Chapter IX. The Need of Knowledge

by Bram Stoker

　　Mr. Corbeck seemed to go almost off his head at the recovery of thelamps. He took them up one by one and looked them all over tenderly, asthough they were things that he loved. In his delight and excitement hebreathed so hard that it seemed almost like a cat purring. Sergeant Dawsaid quietly, his voice breaking the silence like a discord in a melody:'Are you quite sure those lamps are the ones you had, and that werestolen?'His answer was in an indignant tone: 'Sure! Of course I'm sure.There isn't another set of lamps like these in the world!''So far as you know!' The Detective's words were smooth enough, buthis manner was so exasperating that I was sure he had some motive init; so I waited in silence. He went on: 'Of course there may be some in the British Museum; or Mr. Trelawnymay have had these already. There's nothing new under the sun, youknow, Mr. Corbeck; not even in Egypt. These may be the originals, andyours may have been the copies. Are there any points by which you canidentify these as yours?'Mr. Corbeck was really angry by this time. He forgot his reserve;and in his indignation poured forth a torrent of almost incoherent, butenlightening, broken sentences:'Identify! Copies of them! British Museum! Rot! Perhaps they keep aset in Scotland Yard for teaching idiot policemen Egyptology! Do I knowthem? When I have carried them about my body, in the desert, for threemonths; and lay awake night after night to watch them! When I havelooked them over with a magnifying-glass, hour after hour, till my eyesached; till every tiny blotch, and chip, and dinge became as familiarto me as his chart to a captain; as familiar as they doubtless havebeen all the time to every thick-headed area-prowler within the boundsof mortality. See here, young man, look at these!' He ranged the lampsin a row on the top of the cabinet. 'Did you ever see a set of lamps ofthese shapes--of any one of these shapes? Look at these dominantfigures on them! Did you ever see so complete a set--even in ScotlandYard; even in Bow Street? Look! one on each, the seven forms of Hathor.Look at that figure of the Ka, of a Princess of the Two Egypts,standing between Ra and Osiris in the Boat of the Dead, with the Eye ofSleep, supported on legs, bending before her; and Harmochis rising inthe north. Will you find that, in the British Museum--or Bow Street? Orperhaps your studies in the Gizeh Museum, or the Fitzwilliam, or Paris,or Leyden, or Berlin, have shown you that the episode is common inhieroglyphics; and that this is only a copy. Perhaps you can tell mewhat that figure of Ptah-Seker-Ausar holding the Tet wrapped in theSceptre of Papyrus means? Did you ever see it before; even in theBritish Museum, or Gizeh, or Scotland Yard?He broke off suddenly; and then went on in quite a different way:'Look here! it seems to me that the thick-headed idiot is myself! Ibeg your pardon, old fellow, for my rudeness. I quite lost my temper atthe suggestion that I do not know these lamps. You don't mind, do you?'The Detective answered heartily:'Lord, sir, not I. I like to see folks angry when I am dealing withthem, whether they are on my side or the other. It is when people areangry that you learn the truth from them. I keep cool; that is mytrade! Do you know, you have told me more about those lamps in the pasttwo minutes than when you filled me up with details of how to identifythem.'Mr. Corbeck grunted; he was not pleased at having given himselfaway. All at once he turned to me and said in his natural way:'Now tell me how you got them back?' I was so surprised that I saidwithout thinking:We didn't get them back!' The traveller laughed openly."What on earth do you mean?' he asked. 'You didn't get them back!Why, there they are before your eyes! We found you looking at them whenwe came in.' By this time I had recovered my surprise and had my witsabout me.'Why, that's just it,' I said, 'We had only come across them, byaccident, that very moment!'Mr. Corbeck drew back and looked hard at Miss Trelawny and myself;turning his eyes from one to the other as he asked:'Do you mean to tell me that no one brought them here; that youfound them in that drawer? That, so to speak, no one at all broughtthem back?''I suppose someone must have brought them here; they couldn't havecome of their own accord. But who it was, or when, or how, neither ofus knows. We shall have to make enquiry, and see if any of the servantsknow anything of it.'We all stood silent for several seconds. It seemed a long time. Thefirst to speak was the Detective, who said in an unconscious way:'Well, I'm damned! I beg your pardon, miss!' Then his mouth shutlike a steel trap.We called up the servants, one by one, and asked them if they knewanything of some articles placed in a drawer in the. boudoir; but noneof them could throw any light on the circumstances. We did not tellthem what the articles were; or let them see them.Mr. Corbeck packed the lamps in cotton wool, and placed them in atin box. This, I may mention incidentally, was then brought up to thedetectives' room, where one of the men stood guard over them with arevolver the whole night. Next day we got a small safe into the house,and placed them in it. There were two different keys. One of them Ikept myself; the other I placed in my drawer in the Safe Deposit vault.We were all determined that the lamps should not be lost again.About an hour after we had found the lamps, Doctor Winchesterarrived. He had a large parcel: with him, which, when unwrapped, provedto be the mummy of a cat. With Miss Trelawny's permission he placedthis in the boudoir; and Silvio was brought close to it. To thesurprise of us all, however, except perhaps Doctor Winchester, he didnot manifest the least annoyance; he took no notice of it whatever. Hestood on the table close beside it, purring loudly. Then, following outhis plan, the Doctor brought him into Mr. Trelawny's room, we allfollowing. Doctor Winchester was excited; Miss Trelawny anxious. I wasmore than interested myself, for I began to have a glimmering of theDoctor's idea. The Detective was calmly and coldly superior: but Mr.Corbeck, who was an enthusiast, was full of eager curiosity.The moment Doctor Winchester got into the room, Silvio began to mewand wriggle; and, jumping out of his arms, ran over to the cat mummyand began to scratch angrily at it. Miss Trelawny had some difficultyin taking him away; but soon as he was out of the room he became quiet.When she came back there was a clamour of comments:'I thought so!' from the Doctor.'What can it mean?' from Miss Trelawny.'That's a very strange thing!' from Mr. Corbeck'Odd! but it doesn't prove anything!' from the Detective.'I suspend my judgement!' from myself, thinking it advisable to saysomething.Then by common consent we dropped the theme--for the present.In my room that evening I was making some notes of what hadhappened, when there came a low tap on the door. In obedience to mysummons Sergeant Daw came in, carefully closing the door behind him.'Well, Sergeant,' said I, 'sit down. What is it?''I wanted to speak to you, sir, about those lamps.' I nodded andwaited: he went on: 'You know that that room where they were foundopens directly into the room where Miss Trelawny slept last night?''Yes.''During the night a window somewhere in that part of the house wasopened, and shut again. I heard it, and took a look round; but I couldsee no sign of anything.''Yes, I know that!' I said; 'I heard a window moved myself''Does nothing strike you as strange about it, sir?' 'Strange!' I said, 'strange! why it's all the most bewildering,maddening thing I have ever encountered. It is all so strange that oneseems to wonder; and simply waits for what will happen next. But whatdo you mean by strange?' The Detective paused, as if choosing his wordsto begin; and then said deliberately:'You see, I am not one who believes in magic and such things. I amfor facts all the time; and I always find in the long-run that there isa reason and a cause for everything. This new gendeman says thesethings were stolen out of his room in the hotel. The lamps, I take itfrom some things he has said, really belong to Mr. Trelawny. Hisdaughter, the lady of the house, having left the room she usuallyoccupies, sleeps that night on the ground floor. A window is heard toopen and shut during the night. When we, who have been during the daytrying to find a clue to the robbery, come to the house, we find thestolen goods in a room close to where she slept, and opening out of it!'He stopped. I felt that same sense of pain and apprehension, which Ihad experienced when he had spoken to me before, creeping, or ratherrushing, over me again. I had to face the matter out, however. Myrelations with her, and the feeling toward her which I now knew fullwell meant a very deep love and devotion, demanded so much. I said ascalmly as I could, for I knew the keen eyes of the skilful investigatorwere on me: 'And the inference?'He answered with the cool audacity of conviction: 'The inference tome is that there was no robbery at all. The goods were taken by someoneto this house, where they were received through a window on the groundfloor. They were placed in the cabinet, ready to be discovered when theproper time should come!'Somehow I felt relieved: the assumption was too monstrous. I did notwant, however, my relief to be apparent, so I answered as gravely as Icould:'And who do you suppose brought them to the house?''I keep my mind open as to mat. Possibly Mr. Corbeck himself; thematter might be too risky to trust to a third party.''Then the natural extension of your inference is that Mr. Corbeck isa liar and a fraud; and that he is in conspiracy with Miss Trelawny todeceive someone or other about those lamps.'"Those