My sleep was troubled often enough in these days, which immediately followed our almost miraculous1 escape, from the den2 of Fu-Manchu; and now as I crouched3 there, nerves aquiver—listening—listening—I could not be sure if this dank panic which possessed4 me had its origin in nightmare or in something else.
Surely a scream, a choking cry for help, had reached my ears; but now, almost holding my breath in that sort of nervous tensity peculiar5 to one aroused thus, I listened, and the silence seemed complete. Perhaps I had been dreaming...
“Help! Petrie! Help!...”
It was Nayland Smith in the room above me!
My doubts were dissolved; this was no trick of an imagination disordered. Some dreadful menace threatened my friend. Not delaying even to snatch my dressing-gown, I rushed out on to the landing, up the stairs, bare-footed as I was, threw open the door of Smith’s room and literally6 hurled7 myself in.
Those cries had been the cries of one assailed8, had been uttered, I judged, in the brief interval9 of a life and death struggle; had been choked off...
A certain amount of moonlight found access to the room, without spreading so far as the bed in which my friend lay. But at the moment of my headlong entrance, and before I had switched on the light, my gaze automatically was directed to the pale moonbeam streaming through the window and down on to one corner of the sheep-skin rug beside the bed.
What with my recent awakening11 and the panic at my heart, I could not claim that my vision was true; but across this moonbeam passed a sort of gray streak12, for all the world as though some long thin shape had been withdrawn13, snakelike, from the room, through the open window... From somewhere outside the house, and below, I heard the cough again, followed by a sharp cracking sound like the lashing15 of a whip.
I depressed16 the switch, flooding the room with light, and as I leaped forward to the bed a word picture of what I had seen formed in my mind; and I found that I was thinking of a gray feather boa.
“Smith!” I cried (my voice seemed to pitch itself, unwilled, in a very high key), “Smith, old man!”
He made no reply, and a sudden, sorrowful fear clutched at my heart-strings. He was lying half out of bed flat upon his back, his head at a dreadful angle with his body. As I bent17 over him and seized him by the shoulders, I could see the whites of his eyes. His arms hung limply, and his fingers touched the carpet.
“My God!” I whispered—“what has happened?”
I heaved him back onto the pillow, and looked anxiously into his face. Habitually18 gaunt, the flesh so refined away by the consuming nervous energy of the man as to reveal the cheekbones in sharp prominence19, he now looked truly ghastly. His skin was so sunbaked as to have changed constitutionally; nothing could ever eradicate20 that tan. But to-night a fearful grayness was mingled21 with the brown, his lips were purple... and there were marks of strangulation upon the lean throat—ever darkening weals made by clutching fingers.
He began to breathe stentoriously and convulsively, inhalation being accompanied by a significant gurgling in the throat. But now my calm was restored in face of a situation which called for professional attention.
I aided my friend’s labored22 respirations by the usual means, setting to work vigorously; so that presently he began to clutch at his inflamed23 throat which that murderous pressure had threatened to close.
I could hear sounds of movement about the house, showing that not I alone had been awakened24 by those hoarse25 screams.
“It’s all right, old man,” I said, bending over him; “brace up!”
He opened his eyes—they looked bleared and bloodshot—and gave me a quick glance of recognition.
“It’s all right, Smith!” I said—“no! don’t sit up; lie there for a moment.”
I ran across to the dressing-table, whereon I perceived his flask26 to lie, and mixed him a weak stimulant27 with which I returned to the bed.
“There is no occasion for alarm,” I said over my shoulder; “Mr. Smith’s nerves are overwrought and he was awakened by some disturbing dream. You can return to bed, Mrs. Newsome.”
Nayland Smith seemed to experience much difficulty in swallowing the contents of the tumbler which I held to his lips; and, from the way in which he fingered the swollen30 glands31, I could see that his throat, which I had vigorously massaged32, was occasioning him great pain. But the danger was past, and already that glassy look was disappearing from his eyes, nor did they protrude33 so unnaturally34.
“God, Petrie!” he whispered, “that was a near shave! I haven’t the strength of a kitten!”
“The weakness will pass off,” I replied; “there will be no collapse36, now. A little more fresh air...”
I stood up, glancing at the windows, then back at Smith, who forced a wry37 smile in answer to my look.
“Couldn’t be done, Petrie,” he said, huskily.
His words referred to the state of the windows. Although the night was oppressively hot, these were only opened some four inches at top and bottom. Further opening was impossible because of iron brackets screwed firmly into the casements38 which prevented the windows being raised or lowered further.
It was a precaution adopted after long experience of the servants of Dr. Fu-Manchu.
