Chapter IX
The Need of Knowledge
Mr. Corbeck seemed to go almost off his head at the recovery of thelamps. He took them up one by one and looked them all over tenderly,as though they were things that he loved. In his delight andexcitement he breathed so hard that it seemed almost like a catpurring. Sergeant Daw said quietly, his voice breaking the silencelike a discord in a melody:
"Are you quite sure those lamps are the ones you had, and that werestolen?"
His answer was in an indignant tone: "Sure! Of course I'm sure.There isn't another set of lamps like these in the world!"
"So far as you know!" The Detective's words were smooth enough, buthis manner was so exasperating that I was sure he had some motive init; so I waited in silence. He went on:
"Of course there may be some in the British Museum; or Mr. Trelawny mayhave had these already. There's nothing new under the sun, you know,Mr. Corbeck; not even in Egypt. These may be the originals, and yoursmay have been the copies. Are there any points by which you canidentify these as yours?"
Mr. Corbeck was really angry by this time. He forgot his reserve; andin his indignation poured forth a torrent of almost incoherent, butenlightening, broken sentences:
"Identify! Copies of them! British Museum! Rot! Perhaps they keep aset in Scotland Yard for teaching idiot policemen Egyptology! Do Iknow them? When I have carried them about my body, in the desert, forthree months; and lay awake night after night to watch them! When Ihave looked them over with a magnifying-glass, hour after hour, till myeyes ached; till every tiny blotch, and chip, and dinge became asfamiliar to me as his chart to a captain; as familiar as they doubtlesshave been all the time to every thick-headed area-prowler within thebounds of mortality. See here, young man, look at these!" He rangedthe lamps in a row on the top of the cabinet. "Did you ever see a setof lamps of these shapes--of any one of these shapes? Look at thesedominant figures on them! Did you ever see so complete a set--even inScotland Yard; even in Bow Street? Look! one on each, the seven formsof Hathor. Look at that figure of the Ka of a Princess of the TwoEgypts, standing between Ra and Osiris in the Boat of the Dead, withthe Eye of Sleep, supported on legs, bending before her; and Harmochisrising in the north. Will you find that in the British Museum--or BowStreet? Or perhaps your studies in the Gizeh Museum, or theFitzwilliam, or Paris, or Leyden, or Berlin, have shown you that theepisode is common in hieroglyphics; and that this is only a copy.Perhaps you can tell me what that figure of Ptah-Seker-Ausar holdingthe Tet wrapped in the Sceptre of Papyrus means? Did you ever see itbefore; even in the British Museum, or Gizeh, or Scotland Yard?"
He broke off suddenly; and then went on in quite a different way:
"Look here! it seems to me that the thick-headed idiot is myself! Ibeg your pardon, old fellow, for my rudeness. I quite lost my temperat the suggestion that I do not know these lamps. You don't mind, doyou?" The Detective answered heartily:
"Lord, sir, not I. I like to see folks angry when I am dealing withthem, whether they are on my side or the other. It is when people areangry that you learn the truth from them. I keep cool; that is mytrade! Do you know, you have told me more about those lamps in thepast two minutes than when you filled me up with details of how toidentify them."
Mr. Corbeck grunted; he was not pleased at having given himself away.All at once he turned to me and said in his natural way:
"Now tell me how you got them back?" I was so surprised that I saidwithout thinking:
"We didn't get them back!" The traveller laughed openly.
"What on earth do you mean?" he asked. "You didn't get them back!Why, there they are before your eyes! We found you looking at themwhen we came in." By this time I had recovered my surprise and had mywits about me.
"Why, that's just it," I said. "We had only come across them, byaccident, that very moment!"
Mr. Corbeck drew back and looked hard at Miss Trelawny and myself;turning his eyes from one to the other as he asked:
"Do you mean to tell me that no one brought them here; that you foundthem in that drawer? That, so to speak, no one at all brought themback?"
"I suppose someone must have brought them here; they couldn't have comeof their own accord. But who it was, or when, or how, neither of usknows. We shall have to make inquiry, and see if any of the servantsknow anything of it."
We all stood silent for several seconds. It seemed a long time. Thefirst to speak was the Detective, who said in an unconscious way:
"Well, I'm damned! I beg your pardon, miss!" Then his mouth shut likea steel trap.
