"Hassan Ali, our dragoman, should be here to-morrow," she presently remarked, "with troops."
"They will never catch our rascal8 Arabs," I replied. "With five clear days' start those beggars might be anywhere."
[Pg 43]
"Just so," said she, "but they will be of some use none the less—if only to drag that sarcophagus out of the temple."
"Eh!" I exclaimed—and looked at her sharply. "What is the matter with the thing—here?"
"Of all things."
"Then prepare to laugh at me. While you slept this afternoon——" She paused.
"Yes," I said.
"My father awoke."
"Oh!"
"Good," I murmured. "He was sensible."
"I do not know. He seemed so. But he did not speak to me."
"You said that he conversed."
"Ay—but with a shadow."
"A shadow," she repeated. "I saw it distinctly. It moved across the room and stood beside the cot. It was the shadow of a man. But you are not laughing."
"Not yet," said I. "Had this shadow a voice?"
"No."
"What did your father say to it?"
[Pg 44]
"And the shadow?"
"Vanished."
"And you?"
"I told myself I dreamed. I tried not to die of terror, and succeeded."
"Why did you not wake me?"
"I wished to, but the shadow intervened."
"It reappeared?"
"For a second that reduced me to a state of trembling imbecility."
"That infernal perfume has simply shattered your nerves," I commented cheerfully. "You'll be better after a good rest. Overstrain and anxiety of course are to a degree responsible. Indeed, they might be held accountable for the hallucination alone. But I blame the perfume to a great extent, because it similarly affected13 me."
"What!" she cried, "you saw a shadow, too?"
I laughed softly. "My own—no other. But its appearance shocked me horribly. In my opinion that coffin14 perfume works powerfully upon the optic nerve. How are you feeling now?"
"As well as ever in my life."
"No fears?"
"None. But I admit a distrust of that sarcophagus—or rather of the perfume it contains. Are you sure that you stopped up the chisel15 hole securely?"
"Quite. But pardon me, Miss Ottley, you are looking weary. Take my advice and retire now."
[Pg 45]
"Thanks. I shall," she said, and with a cool bow she went into the inner chamber17. An hour later Sir Robert awoke. He was quite sensible and appeared much better. I fed him and we exchanged a few cheerful remarks. He declared that he had turned the corner and expressed a strong desire to be up and about his work again. He also asked after his daughter, and thanked me warmly for my services. Soon afterwards he dropped off into a tranquil18 slumber19, and I spent the remainder of my watch reading a Review. As I was not very tired I gave Miss Ottley grace, and it was a quarter to one when I awakened20 her. She came out looking as fresh as a rose, her cheeks scarlet21 from their plunge22 in cool water and consequent towelling. She invited me to use her couch, but I declined, and sought my accustomed corner. I slept like the dead—for (I subsequently discovered) just about an hour. But then I awoke choking and gasping23 for breath. I had an abominable24 sensation of strong fingers clutched about my throat. At first all was dark before me. But struggling afoot, the shadows receded25 from my eyes, and I saw the lamp—a second afterwards, Miss Ottley. She stood with her back against the further wall of the chamber, her hands outstretched as if to repel26 an impetuous opponent; and her face was cast in an expression of unutterable terror.
"Miss Ottley!" I cried.
She uttered a strangled scream, then staggered[Pg 46] towards me. "Oh! thank God—you were too strong—for him," she gasped27. "He tried to kill you—and I could not move nor cry."
"Who?" I demanded.
I forced her to sit down and hurried to her father. He was sleeping like a babe. I thought of the asphyxiating30 sensation I had experienced and stepped gently to my sleeping corner. Kneeling down, I struck a match. The flame burned steadily31. Not carbonic acid gas then at all events; but I tried the whole room to make sure, also the interior of the sarcophagus, but without result. So far baffled, I stood up and thought. What agency had been at work to disturb us? I made a tour of the walls and examined the stones of their construction one by one. It seemed just possible that there might be a secret entrance to the chamber; and some robber Arab acquainted with it might be employing it for evil ends. But I was forced to abandon that idea like the other. And no one had entered through the pylon32, for the dust about the doorway33 was absolutely impressionless. What then? I turned to Miss Ottley. She was watching me with evidently painful expectation, her hands tightly clasped.
