Arthur wished to set about the invocation then and there, but Dr Porho?t said it was impossible. They were all exhausted1 after the long journey, and it was necessary to get certain things together without which nothing could be done. In his heart he thought that a night's rest would bring Arthur to a more reasonable mind. When the light of day shone upon the earth he would be ashamed of the desire which ran counter to all his prepossessions. But Arthur remembered that on the next day it would be exactly a week since Margaret's death, and it seemed to him that then their spells might have a greater efficacy.
When they came down in the morning and greeted one another, it was plain that none of them had slept.
'Are you still of the same purpose as last night?' asked Dr Porho?t gravely.
'I am.'
The doctor hesitated nervously2.
'It will be necessary, if you wish to follow out the rules of the old necromancers, to fast through the whole day.'
'I am ready to do anything.'
'It will be no hardship to me,' said Susie, with a little hysterical4 laugh. 'I feel I couldn't eat a thing if I tried.'
'I think the whole affair is sheer folly,' said Dr Porho?t.
'You promised me you would try.'
The day, the long summer day, passed slowly. There was a hard brilliancy in the sky that reminded the Frenchman of those Egyptian heavens when the earth seemed crushed beneath a bowl of molten fire. Arthur was too restless to remain indoors and left the others to their own devices. He walked without aim, as fast as he could go; he felt no weariness. The burning sun beat down upon him, but he did not know it. The hours passed with lagging feet. Susie lay on her bed and tried to read. Her nerves were so taut5 that, when there was a sound in the courtyard of a pail falling on the cobbles, she cried out in terror. The sun rose, and presently her window was flooded with quivering rays of gold. It was midday. The day passed, and it was afternoon. The evening came, but it brought no freshness. Meanwhile Dr Porho?t sat in the little parlour, with his head between his hands, trying by a great mental effort to bring back to his memory all that he had read. His heart began to beat more quickly. Then the night fell, and one by one the stars shone out. There was no wind. The air was heavy. Susie came downstairs and began to talk with Dr Porho?t. But they spoke6 in a low tone, as if they were afraid that someone would overhear. They were faint now with want of food. The hours went one by one, and the striking of a clock filled them each time with a mysterious apprehension7. The lights in the village were put out little by little, and everybody slept. Susie had lighted the lamp, and they watched beside it. A cold shiver passed through her.
'I feel as though someone were lying dead in the room,' she said.
'Why does not Arthur come?'
They spoke inconsequently, and neither heeded8 what the other said. The window was wide open, but the air was difficult to breathe. And now the silence was so unusual that Susie grew strangely nervous. She tried to think of the noisy streets in Paris, the constant roar of traffic, and the shuffling9 of the crowds toward evening as the work people returned to their homes. She stood up.
'There's no air tonight. Look at the trees. Not a leaf is moving.'
'Why does not Arthur come?' repeated the doctor.
'There's no moon tonight. It will be very dark at Skene.'
'He's walked all day. He should be here by now.'
Susie felt an extraordinary oppression, and she panted for breath. At last they heard a step on the road outside, and Arthur stood at the window.
'Are you ready to come?' he said.
'We've been waiting for you.'
They joined him, bringing the few things that Dr Porho?t had said were necessary, and they walked along the solitary11 road that led to Skene. On each side the heather stretched into the dark night, and there was a blackness about it that was ominous12. There was no sound save that of their own steps. Dimly, under the stars, they saw the desolation with which they were surrounded. The way seemed very long. They were utterly13 exhausted, and they could hardly drag one foot after the other.
'You must let me rest for a minute,' said Susie.
They did not answer, but stopped, and she sat on a boulder14 by the wayside. They stood motionless in front of her, waiting patiently till she was ready. After a little while she forced herself to get up.
'Now I can go,' she said.
Still they did not speak, but walked on. They moved like figures in a dream, with a stealthy directness, as though they acted under the influence of another's will. Suddenly the road stopped, and they found themselves at the gates of Skene.
'Follow me very closely,' said Arthur.