We called up the servants, one by one, and asked them if they knewanything of some articles placed in a drawer in the boudoir; but noneof them could throw any light on the circumstance. We did not tellthem what the articles were; or let them see them.
Mr. Corbeck packed the lamps in cotton wool, and placed them in a tinbox. This, I may mention incidentally, was then brought up to thedetectives' room, where one of the men stood guard over them with arevolver the whole night. Next day we got a small safe into the house,and placed them in it. There were two different keys. One of them Ikept myself; the other I placed in my drawer in the Safe Deposit vault.We were all determined that the lamps should not be lost again.
About an hour after we had found the lamps, Doctor Winchester arrived.He had a large parcel with him, which, when unwrapped, proved to be themummy of a cat. With Miss Trelawny's permission he placed this in theboudoir; and Silvio was brought close to it. To the surprise of usall, however, except perhaps Doctor Winchester, he did not manifest theleast annoyance; he took no notice of it whatever. He stood on thetable close beside it, purring loudly. Then, following out his plan,the Doctor brought him into Mr. Trelawny's room, we all following.Doctor Winchester was excited; Miss Trelawny anxious. I was more thaninterested myself, for I began to have a glimmering of the Doctor'sidea. The Detective was calmly and coldly superior; but Mr. Corbeck,who was an enthusiast, was full of eager curiosity.
The moment Doctor Winchester got into the room, Silvio began to mew andwriggle; and jumping out of his arms, ran over to the cat mummy andbegan to scratch angrily at it. Miss Trelawny had some difficulty intaking him away; but so soon as he was out of the room he became quiet.When she came back there was a clamour of comments:
"I thought so!" from the Doctor.
"What can it mean?" from Miss Trelawny.
"That's a very strange thing!" from Mr. Corbeck.
"Odd! but it doesn't prove anything!" from the Detective.
"I suspend my judgment!" from myself, thinking it advisable to saysomething.
Then by common consent we dropped the theme--for the present.
In my room that evening I was making some notes of what had happened,when there came a low tap on the door. In obedience to my summonsSergeant Daw came in, carefully closing the door behind him.
"Well, Sergeant," said I, "sit down. What is it?"
"I wanted to speak to you, sir, about those lamps." I nodded andwaited: he went on: "You know that that room where they were foundopens directly into the room where Miss Trelawny slept last night?"
"Yes."
"During the night a window somewhere in that part of the house wasopened, and shut again. I heard it, and took a look round; but I couldsee no sign of anything."
"Yes, I know that!" I said; "I heard a window moved myself."
"Does nothing strike you as strange about it, sir?"
"Strange!" I said; "Strange! why it's all the most bewildering,maddening thing I have ever encountered. It is all so strange that oneseems to wonder, and simply waits for what will happen next. But whatdo you mean by strange?"
The Detective paused, as if choosing his words to begin; and then saiddeliberately:
"You see, I am not one who believes in magic and such things. I am forfacts all the time; and I always find in the long-run that there is areason and a cause for everything. This new gentleman says thesethings w
ere stolen out of his room in the hotel. The lamps, I take itfrom some things he has said, really belong to Mr. Trelawny. Hisdaughter, the lady of the house, having left the room she usuallyoccupies, sleeps that night on the ground floor. A window is heard toopen and shut during the night. When we, who have been during the daytrying to find a clue to the robbery, come to the house, we find thestolen goods in a room close to where she slept, and opening out of it!"
He stopped. I felt that same sense of pain and apprehension, which Ihad experienced when he had spoken to me before, creeping, or ratherrushing, over me again. I had to face the matter out, however. Myrelations with her, and the feeling toward her which I now knew fullwell meant a very deep love and devotion, demanded so much. I said ascalmly as I could, for I knew the keen eyes of the skilful investigatorwere on me:
"And the inference?"
He answered with the cool audacity of conviction:
"The inference to me is that there was no robbery at all. The goodswere taken by someone to this house, where they were received through awindow on the ground floor. They were placed in the cabinet, ready tobe discovered when the proper time should come!"
Somehow I felt relieved; the assumption was too monstrous. I did notwant, however, my relief to be apparent, so I answered as gravely as Icould:
"And who do you suppose brought them to the house?"
