Speaker 1: Chapter one of the Man Who found Out a Nightmare.
Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information nor to volunteer, please
Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by phil Schenevert The Man
Speaker 1: Who found Out a Nightmare by Algernon Blackwood, Chapter one.
Speaker 1: Professor mark Ebor, the Scientist led a double life, and
Speaker 1: the only persons who knew it were his assistant, Doctor
Speaker 1: laid Law, and his publishers. But a double life need
Speaker 1: not always be a bad one, And as doctor laid
Speaker 1: Law and the gratified publishers well knew, the parallel lives
Speaker 1: of this particular man were equally good and indefinitely produced,
Speaker 1: would certainly have ended in a heaven somewhere that can
Speaker 1: suitably contain such strangely opposite characteristics as his remarkable personality combined.
Speaker 1: For Mark Ebor F R. S. Et cetera, et cetera,
Speaker 1: was that unique combination hardly ever met with an actual life.
Speaker 1: A man of science and a mystic as the first
Speaker 1: his name stood in the gallery of the Great and
Speaker 1: as the second. But there came the mystery, for under
Speaker 1: the pseudonym of Pilgrim, the author of that brilliant series
Speaker 1: of books that appealed to so many, His identity was
Speaker 1: as well concealed as that of the anonymous writer of
Speaker 1: the weather reports in a daily newspaper. Thousands read the sanguine, optimistic,
Speaker 1: stimulating little books that issued annually from the pen of Pilgrim,
Speaker 1: and thousands bore their daily burdens better read. While the
Speaker 1: press generally agreed that the author, besides being an incorrigible
Speaker 1: enthusiast and optimist, was also a woman, but no one
Speaker 1: ever succeeded in penetrating the veil of anonymity and discovering
Speaker 1: that Pilgrim and the biologist were one and the same person.
Speaker 1: Mark Ebor, as doctor Laidlaw knew him in his laboratory,
Speaker 1: was one man. But mark Ebor, as he sometimes saw
Speaker 1: him after work was over, with rapt eyes and ecstatic face,
Speaker 1: discussing the possibilities of union with God and the future
Speaker 1: of the human race, was quite another. I have always held,
Speaker 1: as you know, he was saying one evening as he
Speaker 1: sat in the little study beyond the laboratory with his
Speaker 1: assistant and intimate, that vision should play a large part
Speaker 1: in the life of the awakened man, not to be
Speaker 1: regarded as infallible, of course, but to be observed and
Speaker 1: may use as a guidepost to possibilities. I am aware
Speaker 1: of your peculiar views, sir, the young doctor put in deferentially,
Speaker 1: yet with a certain impatience, for visions come from a
Speaker 1: region of the consciousness where observation and experiment are out
Speaker 1: of the question. Pursued the other with enthusiasm, not noticing
Speaker 1: the interruption, And while they should be checked by reason afterwards,
Speaker 1: they should not be laughed at or ignored. All inspiration,
Speaker 1: I hold is of the nature of interior vision, and
Speaker 1: all our best knowledge has come. Such is my confirmed belief,
Speaker 1: as a sudden revelation to the brain prepared to receive it,
Speaker 1: prepared by hard work, first by concentration, by the closest
Speaker 1: possible study of ordinary phenomena. Doctor Laidlaw allowed himself to observe,
Speaker 1: perhaps sighed the other, but by a process nonetheless of
Speaker 1: spiritual illumination. The best match in the world will not
Speaker 1: light a candle unless the wick be first suitably prepared.
Speaker 1: It was Laidlaw's turn to sigh. He knew so well
Speaker 1: the impossibility of arguing with his chief. When he was
Speaker 1: in the regions of the mystic But at the same time,
Speaker 1: the respect he felt for his tremendous attainments was so
Speaker 1: sincere that he always listened with attention and deference, wondering
Speaker 1: how far the great man would go and to what
Speaker 1: end this curious combination of logic and illumination would eventually
Speaker 1: lead him. Only last night, continued the elder man, a
Speaker 1: sort of light coming into his rugged features. The vision
Speaker 1: came to me again, the one that has haunted me
Speaker 1: at intervals ever since my youth, and that will not
Speaker 1: be denied. Doctor Laidlaw fidgeted in his chair. About the
Speaker 1: tablets of the gods, you mean, and that they lie
Speaker 1: somewhere hidden in the sands, he said patiently. A sudden
Speaker 1: gleam of interest came into his face as he turned
Speaker 1: to catch the professor's reply. And that I am to
Speaker 1: be the one to find them, to decipher them, and
Speaker 1: to give the great knowledge of the world. Who will
Speaker 1: not believe? Laughed Laidlaw, sharply yet interested in spite of
Speaker 1: his thenly veiled contempt. Because even the keenest minds in
Speaker 1: the right sense of the word, are hopelessly unscientific, replied
Speaker 1: the other gently, his face positively aglow with the memory
Speaker 1: of his vision. Yet what is more likely, he continued,
Speaker 1: after a moment's pause, fearing into space with rapt eyes
Speaker 1: that saw things too wonderful for exact language to describe,
Speaker 1: and that there should have been given to man in
Speaker 1: the first ages of the world some record of the
Speaker 1: purpose and problem that had been set him to solve.
