to act the part
now  and again and so perpetuate the legend. But you cannot cite
me  a  case  in  which  a number of people have  sworn  to  such
happenings in a really civilised country in modern times!'
  'Can't  I?' De Richleau laughed grimly. 'What about the affair
at Uttenheim near Strasbourg. The farms in the neighbourhood had
been troubled by a lone wolf for weeks. The Garde-Chainpetre was
sent  out to get it. He tracked it down. It attacked him and  he
fired-killing  it dead. Then he found himself bending  over  the
body  of  a  local youth. That unfortunate rural  policeman  was
tried for murder, but he swore by all that was holy that it  was
a  wolf  at which he had shot, and the entire population of  the
village  came  forward to give evidence on his  behalf-that  the
dead  man had boasted time and again of his power to change  his
shape.'
  'Is  that  a  fifteenth or sixteenth century story?'  murmured
Richard,
  'Neither. It occurred in November, 1925.'


                               25

                       The Talisman of Set

  For  a  while longer De Richleau strode up and down, patiently
answering Richard's questions and ramming home his arguments for
a  belief  in  the power of the supernatural to  affect  mankind
until,  when  Marie Lou rejoined them, Richard's brown  eyes  no
longer  held the half-mocking humour which had twinkled in  them
an hour before.
  The  Duke's  explanation  had been so  clear  and  lucid,  his
earnestness  so  compelling that the younger man  was  at  least
forced  to suspend judgment, and even found himself toying  with
the  idea  that Simon might really be threatened  by  some  very
dangerous and potent force which it would need all their courage
to resist during the dark hours that lay ahead.
  It was eight o'clock now. Twilight had fallen and the trees at
the bottom of the garden were already merged in shadow. Yet with
the  coming  of  darkness they were not filled  with  any  fresh
access  of  fear. It seemed that their long talk had  elucidated
the  position and even strengthened the bond between them.  Like
men  who  are about to go into physical battle, they were  alert
and  expectant  but  a little subdued, and realised  that  their
strongest  hope  lay  in putting their absolute  trust  in  each
other.
  At  Marie Lou's suggestion they went into the dining-room  and
sat  down  to  a  cold supper which had already been  laid  out.
Having  eaten  so lightly during the day, their natural  inclina
tion  was to make a heavy meal but, without any further  caution
from  De  Richleau, they all appreciated now that the  situation
was sufficiently serious to make restraint imperative.
  Even  Richard denied himself a second helping of his favourite
Morecambe Bay shrimps which had arrived that morning.
  When  they had finished the Duke leant over him. 'I think  the
library would be the best place to conduct my experiments, and I
shall require the largest jug you have full of fresh water, some
glasses and it would be best to leave the fruit.'
  'By  all  means,' Richard agreed, glancing towards his butler.
'See  to  that please, Maim-will you.' He then went on  to  give
clear  and  definite instructions that they were not to  be  dis
turbed  on any pretext until the morning, and concluded with  an
order that the table should be cleared right away.
  With  a  bland,  unruffled countenance the man  signified  his
understanding and motioned to his footman to begin clearing  the
table.  So  bland in fact was the expression that it would  have
been  difficult for them to visualise him half an hour later  in
the  privacy of the housekeeper's room declaring with a  knowing
wink:
  'In my opinion it's spooks they're after-the old chap's got no
television set. And behaving like a lot of heathens with  not  a
drop  of  drink to their dinner. Think of that with young  Simon
there   who's   so  mighty  particular  about  his   hock.   But
spiritualists always is that way. I only hope it doesn't get 'em
bad  or  what's  going to happen to the wine bill  I'd  like  to
know?'
  When  Richard  had  very pointedly wished his  henchman  'good
night,'  they moved into the library and De Richleau,  who  knew
the room well, surveyed it with fresh interest.
  Comfortable sofas and large arm-chairs stood about the  uneven
polished oak of the floor. A pair of globes occupied two  angles
of the book-lined walls, and a great oval mahogany writing-table
of Chippendale design stood before the wide french window. Owing
to its sunken position in the old wing of the house the lighting
of  the  room was dim even on a summer's day. Yet its atmosphere
was  by  no means gloomy. A log fire upon a twelve-inch pile  of
ashes  was  kept burning in the wide fireplace all  through  the
year,  and at night, when the curtains were drawn and  the  room
lit  with  the  soft radiance of the concealed  ceiling  lights,
which  Richard  had installed, it was a friendly, restful  place
well suited for quiet work or idle conversation.
  'We must strip the room-furniture, curtains, everything!' said
the  Duke.  'And  I shall need brooms and a mop  to  polish  the
floor.'
  The  three  men then began moving the furniture out  into  the
hall while Marie Lou fetched a selection of implements from  the
house-maid's closet.
