Читать книгу Talmud - Ivan Dexter - Страница 7

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Like a statue the hardy explorer stood for a full minute, trying to locate the strange being he saw amongst the horses, but the more he tried, the more mystified he became. From the actions of the man he must be blind. He seemed to be groping around in a dazed sort of manner, as if uncertain of his position, and what the animals before him were. Stanley did not pause long, but going to Strangway he awoke him.

"What's the matter Tom," the leader asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

For answer, his comrade pointed to the rude corral in which the horses were placed, and which were becoming somewhat restive. Partly blinded like his comrade by the strong beams of the rising sun, Strangway for fully half a minute could not see the startling object which attracted his friend's attention. Suddenly, however, his features lighted up in that strange manner typified when consciousness asserts its dominion over the mind, and for a full minute he was silent.

"What is it?" he at length gasped out.

"I don't know," came the curt response.

Seizing his rifle in one hand, and the shot gun in the other, Strangway stood up saying——

"This may be only some plot to do us harm. Don't forget the sounds we heard yesterday. That fellow is trying to carry off our horses, so as to make us more helpless, but he will die first."

As he finished speaking, he sank on one knee, and rose his rifle to take aim at the strange creature amongst the horses, but Stanley restrained him. The ex-seaman had had a longer opportunity of judging the human apparition than his companion, and taking his arm he said:

"Don't shoot, for I think the fellow is mad. If there was a plot to take the horses it would not be carried out in daylight, but whilst we slept. Watch the man for a minute or two. He appears to be blind."

Strangway thus adjured, paused, and the longer his observation, the more convinced he was that his comrade's opinion desired full consideration.

"Yes," he at length said. "Let us watch for a few minutes—or rather I will watch him, and you keep guard in the rear. There is something extraordinary about here you know, and we cannot be too careful."

Whilst Stanley turned to watch in the opposite direction, occasionally turning his head in the direction of where the horses stood, Strangway closely observed the unexpected intruder.

That personage seemed to be utterly oblivious of the fact that the two explorers were about, for all his attention was fixed on the horses. Occasionally he would stand and put his hands to his head, as if in extreme perplexity, and then he would advance as near as he could to the retreating horses. His apparent desire seemed to be rather to examine the animals than to capture them. That was patent from his method of procedure, and at length Strangway was so convinced that the man was daft that he decided to take some action.

At first he was deterred by the extraordinary appearance of the man's dress. Like a dream there rose before him pictures, which he had seen when a boy, of the supposed garb of prehistoric man, in days when the world was young. In the British Museum he had been shown the dress as remodelled from Archaic carvings—of an ancient Burmese, but though the style appeared something like the same, the colors were altogether different. Strangway was a man of action, and his mind was soon made up.

"Tom," he called to his companion, "let us capture that follow, and if he tries to escape we will shoot him. Is your revolver alright? as we may need all our weapons."

"Yes, I am ready to fight, but don't let us do so unless there is a real necessity," came the reply.

"I will not throw a shot away," answered Strangway.

Proceeding cautiously towards the spot where the horses were placed, with levelled weapons, the two men got within twenty yards of the mysterious newcomer, and the closer they drew the more astonished they became. The exposed parts of his skin were almost pure white whilst the hair and beard were nearly the same hue. It was not a natural white, but a kind of bleached color. The man wore no head covering, but a kind of gown was suspended from his shoulders, and reached to his feet. It was of a light brown hue—what is popularly known as a dirty white, and appeared to be closely plaited. This at first did not strike the two spectators so much, as subsequently, for they were too much interested in the movements of the man. He was still moving about in a half-dazed fashion amongst the horses, and at last Strangway, unable to contain his surprise, shouted—

"Hey!"

The effect was electrical. In an instant the queer thing turned in the direction of the sound, and an expression of unutterable emotion flashed across his features. Strangway repeated the call and then with arms half outstretched the man came towards them. A small tree was in the road, but as he nearly reached it he turned aside, thus showing that he was not absolutely blind. He did not seem to be armed, and this fact somewhat re-assured Strangway and his companion, but still his uncanny appearance caused them no small amount of suspicious fear. Within half a dozen paces of the two men he stopped and gave a low cry. It was human at any rate, but quite unintelligible. As he thus stood, the feelings of the two explorers amounted to almost absolute terror. Had the newcomer been black or in fact had a tribe of aboriginals appeared, they would have been undaunted, but this substantial ghost, so to speak, was appalling to look upon.

The blanched whiteness of the face gave the impression that the bright red blood of mortal man did not course beneath such a skin, yet the apparition had just uttered a sound. Stanley had read somewhere of these monsters called vampires, and the appearance they were supposed to present. Instinctively the object before him recalled the vampire legend so far as the colour was concerned, but as he looked the ex-seaman softened, for in the expression of the face he saw neither cruelty nor thirst for blood.

"Who, and what are you?" again called Strangway.

As the voice sounded, the human apparition again advanced, and when within a couple of yards of the explorers, he saw them and stood irresolute. As they keenly scanned his face they could see that his eyes were almost closed, and blinking, as if the strong light of the sun hurt them. He appeared as if overcome with emotion, at seeing Strangway and Stanley, but was as dumb as the un-communicating muteness of a fish.

"Where do you come from?" Stanley queered.

The man thus addressed appeared to ponder confusedly for a few moments, and then as a gleam of intelligence lighted up his features, he pointed downward to the earth, and uttered something, which sounded like:—

"There!"

