The Gloved Hand Read online

  CHAPTER X

  THE WHITE PRIEST OF SIVA

  The adept was an impressive figure, as he stood there with the sunbehind him, throwing a yellow nimbus around his head. The robe he worewas of a rich purple, and gave an added effect of height and dignityto a figure already tall. His hair was dark and crinkled likewind-swept water, his complexion dark, but with an under-blush of redin the cheeks. His lips were scarlet and his eyes coal-black and of anarresting brilliance. The whole effect he gave was of transcendentenergy and magnetism, nor did he show the slightest fatigue from hislong vigil.

  His eyes swept our faces, as we stood crowded there in the doorway. Hedid not seem surprised. If there was any expression in his face exceptcourteous inquiry, it was one of carefully suppressed amusement.

  "Enter, friends," he repeated. "What is it you desire?"

  His voice was rich and deep, and he spoke with a peculiar intonation,but without accent. It was something of a shock to hear the ordinarywords of English speech coming from his lips, for they seemed formedto utter prophecies in unknown tongues.

  Goldberger took one step into the room, and then stopped abruptly.Following his eyes, I saw that the cobra had also awakened from itstrance, and was regarding us steadily and hissing slightly. The adeptsmiled as he saw us shrink back.

  "Do not fear," he said. "Come, Toto," and stepping across the room, helifted the cobra in one hand and held it a moment close to him, gentlystroking the distended hood. The snake curled itself about his arm andseemed to cuddle to him, but it kept its eyes fixed on us. I could notbut smile at the incongruity of its name. Toto was well enough for aFrench poodle, but for a cobra!

  After a moment, the adept lifted the lid of a round basket which stoodon the floor near the divan, dropped the snake gently into it, andfastened down the lid. Then he clapped his hands softly, and aninstant later the curtains at the rear of the room parted and astrange figure appeared between them.

  It was the figure of a man, not over five feet tall and very thin. Hewas almost as dark as a full-blooded negro, and the white burnoosewhich was thrown about his shoulders and covered him to just belowthe hips, made him look even darker. His legs were bare and seemed tobe nothing but skin and bone. The flat-nosed face, with its full lipsand prominent eyes, reminded me of an idol I had seen picturedsomewhere.

  The newcomer bowed low before the adept, and, at a sign from him,picked up Toto's basket and disappeared with it through the curtains.He had not even glanced in our direction. The adept turned back to us.

  "Now, friends," he said, "will you not enter?"

  Goldberger led the way into the room and stopped to look about it. Thewalls were hung with black velvet, so arranged that windows and doorscould be covered also, and the room was absolutely devoid offurniture, save for a low, circular divan in the centre of which stoodthe crystal sphere, supported, as I saw now, by a slender pedestal.

  "I have a few questions to ask you," began Goldberger at last, in avoice deferential despite himself.

  "Proceed, sir," said the adept, courteously.

  "Do you know that Mr. Vaughan is dead?"

  The adept made a little deprecating gesture.

  "Not dead," he protested. "A man does not die. His soul rejoins theOver-soul, that is all. Yes, I know that at midnight the soul of mypupil passed over."

  "How did you learn that?" Goldberger demanded.

  "I saw it in the sphere," replied the adept calmly.

  "Where were you at the time?"

  "I was gazing at the sphere."

  "Do you mean," asked Goldberger incredulously, "that you sat for fivehours and more staring at that thing?"

  "My vigil began at sundown," said the adept, with a slight smile."Last night was the White Night of Siva. It must be spent inmeditation by all who follow him."

  Goldberger worried his moustache with nervous fingers, as he stared atthe adept, plainly at a loss how to proceed.

  "Perhaps," ventured Godfrey, softly, "your crystal could give us somefurther information which we very much desire."

  The adept turned his dark eyes on the speaker, and it seemed to methat they glittered more coldly, as though they recognised anadversary.

  "What information, sir?" he asked.

  "Information as to the manner of Mr. Vaughan's passing--can you tellus anything of that?"

  The adept shook his head.

  "I only saw the soul as it passed over. I knew, however, that it hadbeen torn from the body by violence."

  "How did you know that?" broke in Goldberger.

  "Because of its colour," answered the adept; and then, when he saw ourbenumbed expressions, he explained. "Souls which pass in peace arewhite; souls which the body has driven forth by its own hands areblack; souls which are torn from the body by an alien hand are red. Mypupil's soul was red."

  I could see that Goldberger did not know whether to snort withderision or to be impressed. He ended by smiling feebly. As for me, Iadmit I was impressed.

  "When an alien hand, as you put it, is used," said the coroner, "wecall it murder in this country, and the law tries to get hold of thealien and to send his soul after his victim's. That's what we aretrying to do now. We are officers of the law."

  The adept bowed.

  "Any assistance I can give you," he said, softly, "I shall be glad togive; though to do murder, as you call it, is not always to do wrong."

  "Our law doesn't make such nice distinctions," said Goldberger,drily. "May I ask your profession?"

  "I am a White Priest of Siva," said the adept, touching his foreheadlightly with the fingers of his left hand, as in reverence.

  "Who is Siva?"

  "The Holy One, the Over-soul, from whom we come and to whom we allreturn."

  Again Goldberger worried his moustache.

  "Well," he said, at last, "until the mystery is cleared up, I must askyou not to leave this house."

  "I have no wish to leave it, sir."

  "And the other fellow--the fellow who took away the snake--where washe last night?"

