3
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
One day, about two weeks later, von Horn and the professor wereoccupied closely with their work in the court of mystery. Developmentswere coming in riotous confusion. A recent startling discovery badefare to simplify and expedite the work far beyond the fondest dreams ofthe scientist.
Von Horn's interest in the marvellous results that had been obtainedwas little short of the professor's--but he foresaw a very differentoutcome of it all, and by day never moved without a gun at either hip,and by night both of them were beside him.
Sing Lee, the noonday meal having been disposed of, set forth with rod,string and bait to snare gulls upon the beach. He moved quietlythrough the jungle, his sharp eyes and ears always alert for anythingthat might savor of the unusual, and so it was that he saw the two menupon the beach, while they did not see him at all.
They were Bududreen and the same tall Malay whom Sing had seen twicebefore--once in splendid raiment and commanding the pirate prahu, andagain as a simple boatman come to the Ithaca to trade, but without thegoods to carry out his professed intentions.
The two squatted on the beach at the edge of the jungle a shortdistance above the point at which Sing had been about to emerge when hediscovered them, so that it was but the work of a moment or two for theChinaman to creep stealthily through the dense underbrush to a pointdirectly above them and not three yards from where they conversed inlow tones--yet sufficiently loud that Sing missed not a word.
"I tell you, Bududreen, that it will be quite safe," the tall Malay wassaying. "You yourself tell me that none knows of the whereabouts ofthese white men, and if they do not return your word will be acceptedas to their fate. Your reward will be great if you bring the girl tome, and if you doubt the loyalty of any of your own people a kris willsilence them as effectually as it will silence the white men."
"It is not fear of the white men, oh, Rajah Muda Saffir, that detersme," said Bududreen, "but how shall I know that after I have come toyour country with the girl I shall not myself be set upon and silencedwith a golden kris--there be many that will be jealous of the greatservice I have done for the mighty rajah."
Muda Saffir knew perfectly well that Bududreen had but diplomaticallyexpressed a fear as to his own royal trustworthiness, but it did notanger him, since the charge was not a direct one; but what he did notknow was of the heavy chest and Bududreen's desire to win the price ofthe girl and yet be able to save for himself a chance at the fargreater fortune which he knew lay beneath that heavy oaken lid.
Both men had arisen now and were walking across the beach toward asmall, native canoe in which Muda Saffir had come to the meeting place.They were out of earshot before either spoke again, so that whatfurther passed between them Sing could not even guess, but he had heardenough to confirm the suspicions he had entertained for a long while.
He did not fish for gulls that day. Bududreen and Muda Saffir stoodtalking upon the beach, and the Chinaman did not dare venture forth forfear they might suspect that he had overheard them. If old Sing Leeknew his Malays, he was also wise enough to give them credit forknowing their Chinamen, so he waited quietly in hiding until MudaSaffir had left, and Bududreen returned to camp.
Professor Maxon and von Horn were standing over one of the six vatsthat were arranged in two rows down the center of the laboratory. Theprofessor had been more communicative and agreeable today than for sometime past, and their conversation had assumed more of the familiaritythat had marked it during the first month of their acquaintance atSingapore.
"And what of these first who are so imperfect?" asked von Horn. "Youcannot take them into civilization, nor would it be right to leave themhere upon this island. What will you do with them?"
Professor Maxon pondered the question for a moment.
"I have given the matter but little thought," he said at length. "Theyare but the accidents of my great work. It is unfortunate that theyare as they are, but without them I could have never reached theperfection that I am sure we are to find here," and he tapped lovinglyupon the heavy glass cover of the vat before which he stood. "And thisis but the beginning. There can be no more mistakes now, though Idoubt if we can ever improve upon that which is so rapidly developinghere." Again he passed his long, slender hand caressingly over thecoffin-like vat at the head of which was a placard bearing the words,NUMBER THIRTEEN.
