menu_book Chapter 8

CHAPTER VIII Before Glen Bath and I parted on the terrible evening described in the previous chapter, we had made a contract with each other to say nothing about what we had seen to the ladies. For this reason, when my wife endeavoured to interrogate me concerning her entertainment,

I furnished her with an elaborate description of the dinner itself, spoke of the marvellous cooking and I hope gave her a fairly accurate account of the menu, or rather so much of it as I could remember. I suppose I must confess to defeat then, she said, when I had exhausted my powers of narration. I had settled the conviction that something out of the common would have occurred, who

seemed simply to have had a good dinner, to have smoked some excellent cigars, and the rest to have been bounded merely by the commonplace. For once I fear Dr Nicola has not acted up to his reputation. If she had known the truth, I wonder what she would have said. Long after she had bade me good night, I lay awake, rummulating on the different events

of the evening. The memory of what I had seen in that awful room was still as fresh with me as if I were still watching it, and yet I asked myself, why should I worry so much about it? Nicola had willed that his audience should see certain things. We had done so.

It was no more concerned with the supernatural than I was myself. Any man who had the power could have impressed us in the same way. But though I told myself all this, I must confess that I was by no means convinced. I knew in my heart that the whole thing had been too real to be merely a matter of make-believe. No human brain could have invented the ghastly horrors of that room in such complete detail.

What I begin to think of it now is to bring the scene almost too vividly before me, and when I lay awake at night I seem to hear the shrieks of the wretched woman and the moans of the man perishing in the vaults below. On my retiring caress, my wife had informed me that she fancied Miss Trevor had been slightly better that evening.

She had slept peacefully for upwards of an hour and seemed to be much refreshed by it. Her maid is going to spend the night in her room, said Phyllis. I have told her that if she sees any change in Gertrude's condition, she shall let me know at once. I do hope that she may be herself again tomorrow.

This however was unhappily not destined to be the case. For a little before three o'clock there was a tapping upon our bedroom door. Guessing who it would be, my wife went to it, and having opened it a little, was informed that Miss Trevor was worse. I must go to her at once, said Phyllis, and having clothed herself warmly for the night

was cold, she departed to our guest room. I am really afraid there is something very serious that mattered with her, she said, when she returned after about quarter of an hour's absence. She is in a high state of fever and is inclined to be delirious. Do you think we had better send for the doctor?

I will have a messenger dispatched to him at once if you think it necessary I return. Poor girl, I wonder what on earth it can be. Perhaps the doctor will be able to tell us now, said my wife. The symptoms are more fully developed, and he should be surely able to make his diagnosis. But I must not stay here talking, I must go back to her.

When she had departed I dressed myself and went down to the hall in search of the nightwatchman. He undertook to find the messenger to go and fetch the doctor, and when I had seen him dispatched on his errand, I returned to the drawing room and switched on the electric light, and tried to interest myself in a book until the medicos should arrive. I was not very successful, however, or interesting though I was given to understand the book was.

I found my thoughts continually leaving it and returning to the house in the Rio del Concilio. I wondered what Nicola was doing at that moment, and I fancied I could picture him still at work, late though the hour was. At last, tiring of the book, and wanting something else to occupy my thoughts. I went to the window and drew back the shutters.

It was a beautiful morning, and the myriad stars overhead were reflected in the black waters of the canal like lamps of a large town. Not a sound was to be heard. It might have been a city of the dead. So still was it.

As I stood looking across the water, I thought of the city's past history, of her ancient grandeur, of her wondrous art, and of the great men who had been her children. It was a tremendous lesson to be learnt from her fall, if one could only master it. I was interrupted in my reverie by the entrance of the doctor, whom I had told the night watchman to conduct to my presence immediately upon his arrival.

I am sorry to bring you out this time of night, doctor, I said, but the fact is Miss Trevor is much worse. My wife spent the greater part of the evening with her, and informed me on my return from her dinner that she was better three quarters of an hour ago. However, her maid who had been sleeping in her room came to us with the news that a change for

the worst had set in. This being the case, I thought I had better send for you at once. You did quite right, my dear sir, quite right, the medic, I replied. There is nothing like promptness in these matters. Perhaps I had better see her without further delay.

