WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.160 The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson. Every night in 2 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:07.480 the year forever sat in the small parlor of the 3 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:11.359 George at Debenham, the Undertaker and the Landlord, and Fetis 4 00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:15.759 and myself. Sometimes there'd be more, but blow high, blow low, 5 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:18.760 com rain, or snow or frost. We four would be 6 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:22.519 each planted in his own particular arm chair. Fettis was 7 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:25.239 an old, drunken scotchman, a man of education, obviously, and 8 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:27.960 a man of some property since he lived in idleness. 9 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:31.120 He'd come to Debenham years ago while still young, and 10 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:34.000 by a mere continuance of living, had grown to be 11 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:38.359 an adopted townsman. His blue camlet cloak was a local antiquity, 12 00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:41.240 like the church spire, his place in the parlor at 13 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:44.920 the George, his absence from church, his old, crapulous, disreputable 14 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:48.840 vices were all things. Of course, in Debenham. He had 15 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:52.520 some vague, radical opinions and some fleeting infidelities, which he 16 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:55.200 would now and again set forth and emphasize with tottering 17 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:59.840 slaps upon the table. He drank rum five glasses regularly 18 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:02.719 every evening, and for the greater portion of his nightly 19 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:04.719 visit to the George sat with his glass in his 20 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:09.599 right hand, in a state of melancholy alcoholic saturation. We 21 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:12.000 called him the Doctor, for he was supposed to have 22 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:15.799 some special knowledge of medicine, and had been known upon 23 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:18.920 a pinch to set a fracture or reduce a dislocation. 24 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:22.359 But beyond these slight particulars we had no knowledge of 25 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:27.239 his character and antecedents. One dark winter night, it had 26 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:30.680 struck nine some time before the Landlord joined us, there 27 00:01:30.760 --> 00:01:33.719 was a sick man, and the George, a great neighboring proprietor, 28 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:36.439 suddenly struck down with apoplexy on his way to Parliament, 29 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:39.840 and the great Man's still greater London doctor had been 30 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:43.359 telegraphed to his bedside. It was the first time that 31 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:46.280 such a thing had happened in Debenham, for the railway 32 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:49.120 was but newly open, and we were all proportionately moved 33 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:52.799 by the occurrence. He's come, said the Landlord, after he 34 00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:55.760 had filled and light at his pipe. He said, I 35 00:01:55.959 --> 00:02:01.120 who not the doctor himself, replied our host, Then what's 36 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:06.280 his name? Doctor mac Farland said The Landlord Fetters was 37 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:10.759 far through his third tumbler, stupidly fonddled now nodding over now, 38 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:13.479 staring maisly around him. But at the last word he 39 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:16.879 seemed to awaken and repeat the name mac Farland twice, 40 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:22.159 quietly enough the first time, but with certain sudden emotion 41 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:25.840 at the second. Yes, said the landlord, that's his name, 42 00:02:26.199 --> 00:02:31.719 Doctor Wulf mac Farland. Fes became instantly sober, his eyes awoke, 43 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:36.280 his voice became clear, loud and steady, his language forcible 44 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:39.919 and earnest. We were all startled by the transformation, as 45 00:02:39.960 --> 00:02:42.680 if a man had risen from the dead. I beg 46 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:44.599 your pardon, he said, I am afraid I have not 47 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:47.319 been paying much attention to your talk. Who is this 48 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:50.919 Wolf mac Farlane? And then, when he had heard the 49 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:54.960 landlord ot, it cannot be, it cannot be, he added, 50 00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:58.159 Yet I would like well to see him face to face. 51 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:01.680 Do you know him, doctor, asked the undertaker, with a gasp. 52 00:03:02.599 --> 00:03:05.840 God forbid was the reply in. Yet the name is 53 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:09.560 a strange one. It were too much to fancy too. 54 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:13.800 Tell me, Landlord, is he old, well, said the host. 55 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:15.479 He's not a young man, to be sure, and his 56 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:19.199 hair is white, but he looks younger than you. He 57 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.919 is older, though years older, but with a slap upon 58 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:24.919 the table. It's the rum