. Having gone all along the Brow, he +was to return the same way and induce him to touch on the same +subjects in talking with Adam, who was to meet them as if by chance +at the farthest part--that beyond Mercy Farm. + +The incidents of the day proved much as Adam expected. At Mercy +Farm, at Diana's Grove, at Castra Regis, and a few other spots, the +negro stopped and, opening his wide nostrils as if to sniff boldly, +said that he smelled death. It was not always in the same form. At +Mercy Farm he said there were many small deaths. At Diana's Grove +his bearing was different. There was a distinct sense of enjoyment +about him, especially when he spoke of many great deaths. Here, +too, he sniffed in a strange way, like a bloodhound at check, and +looked puzzled. He said no word in either praise or disparagement, +but in the centre of the Grove, where, hidden amongst ancient oak +stumps, was a block of granite slightly hollowed on the top, he bent +low and placed his forehead on the ground. This was the only place +where he showed distinct reverence. At the Castle, though he spoke +of much death, he showed no sign of respect. + +There was evidently something about Diana's Grove which both +interested and baffled him. Before leaving, he moved all over the +place unsatisfied, and in one spot, close to the edge of the Brow, +where there was a deep hollow, he appeared to be afraid. After +returning several times to this place, he suddenly turned and ran in +a panic of fear to the higher ground, crossing as he did so the +outcropping rock. Then he seemed to breathe more freely, and +recovered some of his jaunty impudence. + +All this seemed to satisfy Adam's expectations. He went back to +Lesser Hill with a serene and settled calm upon him. Sir Nathaniel +followed him into his study. + +"By the way, I forgot to ask you details about one thing. When that +extraordinary staring episode of Mr. Caswall went on, how did Lilla +take it--how did she bear herself?" + +"She looked frightened, and trembled just as I have seen a pigeon +with a hawk, or a bird with a serpent." + +"Thanks. It is just as I expected. There have been circumstances +in the Caswall family which lead one to believe that they have had +from the earliest times some extraordinary mesmeric or hypnotic +faculty. Indeed, a skilled eye could read so much in their +physiognomy. That shot of yours, whether by instinct or intention, +of the hawk and the pigeon was peculiarly apposite. I think we may +settle on that as a fixed trait to be accepted throughout our +investigation." + +When dusk had fallen, Adam took the new mongoose--not the one from +Nepaul--and, carrying the box slung over his shoulder, strolled +towards Diana's Grove. Close to the gateway he met Lady Arabella, +clad as usual in tightly fitting white, which showed off her slim +figure. + +To his intense astonishment the mongoose allowed her to pet him, +take him up in her arms and fondle him. As she was going in his +direction, they walked on together. + +Round the roadway between the entrances of Diana's Grove and Lesser +Hill were many trees, with not much foliage except at the top. In +the dusk this place was shadowy, and the view was hampered by the +clustering trunks. In the uncertain, tremulous light which fell +through the tree-tops, it was hard to distinguish anything clearly, +and at last, somehow, he lost sight of her altogether, and turned +back on his track to find her. Presently he came across her close +to her own gate. She was leaning over the paling of split oak +branches which formed the paling of the avenue. He could not see +the mongoose, so he asked her where it had gone. + +"He slipt out of my arms while I was petting him," she answered, +"and disappeared under the hedges." + +They found him at a place where the avenue widened so as to let +carriages pass each other. The little creature seemed quite +changed. He had been ebulliently active; now he was dull and +spiritless--seemed to be dazed. He allowed himself to be lifted by +either of the pair; but when he was alone with Lady Arabella he kept +looking round him in a strange way, as though trying to escape. +When they had come out on the roadway Adam held the mongoose tight +to him, and, lifting his hat to his companion, moved quickly towards +Lesser Hill; he and Lady Arabella lost sight of each other in the +thickening gloom. + +When Adam got home, he put the mongoose in his box, and locked the +door of the room. The other mongoose--the one from Nepaul--was +safely locked in his own box, but he lay quiet and did not stir. +When he got to his study Sir Nathaniel came in, shutting the door +behind him. + +"I have come," he said, "while we have an opportunity of being +alone, to tell you something of the Caswall family which I think +will interest you. There is, or used to be, a belief in this part +of the world that the Caswall family had some strange power of +making the wills of other persons subservient to their own. There +are many allusions to the subject in memoirs and other unimportant +works, but I only know of one where the subject is spoken of +definitely. It is MERCIA AND ITS WORTHIES, written by Ezra Toms +more than a hundred years ago. The author goes into the question of +the close association of the then Edgar Caswall with Mesmer in +Paris. He speaks of Caswall being a pupil and the fellow worker of +Mesmer, and states that though, when the latter left France, he took +away with him a vast quantity of philosophical and electric +instruments, he was never known to use them again. He once made it +known to a friend that he had given them to his old pupil. The term +he used was odd, for it was 'bequeathed,' but no such bequest of +Mesmer was ever made known. At any rate the instruments were +missing, and never turned up." + +A servant came into the room to tell Adam that there was some +strange noise coming from the locked room into which he had gone +when he came in. He hurried off to the place at once, Sir Nathaniel +going with him. Having locked the door behind them, Adam opened the +packing-case where the boxes of the two mongooses were locked up. +There was no sound from one of them, but from the other a queer +restless struggling. Having opened both boxes, he found that the +noise was from the Nepaul animal, which, however, became quiet at +once. In the other box the new mongoose lay dead, with every +appearance of having been strangled! + + + +CHAPTER X--THE KITE + + + +On the following day, a little after four o'clock, Adam set out for +Mercy. + +He was home just as the clocks were striking six. He was pale and +upset, but otherwise looked strong and alert. The old man summed up +his appearance and manner thus: "Braced up for battle." + +"Now!" said Sir Nathaniel, and settled down to listen, looking at +Adam steadily and listening attentively that he might miss nothing-- +even the inflection of a word. + +"I found Lilla and Mimi at home. Watford had been detained by +business on the farm. Miss Watford received me as kindly as before; +Mimi, too, seemed glad to see me. Mr. Caswall came so soon after I +arrived, that he, or someone on his behalf, must have been watching +for me. He was followed closely by the negro, who was puffing hard +as if he had been running--so it was probably he who watched. Mr. +Caswall was very cool and collected, but there was a more than +usually iron look about his face that I did not like. However, we +got on very well. He talked pleasantly on all sorts of questions. +The nigger waited a while and then disappeared as on the other +occasion. Mr. Caswall's eyes were as usual fixed on Lilla. True, +they seemed to be very deep and earnest, but there was no offence in +them. Had it not been for the drawing down of the brows and the +stern set of the jaws, I should not at first have noticed anything. +But the stare, when presently it began, increased in intensity. I +could see that Lilla began to suffer from nervousness, as on the +first occasion; but she carried herself bravely. However, the more +nervous she grew, the harder Mr. Caswall stared. It was evident to +me that he had come prepared for some sort of mesmeric or hypnotic +battle. After a while he began to throw glances round him and then +raised his hand, without letting either Lilla or Mimi see the +action. It was evidently intended to give some sign to the negro, +for he came, in his usual stealthy way, quietly in by the hall door, +which was open. Then Mr. Caswall's efforts at staring became +intensified, and poor Lilla's nervousness grew greater. Mimi, +seeing that her cousin was distressed, came close to her, as if to +comfort or strengthen her with the consciousness of her presence. +This evidently made a difficulty for Mr. Caswall, for his efforts, +without appearing to get feebler, seemed less effective. This +continued for a little while, to the gain of both Lilla and Mimi. +Then there was a diversion. Without word or apology the door +opened, and Lady Arabella March entered the room. I had seen her +coming through the great window. Without a word she crossed the +room and stood beside Mr. Caswall. It really was very like a fight +of a peculiar kind; and the longer it was sustained the more +earnest--the fiercer--it grew. That combination of forces--the +over-lord, the white woman, and the black man--would have cost some- +-probably all of them--their lives in the Southern States of +America. To us it was simply horrible. But all that you can +understand. This time, to go on in sporting phrase, it was +understood by all to be a 'fight to a finish,' and the mixed group +did not slacken a moment or relax their efforts. On Lilla the +strain began to tell disastrously. She grew pale--a patchy pallor, +which meant that her nerves were out of order. She trembled like an +aspen, and though she struggled bravely, I noticed that her legs +would hardly support her. A dozen times she seemed about to +collapse in a faint, but each time, on catching sight of Mimi's +eyes, she made a fresh struggle and pulled through. + +"By now Mr. Caswall's face had lost its appearance of passivity. +His eyes glowed with a fiery light. He was still the old Roman in +inflexibility of purpose; but grafted on to the Roman was a new +Berserker fury. His companions in the baleful work seemed to have +taken on something of his feeling. Lady Arabella looked like a +soulless, pitiless being, not human, unless it revived old legends +of transformed human beings who had lost their humanity in some +transformation or in the sweep of natural savagery. As for the +negro--well, I can only say that it was solely due to the self- +restraint which you impressed on me that I did not wipe him out as +he stood--without warning, without fair play--without a single one +of the graces of life and death. Lilla was silent in the helpless +concentration of deadly fear; Mimi was all resolve and self- +forgetfulness, so intent on the soul-struggle in which she was +engaged that there was no possibility of any other thought. As for +myself, the bonds of will which held me inactive seemed like bands +of steel which numbed all my faculties, except sight and hearing. +We seemed fixed in an IMPASSE. Something must happen, though the +power of guessing was inactive. As in a dream, I saw Mimi's hand +move restlessly, as if groping for something. Mechanically it +touched that of Lilla, and in that instant she was transformed. It +was as if youth and strength entered afresh into something already +dead to sensibility and intention. As if by inspiration, she +grasped the other's band with a force which blenched the knuckles. +Her face suddenly flamed, as if some divine light shone through it. +Her form expanded till it stood out majestically. Lifting her right +hand, she stepped forward towards Caswall, and with a bold sweep of +her arm seemed to drive some strange force towards him. Again and +again was the gesture repeated, the man falling back from her at +each movement. Towards the door he retreated, she following. There +was a sound as of the cooing sob of doves, which seemed to multiply +and intensify with each second. The sound from the unseen source +rose and rose as he retreated, till finally it swelled out in a +triumphant peal, as she with a fierce sweep of her arm, seemed to +hurl something at her foe, and he, moving his hands blindly before +his face, appeared to be swept through the doorway and out into the +open sunlight. + +"All at once my own faculties were fully restored; I could see and +hear everything, and be fully conscious of what was going on. Even +the figures of the baleful group were there, though dimly seen as +through a veil--a shadowy veil. I saw Lilla sink down in a swoon, +and Mimi throw up her arms in a gesture of triumph. As I saw her +through the great window, the sunshine flooded the landscape, which, +however, was momentarily becoming eclipsed by an onrush of a myriad +birds." + +By the next morning, daylight showed the actual danger which +threatened. From every part of the eastern counties reports were +received concerning the enormous immigration of birds. Experts were +sending--on their own account, on behalf of learned societies, and +through local and imperial governing bodies--reports dealing with +the matter, and suggesting remedies. + +The reports closer to home were even more disturbing. All day long +it would seem that the birds were coming thicker from all quarters. +Doubtless many were going as well as coming, but the mass seemed +never to get less. Each bird seemed to sound some note of fear or +anger or seeking, and the whirring of wings never ceased nor +lessened. The air was full of a muttered throb. No window or +barrier could shut out the sound, till the ears of any listener +became dulled by the ceaseless murmur. So monotonous it was, so +cheerless, so disheartening, so melancholy, that all longed, but in +vain, for any variety, no matter how terrible it might be. + +The second morning the reports from all the districts round were +more alarming than ever. Farmers began to dread the coming of +winter as they saw the dwindling of the timely fruitfulness of the +earth. And as yet it was only a warning of evil, not the evil +accomplished; the ground began to look bare whenever some passing +sound temporarily frightened the birds. + +Edgar Caswall tortured his brain for a long time unavailingly, to +think of some means of getting rid of what he, as well as his +neighbours, had come to regard as a plague of birds. At last he +recalled a circumstance which promised a solution of the difficulty. +The experience was of some years ago in China, far up-country, +towards the head-waters of the Yang-tze-kiang, where the smaller +tributaries spread out in a sort of natural irrigation scheme to +supply the wilderness of paddy-fields. It was at the time of the +ripening rice, and the myriads of birds which came to feed on the +coming crop was a serious menace, not only to the district, but to +the country at large. The farmers, who were more or less afflicted +with the same trouble every season, knew how to deal with it. They +made a vast kite, which they caused to be flown over the centre spot +of the incursion. The kite was shaped like a great hawk; and the +moment it rose into the air the birds began to cower and seek +protection--and then to disappear. So long as that kite was flying +overhead the birds lay low and the crop was saved. Accordingly +Caswall ordered his men to construct an immense kite, adhering as +well as they could to the lines of a hawk. Then he and his men, +with a sufficiency of cord, began to fly it high overhead. The +experience of China was repeated. The moment the kite rose, the +birds hid or sought shelter. The following morning, the kite was +still flying high, no bird was to be seen as far as the eye could +reach from Castra Regis. But there followed in turn what proved +even a worse evil. All the birds were cowed; their sounds stopped. +Neither song nor chirp was heard--silence seemed to have taken the +place of the normal voices of bird life. But that was not all. The +silence spread to all animals. + +The fear and restraint which brooded amongst the denizens of the air +began to affect all life. Not only did the birds cease song or +chirp, but the lowing of the cattle ceased in the fields and the +varied sounds of life died away. In place of these things was only +a soundless gloom, more dreadful, more disheartening, more soul- +killing than any concourse of sounds, no matter how full of fear and +dread. Pious individuals put up constant prayers for relief from +the intolerable solitude. After a little there were signs of +universal depression which those who ran might read. One and all, +the faces of men and women seemed bereft of vitality, of interest, +of thought, and, most of all, of hope. Men seemed to have lost the +power of expression of their thoughts. The soundless air seemed to +have the same effect as the universal darkness when men gnawed their +tongues with pain. + +From this infliction of silence there was no relief. Everything was +affected; gloom was the predominant note. Joy appeared to have +passed away as a factor of life, and this creative impulse had +nothing to take its place. That giant spot in high air was a plague +of evil influence. It seemed like a new misanthropic belief which +had fallen on human beings, carrying with it the negation of all +hope. + +After a few days, men began to grow desperate; their very words as +well as their senses seemed to be in chains. Edgar Caswall again +tortured his brain to find any antidote or palliative of this +greater evil than before. He would gladly have destroyed the kite, +or caused its flying to cease; but the instant it was pulled down, +the birds rose up in even greater numbers; all those who depended in +any way on agriculture sent pitiful protests to Castra Regis. + +It was strange indeed what influence that weird kite seemed to +exercise. Even human beings were affected by it, as if both it and +they were realities. As for the people at Mercy Farm, it was like a +taste of actual death. Lilla felt it most. If she had been indeed +a real dove, with a real kite hanging over her in the air, she could +not have been more frightened or more affected by the terror this +created. + +Of course, some of those already drawn into the vortex noticed the +effect on individuals. Those who were interested took care to +compare their information. Strangely enough, as it seemed to the +others, the person who took the ghastly silence least to heart was +the negro. By nature he was not sensitive to, or afflicted by, +nerves. This alone would not have produced the seeming +indifference, so they set their minds to discover the real cause. +Adam came quickly to the conclusion that there was for him some +compensation that the others did not share; and he soon believed +that that compensation was in one form or another the enjoyment of +the sufferings of others. Thus the black had a never-failing source +of amusement. + +Lady Arabella's cold nature rendered her immune to anything in the +way of pain or trouble concerning others. Edgar Caswall was far too +haughty a person, and too stern of nature, to concern himself about +poor or helpless people, much less the lower order of mere animals. +Mr. Watford, Mr. Salton, and Sir Nathaniel were all concerned in the +issue, partly from kindness of heart--for none of them could see +suffering, even of wild birds, unmoved--and partly on account of +their property, which had to be protected, or ruin would stare them +in the face before long. + +Lilla suffered acutely. As time went on, her face became pinched, +and her eyes dull with watching and crying. Mimi suffered too on +account of her cousin's suffering. But as she could do nothing, she +resolutely made up her mind to self-restraint and patience. Adam's +frequent visits comforted her. + + + +CHAPTER XI--MESMER'S CHEST + + + +After a couple of weeks had passed, the kite seemed to give Edgar +Caswall a new zest for life. He was never tired of looking at its +movements. He had a comfortable armchair put out on the tower, +wherein he sat sometimes all day long, watching as though the kite +was a new toy and he a child lately come into possession of it. He +did not seem to have lost interest in Lilla, for he still paid an +occasional visit at Mercy Farm. + +Indeed, his feeling towards her, whatever it had been at first, had +now so far changed that it had become a distinct affection of a +purely animal kind. Indeed, it seemed as though the man's nature +had become corrupted, and that all the baser and more selfish and +more reckless qualities had become more conspicuous. There was not +so much sternness apparent in his nature, because there was less +self-restraint. Determination had become indifference. + +The visible change in Edgar was that he grew morbid, sad, silent; +the neighbours thought he was going mad. He became absorbed in the +kite, and watched it not only by day, but often all night long. It +became an obsession to him. + +Caswall took a personal interest in the keeping of the great kite +flying. He had a vast coil of cord efficient for the purpose, which +worked on a roller fixed on the parapet of the tower. There was a +winch for the pulling in of the slack; the outgoing line being +controlled by a racket. There was invariably one man at least, day +and night, on the tower to attend to it. At such an elevation there +was always a strong wind, and at times the kite rose to an enormous +height, as well as travelling for great distances laterally. In +fact, the kite became, in a short time, one of the curiosities of +Castra Regis and all around it. Edgar began to attribute to it, in +his own mind, almost human qualities. It became to him a separate +entity, with a mind and a soul of its own. Being idle-handed all +day, he began to apply to what he considered the service of the kite +some of his spare time, and found a new pleasure--a new object in +life--in the old schoolboy game of sending up "runners" to the kite. +The way this is done is to get round pieces of paper so cut that +there is a hole in the centre, through which the string of the kite +passes. The natural action of the wind-pressure takes the paper +along the string, and so up to the kite itself, no matter how high +or how far it may have gone. + +In the early days of this amusement Edgar Caswall spent hours. +Hundreds of such messengers flew along the string, until soon he +bethought him of writing messages on these papers so that he could +make known his ideas to the kite. It may be that his brain gave way +under the opportunities given by his illusion of the entity of the +toy and its power of separate thought. From sending messages he +came to making direct speech to the kite--without, however, ceasing +to send the runners. Doubtless, the height of the tower, seated as +it was on the hill-top, the rushing of the ceaseless wind, the +hypnotic effect of the lofty altitude of the speck in the sky at +which he gazed, and the rushing of the paper messengers up the +string till sight of them was lost in distance, all helped to +further affect his brain, undoubtedly giving way under the strain of +beliefs and circumstances which were at once stimulating to the +imagination, occupative of his mind, and absorbing. + +The next step of intellectual decline was to bring to bear on the +main idea of the conscious identity of the kite all sorts of +subjects which had imaginative force or tendency of their own. He +had, in Castra Regis, a large collection of curious and interesting +things formed in the past by his forebears, of similar tastes to his +own. There were all sorts of strange anthropological specimens, +both old and new, which had been collected through various travels +in strange places: ancient Egyptian relics from tombs and mummies; +curios from Australia, New Zealand, and the South Seas; idols and +images--from Tartar ikons to ancient Egyptian, Persian, and Indian +objects of worship; objects of death and torture of American +Indians; and, above all, a vast collection of lethal weapons of +every kind and from every place--Chinese "high pinders," double +knives, Afghan double-edged scimitars made to cut a body in two, +heavy knives from all the Eastern countries, ghost daggers from +Thibet, the terrible kukri of the Ghourka and other hill tribes of +India, assassins' weapons from Italy and Spain, even the knife which +was formerly carried by the slave-drivers of the Mississippi region. +Death and pain of every kind were fully represented in that gruesome +collection. + +That it had a fascination for Oolanga goes without saying. He was +never tired of visiting the museum in the tower, and spent endless +hours in inspecting the exhibits, till he was thoroughly familiar +with every detail of all of them. He asked permission to clean and +polish and sharpen them--a favour which was readily granted. In +addition to the above objects, there were many things of a kind to +awaken human fear. Stuffed serpents of the most objectionable and +horrid kind; giant insects from the tropics, fearsome in every +detail; fishes and crustaceans covered with weird spikes; dried +octopuses of great size. Other things, too, there were, not less +deadly though seemingly innocuous--dried fungi, traps intended for +birds, beasts, fishes, reptiles, and insects; machines which could +produce pain of any kind and degree, and the only mercy of which was +the power of producing speedy death. + +Caswall, who had never before seen any of these things, except those +which he had collected himself, found a constant amusement and +interest in them. He studied them, their uses, their mechanism-- +where there was such--and their places of origin, until he had an +ample and real knowledge of all concerning them. Many were secret +and intricate, but he never rested till he found out all the +secrets. When once he had become interested in strange objects, and +the way to use them, he began to explore various likely places for +similar finds. He began to inquire of his household where strange +lumber was kept. Several of the men spoke of old Simon Chester as +one who knew everything in and about the house. Accordingly, he +sent for the old man, who came at once. He was very old, nearly +ninety years of age, and very infirm. He had been born in the +Castle, and had served its succession of masters--present or absent- +-ever since. When Edgar began to question him on the subject +regarding which he had sent for him, old Simon exhibited much +perturbation. In fact, he became so frightened that his master, +fully believing that he was concealing something, ordered him to +tell at once what remained unseen, and where it was hidden away. +Face to face with discovery of his secret, the old man, in a +pitiable state of concern, spoke out even more fully than Mr. +Caswall had expected. + +"Indeed, indeed, sir, everything is here in the tower that has ever +been put away in my time except--except--" here he began to shake +and tremble it--"except the chest which Mr. Edgar--he who was Mr. +Edgar when I first took service--brought back from France, after he +had been with Dr. Mesmer. The trunk has been kept in my room for +safety; but I shall send it down here now." + +"What is in it?" asked Edgar sharply. + +"That I do not know. Moreover, it is a peculiar trunk, without any +visible means of opening." + +"Is there no lock?" + +"I suppose so, sir; but I do not know. There is no keyhole." + +"Send it here; and then come to me yourself." + +The trunk, a heavy one with steel bands round it, but no lock or +keyhole, was carried in by two men. Shortly afterwards old Simon +attended his master. When he came into the room, Mr. Caswall +himself went and closed the door; then he asked: + +"How do you open it?" + +"I do not know, sir." + +"Do you mean to say that you never opened it?" + +"Most certainly I say so, your honour. How could I? It was +entrusted to me with the other things by my master. To open it +would have been a breach of trust." + +Caswall sneered. + +"Quite remarkable! Leave it with me. Close the door behind you. +Stay--did no one ever tell you about it--say anything regarding it-- +make any remark?" + +Old Simon turned pale, and put his trembling hands together. + +"Oh, sir, I entreat you not to touch it. That trunk probably +contains secrets which Dr. Mesmer told my master. Told them to his +ruin!" + +"How do you mean? What ruin?" + +"Sir, he it was who, men said, sold his soul to the Evil One; I had +thought that that time and the evil of it had all passed away." + +"That will do. Go away; but remain in your own room, or within +call. I may want you." + +The old man bowed deeply and went out trembling, but without +speaking a word. + + + +CHAPTER XII--THE CHEST OPENED + + + +Left alone in the turret-room, Edgar Caswall carefully locked the +door and hung a handkerchief over the keyhole. Next, he inspected +the windows, and saw that they were not overlooked from any angle of +the main building. Then he carefully examined the trunk, going over +it with a magnifying glass. He found it intact: the steel bands +were flawless; the whole trunk was compact. After sitting opposite +to it for some time, and the shades of evening beginning to melt +into darkness, he gave up the task and went to his bedroom, after +locking the door of the turret-room behind him and taking away the +key. + +He woke in the morning at daylight, and resumed his patient but +unavailing study of the metal trunk. This he continued during the +whole day with the same result--humiliating disappointment, which +overwrought his nerves and made his head ache. The result of the +long strain was seen later in the afternoon, when he sat locked +within the turret-room before the still baffling trunk, distrait, +listless and yet agitated, sunk in a settled gloom. As the dusk was +falling he told the steward to send him two men, strong ones. These +he ordered to take the trunk to his bedroom. In that room he then +sat on into the night, without pausing even to take any food. His +mind was in a whirl, a fever of excitement. The result was that +when, late in the night, he locked himself in his room his brain was +full of odd fancies; he was on the high road to mental disturbance. +He lay down on his bed in the dark, still brooding over the mystery +of the closed trunk. + +Gradually he yielded to the influences of silence and darkness. +After lying there quietly for some time, his mind became active +again. But this time there were round him no disturbing influences; +his brain was active and able to work freely and to deal with +memory. A thousand forgotten--or only half-known--incidents, +fragments of conversations or theories long ago guessed at and long +forgotten, crowded on his mind. He seemed to hear again around him +the legions of whirring wings to which he had been so lately +accustomed. Even to himself he knew that that was an effort of +imagination founded on imperfect memory. But he was content that +imagination should work, for out of it might come some solution of +the mystery which surrounded him. And in this frame of mind, sleep +made another and more successful essay. This time he enjoyed +peaceful slumber, restful alike to his wearied body and his +overwrought brain. + +In his sleep he arose, and, as if in obedience to some influence +beyond and greater than himself, lifted the great trunk and set it +on a strong table at one side of the room, from which he had +previously removed a quantity of books. To do this, he had to use +an amount of strength which was, he knew, far beyond him in his +normal state. As it was, it seemed easy enough; everything yielded +before his touch. Then he became conscious that somehow--how, he +never could remember--the chest was open. He unlocked his door, +and, taking the chest on his shoulder, carried it up to the turret- +room, the door of which also he unlocked. Even at the time he was +amazed at his own strength, and wondered whence it had come. His +mind, lost in conjecture, was too far off to realise more immediate +things. He knew that the chest was enormously heavy. He seemed, in +a sort of vision which lit up the absolute blackness around, to see +the two sturdy servant men staggering under its great weight. He +locked himself again in the turret-room, and laid the opened chest +on a table, and in the darkness began to unpack it, laying out the +contents, which were mainly of metal and glass--great pieces in +strange forms--on another table. He was conscious of being still +asleep, and of acting rather in obedience to some unseen and unknown +command than in accordance with any reasonable plan, to be followed +by results which he understood. This phase completed, he proceeded +to arrange in order the component parts of some large instruments, +formed mostly of glass. His fingers seemed to have acquired a new +and exquisite subtlety and even a volition of their own. Then +weariness of brain came upon him; his head sank down on his breast, +and little by little everything became wrapped in gloom. + +He awoke in the early morning in his bedroom, and looked around him, +now clear-headed, in amazement. In its usual place on the strong +table stood the great steel-hooped chest without lock or key. But +it was now locked. He arose quietly and stole to the turret-room. +There everything was as it had been on the previous evening. He +looked out of the window where high in air flew, as usual, the giant +kite. He unlocked the wicket gate of the turret stair and went out +on the roof. Close to him was the great coil of cord on its reel. +It was humming in the morning breeze, and when he touched the string +it sent a quick thrill through hand and arm. There was no sign +anywhere that there had been any disturbance or displacement of +anything during the night. + +Utterly bewildered, he sat down in his room to think. Now for the +first time he FELT that he was asleep and dreaming. Presently he +fell asleep again, and slept for a long time. He awoke hungry and +made a hearty meal. Then towards evening, having locked himself in, +he fell asleep again. When he woke he was in darkness, and was +quite at sea as to his whereabouts. He began feeling about the dark +room, and was recalled to the consequences of his position by the +breaking of a large piece of glass. Having obtained a light, he +discovered this to be a glass wheel, part of an elaborate piece of +mechanism which he must in his sleep have taken from the chest, +which was now opened. He had once again opened it whilst asleep, +but he had no recollection of the circumstances. + +Caswall came to the conclusion that there had been some sort of dual +action of his mind, which might lead to some catastrophe or some +discovery of his secret plans; so he resolved to forgo for a while +the pleasure of making discoveries regarding the chest. To this +end, he applied himself to quite another matter--an investigation of +the other treasures and rare objects in his collections. He went +amongst them in simple, idle curiosity, his main object being to +discover some strange item which he might use for experiment with +the kite. He had already resolved to try some runners other than +those made of paper. He had a vague idea that with such a force as +the great kite straining at its leash, this might be used to lift to +the altitude of the kite itself heavier articles. His first +experiment with articles of little but increasing weight was +eminently successful. So he added by degrees more and more weight, +until he found out that the lifting power of the kite was +considerable. He then determined to take a step further, and send +to the kite some of the articles which lay in the steel-hooped +chest. The last time he had opened it in sleep, it had not been +shut again, and he had inserted a wedge so that he could open it at +will. He made examination of the contents, but came to the +conclusion that the glass objects were unsuitable. They were too +light for testing weight, and they were so frail as to be dangerous +to send to such a height. + +So he looked around for something more solid with which to +experiment. His eye caught sight of an object which at once +attracted him. This was a small copy of one of the ancient Egyptian +gods--that of Bes, who represented the destructive power of nature. +It was so bizarre and mysterious as to commend itself to his mad +humour. In lifting it from the cabinet, he was struck by its great +weight in proportion to its size. He made accurate examination of +it by the aid of some instruments, and came to the conclusion that +it was carved from a lump of lodestone. He remembered that he had +read somewhere of an ancient Egyptian god cut from a similar +substance, and, thinking it over, he came to the conclusion that he +must have read it in Sir Thomas Brown's POPULAR ERRORS, a book of +the seventeenth century. He got the book from the library, and +looked out the passage: + +"A great example we have from the observation of our learned friend +Mr. Graves, in an AEgyptian idol cut out of Loadstone and found +among the Mummies; which still retains its attraction, though +probably taken out of the mine about two thousand years ago." + +The strangeness of the figure, and its being so close akin to his +own nature, attracted him. He made from thin wood a large circular +runner, and in front of it placed the weighty god, sending it up to +the flying kite along the throbbing cord. + + + +CHAPTER XIII--OOLANGA'S HALLUCINATIONS + + + +During the last few days Lady Arabella had been getting exceedingly +impatient. Her debts, always pressing, were growing to an +embarrassing amount. The only hope she had of comfort in life was a +good marriage; but the good marriage on which she had fixed her eye +did not seem to move quickly enough--indeed, it did not seem to move +at all--in the right direction. Edgar Caswall was not an ardent +wooer. From the very first he seemed DIFFICILE, but he had been +keeping to his own room ever since his struggle with Mimi Watford. +On that occasion Lady Arabella had shown him in an unmistakable way +what her feelings were; indeed, she had made it known to him, in a +more overt way than pride should allow, that she wished to help and +support him. The moment when she had gone across the room to stand +beside him in his mesmeric struggle, had been the very limit of her +voluntary action. It was quite bitter enough, she felt, that he did +not come to her, but now that she had made that advance, she felt +that any withdrawal on his part would, to a woman of her class, be +nothing less than a flaming insult. Had she not classed herself +with his nigger servant, an unreformed savage? Had she not shown +her preference for him at the festival of his home-coming? Had she +not. . . Lady Arabella was cold-blooded, and she was prepared to go +through all that might be necessary of indifference, and even +insult, to become chatelaine of Castra Regis. In the meantime, she +would show no hurry--she must wait. She might, in an unostentatious +way, come to him again. She knew him now, and could make a keen +guess at his desires with regard to Lilla Watford. With that secret +in her possession, she could bring pressure to bear on Caswall which +would make it no easy matter for him to evade her. The great +difficulty was how to get near him. He was shut up within his +Castle, and guarded by a defence of convention which she could not +pass without danger of ill repute to herself. Over this question +she thought and thought for days and nights. At last she decided +that the only way would be to go to him openly at Castra Regis. Her +rank and position would make such a thing possible, if carefully +done. She could explain matters afterwards if necessary. Then when +they were alone, she would use her arts and her experience to make +him commit himself. After all, he was only a man, with a man's +dislike of difficult or awkward situations. She felt quite +sufficient confidence in her own womanhood to carry her through any +difficulty which might arise. + +From Diana's Grove she heard each day the luncheon-gong from Castra +Regis sound, and knew the hour when the servants would be in the +back of the house. She would enter the house at that hour, and, +pretending that she could not make anyone hear her, would seek him +in his own rooms. The tower was, she knew, away from all the usual +sounds of the house, and moreover she knew that the servants had +strict orders not to interrupt him when he was in the turret +chamber. She had found out, partly by the aid of an opera-glass and +partly by judicious questioning, that several times lately a heavy +chest had been carried to and from his room, and that it rested in +the room each night. She was, therefore, confident that he had some +important work on hand which would keep him busy for long spells. + +Meanwhile, another member of the household at Castra Regis had +schemes which he thought were working to fruition. A man in the +position of a servant has plenty of opportunity of watching his +betters and forming opinions regarding them. Oolanga was in his way +a clever, unscrupulous rogue, and he felt that with things moving +round him in this great household there should be opportunities of +self-advancement. Being unscrupulous and stealthy--and a savage--he +looked to dishonest means. He saw plainly enough that Lady Arabella +was making a dead set at his master, and he was watchful of the +slightest sign of anything which might enhance this knowledge. Like +the other men in the house, he knew of the carrying to and fro of +the great chest, and had got it into his head that the care +exercised in its porterage indicated that it was full of treasure. +He was for ever lurking around the turret-rooms on the chance of +making some useful discovery. But he was as cautious as he was +stealthy, and took care that no one else watched him. + +It was thus that the negro became aware of Lady Arabella's venture +into the house, as she thought, unseen. He took more care than +ever, since he was watching another, that the positions were not +reversed. More than ever he kept his eyes and ears open and his +mouth shut. Seeing Lady Arabella gliding up the stairs towards his +master's room, he took it for granted that she was there for no +good, and doubled his watching intentness and caution. + +Oolanga was disappointed, but he dared not exhibit any feeling lest +it should betray that he was hiding. Therefore he slunk downstairs +again noiselessly, and waited for a more favourable opportunity of +furthering his plans. It must be borne in mind that he thought that +the heavy trunk was full of valuables, and that he believed that +Lady Arabella had come to try to steal it. His purpose of using for +his own advantage the combination of these two ideas was seen later +in the day. Oolanga secretly followed her home. He was an expert +at this game, and succeeded admirably on this occasion. He watched +her enter the private gate of Diana's Grove, and then, taking a +roundabout course and keeping out of her sight, he at last overtook +her in a thick part of the Grove where no one could see the meeting. + +Lady Arabella was much surprised. She had not seen the negro for +several days, and had almost forgotten his existence. Oolanga would +have been startled had he known and been capable of understanding +the real value placed on him, his beauty, his worthiness, by other +persons, and compared it with the value in these matters in which he +held himself. Doubtless Oolanga had his dreams like other men. In +such cases he saw himself as a young sun-god, as beautiful as the +eye of dusky or even white womanhood had ever dwelt upon. He would +have been filled with all noble and captivating qualities--or those +regarded as such in West Africa. Women would have loved him, and +would have told him so in the overt and fervid manner usual in +affairs of the heart in the shadowy depths of the forest of the Gold +Coast. + +Oolanga came close behind Lady Arabella, and in a hushed voice, +suitable to the importance of his task, and in deference to the +respect he had for her and the place, began to unfold the story of +his love. Lady Arabella was not usually a humorous person, but no +man or woman of the white race could have checked the laughter which +rose spontaneously to her lips. The circumstances were too +grotesque, the contrast too violent, for subdued mirth. The man a +debased specimen of one of the most primitive races of the earth, +and of an ugliness which was simply devilish; the woman of high +degree, beautiful, accomplished. She thought that her first +moment's consideration of the outrage--it was nothing less in her +eyes--had given her the full material for thought. But every +instant after threw new and varied lights on the affront. Her +indignation was too great for passion; only irony or satire would +meet the situation. Her cold, cruel nature helped, and she did not +shrink to subject this ignorant savage to the merciless fire-lash of +her scorn. + +Oolanga was dimly conscious that he was being flouted; but his anger +was no less keen because of the measure of his ignorance. So he +gave way to it, as does a tortured beast. He ground his great teeth +together, raved, stamped, and swore in barbarous tongues and with +barbarous imagery. Even Lady Arabella felt that it was well she was +within reach of help, or he might have offered her brutal violence-- +even have killed her. + +"Am I to understand," she said with cold disdain, so much more +effective to wound than hot passion, "that you are offering me your +love? Your--love?" + +For reply he nodded his head. The scorn of her voice, in a sort of +baleful hiss, sounded--and felt--like the lash of a whip. + +"And you dared! you--a savage--a slave--the basest thing in the +world of vermin! Take care! I don't value your worthless life more +than I do that of a rat or a spider. Don't let me ever see your +hideous face here again, or I shall rid the earth of you." + +As she was speaking, she had taken out her revolver and was pointing +it at him. In the immediate presence of death his impudence forsook +him, and he made a weak effort to justify himself. His speech was +short, consisting of single words. To Lady Arabella it sounded mere +gibberish, but it was in his own dialect, and meant love, marriage, +wife. From the intonation of the words, she guessed, with her +woman's quick intuition, at their meaning; but she quite failed to +follow, when, becoming more pressing, he continued to urge his suit +in a mixture of the grossest animal passion and ridiculous threats. +He warned her that he knew she had tried to steal his master's +treasure, and that he had caught her in the act. But if she would +be his, he would share the treasure with her, and they could live in +luxury in the African forests. But if she refused, he would tell +his master, who would flog and torture her and then give her to the +police, who would kill her. + + + +CHAPTER XIV--BATTLE RENEWED + + + +The consequences of that meeting in the dusk of Diana's Grove were +acute and far-reaching, and not only to the two engaged in it. From +Oolanga, this might have been expected by anyone who knew the +character of the tropical African savage. To such, there are two +passions that are inexhaustible and insatiable--vanity and that +which they are pleased to call love. Oolanga left the Grove with an +absorbing hatred in his heart. His lust and greed were afire, while +his vanity had been wounded to the core. Lady Arabella's icy nature +was not so deeply stirred, though she was in a seething passion. +More than ever she was set upon bringing Edgar Caswall to her feet. +The obstacles she had encountered, the insults she had endured, were +only as fuel to the purpose of revenge which consumed her. + +As she sought her own rooms in Diana's Grove, she went over the +whole subject again and again, always finding in the face of Lilla +Watford a key to a problem which puzzled her--the problem of a way +to turn Caswall's powers--his very existence--to aid her purpose. + +When in her boudoir, she wrote a note, taking so much trouble over +it that she destroyed, and rewrote, till her dainty waste-basket was +half-full of torn sheets of notepaper. When quite satisfied, she +copied out the last sheet afresh, and then carefully burned all the +spoiled fragments. She put the copied note in an emblazoned +envelope, and directed it to Edgar Caswall at Castra Regis. This +she sent off by one of her grooms. The letter ran: + + +"DEAR MR. CASWALL, + +"I want to have a chat with you on a subject in which I believe you +are interested. Will you kindly call for me one day after lunch-- +say at three or four o'clock, and we can walk a little way together. +Only as far as Mercy Farm, where I want to see Lilla and Mimi +Watford. We can take a cup of tea at the Farm. Do not bring your +African servant with you, as I am afraid his face frightens the +girls. After all, he is not pretty, is he? I have an idea you will +be pleased with your visit this time. + +"Yours sincerely, +"ARABELLA MARCH." + + +At half-past three next day, Edgar Caswall called at Diana's Grove. +Lady Arabella met him on the roadway outside the gate. She wished +to take the servants into her confidence as little as possible. She +turned when she saw him coming, and walked beside him towards Mercy +Farm, keeping step with him as they walked. When they got near +Mercy, she turned and looked around her, expecting to see Oolanga or +some sign of him. He was, however, not visible. He had received +from his master peremptory orders to keep out of sight--an order for +which the African scored a new offence up against her. They found +Lilla and Mimi at home and seemingly glad to see them, though both +the girls were surprised at the visit coming so soon after the +other. + +The proceedings were a repetition of the battle of souls of the +former visit. On this occasion, however, Edgar Caswall had only the +presence of Lady Arabella to support him--Oolanga being absent; but +Mimi lacked the support of Adam Salton, which had been of such +effective service before. This time the struggle for supremacy of +will was longer and more determined. Caswall felt that if he could +not achieve supremacy he had better give up the idea, so all his +pride was enlisted against Mimi. When they had been waiting for the +door to be opened, Lady Arabella, believing in a sudden attack, had +said to him in a low voice, which somehow carried conviction: + +"This time you should win. Mimi is, after all, only a woman. Show +her no mercy. That is weakness. Fight her, beat her, trample on +her--kill her if need be. She stands in your way, and I hate her. +Never take your eyes off her. Never mind Lilla--she is afraid of +you. You are already her master. Mimi will try to make you look at +her cousin. There lies defeat. Let nothing take your attention +from Mimi, and you will win. If she is overcoming you, take my hand +and hold it hard whilst you are looking into her eyes. If she is +too strong for you, I shall interfere. I'll make a diversion, and +under cover of it you must retire unbeaten, even if not victorious. +Hush! they are coming." + +The two girls came to the door together. Strange sounds were coming +up over the Brow from the west. It was the rustling and crackling +of the dry reeds and rushes from the low lands. The season had been +an unusually dry one. Also the strong east wind was helping forward +enormous flocks of birds, most of them pigeons with white cowls. +Not only were their wings whirring, but their cooing was plainly +audible. From such a multitude of birds the mass of sound, +individually small, assumed the volume of a storm. Surprised at the +influx of birds, to which they had been strangers so long, they all +looked towards Castra Regis, from whose high tower the great kite +had been flying as usual. But even as they looked, the cord broke, +and the great kite fell headlong in a series of sweeping dives. Its +own weight, and the aerial force opposed to it, which caused it to +rise, combined with the strong easterly breeze, had been too much +for the great length of cord holding it. + +Somehow, the mishap to the kite gave new hope to Mimi. It was as +though the side issues had been shorn away, so that the main +struggle was thenceforth on simpler lines. She had a feeling in her +heart, as though some religious chord had been newly touched. It +may, of course, have been that with the renewal of the bird voices a +fresh courage, a fresh belief in the good issue of the struggle came +too. In the misery of silence, from which they had all suffered for +so long, any new train of thought was almost bound to be a boon. As +the inrush of birds continued, their wings beating against the +crackling rushes, Lady Arabella grew pale, and almost fainted. + +"What is that?" she asked suddenly. + +To Mimi, born and bred in Siam, the sound was strangely like an +exaggeration of the sound produced by a snake-charmer. + +Edgar Caswall was the first to recover from the interruption of the +falling kite. After a few minutes he seemed to have quite recovered +his SANG FROID, and was able to use his brains to the end which he +had in view. Mimi too quickly recovered herself, but from a +different cause. With her it was a deep religious conviction that +the struggle round her was of the powers of Good and Evil, and that +Good was triumphing. The very appearance of the snowy birds, with +the cowls of Saint Columba, heightened the impression. With this +conviction strong upon her, she continued the strange battle with +fresh vigour. She seemed to tower over Caswall, and he to give back +before her oncoming. Once again her vigorous passes drove him to +the door. He was just going out backward when Lady Arabella, who +had been gazing at him with fixed eyes, caught his