by Unknown
The little, stretched-out man looked up at him, and his shoulders began to shake in a wheezy, mirthless laugh that set the nerves acrawl. "Four o' you," he chuckled, "four o' you, be gosh, to put a dyin' man to 'is sleep. Why, gents, I take it as a ruddy honour, I do an' all, he, he!"
There was something extraordinarily shocking in his merriment at such a time, and that he should be so game was going to make our business none the easier. Yet it was not all bravery on his part. His eyes were bright with the fear of something from which he might welcome even death itself as an escape.
"Say, Mr. Morgan, sir," said he to me after a pause, "seet down one moment, and let me tell you what I 'ave to tell. It won't take long. I'd take it as a favour. Seems like I must get it off me chest. You'll think less 'ard o' Nightmare Jack per'aps, when once you've 'aird. What's the time now?"
I told him it was half past three.
"Gimme till four, gents," he whispered thickly; "'alf an hour, like good blokes."
I looked at the others, Cohen and Crabbe, and then, hesitating and half-ashamed, nodded to Nightmare Jack. Was there, I wondered, some ruse behind the urgency of this request, or was it merely a pathetic staving-off of doom, perhaps an attempt to raise our pity? Anyhow, we had him safe and sure, and the man might well be dead by four o'clock. It would save trouble...
So, whilst the uneasy wind without began to question and to rattle at the panes, Nightmare Jack narrated, brokenly and painfully, with a sob of terror often rising in his throat and catching at his breath, the story, vain and tumultuous, of the Pointing Hand.
At times, and under strong emotion, the whispering voice would tend again towards the lingua franca of Quebec; yet in the main held steady to the slightly tinctured English which is all that I can try to reproduce.
We had taken chairs near the door, but in the grip of what we heard the three of us drew closer and closer to the bed. Only Gilchrist remained seated in a darkening corner, nursing with a handkerchief his wounded cheek.
On a pillow and close to the head of Nightmare Jack, Pongo, the huge cat that I had given him, slowly preened itself and purred.
II
"Eight year ago to-day, near as may be, three men sailed out o' Rangoon with jewels fit for 'eaven in their 'ands and the fear of 'ell in their 'earts.
"All the way from Sinbo, far up country, they'd come, and on the journey down to the ship things 'ad not gone well with them. Leetle 'itches, more or less, that might 'ave been explained easily enough if their nerves 'adn't been on edge with knowin' what they carried an' 'ow they'd come by it.
"T'ree times or four they'd given that shinin' sinful stuff its last look afore chuckin' it into the river, and t'ree times they'd changed their minds an' 'urried on again.
"But when once they'd got it an' themselves aboard an' couldn' see that funny, one-eyed fellow who'd followed them down from Mandalay no more their minds were easier, an' they spends all their time plannin' what they was goin' to do with the money they would make when they got 'ome.
"Only ole Fatty Simpson began to lie awake in his bunk at night rememberin' all o' them leetle things that 'ad 'appen on the journey down, an' in the mornin' 'e would say to them other two, Cutler an' Langrish, 'Thinks I'll chuck me 'and in, mate, an' if you takes my advice you'll 'eave the lot over the side, stones an' all. I tells you I know what rubies ought to look like, but these are just the colour o' stale blood. Leastways, they are now. I tell you, they're rum 'uns. Anyway, you can 'ave my share o' the pizenous stuff, an' much good may it do you.'
"But some'ow 'e never told them what partly explained 'is nervousness – that in lookin' over into the well deck for'ard 'e'd spotted that berry-brown, one-eyed cove tailin' on to a rope with a bunch o' lascars, an' so Langrish an' Cutler only laughs at 'is fidgets – else I would never a' come into the story later on...
"When they reach London there were seven others waitin' for them to share out the pretties. Ten of 'em all told there was, an' Dr. Gill the 'ead o' the crowd. It was 'e an' Mr. Cuthbert an' Langrish 'ad got wind o' the stuff first of all in some old temple up Mogaung way an' formed what they called a syndicate to get it. They'd drawn lots to fix who should go for it, an' Langrish 'e always swore that the t'ree red balls 'e an' 'is mates pulled from the box 'ad been doctored so'me'ow by Gill an' the rest.
"But they thought no more o' that once they was 'ome, an' when they met to talk things over in the little doss-'ouse out at Rother'ithe they all toasted themselves and their great 'Luck' till they was all too tipsy to stand. Even Fatty 'ad got over 'is fright 'an took back what 'e'd said about givin' up 'is claim.
