Three More John Silence Stories
Page 23
CASE III: A VICTIM OF HIGHER SPACE
"There's a hextraordinary gentleman to see you, sir," said the new man.
"Why 'extraordinary'?" asked Dr. Silence, drawing the tips of his thinfingers through his brown beard. His eyes twinkled pleasantly. "Why'extraordinary,' Barker?" he repeated encouragingly, noticing theperplexed expression in the man's eyes.
"He's so--so thin, sir. I could hardly see 'im at all--at first. He wasinside the house before I could ask the name," he added, rememberingstrict orders.
"And who brought him here?"
"He come alone, sir, in a closed cab. He pushed by me before I could saya word--making no noise not what I could hear. He seemed to move so softlike--"
The man stopped short with obvious embarrassment, as though he hadalready said enough to jeopardise his new situation, but trying hard toshow that he remembered the instructions and warnings he had receivedwith regard to the admission of strangers not properly accredited.
"And where is the gentleman now?" asked Dr. Silence, turning away toconceal his amusement.
"I really couldn't exactly say, sir. I left him standing in the 'all--"
The doctor looked up sharply. "But why in the hall, Barker? Why not inthe waiting-room?" He fixed his piercing though kindly eyes on the man'sface. "Did he frighten you?" he asked quickly.
"I think he did, sir, if I may say so. I seemed to lose sight of him, asit were--" The man stammered, evidently convinced by now that he hadearned his dismissal. "He come in so funny, just like a cold wind," headded boldly, setting his heels at attention and looking his master fullin the face.
The doctor made an internal note of the man's halting description; hewas pleased that the slight signs of psychic intuition which had inducedhim to engage Barker had not entirely failed at the first trial. Dr.Silence sought for this qualification in all his assistants, fromsecretary to serving man, and if it surrounded him with a somewhatsingular crew, the drawbacks were more than compensated for on the wholeby their occasional flashes of insight.
"So the gentleman made you feel queer, did he?"
"That was it, I think, sir," repeated the man stolidly.
"And he brings no kind of introduction to me--no letter or anything?"asked the doctor, with feigned surprise, as though he knew what wascoming.
The man fumbled, both in mind and pockets, and finally produced anenvelope.
"I beg pardon, sir," he said, greatly flustered; "the gentleman handedme this for you."
It was a note from a discerning friend, who had never yet sent him acase that was not vitally interesting from one point or another.
"Please see the bearer of this note," the brief message ran, "though Idoubt if even you can do much to help him."
John Silence paused a moment, so as to gather from the mind of thewriter all that lay behind the brief words of the letter. Then he lookedup at his servant with a graver expression than he had yet worn.
"Go back and find this gentleman," he said, "and show him into the greenstudy. Do not reply to his question, or speak more than actuallynecessary; but think kind, helpful, sympathetic thoughts as strongly asyou can, Barker. You remember what I told you about the importance of_thinking_, when I engaged you. Put curiosity out of your mind, andthink gently, sympathetically, affectionately, if you can."
He smiled, and Barker, who had recovered his composure in the doctor'spresence, bowed silently and went out.
There were two different reception-rooms in Dr. Silence's house. One(intended for persons who imagined they needed spiritual assistance whenreally they were only candidates for the asylum) had padded walls, andwas well supplied with various concealed contrivances by means of whichsudden violence could be instantly met and overcome. It was, however,rarely used. The other, intended for the reception of genuine cases ofspiritual distress and out-of-the-way afflictions of a psychic nature,was entirely draped and furnished in a soothing deep green, calculatedto induce calmness and repose of mind. And this room was the one inwhich Dr. Silence interviewed the majority of his "queer" cases, and theone into which he had directed Barker to show his present caller.
To begin with, the arm-chair in which the patient was always directed tosit, was nailed to the floor, since its immovability tended to impartthis same excellent characteristic to the occupant. Patients invariablygrew excited when talking about themselves, and their excitement tendedto confuse their thoughts and to exaggerate their language. Theinflexibility of the chair helped to counteract this. After repeatedendeavours to drag it forward, or push it back, they ended by resigningthemselves to sitting quietly. And with the futility of fidgeting therefollowed a calmer state of mind.
Upon the floor, and at intervals in the wall immediately behind, werecertain tiny green buttons, practically unnoticeable, which on beingpressed permitted a soothing and persuasive narcotic to rise invisiblyabout the occupant of the chair. The effect upon the excitable patientwas rapid, admirable, and harmless. The green study was further providedwith a secret spy-hole; for John Silence liked when possible to observehis patient's face before it had assumed that mask the features of thehuman countenance invariably wear in the presence of another person. Aman sitting alone wears a psychic expression; and this expression is theman himself. It disappears the moment another person joins him. And Dr.Silence often learned more from a few moments' secret observation of aface than from hours of conversation with its owner afterwards.
A very light, almost a dancing, step followed Barker's heavy treadtowards the green room, and a moment afterwards the man came in andannounced that the gentleman was waiting. He was still pale and hismanner nervous.
"Never mind, Barker" the doctor said kindly; "if you were not psychicthe man would have had no effect upon you at all. You only need trainingand development. And when you have learned to interpret these feelingsand sensations better, you will feel no fear, but only a greatsympathy."
"Yes, sir; thank you, sir!" And Barker bowed and made his escape, whileDr. Silence, an amused smile lurking about the corners of his mouth,made his way noiselessly down the passage and put his eye to thespy-hole in the door of the green study.
This spy-hole was so placed that it commanded a view of almost theentire room, and, looking through it, the doctor saw a hat, gloves, andumbrella lying on a chair by the table, but searched at first in vainfor their owner.
The windows were both closed and a brisk fire burned in the grate. Therewere various signs--signs intelligible at least to a keenly intuitivesoul--that the room was occupied, yet so far as human beings wereconcerned, it was empty, utterly empty. No one sat in the chairs; no onestood on the mat before the fire; there was no sign even that a patientwas anywhere close against the wall, examining the Bocklinreproductions--as patients so often did when they thought they werealone--and therefore rather difficult to see from the spy-hole.Ordinarily speaking, there was no one in the room. It was undeniable.
Yet Dr. Silence was quite well aware that a human being _was_ in theroom. His psychic apparatus never failed in letting him know theproximity of an incarnate or discarnate being. Even in the dark he couldtell that. And he now knew positively that his patient--the patient whohad alarmed Barker, and had then tripped down the corridor with thatdancing footstep--was somewhere concealed within the four wallscommanded by his spy-hole. He also realised--and this was mostunusual--that this individual whom he desired to watch knew that he wasbeing watched. And, further, that the stranger himself was alsowatching! In fact, that it was he, the doctor, who was beingobserved--and by an observer as keen and trained as himself.
An inkling of the true state of the case began to dawn upon him, and hewas on the verge of entering--indeed, his hand already touched thedoor-knob--when his eye, still glued to the spy-hole, detected a slightmovement. Directly opposite, between him and the fireplace, somethingstirred. He watched very attentively and made certain that he was notmistaken. An object on the mantelpiece--it was a blue vase--disappearedfrom view. It passed out of sight together with the porti
on of themarble mantelpiece on which it rested. Next, that part of the fire andgrate and brass fender immediately below it vanished entirely, as thougha slice had been taken clean out of them.
Dr. Silence then understood that something between him and these objectswas slowly coming into being, something that concealed them andobstructed his vision by inserting itself in the line of sight betweenthem and himself.
He quietly awaited further results before going in.
First he saw a thin perpendicular line tracing itself from just abovethe height of the clock and continuing downwards till it reached thewoolly fire-mat. This line grew wider, broadened, grew solid. It was noshadow; it was something substantial. It defined itself more and more.Then suddenly, at the top of the line, and about on a level with theface of the