If anything was wanted to confirm the explorers impression that their strange visitor was half diabolic in his nature, this supplied the point. And yet the more they saw of him, the less fear asserted itself.

"I can't make him out, Tom. I have read of fear turning a person's hair white in a single night, and if so, may it not have the same effect on the face."

"Perhaps," he added, with a sudden burst of inspiration, "this may be some lost white man, whose solitary wanderings in these lonely districts have made silly."

"Perhaps so," asserted Stanley, shaking his head doubtfully.

"He may be hungry too. Let us give him something to eat, if he will have it," continued the leader.

"Yes."

"Come and have something to eat," Strangway said to the silent man in front of him, at the same time pointing to the camp.

"You forget that he can scarcely see a couple of yards ahead. Look at his eyes," interrupted Stanley.

Strangway, with a muttered assent went close to the man, and again repeating his invitation, pointed to the camp.

The lack-lustre eyes followed the extended finger and then as the leader moved on the newcomer slowly followed. The camp-fire of the night was just smouldering, and as the explorer's queer visitor saw the smoke he seemed to be almost childishly interested in it. After gathering some wood Stanley placed it on the embers and it soon blazed up. The weird-looking man could not repress his feelings at this and laughed with simple glee at the sight. The merriment was the most human-like and natural which Strangway and Stanley had yet heard, and it considerably reassured them.

Whilst Stanley prepared breakfast his comrade watched the man opposite him who was intently gazing into the fire, and from that to the busy figure of the ex-seaman. It almost seemed to Strangway that each moment saw a change in the face of his visitor. At least he appeared to become more in sympathy with himself, and gradually his feeling of repulsion began to die away.

"Make some tea," he said to Stanley whose turn it was to prepare the meal.

A considerable quantity of tea had been carried by the explorers, but latterly the supply was getting low and it was only used occasionally. Whilst breakfast was being prepared Strangway intently studied his visitor but did not speak to him, and, indeed he even forgot to fill his usual morning pipe so intensely interested was he. A jam tin of tea was handed to the "vampire" as Stanley yet persisted in calling him, and after smelling it a couple of times and tasting it, he drank it off with avidity, and rising to his feet, walked a few steps to Stanley and held out the tin for more. That at least was sociable and convinced the seaman there was a possibility of his being wrong in his theory. Vampires were not supposed to be fond of tea. The tea was given and consumed, and then the tin seemed to be an object of absorbing interest to the newcomer. Some kippered herrings were also produced, and after a short examination were evidently relished by the semi-blind man.

"He is able to eat and drink what we do. That is a good sign, " Stanley said.

"I wonder if he can smoke?" Strangway remarked as he had just thought of his pipe.

Stanley did not reply for he too in the excitement of the morning had forgotten the soothing weed, and was busily engaged filling his pipe. When the two men began to puff the fragrant clouds of tobacco smoke which pervaded the morning air, it appeared as if an old forgotten perfume had fallen upon the senses of the man opposite them. He sniffed the air like a bloodhound just finding the trail, and after a few minutes he went to Stanley and with a beseeching look stretched out his hand.

"Get him one of the spare pipes Tom," Strangway said.

Through the untimely deaths of Daniels and O'Halloran there were several spare pipes left and with hearty good nature the seaman handed the imploring visitor his own lighted pipe and got a spare one for himself. The pale stranger instantly put the pipe to his lips and commenced puffing away as if his life depended on the operation, and his enjoyment was so evident that even a child might have noticed it.

"He likes a smoke, Tom," Strangway remarked after a few minutes watching.

"My word he does. He puts me in mind of the crew of the Santa Anna who were castaways on a Pacific island for three years. My skipper rescued them and they were berthed in the forecastle. In twenty-four hours there wasn't a plug of tobacco on board and we had to smoke tea leaves or anything we could fill our pipes with for the remainder of the voyage," Stanley answered.

When the pipe was nearly emptied Strangway went and sat beside his visitor who received him with a smile of gratified recognition. The explorer could not help remarking that the sight of the newcomer was getting better. He could now see the movements of the horses, and the animals afforded him quite a mine of interest.

"What's your name?" the leader asked abruptly.

The stranger was silent whilst his brows contracted and his eyes were filled with a look of intense perplexity.

"Where did you come from?" continued Strangway, expressing the question more by gesture than by words.

The strange man at once pointed to the earth, but gave no further response.

"Do you come from underground?" asked the leader with a laugh.

There was a slight inclination of the head.

"He is what we used to term a 'sub man,' or a fellow who lives most of his time underground," broke in Stanley. "In some of the British collieries there are men who spend twenty out of twenty-four hours in the mines. They are generally engaged looking after the horses, but," he added, "there are no collieries in the centre of Australia, so that this does not explain the mystery surrounding our interesting friend."

Stanley again asked the strange visitor his name repeating the question slowly and with an inquiring look. He was at length rewarded for the man's face seemed to light up with a ray of intelligence as he quietly replied, "Talmud."

"Talmud," repeated Strangway "that's a queer name. He must be of Hebrew descent," he continued, addressing Stanley. "Perhaps we have discovered the personal embodyment of the 'Traditions of the Elders,' and when he acquires a better knowledge of our language he may reveal to us hidden secrets of an ancient race of which we know nothing; I propose we encourage friendly relations with our strange, not to say uncanny visitor."

"He certainly has a look of intelligence, that at first sight I failed to observe," replied Stanley, "and I'm decidedly of your opinion in the question of cultivating his acquaintance, in the hope that time may solve the mystery that hangs over our distinguished visitor."