Chapter XX. The Great Experiment

by Bram Stoker

　　If any evidence had been wanted of how Absolutely one and all of ushad come to believe in the spiritual existence of the Egyptian Queen,it would have been found in the change which in a few minutes had beeneffected in us by the statement of voluntary negation made, we allbelieved, through Margaret. Despite the coming of the fearful ordeal,the sense of which it was impossible to forget, we looked and acted asthough a great relief had come to us. We had indeed lived in such astate of terrorism during the days when Mr. Trelawny was lying in atrance that the feeling had bitten deeply into us. No one knows till hehas experienced it, what it is to be in constant dread of some unknowndanger which may come at any time and in any form.The change was manifested in different ways, according to eachnature. Margaret was sad. Doctor Winchester was in high spirits, andkeenly observant; the process of thought which had served as anantidote to fear, being now relieved from this duty, added to hisintellectual enthusiasm. Mr. Corbeck seemed to be in a retrospectiverather than a speculative mood. I was myself rather inclined to be gay:the relief from certain anxiety regarding Margaret was sufficient forme for the time.As to Mr. Trelawny he seemed less changed than any. Perhaps this wasonly natural, as he had had in his mind the intention for so many yearsof doing that in which we were tonight engaged, that any eventconnected with it could only seem to him as an episode, a step to theend. His was that commanding nature which looks so to the end of anundertaking that all else is of secondary importance. Even now, thoughhis terrible sternness relaxed under the relief from the strain, henever flagged nor faltered for a moment in his purpose. He asked us mento come with him; and going to the hall we presently managed to lowerinto the cave an oak table, fairly long and not too wide, which stoodagainst the wall in the hall. This we placed under the strong clusterof electric lights in the middle of the cave. Margaret looked on for awhile; then all at once her face blanched, and in an agitated voice shesaid:'What are you going to do, Father?"To unroll the mummy of the cat! Queen Tera will not need herFamiliar tonight. If she should want him, it might be dangerousto us; so we shall make him safe. You are not alarmed, dear?''Oh no!' she answered quickly. 'But I was thinking of my Silvio, andhow I should feel if he had been the mummy that was to be unswathed!'Mr. Trelawny got knives and scissors ready, and placed the cat onthe table. It was a grim beginning to our work; and it made my heartsink when I thought of what might happen in that lonely house in themid-gloom of the night. The sense of loneliness and isolation from theworld was increased by the moaning of the wind which had now risenominously, and by the beating of waves on the rocks below. But we hadtoo grave a task before us to be swayed by external manifestations: theunrolling of the mummy began.There was an incredible number of bandages; and the tearingsound--they being stuck fast to each other by bitumen and gums andspices--and the little cloud of red pungent dust that arose, pressed onthe senses of all of us. As the last wrappings came away we saw theanimal seated before us. He was all hunkered up; his hair and teeth andclaws were complete. The eyes were closed, but the eyelids had not thefierce look which I expected. The whiskers had been pressed down on theside of the face by the bandaging; but when the pressure was taken awaythey stood out, just as they would have done in life. He was amagnificent creature, a tiger-cat of great size. But as we looked athim, our first glance of admiration changed to one of fear, and ashudder ran through each one of us; for here was a confirmation of thefears which we had endured.His mouth and his claws were smeared with the dry, red stains ofrecent blood!Doctor Winchester was the first to recover; blood in itself hadsmall disturbing quality for him. He had taken out his magnifying-glassand was examining the stains on the cat's mouth. Mr. Trelawny breathedloudly, as though a strain had been taken from him.'It is as I expected,' he said. "This promises well for what is tofollow.'By this time Doctor Winchester was looking at the red stained paws.'As I expected!' he said. 