CHAPTER XXVII
STATEMENT OF DR. DAMAR GREEFE (CONCLUDED)
A month later I found myself installed at the Bell House, a propertybelonging to the Friar's Park estate, and in the commodious apartmentsof this establishment I had ample room for the accommodation of mylibrary and my priceless specimens. Nahemah was likewise an inmate ofthe Bell House; but recognizing the precarious nature of my tenure, Ihad taken the precaution of retaining the suburban villa to which Ihave already referred; its modest rental proving no tax upon mygreatly increased resources.
Blackmail, I hear you exclaim! And, so, if you wish, you may construemy behavior, since I reply--"Science first, science last!" To havebeen deprived of the means to pursue my experiments at this time wouldhave been, I believed, to impoverish the world. For not even sciencecould reveal to me that my life's work was destined to perish amid theashes of the Bell House.
My studies had temporarily led me into a by-path, and apprehendingthat a great international struggle was imminent, I had turned myinvestigations in a new direction. My great work, whose publicationwould have shattered so many scientific idols, was complete. The lifehistory of Nahemah had crowned my inquiries into the embryology,physiology and psychology of _psycho-hybrids_. In fact, the presenceof my strange protegee promised to become something of an incubus.Later, I was to realize that she was an ever-present means of renewingthose funds which the costly character of my new studies absorbed atrather an alarming rate. Perhaps I neglected my self-imposed task ofstudying the mental and physical development of Nahemah; for, I mustadmit that lost in my new work I presently awakened to the fact thatshe had outgrown the control which I had formerly exercised over her.
There were unpleasant episodes. For example, in spite of thoseprecautions which I adopted, and of the ceaseless vigilance of Cassim,the existence of a female inmate of the Bell House was soon a popularscandal throughout Upper Crossleys. For this I cared nothing; but farmore perturbing was Nahemah's behavior on the occasion of a certainvisit of Sir Burnham's legal adviser to Friar's Park.
In some way she secretly gained admission to the house (the episodeoccurred during that Sothic month whose annual coming I had learned todread). Sir Burnham actually saw her in the chapel. He sent amessenger post-haste to the Bell-House, and I finally discoveredNahemah in hiding and insisted upon her immediate return. This wasonly one of several instances of her perverse behavior, which trulyseemed to be inspired by some demon bent upon the destruction of bothof us.
Her mental activity was extraordinary, and unknown to me she hadfollowed my new researches with that intellectual ardor which shedirectly inherited from the Coverlys. Her ferocious jealousy of anyinfringement upon those family rights denied her by her father hadalso developed, it seemed; and one night, shortly after the scene towhich I have referred, entering my study she placed before me aproposal to which I listened with absolute horror.
I should explain that Sir Burnham, placing the repute of his house andthat of his heir above all other considerations (with one possibleexception: the necessity for concealing the appalling truth from hiswife) had consented to make arrangements for the support of Nahemah onthe understanding that her existence was to remain a profound secretfrom the world. It was upon this understanding that I leased the BellHouse. And although, in certain wild indiscretions, I had recognizedin Nahemah the symptoms of revolt against such a monastic existence,because of absorption in my new studies I had not realized how deepwas her resentment of this enforced anonymity. Certainly I had nevergrasped the power and the depth of her hatred of her brother, RogerCoverly.
Now, on this fateful night, in one of the semi-insane outbursts whichI had learned to dread, she poured out her loathing and detestation ofher brother. She was a Coverly (such was the gist of her plaint) andthe doors of Friar's Park were closed to her; the world knew nothingof her existence. In the event of the death of Sir Burnham, then Rogerwould inherit the property, and complete disaster would be our lot.
To condense the purport of her demand, it was this: that I should testthe efficacy of my new discovery by removing this objectionableobstacle from her path!
Of my subsequent behavior I offer no defense. I am not prepared toadmit that I was forced into action by the forceful personality of myprotegee; in fact, I state emphatically that a chance interview withthe heir during one of his visits to Friar's Park led me to regard thematter in a new light and from a standpoint almost identical with thatof Nahemah.
How warning was conveyed to Sir Burnham I know not, unless by someindiscretion of Nahemah, but, instead of returning to the publicschool from which he had come to Friar's Park, Roger Coverly was sentabroad in haste, accompanied by a private tutor. The date of hisdeparture corresponded with that which I associate with the beginningof my downfall.
Nahemah threatened to present herself to her mother, and painfullyaware that such a course (which, nevertheless, I recognized her to bequite capable of adopting) would spell disaster, I fell in with herwishes. Two months later we were established, Nahemah, Cassim and I,within two miles of the new residence of Roger Coverly and his tutorin Basle.