hand and tried to +stop his movement. She was, however, unable to do any good, and so, +holding hands, they passed out together. As they did so, the +strange music which had so alarmed Lady Arabella suddenly stopped. +Instinctively they all looked towards the tower of Castra Regis, and +saw that the workmen had refixed the kite, which had risen again and +was beginning to float out to its former station. + +As they were looking, the door opened and Michael Watford came into +the room. By that time all had recovered their self-possession, and +there was nothing out of the common to attract his attention. As he +came in, seeing inquiring looks all around him, he said: + +"The new influx of birds is only the annual migration of pigeons +from Africa. I am told that it will soon be over." + +The second victory of Mimi Watford made Edgar Caswall more moody +than ever. He felt thrown back on himself, and this, added to his +absorbing interest in the hope of a victory of his mesmeric powers, +became a deep and settled purpose of revenge. The chief object of +his animosity was, of course, Mimi, whose will had overcome his, but +it was obscured in greater or lesser degree by all who had opposed +him. Lilla was next to Mimi in his hate--Lilla, the harmless, +tender-hearted, sweet-natured girl, whose heart was so full of love +for all things that in it was no room for the passions of ordinary +life--whose nature resembled those doves of St. Columba, whose +colour she wore, whose appearance she reflected. Adam Salton came +next--after a gap; for against him Caswall had no direct animosity. +He regarded him as an interference, a difficulty to be got rid of or +destroyed. The young Australian had been so discreet that the most +he had against him was his knowledge of what had been. Caswall did +not understand him, and to such a nature as his, ignorance was a +cause of alarm, of dread. + +Caswall resumed his habit of watching the great kite straining at +its cord, varying his vigils in this way by a further examination of +the mysterious treasures of his house, especially Mesmer's chest. +He sat much on the roof of the tower, brooding over his thwarted +passion. The vast extent of his possessions, visible to him at that +altitude, might, one would have thought, have restored some of his +complacency. But the very extent of his ownership, thus perpetually +brought before him, created a fresh sense of grievance. How was it, +he thought, that with so much at command that others wished for, he +could not achieve the dearest wishes of his heart? + +In this state of intellectual and moral depravity, he found a solace +in the renewal of his experiments with the mechanical powers of the +kite. For a couple of weeks he did not see Lady Arabella, who was +always on the watch for a chance of meeting him; neither did he see +the Watford girls, who studiously kept out of his way. Adam Salton +simply marked time, keeping ready to deal with anything that might +affect his friends. He called at the farm and heard from Mimi of +the last battle of wills, but it had only one consequence. He got +from Ross several more mongooses, including a second king-cobra- +killer, which he generally carried with him in its box whenever he +walked out. + +Mr. Caswall's experiments with the kite went on successfully. Each +day he tried the lifting of greater weight, and it seemed almost as +if the machine had a sentience of its own, which was increasing with +the obstacles placed before it. All this time the kite hung in the +sky at an enormous height. The wind was steadily from the north, so +the trend of the kite was to the south. All day long, runners of +increasing magnitude were sent up. These were only of paper or thin +cardboard, or leather, or other flexible materials. The great +height at which the kite hung made a great concave curve in the +string, so that as the runners went up they made a flapping sound. +If one laid a finger on the string, the sound answered to the +flapping of the runner in a sort of hollow intermittent murmur. +Edgar Caswall, who was now wholly obsessed by the kite and all +belonging to it, found a distinct resemblance between that +intermittent rumble and the snake-charming music produced by the +pigeons flying through the dry reeds. + +One day he made a discovery in Mesmer's chest which he thought he +would utilise with regard to the runners. This was a great length +of wire, "fine as human hair," coiled round a finely made wheel, +which ran to a wondrous distance freely, and as lightly. He tried +this on runners, and found it work admirably. Whether the runner +was alone, or carried something much more weighty than itself, it +worked equally well. Also it was strong enough and light enough to +draw back the runner without undue strain. He tried this a good +many times successfully, but it was now growing dusk and he found +some difficulty in keeping the runner in sight. So he looked for +something heavy enough to keep it still. He placed the Egyptian +image of Bes on the fine wire, which crossed the wooden ledge which +protected it. Then, the darkness growing, he went indoors and +forgot all about it. + +He had a strange feeling of uneasiness that night--not +sleeplessness, for he seemed conscious of being asleep. At daylight +he rose, and as usual looked out for the kite. He did not see it in +its usual position in the sky, so looked round the points of the +compass. He was more than astonished when presently he saw the +missing kite struggling as usual against the controlling cord. But +it had gone to the further side of the tower, and now hung and +strained AGAINST THE WIND to the north. He thought it so strange +that he determined to investigate the phenomenon, and to say nothing +about it in the meantime. + +In his many travels, Edgar Caswall had been accustomed to use the +sextant, and was now an expert in the matter. By the aid of this +and other instruments, he was able to fix the position of the kite +and the point over which it hung. He was startled to find that +exactly under it--so far as he could ascertain--was Diana's Grove. +He had an inclination to take Lady Arabella into his confidence in +the matter, but he thought better of it and wisely refrained. For +some reason which he did not try to explain to himself, he was glad +of his silence, when, on the following morning, he found, on looking +out, that the point over which the kite then hovered was Mercy Farm. +When he had verified this with his instruments, he sat before the +window of the tower, looking out and thinking. The new locality was +more to his liking than the other; but the why of it puzzled him, +all the same. He spent the rest of the day in the turret-room, +which he did not leave all day. It seemed to him that he was now +drawn by forces which he could not control--of which, indeed, he had +no knowledge--in directions which he did not understand, and which +were without his own volition. In sheer helpless inability to think +the problem out satisfactorily, he called up a servant and told him +to tell Oolanga that he wanted to see him at once in the turret- +room. The answer came back that the African had not been seen since +the previous evening. + +Caswall was now so irritable that even this small thing upset him. +As he was distrait and wanted to talk to somebody, he sent for Simon +Chester, who came at once, breathless with hurrying and upset by the +unexpected summons. Caswall bade him sit down, and when the old man +was in a less uneasy frame of mind, he again asked him if he had +ever seen what was in Mesmer's chest or heard it spoken about. + +Chester admitted that he had once, in the time of "the then Mr. +Edgar," seen the chest open, which, knowing something of its history +and guessing more, so upset him that he had fainted. When he +recovered, the chest was closed. From that time the then Mr. Edgar +had never spoken about it again. + +When Caswall asked him to describe what he had seen when the chest +was open, he got very agitated, and, despite all his efforts to +remain calm, he suddenly went off into a faint. Caswall summoned +servants, who applied the usual remedies. Still the old man did not +recover. After the lapse of a considerable time, the doctor who had +been summoned made his appearance. A glance was sufficient for him +to make up his mind. Still, he knelt down by the old man, and made +a careful examination. Then he rose to his feet, and in a hushed +voice said: + +"I grieve to say, sir, that he has passed away." + + + +CHAPTER XV--ON THE TRACK + + + +Those who had seen Edgar Caswall familiarly since his arrival, and +had already estimated his cold-blooded nature at something of its +true value, were surprised that he took so to heart the death of old +Chester. The fact was that not one of them had guessed correctly at +his character. They thought, naturally enough, that the concern +which he felt was that of a master for a faithful old servant of his +family. They little thought that it was merely the selfish +expression of his disappointment, that he had thus lost the only +remaining clue to an interesting piece of family history--one which +was now and would be for ever wrapped in mystery. Caswall knew +enough about the life of his ancestor in Paris to wish to know more +fully and more thoroughly all that had been. The period covered by +that ancestor's life in Paris was one inviting every form of +curiosity. + +Lady Arabella, who had her own game to play, saw in the METIER of +sympathetic friend, a series of meetings with the man she wanted to +secure. She made the first use of the opportunity the day after old +Chester's death; indeed, as soon as the news had filtered in through +the back door of Diana's Grove. At that meeting, she played her +part so well that even Caswall's cold nature was impressed. + +Oolanga was the only one who did not credit her with at least some +sense of fine feeling in the matter. In emotional, as in other +matters, Oolanga was distinctly a utilitarian, and as he could not +understand anyone feeling grief except for his own suffering, pain, +or for the loss of money, he could not understand anyone simulating +such an emotion except for show intended to deceive. He thought +that she had come to Castra Regis again for the opportunity of +stealing something, and was determined that on this occasion the +chance of pressing his advantage over her should not pass. He felt, +therefore, that the occasion was one for extra carefulness in the +watching of all that went on. Ever since he had come to the +conclusion that Lady Arabella was trying to steal the treasure- +chest, he suspected nearly everyone of the same design, and made it +a point to watch all suspicious persons and places. As Adam was +engaged on his own researches regarding Lady Arabella, it was only +natural that there should be some crossing of each other's tracks. +This is what did actually happen. + +Adam had gone for an early morning survey of the place in which he +was interested, taking with him the mongoose in its box. He arrived +at the gate of Diana's Grove just as Lady Arabella was preparing to +set out for Castra Regis on what she considered her mission of +comfort. Seeing Adam from her window going through the shadows of +the trees round the gate, she thought that he must be engaged on +some purpose similar to her own. So, quickly making her toilet, she +quietly left the house, and, taking advantage of every shadow and +substance which could hide her, followed him on his walk. + +Oolanga, the experienced tracker, followed her, but succeeded in +hiding his movements better than she did. He saw that Adam had on +his shoulder a mysterious box, which he took to contain something +valuable. Seeing that Lady Arabella was secretly following Adam, he +was confirmed in this idea. His mind--such as it was--was fixed on +her trying to steal, and he credited her at once with making use of +this new opportunity. + +In his walk, Adam went into the grounds of Castra Regis, and Oolanga +saw her follow him with great secrecy. He feared to go closer, as +now on both sides of him were enemies who might make discovery. +When he realised that Lady Arabella was bound for the Castle, he +devoted himself to following her with singleness of purpose. He +therefore missed seeing that Adam branched off the track and +returned to the high road. + +That night Edgar Caswall had slept badly. The tragic occurrence of +the day was on his mind, and he kept waking and thinking of it. +After an early breakfast, he sat at the open window watching the +kite and thinking of many things. From his room he could see all +round the neighbourhood, but the two places that interested him most +were Mercy Farm and Diana's Grove. At first the movements about +those spots were of a humble kind--those that belong to domestic +service or agricultural needs--the opening of doors and windows, the +sweeping and brushing, and generally the restoration of habitual +order. + +From his high window--whose height made it a screen from the +observation of others--he saw the chain of watchers move into his +own grounds, and then presently break up--Adam Salton going one way, +and Lady Arabella, followed by the nigger, another. Then Oolanga +disappeared amongst the trees; but Caswall could see that he was +still watching. Lady Arabella, after looking around her, slipped in +by the open door, and he could, of course, see her no longer. + +Presently, however, he heard a light tap at his door, then the door +opened slowly, and he could see the flash of Lady Arabella's white +dress through the opening. + + + +CHAPTER XVI--A VISIT OF SYMPATHY + + + +Caswall was genuinely surprised when he saw Lady Arabella, though he +need not have been, after what had already occurred in the same way. +The look of surprise on his face was so much greater than Lady +Arabella had expected--though she thought she was prepared to meet +anything that might occur--that she stood still, in sheer amazement. +Cold-blooded as she was and ready for all social emergencies, she +was nonplussed how to go on. She was plucky, however, and began to +speak at once, although she had not the slightest idea what she was +going to say. + +"I came to offer you my very warm sympathy with the grief you have +so lately experienced." + +"My grief? I'm afraid I must be very dull; but I really do not +understand." + +Already she felt at a disadvantage, and hesitated. + +"I mean about the old man who died so suddenly--your old. . . +retainer." + +Caswall's face relaxed something of its puzzled concentration. + +"Oh, he was only a servant; and he had over-stayed his three-score +and ten years by something like twenty years. He must have been +ninety!" + +"Still, as an old servant. . . " + +Caswall's words were not so cold as their inflection. + +"I never interfere with servants. He was kept on here merely +because he had been so long on the premises. I suppose the steward +thought it might make him unpopular if the old fellow had been +dismissed." + +How on earth was she to proceed on such a task as hers if this was +the utmost geniality she could expect? So she at once tried another +tack--this time a personal one. + +"I am sorry I disturbed you. I am really not unconventional--though +certainly no slave to convention. Still there are limits. . . it is +bad enough to intrude in this way, and I do not know what you can +say or think of the time selected, for the intrusion." + +After all, Edgar Caswall was a gentleman by custom and habit, so he +rose to the occasion. + +"I can only say, Lady Arabella, that you are always welcome at any +time you may deign to honour my house with your presence." + +She smiled at him sweetly. + +"Thank you SO much. You DO put one at ease. My breach of +convention makes me glad rather than sorry. I feel that I can open +my heart to you about anything." + +Forthwith she proceeded to tell him about Oolanga and his strange +suspicions of her honesty. Caswall laughed and made her explain all +the details. His final comment was enlightening. + +"Let me give you a word of advice: If you have the slightest fault +to find with that infernal nigger, shoot him at sight. A swelled- +headed nigger, with a bee in his bonnet, is one of the worst +difficulties in the world to deal with. So better make a clean job +of it, and wipe him out at once!" + +"But what about the law, Mr. Caswall?" + +"Oh, the law doesn't concern itself much about dead niggers. A few +more or less do not matter. To my mind it's rather a relief!" + +"I'm afraid of you," was her only comment, made with a sweet smile +and in a soft voice. + +"All right," he said, "let us leave it at that. Anyhow, we shall be +rid of one of them!" + +"I don't love niggers any more than you do," she replied, "and I +suppose one mustn't be too particular where that sort of cleaning up +is concerned." Then she changed in voice and manner, and asked +genially: "And now tell me, am I forgiven?" + +"You are, dear lady--if there is anything to forgive." + +As he spoke, seeing that she had moved to go, he came to the door +with her, and in the most natural way accompanied her downstairs. +He passed through the hall with her and down the avenue. As he went +back to the house, she smiled to herself. + +"Well, that is all right. I don't think the morning has been +altogether thrown away." + +And she walked slowly back to Diana's Grove. + +Adam Salton followed the line of the Brow, and refreshed his memory +as to the various localities. He got home to Lesser Hill just as +Sir Nathaniel was beginning lunch. Mr. Salton had gone to Walsall +to keep an early appointment; so he was all alone. When the meal +was over--seeing in Adam's face that he had something to speak +about--he followed into the study and shut the door. + +When the two men had lighted their pipes, Sir Nathaniel began. + +"I have remembered an interesting fact about Diana's Grove--there +is, I have long understood, some strange mystery about that house. +It may be of some interest, or it may be trivial, in such a tangled +skein as we are trying to unravel." + +"Please tell me all you know' or suspect. To begin, then, of what +sort is the mystery--physical, mental, moral, historical, +scientific, occult? Any kind of hint will help me." + +"Quite right. I shall try to tell you what I think; but I have not +put my thoughts on the subject in sequence, so you must forgive me +if due order is not observed in my narration. I suppose you have +seen the house at Diana's Grove?" + +"The outside of it; but I have that in my mind's eye, and I can fit +into my memory whatever you may mention." + +"The house is very old--probably the first house of some sort that +stood there was in the time of the Romans. This was probably +renewed--perhaps several times at later periods. The house stands, +or, rather, used to stand here when Mercia was a kingdom--I do not +suppose that the basement can be later than the Norman Conquest. +Some years ago, when I was President of the Mercian Archaeological +Society, I went all over it very carefully. This was when it was +purchased by Captain March. The house had then been done up, so as +to be suitable for the bride. The basement is very strong,--almost +as strong and as heavy as if it had been intended as a fortress. +There are a whole series of rooms deep underground. One of them in +particular struck me. The room itself is of considerable size, but +the masonry is more than massive. In the middle of the room is a +sunk well, built up to floor level and evidently going deep +underground. There is no windlass nor any trace of there ever +having been any--no rope--nothing. Now, we know that the Romans had +wells of immense depth, from which the water was lifted by the 'old +rag rope'; that at Woodhull used to be nearly a thousand feet. +Here, then, we have simply an enormously deep well-hole. The door +of the room was massive, and was fastened with a lock nearly a foot +square. It was evidently intended for some kind of protection to +someone or something; but no one in those days had ever heard of +anyone having been allowed even to see the room. All this is E +PROPOS of a suggestion on my part that the well-hole was a way by +which the White Worm (whatever it was) went and came. At that time +I would have had a search made--even excavation if necessary--at my +own expense, but all suggestions were met with a prompt and explicit +negative. So, of course, I took no further step in the matter. +Then it died out of recollection--even of mine." + +"Do you remember, sir," asked Adam, "what was the appearance of the +room where the well-hole was? Was there furniture--in fact, any +sort of thing in the room?" + +"The only thing I remember was a sort of green light--very clouded, +very dim--which came up from the well. Not a fixed light, but +intermittent and irregular--quite unlike anything I had ever seen." + +"Do you remember how you got into the well-room? Was there a +separate door from outside, or was there any interior room or +passage which opened into it?" + +"I think there must have been some room with a way into it. I +remember going up some steep steps; they must have been worn smooth +by long use or something of the kind, for I could hardly keep my +feet as I went up. Once I stumbled and nearly fell into the well- +hole." + +"Was there anything strange about the place--any queer smell, for +instance?" + +"Queer smell--yes! Like bilge or a rank swamp. It was distinctly +nauseating; when I came out I felt as if I had just been going to be +sick. I shall try back on my visit and see if I can recall any more +of what I saw or felt." + +"Then perhaps, sir, later in the day you will tell me anything you +may chance to recollect." + +"I shall be delighted, Adam. If your uncle has not returned by +then, I'll join you in the study after dinner, and we can resume +this interesting chat." + + + +CHAPTER XVII--THE MYSTERY OF "THE GROVE" + + + +That afternoon Adam decided to do a little exploring. As he passed +through the wood outside the gate of Diana's Grove, he thought he +saw the African's face for an instant. So he went deeper into the +undergrowth, and followed along parallel to the avenue to the house. +He was glad that there was no workman or servant about, for he did +not care that any of Lady Arabella's people should find him +wandering about her grounds. Taking advantage of the denseness of +the trees, he came close to the house and skirted round it. He was +repaid for his trouble, for on the far side of the house, close to +where the rocky frontage of the cliff fell away, he saw Oolanga +crouched behind the irregular trunk of a great oak. The man was so +intent on watching someone, or something, that he did not guard +against being himself watched. This suited Adam, for he could thus +make scrutiny at will. + +The thick wood, though the trees were mostly of small girth, threw a +heavy shadow, so that the steep declension, in front of which grew +the tree behind which the African lurked, was almost in darkness. +Adam drew as close as he could, and was amazed to see a patch of +light on the ground before him; when he realised what it was, he was +determined, more than ever to follow on his quest. The nigger had a +dark lantern in his hand, and was throwing the light down the steep +incline. The glare showed a series of stone steps, which ended in a +low-lying heavy iron door fixed against the side of the house. All +the strange things he had heard from Sir Nathaniel, and all those, +little and big, which he had himself noticed, crowded into his mind +in a chaotic way. Instinctively he took refuge behind a thick oak +stem, and set himself down, to watch what might occur. + +After a short time it became apparent that the African was trying to +find out what was behind the heavy door. There was no way of +looking in, for the door fitted tight into the massive stone slabs. +The only opportunity for the entrance of light was through a small +hole between the great stones above the door. This hole was too +high up to look through from the ground level. Oolanga, having +tried standing tiptoe on the highest point near, and holding the +lantern as high as he could, threw the light round the edges of the +door to see if he could find anywhere a hole or a flaw in the metal +through which he could obtain a glimpse. Foiled in this, he brought +from the shrubbery a plank, which he leant against the top of the +door and then climbed up with great dexterity. This did not bring +him near enough to the window-hole to look in, or even to throw the +light of the lantern through it, so he climbed down and carried the +plank back to the place from which he had got it. Then he concealed +himself near the iron door and waited, manifestly with the intent of +remaining there till someone came near. Presently Lady Arabella, +moving noiselessly through the shade, approached the door. When he +saw her close enough to touch it, Oolanga stepped forward from his +concealment, and spoke in a whisper, which through the gloom sounded +like a hiss. + +"I want to see you, missy--soon and secret." + +"What do you want?" + +"You know well, missy; I told you already." + +She turned on him with blazing eyes, the green tint in them glowing +like emeralds. + +"Come, none of that. If there is anything sensible which you wish +to say to me, you can see me here, just where we are, at seven +o'clock." + +He made no reply in words, but, putting the backs of his hands +together, bent lower and lower till his forehead touched the earth. +Then he rose and went slowly away. + +Adam Salton, from his hiding-place, saw and wondered. In a few +minutes he moved from his place and went home to Lesser Hill, fully +determined that seven o'clock would find him in some hidden place +behind Diana's Grove. + +At a little before seven Adam stole softly out of the house and took +the back-way to the rear of Diana's Grove. The place seemed silent +and deserted, so he took the opportunity of concealing himself near +the spot whence he had seen Oolanga trying to investigate whatever +was concealed behind the iron door. He waited, perfectly still, and +at last saw a gleam of white passing soundlessly through the +undergrowth. He was not surprised when he recognised the colour of +Lady Arabella's dress. She came close and waited, with her face to +the iron door. From some place of concealment near at hand Oolanga +appeared, and came close to her. Adam noticed, with surprised +amusement, that over his shoulder was the box with the mongoose. Of +course the African did not know that he was seen by anyone, least of +all by the man whose property he had with him. + +Silent-footed as he was, Lady Arabella heard him coming, and turned +to meet him. It was somewhat hard to see in the gloom, for, as +usual, he was all in black, only his collar and cuffs showing white. +Lady Arabella opened the conversation which ensued between the two. + +"What do you want? To rob me, or murder me?" + +"No, to lub you!" + +This frightened her a little, and she tried to change the tone. + +"Is that a coffin you have with you? If so, you are wasting your +time. It would not hold me." + +When a nigger suspects he is being laughed at, all the ferocity of +his nature comes to the front; and this man was of the lowest kind. + +"Dis ain't no coffin for nobody. Dis box is for you. Somefin you +lub. Me give him to you!" + +Still anxious to keep off the subject of affection, on which she +believed him to have become crazed, she made another effort to keep +his mind elsewhere. + +"Is this why you want to see me?" He nodded. "Then come round to +the other door. But be quiet. I have no desire to be seen so close +to my own house in conversation with a--a--a nigger like you!" + +She had chosen the word deliberately. She wished to meet his +passion with another kind. Such would, at all events, help to keep +him quiet. In the deep gloom she could not see the anger which +suffused his face. Rolling eyeballs and grinding teeth are, +however, sufficient signs of anger to be decipherable in the dark. +She moved round the corner of the house to her right. Oolanga was +following her, when she stopped him by raising her hand. + +"No, not that door," she said; "that is not for niggers. The other +door will do well enough for you!" + +Lady Arabella took in her hand a small key which hung at the end of +her watch-chain, and moved to a small door, low down, round the +corner, and a little downhill from the edge of the Brow. Oolanga, +in obedience to her gesture, went back to the iron door. Adam +looked carefully at the mongoose box as the African went by, and was +glad to see that it was intact. Unconsciously, as he looked, he +fingered the key that was in his waistcoat pocket. When Oolanga was +out of sight, Adam hurried after Lady Arabella. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII--EXIT OOLANGA + + + +The woman turned sharply as Adam touched her shoulder. + +"One moment whilst we are alone. You had better not trust that +nigger!" he whispered. + +Her answer was crisp and concise: + +"I don't." + +"Forewarned is forearmed. Tell me if you will--it is for your own +protection. Why do you mistrust him?" + +"My friend, you have no idea of that man's impudence. Would you +believe that he wants me to marry him?" + +"No!" said Adam incredulously, amused in spite of himself. + +"Yes, and wanted to bribe me to do it by sharing a chest of +treasure--at least, he thought it was--stolen from Mr. Caswall. Why +do you distrust him, Mr. Salton?" + +"Did you notice that box he had slung on his shoulder? That belongs +to me. I left it in the gun-room when I went to lunch. He must +have crept in and stolen it. Doubtless he thinks that it, too, is +full of treasure." + +"He does!" + +"How on earth do you know?" asked Adam. + +"A little while ago he offered to give it to me--another bribe to +accept him. Faugh! I am ashamed to tell you such a thing. The +beast!" + +Whilst they had been speaking, she had opened the door, a narrow +iron one, well hung, for it opened easily and closed tightly without +any creaking or sound of any kind. Within all was dark; but she +entered as freely and with as little misgiving or restraint as if it +had been broad daylight. For Adam, there was just sufficient green +light from somewhere for him to see that there was a broad flight of +heavy stone steps leading upward; but Lady Arabella, after shutting +the door behind her, when it closed tightly without a clang, tripped +up the steps lightly and swiftly. For an instant all was dark, but +there came again the faint green light which enabled him to see the +outlines of things. Another iron door, narrow like the first and +fairly high, led into another large room, the walls of which were of +massive stones, so closely joined together as to exhibit only one +smooth surface. This presented the appearance of having at one time +been polished. On the far side, also smooth like the walls, was the +reverse of a wide, but not high, iron door. Here there was a little +more light, for the high-up aperture over the door opened to the +air. + +Lady Arabella took from her girdle another small key, which she +inserted in a keyhole in the centre of a massive lock. The great +bolt seemed wonderfully hung, for the moment the small key was +turned, the bolts of the great lock moved noiselessly and the iron +doors swung open. On the stone steps outside stood Oolanga, with +the mongoose box slung over his shoulder. Lady Arabella stood a +little on one side, and the African, accepting the movement as an +invitation, entered in an obsequious way. The moment, however, that +he was inside, he gave a quick look around him. + +"Much death here--big death. Many deaths. Good, good!" + +He sniffed round as if he was enjoying the scent. The matter and +manner of his speech were so revolting that instinctively Adam's +hand wandered to his revolver, and, with his finger on the trigger, +he rested satisfied that he was ready for any emergency. + +There was certainly opportunity for the nigger's enjoyment, for the +open well-hole was almost under his nose, sending up such a stench +as almost made Adam sick, though Lady Arabella seemed not to mind it +at all. It was like nothing that Adam had ever met with. He +compared it with all the noxious experiences he had ever had--the +drainage of war hospitals, of slaughter-houses, the refuse of +dissecting rooms. None of these was like it, though it had +something of them all, with, added, the sourness of chemical waste +and the poisonous effluvium of the bilge of a water-logged ship +whereon a multitude of rats had been drowned. + +Then, quite unexpectedly, the negro noticed the presence of a third +person--Adam Salton! He pulled out a pistol and shot at him, +happily missing. Adam was himself usually a quick shot, but this +time his mind had been on something else and he was not ready. +However, he was quick to carry out an intention, and he was not a +coward. In another moment both men were in grips. Beside them was +the dark well-hole, with that horrid effluvium stealing up from its +mysterious depths. + +Adam and Oolanga both had pistols; Lady Arabella, who had not one, +was probably the most ready of them all in the theory of shooting, +but that being impossible, she made her effort in another way. +Gliding forward, she tried to seize the African; but he eluded her +grasp, just missing, in doing so, falling into the mysterious hole. +As he swayed back to firm foothold, he turned his own gun on her and +shot. Instinctively Adam leaped at his assailant; clutching at each +other, they tottered on the very brink. + +Lady Arabella's anger, now fully awake, was all for Oolanga. She +moved towards him with her hands extended, and had just seized him +when the catch of the locked box--due to some movement from within-- +flew open, and the king-cobra-killer flew at her with a venomous +fury impossible to describe. As it seized her throat, she caught +hold of it, and, with a fury superior to its own, tore it in two +just as if it had been a sheet of paper. The strength used for such +an act must have been terrific. In an instant, it seemed to spout +blood and entrails, and was hurled into the well-hole. In another +instant she had seized Oolanga, and with a swift rush had drawn him, +her white arms encircling him, down with her into the gaping +aperture. + +Adam saw a medley of green and red lights blaze in a whirling +circle, and as it sank down into the well, a pair of blazing green +eyes became fixed, sank lower and lower with frightful rapidity, and +disappeared, throwing upward the green light which grew more and +more vivid every moment. As the light sank into the noisome depths, +there came a shriek which chilled Adam's blood--a prolonged agony of +pain and terror which seemed to have no end. + +Adam Salton felt that he would never be able to free his mind from +the memory of those dreadful moments. The gloom which surrounded +that horrible charnel pit, which seemed to go down to the very +bowels of the earth, conveyed from far down the sights and sounds of +the nethermost hell. The ghastly fate of the African as he sank +down to his terrible doom, his black face growing grey with terror, +his white eyeballs, now like veined bloodstone, rolling in the +helpless extremity of fear. The mysterious green light was in +itself a milieu of horror. And through it all the awful cry came up +from that fathomless pit, whose entrance was flooded with spots of +fresh blood. Even the death of the fearless little snake-killer--so +fierce, so frightful, as if stained with a ferocity which told of no +living force above earth, but only of the devils of the pit--was +only an incident. Adam was in a state of intellectual tumult, which +had no parallel in his experience. He tried to rush away from the +horrible place; even the baleful green light, thrown up through the +gloomy well-shaft, was dying away as its source sank deeper into the +primeval ooze. The darkness was closing in on him in overwhelming +density--darkness in such a place and with such a memory of it! + +He made a wild rush forward--slipt on the steps in some sticky, +acrid-smelling mass that felt and smelt like blood, and, falling +forward, felt his way into the inner room, where the well-shaft was +not. + +Then he rubbed his eyes in sheer amazement. Up the stone steps from +the narrow door by which he had entered, glided the white-clad +figure of Lady Arabella, the only colour to be seen on her being +blood-marks on her face and hands and throat. Otherwise, she was +calm and unruffled, as when earlier she stood aside for him to pass +in through the narrow iron door. + + + +CHAPTER XIX--AN ENEMY IN THE DARK + + + +Adam Salton went for a walk before returning to Lesser Hill; he felt +that it might be well, not only to steady his nerves, shaken by the +horrible scene, but to get his thoughts into some sort of order, so +as to be ready to enter on the matter with Sir Nathaniel. He was a +little embarrassed as to telling his uncle, for affairs had so +vastly progressed beyond his original view that he felt a little +doubtful as to what would be the old gentleman's attitude when he +should hear of the strange events for the first time. Mr. Salton +would certainly not be satisfied at being treated as an outsider +with regard to such things, most of which had points of contact with +the inmates of his own house. It was with an immense sense of +relief that Adam heard that his uncle had telegraphed to the +housekeeper that he was detained by business at Walsall, where he +would remain for the night; and that he would be back in the morning +in time for lunch. + +When Adam got home after his walk, he found Sir Nathaniel just going +to bed. He did not say anything to him then of what had happened, +but contented himself with arranging that they would walk together +in the early morning, as he had much to say that would require +serious attention. + +Strangely enough he slept well, and awoke at dawn with his mind +clear and his nerves in their usual unshaken condition. The maid +brought up, with his early morning cup of tea, a note which had been +found in the letter-box. It was from Lady Arabella, and was +evidently intended to put him on his guard as to what he should say +about the previous evening. + +He read it over carefully several times, before he was satisfied +that he had taken in its full import. + + +"DEAR MR. SALTON, + +"I cannot go to bed until I have written to you, so you must forgive +me if I disturb you, and at an unseemly time. Indeed, you must also +forgive me if, in trying to do what is right, I err in saying too +much or too little. The fact is that I am quite upset and unnerved +by all that has happened in this terrible night. I find it +difficult even to write; my hands shake so that they are not under +control, and I am trembling all over with memory of the horrors we +saw enacted before our eyes. I am grieved beyond measure that I +should be, however remotely, a cause of this horror coming on you. +Forgive me if you can, and do not think too hardly of me. This I +ask with confidence, for since we shared together the danger--the +very pangs--of death, I feel that we should be to one another +something more than mere friends, that I may lean on you and trust +you, assured that your sympathy and pity are for me. You really +must let me thank you for the friendliness, the help, the +confidence, the real aid at a time of deadly danger and deadly fear +which you showed me. That awful man--I shall see him for ever in my +dreams. His black, malignant face will shut out all memory of +sunshine and happiness. I shall eternally see his evil eyes as he +threw himself into that well-hole in a vain effort to escape from +the consequences of his own misdoing. The more I think of it, the +more apparent it seems to me that he had premeditated the whole +thing--of course, except his own horrible death. + +"Perhaps you have noticed a fur collar I occasionally wear. It is +one of my most valued treasures--an ermine collar studded with +emeralds. I had often seen the nigger's eyes gleam covetously when +he looked at it. Unhappily, I wore it yesterday. That may have +been the cause that lured the poor man to his doom. On the very +brink of the abyss he tore the collar from my neck--that was the +last I saw of him. When he sank into the hole, I was rushing to the +iron door, which I pulled behind me. When I heard that soul- +sickening yell, which marked his disappearance in the chasm, I was +more glad than I can say that my eyes were spared the pain and +horror which my ears had to endure. + +"When I tore myself out of the negro's grasp as he sank into the +well-hole; I realised what freedom meant. Freedom! Freedom! Not +only from that noisome prison-house, which has now such a memory, +but from the more noisome embrace of that hideous monster. Whilst I +live, I shall always thank you for my freedom. A woman must +sometimes express her gratitude; otherwise it becomes too great to +bear. I am not a sentimental girl, who merely likes to thank a man; +I am a woman who knows all, of bad as well as good, that life can +give. I have known what it is to love and to lose. But you must +not let me bring any unhappiness into your life. I must live on--as +I have lived--alone, and, in addition, bear with other woes the +memory of this latest insult and horror. In the meantime, I must +get away as quickly as possible from Diana's Grove. In the morning +I shall go up to town, where I shall remain for a week--I cannot +stay longer, as business affairs demand my presence here. I think, +however, that a week in the rush of busy London, surrounded with +multitudes of commonplace people, will help to soften--I cannot +expect total obliteration--the terrible images of the bygone night. +When I can sleep easily--which will be, I hope, after a day or two-- +I shall be fit to return home and take up again the burden which +will, I suppose, always be with me. + +"I shall be most happy to see you on my return--or earlier, if my +good fortune sends you on any errand to London. I shall stay at the +Mayfair Hotel. In that busy spot we may forget some of the dangers +and horrors we have shared together. Adieu, and thank you, again +and again, for all your kindness and consideration to me. + +"ARABELLA MARSH." + + +Adam was surprised by this effusive epistle, but he determined to +say nothing of it to Sir Nathaniel until he should have thought it +well over. When Adam met Sir Nathaniel at breakfast, he was glad +that he had taken time to turn things over in his mind. The result +had been that not only was he familiar with the facts in all their +bearings, but he had already so far differentiated them that he was +able to arrange them in his own mind according to their values. +Breakfast had been a silent function, so it did not interfere in any +way with the process of thought. + +So soon as the door was closed, Sir Nathaniel began: + +"I see, Adam, that something has occurred, and that you have much to +tell me." + +"That is so, sir. I suppose I had better begin by telling you all I +know--all that has happened since I left you yesterday?" + +Accordingly Adam gave him details of all that had happened during +the previous evening. He confined himself rigidly to the narration +of circumstances, taking care not to colour events by any comment of +his own, or any opinion of the meaning of things which he did not +fully understand. At first, Sir Nathaniel seemed disposed to ask +questions, but shortly gave this up when he recognised that the +narration was concise and self-explanatory. Thenceforth, he +contented himself with quick looks and glances, easily interpreted, +or by some acquiescent motions of his hands, when such could be +convenient, to emphasise his idea of the correctness of any +inference. Until Adam ceased speaking, having evidently come to an +end of what he had to say with regard to this section of his story, +the elder man made no comment whatever. Even when Adam took from +his pocket Lady Arabella's letter, with the manifest intention of +reading it, he did not make any comment. Finally, when Adam folded +up the letter and put it, in its envelope, back in his pocket, as an +intimation that he had now quite finished, the old diplomatist +carefully made a few notes in his pocket-book. + +"Your narrative, my dear Adam, is altogether admirable. I think I +may now take it that we are both well versed in the actual facts, +and that our conference had better take the shape of a mutual +exchange of ideas. Let us both ask questions as they may arise; and +I do not doubt that we shall arrive at some enlightening +conclusions." + +"Will you kindly begin, sir? I do not doubt that, with your longer +experience, you will be able to dissipate some of the fog which +envelops certain of the things which we have to consider." + +"I hope so, my dear boy. For a beginning, then, let me say that +Lady Arabella's letter makes clear some things which she intended-- +and also some things which she did not intend. But, before I begin +to draw deductions, let me ask you a few questions. Adam, are you +heart-whole, quite heart-whole, in the matter of Lady Arabella?" + +His companion answered at once, each looking the other straight in +the eyes during question and answer. + +"Lady Arabella, sir, is a charming woman, and I should have deemed +it a privilege to meet her--to talk to her--even--since I am in the +confessional--to flirt a little with her. But if you mean to ask if +my affections are in any way engaged, I can emphatically answer +'No!'--as indeed you will understand when presently I give you the +reason. Apart from that, there are the unpleasant details we +discussed the other day." + +"Could you--would you mind giving me the reason now? It will help +us to understand what is before us, in the way of difficulty." + +"Certainly, sir. My reason, on which I can fully depend, is that I +love another woman!" + +"That clinches it. May I offer my good wishes, and, I hope, my +congratulations?" + +"I am proud of your good wishes, sir, and I thank you for them. But +it is too soon for congratulations--the lady does not even know my +hopes yet. Indeed, I hardly knew them myself, as definite, till +this moment." + +"I take it then, Adam, that at the right time I may be allowed to +know who the lady is?" + +Adam laughed a low, sweet laugh, such as ripples from a happy heart. + +"There need not be an hour's, a minute's delay. I shall be glad to +share my secret with you, sir. The lady, sir, whom I am so happy as +to love, and in whom my dreams of life-long happiness are centred, +is Mimi Watford!" + +"Then, my dear Adam, I need not wait to offer congratulations. She +is indeed a very charming young lady. I do not think I ever saw a +girl who united in such perfection the qualities of strength of +character and sweetness of disposition. With all my heart, I +congratulate you. Then I may take it that my question as to your +heart-wholeness is answered in the affirmative?" + +"Yes; and now, sir, may I ask in turn why the question?" + +"Certainly! I asked because it seems to me that we are coming to a +point where my questions might be painful to you." + +"It is not merely that I love Mimi, but I have reason to look on +Lady Arabella as her enemy," Adam continued. + +"Her enemy?" + +"Yes. A rank and unscrupulous enemy who is bent on her +destruction." + +Sir Nathaniel went to the door, looked outside it and returned, +locking it carefully behind him. + + + +CHAPTER XX--METABOLISM + + + +"Am I looking grave?" asked Sir Nathaniel inconsequently when he re- +entered the room. + +"You certainly are, sir." + +"We little thought when first we met that we should be drawn into +such a vortex. Already we are mixed up in robbery, and probably +murder, but--a thousand times worse than all the crimes in the +calendar--in an affair of ghastly mystery which has no bottom and no +end--with forces of the most unnerving kind, which had their origin +in an age when the world was different from the world which we know. +We are going back to the origin of superstition--to an age when +dragons tore each other in their slime. We must fear nothing--no +conclusion, however improbable, almost impossible it may be. Life +and death is hanging on our judgment, not only for ourselves, but +for others whom we love. Remember, I count on you as I hope you +count on me." + +"I do, with all confidence." + +"Then," said Sir Nathaniel, "let us think justly and boldly and fear +nothing, however terrifying it may seem. I suppose I am to take as +exact in every detail your account of all the strange things which +happened whilst you were in Diana's Grove?" + +"So far as I know, yes. Of course I may be mistaken in recollection +of some detail or another, but I am certain that in the main what I +have said is correct." + +"You feel sure that you saw Lady Arabella seize the negro round the +neck, and drag him down with her into the hole?" + +"Absolutely certain, sir, otherwise I should have gone to her +assistance." + +"We have, then, an account of what happened from an eye-witness whom +we trust--that is yourself. We have also another account, written +by Lady Arabella under her own hand. These two accounts do not +agree. Therefore we must take it that one of the two is lying." + +"Apparently, sir." + +"And that Lady Arabella is the liar!" + +"Apparently--as I am not." + +"We must, therefore, try to find a reason for her lying. She has +nothing to fear from Oolanga, who is dead. Therefore the only +reason which could actuate her would be to convince someone else +that she was blameless. This 'someone' could not be you, for you +had the evidence of your own eyes. There was no one else present; +therefore it must have been an absent person." + +"That seems beyond dispute, sir." + +"There is only one other person whose good opinion she could wish to +keep--Edgar Caswall. He is the only one who fills the bill. Her +lies point to other things besides the death of the African. She +evidently wanted it to be accepted that his falling into the well +was his own act. I cannot suppose that she expected to convince +you, the eye-witness; but if she wished later on to spread the +story, it was wise of her to try to get your acceptance of it." + +"That is so!" + +"Then there were other matters of untruth. That, for instance, of +the ermine collar embroidered with emeralds. If an understandable +reason be required for this, it would be to draw attention away from +the green lights which were seen in the room, and especially in the +well-hole. Any unprejudiced person would accept the green lights to +be the eyes of a great snake, such as tradition pointed to living in +the well-hole. In fine, therefore, Lady Arabella wanted the general +belief to be that there was no snake of the kind in Diana's Grove. +For my own part, I don't believe in a partial liar--this art does +not deal in veneer; a liar is a liar right through. Self-interest +may prompt falsity of the tongue; but if one prove to be a liar, +nothing that he says can ever be believed. This leads us to the +conclusion that because she said or inferred that there was no +snake, we should look for one--and expect to find it, too. + +"Now let me digress. I live, and have for many years lived, in +Derbyshire, a county more celebrated for its caves than any other +county in England. I have been through them all, and am familiar +with every turn of them; as also with other great caves in Kentucky, +in France, in Germany, and a host of other places--in many of these +are tremendously deep caves of narrow aperture, which are valued by +intrepid explorers, who descend narrow gullets of abysmal depth--and +sometimes never return. In many of the caverns in the Peak I am +convinced that some of the smaller passages were used in primeval +times as the lairs of some of the great serpents of legend and +tradition. It may have been that such caverns were formed in the +usual geologic way--bubbles or flaws in the earth's crust--which +were later used by the monsters of the period of the young world. +It may have been, of course, that some of them were worn originally +by water; but in time they all found a use when suitable for living +monsters. + +"This brings us to another point, more difficult to accept and +understand than any other requiring belief in a base not usually +accepted, or indeed entered on--whether such abnormal growths could +have ever changed in their nature. Some day the study of metabolism +may progress so far as to enable us to accept structural changes +proceeding from an intellectual or moral base. We may lean towards +a belief that great animal strength may be a sound base for changes +of all sorts. If this be so, what could be a more fitting subject +than primeval monsters whose strength was such as to allow a +survival of thousands of years? We do not know yet if brain can +increase and develop independently of other parts of the living +structure. + +"After all, the mediaeval belief in the Philosopher's Stone which +could transmute metals, has its counterpart in the accepted theory +of metabolism which changes living tissue. In an age of +investigation like our own, when we are returning to science as the +base of wonders--almost of miracles--we should be slow to refuse to +accept facts, however impossible they may seem to be. + +"Let us suppose a monster of the early days of the world--a dragon +of the prime--of vast age running into thousands of years, to whom +had been conveyed in some way--it matters not--a brain just +sufficient for the beginning of growth. Suppose the monster to be +of incalculable size and of a strength quite abnormal--a veritable +incarnation of animal strength. Suppose this animal is allowed to +remain in one place, thus being removed from accidents of +interrupted development; might not, would not this creature, in +process of