are harsh words, Mr. Ross. They're so plain-spoken that theybring a man up standing, and make new doubts for him. But I have to gowhere my reason points. It may be that there is another party than MissTrelawny in it. Indeed, if it hadn't been for the other matter that setme thinking and bred doubts of its own about her, I wouldn't dream ofmixing her up in this. But I'm safe on Corbeck. Whoever else is in it,he is! The things couldn't have been taken without his connivance--ifwhat he says is true. If it isn't--well! he is a liar anyhow. I wouldmink it a bad job to have him stay in the house with so many valuables,only that it will give me and my mate a chance of watching him. We'llkeep a pretty good look-out, too, I tell you. He's up in my room now,guarding those lamps; but Johnny Wright is mere, too. I go on before hecomes off; so there won't be much chance of another house-breaking. Ofcourse, Mr. Ross, all this, too, is between you and me.''Quite so! You may depend on my silence!' I said; and he went awayto keep a close eye on the Egyptologist.It seemed as though all my painful experiences were to go in pairs,and that the sequence of the previous day was to be repeated; forbefore Long I had another private visit from Doctor Winchester who hadnow paid his nightly visit to his patient and was on his way home. Hetook the seat which I profferred and began at once:'This is a strange affair altogether. Miss Trelawny has just beentelling me about the stolen lamps, and of the finding of them in theNapoleon cabinet. It would seem to be another complication of themystery: and yet, do you know, it is a relief to me. I have exhaustedall human and natural possibilities' of the case, and am beginning tofall back on superhuman and supernatural possibilities. Here are suchstrange things that, if I am not going mad, I think we must have asolution before long. I wonder if I might ask some questions and somehelp from Mr. Corbeck, without making further complications andembarrassing us. He seems to know an amazing amount regarding Egypt andall relating to it. Perhaps he wouldn't mind translating a little bitof hieroglyphic. It is child's play to him. What do you think?'When I had thought the matter over a few seconds I spoke. We wantedall the help we could get. For myself, I had perfect confidence in bothmen; and any comparing notes, or mutual assistance, might bring goodresults. Such could hardly bring evil.'By all means I should ask him. He seems an extraordinarily learnedman in Egyptology: and he seems to me a good fellow as well as anenthusiast. By the way, it will be necessary to be a little guardedas to whom you speak regarding any information which he may give you.''Of course!' he answered. 'Indeed I should not dream of sayinganything to anybody, excepting yourself. We have to remember that whenMr. Trelawny recovers he may not like to think that we have beenchattering unduly over hisaffairs.''Look here!' I said, 'why not stay for a while: and I shall ask himto come and have a pipe with us. We can then talk over things."He acquiesced: so I went to the room where Mr. Corbeck was, andbrought him back with me. I thought the detective were pleased at hisgoing. On the way to my room he said:'I don't half like leaving those things there, with only those mento guard them. They're a deal sight too precious to be left to thepolice!'From which it would appear that suspicion was not confined toSergeant Daw.Mr. Corbeck and Doctor Winchester, after a quick glance at eachother, became at once on most friendly terms. The traveller professedhis willingness to be of any assistance which he could, provided, headded, that it was anything about which he was free to speak. This wasnot very promising; but Doctor Winchester began at once:'I want you, if you will, to translate some hieroglyphic for me.''Certainly, with the greatest pleasure, so far as I can. For I maytell you that hieroglyphic writing is not quite mastered yet; though weare getting at it! We are getting at it! What is the inscription?''There are two,' he answered. 'One of them I shall bring here.'He went out, and returned in a minute with the mummy cat which hehad that evening introduced to Silvio. The scholar took it; and, aftera short examination, said:"There is nothing especial in this. It is an appeal to Bast, theLady of Bubastis, to give her good bread and milk in the ElysianFields. There may be more inside; and if you will care to unroll it, Iwill do my best. I do not think, however, that there is anythingspecial. From the method of wrapping I should say it is from Delta; andof a late period, when such mummy work was common and cheap. What isthe other inscription you wish me to see?''The inscription on the mummy cat in Mr. Trelawny's room.'Mr. Corbeck's face fell. 