第50章

Bobemptiedthesecondtumblerofbrandyasthoughitwerewater。 Ibelievehewouldemptyahogsheadwithoutturningahair！Thenhegaveanotherlookatthepipe。Then，takingamatchfromhiswaistcoatpocket，hedrewalongbreath，asthoughhewereresigninghimselftofate。Strikingthematchontheseatofhistrousers，while，shadedbyhishand，theflamewasgatheringstrength，helookedateachofusinturn。WhenhelookedatTressIdistinctlysawhimwinkhiseye。WhatmyfeelingswouldhavebeenifaservantofminehadwinkedhiseyeatmeIamunabletoimagine！Thematchwasappliedtothetobacco，apuffofsmokecamethroughhislips——thepipewasalight！ Duringthisprocessoflightingthepipewehadsat——Idonotwishtouseexaggeratedlanguage，butwehadsatandwatchedthatalcoholicscamp’sproceedingsasthoughwewerewitnessinganactionwhichwouldleaveitsmarkupontheage。Whenwesawthepipewaslightedwegaveasimultaneousstart。Brasherputhishandsunderhiscoattailsandgaveakindofhop。Iraisedmyselfagoodsixinchesfrommychair，andTressrubbedhispalmstogetherwithachuckle。Bobalonewascalm。 “Now，“criedTress，“you’llseethedevilmoving。“ Bobtookthepipefrombetweenhislips。 “Seewhat？“hesaid。 “Bob，yourascal，putthatpipebackintoyourmouth，andsmokeitforyourlife！“ Bobwaseyingthepipeaskance。 “Idaresay，butwhatIwanttoknowiswhetherthisherevarmint’sdeadorwhetherheisn’t。Idon’twanttohavehimflyingatmynose——andhelooksviciousenoughforanything。“ “Givemebackthatpound，youthief，andgetoutofmyhouse，andbundle。“ “Iain’tgoingtogiveyoubacknopound。“ “Thensmokethatpipe！“ “Iamsmokingit，ain’tI？“ WiththeutmostdeliberationBobreturnedthepipetohismouth。 Heemittedanotherwhiffortwoofsmoke。 “Now——now！“criedTress，allexcitement，andwagginghishandintheair。 Wegatheredround。AswedidsoBobagainwithdrewthepipe。 “Whatisthemeaningofallthishere？Iain’tgoingtohaveyouplayingnoneofyourlarksonme。Iknowthere’ssomethingup，butIain’tgoingtothrowmylifeawayfortwentyshillings——notquiteIain’t。“ Tress，whosetemperisnotatanytimeoneofthebest，wasseizedwithquiteaspasmofrage。 “AsIlive，mylad，ifyoutrytocheatmebytakingthatpipefrombetweenyourlipsuntilItellyou，youleavethisroomthatinstant，neveragaintobeaservantofmine。“ Ipresumethefellowknewfromlongexperiencewhenhismastermeantwhathesaid，andwhenhedidn’t。Withoutanattemptatremonstrancehereplacedthepipe。Hecontinuedstolidlytopuffaway。Tresscaughtmebythearm。 “WhatdidItellyou？There——there！Thattentacleismoving。“ TheupliftedtentacleWASmoving。ItwasdoingwhatIhadseenitdo，asIsupposed，inmydistortedimagination——itwasreachingforward。UndoubtedlyBobsawwhatitwasdoing；but，whetherinobediencetohismaster’scommands，orwhetherbecausethedrugwasalreadybeginningtotakeeffect，hemadenomovementtowithdrawthepipe。Hewatchedtheslowlyadvancingtentacle，comingcloserandclosertowardhisnose，withanexpressionofsuchintensehorroronhiscountenancethatitbecamequiteshocking。Fartherandfartherthecreaturereachedforward，untilonasudden，withasortofjerk，themovementassumedadownwarddirection，andthetentaclewasslowlylowereduntilthetiprestedonthestemofthepipe。Foramomentthecreatureremainedmotionless。Iwasquietingmynerveswiththereflectionthatthisthingwasbutsometrickofthecarver’sart，andthatwhatwehadseenwehadseeninasortofnightmare，whenthewholehideousreptilewasseizedwithwhatseemedtobeafitofconvulsiveshuddering。Itseemedtobeinagony。