you see in me face, 59 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:28.919 rum and sin. This man perhaps may have an easy 60 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:33.960 conscience and a good digestion conscience. Hear me speak, he 61 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:36.759 would think I was some good, old, decent Christian, would 62 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:41.520 you not? But no, not I. I never canted. Voltaire 63 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:43.840 might have canted if it stood in my shoes. But 64 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:47.319 that the brains with a rattling Philip on his bald head. 65 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:50.400 The brains were clear and active, and I saw and 66 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:54.319 made no deductions. If you know this, doctor, I ventured 67 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:57.560 to remark, after a somewhat awful paut, I should gather 68 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:01.159 that you do not share the landlord's good opinion. Fedis 69 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:05.120 paid no regard to me. Yes, he said, with sudden decision, 70 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:09.280 I must see him face to face. There was another pause, 71 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:11.240 and then a door was closed rather sharply on the 72 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:13.759 first floor, and a step was heard upon the stair 73 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:17.199 that's the doctor, cried the landlord. Look look sharp, and 74 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:20.319 you can catch him. It was but two steps from 75 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:22.680 the small parlor to the door of the old George Inn. 76 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:26.600 The wide oak staircase landed almost in the street. There 77 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:29.040 was room for a turkey rug and nothing more between 78 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:31.920 the threshold and the last round of the descent. But 79 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:35.040 this little space was every evening brilliantly lit up, not 80 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:37.399 only by the light upon the stair and the great 81 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:40.600 signal lamp below the sign, but by the warm radiance 82 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:44.480 of the bar room window. The George thus brightly advertised 83 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:47.759 itself to pass her spy in the cold street. Fedis 84 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:50.480 walked steadily to the spot, and we, who were hanging behind, 85 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:53.319 beheld the two men meet, as one of them had 86 00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:57.360 phrased it, face to face. Doctor mac farland was alert 87 00:04:57.399 --> 00:04:59.639 and vigorous, his white hair set off his pail, and 88 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:03.600 placid said although energetic countenance. He was richly dressed in 89 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:06.639 the finest of broadcloth and the whitest of linen, with 90 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:09.720 a great gold watch chain and studs and spectacles of 91 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:13.639 the same precious material. He wore a broad folded tie, 92 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:16.480 white and speckled with the lilac, and he carried on 93 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:20.040 his arm a comfortable driving coat of fur. There was 94 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:23.120 no doubt but he became his years, breathing as he did, 95 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:26.920 of wealth and consideration. And it was a surprising contrast 96 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:30.920 to see our parlors sot bald, dirty, pimpled and robed 97 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:34.079 in his old camlet Cloak confront him at the bottom 98 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:38.199 of the stairs. Mac Farland, he said, somewhat loudly, more 99 00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:41.160 like a herald than a friend. The great doctor pulled 100 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:43.480 up short on the fourth step, as though the familiarity 101 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:48.319 of the address surprised and somewhat shocked his dignity. Tade 102 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:52.839 mac Farland repeated Ferris. The London men almost staggered. He 103 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:55.480 stared for the swiftest of seconds at the man before him, 104 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:58.639 glanced behind him with a sort of scare, and then 105 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:03.639 in a startled whisper fettis he said, you aye, said 106 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:06.720 the other me. Did you think I was dead too? 107 00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:11.399 We are not so easy shot of our acquaintance. Hush, hush, 108 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:14.240 explained the doctor. Hush, hush, this meeting is so unexpected. 109 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:17.720 I can see you are unmanned. I hardly knew you, 110 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:22.120 I confess at first. But I am overjoyed, overjoyed to 111 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:24.879 have this opportunity. For the present it must be how 112 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:27.439 do you do? And good bye? In one for my 113 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:29.600 fly is waiting and I must not fail the train. 