The Jewel of Seven Stars/Chapter 5

More Strange Instructions

When I came from my room at half-past eleven o'clock I found all well in
the sick-room. The new nurse, prim, neat, and watchfull, sat in the
chair by the bedside where Nurse Kennedy had sat last night. A little
way off, between the bed and the safe, sat Dr. Winchester alert and
wakeful, but looking strange and almost comic with the respirator over
mouth and nose. As I stood in the doorway looking at them I heard a
slight sound; turning round I saw the new detective, who nodded, held up
the finger of silence and withdrew quietly. Hitherto no one of the
watchers was overcome by sleep.
I took a chair outside the door. As yet there was no need for me to
risk coming again under the subtle influence of last night. Naturally
my thoughts went revolving round the main incidents of the last day and
night, and I found myself arriving at strange conclusions, doubts,
conjectures; but I did not lose myself, as on last night, in trains of
thought. The sense of the present was ever with me, and I really felt
as should a sentry on guard. Thinking is not a slow process; and when
it is earnest the time can pass quickly. It seemed a very short time
indeed till the door, usually left ajar, was pulled open and Dr.
Winchester emerged, taking off his respirator as he came. His act, when
he had it off, was demostrative of his keenness. He turned up the
outside of the wrap and smelled it carefully.
"I am going now," he said. "I shall come early in the morning; unless,
of course, I am sent for before. But all seems well tonight."
The next to appear was Sergeant Daw, who went quietly into the room and
took the seat vacated by the Doctor. I still remained outside; but
every few minutes looked into the room. This was rather a form than a
matter of utility, for the room was so dark that coming even from the
dimly-lighted corridor it was hard to distinguish anything.
A little before twelve o'clock Miss Trelawny came from her room. Before
coming to her father's she went into that occupied by Nurse Kennedy.
After a couple of minutes she came out, looking, I thought, a trifle
more cheerful. She had her respirator in her hand, but before putting
it on, asked me if anything special had occurred since she had gone to
lie down. I answered in a whisper--there was no loud talking in the
house tonight--that all was safe, was well. She then put on her
respirator, and I mine; and we entered the room. The Detective and the
Nurse rose up, and we took their places. Sergeant Daw was the last to
go out; he closed the door behind him as we had arranged.
For a while I sat quiet, my heart beating. The place was grimly dark.
The only light was a faint one from the top of the lamp which threw a
white circle on the high ceiling, except the emerald sheen of the shade
as the light took its under edges. Even the light only seemed to
emphasize the blackness of the shadows. These presently began to seem,
as on last night, to have a sentience of their own. I did not myself
feel in the least sleepy; and each time I went softly over to look at
the patient, which I did about every ten minutes, I could see that Miss
Trelawny was keenly alert. Every quarter of an hour one or other of the
policemen looked in through the partly opened door. Each time both Miss
Trelawny and I said through our mufflers, "all right," and the door was
closed again.
As the time wore on, the silence and the darkness seemed to increase.
The circle of light on the ceiling was still there, but it seemed less
brilliant than at first. The green edging of the lamp-shade became like
Maori greenstone rather than emerald. The sounds of the night without
the house, and the starlight spreading pale lines along the edges of the
window-cases, made the pall of black within more solemn and more
mysterious.
We heard the clock in the corridor chiming the quarters with its silver
bell till two o'clock; and then a strange feeling came over me. I could
see from Miss Trelawny's movement as she looked round, that she also had
some new sensation. The new detective had just looked in; we two were
alone with the unconscious patient for another quarter of an hour.
My heart began to beat wildly. There was a sense of fear over me. Not
for myself; my fear was impersonal. It seemed as though some new person
had entered the room, and that a strong intelligence was awake close to
me. Something brushed against my leg. I put my hand down hastily and
touched the furry coat of Silvio. With a very faint far-away sound of a
snarl he turned and scratched at me. I felt blood on my hand. I rose
gently and came over to the bedside. Miss Trelawny, too, had stood up
and was looking behind her, as though there was something close to her.
Her eyes were wild, and her breast rose and fell as though she were
fighting for air. When I touched her she did not seem to feel me; she
worked her hands in front of her, as though she was fending off
something.
There was not an instant to lose. I seized her in my arms and rushed
over to the door, threw it open, and strode into the passage, calling
loudly:
"Help! Help!"
In an instant the two Detectives, Mrs. Grant, and the Nurse appeared on
the scene. Close on their heels came several of the servants, both men
and women. Immediately Mrs. Grant came near enough, I placed Miss
Trelawny in her arms, and rushed back into the room, turning up the
electric light as soon as I could lay my hand on it. Sergeant Daw and
the Nurse followed me.