He turned on one side, and they followed a paling. Susie could feel that they walked along a narrow path. She could see hardly two steps in front of her. At last he stood still.
'I came here earlier in the night and made the opening easier to get through.'
He turned back a broken piece of railing and slipped in. Susie followed, and Dr Porho?t entered after her.
'I can see nothing,' said Susie.
'Give my your hand, and I will lead you.'
They walked with difficulty through the tangled15 bracken, among closely planted trees. They stumbled, and once Dr Porho?t fell. It seemed that they went a long way. Susie's heart beat fast with anxiety. All her weariness was forgotten.
Then Arthur stopped them, and he pointed16 in front of him. Through an opening in the trees, they saw the house. All the windows were dark except those just under the roof, and from them came bright lights.
'Those are the attics17 which he uses as a laboratory. You see, he is working now. There is no one else in the house.'
Susie was curiously18 fascinated by the flaming lights. There was an awful mystery in those unknown labours which absorbed Oliver Haddo night after night till the sun rose. What horrible things were done there, hidden from the eyes of men? By himself in that vast house the madman performed ghastly experiments; and who could tell what dark secrets he trafficked in?
'There is no danger that he will come out,' said Arthur. 'He remains19 there till the break of day.'
He took her hand again and led her on. Back they went among the trees, and presently they were on a pathway. They walked along with greater safety.
'Are you all right, Porho?t?' asked Arthur.
'Yes.'
But the trees grew thicker and the night more sombre. Now the stars were shut out, and they could hardly see in front of them.
'Here we are,' said Arthur.
They stopped, and found that there was in front of them a green space formed by four cross-ways. In the middle a stone bench gleamed vaguely20 against the darkness.
'This is where Margaret sat when last I saw her.'
'I can see to do nothing here,' said the doctor.
They had brought two flat bowls of brass21 to serve as censers, and these Arthur gave to Dr Porho?t. He stood by Susie's side while the doctor busied himself with his preparations. They saw him move to and fro. They saw him bend to the ground. Presently there was a crackling of wood, and from the brazen22 bowls red flames shot up. They did not know what he burnt, but there were heavy clouds of smoke, and a strong, aromatic23 odour filled the air. Now and again the doctor was sharply silhouetted24 against the light. His slight, bowed figure was singularly mysterious. When Susie caught sight of his face, she saw that it was touched with a strong emotion. The work he was at affected25 him so that his doubts, his fears, had vanished. He looked like some old alchemist busied with unnatural26 things. Susie's heart began to beat painfully. She was growing desperately27 frightened and stretched out her hand so that she might touch Arthur. Silently he put his arm through hers. And now the doctor was tracing strange signs upon the ground. The flames died down and only a glow remained, but he seemed to have no difficulty in seeing what he was about. Susie could not discern what figures he drew. Then he put more twigs28 upon the braziers, and the flames sprang up once more, cutting the darkness sharply as with a sword.
'Now come,' he said.
But, inexplicably29, a sudden terror seized Susie. She felt that the hairs of her head stood up, and a cold sweat broke out on her body. Her limbs had grown on an instant inconceivably heavy so that she could not move. A panic such as she had never known came upon her, and, except that her legs would not carry her, she would have fled blindly. She began to tremble. She tried to speak, but her tongue clave to her throat.
'I can't, I'm afraid,' she muttered hoarsely30.
'You must. Without you we can do nothing,' said Arthur.
She could not reason with herself. She had forgotten everything except that she was frightened to death. Her heart was beating so quickly that she almost fainted. And now Arthur held her, so firmly that she winced31.
'Let me go,' she whispered. 'I won't help you. I'm afraid.'
'You must,' he said. 'You must.'
'No.'
'I tell you, you must come.'
'Why?'
Her deadly fear expressed itself in a passion of sudden anger.
'Because you love me, and it's the only way to give me peace.'
She uttered a low wail32 of pain, and her terror gave way to shame. She blushed to the roots of her hair because he too knew her secret. And then she was seized again with anger because he had the cruelty to taunt33 her with it. She had recovered her courage now, and she stepped forward. Dr. Porho?t told her where to stand. Arthur took his place in front of her.