'He has seven claws, too!' Opening hispocketbook, he took out the piece of blotting-paper marked by Silvio'sclaws, on which was also marked in pencil a diagram of the cuts made onMr. Trelawny's wrist. He placed the paper under the mummy cat's paw.The marks fitted exactly.When we had carefully examined the cat, finding, however, nothingstrange about it but its wonderful preservation, Mr. Trelawny lifted itfrom the table. Margaret started forward, crying out:'Take care, Father! Take care! He may injure you!''Not now, my dear!' he answered as he moved towards the stairway.Her face fell. 'Where are you going?' she asked in a faint voice.'To the kitchen,' he answered. Tire will take away all danger forthe future; even an astral body cannot materialize from ashes!' Hesigned to us to follow him. Margaret turned away with a sob. I went toher; but she motioned me back and whispered:'No, no! Go with the others. Father may want you. Oh! it seems likemurder! The poor Queen's pet...!' The tears were dropping from underthe fingers that covered her eyes.In the kitchen was a fire of wood ready laid. To this Mr. Trelawnyapplied a match; in a few seconds the kindling had caught and theflames leaped. When the fire was solidly ablaze, he threw the body ofthe cat into it. For a few seconds it lay a dark mass amidst theflames, and the room was rank with the smell of burning hair. Then thedry body caught fire too. The inflammable substances used in embalmingbecame new fuel, and the flames roared. A few minutes of fierceconflagration; and then we breathed freely. Queen Tera's Familiar wasno more!When we went back to the cave we found Margaret sitting in the dark.She had switched off the electric light, and only a faint glow of theevening light came through the narrow openings. Her father went quicklyover to her and put his arms round her in a loving protective way. Shelaid her head on his shoulder for a minute, and seemed comforted.Presently she called to me:'Malcolm, turn up the light!' I carried out her orders, and couldsee that, though she had been crying, her eyes were now dry. Her fathersaw it too and looked glad. He said to us in a grave tone:'Now we had better prepare for our great work. It will not do toleave anything to the last!' Margaret must have had a suspicion of whatwas coming, for it was with a sinking voice that she asked:'What are you going to do now?' Mr. Trelawny too must have had asuspicion of her feelings, for he answered in a low tone:'To unroll the mummy of Queen Tera!' She came close to him and saidpleadingly in a whisper:'Father, you are not going to unswathe her! All you men...! And inthe glare of light!''But why not, my dear?''Just think, Father, a woman! All alone! In such a way! In such aplace! Oh! It's cruel, cruel!' She was manifestly much overcome. Hercheeks were flaming red, and her eyes were full of indignant tears. Herfather saw her distress; and, sympathizing with it, began to comforther. I was moving off; but he signed to me to stay. I took it thatafter the usual manner of men he wanted help on such an occasion, andmanlike wished to throw on someone else the task of dealing with awoman in indignant distress. However, he began to appeal first to herreason:'Not a woman, dear; a mummy! She has been dead nearly five thousandyears!''What does that matter? Sex is not a matter of years! A woman is awoman, if she had been dead five thousand centuries! And you expect herto arise out of that long sleep! It could not be real death, if she isto rise out of it! You have led me to believe that she will come alivewhen the Coffer is opened!''I did, my dear, and I believe it! But if it isn't death that hasbeen the matter with her all these years, it is something uncommonlylike it. Then again, just think; it was men who embalmed her. Theydidn't have women's rights or lady doctors in ancient Egypt, my dear!And besides,' he went on more freely, seeing that she was accepting hisargument, if not yielding to it, 'we men are accustomed to such things.Corbeck and I have unrolled a hundred mummies; and there were as manywomen as men amongst them. Doctor Winchester in his work has had todeal with women as well as men, till custom has made him think nothingof sex. Even Ross has in his work as a barrister...' He stoppedsuddenly.'You were going to help, too!' she said to me, with an indignantlook.I said nothing; I thought silence was best. Mr. Trelawny went onhurriedly; I could see that he was glad of interruption, for the partof his argument concerning a barrister's work was becoming decidedlyweak:'My child, you will be with us yourself. Would we do anything whichwould hurt or offend you? Come now! Be reasonable! We are not at apleasure party. We are all grave men, entering gravely on an experimentwhich may unfold the wisdom of old times, and enlarge human knowledgeindefinitely; which may put the minds of men on new tracks of thoughtand research. An experiment,' as he