We were just in time. Close under the great safe, where on the two
succesive nights he had been found, lay Mr. Trelawny with his left arm,
bare save for the bandages, stretched out. Close by his side was a
leaf-shaped Egyptian knife which had lain amongst the curios on the
shelf of the broken cabinet. Its point was stuck in the parquet floor,
whence had been removed the blood-stained rug.
But there was no sign of disturbance anywhere; nor any sign of any one
or anything unusual. The Policemen and I searched the room accurately,
whilst the Nurse and two of the servants lifted the wounded man back to
bed; but no sign or clue could we get. Very soon Miss Trelawny returned
to the room. She was pale but collected. When she came close to me she
said in a low voice:
"I felt myself fainting. I did not know why; but I was afraid!"
The only other shock I had was when Miss Trelawny cried out to me, as I
placed my hand on the bed to lean over and look carefully at her father:
"You are wounded. Look! look! your hand is bloody. There is blood on
the sheets!" I had, in the excitement, quite forgotten Silvio's scratch.
As I looked at it, the recollection came back to me; but before I could
say a word Miss Trelawny had caught hold of my hand and lifted it up.
When she saw the parallel lines of the cuts she cried out again:
"It is the same wound as Father's!" Then she laid my hand down gently
but quickly, and said to me and to Sergeant Daw:
"Come to my room! Silvio is there in his basket." We followed her, and
found Silvio sitting in his basket awake. He was licking his paws. The
Detective said:
"He is there sure enough; but why licking his paws?"
Margaret--Miss Trelawny--gave a moan as she bent over and took one of
the forepaws in her hand; but the cat seemed to resent it and snarled.
At that Mrs. Grant came into the room. When she saw that we were
looking at the cat she said:
"The Nurse tells me that Silvio was asleep on Nurse Kennedy's bed ever
since you went to your Father's room until a while ago. He came there
just after you had gone to master's room. Nurse says that Nurse Kennedy
is moaning and muttering in her sleep as though she had a nightmare. I
think we should send for Dr. Winchester."
"Do so at once, please!" said Miss Trelawny; and we went back to the
room.
For a while Miss Trelawny stood looking at her father, with her brows
wrinkled. Then, turning to me, as though her mind were made up, she
said:
"Don't you think we should have a consultation on Father? Of course I
have every confidence in Doctor Winchester; he seems an immensely clever
young man. But he is a young man; and there must be men who have
devoted themselves to this branch of science. Such a man would have
more knowledge and more experience; and his knowledge and experience
might help to throw light on poor Father's case. As it is, Doctor
Winchester seems to be quite in the dark. Oh! I don't know what to do.
It is all so terrible!" Here she broke down a little and cried; and I
tried to comfort her.
Doctor Winchester arrived quickly. His first thought was for his
patient; but when he found him without further harm, he visited Nurse
Kennedy. When he saw her, a hopeful look came into his eyes. Taking a
towel, he dipped a corner of it in cold water and flicked on the face.
The skin coloured, and she stirred slightly. He said to the new nurse--
Sister Doris he called her:
"She is all right. She will wake in a few hours at latest. She may be
dizzy and distraught at first, or perhaps hysterical. If so, you know
how to treat her."
"Yes, sir!" answered Sister Doris demurely; and we went back to Mr.
Trelawny's room. As soon as we had entered, Mrs. Grant and the Nurse
went out so that only Doctor Winchester, Miss Trelawny, and myself
remained in the room. When the door had been closed Doctor Winchester
asked me as to what had occurred. I told him fully, giving exactly
every detail so far as I could remember. Throughout my narrative, which
did not take long, however, he kept asking me questions as to who had
been present and the order in which each one had come into the room. He
asked other things, but nothing of any importance; these were all that
took my attention, or remained in my memory. When our conversation was
finished, he said in a very decided way indeed, to Miss Trelawny:
"I think, Miss Trelawny, that we had better have a consultation on this
case." She answered at once, seemingly a little to his surprise:
"I am glad you have mentioned it. I quite agree. Who would you
suggest?"
"Have you any choice yourself?" he asked. "Any one to whom your Father
is known? Has he ever consulted any one?"
"Not to my knowledge. But I hope you will choose whoever you think
would be best. My dear Father should have all the help that can be had;
and I shall be deeply obliged by your choosing. Who is the best man in
London--anywhere else--in such a case?"
"There are several good men; but they are scattered all over the world.