"But the others, Professor!" insisted von Horn. "We must decide.Already they have become a problem of no small dimensions. YesterdayNumber Five desired some plantains that I had given to Number Seven. Itried to reason with him, but, as you know, he is mentally defective,and for answer he rushed at Number Seven to tear the coveted morselfrom him. The result was a battle royal that might have put to shametwo Bengal tigers. Twelve is tractable and intelligent. With hisassistance and my bull whip I succeeded in separating them beforeeither was killed. Your greatest error was in striving at first forsuch physical perfection. You have overdone it, with the result thatthe court of mystery is peopled by a dozen brutes of awful muscularity,and scarcely enough brain among the dozen to equip three properly."
"They are as they are," replied the professor. "I shall do for themwhat I can--when I am gone they must look to themselves. I can see noway out of it."
"What you have given you may take away," said von Horn, in a low tone.
Professor Maxon shuddered. Those three horrid days in the workshop atIthaca flooded his memory with all the gruesome details he had triedfor so many months to forget. The haunting ghosts of the mentalanguish that had left him an altered man--so altered that there weretimes when he had feared for his sanity!
"No, no!" he almost shouted. "It would be murder. They are--"
"They are THINGS," interrupted von Horn. "They are not human--they arenot even beast. They are terrible, soulless creatures. You have noright to permit them to live longer than to substantiate your theory.None but us knows of their existence--no other need know of theirpassing. It must be done. They are a constant and growing menace tous all, but most of all to your daughter."
A cunning look came into the professor's eyes.
"I understand," he said. "The precedent once established, all mustperish by its edict--even those which may not be grotesque orbestial--even this perfect one," and he touched again the vat, "andthus you would rid yourself of rival suitors. But no!" he went on in ahigh, trembling voice. "I shall not be led to thus compromise myself,and be thwarted in my cherished plan. Be this one what he may he shallwed my daughter!"
The man had raised himself upon his toes as he reached his climax--hisclenched hand was high above his head--his voice fairly thundered outthe final sentence, and with the last word he brought his fist downupon the vat before him. In his eyes blazed the light of unchainedmadness.
Von Horn was a brave man, but he shuddered at the maniacal ferocity ofthe older man, and shrank back. The futility of argument was apparent,and he turned and left the workshop.
Sing Lee was late that night. In fact he did not return from hisfruitless quest for gulls until well after dark, nor would he vouchsafeany explanation of the consequent lateness of supper. Nor could he befound shortly after the evening meal when Virginia sought him.
Not until the camp was wrapped in the quiet of slumber did Sing Leereturn--stealthy and mysterious--to creep under cover of a moonlessnight to the door of the workshop. How he gained entrance only SingLee knows, but a moment later there was a muffled crash of broken glasswithin the laboratory, and the Chinaman had slipped out, relocked thedoor, and scurried to his nearby shack. But there was no occasion forhis haste--no other ear than his had heard the sound within theworkshop.
It was almost nine the following morning before Professor Maxon and vonHorn entered the laboratory. Scarcely had the older man passed thedoorway than he drew up his hands in horrified consternation. VatNumber Thirteen lay dashed to the floor--the glass cover was broken toa million pieces--a sticky, brownish substance covered the
matting.Professor Maxon hid his face in his hands.
"God!" he cried. "It is all ruined. Three more days would have--"
"Look!" cried von Horn. "It is not too soon."
Professor Maxon mustered courage to raise his eyes from his hands, andthere he beheld, seated in a far corner of the room a handsome giant,physically perfect. The creature looked about him in a dazed,uncomprehending manner. A great question was writ large upon hisintelligent countenance. Professor Maxon stepped forward and took himby the hand.
"Come," he said, and led him toward a smaller room off the mainworkshop. The giant followed docilely, his eyes roving about theroom--the pitiful questioning still upon his handsome features. VonHorn turned toward the campong.
