The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker (books to read in your 20s TXT) 📕

had lost her statuesque calm. All the

introspective rigidity had gone from her; and she clasped her hands

together till the knuckles were white.

 

Without a word Mr. Trelawny raised the Jewel, and hurried with it into

the next room. As quietly as he could he opened the door of the safe

with the key fastened to his wrist and placed the Jewel within. When

the heavy doors were closed and locked he seemed to breathe more freely.

 

Somehow this episode, though a disturbing one in many ways, seemed to

bring us back to our old selves. Since we had left London we had all

been overstrained; and this was a sort of relief. Another step in our

strange enterprise had been effected.

 

The change back was more marked in Margaret than in any of us. Perhaps

it was that she was a woman, whilst we were men; perhaps it was that she

was younger than the rest; perhaps both reasons were effective, each in

its own way. At any rate the change was there, and I was happier than I

had been through the long journey. All her buoyancy, her tenderness,

her deep feeling seemed to shine forth once more; now and again as her

father’s eyes rested on her, his face seemed to light up.

 

Whilst we waited for the carts to arrive, Mr. Trelawny took us through

the house, pointing out and explaining where the objects which we had

brought with us were to be placed. In one respect only did he withhold

confidence. The positions of all those things which had connection with

the Great Experiment were not indicated. The cases containing them were

to be left in the outer hall, for the present.

 

By the time we had made the survey, the carts began to arrive; and the

stir and bustle of the previous night were renewed. Mr. Trelawny stood

in the hall beside the massive ironbound door, and gave directions as to

the placing of each of the great packing-cases. Those containing many

items were placed in the inner hall where they were to be unpacked.

 

In an incredibly short time the whole consignment was delivered; and the

m en departed with a douceur for each, given through their foreman,

which made them effusive in their thanks. Then we all went to our own

rooms. There was a strange confidence over us all. I do not think that

any one of us had a doubt as the the quiet passing of the remainder of

the night.

 

The faith was justified, for on our re-assembling in the morning we

found that all had slept well and peaceably.

 

During that day all the curios, except those required for the Great

Experiment, were put into the places designed for them. Then it was

arranged that all the servants should go back with Mrs. Grant to London

on the next morning.

 

When they had all gone Mr. Trelawny, having seen the doors locked, took

us into the study.

 

“Now,” said he when we were seated, “I have a secret to impart; but,

according to an old promise which does not leave me free, I must ask you

each to give me a solemn promise not to reveal it. For three hundred

years at least such a promise has been exacted from everyone to whom it

ws told, and more than once life and safety were secured through loyal

observance of the promise. Even as it is, I am breaking the letter, if

not the spirit of the tradition; for I should only tell it to the

immediate members of my family.”

 

We all gave the promise required. Then he went on:

 

“There is a secret place in this house, a cave, natural originally but

finished by labour, underneath this house. I will not undertake to say

that it has always been used according to the law. During the Bloody

Assize more than a few Cornishmen found refuge in it; and later, and

earlier, it formed, I have no doubt whatever, a useful place for storing

contraband goods. ‘Tre Pol and Pen’, I suppose you know, have always

been smugglers; and their relations and friends and neighbours have not

held back from the enterprise. For all such reasons a safe hiding-place

was always considered a valuable possession; and as the heads of our

House have always insisted on preserving the secret, I am in honour

bound to it. Later on, if all be well, I shall of course tell you,

Margaret, and you too, Ross, under the conditions that I am bound to

make.”

 

He rose up, and we all followed him. Leaving us in the outer hall, he

went away alone for a few minutes; and returning, beckoned us to follow

him.

 

In the inside hall we found a whole section of an outstanding angle

moved away, and from the cavity saw a great hole dimly dark, and the

beginning of a rough staircase cut in the rock. As it was not pitch

dark there was manifestly some means of lighting it naturally, so

without pause we followed our host as he descended. After some forty or

fifty steps cut in a winding passage, we came to a great cave whose

further end tapered away into blackness. It was a huge place, dimly lit

by a few irregular slits of eccentric shape. Manifestly these were

faults in the rock which would readily allow the windows be disguised.

Close to each of them was a hanging shutter which could be easily swung

across by means of a dangling rope. The sound of the ceaseless beat of

the waves came up muffled from far below. Mr. Trelawny at once began to

speak:

 

“This is the spot which I have chosen, as the best I know, for the scene

of our Great Experiment. In a hundred different ways it fulfils the

conditions which I am led to believe are primary with regard to success.

