Classic Audiobook Collection - Dr. Nikola's Experiment by Guy Boothby ~ Full Audiobook [thriller]

Episode Date: April 25, 2024

Dr. Nikola's Experiment by Guy Boothby audiobook. Genre: thriller Guy Boothby's fourth novel of five about the svelte mysterious anti-hero Dr Nikola sees him progress further on his search for immortality. Here we find him deep in the wilds of Northumbria conducting an experiment of longevity and restoration of youth with another somewhat naive assistant. He is pursued by his Chinese enemies who will stop at nothing to achieve his demise. In this novel he displays a slight hint of emotion regarding his assistant's love affair with a beautiful Spaniard. Once again you are left wondering whether you like him or detest him, his relentless pursuit of arcane knowledge at all cost continues. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:38:24) Chapter 02 (01:13:43) Chapter 03 (01:47:33) Chapter 04 (02:19:20) Chapter 05 (02:54:01) Chapter 06 (03:26:08) Chapter 07 (04:07:30) Chapter 08 (04:43:35) Chapter 09 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

chapter i of dr nicholas's experiment by guy boothby chapter one it is a sad enough thing at any time for a man to have to confess himself of failure but i think it will be admitted that it is doubly so at that period of his career when he is not only young enough to have had some flickering sparks of ambition left but old enough to appreciate at their proper value the overwhelming odds against which he is not only young enough to have had some flickering sparks of ambition left but old enough to appreciate at their proper value the overwhelming odds against which he has been battling so long and with such conspicuously poor success. Such was my case. I had entered the medical profession, seeminglyly with everything in my favour. My father had built up a reputation for himself, and what he prized still more of competency as a country practitioner of the old-fashioned sort in the west of England. I was his only child, as he was in the habit of saying, he looked to me to carry the family name up to those dizzy heights at which he had often gazed,

but on which he had never aspired to set his foot. A surgeon I was to be, willy-nilly, and it may have been a throwback to the parental instinct alluded to above, which led me at once to picture myself flying at express speed, regardless of cost across Europe, in obedience to the summons of some potentate whose life and throne depended upon my dexterity and knowledge. In due course I entered a hospital and followed the curriculum in the orthodox fashion.

It was not, however, until I was approaching the end of my student days, that I was burnt with that fire of enthusiasm, which was destined ultimately to consume me altogether. Among the students of my year was a man, by whose side I had often worked, with whom I had occasionally exchanged a few words, but whose intimate I could not in any way claim to have been. in appearance he was narrow-shouldered cadaverous lantern-jawed fellow dark restless eyes who boasted the name of kelleran and was popularly supposed to be an irishman as i discovered later however he was not an irishman at all but hailed from the black country wolverhampton if i remember rightly being the city which he claimed the honour of his birth

his father had been the senior partner and an exceedingly wealthy firm of hardware manufacturers and while we had been in the habit of pitying in some instances i'm afraid of rather looking down on the son on account of his supposed poverty he was in all probability in a position to buy up every other man in the hospital twice over the average medical student is a being with whom the world in general has by this time been made fairly familiar his frolics and capacity or incapacities you may choose to term it for work have been the subject of innumerable jests if this be a true pitcher then kelleran was certainly different to the usual run in his case the order was reversed with him work was play and play was work while a jest was a thing unknown and for which he allowed it to be seen that he had not the slightest torrents i've already said that my father had a master competency i must now add that up to a certain point he was a generous man with my allowance under different circumstances it would have been ample for my requirements as little luck would have it however i'd got into the wrong set and before i had been two years in the hospital was over head and ears in such a quagmire of debt and difficulties and it looked as if nothing but an absolute miracle could serve to extricate me to my father i dared not apply easy-going as he was in most matters had good reason to know that on the subject of debt he was inexorable and yet to remain in my present condition was impossible on every side tradesmen threatened me my landlady's account had not been paid for weeks while among the men of the hospital not one but several held my paper for sums lost at cards the remembrance of which which sent a cold shiver down my back every time i thought of them

from all this it will be surmised that my position was not only one of considerable difficulty but that it was also one of no little danger unless i can find a sufficient sum if not to free myself at least stave off my creditors my career as far as the world of medicine was concerned might be considered at an end even now i can recall the horror of that period as vividly as if it were but yesterday it was on a thursday i remember that the thunder-clap came when returning to my rooms in the evening i discovered a letter awaiting me trembling fingers i tore open the envelope and drew out the contents as i feared it proved to be a demand from the most implacable creditor a money-lender to whom i had been introduced by a fellow student the sum i had borrowed from him with the assistance of a friend been only a trifling one but it helped out by fines and other impositions and it had now increased to an amount which i was aware it was hopelessly impossible for me to pay what was i to do what could i do unless i settled to claim the hope from mercy from the man himself was to say the least of it absurd my friend who i happened to know was himself none too well off at the moment would be called upon to make it good after that how should i be able to face him or any one else again i had not a single acquaintance in the world from whom i could borrow of some that would be half sufficient to meet it while i dared not go down to the country tell my father of my folly in disgrace in vain i ransack my brains for a loophole of escape then the whistle of a steamer on the river attracted my attention filling my brain with such thoughts that it has never entertained before and i pray by god's murder

mercy may never know again here was a way out of my difficulty if only i had the pluck to try it strangely enough the effect it had upon me was to brace me like a draught of rare wine this was succeeded by a coldness so intense both mind and body were rendered callous by it how long it lasted i cannot say it may have been only a few seconds it may have been an hour before consciousness returned and i found myself still standing beside the table holding the fatal letter in my hand. Like a drunken man I fumbled my way from the room into the hot night outside. What was I going to do? I did not exactly know. I wanted to be alone in some place away from the crowded pavements, if possible, where I could have time to think and to determine upon my course of action. With a tempest of rage against I knew not what in my heart, I hurried along up one street and down another until I found myself panting

but unappeased upon the embankment opposite Temple Gardens all around me were the bustle of life of the great city cabs containing men and women and evening dress dashed along girls and their lovers talking in hushed voices went by me arm in arm

giving the loafers leading against a stone parapet seemed happy in comparison with my wretched self I looked down at the dark water, gurgling so pleasantly below me, and I remembered that all I had to do, as I was alone, was to drop over the side, allow it to engulf me, and so be done with my difficulties forever. Then in a flash the real meaning of what I proposed to do came to me.

Coward, coward, I hissed with as much vehemence and horror as if I had been addressing a real enemy instead of myself. to think of taking this way out of difficulty if you kill yourself what will become of the other man go to him at once and tell him everything he has the right to know the argument was irresistible and i called him he turned my heel i was about to start off in quest of a man i wanted and i found myself confronted with no lesser person and kelleran he was walking quickly and swung his cane as he did so but seeing me he stopped "'Dougar singleby,' he said. "'Well, this is fortunate. "'You're just the man I want to see.' "'I murmured something in reply.

"'I forget what, it was about to pass on. "'I'd bargain without my host, however. "'He had been watching me with his keen dark eyes, "'and when he made as if he would walk with me, "'I was not altogether surprised. "'You don't object to my accompanying you. "'I hope he inquired, by the way of introduction "'of what he had to say.

"'I've been wanting to have a talk with you for some days past.' i'm afraid in rome i'm afraid i'm in rather a hurry just now i answered quickly in my pace a little as i did so it makes no difference to me he returned if i think you're aware i'm a fast walker since you're in a hurry let's step out we did so and for something like fifty yards i proceeded at a brisk pace in perfect silence this at last became more than i could stand and i stopped and faced him what is it you want with me i asked angrily cannot you see that i'm not well tonight and would rather be alone. I can see you're not quite the thing, he answered quietly, still watching me with his grave eyes. This is exactly why I want to walk with you. A little cheerful conversation would do you good.

You don't know how clever I am at adapting my manner to other people's requirements. That is the secret of our profession, my dear Ingleby, as you will someday find out. I shall never find it out, I replied bitterly. I've done with medicine. I shall clear out of England, I think. go abroad, try Australia or Canada. Anyway, I don't

care where to get out of this. The very thing, he replied cheerily. But without a trace of surprise, he couldn't do better, I'm sure. We're strong, active, full of life and ambition. Just the sort of fellow, a fact, making good colonists.

Must be a grand life that hearing and hacking a place for oneself in a new country, watching and fostering the growth of a nation, that may someday take the rank among the powers of the earth ha i like the idea it is grand it is magnificent it makes one tingled to think of it he threw his arms out and squared his shoulders as if he were preparing for the struggle he had so graphically described after that we did not walk quite so fast the man had suddenly developed a strange fascination for me and as he talked i hung upon his words with a feverish interest I can scarcely account for now.

By the time we reached my lodgings, I'd forgotten my trouble for the time being. When I entered my sitting-room and found the envelope which had contained the fatal letter, still lying upon the table, it all rushed back upon me, and with such force that I was well-nigh overwhelmed. Keleran, meanwhile, had taken up his position on the hearthro, whence he watched me with the same expression of contemplative interest upon his face, to which I have before alluded. Hello, he said at last after it had been some minutes in the house,

and he had begun to overhaul my library. What are these? Where did you pick them up? He'd taken a book from the shelf and was holding it tenderly in his hand. I recognised it as one of several volumes of a 16th century work on surgery that I had charged upon in a bookstall in Holywell Street some months before. Its age and date had interested me, and I bought it more out of curiosity than for any other reason. Kelloran, however, could scarcely withdraw his eyes from it.

It's the very thing I've been wanting to make my set complete, he cried, after I had described my discovery of it. Perhaps you don't know it, but I'm a perfect lunatic on the subject of books. My own rooms, where, by the bayou have never been, are crammed from ceiling to floor, and still I go on buying. Let me see what else you have. so saying he continued his survey of the room humming softly to himself as he did so and pulling out such books as interested him and heaping them upon the floor you've by no means a bad collection he was kind enough to say when he had finished judging from what i see here you must read a great deal more than most of our men i'm afraid not i answered the majority of these books were sent up to me from the country by my father

you thought they might be of service to me a mistaken notion for they take up a lot of room and i've often wished them at hanover you have have you you goth he continued well then i'll tell you what i'll do if you want to get rid of them i'll buy the lot these old beauties included they're really worth more than i can afford but if you care about it i'll make you a sporting offer of a hundred and fifty pounds for such as i've put upon the floor what do you say i could scarcely believe i heard a right his offer was so preposterous that i could have laughed in his face my dear fellow i cried thinking for a moment but he must be joking with me and feeling inclined to resent it what nonsense you talk hundred and fifty for that lot well they're not worth a ten-pound note all told the old fellows are certainly curious but it's only fair that i should tell you that i gave five shillings and sixpence for the set of seven volumes complete Then you've got a bargain Such as you'll never find again, he answered quietly. I wish I could make us good in one every day. However, there's my offer.

Take it or leave it as you please. I will give you £150 for those books and take my chance of their value. If you are prepared to accept, I'll get a cab and take them away tonight. I've got my cheque-book in my pocket and I'll settle up for them on the spot. But my dear, Keloran, how can you afford to give

such. Here I stopped abruptly. I beg your pardon. I know I have no right to say such a thing. Don't mention it, he answered quietly. I'm not in the least offended, I assure you. I've always felt certain you fellow supposed me to be poor. As a matter of fact, however, I have the good fortune, or the ill, as I sometimes think, to be able to indulge myself to the top of my bent without fear of the consequences. But that has nothing to do with the subject of present under-discusses. will you take my price and let me have the books or not i assure you i am all anxiety to get my nose inside one of those old covers before i sleep to-night heaven knows i was eager enough to accept if you think for one moment you will see what is often meant to me with such a sum i could not only pay off the money-lender but well-nigh put myself straight with the rest of my creditors it all the time i had the uneasy feeling that the books were no means worth the amount he had declared to be their value and that he was only making me an offer out of kindness you sure you mean it i will accept i said i am awfully hard up and the money will be a godsend to me i am rejoiced to hear it he replied for in that case we should be doing each other a mutual good term now let's get them tied up if you wouldn't mind seeing to it i'll write the cheque and call a cab ten minutes

later he and his new possessions had taken their departure and i was once more in my room standing beside the table just as i had done a few hours before but with what a difference then i had seen no light ahead nothing but complete darkness and dishonour now i was a new man and in a position to meet the majority of calls upon me the change from the one condition to the other was more than i could bear and when i remembered that less than sixty minutes before i was standing on the antechamber of death the embankment contemplating suicide i broke down completely and sinking into a chair buried my face in my hands and cried like a child next morning soon as the bank had opened its doors i entered and cashed the cheque caloran had given me and calling a cab i made my way with a light heart as you may suppose to the office of the money-lender in question his surprise on seeing me and on learning the nature of my errand may be better imagined than describe having transacted my business with him i was preparing to make my way back to the hospital when an idea entered my head upon which i immediately active in something under ten minutes i stood in the bookseller's shop in holymoor street where i had purchased the volumes kelleran had appeared to prize so much some weeks ago i said to the man who came forward to serve me i purchased for new and old work on medicine entitled the perfect chirigurgeon or the art of healing as practised in divers ancient countries seven volumes very much soiled five and sixpence returned the man immediately i remember the books i'm glad of that i answered now i want you to tell me what you would consider the real market value of the work if it were wanted to make up a collection it might possibly be worth a sovereign the man replied promptly otherwise not

not more than we asked you for it. And you don't think anyone would be likely to offer £150 for it, I inquire. The man laughed outright. Not a man who has possession of his wits, he answered. No, sir, I think I've stated the price very fairly, though of course it might fetch a few shillings, more or less, according to the circumstances.

I very much obliged you, as I said. I simply wanted to know as a matter of curiosity. With that, I left the shop and mowed my way to the hospital. where I found Caloran hard at work. He looked up at me as I entered and nodded, but it was well-nigh lunchtime before I got an opportunity of speaking to him. Caleran, I said when I did.

You deceived me about those books last night and were not worth anything like the value you put on. He looked me full and fair in the face, and I saw a faint smile flick around the corners of his mouth. My dear Ingleby, he said. What a funny fellow you are, to be sure. surely if I choose to give you what I consider the worth of the books I'm at perfect liberty to do so

and if you are willing to accept it no more need be said upon the subject the value of a thing to a man is what he cares to give for it so I've always been led to believe but I am convinced you did not give it only because you wanted the books you knew I was in straits and you took that form of helping me it was generous of you indeed Caleran and I'll never forget it as long as I live. You saved me from, but there I cannot tell you, I dare not think of it myself.

But there is one thing I must ask of you. I want you to keep the books, and to let the amount you gave me for them be alone, which I will repay as soon as I possibly can. I was aware that he was a passionate man. Indeed, once or twice I had seen him in a rage, but never in a greater one than now. Let it be what you please, he cried, turning from me, only for pity's sake dropped the subject. enough of it. With this explosion he stalked away, leaving me standing looking after him, divided between gratitude and amazement. I have narrated this incident for two reasons, in the first place because it will furnish you with a notion of my own character, which I am prepared to admit exhibits but few good points, and in the second because it will serve to introduce you to a queer

individual, now a very great person whom I shall always regard as the good angel of my life. And indirectly it is true the bringer about of the one and only real happiness I have ever known. From the time of the episode I've just

described as such leds to the present day, I can safely say that I have neither touched a car nor owed a man a penny piece that I was not fully prepared to pay at a moment's notice. And with this assertion I must revert to the statement made at the commencement of this chapter.

The saddest a man can make, as I said then, there could be no doubt about it, that I was a failure, although I had improved in the particulars just stated, fate was plainly against me. I worked hard and passed my examinations, with comparative ease,

yet it seemed to do me no good with those above me. The sacred fire of enthusiasm, which had at first been so conspicuously absent, had now taken complete hold of me. I studied night and day, grudging myself no labour, yet by some mischance everything I touched recoiled upon me, and like the serpent of the fable, stung the hand that fostered it. Certainly I was not popular, and since it was due almost directly to Caleran's influence that I took to my work with such assiduity, it seems strange that I should also have to attribute my non-success to his agency. As a matter of fact, he was not a good leader to follow.

From the very first he had showed himself to be a man of strange ideas. He was no follower or stickler for the Orthodox. To sum him up in plainer words, he was what might be described as an experimentalist. In return, the authorities of the hospital look somewhat askance upon him. Finally he passed out into the world and the same term saw me appointed to the rank of house surgeon. Almost simultaneously my father died and to the horror of the family, an examination of his affairs, instead of proving him the wealthy man he supposed him to be, showed there was barely sufficient when his liabilities were paid to meet the expenses of his funeral. The shock of his death and the knowledge of the poverty to which she had been so suddenly reduced

proved too much for my mother and she followed him a few weeks later. Thus I was left so far as I knew without kith or kin in the world with but a few friends, no money and the poorest possible prospects of ever making it. The circumstances under which I lost the position of house-surgeon I will not allude

let it suffice that I did lose it. And that, although the authority seemed to think otherwise, i am in a position to prove whenever i desired to do so that i was not the real culprit the effect however was the same i was disgraced beyond hope of redemption and the proud career i had mapped out for myself was now beyond my reach for good and all over the next twelve months it would be better that i should draw a veil even now i scarcely like to think of them it is enough for me to say that for upwards of a month i remained in london searching high and low for employment this however was easier look for than discovered try how i would i could hear of nothing then weary of the struggle i accepted an offer made me and left england as a surgeon on board an outward bound passenger steamer for australia ill luck however still pursued me for at the end of my second voyage the company went into liquidation and its vessels were sold i shipped on board another boat in a similar capacity did Two voyages in her to the Cape, were on a friend's advice, I bade her goodbye,

and started for a shanty, a surgeon to an inland trading company. While there I was wounded in the net by a spear, was compelled to leave the company's service, and eventually found myself back once more in London, tramping the streets in search of employment. Fortunately, I had managed to save a small sum from my pay. So that I was not altogether destitute,

it was not long however before this was exhausted and then things looked blacker than they had ever done before what to do i knew not i had long since cast my pride to the winds i was now prepared to take anything no matter what then an idea struck me and on it i acted leaving my lodgings on the surrey side of the river i crossed blackfriars bridge and made my way along the embankment in a westerly direction as i went i could not help contrast in my present appearance with that i had shown on the last occasion i had walked that way then i had been as spruce and neat as a man could well be boasted a good coat to my back and a new hat upon my head now however the country coat and hat, instead of speaking from my prosperity, as at one time they might have done, bore unmistakable evidence of the disastrous change which had taken

place in my fortunes. Indeed, if the truth must be confessed, I was about a sorry specimen of the professional man as could be found in the length and breadth of the metropolis. Ritching a thoroughfare, which I had heard Caloran had taken up his

abode, had cast about me for a means of ascertaining his number, compared with that in which i myself resided this was a street of palaces and it seemed to me i could read the characters of the various tenants in the appearance of each house front the particular one before which i was standing at the moment was frivolous in the extreme the front door was daintily painted an elaborate knocker ornamented the centre panel while the windows were without exception curtained with expensive stuffs everything pointed to the mistress being a lady of fashion and having put one thing and another together i felt convinced i should not find my friend there the next i came to was a residence of more substantial type here everything was solid and plain even to the borders of severity if i could sum up the owner he was a successful man a lawyer from choice a bachelor and possibly even probably a bigot on matters of religion he would have two or three friends not more at thought all of who would be advanced in years and like himself successful men of business he would be able to appreciate a glass of dry sherry would have nothing to do with anything that did not bear the impress of being a gilt-edge security as neither of these houses seemed to suggest that they would be likely to know anything of the man i wanted i made my way farther down the street keeping my eyes open as i proceeded

at last i came to a standstill before one that i was prepared to swear was inhabited by my old friend his character was stamped unmistakably upon every inch of it the untidy windows a pile of books upon a table behind them the marks upon the front door where his impatient foot had often pressed while he turned his latch-key all these spoke of kelleran and i was certain my instinct was not misleading me ascending the steps i rang the bell it was answered by a tall somewhat austere woman of between forty and fifty years of age upon whom a coquettish frilled apron and cap sat with an incongruous effect as i afterwards learnt she had been kelleran's nurse in bygone years and since he had become a householder she had taken charge of his domestic arrangement and ruled both himself and his maid-servants with a rod of iron would you be kind enough to inform me if mr kellerand is at home i asked after he had taken stock of each other he's been abroad for more than three months woman answered abruptly and seeing the disappointment upon my face she added i don't know when we may expect him home he may be here on saturday and on the other hand we may not see him for two or three weeks to come perhaps you'll not my telling me what your business with him may be it's not very important i answered humbly feeling not my possession was to say the least of it and in biddyest one. I'm an old friend, and I want to see him for a few minutes. Since however he's not at home, it does not matter. I assure you, I shall have other opportunities of communicating with him.

At the same time, you might be kind enough to tell him I call. In that case, you'd better let me know your name, she replied with a look that suggested, as plainly as any words could speak, but she did not, for an instant, believe my assertion, that I was a friend of her masters. My name is Ingleby, I said, Mr. Caloran will be sure to remember me we were at the same hospital. She gave a scornful sniff, as if such a thing would be very unlikely, and made as if she would shut the door in my face.

I was not, however, to be put off in this fashion. Taking a card from my pocket, I scrawled upon it, I scrawled my name and present address upon it, and handed it to her. Perhaps if you will show that to Mr. Caleran, he would not mind writing to me when he comes home, I said. that is where i am living just now she glanced at the card and then noting the locality sniffed even more scornfully than before it was evident this was the only thing wanting to confirm the bad impression i had created in her mind for some seconds there was an ominous silence very well she answered at length i'll give it to him but why heaven save us what's the matter you're as white as a sheet why didn't you say you were feeling ill

i had been running it rather close for more than a week past and the news that kelleram my last hope was absent from england had unnerved me altogether a sudden giddiness seized me and under the influence of it i should have fallen to the ground had i not clutched the railings by my side it was then that the real nature of the woman became apparent like a ministering angel she half led half supported me into the house and seated me on a chair in the somewhat sparsely furnished hall friend of the master or no friend i heard her say to herself i'll take the risk of it i heard no more for my senses had left me when they returned i felt myself lying upon a sofa in keller and study the housekeeper standing by my side and a maid-servant casting sympathetic glances at me from the doorway. I am afraid I put you to a lot of trouble, I said, as soon as I had recovered myself sufficiently to speak. I cannot think what made me go off like that. I have never done such a thing in my life before.

You can't think, queried the woman with a curious intonation that was not lost upon me, then it's very plain you've not much wit about you. I think, young man, I could make a very good guess at the truth if I wanted to. how shall i ever let that be as it may i'll put a bit of it right before you leave this house or my name's not what it is and turning to the maid who was still watching me she continued sharply be off about your business miss and do as i told you are you going to waste all afternoon standing there staring about you like a gabby the girl disappeared only to return a few minutes later with a tray upon which was a substantial meal with cold meat on the old woman's authorisation i sat down to it and dined as I had not done for months past. There, she said with an air of triumph as I finished, that will make a new manner of you.

And having done all she could for me, and repenting perhaps of the leniency she had shown me, she returned to her former abrupt demeanour, and informed me in terms that there was no mistaken that her time was valuable, and that it behoved me to be off about my business as soon as possible. While she had been speaking, my eyes had travelled round the room

until they alighted upon the mantelpiece that was covered with pipes books, photographs and all the innumerable odds and ends that accumulate in a bachelor's apartment where I discovered my own portrait with several others I remembered having given it

to Kelleran two years before it was not a very good one but with this assistance I proposed to establish my identity proved to my stern benefactor that I was not altogether the imposter she believed me to be i cannot tell you how grateful i am to you for all you have done i said as i rose and prepared to make my departure from the house at the same time i am very much afraid you do not altogether believe that i am the friend of your masters that i pretend to be tut tut she answered if i were in your place i'd say no more about that

leith said soon as mended is my motto i trust however i'm a christian woman and do my best to help folk in distress but i've warned ye already that I have eyes in my head and wit enough to tell what's a clock just as well as my neighbours why bless my soul you don't think I've been all my years in the world without knowing what's what or who's who she paused as if for breath

and embracing the opportunity I crossed the room and took from the chimney piece the photograph to which I had just alluded possibly this may help to reassure you I said as I placed it before her I do not think I have changed that much since it was taken

that you should fail to recognise me. She picked up the photo and looked at it, reading the signature at the bottom with a puzzled face. Heaven save us so it is, she cried, and the meaning of it dawned upon her. You are Mr Ingleby after all. Well, I'm a softy, to be sure, I thought you were trying to take me in.

So many people come here asking to see him, saying they're at the hospital with him, but I'd have thought it really was you. I'd have bitten my tongue out before I have said what I did. Why, sir? why sir the master talks of you to this day single be this and ingle be that from morning till night many's the time he's made inquiries from gentlemen who've been here in the hope of finding out what has become of you god bless him i said with a heart-warming at the news that he had not forgotten me we were the best of friends once but mr ingleby continued the old woman after a pause if you'll allow me to say so i don't like to see you like this you must have seen a lot of trouble sirs who have got into such a state the world has not treated me very kindly i answered with an attempt of a smile but i'll tell kelleran all about it when i see him you think it's possibly made me home on saturday

i hope so sir i'm sure she replied you may be certain i'll give him your address and tell him you've called the moment i see him i thanked her again for her trouble took my departure feeling a very different man as i went down the steps and turned my face cityward in my own heart i felt certain kelleram would do something to help me had i known however what that something was destined to be i wonder whether i should have awaited his coming with such eagerness as it transpired it was on the friday following my call of his house and on returning to my lodgings after another day's fruitless search for employment i found the following letter awaiting me the handwriting was as familiar to me as my own and it made me imagine with what eagerness i tore up the envelope and scanned the contents. It ran, My dear Ingleby, there's a pleasant welcome home to hear that you were in England once more. I'm sorry, however, to find for my housekeeper that affairs have not been prospering with you. This must be remedied, and at once. I flatter myself, I am just the man to do it. It is possible you may consider me unfeeling when I say that there were never such luck as yours

being in want of employment at this particular moment. I have a billet standing by and waiting for you, one of the very sort you are best fitted for, and one which you will enjoy unless you have lost your former instincts. You have never met, Dr. Miller, but you must do so without delay. I'll tell you, Ingleby, he is the most wonderful man with whom I have ever been brought in contact. We chanced upon each other in St. Petersburg three months ago, and since then he's had a fascination for me, such as no other man has ever had. I have spoken of you to him, and in consequence he dines with me tonight in the hope of meeting you. Whatever else you do, therefore, do not fail to put in an appearance. You cannot guess the magnitude of the experiment upon which he is at work. First glance,

and in any other man, it would seem incredible. Impossible, almost absurd. When, however, you have seen him, I venture to say you will not doubt that he will carry it through. Let me count upon you tonight then at seven. Always your friend, Andrew Fairfax, Kelleran. I read the letter again. What did it mean, in any rate it contained a ray of hope? It would have to be a very curious billet, I told myself, under present circumstances, that I would refuse. But who was this extraordinary individual, Dr. Nicola, who seemed to have exercised such a fascination over my enthusiastic friend? Well, that I had to find out for myself. End of Chapter 1

chapter two of dr nicholas experiment by guy boothby this librivox recording is in the public domain chapter two the clocks in the neighbourhood had scarcely ceased striking when i ascended the steps of caleran's house and rang the bell even had he not been so impressive in his invitation there was small likelihood of my forgetting the appointment i had been waiting for it hour by hour, with an impatience that can only be understood when I say that each one was bringing me nearer the only proper meal I had had since I last visited his abode. The door was open to me by the same faithful housekeeper, who had proved herself such a ministering angel on the previous occasion. She greeted me as an old friend, but with a greater respect than she had shown when we had last talked together. This did not prevent her, however, from casting her scrutinising eye over me, as much as to say,

you look a bit more respectable, my lad. Your coat is very green at the seams. Your collar is frayed at the edge, and you sniff the smell of dinner as if you had not had a decent meal for longer than you care to think about. All of which would have been perfectly true. Step inside, she said.