went on his voice deepened, 'whichmay be fraught with death to any one of us--to us all! We know fromwhat has been, that there are, or may be, vast and unknown dangersahead of us, of which none in the house today may ever see the end.Take it, my child, that we are not acting lightly; but with all thegravity of deeply earnest men! Besides, my dear, whatever feelings youor any of us may have on the subject, it is necessary for the successof the experiment to unswathe her. I think that under any circumstancesit would be necessary to remove the wrappings before she became again alive human being instead of a spiritualized corpse with an astral body.Were her original intention carried out, and did she come to new lifewithin her mummy wrappings, it might be to exchange a coffin for agrave! She would die the death of the buried alive! But now, when shehas voluntarily abandoned for the time her astral power, there can beno doubt on the subject.'Margaret's face cleared. 'All right, Father!' she said as she kissedhim. 'But oh! It seems a horrible indignity to a Queen, and a woman.'I was moving away to the staircase when -she called to me:'Where are you going?' I came back and took her hand and stroked itas I answered:'I shall come back when the unrolling is over!' She looked at melong, and a faint suggestion of a smile came over her face as she said:'Perhaps you had better stay, too! It may be useful to you in yourwork as a barrister!' She smiled out as she met my eyes: but in aninstant she changed. Her face grew grave, and deadly white. In a faraway voice she said:'Father is right! It is a terrible occasion; we need all to beserious over it. But all the same--nay, for that very reason you hadbetter stay, Malcolm! You may be glad, later on, that you were presenttonight!'My heart sank down, down, at her words; but I thought it better tosay nothing. Fear was stalking openly enough amongst us already!By this time Mr. Trelawny, assisted by Mr. Corbeck and DoctorWinchester, had raised the lid of the ironstone sarcophagus whichcontained the mummy of the Queen. It was a large one; but it was nonetoo big. The mummy was both long and broad and high: and was of suchweight that it was no easy task, even for the four of us, to lift itout. Under Mr. Trelawny's direction we laid it out on the tableprepared for it.Then, and then only, did the full horror of the whole thing burstupon me! There, in the full glare of the light, the whole material andsordid side of death seemed startlingly real. The outer wrappings, tornand loosened by rude touch, and with the colour either darkened by dustor worn light by friction, seemed creased as by rough treatment; thejagged edges of the wrapping-cloths looked fringed; the painting waspatchy, and the varnish chipped. The coverings were evidently many, forthe bulk was great. But through all, showed that unhidable humanfigure, which seems to look more horrible when partially concealed thanat any other time. What was before us was Death, and nothing else. Allthe romance and sentiment of fancy had disappeared. The two elder men,enthusiasts who had often done such work, were not disconcerted; andDoctor Winchester seemed to hold himself in a business-like attitude,as if before the operating-table. But I felt low-spirited, andmiserable, and ashamed; and besides I was pained and alarmed byMargaret's ghastly pallor.Then the work began. The unrolling of the mummy cat had prepared mesomewhat for it; but this was so much larger, and so infinitely moreelaborate, that it seemed a different thing. Moreover, in addition tothe ever present sense of death and humanity, there was a feeling ofsomething finer in all this. The cat had been embalmed with coarsermaterials; here, all, when once the outer coverings were removed, wasmore delicately done. It seemed as if only the finest gums and spiceshad been used in this embalming. But there were the same surroundings,the same attendant red dust and pungent presence of bitumen; there wasthe same sound of rending which marked the tearing away of thebandages. There were an enormous number of these, and their bulk whenopened was great. As the men unrolled them, I grew more and moreexcited. I did not take a part in it myself; Margaret had looked at megratefully as I drew back. We clasped hands, and held each other hard.As the unrolling went on, the wrappings became finer, and the smellless laden with bitumen, but more pungent. We all, I think, began tofeel it as though it caught or touched us in some special way. This,however, did not interfere with the work; it went on uninterruptedly.Some of the inner wrappings bore symbols or pictures. These