With that, I conducted into the door of Miss Trevor's room. He knocked upon it, was admitted by my wife, and then disappeared from my gaze. Something like half an hour elapsed before he returned to me in the drawing room. When he did so, his face looked grave and troubled. What do you think of her condition now, doctor, I asked?

She is certainly in a state of high fever, he answered. Her pulse is very high. She is inclined to be delirious. At the same time, I am bound to confess to you that I am at a loss to understand the reason of it. The case puzzled me considerably yesterday, but I am even more puzzled by it now.

There are various symptoms that I can neither account for nor explain. One thing, however, is quite certain. The young lady must have a trained nurse, and with your permission I shall see that one comes in after breakfast. Lady Hatteras is not strong enough for the task.

I am quite with you there, I answered, and I am vastly obliged to you for putting your foot down. At the same time, will you tell me whether you deem it necessary for me to summon her father from England? So far as I can see at present, I do not think there is any immediate need, he replied. Should I say any reason for so doing, I would at once tell you.

I have given a prescription to Lady Hatteras, and have furnished her with the name of a reliable chemist. I shall return between nine and ten o'clock, and shall hope to have better news for you then. I sincerely trust you, my lady, and as you may suppose, her illness has been a great shock to us. I then escorted him downstairs, and afterwards returned to my bedroom.

The news which he had given me of Miss Trevor's condition was most distressing, and made me feel more anxious than I care to admit. At seven o'clock I saw my wife for a few minutes, but as before she had no good news to give me. She is quite delirious now, she said, and talks continually of some great trouble which she fears

is going to befall her. It plagues me to help her to escape from it, but will not say deftly what it is. It goes to my heart to hear her, and to know that I cannot come for her. You must be careful what you are doing, I replied. The doctor has promised to bring a trained nurse with him after breakfast,

who will relieve you of the responsibility. And it is in a way encouraging to know that so far he does not think there is any necessity for such an extreme step. In the meantime, however, I think I will write to the Dean and tell him how matters stand. It will prepare him, but I am afraid it will give the poor old gentleman a sad fright.

It could not give him a greater fright than it has done us, said Phyllis. I do not know why I should do so, but I cannot help thinking that I am to blame in some way. What a nonsense, my dear girl, I replied. I am sure you have nothing whatsoever to reproach yourself with. Far from it, you must not worry yourself about it, or we should be having you upon our hands

before long. You must remember that you are yourself far from strong. I am quite myself again now, she answered. It is only on account of your anxiety that I treat myself as an invalid. Then she added, I wonder what the Duke will say when he hears the news.

He was very nearly off his head yesterday, I answered. He will be neither to hold or to bind today. She was silent for a few moments, then she said thoughtfully, You know, Dick, it may seem strange to you, but I do not mind saying that I attribute all this trouble to Nicola.

Good gracious, I cried, in well-simulated amazement. On earth to Nicola. Because as was the case five years ago, it has been all trouble since we met him. You remember how he affected Gertrude at the onset. She was far from being herself on the night of our tour through the city.

And now in her delirium she talks continually of this dreadful house. And for what she says and the way she behaves, I cannot help feeling inclined to believe that she imagines herself to be seeing some of the dreadful events which have occurred or are occurring in it. God help her, I said to myself. And then I continued aloud to my wife.

Doubtless that Nicola's extraordinary personality is affecting her in some measure, as it does other people. You are surely not going to jump to the conclusion that because she has spoken to him, he is necessarily responsible for her illness. That would be the wildest flight of fancy.

And yet, do you know, she continued, I have made a curious discovery. What is that, I asked, not without some asperity, or having so much on my mind, I was not in the humor for fresh discoveries. She paused for a moment before she replied. Doubtless she expected that I would perceive it with scepticism.

If not, with laughter, and phyllis, ever since I have known her, as a distinct fear of ridicule. You may laugh at me if you please, she said, yet the coincidence is too extraordinary to be left unnoticed. Did you happen to be aware, Dick, that Dr Nicola called at this hotel at exactly 11 o'clock? I almost betrayed myself in surprise.

This was the last question I expected her to put to me. Yes, I answered with an endeavour to appear calm. I do happen to be aware of that fact. He merely paid a visit of courtesy to the Don, prior to the others accepting his hospitality. I see nothing remarkable in that.

I did the same myself, if you remember. Of course I know that, she replied. There is more to come. Are you aware that it was at the very moment of his arrival in the house Gertrude was taken ill? What do you think of that?

She put this question to me with an air of triumph, as if it were one that no argument on my part would refute. At any rate, I did not attempt to ask. I think nothing of it, I replied. You really remember that you once fell down in a dead faint

within a few minutes of the vicar's arrival at our house at home? Would you therefore have me suppose that it was on account of his arrival that you were taken ill? Why should you attribute Miss Trevor's illness to Nicola's courtesy to our friend the Don? I beg that you will not call him our friend, said Phyllis with considerable dignity. I do not like the man.

I did not tell her that the duke was equally outspoken concerning our companion. I could see that they would put their heads together, and that trouble would be the inevitable result. Like a wise husband, I held my peace, knowing that whatever I might say would not better the situation.

Half an hour later it was my unhappy luck to have to inform Glenn Bath of Miss Trevor's condition. Told you yesterday that it was a matter not to be trifled with, he said, as if I were personally responsible for her grave condition. The doctor evidently doesn't understand the case, and what you ought to do, if you have any regard for her life, is to send a telegram at once to London,

ordering competent advice. The Dean of Bedminster had a salary of £800 per hour on my answer query. Such a man as you would want me to send for would require a fee of some hundreds of guineas to make such a journey. And you would allow her to die for the sake of a few paltry pounds, he cried.

Good heavens, Dick, I never thought you were a money grabber. I'm glad that you did not, I answered, for it is of her father that I am thinking. Beside, I do not know that the doctor here is as ignorant as you say. He has the most complicated and unusual case to deal with, and I honor him for admitting the fact that he does not understand it.

Many men in his profession would have thrown dust in her eyes, and pretended to have a perfect knowledge of the case. The young man did not see it in the light that I did, and was plainly of the opinion that we were not doing what we might for the woman he loved. My wife, however, took him in hand after breakfast, and talked quietly but firmly to.

She succeeded when I had failed. When I returned from an excursion to the chemist where I had the prescriptions made up, I found him in a tolerably reasonable frame of mind. A quarter to ten, the doctor put me in appearance once more. After a careful inspection of his patient,

informed me that it was his opinion that a consultant should be called in. This was done, and to our dismay the result came no nearer, elucidating the mystery than before. The case was such a one as it never entered into the experience of either man. To all intents and purposes, there was nothing that would in any way account for the patient's condition. The fever had left her, and she complained of no pain, while a mime,

same for the occasional relapses, was clear enough. There certainly was not a case of paralysis, yet she was incapable of moving, or of doing anything to help herself. The duration of her illness was not sufficient to justify her extreme weakness, nor to account for the presence of certain other symptoms. There was nothing for it, therefore, but for us to possess our souls in patients,

and to wait the turn of events. When the doctors had departed, I went in search of Glenn Bath, and gave him their report. The poor fellow was far from being consoled by it. He had hoped to receive good news, and their inability to give a satisfactory decision only confirmed his belief in their incompetency. Had I permitted him to do so, he would have telegraphed at once for the best

medical advice in Europe, and would have expended half his own princely revenues in an attempt to make her herself once more. It was difficult to convince him that he had not the right to heap liabilities on the old gentleman's shoulders, which, in honour bound, he would feel he must repay. I will not bore my readers with the abusive arguments against society and social etiquette with which he favoured me in reply to my speech. The poor fellow was beside himself with anxiety,

and it was difficult to make him understand that because he had not placed a narrow band of gold upon a certain pretty finger, he was debarred from saving the life of the owner of that self-samed finger. Towards nightfall, it was certain that Miss Trevor's condition was gradually going from bad to worse. With the closing of the day, the delirium had returned, and the fever had also come with it. We spent a wretchedly anxious night, and in the morning at the conclusion of his first

visit, the doctor informed me that in his opinion it would be advisable that I should not be in the hospital. He had said that he would be in the hospital for a few days, and that he would be advised to have a telegraph to the young lady's father. This was an extreme step, and needless to say it caused me great alarm. It was all so sudden that it was scarcely possible to realise the extent of the calamity. Only two days before, Miss Trevor had been as well as any others,

and certainly in stronger health than my wife. Now she was lying, if not at death's door, immediately the sad intelligence was made known to me. I hastened to the telegraph office and dispatched a message to the Dean, asking him to come with us at all possible speed. Before lunch and I received a reply to the effect that he already started, and then we sat ourselves down to wait and to watch, hoping almost against hope that this beautiful happy young life might be

spared to us. All this time we had seen nothing of the Don or of Nicola. The former, however, had heard of Miss Trevor's illness, and sent polite messages as to her condition. I did not tell Glenn Bath of this, for the young man had sufficient to think of just then, without my adding to his worries. I must pass on now to describe to you the arrival of the Dean of Bedminster in Venice. Feeling that he would be anxious to question me concerning his daughter's

condition, I made a point of going to meet him alone. Needless to say, he was much agitated on seeing me, and implored me to give him the latest bulletin. God's will be done, he said quietly when he had heard all I had to tell him. I did not receive your letterly remark, as we made our way from the station in the direction of Gallagatti's hotel, so that you will understand that I know nothing of the nature of poor girl Trude's illness. What does the doctor say is the matter with her?

I then informed him of how the case stood, and of the uncertainty felt by the two members of the medical profession I had called in. Surely that is very singular, is it not? he asked when I had finished. There are not many diseases left that they are unable to diagnose. In this case, however, I fear they are at a loss to name it, I said. However, you will be able very soon to see it for yourself, and to draw your own conclusions. The meeting between the worthy old gentleman and

his daughter was on his side, affecting in the extreme. She did not recognise him, nor did she know my wife. When he joined me in the drawing room a quarter or an hour or so later, his grief was pitiful to witness. While we were talking, Glenn Bath entered, and I introduced them to each other. The dean knew nothing of the latter's infatuation for his daughter, but I fancy after a time he must have guessed that there was something in the wind, and the others' extraordinary

sympathy with him in his trial. As it happened, the old gentleman did not arrive any too soon. That afternoon, Miss Trevor was decidedly worse, and the medical men expressed their gravest fears for her safety. All that day in the next we waited in suspense, but there was no material change. Nature was fighting her battle stubbornly, inch by inch. The girl did not seem any worse, nor were there any visible improvement. On the doctor's advice, a third physician was called in,

but with no greater success than before. Then, one never to be forgotten afternoon, the first doctor took me to one side, and informed me that in his opinion and those of his colleagues, it would not be wise to cherish any further hopes. The patient was undeniably weaker, and was growing more so every hour. With a heart surcharged with sorrow, I went to the dean's room and broke the news to him. The poor man held me out in silence, then walked to the window,

and looked down upon the Grand Canal. After a while, he turned, and coming back to me once more, laid his hand upon my arm. If it is the Lord's will that I lose her, what can I do but submit, he said. When shall I be allowed to see her? I made inquiries, I answered, and hastened away in search of the doctor. As I passed along the passage, I met Gallagatti. The little man had been deeply grieved to hear the sad intelligence, and hastened in searching me at once.

My Lord, he said, for do what I would, I could never cure him of the habit. Believe me, it is not so hopeless, though they say so. You will but listen to me. There is Dr. Niccoli, your friend. He could cure her if you went to him. Did he not cure my child? I gave a start of surprise. I will confess that the idea had occurred to me, but I had never given me a probability of putting it into execution of thought.