Mr. Callerone's waiting for you in the study, I know. Then sinking her voice to a whisper, she added. There's duck and green peas for dinner. and as soon as the other gentleman arrives i shall tell cook to dish he'll not be long now what answer i should have returned i cannot say but as she finished speaking a door further down the passage opened and my old friend made his appearance with an impetuosity which always characterised him ingle me my dear fellow he cried as he ran without a stretched hand to greet me i cannot tell you how pleased i am to see you again seems years since i last set eyes on you come along in here i want to have a good look at you we've tons of things to say to each other and heaps of questions to ask haven't we and by jove we must look sharp about it too for in a few minutes nicola will be here i asked him to come at quarter-past seven in order that we might have a little time alone together first so saying he led me into his study the same in which i had returned to my senses after my fainting fit a few days before and bade me seat myself in an easy chair you can't think how good it is to see you again kelleran i said as soon as i could get in a word i began to think myself forgotten by all my friends bosh was his uncompromising reply talk about your friends why you never know who they are till you're in trouble at least that's what i always think

and by the way let me tell you that you do look a bit pulled down i wonder what idiocy you'd been up to since i saw you last tell me all about it you won't smoke very good now fire away thus encouraged i told him in a few words all my experiences since we had last met while i was talking he stood before me his face lit up with interest and to all intents and purposes as absorbed in my story as if it had been his own well thank goodness it's all over now he said when i brought my tale to a conclusion i found you a billet that will suit you admirably and if you play your cards well there's no saying to what it may not lead nicola is the most marvellous man in the world as you will admit when you meet him i for one have never seen anybody like him and as for this new scheme of his why if he brings it off i'll give you my word it will revolutionise science i was too well acquainted with my friend's enthusiastic way of talking to be surprised at it at the same time i was thoroughly conversant with his cleverness and for this reason i was prepared to believe if he thought well of any scheme that there was something out of the common but what is this wonderful idea i asked scarcely able to contain my longing as the fumes of dinner penetrated to us from the regions below and how am i affected by it that i must leave for dr nicola to tell you himself kelleran replied let it suffice for the moment that i envy your opportunity i believe if i had been able to avail myself for the chance he offered me of going into it with him i should have been compelled to sacrifice you but there you will hear all about it in good time for if i mistake not that is his cab drawing up outside now it is one of his peculiarities to be always punctual to the moment will you make the right time by your watch

i was obliged to confess that i possessed no watch it had been turned into the necessaries of existence long since caloran must have seen what was passing in my mind though he pretended not to have noticed it at any rate he said i may have been turned into the necessaries of existence long since caloran must have seen what was passing in my mind though he pretended not to have noticed it at any rate he said i may make it a quarter-past seven to the minute, and I am prepared to wager, That's our man. A bell rang. Almost before the sound of it had died away, the study door opened, and the housekeeper, with a look of awe upon her face, which had not been there when she addressed me, announced Dr Nicola. Looking back on it now, in spite of all that has happened since, I find that my impressions of that moment are as fresh and as clear as if it had

happened yesterday. I could see the tall, lithe figure of this extraordinary man, his sullow face and his piercing black eyes steadfastly regarding me, as if he were trying to determine whether I was capable of assisting him in the work upon which he was so exhaustively engaged. Never before had I seen such eyes. They seemed to look me through and through, and to read my inmost thought. This gentleman, my dear Kelarad. He began after they had shaken hands without waiting for me to be introduced to him. Should be your friend Ingleby

of whom you have so often spoken to me. How do you do, Mr. Ingleby? I don't think there is much doubt, but that we shall work admirably together. He have lately been in a shanty, I perceive. I admitted that I had, and went on to inquire how he'd become aware of it. For as Kelarand had not known

until a few minutes before, I did not see how he could be acquainted with the fact. It's not a very difficult thing to tell, he answered with a smile at my astonishment, seeing that you carry about with you the mark of a guatto spear. If it were necessary, I could tell you some more things that would surprise you. For instance, I could tell you that the man who cut it out to you was an amateur at his work, that he was left-handed, he was short-sighted, and that he was recovering from malaria at the time. All this is plain to the eye, but I see our friend Calleran fancies his dinner is getting cold,

so we'd better postpone the subject for a more convenient opportunity. We accordingly left the study and proceeded to the dining room. All day long I'd been looking forward to that moment with the eagerness of a starving man, yet when it arrived I scarcely touched anything. If the truth must be confessed,

there was something about this man that made me forget such mundane matters as mere eating and drinking. I noticed that Nicola himself scarcely touched anything. This reason, save for the fact that he himself enjoyed it, the bountiful spread caleran and a range, was completely wasted. During the progress of the meal, no mention was made of the great experiment upon which our hosts had informed me, Nicola was engaged. My conversation was mainly devoted to travel. Nicola, I soon discovered, had been everywhere,

and he had seen everything. There appeared to be no place on the face of the habitable globe, with which he was not acquainted, and of which he could not speak with the authority of an old resident. China, India, Australia, South America, North, South, Eastern, West Africa, were as familiar to him as Piccadilly. And it was in connection with one of the last-named countries that a curious incident cropped up. We have been discussing various cases of catalepsy, and to illustrate an argument he was seducing, "'Kelleran narrated a curious instance of Lethargy, "'which he had seen in southern Russia. "'But while he was speaking,

"'I noticed that Nicola's face wore an expression "'that was partly one of derision "'and partly one of amusement. "'I think I can furnish you "'with an instance that's even more extraordinary,' I said, "'when our host had finished, "'and as I did so, Nicola leaned a little towards me. "'In fairness to your argument, however, Kerroman,

"'I must admit that why it comes under the same category, the malady in question confines itself almost exclusively to the black races on the west coast of Africa. You refer to the sleeping sickness, I presume, said Nicola, whose eyes were fixed upon me, and it was paying the greatest attention to all I said. Exactly the sleeping sickness, I answered. I was fortunate enough to see several instances of it when I was on the West Coast, though the one to which I am referring did not come before me personally, but was described to me by a man, a rather curious character

that happened to be in the district at the time. The negro in question, a fine, healthy fellow of about 20 years of age, was servant to a Portuguese trader at Cape Coast Castle. He'd been upcountry on some trading expedition or other, and during the whole time had enjoyed the very best of health. With the first few days after his return to the coast, however, he was unusually depressed. Slight swelling of the cervical gland set in,

accompanied by a tendency to fall asleep at any time this somnolency gradually increased cutaneous stimulation was tried at first with comparative success symptoms however soon re-occurred the periods of sleep became longer and more frequent until at last the patient could seriously have been said to be ever awake the case so my informant said was an extremely interesting one what was the result inquired kelleran a little impatiently you have not told us to what all this is leading well the result was that in due course the patient became extremely emaciated a perfect skeleton in fact he would take no food answered no questions and did not open his eyes from morning till night to make a long story short just as my informant was getting to think at the end was approaching there appeared in cape coast castle a mysterious stranger who put forward a claims to the knowledge of medicine he foregathered with my man and after a while obtained permission to try his hand upon the negro killed him at once of course nothing of the sword the thing happened that you'll scarcely credit the whole business was most irregular i believe but my friend was not likely to worry himself much about that this new man had his own pharmacopoeia a collection of essences in small bottles more like what they used in the middle ages than anything else i should imagine having obtained possession of the patient he carried him away to a hut outside the town took him in hand there and then the man who told me about it and who i should have said had a good experience of the disease assured me that he was as certain as any one possibly could be that the chap would not live out the week And yet when the newcomer, ten days later, invited him to visit the hut,

there was the man acting as his servant, waiting at table, if you please, and to all intents and purposes, they're very thin, as well as ever he had been in his life. But my dear fellow protested Keller. Guren says that out of the 148 cases that come under his notice, 148 died. Can't help that, I said a little warmly. I'm afraid, I'm only telling you. what my friend told me. He gave me his word of honour that the result was as he had described. But I had not finished my story when you interrupted me. The strangest part of the whole business has yet to be

told. It appears that the man had not only cured the fellow, but that he had had the power of returning him to the condition of which he found him at will. It wasn't hypnotism, but what it was is more than I can say. At any rate, my informant describe it to me is about being the uncanniest performance he had ever witnessed. In what way asked, Calderon. Furnishers with a more detailed account. There was a time when you were a famous hand at a diagnosis. I would willingly do so, I answered.

Unfortunately, however, I can't remember it all. It appears that he was always saying the most mysterious things and putting the strangest questions, and on one occasion he asked my friend, as they were standing by the negroes bedside, if there was anyone whose image he would care to see, Merton at first thought he was making fun of him. But seeing that he was in earnest, he considered for a moment,

and eventually, answered that he would very much like to see the portrait of an old shipmate who had perished at sea some six or seven years prior to his arrival on the West Coast. As soon as he had said this, the man stooped over the bed and opening the sleeping nigger's eyes. Examine the retina, he said, and I think you will see what you want. my friend looked and what did he see inquired kelleran nicholas said nothing but smiled as i thought a trifle sceptically seems an absurd thing to say i know i continue but he swore to me that he had performed the exact picture of the man he had referred to standing on the deck of a steamer just as he had last seen him

it was as clear and distinct as if it had been a photograph and all the time when the negro was asleep fast asleep i answered i should very much like to meet your friend said caloran emphatically a man within imagination like that must be an exceedingly interesting companion but seriously my dear ingolbu you don't mean to say you wish us to believe that all this really happened i am telling you what he told me i answered i cannot swear to the truth of it of course but i will go as far as to say that i do not think he was intentionally deceiving me caloran shrugged his shoulders incredulously for some moments an uncomfortable silence ensued this was broken by nicola my dear calerone he said i don't think you're altogether fair to our friend ingebly as he admits he was only speaking on hearsay and under these circumstances he might very easily have been deceived fortunately however for the sake of his reputation i am in a position to corroborate all he has said then deuce you are cried calerone while i was too much astonished to speak can only stare at him in complete surprise what earth do you mean pray explain i can only do so by saying i was the man who did this apparently wonderful thing. Caloran and I continued to stare at him in amazement. Could he be laughing at us?

Yet his face was serious enough. You do not seem to credit my assertion, said Nicola quietly. And yet, I assure you it is correct. I was the mysterious individual who appeared in Cape Coast Castle, who brought with him his own pharmacopoeia, and who wrought the miracle which your friend appears to have considered so wonderful.

The coincidence is. so extraordinary I answered as if in protest. Coincidences are necessarily extraordinary, Nicolry replied. I do not see that this is one more so than usual. And the miracle? Was in reality no miracle at all, he answered. But a logical outcome of a perfectly natural process. If I do not look so incredulous, I'm aware that my statement is difficult to believe,

but I assure you that my dear Ingleby that is quite true. However, proof is always better than the search. So since you have still still seen, sceptical let me make my position right with you for reasons that would be self-evident i cannot produce the effect in a negro's eye but i can do so in a way that will strike you as being scarcely less marvellous if you draw up your chairs i will endeavour to explain needless to remark we did as he desired and when we were seated on either side of him waited for the manifestation he had promised us taking a small silver box but a little larger than a card-case from his pocket he opened it and tipped what might have been a teaspoonful of black powder into the centre of a dessert plate i watched it closely in the hope of being able to discover of what it was composed my efforts however were unavailing it was black as i have already said and from a distance resembled powdered charcoal this however it could not have been by reason of its strange liquidity which was as great as that of quicksilver and which came into operational when it had been exposed to the air some minutes.

Hither and thither the stuff ran about the dish, and I noticed that as it did so, it gradually lost its original somber hue, and took to itself a variety of colours that were as brilliant as the component tints of the spectrum. These scintillated and quivered till the eyes were almost blinded by their radiance, and yet it riveted the attention in such a manner and it was well-nigh, if not quite impossible, to look away or think of anything else.

In vain I tried to calm myself in order that I might be a call and collected observer of what was taking place. Whether there was any perfume thrown off by the stuff upon the plate, I cannot say, but as I watched it my head began to swim and my eyelids felt as heavy as lead. Now this was not fancy upon my part, as borne out by the fact that Keloran afterwards confessed to me that he experienced exactly the same sensations. Nicola, however, was still manipulating the dish, turning it this way and that, as if he were anxious to produce as many varieties of colour

as possible in a given time. It must have been upwards of five minutes before he spoke, and as he did so, he gave the plate an extra tilt, so that the mixture ran down to one side. It was now a deep purple in colour. I think if you will look into the centre of the fluid, will see something that will go a long way towards convincing you of the truth of the assertion I made just now, he said quietly, but without turning his head to look at me.

I looked as he desired, but at first could see nothing save the mixture itself, which was fast turning from purple to blue. This blue soon grew paler, and as I watched to my astonishment, a picture formed itself before my eyes. I saw a long wooden house surrounded on all sides by a deep veranda The latter was covered with a beautiful flowering creeper On either side of the dwelling was a grove of palms And to the right showing like a pool of dazzling quicksilver

Between the trees was the sea I know where everything was the sensation of intense heat At first glance I could not recall the house But it was not long before I recognised The residence of the man who had told me the story which had occasioned this miracle. I looked at it again and could even see the window of the room

in which I had recovered from my first severe attack of fever and from which I never thought to have emerged alive. With the sight of it, the recollection of that miserable time came back to me. Keleran and even his friend Nicola

were for the time being forgotten. From the expression on your face I gather that you know the place, said Nicola, after I've been watching it for a few moments. Now look into the Baran, and tell me if you recognise the two men you see seated there. I looked again, saw that one was myself,

while the other was the man who was leaning against the veranda rail, smoking a cigar, was the owner of the house itself. There could be no mistake about it. The whole scene was as plain before my eyes, as if it had been a photograph taken on the spot. There, said Nicola with a little note of triumph in his voice, I hope that will convince you that when I say I can do a thing, I mean it.

So saying he tilted the saucer and the picture vanished in a whirl of colour. I tried to protest, but before I had time to say anything, the liquid had in some strange fashion resolved itself once more into a powder. Nicola had tipped it back into the silver box and Caloran and I were left to put

the best explanation we could upon it. We looked at each other and feeling that I could not make head or tailor what I had seen, I waited for him to speak. i never saw such a thing in my life he cried when he found sufficient voice if anyone had told me that such a thing was possible i would not have believed him i can scarcely credit the evidence of my senses now in fact you feel towards the little exhibition i have just given you very much as you did to ingleby's story a quarter of an hour ago said nicola what a doubting world it is to be sure the same world which ridiculed the notion there could be anything in vaccination in the steam engine in chloroform, the telegraph, the telephone, or the phonograph? For how many years has it scoffed at the power of hypnotism? How many of our cleverest scientists, 50 years ago, could have foretold the discovery of Argon, or the possibility of been able to telegraph without the aid of wires?

And because the little world of today knows these things and to survive the wonder of them, it thinks it has had to attain the end of wisdom. The folly of it. Tonight I have shown you something. for which less than hundred years ago i should have been stoned as a wizard at my death the secret will be given to the world and the world when it has recovered from its astonishment will say how very simple why did no one think of it before i tell you gentlemen nicola continued rising and standing before the fireplace that we three to-night are standing on the threshold of discovery which will shake the world to its foundations when he had moved kelleran and i had also pushed back our chairs from the table. I were now watching him, as if turned to stone. The sacred fire of enthusiasm, which I thought had left me forever, was once more kindling in my breast. And I hung upon his words, as if I were afraid, I might lose even that breath that escaped his lips. As for Nicola himself, his usually pallid face was now aglow with excitement. The story is as old as the hills he began. Ever since the days

when our first parents trod the earth, there have been men who have aimed at discovering a means of lengthening the span of life. In the very infancy of science, the wisest and cleverest have devoted their lives to the study of the human body in the hope of mastering its secret.

Assisting in the search for that particular something which was to revolutionise the world, we find Zosimus, the Theban, the Jus, Maria, the Arabian, Giba, Hermes, trismegitus linnus bezalius cuvier raymond lulli paracelsus roger bacon de lill alberthus magnus and even dr price each in his turn quarried into the mountain of wisdom and died having failed to achieve the success he hoped for and why because egotistical as it may seem on my part to say so they did not seek in the right place. They commenced at the wrong point and worked from it in the wrong direction. But if they failed to find what they wanted, they at least rendered good service to those who

followed after. For from every failure something may be learned. For my part I have studied the subject in every form in every detail. For more years than I can tell you I've lived for it, dreamed of it, fought for it, and overcome obstacles in the very existence of which no man could dream. The work of my predecessors is known to me. I've studied their writings, tested their experiments to the last particular. All the knowledge that modern science has accumulated, I have acquired. The magic of the east I have explored and tested to the utmost. Three years ago I visited Tibet under extraordinary circumstances. There in a certain place and accessible to the ordinary man, and at the risk of my own life and that of the brave man who accompanied me,

I obtained the information which was destined to prove the coping stone of the great discovery I have since made. Only two things were wanting then to complete the whole and to enable me to get to work. One of these I had just found in St Peterburg when I first met you, Kallaran. The other I discovered three weeks ago. It's been a long and tedious search. But such labour only makes success the sweeter. The machinery is now prepared. all that remains is to fit the various parts together.

In six months' time, if all goes well, I will have a man walking upon this earth, who under certain conditions shall live a thousand years. I could scarcely believe that I heard a right. Was the man deliberately asking us to believe that he had really found the way to prolong human life indefinitely? It sounded very much like it. And yet this was the 19th century,

and, but at this point I cease my speculations. Had I not only that evening witnessed an exhibition of his marvellous powers, if he had penetrated so far into the unknowable, at least what we consider the unknowable, as to be able

to work such a miracle, why should we doubt that he could carry out what he was now professing to be able to do? And when shall we be permitted to hear the result of your labours? asked Keleran, with a humility that was surprising for a man usually so self-assertive who can say asked nicola these things are more or less dependent on time it may be only a short period before i am ready on the other hand a lifetime may elapse the process is above all a gradual one and to hurry it might be to spoil everything

and now my dear canterham with your permission i will bid you good-night i leave for the north at daybreak and i have much to do before i go if i am not taking you away too soon ingleby perhaps you would not mind walking a short distance with me i have a good deal to say to you i should be very pleased i answered and the look that kelleran gave me showed me that he considered my decision a wise one in that case come along said nicola good-night kelleran many thanks for the introduction of given me i feel quite sure ingleby and i will get on admirably together he shook hands with kelleran and passed into the hall leaving me alone with a man would prove by his own with a man would prove by his own benefactor for the second time in my life. Good-eyed old fellow, I said, as I shook him by the hand. I cannot thank you sufficiently for your goodness in putting me in the way of this billet. It has given me another chance, and I shan't forget your kindness as long as I live. Not be absurd, Caloran answered. You take things too seriously. I feel sure your advantage is as much Nicholas as yours. He's a wonderful man, and you're the very fellow he requires. Between you,

you ought to be able to bring about something that will upset the calculations of certain pompous old fossils of our acquaintance. Good night and good luck to you. So saying, he led us out of the front door and stood upon the doorstep, watching us as we walk down the street. It was an exquisite night. The moon was almost at the full, and her mellow rays made the street almost as light as day. My companion and I did for some distance walk in silence. He did not speak, and I already entered. attained too much respect for him to interrupt his reverie.

More than once I glanced at his tall, graceful figure, and the admirably shaped head, which seemed such a fitting case with the extraordinary brain inside. As I said just now, he began at length as if we were continuing a conversation which had been suddenly interrupted. I leave at daybreak for the north of England, for the purposes of the experiment I'm about to make. It is vitally necessary that I should possess a residence

far removed from other people where I should not run any risk of being disturbed. For this reason I have purchased Allerdine Castle in Northumberland, a fine old place overlooking the North Sea. It is by no means an easy spot to get at and should suit my purposes admirably. I shall not see you before I go

so that whatever I have to say had better be said at once. To begin with, I presume you have made up your mind to assist me in the work I'm about to undertake. If you consider me competent, I answered, I shall be only too glad to do so. Kalaran has assured me that I could not have a better assistant, he replied, and I am willing to take you upon his recommendation. If you have no objection to bring forward, we may as well consider the matter settled.

The only idea as to a remuneration you will require, I answered that I had not, and that I would leave it to him to give me what he considered fair. In reply, he named a sum that almost took my breath away. way. I remarked that I should be satisfied with half the amount, whereupon he laughed good-humouredly. I'm afraid where neither of us good business, many said, by all the laws of trade on finding that I offered you more than you expected, you should have stood out for twice as much. Still, I like you all the better for your honesty, and now my road turns off here, and I will bid you good night. In an hour I will send my servants to you, the letter containing full instructions. I need scarcely say,

that I am sure you will carry them out to the letter. I will do so, come what may I answered seriously. Then good-night, he said, and held out his hand to me. All being well, we shall meet again in two or three days. Good night, I replied. Then, with a wade of his hand to me, he sprang into a hansom which he had called up to the pavement, gave the direction to the driver,

and a moment later was round the corner and out of sight. after he had gone I continued my home with journey I had not been in the house an hour before I was informed that someone was at the door desiring to see me I accordingly hurried downstairs to find myself face to face with the most extraordinary individual I've ever seen in my life first glance I scarcely knew what to make of him but when the light from the hall lamp fell upon his face I saw that he was a Chinaman

and the ugliest I have ever seen in all my experience of the Mongolian race his eyes squinted terribly a portion of his nose was missing and he was minus his left ear it was the sort of face one sees in a nightmare and accustomed as i was by my profession to horrible sights i must admit my gorge rose at him at first it did it not occur to me to connect him with nicola do you not see me i inquired in some astonishment he nodded his head but did not speak what's it about i continued he uttered a peculiar grunt and produced a letter and a small box in his pocket, both of which he handed to me. I understood immediately from whom he came, signing him to remain where he was until I could tell him whether there was an answer.

I turned into the house and opened the letter. Having read it, I returned to the front door. You can tell Dr. Nicola that I will be sure to attend to it, I said. You savvy? He nodded his head, and next moment was on his way down the street. When he was out of sight, I returned to my bedroom, and lighting the gas,

once more perused the communication I had received. As I did so, a piece of paper fell from between the leaves. I picked it up to discover that it was a cheque for £100 payable to myself. The letter ran. My dear Ingleby, according to the promise I made you this evening, I am sending you here with your instructions, as clearly worked out as I can make them. To begin with, I want you to remain in town until Monday next. On the morning of that day, if all goes well, you will be advised by the agent of the company in London of the arrival of the river of the steamship, Donna Mercedes,

bound from Cadiz to Newcastle. On receipt of that information, you will be good enough to board her and to inquire for Don Miguel de Marino and his great-granddaughter who are passengers by the boat to England. I have already arranged with the company for your passage, so you have no anxiety upon that school. You will find that Don a very old woman.

man and I beg that you will take the greatest possible care of him. For this reason I have sent you accompanying drugs, each of which is labelled with the fullest instructions. They should not be made use of unless absolutely required. Here followed a list of the various symptoms which I was to watch and an exhaustive resume of the treatment I was to employ in the event of certain contingencies arising. On the arrival of the vessel in Newcastle, the letter continued,

i will communicate with you again in the meantime i send you what i think will serve to pay your expenses until we meet your sincere friend nicola p s one last word of warning should you by any chance be brought into contact with a certain mongolian on a very sinister appearance and boasting but one ear have nothing whatsoever to do with him keep out of his way and above all let him know nothing of your connection with myself this i beg you to believe is no idle warning for all our lives depend upon it having thoroughly mastered the contents of this curious epistle i turned my attention to the parcel which had accompanied it this i found was made up of a number of small packets evidently containing powders and two ounce files of some tasteless and scentless liquid to which i was quite unable to assign a name once more i glanced at the letter in order to make sure of the name of the man whose guardian i was destined for the future to be de moraineau was the name and his granddaughter was accompanying him in an idle dreamy way i wondered what the latter would prove to be like for some reason or other i found myself thinking a good deal of her. And when I fell asleep that night it was to dream that she was standing before me with outstretched hands, imploring me to save her not only from a certain one-eared Chinaman, but also from Nicola himself. End of Chapter 2. Chapter 3 of Dr Nicola's Experiment

by Guy Boothby. This Librevox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 3. After my meeting with Nicola at Kellarand's house, it was a new prospect that life opened up for me. I confronted the future with a smiling face, and no longer told myself, as I had done so often of late, that failure and I were inseparable companions, and for any success I might hope to achieve in the world, I had better be out of it. On the contrary, when I retired to rest after the receipt of Nicola's letter, as narrated in the preceding chapter, it was with happier heart than I had known for more than two years past. And a fixed determination that, happened what might, even if his wonderful experiment came to naught, my new employer should not find me lacking in desire to serve him.

As for that experiment itself, I scarcely knew what to think about it. To a man who had studied the human frame, its wonderful mechanism, combined with its many deficiencies and imperfections, it seemed impossible it could succeed, and yet, straightly. as it may appear to say so, there was something about Nicola that made one feel sure he would not embark upon such an undertaking if he were not quite certain, or at least not a well-grounded hope, of being able to bring it to a favourable issue. However, successful or unsuccessful, the fact remained that I was to be associated with him, and the very thought of such cooperation, was sufficient to send the blood tingling through my veins with a new life and strength.

During the two days that elapsed between my meeting with Nicola and the arrival of the vessel for which he had told me to be on the lookout, I saw nothing of Caloran. I was not idle, however. In the first place, it was necessary for me to replenish my wardrobe, which, as I have already observed, stood in need of considerable additions. And in the second, I was anxious to consult some books of reference to which Nicola had directed my attention. by the time I had done these things therefore I had not as may be supposed very much leisure left either for paying visits or for receiving them I was careful however to write thanking him for the good turn he had done me and wishing him good-bye in case I did not see him before I left it was between 8 and 9 o'clock on the Monday morning following that I received a note from the steamship company to which Nicola had referred advising me that their vessel, the Donna Mercedes, had arrived from Cadiz, and was now lying in the river, and would sail for the north at eleven o'clock precisely. Accordingly, I gathered my luggage together.

What there was of it, and made my way down to her. As Nicola had predicted, I found her lying in the pool. On boarding her, I was confronted by a big burly man, with a long brown beard, which blew over either shoulder and met behind his head, as if it was some new kind of comforter. I'm quiet for the skipper. I am the captain, he answered. I suppose you are Dr. Ingleby.

I had a letter from the owners saying you were going north with us. You may be sure we'll do our best to make you comfortable. In the meantime, the steward will show you your berth and look after your luggage. As he said this, he beckoned a hand-aft and sent him below in search of the official in question. I think you have a lady and gentleman on board who are expecting me, I remarked. after the momentary pause which followed the man's departure. That I have, sir, he answered, with emphasis, and a nice responsibility they've been for me.

I wouldn't undertake another like it if I were paid a hundred pounds extra for my trouble, but perhaps you know the old gentleman. I've never seen him in my life, I replied, but I have to take charge of him until we get to the north. Then I wish you joy of your work, he continued. You'll have your time pretty fully occupied, I can tell you. in what way i inquired i should consider it a favour if you tell me all you can about him is the old gentleman eccentric what is the matter with him eccentric replied the skipper rolling his tongue round the word as if he liked his flavour

well he may be that for all i know but it's not his eccentricity that gives the trouble it's his age why i'll be bound he's a hundred if he's a day he's not a man at all only a bag of bones can't move out of his birth can't walk, can't talk, can't do a single hand's turn to help himself. His bones are almost through his skin, his eyes are sunk so far in his head that you can only guess what they're like, and when he wants a meal or when he's got to have one, I should say for his past wanting anything, well I'm blessed if he hasn't to be fed with pap like a baby. It's a pitiful sort of plight for a man to come to. What do you think? He'd be far better dead and buried. I thought I understood, putting one thing and another together the reason of the old man's journey north could be easily guessed and at that moment the seaman who the skipper had sent in search of the steward made his appearance from the companion followed by the functionary in question to the latter's charge i was consigned and had his suggestion i followed him into the cabin which had been set aside from my accommodation it proved to be situated at the after end of the saloon and was as small and poorly furnished as a small and poorly furnished as a an affair I has ever slept in.

