At a late hour that evening Rumsey and his patient arrived at
Grandcourt. A telegram had been sent to announce their visit, and all
was in readiness for their reception. The old butler, Hawkins, who had
lived in the family for nearly fifty years, came slowly down the steps
to greet his master. Hawkins' face was pale, and his eyes dim, as if he
had been indulging in silent tears. He was very much attached to little
Arthur. Awdrey gave him a careless nod.
"I hope all is in readiness, Hawkins," he said, "I have brought my
friend, Dr. Rumsey, with me; we should like supper--has it been
prepared?"
"Yes, Mr. Robert--I beg your pardon, Squire--all is in readiness in the
library."
"We'll go there after we have washed our hands," said Awdrey. "What room
have you got ready for Dr. Rumsey?"
"The yellow room, Squire, in the west wing."
"That will do nicely. Rumsey, you and I will inhabit the same wing
to-night. I suppose I am to sleep in the room I always occupy, eh,
Hawkins?"
"Yes, sir; Mrs. Burnett, the housekeeper, thought you would wish that."
"It does not matter in the least where I sleep; now order up supper, we
shall be down directly. Follow me, doctor, will you?"
Dr. Rumsey followed Awdrey to the west wing. A few moments later the two
men were seated before a cheerful meal in the library--a large fire
burned in the huge grate, logs had been piled on, and the friendly blaze
and the fragrance of the wood filled the room. The supper table was
drawn into the neighborhood of the fire, and Awdrey lifted the cover
from the dish which was placed before him with a look of appetite on his
face.
"I am really hungry," he said--"we will have some champagne--Hawkins,
take some from"--he named a certain bin. The man retired, coming back
presently with some dusty-looking bottles. The cork was quickly removed
from one, and the butler began to fill the glasses.
Supper came to an end. Hawkins brought in pipes and tobacco, and the two
men sat before the fire. Awdrey, who had taken from two to three glasses
of champagne, was beginning to feel a little drowsy, but Rumsey talked
in his usual pleasant fashion. Awdrey replied by fits and starts; once
he nodded and half fell asleep in his chair.
"You are sleepy," said Rumsey suddenly; "if you go to bed now you may
have a really good night, which will do wonders for you--what do you
say?"
"That I am quite agreeable," said Awdrey, rising as he spoke--"but is it
not too early for you, doctor?"
"Not at all--an undisturbed night will be a treat to me."
"Well, then, I'll take you to your room."
They went upstairs together, and a moment later Rumsey found himself in
the palatial chamber which had been prepared for him. He was not really
sleepy and decided to sit up for a little. A fire burned in the grate,
some books lay about--he drew his easy-chair forward and taking up a
volume of light literature prepared to dip into it--he found that it was
Stevenson's "Treasure Island," a book which he had not yet happened to
read; the story interested him, and he read on for some time. Presently
he closed the book, and laying his head against the cushion of the chair
dropped fast asleep.
The events of the day made him dream; all his dreams were about his
queer patient. He thought that he had followed Awdrey on to the
Plain--that Awdrey's excitement grew worse and worse, until the last
lingering doubt was solved, and the man was in very truth absolutely
insane.
In the midst of his dream the doctor was awakened by a hand being laid
on his shoulder--he started up suddenly--Awdrey, half-dressed and
looking ghastly pale, stood before him.
"What is it?" said Rumsey. "Do you want anything?"
"I want you," said Awdrey. "Will you come with me?"
"Certainly--where am I to go? Why are you not in bed?"
Awdrey uttered a hollow laugh. There was a ring of horror in it.
"You could not sleep if you were me," he said. "Will you come with me
now, at once?"
"In a moment or two when you are better--sit down, won't you--here, take
my chair--where do you want me to go?"
"Out with me, doctor--out of doors. I want you to accompany me on to the
Plain."
"All right, my dear fellow--but just allow me to get on my boots."
The doctor retired to a back part of the room to change his house shoes.
While he was doing so, Awdrey sank down on a chair and laid his hands on
his knees, took no notice of Rumsey, but stared straight before him into
the centre of the room.
"I wish you'd be quick, doctor," he said at last. "I don't want to go
alone, but I must follow it."
"Follow what?" said Rumsey.
"It--the queer vision--I have told you of it before."