were donesometimes wholly in pale green colour sometimes in many colours; butalways with a prevalence of green. Now and again Mr. Trelawny or Mr.Corbeck would point out some special drawing before laying the bandageon the pile behind them, which kept growing to a monstrous height.At last we knew that the wrappings were coming to an end. Alreadythe proportions were reduced to those of a normal figure of themanifest height of the Queen, who was more than average tall. And asthe end drew nearer, so Margaret's pallor grew; and her heart beat moreand more wildly, till her breast heaved in a way that frightened me.Just as her father was taking away the last of the bandages, hehappened to look up and caught the pained and anxious look of her paleface. He paused, and taking her concern to be as to the outrage onmodesty, said in a comforting way:'Do not be uneasy, dear! See! there is nothing to harm you. TheQueen has on a robe.--Ay, and a royal robe, too!'The wrapping was a wide piece the whole length of the body. It beingremoved, a profusely full robe of white linen had appeared, coveringthe body from the throat to the feet.And such linen! We all bent over to look at it.Margaret lost her concern, in her woman's interest in fine stuff.Then the rest of us looked with admiration; for surely such linen wasnever seen by the eyes of our age. It was as fine as the finest silk.But never was spun or woven silk which lay in such gracious folds,constrict though they were by the close wrappings of the mummy cloth,and fixed into hardness by the passing of thousands of years.Round the neck it was delicately embroidered in pure gold with tinysprays of sycamore; and round the feet, similarly worked, was anendless line of lotus plants of unequal height, and with all thegraceful abandon of natural growth.Across the body, but manifestly not surrounding it, was a girdle ofjewels. A wondrous girdle, which shone and glowed with all the formsand phases and colours of the sky!The buckle was a great yellow stone, round of outline, deep andcurved, as if a yielding globe had been pressed down. It shone andglowed, as though a veritable sun lay within; the rays of its lightseemed to strike out and illumine all round. Flanking it were two greatmoonstones of lesser size, whose glowing, beside the glory of thesun-stone, was like the silvery sheen of moonlight.And then on either side, linked by golden clasps of exquisite shape,was a line of flaming jewels, of which the colours seemed to glow. Eachof these stones seemed to hold a living star, which twinkled in everyphase of changing light.Margaret raised her hands in ecstasy. She bent over to examine moreclosely; but suddenly drew back and stood fully erect at her grandheight. She seemed to speak with the conviction of absolute knowledgeas she said:'That is no cerement! It was not meant for the clothing of death! Itis a marriage robe!'Mr. Trelawny leaned over and touched the linen robe. He lifted afold at the neck, and I knew from the quick intake of his breath thatsomething had surprised him. He lifted yet a little more; and then he,too, stood back and pointed, saying:'Margaret is right! That dress is not intended to be worn by thedead! See! 'her figure is not robed in it. It is but laid upon her.' Helifted the zone of jewels and handed it to Margaret. Then with bothhands he raised the ample robe, and laid it across the arms which sheextended in a natural impulse. Things of such beauty were too preciousto be handled with any but the greatest care.We all stood awed at the beauty of the figure which, save for theface cloth, now lay completely nude before us. Mr. Trelawny bent over,and with hands that trembled slightly, raised this linen cloth whichwas of the same fineness as the robe. As he stood back and the wholeglorious beauty of the Queen was revealed, I felt a rush of shame sweepover me. It was not right that we should be there, gazing withirreverent eyes on such unclad beauty: it was indecent; it was almostsacrilegious! And yet the white wonder of that beautiful form wassomething to dream of. It was not like death at all; it was like astatue carven in ivory by the hand of a Praxiteles. There was nothingof that horrible shrinkage which death seems to effect in a moment.There was none of the wrinkled toughness which seems to be a leadingcharacteristic of most mummies. There was not the shrunken attenuationof a body dried in the sand, as I had seen before in museums. All thepores of the body seemed to have been preserved in some wonderful way.The flesh was full and round, as in a living person; and the skin wasas smooth as satin. The colour seemed