1
00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:07,440
The Judge's House by bram Stoker.
When the time for his examination drew near,

2
00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:13,519
Malcolm Malcolmson made up his mind to
go somewhere to read by himself.

3
00:00:14,439 --> 00:00:21,640
He feared the attractions of the seaside, and also he feared completely rural isolation,

4
00:00:22,719 --> 00:00:28,519
for of old he knew its charms, and so he determined to find

5
00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:35,840
some unpretentious little town where there would
be nothing to distract him. He refrained

6
00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:41,520
from asking suggestions from any of his
friends, for he argued that each would

7
00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:48,280
recommend some place of which he had
knowledge and where he had already acquaintances.

8
00:00:48,359 --> 00:00:55,039
As Malcolmson wished to avoid friends,
he had no wish to encumber himself with

9
00:00:55,200 --> 00:01:00,240
the attention of friends friends, and
so he determined to look out for a

10
00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:07,359
place for himself. He packed a
portaminet with some clothes and all the books

11
00:01:07,439 --> 00:01:14,799
he required, and then took ticket
for the first name on the local timetable,

12
00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:19,480
which he did not know. When
at the end of three hours journey

13
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:27,200
he lighted ben Church, he felt
satisfied that he had so far obliterated his

14
00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:34,400
tracks as to be sure of having
a peaceful opportunity of purursuing his studies.

15
00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:42,000
He went straight to the one inn
which the sleepy little place contained and put

16
00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:48,400
up for the night. Ben Church
was a market town, and once in

17
00:01:48,519 --> 00:01:53,480
three weeks was crowded to excess.
But for the reminder of the twenty one

18
00:01:53,560 --> 00:02:01,719
days, it was as attractive as
a Desertlson looked around the day after his

19
00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:07,639
arrival to try to find quarters more
isolated than even so quiet an inn.

20
00:02:08,319 --> 00:02:15,759
As the good traveler afforded. There
was only one place which took his fancy,

21
00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:23,199
and it certainly satisfied his wildest ideas
regarding quiet. In fact, quiet

22
00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:28,520
was not the proper word to apply
to it. Desolation was the only term

23
00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:35,400
conveying any suitable idea of its isolation. It was an old, rambling,

24
00:02:35,759 --> 00:02:44,120
heavily built house of the Jacobean style, with heavy gables and windows usually small

25
00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:50,120
and set higher than was customary in
such houses, and was surrounded with a

26
00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:57,919
high brick wall massively built. Indeed, on examination it looked more like a

27
00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:07,159
fortified house than an ordinary dwelling.
But all these things pleased Malcolmson. Here,

28
00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:13,240
he thought, is the very spot
I have been looking for, and

29
00:03:13,319 --> 00:03:16,879
if I can only get opportunity of
using it, I shall be happy.

30
00:03:19,039 --> 00:03:23,759
His joy was increased when he realized
beyond doubt that it was not at present

31
00:03:24,319 --> 00:03:30,800
inhabited. From the post office he
got the name of the agent who was

32
00:03:31,039 --> 00:03:38,319
rarely surprised at the application to rent
a part of the old house. Mister

33
00:03:38,479 --> 00:03:44,360
Carnford, the local lawyer and agent, was a genial old gentleman, and

34
00:03:44,439 --> 00:03:51,000
frankly confessed his delight at anyone being
willing to live in the house. To

35
00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,400
tell you the truth, said he, I should be only too happy on

36
00:03:54,520 --> 00:04:00,960
behalf of the owners to let anyone
have the house rent free for a term

37
00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,319
of years, if only to accustom
the people here to see it inhabited.

38
00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:13,240
It has been so long empty that
some kind of absurd prejudice has grown up

39
00:04:13,719 --> 00:04:18,759
about it, and this can be
best put down by its occupation, if

40
00:04:18,879 --> 00:04:25,439
only, he added, with a
sly glance at Malcolmson, by a scholar

41
00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:33,079
like yourself, who wants its quiet
for a time. Malcolmsen thought it needless

42
00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:40,920
to ask the agent about the absurd
prejudice. He knew he would get more

43
00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:47,399
information if he should require it on
that subject from other quarters. He paid

44
00:04:47,439 --> 00:04:53,879
his three months rent, got a
receipt and the name of an old woman

45
00:04:54,519 --> 00:05:00,480
who would probably undertake to do for
him, and came away with the keys

46
00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:05,000
in his pocket. He then went
to the landlady of the inn, who

47
00:05:05,079 --> 00:05:14,040
was a cheerful and most kindly person, and asked her advice as to such

48
00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:19,079
stories and provisions as he would be
likely to require. She threw up her

49
00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:26,639
hands in amazement when he told her
he was going to settle himself. Not

50
00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,279
in the judge's house, she said, and grew pale as she spoke.

51
00:05:31,439 --> 00:05:36,079
He explained the locality of the house, saying that he did not know its

52
00:05:36,199 --> 00:05:42,680
name. When he had finished,
she answered, aye, sure enough,

53
00:05:43,639 --> 00:05:47,199
sure enough, the very place it
is, the judge's house. Sure enough.

54
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:54,600
He asked her to tell him about
the place why so called, and

55
00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:59,879
what there was against it. She
told him that it was so called locally

56
00:06:00,519 --> 00:06:05,600
because it had been many years before. How long she could not say as

57
00:06:05,639 --> 00:06:12,879
for herself from another part of the
country, but she thought it must have

58
00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:18,120
been a hundred years or more,
the abode of a judge who was held

59
00:06:18,199 --> 00:06:26,399
in great terror on account of his
harsh sentences and his hostility to the prisoners

60
00:06:26,439 --> 00:06:30,560
at assizes. As to what there
was against the house, she could not

61
00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:36,240
tell. She had often asked,
but no one could inform her, but

62
00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:41,959
there was a general feeling that there
was something, And for her own part,

63
00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,639
she would not take all the money
in drink Waters bank and stay in

64
00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:54,360
the house an hour by herself.
Then she apologized to Malcolmson for her disturbing

65
00:06:54,519 --> 00:07:00,360
talk. It is too bad of
me, sir, and you and a

66
00:07:00,439 --> 00:07:06,000
young gentleman too, if you will
pardon me saying it, going to live

67
00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:12,279
there all alone. If you were
my boy, and you'll excuse me for

68
00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,439
saying it, you wouldn't sleep there
at night, not if I had to

69
00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:23,000
go there myself and pull the big
alarm bell that's on the roof. The

70
00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:29,439
good creature was so manifestly in earnest, and was so kindly in her intentions

71
00:07:29,839 --> 00:07:35,680
that Malcolmson, almost amused, was
touched. He told her kindly how much

72
00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:42,319
he appreciated her interest in him,
and added, but my dear missus Whitham,

73
00:07:43,759 --> 00:07:47,079
indeed, you need not be concerned
about me. A man who is

74
00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:53,879
reading for the mathematical tripos has too
much to think of to be disturbed by

75
00:07:53,959 --> 00:08:00,759
any of these mysterious somethings, And
his work is of too exact and prosaic

76
00:08:00,839 --> 00:08:05,839
a kind to allow of his having
any order in his mind, for mysteries

77
00:08:05,879 --> 00:08:16,920
of any kind. Harmonical progression,
permutations and combinations of elliptic functions have sufficient

78
00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:22,519
mysteries for me. Missus Whitham kindly
undertook to see after his commissions, and

79
00:08:22,639 --> 00:08:28,879
he went himself to look for the
old woman who had been recommended to him.