"What made you think the shadow wished to kill me?" I inquired.
"I saw its face."
[Pg 47]
"Oh! it has a face now, eh?"
"The face of a devil; and long thin hands. It fastened them about your throat."
"My dear girl."
"Don't be a fool," she retorted stormily; "what aroused you? Did you hear me call?"
I was confounded. "Very good," I said, "I admit the hands at least, for the nonce, for truly I was half strangled. But what do you infer?"
"Can human creatures make themselves invisible at will?"
"My good Miss Ottley, no. But they can run away."
"Do you want to see the shadow's face?"
"Yes."
"Then look on the lid of the sarcophagus and see its portrait in a gentle mood."
"Ptahmes!" I cried.
"Ay, Ptahmes," she said slowly. "We are haunted by his spirit."
I sat down on the edge of the sarcophagus and lit a cigarette.
"I am quite at a present loss to explain my throttling34," I observed, "but that is the only mystery. I reject your shadow with the contempt that it deserves. What you saw was some wandering Arab who hopped36 in here without troubling to tread through the dust in the doorway and who departed in the same fashion. Pish! There, too, is the mystery of my throttling solved."
"Are you minded for the experiment?" I asked.
"What is it?"
"I wish to drive this foolish fancy from your mind." I took out my revolver and showed it to her. "Spirits are said to love the dark best. Let us put out the lamp. It's their element. How, then, can we better tempt35 old Ptahmes from his tomb?" I wound up with a laugh. "I can promise him a warm reception."
Miss Ottley shivered and grew if possible paler than before. But her pride was equal to the challenge. "Very well," she said.
I drew up a stool near hers, put out the lamp and sat down. When my cigarette had burned out the darkness was blacker than the blackest ebony.
"An idea runs in my head that spirits respond most surely to silent wooers," I murmured. "But I have no experience. Have you?"
"N-no," said Miss Ottley.
The poor girl was shivering with fear and too proud to admit it. I sought about for a pretext38 to comfort her and found one presently.
"Don't they join hands at a séance?" I inquired.
"I—I—t-think so," said Miss Ottley.
"Well, then."
Our hands encountered. Hers was pitifully cold. I enclosed it firmly in my left and held it on my knee. She sighed but ever so softly, trying to [Pg 49]prevent my hearing it. Thereafter we were silent for very long, listening to the sick man's quiet breathing. No other sound was to be heard. But soon Miss Ottley's hand grew warm, and the fingers twined around mine. It felt a nice good little hand. It was very small, yet firm and silken-smooth, and it possessed39 a strange electric quality. It made mine tingle—a distinctly pleasurable sensation. I fell into a dreamy mood and I think I must have indulged in forty winks40, when all of a sudden Miss Ottley's hand aroused me. Her fingers were gripping mine with the force of a vice16. She was breathing hard.
"What is it?" I whispered.
"There is some—presence in the room," she gasped. "Don't you feel it?"
And as I live, I did. I struck a match and sprang afoot. Three paces off a man's face glowered at us in the fitful glimmer42 of the lucifer. Its characteristics were so unusual that it is not possible ever to forget them. The eyes were large, dark and singularly dull. They were set at an extraordinary distance apart in the skull43, six inches, I should say, at least. But the head, though abnormally broad thereabouts, tapered44 to a point in the chin and was cone-shaped above the wide receding45 temples. The cheek bones were high and prominent. They shone in the match light almost white in contrast with the dark skin of the more shaded portions of the countenance46. The nose was long[Pg 50] and aquiline47, but the nostrils48 were broad and compressed at the base, pointing at negroid ancestry49. The mouth, wide and thin-lipped, was tightly shut. The chin was long, sharp and hairless. The ears were bat-shaped.