The circumstances attendant upon the death of Roger Coverly havehitherto been veiled in obscurity, and although Sir Burnham suspectedthe truth, in the first place he had no evidence, and in the secondplace, because of the existence of Nahemah, I knew that he dared notattempt to prove it.
Briefly, I had perfected that Chinese poison called in the northernprovinces _hlangkuna_. By a series of dangerous experiments I hadconvinced myself that it was almost identical with _contarella_, thepreparation made notorious by the Borgia family. Therefore I concludedthat _contarella_ came to Rome from the East, possibly via Palestine.Inoculating with _hlangkuna_, I found, produced death in two hours(_contarella_--one hour and forty-five minutes) leaving no trace bywhich the means employed could be discovered. Self-inoculation by thesubject was the method which I adopted--and which Caesar Borgia hadadopted before me; so that no chain of evidence existed.
All that was necessary was for a scarf, a collar or other article ofapparel coming in direct contact with the skin of the subject, to beplaced in my possession. (A glove was the Borgia's favorite medium.)It was painted with _hlangkuna_ and replaced. When worn, an intenseirritation was produced and a cutaneous eruption which, if scratchedeven very lightly, resulted in a puncture of the skin sufficient toallow the inimical elements of the poison to obtain access to thesystem of the subject.
I do not propose to enter into details, but so it was that RogerCoverly died. Following a brief sojourn abroad, we presently returnedagain to the Bell House. This gratification of her bloodthirstydesires had done no more than to whet the feline appetite of Nahemah,and she forced me to impose new and almost insupportable conditionsupon Sir Burnham, with the result, as is known, that from being a verywealthy man he became an impoverished one.
I even held a mortgage on Friar's Park on behalf of Nahemah; for bythis time I had fully recognized the fact that like a secondFrankenstein, I had raised up a monster which sooner or later mustdevour me.
Her indiscretions threatened daily to result in exposure; and afterthe death of Sir Burnham, which occurred a short time later, theseincreased in number and audacity. The dying baronet had impressed uponhis wife the necessity of following my guidance in all things.Undoubtedly he died hoping that Lady Coverly might live out her daysin ignorance of the grim secret of the Bell House. This dying wish ofhis was gratified. The loss of her son, so closely followed by that ofher husband, prostrated Lady Coverly in a mental illness from whichshe never recovered, although I exercised all my skill in an endeavorto restore her reason. She spent the remainder of her days in asemi-comatose state which so closely resembled death that to thispresent moment I do not know the exact hour at which dissolution tookplace.
In the man Hawkins, once a game-keeper of Sir Burnham's, I found aninstrument ready to my hand. I closed the Park to the public and tookall those precautions for preserving my secret which prudencedictate
d: this at the cost of a reputation in Upper Crossleys whichfew men would have survived, but which troubled me not at all, sinceit left me undisturbed to those studies which to me were everything.
The death of Sir Burnham, however, had raised a new danger; for in theperson of Sir Marcus Coverly, the heir, I perceived a formidableenemy, who because of his wealth might redeem Friar's Park, and,because of the fact that he belonged to a cadet line, might carenothing for the skeleton in Sir Burnham's cupboard.
I have said that science is callous, and I admit that it needed littleprompting from Nahemah to urge me to take the next step. It is worthyof note, however, from a scientific point of view, that whilst I wasprompted by motives of expediency, she was actuated solely by a lustto destroy everything that bore the name of Coverly.
My experiments for some time past had been directed to the discoveryof new instruments of warfare. Particularly I had addressed myself tothe preparation of a _gas_ which should possess the peculiarproperties of _hlangkuna_, and by inhalation affect the lung tissues,thus producing instantaneous results. In this I had succeeded a shorttime prior to Sir Burnham's death, and one of the future belligerentshad approached me.
For the purpose of carrying out experiments, a specially designed gunwas brought from Essen and installed in a secluded part of the Park.Artillery specialists carried out a number of tests with shells ofvarious patterns; but because I bluntly declined to divulge theformula for the making of "L.K. Vapor" (so I had named it) untilsubstantial guarantees were given, negotiations were broken off. Iretained, however, the model howitzer as well as a number of speciallight shells. The gun was one of extraordinary accuracy, and it waspossible, given suitable weather conditions, mechanically to train itupon a given target and without any preliminary "searching" to score acertain hit.
I caused the piece to be mounted on the top platform of the tower atFriar's Park, and having completed those mathematical calculationswith the result of which Mr. Addison has since become familiar, Iawaited the return of the new baronet from Russia. Shortly after hisarrival, I invited him to visit Upper Crossleys.