80
00:08:28,199 --> 00:08:33,559
When he turned to the judge's house
with her, after an interview of

81
00:08:33,759 --> 00:08:39,399
a couple of hours, he found
Missus Whitham herself waiting with several men and

82
00:08:39,519 --> 00:08:46,639
boys carrying parcels, and an upholsterer's
man with a bed in a cart.

83
00:08:46,919 --> 00:08:52,320
For she said, though table and
chairs might be all very well, a

84
00:08:52,399 --> 00:08:58,879
bed that hadn't been aired for maybe
fifty years was not proper for young ones

85
00:08:58,919 --> 00:09:05,279
to lie in. She was evidently
curious to see the inside of the house,

86
00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:11,200
and though manifestly so afraid of the
some things, that at the slightest

87
00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:16,639
sound she clutched on to Malcolmson,
whom she never left for a moment,

88
00:09:18,759 --> 00:09:26,799
went over the whole place. After
his examination of the house, Malcolmson decided

89
00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:33,960
to take up his abode in the
great dining room, which was big enough

90
00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:39,840
to serve for all his requirements,
and missus Whittham, with the aid of

91
00:09:39,919 --> 00:09:46,399
the charwoman Missus Dempster, proceeded to
arrange matters. When the hampers were brought

92
00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:54,440
in and unpacked, Malcolmson saw that, with much kind forethought, she had

93
00:09:54,519 --> 00:10:01,440
sent from her own kitchen sufficient provisions
to last for a few days. Before

94
00:10:01,519 --> 00:10:07,600
going, she expressed all sorts of
kind wishes, and at the door turned

95
00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:13,360
and said, and perhaps, sir, as the room is big and drofty,

96
00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:18,559
it might be well to have one
of those big screens put round your

97
00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:24,799
bed at night. Though truth to
tell, I would die myself if I

98
00:10:24,919 --> 00:10:35,120
were to be shut in with all
kinds of things that put their heads round

99
00:10:35,279 --> 00:10:41,440
the sides or over the top and
look on me. The image which she

100
00:10:41,519 --> 00:10:46,799
had called up was too much for
her nerves, and she fled incontentently.

101
00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:56,120
Missus Dempster sniffed in a superior manner
as the landlady disappeared. I remarked that

102
00:10:56,159 --> 00:11:01,399
for her own part, she wasn't
afraid of all the boogies in the kingdom.

103
00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:05,919
I'll tell you what it is,
sir, she said. Boogies is

104
00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:13,519
all kinds and sorts of things except
boogies, rats and mice, beetles,

105
00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:22,000
and creaky doors, and new slates
and broken panes and stiff drawer handles that

106
00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,879
stay out when you pull them and
then fall down in the middle of the

107
00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:31,120
night. Look at the way's coat
of the room. It is old,

108
00:11:31,799 --> 00:11:35,320
hundreds of years old. Do you
think there's no rats and beetles there?

109
00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,960
And do you imagine her that you
won't see none of them? Rats as

110
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:46,159
boogies, I tell you, And
boogies is rats. And don't you get

111
00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:50,720
to think anything else, missus Dempster, said Malcolm some gravely, making her

112
00:11:50,879 --> 00:11:56,360
a polite bow. You know more
than signor wrangler. And let me say

113
00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:01,559
that as a mark of esteem for
your dubitable soundness of head and heart,

114
00:12:01,879 --> 00:12:07,120
I shall, when I go,
give you possession of this house and let

115
00:12:07,159 --> 00:12:13,720
you stay here by yourself for the
last two weeks of my tendency for four

116
00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:18,240
weeks will serve my purpose. Thank
you kindly, Sure, she answered,

117
00:12:18,639 --> 00:12:24,480
But I couldn't sleep away from home
a night. I am in green House

118
00:12:24,639 --> 00:12:31,279
charity, and if I slept a
night away from my rooms, I should

119
00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,759
lose all I have got to live
on. The rules is very strict,

120
00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:41,840
and there's too many watching for a
vacancy for me to run any risks in

121
00:12:41,919 --> 00:12:48,399
the matter. Only for that,
sir, I'd gladly come here and attend

122
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:54,240
on you altogether during your stay,
my good woman, said Malcolmson hastily,

123
00:12:54,879 --> 00:13:00,480
I have come here on a purpose
to obtain solitude. And believe me that

124
00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:07,039
I am grateful to the Late greenhow
for having organized his admirable charity. Whatever

125
00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:13,679
it is that I am perforce denied
the opportunity of suffering from such a form

126
00:13:15,039 --> 00:13:22,360
of temptation. Saint Anthony himself could
not be more rigid on the point.

127
00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:28,279
The old woman laughed harshly. Ah, you, young gentleman, she said,

128
00:13:28,799 --> 00:13:33,519
you don't fear for naught, and
belike you'll get all the solitude you

129
00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:39,440
want here. She set to work
with her cleaning, and by night when

130
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:45,519
Malcolmson returned from his walk, he
always had one of his books to study.

131
00:13:45,799 --> 00:13:50,159
As he walked, he found the
room swept and tidy, a fire

132
00:13:50,399 --> 00:13:54,679
burning on the old hearth, the
lamp lit, and the table spread for

133
00:13:54,799 --> 00:14:01,840
supper with Missus Whitham's excellent fare.
This is comfort, indeed, he said,

134
00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:07,679
and rubbed his hands. When he
had finished his supper, and lifted

135
00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:11,240
the tray to the other end of
the great oak dining table. He got

136
00:14:11,279 --> 00:14:16,279
out his books again, put fresh
wood on the fire, trimmed his lamp,

137
00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:22,840
and set himself down to a spell
of real hard work. He went

138
00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:28,000
on without a pause till about eleven
o'clock, when he knocked off for a

139
00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:31,960
bit to fix his fire and lamp
and to make himself a cup of tea.

140
00:14:33,639 --> 00:14:37,840
He had always been a tea drinker, and during his college life had

141
00:14:37,879 --> 00:14:43,399
sat laid at work and had taken
tea late. The rest was a great

142
00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:46,799
luxury for him, and he enjoyed
it with a sense of delicious, voluptuous

143
00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:56,080
ease. The renewed fire leapt and
sparkled and threw quaint shadows through the great

144
00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:01,240
old room, and as he sipped
his hot tea, he ran in the

145
00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:07,600
sense of isolation from his kind.
Then it was that he began to notice

146
00:15:07,639 --> 00:15:11,519
the first time what a noise the
rats were making. Surely, he thought,

147
00:15:11,799 --> 00:15:18,600
they cannot have been at it all
the time I was reading. Had

148
00:15:18,679 --> 00:15:22,879
they been, I must have noticed
it presently. When the noise increased,

149
00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:28,240
he satisfied himself that it was really
new. It was evident that at first

150
00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:33,759
the rats had been frightened at the
presence of a stranger and the light of

151
00:15:33,879 --> 00:15:39,480
fire and lamp, but that as
the time went on they had grown bolder