114 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:32.680 But you shall let me see. Yes, you shall give 115 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:34.879 me your address, and you can count on early news 116 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:37.879 of me. We must do something for you fettis. I 117 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:40.680 fear you were out at elbows. But we must see 118 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:44.680 to that. For old langzan As once we sang at suppers, 119 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:49.439 money cried fetis, money from you. The money that I 120 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:51.480 had from you is lying when I cast it in 121 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:55.040 the rain. Doctor mac farland had talked himself into some 122 00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:59.319 measure of superiority and confidence. But the uncommon energy of 123 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:04.319 this refusal cast him back into his first confusion. A horrible, 124 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:07.480 ugly look came and went across his almost venerable countenance. 125 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:10.439 But my dear fellow, he said, be it, be it 126 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:12.560 as you please. My last thought is to offend you 127 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:15.399 a I would intrude on none. I will leave you 128 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:19.319 my address, However I do not wish it. I do 129 00:07:19.399 --> 00:07:22.120 not wish to know the roof that shelters you interrupted 130 00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:24.680 the other I heard your name. I feared it might 131 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:28.240 be you. I wished to know if, after all there 132 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:32.800 were a god. I know now there is none. Be gone. 133 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:36.279 He still stood in the midst of the rug between 134 00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:39.079 the stairs and the doorway, and the great London Physician, 135 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:41.040 in order to escape, would be forced to step to 136 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:44.519 one side. It was plain that he hesitated before the thought 137 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:47.399 of this humiliation. Quite as he was, there was a 138 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:51.439 dangerous glitter in his spectacles. But while he still paused, uncertain, 139 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:53.600 he became aware that the driver of his fly was 140 00:07:53.639 --> 00:07:56.279 peering in from the street at this unusual scene, and 141 00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:58.199 caught a glimpse at the same time of our little 142 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:01.319 body from the parlor by the corner of the barn. 143 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:04.519 The presence of so many witnesses sided him at once 144 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:08.800 to flee. He crouched together, brushing on the wainscot, and 145 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:11.480 made a dart like a serpent, striking for the door. 146 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:14.519 But his tribulation was not yet entirely at an end, 147 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:17.480 for even as he was passing, Fetis clutched him by 148 00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:19.920 the arm, and these words came in a whispering, yet 149 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:25.120 painfully distinct. Have you seen it again? The great rich 150 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:28.439 London doctor, cried out aloud with a sharp, throttling cry. 151 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:31.879 He dashed his questioner across the open space, and with 152 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:34.559 his hands over his head, fled out the door like 153 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:38.679 a detected thief. Before it had occurred to one of 154 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:41.360 us to make a movement, the flight was already rattling 155 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:44.480 toward the station. The scene was over, like a dream, 156 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:48.440 but the dream had left proofs and traces of its passage. 157 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:51.639 The next day the servant found the fine gold spectacles 158 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:54.000 broken on the threshold, And that very night we were 159 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:57.679 all standing breathless by the barroom window, and Fetis at 160 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:02.080 are aside, sober and pale and resolute in look, God 161 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:05.399 protect us, mister Fettis, said the landlord, coming first into 162 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:09.039 possession of his customary senses. What in the universe is 163 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:12.720 all this? These are strange things you have been saying. 164 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:16.879 Fetis turned toward us. He looked us, each in succession 165 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:19.720 in the face. See if you can hold your tongue, 166 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:22.799 said he, That man mac Farland is not safe to cross. 