Make use of the old nautical expression, it was scarcely rumoured it to swing a cat. Tiny as it was, however, it was at least better than the back street lodgings I had so lately left, and when I reflected that I had paid all I owed, had fitted myself out with a new wardrobe, and still had upwards of £50 in pocket,

to say nothing of being engaged on deeply interesting work. I could have gone down on my knees and kissed the grimy planks in thankfulness. i'm afraid sir he's not as large as some you've been accustomed to said the talkative steward apologetically as he stowed my bags away in a corner how do you know what i've been accustomed to i asked with a smile as i noticed his desire for conversation i can tell it directly i saw you look round this berth he answered people could say what they please but to my thinking there's no mistaking a man who spent any time aboard ship what line might you have been in sir i told him and had the good fortune to discover his brother had served the same employ thus having established a bond in common i proceeded to question him about my future charges only to find that this was a subject upon which he was very willing to converse well sir he began seating himself familiarly on the edge of my birth and looking up at me i don't know as i ought to speak about the old gentleman at all seeing as he is a passenger and your so to speak in charge of him but this i do say without fear or favour that whoever brought him away from his home and took him to see at his time of life did a wrong and cruel action.

Why, sir, I make so bold as to tell you that from the moment he was brought aboard this ship until the very second, he has not spoken as much as 500 words to me or to anybody else. He just lays there in his bunk, hour after hour, with his eyes open looking at the deck above him, and as likely as not holding his great-granddaughter's hand, not seeming to see or hear anything, and never letting one single word pass his lips. I have known what it is to wait upon sick folk myself, having spent close upon eight months in a hospital ashore. But never in my life, sir, and I give you my word, it's gospel truth.

I'm telling you, have I seen anything like the way the young girl waits upon him? You'll find her of sitting by him after breakfast, and if you go in at eight bells, she'll still be the same. She has her meals brought to her and eats them there, at night she gets me to make up her bed on the deck alongside of him. She must indeed be devoted, I answered, considerably touched at the picture he drew. Devoted is no name for it, replied the man with conviction. And it's by no means pleasant work for her, sir, I can assure you.

My woman once when I've gone there, I found a leaning over the bunk, her face just as white as the sheet, holding a little looking-glass to his lips to see if he was breathing. Then she'd heave a big sigh of relief to find out that there was still life in him, put the glass back again in its place, and sit down beside him again and go on holding his hand, for all the world as if she was determined to cling on to him until the judgment day. He would bring the tears into your eyes, I'm sure, sir, to see it. You have a tender heart, I can see, I've said, and I think the better of you for it. Do you happen to know of anything of their history, where they hail from, or who they are? There's one thing I do know, he answers,

and that is that they're English and not Spaniards, as the cook said. As you might very well think yourself from the name, I believe the old gentleman was a merchant of some sort in Cadiz, but that must have been 50 years ago. The young lady is his great-granddaughter, and I was given to understand that her father and mother have been dead for many years. Well, one thing and another,

I don't fancy they've got a penny to bless themselves with. But it's plain as somebody paying the piper, because the skipper got orders from the office just before we sailed, that everything that could be done for their comfort was to be done, and money was no object. But there, here I am, running on in this way to you, sir, who probably know all about them better than I do. I assure you, I know nothing at all, or at least very little, I answered.

I've simply received instructions to meet them here, and look after the old gentleman until he reaches Newcastle. What will become of them, I can only guess, I presume, however, that I may rely on you for assistance, should I require it. I do anything I can, sir, and you may be very sure of that, he replied. I've taken such a liking to that young lady. There's nothing I wouldn't do in reason to make her feel a bit happier, for it's my belief that she's far from easy in her mind just now.

I remember once hearing an orleans steward, tell of a man who was tied up with a sword hanging over his head by a single hair. He never knew from one minute to another when it would fall. them do for him well that's the way i fancy miss moreno is feeling there's a sword hanging over her head or a great-grandfathers and she doesn't know when it will drop what did you say her name was i inquired for i had for the moment forgotten it moreno sir he replied the old gentleman is don miguel and she is the donna consuel de morano thank you i said and now if you will tell me where their cabin is, I think I will pay the old gentleman a visit. Their cabin is the one facing yours, sir, on the starboard side. If it will be any convenient to you, sir, I'll tell the young lady you're aboard.

I know she expects you because she said so only this morning. Perhaps it would be better that you should tell her, I replied. If you'll give her my compliments to say that, I'll do myself the pleasure of waiting upon her as soon as it's convenient for her to see me. I shall be obliged. I will remain here until I receive her answer. the man departed on his errand and during his absence i spent the time making myself as comfortable as my limited quarters would permit it was not very long however before he returned to inform me that the young lady would be pleased to see me as soon as i cared to visit their cabin placing my stethoscope in my pocket and having thrown a hasty glance into the small looking-glass over the washstand in order to make sure that i presented a fairly respectable appearance i left my quarters and made my way across a saloon since then i have often tried to recall my feelings at that moment but the effort has always been in vain one thing is certain i had no idea of the importance the incident was destined to occupy in the history of my life

I knocked upon the door, and as I did so heard someone rise from a chair inside the cabin. The handle was softly turned, and a moment later, the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life stood before me. I have said the most beautiful girl, this does not at all express what I mean, nor do I think it is in my power to do so. Let me, however, endeavour to give you some idea of what Donna Consuelo di Marino was like. tried a picture a tall and stately girl, in reality scarcely 20 years of age, but looking several years older, imagine a pale oval face, lit up by dark, lustrous eyes with long lashes, and delicately penciled brows, a tiny mouth and hair as black as the raven's wing. Taken altogether, it was not only a very beautiful face, but a strong one. As I looked at her,

I wonder what the circumstances could have been that had brought her. her into the power of my extraordinary employer that she was in his power i did not for a moment doubt closing the cabin door softly behind her she stepped into the saloon as steward tells me you are dr ingleby she began speaking excellent english but with a slight foreign accent and holding out her tiny hand to me with charming frankness she continued i was informed by dr nicola in a letter i received this morning that you would join the vessel here it's a great relief to me to know you are on board i said something i forget what in answer to the compliment she bade me and then inquired how her aged relative was he seems fairly well at present she answered as well perhaps as he ever will be but as you may suppose he has given me a great deal of anxiety since we left bidiz this vessel is not a good sea-boat and in the bay of biski we had some very rough weather so rough indeed that more than once i thought she must inevitably found her however we are safely here now so that our troubles are nearly over i don't want you to think i'm a grumbler but i am keeping you here perhaps when you would like to see grand bar for yourself i answered in the affirmative whereupon she softly opened the door again and beckoning me to follow led the way into the cabin if my own quarters on the other side of the saloon seemed small this one seemed even smaller it was only one bunk and it ran below the porthole in this an old man was lying with his hands clasped upon his breast you need not fear that you will wake him said the girl beside me he sleeps like this the greater part of the day sometimes he frightens me for he lies so still but i become afraid lest he may have passed away without my noticing it

i did not at all wonder at her words the old man's pallor was a peculiar ivory white which is never seen save in the very old and then strangely enough in men often than women his eyes were deeply sunken as were his cheeks at one time forty years or so before it must have been a powerful face now it was beautiful only in its soft harmonious whiteness a long beard white as a purest snow fell upon and covered his brow and on it lays fleshless hands with their bony joints and long yellow nails. The better to examine him, I knelt down beside the bunk, took his right wrist between my finger and thumb. As I expected, the pulse was barely perceptible. For a moment I inclined to the belief that the end of which his great-granddaughter had spoken only a few minutes before had come. But a second examination proved that such was not the case.

I gently replaced his hand and then raised. rose to my feet. I can easily understand your anxiety, I said. I think you are wonderfully brave to have undertaken such a voyage. However, for the future, that is to say, until we reach Newcastle, you must let me take it in turns with you to watch him. It is very kind of you to offer to do so, she replied, but I could not remain away from him. I've had charging him for such a long time now that it's become like second nature to me. Besides, if he were to wake and not find me by his side, there is no saying what might happen. I am everything to him,

I know so well what he requires. As she said this, she gave me a look that I could not help thinking was almost one of defiance, as if she were afraid that by attending to the old man's wants, I might deprive her of his affection. Accordingly, I postponed the consideration of the matter for the moment,

and having asked a few questions as to the patient's diet, retired, leaving them once more alone together. from the saloon i made my way up to the poop the tide was serving and preparations were being made for getting under way ten minutes later our anchor was at the cat-head and we were making our way slowly down stream i had begun one of the most extraordinary voyages that it has ever fallen to the lot of man to undertake during the afternoon i paid several visits to my patient's cabin but on no occasion could i discover any change in his condition he lay in his bunk just as i had first seen him his sunken eyes stared at the woodwork above his head and his left hand clasped that of his great-granddaughter and his left hand clasped that of his great-granddaughter to my surprise the motion of the vessel seemed to cause him a little or no inconvenience unfortunately for him his nurse was an excellent sailor it was in vain i tried to induce her Let me take her place while she went up on the deck for a little change.

Her grandfather might want her, she said, and that excuse seemed to her sufficient to justify such a trifling with her health. Later on, however, after dinner, I was fortunate enough to be able to induce her to accompany me to the deck for a few moments, the steward being left in charge of the patient, the instructions to call us should the least change occur. By this time we were clear of the river, and our bows were pointed in a northerly direction,

leaving the miserable companion, which ascended to the poop directly from the cuddy, began to pace the deck. The night was cold, and with a little shiver my companion, drew her coquettish mantilla, more closely about her shoulders. There was something in her action

which touched me in a manner I cannot describe. In some vague fashion it seemed to appeal to me, not only for sympathy, but for help. I saw the beautiful face looking up at me, and as we walked i noted the proud way she carried herself and the sailor-like fashion in which she adapted herself for the rolling of the ship the beautiful moonlit night and had the vessel remained upon an even keel it would have been very pleasant on deck to be steady however was a feat the crazy old tub seemed incapable of accomplish you we placed the poop perhaps half a dozen times when my companion suddenly stopped and placing her hand upon my arm said dr ingleby be you are in dr nicholas's confidence i believe you tell me why are we going to the north of england her question placed me in an awkward predicament as i have said above her loneliness not to mention the devotion she showed to her aged relative would touch me more than a little on the other hand i was nicholas servant employed by him for a special work and i did not know whether he would wish me to discuss his plans with her you do not answer she continued as she noticed my hesitation and yet i feel sure you must know

it all seemed so strange only a few weeks ago we were in our own quiet home in spain as a thought of leaving it then dr nicola came upon the sea and now we're on board this ship going up to the north of england and for what purpose did nicola furnish you with no reason I inquired? Oh yes, she replied. He told me that if I would bring my grandfather to England to see him, he would make him quite a strong man again. Some reason or another, however, I feel certain there is something behind it that's being kept from me. Is this so? I am not in a position to give you any answer. That would be at all likely to satisfy you, I replied. I am afraid a little ambiguously, for I really know nothing myself. It's only fair that I should tell you that I met Dr Nicola for the first time a few days ago. But he said to you here to be with my grandfather, she continued authoritatively.

Surely, Dr. Ingleby, you must be able to throw some light upon the mystery which surrounds this voyage. I shook my head, and with a little sigh of regret, she ceased to question me. A few minutes later, she gave me a stately bell, and bidding me good night prepared to go below, knowing that I had deceived her and hoping to find some opportunity of putting myself right with her I followed her down the companion ladder and along the saloon

to her cabin perhaps I'd better see my patient before I retired to rest I said as we stood to go to the door holding onto the handle and balancing ourselves against the rolling of the ship she threw a quick glance at me

as if for some reason she was surprised at my decision the expression however passed from her face as quickly as it had come, and opening the door she entered the cabin, and I followed. She could scarcely have had the bounce

to step towards the bun before she uttered an exclamation of surprise and horror. A steward, who was supposed had been washing the invalid, was fast asleep, while the latter's head had slipped from his pillow, and was now lying in a most unnatural position, his chin in the air, his eyes open,

but still fixed upon the ceiling in the same glassy stare I have described before. In her dismay, the girl said something in Spanish, which I am unable to interpret, and leaning over the bun gazed into her great-grandfather's face as if she were afraid of what she might find there. The steward, meanwhile, had recovered his senses

and was staring stupidly from one to the other of us, hardly able to realise the consequences of his inner attention. Though all this had taken some time to describe, it was really the action of a moment, and signing the steward to stand back, and gently pushing the young girl to one side, I knelt down and commenced my examination of my patient. There could be no doubt about one thing.

The old man's condition was eminently serious. If he lived at all, there was but little more than a flicker of life left in him. It was a question that at first glance appeared impossible to answer. It would have been better and certainly kinder to have let him go in peace. This, however, I was in, honour bound not to do. He was Nicholas' property, whose servant I also was. And if it were possible

to keep him alive, I knew I must do it. Oh, Dr. Inglebury surely he cannot be dead, cried the girl behind me in a voice that had grown horse with fear. Tell me the worst I implore you, hush, I answered, but without looking round. He must be brave. He's not dead, nor will he die if I can save him. And turning to the steward, he was still with us, I bade him hasten to to my cabin and bring me the small bag he would find hanging upon the peg behind the door. When he returned with it, I took from it one of the small

bottles it contained, the contents of which I had been directed by Nicola to use only in the event of the case, seeming absolutely hopeless. The mixture was tasteless, odourless, quite colourless, and of a liquidity equal to water. I poured

the stipulated quantity into a spoon and forced it between the old man's lips. Someone to my surprise for i must confess after what i had seen as micholas parr a few nights before i had expected an instantaneous cure the effect was scarcely perceptible the eyelids flickered a little and then slowly closed a few seconds later a respiratory movement of the thorax was just observable accompanied by a heavy sigh for upwards of an hour i remained in close attendance upon him noting every symptom and watching with amazement the return of life into their aged frame, from which I began to think it had taken its departure for good and all. Once more I measured the quantity of medicine and gave it to him. This time the effect was more marked.

At the end of ten minutes, a slight flush spread over the sunken cheeks, and his breathing could be plainly distinguished. When after a third dose he was sleeping peacefully as a child, I turned to the girl and held up my hand. He will recover, I said. You need have no further fear. crisis is passed. She was silent for a few moments, and I noticed that her eyes had filled with tears.

You've done a most wonderful thing, she answered, and that punish me from my rudeness to you on deck. How can I ever thank you? By ceasing to give me credit, to which I'm not entitled, I replied. I fear a little brusquely. This medicine comes from Dr. Nicola, and I think should be as good a proof as you can desire of the genuineness of his offer, and of his ability to make your grandfather a strong and hearty man again. I will not doubt him any more, she said, and after that, having made her promise to call me, should she need my services, I bade a good night and left the cabin, meaning to retire to rest at once. The stuffiness as of my birth, however, changed my intention. After all that had happened, it could be scarcely wondered

that I was in a state of feverish excitement, in love with my profession as I was. It will be readily understood that I had sufficient matter before me to afford me plenty of food for reflection. I accordingly filled my pipe and made my way up to the deck. Once there I found that the appearance of the night had changed. The moonlight had given place to heavy clouds and rain was falling. The steamer was rolling heavily and every timber groaned as if in protest against the barbarous handling to which it was being subjected. Stowing myself away in a sheltered place near the alleyway needing to the engine rule. I fell to considering my position, and it was a curious one. I do not think anyone who has read the preceding pages will doubt. A more extraordinary one could scarcely

be imagined, and what the upshot of it all was to be was a thing I could not at all foresee. Having finished my pipe, I refilled it and continued my meditations. At a rough guess, I should say, had been an hour on deck. When a circumstance occurred, which was destined to further, me with even more food for reflection than I already possessed. I was in the act of knocking the ashes out of my pipe before going below, when I became aware that something, I could not quite see what, was making its way along the deck in my direction, under the shadow of the starboard Bullock. At first I felt inclined to believe it was only a trick of my imagination. When I rubbed my eyes and saw that it was a human figure and that it was steadily approaching me, I drew back into

the shadow of weighted developments, on the stealthy way in which he advanced and the trouble he took to prevent himself being seen. I argued that whoever the man and whatever his mission might be, it was not a very reputable one. Closer and closer he came, was lost to view for an instant behind the main mast,

and then reappeared scarcely a dozen feet from where I stood. For a moment I hardly knew what course to adopt. I had no desire to rouse the ship unnecessarily, yet for the reasons just stated i felt morally certain that the man was there for no lawful purpose however if i was going to act at all it was plain i must do so without loss of time fortune favoured me quite scarcely arrived at this decision before the chief engineer whose cabin looked out over the deck turned on his electric light a broad beam of light shot out and showed me the man standing beside the main hatch steadfastly regarding me before he could make move, I was able to take full stock of him, and what I saw filled me with amazement. The individual was a China man, and his head presented this peculiarity that half his left ear was missing. As I noted, the significant fact to which I have just alluded, the recollection

of Nicola's letter flashed across my mind, in which he had warned me to keep my eyes open for just such another man. Could this be the individual for whom I was to be on the lookout? it seemed extremely unlikely that there could be two mongolians with the same peculiar deformity and yet i could scarcely believe even if it were the same and had he any knowledge of my connection with nippler he would have the audacity to travel in the same ship with me it must not be supposed however that i stayed to think these things out then the light had no sooner flashed out upon him and revealed his sinister personality then the switch was turned off and all was darkness once more so blinding was the glare while it did last however that fully ten seconds must have elapsed before my eyes became accustomed to its absence well i could see the man had vanished and though i crossed the hatch and searched not a sign of him could i discover whoever he is i said to myself he has at least the faculty of be able to get out of the way pretty quickly i wonder what but there what's the use of worrying myself about him he's probably a fireman who has been sent off on a message to the steward, and when I see him in the daylight I shall find him like anybody else. But while I tried to reassure myself in this fashion, I was in reality far from being convinced.

In my own mind, I was as certain that he was the man against whom Nicola had warned me as I could well be of anything. The chief engineer at that moment stepped from his cabin into the alleyway. Here, I thought to myself was an opportunity of setting the matter once for all. I accordingly accosted him. I've been introduced to him earlier in the day by the captain, so that he knew who I was. That's not a very pretty firing of yours I began, the Chinaman with half an ear missing. I saw him a moat to go coming along the deck here. Where does he hail from? The chief engineer, who I may remark, en-persand, was an Aberdonian, consequently slow of speech, hesitated for a moment before he replied, that's mighty queer, he said at length. You're the second man who's seen him,

in the night. Do you tell me you saw him this minute? And if I may mix a bald, where a mate that have been? Only a few paces from where we are standing now, I answered. I was smoking my pipe in the shelter there, when suddenly I detected a figure creeping along the shadow of the bullocks. Then you turned on your electric, and the light fell, full and fair upon his face. I saw him perfectly. There could be no doubt about it. He was a Chinaman, and half his left ear was missing. the engineer sucked at his pipe upwards for half a minute queer queer he said more to himself than to me tis very queer twas my second in yonder was saying he met him eight bells in this alleyway and yet i've been officially acquainted there's no such person aboard the ship but there must be i cried don't i tell you i saw the man myself not five minutes ago i'd be willing to go into a court of law and swear to the fact dinny swear he answered I'll name is to your word.

With this assurance I was conducted forthwith to the chart room, where we discovered the skipper, stretched upon his settee, snoring voluminously. Do you mean to tell me that you really saw the man he inquired when my business had been explained to him? I assured him that I did mean it. I had seen him distinctly. Well, all I can say is it's the most extraordinary business

I've ever had to do with the answer. The second engineer also says he saw him. directly he told me i had the ship searched but not a trace of a fellow could i discover we'll try again leaving the chart-room he called the boatswain to him and accompanied by the chief engineer and myself commenced an exhaustive examination of the vessel we explored the quarters of the crew and the fireman forered the galleys stores and officers cabins in both alleyways and finally the saloon aft but without success on a trace of the mysterious mongolian could be fined the skipper shook his head i don't know what to think about it he said i knew that meant that he had his doubts as to whether i had not dreamt the whole affair the inference was gawling and i bade him good-night and went along to my cabin i wish i'd said nothing at all about the matter nevertheless i was as firmly convinced that i had seen the man as i was at the beginning in this frame of mine i prepared myself for bed before turning into my bunk however i took down the small bag in which i kept the drugs nicolr had given me and of which he had told me to take such care i was anxious to have them close at hand in case i should be sent for by donna coenzuela during the night to assure myself they had not been broken by the moling of the ship I opened the bag and looked inside.

My astonishment may be imagined on discovering that it was empty. The drugs were gone. End of Chapter 3. Chapter 4 of Dr. Nicholas' experiment by Guy Boothby. This Librevox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 4 The night on which I discovered that Nicola's drugs had been stolen was destined to prove unpleasant in more senses than one.

The sweetest tempered of men could scarcely have failed to take offence had they been treated as the captain had treated me. I had told him in so many words, and with as much emphasis, as I was master of, that I had distinctly seen the Chinaman standing upon the main deck of his steamer. Second engineer had also entered the same report. His evidence, however, while serving to corroborate my assertive, was a little further used to me inasmuch i had still better proof that what i said was correct namely that the medicines were missing under the circumstances it was small wonder that i slept badly even had the cabin been as large as a hotel bedroom and the bunk of the latest invention in the way of comfortable couches it is scarcely possible i should have had better rest as it was the knowledge that i had been outwitted

sufficient to keep me tumbling and tossing to and fro, and the moment I laid my head upon the pillow, till the sun was streaming in through my porthole next morning. Again and again I went over the events of the previous day, recalling every incident with photographic distinctness, but always returning to the same point. How the man could obtain admittance to the saloon at all was more than I could understand,

and having got there why he should have stolen the bottles of medicine. when there were so many other articles which would have been of infinitely more value to him scattered about was to say the least incomprehensible hour after hour i puzzled over it at the end was no nearer a solution of the enigma than at the beginning at first i felt inclined to believe that i must have taken them from the bag myself and for security's sake a place them elsewhere a few moments search however was sufficient to lock the bottom out of the that theory. Hunt high and low where I would, I could discover no traces of the queer little bottles. Then I remembered that when I had sent the Stuart forward for them to the Don's cabin the previous afternoon, I had taken them from the bag and placed them upon the deck beside the old man's bunk. Could I have left them there? I'm reconsidering the matter more carefully, however. I remembered that before leaving the cabin, I'd replace them in my bag, and then as I carried them

back to my birth, I had dumped the satter against the corner of the saloon table, was afraid that I might have broken them. So this effectually disposed of that theory too. At least the suspense or irritation, by whichever name you may describe it, became unbearable, and unable to remain in bed any longer. I rose, dressed myself and prepared to go on deck. Entering the saloon, I found the steward busied over a number of coffee cups. Good morning, sir, he said, looking up from his work, if you'll excuse me my saying so, sir, you're about early. I was late in bed, I answered, with peculiar significance. How is it, my friend, that you allow people who have no right there to enter the saloon to thief from passengers' cabins?

To thief, sir, the man replied, with the start of tone. I'm sure I don't understand you, sir. I allow no one to enter the saloon, where there was no right to be there. I glanced at him sharply, wondering whether the fellow was as innocent as he pretended to be. At any rate, I said, the fact remains that someone entered my cabin last night while I was on deck and stole the medicines with which I am treating the old gentleman in the cabin yonder. The man looked inexpressibly shocked. God bless my soul alive, sir.

You don't mean that, he said with a falter in his voice. Surely you don't mean it. But I do mean it, I answered. There can be no sort of doubt about it. when i left the old gentleman's cabin yesterday i carried the bag containing the medicines back with me to my own birth locked it and hung it upon the peg inside the looking-glass with my own hands after that i went on deck returned to my cabin and a-serle-s later opened the bag and the bottles were gone but sir have you any idea who could have taken them the man replied i hope you don't think sir as though i should have allowed such a thing to take place in this saloon without my knowledge. I hope you would not, I answer, but that does not alter the fact that the things are missing. Don't you think, sir, the young lady herself might have come in search of you,

and when she found you were not there, did the next best thing, and took away the medicines to use herself. At present, I do not know what to think, I replied with some hesitation, for that view of the case had not presented itself to me. But if there had been anything underhand going on, I think I can promised the culprit that it would be made exceedingly hot for him when we reach our destination. Having fired this parting shot, I left him to the contemplation of his coffee cups and made my way up the companion-ladder to the deck above. It was a lovely morning, brisk breeze was blowing, and the steamer was running fairly steady under a stay-sail and a fore-sail. It was not the sort of morning to feel depressed,

yet the incidents of the previous night were a little uncomfortable. "'Nicler had trusted me, and in the matter of the medications at least, I had been found wanting. "'I believed at the moment I would have given all I possess, which was certainly not much, "'but still a good deal to me, to have been able to solve the mystery "'that surrounded the disappearance of those drugs. "' Shortly before eight bells, the skipper emerged from the chart-room, "'came along the hurricane deck towards the poop. "'Seeing me, he waved his hand, and after he had to send him,

the ladder from the main deck bade me good morning i'm afraid our accommodation is not very good he said but i trust you have passed a fairly comfortable night no more dreams of one-eared chinaman i hope from the tone in which he spoke it was plain that he imagined i must have been dreaming on the previous evening had it not been for the seriousness of my position with nicola i could have laughed aloud when i thought of the shell i was about to drop into the skipper's camp. Dreams or no dreams, Captain Windover, I replied. I have to make a very serious complaint to you. It will remain then for you to say whether you consider that the assertion I made to you last night was, or was not, founded upon fact. As I believe you are aware, I was instructed by my principal Dr Nicola to join this vessel in the Thames and to take charge of Don Miguel de Moreno until his arrival in Newcastle on time. Dr Nicola was fully aware of the difficulty and responsibility of the task

he had assigned to me, and for this reason he furnished me with a number of very rare drugs, which I was to administer to the patient, as occasion demanded. In the letter of instructions which I received prior to embarking, I was particularly warned to beware of a certain Chinaman, whose peculiar characteristic was that he had lost half an ear. In due course I joined your vessel, and attended the don using the drugs to which I have referred,

and afterwards returned them to my cabin. A quarter of an hour or so later, I made my way to the deck where I found myself, suddenly brought face to face with the Asiatic of whom I had been warned. On the recommendation of the chief engineer, I reported the matter to you, you searched the ship, found no one at all like the man I described,

and from that time forward set down the story of, I had told you, either as a fabrication on my part, or the creation of a dream. Pardon me, my dear sir, not a fabrication, Miss Kippa began, only a, pardon me in your term, I replied. I have not quite finished, as I have inferred, you treat the matter with contempt. What is the result? I returned to my cabin, and before retiring to rest in order to make sure that they are ready at hand, in case they shall require them during the night, open the bag, in which the medicines until that moment have been stored, to my consternation they're not there.

Someone had entered my cabin during my absence and stolen them. I leave you to put what construction on it you please, and to say who that someone was. The captain's face was a study, but he began. Butts will not end the matter, I answered, I'm afraid, rather sharply. There can be no getting away from the fact that they are gone, and that someone must have taken them, they could scarcely walk away by themselves. But supposing your suspicions to be correct, what possible use could a few small bottles of an unknown medicine be to a man like a Chinaman?

Had he taken your watch and chain all your money, I can understand it. But from what you say, I gather that nothing else is messy. Nothing else I replied, and the tone of a man is making an admission that is scarcely likely to add to the weight of the argument is endeavouring to a deuce. Besides, continued the skipper, there are half a hundred other ways in which the things might have been lost or mislaid. Last night the ship was rolling heavily. Why might they not have tumbled out and have slipped under your bunk behind your bags?