time--ages, if necessary--have that rudimentary +intelligence developed? There is no impossibility in this; it is +only the natural process of evolution. In the beginning, the +instincts of animals are confined to alimentation, self-protection, +and the multiplication of their species. As time goes on and the +needs of life become more complex, power follows need. We have been +long accustomed to consider growth as applied almost exclusively to +size in its various aspects. But Nature, who has no doctrinaire +ideas, may equally apply it to concentration. A developing thing +may expand in any given way or form. Now, it is a scientific law +that increase implies gain and loss of various kinds; what a thing +gains in one direction it may lose in another. May it not be that +Mother Nature may deliberately encourage decrease as well as +increase--that it may be an axiom that what is gained in +concentration is lost in size? Take, for instance, monsters that +tradition has accepted and localised, such as the Worm of Lambton or +that of Spindleston Heugh. If such a creature were, by its own +process of metabolism, to change much of its bulk for intellectual +growth, we should at once arrive at a new class of creature--more +dangerous, perhaps, than the world has ever had any experience of--a +force which can think, which has no soul and no morals, and +therefore no acceptance of responsibility. A snake would be a good +illustration of this, for it is cold-blooded, and therefore removed +from the temptations which often weaken or restrict warm-blooded +creatures. If, for instance, the Worm of Lambton--if such ever +existed--were guided to its own ends by an organised intelligence +capable of expansion, what form of creature could we imagine which +would equal it in potentialities of evil? Why, such a being would +devastate a whole country. Now, all these things require much +thought, and we want to apply the knowledge usefully, and we should +therefore be exact. Would it not be well to resume the subject +later in the day?" + +"I quite agree, sir. I am in a whirl already; and want to attend +carefully to what you say; so that I may try to digest it." + +Both men seemed fresher and better for the "easy," and when they met +in the afternoon each of them had something to contribute to the +general stock of information. Adam, who was by nature of a more +militant disposition than his elderly friend, was glad to see that +the conference at once assumed a practical trend. Sir Nathaniel +recognised this, and, like an old diplomatist, turned it to present +use. + +"Tell me now, Adam, what is the outcome, in your own mind, of our +conversation?" + +"That the whole difficulty already assumes practical shape; but with +added dangers, that at first I did not imagine." + +"What is the practical shape, and what are the added dangers? I am +not disputing, but only trying to clear my own ideas by the +consideration of yours--" + +So Adam went on: + +"In the past, in the early days of the world, there were monsters +who were so vast that they could exist for thousands of years. Some +of them must have overlapped the Christian era. They may have +progressed intellectually in process of time. If they had in any +way so progressed, or even got the most rudimentary form of brain, +they would be the most dangerous things that ever were in the world. +Tradition says that one of these monsters lived in the Marsh of the +East, and came up to a cave in Diana's Grove, which was also called +the Lair of the White Worm. Such creatures may have grown down as +well as up. They MAY have grown into, or something like, human +beings. Lady Arabella March is of snake nature. She has committed +crimes to our knowledge. She retains something of the vast strength +of her primal being--can see in the dark--has the eyes of a snake. +She used the nigger, and then dragged him through the snake's hole +down to the swamp; she is intent on evil, and hates some one we +love. Result. . . " + +"Yes, the result?" + +"First, that Mimi Watford should be taken away at once--then--" + +"Yes?" + +"The monster must be destroyed." + +"Bravo! That is a true and fearless conclusion. At whatever cost, +it must be carried out." + +"At once?" + +"Soon, at all events. That creature's very existence is a danger. +Her presence in this neighbourhood makes the danger immediate." + +As he spoke, Sir Nathaniel's mouth hardened and his eyebrows came +down till they met. There was no doubting his concurrence in the +resolution, or his readiness to help in carrying it out. But he was +an elderly man with much experience and knowledge of law and +diplomacy. It seemed to him to be a stern duty to prevent anything +irrevocable taking place till it had been thought out and all was +ready. There were all sorts of legal cruxes to be thought out, not +only regarding the taking of life, even of a monstrosity in human +form, but also of property. Lady Arabella, be she woman or snake or +devil, owned the ground she moved in, according to British law, and +the law is jealous and swift to avenge wrongs done within its ken. +All such difficulties should be--must be--avoided for Mr. Salton's +sake, for Adam's own sake, and, most of all, for Mimi Watford's +sake. + +Before he spoke again, Sir Nathaniel had made up his mind that he +must try to postpone decisive action until the circumstances on +which they depended--which, after all, were only problematical-- +should have been tested satisfactorily, one way or another. When he +did speak, Adam at first thought that his friend was wavering in his +intention, or "funking" the responsibility. However, his respect +for Sir Nathaniel was so great that he would not act, or even come +to a conclusion on a vital point, without his sanction. + +He came close and whispered in his ear: + +"We will prepare our plans to combat and destroy this horrible +menace, after we have cleared up some of the more baffling points. +Meanwhile, we must wait for the night--I hear my uncle's footsteps +echoing down the hall." + +Sir Nathaniel nodded his approval. + + + +CHAPTER XXI--GREEN LIGHT + + + +When old Mr. Salton had retired for the night, Adam and Sir +Nathaniel returned to the study. Things went with great regularity +at Lesser Hill, so they knew that there would be no interruption to +their talk. + +When their cigars were lighted, Sir Nathaniel began. + +"I hope, Adam, that you do not think me either slack or changeable +of purpose. I mean to go through this business to the bitter end-- +whatever it may be. Be satisfied that my first care is, and shall +be, the protection of Mimi Watford. To that I am pledged; my dear +boy, we who are interested are all in the same danger. That semi- +human monster out of the pit hates and means to destroy us all--you +and me certainly, and probably your uncle. I wanted especially to +talk with you to-night, for I cannot help thinking that the time is +fast coming--if it has not come already--when we must take your +uncle into our confidence. It was one thing when fancied evils +threatened, but now he is probably marked for death, and it is only +right that he should know all." + +"I am with you, sir. Things have changed since we agreed to keep +him out of the trouble. Now we dare not; consideration for his +feelings might cost his life. It is a duty--and no light or +pleasant one, either. I have not a shadow of doubt that he will +want to be one with us in this. But remember, we are his guests; +his name, his honour, have to be thought of as well as his safety." + +"All shall be as you wish, Adam. And now as to what we are to do? +We cannot murder Lady Arabella off-hand. Therefore we shall have to +put things in order for the killing, and in such a way that we +cannot be taxed with a crime." + +"It seems to me, sir, that we are in an exceedingly tight place. +Our first difficulty is to know where to begin. I never thought +this fighting an antediluvian monster would be such a complicated +job. This one is a woman, with all a woman's wit, combined with the +heartlessness of a COCOTTE. She has the strength and impregnability +of a diplodocus. We may be sure that in the fight that is before us +there will be no semblance of fair-play. Also that our unscrupulous +opponent will not betray herself!" + +"That is so--but being feminine, she will probably over-reach +herself. Now, Adam, it strikes me that, as we have to protect +ourselves and others against feminine nature, our strong game will +be to play our masculine against her feminine. Perhaps we had +better sleep on it. She is a thing of the night; and the night may +give us some ideas." + +So they both turned in. + +Adam knocked at Sir Nathaniel's door in the grey of the morning, +and, on being bidden, came into the room. He had several letters in +his hand. Sir Nathaniel sat up in bed. + +"Well!" + +"I should like to read you a few letters, but, of course, I shall +not send them unless you approve. In fact"--with a smile and a +blush--"there are several things which I want to do; but I hold my +hand and my tongue till I have your approval." + +"Go on!" said the other kindly. "Tell me all, and count at any rate +on my sympathy, and on my approval and help if I can see my way." + +Accordingly Adam proceeded: + +"When I told you the conclusions at which I had arrived, I put in +the foreground that Mimi Watford should, for the sake of her own +safety, be removed--and that the monster which had wrought all the +harm should be destroyed." + +"Yes, that is so." + +"To carry this into practice, sir, one preliminary is required-- +unless harm of another kind is to be faced. Mimi should have some +protector whom all the world would recognise. The only form +recognised by convention is marriage!" + +Sir Nathaniel smiled in a fatherly way. + +"To marry, a husband is required. And that husband should be you." + +"Yes, yes." + +"And the marriage should be immediate and secret--or, at least, not +spoken of outside ourselves. Would the young lady be agreeable to +that proceeding?" + +"I do not know, sir!" + +"Then how are we to proceed?" + +"I suppose that we--or one of us--must ask her." + +"Is this a sudden idea, Adam, a sudden resolution?" + +"A sudden resolution, sir, but not a sudden idea. If she agrees, +all is well and good. The sequence is obvious." + +"And it is to be kept a secret amongst ourselves?" + +"I want no secret, sir, except for Mimi's good. For myself, I +should like to shout it from the house-tops! But we must be +discreet; untimely knowledge to our enemy might work incalculable +harm." + +"And how would you suggest, Adam, that we could combine the +momentous question with secrecy?" + +Adam grew red and moved uneasily. + +"Someone must ask her--as soon as possible!" + +"And that someone?" + +"I thought that you, sir, would be so good!" + +"God bless my soul! This is a new kind of duty to take on--at my +time of life. Adam, I hope you know that you can count on me to +help in any way I can!" + +"I have already counted on you, sir, when I ventured to make such a +suggestion. I can only ask," he added, "that you will be more than +ever kind to me--to us--and look on the painful duty as a voluntary +act of grace, prompted by kindness and affection." + +"Painful duty!" + +"Yes," said Adam boldly. "Painful to you, though to me it would be +all joyful." + +"It is a strange job for an early morning! Well, we all live and +learn. I suppose the sooner I go the better. You had better write +a line for me to take with me. For, you see, this is to be a +somewhat unusual transaction, and it may be embarrassing to the +lady, even to myself. So we ought to have some sort of warrant, +something to show that we have been mindful of her feelings. It +will not do to take acquiescence for granted--although we act for +her good." + +"Sir Nathaniel, you are a true friend; I am sure that both Mimi and +I shall be grateful to you for all our lives--however long they may +be!" + +So the two talked it over and agreed as to points to be borne in +mind by the ambassador. It was striking ten when Sir Nathaniel left +the house, Adam seeing him quietly off. + +As the young man followed him with wistful eyes--almost jealous of +the privilege which his kind deed was about to bring him--he felt +that his own heart was in his friend's breast. + +The memory of that morning was like a dream to all those concerned +in it. Sir Nathaniel had a confused recollection of detail and +sequence, though the main facts stood out in his memory boldly and +clearly. Adam Salton's recollection was of an illimitable wait, +filled with anxiety, hope, and chagrin, all dominated by a sense of +the slow passage of time and accompanied by vague fears. Mimi could +not for a long time think at all, or recollect anything, except that +Adam loved her and was saving her from a terrible danger. When she +had time to think, later on, she wondered when she had any ignorance +of the fact that Adam loved her, and that she loved him with all her +heart. Everything, every recollection however small, every feeling, +seemed to fit into those elemental facts as though they had all been +moulded together. The main and crowning recollection was her saying +goodbye to Sir Nathaniel, and entrusting to him loving messages, +straight from her heart, to Adam Salton, and of his bearing when-- +with an impulse which she could not check--she put her lips to his +and kissed him. Later, when she was alone and had time to think, it +was a passing grief to her that she would have to be silent, for a +time, to Lilla on the happy events of that strange mission. + +She had, of course, agreed to keep all secret until Adam should give +her leave to speak. + +The advice and assistance of Sir Nathaniel was a great help to Adam +in carrying out his idea of marrying Mimi Watford without publicity. +He went with him to London, and, with his influence, the young man +obtained the license of the Archbishop of Canterbury for a private +marriage. Sir Nathaniel then persuaded old Mr. Salton to allow his +nephew to spend a few weeks with him at Doom Tower, and it was here +that Mimi became Adam's wife. But that was only the first step in +their plans; before going further, however, Adam took his bride off +to the Isle of Man. He wished to place a stretch of sea between +Mimi and the White Worm, while things matured. On their return, Sir +Nathaniel met them and drove them at once to Doom, taking care to +avoid any one that he knew on the journey. + +Sir Nathaniel had taken care to have the doors and windows shut and +locked--all but the door used for their entry. The shutters were up +and the blinds down. Moreover, heavy curtains were drawn across the +windows. When Adam commented on this, Sir Nathaniel said in a +whisper: + +"Wait till we are alone, and I'll tell you why this is done; in the +meantime not a word or a sign. You will approve when we have had a +talk together." + +They said no more on the subject till after dinner, when they were +ensconced in Sir Nathaniel's study, which was on the top storey. +Doom Tower was a lofty structure, situated on an eminence high up in +the Peak. The top commanded a wide prospect, ranging from the hills +above the Ribble to the near side of the Brow, which marked the +northern bound of ancient Mercia. It was of the early Norman +period, less than a century younger than Castra Regis. The windows +of the study were barred and locked, and heavy dark curtains closed +them in. When this was done not a gleam of light from the tower +could be seen from outside. + +When they were alone, Sir Nathaniel explained that he had taken his +old friend, Mr. Salton, into full confidence, and that in future all +would work together. + +"It is important for you to be extremely careful. In spite of the +fact that our marriage was kept secret, as also your temporary +absence, both are known." + +"How? To whom?" + +"How, I know not; but I am beginning to have an idea." + +"To her?" asked Adam, in momentary consternation. + +Sir Nathaniel shivered perceptibly. + +"The White Worm--yes!" + +Adam noticed that from now on, his friend never spoke of Lady +Arabella otherwise, except when he wished to divert the suspicion of +others. + +Sir Nathaniel switched off the electric light, and when the room was +pitch dark, he came to Adam, took him by the hand, and led him to a +seat set in the southern window. Then he softly drew back a piece +of the curtain and motioned his companion to look out. + +Adam did so, and immediately shrank back as though his eyes had +opened on pressing danger. His companion set his mind at rest by +saying in a low voice: + +"It is all right; you may speak, but speak low. There is no danger +here--at present!" + +Adam leaned forward, taking care, however, not to press his face +against the glass. What he saw would not under ordinary +circumstances have caused concern to anybody. With his special +knowledge, it was appalling--though the night was now so dark that +in reality there was little to be seen. + +On the western side of the tower stood a grove of old trees, of +forest dimensions. They were not grouped closely, but stood a +little apart from each other, producing the effect of a row widely +planted. Over the tops of them was seen a green light, something +like the danger signal at a railway-crossing. It seemed at first +quite still; but presently, when Adam's eye became accustomed to it, +he could see that it moved as if trembling. This at once recalled +to Adam's mind the light quivering above the well-hole in the +darkness of that inner room at Diana's Grove, Oolanga's awful +shriek, and the hideous black face, now grown grey with terror, +disappearing into the impenetrable gloom of the mysterious orifice. +Instinctively he laid his hand on his revolver, and stood up ready +to protect his wife. Then, seeing that nothing happened, and that +the light and all outside the tower remained the same, he softly +pulled the curtain over the window. + +Sir Nathaniel switched on the light again, and in its comforting +glow they began to talk freely. + + + +CHAPTER XXII--AT CLOSE QUARTERS + + + +"She has diabolical cunning," said Sir Nathaniel. "Ever since you +left, she has ranged along the Brow and wherever you were accustomed +to frequent. I have not heard whence the knowledge of your +movements came to her, nor have I been able to learn any data +whereon to found an opinion. She seems to have heard both of your +marriage and your absence; but I gather, by inference, that she does +not actually know where you and Mimi are, or of your return. So +soon as the dusk fails, she goes out on her rounds, and before dawn +covers the whole ground round the Brow, and away up into the heart +of the Peak. The White Worm, in her own proper shape, certainly has +great facilities for the business on which she is now engaged. She +can look into windows of any ordinary kind. Happily, this house is +beyond her reach, if she wishes--as she manifestly does--to remain +unrecognised. But, even at this height, it is wise to show no +lights, lest she might learn something of our presence or absence." + +"Would it not be well, sir, if one of us could see this monster in +her real shape at close quarters? I am willing to run the risk--for +I take it there would be no slight risk in the doing. I don't +suppose anyone of our time has seen her close and lived to tell the +tale." + +Sir Nathaniel held up an expostulatory hand. + +"Good God, lad, what are you suggesting? Think of your wife, and +all that is at stake." + +"It is of Mimi that I think--for her sake that I am willing to risk +whatever is to be risked." + +Adam's young bride was proud of her man, but she blanched at the +thought of the ghastly White Worm. Adam saw this and at once +reassured her. + +"So long as her ladyship does not know whereabout I am, I shall have +as much safety as remains to us; bear in mind, my darling, that we +cannot be too careful." + +Sir Nathaniel realised that Adam was right; the White Worm had no +supernatural powers and could not harm them until she discovered +their hiding place. It was agreed, therefore, that the two men +should go together. + +When the two men slipped out by the back door of the house, they +walked cautiously along the avenue which trended towards the west. +Everything was pitch dark--so dark that at times they had to feel +their way by the palings and tree-trunks. They could still see, +seemingly far in front of them and high up, the baleful light which +at the height and distance seemed like a faint line. As they were +now on the level of the ground, the light seemed infinitely higher +than it had from the top of the tower. At the sight Adam's heart +fell; the danger of the desperate enterprise which he had undertaken +burst upon him. But this feeling was shortly followed by another +which restored him to himself--a fierce loathing, and a desire to +kill, such as he had never experienced before. + +They went on for some distance on a level road, fairly wide, from +which the green light was visible. Here Sir Nathaniel spoke softly, +placing his lips to Adam's ear for safety. + +"We know nothing whatever of this creature's power of hearing or +smelling, though I presume that both are of no great strength. As +to seeing, we may presume the opposite, but in any case we must try +to keep in the shade behind the tree-trunks. The slightest error +would be fatal to us." + +Adam only nodded, in case there should be any chance of the monster +seeing the movement. + +After a time that seemed interminable, they emerged from the +circling wood. It was like coming out into sunlight by comparison +with the misty blackness which had been around them. There was +light enough to see by, though not sufficient to distinguish things +at a distance. Adam's eyes sought the green light in the sky. It +was still in about the same place, but its surroundings were more +visible. It was now at the summit of what seemed to be a long white +pole, near the top of which were two pendant white masses, like +rudimentary arms or fins. The green light, strangely enough, did +not seem lessened by the surrounding starlight, but had a clearer +effect and a deeper green. Whilst they were carefully regarding +this--Adam with the aid of an opera-glass--their nostrils were +assailed by a horrid stench, something like that which rose from the +well-hole in Diana's Grove. + +By degrees, as their eyes got the right focus, they saw an immense +towering mass that seemed snowy white. It was tall and thin. The +lower part was hidden by the trees which lay between, but they could +follow the tall white shaft and the duplicate green lights which +topped it. As they looked there was a movement--the shaft seemed to +bend, and the line of green light descended amongst the trees. They +could see the green light twinkle as it passed between the +obstructing branches. + +Seeing where the head of the monster was, the two men ventured a +little further forward, and saw that the hidden mass at the base of +the shaft was composed of vast coils of the great serpent's body, +forming a base from which the upright mass rose. As they looked, +this lower mass moved, the glistening folds catching the moonlight, +and they could see that the monster's progress was along the ground. +It was coming towards them at a swift pace, so they turned and ran, +taking care to make as little noise as possible, either by their +footfalls or by disturbing the undergrowth close to them. They did +not stop or pause till they saw before them the high dark tower of +Doom. + + + +CHAPTER XXIII--IN THE ENEMY'S HOUSE + + + +Sir Nathaniel was in the library next morning, after breakfast, when +Adam came to him carrying a letter. + +"Her ladyship doesn't lose any time. She has begun work already!" + +Sir Nathaniel, who was writing at a table near the window, looked +up. + +"What is it?" said he. + +Adam held out the letter he was carrying. It was in a blazoned +envelope. + +"Ha!" said Sir Nathaniel, "from the White Worm! I expected +something of the kind." + +"But," said Adam, "how could she have known we were here? She +didn't know last night." + +"I don't think we need trouble about that, Adam. There is so much +we do not understand. This is only another mystery. Suffice it +that she does know--perhaps it is all the better and safer for us." + +"How is that?" asked Adam with a puzzled look. + +"General process of reasoning, my boy; and the experience of some +years in the diplomatic world. This creature is a monster without +heart or consideration for anything or anyone. She is not nearly so +dangerous in the open as when she has the dark to protect her. +Besides, we know, by our own experience of her movements, that for +some reason she shuns publicity. In spite of her vast bulk and +abnormal strength, she is afraid to attack openly. After all, she +is only a snake and with a snake's nature, which is to keep low and +squirm, and proceed by stealth and cunning. She will never attack +when she can run away, although she knows well that running away +would probably be fatal to her. What is the letter about?" + +Sir Nathaniel's voice was calm and self-possessed. When he was +engaged in any struggle of wits he was all diplomatist. + +"She asks Mimi and me to tea this afternoon at Diana's Grove, and +hopes that you also will favour her." + +Sir Nathaniel smiled. + +"Please ask Mrs. Salton to accept for us all." + +"She means some deadly mischief. Surely--surely it would be wiser +not." + +"It is an old trick that we learn early in diplomacy, Adam--to fight +on ground of your own choice. It is true that she suggested the +place on this occasion; but by accepting it we make it ours. +Moreover, she will not be able to understand our reason for doing +so, and her own bad conscience--if she has any, bad or good--and her +own fears and doubts will play our game for us. No, my dear boy, +let us accept, by all means." + +Adam said nothing, but silently held out his hand, which his +companion shook: no words were necessary. + +When it was getting near tea-time, Mimi asked Sir Nathaniel how they +were going. + +"We must make a point of going in state. We want all possible +publicity." Mimi looked at him inquiringly. "Certainly, my dear, +in the present circumstances publicity is a part of safety. Do not +be surprised if, whilst we are at Diana's Grove, occasional messages +come for you--for all or any of us." + +"I see!" said Mrs. Salton. "You are taking no chances." + +"None, my dear. All I have learned at foreign courts, and amongst +civilised and uncivilised people, is going to be utilised within the +next couple of hours." + +Sir Nathaniel's voice was full of seriousness, and it brought to +Mimi in a convincing way the awful gravity of the occasion + +In due course, they set out in a carriage drawn by a fine pair of +horses, who soon devoured the few miles of their journey. Before +they came to the gate, Sir Nathaniel turned to Mimi. + +"I have arranged with Adam certain signals which