  For  a quarter of an hour they worked in silence until nothing
remained  in  the big library except the serried rows  of  gilt-
tooled books.
  'My apologies for even doubting the efficiency of your staff!'
the  Duke  smiled at Marie Lou. 'But I would like the room  gone
over  thoroughly, particularly the floor, since evil  emanations
can   fasten  on  the  least  trace  of  dust  to  assist  their
materialisation.  Would  you  see  to  it,  Princess,  while   I
telephone the inn again to find out if Rex has returned.'
  'Of   course,  Greyeyes,  dear,'  said  Marie  Lou  and,  with
Richard's and Simon's help, she set about dusting, sweeping  and
polishing until when De Richleau rejoined them, the boards  were
so scrupulously clean that they could have eaten from them.
  'No  news of Rex, worse luck,' he announced with a frown. 'And
I've  had  to disconnect the telephone now in case a call  makes
Malm  think it necessary to disregard his instructions.. We  had
better go upstairs and change next.'
  'What into?' Richard inquired.
  'Pyjamas.  I hope you have a good supply. You see none  of  us
tonight  must  wear  any garment which has  been  even  slightly
soiled.  Human  impurities are bound to linger in one's  clothes
even if they have only been worn for a few hours, and it is just
upon such things that elementals fasten most readily.'
  'Shan't  we  be awfully cold?' hazarded Simon with an  unhappy
look;
  'I'll  fit  you out with shooting stockings and an  overcoat,'
Richard volunteered.
  'Stockings if you like, providing that they are fresh from the
wash-but no overcoats, dressing-gowns or shoes,' said the  Duke.
'However, there is no reason why we should not wear a couple  of
suits apiece of Richard's underclothes, beneath the pyjamas,  to
keep  us  warm. The essential paint is that everything  must  be
absolutely clean.'
  The  whole  party then migrated upstairs, the men congregating
in  Richard's  dressing-room where they ransacked his  ward-robe
for  suitable  attire.  Marie Lou joined  them  a  little  later
looking divinely pretty in peach silk pyjamas and silk stockings
into  the  tops  of which, above the knees, the bottoms  of  her
pyjamas were neatly tucked.
  'Now  for  a  raid on the linen cupboard,' said  De  Richleau.
'Cushions,  being soiled already, are useless to us,  but  I  am
dreading that hard floor so we will take down as many sheets  as
we  can carry, clean bath towls and blankets too. Then we  shall
have some sort of couch to sit on.'
  In  the library once more, they set down their bundles and  De
Richleau produced his suitcase, taking from it a piece of chalk,
a length of string, and a footrule. Marking a spot in the centre
of the room, he asked Marie Lou to hold the end of the string to
it,  measuring off exactly seven feet and then, using her  as  a
pivot, he drew a large circle in chalk upon the floor.
  Next,  the  string was lengthened and an outer  circle  drawn.
Then  the  most difficult part of the operation began.  A  five-
rayed  star  had to be made with its points touching  the  outer
circle and its valleys resting upon the inner. But, as the  Duke
explained, while such a defence can be highly potent  if  it  is
constructed with geometrical accuracy, should the angles vary to
any marked degree or the distance of the apexes from the central
point differ more than a fraction, the pentacle would prove  not
only useless but even dangerous.
  For  half  an hour they measured and checked with  string  and
rule and marking chalk; but Richard proved useful here, for  all
his  life he had been an expert with maps and plans and was even
something  of amateur architect. At last the broad  chalk  lines
were  drawn to the Duke's satisfaction, forming the magical five
pointed  star,  in which it was his intention that  they  should
remain while darkness lasted.
  He then chalked in, with careful spacing round the rim of the
inner circle, the powerful exorcism: -
  In nomina Pa + tris et Fi + lii et Spiritus + Sancti! + El +
Elohym + Sother + Emmanuel + Sabaoth + Agia + Tetragammaton +
Agyos + Otheos + Ischiros + - and, after reference to an old
book which he had brought with him, drew certain curious and
ancient symbols in the valleys and the mounts of the microcosmic
star.
  Simon,  whose  recent experience had taught him  something  of
pentacles,  recognised  ten of them as Cabbalistic  signs  taken
from  the Sephirotic Tree; Kether, Binah, Ceburah, Hod,  Malchut
and  the  rest.  But  others, like the Eye  of  Horus,  were  of
Egyptian  origin, and others again in some ancient Aryan  script
which he did not understand.
  When  the skeleton of this astra! fortress was completed,  the
clean  bedding was laid out inside it for them to rest upon  and
De Richleau produced further impedimenta from his case.
