Muzio was no longer lying on the rug. Dressed in travelling attire, he
was sitting in an arm-chair, but appeared as much of a corpse as at
Fabio's first visit. The petrified head had fallen against the back of
the chair, the hands lay flat, motionless, and yellow on the knees. His
breast did not heave. Round about the chair, on the floor strewn with
dried herbs, stood several flat cups filled with a dark liquid which
gave off a strong, almost suffocating odour,--the odour of musk. Around
each cup was coiled a small, copper-coloured serpent, which gleamed here
and there with golden spots; and directly in front of Muzio, a couple of
paces distant from him, rose up the tall figure of the Malay, clothed in
a motley-hued mantle of brocade, girt about with a tiger's tail, with a
tall cap in the form of a horned tiara on his head.
But he was not motionless: now he made devout obeisances and seemed to
be praying, again he drew himself up to his full height, even stood on
tiptoe; now he threw his hands apart in broad and measured sweep, now he
waved them urgently in the direction of Muzio, and seemed to be menacing
or commanding with them, as he contracted his brows in a frown and
stamped his foot. All these movements evidently cost him great effort,
and even caused him suffering: he breathed heavily, the sweat streamed
from his face. Suddenly he stood stock-still on one spot, and inhaling
the air into his lungs and scowling, he stretched forward, then drew
toward him his clenched fists, as though he were holding reins in
them ... and to Fabio's indescribable horror, Muzio's head slowly
separated itself from the back of the chair and reached out after the
Malay's hands.... The Malay dropped his hands, and Muzio's head again
sank heavily backward; the Malay repeated his gestures, and the obedient
head repeated them after him. The dark liquid in the cups began to
seethe with a faint sound; the very cups themselves emitted a faint
tinkling, and the copper snakes began to move around each of them in
undulating motion. Then the Malay advanced a pace, and elevating his
eyebrows very high and opening his eyes until they were of huge size, he
nodded his head at Muzio ... and the eyelids of the corpse began to
flutter, parted unevenly, and from beneath them the pupils, dull as lead,
revealed themselves. With proud triumph and joy--a joy that was almost
malicious--beamed the face of the Malay; he opened his lips widely, and
from the very depths of his throat a prolonged roar wrested itself with
an effort.... Muzio's lips parted also, and a faint groan trembled on
them in reply to that inhuman sound.
But at this point Fabio could endure it no longer: he fancied that he
was witnessing some devilish incantations! He also uttered a shriek and
started off at a run homeward, without looking behind him,--homeward as
fast as he could go, praying and crossing himself as he ran.