Produced by Sue Asscher. HTML version by Al Haines.
The Jewel of Seven Stars
by
Bram Stoker
To Eleanor and Constance Hoyt
Contents
I A Summons in the Night II Strange Instructions III The Watchers IV The Second Attempt V More Strange Instructions VI Suspicions VII The Traveller's Loss VIII The Finding of the Lamps IX The Need of Knowledge X The Valley of the Sorcerer XI A Queen's Tomb XII The Magic Coffer XIII Awaking From the Trance XIV The Birth-Mark XV The Purpose of Queen Tera XVI The Cavern XVII Doubts and Fears XVIII The Lesson of the "Ka" XIX The Great Experiment
Chapter I
A Summons in the Night
It all seemed so real that I could hardly imagine that it had everoccurred before; and yet each episode came, not as a fresh step in thelogic of things, but as something expected. It is in such a wise thatmemory plays its pranks for good or ill; for pleasure or pain; for wealor woe. It is thus that life is bittersweet, and that which has beendone becomes eternal.
Again, the light skiff, ceasing to shoot through the lazy water as whenthe oars flashed and dripped, glided out of the fierce July sunlightinto the cool shade of the great drooping willow branches--I standingup in the swaying boat, she sitting still and with deft fingersguarding herself from stray twigs or the freedom of the resilience ofmoving boughs. Again, the water looked golden-brown under the canopyof translucent green; and the grassy bank was of emerald hue. Again,we sat in the cool shade, with the myriad noises of nature both withoutand within our bower merging into that drowsy hum in whose sufficingenvironment the great world with its disturbing trouble, and its moredisturbing joys, can be effectually forgotten. Again, in that blissfulsolitude the young girl lost the convention of her prim, narrowupbringing, and told me in a natural, dreamy way of the loneliness ofher new life. With an undertone of sadness she made me feel how in thatspacious home each one of the household was isolated by the personalmagnificence of her father and herself; that there confidence had noaltar, and sympathy no shrine; and that there even her father's facewas as distant as the old country life seemed now. Once more, thewisdom of my manhood and the experience of my years laid themselves atthe girl's feet. It was seemingly their own doing; for the individual"I" had no say in the matter, but only just obeyed imperative orders.And once again the flying seconds multiplied themselves endlessly. Forit is in the arcana of dreams that existences merge and renewthemselves, change and yet keep the same--like the soul of a musicianin a fugue. And so memory swooned, again and again, in sleep.
It seems that there is never to be any perfect rest. Even in Eden thesnake rears its head among the laden boughs of the Tree of Knowledge.The silence of the dreamless night is broken by the roar of theavalanche; the hissing of sudden floods; the clanging of the enginebell marking its sweep through a sleeping American town; the clankingof distant paddles over the sea.... Whatever it is, it is breaking thecharm of my Eden. The canopy of greenery above us, starred withdiamond-points of light, seems to quiver in the ceaseless beat ofpaddles; and the restless bell seems as though it would never cease....
All at once the gates of Sleep were thrown wide open, and my wakingears took in the cause of the disturbing sounds. Waking existence isprosaic enough--there was somebody knocking and ringing at someone'sstreet door.
I was pretty well accustomed in my Jermyn Street chambers to passingsounds; usually I did not concern myself, sleeping or waking, with thedoings, however noisy, of my neighbours. But this noise was toocontinuous, too insistent, too imperative to be ignored. There wassome active intelligence behind that ceaseless sound; and some stressor need behind the intelligence. I was not altogether selfish, and atthe thought of someone's need I was, without premeditation, out of bed.Instinctively I looked at my watch. It was just three o'clock; therewas a faint edging of grey round the green blind which darkened myroom. It was evident that the knocking and ringing were at the door ofour own house; and it was evident, too, that there was no one awake toanswer the call. I slipped on my dressing-gown and slippers, and wentdown to the hall door. When I opened it there stood a dapper groom,with one hand pressed unflinchingly on the electric bell whilst withthe other he raised a ceaseless clangour with the knocker. The instanthe saw me the noise ceased; one hand went up instinctively to the brimof his hat, and the other produced a letter from his pocket. A neatbrougham was opposite the door, the horses were breathing heavily asthough they had come fast. A policeman, with his night lantern stillalight at his belt, stood by, attracted to the spot by the noise.
"Beg pardon, sir, I'm sorry for disturbing you, but my orders wasimperative; I was not to lose a moment, but to knock and ring tillsomeone came. May I ask you, sir, if Mr. Malcolm Ross lives here?"
"I am Mr. Malcolm Ross."
"Then this letter is for you, sir, and the bro'am is for you too, sir!"