Speaker 1: In a word, he cried, fixing his shining eyes upon
Speaker 1: the face of his perplexed assistant, that God's messengers in
Speaker 1: the far off ages should have given to his creatures
Speaker 1: some full statement of the secret of the world, of
Speaker 1: the secret of the soul, of the meaning of life
Speaker 1: and death, the explanation of our being here, and to
Speaker 1: what great end we are destined in the ultimate fullness
Speaker 1: of things. Doctor Laidlaw sat speechless these outbreaks of mystical
Speaker 1: enthusiasm he had witnessed before. With any other man he
Speaker 1: would not have listened to a single sentence. But to
Speaker 1: Professor Ebor, man of knowledge and profound investigator, he listened
Speaker 1: with respect, because he regarded this condition as temporary and pathological,
Speaker 1: and in some sense a reaction from the intense strain
Speaker 1: of the prolonged mental concentration of many days. He smiled
Speaker 1: with something between sympathy and resignation as he met the
Speaker 1: other's rapt gaze. But you have said, Sir, at other times,
Speaker 1: that you consider the ultimate secrets to be screened from
Speaker 1: all possible the ultimate secrets, yes, came the unperturbed reply.
Speaker 1: But that there lies buried somewhere an indestructible record of
Speaker 1: the secret meaning of life, originally known to men in
Speaker 1: the days of their pristine innocence. I am convinced, and
Speaker 1: by this strange vision so often vouchsafed to me, I
Speaker 1: am equally sure that one day it shall be given
Speaker 1: to me to announce to a weary world this glorious
Speaker 1: and terrific message. And he continued, at great length and
Speaker 1: in glowing language, to describe the species of vivid dream
Speaker 1: that had come to him at intervals since earliest childhood,
Speaker 1: showing in detail how he discovered these very tablets of
Speaker 1: the gods and proclaim their splendid contents, whose precise nature was, always, however,
Speaker 1: withheld from him. In the vision to a patient and
Speaker 1: suffering humanity, the scrutator Sir Well described Pilgrim as the
Speaker 1: apostle of hope, said the young doctor gently when he
Speaker 1: had finished. And now if that reviewer could hear you
Speaker 1: speak and realize from what strange depths comes your simple faith.
Speaker 1: Professor held up his hand, and the smile of a
Speaker 1: little child broke over his face, like sunshine in the morning.
Speaker 1: Half the good my books do would be instantly destroyed,
Speaker 1: he said, sadly. They would say that I wrote with
Speaker 1: my tongue in my cheek. But wait, he added, significantly,
Speaker 1: Wait till I find these tablets of the gods. Wait
Speaker 1: till I hold the solution of the old world problems
Speaker 1: in my hands. Wait till the light of this new
Speaker 1: revelation breaks upon confused humanity and it wakes to find
Speaker 1: its bravest hopes justified. Ah, then, my dear lay law.
Speaker 1: He broke off suddenly, But the doctor, cleverly guessing the
Speaker 1: thought in his mind, caught him up immediately. Perhaps this
Speaker 1: very summer, he said, trying hard to make the suggestion,
Speaker 1: keep pace with honesty in your explorations. In a series
Speaker 1: you're digging in the remote civilization of what was once Chaldea,
Speaker 1: you may find which you dream of. The Professor held
Speaker 1: up his hand and the smile of a fine old
Speaker 1: face perhaps, he muttered softly, perhaps, And the young doctor,
Speaker 1: thanking the gods of science that his leader's aberrations were
Speaker 1: so harmless. A character went home, strong in the certitude
Speaker 1: of his knowledge of externals, proud that he was able
Speaker 1: to refer his visions to self suggestion, and wondering complacently
Speaker 1: whether in his old age he might not, after all
Speaker 1: suffer himself from visitations of the very kind that afflicted
Speaker 1: his respected chief. And as he got into bed and
Speaker 1: thought again of his master's rugged face and finely shaped head,
Speaker 1: and the deep lines traced by years of work and
Speaker 1: self discipline, he turned over on his pillow and fell
Speaker 1: asleep with a sigh that was half of wonder, half
Speaker 1: of regret. End of chapter one, Chapter two of The
Speaker 1: Man Who found Out a Nightmare by Algernon Blackwood. This
Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter two. It
Speaker 1: was in February nine months later when Doctor Laidlaw made
Speaker 1: his way to Charing Cross to meet his chief. After
Speaker 1: his long absence of travel and exploration. The vision about
Speaker 1: the so called tablets of the Gods had meanwhile passed
Speaker 1: almost entirely from his memory. There were few people in
Speaker 1: the train for the stream of traffic was now running
Speaker 1: the other way, and he had no difficulty in finding
Speaker 1: the man he had come to meet. The shock of
Speaker 1: white hair beneath the low crowned felt hat was alone
Speaker 1: enough to distinguish him by easily. Here I am, at last,
Speaker 1: exclaimed the professor, somewhat wearily, clasping his friend's hand as
Speaker 1: he listened to the young doctor's warm greetings and questions.
Speaker 1: Here I am a little older and much dirtier than
Speaker 1: when you last saw me. He glanced down laughingly at
Speaker 1: his travel stained garments, and much wiser, said Laidlaw, with
Speaker 1: a smile, as he bustled about the platform for Porter's
Speaker 1: and gave his chief the latest scientific news. At last
Speaker 1: they came down to practical considerations. And your luggage where
Speaker 1: is that? You must have tons of it, I suppose,
Speaker 1: said Laylaan, hardly anything. Professor Ebor answered, nothing in fact,
Speaker 1: but what you see? Nothing but this hand bag, laughed
Speaker 1: the other, thinking he was joking, And a small portmanteau
Speaker 1: in the van was the quiet reply, I have no
Speaker 1: other luggage. You have no other luggage, repeated Laydlaw, turning
Speaker 1: sharply to see if he were in earnest. Why should
Speaker 1: I need more, the professor added, simply something in the
Speaker 1: man's face, our voice, or manner the doctor hardly knew,
Speaker 1: which suddenly struck him as strange. There was a change
Speaker 1: in him, a change so profound, so little on the surface,
Speaker 1: that is, that at first he had not become aware
Speaker 1: of it. For a moment, it was as though an
Speaker 1: utterly alien personality stood before him in that noisy, bustling throng. Here,
Speaker 1: in all the homely friendly turmoil of a charing Cross crowd,
Speaker 1: A curious feeling of cold passed over his heart, touching
Speaker 1: his life with icy finger, so that he actually trembled
Speaker 1: and felt afraid. He looked quickly at his friend, his
Speaker 1: mind working with startled and unwelcome thoughts. Only this, he repeated,
Speaker 1: indicating the bank. But where's all the stuff you went
Speaker 1: away with? And have you brought nothing home? No treasures?
Speaker 1: This is all I have, the other said briefly. The
Speaker 1: pale smile that went with the words caused the doctor
Speaker 1: a second indescribable sensation of uneasiness. Something was very wrong,
Speaker 1: something was very queer, he wondered, now that he had
Speaker 1: not noticed it sooner. The rest follows of course, by
Speaker 1: slow freight, he added, tactfully and as naturally as possible.
Speaker 1: But come, sir, you must be tired and didn't want
Speaker 1: of food after your long journey. I'll get a taxi
Speaker 1: at once, and we can see about the other luggage afterwards.
Speaker 1: It seemed to him he hardly knew quite what he
Speaker 1: was saying. The change and his friend had come upon
Speaker 1: him so suddenly, and now grew upon him more and
Speaker 1: more distressingly. Yet he could not make out exactly in
Speaker 1: what it consisted. A terrible suspicion began to take shape
Speaker 1: in his mind, troubling him dreadfully. I am neither tired
Speaker 1: nor in need of food, Thank you, the professor said quietly.
Speaker 1: And this is all I have. There is no luggage
Speaker 1: to follow. I have brought home nothing, nothing but what
Speaker 1: you see. His words conveyed finality. They got into a taxi,
Speaker 1: tipped the porter, who had been staring in amazement at
Speaker 1: the venerable figure of the scientist, and were conveyed slowly
Speaker 1: and noisily to the house in the north of London,
Speaker 1: where the laboratory was the scene of their laborers of years.
Speaker 1: And the whole way Professor Ebor uttered no word, nor
Speaker 1: did doctor Laidlaw find the courage to ask a single question.
Speaker 1: It was only late that night before he took his departure,
Speaker 1: as the two men were standing before the fire in
Speaker 1: the study, that study where they had discussed so many
Speaker 1: problems of vital and absorbing interest, that Doctor Laidlaw at
Speaker 1: last found streth to come to the point with direct questions.
Speaker 1: The professor had been giving him a superficial and desultory
Speaker 1: account of his travels, of his journeys by camel, of
Speaker 1: his encampments among the mountains and in the desert, and
Speaker 1: of his explorations among the buried temples and deeper into
Speaker 1: the waste of the prehistoric sands. When suddenly the doctor
Speaker 1: came to the desired point with a kind of nervous rush,
Speaker 1: almost like a frightened boy. And you found he began stammering,
Speaker 1: looking hard at the other's dreadfully altered face, from which
Speaker 1: every line of hope and cheerfulness seemed to have been obliterated.
Speaker 1: As the sponge wipes markings from a slate. You found,
Speaker 1: I found, replied the other, in a solemn voice. And
Speaker 1: it was the voice of the mystic, rather than the
Speaker 1: man of science. I found what I went to seek.
Speaker 1: The vision never once failed me. It led me straight
Speaker 1: to the place, like a star in the heavens. I
Speaker 1: found the tablets of the gods. Doctor Laidlaw caught his
Speaker 1: breath and steadied himself on the back of a chair.
Speaker 1: The words fell like particles of ice upon his heart.
Speaker 1: For the first time the professor had uttered the well
Speaker 1: known phrase without the glow of light and wonder in
Speaker 1: his face that always accompanied it. You have brought them,
Speaker 1: he faltered. I have brought them home, said the other,
Speaker 1: in a voice with a ring like iron, and I
Speaker 1: have deciphered them. Profound despair. The bloom of outer darkness,
Speaker 1: the dead sound of a hopeless soul freezing in the
Speaker 1: utter cold of space, seemed to fill in the pauses
Speaker 1: between the brief sentences. A silence followed, during which doctor
Speaker 1: Laidlaw saw nothing but the white face before him, alternately
Speaker 1: fade and return. And it was like the face of
Speaker 1: a dead man. They are alas indestructible, he heard the
Speaker 1: voice continue, with its even metallic ring. Indestructible, Laidlaw repeated mechanically,
Speaker 1: hardly knowing what he was saying. Again, a silence of
Speaker 1: several minutes passed, during which, with a creepy being cold
Speaker 1: about his heart, he stood and stared into the eyes
Speaker 1: of the man he had known and loved so long,
Speaker 1: ah and worshiped too, the man who had first opened
Speaker 1: his own eyes when they were blind, and had led
Speaker 1: him to the gates of knowledge, and no little distance
Speaker 1: along the difficult path beyond, the man who, in another direction,
Speaker 1: had passed, on the strength of his faith, into the
Speaker 1: hearts of thousands by his books. I may see them,
Speaker 1: he asked at last, in a low voice he hardly
Speaker 1: recognized as his own. You will let me know their message.
Speaker 1: Professor Ebor kept his eyes fixedly upon his assistant's face
Speaker 1: as he answered, with a smile that was more like
Speaker 1: the grin of death than a living human smile. When
Speaker 1: I am gone, he whispered, When I have passed away,
Speaker 1: then you shall find them and read the translation I
Speaker 1: have made. And then, too, in your turn, you must try,
Speaker 1: with the latest resources of science at your disposal, to
Speaker 1: aid you to compass their utter destruction. He paused a moment,
Speaker 1: and his face grew pale as the face of a corpse.
Speaker 1: Until that time, he added, presently, without looking up, I
Speaker 1: must ask you not to refer to the subject again,
Speaker 1: and to keep my confidence meanwhile apsolutely. End of chapter
Speaker 1: two Chapter three of The Man Who found Out a
Speaker 1: Nightmare by Algernon Blackwood. This librevox recording is in the
Speaker 1: public domain. Chapter three. A year past slowly by, and
Speaker 1: at the end of it Doctor Laidlaw had found it
Speaker 1: necessary to sever his working connection with his friend and
Speaker 1: one time leader, Professor Ebor, was no longer the same man.
Speaker 1: The light had gone out of his life, the laboratory
Speaker 1: was closed. He no longer put pen to paper or
Speaker 1: applied his mind to a single problem. In the short
Speaker 1: space of a few months, he had passed from a
Speaker 1: hale and hearty man of late middle life to the
Speaker 1: condition of old age, a man collapsed and on the
Speaker 1: edge of dissolution death. It was plain lay waiting for
Speaker 1: him in the shadows of any day, and he knew it.
Speaker 1: To describe faithfully the nature of this profound alteration in
Speaker 1: his character and temperament is not easy, But Doctor Laidlaw
Speaker 1: summed it up to himself in three words, loss of hope.
Speaker 1: The splendid mental powers remained indeed undimmed, but the incentive
Speaker 1: to use them, to use them for the help of
Speaker 1: others had gone. The character still held to its fine
Speaker 1: and unselfish habits of years, but the far goal to
Speaker 1: which they had been the leading strings had faded away.
Speaker 1: The desire for knowledge, knowledge for its own sake had died,
Speaker 1: and the passionate hope which hitherto had animated with tireless energy.
Speaker 1: The hardened brain of this splendidly equipped intellect had suffered
Speaker 1: total eclipse. The central fires had gone out. Nothing was
Speaker 1: worth doing, thinking, working, for there was nothing to work
Speaker 1: for any longer. The professor's first step was to recall
Speaker 1: as many of his books as possible. His second to
Speaker 1: close his laboratory and to stop all research. He gave
Speaker 1: no explanation, he invited no questions. His whole personality crumbled away,
Speaker 1: so to speak, till his daily life became a mere
Speaker 1: mechanical process of clothing the body, feeding the body, keeping
Speaker 1: it in good health so as to avoid physical discomfort,
Speaker 1: and above all, doing nothing that could interfere with sleep.