167 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:25.840 Those that have done so already have repented it too late. 168 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.399 And then, without so much as finishing his third glass, 169 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:32.320 far less waiting for the other two, he bade us 170 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:34.159 good by and went forth under the lamp of the 171 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:37.399 hotel into the black night. We three turned to our 172 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:39.600 places in the parlor and the big red fire and 173 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:43.559 four clear candles, and as we recapitulated what had passed, 174 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:46.000 the first chill of our surprise soon changed into a 175 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:49.759 glow of curiosity. We sat late. It was the latest 176 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:53.039 session I have known in the old George. Each man 177 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:55.440 before we parted had his theory that he was bound 178 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:58.759 to prove. And none of us had any nearer business 179 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:00.799 in this world than to track out the past of 180 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:04.440 our condemned companion. And I suppose the secret that he 181 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:07.840 shared with the great London doctor. It's no great boast, 182 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:09.639 but I believe I was a better hand at worming 183 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.080 out a story than either of my fellows at the George. 184 00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:15.200 And perhaps there is now no other man alive who 185 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:18.600 could narrate it to you and tell you the following 186 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:23.159 foul and unnatural events. In his young days, Fetis studied 187 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:26.679 medicine and schools of Edinburgh. He had talent of a kind, 188 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:29.240 the talent that picks up swiftly on what it hears 189 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:32.720 and readily retails it for its own. He worked little 190 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:35.960 at home, but he was civil, attentive, and intelligent in 191 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:39.120 the presence of his masters. They soon picked him out 192 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:42.360 as a lad who listened closely and remembered well. Nay 193 00:10:42.519 --> 00:10:44.759 strange as it seemed to me when I first heard it, 194 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.879 He was in those days well favored and pleased by 195 00:10:47.879 --> 00:10:51.600 his exterior. There was at that period a certain extramural 196 00:10:51.639 --> 00:10:54.600 teacher of anatomy, whom I shall here designate by the 197 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:59.000 letter K. His name was subsequently too well known, the 198 00:10:59.080 --> 00:11:01.000 man who bore its s cult through the streets of 199 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:04.240 Edinburgh in disguise, while the mob that applauded at the 200 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:07.919 execution of Burke called loudly for the blood of his employer. 201 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:11.279 But mister Kay was then at the top of his 202 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:15.240 beaux vogue. He enjoyed a popularity due partly to his 203 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:19.519 own talent and addressed partly to the incapacity of his rival, 204 00:11:19.559 --> 00:11:24.039 the university professor. The students at least swore by his name, 205 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:27.480 and Fetis believed himself and was believed by others, to 206 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:30.919 have laid the foundations of success when he had acquired 207 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:35.480 the favor of this meteorically famous man. Mister Kay was 208 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:38.720 a beau vivant as well as an accomplished teacher. He 209 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:41.919 liked a sly allusion no less than a careful preparation. 210 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:46.879 In both capacities, Fetis enjoyed and deserved his notice, and 211 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:49.519 by the second year of his attendance he held the half 212 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:54.320 regular position of second demonstrator or sub assistant in his class. 213 00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:57.840 In this capacity, the charge of the theater and lecture 214 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:01.360 room devolved in particular upon his shoulders. He had to 215 00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:03.840 answer for the cleanliness of the premises and the conduct 216 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:06.039 of the other students, and it was a part of 217 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:09.480 his duty to supply, receive, and divide the various subjects. 218 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.480 It was with a view to this last, at that 219 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:16.000 time very delicate affair, that he was lodged by mister 220 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:18.360 Kay in the same wind and at last in the 221 00:12:18.360 --> 00:12:22.080 same building with the dissecting room. Here, after a night 222 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:25.720 of turbulent pleasures, his hands still tottering, his sight still 223 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:28.639 misty and confused, he would be called out of bed 224 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:31.360 in the black hours before the winter dawn by the 225 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:35.399 unclean and desperate interlopers who supplied the table. He would 226 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:38.480 open the door to these men, since infamous throughout the land. 227 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:41.720 He would help them with their tragic burden, pay them 228 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:45.320 their sordid price, and remain alone when they were gone 229 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:49.679 with the unfriendly relics of humanity. From such a scene, 230 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:52.360 would return to snatch another hour or two of slumber, 231 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:55.600 to repair the abuses of the night, and refresh himself 232 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:59.000 for the labors of the day. Few lads could have 233 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:01.799 been more insensible to the impressions of a life thus 234 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:05.879 passed among the ensigns of mortality. His mind was closed 235 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:09.960 against all general considerations. He was incapable of interest in 236 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:12.720 the fate and fortunes of another, the slave of his 237 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:17.480 own desires and low ambitions, cold light and selfish. In 238 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:21.639 the last resort, he had that modicum of prudence miscalled morality, 239 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:25.519 which keeps a man from inconvenient drunkenness or punishable theft. 240 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:29.799 He coveted besides a measure of consideration from his masters 241 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:32.480 and his fellow pupils, and he had no desire to 242 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:36.399 fail conspicuously in the external parts of life. Thus he 243 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:39.240 made it his pleasure to gain some distinction in his studies, 244 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:42.799 and day of to day rendered unimpeachable eye service to 245 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:46.000 his employer, mister Kay. For his day of work, he 246 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:50.879 indemnified himself by knights of roaring blackguardly enjoyment, And when 247 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:53.720 that balance had been struck, the organ that he called 248 00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:57.639 his conscience declared his self content. The supply of subjects 249 00:13:57.679 --> 00:13:59.519 was a continual trouble to him as well as to 250 00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:03.080 his master. In that large and busy class. The raw 251 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:07.519 material of the anatomists kept perpetually running out, and the 252 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:11.000 business thus rendered necessary was not only unpleasant in itself, 253 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:15.159 but threatened dangerous consequences to all who were concerned. It 254 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:18.000 was the policy of mister Kay to ask no questions 255 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:21.039 in his dealings with the trade. They bring the body, 256 00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:23.480 and we pay the price, he used to say, dwelling 257 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:28.799 on the alliteration quid pro quo, and again, somewhat profanely 258 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:33.679 ask no questions. He would tell his assistance for conscience sake. 259 00:14:34.440 --> 00:14:36.960 There was no understanding that the subjects were provided by 260 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:39.879 the crime of murder. Had that idea had been broached 261 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:42.440 to him in words, he would have recoiled in horror. 262 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:45.080 But the likeness of his speech upon so grave a 263 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:48.399 matter was in itself an offense against good manners, and 264 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:51.320 a temptation to the men with whom he dealt. Fetis, 265 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:54.639 for instance, had often remarked to himself upon the singular 266 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:57.720 freshness of the bodies, he had been struck again and 267 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:00.720 again by the hang dog abominable look of the Ruffians 268 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:03.879 who came to him before the dawn, and putting things 269 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.360 together clearly in his private thoughts he perhaps attributed a 270 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:11.919 meaning too immoral and too categorical to the unguarded councils 271 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:15.279 of his master. He understood his duty, in short, to 272 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:18.919 have three branches, to take what was brought, to pay 273 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:22.480 the price, and to avert the eye from any evidence 274 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:26.240 of crime. One November morning, this policy of silence was 275 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:29.840 put sharply to the test. He had been awake all 276 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:32.840 night with a racking toothache, pacing his room like a 277 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:35.519 caged beast, or throwing himself in fury on his bed, 278 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.679 and had fallen at last into that profound, uneasy slumber 279 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:42.600 that so often follows on a night of pain. When 280 00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:45.720 he was awakened by the third or fourth angry repetition 281 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:49.679 to concerted signal, there was a thin, bright moonshine. It 282 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:53.279 was bitter cold, windy, and frosty. The town had not 283 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:57.840 yet awakened, but an indefinable stir already precluded the noise 284 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:01.159 and business of the day. The ghouls had come later 285 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:03.879 than usual, and they seemed more than usually eager to 286 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:08.960 be gone. Fedis sick with sleep lighted them upstairs. He 287 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:12.120 heard their grumbling irish voices through a dream, and as 288 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:15.039 they stripped the sack from their sad merchandise, he leaned, 289 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:18.879 dozing with his shoulder propped against the wall. He had 290 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:21.399 to shake himself to find the men their money, As 291 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:23.720 he did so, his eyes lighted on the dead face. 292 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:27.960 He started. He took two steps nearer with the candle. Right, 293 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:33.799 God Almighty, that is Jane Gollbraith. The men answered nothing, 294 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:37.080 but they shuffled nearer the door. Why I know where, 295 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:40.840 I tell you, he continued. She was alive and hearty yesterday. 296 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:44.360 It's impossible she can be dead. It's it's impossible. You 297 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:48.879 should have got this body fairly, chaucer. You must iChon entirely, 298 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.879 said one of the men. But the other looked feedis 299 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:54.320 darkly in the eyes and demanded the money on the spot. 300 00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:58.840 It was impossible to misconceive the threat or to exaggerate 301 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:02.759 the danger. The lad's heart failed him. He stammered some excuses, 302 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:06.680 counted out the summon, saw his hateful visitors depart. No 303 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:08.799 sooner were they gone than he hastened to confirm his 304 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:12.759 doubts by a dozen unquestionable marks. He identified the girl 305 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:15.880 he had jested with the day before. He saw with 306 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.920 horror marks upon her body that might well betoken violence. 307 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:22.039 The panic seized him, and he took refuge in his room. 308 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:25.599 There he reflected at length over the discovery that he 309 00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:29.480 had made, considered soberly the bearing of mister Kay's instructions 310 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:31.960 and the danger to himself of interference in so serious 311 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:35.519 a business, and at last, in sore perplexity, determined to 312 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:39.240 wait for the advice of his immediate superior, the class assistant. 313 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:43.559 This was a young doctor Wolf mac farlane, a high 314 00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:48.160 favorite among all the reckless students. Clever, dissipated, and unscrupulous 315 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:51.519 to the last degree. He had traveled and studied abroad. 316 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:55.160 His manners were agreeable and a little forward. He was 317 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.720 an authority on the stage, skillful on the ice or 318 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:00.599 the links, with skate or golf club. He dressed with 319 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:04.079 nice audacity, and to put the finishing touch upon his glory, 320 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:07.759 he kept a gig in a strong trotting horse with fettis. 321 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:10.839 He was on terms of intimacy. Indeed, their relative positions 322 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:14.519 called for some community of life, and when subjects were scarce, 323 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:16.559 the pair would drive far into the country in mc 324 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:21.440 farland's gig, visit and desecrate some lonely graveyard, and returned 325 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:23.680 before dawn with their booty to the door of the 326 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:27.759 dissecting room. On that particular morning, mc farland arrived somewhat 327 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:31.480 earlier than his wont Fetts heard him and met him 328 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:34.160 on the stairs, told him his story, and showed him 329 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:37.799 the cause of his alarm. Mac farland examined the marks 330 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:40.720 on her body. Yes, he said, with a nod, it 331 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:44.440 looks fishy. Well, well what should I do? Asked Fetis? 332 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:48.880 Do repeat the other? Do you want to do anything? Least? 333 00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:52.680 Said soonest men? Did? I should say? Some one else 334 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:55.759 might recognize her, objected Fettis. She was as well known 335 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:59.680 as the castle rock, we'll hope not, said mc farland. 