Somehow, the brain specialist is born, not made; though a lot of hard
work goes to the completing of him and fitting him for his work. He
comes from no country. The most daring investigator up to the present
is Chiuni, the Japanese; but he is rather a surgical experimentalist
than a practitioner. Then there is Zammerfest of Uppsala, and Fenelon
of the University of Paris, and Morfessi of Naples. These, of course,
are in addition to our own men, Morrison of Aberdeen and Richardson of
Birmingham. But before them all I would put Frere of King's College. Of
all that I have named he best unites theory and practice. He has no
hobbies--that have been discovered at all events; and his experience is
immense. It is the regret of all of us who admire him that the nerve so
firm and the hand so dexterous must yield to time. For my own part I
would rather have Frere than any one living."
"Then," said Miss Trelawny decisively, "let us have Doctor Frere--by the
way, is he 'Doctor' or 'Mister'?--as early as we can get him in the
morning!"
A weight seemed removed from him, and he spoke with greater ease and
geniality than he had yet shown:
"He is Sir James Frere. I shall go to him myself as early as it is
possibly to see him, and shall ask him to come here at once." Then
turning to me he said:
"You had better let me dress your hand."
"It is nothing," I said.
"Nevertheless it should be seen to. A scratch from any animal might
turn out dangerous; there is nothing like being safe." I submitted;
forthwith he began to dress my hand. He examined with a
magnifying-glass the several parallel wounds, and compared them with the
slip of blotting-paper, marked with Silvio's claws, which he took from
his pocket-book. He put back the paper, simply remarking:
"It's a pity that Silvio slips in--and out--just when he shouldn't."
The morning wore slowly on. By ten o'clock Nurse Kennedy had so far
recovered that she was able to sit up and talk intelligibly. But she
was still hazy in her thoughts; and could not remember anything that had
happened on the previous night, after her taking her place by the
sick-bed. As yet she seemed neither to know nor care what had happened.
It was nearly eleven o'clock when Doctor Winchester returned with Sir
James Frere. Somehow I felt my heart sink when from the landing I saw
them in the hall below; I knew that Miss Trelawny was to have the pain
of telling yet another stranger of her ignorance of her father's life.
Sir James Frere was a man who commanded attention followed by respect.
He knew so thoroughly what he wanted himself, that he placed at once on
one side all wishes and ideas of less definite persons. The mere flash
of his piercing eyes, or the set of his resolute mouth, or the lowering
of his great eyebrows, seemed to compel immediate and willing obedience
to his wishes. Somehow, when we had all been introduced and he was well
amongst us, all sense of mystery seemed to melt away. It was with a
hopeful spirit that I saw him pass into the sick-room with Doctor
Winchester.
They remained in the room a long time; once they sent for the Nurse, the
new one, Sister Doris, but she did not remain long. Again they both
went into Nurse Kennedy's room. He sent out the nurse attendant on her.
Doctor Winchester told me afterward that Nurse Kennedy, though she was
ignorant of later matters, gave full and satisfactory answers to all
Doctor Frere's questions relating to her patient up to the time she
became unconscious. Then they went to the study, where they remained so
long, and their voices raised in heated discussion seemed in such
determined opposition, that I began to feel uneasy. As for Miss
Trelawny, she was almost in a state of collapse from nervousness before
they joined us. Poor girl! she had had a sadly anxious time of it, and
her nervous strength had almost broken down.
They came out at last, Sir James first, his grave face looking as
unenlightening as that of the sphinx. Doctor Winchester followed him
closely; his face was pale, but with that kind of pallor which looked
like a reaction. It gave me the idea that it had been red not long
before. Sir James asked that Miss Trelawny would come into the study.
He suggested that I should come also. When we had enterd, Sir James
turned to me and said:
"I understand from Doctor Winchester that you are a friend of Miss
Trelawny, and that you have already considerable knowledge of this case.