"What are you doing here? What do you want?" I cried.
He did not answer. Enraged51, I started forward and hit out from the shoulder. Striking air. The match went out. I lit another. The man had vanished. I relighted the lamp and carefully examined the chamber. But our visitor had not left the slightest sign of his intrusion.
I shook my head and went over to Miss Ottley. She was leaning against the wall with her eyes shut, her bosom52 heaving painfully.
I touched her and she started—suppressing a shriek53. Her lips were trickling54 blood where she had bitten them. Her face was ghastly and she seemed about to swoon.
"Pish!" I cried, "there is nothing to be frightened of. A rascally55 Arab—knows some secret way of entering this cavern56, that is all."
She swayed towards me. I caught her as she fell and bore her to a stool. But though quite overcome she was not unconscious. Yet her fortitude57 was broken down at last and she was helpless. She could not even sit up unassisted. Placing her[Pg 51] on the floor a while, I made her drink some spirit and then, lifting her upon my knee, I rocked her in my arms like a child and did my best to soothe58 her fears. Heavens, how she cried! My handkerchief was soon as wet as if I had soused it in a basin of water, and yet she still cried on. I spoke4 to her all the time. I told her that I would answer for her safety with my life, and all sorts of things. And thinking of her as a poor little child, I called her "dear" continually and "darling"—and I let her weep herself into an exhausted59 sleep upon my breast. And when that happened I did not need anyone to tell me that science was no longer the mistress of my fate or that I, a comparative pauper60, had committed the unutterable folly61 of falling in love with the daughter of a millionaire—whose religion was Pride with a capital P. I held her so till dawn, staring dumbly at her face, and thus when her eyes opened they looked straight into mine. She did not move, and half-unwillingly my arms tightened62 round her. "The bad dream is over, little girl," I whispered. "See—the golden sunlight."
"May—May," said Sir Robert's voice.
She started up, her face aflame. I followed her to the bedside. The patient was awake, and strong and hungry. Also querulous. He complained of the pain of the wound and ordered me to dress it. He had seen nothing. But I knew Miss Ottley would not forgive me on that account. I read it in[Pg 52] her eyes. After I had dressed the patient's wound and we had fed him, she followed me to the door.
"You had no right to let me sleep—like that," she said imperiously.
There was nothing for it but to insult her or to prove myself an adventurer. I had no mind for the latter course. "Quite right," I returned, "when you behaved like an idiot I should have treated you as such and left you to recover from your own silly terror instead of acting63 the soft fool and losing my own rest in serving you. I'll do it, too—next time. What will you have for breakfast?"
She swung on her heel and left me.
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1
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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2
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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3
outspoken
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| adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的 | |
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4
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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5
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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6
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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7
imperturbable
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| adj.镇静的 | |
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8
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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9
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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10
conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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11
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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12
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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14
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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15
chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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16
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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17
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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18
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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19
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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20
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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21
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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22
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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23
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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24
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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25
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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26
repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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27
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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28
hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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29
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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30
asphyxiating
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| v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的现在分词 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
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31
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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32
pylon
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| n.高压电线架，桥塔 | |
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33
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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34
throttling
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| v.扼杀( throttle的现在分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制 | |
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35
tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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36
hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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37
spasms
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| n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 )；抽搐；（能量、行为等的）突发；发作 | |
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38
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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39
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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40
winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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41
glowered
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| v.怒视( glower的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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43
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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44
tapered
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| adj. 锥形的，尖削的，楔形的，渐缩的，斜的 动词taper的过去式和过去分词 | |
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45
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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46
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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47
aquiline
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| adj.钩状的，鹰的 | |
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48
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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49
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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50
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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51
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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52
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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53
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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54
trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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55
rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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56
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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57
fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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58
soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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59
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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60
pauper
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| n.贫民，被救济者，穷人 | |
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61
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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62
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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63
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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