"I have three minutes—or less," whispered Damar Greefe. "Question me. I am at your service."
"The Laurels!" I cried incredulously.
"It is called so," whispered the Eurasian. "It is the last house but one in College Road! From there I conducted my last experiment with L.K. Vapor5, which resulted not in the death of Mr. Addison, but in that of Eric Coverly—"
Gatton sprang to his feet.
"Come along, Mr. Addison!" he cried. But:
"The Laurels is empty," came, ever more faintly. "In her Sothic fury, Nahémah fled. The bloodlust is upon her. I warn you. She is more dangerous ... than ... any rabid dog.... Tuberculosis6 will end her life ... before the snows ... come. But there is time for her to ... Ah, God's mercy!"
"Hlangkûna!" he moaned, "hlangkûna! She ... touched me with a poisoned needle ... two hours—ago...."
In a species of consternation10, Gatton and I stood looking at one another—standing rigidly11 like men of stone one on either side of that long, thin body stretched upon my study floor. The hawk12 face in profile was startlingly like that of Anubis as it lay against the red carpet.
Neither of us, I think, was capable of grasping the fact that the inquiry13 was all but ended and that the mysteries which had seemed so dark and insoluble were cleared up and the inner workings of this strange conspiracy14 laid bare before us. One thought, I believe, was uppermost in both our minds: that the man who now lay dead upon the floor, a victim of one of his own devilish inventions, was no more than a brilliant madman.
If his great work on the ape-men of Abyssinia and that greater one dealing15 with what he called "the psycho-hybrids" had ever had existence outside his own strange imagination no one was ever likely to know. But that Dr. Damar Greefe was a genius whom much learning had made mad, neither of us doubted.
The whole thing seemed the wildest phantasy, and, for a time, in doubting the reality of the Eurasian's work, I found myself doubting the evidence of my own senses and seriously wondering if this possessed16 witch-cat whose green eyes had moved like Satanic lanterns throughout the whole phantasmagoria, had any more palpable existence than the other strange things spoken of by the unscrupulous scientist.
That Gatton's thoughts had been running parallel with my own was presently made manifest, for:
"Without a moment's delay, Mr. Addison," he said, speaking like a man newly awakened17 from slumber18, "we must proceed to The Laurels and test the truth of what we have heard."
He crossed to the door, threw it open, and:
As the sergeant and the constable20 who were waiting came into the study and stood looking in stupefaction at the body stretched on the floor, I heard the telephone bell ring. I started nervously21. That sound awakened ghastly memories, and I thought of the man who only a few hours before had met his death in the room where now the bell was ringing its summons.
I doubted if I could ever spend another night beneath that roof, for here Dr. Damar Greefe, the arch-assassin, and one of his victims both had met their ends. I heard the voice of Coates speaking in the adjoining room, and presently, as Gatton went to the door:
"Miss Merlin wishes to speak to you, sir," said Coates.
I ran eagerly to the 'phone, and:
"Hello!" I cried. "Is that you, Isobel?"
"Yes!" came her reply, and I noted22 the agitation23 in her voice. "I am more dreadfully frightened than I have ever been in my life. If only you were here! Is it possible for you to come at once?"
"What has alarmed you?" I asked anxiously.
"I can't explain," she replied. "It is a dreadful sense of foreboding—and all the dogs in the neighborhood seem to have gone mad!"
"Howling!" she answered. "I have never heard such a pandemonium25 at any time. In my present state of nerves, Jack26, I did the wrong thing in coming to this funny lonely little house. I feel deserted27 and hopeless and, for some reason, in terrible danger."
"Are you alone, then?" I asked, in ever growing anxiety.
To my utter consternation:
"Yes!" she replied. "Aunt Alison was called away half an hour ago—to identify some one at a hospital who had asked for her—"
"What! an accident?"
"I suppose so."
"But the servants?"
"Cook left this morning. You remember Aunt told you she was leaving."
"There is the girl, Mary?"
"Aunt 'phoned for her to join her at the hospital!"
"What! I don't understand! 'Phoned, you say? Was it Mrs. Wentworth herself who 'phoned?"
"No; I think not. One of the nurses, Mary said. But at any rate, she has gone, Jack, and I'm frightened to death! There's something else," she added.
"Yes?" I said eagerly.
She laughed in a way that sounded almost hysterical28.
"Since Mary went I have thought once or twice that I have seen some one or something creeping around outside the house in the shadows amongst the trees! And just a while ago something happened which really prompted me to 'phone you."
"What was it?"
"I heard a sort of scratching at an upper window. It was just like—"
"Yes! Yes!"
"Like a great cat trying to gain admittance!"
"See that all the doors and windows are fastened!" I cried. "Whatever happens or whoever knocks don't open to any one, you understand? We will be with you in less than half an hour!"
Still in that frightened voice:
"For heaven's sake," she begged, "don't be long, Jack!..."
I became aware of a singular rasping sound on the wires, which rendered Isobel's words almost unintelligible29. Then:
"Jack," I heard, in a faint whisper, "there is a strange noise ... just outside the room...."
Silence came. But, vaguely30, above that rasping sound, I had detected the words: "Cutting ... telephone ... wires...."
I replaced the receiver. My hand was shaking wildly.
"Gatton!" I said, "do you understand? It has turned its attention to Miss Merlin!" Then, raising my voice: "Coates!" I cried, "Coates! run for the car! Hurry, man! Some one's life depends on your speed!"
"I will instruct the local police," he muttered. "Give me the exact address, Mr. Addison, and go and see the cab that's outside. If it's a good one we'll take it instead of waiting."
Out I dashed, spurred by a sickly terror, crying Mrs. Wentworth's address as I ran. And of the ensuing five minutes I retain nothing but chaotic32 memories: the bewildered cabman; the police bending over the gaunt form on my study floor; Gatton's voice shouting orders. Then, we had jumped into the cab and enjoining33 the man to drive like fury, were speeding off through the busy London streets. Leaving the quietude of one suburb for the maelstrom34 of central London, we presently emerged into an equally quiet backwater upon the Northerly outskirts35.
It was a nightmare journey, but when at last we approached the house for which we were bound my apprehension36 and excitement grew even keener. It was infinitely37 more isolated38 and lonely than I had ever realized, behind its high brick walls.
Of the local police there was no sign. And without hesitation39 we ran in at the open gate and up the path towards the porch. Every window in the house was brightly illuminated40, testifying to the greatness of the occupant's fear. Gaining the porch, we stopped, as if prompted by some mutual41 thought, and listened.
There was the remote murmuring of busy London, but here surrounding us was a stillness as great as that which prevailed in my own neighborhood; and as we stood there, keenly alert—distinctly we both heard the howling of dogs!
"You hear it?" rapped Gatton.
"I do!" I replied.
Grasping the bell-knob, I executed a vigorous peal42 upon the bell. There was a light in the hallway but my ringing elicited43 no response, until:
"My God, look!" cried Gatton.
He pulled me backward out of the porch, looking upward to the window of a room on the first floor.
A silhouette44 appeared there—undoubtedly that of Isobel. She seemed to be endeavoring to pull the curtain aside ... when the shadow of a long arm reached out to her, and she was plucked irresistibly45 back. The sound of a muffled46 scream reached my ears, and:
"Great heavens! It has got in!" whispered Gatton.
The closed door was obviously too strong to be forced without the aid of implements48 for the purpose, and we began to run around the house, looking for some means of entrance. Suddenly:
"There's the way!" said Gatton, and pointed49 up to where the branches of an old elm tree stretched out before a window. The glass of the window was entirely50 shattered except for some few points which glittered like daggers51 around the edges of the frame.
"Can you do it?"
"In the circumstances—yes!" I said.
Without more ado I began to climb the elm, stimulated52 by memories of how I had entered Friar's Park. It afforded little foothold for the first six feet and proved an even tougher job than I had anticipated, but at last I reached a projecting limb, the bulk of which had been sawn off. Gatton's agility53 was not so great as mine, but at the moment that I half staggered and half fell into the room, I heard him swinging himself onto the limb behind me so that as I leaped to the open door he came tumbling in through the window, and the pair of us raced side by side along the corridor towards an apartment facing front from which horrifying54 cries and sounds of conflict now arose.
Gaining the closed door of this room, I literally55 hurled56 myself upon it. It crashed open ... and I beheld57 a dreadful spectacle.
Isobel lay forced back upon a settee which occupied the window recess—and bending over her, having her back turned towards me, was a tall, lithe58, black-clad woman who, so far as I could see, was clutching Isobel's throat and forcing her further backward—backward upon the cushions strewn upon the settee!
But instant upon the door's opening this horrible scene changed. With never a backward glance (so that neither Gatton nor I had even a momentary59 glimpse of her face) the black-robed woman sprang to the window, opened it in a moment, and to my dismay and astonishment60 sprang out into the darkness!
My first thought was for Isobel—but Gatton leaped across the room and craned out, peering on to the path below. Indeed, even as I dropped on my knees beside the swooning girl, I found myself listening for the thud of the falling body upon the gravel61 path. But no sound reached me. That uncanny creature must have alighted truly in the manner of a cat. Through the stillness of the house rang the flat note of a police-whistle. From some distant spot I heard a faint reply.
For long I failed to persuade myself that Isobel had not sustained some ghastly injury from the attack of the cat-woman. Memories uprose starkly62 before me of that hlangkûna and the other dreadful death-instruments of the mad Eurasian doctor. Not even the assurances of the local medical man who had been summoned in haste could convince me. For I recognized how petty was his knowledge in comparison with that of Dr. Damar Greefe. But although I trembled to think what her fate might have been if we had arrived a few minutes later, the fact remained (and I returned thanks to Heaven) that she had escaped serious physical injury at the hands of her assailant.
But, alas63, to this very hour she sometimes awakes shrieking64 in the night. And her terrified cry is always the same: "The green eyes of Bâst!... the green-eyes of Bâst!"
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1
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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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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villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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tuberculosis
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| n.结核病，肺结核 | |
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writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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13
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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14
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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15
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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16
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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17
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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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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19
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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24
numbing
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| adj.使麻木的，使失去感觉的v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的现在分词 ) | |
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25
pandemonium
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| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
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26
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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27
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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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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29
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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30
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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31
inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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32
chaotic
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| adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的 | |
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33
enjoining
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| v.命令( enjoin的现在分词 ) | |
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34
maelstrom
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| n.大乱动；大漩涡 | |
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35
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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40
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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41
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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42
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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43
elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
silhouette
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| n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓 | |
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45
irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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46
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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47
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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48
implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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49
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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50
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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51
daggers
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| 匕首，短剑( dagger的名词复数 ) | |
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52
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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53
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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horrifying
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| a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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56
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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57
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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58
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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60
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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61
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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62
starkly
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| adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直 | |
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63
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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64
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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