I've known things like that occur. And would the ship have closed the bag again, may I ask? And would the ship have closed the bag again, may I ask? I answered scornfully. No, no, Captain, I'm afraid that won't do. The man I reported to you last night, the one-eared Chinaman, is aboard your ship, and, for some reason, best known to himself, has stolen some of my property, therefore not only inconveniencing me, but placing in absolute danger,

the life of the old man whom I was sent on board to take care of. As the thief is scarcely likely to have jumped overboard, he must be on board now, and as he would not be likely to have stolen the bottles only to smash them, it stands the reason that he must have them in his keeping at the present moment and suppose he has what do you want me to do i want you to find him for me i answered or if you don't care to take the trouble to put sufficient men at my disposal and allow me to do so on hearing this the captain became very red and shifted uneasily on his feet my dear sir he said a little testany much as i would like to put myself out to serve you i must confess that what you ask seems a little unreasonable don't i tell you sir he said a little you I have already searched the ship twice in an attempt to find this man, and each time without success. Upon my word, I don't think it's fair to ask me to do so again. In that case, I'm very much afraid I have no alternative to make a complaint to you in writing,

and to hold you responsible should Don Miguel de Moreno lose his life through this robbery which has been committed and which you will not help me to set right. What the captain would have answered in reply to this, I cannot say. It's quite certain, however, that it would have been something sharp, had not the Dofia Consuelo made her appearance from the companion hatch at that moment. She struck me as looking very pale, as if she had passed a bad night. The skipper and I went forward together to meet her. Good morning, I said, as I took the little hand she held out to me. I hope your great-grandfather is better this morning.

He has passed a fairly good night and is sleeping quietly at present, she answered. the steward is sitting with him now while i come up for a few moments to get a little fresh air on deck the skipper made some remark about the beauty of the morning and while he was speaking i watched the girl's face there was an expression upon it i did not quite understand i'm afraid you have not passed a very good night i said after the other had finished yesterday's anxiety he must have set you more than you allowed me to suppose i will confess that it did upset me she answered with her pretty foreign accent and the expressive gesticulation which was so becoming to her i've had a wretched night i had such a terrible dream but i have scarcely recovered from it yet i'm sorry to hear that the skipper and i answered almost together while i added pray tell us about it does not seem very much to tell she answered and yet the effect of it had produced upon me is just as vivid now as it was then after you left the cabin last night dr ingleby i sat for a little while by my grandfather's side trying to read but finding that impossible i retired to rest lying upon the bed the steward is kind enough to make up for me upon the floor i was utterly worn out and almost as soon as i closed my eyes i fell asleep how long i had been sleeping i cannot say but suddenly i felt there was some one in the room who was watching me who it was i could not tell but-but i had been sleeping i cannot tell but suddenly i felt there was someone in the room who was watching me who it was i could not tell but that it was someone or something utterly repulsive to me, I felt certain. In vain I endeavoured

to open my eyes. But, as in most nightmares, I found it impossible to do so. And all the time I could feel this loathsome thing, whatever it was, drawing closer and closer to me. Then putting forth a great effort, I managed to wake, or perhaps to dream that I did so. I had much better have kept my eyes close. The leaning over me was. the most horrible face I have ever seen or imagined. It was flatter than that of the European, with small narrow eyes and such cruel eyes. Good heavens, I cried, unable to keep silence any longer. Can it be possible that you saw him too? Meanwhile, the skipper, who had been leaning against the bullocks, his hand thrust deep in his pockets, and his cap upon the back of his head,

suddenly sprang to attention. Can you remember anything else about the man he inquired? The girl considered for a moment. I do not know that I can, she answered. I can only repeat what I have said before that it was the most awful face I have ever seen in my life. Stay, there is one thing that I remember. I noticed that half his left ear was missing.

It's the Chinaman, I cried with an air of triumph, and I can no longer suppress, and as I said it, I took from my pocket the letter of instruction Nitter had sent me the week before and read aloud the passage at which, he referred to the one-eared chinaman of whom I was to beware. The effect was exactly what I imagined it would be. Do you mean to tell me I was not dreaming after all? The Donner inquired,

with a frighten expression on the face. That is exactly what I do mean, I answered. I am glad to have your evidence that you saw the man, for the reason that it bears out what I've been saying to our friend, the captain here. And turning to that individual, I continue. I hope, sir, you will now see the advisability of instituting another search for this man if i were in your place i would turn the ship inside out truck to keelson as it seems to me outrageous that a rascal like this could hide himself on board and knew that captain be ignorant of his whereabouts there's no necessity to instruct me in my duty he answered and then going to the companion called down it for the steward who presently made his appearance on deck "'William,' said the skipper. "'Dr. Ingleby informs me "'that the theft was committed in his cabin last night. "'He declares that a man made his way into the saloon,

"'visiting not only his birth, but that of Don Miguel de Moreno. "'How do you account for this?' "'Dr. Ingleby did say something to me about it this morning, sir,' "'the Stewart replied. "'But to tell you the plain truth, sir, "'I don't exactly know what to think of it. "'This first time I've ever known such a thing happened.' "'Of course I shouldn't like to say as how Dr.

"'Mingoldby was mistaken.' "'You had better not,' I replied so sharply, "'that the man jumped with surprise. "'Anyway, sir,' the Stuart continued, "'I felt certain that if the man had come after, "'I should have heard him. "'I'm a light sleeper, as the saying is, "'and I believe that a cat coming down

"'the companion ladder would be enough "'to waken me, much less a man. "'On this occasion, "'you must have slept sounder than usual,' I said. "'At any rate, the fact remains that the man did come, "'and I have asked you once more, Captain what you intend to do to find my stolen property. I must take time to consider the matter the captain replied.

If the man is aboard the ship as you assert, I will find him, and if I do find him, he'd better look out for squalls, so that's all I can say. And at the same time I added, I hope you will severely punish any member of your crew who may have been instrumental in secreting him on board. As I said this, I glanced at the steward, and it seemed to me that it is always sallowed,

face became even paler than usual. You need not bother yourself about that, said the skipper. You may be sure I shall do so. Then lifting his cap to Donna Consuelo, he went forward along the deck, while the steward, having informed us the breakfast was upon the table, returned to the companion ladder,

and disappeared below. What does all this mystery mean, Dr Ingleby inquired, my companion, as we turned and walked a half together? It means there is more at the back of it them meets the aisle replied. Before I left London, I was warned by Dr Nicola, as you heard me say just now, to beware of a certain Asiatic with only half an ear. What Nicola feared he would do, I have no notion, but there seems to be no doubt that this is the man. But he's done as no harm, she

replied, beyond frightening me, so if the captain takes care that he does not come as far as the saloon again, it does not seem to me that we need to think any more about him. But he has done as harm, I asserted, grievous harm. He has stolen the medication with which I treated your great-grandfather so successfully yesterday. On hearing this, she gave a little start. Do you mean that he should become ill again, the same way than he did yesterday, you would be unable to save him? She inquired, almost breathlessly. I cannot say anything about that, I answered. I should, of course, do my best, but I must confess the loss of those drugs is a very serious matter for me. They are exceedingly valuable and were specially entrusted to my care.

And you think that Dr. Nicol will be angry with you for having lost them, she said. I'm very much afraid you will, I answered. But if he is, I must put up with it. But let us now come below to breakfast. With that, I led her along the deck and down the companion-ladder to the saloon. Before we sit down to our meal, I think it would perhaps be as well if I saw your great-grandfather, I said. I should like to convince myself that he has none the worse for his attack yesterday.

Upon this we entered the cabin together. I bent over the recumbent figure of the old man. He lay just as he had done on the previous day. His long, thin hands were clasped upon his breast, and his eyes looked upward just as I remembered seeing them. For all the difference it was to be seen, he might have never moved since I had left him so many hours before.

He is awake, whispered his great-granddaughter, who had looked at him over my shoulder. Then raising her voice a little, she continued still in English. This is Dr. Ingleby, grandfather, whom your friend Dr. Nicola was sent to take care of you. I thank you, sir, for your kindness, replied the old man, and a voice that was a little loud and little whisper.

It must forgive me if my reception of you appears somewhat discourteous, but I'm very feeble. A month ago I celebrated my 98th birthday, and as such an age, I venture to assert, much made me forgiven a man. Pray do not apologise, I replied. i am indeed glad to find you looking so much better this morning if to be still alive is to be better then i suppose there must be he answered in a tone that was almost one of regret and then continued the days of our age are three score years and ten and though men be so strong that they come to four score years yet is their strength but labour and sorrow labour and sorrow aye labour and sorrow

come come sir i said you must not talk like this you are not very comfortable here but we're nearly at our journey's end once there you'll be able to rest more quietly and in greater comfort than it is possible for you to do in this tiny cabin you speak well he answered when you say that i am nearly at my journey's end god knows i am near it very very near it the wonder is i have not reached it long since but it will come at last and when it does i shall rest as you say more quietly than in this tiny cabin seeing that in his present humour there was not much to be done with him completed my examination and gave certain instructions to his great-granddaughter and then left the cabin feeling very much as if i had stepped into the nineteenth out of another and quite different century breakfast was laid in the saloon and as the steward informed me that the skipper invariably had his sent forward to the chart-room while the donner consuador usually partook on hers by the old gentleman's bedside i sat down to it alone the steward waited upon me a trifle nervously i thought and with an obsequious that told me he was anxious to make up to me for the robbery of the night before whatever he might think however i had not the smallest intention of allowing myself to be drawn into a discussion with him on the subject the matter would have to be settled some way or another when we reached our destination and then in all probability nicola would look after it for himself whatever else may be said of the good ship donna mercedes her warmest admirers could scarcely assert that she possessed the wonderful turn of speed even with everything in her favour it was as much as the chief engineer could do to knock nine knots out of her but on the present occasion seven was somewhere near her mark but this reason instead of reaching our destination at midday as i had hoped we would do night had closed it upon us before we had crossed the bar and could

count ourselves safely in the river, while five bells in the first watch had been sounded before we lay at anchor in the time-side. As soon as I heard the cable rattling out through the horse-hole, I made my way back to the deck. The night was a dark one, and a more interesting picture than I had before me then could scarcely be imagined. Around me on every side were ships, colliers, tramps, passenger vessels, and merchantmen of every possible sort and description. The lights of the city could be plainly distinguished, and innumerable tongues of fire containing all the colours of the rainbow, flashed up continually from factory chimneys. A couple of steam launches were lying alongside, with at least a dozen small boats, and thinking Nicola might be in one of them, I went forward to the gangway in search of him.

But though I scanned the faces below me, his was not among them, for the reason that we were so late getting into the river, and knowing that the vessel would be likely to remain for some time to come, I argued that in all probability he had been put off boarding her until the morning. I accordingly turned away and was about to walk aft when a hand was placed on my shoulder. Well, friend Engelby, said a voice that there was no mistaking, and which I should have known anywhere. What sort of a voyage of you had, and how is your patient progressing? Dr. Nicola, I cried in astonishment as I turned and found him standing before me. I was just looking for you in the boats alongside.

I had no idea you were on board. I came up by the other gangway, Nicola replied. But you have not answered my question. How is your patient? He is still alive, I answered, and I fancy, if possible, a little better than when we left London. But he is so feeble

that to speak of his being well seems almost a sarcasm. Yesterday for a few moments, I thought he was gone. But with the help of the drugs you gave me, managed to bring him round again. This morning he was strong enough to converse with me. I'm pleased to hear it, he replied.

You've done admirably, and I congratulate you. Now we must think about their transshipment. Transshipment, I replied. Is it possible they have to make another journey? It is more than possible. It is quite certain, he answered. Alladane Castle is a matter of some 50 miles up the coast, and a steam yacht will take us there.

a bed has been prepared for the old gentleman in the saloon and all we have to do is get him off this boat and on board her he'd better let me have those drugs and i'll mix him up a slight stimulus he'll need it this was the question i'd been dreading all along but the die was cast and willy-nilly the position had to be faced i should like to speak to you upon that matter i said i'm very much fear that you will consider me to blame and not having exercised greater care over them but i had no idea there would be any value to any one who did not know the use of them praying what do you mean he asked for the look of astonishment that i believe was more than half assumed to what are you alluding have you had an accident with the drugs while we had been talking we had walked along the main deck and were approaching the entrance leading therefrom to the cubby the light from which fell upon his face there was a look upon it that i did not like when he was in an affable mood nicholas countenance was singularly prepossessing when however he was put out by anything it was the face of a devil rather than a man i exceedingly regret having to inform you that last night the drugs in question was stolen from my cabin in a moment he was all excitement by the man of whom i bade you be beware of course the one-eared chinaman the same i answered and went on to inform him of all that had transpired since my arrival on board, including my trouble with the captain, and the suspicions I entertained, without much foundation, I'm afraid, against the steward. He heard me out without speaking, and when I had

finished bade me wait on deck while he went below to the Moreno's cabin. While he was gone, I strolled to the side, and once more stood watching the lights reflected in the water below. On an old tramp steamer, a short distance of stern of us, the man was singing. It was one of Chevalier's Costa songs. I could recognise the words quite distinctly. The last time I had heard that song was in Cape Coast Castle, just after I'd

recovered from my attack of fever. And I was still pursuing the train of thought it conjured up, and I noticed a boat drawing into the circle of light, to which I've just alluded. It contained two men, one of whom was standing up while the other road. A second or two later

they had come close enough to me to see the face of the man in the bow. to my amazement he was a Chinaman so overwhelming was my astonishment as i uttered an involuntary cry and running to the skylight called to Nicola to come on deck and bounding to the bullocks again i looked for the boat but it was too late either they had achieved their object or my prompt action had given them a fright at any rate they were gone what do you want cried Nicola who by this time had reached a deck the Chinaman i cried i saw one of them a moment go in a boat alongside. Where are they now? he inquired. I cannot see them. They've disappeared into the darkness again. But when I called to you, there was scarcely 20 yards away. What does their presence here signify, do you think? It signifies that they know I am on board, answered Nicola with a queer sort of smile upon his face. It means also that, although this is the

19th century and law-abiding land of England, if we were to venture a little out of the beaten track ashore tonight, you and I would stand a very fair chance of having our throats cut before morning. It has one other meaning, and that is that you and I must play the old game of the partridge in its nest, and lure them away from this boat while the skipper transfers Don Miguel and his great-granddaughter to the yacht I have waiting down the river. That's all very well, I interrupted, but I'm not at all sure the skipper would be willing, put it bluntly. He and I have already had a few words together though this matter. That will make no difference, Nicola answered. I assure you you need have no fear that

he will play as false. He knows me far too well to attempt that. I will confer with him at once, and while I'm doing so, you'd better get your traps together. We will then go ashore and do our best to draw these rascals off the scent. So saying, Nicola made his way forward towards the chart room. Well, I went through the cuddy to my own berth. The steward carried my bags out onto the main deck. After I had spoken a word or two with Donna Consuelo, I followed him. Five minutes later, Nicola joined me, accompanied by the captain. I bidden the latter goodbye earlier in the evening, and Nicola was giving him one last word of advice, but I happened to glance towards the alleyway on the port side. Imagine my surprise, nay, I might almost say my

constellation. On beholding, standing in the dark by the corner of the main hatch, the same mysterious chinaman who I had felt certainly committed the robbery of the drugs the previous night. Look, look, I cried to my companions. See, there is the man again. They wheeled round and looked in the direction to which I pointed. At the same time, the man's right arm went up, and from where I stood, I could see something glittering in the palm. An inspiration how, or by what occasion I shall never be able to understand, induced me to seize Nicola by the arm. And, and, and used me to seize Nicola by the arm to swing in behind me. It was well that I did so, for almost before we could realize what was happening, a knife was thrown, and stood embedded a good three inches in the bullock, exactly behind

where Nicola had been standing an instant before, and springing to the ladder which leads from the main to the hurricane deck, he raced up it, jumped onto the rail, and dived headlong into the water alongside. For the time we reached the deck whence he had taken his departure, all we could see, with a boat pulling swiftly in the direction of the shore. That settles it, friend Engelby, said Nicola. We have no alternative now but to make our way ashore and do as I proposed. If you're ready, come along. I think I can safely promise you an adventure.

End of Chapter 4. Chapter 5 of Dr. Nicholas' experiment by Guy Boothby. This Librevox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 5 When, nowadays, I look back upon the period I spent in Nicholas' company, one significant fact always strikes me, and that is the enormous number of risks we manage to cram into such a comparatively short space of time. During my somewhat checkered career, I have perhaps seen as much of what it is vaguely termed life as most men. I have lived in countries the very reverse of civilised.

I've served aboard ships where there has been a good deal more sandbagging and hazing that would be considered good for the average man's Christian temperament. And as for actual fighting, well I've seen enough of that to have learnt one lesson, one which will probably cause the smile to rise on the face of the inexperienced, and that is to keep out of it as far as possible, and on all occasions to be afraid of firearms. I concluded my last chapter with an account of our arrival in Newcastle and explained how we were preparing to go ashore

when the one-eared Chinaman, who I felt convinced had committed the robbery of the previous night, made his appearance before us and came within an ace of taking Nicola's life. Had it not been from my presence of mind or instinct, by whichever term you're pleased to call it, I verily believe it would have been the end of all things for the doctor. as it was however the knife missed its mark and a moment later the man had sprung up the ladder into the hurricane deck and leapt the rail and plunged into the river being desirous of preventing the chinaman from following us and by that means becoming aware that we were leaving for the north in nicola's yacht we determined to make our way ashore and permit them to suppose we were remaining in newcastle for some length of time accordingly we descended into the wherry alongside and ordered the boatmen to pull us to the nearest landing stage keep your eyes open and your wits about you whispered nicola when we had left the boat and were making our way up to the street they are certain to be on the lookout for us

as you may be sure i did not neglect his warning i had one exhibition of that diabolical celestial skill in knife-throwing and when i reflected that in a big town like newcastle there were many dark corners and alleyways and also that a knife makes but little or no noise when thrown i was more than determined than ever to neglect no opportunity of looking after my own safety when we reached the street at the rear of the docks nicola cast about him for a cab but for some minutes not one was to be seen the last a small boy obtained one for us when the luggage had been placed on the roof we took our seats in it nicola gave the driver's instructions and in a short time we were bowling along in the direction of our hotel throughout the drive i could see no signs of the enemy i was in the act of wondering how such a game as we were then playing could possibly help us if the celestials had failed to see us come ashore when nicola turned to me and in his usual quiet voice said i wonder if you'd notice that we are being followed i replied that i certainly had not nor can i see how he could tell such a thing very easily he said i will prove that what i say is correct do you remember the small boy who went in search of a cab i answered that i did whereupon he bade me examine our reflection as we passed the next shop window i did so and could plainly distinctly which a small figure seated on the rail at the back save this atter myself and a solitary policeman the street was deserted i do see a small boy i answered but may you not be coming with us to try and obtain the job of carrying our luggage he is engaged upon another now when he came up for the river he was on the lookout for us although as you may have noticed he pretended to be asleep in a doorway he obtained the cab for us as you stepped into it he ranged up alongside

and handed something to the driver. When we alight he will wait to see that our luggage is carried in, after which he will decamp and carry the information to his employers, who will endeavour to cut our throats as soon as the opportunity occurs. He took the matter in an eminently cheerful light,

I said. For my own part, I have no desire to give them the chance just yet. Is there no way in which we can prevent such a possibility occurring? It is for that reason that we are here, Nicola replied. I can assure you, you that I'm no more anxious to die than you are. There would be a good deal of irony in having perfected a scheme for prolonging life, only to meet one's death at the hand of the Chinese

ruffian in a civilised English town. Then what is your plan, I inquired? I will tell you, but do not let us speak so loud. Little pictures have long ears. My notion is that we make for the hotel, the name of which I was careful to give the driver and hearing of the boy, and we will engage a couple of rooms there, order breakfast tomorrow morning, still in the hearing of the boy, and afterwards get out of the way as quietly as possible. Sounds feasible enough, I replied. If only we can do it, but do you think the men will be so easily full? Well, that remains to be proved, however, we shall very soon find out.

A pretty sort of thing you've let yourself in full, Master Hingleby, I thought to myself as Nicola lapsed into silence once more. A week ago you were starving in a backstress. of London. Now it looks very much as if you're going to be murdered in affluence in Newcastle. However, you'd let yourself in for it, and have only yourself to blame for the result. Consoling myself in this philosophic way, I held my peace until the cab drew up before the hostelry, to which my companion had alluded. As soon as we were at a standstill, Nicola alighted, went into the hotel to inquire about rooms. As we agreed, I remained in the cab until he returned.

It's all right, Ingleby, he cried, as he crossed the pavement again. They're very full, but we can have the rooms until the day after tomorrow. After that, we must look elsewhere. Now let us get the traps inside. The porter emerged and took our luggage, and we accompanied him into the building. As we did so, I saw the ragged urchin who had ridden behind the cab, drawn nearer the portico. The manager received us in the hall.

Numbers 59 and 60, he said to the porter. Would you care for any soup, gentlemen? we thanked him but declined and then followed the porter upstairs into the rooms in question having seen my luggage safely installed and the man on his way downstairs nicholas showed himself ready for business when you get into these sort of scrapes he said it's just as well to have a good memory i know these rooms of old and directly i saw the position we were in i thought they made prove of use to us when i once did the manager a good turn when i explained matters to him he will understand why we have taken up our abode with him only to leave again so suddenly have a sheet of note-paper and an envelope in your bag i produced them for him whereupon he wrote a note and having placed a bank-note inside addressed it to his friend i'll leave it on the chimney-piece where the chambermaid will be certain to see it he said i've told the manager that we are obliged to leave in this unceremonious fashion in order to rid ourselves as some unpleasant fellow-travellers who have been following us about with what i can only think must be hostile intent until you return i have asked him to take charge of your baggage so that you need have no fear on that score i'm sorry you should have to lose it but i can lend you anything you may require until you get possession of it again now if we can only get outside of this window and down to the tyrant side once more without being seen i think we may safely say we have given kwan mar the slip for good and all

so saying he crossed the room and threw open the window the both active men nicola continued and should experience small difficulty in dropping down to the roof of the outhouse below thence we can make our way along the wall to the back are you ready quite ready i answered whereupon he crawled out of the window and holding on by both hands lowered himself and to his feet were only a yard or so above the roof of the outhouse to which he referred then he let go and dropped i followed as example after which we made our way in indian file along the wall past the stables and dropped without adventure into the dark lane at the rear of the hotel it's the first time in my life i'd left the building of that description in such an unceremonious fan fashion. It's strange enough I remember, it caused me no surprise. In Nicola's company, the most extraordinary performances in commonplace and in the natural order of things. From now forward we must proceed with the greatest caution, said my companion, as we regained our feet and paused before making our way down the dark lane towards a small street at a further end. They are scarcely likely to watch the back of the hotel, but it will be safer for us to suppose them to be. doing so. Acting up to this decision, we proceeded with as much caution as if every shadow were an enemy, and every doorway contained a villainous celestial. We saw nothing of the men we feared,

however, and eventually reached the thoroughfare leading to the docks without further adventure. But fortunate, as we had so far been, we were not destined to get away as successfully as we had hoped to do. We were within sight of the river when something, I cannot now remember what, induced me to look back. I did so just in time to catch a glimpse of a figure emerging from the shadow of a tall building. At any other time, such a circumstance would have given rise to no suspicion in my mind.

But worked up to such a pitch as I was then, I seemed gifted with an unerring instinct that told me as plainly as any words that the man in question was following us and that he was the Chinaman we were so anxious to avoid. i pointed him out to nicola and asked whether he agreed with me as to the man's identity you will soon decide that point was his reply slacken your pace for a moment when i give the word wheels sharply round and walk towards him we executed this manoeuvre and began to walk quickly back in the direction we had come the mysterious figure was still making its way along the darker side of the street and our suspicions were soon confirmed for on seeing us he turned also and a few seconds later disappeared down a side street.

He spying on us, sure enough, said Nicola, and I do not see how we are going to baffle him. Let's hasten on to the river and trust to luck to get on board the yacht without his finding out where we have gone. Once more we turned ourselves about, and in something less than five minutes had reached the landing place of which we were steering. Then, pulling a whistle from his pocket,

Nicola blew three sharp notes upon it. An answer came from the deck of the yacht out of the stream. It had scarcely died away, before a boat put off from alongside the craft and came swiftly towards us. It's only a question of minutes now, said Nicola, throwing a hasty glance around him. Time versus the Chinaman. If I am not mistaken, here the boat drew up at the steps. Time has the best of it. Come along, my friend, let us get on board. I followed him down the steps and took my place in the dinghy.

The men pulling bent to their oars and he shot out into the stream. Look, said Nicola pointing to the place, had just left, I thought our friend would not be very far behind us. I followed my eyes the direction of which he pointed, and sure enough I could just distinguish a dark figure standing upon the steps. They would like to catch me if they could, observe the doctor, with a shrug of his shoulders and one of his peculiar laughs. If they've tried once, they've done so a hundred times. I will do them the credit of saying that their plans have been admirably laid, but fate has stood by me, on each occasion they have miscarried.

They tried at first at Yachow Fu, then at I Chang, afterwards in Shanghai, Rangoon, Bombay, London, Paris, and St Petersburg. I can't tell you how many other places, but as you see, they have not succeeded so far. Why should they do it, I ask? What is the reason of it all?

That is too long a story for me to tell you now, he replied. As the boat drew up at the accommodation ladder, you shall hear it another day our object now must be to get away from newcastle without further loss of time i followed him along the deck to where a short stout man stood waiting to receive us are you ready stevens asked nichola already sir the other replied with the brevity of a man who is not accustomed to waste his words in that case then to start quickly as possible at once the man replied and immediately went forward while nicola conducted me then have prettily arranged and constructed companion ladder to the saloon below as we reached it i heard the tinkle of the telegraph from the bridge to the engine-room and almost simultaneously the screw began to revolve and we were under way after the darkness outside the brilliant light of the saloon which we now stood so dazzling that i failed to notice the fact that a bed-place had been made up behind the butt of the mizzen-mast upon this lay the old don and seated by his side and holding his hand as the dark my dear young lady said nicol in his kindest manner as he advanced toward her i fear you must be worn out however we are under way again now and i have instructed my servant to bear a cabin for you which i trust you will be fairly comfortable hona consuel had risen and was standing looking into his face as if she were frightened of something he was about to say i am not at all tired she said i would far rather remain here with my great

grandfather. As you wish, answered Nicola, abstractedly. Then stooping, he raised the old man's left hand and felt his pulse. The long, thin fingers of the doctor, indicative of his extraordinary skill as a surgeon, seemed to twine round the other's emaciated wrist, while his face wore a look I have never seen upon it before. It was that of the born enthusiast,

the man who loves his profession more than all tells in the world. While, however, I was observing Nicola, he must not suppose i was regardless of the donna consuelo the student of character the expression upon her face could scarcely have been anything but interesting while nicola was conducting his examination she watched him as if she dreaded what he might do next fear there was in abundance but of admiration for the man i could discover no trace the examination concluded nicola addressed two or three pertinent questions to her concerning her great-grandfather's health during the voyage which she answered with corresponding clearness and conciseness the old man himself wherever though conscious did not utter a word but lay staring up the skylight above his head just as i had seen him do on board on board the steamship doll and mercedes fully five hours must have elapsed before we reached our destination indeed day had broken and the sun was in the act of rising when a gentle tapping upon the skylight overhead warned nicola that our voyage was nearly at an end leaving the old man and his great-granddaughter's care nicola signed me to follow him to the deck it may interest you to see your future home he said as we stepped out of the companion into the cool morning air and looked out over the sea

which the rim of the newly-risen sun was burnishing until it shone like polished silver at the moment the yacht was entering a small bay surrounded by giant cliffs against which the great rollers of the north sea broke continuously the bay itself was a deep shadow and was as dreary as a place as any i have seen i looked about me for a dwelling of any sort but not a sign of such a thing could i discover only a long stretch a frowning cliff, a desolate windslet table, and at first glance it does not look inviting, said Nicola with a smile upon his face, as he noticed the expression upon mine. I confess I have seen a more hospitable coastline, but never one better fitted for the work we have in hand. But I do not see the castle, I replied. I've looked in every direction, but could discover no trace of it. One of its charms, he continued triumphantly. You cannot see it, because at present it is hidden by yonder headland.

But they're safely in the bay, however. You'll have a good view of it. It is a fine old building, and in bygone days must have been a place of considerable importance. Ships innumerable have gone to pieces in sight of its turrets. While deep down its own foundations, I am told, there are dungeons enough to imprison half the county. See, we are opening up the bay now,

and in five minutes shall be at anchor. I wonder what result we should have achieved, sheave on me next steam between these heads while he was speaking we had passed from the open sea into the still water of the bay and the yacht was slowing down perceptibly gradually the picture unfolded itself until standing out in bold relief upon the cliffs like some grim sentinel of the past the castle for which some time to come at least was destined to be my home came into view who its architect had been i was never able to discover but he must have been impregnated with the desolation and solemn grandeur of the coast and in his building have tried to equal it as nicola had said a place better fitted for the work we had to do could not have been discovered in the length and breadth of england the nearest village was upwards of twelve miles distant farms or dwelling-house there were none within view of its towers tourists seldom ventured near it for the reason that it was not only a place difficult of approach but what was perhaps more of importance because there was nothing of interest to be seen when you reached it so i gazed at her i thought of the girl in the saloon below and wondered what her feelings would be and what her life would be like in such a dismal place i glanced at nicola hills gazing up at the grim walls with such rapt attention that was easy to see his thoughts were far away

then the telegraph sounded and the screw ceased to revolve the spell was broken and we were called to the realities of the moment i was miles away said mickler looking round at me i could see you were i answered you'd be very surprised if you knew of what i was thinking he continued i was recalling a place not unlike this but ten thousand miles or more away it is a monastery similarly situated on the top of enormous cliffs it was there and a place not unlike this but ten thousand miles or more away it is a monastery similarly situated on the top of enormous cliffs it was there that I obtained, the secret which is the backbone of the discovery we are about to test. I've been in some queer places in my time, but never such a one as that. But we haven't time to talk of that now. What we have to do is get the old band ashore and up to yonder building. If anything were to happen to him now, I think it would break my heart. And his great-grandaughters also, I put in. You must admit, she is devoted to him. He threw a quick glance at me, as if he were trying to him. He took a great-grandauntarer's

trying to discern how far I was interested in the beautiful girl in the saloon below. Whatever conclusion he may have come to, however, he said nothing to me upon the subject. Having ordered the captain to see the boat, which had been specially prepared for the work of carrying the old gentleman ashore, brought alongside, he made his way to the saloon, and I accompanied him. We have reached our destination, Donna Consuelo, he said, as he approached the bed beside which she was sitting. As he spoke, they had leapt into her eyes the same look of terror I had noticed before. It reminded me more than anything else that the expression one seized in the eyes of a rabbit when the snare was closed upon it. As I noticed it for the first

time since I had known him, a feeling of hatred for Nicola came over me. It was not until we were in the boat and were making a way ashore that I found the opportunity of speaking to her without Nicola overhearing us. Courage, my dear young lady, courage, I said. Believe me, there is nothing to fear, I will pledge my life for your safety. She gave me a look of gratitude, and stooped as if to arrange the heavy travelling rug covering her age relative. In reality, I believe it was to hide the tears with which her eyes were filled. In that moment there existed an indefinable, real bond between us,

and though I did not realise it at the moment, the first mark had been made upon the chain with which Nicola imagined he had bound me to him. on reaching that side of the bay on which there was a short strip of beach the boat was grounded the four sailors immediately took up the litter upon which the old man lay and carried it ashore the path up to the castle was a steep and narrow one and the work of conveying him to the top was by no means easy eventually however it was accomplished and we stood before the entrance to the castle moat there was none but in place of it spanned by the drawbridge a ponderous affair something like fifty feet long by ten wide was an enormous chasm going sheer down in one drop fully two hundred feet at the bottom water could be seen and at night when the tide come in the gurgling and moaning which rose from it was sufficient to appall the stoutest heart welcome to aladdin castle said nicol as we crossed the bridge and entered the archway of the ancient keep then bending over the old man on the litter he added when you cross this threshold again my old friend i hope you will be fully restored to health and strength a young man again in every sense of the word donel consoilo i am all anxiety to hear your opinion of the apartments i've caused

be prepared for you. Moving in procession as before, we crossed the great courtyard which echoed to the sound of our footsteps, and reaching a door on the farther side entered and found ourselves standing in a well-proportioned hall, from which a staircase of solid stone, up which a dozen soldiers might have marched abreast led to the floors above. With Nicola still in advance we made the ascent, turned to the right hand, proceeded along a corridor up as a fifty-yard in length, out of which opened a number of lofty rooms. Before the door of one of these, Nicola paused. This is the apartment I have set aside for your own particular use, my dear young lady, he said, and with that he threw open the door and showed us a large room, carpeted,

curtained, and furnished in a fashion I was far from expecting to find in so sombre a building. Should there be anything wanting, he said, you honour me by mentioning it, when I was do all that lies in my power to supply it. Her face was very pale and her lips trembled a little, as she faltered a question as to where her great-grandfather was to be domicile. I've come to the conclusion that, for the future it'd be better, said Nicola, speaking very slowly and distinctly, as if in anticipation of future trouble, that you should entrust him to my care. Ingleby and I between us will make ourselves responsible for his safety, and you may rest assured we will see that no harm comes to him.

You must endeavour to amuse yourself as best you can, consoling yourself with the knowledge that we're doing all that science can do for him. And as he said this, he smiled a little sarcastically, as if a reading of the word science would be likely to differ considerably from his. But you surely do not mean that I am to give him up to you entirely, she cried, this time in real terror. You cannot be so cruel as to mean that. well dr nicolol i implore you not to take him altogether from me i cannot bear it my dear young lady said nicola a little more sternly than he had yet spoken in this matter you must be guided by me i can brook no interference of any description

surely you should know me well enough by this time to be aware of that but he's all i have to live for all i have to love the girl faltered can you not make allowance for that her voice was piteous in its pleading, and when I heard Nicholas chilling tones as the answer at her, I could have found it in my heart to strike it. To have interfered at all, however, would have done no sort of good, so hard as it seemed, I was perforce compelled to hold my tongue. If you love your great-grandfather, he said, you will offer no opposition to my scheme. I will return him to you a different man.

But we are wasting time, and these stone corridors are too cold and drafty-for. if you will be guided by me you will rest a little after your exertions there is an old woman below who shall come to you and do her best to make herself useful to you seeing that to protest further would be useless the girl turned and went into the room trying to stifle sobs that would not be kept back the sight was one which would have grieved a harder heart than mine and it hurt me the more because i knew that i was powerless to help her All this time the four sailors who had carried the litter up from the beach had been silent spectators to the scene. Now they took up their burden once more, and followed Nicola along the corridor,

up some more steps, down still another passage, until I lost count of the way we had come. The greater portion of the castle had been allowed to fall into disrepair. Heavy masses of cobwebs stretched from wall to wall, a large proportion of the doors were even worm-eaten, and some instances had even fallen in altogether, revealing desolate apartments in which the wind from the sea whistled, and the noise of the waves echoed with blood-curdling effect.

Reaching the end of the second corridor, Nicola Paws before a heavy curtain, which was drawn closely from wall to wall, and ordered the men to set down their burden. They obeyed, and on being told to do so, took their departure with as much speed as they could put into the operation. if i know anything of the human face they were not a little relieved at receiving permission to clear out of a place that had every right to be considered the abode of a certain old gentleman whom it scarcely becomes me to mention when the sound of their footsteps had died away nicola drew back the curtain and displayed a plain but very strong wooden door from the fact that the workmanship was almost new i surmise that my host had placed it there himself but for what purpose i could only conjecture taking a key from his pocket he slipped it into the patent lock turned the handle and the door swung open take up your end of the litter he said and help me carry it inside

i did as i was ordered and bearing the old man between us he passed into that portion of the castle which as i soon discovered he had fitted up in readiness for the great experiment having passed the door we found ourselves in a comparatively lofty room, or perhaps I'd better say hall, the walls of which were covered almost entirely with anatomical specimens. From what I could see of them, I should say that many were quite unique, while all were extremely valuable. Where, and by what means he'd collected them, I was never able to discover. Of Nicola, on one or two occasions, throughout hints. There they were, however, and I promised myself that during my stay in the place I would use them for perfecting

my own knowledge on the subject. At the end of the hall, looking over the sea, was a large window, while in either wall were several doors, all of which, like that in the corridor, were heavily curtained. The carpet was of cork, quite noiseless. The lights were electric,

the batteries and dynamos being in the room below. The heating arrangements were excellent, while the ventilation was of the most modern and improved description i noticed that nicholas smiled a little contemptuously at my astonishment you were unprepared for this surprise he said let me give you a little piece of advice and that is never be astonished at anything you may see or hear while you are with me the commonplace and i i can assure you once and for all do not live together have homes in all parts of the world i am in england to-day engaged in upon one piece of work and in six months time and may be in india japan peru kamtukta or if you like it better shall we say playing tricks with niggers in cape coast castle but see we are keeping our old friend wazing i will find out if all the preparations i have ordered are complete if so we will convey it once to the chamber set apart for him with that he touched a bell and almost before he had removed his finger from the button a curtain at the farther end was drawn aside and the same chinese servant the deaf and dumb individual i mean who had brought the letter to me at my lodgings in london the previous week entered the room seeing his master he bent himself double and when he had resumed his upright posture as curious a conversation commenced as i ever know

i use the word conversation with a simple reason though i do not know how else to describe it as a matter of fact it was not a conversation at all for the reason that not a word was spoken on either side their lips moved but not a sound come from them yet they seem quite able to understand one another if however it was a strange performance it had the least the merit of being extremely successful one he tells me that everything is prepared nicola remarked as the man crossed the room drew back another curtain from the doorway on our left this is the room but before we carry him into it i think we better have a little light upon the subject to press the electric switch was the work of a moment and as soon as this had been done he once more took up our burden and carried it into the inner room prepared as i had been by the outer hall for something extraordinary i was perhaps not so much surprised at the apartments in which i now found myself as i should otherwise have been and yet it was sufficiently remarkable to fill any one with wonder it was upwards of twenty feet in length possibly eighteen in width the walls and the ceilings were as black as charcoal when the electric light was extinguished not a ray of anything would be visible in the centre was the strange contrivance which i could see was intended to serve as a bed and for some other purpose which at the moment was not quite apparent to me in the farther corner of the centre was the strange contrivance which i could see was intended to serve as a bed and for some other purpose which at the moment was not quite apparent to me in the farther corners were a couple of queer-looking pieces of machinery, one of which reminded me somewhat of an unusually large electric battery. The other, I could not understand at all. A machine,

twice the size of those usually employed for manufacturing ozone, stood opposite the door, thermometers of every sort and description were arranged at intervals along the walls, while on one side was an ingenious apparatus for heating the moon, and on the other a similar one for cooling it. At the head and foot of the bed were two brass pillars, the construction and arrangements of which reminded me of electric terminals on an exaggerated scale. We placed the old gentleman on the bed, the litter was thereupon removed by the servant, and Nicola and I stood facing each other across the form of the man who was to prove, or disprove, the feasibility of the discovery of my extraordinary employer claimed to have made. For 24 hours,

said Nicola, he must have absolute peace and quiet. Nothing must disturb him, nor must he take food. But is he capable, do you think I asked, of going without nourishment for so long a time? Perfectly. On the draft I'm about to administer him, he could

do without it with such a thing necessary for a much longer period. Indeed, it would not hurt him if it were to eat nothing for a month. He left the room for a moment, and when he returned he carried in his hand a tiny, file of the same description, though much smaller, as those which had been stolen from me on board

the steamer. It contained a thick red mixture, which, when he removed the stopper, threw off a highly pungent odour. He opened the mouth of the patient and poured upwards of a tea-smouth lid. As before, I expected to see some immediate result, but my curiosity was not gratified, deftly arranging the bed coverings, Niccolon inspected the thermometers, tested the hot and cold air apparatus and then turned to me he will require little or no supervision for some hours to come he said so we may safely leave him to while away the time if you care about it i will show you something of my abode i think i can promise you both instruction and amusement end of chapter five chapter six of dr nicholas experiment by guy this librivox recording is in the public domain chapter six leading the room in which we had placed don miguel de morano as described in the previous chapter we returned to the hall the same in which was contained a magnificent collection of anatomical specimens already mentioned tired as i was for it must be remembered that i had had but little sleep during the first night i had spent on board the donna mercedes and none at all on that through which we had just passed

past. While I had a great deal of excitement and my fair share of hard work, I would not have lost the opportunity of exploring Nicola's quarters in this grim old castle for any consideration whatsoever. Nicola himself, though one would have scarcely thought it from his appearance, must have possessed a constitution of iron, for he seemed as fresh as when I first had seen him at Kelarand's house in London. It was a vitality about him, a briskness, and if I may so express, it, an enjoyment of labour for its own sake, but I do not remember ever to have found in another man. As I was soon to discover, my description of him was not very wide of the mark. He would do the work of half a dozen men, and at the end be ready, and not only ready, but eager

for more. In addition to this, I noticed another peculiarity about him. Unlike most people who have fond of work, he possessed an infinite fund of patience, wait for an issue, whatever it might be to develop itself naturally, and unlike so many experimentalists, betrayed no desire to hurry it by the employment of extraneous means. In thus putting forward my reading of the most complex character that has ever come under my notice,

I do so with an absolute freedom from bias. Indeed you might almost say that I do so in great measure against my own inclinations, as will be apparent to you when you had finished my story. as i informed you in london said this strange individual after he closed the door of the patients room behind him had drawn the heavy curtains and switched off the electric light i purchased this famous castle expressly for the experiment we were about to try the owner so my business people informed me was amazed that i should want it at all but then you see he did not understand its value if i had searched the world i could not have discovered a better while we are near enough to civilisation be able to obtain anything we may require in the way of drugs or incidental apparatus we have no prying neighbours such household stores as we require the yacht brings us direct from newcastle an old man and woman who take care of the place that i am absent have their quarters in the keep my chinese servant cooks for me personally and attends to the wants which are not many of the other people under my care

other people under your care i echoed i had no idea there was any one in the house save yourself and your servants it scarcely you would have any idea to observe seeing that no one knows of it save our win who for reasons you have seen is unable to talk about them and myself who would be even less likely to do so would you care to see them i replied that i would very much like to do so and he was about to lead me across the hall towards the door through which the chinese servant had entered some little time before and a curious circumstance happened with a bound that was not unlike the spring of a tiger an enormous cat black as the pit of tophet jumped from the room and approaching his master rubbed himself backwards and forwards against his legs seeing my astonishment nicola condescended to explain you're going to say that i can tell you that you have never seen such a cat as a polyum i suppose you have if he could talk he would tell you some strange stories would you not old man been my almost constant companion for many years, and more than once he has been the means of saving my life. Replacing Apollyon whom he had picked up on the floor, he conducted me towards the entrance of another corridor, which led in direction of the keep. Halfway down it was a rough iron gate which was securely padlocked. Nicola undid it, and when we were on the other side, carefully relocked it after him.

Though you may not think so, he said, these precautions are necessary. some of my patients are extremely valuable and i have not the least desire that they should escape from my keeping and fall over the battlements into the sea below follow me i accompanied him towards yet another door which he also unlocked the scene which met my gaze as he threw it open to employ a hackneyed phrase beggars description the room was about the same size as that was occupied by the donna consuela but it was not its proportions and amazed me but its occupants. The customs I had necessarily been by virtue of my profession, to what I commonly called horrors, I found that I was not proof against what I had before me now. It was sufficient to make my blood run cold,

anything more gruesome could scarcely have been discovered or even imagined. Try to picture for yourself the inmates of a dozen freak museums and the worst of monstrosities of which you have ever read or heard, and you will only have some dim notion of the folk whom nicola so ironically called his patience some were like men but not men as we know them some were like monkeys but of a kind i'd never seen before which i sincerely hope i may never see again the things dull flabby faceless things but there i can go no further to attempt to describe them to you in detail is a work of which my pen is quite incapable a happy family said nicolah advancing into the room and without exception devoted to their nurse our win yonder as you are aware in a measure shares their afflictions with them some day if you care about it i should be only too pleased to give you a lecture with demonstrations such as you would get in no medical school in the world though i have attempted to set down this offer word for word i have but the vagus recollection of it for long before i had finished speaking i had staggered sicker and faint with horror into the corridor outside. Not for the wealth of England will I have

remained there a minute longer. To see these loathsome creatures, fawning around Nicola, clutching at his legs and stroking his clothes, was too much for me, and I verily believed an hour in that room would have been the effect of making me an idiot like themselves. A few moments later, Nicola joined me in the passage. They very easily affected, my dear Inelby, he said, with one of his peculiar smiles. I should have thought to your hospital, experience with them doge you with stronger nerves. My poor people in yonder, don't, don't, I cried, holding up my hand in entreaty. Don't speak to me of them. Don't let me think of them. If I do, I believe I shall go mad. My God, are you human that you can live with such

things about you? I believe I am the answer with the utmost coolness, but why make such a fuss? Do like I do, regard them from a scientific standpoint only. The poor things have come into this world handicapped by misfortune. I endeavour as far as possible to ameliorate their conditions. And in return they enabled me to perfect my knowledge of the human frame as no other living man can hope to do. Of course I know there are people who look askance at me for keeping them. It doesn't trouble me.

At one time they lived with me in Port Said, which, when you come to think of it, was a fit and proper place for such a hospital. Circumstances, however, combined to induce me to leave. Eventually we came here. some time if you care to hear it i will tell you the story of their voyage home it would interest you i protested however that i desired to hear no more about them i had both seen and heard too much already that being so nicola led me along the passage and through the iron gate which he locked behind him as before and so conducted me to the hall whence we had first set out once there he went into a corner cabinet and from it produced a decanter pouring me out a stiff glass of brand-drawn he had first set out and so conducted me out a stiff glass of brand-drawn he bade me drink it you look as if you wanted he said and heaven knows he was right and now he said when i had finished it if you will take my advice you lie down for an hour to at the convenience of our work i have arranged that you shall occupy a room near me this is it shall i want you i will ring a bell

the room to which he alluded adjoined his own he was situated at the far end of the hall the door like those of the others i have described being concealed behind a curt never was permission to retire more willingly accepted and within five minutes of leaving him i was in bed and asleep must have been between ten and eleven o'clock in the forenoon when i retired the afternoon was well advanced before i woke again heavily as i slept however and had not been a restful slumber all things considered i had much better have been waking over and over again i saw the donna consuelo standing before me just as she had done before nicola that day there was this difference however instead of asking to be allowed to remain with her grandfather their prayer was that i should say both him and her for nicola while she pleaded to me the faces of the terrible creatures i had seen in that room down the passage peered at us from all sorts of hiding-places i had acceded to the donna's request and was flowing from the castle carrying her in my arms at last after i appeared to have been running for an eternity we reached the shore where i hoped to find a boat awaiting us but not sign of one was to be seen while i waited day broke and i placed my burden on the sand only to spring back from it with a cry of horror it was not donna cuncello i had been carrying but one of those loathsome creatures i'd seen in that terrible rome a fit of rage came over me i was about to reap my vengeance on the unhappy idiot when i woke i looked about me at the somewhat sparsely furnished room and some seconds elapsed before i realised what i was the memory of our arrival at the castle and all that had happened since returned to me i shuddered and had it not been for that poor girl so lonely and friendless i could have found it in my heart to wish myself back in london once more having dressed myself i went out into the hall nicola was not there i waited for some time but as he did not put in an appearance i left the room and made my way down the corridor in the direction of a donnican sway

sitting-room not being able to get an answer when i knocked i continued my walk ascended another flight of stairs and eventually found myself upon the battlements a better place for observing the construction of the castle and obtaining a view of surrounding country could not have been desired on one side i could look away across the moorland towards a distant range of hills on the other along the cliffs and across the wide expanse of sea in the tiny bay to my right the yacht which had brought us of newcastle Lassel lay at anchor, and had it not been for that in a column of smoke rising from a chimney, I might have believed myself to be living in a world of my own. For some time I stood watching that panorama spread out before me. I was still looking at it when a soft footfall sounded on the stones behind me. I turned to find Dunga Consuido approaching me. She was dressed entirely in black and wore a lace mantilla over her shoulders.

Thank heaven I have found you, Dr. Inglebusy, cried. she hastened towards me. I began to think myself deserted by everybody. Why should you do that? I asked. You know that that could never be. I'm certain of nothing now, she answered. You cannot imagine what I've been through today. Indeed, I'm sorry to hear you a bit unhappy, I continued. Is there any way I can be of service to you? There are many ways, but I fear you would not employ them, she replied. I'm hungering to be with my great-grandfather again. Can you tell me why Dr. Nicola

takes him away from me? i fancied that he had told you i answered but if it be any consolation to you let me give me my assurance if he is being tenderly cared for his comfort is secured in every way and from what dr nicola has said to me and for what i have seen myself i feel convinced you to be able to do what he has promised and make your great-grandfather a hail and hearty man once more it's all very well for him to say that she said but why am i not permitted to be with him if he needs nursing who would be likely to wait upon him so devotedly as the woman who loves him surely dr nicola cannot imagine his secret looking unsafe with me if he reveals it to you a rival in his own professions it's not that at all i answered do not fancy nicola has given a moment's consideration to the safety of his secret then seeing the low pull of escape she presented to me i added from what you know of him i should have thought you have understood that he has no great liking for your sex put it bluntly nigger is a woman-hater of the most determined order and i fancy he would find it impossible to carry out his plans if you were in attendance upon the dawn ah well i suppose i must be content with your assurance she said with a sigh for the present i am very much afraid so i replied at this moment the old woman who nicola had appointed to wait upon us made her appearance and informed the donna that the dinner awaited her about my own meals she knew nothing so i concluded from this that i was to take them with nicola in our own portion of the castle such proved to be the case for when we reached the donna consueloes abatements on the floor below we met nicola or we met nicola or we had

waiting us in the corridor. I've been looking for you, Ingleby, he said with a noted command in his voice. You are quite ready for dinner, I have no doubt. And if you will accompany me, I think we shall find it waiting for us. As may be supposed, I would rather have partaking it with the Donner Consuelo, but as it was not to be, I bade a good morning, and was about to follow Nicola along the corridor, when he stopped, turned to the girl and said,

I can see from your face that you've been worrying about your grandfather. I assure you you have not the least cause to do so, and I think Ingleby here, if he has not done so already, will bear me out in what I say. The old gentleman is doing it excellently. Almost before you know he has been taken away from you, you will have him back again. Thank you for your news, she replied, but there was very little friendliness in her voice. I would rather, however, see him and convince myself of the fact, then bowing to us, she retired to her own departments, or we made our way to the hall, in search of our meal. Tomorrow morning, said Miller, as we drew up our chairs to the table,

we must commence work in earnest. After that, for some weeks to come, I'm afraid you'll see but little of your fair friend down yonder. You seem to be on excellent terms with each other. As he said this, he shot a keen glance at me, as though he was desirous of discovering what was passing in my mind.

I was quite prepared for him, however. Well, they answered, in such an unconcerned way, that I flattered myself. Should he have got into his head that there was anything more than mere friendship in our intimacy, he would be immediately disabused of the notion. As he predicted the following morning

saw the commencement of that gigantic struggle with the forces of nature upon the result of which Nicola had pinned so much faith and which was destined, so he affirmed, to revolutionise the world. The most exhaustive preparations in May, the duration of our watches in the sick-room were duly apportioned, and a minute outline of the treatment proposed was propounded to me.

When entering the dark room in which the old Don lie, I discovered that two bronze pedstals, the use of which had puzzled me so much of my first visit, had been moved near the bed, one being placed on its head and the other at its foot. These Nicola pointed out to me were the terminals of an electric conductor but producing a constant current, which was to play, without intermission,

a few feet above the patient's head. The peculiar and penetrating smell filled the room, which I had no difficulty in recognising as ozone. Well, Nicola's reason for using it in such a case was not at first apparent to me. The old Don himself lay just as we had left him the previous morning. His hands were by his sides,

his eyes as usual were open but saw nothing. it is not until I examined him closely that a slight respiratory movement was observable when I am not here said Nicola it must be your business to see that this electric current is kept continually playing above him it must not be permitted for an instant to abate one unit of its strength

then pointing to an instrument fixed at the further wall he continued here is a volt metre with a maximum and minimum points plainly marked upon it your record must also include temperature which you will take on these dry wet thermometers once every quarter of an hour the currents of hot and cold air you can regulate by means of these handles the temperature of the patient himself must be noted once in every hour and should on no account be permitted to get higher or lower than it is at the present moment taking a clinical thermometer of his pocket he applied it and when he had noted the result handed it to me to his own If it rises two points above that before the same hour of three days hence, he will die. No skill can save him. If it drops, well in 80% of the cases the result will be the same.

And suppose I detect a tendency to rise. In that case you must communicate instantly with me. Here is an electric button which will put you in touch on my room. I hope, however, that you will have no necessity to use it. Then, placing his hand upon my shoulder, he looked me full in the face. ingleby said you see how much trust i am placing in you i tell you frankly you have a great responsibility upon your shoulders i am not going to beat about the bush with you in this case there is no such thing as certainty i have made the attempt three times before and on each occasion my man has died simply through moments in attention on the part of my sister it's the love of science and a proper appreciation of compliment i've paid you in asking you to share with me the honour of this great discovery do not weigh with you then think of the girl with whom you talked upon your battlements yesterday

you tried to make me believe that she was nothing to you some day however she may be remember what her grandfather's death would mean to her you need have no fear i replied i assure you you can trust me implicitly i do trust you he answered now let us get to work so saying he crossed the room and opened a square box heavily clamped with iron for which he took two china pots of ointment then disrobing the old man we anointed him with the most scrupulous care from head to foot this we did three times after which the second curious apparatus i had seen standing in the corner was wheeled up to the bedside that it was an electrical instrument of some sort was plain for what its specific use was i could not even conjecture nicola however very soon enlightened me upon the matter taking a number of large velvet pads each of which was moulded to fit a definite position of the human body he placed them in position attached the wires that connected them with the machine and when all was ready turned on the current at first no effect was observable in about a minute and a half however if my memory serves me the usual deathly pallor of the skin gave place to a faint blush which presently increased till the skin exhibited a healthy glow little by little a temporal veins then so prominent gradually disappeared in half an hour during which the current had been slowly and very gradually increased another dressing of both ointments was applied take this glass and examine his skin said nicholas whose eyes were gleaming with excitement as he handed me a powerful magnifying glass when i bent over the patient and did as he directed it was indeed a wonderful thing that i beheld an hour before the skin had been soft and hung in loose folds upon the bones

while the pressure of a finger upon it would not leave it up for upwards of any of a minute now it had in a measure regained its youthful elasticity and upon my softly pinching it between my fingers i found that it recovered its colour almost immediately it is wonderful i whispered had i not seen it myself i would never have believed it when it had been applied for an hour the electric current was turned off and the pads removed now watch what happens very closely said nicola but i assure you the effect is curious scarcely able to breathe by reason of my excitement and as I did so saw the flush of apparent health gradually decrease. The skin became white and loose once more, while the superficial veins rose into a prominence upon the temples. I glanced at Nicola, thinking that some mistake must have occurred, and then he would show signs of disappointment.

This, however, he did not do. You surely did not imagine, he said, when I'd question him upon the subject, that the effect I produced would be permanent on the first application. No, we may hope to achieve, a more lasting result in a fortnight's time, but not till then. Meanwhile, the effect must be produced in the same fashion, every six hours, both day and night. Now give me those rugs, we must cover him carefully. In his present state, the least draft would be fatal. Record the state of

the vault meter, read your thermometers, and see that your ventilating apparatus is working properly. As I said just now, should you need me, remember the bell. One ring when you have recorded your results when inform me at all is progressing satisfactorily, while three will immediately bring me to your assistance. Do you understand? When I had assured him that I did, he left me, I accordingly switched off three of the electric lights,

and sat myself down in a chair in semi-darkness. The centre of light being the patient on the bed. There is no fear of my feeling dull, but I had a great deal to think about. Taken altogether, the situation which I found myself, was as extraordinary as the most inveterate seeker after excitement could desire. Not a sound was to be heard. The stillness was that of the tomb.