may be necessary if +certain eventualities occur. These need be nothing to do with you +directly. But bear in mind that if I ask you or Adam to do +anything, do not lose a second in the doing of it. We must try to +pass off such moments with an appearance of unconcern. In all +probability, nothing requiring such care will occur. The White Worm +will not try force, though she has so much of it to spare. Whatever +she may attempt to-day, of harm to any of us, will be in the way of +secret plot. Some other time she may try force, but--if I am able +to judge such a thing--not to-day. The messengers who may ask for +any of us will not be witnesses only, they may help to stave off +danger." Seeing query in her face, he went on: "Of what kind the +danger may be, I know not, and cannot guess. It will doubtless be +some ordinary circumstance; but none the less dangerous on that +account. Here we are at the gate. Now, be careful in all matters, +however small. To keep your head is half the battle." + +There were a number of men in livery in the hall when they arrived. +The doors of the drawing-room were thrown open, and Lady Arabella +came forth and offered them cordial welcome. This having been got +over, Lady Arabella led them into another room where tea was served. + +Adam was acutely watchful and suspicious of everything, and saw on +the far side of this room a panelled iron door of the same colour +and configuration as the outer door of the room where was the well- +hole wherein Oolanga had disappeared. Something in the sight +alarmed him, and he quietly stood near the door. He made no +movement, even of his eyes, but he could see that Sir Nathaniel was +watching him intently, and, he fancied, with approval. + +They all sat near the table spread for tea, Adam still near the +door. Lady Arabella fanned herself, complaining of heat, and told +one of the footmen to throw all the outer doors open. + +Tea was in progress when Mimi suddenly started up with a look of +fright on her face; at the same moment, the men became cognisant of +a thick smoke which began to spread through the room--a smoke which +made those who experienced it gasp and choke. The footmen began to +edge uneasily towards the inner door. Denser and denser grew the +smoke, and more acrid its smell. Mimi, towards whom the draught +from the open door wafted the smoke, rose up choking, and ran to the +inner door, which she threw open to its fullest extent, disclosing +on the outside a curtain of thin silk, fixed to the doorposts. The +draught from the open door swayed the thin silk towards her, and in +her fright, she tore down the curtain, which enveloped her from head +to foot. Then she ran through the still open door, heedless of the +fact that she could not see where she was going. Adam, followed by +Sir Nathaniel, rushed forward and joined her--Adam catching his wife +by the arm and holding her tight. It was well that he did so, for +just before her lay the black orifice of the well-hole, which, of +course, she could not see with the silk curtain round her head. The +floor was extremely slippery; something like thick oil had been +spilled where she had to pass; and close to the edge of the hole her +feet shot from under her, and she stumbled forward towards the well- +hole. + +When Adam saw Mimi slip, he flung himself backward, still holding +her. His weight told, and he dragged her up from the hole and they +fell together on the floor outside the zone of slipperiness. In a +moment he had raised her up, and together they rushed out through +the open door into the sunlight, Sir Nathaniel close behind them. +They were all pale except the old diplomatist, who looked both calm +and cool. It sustained and cheered Adam and his wife to see him +thus master of himself. Both managed to follow his example, to the +wonderment of the footmen, who saw the three who had just escaped a +terrible danger walking together gaily, as, under the guiding +pressure of Sir Nathaniel's hand, they turned to re-enter the house. + +Lady Arabella, whose face had blanched to a deadly white, now +resumed her ministrations at the tea-board as though nothing unusual +had happened. The slop-basin was full of half-burned brown paper, +over which tea had been poured. + +Sir Nathaniel had been narrowly observing his hostess, and took the +first opportunity afforded him of whispering to Adam: + +"The real attack is to come--she is too quiet. When I give my hand +to your wife to lead her out, come with us--and caution her to +hurry. Don't lose a second, even if you have to make a scene. Hs- +s-s-h!" + +Then they resumed their places close to the table, and the servants, +in obedience to Lady Arabella's order, brought in fresh tea. + +Thence on, that tea-party seemed to Adam, whose faculties were at +their utmost intensity, like a terrible dream. As for poor Mimi, +she was so overwrought both with present and future fear, and with +horror at the danger she had escaped, that her faculties were numb. +However, she was braced up for a trial, and she felt assured that +whatever might come she would be able to go through with it. Sir +Nathaniel seemed just as usual--suave, dignified, and thoughtful-- +perfect master of himself. + +To her husband, it was evident that Mimi was ill at ease. The way +she kept turning her head to look around her, the quick coming and +going of the colour of her face, her hurried breathing, alternating +with periods of suspicious calm, were evidences of mental +perturbation. To her, the attitude of Lady Arabella seemed +compounded of social sweetness and personal consideration. It would +be hard to imagine more thoughtful and tender kindness towards an +honoured guest. + +When tea was over and the servants had come to clear away the cups, +Lady Arabella, putting her arm round Mimi's waist, strolled with her +into an adjoining room, where she collected a number of photographs +which were scattered about, and, sitting down beside her guest, +began to show them to her. While she was doing this, the servants +closed all the doors of the suite of rooms, as well as that which +opened from the room outside--that of the well-hole into the avenue. +Suddenly, without any seeming cause, the light in the room began to +grow dim. Sir Nathaniel, who was sitting close to Mimi, rose to his +feet, and, crying, "Quick!" caught hold of her hand and began to +drag her from the room. Adam caught her other hand, and between +them they drew her through the outer door which the servants were +beginning to close. It was difficult at first to find the way, the +darkness was so great; but to their relief when Adam whistled +shrilly, the carriage and horses, which had been waiting in the +angle of the avenue, dashed up. Her husband and Sir Nathaniel +lifted--almost threw--Mimi into the carriage. The postillion plied +whip and spur, and the vehicle, rocking with its speed, swept +through the gate and tore up the road. Behind them was a hubbub-- +servants rushing about, orders being shouted out, doors shutting, +and somewhere, seemingly far back in the house, a strange noise. +Every nerve of the horses was strained as they dashed recklessly +along the road. The two men held Mimi between them, the arms of +both of them round her as though protectingly. As they went, there +was a sudden rise in the ground; but the horses, breathing heavily, +dashed up it at racing speed, not slackening their pace when the +hill fell away again, leaving them to hurry along the downgrade. + +It would be foolish to say that neither Adam nor Mimi had any fear +in returning to Doom Tower. Mimi felt it more keenly than her +husband, whose nerves were harder, and who was more inured to +danger. Still she bore up bravely, and as usual the effort was +helpful to her. When once she was in the study in the top of the +turret, she almost forgot the terrors which lay outside in the dark. +She did not attempt to peep out of the window; but Adam did--and saw +nothing. The moonlight showed all the surrounding country, but +nowhere was to be observed that tremulous line of green light. + +The peaceful night had a good effect on them all; danger, being +unseen, seemed far off. At times it was hard to realise that it had +ever been. With courage restored, Adam rose early and walked along +the Brow, seeing no change in the signs of life in Castra Regis. +What he did see, to his wonder and concern, on his returning +homeward, was Lady Arabella, in her tight-fitting white dress and +ermine collar, but without her emeralds; she was emerging from the +gate of Diana's Grove and walking towards the Castle. Pondering on +this and trying to find some meaning in it, occupied his thoughts +till he joined Mimi and Sir Nathaniel at breakfast. They began the +meal in silence. What had been had been, and was known to them all. +Moreover, it was not a pleasant topic. + +A fillip was given to the conversation when Adam told of his seeing +Lady Arabella, on her way to Castra Regis. They each had something +to say of her, and of what her wishes or intentions were towards +Edgar Caswall. Mimi spoke bitterly of her in every aspect. She had +not forgotten--and never would--never could--the occasion when, to +harm Lilla, the woman had consorted even with the nigger. As a +social matter, she was disgusted with her for following up the rich +landowner--"throwing herself at his head so shamelessly," was how +she expressed it. She was interested to know that the great kite +still flew from Caswall's tower. But beyond such matters she did +not try to go. The only comment she made was of strongly expressed +surprise at her ladyship's "cheek" in ignoring her own criminal +acts, and her impudence in taking it for granted that others had +overlooked them also. + + + +CHAPTER XXIV--A STARTLING PROPOSITION + + + +The more Mimi thought over the late events, the more puzzled she +was. What did it all mean--what could it mean, except that there +was an error of fact somewhere. Could it be possible that some of +them--all of them had been mistaken, that there had been no White +Worm at all? On either side of her was a belief impossible of +reception. Not to believe in what seemed apparent was to destroy +the very foundations of belief. . . yet in old days there had been +monsters on the earth, and certainly some people had believed in +just such mysterious changes of identity. It was all very strange. +Just fancy how any stranger--say a doctor--would regard her, if she +were to tell him that she had been to a tea-party with an +antediluvian monster, and that they had been waited on by up-to-date +men-servants. + +Adam had returned, exhilarated by his walk, and more settled in his +mind than he had been for some time. Like Mimi, he had gone through +the phase of doubt and inability to believe in the reality of +things, though it had not affected him to the same extent. The +idea, however, that his wife was suffering ill-effects from her +terrible ordeal, braced him up. He remained with her for a time, +then he sought Sir Nathaniel in order to talk over the matter with +him. He knew that the calm common sense and self-reliance of the +old man, as well as his experience, would be helpful to them all. + +Sir Nathaniel had come to the conclusion that, for some reason which +he did not understand, Lady Arabella had changed her plans, and, for +the present at all events, was pacific. He was inclined to +attribute her changed demeanour to the fact that her influence over +Edgar Caswall was so far increased, as to justify a more fixed +belief in his submission to her charms. + +As a matter of fact, she had seen Caswall that morning when she +visited Castra Regis, and they had had a long talk together, during +which the possibility of their union had been discussed. Caswall, +without being enthusiastic on the subject, had been courteous and +attentive; as she had walked back to Diana's Grove, she almost +congratulated herself on her new settlement in life. That the idea +was becoming fixed in her mind, was shown by a letter which she +wrote later in the day to Adam Salton, and sent to him by hand. It +ran as follows: + + +"DEAR MR. SALTON, + +"I wonder if you would kindly advise, and, if possible, help me in a +matter of business. I have been for some time trying to make up my +mind to sell Diana's Grove, I have put off and put off the doing of +it till now. The place is my own property, and no one has to be +consulted with regard to what I may wish to do about it. It was +bought by my late husband, Captain Adolphus Ranger March, who had +another residence, The Crest, Appleby. He acquired all rights of +all kinds, including mining and sporting. When he died, he left his +whole property to me. I shall feel leaving this place, which has +become endeared to me by many sacred memories and affections--the +recollection of many happy days of my young married life, and the +more than happy memories of the man I loved and who loved me so +much. I should be willing to sell the place for any fair price--so +long, of course, as the purchaser was one I liked and of whom I +approved. May I say that you yourself would be the ideal person. +But I dare not hope for so much. It strikes me, however, that among +your Australian friends may be someone who wishes to make a +settlement in the Old Country, and would care to fix the spot in one +of the most historic regions in England, full of romance and legend, +and with a never-ending vista of historical interest--an estate +which, though small, is in perfect condition and with illimitable +possibilities of development, and many doubtful--or unsettled-- +rights which have existed before the time of the Romans or even +Celts, who were the original possessors. In addition, the house has +been kept up to the DERNIER CRI. Immediate possession can be +arranged. My lawyers can provide you, or whoever you may suggest, +with all business and historical details. A word from you of +acceptance or refusal is all that is necessary, and we can leave +details to be thrashed out by our agents. Forgive me, won't you, +for troubling you in the matter, and believe me, yours very +sincerely. + +"ARABELLA MARCH." + + +Adam read this over several times, and then, his mind being made up, +he went to Mimi and asked if she had any objection. She answered-- +after a shudder--that she was, in this, as in all things, willing to +do whatever he might wish. + +"Dearest, I am willing that you should judge what is best for us. +Be quite free to act as you see your duty, and as your inclination +calls. We are in the hands of God, and He has hitherto guided us, +and will do so to His own end." + +From his wife's room Adam Salton went straight to the study in the +tower, where he knew Sir Nathaniel would be at that hour. The old +man was alone, so, when he had entered in obedience to the "Come +in," which answered his query, he closed the door and sat down +beside him. + +"Do you think, sir, that it would be well for me to buy Diana's +Grove?" + +"God bless my soul!" said the old man, startled, "why on earth would +you want to do that?" + +"Well, I have vowed to destroy that White Worm, and my being able to +do whatever I may choose with the Lair would facilitate matters and +avoid complications." + +Sir Nathaniel hesitated longer than usual before speaking. He was +thinking deeply. + +"Yes, Adam, there is much common sense in your suggestion, though it +startled me at first. I think that, for all reasons, you would do +well to buy the property and to have the conveyance settled at once. +If you want more money than is immediately convenient, let me know, +so that I may be your banker." + +"Thank you, sir, most heartily; but I have more money at immediate +call than I shall want. I am glad you approve." + +"The property is historic, and as time goes on it will increase in +value. Moreover, I may tell you something, which indeed is only a +surmise, but which, if I am right, will add great value to the +place." Adam listened. "Has it ever struck you why the old name, +'The Lair of the White Worm,' was given? We know that there was a +snake which in early days was called a worm; but why white?" + +"I really don't know, sir; I never thought of it. I simply took it +for granted." + +"So did I at first--long ago. But later I puzzled my brain for a +reason." + +"And what was the reason, sir?" + +"Simply and solely because the snake or worm WAS white. We are near +the county of Stafford, where the great industry of china-burning +was originated and grew. Stafford owes much of its wealth to the +large deposits of the rare china clay found in it from time to time. +These deposits become in time pretty well exhausted; but for +centuries Stafford adventurers looked for the special clay, as Ohio +and Pennsylvania farmers and explorers looked for oil. Anyone +owning real estate on which china clay can be discovered strikes a +sort of gold mine." + +"Yes, and then--" The young man looked puzzled. + +"The original 'Worm' so-called, from which the name of the place +came, had to find a direct way down to the marshes and the mud- +holes. Now, the clay is easily penetrable, and the original hole +probably pierced a bed of china clay. When once the way was made it +would become a sort of highway for the Worm. But as much movement +was necessary to ascend such a great height, some of the clay would +become attached to its rough skin by attrition. The downway must +have been easy work, but the ascent was different, and when the +monster came to view in the upper world, it would be fresh from +contact with the white clay. Hence the name, which has no cryptic +significance, but only fact. Now, if that surmise be true--and I do +not see why not--there must be a deposit of valuable clay--possibly +of immense depth." + +Adam's comment pleased the old gentleman. + +"I have it in my bones, sir, that you have struck--or rather +reasoned out--a great truth." + +Sir Nathaniel went on cheerfully. "When the world of commerce wakes +up to the value of your find, it will be as well that your title to +ownership has been perfectly secured. If anyone ever deserved such +a gain, it is you." + +With his friend's aid, Adam secured the property without loss of +time. Then he went to see his uncle, and told him about it. Mr. +Salton was delighted to find his young relative already +constructively the owner of so fine an estate--one which gave him an +important status in the county. He made many anxious enquiries +about Mimi, and the doings of the White Worm, but Adam re-assured +him. + +The next morning, when Adam went to his host in the smoking-room, +Sir Nathaniel asked him how he purposed to proceed with regard to +keeping his vow. + +"It is a difficult matter which you have undertaken. To destroy +such a monster is something like one of the labours of Hercules, in +that not only its size and weight and power of using them in little- +known ways are against you, but the occult side is alone an +unsurpassable difficulty. The Worm is already master of all the +elements except fire--and I do not see how fire can be used for the +attack. It has only to sink into the earth in its usual way, and +you could not overtake it if you had the resources of the biggest +coal-mine in existence. But I daresay you have mapped out some plan +in your mind," he added courteously. + +"I have, sir. But, of course, it may not stand the test of +practice." + +"May I know the idea?" + +"Well, sir, this was my argument: At the time of the Chartist +trouble, an idea spread amongst financial circles that an attack was +going to be made on the Bank of England. Accordingly, the directors +of that institution consulted many persons who were supposed to know +what steps should be taken, and it was finally decided that the best +protection against fire--which is what was feared--was not water but +sand. To carry the scheme into practice great store of fine sea- +sand--the kind that blows about and is used to fill hour-glasses-- +was provided throughout the building, especially at the points +liable to attack, from which it could be brought into use. + +"I propose to provide at Diana's Grove, as soon as it comes into my +possession, an enormous amount of such sand, and shall take an early +occasion of pouring it into the well-hole, which it will in time +choke. Thus Lady Arabella, in her guise of the White Worm, will +find herself cut off from her refuge. The hole is a narrow one, and +is some hundreds of feet deep. The weight of the sand this can +contain would not in itself be sufficient to obstruct; but the +friction of such a body working up against it would be tremendous." + +"One moment. What use would the sand be for destruction?" + +"None, directly; but it would hold the struggling body in place till +the rest of my scheme came into practice." + +"And what is the rest?" + +"As the sand is being poured into the well-hole, quantities of +dynamite can also be thrown in!" + +"Good. But how would the dynamite explode--for, of course, that is +what you intend. Would not some sort of wire or fuse he required +for each parcel of dynamite?" + +Adam smiled. + +"Not in these days, sir. That was proved in New York. A thousand +pounds of dynamite, in sealed canisters, was placed about some +workings. At the last a charge of gunpowder was fired, and the +concussion exploded the dynamite. It was most successful. Those +who were non-experts in high explosives expected that every pane of +glass in New York would be shattered. But, in reality, the +explosive did no harm outside the area intended, although sixteen +acres of rock had been mined and only the supporting walls and +pillars had been left intact. The whole of the rocks were +shattered." + +Sir Nathaniel nodded approval. + +"That seems a good plan--a very excellent one. But if it has to +tear down so many feet of precipice, it may wreck the whole +neighbourhood." + +"And free it for ever from a monster," added Adam, as he left the +room to find his wife. + + + +CHAPTER XXV--THE LAST BATTLE + + + +Lady Arabella had instructed her solicitors to hurry on with the +conveyance of Diana's Grove, so no time was lost in letting Adam +Salton have formal possession of the estate. After his interview +with Sir Nathaniel, he had taken steps to begin putting his plan +into action. In order to accumulate the necessary amount of fine +sea-sand, he ordered the steward to prepare for an elaborate system +of top-dressing all the grounds. A great heap of the sand, brought +from bays on the Welsh coast, began to grow at the back of the +Grove. No one seemed to suspect that it was there for any purpose +other than what had been given out. + +Lady Arabella, who alone could have guessed, was now so absorbed in +her matrimonial pursuit of Edgar Caswall, that she had neither time +nor inclination for thought extraneous to this. She had not yet +moved from the house, though she had formally handed over the +estate. + +Adam put up a rough corrugated-iron shed behind the Grove, in which +he stored his explosives. All being ready for his great attempt +whenever the time should come, he was now content to wait, and, in +order to pass the time, interested himself in other things--even in +Caswall's great kite, which still flew from the high tower of Castra +Regis. + +The mound of fine sand grew to proportions so vast as to puzzle the +bailiffs and farmers round the Brow. The hour of the intended +cataclysm was approaching apace. Adam wished--but in vain--for an +opportunity, which would appear to be natural, of visiting Caswall +in the turret of Castra Regis. At last, one morning, he met Lady +Arabella moving towards the Castle, so he took his courage E DEUX +MAINS and asked to be allowed to accompany her. She was glad, for +her own purposes, to comply with his wishes. So together they +entered, and found their way to the turret-room. Caswall was much +surprised to see Adam come to his house, but lent himself to the +task of seeming to be pleased. He played the host so well as to +deceive even Adam. They all went out on the turret roof, where he +explained to his guests the mechanism for raising and lowering the +kite, taking also the opportunity of testing the movements of the +multitudes of birds, how they answered almost instantaneously to the +lowering or raising of the kite. + +As Lady Arabella walked home with Adam from Castra Regis, she asked +him if she might make a request. Permission having been accorded, +she explained that before she finally left Diana's Grove, where she +had lived so long, she had a desire to know the depth of the well- +hole. Adam was really happy to meet her wishes, not from any +sentiment, but because he wished to give some valid and ostensible +reason for examining the passage of the Worm, which would obviate +any suspicion resulting from his being on the premises. He brought +from London a Kelvin sounding apparatus, with a sufficient length of +piano-wire for testing any probable depth. The wire passed easily +over the running wheel, and when this was once fixed over the hole, +he was satisfied to wait till the most advantageous time for his +final experiment. + + +In the meantime, affairs had been going quietly at Mercy Farm. +Lilla, of course, felt lonely in the absence of her cousin, but the +even tenor of life went on for her as for others. After the first +shock of parting was over, things went back to their accustomed +routine. In one respect, however, there was a marked difference. +So long as home conditions had remained unchanged, Lilla was content +to put ambition far from her, and to settle down to the life which +had been hers as long as she could remember. But Mimi's marriage +set her thinking; naturally, she came to the conclusion that she too +might have a mate. There was not for her much choice--there was +little movement in the matrimonial direction at the farmhouse. She +did not approve of the personality of Edgar Caswall, and his +struggle with Mimi had frightened her; but he was unmistakably an +excellent PARTI, much better than she could have any right to +expect. This weighs much with a woman, and more particularly one of +her class. So, on the whole, she was content to let things take +their course, and to abide by the issue. + +As time went on, she had reason to believe that things did not point +to happiness. She could not shut her eyes to certain disturbing +facts, amongst which were the existence of Lady Arabella and her +growing intimacy with Edgar Caswall; as well as his own cold and +haughty nature, so little in accord with the ardour which is the +foundation of a young maid's dreams of happiness. How things would, +of necessity, alter if she were to marry, she was afraid to think. +All told, the prospect was not happy for her, and she had a secret +longing that something might occur to upset the order of things as +at present arranged. + +When Lilla received a note from Edgar Caswall asking if he might +come to tea on the following afternoon, her heart sank within her. +If it was only for