Virginia, deserted by all, even the faithful Sing, who, cheated of hissport on the preceding day, had again gone to the beach to snare gulls,became restless of the enforced idleness and solitude. For a time shewandered about the little compound which had been reserved for thewhites, but tiring of this she decided to extend her stroll beyond thepalisade, a thing which she had never before done unless accompanied byvon Horn--a thing both he and her father had cautioned her against.
"What danger can there be?" she thought. "We know that the island isuninhabited by others than ourselves, and that there are no dangerousbeasts. And, anyway, there is no one now who seems to care whatbecomes of me, unless--unless--I wonder if he does care. I wonder if Icare whether or not he cares. Oh, dear, I wish I knew," and as shesoliloquized she wandered past the little clearing and into the junglethat lay behind the campong.
As von Horn and Professor Maxon talked together in the laboratorybefore the upsetting of vat Number Thirteen, a grotesque and horriblecreature had slunk from the low shed at the opposite side of thecampong until it had crouched at the flimsy door of the building inwhich the two men conversed. For a while it listened intently, butwhen von Horn urged the necessity for dispatching certain "terrible,soulless creatures" an expression of intermingled fear and hatredconvulsed the hideous features, and like a great grizzly it turned andlumbered awkwardly across the campong toward the easterly, or back wallof the enclosure.
Here it leaped futilely a half dozen times for the top of the palisade,and then trembling and chattering in rage it ran back and forth alongthe base of the obstacle, just as a wild beast in captivity pacesangrily before the bars of its cage.
Finally it paused to look once more at the senseless wood that barredits escape, as though measuring the distance to the top. Then the eyesroamed about the campong to rest at last upon the slanting roof of thethatched shed which was its shelter. Presently a slow idea was born inthe poor, malformed brain.
The creature approached the shed. He could just reach the saplingsthat formed the frame work of the roof. Like a huge sloth he drewhimself to the roof of the structure. From here he could see beyondthe palisade, and the wild freedom of the jungle called to him. He didnot know what it was but in its leafy wall he perceived many breaks andopenings that offered concealment from the creatures who were plottingto take his life.
Yet the wall was not fully six feet from him, and the top of it atleast five feet above the top of the shed--those who had designed thecampong had been careful to set this structure sufficiently far fromthe palisade to prevent its forming too easy an avenue of escape.
The creature glanced fearfully toward the workshop. He remembered thecruel bull whip that always followed each new experiment on his partthat did not coincide with the desires of his master, and as he thoughtof von Horn a nasty gleam shot his mismated eyes.
He tried to reach across the distance between the roof and thepalisade, and in the attempt lost his balance and nearly precipitatedhimself to the ground below. Cautiously he drew back, still lookingabout for some means to cross the chasm. One of the saplings of theroof, protruding beyond the palm leaf thatch, caught his attention.With a single wrench he tore it from its fastenings. Extending ittoward the palisade he discovered that it just spanned the gap, but hedared not attempt to cross upon its single slender strand.
Quickly he ripped off a half dozen other poles from the roof, andlaying them side by side, formed a safe and easy path to freedom. Amoment more and he sat astride the top of the wall. Drawing the polesafter him, he dropped them one by one to the ground outside thecampong. Then he lowered himself to liberty.
Gathering the saplings under one huge arm he ran, lumberingly, into thejungle. He would not leave evidence of the havoc he had wrought; thefear of the bull whip was still strong upon him. The green foliageclosed about him and the peaceful jungle gave no sign of the horridbrute that roamed its shadowed mazes.
As von Horn stepped into the campong his quick eye perceived the havocthat had been wrought with the roof at the east end of the shed.Quickly he crossed to the low structure. Within its compartments anumber of deformed monsters squatted upon their haunches, or lay proneupon the native mats that covered the floor.
As the man entered they looked furtively at the bull whip which trailedfrom his right hand, and then glanced fearfully at one another asthough questioning which was the malefactor on this occasion.
Von Horn ran his eyes over the hideous assemblage.