Here, we are, and shall be, as isolated as Queen Tera herself would have

been in her rocky tomb in the Valley of the Sorcerer, and still in a

rocky cavern. For good or ill we must here stand by our chances, and

abide by results. If we are successful we shall be able to let in on

the world of modern science such a flood of light from the Old World as

will change every condition of thought and experiment and practice. If

we fail, then even the knowledge of our attempt will die with us. For

this, and all else which may come, I believe we are prepared!” He

paused. No one spoke, but we all bowed our heads gravely in

acquiescence. He resumed, but with a certain hesitancy:

 

“It is not yet too late! If any of you have a doubt or misgiving, for

God’s speak it now! Whoever it may be, can go hence without let or

hindrance. The rest of us can go on our way alone!”

 

Again he paused, and looked keenly at us in turn. We looked at each

other; but no one quailed. For my own part, if I had had any doubt as

to going on, the look on Margaret’s face would have reassured me. It

was fearless; it was intense; it was full of a divine calm.

 

Mr. Trelawny took a long breath, and in a more cheerful, as well as in a

more decided tone, went on:

 

“As we are all of one mind, the sooner we get the necessary matters in

train the better. Let me tell you that this place, like all the rest of

the house, can be lit with electricity. We could not join the wires to

the mains lest our secret should become known, but I have a cable her

which we can attach in the hall and complete the circuit!” As he was

speaking, he began to ascend the steps. From close to the entrance he

took the end of a cable; this he drew forward and attached to a switch

in the wall. Then, turning on a tap, he flooded the whole vault and

staircase below with light. I could now see from the volume of light

streaming up into the hallway that the hole beside the staircase went

direct into the cave. Above it was a pulley and a mass of strong tackle

with multiplying blocks of the Smeaton order. Mr. Trelawny, seeing me

looking at this, said, correctly interpreting my thoughts:

 

“Yes! it is new. I hung it there myself on purpose. I knew we should

have to lower great weights; and as I did not wish to take too many into

my confidence, I arranged a tackle which I could work alone if

necessary.”

 

We set to work at once; and before nightfall had lowered, unhooked, and

placed in the positions designated for each by Trelawny, all the great

sarcophagi and all the curios and other matters which we had taken with

us.

 

It was a strange and weird proceeding, the placing of those wonderful

monuments of a bygone age in that green cavern, which represented in its

cutting and purpose and up-to-date mechanism and electric lights both

the old world and the new. But as time went on I grew more and more to

recognise the wisdom and correctness of Mr. Trelawny’s choice. I was

much disturbed when Silvio, who had been brought into the cave in the

arms of his mistress, and who was lying asleep on my coat which I had

taken off, sprang up when the cat mummy had been unpacked, and flew at

it with the same ferocity which he had previously exhibited. The

incident showed Margaret in a new phase, and one which gave my heart a

pang. She had been standing quite still at one side of the cave leaning

on a sarcophagus, in one of those fits of abstraction which had of late

come upon her; but on hearing the sound, and seeing Silvio’s violent

onslaught, she seemed to fall into a positive fury of passion. Her eyes

blazed, and her mouth took a hard, cruel tension which was new to me.

Instinctively she stepped towards Silvio as if to interfere in the

attack. But I too had stepped forward; and as she caught my eye a

strange spasm came upon her, and she stopped. Its intensity made me

hold my breath; and I put up my hand to clear your eyes. When I had

done this, she had on the instant recovered her calm, and there was a

look of brief wonder on her face. With all her old grace and sweetness

she swept over and lifted Silvio, just as she had done on former

occasions, and held him in her arms, petting him and treating him as

though he were a little child who had erred.

 

As I looked a strange fear came over me. The Margaret that I knew

seemed to be changing; and in my inmost heart I prayed that the

disturbing cause might soon come to an end. More than ever I longed at

that moment that our terrible Experiment should come to a prosperous

termination.

 

When all had been arranged in the room as Mr. Trelawny wished he turned

to us, one after another, till he had concentrated the intelligence of

us all upon him. Then he said:

 

“All is now ready in this place. We must only await the proper time to

begin.”

 

We were silent for a while. Doctor Winchester was the first to speak:

 

“What is the proper time? Have you any approximation, even if you are

not satisfied as to the exact day?” He answered at once:

 

“After the most anxious thought I have fixed on July 31!”

 

“May I ask why that date?” He spoke his answer slowly: