The old horse pricked up her ears at the mention of her name, and pulled willingly south through the deepening dusk. As they drove, the cloud cover broke and dispersed before the freshening wind. The moon shone through the remaining wisps, the sun’s rim dipped below the horizon, and the first stars appeared.
By the time they were finally within sight of the lights of the manor, full dark was upon them. The old mare slowed her pace and stepped gingerly through the gloom, wisely ignoring Darwin’s encouraging words and Pole’s blistering curses.
At last they were in the grounds of the manor. They turned the coach in along the private road, through the landscaped garden with its formal topiary, and on to the servants’ wing, nearest to the west entrance. Pole thrust the reins of the sulky into the hands of a startled footman, who had stepped outside to empty a pail of peelings and kitchen scraps into the poultry run. The two men rushed together through the great house to the east wing dining room.
Bretherton was alone there, sitting at the side table and enjoying a surreptitious glass of wine. He stood up quickly, confused and embarrassed by their sudden entry. Darwin waved away his stammered explanation.
“Where are Mister Philip and Miss Alice?”
“Gone down to the mill, sir, and I fear to the pit also. Miss Alice said that she was going tonight since you had said the Beast might appear, and you had not returned. Mister Alderton said he would go with her for her protection, because he was afraid she would come to harm alone.”
“And Dr. Ledyard?”
“He followed them down, not five minutes ago. He had been out on a case, and he got here after they had left.”
Darwin swore. “Come on, Jacob. And you too Bretherton. Get down to the pit, as fast as you can go. You both have the legs of me. I’ll explain this later.”
Pole at least did not stay to question. He had heard that tone in Darwin’s voice only once before. He grabbed the startled Bretherton by the arm and dragged him off on the double. Darwin followed as fast as his age and weight would permit, but he quickly realized the folly of a headlong rush over unfamiliar ground. He slowed, and was soon far behind.
The full moon had risen in a clear sky, and lit the hill ahead. On its brow Darwin could see the sweeps of the mill turning rapidly in the easterly wind, the latticed arms black and silver in the moonlight. A little closer to him lay the dark opening of the flint pit.
He could see no sign of the others, but as he came closer he heard a loud outcry from the depths of the pit. Hurrying to the edge of it, he looked down. Alice Milner was easily visible in her long, white dress. Next to her, one arm still held in a sling, stood Philip Alderton. They were both watching a group of struggling figures, rolling around the chalky floor. It took some time for Darwin’s eyes to adjust to the deeper darkness below. When they did so, he could see that Pole and Bretherton were holding the struggling figure of James Ledyard firmly between them.
“Hurry up, Erasmus, and give us a hand,” cried Pole, as soon as Darwin called down to them. “He was attacking Alderton, just as we arrived. It’s a good thing Philip has the use of one arm now, or he might have been badly hurt before we could get Ledyard off him.”
Darwin, puffing and gasping for breath after his exertions, did not descend into the pit. Instead, he sat down heavily on the first of the chalk steps, and leaned his broad back against the pit wall.
“I’m not coming down there,” he wheezed, after another few moments to recover his wind. “Get out of the pit. All of you. Quick as you can, unless you want a close look at the Lambeth Immortal. Go on back to the house. I’ll follow you, as soon as I have my breath back. Then I believe I can show you something about this whole business. Go to it!”
His tone was urgent. Still holding Ledyard tightly, the others began to scramble up the chalk steps and move back toward the comforting lights of the manor.
* * *
The mysterious clockwork device had been freed of its sacking cover. It stood now on the dining-room table, an intricate assembly of gears and escapements. A shuttered lantern had been placed behind it. At the opposite end of the table sat the somber figure of James Ledyard, his dark clothes scuffed and whitened with chalk marks from the floor of the pit. Pole and Bretherton flanked him, also seated. Their expressions were wary and watchful. A little behind them sat Alice Milner and Alderton. Darwin alone was at the other end of the table, fiddling with the mechanism. The others watched him closely, with looks that ranged from impatience in Alderton to tight-lipped tension in Ledyard.
“How much longer, Dr. Darwin?” Alderton’s voice was exasperated. “We are putting up with your fiddling and posturing from deference to your reputation. But is it not clear from tonight’s events that Ledyard is no more than a common assassin? He was responsible for my injuries and for Barton’s death. Why do we wait here, when we ought to be delivering him to justice?”
“One moment longer,” said Darwin. “I wish to be sure this instrument is exactly set before I use it.” He exchanged a strange look with Ledyard, then bent and made a small adjustment to the brass fan that was fixed to the front of the device above the long pendulum. He squinted along the line of sight, moved the lantern a fraction, and at last seemed satisfied. He straightened up.
“I ask five minutes of your time. Then, if you wish, Dr. Ledyard will be dealt with as Mr. Alderton has suggested. I want to use this device to explain the events at the pit. It was made for us, at my specification, by Harrison the clock maker at Kings Lynn.”
“And at monstrous cost,” grumbled Pole. “It should be made of gold for the price he charged.”
“Hold your fire, Jacob,” said Darwin. “You will see that it is worth the investment we made. Before I engage the gears, let me ask, what did each of you see tonight, when you were down there in the pit?”
There was a moment’s silence. “Dr. Ledyard was attacking Mr. Alderton,” said Pole gruffly. Bretherton nodded his agreement.
“Right. And before that. What did you see, Alice?”
She looked puzzled, and glanced at Philip Alderton next to her before she answered. “Before the attack? Philip and I were alone there at first. There was really nothing to see. Just the walls of the pit, and the sky. Was it not so, Philip?”
Alderton shrugged and looked bored. “No Immortal, if that’s what you’re trying to get to, even though the conditions were supposed to be perfect for its appearance. I had gone there to tell Alice to stop that nonsense, and to return to the manor. I knew from personal experience that there are dangers in that pit. That was my main interest—not sight-seeing down there. Get to the point, and we can all end the evening.”
Darwin looked finally at Ledyard, who first seemed ready to speak, then bowed his head and remained silent.
Darwin shrugged. “I am sure that you all believe that you are telling me the truth,” he said. “It is easy to prove that none of you is telling me the whole truth. The pit is deep, as we all know. But it is not so deep as a well. From where you were standing, you could all clearly see two other things: the moon, and the mill.”
Alice nodded. “Of course.” She turned to Alderton. “Remember, Philip, I said that I could distinguish the small flints in the pit walls, even without the need of a lantern.”
“And of what possible importance is that?” said Alderton.
“Most important,” replied Darwin. “For if you could see the moon, then you could also see the mill, outlined against the moon. That will always be the arrangement when the full moon first rises. As it comes high enough in the sky to be seen from the bottom of the pit, the mill stands so that the sweeps of the mill intercept its light. Now recall, if you can, the words of Gerald Alderton’s warning—for that is what his message was intended to be. Who can remember it?”
“I do,” said Alice softly. “Moon full on the hill.”
“As it was tonight,” said Darwin. “And next?”
“Wind strong on the mill.”
“So that, had the sweeps been left f
ree to turn, they would be moving round at a good pace. If you watch them closely, you will find that their speed depends little on the force of the wind, provided that it is beyond a certain strength. The sweeps turn at a rate that is close to constant. What is our next condition?”
“No cloud to the East,” whispered Alice.
“And why is that so important?” said Darwin. “Why, for the obvious reason. The moon would not otherwise be visible. So we had Gerald Alderton’s conditions. A moon, shining into the pit through the sweeps of the mill. Are these enough to call forth the Beast of the Pit, to rend and to kill? Are they sufficient, or is some other factor needed also? Well, that is what I propose to test, with the aid of this instrument.” He pointed to the iron and brass clockwork assembly in front of him.
The others were looking at him skeptically, except for James Ledyard who was shaking his head in vehement objection.
“Don’t do it,” he said. “For God’s sake, Dr. Darwin, no sane man will seek to conjure demons, no matter where they dwell.”
Darwin hesitated, weighing Ledyard’s words. “That is quite true,” he said at last. “Unless we raise them to exorcise them, once and for ever. It must be done. All of you, watch closely now, keep your eyes fixed on the lantern beam.”
He unshuttered the lamp, and the beam shone out the length of the room, behind Darwin’s mechanism. At a signal from him, Pole stood up and quietly snuffed the candles in their ornate mounts along the walls. He closed the heavy curtains. The room was silent, lit only by the single lantern.
Darwin bent over the instrument in front of the lamp, and released a metal catch on its side. There was a steady whirring noise and the metal fan in front began a slow revolution. Darwin hurried back along the table, paying out a length of line that was attached to the side of the mechanism. He drew it taut and took up a position standing behind the others. The fan blades intercepted the lantern beam, throwing a flickering pattern of light and dark across the interior of the room.
Darwin increased the tension on the line he was holding, and the moving blades turned faster, black bars across the bright beam. He was making delicate adjustments, seeking a particular speed of rotation. Another sound began to grow in the room. Above the steady whir of the machinery there was growing a labored, tortured breathing. It was a strangled growl, deep in the throat.
Alice had turned her head away from the beam. She gave a scream of terror. By her side, Philip Alderton, the veins in his neck and head congested with blood, began to lurch to his feet. The wooden arms of his chair splintered like dry twigs in the grip of his powerful hands. He began to turn toward Alice, huge in the flickering light of the lantern beam.
Darwin released the line. Before Alderton had fully risen, he leaned over him from behind. The doctor’s hands, strong and precise, pressed firmly on Alderton’s carotid arteries. Grunting in his throat, Alderton tried to bring his hands up to free himself from Darwin’s grip. After a few seconds, he swayed forward and fell unconscious to the thick carpet.
Darwin released him as he fell. “Let’s have lights, and quickly,” he said. He took a deep breath, as though he had been starved of air for several minutes. “You, Bretherton, bring servants here and have your Master carried up to his bed. I judge that he will be unconscious at least five minutes. Give him nothing but water when he wakens, and tend him closely until Dr. Ledyard or I have the opportunity to examine him.”
He went over to the clockwork machine and halted the whirling fan. Pole lit a spill from the lantern on the table and applied it to the candles in their wall brackets. As the room grew light again, James Ledyard gave a long sigh. He shook his head as four servants helped Bretherton to lift Alderton’s great body and bear it from the room.
“That is what my mind refused to accept,” he said. “I feared it, but it went against all my training and my innermost beliefs. I told myself that such a thing was impossible. But I was wrong.”
“Not wholly wrong, I think.” Darwin looked sympathetically at the young doctor. “Wrong in detail, but not in essence. Your instinct told the man, but not the method.” He went over to the curtains and opened them wide. The full moon was still visible, now high in the sky.
“Well past midnight, I would judge,” he said. “We must remain awake until Philip Alderton revives. Miss Alice, will you see Bretherton and ask for food to be brought here. Cold roast and a pie will suffice.” He turned again to Ledyard. “And what suspicions had you developed about Philip Alderton? I can perhaps guess some of them, from your behavior when first we met. You will recall your reluctance to involve me in treating his wounds.”
Ledyard pulled his chair closer to the table. He looked sidelong at Alice, as she slipped back into the room and sat down without speaking by the long window. “I had suspicions. I have always denied the supernatural, as inconsistent with a rational view of the world. Yet tonight we saw it with our own eyes, the conclusion that my mind had thought of, but rejected. Philip Alderton is a loup-garou, a lycanthrope. We saw the beginning of the change. If you had not rendered him insensible, he would have killed Alice, and perhaps all of us. Even in his weakened condition Philip Alderton was stronger than any of us. In wolf form he would have been irresistible.”
“He would,” said Darwin. He seated himself opposite Ledyard, and rested his chin on his cupped hands. “But that is not relevant. Your confusion arises from a mistaken belief that the wonderful and the supernatural are the same thing. A mother’s feelings when she sees her baby’s first smile are not beyond the natural. They can be explained well enough by simple laws, that derive from animal urges to perpetuate the species. They are certainly not supernatural. But I would be the last person to assert that her feelings are not wonderful. That distinction is crucial, if we wish to understand the events at Alderton Manor in the last week—and in the past two hundred years.”
Jacob Pole had been standing listening to Darwin, a lit spill still in his hand ready to light his pipe. He swore as the heat reached his fingers, and dropped the spill hurriedly to the floor.
“Pox on it, Erasmus. I suppose you think you are making sense, but it’s all gibberish to me. What the devil has Philip Alderton’s change to a bestial form got to do with smiling babies? We’ve not seen one baby since we came to the manor.”
“Jacob, have you never heard of analogy?” Darwin sighed. “So much for simile. Well, we have time to spare until Philip Alderton wakes. A full explanation will be of interest to everyone.”
He turned to Bretherton, who had quietly entered carrying a board laden with meat pies, cold roast beef, and cheeses. “Is your Master comfortable?”
“Yes, sir. Two men are at his bedside. We will know as soon as he stirs.”
“He may be nauseated when he wakens. Cutting off the supply of blood to the brain, as I did, may produce that effect. You should be prepared for that possibility.”
“Yes, sir.” Bretherton turned, but he hesitated before going to the door. “Doctor, the men are afraid of Mister Alderton. They heard what happened here. Are they safe with him, or might he change again?”
“Heard it from you, I suppose,” said Darwin. “Tell them that they are perfectly safe.”
“But are they?” asked Alice, as soon as Bretherton had left the room. “If Dr. Ledyard be correct, could not Philip change again? It is still the full moon, and the wind still blows strong on the mill.”
“That will not happen. Dr. Ledyard has guessed a part of the truth, but as Philip Alderton’s fiancйe, you must understand everything. It is not pleasant. Tell me, my dear, did you know anything of Philip’s health, or the health of his family, before you came here?”
“Philip’s health was always robust. You have seen how quickly he recuperates from injury. But of his family, I know little. I assumed that they all enjoyed good health.”
“They did,” interrupted James Ledyard. “Charles Alderton was a good age when he died, and had good health prior to his fatal seizure.”
“Very well
.” Darwin cut a piece of Caerphilly cheese. “So let us begin only with facts, unencumbered by any theories. You examined the wounds of Philip Alderton, Dr. Ledyard, and you also examined the body of Tom Barton. I believe you drew certain conclusions from those examinations. Would you tell me what they were.”
“They made me very uneasy,” replied Ledyard. “Philip’s wounds had been inflicted by an animal of some sort, that could not have been otherwise from their nature. But Barton’s wounds were different. There were cuts and tears in his skin, but they were not the cause of his death. His skull had been crushed by some terrible impact. I was uneasy when I saw that, and wondered if somehow he and Philip could have fought each other in the pit.”
“Which would reduce the mystery of the Immortal to a common assault,” said Darwin. “I could see no reason for you to discourage my medical examination, unless you suspected your own conclusions and thought to shield someone else from grief and scandal. I think I know whom you hoped to protect. But you missed something. You did not also examine the bodies of the hounds.”
“Of Cambyses and Berengaria?” Ledyard looked puzzled. “Why should I?”
“Why indeed?” said Pole. “Dammit, Erasmus, I told you you’d get nothing poking around inside a couple of dead dogs. It was the messiest business I’ve ever seen.”
“A trifle smelly, I suppose,” said Darwin cheerfully. “That is something to which any doctor quickly becomes accustomed.” He cut a thick slice of roast beef and happily began to apply mustard with a lavish hand. “But it was informative. Now, another fact. Alice, my dear, those hounds were part of the household. Who looked after their care and feeding? I feel sure that it was not Philip.”
“Barton looked after all the dogs,” said Alice. “It was part of his duties. And I suspect that it was his idea to take them along to the mill.”
“Which Philip Alderton readily agreed to,” said Darwin. “That should rule out your notion, Dr. Ledyard, that Alderton had any prior intention to attack Barton using the story of the Immortal as a cover. He would never have permitted the dogs in such a case.” He picked up a thick pie, sniffed at it closely, and laid it again on the table. “Well, what then of the hounds’ wounds? They were like Barton’s, not like Philip Alderton’s. Brains beat out against a hard surface—such as the wall of the pit. When I saw that, the conclusion was clear. Alderton did attack Barton, as you had surmised. The hounds defended Barton, and then themselves. Alderton somehow killed all three, but not without extensive wounds inflicted by the desperate hounds. I’m sorry, my dear,” he added, as Alice gave a low exclamation of horror. “That seemed to be the only explanation. Even with his great strength, it was hard to imagine how he could have done it. But had he done so, his wounds were inflicted by the dogs, not by the Lambeth Immortal. That was my thought, after examining men and hounds.”
The Amazing Dr. Darwin Page 19