第3章

“Isthereanyonethatyouhate？“saidDanaDa。TheEnglishmansaidthattherewereseveralmenwhomhehateddeeply。 “Verygood，“saidDanaDa，uponwhomthewhiskyandtheopiumwerebeginningtotell。“Onlygivemetheirnames，andIwilldispatchaSendingtothemandkillthem。“ NowaSendingisahorriblearrangement，firstinvented，theysay，inIceland。Itisathingsentbyawizard，andmaytakeanyform，butmostgenerallywandersaboutthelandintheshapeofalittlepurplecloudtillitfindsthesendee，andhimitkillsbychangingintotheformofahorse，oracat，oramanwithoutaface。Itisnotstrictlyanativepatent，thoughchamarscan，ifirritated，dispatchaSendingwhichsitsonthebreastoftheirenemybynightandnearlykillshim。Veryfewnativescaretoirritatechamarsforthisreason。 “LetmedispatchaSending，“saidDanaDa；“Iamnearlydeadnowwithwant，anddrink，andopium；butIshouldliketokillamanbeforeIdie。IcansendaSendinganywhereyouchoose，andinanyformexceptintheshapeofaman。“ TheEnglishmanhadnofriendsthathewishedtokill，butpartlytosootheDanaDa，whoseeyeswererolling，andpartlytoseewhatwouldbedone，heaskedwhetheramodifiedSendingcouldnotbearrangedfor——suchaSendingasshouldmakeaman’slifeaburdentohim，andyetdohimnoharm。Ifthiswerepossible，henotifiedhiswillingnesstogiveDanaDatenrupeesforthejob。 “IamnotwhatIwasonce，“saidDanaDa，“andImusttakethemoneybecauseIampoor。TowhatEnglishmanshallIsendit？“ “SendaSendingtoLoneSahib，“saidtheEnglishman，namingamanwhohadbeenmostbitterinrebukinghimforhisapostasyfromtheTeacupCreed。DanaDalaughedandnodded。 “Icouldhavechosennobettermanmyself，“saidhe。“IwillseethathefindstheSendingabouthispathandabouthisbed。“ Helaydownonthehearthrug，turnedupthewhitesofhiseyes，shiveredallover，andbegantosnort。Thiswasmagic，oropium，ortheSending，orallthree。WhenheopenedhiseyeshevowedthattheSendinghadstarteduponthewarpath，andwasatthatmomentflyinguptothetownwhereLoneSahiblives。 “Givememytenrupees，“saidDanaDa，wearily，“andwritealettertoLoneSahib，tellinghim，andallwhobelievewithhim，thatyouandafriendareusingapowergreaterthantheirs。Theywillseethatyouarespeakingthetruth。“ Hedepartedunsteadily，withthepromiseofsomemorerupeesifanythingcameoftheSending。 TheEnglishmansentalettertoLoneSahib，couchedinwhatherememberedoftheterminologyofthecreed。Hewrote:“Ialso，inthedaysofwhatyouheldtobemybacksliding，haveobtainedenlightenment，andwithenlightenmenthascomepower。“Thenhegrewsodeeplymysteriousthattherecipientofthelettercouldmakeneitherheadnortailofit，andwasproportionatelyimpressed；forhefanciedthathisfriendhadbecomea“fifthrounder。“Whenamanisa“fifthrounder“hecandomorethanSladeandHoudincombined。 LoneSahibreadtheletterinfivedifferentfashions，andwasbeginningasixthinterpretation，whenhisbearerdashedinwiththenewsthattherewasacatonthebed。Now，iftherewasonethingthatLoneSahibhatedmorethananotheritwasacat。Heratedthebearerfornotturningitoutofthehouse。Thebearersaidthathewasafraid。Allthedoorsofthebedroomhadbeenshutthroughoutthemorning，andnorealcatcouldpossiblyhaveenteredtheroom。Hewouldprefernottomeddlewiththecreature。 LoneSahibenteredtheroomgingerly，andthere，onthepillowofhisbed，sprawledandwhimperedaweewhitekitten，notajumpsome，friskylittlebeast，butasluglikecrawlerwithitseyesbarelyopenedanditspawslackingstrengthordirection——akittenthatoughttohavebeeninabasketwithitsmamma。LoneSahibcaughtitbythescruffofitsneck，handeditovertothesweepertobedrowned，andfinedthebearerfourannas。 Thatevening，ashewasreadinginhisroom，hefanciedthathesawsomethingmovingaboutonthehearthrug，outsidethecircleoflightfromhisreadinglamp。Whenthethingbegantomyowl，herealizedthatitwasakitten——aweewhitekitten，nearlyblindandverymiserable。Hewasseriouslyangry，andspokebitterlytohisbearer，whosaidthattherewasnokittenintheroomwhenhebroughtinthelamp，andrealkittensoftenderagegenerallyhadmothercatsinattendance。 “IfthePresencewillgooutintotheverandaandlisten，“saidthebearer，“hewillhearnocats。How，therefore，canthekittenonthebedandthekittenonthehearthrugberealkittens？“ LoneSahibwentouttolisten，andthebearerfollowedhim，buttherewasnosoundofRachelmewingforherchildren。Hereturnedtohisroom，havinghurledthekittendownthehillside，andwroteouttheincidentsofthedayforthebenefitofhiscoreligionists。 Thosepeopleweresoabsolutelyfreefromsuperstitionthattheyascribedanythingalittleoutofthecommontoagencies。Asitwastheirbusinesstoknowallabouttheagencies，theywereontermsofalmostindecentfamiliaritywithmanifestationsofeverykind。Theirlettersdroppedfromtheceiling——un-stamped——andspiritsusedtosquatterupanddowntheirstaircasesallnight。 Buttheyhadnevercomeintocontactwithkittens。LoneSahibwroteoutthefacts，notingthehourandtheminute，aseverypsychicalobserverisboundtodo，andappendingtheEnglishman’sletterbecauseitwasthemostmysteriousdocumentandmighthavehadabearinguponanythinginthisworldorthenext。Anoutsiderwouldhavetranslatedallthetanglethus:“Lookout！Youlaughedatmeonce，andnowIamgoingtomakeyousitup。“ LoneSahib’scoreligionistsfoundthatmeaninginit；buttheirtranslationwasrefinedandfulloffour-syllablewords。Theyheldasederunt，andwerefilledwithtremulousjoy，for，inspiteoftheirfamiliaritywithalltheotherworldsandcycles，theyhadaveryhumanaweofthingssentfromghostland。TheymetinLoneSahib’sroominshroudedandsepulchralgloom，andtheirconclavewasbrokenupbyaclinkingamongthephotoframesonthemantelpiece。Aweewhitekitten，nearlyblind，wasloopingandwrithingitselfbetweentheclockandthecandlesticks。Thatstoppedallinvestigationsordoubtings。Herewasthemanifestationintheflesh。Itwas，sofarascouldbeseen，devoidofpurpose，butitwasamanifestationofundoubtedauthenticity。 TheydraftedaroundrobintotheEnglishman，thebacksliderofolddays，adjuringhimintheinterestsofthecreedtoexplainwhethertherewasanyconnectionbetweentheembodimentofsomeEgyptiangodorother(Ihaveforgottenthename)andhiscommunication。 TheycalledthekittenRa，orToth，orShem，orNoah，orsomething； andwhenLoneSahibconfessedthatthefirstonehad，athismostmisguidedinstance，beendrownedbythesweeper，theysaidconsolinglythatinhisnextlifehewouldbea“bounder，“andnotevena“rounder“ofthelowestgrade。Thesewordsmaynotbequitecorrect，buttheyexpressthesenseofthehouseaccurately。 WhentheEnglishmanreceivedtheroundrobin——itcamebypost——hewasstartledandbewildered。HesentintothebazaarforDanaDa，whoreadtheletterandlaughed。“ThatismySending，“saidhe。 “ItoldyouIwouldworkwell。Nowgivemeanothertenrupees。“ “ButwhatintheworldisthisgibberishaboutEgyptiangods？“ askedtheEnglishman。 “Cats，“saidDanaDa，withahiccough，forhehaddiscoveredtheEnglishman’swhiskybottle。“Catsandcatsandcats！NeverwassuchaSending。Ahundredofcats。NowgivemetenmorerupeesandwriteasIdictate。“ DanaDa’sletterwasacuriosity。ItboretheEnglishman’ssignature，andhintedatcats——ataSendingofcats。Themerewordsonpaperwerecreepyanduncannytobehold。 “Whathaveyoudone，though？“saidtheEnglishman；“Iamasmuchinthedarkasever。DoyoumeantosaythatyoucanactuallysendthisabsurdSendingyoutalkabout？“ “Judgeforyourself，“saidDanaDa。“Whatdoesthatlettermean？ Inalittletimetheywillallbeatmyfeetandyours，andI，oh，glory！willbedruggedordrunkalldaylong。“ DanaDaknewhispeople。 Whenamanwhohatescatswakesupinthemorningandfindsalittlesquirmingkittenonhisbreast，orputshishandintohisulsterpocketandfindsalittlehalf-deadkittenwherehisglovesshouldbe，oropenshistrunkandfindsavilekittenamonghisdressshirts，orgoesforalongridewithhismackintoshstrappedonhissaddle-bowandshakesalittlesprawlingkittenfromitsfoldswhenheopensit，orgoesouttodinnerandfindsalittleblindkittenunderhischair，orstaysathomeandfindsawrithingkittenunderthequilt，orwrigglingamonghisboots，orhanging，headdownward，inhistobaccojar，orbeingmangledbyhisterrierintheveranda——whensuchamanfindsonekitten，neithermorenorless，onceadayinaplacewherenokittenrightlycouldorshouldbe，heisnaturallyupset。Whenhedarenotmurderhisdailytrovebecausehebelievesittobeamanifestation，anemissary，anembodiment，andhalfadozenotherthingsalloutoftheregularcourseofnature，heismorethanupset。Heisactuallydistressed。SomeofLoneSahib’scoreligioniststhoughtthathewasahighlyfavoredindividual；butmanysaidthatifhehadtreatedthefirstkittenwithproperrespect——assuitedaToth-RaTum-SennacheribEmbodiment——allhistroublewouldhavebeenaverted。TheycomparedhimtotheAncientMariner，butnonethelesstheywereproudofhimandproudoftheEnglishmanwhohadsentthemanifestation。TheydidnotcallitaSendingbecauseIcelandicmagicwasnotintheirprogramme。 Aftersixteenkittens——thatistosay，afteronefortnight，fortherewerethreekittensonthefirstdaytoimpressthefactoftheSending，thewholecampwasupliftedbyaletter——itcameflyingthroughawindow——fromtheOldManoftheMountains——theheadofallthecreed——explainingthemanifestationinthemostbeautifullanguageandsoakingupallthecreditofitforhimself。 TheEnglishman，saidtheletter，wasnotthereatall。Hewasabacksliderwithoutpowerorasceticism，whocouldn’tevenraiseatablebyforceofvolition，muchlessprojectanarmyofkittensthroughspace。Theentirearrangement，saidtheletter，wasstrictlyorthodox，workedandsanctionedbythehighestauthoritieswithinthepaleofthecreed。Therewasgreatjoyatthis，forsomeoftheweakerbrethrenseeingthatanoutsiderwhohadbeenworkingonindependentlinescouldcreatekittens，whereastheirownrulershadnevergonebeyondcrockery——andbrokenatthat——wereshowingadesiretobreaklineontheirowntrail。Infact，therewasthepromiseofaschism。AsecondroundrobinwasdraftedtotheEnglishman，beginning:“Oh，Scoffer，“andendingwithaselectionofcursesfromtheritesofMizraimandMemphisandtheComminationofJugana；whowasa“fifthrounder，“uponwhosenameanupstart“thirdrounder“oncetraded。Apapalexcommunicationisabillet-douxcomparedtotheComminationofJugana。TheEnglishmanhadbeenprovedunderthehandandsealoftheOldManoftheMountainstohaveappropriatedvirtueandpretendedtohavepowerwhich，inreality，belongedonlytothesupremehead。