The room in the tower, and other storiesBenson, E. F. (Edward Frederic)
General
The room in the tower, and other stories
Benson, E. F. (Edward Frederic)
English fiction -- 20th century; Ghost stories, English; Horror tales, English; Short stories, English
Machmout squatted himself comfortably in the corner, and I gave him the
piece of black American cloth. As some minutes must elapse before he
gets into the hypnotic state in which the visions begin, I strolled out
on to the balcony for coolness. It was the hottest night we had yet had,
and though the sun had set three hours, the thermometer still registered
close on 100°. Above, the sky seemed veiled with grey, where it should
have been dark velvety blue, and a fitful puffing wind from the south
threatened three days of the sandy intolerable khamseen. A little way up
the street to the left was a small café in front of which were glowing
and waning little glowworm specks of light from the water pipes of Arabs
sitting out there in the dark. From inside came the click of brass
castanets in the hands of some dancing-girl, sounding sharp and precise
against the wailing bagpipe music of the strings and pipes which
accompany these movements which Arabs love and Europeans think so
unpleasing. Eastwards the sky was paler and luminous, for the moon was
imminently rising, and even as I looked the red rim of the enormous disc
cut the line of the desert, and on the instant with a curious aptness,
one of the Arabs outside the café broke out into that wonderful chant--
“I cannot sleep for longing for thee, O full moon
Far is thy throne over Mecca, slip down, O beloved, to me.”
Immediately afterwards I heard the piping monotone of Machmout’s voice
begin, and in a moment or two I went inside.
We have found that the experiments gave the quickest result by contact,
a fact which confirmed Weston in his explanation of them by thought
transference of some elaborate kind, which I confess I cannot
understand. He was writing at a table in the window when I came in, but
looked up.
“Take his hand,” he said, “at present he is quite incoherent.”
“Do you explain that?” I asked.
“It is closely analogous, so Myers thinks, to talking in sleep. He has
been saying something about a tomb. Do make a suggestion, and see if he
gives it right. He is remarkably sensitive and he responds quicker to
you than to me. Probably Abdul’s funeral suggested the tomb!”
A sudden thought struck me.
“Hush!” I said, “I want to listen.”
Machmout’s head was thrown a little back, and he held the hand in which
was the piece of cloth rather above his face. As usual he was talking
very slowly, and in a high staccato voice, absolutely unlike his usual
tones.
“On one side of the grave,” he piped, “is a tamarisk tree, and the green
beetles make _fantasia_ about it. On the other side is a mud wall. There
are many other graves about, but they are all asleep. This is _the_
grave, because it is awake, and is moist and not sandy.”
“I thought so,” said Weston, “It is Abdul’s grave he is talking about.”
“There is a red moon sitting on the desert,” continued Machmout, “and it
is now. There is the puffing of khamseen, and much dust coming. The moon
is red with dust, and because it is low.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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