152
00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:46,159
and were now disporting themselves as was
their wont how busy they were, and

153
00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:50,720
hark to the strange noises. Up
and down the old waned coat, over

154
00:15:50,759 --> 00:15:58,759
the ceiling, and under the floor
they raced and gnawed and scratched. Malcolmson

155
00:15:58,879 --> 00:16:03,639
smiled to himself as he recalled to
mind the saying of Missus Dempster, boogies

156
00:16:03,759 --> 00:16:08,960
is rats, and rats is boogies. The tea began to have its effect

157
00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:17,240
of the intellectual and nervous stimuloss,
and he saw with joy another long spell

158
00:16:17,279 --> 00:16:21,440
of work to be done before the
night was passed. And in the sense

159
00:16:21,559 --> 00:16:26,879
of security which it gave him,
he allowed himself the luxuryy of a good

160
00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:30,519
look round the room. He took
his lamp in one hat and went all

161
00:16:30,559 --> 00:16:34,639
around, wondering that so quaint and
beautiful an old house had been so long

162
00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:40,480
neglected. The carving of the oak
on the panels of the wain's coat was

163
00:16:40,519 --> 00:16:45,360
fine, and on and round the
doors and windows. It was beautiful and

164
00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:49,679
of rare merit. There were some
old pictures on the walls, but they

165
00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:55,919
were coated so thick with dust and
dirt that he could not distinguish any detail

166
00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,360
of them, though he held his
lamp as high as he could over his

167
00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:04,880
head. Here and there he went
round, he saw some crack or hole

168
00:17:06,039 --> 00:17:08,920
blocked for a moment by the face
of a rat, with its bright eyes

169
00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:15,160
glittering in the light. But in
an instant it was gone, and a

170
00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:19,119
squeak of a scamper follower. The
thing that most struck him, however,

171
00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:25,640
was the rope of the great alarm
bell on the roof, which hung down

172
00:17:25,759 --> 00:17:29,920
in the corner of the room,
on the right hand side of the fireplace.

173
00:17:30,799 --> 00:17:36,480
He pulled up close to the hearth
a great, high backed, carved

174
00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:41,240
oak chair, and sat down to
his last cup of tea. When this

175
00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:45,160
was done, he made up the
fire and went back to his work,

176
00:17:45,839 --> 00:17:51,319
sitting at the corner of the table, having the fire to his left.

177
00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:56,319
For a little while, the rats
disturbed him somewhat with their perpetual scampering,

178
00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:02,119
but he got accustomed to the noise, as one does to the ticking of

179
00:18:02,279 --> 00:18:07,319
the clock or to the roar of
moving water, and he became so immersed

180
00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:11,920
in his work that everything in the
world except the problem which he was trying

181
00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:17,480
to solve, passed away from him. He suddenly looked up. His problem

182
00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:22,240
was still unsolved, and there was
in the air that sense of the hour

183
00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:26,519
before dawn, which is so dread
to doubtful life. The noise of the

184
00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:32,359
rats had ceased. Indeed, it
seemed to him that it must have ceased

185
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:38,160
but lately, and that it was
the sudden cessation which had disturbed him.

186
00:18:38,519 --> 00:18:44,799
The fire had fallen low, but
still it threw out a deep red glow.

187
00:18:45,759 --> 00:18:49,680
As he looked, he started,
in spite of his saying freud.

188
00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:57,240
There on the great, high backed
carved oat chair by the right side of

189
00:18:57,279 --> 00:19:06,400
the fireplace sat an enormous rat,
steadily gallaring at him with baleful eyes.

190
00:19:07,079 --> 00:19:11,279
He had to motion to it,
as though to hunt it away, but

191
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,759
it did not stir. Then he
made the motion of throwing something. Still

192
00:19:15,839 --> 00:19:22,319
it did not stir, but showed
its great white teeth angrily, and its

193
00:19:22,519 --> 00:19:30,680
cruel eyes shone in the lamplight with
an added vindictiveness. Malcolmson felt amazed,

194
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:36,680
and, seizing the poker from the
hearth, ran at it to kill it.

195
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,759
Before, however, he could strike
it, the rat with a squeak

196
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:47,079
that sounded like the concentration of hate, jumped upon the floor, and running

197
00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:52,119
up the rope of the alarm bell, disappeared in the darkness beyond the range

198
00:19:52,279 --> 00:19:57,119
of the green shaded lamp. Instantly
strange to say, the noisy scampering of

199
00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:03,680
the rats in the way his coat
began again. By this time Malcolms's mind

200
00:20:03,839 --> 00:20:11,319
was quite off the problem, and
as a shrill cock crow outside told him

201
00:20:11,319 --> 00:20:15,400
of the approaching morning, he went
to bed and to sleep. He slept

202
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:19,519
so sound that he was not even
waked by Missus Dempster coming to make up

203
00:20:19,559 --> 00:20:23,319
his room. Was only when she
had tidied up the place and got his

204
00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:29,960
breakfast ready and tapped on the screen
which closed in his bed, that he

205
00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:34,559
woke. He was a little tired
still after his night's hard work, but

206
00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:41,079
a strong cup of tea soon freshened
him up, and taking his book,

207
00:20:41,599 --> 00:20:47,200
he went out for his morning walk, bringing with him a few sandwiches lest

208
00:20:47,279 --> 00:20:52,680
he should not care to return till
dinner time. He found a quiet walk

209
00:20:52,759 --> 00:20:59,759
between high elms, some way outside
the town, and here he spent the

210
00:20:59,759 --> 00:21:06,359
grit greater part of the day studying
his laplace. On his return, he

211
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:11,160
looked in to see Missus Whitham and
to thank her for her kindness. When

212
00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:18,759
she saw him coming through the diamond
paned bay window of her sanctom, she

213
00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,400
came out to meet him and asked
him in. She looked at him searchingly

214
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:27,240
and shook her head as she said, you must not overdo it, sir.

215
00:21:27,799 --> 00:21:33,839
You are paler this morning than you
should be. Two late hours and

216
00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:37,599
too hard work on the brains isn't
good for any man. But tell me,

217
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:42,480
sir, how did you pass the
night? Well? I hope,

218
00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:48,000
but my heart, sir, I
was glad when Missus Dempster told me this

219
00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:53,559
morning that you were all right and
sleeping sound when she went in. Oh,

220
00:21:53,720 --> 00:22:00,720
I was all right, he answered, smiling. The somethings didn't worry

221
00:22:00,799 --> 00:22:04,559
me as yet, only the rats, and they had a circus, I

222
00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:11,200
tell you, all over the place. There was one wicked looking old devil

223
00:22:11,599 --> 00:22:17,400
that sat up on my chair by
the fire and wouldn't go till I took

224
00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:21,799
the poker to him. And then
he ran up the rope of the alarm

225
00:22:21,839 --> 00:22:26,279
bell and got to somewhere up the
wall or the ceiling. I couldn't see

226
00:22:26,319 --> 00:22:32,680
where it was so dark, mercy
on Us said missus, whiham an old

227
00:22:32,759 --> 00:22:37,279
devil and sitting on a chair by
the fireside. Take care, sir,

228
00:22:37,599 --> 00:22:42,200
take care. There's many a true
word spoken in jest. How do you

229
00:22:42,279 --> 00:22:48,759
mean pon my word? I don't
understand an old devil? The old devil?