extraordinary. It was like ivory;except where the right arm, with shattered, bloodstained wrist andmissing hand had lain bare to exposure in the sarcophagus for so manytens of centuries.With a womanly impulse; with a mouth that drooped with pity, witheyes-that flashed with anger, and cheeks that flamed, Margaret threwover the body the beautiful robe which lay across her arm. Only theface was then to be seen. This was more startling even than the body,for it seemed not dead, but alive. The eyelids were closed; but thelong, black, curling lashes lay over on the cheeks. The nostrils, setin grave pride, seemed to have the repose which, when it is seen inlife, is greater than the repose of death. The full, red lips, thoughthe mouth was not open, showed the tiniest white line of pearly teethwithin. Her hair, glorious in quantity and glossy black as the raven'swing, was piled in great masses over the white forehead, on which a fewcurling tresses strayed like tendrils. I was amazed at the likeness toMargaret, though I had had my mind prepared for such by Mr. Corbeck'squotation of her father's statement. This woman--I could not think ofher as a mummy or a corpse--was the image of Margaret as my eyes hadfirst lit on her. The likeness was increased by the jewelled ornamentwhich she wore in her hair, the 'Disc and Plumes', such as Margarettoo, had worn. It, too, was a glorious jewel; one noble pearl ofmoonlight lustre, flanked by carven pieces of moonstone.Mr. Trelawny was overcome as he looked. He quite broke down; andwhen Margaret flew to him and held him close in her arms and comfortedhim, I heard him murmur brokenly:'It looks as if you were dead, my child!'There was a long silence. I could hear without the roar of the wind,which was now risen to a tempest, and the furious dashing of the wavesfar below. Mr. Trelawny's voice broke the spell:'Later on we must try and find out the process of embalming. It isnot like any that I know. There does not seem to have been any openingcut for the withdrawing of the viscera and organs, which apparentlyremain intact within the body. Then, again, there is no moisture in theflesh; but its place is supplied with something else, as though wax orstearine had been conveyed into the veins by some subtle process. Iwonder could it be possible that at that time they could have usedparaffin. It might have been, by some process that we know not, pumpedinto the veins, where it hardened!'Margaret, having thrown a white sheet over the Queen's body, askedus to bring it to her own room, where we laid it on her bed. Then shesent us away, saying:'Leave her alone with me. There are still many hours to pass, and Ido not like to leave her lying there, all stark in the glare of light.This may be the Bridal she prepared for--the Bridal of Death; and atleast she shall wear her pretty robes.'When presently she brought me back to her room, the dead Queen wasdressed in the robe of fine linen with the embroidery of gold; and allher beautiful jewels were in place. Candles were lit around her, andwhite flowers lay upon her breast.Hand in hand we stood looking at her for a while. Then with a sigh,Margaret covered her with one of her own snowy sheets. She turned away;and after softly closing the door of the room, went back with me to theothers who had now come into the dining-room. Here we all began to talkover the things that had been, and that were to be.Now and again I could feel that one or other of us was forcingconversation, as if we were not sure of ourselves. The long wait wasbeginning to tell on our nerves. It was apparent to me that Mr.Trelawny had suffered in that strange trance more than we suspected, orthan he cared to show. True, his will and his determination were asstrong as ever; but the purely physical side of him had been weakenedsomewhat. It was indeed only natural that it should be. No man can gothrough a period of four days of absolute negation of life, withoutbeing weakened by it somehow.As the hours crept by, the time passed more and more slowly. Theother men seemed to get unconsciously a little drowsy. I wondered if inthe case of Mr. Trelawny and Mr. Corbeck, who had already been underthe hypnotic influence of the Queen, the same dormance was manifestingitself. Doctor Winchester had periods of distraction which grew longerand more frequent as the time wore on.As to Margaret, the suspense told on her exceedingly, as might havebeen expected in the case of a woman. She grew paler and paler still;till at last about midnight, I began to be seriously alarmed about her.I got her to come into the library with me, and tried to make her liedown on a sofa for a little