'You must not move till I give you leave. If you go outside the figure I have drawn34, I cannot protect you.'
For a moment Dr Porho?t stood in perfect silence. Then he began to recite strange words in Latin. Susie heard him but vaguely. She did not know the sense, and his voice was so low that she could not have distinguished35 the words. But his intonation36 had lost that gentle irony37 which was habitual38 to him, and he spoke with a trembling gravity that was extraordinarily39 impressive. Arthur stood immobile as a rock. The flames died away, and they saw one another only by the glow of the ashes, dimly, like persons in a vision of death. There was silence. Then the necromancer3 spoke again, and now his voice was louder. He seemed to utter weird40 invocations, but they were in a tongue that the others knew not. And while he spoke the light from the burning cinders41 on a sudden went out.
It did not die, but was sharply extinguished, as though by invisible hands. And now the darkness was more sombre than that of the blackest night. The trees that surrounded them were hidden from their eyes, and the whiteness of the stone bench was seen no longer. They stood but a little way one from the other, but each might have stood alone. Susie strained her eyes, but she could see nothing. She looked up quickly; the stars were gone out, and she could see no further over her head than round about. The darkness was terrifying. And from it, Dr Porho?t's voice had a ghastly effect. It seemed to come, wonderfully changed, from the void of bottomless chaos42. Susie clenched43 her hands so that she might not faint.
All at once she started, for the old man's voice was cut by a sudden gust44 of wind. A moment before, the utter silence had been almost intolerable, and now a storm seemed to have fallen upon them. The trees all around them rocked in the wind; they heard the branches creak; and they heard the hissing45 of the leaves. They were in the midst of a hurricane. And they felt the earth sway as it resisted the straining roots of great trees, which seemed to be dragged up by the force of the furious gale46. Whistling and roaring, the wind stormed all about them, and the doctor, raising his voice, tried in vain to command it. But the strangest thing of all was that, where they stood, there was no sign of the raging blast. The air immediately about them was as still as it had been before, and not a hair on Susie's head was moved. And it was terrible to hear the tumult47, and yet to be in a calm that was almost unnatural.
On a sudden, Dr Porho?t raised his voice, and with a sternness they had never heard in it before, cried out in that unknown language. Then he called upon Margaret. He called her name three times. In the uproar48 Susie could scarcely hear. Terror had seized her again, but in her confusion she remembered his command, and she dared not move.
'Margaret, Margaret, Margaret.'
Without a pause between, as quickly as a stone falls to the ground, the din10 which was all about them ceased. There was no gradual diminution49. But at one moment there was a roaring hurricane and at the next a silence so complete that it might have been the silence of death.
And then, seeming to come out of nothingness, extraordinarily, they heard with a curious distinctness the sound of a woman weeping. Susie's heart stood still. They heard the sound of a woman weeping, and they recognized the voice of Margaret. A groan50 of anguish51 burst from Arthur's lips, and he was on the point of starting forward. But quickly Dr Porho?t put out his hand to prevent him. The sound was heartrending, the sobbing52 of a woman who had lost all hope, the sobbing of a woman terrified. If Susie had been able to stir, she would have put her hands to her ears to shut out the ghastly agony of it.
And in a moment, notwithstanding the heavy darkness of the starless night, Arthur saw her. She was seated on the stone bench as when last he had spoken with her. In her anguish she sought not to hide her face. She looked at the ground, and the tears fell down her cheeks. Her bosom53 heaved with the pain of her weeping.
Then Arthur knew that all his suspicions were justified54.
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1
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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necromancer
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| n. 巫师 | |
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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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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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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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attics
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| n. 阁楼 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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silhouetted
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| 显出轮廓的，显示影像的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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29
inexplicably
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| adv.无法说明地，难以理解地，令人难以理解的是 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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intonation
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| n.语调，声调；发声 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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41
cinders
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| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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48
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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49
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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50
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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51
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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52
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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53
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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54
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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