Speaker 1: The Professor did everything he could to lengthen the hours
Speaker 1: of sleep, and therefore of forgetfulness. It was all clear
Speaker 1: enough to doctor Laidlaw. A weaker man, he knew, would
Speaker 1: have sought to lose himself in one form or another
Speaker 1: of sensual indulgence, sleeping, drafts, drink. The first pleasures that
Speaker 1: come to hand self destruction would have been the method
Speaker 1: of a little boulder type and deliberate evil doing, poisoning.
Speaker 1: With his awful knowledge all he could the means of
Speaker 1: still another kind of man. Mark Ebor was none of these.
Speaker 1: He held himself under fine control, facing silently and without
Speaker 1: complaint the terrible facts he honestly believed himself to have
Speaker 1: been unfortunate enough to discover. Even to his intimate friend
Speaker 1: and assistant, doctor Laidlaw, he vouchsafed no word true, explanation
Speaker 1: or lament. He went straight forward to the end, knowing
Speaker 1: well that the end was not very far away, and
Speaker 1: death came very quietly one day to him as he
Speaker 1: was sitting in the arm chair of the study, directly
Speaker 1: facing the doors of the laboratory, the doors that no
Speaker 1: longer opened. Doctor Laidlaw, by happy chance, was with him
Speaker 1: at the time and just able to reach his side
Speaker 1: in response to the sudden, painful efforts for breath, just
Speaker 1: in time too, to catch the murmured words that fell
Speaker 1: from the pallid lips like a message from the other
Speaker 1: side of the grave. Read them if you must, and
Speaker 1: if you can destroy. But his voice sank so low
Speaker 1: that Doctor laid Law only just caught the dying syllables,
Speaker 1: but never never give them to the world. And like
Speaker 1: a gray bundle of dust loosely gathered up in an
Speaker 1: old garment, the professor sank back into his chair and expired.
Speaker 1: But this was only the death of the body. His
Speaker 1: spirit had died two years before, end of chapter three
Speaker 1: Chapter four of The Man Who found Out a Nightmare
Speaker 1: by Algernon Blackwood. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Speaker 1: Chapter four. The estate of the dead man was small
Speaker 1: and uncomplicated, and Doctor laid Law, as sole executor and
Speaker 1: residuary Legatee, had no difficulty in settling it up. A
Speaker 1: month after the funeral, he was sitting alone in its
Speaker 1: upstairs library, the last sad duties completed, and his mind
Speaker 1: full of poignant memories and regrets for the loss of
Speaker 1: a friend he had revered and loved, and to whom
Speaker 1: his debt was so incalculably great. The last two years
Speaker 1: indeed had been for him terrible to watch the swift
Speaker 1: decay of the greatest combination of heart and brain he
Speaker 1: had ever known, and to realize he was powerless to help,
Speaker 1: was a source of profound grief to him that would
Speaker 1: remain to the end of his days. At the same time,
Speaker 1: an insatiable curiosity possessed him. The study of dementia was,
Speaker 1: of course outside his special province as a specialist, but
Speaker 1: he knew enough of it to understand how small a
Speaker 1: matter might be the actual cause of how great an illusion.
Speaker 1: And he had been devoured from the very beginning by
Speaker 1: a ceaseless and increasing anxiety to know what the professor
Speaker 1: had found in the sands of Chaldea, what these precious
Speaker 1: tablets of the gods might be, and particularly for this
Speaker 1: was the real reason that had sapped the man's sanity
Speaker 1: and hope, what the inscription was that he had believed
Speaker 1: to have deciphered thereon. The curious feature of it all
Speaker 1: to his own mind, was that, whereas his friend had
Speaker 1: dreamed of finding a message of glorious hope and comfort,
Speaker 1: he had apparently found, so far as he had found
Speaker 1: anything intelligible at all, and not invented the whole thing
Speaker 1: in his dementia, that the secret of the world and
Speaker 1: the meaning of life and death was of so terrible
Speaker 1: a nature that it robbed the heart of courage and
Speaker 1: the soul of hope. What then could be the contents
Speaker 1: of the little brown parcel the Professor had bequeathed to
Speaker 1: him with his pregnant, dying sentences. Actually, his hand was
Speaker 1: trembling as he turned to the writing table and began
Speaker 1: slowly to unfasten a small old fashioned desk, on which
Speaker 1: the small guilt initials M E stood forth as a
Speaker 1: melancholy memento. He put the key into the lock and
Speaker 1: half turned it. Then suddenly he stopped and looked about him.
Speaker 1: Was that a sound at the back of the room.
Speaker 1: It was just as though someone had laughed and then
Speaker 1: tried to smother the laugh with a cough. A slight
Speaker 1: shiver ran over him as he stood listening. This is absurd,
Speaker 1: he said aloud, Too absurd for belief that I should
Speaker 1: be so nervous. It's the effect of curiosity unduly prolonged.