Now, as I stood looking from the half-strangled man upon the bed to those screwed-up windows, the fact came home to my mind that this precaution had proved futile39. I thought of the thing which I had likened to a feather boa; and I looked at the swollen weals made by clutching fingers upon the throat of Nayland Smith.
I suppose the question was written in my face; for, as I turned again to Smith, who, having struggled upright, was still fingering his injured throat ruefully:
“God only knows, Petrie!” he said; “no human arm could have reached me...”
For us, the night was ended so far as sleep was concerned. Arrayed in his dressing-gown, Smith sat in the white cane41 chair in my study with a glass of brandy-and-water beside him, and (despite my official prohibition) with the cracked briar which had sent up its incense42 in many strange and dark places of the East and which yet survived to perfume these prosy rooms in suburban43 London, steaming between his teeth. I stood with my elbow resting upon the mantelpiece looking down at him where he sat.
“By God! Petrie,” he said, yet again, with his fingers straying gently over the surface of his throat, “that was a narrow shave—a damned narrow shave!”
“Narrower than perhaps you appreciate, old man,” I replied. “You were a most unusual shade of blue when I found you...”
“I managed,” said Smith evenly, “to tear those clutching fingers away for a moment and to give a cry for help. It was only for a moment, though. Petrie! they were fingers of steel—of steel!”
“The bed,” I began...
“I know that,” rapped Smith. “I shouldn’t have been sleeping in it, had it been within reach of the window; but, knowing that the doctor avoids noisy methods, I had thought myself fairly safe so long as I made it impossible for any one actually to enter the room...”
“I have always insisted, Smith,” I cried, “that there was danger! What of poisoned darts44? What of the damnable reptiles45 and insects which form part of the armory46 of Fu-Manchu?”
“Familiarity breeds contempt, I suppose,” he replied. “But as it happened none of those agents was employed. The very menace that I sought to avoid reached me somehow. It would almost seem that Dr. Fu-Manchu deliberately47 accepted the challenge of those screwed-up windows! Hang it all, Petrie! one cannot sleep in a room hermetically sealed, in weather like this! It’s positively48 Burmese; and although I can stand tropical heat, curiously49 enough the heat of London gets me down almost immediately.”
“The humidity; that’s easily understood. But you’ll have to put up with it in the future. After nightfall our windows must be closed entirely50, Smith.”
Nayland Smith knocked out his pipe upon the side of the fireplace. The bowl sizzled furiously, but without delay he stuffed broad-cut mixture into the hot pipe, dropping a liberal quantity upon the carpet during the process. He raised his eyes to me, and his face was very grim.
“Petrie,” he said, striking a match on the heel of his slipper51, “the resources of Dr. Fu-Manchu are by no means exhausted52. Before we quit this room it is up to us to come to a decision upon a certain point.” He got his pipe well alight. “What kind of thing, what unnatural35, distorted creature, laid hands upon my throat to-night? I owe my life, primarily, to you, old man, but, secondarily, to the fact that I was awakened, just before the attack—by the creature’s coughing—by its vile53, high-pitched coughing...”
I glanced around at the books upon my shelves. Often enough, following some outrage54 by the brilliant Chinese doctor whose genius was directed to the discovery of new and unique death agents, we had obtained a clue in those works of a scientific nature which bulk largely in the library of a medical man. There are creatures, there are drugs, which, ordinarily innocuous, may be so employed as to become inimical to human life; and in the distorting of nature, in the disturbing of balances and the diverting of beneficent forces into strange and dangerous channels, Dr. Fu-Manchu excelled. I had known him to enlarge, by artificial culture, a minute species of fungus55 so as to render it a powerful agent capable of attacking man; his knowledge of venomous insects has probably never been paralleled in the history of the world; whilst, in the sphere of pure toxicology, he had, and has, no rival; the Borgias were children by comparison. But, look where I would, think how I might, no adequate explanation of this latest outrage seemed possible along normal lines.
“There’s the clue,” said Nayland Smith, pointing to a little ash-tray upon the table near by. “Follow it if you can.”
But I could not.
“As I have explained,” continued my friend, “I was awakened by a sound of coughing; then came a death grip on my throat, and instinctively56 my hands shot out in search of my attacker. I could not reach him; my hands came in contact with nothing palpable. Therefore I clutched at the fingers which were dug into my windpipe, and found them to be small—as the marks show—and hairy. I managed to give that first cry for help, then with all my strength I tried to unfasten the grip that was throttling57 the life out of me. At last I contrived58 to move one of the hands, and I called out again, though not so loudly. Then both the hands were back again; I was weakening; but I clawed like a madman at the thin, hairy arms of the strangling thing, and with a blood-red mist dancing before my eyes, I seemed to be whirling madly round and round until all became a blank. Evidently I used my nails pretty freely—and there’s the trophy59.”