IttrembledsoviolentlythatIexpectedtoseeitloosenitsholdofthestemandfalltotheground。IwassufficientlymasterofmyselftostealaglanceatBob。Wehadhadaninklingofwhatmighthappen。Hewaswhollyunprepared。Ashesawthatdreadful，human-lookingcreature，comingtolife，asitseemed，withinaninchortwoofhisnose，hiseyesdilatedtotwicetheirusualsize。Ihoped，forhissake，thatunconsciousnesswouldsupervene，throughtheactionofthedrug，beforethroughsheerfrighthissenseslefthim。Perhapsmechanicallyhepuffedsteadilyon。 Thecreature’sshudderingbecamemoreviolent。Itappearedtoswellbeforeoureyes。Then，justassuddenlyasitbegan，theshudderingceased。Therewasanotherinstantofquiescence。Thenthecreaturebegantocrawlalongthestemofthepipe！Itmovedwithmarvelouscaution，themerestfractionofaninchatatime。 Butstillitmoved！Oureyeswererivetedonitwithafascinationwhichwasabsolutelynauseous。IamunpleasantlyaffectedevenasIthinkofitnow。Mydreamsofthenightbeforehadbeennothingtothis。 Slowly，slowly，itwent，nearerandnearertothesmoker’snose。 Itsmodeofprogressionwasinthehighestdegreeunsightly。Itglided，never，sofarasIcouldsee，removingitstentaclesfromthestemofthepipe。Itslippeditshindmostfeelersonwarduntiltheycameuptothosewhichwereinadvance。Then，intheirturn，itadvancedthosewhichwereinfront。Itseemed，too，tomovewiththeutmostlabor，shudderingasthoughitwereinpain。 Wewereall，forourparts，speechless。IwasmomentarilyhopingthatthedrugwouldtakeeffectonBob。Eitherhisconstitutionenabledhimtoofferastrongresistancetonarcotics，orelsethelargequantityofneatspiritwhichhehaddrunkacted——asTresshadmalevolentlyintendedthatitshould——asanantidote。ItseemedtomethathewouldNEVERsuccumb。Onwentthecreature—— on，andon，initsinfinitesimalprogression。Iwasspellbound。I wouldhavegiventheworldtoscream，tohavebeenabletoutterasound。Icoulddonothingelsebutwatch。 Thecreaturehadreachedtheendofthestem。Ithadgainedtheambermouthpiece。Itwaswithinaninchofthesmoker’snose。 Stillonitwent。Itseemedtomovewithgreaterfreedomontheamber。Itincreaseditsrateofprogress。Itwasactuallytouchingtheforemostfeatureonthesmoker’scountenance。I expectedtoseeitgripthewretchedBob，whenitbegantooscillatefromsidetoside。Itsoscillationsincreasedinviolence。Itfelltothefloor。Thatsameinstantthenarcoticprevailed。Bobslippedsidewaysfromthechair，thepipestillheldtightlybetweenhisrigidjaws。 Weweresilent。TherelayBob。Closebesidehimlaythecreature。 Afewmoreinchestotheleft，andhewouldhavefallenonandsquasheditflat。Ithadfallenonitsback。Itsfeelerswereextendedupward。Theywerewrithingandtwistingandturningintheair。 Tresswasthefirsttospeak。 “Ithinkalittlebrandywon’tbeamiss。“Emptyingtheremainderofthebrandyintoaglass，heswalloweditatadraught。“Nowforacloserexaminationofourfriend。“Takingapairoftongsfromthegratehenippedthecreaturebetweenthem。Hedepositedituponthetable。“Iratherfancythatthisisacasefordissection。“ Hetookapenknifefromhiswaistcoatpocket。Openingthelargeblade，hethrustitspointintotheobjectonthetable。Littleornoresistanceseemedtobeofferedtothepassageoftheblade，butasitwasinsertedthetentaculasimultaneouslybegantowritheandtwist。Tresswithdrewtheknife。 “Ithoughtso！“Heheldthebladeoutforourinspection。Thepointwascoveredwithsomeviscid-lookingmatter。“That’sblood！ Thething’salive！“ “Alive！“ “Alive！That’sthesecretofthewholeperformance！“ “But——“ “Butmenobuts，myPugh！