首页 >出版文学> Love Eternal>第22章

第22章

  Accordingly,whentheywenttotheobservatorythatnight,insteadofapplyinghiseyetothetelescopeintheaccustomedfashion,Godfreyrushedatthebusinesslikeabullatagate。AtfirstthePasteurwasentirelyconfused,especiallyasGodfreyspokeinEnglish,whichthepreceptormusttranslateintoFrenchinhisownmind。Bydegrees,however,hebecameextraordinarilyinterested,somuchsothatheletthenewpipegoout,andwhatwasveryrarewithhim,exceptinthemostmovingpassagesofhisownsermons,pushedthebluespectaclesfromhishighnoseupwards,tilltheycaughtuponthepatchofgrizzledhairwhichremaineduponhisbaldhead。
  “Ah!“hesaid,answeringinFrench,whichbynowGodfreyunderstoodfairlywell,“thisistrulyexciting;atlastIcomeintouchwiththething。Know,Godfrey,thatyoufurnishmewithagreatoccasion。LonghaveIstudiedthis,whatyoucallit——demonology。OfitIknowmuch,thoughnotfromactualtouchtherewith。“
  Thenhebegantotalkofgnosticism,andwitchcraft,and/Incubi/,and/Succubi/,andthedevelopmentsofmodernspiritualism,tillGodfreywasquitebewildered。Atlengthhepaused,relitthenewpipe,andsaid:
  “Thesematterswewillstudyafterwards;theyare,Iassureyou,mostentertaining。Meanwhile,wehavetodealwithyourMadameRiennes。Allright,oh!quiteallright。Iwillbehermatch。Shewillnotmake/me/kissher,no,notatall,notatall!Betranquil,youngfriend,ifto-morrowyoufeeltheimpulsetogo,goyoushall,butIwillgowithyou。Thenwewillsee。Nowtobedandsleepwell。Forme,Imuststudy;Ihavemanybooksonthissubject,andtherearepointswhereonIwouldrefreshmyself。Benotafraid。IknowmuchofMadameRiennesandIwillleaveherflatasthat,“andwithsurprisingalacrityhejumpedonalargeblackbeetlewhich,unhappilyforitself,justthenranacrosstheobservatoryfloortoenjoythewarmthofthestove。
  “Wait,“headded,asGodfreywasleaving。“Firstkneeldown,Ihavememoryoftheancientprayer,orifIforgetbits,Icanfillintheholes。“
  Godfreyobeyedinaratherabjectfashion,whereontheoldPasteur,wavingthepipeabovehishead,fromwhichemergedlinesofbluesmokesuchasmighthavebeenaccessorytoanincantation,repeatedoverhimsomethinginLatin,that,owingtotheforeignaccent,hecouldnotintheleastunderstand。Itended,however,withthesignofthecrossmadewiththebowlofthepipe,whichthePasteurforgotstillremainedinhishand。
  Fortifiedbytheaccessionofthisnewally,Godfreysleptfairlywell,tillwithinalittlewhileofdawn,whenhewasawakenedbyasoundofrapping。Atfirsthethoughtthattheseraps,whichseemedveryloudanddistinct,weremadebysomeoneknockingonthedoor,perhapstotellhimtherewasafire,andfaintlymurmured“/Entrez/。“
  Thentohishorrorhebecameawarethattheyproceeded,notfromthedoor,butfromthebackofhiswoodenbedstead,immediatelyabovehim,andatthesametimerecollectedthathehadheardsimilarnoiseswhilesittingatthelittletableintheVillaOgilvy,whichthemysticsgatheredtheredeclaredwereproducedbyspirits。
  Hishairroseuponhishead,acoldperspirationtrickleddownhim;heshookineverylimb。Hethoughtoflightingacandle,butreflectedthatitwasonthechestofdrawersattheothersideoftheroom,alsothathedidnotknowwherehehadputthematches。HethoughtofflyingtothePasteur,butrememberedthattodoso,firsthemustgetoutofbed,andperhapsexposehisbarelegstotheassaultofghostlyhands,andnextthat,toreachthechamberofMonsieurandMadameBoiset,hemustpassthroughthesanctuaryoftheroomoccupiedbyJuliette。Sohecompromisedbyretiringundertheclothes,muchasatortoisedrawsitsheadintoitsshell。