'No!' he said, 'I cannot do that! I am, forthe present at all events, practically bound to secrecy regarding anyof the things in Mr. Trelawny's room.'Doctor Winchester's comment and my own were made at the same moment.I said only the one word 'Checkmate!' from which I think he may havegathered that I guessed more of his idea and purpose than perhaps I hadintentionally conveyed to him. He murmured:'Practically bound to secrecy?'Mr. Corbeck at once took up the challenge conveyed:'Do not misunderstand me! I am not bound by any definite pledge ofsecrecy; but I am bound in honour to respect Mr. Trelawny's confidence,given to me, I may tell you, in' a very large measure. Regarding manyof the objects in his room he has a definite purpose in view; and itwould not be either right or becoming for me, his trusted friend andconfidant, to forestall that purpose. Mr. Trelawny, you may know--orrather you do not know or you would not have so construed my remark--isa scholar, a very great scholar. He has worked for years toward acertain end. For this he has spared no labour, no expense, no personaldanger or self-denial. He is on the line of a result which will placehim amongst the foremost discoverers or investigators of this age. Andnow, just at the time when any hour might bring him success, he isstricken down!'He stopped, seemingly overcome with emotion. After a time herecovered himself and went on:'Again, do not misunderstand me as to another point. I have saidthat Mr. Trelawny has made much confidence with me; but I do not meanto lead you to believe that I know all his plans, or his aims orobjects, I know the period which he has been studying; and the definitehistorical individual whose life he has been investigating, and whoserecords he has been following up one by one with infinite patience. Butbeyond this I know nothing. That he has some aim or object in thecompletion of this knowledge I am convinced. What it is I may guess;but I must say nothing. Please td remember, gentlemen, that I havevoluntarily accepted the position of recipient of a partial confidence.I have respected that; and I must ask any of my friends to do the same.'He spoke with great dignity, and he grew, moment by moment, in therespect and esteem of both Doctor Winchester and myself. We understoodthat he had not done speaking; so we waited in silence till hecontinued:'I have spoken this much, although I know well that even such a hintas either of you might gather from my words might jeopardize thesuccess of his work. But I am convinced that you both wish to helphim--and his daughter,' he said this looking me fairly between theeyes, 'to the best of your power, honestly and unselfishly. He is sostricken down, and the manner of it is so mysterious that I cannot butthink that it is in some way a result of his own work That hecalculated on some set-back is manifest to us all. God knows! I amwilling to do what I can, and to use any knowledge I have in hisbehalf. I arrived in England full of exultation at the thought that Ihad fulfilled the mission with which he had trusted me. I had got whathe said were the last objects of his search; and I felt assured that hewould now be able to begin the experiment of which he had often hintedto me. It is too dreadful that at just such a time such a calamityshould have fallen on him. Doctor Winchester, you are a physician; and,if your face does not belie you, you are a clever and a bold one. Isthere no way which you can devise to wake this man from his unnaturalstupor?'There was a pause; then the answer came slowly and deliberately:'There is no ordinary remedy that I know of. There might possible besome extraordinary one. But there would be no use in trying to find it,except on one condition.''And that?''Knowledge! I am completely ignorant of Egyptian matters, language,writing, history, secrets, medicines, poisons, occult powers--all thatgo to make up the mystery of that mysterious land. This disease, orcondition, or whatever it may be called, from which Mr. Trelawny issuffering, is in some way connected with Egypt. I have had a suspicionof this from the first; and later it grew into a certainty, thoughwithout proof. What you have said tonight confirms my conjecture, andmakes me believe that a proof is to be had. I do not think that youquite know all that has gone on in this house since the night of theattack--of the finding of Mr. Trelawny's body. Now I propose that weconfide in you. If Mr. Ross agrees, I shall ask him to tell you. He ismore skilled than I am in putting facts before other people. He canspeak by his brief; and in this case he has the best of all brief, theexperience of his own eyes and ears, and the evidence that he hashimself taken on the spot from participators in, or spectators, of,what has happened. When you know all, you will, I hope, be in aposition to judge as to whether you can best help Mr. Trelawny; andfurther his secret wishes, by your silence or your speech.'I nodded approval. Mr. Corbeck jumped up, and in his impulsive wayheld out a hand to each.'Done!' he said. 'I acknowledge the honour of your confidence; andon my part I pledge myself that if I find my duty to Mr. Trelawny'swishes will, in his own interest, allow my lips to open on his affairs,I shall speak so freely as I may.' Accordingly I began, and told him, as exactly as I could, everythingthat had happened from the moment of my waking at the knocking on thedoor in Jermyn Street. The only reservations I made were as to my ownfeeling toward Miss Trelawny and the matters of small import to themain subject which followed it; and my conversations with Sergeant Daw,which were in themselves private, and which would have demandeddiscretionary silence in any case. As I spoke, Mr. Corbeck followedwith breathless interest. Sometimes he would stand up and pace aboutthe room in uncontrollable excitement; and then recover himselfsuddenly, and sit down again. Sometimes he would be able to speak, butwould, with an effort, restrain himself. I think the narration helpedme to make up my own mind: for even as I talked, things seemed toappear in a clearer light. Things big and little, in relation of theirimportance to the case, fell into proper perspective. The story up todate became coherent, except as to its cause, which seemed a greatermystery than ever. This is the merit of entire, or collected,narrative. Isolated facts, doubts, suspicions, conjectures, give way toa homogeneity which is convincing.That Mr. Corbeck was convinced was evident. He did not go throughany process of explanation or limitation, but spoke right out at onceto the point, and fearlessly, like a man: 'That settles me! There is in activity some Force that needs specialcare. If we all go on working in the dark we shall get in one another'sway, and by hampering each other, undo the good that any or each of us,working in different directions, might do. It seems to me that thefirst thing we have to accomplish is to get Mr. Trelawny waked out ofthat unnatural sleep. That he can be waked is apparent from the way theNurse has recovered; though what additional harm may have been done tohim in the time he has been lying in that room I suppose no one cantell. We must chance that, however. He has lain there, and whatever theeffect might be, it is there now; and we have, and shall have, to dealwith it as a fact. A day more or less won't hurt in the long-run. It islate now; and we shall probably have tomorrow a task before us thatwill require our energies fresh. You, Doctor, will want to get to yoursleep; for I suppose you have other work as well as this to dotomorrow. As for you, Mr. Ross, I understand that you are to have aspell of watching in the sick-room tonight I shall get you a book whichwill help to pass the time for you. I shall go look for it in thelibrary. I know where it was when I was here last; and I don't supposeMr. Trelawny has used it since. He knew long ago all that was in itwhich was or might be of interest to him. But it will be necessary, orat least helpful, to understand other things which I shall tell youlater. You will be able to tell Doctor Winchester all that would aidhim. For I take it that our work will branch out pretty soon. We shalleach have our own end to hold up; and it will take each of us all ourtime and understanding to get through his own tasks. It will not benecessary for you to read the whole book. All that will interestyou--with regard to our matter I mean of course, for the whole book isinteresting as a record of travel in a country then quite unknown--isthe preface, and two or three chapters which I shall mark for you.'He shook hands warmly with Doctor Winchester who had stood up to go.Whilst he was away I sat lonely, thinking. As I thought, the worldaround me seemed to be illimitably great. The only little spot in whichI was interested seemed like a tiny speck in the midst of a wilderness.Without and around it were darkness and unknown danger, pressing infrom every side. And the central figure in our little oasis was one ofsweetness and beauty. A figure one could love; could work for; couldthe for...!Mr. Corbeck came back in a very short time with the book; he hadfound it at once in the spot where he had seen it three years before.Having placed in it several slips of paper, marking the places where Iwas to read, he put it into my hands saying:'That is what started Mr. Trelawny; what started me when I read it;and which will, I have no doubt, be to you an interesting beginning toa special study--whatever the end may be. If, indeed, any of us heremay ever see the end.'At the door he paused and said:'I want to take back one thing. That Detective is a good fellow.What you have told me of him puts him in a new light. The best proof ofit is that I can go quietly to sleep tonight, and leave the lamps inhis care!'When he had gone I took the book with me, put on my respirator, andwent to my spell of duty in the sick-room!