  "He slept in a small room opening into this one."

  "May I look into it?"

  "Certainly," and the adept swept aside the curtains.

  The room into which we looked was not more than ten feet square, andempty of furniture, except for a mat in the middle of the floor andthree or four baskets set against the wall. On the mat was squattedthe attendant, his legs crossed with feet uppermost, and his handsheld palm to palm before him. On the floor in front of him were whatlooked to me like a strip of cloth, a bone and a tooth. He did notraise his eyes at our entrance, but sat calmly contemplating theserelics.

  Goldberger's moustache lost a few more hairs as he stood staring downat this strange figure.

  "What are those things? His grandmother's remains?" he asked, at last.

  "Those are the attributes of Kali," said the adept gravely, as onerebuking blasphemy.

  "Very interesting, no doubt," commented the coroner drily. "Would itdisturb the gentleman too much to ask him a few questions?"

  "He speaks no English, but I shall be glad to translate for you."

  The coroner thought this over for a moment, and then shook his head.

  "No," he said; "I'll wait for the court interpreter. You might tellhim, though, that there will be officers of the law on duty below, andthat he is not to leave the house."

  "I will caution him," answered the adept, and let the curtain fall, aswe passed out.

  "I suppose there are some other servants somewhere about the place?"asked Goldberger.

  "There are three--they sleep on the floor above."

  "Are they Hindus, too?"

  "Oh, no," and the adept smiled. "Two of them are German and the otheris Irish."

  The coroner reddened a little, for the words somehow conveyed asubtle rebuke.

  "That is all for to-day," he said; "unless Mr. Simmonds has somequestions?" and he looked at his companion.

  But Simmonds, to whom all these inquiries had plainly been succe
ssivesteps into the darkness, shook his head.

  "Then we will bid you good-morning," added Goldberger, still a littleon his dignity. "And many thanks for your courtesy."

  The adept responded with a low bow and with a smile decidedlyironical. I, at least, felt that we had got the worst of theencounter.

  Goldberger, without a word, led the way up the stair that mounted tothe attic story, and there soon succeeded in routing out the threeservants. The Germans proved to be a man and wife, well past middleage, the former the gardener and the latter the cook. Erin wasrepresented by a red-haired girl who was the housemaid. All of themwere horrified when told their master had been murdered, but none ofthem could shed any light on the tragedy. They had all been in bedlong before midnight, and had not been disturbed by any of the noisesof the night.

  This could be the more readily understood when, as a littleinvestigation showed, we found that they had all slept with doorslocked and windows closed and shuttered. Any sounds from the housewould really have to penetrate two doors to reach them, for theirrooms were at the end of an entry, closed by an outer door. As to thewindows, it was the rule of the house that they should always beclosed and tightly shuttered during the night. They knew of noespecial reason for the rule, though the Irish girl remarked that,with heathen in the house and lunatics, there was no telling how thenights were spent.

  They were all evidently innocent of any connection with the tragedy;but Goldberger, for some ridiculous reason, brought them downstairswith him and made them look at their master's body. This had no resultexcept to send the Irish girl into hysterics, and Hinman for a fewminutes had another patient on his hands.

  "Well," said Goldberger, passing his hand wearily across his forehead,"I guess there's nothing more to be done. And I'm dead tired. I hadjust got to bed when Simmonds called me. I'll set the inquest for teno'clock to-morrow morning, and I'll hold it here in this room. We'llwant you here, Mr. Godfrey, and you, Mr. Lester. And--oh, yes," headded suddenly, "we'll want that Mr. Swain, whose story I haven'theard yet. No doubt of his appearing is there?"

  "Absolutely none," I assured him.

  "I could put him under guard, of course," said Goldberger, pensively,"for I'm sure he'll prove to be a very important witness; but if youwill be personally responsible for him, Mr. Lester...."

  "I will," I agreed, and Goldberger nodded.

  "Have him here at ten o'clock, then," he said.

  "Dr. Hinman would better see him again to-day," I suggested.

  "I'll call about four o'clock this afternoon," the doctor promised;and, leaving Goldberger to complete his arrangements and Simmonds topost his men, Godfrey and I stepped out upon the lawn.

  It was after five o'clock and the sun was already high. It scarcelyseemed possible that, only six hours before, Swain had crossed thewall for the first time!

  "We'd better go out as we came," Godfrey said, and turned across thelawn. He walked with head down and face puckered with thought.

  "Can you make anything of it?" I asked, but he only shook his head.

  We soon reached the ladder, and Godfrey paused to look about him. Theshrubbery was broken in one place, as though some heavy body hadfallen on it, and this was evidently the mark of Swain's wild jumpfrom the wall.

  At last, Godfrey motioned me to precede him, and, when I was over,reached one ladder down to me and descended to my side. We replacedthe ladders against the shed, and then walked on toward the house. Aswe turned the corner, we found Mrs. Hargis standing on the frontporch.

  "Well, you _are_ out early!" she said.

  "Yes," laughed Godfrey; "fact is, we haven't been to bed yet. Will youhave something to eat, Lester, before you turn in?"

  A glass of milk was all I wanted; and five minutes later I mounted tomy room. I glanced in for a moment at Swain, who seemed to be sleepingpeacefully; and then darkened my room as well as I could and tumbledinto bed. I must have dropped asleep the moment my head touched thepillow, for I remember nothing more until I opened my eyes to findGodfrey standing over me.