230
00:22:48,839 --> 00:22:53,359
Perhaps there, sir, you needn't
laugh, for Malcolmson had broken into

231
00:22:53,440 --> 00:23:00,160
a hearty peal. You young folks
think it easy to laugh at things that

232
00:23:00,319 --> 00:23:06,119
makes older one shudder. Never mind, sir, never mind, Please God,

233
00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:11,279
you'll laugh all the time. It's
what I wish you myself. And

234
00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,720
the good lady beamed all over in
sympathy with his enjoyment, her fears gone

235
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:21,839
for a moment. Oh forgive me, said Malcolmson. Presently, don't think

236
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,240
be rude. But the idea was
too much for me. That the old

237
00:23:26,319 --> 00:23:30,599
devil himself was on the chair last
night. And at the thought he laughed

238
00:23:30,599 --> 00:23:34,440
again. Then he went home to
dinner this evening. The scampering of the

239
00:23:34,559 --> 00:23:40,200
rats began earlier. Indeed, it
had been going on before his arrival,

240
00:23:40,599 --> 00:23:47,240
and only sees whilst his presence,
by its freshness, disturbed them. After

241
00:23:47,319 --> 00:23:52,599
dinner, he sat by the fire
for a while and had a smoke and

242
00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:57,240
then, having cleared his table,
began to work as before tonight. The

243
00:23:57,319 --> 00:24:02,720
rats disturbed him more than they had
done on the previous night. How they

244
00:24:02,759 --> 00:24:07,359
scampered up and down, and under
and over, how they squeaked and scratched,

245
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:12,759
and nowed, how they, getting
boulder by degrees, came to the

246
00:24:12,839 --> 00:24:18,240
mouths of their holes, and to
the chinks and cracks and crannies in the

247
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:25,480
wains coating, till their eyes shone
like tiny lamps as the firelight rose and

248
00:24:25,559 --> 00:24:30,000
fell. But to him, now
doubtless accustomed to them, their eyes were

249
00:24:30,039 --> 00:24:36,759
not wicked. Only their playfulness touched
him. Sometimes the boldest of them made

250
00:24:36,799 --> 00:24:41,079
sallyes out on the floor or along
the moldings of the wains coat. Now

251
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:47,640
and again, as they disturbed him, Malcolmson made a sound to frighten them,

252
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,240
smiting the table with his hand,
or giving a fierce sh so that

253
00:24:52,319 --> 00:24:59,640
they fled straightway to their holes.
And so the early part of the night

254
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:04,279
wore, and despite the noise,
Malcolmson got more and more immersed in his

255
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:10,279
work. All at once he stopped, as on the previous night, being

256
00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:15,359
overcome by a sudden silence. There
was not the faintest sound of gnaw or

257
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:21,319
scratch or squeak. The silence was
of the grave. He remembered the odd

258
00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:26,119
occurrence the previous night, and instinctively
he looked at the chair standing close by

259
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:32,640
the fireside, and then a very
odd sensation thrilled through him. There on

260
00:25:32,759 --> 00:25:38,720
the great, old, high backed
carved oak chair beside the fireplace, sat

261
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:47,640
the same enormous rat, steadily glaring
at him with baleful eyes. Instinctively,

262
00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:52,039
he took the nearest thing to his
hand, a book of logarithms, and

263
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:56,039
flung it at it. The book
was badly aimed, and the rat did

264
00:25:56,079 --> 00:26:00,720
not stir. So again the poker
performed. Mormans of the previous night was

265
00:26:00,759 --> 00:26:07,119
repeated, and again the rat,
being closely pursued, fled up the rope

266
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:11,160
of the alarm bell. Strangely,
too, the departure of this rat was

267
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:17,640
instantly followed by the renewal of the
noise made by the generro rat community.

268
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:22,000
On this occasion, as on the
previous one, Malcolmson could not see at

269
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:26,680
what part of the room the rat
disappeared, for the green shade of his

270
00:26:26,799 --> 00:26:30,519
lamp left the upper part of the
room in darkness, and the fire had

271
00:26:30,559 --> 00:26:37,359
burned low on looking at his watch, he found it was close on midnight,

272
00:26:37,519 --> 00:26:42,960
and not sorry for the divertisement,
he made up his fire and made

273
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:48,160
himself his nightly pot of tea.
He had got through a good spell of

274
00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:53,160
work and thought himself entitled to a
cigarette, and so he sat on the

275
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:59,720
great carved oak chair before the fire
and enjoyed it. Whilst smoking, he

276
00:26:59,759 --> 00:27:03,359
began to think that he would like
to know where the rat disappeared to,

277
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:10,880
for he had certain ideas for tomorrow, not entirely disconnected with a rat trap.

278
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,200
Accordingly, he lit another lamp and
placed it so that it would shine

279
00:27:15,279 --> 00:27:19,960
well into the right end corner of
the wall by the fireplace. Then he

280
00:27:21,039 --> 00:27:25,799
got all the books he had with
him and placed them handy to throw at

281
00:27:25,839 --> 00:27:30,599
the vermin. Finally, he lifted
the rope of the alarm bell and placed

282
00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:34,759
the end of it on the table, fixing the extreme end under the lamp.

283
00:27:36,319 --> 00:27:41,039
As he handled it, he could
not help noticing how pliable it was,

284
00:27:41,559 --> 00:27:45,319
especially for so strong a rope and
one not in use. You could

285
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:51,000
hang him man with it, he
thought to himself. When his preparations were

286
00:27:51,039 --> 00:27:56,480
made, he looked round and said, complacently, there now, my friend,

287
00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:02,839
I think we shall learn something of
you. This time he began his

288
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:07,079
work again, and, though as
before, somewhat disturbed at first by the

289
00:28:07,079 --> 00:28:15,160
noise of the rats, soon lost
himself in his proposition and problems. Again

290
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:21,839
he was called to his immediate surrounding
suddenly. This time it might not have

291
00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:26,720
been the sudden silence only which took
his attention. There was a slight movement

292
00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:32,680
of the rope, and the lamp
moved without stirring. He looked to see

293
00:28:32,759 --> 00:28:37,400
if his pile of books was within
range, and then cast his eye along

294
00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:41,920
the rope. As he looked,
he saw the great rat drop from the

295
00:28:41,039 --> 00:28:47,880
rope on the oak arm chair and
sit there glaring at him. He raised

296
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:52,359
a book in his right hand,
and, taking careful aim, flung it

297
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:56,839
at the rat. The latter,
with a quick movement, sprang aside and

298
00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:03,000
dodged the missile. And then he
took another book and a third and flung

299
00:29:03,119 --> 00:29:10,359
them one after the other at the
rat, but each time unsuccessfully. At

300
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:12,960
last, as he stood with a
book poised in his hand to throw,

301
00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:19,519
the rat squeaked and seemed afrayed.
This made Malcolmson more than ever eager to

302
00:29:19,559 --> 00:29:26,720
strike, and the book flew and
struck the rat a resounding blow. It

303
00:29:26,839 --> 00:29:33,640
gave a terrified squeak, and,
turning on his pursuer a look of terrible