"Oh, yes, that bad dream you are subject to. Well, I am at your service
now."
Awdrey rose slowly. He pointed with one of his hands.
"Do you see that?" he said suddenly.
Rumsey following the direction of his eyes perceived that he was staring
into the part of the room which was in deepest shadow.
"I see nothing, Awdrey," he replied in a kind and soothing voice, "but I
perceive by your manner that you do. What is it?"
"I wonder you cannot see it," replied Awdrey; "it is plain, too
plain--it seems to fill all that part of the room."
"The old thing?" asked the doctor.
"Yes, the old thing but with a certain difference. There is the immense
globe of light and the picture in the middle."
"The old picture, Awdrey?"
"Yes, yes, but with a difference. The two men are fighting. As a rule
they stand motionless in the picture, but to-night they seem to have
come alive--they struggle, they struggle hard; one stands with his back
to me. The face of the other I can recognize distinctly. It is the face
of that young fellow who stayed a few years ago at the inn in our
village. Ah! yes, of course, I know his name, Frere--Horace Frere. He
has met some one on Salisbury Plain. It is night; the moon is hidden
behind clouds. Ha! now it comes out. Now I can see them distinctly. Dr.
Rumsey, don't you hear the blows? I do. They seem to beat on my brain.
That man who stands with his back to us carries my stick in his hand. I
know it is mine, for the whole thing is so intensely plain that I can
even see the silver tablet on which my name is engraved. My God! the man
also wears my clothes. I would give all that I possess to see his face.
Let us get on the Plain as fast as we can. I may be able to see the
reverse side of the picture from there. Come with me, come at once."
"Poor fellow! matters get worse and worse," thought the doctor. "Well, I
must see this thing out."
Aloud he said:
"How soon did this vision come to torment you to-night?"
Awdrey rubbed his eyes.
"At first when I went to my room I was sleepy," he said. "I began to
take off my things. Then I saw a globe of light in the further end of
the room. At first it was merely light with no picture in the centre.
Then faint shadows began to appear, and by slow degrees the perfect and
intensely clear picture which I am now looking at became visible. I
stared at it quite motionless for a time. I was absorbed by the deepest
interest. Then a mad longing to see the face of the man who stands with
his back to us, came over me. I walked about the room trying hard to get
even a side view of him, but wherever I went he turned so as to keep his
face away; wherever I went the face of Frere was the only one I could
see. Then in a sort of despair, almost maddened in fact, I rushed from
the room.
"Did you not leave the vision behind you?"
"Not I--it went straight in front of me. When I reached your room and
opened the door it came in before me. I know now what I must do. I have
been always standing more or less to the right of the picture. I must
get to the left. I am going to follow it on to the Plain--I am going to
trace it to the exact spot where that murder was committed. Will you
come with me?"
"Yes, only first you must return to your room, and get into the rest of
your clothes. At present you are without a coat."
"Am I? And yet I burn with heat. Well, I'll do what you want. I will do
anything which gives me a chance of seeing that man's face."
A few moments later Rumsey and his patient found themselves in the white
moonlight of the outer world. Awdrey was now quite silent, but Rumsey
noticed that his footsteps faltered once or twice, and that he often
paused as if to get his breath. He appeared to be like a man in a
frantic hurry; he gazed straight before him, as if he were looking
intently at one fixed object.
"It goes before me, and guides me to the spot," he said at last, in a
choking voice. He panted more violently than ever. Heavy sighs came from
him--these seemed to be wrung from his very heart.
In about ten minutes the men got upon the borders of the Plain. Awdrey
then turned abruptly to his left; each moment he walked faster and
faster; the doctor had now almost to run to keep up with him. At last
they reached the rise of ground. A great clump of alder-trees stood to
the left; at the right, a little way off, was a dense belt of
undergrowth. On the rising ground itself was short grass and no other
vegetation. A little way off, nearly one hundred feet lower down, was a
pond. The light of the moon was fully reflected here; across the smooth
surface of the pond was a clear path as if of silver. When they reached
the brow of this slight elevation, Awdrey stood still.
"There--it was done there," he said, pointing with his finger. "See, the
picture does not move any more, but settles down upon the ground. Now we
shall see the whole thing. Good God, Rumsey, fancy looking at a murder
which was committed five years ago! It is going on there now all over
again. There stand the two men life-size. Can't we stop them? Can we do
nothing?"