Themystery’sexploded！Onemoreghostislosttotheworld！ThepersonfromwhomIOBTAINEDthatpipewasanIndianjuggler——uptomanytricksofthetrade。He，orsomeoneforhim，gotholdofthissweetthinginreptiles——andasweeterthingwould，Iimagine，behardtofind——andcovereditwithsomepreparationof，possibly，gumarabic。Heallowedthistoharden。Thenhestuckthething——stillliving，forthosesortofgentryarehardtokill——tothepipe。Theconsequencewasthatwhenanyonelitup，thewarmthwascommunicatedtotheadhesiveagent——againsomepreparationofgum，nodoubt——itmoistenedit，andthecreature，withinfinitedifficulty，wasabletomove。ButIamopentolayoddswithanygentlemanofsportingtastesthatTHIStimethecreature’stravelingdaysAREdone。Ithasgivenmeratheralargertasteofthehorrorsthanisgoodformydigestion。“ Withtheaidofthetongsheremovedthecreaturefromthetable。 Heplaceditonthehearth。BeforeBrasherorIhadanotionofwhatitwasheintendedtodohecovereditwithaheavymarblepaperweight。Thenhestoodupontheweight，andbetweenthemarbleandthehearthhegroundthecreatureflat。 Whiletheexecutionwasstillproceeding，Bobsatupuponthefloor。 “Hollo！“heasked，“what’shappened？“ “We’veemptiedthebottle，Bob，“saidTress。“Butthere’sanotherwherethatcamefrom。Perhapsyoucoulddrinkanothertumblerful，myboy？“ Bobdrankit！ FOOTNOTE “Thosegentryarehardtokill。“Hereisfact，notfantasy。 LizardyarnsnolesssensationalthanthisMysteryStorycanbefoundbetweenthecoversofsolemn，zoologicaltextbooks。 Reptiles，indeed，arefarfromfinickyinthemattersofair，space，andespeciallywarmth。Frogsandothersuchsluggish- bloodedcreatureshavelivedafterbeingfrozenfastinice。Theirbloodislittlewarmerthanairorwater，enjoyingnoextracasingoffurorfeathers。 Airandfoodseemheldinlightesteembylizards。Theirbloodneednotbehighlyoxygenated；itnourishesjustaswellwhenimpure。Intemperateclimeslizardslietorpidandburiedallwinter；somespeciesofthetropicdesertssleeppeacefullyallsummer。Theiranatomyincludesnomeansforthecontinuousintroductionandexpulsionofair；reptilianlungsarelittlemorethanclosedsacs，withoutcellstructure。 Ifanyfurtherzoologicalfactwereneededtoverifythedenouementof“ThePipe，“itmightbethegeneralstatementthatlizardsareabnormalbrutesanyhow。Considerthechameleonsofunsettledhue。 Andwhatisonetothinkofananimalwhich，whencapturedbythetail，isabletomakeitsescapebywillfullyshufflingoffthatappendage？——EDITOR。 ThePuzzleI Pughcameintomyroomholdingsomethingwrappedinapieceofbrownpaper。 “Tress，Ihavebroughtyousomethingonwhichyoumayexerciseyouringenuity。“Hebegan，withexasperatingdeliberation，tountiethestringwhichboundhisparcel；heisoneofthosepersonswhowouldnotcutaknottosavetheirlives。Theprocessoccupiedhimthebetterpartofaquarterofanhour。Thenheheldoutthecontentsofthepaper。 “Whatdoyouthinkofthat？“heasked。Ithoughtnothingofit，andItoldhimso。“Iwaspreparedforthatconfession。Ihavenoticed，Tress，thatyougenerallydothinknothingofanarticlewhichreallydeservestheattentionofatrulythoughtfulmind。 Possibly，asyouthinksolittleofit，youwillbeabletosolvethepuzzle。“ Itookwhatheheldouttome。Itwasanoblongbox，perhapssevenincheslongbythreeinchesbroad。 “Where’sthepuzzle？“Iasked。 “Ifyouwillexaminethelidofthebox，youwillsee。“Iturneditoverandover；itwasdifficulttoseewhichwasthelid。ThenIperceivedthatononesidewereprintedthesewords: “PUZZLE:TOOPENTHEBOX“