304
00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:41,039
malevolence, ran up the chair back
and made a great jump to the rope

305
00:29:41,279 --> 00:29:47,599
of the alarm bell, and ran
up it like lightning. The lamp rocked

306
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:52,279
under the sudden strain, but it
was a heavy one and did not topple

307
00:29:52,279 --> 00:29:56,960
over. Malcolmson kept his eyes on
the rat, and saw it by the

308
00:29:56,079 --> 00:30:00,400
light of the second lamp, leaped
to a molding on the wainscot, and

309
00:30:00,559 --> 00:30:06,720
disappeared through a hole in one of
the great pictures which hung on the wall,

310
00:30:07,079 --> 00:30:11,640
obscured and invisible through its coating of
dirt and dust. I shall look

311
00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:15,720
up my friend's habitation in the morning, said the student, as he went

312
00:30:15,759 --> 00:30:21,200
over to collect his books. The
third picture from the fireplace, I shall

313
00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:26,920
not forget. He picked up the
books one by one, commenting on them

314
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:33,119
as he lifted them. Conic sections
he does not mind, nor cycloid oscillations,

315
00:30:33,519 --> 00:30:41,400
nor the principia, nor quaternions,
nor thermodynamics. Now for a look

316
00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:45,839
at the book that fetched him.
Malcolmson took it up and looked at it.

317
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:51,200
As he did so he started,
and a sudden pallor overspread his face.

318
00:30:51,839 --> 00:30:57,640
He looked around uneasily and shivered slightly
as he murmured to himself the Bible

319
00:30:57,799 --> 00:31:03,119
my mother gave me. What an
odd coincidence. He sat down to work

320
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:08,279
again, and the rats in the
wainscoat renewed their gambols. They did not

321
00:31:08,559 --> 00:31:14,720
disturb him, however, somehow their
presence gave him a sense of companionship.

322
00:31:15,279 --> 00:31:18,440
But he could not attend to his
work, and, after striving to master

323
00:31:18,599 --> 00:31:23,519
the subject on which he was engaged, gave it up in despair and went

324
00:31:23,599 --> 00:31:30,119
to bed as the first streak of
dawn stole in through the eastern window.

325
00:31:30,799 --> 00:31:37,200
He slept heavily but uneasily, and
dreamed much. And when Missus Dempster woke

326
00:31:37,319 --> 00:31:41,319
him late in the morning, he
seemed ill at ease, and for a

327
00:31:41,359 --> 00:31:47,359
few minutes did not seem to realize
exactly where he was. His first request

328
00:31:47,519 --> 00:31:52,240
rather surprised the servant, Missus Dempster. When I'm out today, I wish

329
00:31:52,559 --> 00:32:00,839
you would get the steps and dust
or wash those pictures, especially that one

330
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:05,960
the third from the fireplace. I
want to see what they are. Late

331
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:10,200
in the afternoon, Malcolmson worked at
his books in the shaded walk, and

332
00:32:10,279 --> 00:32:15,559
the cheerfulness of the previous day came
back to him as the day wore or

333
00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:22,119
on, and he found that his
reading was progressing well. He had worked

334
00:32:22,599 --> 00:32:28,680
to a satisfactory conclusion all the problems
which had as yet baffled him, and

335
00:32:28,799 --> 00:32:32,720
it was in a state of jubilation
that he paid a visit to Missus Whitham

336
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,759
at the Good Traveler. He found
a stranger in the cozy sitting room with

337
00:32:37,839 --> 00:32:44,160
the landlady, who was introduced to
him as doctor Thornhill. She was not

338
00:32:44,319 --> 00:32:47,640
quite at ease, and this,
combined with the doctors plunging at once into

339
00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:53,559
a series of questions, made Malcolmson
come to the conclusion that his presence was

340
00:32:53,599 --> 00:33:00,359
not an accident. So without preliminary
he said, Doctor Thornhill, I shall

341
00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:05,480
with pleasure answer you any question you
may choose to ask me, if you

342
00:33:05,519 --> 00:33:10,400
will answer me one question first.
The doctor seemed surprised, but he smiled

343
00:33:10,559 --> 00:33:17,119
and answered at once done, what
is it? Did Missus Whitham ask you

344
00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:22,640
to come here and see me and
advise me? Doctor Thornhill for a moment

345
00:33:22,839 --> 00:33:29,400
was taken aback, and Missus Whitham
got fiery red and turned away. But

346
00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:34,359
the doctor was a frank and ready
man, he answered at once and openly.

347
00:33:35,079 --> 00:33:38,559
She did, but she didn't intend
you to know it. I suppose

348
00:33:38,799 --> 00:33:44,880
it was my clumsy haste that made
you suspect. She told me that she

349
00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:49,200
did not like the idea of your
being in the house all by yourself,

350
00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:53,319
and that she thought you took too
much strong tea. In fact, she

351
00:33:53,519 --> 00:33:58,440
wants me to advise you, if
possible, to give up the tea and

352
00:33:58,559 --> 00:34:02,200
the very late hours. I was
a keen student in my time, so

353
00:34:02,359 --> 00:34:07,480
I suppose I may take the liberty
of a college man without offense, advise

354
00:34:07,559 --> 00:34:14,960
you not quite as a stranger.
Malcolmson, with a bright smile, held

355
00:34:15,079 --> 00:34:20,559
out his hand shake as they say
in America. He said, I must

356
00:34:20,559 --> 00:34:24,280
thank you for your kindness, and
missus Whittham too, and your kindness deserves

357
00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:30,159
a return on my part. I
promised to take no more strong tea,

358
00:34:30,679 --> 00:34:35,800
no tea at all till you let
me, and I shall go to bed

359
00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:40,320
tonight at one o'clock at the latest. Will that do, capital, said

360
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:45,000
the doctor. Now tell me all
that you noticed in the old house.

361
00:34:45,559 --> 00:34:50,880
And so Malcolmson, then and there
told in minute detail all that had happened

362
00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:54,480
in the last two nights. He
was interrupted every now and then by some

363
00:34:54,679 --> 00:35:00,280
explanation from Missus Whittham, till finally, when he told of the episode of

364
00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:07,400
the Bible, the landlady's pent up
emotions found vent in a shriek, and

365
00:35:07,519 --> 00:35:12,119
it was not tilling a stiff glass
of brandy and water had been administered that

366
00:35:12,199 --> 00:35:17,880
she grew composed again. Doctor Thornhill
listened with a face of growing gravity,

367
00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:23,559
and when the narrative was complete and
Missus Whittheaden had been restored, he asked,

368
00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:29,079
the rat always went up the rope
of the alarm bell. Oh I

369
00:35:29,159 --> 00:35:32,199
suppose you know, said doctor,
after a pause, What that rope is?

370
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:37,239
No, it is, said the
doctor slowly, the very rope which

371
00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:45,800
the hangman used for all the victims
of the Judge's judicial orangcoor. Here he

372
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:51,719
was interrupted by another scream from Missus
Whitham, and steps had to be taken

373
00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:55,000
for her recovery. Malcolmson, having
looked at his watch and found that it

374
00:35:55,079 --> 00:36:00,800
was close to his dinner hour,
had gone home before her complete recover him.