He refused--in terms which provoked an outburst on Nahemah's part moreviolent than I had ever witnessed. But on his final return to England,she made it her business closely to study his habits and movements.She sought, feverishly, for some pregnable point of attack._Hlangkuna_ was tried three times--and three times failed. It was thedistorted genius of Nahemah, however, which finally dictated a newline of action. She learned that Sir Marcus was paying attention toIsobel Merlin, the fiancee of Eric Coverly (who in the event of SirMarcus's death would inherit the title).
Nahemah propounded to me a theory so strange and so novel that I waslost in admiration of that brilliant intellect which, partly inheritedfrom her forebears, was stimulated and brightened by a cat-likecunning which belonged to the other side of her hybrid personality.
In that district where my suburban villa was situated there wereseveral other isolated establishments which their owners experiencedsome difficulty in leasing; and one of these--namely the RedHouse--particularly suited the purpose which Nahemah had in view. Theextensive resources now at my disposal enabled me to dispense with theusual formalities which beset the lessee and to obtain possession ofthe Red House without even appearing in person.
The deeper to complicate the issue, Nahemah carried out the whole ofthe negotiations over the telephone, and hers was the "voice"afterwards rendered notorious by the press, which issued thedirections culminating in the death of Marcus Coverly.
I recognize that the inquiries of the police have placed in yourpossession many particulars respecting this matter, so that I will notrepeat them here but will content myself with explaining the nature ofthe device employed. In this case, for the removal of the subject, Ihad obtained possession of an old telephone and had adjusted it tomeet my requirements.
In a recess of the room which I caused Sir Marcus Coverly to visit atthe Red House, I placed this duplicate telephone; the false cablecommunicating with the instrument was attached to a plug in the wallabove, but communicated with a gas cylinder in the adjoining room. Inshort, what appeared to be cable was in reality tubing and the act oftaking the receiver from the hook released through the mouthpiece asufficient quantity of L.K. Vapor to have asphyxiated a dozen men.
In order to insure the subject's receiving the benefit of the wholedischarge, I had caused a very heavy curtain to be draped in thisrecess, which thus became a rough gas-chamber. Following the firstdischarge, the subject would fall to the floor and the gas being aheavy one he would there receive his _quietus_.
The only detail which occasioned much thought was that of the bell bywhich Sir Marcus should be summoned to this prepared telephone; for itformed no part of the plan for myself to appear anywhere in theneighborhood at the time of the experiment. I was of course compelledto pay a secret visit to the Red House for the purpose of installingthe telephone device, and at the same time I installed the bell. Thiswas worked from a small storage battery and I arranged that by theopening of the garage door the bell would be put in motion and by theclosing of the door at the end of the same building the ringing wouldcease.
A simple contrivance screwed to both doors made this possible, but Iknow not by whose hand the ringing would have been accomplished if ithad not been for one of those brilliant suggestions of Nahemah's,which hovered between the domain of genius and that of fiendishness.
She proposed that she should ring up the local police depot and askthe constable on that beat to lock the garage, thus making him thedirect instrument for the removal of Sir Marcus!
I knew, since I myself had been a resident in this district, that aconstable patrolled College Road at an hour roughly corresponding withthat at which it was proposed to cause Sir Marcus to visit the RedHouse; and because all strategy is based upon the clock, a briefsurvey of the facts convinced me that Nahemah's plan was feasible.
Thus, it was Police-Constable Bolton, whose evidence has appeared inthe press, who actually killed Sir Marcus Coverly! I come now to thedangerous attitude adopted by Nahemah immediately after the event.
We had had a case of suitable dimensions made for containing the body,and had had it delivered at the Red House garage, where it wasreceived by a district messenger instructed for the purpose. Upon medevolved the task of carrying the body from the supper-room to thegarage--a task which I performed shortly after the departure ofPolice-Constable Bolton. I packed the body, removed the telephone andalso all traces of the bell-device.
The same carter had instructions to call for the case in the morning,and the garage door was left open to enable him to collect it. Inshort, except for these two essential visits, one before and one afterthe experiment, there was no occasion for myself or Nahemah to appearin the neighborhood of the Red House.
But that cat-like spirit of impish mischief which possessed her atthis season (and especially at night) together with an almost insanejoy which she took in gloating over the destruction of her cousin,had led her, contrary to my special injunctions, to haunt thevicinity on the evening of the experiment. Thus, she not onlywitnessed the arrival of the doomed man, but also saw the constableperform the duty imposed upon him. This might have mattered little,had it not been for the presence of Mr. Addison, whom an unkind fateat this juncture involved in the matter.