"I keep my mind open as to that. Possibly Mr. Corbeck himself; thematter might be too risky to trust to a third party."
"Then the natural extension of your inference is that Mr. Corbeck is aliar and a fraud; and that he is in conspiracy with Miss Trelawny todeceive someone or other about those lamps."
"Those are harsh words, Mr. Ross. They're so plain-spoken that theybring a man up standing, and make new doubts for him. But I have to gowhere my reason points. It may be that there is another party thanMiss Trelawny in it. Indeed, if it hadn't been for the other matterthat set me thinking and bred doubts of its own about her, I wouldn'tdream of mixing her up in this. But I'm safe on Corbeck. Whoever elseis in it, he is! The things couldn't have been taken without hisconnivance--if what he says is true. If it isn't--well! he is a liaranyhow. I would think it a bad job to have him stay in the house withso many valuables, only that it will give me and my mate a chance ofwatching him. We'll keep a pretty good look-out, too, I tell you.He's up in my room now, guarding those lamps; but Johnny Wright isthere too. I go on before he comes off; so there won't be much chanceof another house-breaking. Of course, Mr. Ross, all this, too, isbetween you and me."
"Quite so! You may depend on my silence!" I said; and he went away tokeep a close eye on the Egyptologist.
It seemed as though all my painful experiences were to go in pairs, andthat the sequence of the previous day was to be repeated; for beforelong I had another private visit from Doctor Winchester who had nowpaid his nightly visit to his patient and was on his way home. He tookthe seat which I proffered and began at once:
"This is a strange affair altogether. Miss Trelawny has just beentelling me about the stolen lamps, and of the finding of them in theNapoleon cabinet. It would seem to be another complication of themystery; and yet, do you know, it is a relief to me. I have exhaustedall human and natural possibilities of the case, and am beginning tofall back on superhuman and supernatural possibilities. Here are suchstrange things that, if I am not going mad, I think we must have asolution before long. I wonder if I might ask some questions and somehelp from Mr. Corbeck, without making further complications andembarrassing us. He seems to know an amazing amount regarding Egyptand all relating to it. Perhaps he wouldn't mind translating a littlebit of hieroglyphic. It is child's play to him. What do you think?"
When I had thought the matter over a few seconds I spoke. We wantedall the help we could get. For myself, I had perfect confidence inboth men; and any comparing notes, or mutual assistance, might bringgood results. Such could hardly bring evil.
"By all means I should ask him. He seems an extraordinarily learnedman in Egyptology; and he seems to me a good fellow as well as anenthusiast. By the way, it will be necessary to be a little guarded asto whom you speak regarding any information which he may give you."
"Of course!" he answered. "Indeed I should not dream of sayinganything to anybody, excepting yourself. We have to remember that whenMr. Trelawny recovers he may not like to think that we have beenchattering unduly over his affairs."
"Look here!" I said, "why not stay for a while: and I shall ask him tocome and have a pipe with us. We can then talk over things."
He acquiesced: so I went to the room where Mr. Corbeck was, andbrought him back with me. I thought the detectives were pleased at hisgoing. On the way to my room he said:
"I don't half like leaving those things there, with only those men toguard them. They're a deal sight too precious to be left to the police!"
From which it would appear that suspicion was not confined to SergeantDaw.
Mr. Corbeck and Doctor Winchester, after a quick glance at each other,became at once on most friendly terms. The traveller professed hiswillingness to be of any assistance which he could, provided, he added,that it was anything about which he was free to speak. This was notvery promising; but Doctor Winchester began at once:
"I want you, if you will, to translate some hieroglyphic for me."
"Certainly, with the greatest pleasure, so far as I can. For I maytell you that hieroglyphic writing is not quite mastered yet; though weare getting at it! We are getting at it! What is the inscription?"
"There are two," he answered. "One of them I shall bring here."
He went out, and returned in a minute with the mummy cat which he hadthat evening introduced to Silvio. The scholar took it; and, after ashort examination, said:
"There is nothing especial in this. It is an appeal to Bast, the Ladyof Bubastis, to give her good bread and milk in the Elysian Fields.There may be more inside; and if you will care to unroll it, I will domy best. I do not think, however, that there is anything special.From the method of wrapping I should say it is from the Delta; and of alate period, when such mummy work was common and cheap. What is theother inscription you wish me to see?"