  With  lengths of asafretida grass and blue wax he  sealed  the
windows, the door leading to the hall, and that concealed in the
bookshelves which led to the nursery above, each at  both  sides
and at the tops and at the bottoms, making the sign of the Cross
in holy water over every seal as he completed it.
  Then  he ordered the others inside the pentacle, examined  the
switches by the door to assure himself that every light  in  the
room  was on, made up the fire with a great pile of logs so that
it would last well through the night and there be no question of
their  having  to leave the circle to replenish it and,  joining
them  where they had squatted down on the thick mat of blankets,
produced five little silver cups, which he proceeded to fill two-
thirds full with Holy water. These he placed, one in each valley
of the pentacle.
  Then,  taking five long white tapering candles,  such  as  are
offered by devotees to the Saints in Catholic Churches,  he  lit
them from an old-fashioned tinder-box and set them upright,  one
at  each apex of the five-pointed star. In their rear he  placed
the five brand new horseshoes which Richard had secured from the
village with their horns pointing outward, and beyond each  vase
of  holy  water  he set a dried mandrake, four females  and  one
male, the male being in the valley to the north.
  These   complicated  formulas  for  the  erection  of  outward
barriers  being at last finished, the Duke turned his  attention
to  the  individual protection of his friends and himself.  Four
long wreaths of garlic flowers were strung together and each  of
the  party  placed  one  about his neck. Rosaries,  with  little
golden  crucifixes attached, were distributed, medals  of  Saint
Benedict  holding the Cross in his right hand and the Holy  Rule
in  his  left,  and phials of salt and mercury; lengths  of  the
asafcetida  grass  were  again tied  round  Simon's  wrists  and
ankles,  and  he  was placed in their midst facing  towards  the
north.  The  Duke then performed the final rites of sealing  the
nine openings of each of their bodies.
  All  this  performance had entirely failed to impress Richard.
In  fact, it tended to revive his earlier scepticism. It was his
private belief that a blackmailing gang were playing tricks upon
Simon and the Duke so, before coming downstairs, he had tucked a
loaded automatic comfortably away beneath his pyjama jacket.  In
deference  to De Richleau's obvious concern that nothing  soiled
should  be  brought  within  the  circle  he  had  first,  half-
ashamedly, cleansed the weapon in a bath of spirit but,  if  Mr.
Mocata was so ill-advised as to break into his house that  night
with  the  intention of staging any funny business, he meant  to
use  it. After a little pause he looked cheerfully round at  the
others. 'Well-here we are! What happens now?'
  'We  have ample room here,' replied De Richleau. 'So there  is
no  reason why we should not lie down with our feet towards  the
rim  of  the  circle and try to get some sleep,  but  there  are
certain  instructions I would like to give you before we  settle
down.'
  'I never felt less like sleep in my life,' remarked Simon.
  'Nor I,' agreed Richard. 'It's early yet and if only Marie Lou
weren't here I'd tell you some bawdy stories to keep you gay.'
  'Don't mind me, darling,' cooed Marie Lou. 'I'm human- even if
you are right about my having an angelic face.'
  'No!'  He shook his head quickly. 'Somehow they fail to  amuse
me  when you're about. That's why I never tell you any. It needs
men  on their own sitting round a bottle of something to get the
best  out  of a bawdy jest. My God! I wish we'd got a bottle  of
brandy with us now!'
  'Mean  pig,'  she murmured amiably, snuggling up against  him.
'If  Greyeyes and Simon didn't know you so well they would think
you  nothing  but an awful little drunk from the way  you  talk,
whereas you're a nice person really.'
  'Am  I?  Well, anyway it's fine that you should think so.'  He
fondled  her short curly hair with his long fingers. 'My present
lust-for  liquor is only because I've been done out of  my  fair
ration  today.  But  what  shall we  talk  about?  Greyeyes-this
Talisman that all the bother centres on-tell us about it  before
you give us your final orders for the night.'
  'You know the legend of Isis and Osiris?' the Duke asked.
  'Yes-vaguely,' Richard replied. 'They were the King and  Queen
of  Heaven  who  came  to earth in human  form  and  taught  the
Egyptians  all  they knew weren't they? The old  business  of  a
fairhaired  god arriving among a dusky people and importing  all
sorts  of  new  ideas  about agriculture  and  architecture  and
justice-in fact-what we call civilisation.'
  De  Richleau nodded. 'That is so. But I mean the story of  how
Osiris came to die?'
  'He  was  murdered  wasn't he?' volunteered Simon.  'But  I've
forgotten how.'