336 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:02.160 And but it does well you didn't, don't you say? 337 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:05.599 And there's an end to it. The fact is this 338 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:08.200 has been going on too long. Stir up the mud 339 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:11.519 and you'll get kay into the most unholy trouble. You'll 340 00:19:11.559 --> 00:19:13.880 be in a shocking box yourself, So will I if 341 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:16.480 you come to that. I should like to know how 342 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:18.759 any of us would look, or what the devil we 343 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:22.119 should have to say for ourselves in any Christian witness box. 344 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:25.440 For me, you know there's one thing certain that practically speaking, 345 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:30.400 all our subjects have been murdered. MacFarland cried, Fettis, come now, 346 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.559 sneered the other, as if you hadn't suspected it yourself. Well, 347 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:37.559 Suspecting is one thing, and proof another. Yes, I know, 348 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:39.559 and I'm as sorry as you are. This should have 349 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:43.359 come here tapping the body with his cane. The next 350 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:45.680 best thing for me is not to recognize it, and 351 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:49.319 he added coolly, I don't you may if you please. 352 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:51.319 I don't dictate, but I think a man of the 353 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:54.119 world would do as I do, And I may add 354 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:56.480 I fancy that is what kay would look for at 355 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:59.920 your hands. The question, of course, is why did each 356 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:03.160 choose us too for his assistance? And I answered because 357 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:07.519 he didn't want old wives. This was the tone of 358 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:10.079 all others to affect the mind of a lad like Feedis. 359 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:13.480 He agreed to imitate mac farlane. The body of the 360 00:20:13.559 --> 00:20:17.359 unfortunate girl was duly dissected, and no one remarked or 361 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:21.039 appear to recognize her. One afternoon in his day's works 362 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:24.279 were over, Fedis dropped into a popular tavern and found 363 00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:27.880 mac Farland sitting with a stranger. This was a small man, 364 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:31.000 very pale and dark, with cold black eyes. The cut 365 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.599 of his features gave a promise of intellect and refinement, 366 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:37.079 which was but feebly realized in his manners, For he 367 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:42.279 proved upon a nearer acquaintance. Coarse, vulgar, and stupid. He exercised, however, 368 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:46.039 a very remarkable control over. MacFarlane issued orders like the 369 00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:50.160 Great bashoror became inflamed at the least discussion or delay, 370 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:53.119 and commented rudely on the civility with which he was 371 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:56.640 a babe. This most offensive person took a fancy to 372 00:20:56.680 --> 00:20:59.759 feedis on the spot, plied him with drinks, and honored 373 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:03.799 him than usual confidences on his past career. If a 374 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:06.799 tenth part of what he confessed were true, he was 375 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:10.559 a very loathsome rogue, and the lad's vanity was tickled 376 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:13.599 by the attention of so experienced a man. I'm a 377 00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:17.279 pretty bad fellow myself, the stranger remarked. But mac farland, 378 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:20.200 he's a boy, Toddy mc farland. I call him totty. 379 00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:22.960 Why are you find another glass? Or it might be 380 00:21:23.559 --> 00:21:27.240 totty you jump up and shut the door Toarty hates me? 381 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:30.960 He said again, Oh yes, totty you do. Don't you 382 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:34.720 call me that confounded name, growled mc farland. Hear him. 383 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:38.200 Did you ever see the lads play knife? He'd like 384 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:40.559 to do that all over my body, remarked the stranger. 385 00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:44.640 We medicals have a better way than that, said Fettis. 386 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:48.079 When we dislike a dead friend of ours, we dissect him. 387 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:51.079 Mc farland looked up sharply, as though this jest was 388 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:55.480 scarcely to his mind. The afternoon passed, Gray, for that 389 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:58.920 was the stranger's name, invited Fettis to join them at dinner, 390 00:21:59.599 --> 00:22:02.200 ordered a feasts so sumptuous that the tavern was thrown 391 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:05.599 in commotion, and when all was done, commanded mac farland 392 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:09.000 to settle the bill. It was late before they separated. 393 00:22:09.319 --> 00:22:13.480 The man Gray was incapably drunk. MacFarland, sobered by his fury, 394 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:15.240 chewed to the cut of the money he had been 395 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.319 forced to squander, and the slights he had been obliged 396 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:22.000 to swallow, Fedis, with various liquors singing in his head, 397 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:26.319 returned home with devious footsteps and a mind entirely in abeyance. 398 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:29.640 Next day mac farland was absent from the class, and 399 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:33.240 Feedis smiled to himself as he imagined him still squiring 400 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:36.759 the intolerable Gray from tavern to tavern. As soon as 401 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:39.079