while. As Mr. Trelawny had decided that theexperiment was to be made exactly at the seventh hour after sunset, itwould be as nearly as possible three o'clock in the morning when thegreat trial should be made. Even allowing a whole hour for the finalpreparations, we had still two hours of waiting to go through. Ipromised faithfully to watch her, and to awake her at any time shemight name; but she would not hear of resting. She thanked me sweetly,and smiled as she did so. But she assured me that she was not sleepy,and that she was quite able to bear up; that it was only the suspenseand excitement of waiting that made her pale. I agreed perforce, but Ikept her talking of many things in the library for more 'than an hour;so that at last, when she insisted on going back to her father, I feltthat I had at least done something to help her pass the time.We found the three men sitting patiently in the dining-room insilence. With man's fortitude they were content to be still, when theyfelt they had done all in their power.And so we waited. The striking of two o'clock seemed to freshen us all up. Whatevershadows had been settling over us 'during the long hours precedingseemed to lift at once, and we all went about our separate duties alertand with alacrity. We looked first to the windows to see that they wereclosed; for now the storm raged so fiercely that we feared it mightupset our plans which, after all, were based on perfect stillness.Then we got ready our respirators to put them on when the timeshould be close at hand. We had from the first arranged to use them,for we did not know whether some noxious fume might not come from theMagic Coffer when it should be opened. Somehow it never seemed to occurto any of us that there was any doubt as to its opening.Then, under Margaret's guidance, we carried the body of Queen Tera,still clad in her Bridal robes, from her room into the cavern.It was a strange sight, and a strange experience. The group ofgrave silent men carrying away from the lighted candles and the whiteflowers the white still figure, which looked like an ivory statue whenthrough our moving the robe fell back.We laid her in the sarcophagus, and placed the severed hand in itstrue position on her breast. Under it was laid the Jewel of SevenStars, which Mr. Trelawny had taken from the safe. It seemed to flashand blaze as he put it in its place. The glare of the electric lightsshone cold on the great sarcophagus fixed ready for the finalexperiment--the Great Experiment, consequent on the researches during alifetime of these two travelled scholars. Again, the startling likenessbetween Margaret and the mummy, intensified by her own extraordinarypallor, heightened the strangeness of it all.When all was finally fixed, three-quarters of an hour had gone; forwe were deliberate in all our doings. Margaret beckoned me, and I wentwith her to her room. There she did a thing which moved me strangely,and brought home to me keenly the desperate nature of the enterprise onwhich we were embarked. One by one, she blew out the candles carefully,and placed them back in their usual places. When she had finished shesaid to me.'They are done with! Whatever comes--Life or Death-- there will beno purpose in their using now!'We returned to. the cavern with a strange thrill as of finality.There was to be no going back now!We put on our respirators, and took our places as had been arranged.I was to stand by the taps of the electric lights, ready to turn themoff or on as Mr. Trelawny should direct. His last caution to me tocarry out his instructions exactly was almost like a menace; for hewarned me that death to any or all of us might come from any error orneglect on my part Margaret and Doctor Winchester were to stand betweenthe sarcophagus and the wall, so that they would not be between themummy and the Magic Coffer. They were to note accurately all thatshould happen with regard to the Queen.Mr. Trelawny and Mr. Corbeck were to see the lamps lighted: and thento take their places, the former at the foot, the latter at the head,of the sarcophagus.When the hands of the clock were close to the hour, they stood readywith their lit tapers, like gunners in old days with their linstocks.For the few minutes that followed, the passing of time was a slowhorror. Mr. Trelawny stood with his watch in his hand, ready to givethe signal.The time approached with inconceivable slowness; but at last camethe whirring of wheels which warns that the hour is at hand. Thestriking of the silver bell of the clock seemed to smite on our heartslike the knell of doom. One! Two! Three!The wicks of the lamps caught, and I turned out the electric light.In the dimness of the struggling lamps, and after the bright glow ofthe electric light, the room and all within it took weird shape, andeverything seemed in an instant to change. We waited, with our heartsbeating. I know mine did; and I fancied I could hear the pulsation ofthe others. Without, the storm raged; the shutters of the narrowwindows shook and strained and raided, as though something was strivingfor entrance.The seconds seemed to pass with leaden wings; it was as though allthe world were standing still. The figures of the others stood outdimly, Margaret's white dress alone showing clearly in the gloom. Thethick respirators, which we all wore, added to the strange appearance.The thin light of the lamps, as the two men bent over the Coffer,showed Mr. Trelawny's square jaw and strong mouth, and the brown,wrinkled face of Mr. Corbeck. Their eyes seemed to glare in the light.Across the room Doctor Winchester's eyes twinkled like stars, andMargaret's blazed like black suns.Would the lamps never burn up!It was only a few seconds in all till they did blaze up. A slow,steady light, growing more and more bright; and changing in colour fromblue to crystal white. So they stayed for a couple of minutes, withoutany change in the Coffer being noticeable. At last there began toappear all over it a delicate glow. This grew and grew, till it becamelike a blazing jewel; and then like a living thing, whose essence waslight. Mr. Trelawny and Mr. Corbeck moved silently to their placesbeside the sarcophagus.We waited and waited, our hearts seeming to stand still.All at once there was a sound like a tiny muffled explosion, and thecover of the Coffer lifted right up on a level plane a few inches;there was no mistaking anything now, for the whole cavern was full oflight. Then the cover, staying fast at one side, rose slowly up on theother, as though yielding to some, pressure of balance. I could not seewhat was within, for the risen cover stood between. The Coffer stillcontinued to glow; from it began to steal a faint greenish vapour whichfloated in the direction of the sarcophagus as though impelled or drawntowards it. I could not smell it fully on account of the respirator;but, even through that, I was conscious of a strange, pungent odour.The vapour got somewhat denser after a few seconds, and began to passdirectly into the open sarcophagus. It was evident now that the mummiedbody had some attraction for it; and also that it had some effect onthe body, for the sarcophagus slowly became illumined as though thebody had begun to glow. I could not see within from where I stood, butI garnered from the faces of all the four watchers that somethingstrange was happening.I longed to run over and take a look for myself; but I rememberedMr. Trelawny's solemn warning, and remained at my post.The storm still thundered round the house, and I could feel the rockon which it was built tremble under the furious onslaught of the waves.The shutters strained as though the screaming wind without would invery anger have forced an entrance. In that dread hour of expectancy,when the forces of Life and Death were struggling for the mastery,imagination was awake. I almost fancied that the storm was a livingthing, and animated with the wrath of the quick!All at once the eager faces round the sarcophagus were bent forward.The look of speechless wonder in the eyes, lit by that supernaturalglow from within the sarcophagus, had a more than mortal brilliance. -My own eyes were nearly blinded by the awful, paralysing light, sothat I could hardly trust them. I saw something white rising up fromthe open sarcophagus. Something which appeared to my tortured eyes tobe filmy, like a white mist. In the heart of this mist, which wascloudy and opaque like an opal, was something like a hand holding afiery jewel flaming with many lights. As the fierce glow of the Coffermet this new living light, the green vapour floating between themseemed like a cascade of brilliant points--a miracle of light!But at that very moment there came a change. The fierce storm,battling with the shutters of the narrow openings, won victory. Withthe sound of a pistol shot, one of the heavy shutters broke itsfastening and was hurled on its hinges back against the wall. In rusheda fierce blast which blew the flames of the lamps to and fro, anddrifted the green vapour from its course.On the very instant came a change in the outcome from the Coffer.There was a moment's quick flame and a muffled explosion; and blacksmoke began to pour out. This got thicker and thicker with frightfulrapidity, in volumes of ever-increasing density, till