"All the same, when 'e an' a couple more were rowin' downstream after the meetin' to Jellicoe's Wharf, 'e notice another boat edgin' after them in the shadow of the bank, an' though 'e couldn' see the face o' the fellow that pulled at the oars, 'is back reminded 'im again of that squint-faced chap as 'ad come across with them in the fo'c'sle of the Burmah Queen...
"It 'ad been agreed after a good deal o' talkin' and quarrellin' that the stones themselves should be divided out, an' then that each man should sell 'is lot as 'e liked, provided 'e did it slow an' careful. Ah, you know, even then there was a reason for this way of arrangin' things that none of 'em liked to own to. They wanted, some'ow, to get right clear away from what they'd done so they'd never 'ave to see each other again and be reminded... The rubies, since they'd come aboard at Rangoon, 'ad be'aved well enough for the matter o' that, but Fatty Simpson 'ad got talkin' – an' you know what being frighten' is – it spreads, spreads...!"
Suddenly Nightmare Jack set up a wild, high, echoing laugh, and the cat for a moment stopped its purring and its preening to lick his hand. Cohen had started forward with an exclamation, but Crabbe pushed him back. "It's all right," he said. "That's how it always takes him, when he has his dreams..."
Presently the laughing ceased abruptly, and the hoarse and stealthy voice went on.
"For three years or more those men lived 'idden from each other. They was all round about London, as it chance, but for all the times they ever met after the share-out they might 'ave been thousands of miles apart. The stones went very, very slowly, an' each man 'ad 'ardly got rid of a quarter of 'is lot when the things began to 'appen...
"It wasn't with Fatty Simpson that they started altogether, but it was from 'im I 'eard it first, Sirs, an' I'll tell you 'ow it was.
"Fatty 'ad bought 'imself an 'ouse down the river near Grays, an' 'ad come to the end of his first three stones, so one day 'e come up to London to try an' sell the fourth.
"In the train, about half a dozen stations before Fenchurch Street, 'e began to dream...
"Of course I know of what 'e dream. It's always the same dream. Never to this day do I or any of the others tell a 'uman soul about those dreams. Not that I 'aven't been asked often enough. But it would 'ave done no good... What would people 'ave said if I 'ad tell them of the thing that follow me night and day, the thing that flash before me now the moment I close my eyes, this long, brown, lower arm of a man, with the 'and stiffen from the wrist, an' the fingers pointin', always pointin'!
"It was that that Fatty saw out of the carriage window as 'e looked north over Stratford marsh, an' 'e open 'is bag in a 'urry, an' take a quick pull at the flask 'e 'ad inside. That stiffen 'im up a lot, an' when 'e look out again 'e couldn' see what 'e seen afore. Presently the train ran into Fenchurch Street, an' 'e got out an' made for the nearest bar. 'E swallowed a few smart ones to complete the cure, an' by the time 'e set off east an' towards the river with the ruby in a wallet in 'is pocket 'e was laughin' to 'imself about 'is funny dream. Yet even then, somethin' cold at the bottom of 'is 'eart seemed to tell 'im that 'is laughin' days were over an' the game was up.
"The ruby 'e'd brought with 'im, Sirs, was a rare big one, with two circles cut on it, one inside the other, an' the fence 'e was sellin' it to looked at 'im a bit curious as 'e turned it over in 'is little room upstairs.
"'Funny,' 'e says, 'a bloke was in 'air 'bout six
months ago with a ruby just like this – cut in the same way. I couldn't give 'im much for it either, because o' that. Marked stones are too dam' risky.'
"'E went on lookin', first at the pretty an' then at Fatty, till presently 'e says:
"'By the way, boss, you don't 'appen to 'ave bin in 'air before wi' that other ruby, eh?'
"'What?' says Fatty. 'I bin in 'air before? Not I, nor I won't ever come in again neither if you 'ands me out any more o' that macaroni. What yer mean?'
"'Well now, that's quair,' said the fence. 'It's true you didn' remind me of 'im at first, but what with 'avin' the same kind of stone, an' the same funny mark on yer cheek, it did look a bit odd.'
"'Mark on me cheek!' said ole Fatty. 'By gum! I'll make you a present of it!' An' he did too, leavin' a bruise the size of 'is fist on the other fellow's face. Then 'e put the ruby back into its wallet an' walked out of the shop.
"Bein' so full o' whisky as 'e was, 'e didn' think much more o' what the fence 'ad said beyond 'is bein' anxious to get quit o' the stone, till 'e 'appened to drop into a barber's, an' the man 'oo shaved 'im said the same thing about 'is face.
"'Where?' asked Fatty, lookin' in the mirror, 'I can't see no mark on me cheek. What's it like?'