Speaker 1: He smiled a little sadly, and his eyes wandered to
Speaker 1: the blue summer sky and the plane trees swaying in
Speaker 1: the wind below his window. It's the reaction, he continued,
Speaker 1: the curiosity of two years to be quenched in a
Speaker 1: single moment. The nervous tension, of course, must be considerable.
Speaker 1: He turned back to the brown desk and opened it
Speaker 1: without further delay. His hand was firm now, and he
Speaker 1: took out the paper parcel that lay inside without a tremor.
Speaker 1: It was heavy. A moment later there lay on the
Speaker 1: table before him a couple of weather worn plaques of
Speaker 1: gray stone. They looked like stone, although they felt like metal,
Speaker 1: on which he saw markings of a curious character that
Speaker 1: might have been the mere tracings of natural forces through
Speaker 1: the ages, or equally well, the half obliterated hi glyphics
Speaker 1: cut upon their surface in past centuries by the more
Speaker 1: or less untutored hand of a common scribe. He lifted
Speaker 1: each stone in turn and examined it carefully. It seemed
Speaker 1: to him that a faint glow of heat passed from
Speaker 1: the substance into his skin, and he put them down
Speaker 1: again suddenly, as with a gesture of uneasiness. A very
Speaker 1: clever or a very imaginative man, he said to himself,
Speaker 1: who could squeeze the secrets of life and death from
Speaker 1: such broken lines as those? Then he turned to a
Speaker 1: yellow envelope lying beside them in the desk, with a
Speaker 1: single word on the outside in the writing of the professor,
Speaker 1: the word translation. Now, he thought, taking it up with
Speaker 1: a sudden violence, to conceal his nervousness. Now for the
Speaker 1: great solution, Now to learn the meaning of the worlds,
Speaker 1: and why man come one was made, and why discipline
Speaker 1: is worthwhile, and sacrifice in pain the true law of advancement.
Speaker 1: There was the shadow of a sneer in his voice,
Speaker 1: yet something in him shivered. At the same time. He
Speaker 1: held the envelope as though weighing it in his hand,
Speaker 1: his mind pondering many things. Then curiosity won the day,
Speaker 1: and he suddenly tore it open with the gesture of
Speaker 1: an actor who terris opened a letter on the stage,
Speaker 1: knowing there is no real writing inside it. All. A
Speaker 1: page of finely written scripts in the late scientist's handwriting
Speaker 1: lay before him. He read it through from beginning to end,
Speaker 1: missing no word, uttering each syllable distinctly. Under his breath
Speaker 1: as he read. The pallor of his face grew ghastly.
Speaker 1: As he neared the end, he began to shake all over,
Speaker 1: as with agu His breath came heavily in gasps, He
Speaker 1: still gripped the sheet of paper, however, and deliberately, as
Speaker 1: by an intense effort of will, read it through a
Speaker 1: second time, from beginning to end, And this time, as
Speaker 1: the last syllable dropped from his lips, the whole face
Speaker 1: of the man flamed with a sudden and terrible anger.
Speaker 1: His skin became deep, deep red, and he clenched his
Speaker 1: teeth with all the strength of his vigorous soul. He
Speaker 1: was struggling to keep control of himself. For perhaps five minutes.
Speaker 1: He stood there beside the table without stirring a muscle.
Speaker 1: He might have been carved out of stone. His eyes
Speaker 1: were shut, and only the heaving of the chest betrayed
Speaker 1: the fact that he was a living being. Then, with
Speaker 1: a strange quietness, he lit a match and applied it
Speaker 1: to the sheet of paper he held in his hand.
Speaker 1: The ashes fell slowly about him, piece by piece, and
Speaker 1: he blew them from the window sill into the air,
Speaker 1: his eyes following them as they floated away on the
Speaker 1: summer wind that breathed so warmly over the world. He
Speaker 1: turned back slowly into the room. Although his actions and
Speaker 1: movements were absolutely steady and controlled, it was clear that
Speaker 1: he was on the edge of violent action. A hurricane
Speaker 1: might burst upon the still room any moment. His muscles
Speaker 1: were tense and rigid. Then suddenly he whitened, collapsed, and
Speaker 1: sank backwards into a chair, like a tumbled bundle of
Speaker 1: inert matter. He had fainted in less than half an hour.