And yet I smiled to myself as I thought that if Nicola's experiment achieved the result he expected of it, the simile was not an appropriate one, for it was not the silence of the tomb, but a perpetual life itself. I looked at the figure on the bed before me and tried to picture what the mystery he was unraveling would mean to mankind. It was a solemn thought. Should the experiment prove successful,

how would it affect the world? Would it prove a blessing or a curse? But the thoughts it conjured up were too vast, the issues too great, and to attempt to solve them, was only to lose oneself in the fields of wildest conjecture. For four hours I remained on duty, noting all that occurred, reading my thermometers, regulating the hot and cold air apparatus, and at intervals signaling to Nicola that everything was progressing satisfactorily. When he relieved me, I retired to rest and slept like a top, too tired even to dream. Of what happened during the fortnight following, I have little to tell.

Nicola and I, watched by the bedside in turn, took our exercise upon the battlements, ate and slept with the regularity of automata. the life on one side was monotonous in the extreme on the other it was filled with an unholy excitement that was the greater in so much as it had been so carefully suppressed to say that I was deeply interested in the work upon which I was engaged be by a by no means strong enough expression the fire of enthusiasm to which I have alluded was raging once more in my heart

and yet there had been little enough so far in the experiment to excite it with that regularity which characterised the whole of our operations we carried on the work i have described every six hours saw the skin tighten become elastic the hue of the flesh changed from white to pink the veins recede and the hollows fill only to return to their original state as soon as the electric current was withdrawn towards the end of the fortnight however they were not wanting signs to show that the effect was gradually becoming more lasting in place of doing so at once the change to the original condition do not occur until some eight or ten minutes after the pads had been removed and here i must remark that there was one other point on which the case struck me as peculiar when i had first seen the old man his finger-knows were that pale yellow tint so often and observable in the very old now they were a delicate shade of pink while his hair was i felt convinced a darker shone a darker shade of pink while his hair was i felt convinced a darker shade of the old shade than it had been before. As Nicola was careful to point out, he had arrived at the most critical stage of the experiment,

a mistake at this juncture would not only undo all the work we had accomplished, but what was more serious still might very possibly cost us the life of the patient himself. The night I'm about to describe was at the end of the 14th day, after our arrival at the castle. Nicola had been on watch from four o'clock in the afternoon, until eight when I relieved him. Do not let your eyes wander from him for a minute, he said, as I took my place beside the bed.

From certain symptoms I've noticed during the last few hours, I'm convinced the crisis is close at hand. Should arise and the temperature occur, summon me instantly. I shall be in the laboratory ready, at a moment's notice, to prepare the elixir upon which the success we hope to achieve depends. But you are worn out, I said, as I noticed the haggard expression upon his face. Why don't you take some rest?

Rest, he cried scornfully. It's likely that I could rest with such a discovery just coming within my grasp. No, you need not fear for me, I shall not break down. I have a constitution of iron. Having once more warned me to advise him of any change that might occur, he left me, when I had examined my instruments, attended to the electrical apparatus,

and taken the patient's temperature. I sat down to the vigil to which I by this time become accustomed hour by hour I followed the customary routine my watch was nearly at an end in 20 minutes

it would be time for Nicola to relieve me leaning over the old man I convinced myself that no change had taken place in his condition his temperature was exactly what it had been throughout the preceding fortnight I carefully wiped the clinical thermometer

and replaced it in its case as I did so I was startled by hearing a wild shriek in the hall outside it was a woman's voice and the accent was one of deadly terror I should have recognised the voice anywhere it was the Donna Consuelos what could have happened

and once more it rang out and almost before I knew what I was doing I had rung the bell for Nicola and rushed from the room to the hall outside no one was to be seen there I ran in the direction of the corridor, which led towards the Donna's own quarters, but she was not there.

I returned and followed that leading towards the terrible room behind the iron gate. The passage was in semi-darkness, but there was still sufficient light for me to see a body lying upon the floor. As I thought it was the Donna Consuelan, and she had fainted. Picking her up in my arms, I carried her to the hall,

where the meal of which I was to partake at the end of my watch was already prepared. to bathe her forehead was the work of a moment she revived almost immediately what's the matter she asked faintly what has happened but before i could reply the recollection of what she had seen returned to her look of abject terror came into her face save me save me dr ingleby she cried clinging to my arm like a frightened child if i see them again i shall go mad it will kill me you don't know how frightened i have been i thought i was in a position to understand exactly hush i answered try to think of something else you're quite safe with me nothing shall harm you here she covered her face with her hands and her slender flame trembled under the violence of her emotion five minutes had elapsed before she was sufficiently recovered to tell me everything for some days as i soon discovered she had been left mostly entirely alone and having nothing to occupy her mind had been brooding over her in forced separation from her aged relative. The more she thought of him, the more intense became her craving to see him,

in order to convince herself that no harm had befallen him. A semi-hysterical condition must have ensued, for she rose from her bed, dressed herself, and taking a candle in her hand, started in the hope of finding him. By some stroke of ill fortune, she must have discovered a passage leading to Our Wynne's portion of the castle, and at last found herself standing before the open door of that demon-haunted room.

What does it all mean? she cried pittishly. What is this place? Why are those dreadful things here? I was about to reply when the curtain at the end of the hall, covering the door of the laboratory, was drawn aside. To my horrified amazement, Nicola, whom I imagined to take on my place at the patient's room, stood before us.

as I saw him and realised the significance of the position a cold sweat broke out on my forehead what construction would he be likely to place upon my presence there for a few seconds he stood watching us then an expression I can only describe as being one of terror spread over his face what does this mean he cried hoarsely what have you done

and then running to the door of the Don's room he drew back the curtain and entered leaving the donner where she was I followed with such fear in my heart as I had never known before I found Nicola fumbling with the case of the clinical thermometer and trembling like a

leaf as he did so thrusting it into the old man's mouth he hung over him and waited as if his whole life depended on the result withdrawing it again and holding up to the light he gazed at it too late he cried and I scarcely recognised his voice

so change was it. His temperature has dropped a point he will be. This is your doing. For all you know to the contrary, you may have killed him. End of chapter six. Chapter 7 of Dr. Nicholas' experiment by Guy Boothby.

This Librevox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 7. In the preceding chapter, I made you acquainted with the calamity which befell patient and of the serious position in which I found myself placed with Nicola in consequence. While knowing in my own heart that I was quite innocent of any intentional neglect of duty, I had yet to remember that I had remained on watch instead of leaving the room to ascertain what had befallen the Donner Consuelo.

It would, in all probability, never have occurred. On the other hand, I had signalled Dr Nicola and called him to my assistance before abandoning my charge. How it was that he had not answered my summons was more than I can understand. As it transpired afterwards however, and as as usual in such things, the explanation was a very simple one. In the last chapter I said that when he left me to go to the laboratory, he was quite exhausted. He'd eaten nothing for many hours. As a natural result, the fumes of the herbs he was distilling had overpowered him, and he'd fallen in a dead faint upon the floor. as long as i live i shall retain the recollection of the next fourteen hours during the whole of that time nicola and i fought death inch by inch for the body of the old don

from midnight until the following afternoon neither of us crossed the threshold of the sick-chamber and during the whole of that time save to give me brief directions nicola spoke no word to me at all it was only when the mercury and the clinical thermometer was once more established on its accustomed mark that he addressed me re-roaching the bed covering wiping his clammy forehead with his pocket-handkerchief he turned to me i think he will do now he said provided he does not lose ground within the next half-hour you may take it for granted that he is out of danger this was the opportunity for which i was waiting but i accordingly seized it i'm afraid dr nicola i said mustering with courage as i progressed that you consider me to blame for what has happened he looked sharp at me and then said coldly i failed to see how i could very well think otherwise i left you in charge and you deserted your post but i assure you i continue that you are misjudging me i could not help myself i heard the girl scream and ran to her assistance at the same time i took care to ring the bell for you before i left the room you should not have left it at all until i joined you he answered with the still same icy tone as a matter of fact i did not hear your summons i had fainted and the other question what was the girl doing in this portion of the castle she was hysterical i answered i was searching for her great-grandfather she did not know herself how she got here but as ill-luck would have it she saw your terrible people and was frightened nearly to death in consequence.

For common humanity's sake, I could not leave her as she was. Having rung for you, I naturally thought you were with the dawn, and that I was free to render her what assistance I could. Your argument is certainly plausible, but supposing the man had died during your absence, how would you have felt then? I should have regretted it all my life, I answered. But surely you must admit,

that would have been better than that young girl should have been driven mad by fear. you do not seem to understand nicholas replied that i would willingly sacrifice a thousand girls to accomplish this great object i have in view no no ingleby you have been found wanting in your duty you have checked the progress of the experiment if that old man had died here he took a step towards me his face suddenly became livid with passion as i live at this moment and would never have seen the light a day again i swear i would have killed you with as little compunction as i would have destroyed a dog who had bitten me so menacing was his attitude and so fiendish the expression on his face but i instinctively recalled a step from him however i don't think my worst enemy could accuse me of being a coward was a man a lunatic i asked myself had the magnitude of his discovery turned his head if so i must be careful in my dealings of him i'm afraid i do not understand you dr nicotta i said trying to appear calmer than i really felt you talk in an exaggerated fashion and one which i cannot permit i confess to being a certain measure to blame for what has happened did did you feel that you can no longer repose trust in me that you once did i would rather resign my postman and leave your house at once for a moment i thought i detected a sign of fear in his face then his manner changed completely my dear ingleby said patty me on my shoulder and speaking in quite a different tone if i hurt your feelings just now i hope you all forgive me and describe it to my anxiety for the last two days as you are aware i've been overwrought

i stated that i considered you to blame i said more than i meant for of course i know that you had no intention of injuring our patient or of doing anything to prejudice the end that we have in view it was a combination of the condition of injuring our patient or of doing anything to prejudice the end that we have in view it was a combination of combination of unfortunate circumstances the ill effects of which by good luck we have been able to remedy let us forget all about it with all my heart i said from the momentary friendliness i have never felt for him before and held up my hand to him he took it and went to my surprise i found that his hand was as cold as ice in this fashion the cloud between us appeared to have blown away but though it was no longer visible to the naked eye it still existed for i was unable to dispel from my mind the recollection of the threat he had used to me if he were not in earnest now he had at least been so then and for my own part i put more faith in his threats than in his protestations of friendship come come this will never do said nicola after a few moments silence which had followed after our reconciliation it is nearly three o'clock you'd better go to your room and rest for a couple of hours after which you can relieve me seeing his haggard and weary face I offered to remain on duty while he went to lie down but to this he would not consent it was plain he was still brooding over what had happened and that he did not intend to trust me any further and he was absolutely obliged accordingly I did not press him but as soon as I had noted the various temperatures and had done what I could to help him I left him to his vigil I went to my own apartment I had had had had had heard him to help him I left him to his vigil I went to my own apartment I had had had nineteen hours in the sick room, and in consequence was completely worn out. During that time I had

heard nothing of the Donna Consuelo. When I laid my head upon my pillow and closed my eyes, her terrified face as I had seen it the previous night rose before me. Even then I could feel the thrill which had run through me as I took that lovely body in my arms. What place was this terrible castle? I asked myself, for such a woman. How dreary was the life she was compelled to lead in without companions cut off from the one person who only a week before had been all the world to know this suggested another and sweeter thought to me was there only one person she loved i remembered how she had clung to me in the hall and how she had appealed to me to save her the mere thought that there might be something more than simple liking in her attitude was sufficient to set my heart beating like a sledge-hammer was it possible that i could be falling in love i who had thought myself done with that sort of thing for ever i smiled at the idea a nice sort of position i was in to contemplate such a thing and yet i was so lonely in the world that it soothed me to think there might be some one to whom i was a little more than the average man and that some one was a beautiful and noble woman with these thoughts in my brain i fell asleep a moment later so it seemed the electric bell above my head brought me wide awake again one glance at my watch was sufficient however to show me that i had been asleep till it seemed the electric bell above my head brought me wide awake again one glance at my watch was sufficient however to show me that i had been asleep till

hours. I dressed as quickly as possible, and returned to the Don's room, where much of my relief Nicola informed me there had been no relapse, and that all was progressing as satisfactorily as he could wish. Bidding me exercised the greatest vigilance, he left me and staggered from the room. A little more of this sort of thing, my friend, I said to myself as I watched him pass out of the door, only a little more and you'll be unfit for anything. But I had yet to learn the strength of Nicholas Constitution. He was like a steel bow. He might often be bent, but never

broken. It was on until the following morning that I saw Donna Consuelo again. We met upon the battlements as usual. Dr. Ingleby, she said after we'd been standing together sometime. I feel there is something I should say to you. I want to tell you how sorry I have for what occurred the other night, but for my folly and wondering about the castle as I did,

I should not have seen... She paused for a moment, and a shudder swept over her face at the recollection. I should not have seen what I did, and you would not have got into trouble with Dr. Nicola. How do you know that I did get into trouble with Dr. Nicola, I asked. Because Dr. Nicola spoke to me about it, she replied. On hearing this, I pricked up my ears. Had Nicola taken her to task for what she had done? In all probability he had blamed her.

I tried to catch her on this point, but she would tell me nothing. You will accept my apologies. weren't you she asked it's made me so unhappy you must apologise to me at all i answered i assure you none is needed i would have given anything to have prevented you or seeing well what you did and still more to have prevented nicola from speaking to you he had no right to do so then drawing a little closer to her i took her hand donna consuelo i said i'm very much afraid your life here is a very unhappy one i was happier in spain she answered but i do not want you to think i am grumbling you have given me your promise that no ill shall perform my great-grandfather and for this reason i have no fear if he is well what right have i to complain of anything that may happen to myself some day perhaps dr nicola will allow us to go back to spain and then i shall forget all about this terrible castle i wondered if the hope she entertained would ever be realised but i was not going to permit her to suppose that i entertained any doubt at all about it i felt i should like to have said more but prudence restrained me she looked so beautiful that the temptation was almost more than i could understand whether she knew anything of what was in my mind i cannot say but somehow i fancied she must have done so the way of no desire to appear conceited i could not help thinking when we bade each other good-bye there was a look of sorrow in her face once more a fortnight went by a month had now elapsed since our arrival at the car

and as I could plainly see Nicola's experiment was at length achieving a definite result. The changes affected by the use of electric batteries and a constant anointing which I have already described having ceased within a short time of the removal of the means by which they were occasioned were now almost permanent and were becoming more so every day. The patient's flesh was firmer, his skin more elastic, while his usual pallor had given place to what might be almost described as a healthy tint. So far, success had crowned Nicola's endeavours, but whether the final result would be what he desired

was more than I could say. After the little contretour, which followed my mistake, already described, Nicola and I had agreed fairly well together. I was aware, however, that he was suspicious of my intimacy with the old Don's great-granddaughter, and from the way in which he glanced at the patient and the various instruments whenever he relieved me in the sick room i could tell he was always anxious to satisfy himself that i had not done anything prejudiced the work we had in hand

it may easily be supposed therefore that our partnership was far from being as pleasant as it had promised in london to be to live in an atmosphere of continual suspicion is unpleasant at any time but it becomes doubly so when another's happiness depends in a very large measure upon it. Of course the reason was apparent to me. There must have been something more in Nicola's mind than I could fathom. But I think I can assert most truthfully, but never for a moment did I allow an effort to be wanting on my part to show how much I had his interest at heart. There was yet another thing which puzzled me.

It was this. What was to happen when the required result had been achieved? And the old Don was transformed into a young, man again. And more important still what had become of his great-granddaughter. The whole thing seemed so absurd, so unnatural, if you like it better, but I could see no proper conclusion to him. Still there was time to talk of that later on. The old Don was already, I am prepared to admit, in a certain sense, younger, but is to say he did not present that appearance of great age, which had been noticeable on board the Don and Mercedes. At the same time, he was still very far,

from being a young man. One day I found sufficient courage to speak on this point to Nicola. That is one of the most remarkable points in my argument, he answered. If he were to change his state so quickly, I should despair of success. As it is, I am more than hopeful. I am sanguine. Tomorrow, if he continues to progress so favourably, we shall enter upon the third stage of the experiment. Granted that is successful, I shall be within measurable distance of the greatest medical discovery of this or any other century. Knowing it was useless attempting to question him further, I was compelled to possess my soul in patience,

until the time should arrive for him to enlighten me. The following morning, as soon as I'd finished my period of duty in the Don's Chamber, I informed Nicola of my intention of going for a short stroll. The time he had decided was not right yet for the third phase, as I knew that I should be kept closely employed as soon as it was, I was anxious to obtain as much exercise as possible while I had the opportunity accordingly I placed my hat upon my head

and descended into the courtyard strangely enough it was the first time I'd set foot in it since our arrival at the castle it was an exquisite morning for walking the sky was blue overhead a brisk breeze was blowing and when I had crossed the drawbridge

and looked down into the little bay where the waves rolled in and broke with a noise like thunder upon the beach I felt happier than I'd been for some considerable time past. I watched the white gulls weaning above my head, and as I did so, the recollection of the time when I'd last seen them rose before my mind's eye. It was the day that I'd come so near to speaking words of love to Dolla upon the battlements.

I remember the look I'd seen in her sweet face, and as I did so I realised how much she was to me. with a light step and a finning of a relation in my heart i made my way down the path towards the beach not a soul was to be seen for i remembered having heard nicholas say that the yacht had gone south for stores reaching the water's edge i stood and looked back at the castle it was a sombre enough place in all conscience and yet there was something about it which affected me in a manner i can scarcely describe i looked at it for a few moments then took to me in a moment then took it for a moment and took it for a moment and took it for a moment's Turning my back upon it, I set off along the beach at a brisk pace, whistling daily as I went. Eventually I reached the further side of the bay opposite that on which the castle was situated. Here the sand gave place to large rocks, which in their turn terminated in a tall headland. The view from these rocks was grand in the extreme.

Night and day the rollers of the North Sea broke upon them, throwing showers of spray high into the air. clambering up I struggled for fifty yards or so and finally seating myself upon a rock somewhat larger than the rest to enjoy the view a surprise was in store for me looking back upon the way I'd come caught the sight of a figure walking towards me on the sands needless to say it was the Donna Consuelo

whether she was aware of my presence upon the rocks I cannot say I only know that as soon as I saw her I rose from where I was sitting and hastened to meet her how beautiful she looked and how her face lighted up as i came closer are things which i must leave to the imagination of my reader you are further and broader than usual to-day are you not i said as we shook hands might i not say the same of you she answered with a smile the morning was so beautiful that i could not remain in that terrible old building every corner seems to suggest unhappy memories to me you really think that all the memories connected with it will be unpleasant I inquired. She looked up at me in a little started way, and blushed divinely as she did so. Could you expect me to regard the time I have spent in it with any sort of pleasure she inquired, fencing with my meaning, and giving me a Roland for an Oliver. Only think what I have suffered in it.

By this time we were strolling back towards the rocks I have already described. The beach at this point narrowed considerably, but for some reason or another we walked a little nearer the cliff, had done. Suddenly my companion stopped and pointing to the sand said, You had a companion this morning. Hi? I had no companion, I answered. What makes you think so? Look here, she said, and as she spoke she pointed some footmarks in the sand before us. As you went up the beach, you walked near the water's edge. As you came to meet me, you passed midway between your former tracks and the cliff. If you did not have a companion, whose footprints are these? they must have been made this morning for as you are aware when the tide is full that comes right up to the cliffs and would be certain to wash anything out that it existed before i stooped and examined the tracks carefully before i answered

they were evidently those of a man and from the fact that the sand was hard the outline could be plainly distinguished the foot that was responsible for and was a large one and must have been clad in an extremely clumsy boot i've hard to think of it i said one thing however is quite certain i had no companion this morning what about the old man and his wife at the castle i happened to know they have both been hard at work all morning she answered besides what object could they have been following you the beach leads nowhere and from here to yonder point there is no place where you can reach the land above i shook my head the problem was too much for me at the same time i must own it disquieted me strangely who was this mysterious person who had dogged my footsteps what could have been his object in following me for a moment i inclined to the belief that it might have been dr nicola who was anxious to discover how i spent my leisure but on second thoughts the absurdity of the idea became apparent to me but if it were not nicola who could it have been i'm reaching the rocks we seated ourselves and fell to criticising the picture spread before our gaze there was something in my companion's manner this morning which analysed it as i would i could not understand she was by turns light-hearted and sad the two expressions chased each other across her face like clouds across an april sky at last she returned to the topic which i knew must come sooner or later that of her great-grandfather's condition i seem cut off from him forever she said with infinite sadness i hear nothing of him from week's end to week's end and i see nothing of him he has gone completely out of my life but only for the time being i answered dr nicola has assured you that he will restore him to health and strength think what that will mean and how happy you will be together then

i know it's very wrong of me to say so she continued but i cannot keep it back dr ingleby i distrust dr nicola he is deceiving me of that i feel sure knowing what i did i could not contradict her but i saw my opportunity and acted upon it but if you do not trust dr nichola i said am i to suppose that you do not trust me she was silent and i noticed that she turned her face away from me as if she were anxious to study the castle in the cliff what was more i noticed that her hand trembled a little as it rested on the rock beside me once more i put the question as i did so leant a little towards her i do trust you she answered but so softly i could scarcely hear it consuelo i said in a voice but a little louder than that in which she had addressed me you cannot think what happiness it is to me to hear you say that as i have tried to show you there is nothing i would not do to prove how anxious i am to be worthy of your trust we have known each other but a little longer than a month in that time however i have learnt to know you as well as any man could know a woman i have learnt more than that consuelo i have learned to love you better than life itself no no she answered you must not say that i cannot hear you but it must be said i answered my love will not be denied you do love me consuelo i can see it in your face don't you think that i watched a longed it. Instead of turning her face to me, she turned it still further from mine. I took a little hand in mind. What is your answer consuel, I asked? Be brave and tell me, darling. I were brave,

she said, I should tell you what you ask must never be. It is hopeless impossible. But it would be madness for us to think of such a thing. But I'm not brave. I'm so lonely in the world and have lost so much that I cannot lose you also. Then you love me, I cried in such triumph as I'd never felt for anything else in my life before. Thank God, thank God for that. Yes, I love you, she answered, and the great waves pregging on the rocks seemed to echo the happiness we were both feeling.

Over the next half hour, I must draw a veil. By the end of that time, it was necessary for me to think of returning to the castle. Nicola's watch would be up in an hour, I knew it would not do for me to keep him waiting. As I said as much to Consuelo, and we immediately rose and set out on our return. As I walked beside her, I would not have changed position

with any living man so happy was I. My peace of mind, however, was destined to be but short-lived. We had crossed the greater number of the rocks and were approaching the sand once more, when I received a shock which I should not forget as long as I can remember anything. Clambering over the sharp and slippery rocks was by no means an easy business.

It was, however, delightful to hold my sweetheart's hand in the pretense of assisting her. Occasionally, it became necessary for us to make considerable details, and once I bade her remain where she was until I climbed somewhat bigger rock than usual in order to find out whether we could proceed that way. I reached the top, was about to extend my hand to her assistance, and something caused me to look behind me. judge of my surprise and consternation but finding in the hollow below me

a man crouching on the sand watching me it was the china man I'd seen on board the Donner Mercedes the man who had thrown the knife which had so nearly terminated Nicola's existence how I managed to retain my presence of mind at that trying moment I find it difficult now to understand

I only know this that I realised in a flash the fact that it would been madness to pretend to have seen him. Accordingly, I stood for a moment looking out to sea. Then with a laugh that must have sounded far from natural, I rejoined Consuelo on the rock below and choose another path towards the sands. What is the matter she inquired when we proceeded a short distance?

Your face is quite pale. I did not feel very well for a moment I answered, making use for the first excuse that occurred to me. I'm afraid you are not telling me the truth. she answered. I feel convinced something has frightened you. Can you not trust me? Under the circumstances I thought it would be better for me

to make a clean breast of it. I will trust your answer. The fact of the matter is I've discovered an explanation from the footsteps he pointed out to me upon the beach. We are being followed. I jumped on top of that block. I found a man lying on the other side of it.

A man? Who could he have been? Why should he be spying on us? Did you recognise him? perfectly i should have known him anywhere then who was he the china-man we saw on board the steamer the man who stole the drugs nicola entrusted to my care do you mean the man who entered my cabin and bed over to look at me she cried in alarm i nodded and threw a quick glance over my shoulder to discover whether we were still being followed i could see nothing however of the man a circumstance which by no means allayed my anxiety what do you think we'd better do inquire hasten home as fast as we can and go tell nicola answers it's imperative he should know at once we accordingly continued our walk at increased speed every now and then throwing apprehensive glasses behind us it is possible some of my readers may regard it as an exhibition of cowardice on my part to have sought refuge in flight but when all the circumstances connected with it are taken into consideration i am sure every fair-minded person will acquit me of this charge have i been alone it is possible i might have turned and risked an encounter with a man but consuelo being with me rendered such a course impossible the first time since we had known it the grim old castle perched up on the cliff seemed as desirable place

and it was with a feeling of profound relief that i led my sweetheart across the drawbridge and was able to tell myself for the time being at least she was safe on reaching the hall i found that i still had twenty minutes to spare i had no desire however for further leisure what i wanted was to see nicola at once in order to tell him my unpalatable news on entering the room i found him engaged in taking the old man's temperature he looked up at me as if he were surprised to see me return so soon but said nothing until he had finished the work upon which he was engaged i can see from your face that you have had a fright and you have something to say to me concerning if he began when he returned the thermometer to its case our friend quang ma has turned up again i suppose how did you know it i asked for i had no idea that he was aware of the man's appearance in the neighbour i guessed it he answered with one of his peculiar smiles you are the possessor of the most expressive countenance consider for a moment he will understand how it is i am able to arrive at a conclusion so quickly in the first place you have been for a walk with the young lady whom you love and who loves you in return perhaps you saw me i replied sharply feeling myself blushing to the roots of my hair i have not left this room he answered there's a long black hair on your collar which should not have been there if you had spent your liberty by yourself the same thing tells me that you love her and she loves you as for the other matter the caretaker and his wife have been busily employed in the castle all morning while our wind never leaves its own portion of the premises there is only one person outside the walls who could have put that expression into your face and that person is kong mar am i right quite right i replied he followed me along the sands and hid himself among the rocks in recrossing them from the point

i as nearly as possible jumped on him i am very glad you did not quite do so he answered had you experienced that misfortune you would not have been here to tell the tale but enough of him for the present take your place here and watch our patient in an hour's time his temperature should have risen two points when it has done so give him ten drops of this fluid in twenty drops of distilled water a profuse perspiration should result which will herald the return of consciousness and the new life. In 24 hours he should not only be conscious, but on his way to the commencement of his second youth. In 48, the improvement should be firmly established, while in a week we should have him on his legs a living, moving, thinking man, and of my own creation. Watch him, therefore, and whatever happens, do not leave this room. Meanwhile, I'll have the drawbridge raised, and if Kwong can leak the chasm and make his way into the castle, well all I can say is, he's a cleverer man than I take him to be.