"The man told 'im it was a leetle, lop-sided patch of yellow, like a stain or a burn, just under the bone on the left side.
"'Oh, yes,' said Fatty, pretendin' to see it. 'That's acid. I spilt some there this mornin', but I didn' notice it 'ad made a stain.'
"The same afternoon three other people told 'im about 'is cheek, yet when 'e got 'ome an' looked in the glass 'e could see nothin'. 'E didn' sleep one wink that night, but it was only by the early mornin' of the next day that 'e began to catch the meanin' of what 'ad come to 'im.
"Then 'e began to sweat with terror, same as I've sweated now for many a long year, an' two days after that the dreams came on again..."
Nightmare Jack stopped, and though his lips continued to move, it was only after some seconds that I caught the words they uttered.
"Brandy," he whispered. "There's a bottle in the cupboard."
He took a long, difficult drink from the half-pannikin I poured out for him, and after a little while continued.
"It was one day in the nex' week, Fatty tell me, that, as 'e was walkin' along the road towards Tilbury, 'e ran against Cutler – one of the three to bring the jewels 'ome from Burmah.
"Cutler didn' seem as surprise' to meet 'im as 'e might 'ave been some'ow, an' for a minute or two 'e was talkint about 'is aunt's 'ealth, an' the bad drains, an' the marrows 'e was growin' at 'ome. 'E was lookin' downright seedy, ant presen'ly, when 'e turned 'is face round from the way te'd been 'oldin' it all that time, Fatty saw a great patch of plaster on 'is left cheek-bone.
"Then, of course, 'e knew, ant the two o' them compare notes...
"It turned out that what 'ad 'appen to Fatty, 'ad come to Cutler months before, an' seemin'ly to most o' the others too. Leetle, by leetle, as 'is dreams got worse an' the terror grew, each of the gang 'ad made up 'is mind to cast about an' find the rest, so that by the time Cutler came upon Fatty on the Tilbury road there was only three of the ten the others couldn' trace.
"Nex' day, Sirs, Cutler took Fatty to meet the rest at the same ole doss-'ouse down at Rotherhithe. When they got there they found that two o' the missin' three 'ad jus' been foun' an' brought in by Dr. Gill, so there was only one they couldn' track, an' e' might well be dead. Of the nine fellows that sat shiverin' an' cursin' roun' their liquor in that leetle room upstairs every man-jack carried a face the colour o' bad dough, an' every sweatin' mother's-son 'ad grown as much 'air on 'is cheeks as 'e could raise, except Fatty, 'oo 'adn' thought of it, an' Cutler, 'oose whiskers 'ad come out white an' didn' 'ide the stain.
"They were all in such a stew about what 'ad come to them an' what might 'appen nex' that it 'ardly took more than a bad five minutes an' a couple o' pints o' good brandy to make up their minds to a plan. 'Does anyone know a likely man to skipper us out to Burmah with what's left o' the stones, an' to 'old 'is tongue when we're back again?' ask Dr. Gill. 'I take it we're all goin', else those 'oo stop be'ind'll suspect the others.'
"'Yes,' said Fatty. 'I do. If you like I can sound 'im this very afternoon, knowin' 'im to be ashore till Sunday.'
"There was a leetle discussion then about whether they couldn' take out a ship themselves, an' 'ow they was to restore the stones an' account for those they'd sold already, an' what they could do about the missin' man, but the upshot of it all was that within a quarter of an hour Fatty was walkin' out and' down the street to get 'old o' that chap 'e'd tell of.
"Now, it so 'appen that almost as soon as Fatty 'ad gone out of the room some o' the others suddenly thought o' somethin' important that mus' be told 'im before 'e spoke to me – for of course, as you've guessed, gents, it was me Fatty 'ad in 'is mind – an' so Dr. Gill sent a fellow called Toby Charteris 'urryin' out after Fatty to try an' catch 'im up with a message before 'e got to the docks where 'e was bound.
"The road which Charteris took was by way of bein' a short cut, an' as 'e was comin' down a narrow alley 'e saw Fatty passin' at a great pace across the end of it along the river-side. 'E saw too that Fatty 'ad seen 'im, for e' turn 'is 'ead jus' at that moment, but although Toby waved to 'im 'e wouldn' stop, 'an nex' minute was 'idden by a corner of 'the street.
"Charteris say afterwards, poor brute, that direc'ly 'e caught sight of Fatty scuttlin' along like that, 'e felt some'ow as though cold water was tricklin' down 'is back. There was somethin' quair about Fatty's look that 'e couldn't understan' an' didn' like, an' by the time 'e'd started into a run so as to reach the end of the alley an' get a clear view up the road that ran along the river, 'e caught an idea that made 'im like the look o' things still less. For it come to 'im suddenly that Fatty was scared – you see, scared – an' was hurryin' away from somebody or somethin'...
