I heard a voice: "Slap him again, Bill, but not so hard. He's coming around." I felt a stinging blow on my face. The dancing mists cleared from before my eyes. I was standing halfway between the nurse's table and Ricori's bed. The guard Jack held my arms pinioned to my sides. The guard Bill's hand was still raised. There was something clenched tightly in my own hand. I looked down. It was a strong scalpel, razor–edged!
I dropped the scalpel. I said, quietly: "It's all right now, you can release me."
The guard Bill said nothing. His comrade did not loose his grip. I twisted my head and I saw that both their faces were sallow white. I said:
"It was what I had expected. It was why I instructed you. It is over. You can keep your guns on me if you like."
The guard who held me freed my arms. I touched my cheek gingerly. I said mildly:
"You must have hit me rather hard, Bill."
He said: "If you could a seen your face, Doc, you'd wonder I didn't smash it."
I nodded, clearly sensible now of the demonic quality of that rage, I asked:
"What did I do?"
The guard Bill said: "You wake up and set there for a minute staring at the chief. Then you take something out of that drawer and get up. You say you're going to take his temperature. You're half to him before we see what you got. I shout, 'Not with that you don't!' Jack grabs you. Then you went crazy. And I had to slam you. That's all."
I nodded again. I took out of my pocket the knotcord of woman's pale hair, held it over a dish and touched a match to it. It began to burn, writhing like a tiny snake as it did so, the complex knots untying as the flame touched them. I dropped the last inch of it upon the plate and watched it turn to ash.
"I think there'll be no more trouble tonight," I said. "But keep up your watch just as before."
I dropped back into the chair and closed my eyes…
Well, Braile had not shown me a soul, but—I believed in Madame Mandilip.
Chapter XI
A Doll Kills
The balance of the night I slept soundly and dreamlessly. I awakened at my usual hour of seven. The guards were alert. I asked if anything had been heard from McCann, and they answered no. I wondered a little at that, but they did not seem to think it out of the ordinary. Their reliefs were soon due, and I cautioned them to speak to no one but McCann about the occurrences of the night, reminding them that no one would be likely to believe them if they did. They assured me, earnestly, that they would be silent. I told them that I wanted the guards to remain within the room thereafter, as long as they were necessary.
Examining Ricori, I found him sleeping deeply and naturally. In all ways his condition was most satisfactory. I concluded that the second shock, as sometimes happens, had counteracted the lingering effects of the initial one. When he awakened, he would be able to speak and move. I gave this reassuring news to the guards. I could see that they were bursting with questions. I gave them no encouragement to ask them.
At eight, my day nurse for Ricori appeared, plainly much surprised to have found Butler sleeping and to find me taking her place. I made no explanation, simply telling her that the guards would now be stationed within the room instead of outside the door.
At eight–thirty, Braile dropped in on me for breakfast, and to report. I let him finish before I apprised him of what had happened. I said nothing, however, of the nurse's little cap, nor of my own experience.
I assumed this reticence for well–considered reasons. One, Braile would accept in its entirety the appalling deduction from the cap's presence. I strongly suspected that he had been in love with Walters, and that I would be unable to restrain him from visiting the doll– maker. Usually hard–headed, he was in this matter far too suggestible. It would be dangerous for him, and his observations would be worthless to me. Second, if he knew of my own experience, he would without doubt refuse to let me out of his sight. Third, either of these contingencies would defeat my own purpose, which was to interview Madame Mandilip entirely alone—with the exception of McCann to keep watch outside the shop.
What would come of that meeting I could not forecast. But, obviously, it was the only way to retain my self–respect. To admit that what had occurred was witchcraft, sorcery, supernatural—was to surrender to superstition. Nothing can be supernatural. If anything exists, it must exist in obedience to natural laws. Material bodies must obey material laws. We may not know those laws—but they exist nevertheless. If Madame Mandilip possessed knowledge of an unknown science, it behooved me as an exemplar of known science, to find out what I could about the other. Especially as I had recently responded so thoroughly to it. That I had been able to outguess her in her technique—if it had been that, and not a self–induced illusion—gave me a pleasant feeling of confidence. At any rate, meet her I must.
It happened to be one of my days for consultation, so I could not get away until after two. I asked Braile to take charge of matters after that, for a few hours.
Close to ten the nurse telephoned that Ricori was awake, that he was able to speak and had been asking for me.
He smiled at me as I entered the room. As I leaned over and took his wrist he said:
"I think you have saved more than my life, Dr. Lowell! Ricori thanks you. He will never forget!"
A bit florid, but thoroughly in character. It showed that his mind was functioning normally. I was relieved.
"We'll have you up in a jiffy." I patted his hand.
He whispered: "Have there been any more deaths?"
I had been wondering whether he had retained any recollection of the affair of the night. I answered:
"No. But you have lost much strength since McCann brought you here. I don't want you to do much talking today." I added, casually: "No, nothing has happened. Oh, yes—you fell out of bed this morning. Do you remember?"
He glanced at the guards and then back at me. He said:
"I am weak. Very weak. You must make me strong quickly."
"We'll have you sitting up in two days, Ricori."
"In less than two days I must be up and out. There is a thing I must do. It cannot wait."
I did not want him to become excited. I abandoned any intention of asking what had happened in the car. I said, incisively:
"That will depend entirely upon you. You must not excite yourself. You must do as I tell you. I am going to leave you now, to give orders for your nutrition. Also, I want your guards to remain in this room."
He said: "And still you tell me—nothing has happened."
"I don't intend to have anything happen." I leaned over him and whispered: "McCann has guards around the Mandilip woman. She cannot run away."
He said: "But her servitors are more efficient than mine, Dr. Lowell!"
I looked at him sharply. His eyes were inscrutable. I went back to my office, deep in thought. What did Ricori know?
At eleven o'clock McCann called me on the telephone. I was so glad to hear from him that I was angry.
"Where on earth have you been—" I began.
"Listen, Doc. I'm at Mollie's—Peters' sister," he interrupted. "Come here quick."
The peremptory demand added to my irritation. "Not now," I answered. "These are my office hours. I will not be free until two."
"Can't you break away? Something's happened. I don't know what to do!" There was desperation in his voice.
"What has happened?" I asked.
"I can't tell you over—" His voice steadied, grew gentle; I heard him say, "Be quiet, Mollie. It can't do no good!" Then to me—"Well, come as soon as you can, Doc. I'll wait. Take the address." Then when he had given it to me, I heard him again speaking to another—"Quit it, Mollie! I ain't going to leave you."