Why should it not be done? Gallagatti reminded me how Niccoli had cured his child when she lay at the point of death, and the other doctors at Venice had given her up. He was so enthusiastic in his praises of the doctor that I felt almost inclined to risk it. When I reached the drawing room, Glenn Bath hastened towards me. What news, he inquired, his anxiety showing itself plainly upon his face. I shook my head. For God's sake, don't trifle with me, he cried. You can have no

idea what I am suffering. Feeling that it would be better if I told him everything, I made a clean breast of it. He heard me out before he spoke. She must not die, he said with a fierceness of despair. If there is any power on earth that can be invoked, it should be brought to bear. Can you not think of anything? Try and remember that every second is of importance. Will it be safe to try Niccoli, I inquired, looking at him steadfastly in the face?

Gallagatti is wild for me to do so. In spite of his dislike to Niccoli, Glenn Bath jumped up the suggestion, as a drowning man clutches at a straw. I'd find him at once, he cried, seizing me by the arm. If anyone can save her, he is the man. Let's go to him without a moment's delay. No, no, I answered. That will never do. That will never do. Even in a case of such gravity, the proprieties must be observed.

I must consult the doctors before calling in another. I regret very much to say that here the duke made use of some language that was neither parliamentary nor courteous to those aimable gentlemen. I sought them out and placed the matter before them. The idea of calling in a fourth consultant, they had not the least objection, though they were all of the opinion it could do no good. When, however, I mentioned the fact that this consultant's name was Nicola,

I could plainly see that a storm was rising. Gentlemen, I said, you must forgive me if I speak plainly and to the point. You have given us to understand that your patient's case is hopeless. Now, I have had considerable experience of Dr Nicola's skill, and I feel that we should not be justified in withholding him from our counsel. If he will consent to be called in, I have no

desire to act contrary to medical etiquette, but we must remember that the patient's life comes before all else. One doctor looked at the other and all shook their heads. I fear, said the tallest of them, who invariably acted as spokesman, that if the services of the gentleman in question are called in, it will be necessary for my colleagues and myself to abandon our interest in the case. I do not, of course, know how far your knowledge extends, but I hope

you will allow me to say, sir, that the most curious stories have circulated, both as to the behaviour and attainments of this Dr Nicola. When we knew it to be true, his words nettled me, yet I had such a deeply rooted belief in Nicola, although they were determined to give up the case, that I felt we should be equally, if not more, powerful without them. I sincerely hope, Jackman, I said, that you will not do as you propose. Nevertheless,

I feel that I should not be myself acting rightly if I were to allow your professional prejudices to stand in the way of my friend's recovery. In that case, I fear there is nothing left to us but to most reluctantly withdraw, said one of the men. You are determined? Quite determined, they replied together. Then the tallest added, we much regret it, but our decision is irrevocable. Ten minutes later they had left the hotel in a

huff, and I found myself seated upon the horns of a serious dilemma. What would my position be if Nicola's presence should exercise a bad effect upon the patient, or if he should decline to render as his assistant? In that case, I should have offended the best doctors in Venice, and should in all probability have killed her. It was a nice position to be placed in. One thing, however, was as certain as anything could be, and that was the fact that there was no time to lose. My wife was

seriously alarmed when I informed her of my decision, but both Glen Bath and I felt that we were acting for the best, and the Dean sided with us. Since you deem it necessary to go in search of Dr Nicola at once, said my wife when the latter had left us, implore him to come without delay. In another hour it may be too late. But in a heartbroken whisper, she added, she's growing weaker every moment. Oh, Dick, heaven grant that we are not acting wrongly, and he may be able to save her.

I feel convinced that we're doing right, I answered, but now I will go in search of Nicola and it possible bring him back with me. God grant that you may be successful in your search, said Glen Bath, me in my hand. If Nicola saves her, I will do anything he may ask, and still be grateful to him all the days of my life. Then I set off upon my errand. End of chapter eight.