"'E 'ad 'alf a mind then to turn back, but 'e was at the corner o' the road by this, an' made out Fatty about two 'undred yards ahead.
"'E 'adn't run more than a minute after Fatty before 'e saw 'im doin' a cur'us thing. 'E bent down quickly, picked up a bit of paper from the gutter, wrote somethin' on it against a post, an' left it under a stone dead in Toby's path.
"There was nobody else jus' then along the road, and Charteris was sure the paper was a message left for Jim.
"A second or two later, 'e come up to it, picked it out from under the stone, an' ran 'is eye over the words upon it. This is what 'e saw:
"'For God's sake don't look be'ind you!'
"There was a strong wind blowing out the ebb tide, an' in the fright of what 'e'd read e' let the paper go. The breeze caught it, an' 'e made a silly grab to stop it. Then, while 'e was watchin' it carairin' down the road, an' while 'e 'ad 'is back turned to the way 'e 'ad been runnin', 'e saw what Fatty must 'ave seen, an' 'e fell down sittin' on 'is 'ams, same as a leetle dog might do, an' began to laugh...
"Upon 'im first of all the ten it 'ad come – the beeg, dirty 'orror of 'is dreams, an' whilst 'is bones turn to rottenness inside 'im, an' 'is stomach crawl an' swim, 'e squatted an' scrabbled in the dust an' giggled like a girl...
"Mon Dieu, 'ow 'e laugh! 'E was laughin' still when 'e got back to the rest at Rother'ithe, an' they cuffed 'im 'an kicked 'im an' stuffed a gag in 'is mouth to make 'im stop, 'e was so 'orrible to 'ear.
"Then, all of a sudden, 'e quieted down, an' shiverin' in 'is fear, 'e told them 'ow, when 'e was lookin' after the scrap of paper blowin' in the wind, 'e saw the long, nut-coloured arm an' the pointin' 'and, an' be'ind it, right away in the distance, the Face belongin' to it, lookin' down the arm at 'im with its single eye like a man sightin' along the barrel of a rifle... 'E said it was the look of the face that 'ad work the mischief in 'im. It was such a leetle, clean sort of dry, brown face with never a smile, an' it 'ung so far away, right down the river, lookin' through the masts an' funnels of the shippin'. It would 'ave been better, 'e said, if it 'ad been nearer
an' bigger... 'E began to whimper then, an' it was jus' when they were pumpin' stiff brandies into 'im one after the other that Fatty an' I came up the stairs an' into the room.
"Fatty, you see, 'ad escape what 'appen to Toby Charteris. After leavin' the doss-'ouse 'e 'ad chance to look be'ind 'im as 'e walked along the river-side, an' what 'e saw followin' 'im a long way back was not the pointin' 'and or the face, but jus' that one-eyed fellow that 'ad shadow 'im an' the other two all those years back as they dropped below Mandalay... It was enough to scare 'im though, an' 'e felt that what 'ad come to Toby would 'ave come to 'im instead if 'e 'adn' turn 'is 'ead in time an' run. After leavin' the note under the stone 'e came straight on to me, an' mad as I thought 'im when 'e broach 'is business, I thought 'is chums a good deal madder when we pushed open the door an' found them sit tin', swearin' an' 'iccuppin' in a circle with poor Charteris cryin' in the middle.
"They were all shoutin' something that I couldn' rightly catch, but when I saw them pointin' at 'is face I got the 'ang of it. They were all callin' out an' sayin' that the yellow mark' ad leave 'is cheek."
III
It was here that Nightmare Jack, in a curious extremity of horror, which for some moments I thought forced and insincere, spoke to us of those hidden things which he supposed to underlie the happenings he narrated.
He told us in a cowering breath of fear of the old, still temple near Bogaung, and of the foul god that tottered there up on its stool. Whilst the wind without raced up against the yellow tide and his face within went grey upon the pillow, that little, whispering man spoke to us – by his frantic hands and eyes as much as by his dying mouth – of the mythos of the Web and Loaf, and the faded terror of the Triple Scum. I can still remember and record – though it is impossible to convey the slow and loathing horror with which he uttered them – the phrases he employed to make his meaning clear.
The god distributed himself among a "lousy crew" of priests or hierophants, who shared his power and desires and in a sense composed him. Once every year the ruddy-coloured stones that were his essence were taken from him, and two men selected who should sleep for seven nights with the rubies next their skin.