Speaker 1: He recovered consciousness and sat up as before. He made
Speaker 1: no sound, not a syllable past his lips. He rose
Speaker 1: quietly and looked about the room. Then he did a
Speaker 1: curious thing. Taking a heavy stick from the rack in
Speaker 1: the corner, he approached the metal piece, and with a
Speaker 1: heavy shattering blow, he smashed the clock to pieces. The
Speaker 1: glass fell in shivering atoms. Seize your lying voice forever,
Speaker 1: he said, in a curiously still, even tone. There is
Speaker 1: no such thing as time. He took the watch from
Speaker 1: his pocket, swung it round several times by the long
Speaker 1: gold chain, smashed it into smitherings against the wall with
Speaker 1: a single blow, and then walked into his laboratory next
Speaker 1: door and hung its broken body on the bones of
Speaker 1: the skeleton in the corner of the room. Let one
Speaker 1: damned mockery hang upon another, he said, smiling oddly. Delusions
Speaker 1: both of you and cruel s false. He slowly moved
Speaker 1: back to the front room. He stopped opposite the bookcase,
Speaker 1: where stood in a row these scriptures of the World,
Speaker 1: choicely bound and exquisitely printed, the late professor's most treasured possession,
Speaker 1: And next to them several books signed Pilgrim. One by one,
Speaker 1: he took them from the shelf and hurled them through
Speaker 1: the open window. A devil's streams, A devil's foolish streams,
Speaker 1: he cried, with a vicious laugh. Presently he stopped from
Speaker 1: sheer exhaustion. He turned his eyes slowly to the wall opposite,
Speaker 1: where hung a weird array of Eastern swords and daggers,
Speaker 1: scimitars and spears, the collections of many journeys. He crossed
Speaker 1: the room and ran his finger along the edge his mind,
Speaker 1: and seemed to waver. No, he muttered, presently, not that way.
Speaker 1: There are easier and better ways than that. He took
Speaker 1: his hat and passed downstairs into the street. End of
Speaker 1: section four, chapter five of The Man Who found Out
Speaker 1: a Nightmare by Algernon Blackwood. This LibriVox recording is in
Speaker 1: the public domain. Chapter five. It was five o'clock and
Speaker 1: the June sun lay hot upon the pavement. He felt
Speaker 1: the metal doorknob burn the palm of his hand. Ah,
Speaker 1: lay in Law, this is well met, cried a voice
Speaker 1: at his elbow. I was in the act of coming
Speaker 1: to see you. I have a case that will interest you.
Speaker 1: And besides, I remembered that you flavored your tea with
Speaker 1: orange leaves, and I must admit it was Alexis Stephen,
Speaker 1: the great hypnotic doctor. I've had no tea to day,
Speaker 1: lay Law said, in a dazed manner, after staring for
Speaker 1: a moment, as though the other had struck him in
Speaker 1: the face. A new idea had entered his mind. What's
Speaker 1: the matter, asked doctor Stephen quickly. Something's wrong with you.
Speaker 1: It's this sudden heat or over work. Come man, let's
Speaker 1: go inside. A sudden light broke upon the face of
Speaker 1: the younger man, the light of a heaven scent inspiration.
Speaker 1: He looked into his friend's face and told a direct lie.
Speaker 1: Odd he said, I myself was just coming to see you.
Speaker 1: I have something of great importance to test your confidence with.
Speaker 1: But in your house, please, as Stephen urged him towards
Speaker 1: his own door. In your house, it's only round the corner,
Speaker 1: and I I cannot go back there to my rooms
Speaker 1: till I have told you. I am your patient for
Speaker 1: the moment, he added, stammeringly, as soon as they were
Speaker 1: seated in the privacy of the hypnotist's sanctum. And I
Speaker 1: want ah, my dear Laidlaw, interrupted the other, in that
Speaker 1: soothing voice of command which had suggested to many suffering
Speaker 1: soul that the cure for its pain lay in the
Speaker 1: powers of its own reawakened will. I am always at
Speaker 1: your service. As you know. You have only to tell
Speaker 1: me what I can do for you, and I will
Speaker 1: do it. He showed every desire to help him out.
Speaker 1: His manner was indescribably tactful and direct. Doctor Laidlaw looked
Speaker 1: up into his face. I surrender my will to you,
Speaker 1: he said, already calmed by the other's healing presence. And
Speaker 1: I want you to treat me hypnotically and at once.
Speaker 1: I want you to suggest to me. His voice became
Speaker 1: very tense, that I shall forget, forget till I die,
Speaker 1: everything that has occurred to me during the last two hours.
Speaker 1: Till I die, mind, he added, with solemn emphasis, till
Speaker 1: I die. He floundered and stammered like a frightened boy
Speaker 1: Alexis Stephen looked at him fixedly, without speaking, and further
Speaker 1: Laylaw continued, I want you to ask me no questions.
Speaker 1: I wish to forget forever something I have recently discovered. Oh,
Speaker 1: something so terrible and yet so obvious that I can
Speaker 1: hardly understand why it is not patent to every mind
Speaker 1: in the world. For I have had a moment of
Speaker 1: absolute clear vision, of merciless clairvoyance. But I want no
Speaker 1: one else in the world to know what it is,
Speaker 1: least of all old friend yourself. He talked in utter confusion,
Speaker 1: and her probably knew what he was saying, but the
Speaker 1: pain on his face and the anguish in his voice
Speaker 1: were an instant passport to the other's heart. Nothing is easier,
Speaker 1: replied doctor Stephen, after a hesitation so slight that the
Speaker 1: other probably did not even notice it. Come into my
Speaker 1: other room, where we shall not be disturbed. I can
Speaker 1: heal you. Your memory of the last two hours shall
Speaker 1: be wiped out as though it had never been. You
Speaker 1: can trust me, absolutely, I know I can, Laidlaw said, simply,
Speaker 1: as he followed him. In end of chapter five, chapter
Speaker 1: six of The Man Who found Out a Nightmare by
Speaker 1: Algernon Blackwood. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Speaker 1: Chapter six. An hour later, they passed back into the
Speaker 1: front room again. The sun was already behind the house's
Speaker 1: opposite and the shadows began to gather. I went off easily,
Speaker 1: lay Law asked. You were a little obstinate at first,
Speaker 1: but though you came in like a lion, you went
Speaker 1: out like a lamb. I'll let you sleep a bit afterwards.