I took, with a strange curiosity, the letter which he handed to me. Asa barrister I had had, of course, odd experiences now and then,including sudden demands upon my time; but never anything like this. Istepped back into the hall, closing the door to, but leaving it ajar;then I switched on the electric light. The letter was directed in astrange hand, a woman's. It began at once without "dear sir" or anysuch address:
"You said you would like to help me if I needed it; and I believe youmeant what you said. The time has come sooner than I expected. I amin dreadful trouble, and do not know where to turn, or to whom toapply. An attempt has, I fear, been made to murder my Father; though,thank God, he still lives. But he is quite unconscious. The doctorsand police have been sent for; but there is no one here whom I candepend on. Come at once if you are able to; and forgive me if you can.I suppose I shall realise later what I have done in asking such afavour; but at present I cannot think. Come! Come at once! MARGARETTRELAWNY."
Pain and exultation struggled in my mind as I read; but the masteringthought was that she was in trouble and had called on me--me! Mydreaming of her, then, was not altogether without a cause. I calledout to the groom:
"Wait! I shall be with you in a minute!" Then I flew upstairs.
A very few minutes sufficed to wash and dress; and we were soon drivingthrough the streets as fast as the horses could go. It was marketmorning, and when we got out on Piccadilly there was an endless streamof carts coming from the west; but for the rest the roadway was clear,and we went quickly. I had told the groom to come into the broughamwith me so that he could tell me what had happened as we went along.He sat awkwardly, with his hat on his knees as he spoke.
"Miss Trelawny, sir, sent a man to tell us to get out a carriage atonce; and when we was ready she come herself and gave me the letter andtold Morgan--the coachman, sir--to fly. She said as I was to lose nota second, but to keep knocking till someone come."
"Yes, I know, I know--you told me! What I want to know is, why shesent for me. What happened in the house?"
"I don't quite know myself, sir; except that master was found in hisroom senseless, with the sheets all bloody, and a wound on his head. Hecouldn't be waked nohow. Twas Miss Trelawny herself as found him."
"How did she come to find him at such an hour? It was late in thenight, I suppose?"
"I don't know, sir; I didn't hear nothing at all of the details."
As he could tell me no more, I stopped the carriage for a moment to lethim get out on the box; then I turned the matter over in my mind as Isat alone. There were many things which I could have asked theservant; and for a few moments after he had gone I was angry withmyself for not having used my opportunity. On second thought, however,I was glad the temptation was gone. I felt that it would be morede
licate to learn what I wanted to know of Miss Trelawny's surroundingsfrom herself, rather than from her servants.
We bowled swiftly along Knightsbridge, the small noise of ourwell-appointed vehicle sounding hollowly in the morning air. We turnedup the Kensington Palace Road and presently stopped opposite a greathouse on the left-hand side, nearer, so far as I could judge, theNotting Hill than the Kensington end of the avenue. It was a trulyfine house, not only with regard to size but to architecture. Even inthe dim grey light of the morning, which tends to diminish the size ofthings, it looked big.
Miss Trelawny met me in the hall. She was not in any way shy. Sheseemed to rule all around her with a sort of high-bred dominance, allthe more remarkable as she was greatly agitated and as pale as snow.In the great hall were several servants, the men standing together nearthe hall door, and the women clinging together in the further cornersand doorways. A police superintendent had been talking to MissTrelawny; two men in uniform and one plain-clothes man stood near him.As she took my hand impulsively there was a look of relief in her eyes,and she gave a gentle sigh of relief. Her salutation was simple.
"I knew you would come!"
The clasp of the hand can mean a great deal, even when it is notintended to mean anything especially. Miss Trelawny's hand somehowbecame lost in my own. It was not that it was a small hand; it wasfine and flexible, with long delicate fingers--a rare and beautifulhand; it was the unconscious self-surrender. And though at the momentI could not dwell on the cause of the thrill which swept me, it cameback to me later.
She turned and said to the police superintendent:
"This is Mr. Malcolm Ross." The police officer saluted as he answered:
"I know Mr. Malcolm Ross, miss. Perhaps he will remember I had thehonour of working with him in the Brixton Coining case." I had not atfirst glance noticed who it was, my whole attention having been takenwith Miss Trelawny.
"Of course, Superintendent Dolan, I remember very well!" I said as weshook hands. I could not but note that the acquaintanceship seemed arelief to Miss Trelawny. There was a certain vague uneasiness in hermanner which took my attention; instinctively I felt that it would beless embarrassing for her to speak with me alone. So I said to theSuperintendent:
"Perhaps it will be better if Miss Trelawny will see me alone for a fewminutes. You, of course, have already heard all she knows; and I shallunderstand better how things are if I may ask some questions. I willthen talk the matter over with you if I may."
"I shall be glad to be of what service I can, sir," he answeredheartily.