375
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:06,800
When Missus Woodham was herself again,
she almost assailed the doctor with angry

376
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:10,840
questions as to what he meant by
putting such horrible ideas into the poor young

377
00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:15,519
man's head. He has quite enough
they're already to upset him, she added.

378
00:36:16,199 --> 00:36:22,960
Doctor Thornhill replied, my dear madam, I had a distinct purpose in

379
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:27,880
it. I wanted to draw his
attention to the bell rope and to fix

380
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:34,320
it there. It may be that
he is in a highly overwrought state and

381
00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:37,639
has been studying too much, although
I am bound to say that he seems

382
00:36:37,679 --> 00:36:44,480
a sound and healthy a young man
mentally and bodily as ever I saw.

383
00:36:45,039 --> 00:36:49,719
But then the rats and that suggestion
of the devil. The doctor shook his

384
00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:53,840
head and went on, I would
have offered to go and stay the first

385
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:59,360
night with him, but that I
felt sure it would have been a cause

386
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:04,639
of offense. He may get in
the night some strange fright or hallucination,

387
00:37:05,119 --> 00:37:09,480
and if he does, I want
him to pull that rope all alone as

388
00:37:09,519 --> 00:37:14,679
he is. It will give us
warning and we may reach him in time

389
00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:19,920
to be of service. I shall
be sitting up pretty late tonight and shall

390
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:24,280
keep my ears open. Do not
be alarmed if ben Church gets a surprise

391
00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:29,880
before morning. Oh doctor, what
do you mean, what do you mean?

392
00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:35,920
I mean this that possibly, nay
more, probably, we shall hear

393
00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:39,840
the great alarm bell from the Judge's
house tonight, And the doctor made about

394
00:37:40,079 --> 00:37:45,880
an effective an exit as could be
thought of. When Malcolmson arrived home,

395
00:37:46,039 --> 00:37:52,519
he found that it was a little
after his usual time, and Missus Dempster

396
00:37:52,639 --> 00:37:58,840
had gone away. The rules of
Greenhouse charity were not to be neglected.

397
00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:02,639
He was glad to see that the
place was bright and tidy, with a

398
00:38:02,719 --> 00:38:08,320
cheerful fire and a well trimmed lamp. The evening was colder than might have

399
00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:14,880
been expected in April, and a
heavy wind was blowing with such rapidly increasing

400
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:21,559
strength that there was every promise of
a storm during the night. For a

401
00:38:21,599 --> 00:38:25,480
few minutes after his entrance, the
noise of the rat ceased, but so

402
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:31,440
soon as they became accustomed to his
presence they began again. He was glad

403
00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:37,559
to hear them, for he felt
once more the feeling of companionship in their

404
00:38:37,639 --> 00:38:43,159
noise, and his mind ran back
to the strange fact that they only ceased

405
00:38:43,199 --> 00:38:47,679
to manifest themselves when the other,
the great rat with the baleful eyes,

406
00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:54,280
came upon the scene. The reading
lamp only was lit, and its green

407
00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:59,719
shade kept the ceiling and upper part
of the room in darkness, so that

408
00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:04,559
the cheerful light from the hearths,
spreading over the floor and shining on the

409
00:39:04,599 --> 00:39:07,599
white cloth laid over the end of
the table, was warm and cheery.

410
00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:14,760
Malcolmson sat down to his dinner with
a good appetite and a buoyant spirit.

411
00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:21,039
After his dinner and a cigarette,
he sat steadily down to work, determined

412
00:39:21,159 --> 00:39:24,880
not to let anything disturb him,
for he remembered his promise to the doctor

413
00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:30,199
and made up his mind to make
the best of the time at his disposal.

414
00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:34,960
For an hour or so he worked
all right, and then his thoughts

415
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:38,960
began to wander from his books.
The actual circumstances around him, and the

416
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:45,519
calls on his physical attention and his
nervous susceptibility were not to be denied.

417
00:39:46,119 --> 00:39:50,519
By this time, the wind had
become a gale, the gale a storm.

418
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:53,079
The old house solid, though it
was, seemed to shake to its

419
00:39:53,119 --> 00:40:00,199
foundation, and the storm roared and
raged through its many chimneys and its queer

420
00:40:00,239 --> 00:40:07,440
old gables, producing strange, unearthly
sounds in the empty rooms and corridors.

421
00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:12,599
Even the great alarm bell on the
roof must have felt the force of the

422
00:40:12,639 --> 00:40:16,679
wind, for the rope rose and
fell slightly, as though the bell were

423
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:22,519
moved a little from time to time, and the limber rope fell on the

424
00:40:22,559 --> 00:40:28,320
oak floor with a hard and hollow
sound. As Malcolm listened to it,

425
00:40:28,639 --> 00:40:32,960
he bethought himself of the doctor's words, it is the rope which the hangman

426
00:40:34,159 --> 00:40:39,639
used for the victims of the judge's
judicial rancor. And he went over to

427
00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:45,480
the corner of the fireplace and took
it in his hand to look at it.

428
00:40:45,239 --> 00:40:51,960
There seemed a sort of deadly interest
in it, and as he stood

429
00:40:52,039 --> 00:40:57,639
there, he lost himself for a
moment in speculation as to who these victims

430
00:40:57,639 --> 00:41:01,039
were, and the grim wish of
the giant to have such a ghastly relic

431
00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:07,000
under his eyes. As he stood
there, the swaying bell on the roofs

432
00:41:07,679 --> 00:41:14,039
still lifted the rope now and again. But presently there came a new sensation,

433
00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:19,559
a sort of tremor in the rope, as though something was moving along

434
00:41:19,639 --> 00:41:25,599
it. Looking up instantly, Malcolmson
saw the great rat coming slowly down towards

435
00:41:25,679 --> 00:41:30,639
him, glaring at him steadily.
He dropped the rope and started back with

436
00:41:30,719 --> 00:41:35,559
a muttered curse, and the rat, turning, ran up the slope again

437
00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:40,320
and disappeared. And at the same
instant, Malcolm soon became conscious that the

438
00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:45,280
noise of the other rats, which
had ceased for a while, began again.

439
00:41:45,199 --> 00:41:49,480
All this set him thinking, and
it occurred to him that he had

440
00:41:49,559 --> 00:41:53,599
not investigated the layer of the rat, or looked at the pictures as he

441
00:41:53,679 --> 00:42:00,280
had intended. He lit the other
lamp without the shade, and holding it

442
00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:05,760
up, went and stood opposite the
third picture from the fireplace on the right

443
00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:08,599
hand side, where he had seen
the rat disappear on the previous night.

444
00:42:09,519 --> 00:42:15,400
At the first glance, he started
back so suddenly that he almost dropped the

445
00:42:15,519 --> 00:42:21,519
lamp, and a deadly pallor overspread
his face. His knees shook, and

446
00:42:21,679 --> 00:42:25,840
heavy drops of sweat came on his
forehead, and he trembled like an aspen.

447
00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:30,599
But he was young and plucky and
pulled himself together, and, after

448
00:42:30,639 --> 00:42:35,639
the pause of a few seconds,
stepped forward again, raised up the lamp

449
00:42:35,679 --> 00:42:39,239
and examined the picture, which had
been dusted and washed and now stood out

450
00:42:39,239 --> 00:42:45,519
clearly. It was a judge dressed
in his robes of scarlet and ermine,

451
00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:52,039
His face was strong and merciless,
evil, crafty and addictive, with a

452
00:42:52,119 --> 00:42:58,199
sensual mouth, hooked nose of ruddy
color and shaped like the beak of a

453
00:42:58,199 --> 00:43:02,000
bird of prey. The rest of
his face was of a cadaverous color.

454
00:43:02,559 --> 00:43:09,280
The eyes were of peculiar brilliance and
with a terribly malignant expression. As he

455
00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:15,480
looked at them, Malcolmson grew cold, for he saw there the very counterpart

456
00:43:15,599 --> 00:43:21,000
of the eyes of the great rat. The lamp almost fell from his hand.

457
00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:25,360
He saw the rat with its baleful
eyes, peering out through the hole

458
00:43:25,519 --> 00:43:30,800
in the corner of the picture,
and noted the sudden cessation of the noise

459
00:43:30,920 --> 00:43:37,039
of the other rats. However,
he pulled himself together and went on with

460
00:43:37,119 --> 00:43:40,840
his examination of the picture. The
judge was seated in a great, high

461
00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:47,719
backed carved oat chair on the right
hand side of the great stone fireplace,

462
00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:53,880
where in the corner a rope hung
down from the ceiling, its end lying

463
00:43:54,039 --> 00:44:00,199
coiled on the floor. With a
feeling of something like horror, Malcolm's and

464
00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:06,119
recognized the scene of the room as
it stood, and gazed around him in

465
00:44:06,159 --> 00:44:10,320
an awe struck manner, as though
he expected to find some strange presence behind

466
00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:15,719
him. He looked over to the
corner of the fireplace, and with a

467
00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:21,000
loud cry, he let the lamp
fall from his hand. There in the

468
00:44:21,119 --> 00:44:27,400
judge's armchair, with a rope hanging
behind, sat the rat with the judge's

469
00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:34,639
baleful eyes now intensified as with fiendish
leer. Save for the howling of the

470
00:44:34,679 --> 00:44:40,760
storm, without there was silence.
The fallen lamp recalled Malcolmson to himself.

471
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:46,800
Fortunately it was of metal, and
so the oil was not spilt. However,

472
00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:52,639
the practical need of attending to it
settled at once his nervous apprehensions.

473
00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:57,239
When he had turned it out,
he wiped his brow and thought for a

474
00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:00,480
moment, this will not do,
he said to himself. If I go

475
00:45:00,599 --> 00:45:05,480
on like this, I shall become
a crazy fool. This must stop,

476
00:45:06,119 --> 00:45:10,440
I promised the doctor. I would
not take tea faith. He was pretty

477
00:45:10,679 --> 00:45:16,199
right. My nerves must have been
getting into a queer state. Funny,

478
00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:21,599
I did not notice it. I
never felt better in my life. However,

479
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:25,639
it is all right now, and
I shall not be a fool again.

480
00:45:27,719 --> 00:45:32,360
Then he mixed himself a good stiff
glass of brandy and water and resolutely

481
00:45:32,920 --> 00:45:37,920
sat down to his work. It
was nearly an hour when he looked up

482
00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:44,639
from his book, disturbed by the
sudden stillness without. The wind howled and

483
00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:49,679
roared louder than ever, and the
rain drove in sheets against the windows,

484
00:45:50,079 --> 00:45:55,360
beating like hail on the glass.
But within there was no sound whatever,

485
00:45:55,639 --> 00:46:00,400
save the echo of the wind as
it roared in the gray chimney. And

486
00:46:00,480 --> 00:46:07,119
now and then a hiss as a
few raindrops found their way down the chimney

487
00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:13,239
in a lull of the storm.
The fire had fallen low and had ceased

488
00:46:13,239 --> 00:46:20,159
to flame, though it threw out
a red glow. Malcolmson listened attentively and

489
00:46:20,239 --> 00:46:25,239
presently heard a thin squeaking noise,
very faint. It came from a corner

490
00:46:25,239 --> 00:46:30,320
of the room where the rope hung
down, and he thought it was the

491
00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:35,239
creaking of the rope on the floor
as the swaying of the bell raised and

492
00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:38,960
lowered it. Looking up, however, he saw in the dim light the

493
00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:45,000
great rat clinging to the rope and
gnawing it. The rope was already nearly

494
00:46:45,039 --> 00:46:51,480
gnawed through. He could see the
lighter color where the strands were laid bare.

495
00:46:52,159 --> 00:46:54,920
As he looked, the job was
completed, and the severed end of

496
00:46:54,960 --> 00:47:01,199
the rope fell, clattering on the
oaken floor, whilst for an instant the

497
00:47:01,280 --> 00:47:06,880
great rat remained like a knob or
tassel at the end of the rope,

498
00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:13,000
which now began to sway to and
fro. Malcolmson felt for a moment another

499
00:47:13,039 --> 00:47:19,079
pang of terror as he saw that
now the possibility of calling the outer world

500
00:47:19,239 --> 00:47:23,920
to his assistance was cut off,
But an intense anger took its place,

501
00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:30,480
and, seizing the book he was
reading, he hurled it at the rat.

502
00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:35,239
The blow was well aimed, but
before the missile could reach him,

503
00:47:35,679 --> 00:47:40,320
the rat dropped off and struck the
floor with a soft thud. Malcolmson instantly

504
00:47:40,440 --> 00:47:45,400
rushed over towards him, but it
darted away and disappeared in the darkness of

505
00:47:45,440 --> 00:47:51,679
the shadows of the room. Malcolmson
felt that his work was over for the

506
00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:58,760
night, and determined then and there
to vary the monotony of the proceedings by

507
00:47:58,800 --> 00:48:01,760
a hunt for the rat, and
took off the green shade of the lamp

508
00:48:02,239 --> 00:48:07,360
so as to ensure a wider spreading
light. As he did so, the

509
00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:13,280
gloom of the upper part of the
room was relieved, and in the new

510
00:48:13,800 --> 00:48:19,960
flood of light, great by comparison
with the previous darkness. The pictures on

511
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:25,920
the wall stood out boldly. From
where he stood, Malcolmson saw right opposite

512
00:48:25,960 --> 00:48:30,599
to him the third picture on the
wall, from the right of the fireplace.

513
00:48:31,039 --> 00:48:36,199
He rubbed his eyes with surprise,
and then a great fear began to

514
00:48:36,320 --> 00:48:40,719
come upon him. In the center
of the picture was a great, irregular

515
00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:46,159
patch of brown canvas, as fresh
as when it was stretched on the frame.

516
00:48:46,679 --> 00:48:52,599
The background was as before, with
the chair and chimney, corner and

517
00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:57,280
rope, but the fear of the
judge had disappeared. Malcolm, almost in

518
00:48:57,360 --> 00:49:00,760
a chill of horror, turned slowly
away, and then he began to shake

519
00:49:00,840 --> 00:49:06,760
and tremble like a man in a
palsy. His strength seemed to have left

520
00:49:06,840 --> 00:49:10,960
him, and he was incapable of
action or movement, hardly even of thought.

521
00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:17,199
He could only see and hear.
There on the great, high backed,

522
00:49:17,400 --> 00:49:24,639
carved oak chair sat the Judge in
his robes of scarlet and ermine,

523
00:49:25,159 --> 00:49:32,760
with his belleful eyes glaring vindictively,
and a smile of triumph on the resolute

524
00:49:34,480 --> 00:49:42,360
cruel mouth, as he lifted with
his hands a black cap. Malcolmson felt

525
00:49:42,400 --> 00:49:47,800
as if the blood was running from
his heart as one does in moments of

526
00:49:49,000 --> 00:49:55,639
prolonged suspense. There was a singing
in his ears. Without he could hear

527
00:49:55,760 --> 00:50:02,440
the roar and howl of the tempest, and through it swept on the storm.

528
00:50:04,119 --> 00:50:09,559
Came the striking of midnight by the
great chimes in the market place.

529
00:50:10,119 --> 00:50:16,400
He stood for a space of time
that seemed to him endless, still as

530
00:50:16,440 --> 00:50:24,639
a statute, and with wide open
horror struck eyes breathless. As the clock

531
00:50:24,719 --> 00:50:32,320
struck, so the smile of triumph
on the judge's face intensified, and at

532
00:50:32,519 --> 00:50:39,840
the last stroke of midnight he placed
the black cap on his head. Slowly

533
00:50:40,559 --> 00:50:46,000
and deliberately, the judge rose from
his chair and picked up the piece of

534
00:50:46,159 --> 00:50:52,599
rope of the alarm bell which lay
on the floor, drew it through his

535
00:50:52,800 --> 00:50:59,920
hands as if he enjoyed its touch, and then deliberately began to not when

536
00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:06,800
end of it, fashioning it into
a noose. This he tightened and tested

537
00:51:06,840 --> 00:51:12,480
with his foot, pulling hard at
it till he was satisfied, and then

538
00:51:12,639 --> 00:51:19,119
making a running noose of it,
which he held in his hand. Then

539
00:51:19,400 --> 00:51:24,480
he began to move along the table
on the opposite side of Malcolmson, keeping

540
00:51:24,519 --> 00:51:30,320
his eyes on him until he had
passed him, when with a quick movement

541
00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:37,719
he stood in front of the door. Malcolmson then began to feel that he

542
00:51:37,840 --> 00:51:42,960
was trapped and tried to think of
what he should do. There was some

543
00:51:43,119 --> 00:51:47,760
fascination in the judge's eyes, which
he never took off him, and he

544
00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:54,519
had perforced to look. He saw
the judge approach, still keeping between him

545
00:51:54,880 --> 00:52:00,199
and the door, and raise the
noose and throw it towardwards him, as

546
00:52:00,239 --> 00:52:06,079
if to entangle him with a great
effort. He made a quick movement to

547
00:52:06,199 --> 00:52:10,320
one side and saw the rope fall
beside him, and heard it strike the

548
00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:16,199
oaken floor. Again, the judge
raised the noose and tried to ensnare him,

549
00:52:16,679 --> 00:52:22,760
even keeping his bell full eyes fixed
on him, and each time,

550
00:52:22,840 --> 00:52:28,880
by a mighty effort, the student
just managed to evade it. So this

551
00:52:28,960 --> 00:52:36,559
went on for many times, the
judge seeming never discouraged nor discomposed at failure,

552
00:52:36,920 --> 00:52:40,280
but playing as a cat does with
a mouse. At last, in

553
00:52:40,400 --> 00:52:49,360
despair which had reached its climax,
Malcolmson cast a quick glance round him.

554
00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:53,559
The lamp seemed to have blazed up, and there was a fairly good light

555
00:52:53,639 --> 00:53:00,199
in the room, at the many
rat holes and in the chinks, and

556
00:53:00,480 --> 00:53:06,480
of the wainscoat, he saw the
rat's eyes, and this aspect that was

557
00:53:06,519 --> 00:53:12,159
purely physical, gave him a gleam
of comfort. He looked round and saw

558
00:53:12,199 --> 00:53:16,880
the rope of the great alarm bell
was laden with rats. Every inch of

559
00:53:16,920 --> 00:53:22,800
it was covered with them, and
more and more were pouring through the small

560
00:53:22,920 --> 00:53:30,000
circular hole in the ceiling whence it
emerged, so that with their weight,

561
00:53:30,360 --> 00:53:37,960
the bell was beginning to sway.
Hark it had swayed till the clapper had

562
00:53:37,039 --> 00:53:42,519
touched the bell. The sound was
but a tiny one, but the bell

563
00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:46,719
was only beginning to sway, and
it would increase. At the sound of

564
00:53:46,800 --> 00:53:53,159
the judge, who had been keeping
his eyes fixed on Malcolmson looked up and

565
00:53:53,280 --> 00:54:01,679
a scowl of diabolical anger overspread his
face. His eyes fairly glowed like hot

566
00:54:01,719 --> 00:54:07,280
coals, and he stamped his foot
with a sound that seemed to make the

567
00:54:07,360 --> 00:54:13,519
house shake. A dreadful peal of
thunder broke overhead as he raised the rope

568
00:54:13,559 --> 00:54:20,079
again, whilst the rats kept running
up and down the rope as though working

569
00:54:20,119 --> 00:54:25,159
against time. This time, instead
of throwing it, he drew close to

570
00:54:25,320 --> 00:54:31,440
his victim and held open the noose
as he approached. As he came closer,

571
00:54:31,840 --> 00:54:38,880
there seemed something paralyzing in his very
presence, and Malcolmson stood rigid as

572
00:54:38,920 --> 00:54:45,599
a corpse. He felt the judge's
icy fingers touch his throat as he adjusted

573
00:54:45,639 --> 00:54:52,320
the rope. The noose tightened,
tightened. Then the judge, taking the

574
00:54:52,440 --> 00:54:59,639
rigid form of the student in his
arms, carried him over and placed him

575
00:54:59,679 --> 00:55:05,280
stad in the oak chair, and, stepping up beside him, put his

576
00:55:05,480 --> 00:55:09,320
hand up and caught the end of
the swaying rope of the alarm bell.

577
00:55:09,960 --> 00:55:16,559
As he raised his hand, the
rats fled, squeaking and disappeared through the

578
00:55:16,679 --> 00:55:22,800
hole in the ceiling. Taking the
end of the noose which was round Malcolmson's

579
00:55:22,840 --> 00:55:28,239
neck, he tied it to the
hanging bell, and then, descending,

580
00:55:28,920 --> 00:55:35,599
pulled away the chair. When the
alarm bell of the judge's house began to

581
00:55:35,719 --> 00:55:40,119
sound, a crowd soon assembled.
Lights and torches of various kinds appeared,

582
00:55:40,440 --> 00:55:45,559
and soon a silent crowd was hurrying
to the spot. They knocked loudly at

583
00:55:45,559 --> 00:55:51,599
the door, but there was no
reply. Then they burst in the door

584
00:55:52,039 --> 00:55:57,480
and poured into the great dining room, the doctor at the head. There

585
00:55:57,719 --> 00:56:00,679
at the end of the rope of
the great alarm bell hung the body of

586
00:56:00,719 --> 00:56:06,480
the student, and on the face
of the judge in the picture was a

587
00:56:06,559 --> 00:56:10,079
malignant smile. And of the judge's
house