Speaker 1: Doctor Stephen kept his eyes rather steadily upon his friend's face.
Speaker 1: What were you doing by the fire before you came here,
Speaker 1: he asked, pausing in a casual tone, as he lit
Speaker 1: a cigarette and handed the case to his patient. I
Speaker 1: let me see. Oh, oh, I know. I was worrying
Speaker 1: my way through poor old Ebor's papers and things. I'm
Speaker 1: his executor, you know. Then I got weary and came
Speaker 1: out for a whiff of air. He spoke lightly and
Speaker 1: with perfect naturalness. Obviously he was telling the truth. I
Speaker 1: prefer specimens to papers, he laughed cheerily. I know, I know,
Speaker 1: said doctor Stephen, holding a lighted match for his cigarette.
Speaker 1: His face wore an expression of content. The experiment had
Speaker 1: been a complete success. The memory of the last two
Speaker 1: hours was wiped out utterly. Laid Law was already chatting
Speaker 1: gaily and easily about a dozen other things that interested him.
Speaker 1: Together they went out into the street, and at his door,
Speaker 1: Doctor Stephen left him with a joke and a wry
Speaker 1: face that made his friend laugh heartily. Don't dine on
Speaker 1: the professor's old papers by mistake, he cried, as he
Speaker 1: vanished down the street. Doctor Laidlaw went up to his
Speaker 1: study at the top of the house. Half Way down
Speaker 1: he met his housekeeper, misrus Hewing's. She was flustered and excited,
Speaker 1: and her face was very red and perspiring. There have
Speaker 1: been burgloos here, she cried, excitedly. Ah, something funny. All
Speaker 1: your things is just anyhow, sir, I found everything all
Speaker 1: about every were She was very confused. In this orderly
Speaker 1: and very precise establishment, it was unusual to find a
Speaker 1: thing out of place. Oh, my specimens, cried the doctor,
Speaker 1: dashing up the rest of the stairs at top speed.
Speaker 1: Have they been touched or he flew to the door
Speaker 1: of the laboratory. Missus Fwings panted up heavily behind him.
Speaker 1: The laboratory ain't been touched, she explained, breathlessly. But they
Speaker 1: smashed the library clock, and they've hung your gold watch, sir,
Speaker 1: on the Skelton's hands. And the books that warn't no value,
Speaker 1: they flung out of the window, just like so much rubbish.
Speaker 1: And they must have been wild drunk doctor laidlaw. Sir,
Speaker 1: the young scientist made a hurried examination of the rooms.
Speaker 1: Nothing of value was missing. He began to wonder what
Speaker 1: kind of burglars they were. He looked up sharply at
Speaker 1: Missus Hewings standing in the doorway. For a moment he
Speaker 1: seemed to cast about in his mind for something odd.
Speaker 1: He said at length, I only left here an hour ago,
Speaker 1: and everything was all right, then, was it, sir? Yes, sir?
Speaker 1: She glanced sharply at him. Her room looked out upon
Speaker 1: the courtyard, and she must have seen the books come
Speaker 1: crashing down, and also have heard her master leave the
Speaker 1: house a few minutes later. And what's this rubbish? The
Speaker 1: brutes have left, he cried, taking up two slabs of
Speaker 1: worn gray stone on the writing table, bath brick or something,
Speaker 1: I do declare. He looked very sharply again at the
Speaker 1: confused and troubled housekeeper. Throw them on the dust heat,
Speaker 1: Missus Fewings, and let me know if anything is missing
Speaker 1: in the house, and I will notify the police this evening.
Speaker 1: When she left the room, he went into the laboratory
Speaker 1: and took his watch off the skeleton's fingers. His face
Speaker 1: wore a troubled expression, but after a moment's thought it
Speaker 1: cleared again. His memory was a complete I suppose I
Speaker 1: left it on the writing table when I went out
Speaker 1: to take the air, he said, and there was no
Speaker 1: one present to contradict him. He crossed to the window
Speaker 1: and blew carelessly some ashes of burned paper from the sill,
Speaker 1: and stood watching them as they floated away lazily over
Speaker 1: the tops of the trees. End of Chapter six and
Speaker 1: of the Man who found out a Nightmare by Algernon Blackwood.
Speaker 1: This story was recorded by phil shenever