her father's sake, she must not refuse him or +show any disinclination which he might construe into incivility. +She missed Mimi more than she could say or even dared to think. +Hitherto, she had always looked to her cousin for sympathy, for +understanding, for loyal support. Now she and all these things, and +a thousand others--gentle, assuring, supporting--were gone. And +instead there was a horrible aching void. + +For the whole afternoon and evening, and for the following forenoon, +poor Lilla's loneliness grew to be a positive agony. For the first +time she began to realise the sense of her loss, as though all the +previous suffering had been merely a preparation. Everything she +looked at, everything she remembered or thought of, became laden +with poignant memory. Then on the top of all was a new sense of +dread. The reaction from the sense of security, which had +surrounded her all her life, to a never-quieted apprehension, was at +times almost more than she could bear. It so filled her with fear +that she had a haunting feeling that she would as soon die as live. +However, whatever might be her own feelings, duty had to be done, +and as she had been brought up to consider duty first, she braced +herself to go through, to the very best of her ability, what was +before her. + +Still, the severe and prolonged struggle for self-control told upon +Lilla. She looked, as she felt, ill and weak. She was really in a +nerveless and prostrate condition, with black circles round her +eyes, pale even to her lips, and with an instinctive trembling which +she was quite unable to repress. It was for her a sad mischance +that Mimi was away, for her love would have seen through all +obscuring causes, and have brought to light the girl's unhappy +condition of health. Lilla was utterly unable to do anything to +escape from the ordeal before her; but her cousin, with the +experience of her former struggles with Mr. Caswall and of the +condition in which these left her, would have taken steps--even +peremptory ones, if necessary--to prevent a repetition. + +Edgar arrived punctually to the time appointed by herself. When +Lilla, through the great window, saw him approaching the house, her +condition of nervous upset was pitiable. She braced herself up, +however, and managed to get through the interview in its preliminary +stages without any perceptible change in her normal appearance and +bearing. It had been to her an added terror that the black shadow +of Oolanga, whom she dreaded, would follow hard on his master. A +load was lifted from her mind when he did not make his usual +stealthy approach. She had also feared, though in lesser degree, +lest Lady Arabella should be present to make trouble for her as +before. + +With a woman's natural forethought in a difficult position, she had +provided the furnishing of the tea-table as a subtle indication of +the social difference between her and her guest. She had chosen the +implements of service, as well as all the provender set forth, of +the humblest kind. Instead of arranging the silver teapot and china +cups, she had set out an earthen tea-pot, such as was in common use +in the farm kitchen. The same idea was carried out in the cups and +saucers of thick homely delft, and in the cream-jug of similar kind. +The bread was of simple whole-meal, home-baked. The butter was +good, since she had made it herself, while the preserves and honey +came from her own garden. Her face beamed with satisfaction when +the guest eyed the appointments with a supercilious glance. It was +a shock to the poor girl herself, for she enjoyed offering to a +guest the little hospitalities possible to her; but that had to be +sacrificed with other pleasures. + +Caswall's face was more set and iron-clad than ever--his piercing +eyes seemed from the very beginning to look her through and through. +Her heart quailed when she thought of what would follow--of what +would be the end, when this was only the beginning. As some +protection, though it could be only of a sentimental kind, she +brought from her own room the photographs of Mimi, of her +grandfather, and of Adam Salton, whom by now she had grown to look +on with reliance, as a brother whom she could trust. She kept the +pictures near her heart, to which her hand naturally strayed when +her feelings of constraint, distrust, or fear became so poignant as +to interfere with the calm which she felt was necessary to help her +through her ordeal. + +At first Edgar Caswall was courteous and polite, even thoughtful; +but after a little while, when he found her resistance to his +domination grow, he abandoned all forms of self-control and appeared +in the same dominance as he had previously shown. She was prepared, +however, for this, both by her former experience and the natural +fighting instinct within her. By this means, as the minutes went +on, both developed the power and preserved the equality in which +they had begun. + +Without warning, the psychic battle between the two individualities +began afresh. This time both the positive and negative causes were +all in favour of the man. The woman was alone and in bad spirits, +unsupported; nothing at all was in her favour except the memory of +the two victorious contests; whereas the man, though unaided, as +before, by either Lady Arabella or Oolanga, was in full strength, +well rested, and in flourishing circumstances. It was not, +therefore, to be wondered at that his native dominance of character +had full opportunity of asserting itself. He began his preliminary +stare with a conscious sense of power, and, as it appeared to have +immediate effect on the girl, he felt an ever-growing conviction of +ultimate victory. + +After a little Lilla's resolution began to flag. She felt that the +contest was unequal--that she was unable to put forth her best +efforts. As she was an unselfish person, she could not fight so +well in her own battle as in that of someone whom she loved and to +whom she was devoted. Edgar saw the relaxing of the muscles of face +and brow, and the almost collapse of the heavy eyelids which seemed +tumbling downward in sleep. Lilla made gallant efforts to brace her +dwindling powers, but for a time unsuccessfully. At length there +came an interruption, which seemed like a powerful stimulant. +Through the wide window she saw Lady Arabella enter the plain +gateway of the farm, and advance towards the hall door. She was +clad as usual in tight-fitting white, which accentuated her thin, +sinuous figure. + +The sight did for Lilla what no voluntary effort could have done. +Her eyes flashed, and in an instant she felt as though a new life +had suddenly developed within her. Lady Arabella's entry, in her +usual unconcerned, haughty, supercilious way, heightened the effect, +so that when the two stood close to each other battle was joined. +Mr. Caswall, too, took new courage from her coming, and all his +masterfulness and power came back to him. His looks, intensified, +had more obvious effect than had been noticeable that day. Lilla +seemed at last overcome by his dominance. Her face became red and +pale--violently red and ghastly pale--by rapid turns. Her strength +seemed gone. Her knees collapsed, and she was actually sinking on +the floor, when to her surprise and joy Mimi came into the room, +running hurriedly and breathing heavily. + +Lilla rushed to her, and the two clasped hands. With that, a new +sense of power, greater than Lilla had ever seen in her, seemed to +quicken her cousin. Her hand swept the air in front of Edgar +Caswall, seeming to drive him backward more and more by each +movement, till at last he seemed to be actually hurled through the +door which Mimi's entrance had left open, and fell at full length on +the gravel path without. + +Then came the final and complete collapse of Lilla, who, without a +sound, sank down on the floor. + + + +CHAPTER XXVI--FACE TO FACE + + + +Mimi was greatly distressed when she saw her cousin lying prone. +She had a few times in her life seen Lilla on the verge of fainting, +but never senseless; and now she was frightened. She threw herself +on her knees beside Lilla, and tried, by rubbing her hands and other +measures commonly known, to restore her. But all her efforts were +unavailing. Lilla still lay white and senseless. In fact, each +moment she looked worse; her breast, that had been heaving with the +stress, became still, and the pallor of her face grew like marble. + +At these succeeding changes Mimi's fright grew, till it altogether +mastered her. She succeeded in controlling herself only to the +extent that she did not scream. + +Lady Arabella had followed Caswall, when he had recovered +sufficiently to get up and walk--though stumblingly--in the +direction of Castra Regis. When Mimi was quite alone with Lilla and +the need for effort had ceased, she felt weak and trembled. In her +own mind, she attributed it to a sudden change in the weather--it +was momentarily becoming apparent that a storm was coming on. + +She raised Lilla's head and laid it on her warm young breast, but +all in vain. The cold of the white features thrilled through her, +and she utterly collapsed when it was borne in on her that Lilla had +passed away. + +The dusk gradually deepened and the shades of evening closed in, but +Mimi did not seem to notice or to care. She sat on the floor with +her arms round the body of the girl whom she loved. Darker and +blacker grew the sky as the coming storm and the closing night +joined forces. Still she sat on--alone--tearless--unable to think. +Mimi did not know how long she sat there. Though it seemed to her +that ages had passed, it could not have been more than half-an-hour. +She suddenly came to herself, and was surprised to find that her +grandfather had not returned. For a while she lay quiet, thinking +of the immediate past. Lilla's hand was still in hers, and to her +surprise it was still warm. Somehow this helped her consciousness, +and without any special act of will she stood up. She lit a lamp +and looked at her cousin. There was no doubt that Lilla was dead; +but when the lamp-light fell on her eyes, they seemed to look at +Mimi with intent--with meaning. In this state of dark isolation a +new resolution came to her, and grew and grew until it became a +fixed definite purpose. She would face Caswall and call him to +account for his murder of Lilla--that was what she called it to +herself. She would also take steps--she knew not what or how--to +avenge the part taken by Lady Arabella. + +In this frame of mind she lit all the lamps in the room, got water +and linen from her room, and set about the decent ordering of +Lilla's body. This took some time; but when it was finished, she +put on her hat and cloak, put out the lights, and set out quietly +for Castra Regis. + +As Mimi drew near the Castle, she saw no lights except those in and +around the tower room. The lights showed her that Mr. Caswall was +there, so she entered by the hall door, which as usual was open, and +felt her way in the darkness up the staircase to the lobby of the +room. The door was ajar, and the light from within showed +brilliantly through the opening. She saw Edgar Caswall walking +restlessly to and fro in the room, with his hands clasped behind his +back. She opened the door without knocking, and walked right into +the room. As she entered, he ceased walking, and stared at her in +surprise. She made no remark, no comment, but continued the fixed +look which he had seen on her entrance. + +For a time silence reigned, and the two stood looking fixedly at +each other. Mimi was the first to speak. + +"You murderer! Lilla is dead!" + +"Dead! Good God! When did she die?" + +"She died this afternoon, just after you left her." + +"Are you sure?" + +"Yes--and so are you--or you ought to be. You killed her!" + +"I killed her! Be careful what you say!" + +"As God sees us, it is true; and you know it. You came to Mercy +Farm on purpose to break her--if you could. And the accomplice of +your guilt, Lady Arabella March, came for the same purpose." + +"Be careful, woman," he said hotly. "Do not use such names in that +way, or you shall suffer for it." + +"I am suffering for it--have suffered for it--shall suffer for it. +Not for speaking the truth as I have done, but because you two, with +devilish malignity, did my darling to death. It is you and your +accomplice who have to dread punishment, not I." + +"Take care!" he said again. + +"Oh, I am not afraid of you or your accomplice," she answered +spiritedly. "I am content to stand by every word I have said, every +act I have done. Moreover, I believe in God's justice. I fear not +the grinding of His mills; if necessary I shall set the wheels in +motion myself. But you don't care for God, or believe in Him. Your +god is your great kite, which cows the birds of a whole district. +But be sure that His hand, when it rises, always falls at the +appointed time. It may be that your name is being called even at +this very moment at the Great Assize. Repent while there is still +time. Happy you, if you may be allowed to enter those mighty halls +in the company of the pure-souled angel whose voice has only to +whisper one word of justice, and you disappear for ever into +everlasting torment." + +The sudden death of Lilla caused consternation among Mimi's friends +and well-wishers. Such a tragedy was totally unexpected, as Adam +and Sir Nathaniel had been expecting the White Worm's vengeance to +fall upon themselves. + +Adam, leaving his wife free to follow her own desires with regard to +Lilla and her grandfather, busied himself with filling the well-hole +with the fine sand prepared for the purpose, taking care to have +lowered at stated intervals quantities of the store of dynamite, so +as to be ready for the final explosion. He had under his immediate +supervision a corps of workmen, and was assisted by Sir Nathaniel, +who had come over for the purpose, and all were now staying at +Lesser Hill. + +Mr. Salton, too, showed much interest in the job, and was constantly +coming in and out, nothing escaping his observation. + +Since her marriage to Adam and their coming to stay at Doom Tower, +Mimi had been fettered by fear of the horrible monster at Diana's +Grove. But now she dreaded it no longer. She accepted the fact of +its assuming at will the form of Lady Arabella. She had still to +tax and upbraid her for her part in the unhappiness which had been +wrought on Lilla, and for her share in causing her death. + +One evening, when Mimi entered her own room, she went to the window +and threw an eager look round the whole circle of sight. A single +glance satisfied her that the White Worm in PROPRIA PERSONA was not +visible. So she sat down in the window-seat and enjoyed the +pleasure of a full view, from which she had been so long cut off. +The maid who waited on her had told her that Mr. Salton had not yet +returned home, so she felt free to enjoy the luxury of peace and +quiet. + +As she looked out of the window, she saw something thin and white +move along the avenue. She thought she recognised the figure of +Lady Arabella, and instinctively drew back behind the curtain. When +she had ascertained, by peeping out several times, that the lady had +not seen her, she watched more carefully, all her instinctive hatred +flooding back at the sight of her. Lady Arabella was moving swiftly +and stealthily, looking back and around her at intervals, as if she +feared to be followed. This gave Mimi an idea that she was up to no +good, so she determined to seize the occasion for watching her in +more detail. + +Hastily putting on a dark cloak and hat, she ran downstairs and out +into the avenue. Lady Arabella had moved, but the sheen of her +white dress was still to be seen among the young oaks around the +gateway. Keeping in shadow, Mimi followed, taking care not to come +so close as to awake the other's suspicion, and watched her quarry +pass along the road in the direction of Castra Regis. + +She followed on steadily through the gloom of the trees, depending +on the glint of the white dress to keep her right. The wood began +to thicken, and presently, when the road widened and the trees grew +farther back, she lost sight of any indication of her whereabouts. +Under the present conditions it was impossible for her to do any +more, so, after waiting for a while, still hidden in the shadow to +see if she could catch another glimpse of the white frock, she +determined to go on slowly towards Castra Regis, and trust to the +chapter of accidents to pick up the trail again. She went on +slowly, taking advantage of every obstacle and shadow to keep +herself concealed. + +At last she entered on the grounds of the Castle, at a spot from +which the windows of the turret were dimly visible, without having +seen again any sign of Lady Arabella. + +Meanwhile, during most of the time that Mimi Salton had been moving +warily along in the gloom, she was in reality being followed by Lady +Arabella, who had caught sight of her leaving the house and had +never again lost touch with her. It was a case of the hunter being +hunted. For a time Mimi's many turnings, with the natural obstacles +that were perpetually intervening, caused Lady Arabella some +trouble; but when she was close to Castra Regis, there was no more +possibility of concealment, and the strange double following went +swiftly on. + +When she saw Mimi close to the hall door of Castra Regis and +ascending the steps, she followed. When Mimi entered the dark hall +and felt her way up the staircase, still, as she believed, following +Lady Arabella, the latter kept on her way. When they reached the +lobby of the turret-rooms, Mimi believed that the object of her +search was ahead of her. + +Edgar Caswall sat in the gloom of the great room, occasionally +stirred to curiosity when the drifting clouds allowed a little light +to fall from the storm-swept sky. But nothing really interested him +now. Since he had heard of Lilla's death, the gloom of his remorse, +emphasised by Mimi's upbraiding, had made more hopeless his cruel, +selfish, saturnine nature. He heard no sound, for his normal +faculties seemed benumbed. + +Mimi, when she came to the door, which stood ajar, gave a light tap. +So light was it that it did not reach Caswall's ears. Then, taking +her courage in both hands, she boldly pushed the door and entered. +As she did so, her heart sank, for now she was face to face with a +difficulty which had not, in her state of mental perturbation, +occurred to her. + + + +CHAPTER XXVII--ON THE TURRET ROOF + + + +The storm which was coming was already making itself manifest, not +only in the wide scope of nature, but in the hearts and natures of +human beings. Electrical disturbance in the sky and the air is +reproduced in animals of all kinds, and particularly in the highest +type of them all--the most receptive--the most electrical. So it +was with Edgar Caswall, despite his selfish nature and coldness of +blood. So it was with Mimi Salton, despite her unselfish, +unchanging devotion for those she loved. So it was even with Lady +Arabella, who, under the instincts of a primeval serpent, carried +the ever-varying wishes and customs of womanhood, which is always +old--and always new. + +Edgar, after he had turned his eyes on Mimi, resumed his apathetic +position and sullen silence. Mimi quietly took a seat a little way +apart, whence she could look on the progress of the coming storm and +study its appearance throughout the whole visible circle of the +neighbourhood. She was in brighter and better spirits than she had +been for many days past. Lady Arabella tried to efface herself +behind the now open door. + +Without, the clouds grew thicker and blacker as the storm-centre +came closer. As yet the forces, from whose linking the lightning +springs, were held apart, and the silence of nature proclaimed the +calm before the storm. Caswall felt the effect of the gathering +electric force. A sort of wild exultation grew upon him, such as he +had sometimes felt just before the breaking of a tropical storm. As +he became conscious of this, he raised his head and caught sight of +Mimi. He was in the grip of an emotion greater than himself; in the +mood in which he was he felt the need upon him of doing some +desperate deed. He was now absolutely reckless, and as Mimi was +associated with him in the memory which drove him on, he wished that +she too should be engaged in this enterprise. He had no knowledge +of the proximity of Lady Arabella, and thought that he was far +removed from all he knew and whose interests he shared--alone with +the wild elements, which were being lashed to fury, and with the +woman who had struggled with him and vanquished him, and on whom he +would shower the full measure of his hate. + +The fact was that Edgar Caswall was, if not mad, close to the +border-line. Madness in its first stage--monomania--is a lack of +proportion. So long as this is general, it is not always +noticeable, for the uninspired onlooker is without the necessary +means of comparison. But in monomania the errant faculty protrudes +itself in a way that may not be denied. It puts aside, obscures, or +takes the place of something else--just as the head of a pin placed +before the centre of the iris will block out the whole scope of +vision. The most usual form of monomania has commonly the same +beginning as that from which Edgar Caswall suffered--an over-large +idea of self-importance. Alienists, who study the matter exactly, +probably know more of human vanity and its effects than do ordinary +men. Caswall's mental disturbance was not hard to identify. Every +asylum is full of such cases--men and women, who, naturally selfish +and egotistical, so appraise to themselves their own importance that +every other circumstance in life becomes subservient to it. The +disease supplies in itself the material for self-magnification. +When the decadence attacks a nature naturally proud and selfish and +vain, and lacking both the aptitude and habit of self-restraint, the +development of the disease is more swift, and ranges to farther +limits. It is such persons who become inbued with the idea that +they have the attributes of the Almighty--even that they themselves +are the Almighty. + +Mimi had a suspicion--or rather, perhaps, an intuition--of the true +state of things when she heard him speak, and at the same time +noticed the abnormal flush on his face, and his rolling eyes. There +was a certain want of fixedness of purpose which she had certainly +not noticed before--a quick, spasmodic utterance which belongs +rather to the insane than to those of intellectual equilibrium. She +was a little frightened, not only by his thoughts, but by his +staccato way of expressing them. + +Caswall moved to the door leading to the turret stair by which the +roof was reached, and spoke in a peremptory way, whose tone alone +made her feel defiant. + +"Come! I want you." + +She instinctively drew back--she was not accustomed to such words, +more especially to such a tone. Her answer was indicative of a new +contest. + +"Why should I go? What for?" + +He did not at once reply--another indication of his overwhelming +egotism. She repeated her questions; habit reasserted itself, and +he spoke without thinking the words which were in his heart. + +"I want you, if you will be so good, to come with me to the turret +roof. I am much interested in certain experiments with the kite, +which would be, if not a pleasure, at least a novel experience to +you. You would see something not easily seen otherwise." + +"I will come," she answered simply; Edgar moved in the direction of +the stair, she following close behind him. + +She did not like to be left alone at such a height, in such a place, +in the darkness, with a storm about to break. Of himself she had no +fear; all that had been seemed to have passed away with her two +victories over him in the struggle of wills. Moreover, the more +recent apprehension--that of his madness--had also ceased. In the +conversation of the last few minutes he seemed so rational, so +clear, so unaggressive, that she no longer saw reason for doubt. So +satisfied was she that even when he put out a hand to guide her to +the steep, narrow stairway, she took it without thought in the most +conventional way. + +Lady Arabella, crouching in the lobby behind the door, heard every +word that had been said, and formed her own opinion of it. It +seemed evident to her that there had been some rapprochement between +the two who had so lately been hostile to each other, and that made +her furiously angry. Mimi was interfering with her plans! She had +made certain of her capture of Edgar Caswall, and she could not +tolerate even the lightest and most contemptuous fancy on his part +which might divert him from the main issue. When she became aware +that he wished Mimi to come with him to the roof and that she had +acquiesced, her rage got beyond bounds. She became oblivious to any +danger there might be in a visit to such an exposed place at such a +time, and to all lesser considerations, and made up her mind to +forestall them. She stealthily and noiselessly crept through the +wicket, and, ascending the stair, stepped out on the roof. It was +bitterly cold, for the fierce gusts of the storm which swept round +the turret drove in through every unimpeded way, whistling at the +sharp corners and singing round the trembling flagstaff. The kite- +string and the wire which controlled the runners made a concourse of +weird sounds which somehow, perhaps from the violence which +surrounded them, acting on their length, resolved themselves into +some kind of harmony--a fitting accompaniment to the tragedy which +seemed about to begin. + +Mimi's heart beat heavily. Just before leaving the turret-chamber +she had a shock which she could not shake off. The lights of the +room had momentarily revealed to her, as they passed out, Edgar's +face, concentrated as it was whenever he intended to use his +mesmeric power. Now the black eyebrows made a thick line across his +face, under which his eyes shone and glittered ominously. Mimi +recognised the danger, and assumed the defiant attitude that had +twice already served her so well. She had a fear that the +circumstances and the place were against her, and she wanted to be +forearmed. + +The sky was now somewhat lighter than it had been. Either there was +lightning afar off, whose reflections were carried by the rolling +clouds, or else the gathered force, though not yet breaking into +lightning, had an incipient power of light. It seemed to affect +both the man and the woman. Edgar seemed altogether under its +influence. His spirits were boisterous, his mind exalted. He was +now at his worst; madder than he had been earlier in the night. + +Mimi, trying to keep as far from him as possible, moved across the +stone floor of the turret roof, and found a niche which concealed +her. It was not far from Lady