With that, Nicola left me, and I sat down to watch her beside the aged Don. Apart from my duty towards him, I had plenty to think about, over and over again. I found myself recalling the incidents of the morning. Consuado loved me, and happened what might, I would prove myself worthy of her love. At the end of the hour, as Nicola had predicted, the patient's temperature had risen two points. I accordingly measured out the stipulated quix. quantity of the medicine he had placed in readiness for me added the necessary quantity of water and poured it into the old man's mouth and i sat myself down to wait slowly the hands of the clock upon the wall went round and sixty minutes later just as nicola prophesied

small beads of perspiration made their appearance upon his forehead it was an exciting moment and one for which we had been eagerly waiting i immediately rang the bell for nicola and upon his arrival in four head he was an exciting moment and one for which he had been eagerly waiting i immediately rang the bell for nipper and upon his arrival in formed him of the fact. At last at last, he whispered. It is certain now, but I've made no mistake. From this moment forward, his progress should be assured. In a week you will be rewarded by a sight such as the eye of man has never yet seen. Be faithful to me, Ingleby, I pledge my word that your future with a woman you love is assured. In the remainder of that day, and indeed until 11 o'clock in the morning the following,

there was but little change in the old Don's condition. the casual observer would have seen but little difference from the day on which I had first taken charge of him on board the steamer, to Nicola and myself, however, who had spent so much time with him, and who had noted every change, there was a difference so vast that it seemed almost incomprehensible. My watch the next morning was from four o'clock until eight, the day I breakfasted, and afterwards repaired to the battlements above in the hope of meeting Consuelo, since Nicola had all of the drawbridge to be raised but had been compelled to make this our meeting place

and as it happened Consuela was the first at Le Mont Nebue but good news for me she cried after I had kissed her I can see it in your face what is it does it concern my great-grandfather it does I answer it concerns him in as much as I am able to tell you but what Nicola promised you should happen has in reality come to pass everything has been satisfactory beyond our wildest hopes and do you mean that all need of anxiety is over she cried I don't mean that exactly I answered

and I think it's very possible we should soon be able to say so Nicola is certainly the most wonderful man upon this earth what she said in reply it would be vanity on my part to recall I would only be another instance of a folly of lovers talk then it suffice that for upwards of an hour our converses of the sweetest description, hand in hand we sat upon the battlements looking out across the sunlit sea and building our castles in the air. We were interrupted by our wind, who suddenly made his appearance before us and beckoned me to follow him. Bid in Consuelo goodbye, I followed the fellow

to the hall, where he pointed to the old Don's room and left me. I found Nicola in a state of wildest excitement. I sent for you because the crisis is close at handy. whisper. At any moment now I may know my fate. Little by little I have built up this worn-out frame, strengthening and renewing, revivifying, and now the object of my ambition has almost achieved. A thousand years ago the secret was guessed by a certain sect in Asia. After working a hundred or more years upon it, they at length perfected it, but by the law of their order only one man was permitted to derive any benefit from it. I obtained this secret, how it does not matter. Added to it, well, I thought it lacked, and here is the result. As he spoke,

a visible tremor ran over the form on the bed before us. The excitement was well-nigh unbearable. The first time in more than 30 days' movement was to be detected. The eyelids flickered, the mouth twitched, and little by little the eyes opened. Nicola immediately stooped over him and concentrated all his attention upon the pupils, and placing his fingertips so close, but they almost touched the lashes he drew them away again in long traversed passes do you know me he asked in a voice that shook the motion almost instantly the man replied i know you do you do you suffer any pain i do not sleep then rest and gain strength and in two days from this hour wake again a strong man once more he placed his hands before the patient's eyes as he drew them away the lids closed nicola bent over him and listened and when he rose he nodded reassuringly to me it's all right he said his respiration is as even unbroken as that of a sleeping child as usual my watch that night was from eight o'clock until midnight from the fact that don mcgwell continued to sleep as quietly at that moment as when nicola had hypnotised him it was neither as difficult nor was anxious as before

nor was i altogether discontented with my lot i was in love i was loved in my term i was engaged in deeply interesting employment which should the experiment terminate successfully would in all probability ensure my being able to start for a second time in my profession and with an added knowledge that it would bring me to the top of the tree at once the room in which i sat was warm and comfortable outside however a violent storm was raging the rain and wind beat a against the window in the hall with the wildest fury. Now, ever since I had watched by the Don's bedside, I had made it my habit to carefully lock the door as soon as Nicola left the room. On this particular occasion, I had not departed from my custom. The hands of the clock on the wall stood at ten minutes past eleven, and I was reflecting that I should not be sorry when my watch was over, and I at liberty to retire to bed. When, to my astonishment, I saw the handle of the door slowly turn. At first, I almost believed that my imagination was playing me a trick.

When the handle revolved and was afterwards turned again, I was satisfied that this was not the case. It was the person on the other side. It would not be our win for the reason that he had been particularly instructed on no account ever to touch the door. Consuelo would not venture into that portion of the castle of gain on any consideration whatsoever, while Nicola himself, being aware that I always kept it lock, would have knocked before attempting to enter. Whoever it was must have been satisfied that the task was a hopeless one. At any rate, he desisted, but I heard no more of him. A few moments later the ventilator required my attention, and I was too busy to bestow any more thought upon the matter. Indeed, it was not until

Nicola knocked upon the door and relieved me that it entered my mind again. It became apparent immediately that he attached more importance to the incident than I was inclined to do. Very strange, he said, but it accounts for one thing which I must confess has puzzled me. What is that I inquired? Help to show you, he answered, and led the way to the hall. At the further end near the window, he paused and pointed to a mark upon the floor. I'm being able to see it very distinctly, I went down upon my hands and knees. Do you know what it is? asked Nicola. My do I answer, it is the print of a naked foot.

Yes, said Nicola, and that foot was wet. It was more than that. Here he took a magnifying glass from his pocket and also went down upon his hands and knees. The chimney leading for now on Wind's room, he said, is almost exactly above our heads. In consequence, as you may have noticed, the battlements at that point are invariably covered with smuts.

and the naked foot which made this mark brought some of these particles with it which tells us that there was only one way in which the owner could have come and that was down a rope and through the window let us examine the window

we did so but so far as I could see there was nothing there to reward us the rain was pelting down and the wind blew as I had never heard it before the man whoever he was was certainly not deficient in plucks in Nicola I shouldn't have cared to lower myself over the battlements on a night like this.

Are you sure that he did not lower himself, I inquired? Are you sure that he did so lower himself, I inquired? I'm quite sure, Nicola answered. How else could he have come? The old Don is safe for half an hour at least. Get a revolver. I will get mine and will go upstairs in search of the intruder. I did as he directed, but with no great willingness,

as you may suppose I was quite convinced as to the identity. entity of the mysterious visitor, and knowing his proficiency in the art of knife-throwing, I had not the smallest desire to become better acquainted with him. However, I was not going to allow Nicola to think I was afraid, so putting the best face I could upon it, I did as he directed, and having assured myself that my weapon was loaded, in every chamber, I followed him along the corridor up the stone staircase, and so out onto the battlements above. of all the storms in my experience i think that particular one was certainly the worst the rain beat in our faces and so great was the strength of the wind that the very castle itself seemed to shake and tremble before it revolver in hand expecting every moment to be confronted by the man of whom we were in search i followed nicola in the direction of the engine room chimney i knew very well for what he was looking he thought he would be

find a rope there, but in this he was disappointed, nor were we able to discover any traces of human beings. We searched the whole length of the battlements in vain, and at last were perforce compelled to give up the hunters' hopeless. Returning to the stairway once more, we're about to descend when I saw Nicholas Stoop pick something up. Whatever it was, he said nothing to me until we reached the light of the corridor below. Then he held it up for me to see. It was. It was a as a grey-felt hat, the same never had seen upon the Chironman's head that morning. Mark my word, said Nicola. We shall have trouble with Kwongmar before very long. End of Chapter 7.

Chapter 8 of Dr Nicola's Experiment by Guy Boothby. This Librevox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 8 When we had returned to the corridor below the battlements after our search for the man who had lowered himself down to the window of the hall. Nicola brought with him the soft-felt hat I have observed upon the head of that villainous Chinaman Kwong Mar that morning.

Though neither of us was altogether surprised at finding that he was the man we suspected of being in the castle, we were none the more pleased at having our suspicions confirmed. The thing which puzzled us most, however, was how he had obtained admission, seeing that he had not been in sight when I had entered the castle, that morning that i had informed nicola of my meeting with him within five minutes of my arrival and that the drawlbridge had been raised if not at once certainly within a quarter of an hour of making my report and yet it was plain that he had been upon the battlements that he was in the castle and that his being there boded no good was as apparent as his presence I always knew they had original ideas, said Nicola,

but I had no idea that they were as clever as this. We shall have to be very careful what we do for the future, for, from what I know of them, they would stick at nothing. Tomorrow morning we must search the castle from dungeon to turret. And if we find them, in that case, said Nicola, I fancy I know a way of dealing with them. Donna Consuelo locks her door at night, I suppose. I informed him that I had advised her to do.

so. It would be better that we should make certain, he answered. And proceeding to the door in question, he softly turned the handle, it was securely fastened from the inside. Seems all right, said Nicola. Now we will return to our own quarters and make everything secure there. We did as suggested, and when everything was made fast, to securely lock the door in the corridor behind us, reaching the hall once more we made a careful survey in the various rooms including not only the apartments leading out of it but also the passage leading to our winds quarters no sign however of the man we wanted was to be seen there returning to the hall we assured ourselves that our patient was still sleeping quietly and then i bade nicol a good-night and prepared to go to my room i should advise you to lock your door he said as we parted you cannot take too many precautions when kong mar and his companion are about shall i require your assistance during the night i will ring for you i promised to answer his call immediately he was about to turn away when it occurred to me to ask him a question to which he had promised me an answer upwards of a month before on the night that we left newcastle i said you were kind enough to say that when a fitting opportunity occurred to you he would tell me what has induced these men to follow you as

they are doing. There's no reason why you should not hear it, Nicola replied. To tell it in full, however, would be too long a story, but I will briefly summarise it for you. In order to obtain the information necessary for carrying out the experiment upon which we are now engaged, I penetrated, as I think I have already informed you, into a certain monastery situated in the least known portion of Thibet. My companion and I carried our lives and our hands, if ever men have done so in the history of the world. The better to carry out my scheme, I might explain, I impersonated a high official who had lately been elected one of the rulers of the order. At a most unfortunate moment, the fraud was discovered, and my companion and I were ordered to be hurled from the roof

of the monastery into the precipice below. We managed to escape. We managed to escape. however, but not before I had secured the precious secret for which I had risk so much. The monks traced us on our journey back to civilisation and two of the order who have had special experience in this sort of work were detailed to follow

us in the hope that they might not only regain possession of a book which contained the secret but at the same time revenge the insult which had been offered to them. And you still have the book? Would you care to see it? asked Nicola. I replied that I should like to amend whereupon he retired to his own apartment to presently return bringing with him a small packet which he placed upon the table untying the string which bound it and removing a sheet of thin leather he exposed to my gaze a small book possibly eight inches long by four wide

the materials in which it was bound were almost dropping apart with age the backs and corners however were clamped with rusty iron in was filled with writing in the sanskrit character a great deal of which had faded and was barely decipherable i took it tenderly in my hands and it is to regain possession of this book that these men are following you i asked do that he answered and to punish me for the trick i played on them they have not however accomplished their task yet nor shall they do so if i can help it let me once get hold a kongmar and he'll do no more mischief for some time to come as Nicola said this, his great cat, which for the past few moments had been sitting upon his knees, suddenly stood up and placed its forepaws upon the table, scratched at the cloth. Nicola was watching my face, and what he saw there must have considerably amused him. You are thinking that Apollyon and I are not unlike. When we get out our claws, we are dangerous. It would be well for our Chinese friend if he understood us much.

Now he'd better be off the bed, an eye to my watch. When Nicola relieved me at 8 o'clock the morning following, it was plain that there was something important toward. Get your breakfast as soon as you can, he said, and when you have done we will search the castle. You heard nothing suspicious during your watch, I suppose. Nothing I replied. Everything has gone just as usual.

As soon as I had finished my breakfast, our wind summoned me, and together we set off on our errand, beginning with the battlements we took the castle coroner, by corridor by corridor, floor by floor, examining every corner and staircase in which it could be possible for a human being to hide himself. Having exhausted the inhabited portion of the building, we searched the rooms into which no one had penetrated from year's end to year's end. These we also drew blank. Then descending another flight of stairs, we reached the basement, explored the great kitchens, once so busy, and now tenanted only by rats and beetles and examined the various domestic offices, including the buttery and armoury, still without

success. If Congmar was in the castle, it looked as if he must certainly possess the power of rendering himself invisible at will. At last we reached the keep where the old couple, who, as Nicola had said, officiated as caretakers during his absence, had their quarters. At the moment of our arrival, the woman was bitterly upbraiding her husband for some misdeed. "'I'll tell he,' she said, slapping the table with her hand to emphasise her words, "'but when I went to bed last night, the eight viols was in yonder cupboard. "'What I want he to say is where they be now. "'Don't he say he never saw them, or that it was the cat has stolen,

"'for he may talk till he'd be black in the face, and I'll not believe he. "'Cats don't turn handles and undo latches, "'and mutton don't walk out the front door on its own leg. "'If he be a man, he'll tell the truth, and shame the devil.' i must leave you to picture for yourself the vehemence with which all of this was said the words poured from her throat in a torrent and every sentence was punctuated with slaps upon the table so engaged were they in their quarrel that some moments elapsed before they perceived nicola and myself standing in the doorway when they did the two must cease as if by magic you seem to be enjoying yourself said nicola dryly perhaps you'll be kind enough to tell me what it's all about he had no sooner finished than the irate lady recommenced it's just this way my lord she said though why she should have bestowed a title upon nicola i could not understand last night i was troubled with rumour to his mortal bad went to bed early the old man there begging your pardon for the liberty i'm taking was a sitting by the fire smoking his pipe such as being his custom of an evening he'd had his supper as i seed with my own eyes when he finished

there was an end leg of mutton in yon cupboard when it comes in this morning i take it out for breakfast it's gone and with it the bread as i baked with my own hands but yesterday and he stands there saving your presents my lord i wants for i to believe how he's not touched it and the latch of the cupboard down as you can see for yourselves honourable gentlemen both with your own eyes i've been married these three-and-forty years and i don't know as how you will believe it my lord seeing that she was getting up steam once more nicola held his hand up to her to be silent what you tell me is very interesting he said fixing his dark eyes a poller let me understand you properly you say he went to bed leaving your husband smoking his pipe in this room before retiring you convince yourself that the food which is now not forthcoming was in the cupboard is that so yes my lord and honourable gentleman both and addressing her husband nicola continued i suppose you went to sleep over your pipe the question had to be repeated and his wife had to admonish him with speak up to his lordship like a man before he got answer even then his reply was scarcely satisfactory he thought he might have fallen asleep he was not at a-revelling shure upon the point. He admitted that he was in the habit of doing so, and as far as Nicola was concerned, this settled the matter. Quong Ma, he said, turning to me, now I understand where he gets his food from. And turning to the woman, he said, your husband is a heavy sleeper, I suppose.

Why, bless you, sir, she replied. He sleeps at ever, you can't wake him. As for snoring, why, the rattling of that old bridge out yonder when there are drawing of it up, ain't to be compared with him, as the saying is. I did hear of a man that lived down Sunderland as did snore so that when he woke up, the folks next door sent in to ask him to go on again, the stillness being that lonesome they couldn't bear it. Nicola peromptorily made the old woman to be silent,

and ordered her for the future to see that a door was locked at dusk every evening, and addressing her husband he inquired if the latter was conversant with the subterranean passages of the castle. And when he had replied in the affirmed, bade him light a lantern and show us all he could the man did so and having conducted us across the courtyard entered a long low chamber which might once have been used as a bakehouse in this was a large wooden door secured with many bolts but now fallen into considerable disrepair these bolts he drew one by one with an air of importance that was indescribably comic i don't quite understand how these bolts come to be fastened if the man is down billy said Nicola addressing me. I shook my head whereupon he bade the old man

informed him whether there were any other entrances to the vaults in question. Law, sir, the man replied. The castle will be fair maize with them. If he likes the place, I can take me to most any room in the place from down below. I should have thought of that, said Nicola more to himself than to me. I'm sorry I didn't question our friend here before Kwong Mar had evidently mastered the situation and is playing a game of hide and seek. However, we'll examine the dungeons first, and the passages afterwards.

So leave the way, my friend. The old bang going ahead carrying the lantern, Nicola following, and Arwin and myself bringing up the rear. We made our way down the clammy stone staircase into the subterranean portion of the castle. It was an experience that would have been worth anything to a novelist seeking colour for a historical tale. But knowing what I did about the mound, we were after, I cannot say that I appreciated the incident so much. In addition to my nervousness, my head was aching, while hot and cold perspiration alternately contributed to my general discomfort.

What was the matter of me? I could not think, as it was, I was the only member of the party, I believe, who felt any symptoms of fright. The old man with a lantern knew nothing of his danger, our win was an Asiatic and a fatalist, and in his master's presence, appeared. not to care whom or what he faced. Well, as for Nicola himself, I believe most implicitly, that cold-blooded individual would have faced certain death

as coolly and as contentedly as he would have tossed off a glass of wine. Lower and lower we descended, glancing into dungeons which no light of day had ever penetrated, and stooping to make our way along passages in which the moisture from the roof fell, drip, drip, drip upon our heads.

such as we would however we could discover no trace of that villainous celestial we'd be close down along the sea now your lordship said the old man and when i tell thee that it's sum and not many foxes bided in this ear-custle ever know most admirable of men said nicola you'll tell me exactly what i want to know do you mean that it's possible for us to reach the sea from where we are now standing without crossing the drawbridge that's exactly what i do mean my lord he answered and if your lordship and the honourable gentleman will come with i i'll let you see for yourselves forthwith the old fellow holding his lantern aloft turned down a narrow passage leading to the right and a few minutes later brought us up some steps at the bottom of which the light of day could be plainly seen to reach the bottom of the steps was a work of a moment and once there a curious scene was revealed to us a doorway opened into the chasm which i have described earlier and was situated almost directly beneath the drawbridge in the keep kneeling down nicola and i looked over the edge and could plainly see a number of iron steps let into the rock one above the other at the bottom for it was now a full tide the sea washed and dashed with terrific force. Rising to his feet again, Nicola addressed the old man. Is it possible at low tide, he said, to reach the sands from here? Lord bless you, sir, the man replied. When the tide is down, he can get along from rock to rock,

without as much as wetting shoe leather. At accounts for everything, said Nicola with considerable satisfaction. I understand exactly how Kwong Mar got into the castle now. He must have laughed to himself when he saw that we had raised the drawbridge in the hope that of keeping him out. However, forewarned is forearmed, and this place shall be bricked up this morning. You, my old friend, a better seat to it, and be sure that you make a good job of it. The old man promised to do so, and seeing that there was nothing further to be gained by remaining where we were, Nicola bade him conduct us back again to our own portion of a building by a secret passage, if possible. The man assured us that we could do so, and was as good as his word. He climbed, crawled and

scrambled away up the narrow steps along a rabbit-warren of a small passage behind her guide. At last he stopped. Would your lordship be kind enough to say where he think he are now, he said. I have not the least notion, said Nicola. Nor I added. Well, sir, I will show he. And the man, after a little hunting, he found and pressed something on the wall. There was a grating noise as a sound of rusty hinges being slowly unfolded,

and a portion of the wall swung outward and we found ourselves standing at the top of the great staircase within a few yards that could sway those apartments this is uncanny to say the least of it remarked nicola pray do any of these interesting passages open up into the young lady's room opposite or into the smaller hall occupied by this gentleman and myself not now my lord the man replied time was when they did but the old lord didn't take kindly to him and it was bricked up as much as five-year ago. I'm glad to hear it, said Nicola, and you imagine that I echoed the sentiment. Nicola thereupon thanked the old man and dismissed him, at the same time reiterating his order that the opening in the chasm below the drawbridge should be made secure. The excitement of the search for Kwong Mar and the damp of the passages had been too much for me, and by the time he reached the hall I could scarcely stand. Good heavens, Ingleby, said Nicola, as I dropped into a chair.

You're looking awfully ill, what's the matter? can't exactly say and answered. Fear I must have called a chill on the battlements last night. And yet you accompanied me down those damp passages this morning. Was that wise? I was not going to let you go alone, I replied. He glanced sharply at me as if he would read my thoughts. Well, well, I'll tell you what you must do.

You must be off to bed at once. There can be no doubt about that. I tried to protest. I explained my desire to see the end of the experiment, but Nicola was adamant, to bed I must go, willy-nilly, and to bed I accordingly went, but not in my own room off the hall. The apartment further down the corridor next door to that occupied Bokenswalo was arranged for me, and when I was safely between the blankets, Nicola prescribed for me, and my sweetheart was duly installed as nurse.

My indisposition must have been more severe than I had supposed, for before nightfall I was in a high state of fever, and by midnight was delirious. I remember nothing further, until I opened my eyes and found Consuelo sitting by my side. What does this mean, I inquired? Surprised to find her. It means that you've been very ill, she answered, and that I am your nurse, and I'm not going to permit you to talk very much. To do this was a feat of which I was incapable,

but I was not going to be silent until I had learnt something of what had happened. How long have I been ill, I inquired. More than a week, she answered, and then added, you naughty boy, you little know what a fright you have given me, but you must not talk any more, or Dr Nicola will be angry. She poured out some medicine for me, bade me drink it, and then reseated herself beside me. In five minutes I was wrapped in a heavy slumber,

for which I did not wait for several hours. When I did, I found Dr. Nicola and Storla's nurse. Consuelo had disappeared. Well, Engelby, said Nicola cheerily as he felt my pulse. You have had a sharp bout of it, but I'm glad to see we've managed to pull you through. How do you feel in it? yourself. Much better, I answered, though still a bit shaky. I don't wonder at it, he said. Do you feel

hungry? I feel as if I could eat anything, I answered. Well, that's a good sign. I'll see that something is said to you. In the meanwhile, keep us quiet as possible. When I leave you, I'll send your sweetheart to you. She's been a devoted nurse, and between ourselves, I rather fancy you owe your life to her. God bless her, I answered fervently. But you call her my sweetheart, what do you mean by that? My dear fellow, I know everything. On night the young lady in question was rather concerned about you, and in her agitation she'll have the cat to slip out of the bag. Young people seem to have managed the matter pretty well in the short time you've known each other. They keep quiet for a few moments while I see if I can find her. He was making for the door

when I stopped him. You've not told me how the don is, I said. How does the experiment progress? his face clouded over. It was proved successfully, he answered, but with a sudden sternness that surprised me. It was for all the worlds if he were trying to convince me what he said was correct, although in his own heart he knew it was not so.

When he spoke again, it was very slowly. Yes, Ingleby, he said, as if he were weighing every word before he uttered it. The experiment has proved a success. I have made the Don a young man, But, well, to tell the truth, I've made a mistake in my calculations, a mistake that I cannot explain, and that I can in no way account for. And the result? Don't ask me, he said, for I'm afraid I do not know myself.

By the time you're on your feet again, I shall hope to have come near an understanding of the situation. Then I should be able to tell you more of what I hope and fear. At present, I scarcely like to think of it myself. To my surprise, as I watched him, I saw great beads of perspiration. to start out upon his forehead and for the first time since i had known him i saw a look of terror in dr nicholas's face i tried to question him further upon the subject but he bade me wait until i was stronger but presently repeating that he would find consuelo he left me when my sweetheart entered the room looking more beautiful than i had ever seen her i forgot for the time being about nicola you're looking much better she said as she came toward me and put down upon the table the tray she carried in her hand here is some beef tea which I have made for you myself if you don't drink it all up I shall let the old woman in the kitchen make it for you in the future and bring it to you herself it better not I answered in that case I should refuse to touch a drop of it and should die of slow starvation in consequence with a gentleness that was infinitely becoming to her she lifted my head and held the cup while I drank if I took longer over it than I should have done at any other time the fact must of course be a

attributed to my weakness. Dr. Nicholas says he is very pleased with the progress you have made, she said, when she'd replaced the cup upon the table, but you are to be kept very quiet for some days and to sleep as much as possible. And when am I to get up, I asked. Get up, she cried in mock horror. You must not even think of such a thing for a week at least. A week, I replied. Do you think I have to stay here for a week? So Dr. Nicholas says. The remainder of our conversation is too sacred to be set down in cold-drawn type. Let it suffice that when I fell asleep again it was with her hand in mind.

I was more in love even than I'd been before. As Consuelo had predicted, more than a week had elapsed before I was permitted to leave my room. Even then I was not allowed to return to my duties at once, but spent the greater portion of my time

with Consuelo on the battlements, gaining strength with every breath of sea air that I inhaled. Nicola I saw but little of, he examined me every morning on one or two occasions honoured us with his company for a brief period on the castle roof at the best of times however he was not a good companion he was invariably absorbed in his own thoughts spoke but a little and struck me as being very anxious to say good-bye almost as soon as he arrived since then i have learned the true reason of it all and i have been able to see that complex character in a new light it never struck me how lonely the man's life must be during the whole time that i was associated with him i never once heard him speak of kith or kin friends he appeared to have none while his acquaintances numbered only such men as were necessary to the particular work he happened to be engaged in at the moment of their meeting his very attainments his peculiar knowledge of a world of its under and mystic side was sufficient to make him hold aloof from his fellow-men

in all matters of comfort a rigid ascetic the good things of life had no temptation for him to sum it all up of this I feel certain so certain that at times it becomes

almost a pain that Nicola with all his sternness his self-denial his genius and his failings hungered for one thing and that was to be loved why should I say this

considering that the only evidence I have to offer tends to lead one's thoughts in a contrary direction. I do not know, but as I remarked just now, I feel convinced that my hypothesis is a correct one, as I am that I love Consuelo. But to return to my story,

it was not until nearly a fortnight had elapsed since my return to consciousness, that I was permitted to take up my duties again. When I did, I returned to my old quarters, leading out of the hall, and I think Nicola was pleased once more to have my cooperation, at any rate he led me to suppose that he was when you think that you're up to the mark i shall be pleased to show you the don he said and to hear your opinion of him i express myself as being quite equal to seeing him at once very good he answered but i warn you to be prepared for a great and somewhat unpleasant change in the man so saying he led me across the hall towards the room in which i had before my illness spent so many hours inserting the key in the lock he turned it

we entered. I had expected to find it exactly as I had last seen it. A surprise, however, was in store for me. The bed-place in the centre was gone, as were both the electrical appliances. The clock and the thermometer have been removed. The only things that still remained being the electric lights which suspended from the ceiling and the enclosed fixtures for regulating the supply of hot and cold air. In point of fact, it was a bare room, as well as could be imagined. Don Miguel, said Nicola, I have brought an old friend to see you. I looked about the room, but for a moment could see nothing of the old man in question. Then my eye lighted upon what looked like a heap of clothes huddled upon the mattress in the corner.

On hearing Nicola's voice, the face looked up at me. A face so terrible, so demoniacal, and I might say that it had involuntary shrank from it. What there was about it that caused me such revulsion, I cannot say. It was the countenance of a young man, if you can imagine a man, endowed with perpetual youth, and with that youth at cutting the cruelty and the vice of countless centuries. Steady, my friend, I heard Nicola say, and as he did so, he placed his hand upon my arm. Remember, Ingleby, this is nothing more than an experiment. Then, addressing the crouching figure, he bade him stand up,

with a snarl like that of a dog or rather a wild beast, but is compelled to do a thing very much against his will, the man obeyed. I was able then to take better stock of him, accustomed as I was to the old Don's face. I found it difficult to realise that the healthy, vigorous man standing before me was he, and yet I had only to look in him carefully to have all the doubt upon the subject removed. He was the same, and yet not the same. At any rate, he was an illustration of the marvellous, nay the almost unbelievable success, of Nicola's experiment.

You remember the Don as he was, and you can see to what I have been able to bring him, said Nicholas sadly, and for the one moment without a trace of triumph. This, however, was soon forthcoming. Out of an old man tottering on the brink of the grave, I've manufactured a young and vigorous creature, such as you now see before you.

I have made him, I have transformed him, I have subjected nature to science, I've revolutionised the world, abolished death, and upset the teachings and essential ideas of all religions. I've proved that old age can be prevented, and that the grave defied. And I have failed. Under the intensity of his emotion, his voice broke, and something very like a sob burst from him. Never since had I known Nicola, and I seen him as he was then, to all appearances he was well-nigh, broken-hearted. If you have done all this, I ask, how can you say that you have failed?

Are you so blind that you cannot see? he answered. Examine the man for yourself, and you'll find that he is a human being in animal life only. I've given him back his youth, his strength, his enjoyment, in living, but I cannot give him back his mind. In his body I have triumphed. In his brain, I have completely failed. But can it not be set right, I inquired? Is the case quite hopeless? Nothing is hopeless, he answered, but it will take years, centuries perhaps at work to find the secret.