"Where is Number One?" he asked, directing his question toward a thingwhose forehead gave greater promise of intelligence than any of hiscompanions.
The one addressed shook his head.
Von Horn turned and made a circuit of the campong. There was no signof the missing one and no indication of any other irregularity than thedemolished portion of the roof. With an expression of mild concernupon his face he entered the workshop.
"Number One has escaped into the jungle, Professor," he said.
Professor Maxon looked up in surprise, but before he had an opportunityto reply a woman's scream, shrill with horror, smote upon theirstartled ears.
Von Horn was the first to reach the campong of the whites. ProfessorMaxon was close behind him, and the faces of both were white withapprehension. The enclosure was deserted. Not even Sing was there.Without a word the two men sprang through the gateway and raced for thejungle in the direction from which that single, haunting cry had come.
Virginia Maxon, idling beneath the leafy shade of the tropical foliage,became presently aware that she had wandered farther from the campongthan she had intended. The day was sultry, and the heat, even in thedense shade of the jungle, oppressive. Slowly she retraced her steps,her eyes upon the ground, her mind absorbed in sad consideration of herfather's increasing moodiness and eccentricity.
Possibly it was this very abstraction which deadened her senses to thenear approach of another. At any rate the girl's first intimation thatshe was not alone came when she raised her eyes to look full into thehorrid countenance of a fearsome monster which blocked her path towardcamp.
The sudden shock brought a single involuntary scream from her lips.And who can wonder! The thing thrust so unexpectedly before her eyeswas hideous in the extreme. A great mountain of deformed flesh clothedin dirty, white cotton pajamas! Its face was of the ashen hue of afresh corpse, while the white hair and pink eyes denoted the absence ofpigment; a characteristic of albinos.
One eye was fully twice the diameter of the other, and an inch abovethe horizontal plane of its tiny mate. The nose was but a gapingorifice above a deformed and twisted mouth. The thing was chinless,and its small, foreheadless head surrounded its colossal body like acannon ball on a hill top. One arm was at least twelve inches longerthan its mate, which was itself long in proportion to the torso, whilethe legs, similarly mismated and terminating in huge, flat feet thatprotruded laterally, caused the thing to lurch fearfully from side toside as it lumbered toward the girl.
A sudden grimace lighted the frightful face as the grotesque eyes fellupon this new creature. Number One had never before seen a woman, butthe sight of this one awoke in the unplumbed depths of his soullessbreast a great desire to lay his hands upon her. She was verybeautiful. Number One wishe
d to have her for his very own; nor wouldit be a difficult matter, so fragile was she, to gather her up in thosegreat, brute arms and carry her deep into the jungle far out of hearingof the bull-whip man and the cold, frowning one who was continuallymeasuring and weighing Number One and his companions, the while hescrutinized them with those strange, glittering eyes that frightenedone even more than the cruel lash of the bull whip.
Number One lurched forward, his arms outstretched toward the horrorstricken girl. Virginia tried to cry out again--she tried to turn andrun; but the horror of her impending fate and the terror that thoseawful features induced left her paralyzed and helpless.
The thing was almost upon her now. The mouth was wide in a hideousattempt to smile. The great hands would grasp her in anothersecond--and then there was a sudden crashing of the underbrush behindher, a yellow, wrinkled face and a flying pig-tail shot past her, andthe brave old Sing Lee grappled with the mighty monster that threatenedher.
The battle was short--short and terrible. The valiant Chinaman soughtthe ashen throat of his antagonist, but his wiry, sinewy muscles wereas reeds beneath the force of that inhuman power that opposed them.Holding the girl at arm's length in one hand, Number One tore thebattling Chinaman from him with the other, and lifting him bodily abovehis head, hurled him stunned and bleeding against the bole of a giantbuttress tree. Then lifting Virginia in his arms once more he divedinto the impenetrable mazes of the jungle that lined the more openpathway between the beach and camp.