Following Miss Trelawny, I moved over to a dainty room which openedfrom the hall and looked out on the garden at the back of the house.When we had entered and I had closed the door she said:
"I will thank you later for your goodness in coming to me in mytrouble; but at present you can best help me when you know the facts."
"Go on," I said. "Tell me all you know and spare no detail, howevertrivial it may at the present time seem to be." She went on at once:
"I was awakened by some sound; I do not know what. I only know that itcame through my sleep; for all at once I found myself awake, with myheart beating wildly, listening anxiously for some sound from myFather's room. My room is next Father's, and I can often hear himmoving about before I fall asleep. He works late at night, sometimesvery late indeed; so that when I wake early, as I do occasionally, orin the grey of the dawn, I hear him still moving. I tried once toremonstrate with him about staying up so late, as it cannot be good forhim; but I never ventured to repeat the experiment. You know how sternand cold he can be--at least you may remember what I told you abouthim; and when he is polite in this mood he is dreadful. When he isangry I can bear it much better; but when he is slow and deliberate,and the side of his mouth lifts up to show the sharp teeth, I think Ifeel--well, I don't know how! Last night I got up softly and stole tothe door, for I really feared to disturb him. There was not any noiseof moving, and no kind of cry at all; but there was a queer kind ofdragging sound, and a slow, heavy breathing. Oh! it was dreadful,waiting there in the dark and the silence, and fearing--fearing I didnot know what!
"At last I took my courage a deux mains, and turning the handle assoftly as I could, I opened the door a tiny bit. It was quite darkwithin; I could just see the outline of the windows. But in thedarkness the sound of breathing, becoming more distinct, was appalling.As I listened, this continued; but there was no other sound. I pushedthe door open all at once. I was afraid to open it slowly; I felt asif there might be some dreadful thing behind it ready to pounce out onme! Then I switched on the electric light, and stepped into the room.I looked first at the bed. The sheets were all crumpled up, so that Iknew Father had been in bed; but there was a great dark red patch inthe centre of the bed, and spreading to the edge of it, that made myheart stand still. As I was gazing at it the sound of the breathingcame across the room, and my eyes followed to it. There was Father onhis right side with the other arm under him, just as if his dead bodyhad been thrown there all in a heap. The track of blood went acrossthe room up to the bed, and there was a pool all around him whichlooked terribly red and glittering as I bent over to examine him. Theplace where he lay was right in front of the big safe. He was in hispyjamas. The left sleeve was torn, showing his bare arm, and stretchedout toward the safe. It looked--oh! so terrible, patched all withblood, and with the flesh torn or cut all around a gold chain bangle onhis wrist. I did not know he wore such a thing, and it seemed to giveme a new shock of surprise."
She paused a moment; and as I wished to relieve her by a moment'sdivergence of thought, I said:
"Oh, that need not surprise you. You will see the most unlikely menwearing bangles. I have seen a judge condemn a man to death, and thewrist of the hand he held up had a gold bangle." She did not seem toheed much the words or the idea; the pause, however, relieved hersomewhat, and she went on in a steadier voice:
"I did not lose a moment in summoning aid, for I feared he might bleedto death. I rang the bell, and then went out and called for help asloudly as I could. In what must have been a very short time--though itseemed an incredibly long one to me--some of the servants came runningup; and then others, till the room seemed full of staring eyes, anddishevelled hair, and night clothes of all sorts.
"We lifted Father on a sofa; and the housekeeper, Mrs. Grant, whoseemed to have her wits about her more than any of us, began to lookwhere the flow of blood came from. In a few seconds it became apparentthat it came from the arm which was bare. There was a deep wound--notclean-cut as with a knife, but like a jagged rent or tear--close to thewrist, which seemed to have cut into the vein. Mrs. Grant tied ahandkerchief round the cut, and screwed it up tight with a silverpaper-cutter; and the flow of blood seemed to be checked at once. Bythis time I had come to my senses--or such of them as remained; and Isent off one man for the doctor and another for the police. When theyhad gone, I felt that, except for the servants, I was all alone in thehouse, and that I knew nothing--of my Father or anything else; and agreat longing came to me to have someone with me who could help me.Then I thought of you and your kind offer in the boat under thewillow-tree; and, without waiting to think, I told the men to get acarriage ready at once, and I scribbled a note and sent it on to you."
She paused. I did not like to say just then anything of how I felt. Ilooked at her; I think she understood, for her eyes were raised to minefor a moment and then fell, leaving her cheeks as red as peony roses.With a manifest effort she went on with her story:
"The Doctor was with us in an incredibly short time. The groom had methim letting himself into his house with his latchkey, and he came hererunning. He made a proper tourniquet for poor Father's arm, and thenwent home to get some appliances. I dare say he will be back almostimmediately. Then a policeman came, and sent a message to the station;and very soon the Superintendent was here. Then you came."