"The inscription on the mummy cat in Mr. Trelawny's room."
Mr. Corbeck's face fell. "No!" he said, "I cannot do that! I am, forthe present at all events, practically bound to secrecy regarding anyof the things in Mr. Trelawny's room."
Doctor Winchester's comment and my own were made at the same moment. Isaid only the one word "Checkmate!" from which I think he may havegathered that I guessed more of his idea and purpose than perhaps I hadintentionally conveyed to him. He murmured:
"Practically bound to secrecy?"
Mr. Corbeck at once took up the challenge conveyed:
"Do not misunderstand me! I am not bound by any definite pledge ofsecrecy; but I am bound in honour to respect Mr. Trelawny's confidence,given to me, I may tell you, in a very large measure. Regarding manyof the objects in his room he has a definite purpose in view; and itwould not be either right or becoming for me, his trusted friend andconfidant, to forestall that purpose. Mr. Trelawny, you may know--orrather you do not know or you would not have so construed my remark--isa scholar, a very great scholar. He has worked for years toward acertain end. For this he has spared no labour, no expense, no personaldanger or self-denial. He is on the line of a result which will placehim amongst the foremost discoverers or investigators of his age. Andnow, just at the time when any hour might bring him success, he isstricken down!"
He stopped, seemingly overcome with emotion. After a time he recoveredhimself and went on:
"Again, do not misunderstand me as to another point. I have said thatMr. Trelawny has made much confidence with me; but I do not mean tolead you to believe that I know all his plans, or his aims or objects.I know the period which he has been studying; and the definitehistorical individual whose life he has been investigating, and whoserecords he has bee
n following up one by one with infinite patience.But beyond this I know nothing. That he has some aim or object in thecompletion of this knowledge I am convinced. What it is I may guess;but I must say nothing. Please to remember, gentlemen, that I havevoluntarily accepted the position of recipient of a partial confidence.I have respected that; and I must ask any of my friends to do the same."
He spoke with great dignity; and he grew, moment by moment, in therespect and esteem of both Doctor Winchester and myself. We understoodthat he had not done speaking; so we waited in silence till hecontinued:
"I have spoken this much, although I know well that even such a hint aseither of you might gather from my words might jeopardise the successof his work. But I am convinced that you both wish to help him--andhis daughter," he said this looking me fairly between the eyes, "to thebest of your power, honestly and unselfishly. He is so stricken down,and the manner of it is so mysterious that I cannot but think that itis in some way a result of his own work. That he calculated on someset-back is manifest to us all. God knows! I am willing to do what Ican, and to use any knowledge I have in his behalf. I arrived inEngland full of exultation at the thought that I had fulfilled themission with which he had trusted me. I had got what he said were thelast objects of his search; and I felt assured that he would now beable to begin the experiment of which he had often hinted to me. It istoo dreadful that at just such a time such a calamity should havefallen on him. Doctor Winchester, you are a physician; and, if yourface does not belie you, you are a clever and a bold one. Is there noway which you can devise to wake this man from his unnatural stupor?"
There was a pause; then the answer came slowly and deliberately:
"There is no ordinary remedy that I know of. There might possibly besome extraordinary one. But there would be no use in trying to findit, except on one condition."
"And that?"
"Knowledge! I am completely ignorant of Egyptian matters, language,writing, history, secrets, medicines, poisons, occult powers--all thatgo to make up the mystery of that mysterious land. This disease, orcondition, or whatever it may be called, from which Mr. Trelawny issuffering, is in some way connected with Egypt. I have had a suspicionof this from the first; and later it grew into a certainty, thoughwithout proof. What you have said tonight confirms my conjecture, andmakes me believe that a proof is to be had. I do not think that youquite know all that has gone on in this house since the night of theattack--of the finding of Mr. Trelawny's body. Now I propose that weconfide in you. If Mr. Ross agrees, I shall ask him to tell you. He ismore skilled than I am in putting facts before other people. He canspeak by his brief; and in this case he has the best of all briefs, theexperience of his own eyes and ears, and the evidence that he hashimself taken on the spot from participators in, or spectators of, whathas happened. When you know all, you will, I hope, be in a position tojudge as to whether you can best help Mr. Trelawny, and further hissecret wishes, by your silence or your speech."
I nodded approval. Mr. Corbeck jumped up, and in his impulsive wayheld out a hand to each.
"Done!" he said. "I acknowledge the honour of your confidence; and onmy part I pledge myself that if I find my duty to Mr. Trelawny's wisheswill, in his own interest, allow my lips to open on his affairs, Ishall speak so freely as I may."
Accordingly I began, and told him, as exactly as I could, everythingthat had happened from the moment of my waking at the knocking on thedoor in Jermyn Street. The only reservations I made were as to my ownfeeling toward Miss Trelawny and the matters of small import to themain subject which followed it; and my conversations with Sergeant Daw,which were in themselves private, and which would have demandeddiscretionary silence in any case. As I spoke, Mr. Corbeck followedwith breathless interest. Sometimes he would stand up and pace aboutthe room in uncontrollable excitement; and then recover himselfsuddenly, and sit down again. Sometimes he would be about to speak,but would, with an effort, restrain himself. I think the narrationhelped me to make up my own mind; for even as I talked, things seemedto appear in a clearer light. Things big and little, in relation oftheir importance to the case, fell into proper perspective. The storyup to date became coherent, except as to its cause, which seemed agreater mystery than ever. This is the merit of entire, or collected,narrative. Isolated facts, doubts, suspicions, conjectures, give wayto a homogeneity which is convincing.
That Mr. Corbeck was convinced was evident. He did not go through anyprocess of explanation or limitation, but spoke right out at once tothe point, and fearlessly like a man:
"That settles me! There is in activity some Force that needs specialcare. If we all go on working in the dark we shall get in oneanother's way, and by hampering each other, undo the good that any oreach of us, working in different directions, might do. It seems to methat the first thing we have to accomplish is to get Mr. Trelawny wakedout of that unnatural sleep. That he can be waked is apparent from theway the Nurse has recovered; though what additional harm may have beendone to him in the time he has been lying in that room I suppose no onecan tell. We must chance that, however. He has lain there, andwhatever the effect might be, it is there now; and we have, and shallhave, to deal with it as a fact. A day more or less won't hurt in thelong-run. It is late now; and we shall probably have tomorrow a taskbefore us that will require our energies afresh. You, Doctor, willwant to get to your sleep; for I suppose you have other work as well asthis to do tomorrow. As for you, Mr. Ross, I understand that you areto have a spell of watching in the sick-room tonight. I shall get youa book which will help to pass the time for you. I shall go and lookfor it in the library. I know where it was when I was here last; and Idon't suppose Mr. Trelawny has used it since. He knew long ago allthat was in it which was or might be of interest to him. But it willbe necessary, or at least helpful, to understand other things which Ishall tell you later. You will be able to tell Doctor Winchester allthat would aid him. For I take it that our work will branch out prettysoon. We shall each have our own end to hold up; and it will take eachof us all our time and understanding to get through his own tasks. Itwill not be necessary for you to read the whole book. All that willinterest you--with regard to our matter I mean of course, for the wholebook is interesting as a record of travel in a country then quiteunknown--is the preface, and two or three chapters which I shall markfor you."
He shook hands warmly with Doctor Winchester who had stood up to go.
Whilst he was away I sat lonely, thinking. As I thought, the worldaround me seemed to be illimitably great. The only little spot inwhich I was interested seemed like a tiny speck in the midst of awilderness. Without and around it were darkness and unknown danger,pressing in from every side. And the central figure in our littleoasis was one of sweetness and beauty. A figure one could love; couldwork for; could die for...!
Mr. Corbeck came back in a very short time with the book; he had foundit at once in the spot where he had seen it three years before. Havingplaced in it several slips of paper, marking the places where I was toread, he put it into my hands, saying:
"That is what started Mr. Trelawny; what started me when I read it; andwhich will, I have no doubt, be to you an interesting beginning to aspecial study--whatever the end may be. If, indeed, any of us here mayever see the end."
At the door he paused and said:
"I want to take back one thing. That Detective is a good fellow. Whatyou have told me of him puts him in a new light. The best proof of itis that I can go quietly to sleep tonight, and leave the lamps in hiscare!"
When he had gone I took the book with me, put on my respirator, andwent to my spell of duty in the sick-room!