Adventure stories; Automobile travel -- Fiction; Inheritance and succession -- Fiction; Young women -- Fiction
"Carl," he said gently, "you've got to pull up. You've come to the
wall at last. You know what lies on the other side?"
Carl shuddered.
"Yes," he whispered. "Madness--or--or suicide. One of the two must
come in time."
"Madness or suicide!" repeated Philip slowly and there was a great pity
in his eyes.
Carl caught the look and his face grew whiter beneath its tan. Chin
and jaw muscles went suddenly taut.
"Philip," he choked, unnerved by the other's gentleness, "you
don't--you can't mean--you believe in me--_yet_?"
"Yes," said Philip steadily. "God help me, I do."
Carl flung himself upon the floor, torn by great dry sobs of agony.
Shaking, Philip turned away. Presently Carl grew quieter and fell to
pouring forth an incoherent recital about a candlestick. From the
meaningless raving of the white, drawn lips came at last a single
sentence of lucid revelation. Philip leaped and shook him roughly by
the shoulder.
"Carl, think! think!" he cried fiercely. "For God's sake, think!
You--don't know what you are saying!"
But Carl repeated the statement again and again, and Philip's eyes grew
sombre. With quick, keen questions he reduced the chaotic yarn to
order.
The wild tale at an end, Carl fell back, limp and very tired.
"In God's name," thundered practical Philip, "why didn't you look in
the other candlestick?"
Carl stared. Then suddenly without a word of warning, he pitched
forward senseless upon the floor.
Philip loosened his clothing, rubbed his icy hands and limbs and bathed
his forehead, but the interval was long and trying before the stark
figure on the floor shuddered slightly and struggled weakly to a
sitting posture.
"I'm all right now," said Carl dully. "And I've got to go on. I--I
can't meet Diane." He drew something from his pocket and jabbed it in
his arm.
Philip looked on with disapproval.
"No," said Carl, meeting his glance. "No, not so very often, Philip.
Just lately, since Sherrill and I camped in the Glades. There's
something--something very tight here in my head whenever I grow
excited. When it snaps I'm done for a while, but this helps."
Philip's fine, frank mouth was very grim.
"Carl," he said quietly, "off there to the south is the eccentric swamp
home of a singular man, a philosopher and a doctor. He's Keela's
foster father. I've met and smoked with him. I want you to go to him
and rest. The Indians do that. He's what you need. And tell him
you're down and out. You'll go--for me?"
"Anywhere," said Carl.
"Tell him about the dope and every other hell-conceived abuse with
which you've tormented your body. Tell him about the infernal
tightness in your head."
"Yes," said Carl.
"But this thing of the candlestick," added Philip bitterly, "tell to no
man. You're strong enough to start now?"
"Yes."
Philip left the wigwam. When at length he returned, there was a dark,
slight figure at his heels, turbaned and tunicked, a guide whom he
trusted utterly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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