  'Well,  this is the account which has been handed down  to  us
through  many  thousands of years. Osiris  was,  apparently,  as
Richard  says, a fair-haired, light-skinned man,  alien  to  the
Egyptian race, who became their King and, ruling them with great
intelligence, brought them many blessings. But he had a  brother
named Set-and here again you get the two principals of Good  and
Evil, Light and Darkness-for Set was a dark man. The legend  is,
of course, apocryphal up to a point but, eliminating the overlay
of  myth with which the priests later embroidered it, the  whole
story  had such a genuine ring of human tragedy that it is  very
difficult  to  doubt  that these two  men  and  the  woman  Isis
actually  lived, as the progenitors of a Royal dynasty,  in  the
Nile valley long before the Pyramids were built.
  'It  always  amazes me, whenever I re-read the  story  in  the
Greek  Classics, how Set, particularly, stands out as a definite
and  living  figure after all these countless  generations.  The
characters  in our seventeenth century plays even are  quite  un
real  to'  us  now-with a very few exceptions; but Set  remains,
timeless and unchanging, the charming but unscrupulous rogue who
might have entertained you with lavish hospitality and brilliant
conversation yesterday-yet would do you down without  the  least
compunction if he met you in the street tomorrow.
  "He  was  tall and slim and dark and handsome; a fine  athlete
and  a  great hunter, but a cultured, amusing person too, and  a
boon companion who knew how to carry his wine at table. The type
whose lapses men are always ready to condone on account of their
delightful  personality,  and whose  wickedness  women  persuade
themselves  is only waywardness-while they succumb almost  at  a
glance to that dark, male virility.
  'Set was younger than Osiris and jealous of his authority.
  Then  he  fell in love with Isis, his brother's wife. The  old
story of the human triangle you see, or rather the original, for
all  others in the whole literature of the world which deal with
the  same subject are plagiarisms. Set conspired, therefore,  to
slay the King and seize his wife and power for himself.
  'To  assassinate  Osiris openly would have  been  a  difficult
matter because he was always surrounded by the older nobles, who
loved  him  and  knew  that he kept the  peace  while  the  land
flourished and grew prosperous. Set knew that they would  defend
the  King's  person  with their lives, and  he  was  faced  with
another problem too. Osiris was a god, and even if he could lure
him  to a place where the deed could be done in secret, he dared
not spill one drop of the divine blood.
  'He  planned then a superlatively clever murder. You all  know
that  the Egyptians considered this present life to be  only  an
interlude and that almost from the age at which they could think
at  all their thoughts were largely focused on the life to come.
Many  of  them  spent their entire fortune upon  preparing  some
magnificent  place  of  burial  for  themselves,  and  at  every
banquet, when the slaves served the dessert, thehead wine butler
carried  round a miniature coffin with a skeleton inside  to  re
mind the guests that death was waiting round the corner for them
all.
  'With  diabolical cunning, Set utilised the national preoccupa
tion  with  death and ceremonial burial to ensnare his  brother.
First,  by  a clever piece of trickery he secured Osiris'  exact
measurements.  Then  he had made the most beautiful  sarcophagus
that  had  ever  been seen. It was a great heavy chest  of  fine
cedar  wood with the figures of the forty-two assessors  of  the
dead, who form the jury of the gods, painted in lapis blue,  and
the  minutest hieroglyphics in black and red; line upon line  of
them  reciting  the  most  effective protections  against  black
magic, and every requisite line of ritual from the great Book of
the Dead.
  'As  soon as this wonderful coffin was completed, Set prepared
a  great  banquet to which he invited Osiris and seventy-two  of
the  younger nobles, all of whom he had corrupted and drawn  one
by one into his conspiracy.
  'Then  on the night of the feast he had the beautiful sarcopha
gus placed in a small anteroom through which every guest had  to
pass on his arrival.
  'You  can imagine how envious they were when they saw it,  and
how  each commented on the workmanship and the artistry  of  the
designs-Osiris no less than the others.
  'They  dined,  drank  heavily of wine,  watched  the  Egyptian
dancing girls, saw Ethiopian contortionists, and listened to the
best  stringed music of the day. Then as a final hospitality  to
his guests, the Prince Set rose from his couch and proclaimed:
  '  "You  have  all seen the sarcophagus which  stands  in  the
little  anteroom,  and  it is my wish that  one  of  you  should
receive it as a gift. He whom it fits may take it with my  bless
ing."
  'Picture  to yourselves the nobles as they scrambled  up  from
their  couches, thrusting the dancing girls aside, and  elbowing
their  way out into the anteroom, each hoping that the  princely
gift might fall to him.
  'One  after another they got inside and lay down, but not  one
of them fitted it exactly. Then Set led Osiris into the anteroom
and,  waving  his hand towards the handsome chest  said  with  a
little laugh: "Why don't you try it brother. It is worthy  of  a
King. Even of the Lord of the Two Lands, the Upper and the Lower
Nile."
  'With a smile Osiris lowered himself into the masterpiece. And
behold,  it fitted his tall, broad-shouldered body to  a  hair's
breadth.  No  sooner  was he inside than the principal  conspira
tors,  who  were in the secret, rushed forward with the  weighty
lid. In frantic haste they nailed it down and poured molten lead
upon  it, so that Osiris may have survived an hour in agony  but
died at last of suffocation.
  'Set  thus succeeded in his treacherous design of killing  his
brother  without  spilling one drop of his  blood.  He  and  his
turbulent followers then hastened to their chariots, rode forth,
and  seized the Kingdom. But Isis was warned in time and managed
to escape.
  'The  coffer had been left with Osiris in it and, the Egyptian
religion  being  so strongly bound up with the  worship  of  the
dead, it was vital to Set's newly established authority that the
body  should  be  disposed of at the earliest  possible  moment.
Otherwise, if the priests got hold of it, they would bury it  in
state  and erect a mighty shrine to the dead King's memory which
would  form  a rallying point for all the best elements  in  the
Kingdom where they would league themselves against the murderer.
  'Next morning, therefore, immediately he got home, Set had the
chest  cast  into  the Nile. But Isis recovered  it,  and  after
certain magical ceremonies, succeeded in impregnating herself by
means  of her husband's dead body. Then she fled to the  papyrus
marshes of the Delta, taking Osiris' body with her in the  chest
since there was no time to give it proper burial.
  'When  Set learned what had happened, he swore that  he  would
hunt Isis down and kill her, and that he would find Osiris' body
and destroy it for ever.
  'Again now, in the story, we get one of those strange glimpses
of  happenings many thousands of years ago which we can see more
clearly than the things of yesterday.
  'In  a few phrases it is recounted how Set searched for months
in  vain, and then one night, the pregnant ex-Queen Isis, now  a
destitute  refugee  alone and unattended, is  seated  beneath  a
cluster of palm trees in the desert. Her husband's body, roughly
embalmed, is in the wooden chest beside her and she is conscious
of  the movements of the child she bears. Suddenly her sorrowful
meditations  are  disturbed  by a distant  rumble  breaking  the
stillness  of  the  night.  The noise increases  to  a  drumming
thunder  as a party of horsemen come galloping across the  sand.
Isis runs for cover to a nearby papyrus swamp and crouches waist
high  in  the  water watching from amidst the reeds.  The  dusky
riders  come  thundering past. She sees that it is Set  and  his
dissolute nobles hunting by the brilliant light of the  Egyptian
moon.  One  of them recognises the chest. With cries of  triumph
they fling themselves from their saddles, break it to pieces and
drag  out  the  body  of  Osiris.  Hidden  there,  fearful   and
trembling, Isis watches Set's dark, proud profile as  he  orders
the  body  to  be  torn  into  fourteen  pieces  and  the  parts
distributed throughout the length and breadth of the Kingdom  so
that they might never be brought together again.
  'Years later, Horus, the son of Isis, the Great God, the  Hawk
of Light, who restored its blessings to mankind and lifted again
the veil of darkness that Set's treachery had brought to dim the
world,  became  master  of the Kingdom.  Then  Isis  roamed  the
country seeking for the dismembered portions of her husband. She
did  not attempt to assemble them again, but wherever she  found
one  she  erected  a  great temple to his memory.  In  all,  she
succeeded  in  finding  thirteen pieces of  the  body,  but  the
fourteenth she never found. That Set had carefully embalmed  and
kept  himself.  It  was  for this reason  that,  although  Horus
defeated  Set  three times in battle he was never able  to  slay
him.  The portion that Set retained was the most potent  of  all
charms-the phallus of the dead god, his brother.
  'In the secret histories of esoterism it is stated that it has
since  been  heard of many times. For long periods  through  the
ages  it  has been completely lost. But whenever it is fouad  it
brings  calamity upon the world, and that is the thing which  we
have  to prevent Mocata securing at all costs today-the Talisman
of Set.'
  When  De Richleau had ceased speaking, they sat silent  for  a
while  until  Marie Lou said softly: 'I am feeling rather  tired
now, Greyeyes, dear, and I think I'd like to rest, even if it is
impossible to sleep with all these lights.'
  'All right. Then I'll say what I have to Princess. But please,
all  of  you'-the Duke paused to look at each of  them  in  turn
-'listen carefully, because this is vitally serious.
  'What  may happen I have no idea. Perhaps nothing at  all  and
the  worst  we'll  have to face is an uncomfortable  night.  But
Mocata threatened to get Simon away from us by hook or by crook,
and I feel certain that he meant it. I cannot tell you what form
his attack is likely to take, but I am sure he will literally do
his  damnedest  to break us up and get Simon  out  of  our  care
tonight.
  'He may send the most terrible powers against us, but there is
one  thing above all others that I want you to remember. As long
as  we stay inside this pentacle we shall be safe, but if any of
us sets one foot outside it we risk eternal damnation.
  'We may be called upon to witness the sort of horrors which it
is  difficult for you to conceive. I mean visions  such  as  you
have  read of in Gustave Flaubert's Temptation of Saint Anthony,
or seen in pictures by the old Flemish masters such as Brueghel.
But  they cannot do us the least harm as long as we remain where
we are.
  'Again,  we may see nothing, but the attack may develop  in  a
far more subtle form. That is to say, inside ourselves. Any,  or
all  of  us,  may find our reason being undermined by  insidious
argument  so that we may start telling each other that there  is
nothing  in the world to be frightened of and that we are  utter
fools to spend a miserable night sitting here when we might  all
be  comfortably in bed upstairs. If that happens, it is  a  lie.
Even  if  I  appear to change my mind and tell you that  I  have
thought  of new arrangements which would be safer, you must  not
believe me because it will not be my true self speaking. It  may
be  that an awful thirst will come upon us. That is why  I  have
had  this  big  jug of'water brought in. We may be  assailed  by
hunger, but to meet that we have the fruit. It is possible  that
we  may  be  afflicted with earache or some  other  bodily  pain
which,  ordinarily, would make us want to go  upstairs  to  seek
relief.  If  that happens we've just got to stick  it  till  the
morning.
  'Poor  old  Simon is likely to be afflicted worst because  the
campaign will centre on an attempt to make him break out of  the
circle.  But we've got to stop him-by force, if need  be.  There
are  two  main  defences which we can bring  into  play  if  any
manifestations do take place, as I fear they may.
  'One is the Blue vibration. Shut your eyes and try to think of
yourselves  as standing in an oval of blue light.  The  oval  is
your  aura, and the colour blue exceedingly potent in all things
pertaining to the spirit; the other is prayer. Do not  endeavour
to  make up complicated prayers or your words may become muddled
and  you  will find yourself saying something that  you  do  not
mean.  Confine  yourselves to saying over and over  again:  "Oh,
Lord, protect me! Oh, Lord, protect me!" and not only say it but
think  it with all the power of your will, visualising,  if  you
can, Our Lord upon the Cross with blue light streaming from  His
body  towards yourselves; but if you think you see  Him  outside
this  pentacle beckoning you to safety while some terrible thing
threatens  you  from  the  other side,  still  you  must  remain
within.'
  As  De  Richleau finished there was a murmur of  assent.  Then
Richard,  with an arm about Marie Lou's shoulders said  quietly:
'I understand, and we'll do everything you say.'
  'Thank you. Now, Sirnon,' the Duke went on. 'I want you to say
clearly and distinctly seven times, "Om meni gadme aum." That is
the invocation to manathaer-your higher self.'
  Simon  did  as he was bid, then they knelt together  and  each
offered a silent prayer that the Power of Light might guard  and
protect  them  from  all uncleanness, and  that  each  might  be
granted strength to aid the others should they be faced with any
peril.
  They  lay  down  then  and tried to rest despite  the  burning
candles  and  the  soft glow of the electric  Light.  Sleep  was
utterly  impossible to them in such circumstances.  Yet  no  one
there had more to say upon any point that mattered and, after  a
little time, no one felt that they could break the stillness  by
endeavouring to make ordinary conversation.
  The  steady ticking of a clock came faintly from somewhere  in
the  depths  of the house. Occasionally a log fell with  a  loud
plop  and hissed for a moment in the fire grate. Then the little
noises  of the night were hushed, and an immense silence,  brood
ing  and  mysterious, seemed to have fallen upon them.  In  some
strange  way it did not seem as though the quite octagonal  room
was any longer a portion of the house or that outside the window
lay  the friendly, well-cared-for garden that they knew so well.
Watchful,  listening, intent, they lay silent,  waiting  to  see
what the night would bring,


                               26

                    Rex Learns of the Undead

  Tanith  slept peacefully, curled up in Rex's arms, her  golden
head pillowed upon his chest. For a little time anxious thoughts
occupied his mind. He reproached himself for having left Sirnon,
and  the  gnawing worm of doubt raised its head again to whisper
that  Tanith  had planned to lure him away from  protecting  his
friend, but he dismissed such thoughts almost immediately. Simon
would  be  safe  enough in the care of Richard  and  Marie  Lou.
Tanith  was alone and needed him, and he soon convinced  himself
that  in  remaining  there he was breaking a lance  against  the
enemy as well, by preventing Mocata securing her again to assist
him, all unwillingly, in his hostilities.
  The shadows lengthened and the patches of sunligbt dimmed, yet
still  Tanith  slept  on-the sleep of utter exhaustion-  brought
about  by  the  terrible nervous crisis through  which  she  had
passed  from  hour  to hour during the previous  day,  the  past
night, and that morning, in her attempt to seek safety with him.
  With  infinite precaution not to disturb her he looked at  his
watch  and  found  that the time was nearly  eight  o'clock.  De
Richleau  should  be back by now and after all it  was  unlikely
that Mocata could prevent his return before sundown. De Richleau
might  have  lost his nerve for a few moments the night  before,
but he had retrieved it brilliantly in that headlong dash at the
wheel  of  the  Hispano down into the hellish valley  where  the
Satanists practised their grim rites. Now that they had  secured
Simon  safe and sound once more, Rex had an utter faith that  De
Richleau  would fight to the last ditch, with all the skill  and
cunning  of  his  subtle  brain, and  that  stubborn,  tenacious
courage  that Rex knew so well, before he would surrender  their
friend to the evi! powers again,
  It  was  dark  now; even the afterglow had faded, leaving  the
trees  as  vague, dark sentinels in that silent wood. The  under
growth was massed in bulky shadows and the colour had faded from
the  grasses and wild-flowers on the green, mossy bank where  he
lay with Tanith breathing so evenly in his embrace.
  His  back and arms were aching from his strained position  but
he  sat  on  while  the moments fled, sleepy  himself  now,  yet
determined not to give way to the temptation, even to doze, lest
silent evil should steal upon them where they lay.
  Another  hour  crept  by  and then  Tanith  stirred  slightly.
Another moment, and she had raised her head, shaking the tumbled
golden  hair back from her face and blinking up at him a  little
out of sleepy eyes.
  'Rex,  where  are  we?' she murmured indistinctly.  'What  has
happened? I've had an awful dream.'
  He smiled down at her and kissed her full on the lips.
  'Together,' he said. 'That's all that matters, isn't  it?  But
if you must know, we're in the wood behind the road-house.'
  'Of  course,' she gave a little gasp, and hurriedly  began  to
tidy herself. 'But we can't stay here all night.'
  The thought of taking her back to Cardinals Folly occurred  to
him  again, but in these timeless hours he had witnessed so many
things  he would have thought impossible a few days before  that
he  dismissed  the idea at once. Tanith, he felt convinced,  was
not  lying to him. She was genuinely repentant and terrified  of
Mocata. But who could say what strange powers that sinister  man
might  not be able to exercise over her at a distance. He  dared
not  risk  it. However, she was certainly right in  saying  that
they could not stay where they were all night,
  We'd  best go back to the road-house,' he suggested. They will
be  able to knock us up a meal, and after, it'll be time  enough
to figure out what we mean to do.'
  'Yes,'  she sighed a little. 'I am hungry now-terribly hungry.
Do let us go back and see if they can find us something to eat.'
  Her arm through his, their fingers laced together, they walked
back  the quarter of a mile to the little stream which separated
the  wood  from the inn garden. He lifted her over it again  and
when  they  reached'the lounge of the 'Pride of  Peacocks'  they
found that it was already half-past nine.
  Knowing that his friends would be anxious about him, Rex tried
to  telephone  immediately he got in, but the  village  exchange
told him that the line to Cardinals Folly was out of order, Then
he  sent  the  trim  maid for Mr. Wilkes, and when  that  worthy
arrived  on the scene, inquired if it was too late for  them  to
have a hot meal.
  'Not at all, sir,' Mr. Wilkes bent, quiet-voiced, deferential,
priestlike, benign. 'My wife will be very happy to  cook  you  a
little  dinner. What would you care for now? Fish  is  a  little
difficult in these parts, except when I know that I have  guests
staying  and  can order in advance, and game, of course,  is  un
fortunately out of season. But a nice young duckling perhaps, or
a  chicken?  My wife, if I may say so, does a very good  Chicken
Maryland,  sir,  of which our American visitors have  been  kind
enough to express their approval from time to time.'
  'Chicken Maryland,' exclaimed Rex. 'That sounds grand  to  me.
How about you, honey?'
  Tanith  nodded. 'Lovely, if only it is not going to  take  too
long.'
  'Some twenty minutes, madam. Not more. Mrs. Wilkes will see to
it right away, and in the meantime, I've just had in a very nice
piece of smoked salmon, which comes to me from a London house. I
could  recommend  that if you would like to  start  your  dinner
fairly soon.'
  Rex  nodded,  and  the aged Wilkes went on amiably:  'And  now
sir-to  drink? Red wine, if I might make so bold would  be  best
with  the grill, perhaps. I have a little of the Clos de Vougoet
1920 left, which Mr. Richard Eaton was good enough to compliment
me on when he dined here last, and his Lordship, my late master,
always  used  to  say  that  he found  a  glass  of  Justerini's
Amontillado before a meal lent an edge to the appetite.'
  For  a  second  Rex  wavered. He recalled  De  Richleau's  pro
hibition against alcohol, but he had been far from satisfied  by
the  brief  rest  which  he had snatched that  morning  and  was
feeling  all the strain now of the events which had taken  place
in the last forty-eight hours. Tanith, too, was looking pate and
drawn, despite her sleep. A bottle of good burgundy was the very
thing  they  needed to give them fresh strength and courage.  He
could  have  sunk half a dozen cocktails with the greatest  ease
and  pleasure, but by denying himself spirits, he felt  that  he
was at least carrying out the kernel of the Duke's instructions.
Good wine could surely harm no one-so he acquiesced.
  A  quarter of an hour later, he was seated opposite to  Tanith
at  a  little  corner table in the dining-room, munching  fresh,
warm  toast and the smoked salmon with hungry relish, while  the
neat  little maid ministered to their wants, and the  pontifical
Mr. Wilkes hovered eagle-eyed in the background. The chicken was
admirably cooked, and the wine lent an additional flavour by the
fact  that his palate was unusually clean and fresh from  having
denied himself those cocktails before the meal.
  When  the  chicken  was served, Mr. Wilkes murmured  something
about  a sweet and Rex, gazing entranced into Tanith's big eyes,
nodded  vaguely. Which sign of assent resulted, a little  later,
in  the  production of a flaming omelette au kirsch. Then Wilkes
came forward once more, with a suggestion that the dinner should
be  rounded  off  by  allowing him to decant  a  bottle  of  his
Cockburn's '08. But here, Rex was firm. The burgundy had  served
its  purpose, stimulated his brain and put fresh life  into  his
body.  To drink a vintage port after it would have been pleasant
he knew, but certain to destroy the good effect and cause him to
feel sleepy. So he resisted Mr. Wilkes' blandishments.
  After  the  meal Rex tried to get on to Cardinals Folly  again
but the line was still reported out of order, so he scribbled  a
note to Richard, saying that he was safe and well and would ring
them in the morning, then asked Wilkes to have it sent up to the
house by hand.
  When  the  landlord had left them, they moved  back  into  the
lounge and discussed how they should pass the night. Tanith  was
as  insistent  as  ever that under no circumstances  should  Rex
leave  her to herself, even if she asked him later on to do  so.
She  felt that her only hope of safety lay in remaining with him
beside her until the morning, so it was decided that they  spend
the night together in the empty lounge.
  Tanith  had  already booked a room and so, to make all  things
orderly  in the mind of the good Mr. Wilkes, Rex booked another,
but  told  the landlord that, as Tanith suffered from  insomnia,
they would probably remain in the lounge until very late, and so
he  was not to bother about them when he locked up. As a gesture
he  also borrowed from Wilkes a pack of cards, saying that  they
meant to pass an hour or two playing nap.
  The  fire was made up and they settled down comfortably  under
the  shelter  of the big mantel in the inglenook with  a  little
table  before  them  upon which they spread out  the  cards  for
appearance sake. But no sooner had the maid withdrawn than  they
had  their  arms  about  each other  once  more  and  blissfully
oblivious  of  their surroundings, began that  delightful  first
exchange  of  confidences about their previous lives,  which  is
such a blissful hour for all lovers.
  Rex  would have been in the seventh heaven but for the thought
of  this  terrible  business in which  Tanith  had  got  herself
involved and the threat of Mocata's power hanging like  a  sword
of Damocles above her head.
  Again  and  again, from a variety of subjects and  experiences
ranging  the world over, and from their childhood to the present
day,  they found themselves continually and inexplicably  caught
back  to that macabre subject which both were seeking to  avoid.
In  the  end,  both surrendered to it and allowed  the  thoughts
which  were uppermost in their minds to enter their conversation
freely.
  'I'm  still  hopelessly  at  sea  about  this  business,'  Rex
confessed. 'It's all so alien, so bizarre, so utterly fantastic.
I  know I wasn't dreaming last night or the night before. I know
that  if  Simon  hadn't got himself into trouble I  wouldn't  be
holding your loveliness in my arms right now. Yet, every time  I
think of it, I feel that I must have been imagining things,  and
that it just simply can't be true.'
  'It  is,  my dear,' she pressed his hand gently; That is  just
the  horror  of it. If it were any ordinary tangible  peril,  it
wouldn't  be  quite so terrifying. It wouldn't be quite  so