the whole cavernbegan to get obscure, and its outlines were lost. The screaming windtore in and whirled it about. At a sign from Mr. Trelawny Mr. Corbeckwent and closed the shutter and jammed it fast with a wedge.I should have liked to help; but I had to wait directions from Mr.Trelawny, who inflexibly held his post at the head of thesarcophagus. I signed to him with my hand, but he motioned me back.Gradually the figures of all close to the sarcophagus became indistinctin the smoke which rolled round them in thick billowy clouds. Finally,I lost sight of them altogether. I had a terrible desire to rush overso as to be near Margaret; but again I restrained myself. If theStygian gloom continued, light would be a necessity of safety; and Iwas the guardian of the light! My anguish of anxiety as I stood to mypost was almost unendurable.The Coffer was now but a dull colour; and the lamps were growingdim, as though they were being overpowered by the thick smoke. Absolutedarkness would soon be upon us.I waited and waited, expecting every instant to hear the command toturn up the light; but none came. I waited still, and looked withharrowing intensity at the rolling billows of smoke still pouring outof the casket whose glow was fading. The lamps sank down, and went out;one by one.Finally, there was but one lamp alight, and that was dimly blue andflickering. I kept my eyes fixed towards Margaret, in the hope that Imight see her in some lifting of the gloom; it was for her now that allmy anxiety was claimed. I could just see her white frock beyond the dimoutline of the sarcophagus.Deeper and deeper grew the black mist, and its pungency began toassail my nostrils as well as my eyes. Now the volume of smoke comingfrom the Coffer seemed to lessen, and the smoke itself to be lessdense. Across the room I saw a movement of something white where thesarcophagus was. There were several such movements. I could just catchthe quick glint of white through the dense smoke in the fading light;for now even the last lamp began to flicker with the quick leaps beforeextinction. Then the last glow disappeared. I felt that the time hadcome to speak; so I pulled off my respirator and called out: ''Shall I turn on the light?' There was no answer. Before the thicksmoke choked me, I called again, but more loudly:'Mr. Trelawny, shall I turn on the light? Answer me! If you do notforbid me, I shall turn it on!'As there was no reply, I turned the tap. To my horror there was noresponse; something had gone wrong with the electric light! I moved,intending to run up the staircase to seek the cause, but I could nowsee nothing, all was pitch dark.I groped my way across the room to where I thought Margaret was. AsI went I stumbled across a body. I could feel by her dress that it wasa woman. My heart sank; Margaret was unconscious, or perhaps dead. Ilifted the body in my arms, and went straight forward till I touched awall. Following it round I came to the stairway: and hurried up (hesteps with what haste I could make, hampered as I was with my dearburden. It may have been that hope lightened my task; but as I went theweight that I bore seemed to grow less as I ascended from the cavern.I laid the body in the hall, and groped my way to Margaret's room,where I knew there were matches, and the candles which she had placedbeside the Queen. I struck a match; and oh! It was good to see thelight. I lit two candles, and taking one in each hand, hurried back tothe hall where I had left, as I had supposed, Margaret.Her body was not there. But on the spot where I had laid her wasQueen Tera's Bridal robe, and surrounding it the girdle of wondrousgems. Where the heart had been, lay the Jewel of Seven Stars.Sick at heart, and with a terror which has no name, I went down intothe cavern. My two candles were like mere points of light in the black,impenetrable smoke. I put up again to my mouth the respirator whichhung round my neck, and went to look for my companions.I found them all where they had stood. They had sunk down on thefloor, and were gazing upward with fixed eyes of unspeakable terror.Margaret had put her hands before her face, but the glassy stare of hereyes through her fingers was more terrible than an open glare.I pulled back the shutters of all the windows to let in what air Icould. The storm was dying away as quickly as it had risen, and now itonly came in desultory puffs. It might well be quiescent; its work wasdone!I did what I could for my companions: but there was nothing thatcould avail. There, in that lonely house, far away from aid of man,naught could avail.It was merciful that I was spared the pain of hoping.