For the twentieth time, I should think, I carried the ash-tray in my hand and laid it immediately under the table-lamp in order to examine its contents. In the little brass60 bowl lay a blood-stained fragment of grayish hair attached to a tatter of skin. This fragment of epidermis61 had an odd bluish tinge62, and the attached hair was much darker at the roots than elsewhere. Saving its singular color, it might have been torn from the forearm of a very hirsute63 human; but although my thoughts wandered unfettered, north, south, east and west; although, knowing the resources of Fu-Manchu, I considered all the recognized Mongolian types, and, in quest of hirsute mankind, even roamed far north among the blubbering Esquimo; although I glanced at Australasia, at Central Africa, and passed in mental review the dark places of the Congo, nowhere in the known world, nowhere in the history of the human species, could I come upon a type of man answering to the description suggested by our strange clue.
Nayland Smith was watching me curiously as I bent over the little brass ash-tray.
“You are puzzled,” he rapped in his short way.
“So am I—utterly puzzled. Fu-Manchu’s gallery of monstrosities clearly has become reinforced; for even if we identified the type, we should not be in sight of our explanation.”
“You mean,” I began...
“Fully four feet from the window, Petrie, and that window but a few inches open! Look”—he bent forward, resting his chest against the table, and stretched out his hand toward me. “You have a rule there; just measure.”
Setting down the ash-tray, I opened out the rule and measured the distance from the further edge of the table to the tips of Smith’s fingers.
“Twenty-eight inches—and I have a long reach!” snapped Smith, withdrawing his arm and striking a match to relight his pipe. “There’s one thing, Petrie, often proposed before, which now we must do without delay. The ivy64 must be stripped from the walls at the back. It’s a pity, but we can not afford to sacrifice our lives to our sense of the aesthetic65. What do you make of the sound like the cracking of a whip?”
“I make nothing of it, Smith,” I replied, wearily. “It might have been a thick branch of ivy breaking beneath the weight of a climber.”
“Did it sound like it?”
“I must confess that the explanation does not convince me, but I have no better one.”
Smith, permitting his pipe to go out, sat staring straight before him, and tugging66 at the lobe67 of his left ear.
“The old bewilderment is seizing me,” I continued. “At first, when I realized that Dr. Fu-Manchu was back in England, when I realized that an elaborate murder-machine was set up somewhere in London, it seemed unreal, fantastical. Then I met—Karamaneh! She, whom we thought to be his victim, showed herself again to be his slave. Now, with Weymouth and Scotland Yard at work, the old secret evil is established again in our midst, unaccountably—our lives are menaced—sleep is a danger—every shadow threatens death... oh! it is awful.”
Smith remained silent; he did not seem to have heard my words. I knew these moods and had learnt that it was useless to seek to interrupt them. With his brows drawn14 down, and his deep-set eyes staring into space, he sat there gripping his cold pipe so tightly that my own jaw68 muscles ached sympathetically. No man was better equipped than this gaunt British Commissioner69 to stand between society and the menace of the Yellow Doctor; I respected his meditations70, for, unlike my own, they were informed by an intimate knowledge of the dark and secret things of the East, of that mysterious East out of which Fu-Manchu came, of that jungle of noxious71 things whose miasma72 had been wafted73 Westward74 with the implacable Chinaman.
I walked quietly from the room, occupied with my own bitter reflections.
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1
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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3
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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5
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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6
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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7
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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8
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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10
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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11
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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12
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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13
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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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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15
lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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16
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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17
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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18
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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20
eradicate
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| v.根除，消灭，杜绝 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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22
labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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23
inflamed
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| adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
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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25
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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26
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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27
stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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28
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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29
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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30
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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31
glands
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| n.腺( gland的名词复数 ) | |
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32
massaged
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| 按摩，推拿( massage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
protrude
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| v.使突出，伸出，突出 | |
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unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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35
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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36
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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37
wry
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| adj.讽刺的；扭曲的 | |
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38
casements
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| n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 ) | |
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39
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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40
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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42
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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43
suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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44
darts
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| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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45
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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46
armory
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| n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库 | |
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47
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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48
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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49
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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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
slipper
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| n.拖鞋 | |
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52
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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53
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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54
outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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55
fungus
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| n.真菌，真菌类植物 | |
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56
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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57
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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58
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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59
trophy
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| n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品 | |
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60
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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61
epidermis
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| n.表皮 | |
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62
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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63
hirsute
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| adj.多毛的 | |
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64
ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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65
aesthetic
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| adj.美学的，审美的，有美感 | |
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66
tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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67
lobe
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| n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶 | |
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68
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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69
commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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70
meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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71
noxious
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| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
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72
miasma
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| n.毒气；不良气氛 | |
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73
wafted
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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