There was a long pause, and I ventured to take her hand for an ins
tant.Without a word more we opened the door, and joined the Superintendentin the hall. He hurried up to us, saying as he came:
"I have been examining everything myself, and have sent off a messageto Scotland Yard. You see, Mr. Ross, there seemed so much that was oddabout the case that I thought we had better have the best man of theCriminal Investigation Department that we could get. So I sent a noteasking to have Sergeant Daw sent at once. You remember him, sir, inthat American poisoning case at Hoxton."
"Oh yes," I said, "I remember him well; in that and other cases, for Ihave benefited several times by his skill and acumen. He has a mindthat works as truly as any that I know. When I have been for thedefence, and believed my man was innocent, I was glad to have himagainst us!"
"That is high praise, sir!" said the Superintendent gratified: "I amglad you approve of my choice; that I did well in sending for him."
I answered heartily:
"Could not be better. I do not doubt that between you we shall get atthe facts--and what lies behind them!"
We ascended to Mr. Trelawny's room, where we found everything exactlyas his daughter had described.
There came a ring at the house bell, and a minute later a man was showninto the room. A young man with aquiline features, keen grey eyes, anda forehead that stood out square and broad as that of a thinker. Inhis hand he had a black bag which he at once opened. Miss Trelawnyintroduced us: "Doctor Winchester, Mr. Ross, Superintendent Dolan."We bowed mutually, and he, without a moment's delay, began his work.We all waited, and eagerly watched him as he proceeded to dress thewound. As he went on he turned now and again to call theSuperintendent's attention to some point about the wound, the latterproceeding to enter the fact at once in his notebook.
"See! several parallel cuts or scratches beginning on the left side ofthe wrist and in some places endangering the radial artery.
"These small wounds here, deep and jagged, seem as if made with a bluntinstrument. This in particular would seem as if made with some kind ofsharp wedge; the flesh round it seems torn as if with lateral pressure."
Turning to Miss Trelawny he said presently:
"Do you think we might remove this bangle? It is not absolutelynecessary, as it will fall lower on the wrist where it can hangloosely; but it might add to the patient's comfort later on." The poorgirl flushed deeply as she answered in a low voice:
"I do not know. I--I have only recently come to live with my Father;and I know so little of his life or his ideas that I fear I can hardlyjudge in such a matter. The Doctor, after a keen glance at her, saidin a very kindly way:
"Forgive me! I did not know. But in any case you need not bedistressed. It is not required at present to move it. Were it so Ishould do so at once on my own responsibility. If it be necessarylater on, we can easily remove it with a file. Your Father doubtlesshas some object in keeping it as it is. See! there is a tiny keyattached to it...." As he was speaking he stopped and bent lower,taking from my hand the candle which I held and lowering it till itslight fell on the bangle. Then motioning me to hold the candle in thesame position, he took from his pocket a magnifying-glass which headjusted. When he had made a careful examination he stood up andhanded the magnifying-glass to Dolan, saying as he did so:
"You had better examine it yourself. That is no ordinary bangle. Thegold is wrought over triple steel links; see where it is worn away. Itis manifestly not meant to be removed lightly; and it would need morethan an ordinary file to do it."
The Superintendent bent his great body; but not getting close enoughthat way knelt down by the sofa as the Doctor had done. He examinedthe bangle minutely, turning it slowly round so that no particle of itescaped observation. Then he stood up and handed the magnifying-glassto me. "When you have examined it yourself," he said, "let the ladylook at it if she will," and he commenced to write at length in hisnotebook.
I made a simple alteration in his suggestion. I held out the glasstoward Miss Trelawny, saying:
"Had you not better examine it first?" She drew back, slightly raisingher hand in disclaimer, as she said impulsively:
"Oh no! Father would doubtless have shown it to me had he wished me tosee it. I would not like to without his consent." Then she added,doubtless fearing lest her delicacy of view should give offence to therest of us:
"Of course it is right that you should see it. You have to examine andconsider everything; and indeed--indeed I am grateful to you..."
She turned away; I could see that she was crying quietly. It wasevident to me that even in the midst of her trouble and anxiety therewas a chagrin that she knew so little of her father; and that herignorance had to be shown at such a time and amongst so many strangers.That they were all men did not make the shame more easy to bear, thoughthere was a certain relief in it. Trying to interpret her feelings Icould not but think that she must have been glad that no woman'seyes--of understanding greater than man's--were upon her in that hour.
When I stood up from my examination, which verified to me that of theDoctor, the latter resumed his place beside the couch and went on withhis ministrations. Superintendent Dolan said to me in a whisper:
"I think we are fortunate in our doctor!" I nodded, and was about toadd something in praise of his acumen, when there came a low tapping atthe door.