Perhaps it will be well that you should be with us. I know you already
as a keen lawyer, Mr. Ross, though I never had the pleasure of meeting
you. As Doctor Winchester tells me that there are some strange matters
outside this case which seem to puzzle him--and others--and in which he
thinks you may yet be specially interested, it might be as well that you
should know every phase of the case. For myself I do not take much
account of mysteries--except those of science; and as there seems to be
some idea of an attempt at assassination or robbery, all I can say is
that if assassins were at work they ought to take some elementary
lessons in anatomy before their next job, for they seem thoroughly
ignorant. If robbery were their purpose, they seem to have worked with
marvellous inefficiency. That, however, is not my business." Here he
took a big pinch of snuff, and turning to to Miss Trelawny, went on:
"Now as to the patient. Leaving out the cause of his illness, all we can
say at present is that he appears to be suffering from a marked attack
of catalepsy. At present nothing can be done, except to sustain his
strength. The treatment of my friend Doctor Winchester is mainly such
as I approve of; and I am confident that should any slight change arise
he will be able to deal with it satisfactorily. It is an interesting
case--most interesting; and should any new or abnormal development arise
I shall be happy to come at any time. There is just one thing to which
I wish to call your attention; and I put it to you, Miss Trelawny,
directly, since it is your responsibility. Doctor Winchester informs me
that you are not yourself free in the matter, but are bound by an
instruction given by your Father in case just such a condition of things
should arise. I would strongly advise that the patient be removed to
another room; or, as an alternative, that those mummies and all such
things should be removed from his chamber. Why, it's enough to put any
man into an abnormal condition, to have such an assemblage of horrors
round him, and to breathe the atmosphere which they exhale. You have
evidence already of how such mephitic odour may act. That nurse--
Kennedy, I think you said, Doctor--isn't yet out of her state of
catalepsy; and you, Mr. Ross, have, I am told, experienced something of
the same effects. I know this"--here his eyebrows came down more than
ever, and his mouth hardened--"if I were in charge here I should insist
on the patient having a different atmosphere; or I would throw up the
case. Doctor Winchester already knows that I can only be again
consulted on this condition being fulfilled. But I trust that you will
see your way, as a good daughter to my mind should, to looking to your
Father's health and sanity rather than to any whim of his--whether
supported or not by a foregoing fear, or by any number of "penny
dreadful" mysteries. The day has hardly come yet, I am glad to say,
when the British Museum and St. Thomas's Hospital have exchanged their
normal functions. Good-day, Miss Trelawny. I earnestly hope that I may
soon see your Father restored. Remember, that should you fulfil the
elementary condition which I have laid down, I am at your service day or
night. Good-morning, Mr. Ross. I hope you will be able to report to me
soon, Doctor Winchester."
When he had gone we stood silent, till the rumble of his carriage wheels
died away. The first to speak was Doctor Winchester:
"I think it well to say that to my mind, speaking purely as a physician,
he is quite right. I feel as if I could have assaulted him when he made
it a condition of not giving up the case; but all the same he is right
as to treatment. He does not understand that there is something odd
about this special case; and he will not realise knot that we are all
tied up in by Mr. Trelawny's instructions. Of course--" He was
interrupted by Miss Trelawny:
"Doctor Winchester, do you, too, wish to give up the case; or are you
willing to continue it under the conditions you know?"
"Give it up! Less now than ever. Miss Trelawny, I shall never give it
up, so long as life is left to him or any of us!" She said nothing, but
held out her hand, which he took warmly.
"Now," said she, "if Sir James Frere is a type of the cult of
Specialists, I want no more of them. To start with, he does not seem to
know any more than you do about my Father's condition; and if he were a
hundredth part as much interested in it as you are, he would not stand
on such punctilio. Of course, I am only too anxious about my poor
Father; and if I can see a way to meet either of Sir James Frere's
conditions, I shall do so. I shall ask Mr. Marvin to come here today,
and advise me as to the limit of Father's wishes. If he thinks I am
free to act in any way on my own responsibility, I shall not hesitate to
do so." Then Doctor Winchester took his leave.
Miss Trelawny sat down and wrote a letter to Mr. Marvin, telling him of
the state of affairs, and asking him to come and see her and to bring
with him any papers which might throw any light on the subject. She
sent the letter off with a carriage to bring back the solicitor; we
waited with what patience we could for his coming.
It is not a very long journey for oneself from Kensington Palace Gardens
to Lincoln's Inn Fields; but it seemed endlessly long when waiting for
someone else to take it. All things, however, are amenable to Time; it
was less than an hour all told when Mr. Marvin was with us.
He recognised Miss Trelawny's impatience, and when he had learned
sufficient of her father's illness, he said to her:
"Whenever you are ready I can go with you into particulars regarding
your Father's wishes."
"Whenever you like," she said, with an evident ignorance of his meaning.
"Why not now?" He looked at me, as to a fellow man of business, and
stammered out:
"We are not alone."
"I have brought Mr. Ross here on purpose," she answered. "He knows so
much at present, that I want him to know more." The solicitor was a
little disconcerted, a thing which those knowing him only in courts
would hardly have believed. He answered, however, with some hesitation:
"But, my dear young lady--Your Father's wishes!--Confidence between father
and child--"
Here she interrupted him; there was a tinge of red in her pale cheeks as
she did so:
"Do you really think that applies to the present circumstances, Mr.