Arabella's place of hiding. + +Edgar, left thus alone on the centre of the turret roof, found +himself altogether his own master in a way which tended to increase +his madness. He knew that Mimi was close at hand, though he had +lost sight of her. He spoke loudly, and the sound of his own voice, +though it was carried from him on the sweeping wind as fast as the +words were spoken, seemed to exalt him still more. Even the raging +of the elements round him appeared to add to his exaltation. To him +it seemed that these manifestations were obedient to his own will. +He had reached the sublime of his madness; he was now in his own +mind actually the Almighty, and whatever might happen would be the +direct carrying out of his own commands. As he could not see Mimi, +nor fix whereabout she was, he shouted loudly: + +"Come to me! You shall see now what you are despising, what you are +warring against. All that you see is mine--the darkness as well as +the light. I tell you that I am greater than any other who is, or +was, or shall be. When the Master of Evil took Christ up on a high +place and showed Him all the kingdoms of the earth, he was doing +what he thought no other could do. He was wrong--he forgot ME. I +shall send you light, up to the very ramparts of heaven. A light so +great that it shall dissipate those black clouds that are rushing up +and piling around us. Look! Look! At the very touch of my hand +that light springs into being and mounts up--and up--and up!" + +He made his way whilst he was speaking to the corner of the turret +whence flew the giant kite, and from which the runners ascended. +Mimi looked on, appalled and afraid to speak lest she should +precipitate some calamity. Within the niche Lady Arabella cowered +in a paroxysm of fear. + +Edgar took up a small wooden box, through a hole in which the wire +of the runner ran. This evidently set some machinery in motion, for +a sound as of whirring came. From one side of the box floated what +looked like a piece of stiff ribbon, which snapped and crackled as +the wind took it. For a few seconds Mimi saw it as it rushed along +the sagging line to the kite. When close to it, there was a loud +crack, and a sudden light appeared to issue from every chink in the +box. Then a quick flame flashed along the snapping ribbon, which +glowed with an intense light--a light so great that the whole of the +countryside around stood out against the background of black driving +clouds. For a few seconds the light remained, then suddenly +disappeared in the blackness around. It was simply a magnesium +light, which had been fired by the mechanism within the box and +carried up to the kite. Edgar was in a state of tumultuous +excitement, shouting and yelling at the top of his voice and dancing +about like a lunatic. + +This was more than Lady Arabella's curious dual nature could stand-- +the ghoulish element in her rose triumphant, and she abandoned all +idea of marriage with Edgar Caswall, gloating fiendishly over the +thought of revenge. + +She must lure him to the White Worm's hole--but how? She glanced +around and quickly made up her mind. The man's whole thoughts were +absorbed by his wonderful kite, which he was showing off, in order +to fascinate her imaginary rival, Mimi. + +On the instant she glided through the darkness to the wheel whereon +the string of the kite was wound. With deft fingers she unshipped +this, took it with her, reeling out the wire as she went, thus +keeping, in a way, in touch with the kite. Then she glided swiftly +to the wicket, through which she passed, locking the gate behind her +as she went. + +Down the turret stair she ran quickly, letting the wire run from the +wheel which she carried carefully, and, passing out of the hall +door, hurried down the avenue with all her speed. She soon reached +her own gate, ran down the avenue, and with her key opened the iron +door leading to the well-hole. + +She felt well satisfied with herself. All her plans were maturing, +or had already matured. The Master of Castra Regis was within her +grasp. The woman whose interference she had feared, Lilla Watford, +was dead. Truly, all was well, and she felt that she might pause a +while and rest. She tore off her clothes, with feverish fingers, +and in full enjoyment of her natural freedom, stretched her slim +figure in animal delight. Then she lay down on the sofa--to await +her victim! Edgar Caswall's life blood would more than satisfy her +for some time to come. + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII--THE BREAKING OF THE STORM + + + +When Lady Arabella had crept away in her usual noiseless fashion, +the two others remained for a while in their places on the turret +roof: Caswall because he had nothing to say, Mimi because she had +much to say and wished to put her thoughts in order. For quite a +while--which seemed interminable--silence reigned between them. At +last Mimi made a beginning--she had made up her mind how to act. + +"Mr. Caswall," she said loudly, so as to make sure of being heard +through the blustering of the wind and the perpetual cracking of the +electricity. + +Caswall said something in reply, but his words were carried away on +the storm. However, one of her objects was effected: she knew now +exactly whereabout on the roof he was. So she moved close to the +spot before she spoke again, raising her voice almost to a shout. + +"The wicket is shut. Please to open it. I can't get out." + +As she spoke, she was quietly fingering a revolver which Adam had +given to her in case of emergency and which now lay in her breast. +She felt that she was caged like a rat in a trap, but did not mean +to be taken at a disadvantage, whatever happened. Caswall also felt +trapped, and all the brute in him rose to the emergency. In a voice +which was raucous and brutal--much like that which is heard when a +wife is being beaten by her husband in a slum--he hissed out, his +syllables cutting through the roaring of the storm: + +"You came of your own accord--without permission, or even asking it. +Now you can stay or go as you choose. But you must manage it for +yourself; I'll have nothing to do with it." + +Her answer was spoken with dangerous suavity + +"I am going. Blame yourself if you do not like the time and manner +of it. I daresay Adam--my husband--will have a word to say to you +about it!" + +"Let him say, and be damned to him, and to you too! I'll show you a +light. You shan't be able to say that you could not see what you +were doing." + +As he spoke, he was lighting another piece of the magnesium ribbon, +which made a blinding glare in which everything was plainly +discernible, down to the smallest detail. This exactly suited Mimi. +She took accurate note of the wicket and its fastening before the +glare had died away. She took her revolver out and fired into the +lock, which was shivered on the instant, the pieces flying round in +all directions, but happily without causing hurt to anyone. Then +she pushed the wicket open and ran down the narrow stair, and so to +the hall door. Opening this also, she ran down the avenue, never +lessening her speed till she stood outside the door of Lesser Hill. +The door was opened at once on her ringing. + +"Is Mr. Adam Salton in?" she asked. + +"He has just come in, a few minutes ago. He has gone up to the +study," replied a servant. + +She ran upstairs at once and joined him. He seemed relieved when he +saw her, but scrutinised her face keenly. He saw that she had been +in some concern, so led her over to the sofa in the window and sat +down beside her. + +"Now, dear, tell me all about it!" he said. + +She rushed breathlessly through all the details of her adventure on +the turret roof. Adam listened attentively, helping her all he +could, and not embarrassing her by any questioning. His thoughtful +silence was a great help to her, for it allowed her to collect and +organise her thoughts. + +"I must go and see Caswall to-morrow, to hear what he has to say on +the subject." + +"But, dear, for my sake, don't have any quarrel with Mr. Caswall. I +have had too much trial and pain lately to wish it increased by any +anxiety regarding you." + +"You shall not, dear--if I can help it--please God," he said +solemnly, and he kissed her. + +Then, in order to keep her interested so that she might forget the +fears and anxieties that had disturbed her, he began to talk over +the details of her adventure, making shrewd comments which attracted +and held her attention. Presently, INTER ALIA, he said: + +"That's a dangerous game Caswall is up to. It seems to me that that +young man--though he doesn't appear to know it--is riding for a +fall!" + +"How, dear? I don't understand." + +"Kite flying on a night like this from a place like the tower of +Castra Regis is, to say the least of it, dangerous. It is not +merely courting death or other accident from lightning, but it is +bringing the lightning into where he lives. Every cloud that is +blowing up here--and they all make for the highest point--is bound +to develop into a flash of lightning. That kite is up in the air +and is bound to attract the lightning. Its cord makes a road for it +on which to travel to earth. When it does come, it will strike the +top of the tower with a weight a hundred times greater than a whole +park of artillery, and will knock Castra Regis into pieces. Where +it will go after that, no one can tell. If there should be any +metal by which it can travel, such will not only point the road, but +be the road itself." + +"Would it be dangerous to be out in the open air when such a thing +is taking place?" she asked. + +"No, little woman. It would be the safest possible place--so long +as one was not in the line of the electric current." + +"Then, do let us go outside. I don't want to run into any foolish +danger--or, far more, to ask you to do so. But surely if the open +is safest, that is the place for us." + +Without another word, she put on again the cloak she had thrown off, +and a small, tight-fitting cap. Adam too put on his cap, and, after +seeing that his revolver was all right, gave her his hand, and they +left the house together. + +"I think the best thing we can do will be to go round all the places +which are mixed up in this affair." + +"All right, dear, I am ready. But, if you don't mind, we might go +first to Mercy. I am anxious about grandfather, and we might see +that--as yet, at all events--nothing has happened there." + +So they went on the high-hung road along the top of the Brow. The +wind here was of great force, and made a strange booming noise as it +swept high overhead; though not the sound of cracking and tearing as +it passed through the woods of high slender trees which grew on +either side of the road. Mimi could hardly keep her feet. She was +not afraid; but the force to which she was opposed gave her a good +excuse to hold on to her husband extra tight. + +At Mercy there was no one up--at least, all the lights were out. +But to Mimi, accustomed to the nightly routine of the house, there +were manifest signs that all was well, except in the little room on +the first floor, where the blinds were down. Mimi could not bear to +look at that, to think of it. Adam understood her pain, for he had +been keenly interested in poor Lilla. He bent over and kissed her, +and then took her hand and held it hard. Thus they passed on +together, returning to the high road towards Castra Regis. + +At the gate of Castra Regis they were extra careful. When drawing +near, Adam stumbled upon the wire that Lady Arabella had left +trailing on the ground. + +Adam drew his breath at this, and spoke in a low, earnest whisper: + +"I don't want to frighten you, Mimi dear, but wherever that wire is +there is danger." + +"Danger! How?" + +"That is the track where the lightning will go; at any moment, even +now whilst we are speaking and searching, a fearful force may be +loosed upon us. Run on, dear; you know the way to where the avenue +joins the highroad. If you see any sign of the wire, keep away from +it, for God's sake. I shall join you at the gateway." + +"Are you going to follow that wire alone?" + +"Yes, dear. One is sufficient for that work. I shall not lose a +moment till I am with you." + +"Adam, when I came with you into the open, my main wish was that we +should be together if anything serious happened. You wouldn't deny +me that right, would you, dear?" + +"No, dear, not that or any right. Thank God that my wife has such a +wish. Come; we will go together. We are in the hands of God. If +He wishes, we shall be together at the end, whenever or wherever +that may be." + +They picked up the trail of the wire on the steps and followed it +down the avenue, taking care not to touch it with their feet. It +was easy enough to follow, for the wire, if not bright, was self- +coloured, and showed clearly. They followed it out of the gateway +and into the avenue of Diana's Grove. + +Here a new gravity clouded Adam's face, though Mimi saw no cause for +fresh concern. This was easily enough explained. Adam knew of the +explosive works in progress regarding the well-hole, but the matter +had been kept from his wife. As they stood near the house, Adam +asked Mimi to return to the road, ostensibly to watch the course of +the wire, telling her that there might be a branch wire leading +somewhere else. She was to search the undergrowth, and if she found +it, was to warn him by the Australian native "Coo-ee!" + +Whilst they were standing together, there came a blinding flash of +lightning, which lit up for several seconds the whole area of earth +and sky. It was only the first note of the celestial prelude, for +it was followed in quick succession by numerous flashes, whilst the +crash and roll of thunder seemed continuous. + +Adam, appalled, drew his wife to him and held her close. As far as +he could estimate by the interval between lightning and thunder- +clap, the heart of the storm was still some distance off, so he felt +no present concern for their safety. Still, it was apparent that +the course of the storm was moving swiftly in their direction. The +lightning flashes came faster and faster and closer together; the +thunder-roll was almost continuous, not stopping for a moment--a new +crash beginning before the old one had ceased. Adam kept looking up +in the direction where the kite strained and struggled at its +detaining cord, but, of course, the dull evening light prevented any +distinct scrutiny. + +At length there came a flash so appallingly bright that in its glare +Nature seemed to be standing still. So long did it last, that there +was time to distinguish its configuration. It seemed like a mighty +tree inverted, pendent from the sky. The whole country around +within the angle of vision was lit up till it seemed to glow. Then +a broad ribbon of fire seemed to drop on to the tower of Castra +Regis just as the thunder crashed. By the glare, Adam could see the +tower shake and tremble, and finally fall to pieces like a house of +cards. The passing of the lightning left the sky again dark, but a +blue flame fell downward from the tower, and, with inconceivable +rapidity, running along the ground in the direction of Diana's +Grove, reached the dark silent house, which in the instant burst +into flame at a hundred different points. + +At the same moment there rose from the house a rending, crashing +sound of woodwork, broken or thrown about, mixed with a quick scream +so appalling that Adam, stout of heart as he undoubtedly was, felt +his blood turn into ice. Instinctively, despite the danger and +their consciousness of it, husband and wife took hands and listened, +trembling. Something was going on close to them, mysterious, +terrible, deadly! The shrieks continued, though less sharp in +sound, as though muffled. In the midst of them was a terrific +explosion, seemingly from deep in the earth. + +The flames from Castra Regis and from Diana's Grove made all around +almost as light as day, and now that the lightning had ceased to +flash, their eyes, unblinded, were able to judge both perspective +and detail. The heat of the burning house caused the iron doors to +warp and collapse. Seemingly of their own accord, they fell open, +and exposed the interior. The Saltons could now look through to the +room beyond, where the well-hole yawned, a deep narrow circular +chasm. From this the agonised shrieks were rising, growing ever +more terrible with each second that passed. + +But it was not only the heart-rending sound that almost paralysed +poor Mimi with terror. What she saw was sufficient to fill her with +evil dreams for the remainder of her life. The whole place looked +as if a sea of blood had been beating against it. Each of the +explosions from below had thrown out from the well-hole, as if it +had been the mouth of a cannon, a mass of fine sand mixed with +blood, and a horrible repulsive slime in which were great red masses +of rent and torn flesh and fat. As the explosions kept on, more and +more of this repulsive mass was shot up, the great bulk of it +falling back again. Many of the awful fragments were of something +which had lately been alive. They quivered and trembled and writhed +as though they were still in torment, a supposition to which the +unending scream gave a horrible credence. At moments some +mountainous mass of flesh surged up through the narrow orifice, as +though forced by a measureless power through an opening infinitely +smaller than itself. Some of these fragments were partially covered +with white skin as of a human being, and others--the largest and +most numerous--with scaled skin as of a gigantic lizard or serpent. +Once, in a sort of lull or pause, the seething contents of the hole +rose, after the manner of a bubbling spring, and Adam saw part of +the thin form of Lady Arabella, forced up to the top amid a mass of +blood and slime, and what looked as if it had been the entrails of a +monster torn into shreds. Several times some masses of enormous +bulk were forced up through the well-hole with inconceivable +violence, and, suddenly expanding as they came into larger space, +disclosed sections of the White Worm which Adam and Sir Nathaniel +had seen looking over the trees with its enormous eyes of emerald- +green flickering like great lamps in a gale. + +At last the explosive power, which was not yet exhausted, evidently +reached the main store of dynamite which had been lowered into the +worm hole. The result was appalling. The ground for far around +quivered and opened in long deep chasms, whose edges shook and fell +in, throwing up clouds of sand which fell back and hissed amongst +the rising water. The heavily built house shook to its foundations. +Great stones were thrown up as from a volcano, some of them, great +masses of hard stone, squared and grooved with implements wrought by +human hands, breaking up and splitting in mid air as though riven by +some infernal power. Trees near the house--and therefore presumably +in some way above the hole, which sent up clouds of dust and steam +and fine sand mingled, and which carried an appalling stench which +sickened the spectators--were torn up by the roots and hurled into +the air. By now, flames were bursting violently from all over the +ruins, so dangerously that Adam caught up his wife in his arms, and +ran with her from the proximity of the flames. + +Then almost as quickly as it had begun, the whole cataclysm ceased, +though a deep-down rumbling continued intermittently for some time. +Then silence brooded over all--silence so complete that it seemed in +itself a sentient thing--silence which seemed like incarnate +darkness, and conveyed the same idea to all who came within its +radius. To the young people who had suffered the long horror of +that awful night, it brought relief--relief from the presence or the +fear of all that was horrible--relief which seemed perfected when +the red rays of sunrise shot up over the far eastern sea, bringing a +promise of a new order of things with the coming day. + + +His bed saw little of Adam Salton for the remainder of that night. +He and Mimi walked hand in hand in the brightening dawn round by the +Brow to Castra Regis and on to Lesser Hill. They did so +deliberately, in an attempt to think as little as possible of the +terrible experiences of the night. The morning was bright and +cheerful, as a morning sometimes is after a devastating storm. The +clouds, of which there were plenty in evidence, brought no lingering +idea of gloom. All nature was bright and joyous, being in striking +contrast to the scenes of wreck and devastation, the effects of +obliterating fire and lasting ruin. + +The only evidence of the once stately pile of Castra Regis and its +inhabitants was a shapeless huddle of shattered architecture, dimly +seen as the keen breeze swept aside the cloud of acrid smoke which +marked the site of the once lordly castle. As for Diana's Grove, +they looked in vain for a sign which had a suggestion of permanence. +The oak trees of the Grove were still to be seen--some of them-- +emerging from a haze of smoke, the great trunks solid and erect as +ever, but the larger branches broken and twisted and rent, with bark +stripped and chipped, and the smaller branches broken and +dishevelled looking from the constant stress and threshing of the +storm. + +Of the house as such, there was, even at the short distance from +which they looked, no trace. Adam resolutely turned his back on the +devastation and hurried on. Mimi was not only upset and shocked in +many ways, but she was physically "dog tired," and falling asleep on +her feet. Adam took her to her room and made her undress and get +into bed, taking care that the room was well lighted both by +sunshine and lamps. The only obstruction was from a silk curtain, +drawn across the window to keep out the glare. He sat beside her, +holding her hand, well knowing that the comfort of his presence was +the best restorative for her. He stayed with her till sleep had +overmastered her wearied body. Then he went softly away. He found +his uncle and Sir Nathaniel in the study, having an early cup of +tea, amplified to the dimensions of a possible breakfast. Adam +explained that he had not told his wife that he was going over the +horrible places again, lest it should frighten her, for the rest and +sleep in ignorance would help her and make a gap of peacefulness +between the horrors. + +Sir Nathaniel agreed. + +"We know, my boy," he said, "that the unfortunate Lady Arabella is +dead, and that the foul carcase of the Worm has been torn to pieces- +-pray God that its evil soul will never more escape from the +nethermost hell." + +They visited Diana's Grove first, not only because it was nearer, +but also because it was the place where most description was +required, and Adam felt that he could tell his story best on the +spot. The absolute destruction of the place and everything in it +seen in the broad daylight was almost inconceivable. To Sir +Nathaniel, it was as a story of horror full and complete. But to +Adam it was, as it were, only on the fringes. He knew what was +still to be seen when his friends had got over the knowledge of +externals. As yet, they had only seen the outside of the house--or +rather, where the outside of the house once had been. The great +horror lay within. However, age--and the experience of age--counts. + +A strange, almost elemental, change in the aspect had taken place in +the time which had elapsed since the dawn. It would almost seem as +if Nature herself had tried to obliterate the evil signs of what had +occurred. True, the utter ruin of the house was made even more +manifest in the searching daylight; but the more appalling +destruction which lay beneath was not visible. The rent, torn, and +dislocated stonework looked worse than before; the upheaved +foundations, the piled-up fragments of masonry, the fissures in the +torn earth--all were at the worst. The Worm's hole was still +evident, a round fissure seemingly leading down into the very bowels +of the earth. But all the horrid mass of blood and slime, of torn, +evil-smelling flesh and the sickening remnants of violent death, +were gone. Either some of the later explosions had thrown up from +the deep quantities of water which, though foul and corrupt itself, +had still some cleansing power left, or else the writhing mass which +stirred from far below had helped to drag down and obliterate the +items of horror. A grey dust, partly of fine sand, partly of the +waste of the falling ruin, covered everything, and, though ghastly +itself, helped to mask something still worse. + +After a few minutes of watching, it became apparent to the three men +that the turmoil far below had not yet ceased. At short irregular +intervals the hell-broth in the hole seemed as if boiling up. It +rose and fell again and turned over, showing in fresh form much of +the nauseous detail which had been visible earlier. The worst parts +were the great masses of the flesh of the monstrous Worm, in all its +red and sickening aspect. Such fragments had been bad enough +before, but now they were infinitely worse. Corruption comes with +startling rapidity to beings whose destruction has been due wholly +or in part to lightning--the whole mass seemed to have become all at +once corrupt! The whole surface of the fragments, once alive, was +covered with insects, worms, and vermin of all kinds. The sight was +horrible enough, but, with the awful smell added, was simply +unbearable. The Worm's hole appeared to breathe forth death in its +most repulsive forms. The friends, with one impulse, moved to the +top of the Brow, where a fresh breeze from the sea was blowing up. + +At the top of the Brow, beneath them as they looked down, they saw a +shining mass of white, which looked strangely out of place amongst +such wreckage as they had been viewing. It appeared so strange that +Adam suggested trying to find a way down, so that they might see it +more closely. + +"We need not go down; I know what it is," Sir Nathaniel said. "The +explosions of last night have blown off the outside of the cliffs-- +that which we see is the vast bed of china clay through which the +Worm originally found its way down to its lair. I can catch the +glint of the water of the deep quags far down below. Well, her +ladyship didn't deserve such a funeral--or such a monument." + + +The horrors of the last few hours had played such havoc with Mimi's +nerves, that a change of scene was imperative--if a permanent +breakdown was to be avoided. + +"I think," said old Mr. Salton, "it is quite time you young people +departed for that honeymoon of yours!" There was a twinkle in his +eye as he spoke. + +Mimi's soft shy glance at her stalwart husband, was sufficient +answer. + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker + diff --git a/old/lrwhw10.zip b/old/lrwhw10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..440b0ff --- /dev/null +++ b/old/lrwhw10.zip |