For Mr. Addison Nahemah conceived one of those sudden and violentinfatuations which characterized the feline element of her complexmentality. Unknown to me, Nahemah followed Mr. Addison to his home inthe neighborhood and indeed was actually seen by him, I believe, ontwo occasions. Thus far all might yet have been well; but when later Ientered the Red House to carry out the only dangerous part of thescheme, to my consternation Nahemah insisted upon accompanying me.
Prompted by that destructive devil which sometimes possessed her shenot only (unknown to me) painted a figure of a cat upon the crate, butalso she placed an image of Bast in the box with the dead man!
The premature discovery of Sir
Marcus, owing to the accident at thedocks, prevented the plan being carried out in all its details, butwhen, through certain rumors which began to creep into the press, Ilearned of the presence of the statuette, I began to realize thedangerous position in which I was placed and the handicap of such anaccomplice.
As a result of the scene which ensued, Nahemah, still under the worstinfluences of her hybrid disposition, openly visited Mr. Addison andrecovered the image of Bast! This she did in circumstances whichhopelessly compromised both of us, since they revealed in a hithertofaultless plan the presence of an unsuspected party and directed thepolice inquiries into an entirely new channel.
I thought it expedient to retire immediately to the Bell House, whichduring my brief absence in London had been in charge of Cassim, allapproaches to Friar's Park being carefully guarded by the man Hawkins.
At this point I may touch upon a previous danger which had been metand overcome. Provision had been made in the will of Sir Burnham forthe retention by his widow of Friar's Park and the revenues thereof;but since in the event of her death I should have been compelled toappear in the character of the mortgagee, it was contrary to ourinterests that Lady Coverly should die whilst any heir to the estateremained alive.
Nevertheless, despite all my care, this stricken woman had died sixmonths prior to the first return of Sir Marcus from Russia. Since shehad been a helpless invalid during the last years of her life Iexperienced little difficulty in concealing the fact of her death.Cassim and I interred her by night in the family mausoleum where shelies beside her husband.
In these circumstances, judge of my feelings when, shortly after thepremature discovery termed in the press "the _Oritoga_ mystery," Mr.Addison one day presented himself at the Bell House! His avowedintention of calling upon Lady Coverly left me no alternative. Neverin all his days, not even when he miraculously escaped the L.K. Vaporat the Abbey Inn, did Mr. Addison stand so near to death as there--inmy study!
Let me explain the situation more fully. The fatal Sothic month whichI have learned to regard with horror, commenced on the twenty-thirdultimo and does not terminate for another five days. Nahemah was--andstill remains--"possessed." You will understand my employment of theterm.
On the night preceding this visit of Mr. Addison's, I had traced hernocturnal movements by the howling of many dogs, and fearful of someindiscretion which might place my neck in a noose, I had followed her.I found her in a narrow footpath which leads to the Abbey Inn!
Despite entreaties, threats, she declined to give any explanation ofher behavior. But finally I prevailed upon her to return to the BellHouse. The appearance of Mr. Addison on the following morning openedmy eyes to the truth. With the scandal still attaching to the names ofEdward Hines and another man, called, I believe, Adams, a subject forgossip throughout the neighborhood, I could not at so perilous a timerisk the consequences of a third intrigue. I determined that Mr.Addison could better be spared by the community than I. Nahemah's nextinsanity--an open visit to the Abbey Inn--confirmed my opinion.
Thereupon I committed my first mistake. Cassim, the Nubian mute, whohad been in my service for many years, was formerly attached to agreat household in Stambul. I shall probably be understood. Iinstructed him; and Mr. Addison very cleverly playing upon hissuperstitious nature, Cassim failed.
My time grows short. I will touch upon my second folly of that night.Long before, the possibility of firing a projectile from the tower ofFriar's Park into the upper front of the Abbey Inn had presenteditself to me in the light of a feasible experiment.
Unaware that Inspector Gatton was watching me--unaware that in myabsence he had actually detected the presence of the gun upon thetower--I played my last card ... and lost.
Cassim it was who detected the fact that police were watching the BellHouse! Cassim had failed me once. I instructed him a second time.
I near the end of my statement. Destruction of all my effects, of allevidence of my work, and, crowning tragedy, of every trace of a life'sresearch, was unavoidable. Knowing that every railway station and portwould be watched and that my marked personality could not hope toescape the vigilance of the authorities, I determined to make a bidfor freedom by seeking the shelter of my villa in London.
Cassim systematically fired the Bell House ... and perished in theflames! Under cover of the confusion which the conflagrationoccasioned, Nahemah and I succeeded in making our retirement by thegate opening on the Hainingham road.
But, in my attempts upon the life of Mr. Addison, I had not countedwith Nahemah. I had raised up a monster ... that monster ... hasdestroyed me....