  Thisexpedientprovedquiteuseless,fortherebeneaththeblanketstherapssoundedlouderthanever。Moreover,ofasuddenthebedseemedtobefilledwithacoldandunnaturalair,whichblewallabouthim,especiallyuponhishands,thoughhetriedtoprotectthesebyplacingthemunderhisback。NowGodfreyknewsomethingoftheinadequateandclumsymethodsaffectedbyallegedcommunicatingspirits,andhalfautomaticallybegantorepeatthealphabet。WhenhegottotheletterI,therewasaloudrap。Hebeganagain,andatA
  cameanotherrap。Oncemorehetried,forsomethingseemedtomakehimdoso,andwasstoppedatM。
  “Iam,“hemurmured,andrecommenceduntiltheword“here“wasspeltout,afterwhichcamethreerapidrapstosignifyafullstop。
  “Whoishere?“heaskedinhisownmind,atthesametimedeterminingthathewouldleaveitatthat。Itwasofnouseatall,fortheotherpartyevidentlyintendedtogoon。
  Therewasaperfectrainofraps,onthebed,offthebed,onthefloor,evenonthejugbythewashstand;indeed,hethoughtthatthisandotherarticleswerebeingmovedabouttheroom。Tostopthismultiformassaultoncemorehetookrefugeinthealphabet,withtheresultthattherapsunmistakablyspelttheword“Eleanor。“
  “GreatHeavens!“hethoughttohimself,“thatdreadfulspiritgirlhere,inmybedroom!Howcanshe?Itismostimproper,butIdon’tsupposeshecaresasouforthat。“
  Inhisdespairandalarmhetuckedtheclothestightlyroundhim,andthrustingouthishead,saidintremblingaccents:
  “Pleasegoaway。YouknowIneveraskedyoutocome,andreallyitisn’tright,“remarkswhichhethought,though,likealltherest,thismayhavebeenfancy,werefollowedbyasoundofghostlylaughter。Whatwasmore,thebedclothessuddenlyslippedoffhim,or——
  ohhorror!perhapstheywerepulledoff。Atanyrate,theywent,andwhennexthesawthemtheywerelyinginaheapbythesideofthebed。
  Thenitwouldseemthathefainted,overcomebytheseterrors,realorimaginary。Atanyrate,whenheopenedhiseyesagainitwastoseethedaylightcreepingintotheroomneverbeforehadheappreciatedsothoroughlythebeautiesofthedawnandtofindhimselflyinghalffrozenonthebedwiththepillow,whichhewasclaspingaffectionately,forhissolecovering。
  Atbreakfastthatmorninghelookedsopeculiaranddilapidated,thatMadameandJuliettemadetenderinquiriesastohishealth,towhichherepliedthathisbedclotheshadcomeoffinthenightandthecoldhadgivenhimachill“inthemiddle。“Theywereverysympathetic,anddosedhimwithhot/café-au-lait/,butthePasteur,studyinghimthroughthebluespectacles,said,“Ah,isitso?“inakindoftriumphanttonewhichMadamedesignatedas“/bête/。“Indeed,tothoseunacquaintedwithwhatwaspassinginM。Boiset’smind,itmusthaveseemedparticularlystupid。
  WhenbreakfastwasoverhepossessedhimselfofGodfrey,andledhimtotheobservatory,wherethestovewasalreadylit,thoughthiswasnotusualinthedaytime,especiallyonSundays。
  “Now,myboy,tellmeallaboutit,“hesaid,andGodfreytoldhim,feeblysuggestingthatitmighthavebeenanightmare。
  “Nightmare!Nonsense。ThewitchRienneshassentherdemontotormentyou,thatisall。Ithoughtshewould。Itisquiteaccordingtorule,amostclearandexcellentcase。Indeed,I/am/aluckystudent。“
  “Idon’tbelieveinwitches,“saidGodfrey,“Ialwaysheardtheywererubbish。“
  “Ah!Idon’tknow。HereinthemountainstheseSwisspeoplebelieveinthem,andtellstrangestories,someofwhichIhaveheardastheirPasteur,especiallywhenIheldofficeamongtheHighAlps。AlsotheBiblespeaksofthemoften,doesitnot,andwhatwas,is,andshallbe,asSolomonsays。Oh!whyhesitate?Withoutdoubtthiswomanisawitchwhoposesasaninnocentmodernspiritualist。Butsheshallnotsendherprettyfemaledevilafteryouagain,forIwillmakethatroomimpossibletoher。“
  “Pleasedo,“saidGodfrey。“AndasforMadameRiennes,itiscertainlystrangethatsheshouldhaveknownaboutthethingsIhadinmypockettheotherday,althoughofcourse,shemayhavefollowedmeintotheshops。“
  “Yes,yes,shefollowedyouintotheshops,sheorherdemon,thoughperhapsyouwouldnotseeherthere。Whatdidyoutellme?ThatinthevillayouthoughtthatthedeadMademoisellewaswarningyouagainstsomething?Well,perhapsshewas,forshewasagoodwoman,thoughweakandfoolishtotrusttospiritualism,andnow,withoutdoubt,sheseesall,andwouldprotectyouofwhomsheisfond。“
  “ThenIwishshehaddoneitalittlebetter,“saidGodfrey。“Oh!
  listen,there’sarap!“
  Araptherewascertainly,onthehotironofthestove,aresonant,ringingrap。ThePasteuradvancedandmadeanexamination,andwhilehewasdoingsotherecameanother。Whatismore,inamostinexplicablefashionhisbluespectaclesflewfromhisnose。Verysolemnlyhefoundandreplacedthemandthen,withtheutmostdignity,addressinghimselftothestove,hecursedandexorcisedthatarticleofdomesticfurnitureinhisbestmedi?valLatin。Apparentlytheeffortwassuccessful,fortherewerenomoremanifestations。
  “Listen,myboy。Youdonotpartfrommethisday。Presentlywegotochurch,andyousitundermewhereIcankeepmyeyeonyou。Ifyoumakeonemovementtowardsthedoor,Idescendfromthedeskorthepulpit,andtakeyoubacktherewithme。“
  “Idon’twanttomove,“saidGodfrey。
  “No,butthereareotherswhomaywanttomoveyou。Thenafterchurchwedine,andafterdinnerwetakeanicewalkthroughthewoodsarminarm。Yes,perhapswegoasfarasLucerneandpayalittlevisitthere,sincethisafternoonIhavearrangedthatthereisnoservice。“
  SoGodfreywenttochurchandsatunderthecold,blueglareofthePasteur’sspectacles,listeningtoareallyeloquentsermon,forhispreachingwasexcellent。HetookhistextfromthestoryofSaulandthewitchofEndor,andafterdwellingonitanditsmoral,openedupthewholeproblemofthehiddeninfluenceswhichmay,andprobablydo,affectthehumansoul。Hegaveashortbutlearnedaccountofthehistoryofdemonologythroughouttheages,whichevidentlyhehadathisfingers’ends。Hedistinguishedbetweengoodandevilspirits,andwhilenotdenyingthelawfulnessofsuchresearch,pointedouttheperilthattheseekerran,sinceinhisquestforthegoodhemightfindtheevil。Finally,hedemonstratedthattherewasasurerefugefromallsuchdemoniacalattacks,whichthosewhosufferedfromthemhadbuttoseek。
  Madamedozedduringthissermon。Juliettewonderedwhathadsentherfatherdownthatroad,andthelittlecongregation,thoseofthemwhounderstood,thoughtitapleasantchangefromhisusualdiscourseupontheirsins,sincetheyatleasthadneverpractiseddemonology。ButtoGodfrey,towhom,indeed,itwasaddressed,itbroughtmuchcomfort,forinthePasteurandhispureandbeautifuldoctrine,hesawarockonwhichhemightstandsecure,defyingMadameRiennesandEleanor,andallthehostsofhellbehindthem。