Marvin? My Father never told me anything of his affairs; and I can now,
in this sad extremity, only learn his wishes through a gentleman who is
a stranger to me and of whom I never even heard till I got my Father's
letter, written to be shown to me only in extremity. Mr. Ross is a new
friend; but he has all my confidence, and I should like him to be
present. Unless, of course," she added, 'such a thing is forbidden by
my Father. Oh! forgive me, Mr. Marvin, if I seem rude; but I have been
in such dreadful trouble and anxiety lately, that I have hardly command
of myself." She covered her eyes with her hand for a few seconds; we
two men looked at each other and waited, trying to appear unmoved. She
went on more firmly; she had recovered herself:
"Please! please do not think I am ungrateful to you for your kindness in
coming here and so quickly. I really am grateful; and I have every
confidence in your judgment. If you wish, or think it best, we can be
alone." I stood up; but Mr. Marvin made a dissentient gesture. He was
evidently pleased with her attitude; there was geniality in his voice
and manner as he spoke:
"Not at all! Not at all! There is no restriction on your Father's
part; and on my own I am quite willing. Indeed, all told, it may be
better. From what you have said of Mr. Trelawny's illness, and the
other--incidental--matters, it will be well in case of any grave
eventuality, that it was understood from the first, that circumstances
were ruled by your Father's own imperative instructions. For, please
understand me, his instructions are imperative--most imperative. They
are so unyielding that he has given me a Power of Attorney, under which
I have undertaken to act, authorising me to see his written wishes
carried out. Please believe me once for all, that he intended fully
everything mentioned in that letter to you! Whilst he is alive he is to
remain in his own room; and none of his property is to be removed from
it under any circumstances whatever. He has even given an inventory of
the articles which are not to be displaced."
Miss Trelawny was silent. She looked somewhat distressed; so, thinking
that I understood the immediate cause, I asked:
"May we see the list?" Miss Trelawny's face at once brightened; but it
fell again as the lawyer answered promptly--he was evidently prepared for
the question:
"Not unless I am compelled to take action on the Power of Attorney. I
have brought that instrument with me. You will recognise, Mr. Ross"--he
said this with a sort of business conviction which I had noticed in his
professional work, as he handed me the deed--"how strongly it is worded,
and how the grantor made his wishes apparent in such a way as to leave
no loophole. It is his own wording, except for certain legal
formalities; and I assure you I have seldom seen a more iron-clad
document. Even I myself have no power to make the slightest relaxation
of the instructions, without committing a distinct breach of faith. And
that, I need not tell you, is impossible." He evidently added the last
words in order to prevent an appeal to his personal consideration. He
did not like the seeming harshness of his words, however, for he added:
"I do hope, Miss Trelawny, that you understand that I am willing--
frankly and unequivocally willing--to do anything I can, within the
limits of my power, to relieve your distress. But your Father had, in
all his doings, some purpose of his own which he did not disclose to me.
So far as I can see, there is not a word of his instructions that he had
not thought over fully. Whatever idea he had in his mind was the idea
of a lifetime; he had studied it in every possible phase, and was
prepared to guard it at every point.
"Now I fear I have distressed you, and I am truly sorry for it; for I
see you have much--too much--to bear already. But I have no alternative.
If you want to consult me at any time about anything, I promise you I
will come without a moment's delay, at any hour of the day or night.
There is my private address," he scribbled in his pocket-book as he
spoke, "and under it the address of my club, where I am generally to be
found in the evening." He tore out the paper and handed it to her. She
thanked him. He shook hands with her and with me and withdrew.
As soon as the hall door was shut on him, Mrs. Grant tapped at the door
and came in. There was such a look of distress in her face that Miss
Trelawny stood up, deadly white, and asked her:
"What is it, Mrs. Grant? What is it? Any new trouble?"
"I grieve to say, miss, that the servants, all but two, have given
notice and want to leave the house today. They have talked the matter
over among themselves; the butler has spoken for the rest. He says as
how they are willing to forego their wages, and even to pay their legal
obligations instead of notice; but that go today they must."
"What reason do they give?"
"None, miss. They say as how they're sorry, but that they've nothing to
say. I asked Jane, the upper housemaid, miss, who is not with the rest
but stops on; and she tells me confidential that they've got some notion
in their silly heads that the house is haunted!"
We ought to have laughed, but we didn't. I could not look in Miss
Trelawny's face and laugh. The pain and horror there showed no sudden
paroxysm of fear; there was a fixed idea of which this was a
confirmation. For myself, it seemed as if my brain had found a voice.
But the voice was not complete; there was some other thought, darker and
deeper, which lay behind it, whose voice had not sounded as yet.