Problem of the Crystal Gazer by Jacques Poutrelle. With hideous, goggling eyes,
the great god Bud sat crossed legged on a pedestal and stared stolidly into the
semi darkness. He saw, by the wavering light of a peacock lamp,
which swooped down from the ceiling with wings outstretched, what might have been a
nook in a palace of East India. Draperies hung here there everywhere, richly
embroidered divans sprawled about. Fierce tiger rugs glared up from the floor. Grotesque
idols grinned mirthlessly in unexpected corners. Strange arms were grouped on the walls.
Outside, the trolley cars clang blatantly. The single human figure with the distinct
contradiction of all else it was that of a man in evening dress, smoking.
He was fifty perhaps sixty years old, with the ruddy color of one
who has lived a great deal out of doors. There was only a touch
of gray in his abundant hair in a dash. His eyes were steady and
clear and indolent. For a long time he sat. Then the draperies to
his right parted, and a girl entered. She was a part of the
picture of which the man was a contradiction. Her lustrous black hair flowed about
her shoulders, lambent, mysteries lay in her eyes. Her dress was the
dress of the East. For a moment she stood looking at the man,
and then entered with light tread. Verik, Sahib, she said, timidly,
as if it were a greeting. Do I intrude? Her voice was
softly guttural, with the accent of her native tongue. Oh, no,
Jada, come in, said the man. She smiled frankly and sat down
on a hassock near him. My brother, she asked, he is in
the cabinet. Verick had merely glanced at her, and then continued his thoughtful
gaze into vacancy. From time to time she looked up at him shyly,
with a touch of eagerness, but there was no answering interest in his manner.
His thoughts were far away. May I ask what brings you this time,
sahib? She inquired, at last, A little deal in the market,
responded Verrek carelessly. It seems to have puzzled odd to him as much
as it did me. He has been in the cabinet for half an hour.
He stared on musingly as he smoked, then dropped his eyes to the
slender, graceful figure of Jade. With knees clasped in her hands. She
leaned back on the hassock, deeply thoughtful. Her head was tilted upward,
and the flickering light fell full on her face. It crossed Verick's mind that
she was pretty, and he was about to say so, as he would
have said to any other woman, when the curtains behind them were thrown apart
and they both glanced around. Another man, an East Indian entered. This
man was odd him sing the crystal gazer and the ostentatious robes of a seer.
He too was part of the picture. There was an expression of apprehension
mingled with some other impalpable quality on his strong face. Well vad him inquired,
Verek, I have seen strange things, Sahib, replied the seer solemnly.
The crystal tells me of danger. Danger, repeated Verec, with a
slight lifting of his brows. Oh, well, in that case, I
shall keep out of it. Not danger to your business, Sahib. The
crystal gazer went on with troubled face, but danger in another way. The
girl Jada, looked at him with quick startled eyes and asked some question in
her native tongue. He answered in the same language, and she rose suddenly
with terror stricken face, to fling herself at Vierek's feet, weeping. Verec
seemed to understand too, and looked at the seer in apprehension death. He
exclaimed, what do you mean? Adim was silent for a moment and bowed
his head respectfully before the steady, inquiring gaze of the white man. Pardon,
Sahib, he said, at last, I did not remember that you
understood my language. What is it? Insisted Verik abruptly tell me I cannot,
Sahib. You must, declared the other he had arisen commandingly, you
must. The crystal Gazer crossed to him and stood for an instant with his
hand on the white man's shoulder and his eyes studying the fear he found in
the white man's face. The crystal Sahib, he began, It tells me
that that no no brother, pleaded the girl. Go on, Verreck commanded,
it grees me to say that which will pain one whom I love as
I do you, Sahib. Said the seer slowly. Perhaps you would rather
see for yourself. Well let me see, then, said Verick. Is
it in the crystal, yes, by the grace of the gods. But
I can't see anything there. Verick remembered, I've tried scores of times.
I believe this will be different, Sahib said, add him quietly, can
you stand a shock? Verrec shook himself a little impatiently, of course,
he replied, yes, yes, a very serious shock. Again, there
was an impatient twist of Veric's shoulders. Yes, I can stand anything,
he exclaimed shortly. What is it? Let me see. He strode toward
that point in the draperies where Adham had entered, while the girl on her
knees sought with entreating hands to stop him. No, no, no,
she pleaded, No, don't do that. Very expostulated in annoyance, But
gently he stooped and lifted her to her feet. I am not a child
or a fool. He threw aside the curtains. As they fell softly behind
him. He heard a pitiful little cry of grief from Jada and set his
teeth together hard. He stood in the crystal cabinet. It was somewhat larger
than an ordinary closet, and had been made him pay inetable to the light
by hangings of black velvet. For a while, he stood still so that
his eyes might become accustomed to the utter blackness, and gradually the sinister,
fascinating crystal ball appeared faintly visible by its own mystic luminosity. It rested on
a pedestal of black velvet. Vreck was accustomed to his surroundings. He had
been in the cabinet many times. Now. He dropped down onto a stool
in front of the table where on the crystal lay, and leaned forward on
his arms, staring into its limpid depths, unblinking. For one, two,
three minutes, he sat there with his thoughts in chaos. After a
while, there came a change in the ball. It seemed to glow with
a growing light other than its own. Suddenly it darkened completely, and out
of this utter darkness grew shadowy, vague forms to which he could give no
name. Finally, a veil seemed lifted, for the globe grew brighter,
and he leaned forward eagerly fearful. Another veil melted away, and a still
brighter light illumined the ball. Now Vrek was able to make out objects.
Here was a table littered with books and papers. There chair yonder a shadowy
mantle. Gradually the light grew until his intensely fixed eyes pained him, but
he stared steadily on Another quick brightness came and the objects all became clear.
He studied them incredulously for a few seconds, and then he recognized what he
saw. It was a room, his study, miles away in his apartments.
A sudden numb chilliness seized him, but he closed his teeth hard and
gazed on. The outlines of the crystal were disappearing. Now they were gone,
and he saw more. A door opened and a man entered the room
into which he was looking. Veric gave a little gasp as he recognized the
man. It was himself. He watched the man himself as he moved about
the study aimlessly for a time, as if deeply troubled. Then, as
he dropped into a chair at the desk, verrec read clearly on the vision
face those emotions which he was suffering in person. As he looked, the
man made some hopeless gesture with his hands. His hands and leaned forward on
the desk with his hands on his arms. Verick shuddered for a long time.
It seemed the man sat motionless. Then Verrec became conscious of another figure,
a man in the room. This figure had come into the vision from
his own viewpoint. His face was averted. Verrec did not recognize the figure,
but he saw something else and started in terror. A knife was in
the hand of the unknown, and he was creeping stealthily toward the unconscious figure
in the chair himself, with the weapon raised. An inarticulate cry burst from
Vierec's colorless lips, a cry of warning. As he saw the unknown creep
on on on toward himself. He saw the figure that was himself move a
little, and the unknown leaped. The upraised knife swept down and was buried
to the handle. Again, a cry, an unintelligible shriek burst from Verrec's
lips. His heart fluttered, and perspiration poured from his face. With incoherent
mutterings, he sank forward helplessly. How long he remained there, he didn't
know, But at last he compelled himself to look again. The crystal glittered
coldly on its pedestal of velvet, but that hideous thing which had been there
was gone. The thought came to him to bring it back to see more.
By repulsive fear, terror seized upon him. He rose and staggered out
of the cabinet. His face was pallid, and his hands clasped and unclasped
nervously. Joda was lying on a divan sobbing. She leaped to her feet
when he entered, and looking into his face, she knew again. She
buried her face in her hands and wept afresh. Odd Him stood with moody
eyes fixed on the great God Bud. I saw, I understand, said
Veric between his teeth. But I don't believe it. The crystal never lies,
Sahib, said the seer sorrowfully. But it can't be that, Verik
declared protestingly. Be careful, Sahib, Oh, be careful, urged the
girl. Of course, I shall be careful, said Verrec shortly. Suddenly
he turned to the crystal gazer, and there was a menace in his tone.
Did ever such a thing appear to you before? Only once? Sahib?
And did it come true? Odd Him inclined his head slowly. I
may see you tomorrow, exclaimed Verec. Suddenly, this room is stifling.
I must go out. With twitching hands, he drew on a light coat
over his evening dress, picked up his hat, and rushed out into the
world of realities. The Crystal Gazer stood for a moment while Jada clung to
his arm, tremblingly. It is as the God's will, he said,
sadly. At last, Professor Augustus s f X van Dusen the Thinking Machine
received Howard Verick in the small reception room and invited him to a seat.
Verreck's face was ashen. There were dark lines under his eyes, and in
them there was the glitter of an ungovernable terror. Every move showed the nervousness
which gripped him. The Thinking Machine squinted at him curiously, then dropped back
into his big chair. For several minutes, Verreck said nothing. He seemed
to be struggling to control himself. Suddenly, he burst out, I'm going
to die some day next week. Is there any way to prevent it?
The Thinking Machine turned his great yellow head and looked at him in a manner
which nearly indicated surprise. Of course, if you've made up your mind to
do it, he said, irritably. I don't see what can be done.
There was a trace of irony in his voice, a coldness which brought
Verick around a little. Just how is it going to happen? I shall
be murdered, stabbed in the back by a man whom I don't know,
Verick rushed on, desperately. Dear me, dear me, how unfortunate.
Come into the scientist, tell me something about it. But here he arose
and went into his laboratory. After a moment, he returned and handed a
glass of some effervescent liquid to Veric, who gulped it down. Take a
minute to pull yourself together, instructed the scientist. He resumed his seat and
sat silent, with his long, slender fingers pressed tip to tip. Gradually
Verick recovered it was a fierce fight for the mastery of emotion. Now directed
the thinking machine at last, tell me about it. Veriic told just what
happened lucidly enough, and the thinking machine listened with polite interest. Once or
twice, he turned and looked at his visitor. Do you believe in any
psychic force? Verick asked once. I don't disbelieve in anything until I have
proven that it cannot be was the answer. The god who hung a sun
up there has done other things which we will never understand. There was a
little pause. Then how did you meet this man? Odd him sing.
I have been interested for years in the psychic, the occult, the things
we don't understand. Errik replied, I have a comfortable fortune, no occupation,
no dependence, and made this a sort of hobby. I have studied
it superficially all over the world. I met Odim Sing in India ten years
ago, afterwards in England where he went through Oxford with some financial assistance from
me, and later here two years ago. He convinced me that there is
something in crystal gazing. Call it telepathy, self hypnotism, subconscious mental action,
what you will. Since then, the science, I can call it
nothing else, has guided me in every important act of my life through addhim
Sing. Yes, and under a pledge of secrecy. I imagine that is
secrecy as to the nature of his revelations. Yes, any taintive insanity in
your family? Vierick wondered whether the question was in the nature of an insolent
reproof or was a request for information. He construed it as the latter.
No, he answered, never a touch of it? How often have you
consulted mister Singh? Many times? There have been occasions when he would tell
me nothing because he explained the crystal told him nothing. There have been other
times when he advised me correctly. He has never given me bad advice,
even in intricate stock operations. Therefore, I have been compelled to believe him
in all things. You were never able to see anything yourself in the crystal
until this vision of death last Tuesday night. You say that was the first.
How do you know the murder is to take place at any given time?
That is next week? As you say, that is the information Adim
Singh gave me. Was the reply. He can read the visions. They
mean more to him than in other words, he makes it a profession interrupted
the scientist. Yes, go on. The horror of the thing impressed me
so both of us that he has, at my request twice invoked the visions
since that night. He, like you, wanted to know when it would
happen. There is a calendar by weeks in my study. That is,
only one week is shown on it at a time. The last time the
vision appeared, he noted this calendar. The week was that beginning next Sunday,
the twenty first of this month. The only conclusion we could reach was
it would happen during that week. The Thinking Machine arose and paced back and
forth across the room, deeply thoughtful. At last he stopped before his visitor.
It's perfectly amazing, he commented emphatically. It approaches nearer to the unbelievable
than anything I have ever heard of. Varick's response was a look that was
almost grateful. You believe it impossible, then, he asked, eagerly.
Nothing is impossible, declared the other aggressively. Now, mister Verick, you
are firmly convinced that what you saw was prophetic, that you will die in
that manner, in that place. I can't believe anything else. I can't,
was the response. And you have no idea of the identity of the
murderer to be, if I may use that phrase, not the slightest.
The figure was wholly unfamiliar to me. And you know, you know at
the room you saw in the crystal was yours. I know that absolutely,
rugs, furniture, mantle, books, everything was mine. The Thinking Machine
was again silent for a time. In that event, he said, at
last, the affair is perfectly simple. Will you place yourself in my hands
and obey my directions implicitly? Yes, there was an eager, hopeful note
in Verick's voice. Now I am going to try to disarrange the affairs of
fate a little bit, explained the scientist gravely. I don't know what will
happen, but it will be interesting to try to throw the inevitable the preordained,
I might say, out of gear, won't it. With a quizzical
grim expression about his thin lips, the thinking machine went to the telephone in
an adjoining room and called someone. Verick heard neither the name nor what was
said, merely the mumble of the irritable voice. He glanced up as the
scientist return. Have you any servants a valet, for instance? Asked the
scientist. Yes, I have an aged servant a valet, but he is
now in France. I gave him a little vacation. I really don't need
one now, as I live in an apartment house almost a hotel. I
don't suppose you happen to have three or four thousand dollars in your pocket.
No, not so much as that was the puzzled reply. If it's your
fee. I never accept fees, interrupted the scientist. I interest myself in
affairs like these because I like them. They are good mental exercise. Please
draw a check for say, four thousand dollars to Hutchison Hatch. Who is
he asked Verrick. There was no reply. The check was drawn and handed
over without further comment. It was fifteen or twenty minutes later that a cab
pulled up in front of the house. Hutchison, Hatch, reporter, and
another man, whom he introduced as Philip Byrne, were ushered in. As
Hatch shook hands with Verick, the thinking Machine compared them mentally. They were
relatively of the same size, and he bobbed his head as if satisfied.
Now, mister Hatch, he instructed, take this check and get it cashed
immediately, then return here, not a word to anybody. Hatch went out,
and Burne discussed politics with Verick until he returned with the money. The
Thinking Machine thrust the bills into Burne's hands, and he counted it afterwards,
stowing it away in a pocket. Now, mister Verick, the key to
your apartment, please, asked the scientist. They were handed over and he
placed them in his pocket. Then he turned to Verick. From this time
on, he said, your name is John Smith. You are going on
a trip, beginning immediately with mister Burne. Here. You are not to
send a letter, a postal, a telegram, or a package to anyone.
You are to buy nothing. You are to write no check. You
are not to speak to or recognize any one. You are not to telephone
or attempt in any manner to communicate with any one, not even me.
You are to obey mister Burne in everything, he says. Verick's eyes had
grown wider and whiter as he listened. But my affairs, my business,
he protested. It is a matter of your life or death, said the
thinking machine. Shortly. For a moment, Verick wavered a little. He
felt that he was being treated like a child. As you say, he
said. Finally, now, mister Burne continued the scientist. You heard those
instructions. It is your duty to enforce them. You must lose this man
and yourself, take him away somewhere, to another place. There is enough
money there for ordinary purposes. When you learn that there has been an arrest
in connection with a certain threat against mister Verick, come back to Boston to
me and bring him. That's all. Mister Burne arose with a businesslike air.
Come on, mister Smith, he commanded. Verick followed him out of
the room. Here was the table littered with books and papers. There chair
yonder a shadowy mantle. A door opened, and a man entered the room,
moved about to study aimlessly for a time, as if deeply troubled,
then dropped into a chair at his desk, made some hopeless gesture with his
hands, and leaned forward on the desk with his head on his arms.
Another figure in the room, knife in his hand, creeping stealthily towards the
unconscious figure in the chair. With a knife raised the unknown crept on on
on. There was a blinding flash, a gush of flame and smoke,
a sharp click, and through the fog came the unexcited voice of Hutchinson Hatch,
reporter, stay right where you are, please. That ought to be
a good picture, said the thinking machine. The smoke cleared, and I
saw audhimn Sing, standing watching with deep concern a revolver in the hands of
Hatch, who had suddenly arisen from the desk in Verick's room. The thinking
Man rubbed his hands briskly. Ah, I thought it was you, he
said to the crystal Gazer. Put down the knife, please, that's right.
It seems a little bold to have interfered with what was to be like
this, But you wanted too much detail, mister Singh, you might have
murdered your friend if you hadn't gone into so much trivial theatrics. I suppose
I am a prisoner, asked the crystal Gazer. You are, the thinking
Man assured him cheerfully. You are charged with the attempted murder of mister Verick.
Your wife will be a prisoner in another half hour, with all those
who were with you in the conspiracy. He turned a Hatch, who was
smiling broadly. The reporter was thinking of that wonderful flashlight photograph in the camera
that the Thinking Man held, the only photograph in the world so far as
he knew, of a man in the act of attempting an assassination. Now,
mister Hatch, the scientist went on, I will phone the detective Mallory
to come here and get this gentleman, and also to send men and arrest
every person to be found in mister Singh's home. If this man tries to
run shoot. The scientist went out, and Hatch devoted his attention to his
sullen prisoner. He asked half a dozen questions, and, receiving no answers,
he gave it up as hopeless. After a while, Detective Mawory appeared
in his usual state of restrained astonishment, and the crystal Gazer was led away.
Then Hatch and the Thinking Machine went to the odd Hymn Seeing House.
The police had preceded them and gone away with four prisoners, among them the
girl Jada. They obtained an entrance through the courtesy of a policeman left in
charge, and sought out the crystal cabinet. Together they bowed over the glittering
globe as Hatch held a match. But I still don't see how it was
done, said the reporter. After they had looked at the crystal, the
Thinking Man lifted the ball and replaced it on its pedestal half a dozen times,
apparently trying to locate a slight click. Then he fumbled all around the
table above and below. At his suggestion, Hatch lifted the ball very slowly
while the scientist slid his slender fingers underneath it. Ah he exclaimed at last,
I thought, so he's clever, mister Hatch, clever, just stand
here a few minutes in the dark, and I'll see if I can operate
it for you. He disappeared, and Hatch stood staring at the crystal until
he was developing a severe case of the creeps himself. Just then a light
flashed in the crystal, which had been only dimly visible, and he found
himself looking into the room in Howard Verick's apartment miles away. As he looked,
startled, he saw a thinking machine appear in the crystal and wave his
arms. The creepiness passed instantly in the face of this obvious attempt to attract
his attention. It was later that afternoon that the thinking machine turned the light
of his analytical genius on the problem for the benefit of Hatch and Detective Mallory.
Charlatanism is a luxury which cost the peoples of the world incredible sums.
He began. It had its beginnings, of course, in the dark ages,
when man's mind grasped at some tangible evidence of an infinite power, and
through its very eagerness, was easily satisfied. Then quacks began to prey upon
men and due to this day, under many guises and under many names,
this condition will continue until enlightenment has become so general that man will realize the
absurdity of such a thing as nature or the other world's forces going out of
its way to tell him whether a certain stock will go up or down.
A sense of humor ought to convince him that disembodied spirits do not come back
and wrap on tables and answer to asinine questions. These things are merely institutions
of the divine revelations. Hatch smiled a little at the lecture platform tone,
and Detective Mallory chewed his cigar uncomfortably. He was there to find out something
about crime. This thing was over his head. This is merely preliminary,
The thinking machine went on after a moment. Now, as to this crystal
gazing affair, a little reason, a little logic. When mister Verick came
to me, I saw he was an intelligent man who had devoted years to
a study of the so called occult. Being intelligent, he was not easily
hoodwinked. Yet he had been hoodwinked for years. Therefore, I could see
that the man who did it must be far beyond the blundering fool usually found
in these affairs. Now, mister Verick personally had never seen anything in any
crystal. Remember that until the vision of death. When I knew this,
I knew the vision was Stampeda's quackery. The mere fact of him seeing it
proved that. But the quackery was so circumsubstantial that he was convinced. Thus
we have crackery. Why for a fee? I can imagine successful guesses on
the stock market bringing fees to add him Sing, But the vision of a
man's death is not the way to his pocketbook. If not for a fee,
then what a deeper motive was instantly apparent. Mister Verick was wealthy,
He had known Sing and had been friendly with him for years, had supplied
him with funds to go through Oxford, and had no family or dependence.
Therefore, it seemed probable that a will, or perhaps in another way,
Sing would benefit by mister Verick's death. There was a motive for the vision,
which might have been at first an effort to scare him to death because
he had a bad heart. I saw all these things when mister Verick talked
to me first, several days after he saw the vision, but did not
suggest them to him. Had I done so, he would not have believed
so sort of a thing, for he believed in Sing, and would probably
have gone way to be murdered or to die of fright, as Sing intended.
Knowing these things, there was only the labor of trapping a clever man.
Now the hin do mine works in strange channels. It loves the mystic,
the theatric and I imagined that, having gone so far, Sing would
attempt to bring the vision to a reality. He presumed, of course,
that mister Verick would keep the matter to himself. The question of saving Viereck's
life was trifling. If he was to die at a given time in a
given room, the thing to do is to place him beyond possible reach of
that room. At that time, I phoned to you, mister Hatch,
and ask you to bring me a private detective who would obey orders. And
you brought me mister Byrne. You heard my instructions to him. It was
necessary to hide mister Verereck's identity, and my elaborate directions were to prevent anyone
getting the slightest clue as to him having gone, or as to where he
was, I don't know where he is now. Immediately mister Verick was off
my hands. I had Martha, my housekeeper, write a note to Sing,
explaining that mister Varick was ill and confined to his room and for the
present was unable to see anyone. In this note a date was specified when
he would call on Sing. Martha wrote, of course, as a trained
nurse who was in attendance merely on daytime. All these points were made perfectly
clear to Sing. That done, it was only a matter of patience.
Mister Hatch and I went to mister Vereick's apartments each night. I had Martha
there in daytime to answer questions, and waited in hiding. Mister Hatch is
about Verick's size, and a whig helped us along what happened? Then?
You know, I may add that when mister Vverick told me the story,
I commented on it as being almost unbelievable. He understood, as I meant,
he should that I refer to the vision. I really meant that the
elaborate scheme which Sing had evolved was unbelievable. He might have killed him just
as well with a drop of poison or something equally pleasant. The thinking machine
stopped as if that were all, But the crystal asked, hatch, how
did that work? How was it? I saw you? That was a
little ingenious and rather expensive, said the thinking machine, so expensive that Singh
must have expected to get a large sum from success. I can best describe
the manufacture of the vision as a variation of the principle of the camera obscura.
It was done with lenses of various sorts and a multitude of mirrors,
and required the assistance of two other men, those who were taken from Singh's
house with Jada first. The room in mister Verereck's apartments was duplicated in the
basement of Singh's house, even to rugs, books, and wall decorations.
There two men rehearsed the murder scene that mister Verick saw. They were disguised,
of course, you have looked through the wrong end of a telescope.
Of course, while the original reduction of the murders scene to a size where
all of it would appear in a small mirror was accomplished that way. From
this small mirror there ran pipes with a series of mirrors and lenses through the
house, carrying the reflection of what was happening below so vaguely though that features
were barely distinguishable. The pipe ran up inside one of the legs of the
table on which the crystal rested, and then by reflection to the pedestal.
You, mister Hatch, saw me lift that crystal several times, and each
time you might have noticed the click. I was trying to find them how
their reflection reached it. When you lifted it slowly and I put my fingers
under, I knew there was a small trap in the pedestal covered with velvet.
This closed automatically and presented a solid surface when the crystal was lifted,
and opened when the crystal was replaced. Thus, the reflection reached the crystal,
which reversed it that last time and made it appear right side up to
the watcher. The apparent growth of the light in the crystal was caused below.
Someone simply removed several sheets of gauze, one at a time from in
front of the first lens. Well, exclaimed Detective Mallory. That's the most
elaborate affair I ever heard of. Quite right, commented the scientist. But
we don't know how many victims Singh had. Of course, any vision was
possible with a change of scene in the basement. I imagine it was a
profitable investment, because there are many fools in this world. What did the
girl have to do with it, asked Hatch. That I don't know,
replied the scientist. She was pretty. Perhaps she was used as a sort
of bait to attract a certain class of men. She was really Singh's wife,
I imagine, not his sister. She was a prominent figure in the
mummery with Verick. Of course, with her aide, Singh was able to
lend great effectiveness to the general scheme. A couple of days later, Howard
Verick returned to the city in tow of Philip Byrne Thinking Machine asked mister Verrick
only one question of consequence. How much money did you intend to leave sing
about? Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars was the reply. It was to
be used, under his direction in furthering an investigation into the psychic He and
I had planned just how it was to be spent. Personally, mister Vereick
is no longer interested in the occult end of problem of the Crystal Gazer.