I thought when I built up the body I should be building up the brain as well. It was not so. In proportion as his body renewed its youth, his brain shrunk. Let me give you an illustration. He went forwards towards the man who was now once more crouching upon the floor,

watching us over his right shoulder, as if he were afraid we were going to do him harm. Well, Miguel, said Nicola, patting him upon the head, and speaking to him in the same tone, he would have used to a favourite monkey. How is it with you today? The man, however, took no notice, but bending down, played with the lace of Nicola's shoe,

now and again looking swiftly up into his face as if he dreaded a blow, and a swiftly looking away again. This should prove to you all I mean, said Nicola, addressing me, in his present condition he is less than a man, and yet where would you find a finer frame? His heart, his lungs, his constitution are all perfect. while he had been speaking he had turned his back upon the beseple on the floor and as he uttered the last words he moved towards me he had not taken a step however before the dawn was half of his feet from childish idesy his expression had changed until it was a fiendish malignity that surpasses all description in words

in another moment he would have thrown himself on nicola as it was he glared at him until he turned when in an instant the wild expression was gone and he was gone and he was gone and he was crouching upon the floor once more, picking at his fingers and smiling to himself. You can see for yourself what he is, said Nicola, an imbecile, but for one ray of hope I should despair again. There is, then, a ray of hope, I said eagerly, clutching him like a drowning man at the straw. He held out, thank God for that.

There is a ray, he answered, but it's a very little one. I'll give you an example. Turning to the wretched creature on the floor, he extended his hands towards him, and gradually lifting it, bade him rise. The effect was instantaneous. The man rose little by little until he stood upright. Once more, pointing his hand directly at him,

Nicola moved towards him until the points of his fingers were scarcely an inch from the other's eyes, and slowly raising his fingers he made an upward and downward pass. The eyes closed and the man still remained rigid against the wall. Turning to me, Nicola said, You can see for yourself. He is absolutely under my own. influence and control i approached and made a careful examination there could be no doubt about his condition it was one of the hypnotic coma and on raising one of the eyelids i found the ball turned upwards and wandering in its orbit you were satisfied inquired nicola perfectly answered in that case let us proceed to whom am i speaking asked nicola addressing the man before him to maguel de morino was the answer given in a perfectly clear and strong voice and without apparent hesitation

do you know where you are i am with dr nicola before you came to me with whom and where did you live i live with my great-grand-daughter in cadiz have you any recollection of coming to england i remember it perfectly now lay down upon that mattress and sleep without waking till eight o'clock to-morrow morning the man did as he was ordered without hesitation nicola covered him with the blankets and as soon as we had made sure of his safety we left the room carefully locking the door afterwards you could have no idea ingleby what a disappointment this has been to me three times before i have tried and failed but this time i made sure i had success within my grasp i progressed further now than i have ever done before for it is true, but it's the brain that has beaten me. As long as I live, I will persevere, and the perfect man who shall retain his youth through all ages shall eventually walk the earth. Now good night. He held at his hand to me, as I shook it, Apollyan came up and rubbed him against my leg, as if to show that he too appreciated my sympathy. It struck me that I had heard nothing of our friend, Kwong Mar, since we had searched the subterranean portion of the castle for him.

i asked nicola if he had anything to tell me concerning him nothing he answered saving that last night i felt certain that i saw a man across the courtyard it was just before midnight the moon was about the building and i am ready to stake anything that i'm not deceived but who could it have been that's exactly what i want to know he answered you was safe in bed and asleep he was not the caretaker for i tried his door and found it locked and from the sound that greeted me i had good proof it was not he but might it not have been our win i asked i thought so before going in search of the figure i hastened to his room only to find him asleep in that case it must have been quong ma but how does the fellow live and why does he not strike because he has not yet found his opportunity when he does you may be sure he will avail himself of it and once more good-night you need not trouble about our patient i shall take a look at him about midnight good-night i said and went to my room the door of which i carefully locked my last waking thoughts were of consuelo and my speculation as to what her feelings would be when she realised the terrible change that had taken place in her great grandfather was sufficient to give me a nightmare over and over again i was afflicted with the most horrible dreams and when i was roused by a lad thumping on my door and nicholas's voice calling for admittance it seemed so much part and parcel of the horror that my brain had just pictured for me that for a moment i took no notice of it it sounded again so springing from my bed i ran to the door and opened it what's the matter i asked when he was standing before me his usual pale face was now ghastly in its whiteness Good heavens man, he cried. You have no notion what has happened.

Dress yourself immediately and come with me. He sat upon my bed while I huddled my clothes on. And then when I was ready, he seized me by the wrist, and half dragged me, half led me into the hall. Once there he pointed to the figure of a man stretched out before the door. It was our win, and his throat was cut from ear to ear. The sight was so sudden and so totally unexpected. It was almost too much for me, covering my present.

of mine however i knelt down and examined him look at his hands said nicola they had cut to the bung with some sharp-bladed instrument the murderer must have come here in search of me our win must have met him tried to prevent him reaching the door and was unable to warn us and so have met his fate we were both too much overcome to continue the discussion kong mar had struck at last end of chapter eight chapter nine of dr nicholas's experiment by guy boothby this librivox recording is in the public domain chapter nine at the conclusion of the preceding chapter i described to you the terrible discovery who had made of the death of our win that he had met his fate in an endeavour to prevent quong mar from reaching his master's room seemed quite in accordance with the evidence before us small wonder was it therefore that nicola was affected but even in his grief he proved himself unlike the average man another man would have bewailed his loss or at least have expressed some sorrow and his servant's unhappy lot. Nicola, however, did neither, and yet his grief was as plain to the eye,

as if he had wept copious tears. Having satisfied himself, that the poor fellow was really dead, he bade me help him carry the body down the passage to an empty room, which had joined his former quarters. We laid it upon a bed there, and Nicola followed me into the passage,

carefully locking the door behind him. When we were back in the hall once more, the spoke. This has gone far enough, he said. Come what may we must find Kwong Ma. The fellow must be in the castle at this minute. Shall we organise the search for him, I said. The man must be captured at any hazard. We are risking valuable lives by allowing him to remain at large. Though I use the plural, I must confess I was thinking more of my darling than of anybody else. How did I know that? How did I know that when Kwong Ma found it was impossible for him to get hold of nicola he would not revenge himself upon consuelo that we must find him goes without saying nicola replied i doubt very much however if it would be prudent for you to take part in the search in the first place you are still as weak as a baby and in the second the damp of the subterranean passages

might very easy bring on a return of the fever you surely do not imagine that i should permit you to go alone i said nicola gave a short laugh ha i do not want to appear boastful he said but i am very much afraid you do not know me yet my dear he will be however i will confess that if you really do desire it and feel equal to the exertion i shall be very glad of your company when you propose to start at once he answered i shall not know a minute's peace until i have revenged our win and supposing we catch the fellow what do you propose to do with him it's a long way from here to the nearest police station i don't fancy somehow I shall trouble the police, he said. But we will talk of what we will do with him when we have got him. Now, if you are ready, come along. Thereupon, for the second time, we searched the castle for Kwong Mar. And as before, we first visited the battlements,

and the rooms on the next floor, the basement offices followed, and still being unsuccessful, we unbolted the door leading to the dungeons, and entered the subterranean portion of the building. Cool as I endeavour to appear I am prepared to confess that when the icy wind came up to greet us

from those dark and dreary passages I was far from feeling comfortable I don't set up to be a braver man than my fellows but it seemed to me to require more pluck to enter those dismal regions and to take part in a forlorn hope with our revolvers in our hands and Nicola holding the lantern above his head

we explored passage after passage dungeon after dungeon. Rats scuttled away beneath our feet, bats flew in the darkness above her heads, but as before, not a sign of Kwong Mar. Can't understand it, said Nicola at last. His voice echoed along the rocky passages. We've explored every room in the castle,

and every dungeon underneath it, and not a trace of a man can we discover. We have bricked up the opening into the chasm, and lifted the drawbridge that connects us with the outside world. yet we cannot catch him. He must be here somewhere. Exactly, but where? If I knew, do you think I should be standing here? Nicola replied sharply. But let us try back again. I want to explore that secret passage the old man showed us the other day. I remember now that there was something that struck me as being rather peculiar about it. We accordingly retaste our steps, found the passage in question

and ascended it. Whiching the point where on the previous occasion, we had taken to take a time we had turned off to find the trap-door, opening at the head on the great staircase. We found, as Nicola had supposed, a second and smaller turning, halfway hidden in a shadow, which bore away to the right, that is to say, in the direction of the keep. Unfortunately, it was no level going, but so narrow was the passage that it was still impossible to walk too abreast. Hart, what was that? Niscault suddenly cried,

stopping and holding the lantern above his head. we stopped and listened and sure enough a shuffling noise came from the passage in front a moment later the same sound we had heard when the old caretaker had opened the secret door reaches if i am not mistaken we had found his lair at last my companion shouted and ran forward but certain as we felt that it was quong mar we had heard we were too late to convince ourselves of the fact the secret door still open the man however was not to be seen in the passage outside where are we i asked for i was not familiar with a corridor which we had found ourselves between the keep and our wind's quarters nicholas replied now i understand how that fiend has found his way into the hall but let me think for a moment there is the gate between us and the hall and i have key in my pocket there is no other exit in either direction so it seems to me that we have got our man at last is your revolver ready quite ready i replied come along then but remember this if he attacks you show him no mercy he'll show you none remember our win with that we made our way along the corridor in the direction of the room where nicola's well where the murdered man had been quartered nicola unlocked the door and looked in while i remained in the passage outside i really believe i was more afraid of what i should see in there than of quong ma himself he's not there said nicco when he rejoined me and then went to the gate and tested it and he can't get out here we've missed him somewhere and must look back again we accordingly retreated our steps examining room by room and preparing ourselves every time lest when we turned the handle quong ma should judge

about upon us, but in every case we were disappointed. I was surprised just now, said Nicola, after we had left the last apartment, and strickened in the corridor once more, but I am doubly so now. He seems to vanish into thin air every time we get near him. There must be another secret passage hereabout, of which we are ignorant. Before we return, however, I want to make quite certain of one thing. Now let us continue that passage by which we ascended from the dungeons just now. We did so Nicola once more going ahead with a lantern. Just as I thought he cried,

Look here. He stooped and stood with his back to the wall. At this point the passage came to an abrupt termination, and on the floor bet for us was an old blanket, a quantity of straw, about a loaf and a half of bread, and an earthenware pipkin containing a quarter so of water. Under the blanket was a half-used packet of candles, and from the grease that bespattered everything,

it was easy to see how he had obtained his illumination. Well, we have found our birds' nests at last, said Nicola, but I'm afraid we have driven him away for it, for good and all. But we will have him yet, or my name's not Nicola. Now let's go back to the hall. We can do no good by staying here. We returned, but not before we had taken possession of the things we had found, and carefully marked the position of the secret door

in case we should want to use it again. after breakfast we will have another try said nicola in the meantime we had better take a little rest you look as if you stood in need of it it would have been better for me had i abandoned any thought of such a thing for with arwin lying dead only a few yards away and quong ma is still at large the drowsy god was difficult if not impossible to woo every danger that it would be possible for a man to imagine i pictured for consuelo and when at last I did fall asleep. The dreams that harassed me were of the most horrible description. Right glad was I when morning broke and became necessary to attend to the duties of the day. For either you, I should say nothing to your sweetheart, either of her great-grandfather's condition or of the tragedy of last night, said Nicola. I agreed with him, although I knew that it could not be very long before the former would become known to Gonzuelo. But surely she will hear about our win before very long, I said.

Will it not be necessary for you to communicate with the county police and for an inquest to be held? Engelby, replied Nicola, asked me no questions. I have no desire to draw you into the matter. It is sufficient for you to know that our win is dead. He paused for a minute, and added significantly, and buried.

Try how I would I could not contain my surprise. How, when and by whom had the poor Chinaman been buried? had nicola carried it out himself it seemed impossible yet knowing as i did the indomitable energy and working powers of the man i felt it might very well be true i would have questioned him further but i could see that he was not in the humour to permit it for this reason i held my peace though i knew full well at the time that by doing so i was giving my consent to what was undoubtedly an illegal act from what i have said i fancy it would be readily agreed that the past two or three days had been as full of incident as the greatest craver after excitement could desire i had recovered from the serious illness i had witnessed the result of one of the most extraordinary experiments the world had seen arwin had been murdered and we had discovered quong mars hiding placed in the castle and had had a most exciting chase after him now our win had been buried secretly by nicola and if what had been done was discovered by the authorities, there is no saying in what sort of trouble we might not find ourselves. As soon as we had seen the Don, who was still wrapped in the same hypnotic slumber,

and had breakfasted, we organised another search, only to meet with the same result. Later I spent an hour with Consuelo upon the battlements. I was careful, however, to tell nothing of the death of our win, nor of the reappearance of the detestable Chinaman in the castle. it would have served no good purpose and would have only frightened her needlessly. When she reiterated her desire to see her grandfather, I found myself, if possible, at still greater disadvantage. I'm returning to Nicola in the hall, I placed the matter before him. To my surprise, he did not receive it in the same spirit as I expected he would do.

I had anticipated a direct refusal, but he gave me nothing of the kind. Why, should she not see him, he said, provided she gave me proper notice, I fancy I can arrange that he shall behave in every way she would wish him to do. When then, may the interview take place, and the say at midday, will that suit you? But before we arrange anything definitely, let's examine him ourselves and see how he's likely to conduct himself. We accordingly made our way to the patient's room. I noticed by the whole clock that he wanted only three minutes of the hour at which Nicola had ordered the Don to wake. On approaching his bed-place we found him still sleeping peacefully in exactly the same position as when we had seen him last.

With his eyes closed and one strong arm thrown out upon the floor, he looked a magnificent specimen of a man. If only Dr Nicola could perfect the brain, here was a being seemingly capable of anything. But would he be able to do so? That was the question. Watch in hand, Nicola knelt down beside the bed, and for some time not a little bit. the sound broke the stillness of the room. Punctually, however, as the long hand of the clock pointed at the hour, the Don gave a long sigh. I jumped to the conclusion that he was about to wake in obedience to Nicola's command, but to our surprise, he did not do so. Strange, I heard Nicola mutter to himself. Stooping over the patient, he lifted up the eyelids and carefully examined the pupils.

five minutes went by and still he did not wake don miguel said nicola at last don mcgwell nicholas said at last i command you to wake you cannot disobey me a slight movement was visible but still the sleeper did not comply with the order given him it was until a quarter of an hour elapsed that the consciousness returned to him with the opening of his eyes the animal looked which i had noticed on the previous day he came back to him instead of rising to his feet as he was ordered He crouched and coward in the corner, pulling at his bedclothes and watching us the while as if he would do as mischief on the slightest provocation. Dangerous as he appeared to the day before, it struck me that he was even more so today. It's very plain that we shall have to keep an eye on you, my friend, said Nicola. I'm not quite certain you're going to be docile much longer. Let me feel your pulse. He stooped and was about to take hold of the other's wrist, when the man sprang forward,

and seizing the doctor with both. hands laid hold of his arm with his teeth just below the elbow. Fortunately, Nicola was wearing a thick velvet coat, otherwise the injury might have been a severe one. Seeing what had happened, I threw myself upon the man, and tearing him off, forced him down upon his bed. He struggled in my grasp, snapping at me and foaming at the mouth like a mad dog, but I had him too secure, and did not let go my hold until Nicola had fixed his arms behind him. Good heaven! as Nicola, I cried, scarcely able to contain my emotion. This is too terrible. What on earth are we going to do with him? I do, I do not quite see what we can do, Nicolk, replied, wiping the perspiration from his forehead as he spoke.

However, I must try my hand on him once more. You can manage to keep him still, and I can get him under my influence. You ought to be able to keep him quiet, while we have time to think. I did as requested, while Nicola made slow mesmeric passes before the man's eyes. It was fully ten minutes, however, before he succeeded, but as soon as he did, the patient's heart-rending struggles ceased, and he lay down upon his bed, sleeping quietly. I began to be afraid I was losing my influence over him, said Nicola, as he rose to his feet. One thing is quite certain, I answered,

and that is Consuelo must not see him while he's in this state, would frighten her to death. And she would never forgive me, said Nicola, and I thought I detected a note of sadness in his voice. "'Are you got to leave him as he is?' I inquired. "'For the President Nicola answered, "'I must make up something that will have a soothing effect upon him. "'You need have no fear.

"'He will be quite safe where he is. "'The words were scarcely out of his mouth "'before movement on the bed causes to look round. "'Little as we had anticipated such a thing, "'Nichler's influence was slowly but surely working off, "'and the man was returning to his old state again. "'Even now, I never like, to think of what happened during the next ten minutes.

For we could reach him, the Dom was on his feet and had rushed upon me. Nicola ran to my assistance, and strong men, as we both were, I assure you that at first we could not cope with him. The struggle was a terrific one. He fought like the madman he certainly was, and with an animal ferocity that rendered him doubly difficult to deal with. When at last we did manage to force him back upon his bed and make him secure, we were both completely exhausted.

We could only lean against the wall and pant. Conversation was out of the question. This will never do, said Nicola, where he had sufficiently recovered to speak. If this sort of thing goes on, he will murder someone. How are you going to prevent it, I ask? It's plain that your influence has lost its effect. There's nothing for it but to administer and opiate, he answered. Do you think you can manage to hold him while I procure one?

I fancied I could at any rate I expressed myself as very willing to try. Nicola immediately hurried away, informed me afterwards, and he was not gone more than a minute, but had I been asked, I should have put the time down at least quarter of an hour. To describe you my feelings during that way it would be impossible, the loathing, the horror, the abject personal fear of the man, writhing below me, seemed to fill my whole being. I don't think we should have much more trouble with him for an hour or two to come, said Nicola,

when the drug had taken effect, and we were on our feet once more, but we cannot go on administering drugs for ever hours what you propose to do later on that is what we've got to find out he replied in the meantime it must keep him up like this and take turns to watch him you'd better go out now and get a breath of fresh air if you see your sweetheart pass a fire with the best excuse you can think of and sure you're quite safe with him i asked i must risk it he replied but as i moved towards the door he stopped me ingleby he said speaking slowly sadly. I don't know whether you will believe me or not when I say how deeply I regret what has

happened in this case. I would have given anything, my own life even, that things should not have fallen out in this way. And what is more, I do not say this from my own sake. The thinking of Consuelo, I said. I am, he answered. It is for her sake I feel this regret. As a rule, I'm not given to sentiment, but somehow this seems altogether different. But there, go away and tell her what you think best. I left him and went in search of Consuelo. She was in a usual pace in the tower above her room. When she saw me she ran to greet me without stretched hands. Something, it might have been my pale face frightened her.

My darling, I said, you're not ill, are you? What makes you look so alarmed? I've been frightened, she answered, more frightened than I can tell you. For a moment I thought she must have heard about her grandfather. But such was not the case. I've only been up here a few moments, she answered, the caretakers' wife was in my room when I left. The door was open and as I climbed the turret stairs,

I thought I heard her call me. Turning round, I was about to descend again and I saw standing at the foot of the stairs a man. He was looking up at me. For a moment I could scarcely even bleed my eyes. Who do you think it was? Though I could easily guess, I forced myself to utter the word,

who? He was the man you saw behind the rock. The same I saw bending over in my cabin aboard the Donna Mercedes. that terrible china-mill with half an ear i feared she might see from my face that i knew more than i cared to tell but as good fortune had it she failed to notice it surely you must have been mistaken i answered what could the man be doing in the castle i do not know she answered but i am certain that i saw him as i am of anything he was standing at the foot of the stairs watching me then he began to move in my direction but before he could reach the bottom step i heard the door open along the corridor this must have frightened him for he fled round the corner and i saw no more of it it must have been my opening the door that saved you i said thank god i came when i did but what does it mean she asked why did that man come aboard the boat and why is he followed us here i think the reason is to be found in the fact that he is dr nicholas's enemy i replied I had a private quarrel in China some years ago,

and ever since then this man has been following him about the world endeavouring to do him harm. The case is a serious one, darling, and as you love me, you must run no risks. Be on your guard night and day, see that your door is locked at night, and never venture from your room after dusk,

unless I am with you. It blakes my blood run cold when I think of your running such risks as you did this morning. What about you, she said, looking up at me with her beautiful frightened eyes. Oh, why cannot we take my grandfather and go away and never see this dreadful place again? We must make patiently, I answered, the Don is not fit to travel just yet. She gave a little sigh, and the next moment it was time for me to leave her.

For the next two or three days following, Nicola and I took it in turn so I acted as sentry over the Don. It was not difficult work, it was the reverse of pleasant. for as soon as the effect of each successive opiate war off his evil nature invariably reasserted itself sometimes he would sit for an hour or more watching me as if he intended springing upon me the instant i was off my guard and others he would crouch in a corner tearing into atoms everything within his reach more than once he was really violent and it became necessary for me to signal to nicola for assistance the horror of those days i shall never forget when i say that not once but several times i have left that room dripping with perspiration and the pure sweat of terror my feelings may be partially imagined it was not madness we had to contend with it was worse than that it was the fighting of a lost soul against the effect of a man's impious prying into what should have been the realms of the unknowable this sort of thing cannot last much longer said nicola when our patient was lying drugged and helpless upon his mattress on the third night after the death of our win, and I knew he was right, outraged nature would avenge herself. When Nicola had bade me good night, I examined the dawn to make sure that he was not shamming sleep

in order to try and get the better of me directly I was alone. Finding him to be quite helpless, I seated myself in my chair, and prepared to spend my watch in as comfortable a fashion as possible under the circumstances. During the day I had passed a considerable portion of my time, with my sweetheart in the open air, and in consequence I found myself growing exceedingly sleepy, knowing it would never do to allow slumber to get the better of me in that room, I rose from my chair and began to pace the floor. This had the effect of temporarily rousing me, and when I receded myself, I thought I had dispelled the attack. It soon returned, however, and this time it would not be denied. I rubbed my eyes, pinched myself, got up and walked about.

There's no good, however. I returned to my chair, my eyelids closed, and almost without knowing it, I dozed off. When I woke again, it was with a start. I rubbed my eyes and looked about me. Heavens, what mischief had I done. The don was not in his corner. The key was gone, from the hook upon which it usually hung,

and, worse than all, the door stood open. For a moment, I was so overwhelmed with horror that I could do nothing. but only for a moment then I knew that I must act and at once I rang the bell for Nicola and having done so dashed into the hall almost simultaneously

Nicola made his appearance coming from his room What's the matter he cried Why do you ring for me The Don has escaped I almost shouted Like the fool I am I fell asleep And during that time he must have recovered his wits stolen the key and escaped

from the room Oh what have I done If she should see him as he is It will kill her for a moment it looked as if nicola would have swept me off the face of the earth but the look scarcely came into his eyes before it was gone again we must find him he cried before he can do any mischief and what is more we must not separate for it for it would be more than a match for us single-handed accordingly we left the hall and proceeded towards the dollar consue of apartments i thanked heaven when i found that the door was locked calling to her in answer to her cry of who's there I told her that I only desired to assure myself of her safety, and after that we passed on up the turret stairs and along the battlements,

but no sign of the dawn could we discover there. Returning to the corridor again, we descended to the great entrance hall and searched the courtyard and basement. The room shone clear and the courtyard was as light as day. Had there been anyone there, we most certainly have seen him. Suddenly there rang out the most unearthly scream it has ever been my old luck to hear, came from the direction of the chapel,

which lay between the keep, and what had once been, the banqueting hall. From where we stood, the interior of the latter was quite visible to us. On either side it had tall windows, so that the light shone directly through. The scream had scarcely died away before we saw a short figure

dashed into the room and out again upon the other side. An instant later, a taller figure followed and also disappeared. Again and again, The scream rang out, while Nicola stood rooted to the spot, unable to move hand or foot. I see it all, cried Nicola. That was Kwong Mar, and the other was the Don. They'll kill each other if they meet.

I thought of Consuelo and thought of the terror she would feel should she hear that dreadful noise. They must not meet, I cried, it is too terrible. At any cost we must prevent it. Where do you think they are now? As if to let us know another scream rang out. this time it came from our own quarters. Come on, said Nicola, and dashed into the building, as you may suppose I followed close upon his heels.

In this order we flew up the stairs and along the first gallery, intending, if possible, to reach the small hall by which the staircase near the kitchen in which our wind had worked was approached, and thus cut them off. As we crossed the threshold, however, a wild hubbub came from the passage ahead, and told us that we were too late. I knew what it meant, and if I had not been by that time quite bankrupt of emotions,

I should certainly have been doubly terrified now. Leaving the kitchen, we dashed along the passage, only to find that the room usually occupied by Nicola's unfortunates was empty, with the exception of one solitary specimen, who by reason of his infirmity was unable to fly. They had all vanished. Leaving him to his own desires, we passed the iron gate now thrown open.

and a moment later it entered the hall itself once more the cry sounded this time coming from a spot somewhat nearer consuela's apartment on hearing it my heart seemed to stand still what if she should imagine that i was in danger and should open her door the same thought must have been in nicholas's mind for i heard him say to himself anything but that side by side we race for her door only to find it was still shut and locked almost at the same time a scream louder than any we had heard yet sounded from the battlements above. At last I cried and led the way up the stone stairs. I could only say that of all the horrid scenes I've ever witnessed, what I saw before me then was the very worst. In the centre of the open space between the parapets, fighting like wild beasts,

were the two men of whom we were in search. Their arms were twined about each other, and as they swayed to and fro the sound of their heavy breathing, could be distinctly heard. Having reached the top of the stairs, we paused irresolute. What was to be done? To have tempted to separate them would have only been to draw their anger upon ourselves

and to have made the fight a general one. The moon shone down upon us, revealing the smooth sea on one side, and there many turrets in the castle on the other. From fighting in the centre of the open space, they'd gradually come nearer to the parapet of the wall. Kwong Ma must then have realised how near he stood to death, or he redoubled his energy.

They will be over shouted Nicola and started to run towards them. It scarcely spoken before they reached the edge. For a moment locked in each other's arms, they paused upon the brink. Then with a wild shriek from Kuong Mar, they lost their balance and disappeared. I clapped my hands to my eyes to shut out the fearful sight. When I took them away again, all was over. both nicola and i knew that quong mar and don miguel de morano were dead i suppose i must have fainted when i returned to my senses once more i found myself seated on the top of the stairs and consuelo's arms about me there remains but little more to tell at the time of that dreadful scene upon the battlements it was full tide and the lone nicola and i searched every nook and cranny along the coast-line for many miles the bodies of the two men

could not be found. In all probability they drifted out to sea. The same day I summed up my courage, prepared to tell my sweetheart everything. But when I sought her out and was about to commence my confession, she stopped me. Say nothing to me about it, dear she began. I cannot bear it yet. Dr. Nicola has told me everything. He exonerates you completely. But what of ourselves, I ask? Consuelo you and I alone together in the world. Will you give me the right to care for your future happiness, my darling? Will you be my wife? When and where you please, she answered, holding out her hands to me, and looking up at me with her beautiful trusting eyes. I told her of my straightened means and how hard the struggle would be at first. No matter, she answered bravely, we will fight the world

together. I'm used to poverty, and you beside me, I shall know no fear. An hour later I had an interview with Nicola in the hall. Ingleby, he said, this is the end of our intercourse. I have tried my experiment, and though I have succeeded in many particulars, I've failed in the main essential. How much I regret what has happened, I must leave you to imagine, but it is too late, for what is done cannot be undone. I've given orders that the yacht shall be prepared. She will convey you to Newcastle, whence you can proceed in any direction you may desire. One thing is certain, Donna Consuelo must leave this place. and as you are to be a husband it's only fit and proper that you should go with her i have only one wish to offer you it is that you may be as happy as these past weeks have been sad he held in his hand to me and i took it we shall meet no more he said go away and forget that you ever met dr nichola good-bye

good-bye i answered without another word he turned and left the room shortly before midday we boarded the yacht steam was up when we arrived and within a few minutes we were steaming out of the little bay. Consuelo and I stood together at the taffrail and looked at up at the grim old castle above our heads. Standing on the battlements, we could distinctly see a solitary figure. He waved his hands to us. Then the little vessel passed round the headland, and that was the last we saw of Dr Nicola.

End of Chapter 9. End of Dr. Nicholas' experiment.