The other, who had now joined them, merely grunted, looking at the floor, and rubbing his hands nervously together.
“You mean we shall be able to get rid of the curse soon, then, Doctor?” Tony asked eagerly.
“Yes, we shall be rid of it.” Gaunt smiled crookedly. “We shall free it from this island, even as it was freed from you last night. It is in my hands now.”
Tony frowned, puzzled by the doctor’s apparent reversal of the pronouns. Surely he had been freed from the curse, not the curse from him? He let the question pass, and asked another:
“It’s been worrying me ever since I woke, Doctor. I can’t understand why you permitted last night’s ceremony at all. Isn’t the curse much more powerful now?”
“The curse, as you persist in terming it, is the most tremendous evil force this world has ever known. I should remind you that it is actually a monstrosity of the Outer Darkness, an intruder from the chaos which exists behind the Veil of dimensional matter, and that its power is incalculable.”
“But won’t it be even more difficult to banish now, Doctor?” Tony was very puzzled.
“Who spoke of banishment? I doubt if it could be banished. But it will be a simple matter to release it.”
Vaughan coughed and took a step forward, but Gaunt raised his hand.
“No, Simon, it is right that he should know. He is one of us now, and will rejoice with us when he knows what he has done.”
“What do you mean?” A dreadful suspicion was forming in Tony’s mind, and he waited breathlessly for Gaunt’s reply.
“I mean that I have no intention whatever of even attempting to send this thing back whence it came. I propose to loose it upon the world. It will do more for the ultimate triumph of our Lord than we have been able to achieve since the world began.”
Keeping his voice steady by a great effort, Tony asked:
“And I, what have I done?”
“By assisting at the Mass and committing the final sacrilege you have set the seal upon your renunciation of all that is good, and thus made it impossible for the powers of light to assist you to control this monstrosity, even if you had wished. Furthermore, by reason of the subtle link which the Abbot’s words forged between your family and it, it shared in your violation of the Host, the focus of Light in this world, and it awoke once more to knowledge and dire hatred of its adversary. The same thing happened in the time of your ancestor, James Lovell, but you were more fortunate than he, who, unable to control it, was destroyed by it. You were able to sever the connection and pass the reins to me, who, by reason of my greater knowledge, could check its fury.”
Tony’s head was bowed. When he spoke again his voice was hardly above a whisper.
“What will happen when you release it?”
A far-away look came into the doctor’s eyes, and his voice rang out like a trumpet:
“It will spread in a thinning cloud over the whole earth, and mankind will turn its face from God and sink into the darkness of the Pit. There will be ceaseless wars and revolutions until civilization is lost in anarchy. Every spark of goodwill in the heart of man will be utterly quenched; and he will at last lose his semblance of divinity, his immortal soul, and revert to the level of the beasts. Evolution will be reversed!”
Tony stared incredulously at the pale face before him, lit with the fire of prophecy. Was this the teacher he had known and loved? The doctor’s face lost its prophetic fire, and he looked full into the eyes of the young man, his lean, handsome features twisting into a satanic smile. Tony groaned aloud.
“I cannot — I will not permit it!” he gasped.
“So!” Gaunt’s voice sank into a snarl. “Is this the stuff you are made of, Anthony Lovell? I always feared you were not worthy of our great brotherhood. Do you shrink from the triumph of our Lord like a girl from the sight of blood?”
“No — no! I wanted His Kingdom to come upon earth — I want it still, but not like this! I desired knowledge, power, a god to worship; you gave them to me. I wanted to pass on my wonderful discovery to all men, to release them from the crushing bondage of the Nazarene, and the Church he left behind when we found him out and destroyed him. I wanted to see mankind rise glorious and proud; strong in the ancient wisdom; casting off the yoke of the Crucified; not blasted for ever.”
“Words — words!” Gaunt broke in. “How little you know of us! Do you not understand that this world is itself a creation of the Power which we defy? It must all perish before we conquer. But that is your weakness, Anthony Lovell; inconsistency. All you want of religion is hope and faith, prayer and praise; you cannot face the ultimate. You were never one of them because you never believed their faith was real. You could not envisage the logical outcome of their beliefs — the winning of the world for Christ.” He spat viciously. “And now you cannot be one of us because you dare not face the consummation of our faith, the winning of the world for Satan.”
He turned away, for Tony stood speechless, gazing at the ground. His self-created world was crashing about his ears; he felt utterly desolate, friendless, and alone. Gaunt turned again.
“One last chance I will give you, Tony, because I have loved you well. Be with us, help us in this great blow we are about to strike for our Lord, and share with us the sweet fruits of victory. We shall not be forgotten when He comes into His Kingdom.”
Tony shook his head.
“Not that way!” he said in a choked voice.
Gaunt shrugged his shoulders.
“I pity you most profoundly,” said he; “outcast from both worlds you stand, helpless because you dare not face the truth. Come, Simon; let us leave the fool to his folly.”
Vaughan looked up sharply. During the whole of the argument he had remained motionless, his head downcast, his fingers twisted together. Now Tony saw that upon his face there was an expression he could not analyze: there was sullen defiance in it, veiled sympathy, and a great horror.
Their eyes met; the apostate priest, foul, degraded, the marks of his sins showing plainly in his countenance, and the young man whose faith had failed him; and over that vast gulf which yawned between them flashed the divine spark of sympathy. Brothers in adversity, their glances locked and held.
Vaughan opened his lips to speak. What he would have said must remain for ever a mystery, for a remembered voice cut sharply into their midst:
“Keep perfectly still, all of you, please!”
In the entrance to the corridor beyond the staircase stood John Hamilton, pistol in hand; and behind him loomed the bulky form of Tom Tregellis.
Chapter XVII
John Hamilton was eating a hearty breakfast in the back parlour of the Three Fishermen when the landlord’s round red face appeared at the door.
“There’s a lady and gentleman to see you, sir,” said he. “I think they’re from Kestrel.”
“Bring them in.” Hamilton rose to his feet.
“They won’t come, sir. Say they’ve got a train to catch.”
“Right. I’ll come out.” Hamilton dropped his napkin on the table and went through the bar into the street.
There he found a market cart, laden with luggage, and Mrs. Lorrimer perched insecurely on top. Her husband stood on the narrow pavement nervously fingering his hard black hat.
“Good morning!” Hamilton greeted them. “You wished to see me?”
“Yes, sir,” Lorrimer answered hesitantly. “We’re leaving.”
“So I see. Have things got too much for you at last?”
“That they have — but — are you all right now, sir?”
“Why, what do you mean?”
“Well, sir, last time I spoke to you about — about Sir Anthony and his friends, you didn’t seem to remember that we’d talked of it before.”