"No, it is only a vision," said the doctor; "but tell me exactly what
you see."
"It is too marvellous," said Awdrey. "The men move, and I hear the sound
of the blows. It is extraordinary how that fellow keeps his back to me.
I can't see his face if I stand here. Come, let us go downhill--if we
get near the pond we can look up, and I shall get a view of him in
another position."
"Come," said Rumsey. He took Awdrey's arm, and they went down the slope
of ground until they almost reached the borders of the pond.
"Now is it any better?" asked the doctor. "Can you see the man's face
now?"
"No, he has turned; he still keeps his back to me, the scoundrel. But
oh, for God's sake see--he fights harder than ever. Ha! He has thrown
Horace Frere to the ground. Now Frere is up--what a strong chap he is!
Now the other man is down. No, he has risen again. Now they both stand
and fight, and--Dr. Rumsey, did you see that? The man with his back to
us uses his stick, straight in front of him like a bayonet, and--oh, my
God!"
Awdrey covered his face with his shaking hands. In a moment he looked up
again.
"Can't you see for yourself?" he cried. "Frere is on his back--in my
opinion he is dead. What has happened?"
Awdrey swayed from side to side. His excitement was so intense that he
would have fallen if Dr. Rumsey had not caught him. The night was a
chilly one, but the terrified and stricken man was bathed in
perspiration.
"Come, Awdrey, you have told me everything, and it is fully time to
return home," said the doctor.
"I vow I won't go back until I see that man's face, Dr. Rumsey. What
name did they give him at the trial? Frank--Frank Everett--was he the
man convicted of the murder?"
"Yes, of course, you must remember that--he is serving his time now in
Portland."
Awdrey faced round suddenly, and looked into the doctor's eyes.
"It is all a mistake then," he said, in a queer sort of whisper. "I
swear that before God. I saw Everett once--he was a thickly made
man--that fellow is slighter, taller, younger. He carries my stick and
wears my clothes. Why in the name of Heaven can't I see his face? What
are you saying, doctor?"
"Only that I must take you home, my good fellow. You are my patient, and
I cannot permit this excitement any longer."
"But the murder is still going on. Can't you see the whole thing for
yourself? That fellow with his back to us is the murderer. He uses his
stick as a bayonet. What did I once hear about that? Oh that I could
remember! There is a cloud before my mind--oh, God in Heaven, that I
could rend it! Do not speak to me for a moment, doctor, I am struggling
with a memory."
Awdrey flung himself on the ground--he pressed his hands before his
eyes--he looked like a demented man. Suddenly he sprang to his feet.
"I have it," he said with a laugh, which sounded hollow. "If I look in
the pond I shall see the man's face. His face must be reflected in it.
Stay where you are, doctor, I'll be back with you in a minute. I am
getting at it--light is coming--it is all returning to me. He uses his
stick as a bayonet, prodding him in the mouth. Old, old--what am I
saying?--who told me that long ago? Yes I shall see his face in the
pond."
Awdrey ran wildly to the edge of the water. He paused just where the
silver light fell full across the dark pond. Rumsey followed him in hot
haste. He knew that his patient was in the condition when he might leap
into the pond at any moment.
Catching on to an alder-tree, Awdrey now bent forward until he caught
the reflection in the water--he slid down on his knees to examine it
more carefully.
"Take care, Awdrey, you'll slip in if you are not careful," cried
Rumsey.
Awdrey was silent for a moment--his own reflection greeted him--he
looked straight down at his own face and figure. Suddenly he rose to his
feet: a long shiver ran through his frame. He went up to Rumsey with a
queer unsteady laugh.
"I have seen the man's face," he said.
"It was your own face, my dear fellow," said the doctor. "I saw it
reflected distinctly in the water."
"I am satisfied," said Awdrey, in a changed and yet steady voice. "We
can go home now."
"Well, have you really seen what you wanted to see? Who was the
murderer?"
"Frank Everett, who is serving his time in Portland prison. Dr. Rumsey,
I believe I have been the victim of the most horrible form of nightmare
which ever visited living man. Anyhow it has vanished--the vision has
completely disappeared."
"I am glad to hear you say so, Awdrey."
"I do not see it any longer--I know what I wanted to know. Let us go
back to the Court."