Farewell Nikola: Chapter 12

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter twelve of Farewell to Niccola by Guy Boothby this
LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter twelve, As
may be supposed, my meeting with the Don afalled me
abundant food for reflection. Was it true as he had
said that, in his hour of distress, Niccola had afforded

(00:23):
him an asylum? And if so, why was the latter
doing so? I knew Niccola too well by this time
to doubt that he had some good and sufficient reason
for his action. Looking at the back of my mind
was a hideous suspicion that, although I tried my hardest
not to think of it, would not allow itself to
be banished altogether. I could not but remember the story

(00:46):
Niccola had told me on that eventful evening concerning his
early life, and the chance remarked he had let fall
one day, and he knew more about the man Don
Martinez than I suppose, only tended to confirm it. If
that were so, and he still cherished as I had
not the least doubt he did, for Niccola was one
who never forgave or forgot the same undying hatred and

(01:10):
desire for vengeance against his old enemy, the son of
his mother's betrayal. Then there was, but here I was
compelled to stop. I could not go on. A deathlike
face in the man I had just left rose before
my mind's eye like an accusing angel. Whereupon I made
a resolution that I would think no more of him,

(01:30):
nor would I say anything to any member of our
party concerning my meeting with him that afternoon. It is
superfluous to remark that the latter resolved was more easily
kept than the former. The first dinner in Venice after
our return was far from being a success. Miss Gertrude's
head ache, instead of leaving her, had become so bad

(01:51):
she was compelled to go forthwith to bed, leaving glen
Barth in despair and the rest of our party as
low spirited as possible. Next morning she declared she was
a little better, though she complained of having passed a
wretched night. Had such horrible dreams, she told my wife,
And when I woke up, I scarcely dared close my
eyes again. I cannot remember quite what it was she

(02:14):
said she dreamt, said Phyllis when she had told me
the story, But I know it had something to do
with doctor Nicholler and his dreadful house, and that it
frightened her terribly. The girl certainly looked pale and haggard,
and not a bit like the happy creature who had
stepped into the train at Rome. Heaven grant that there
is not more trouble ahead, I said to myself, as
I smoked my pipe and thought over the matter. I'm

(02:37):
beginning to wish we had not come to Venice at all.
In that case, we should not have seen doctor Nicola
and all the dawn. Miss Trevor would not have been
in this state, and I should not have been haunted
day and night with this horrible suspicion of foul play.
It was no use, however, talking of what might or
might not have happened. It was sufficient that the things

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I have narrated had come to pass, and I must
endeavor to derive what satisfaction I could from the reflection
that I have done all that was possible under the circumstances.
On the day following our return to Venice, the Dean
of Bedminster set off for England. I fancy he was
sorry to go. And the one thing I'm quite sure,
and that was we regretted losing him. It was arranged

(03:21):
that as soon as we returned to England, we should
pay him a visit at Bedminster, and the Duke should
accompany us transparently on as though he was in all
his things. I fancied the old man had a touch
of vanity in his composition, and I could quite understand
that he would be anxious to shaft his future son
in law before the society of his quiet cathedral town.

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On the light following his departure, I had the most
terrible dream I've had in my life. Though some time
as a lapse since then, I can still recall the
fright it gave me. My wife declares that she could
see the effect of it upon my face for one
the day afterwards. This, I think is going a little
too far. I'm willing, however, to admit that it made
a very great impression upon me at the time, the

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more so for the reason that it touched my thought,
and I was quite at a loss to understand it.
It was night, I remember, I just entered the palace Lavichi.
I must have been invisible, for though I stood in
the room with Nicola, he did not appear to be
aware of my presence. As usual. He was at work
upon some of his chemical experiments, and I looked at

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his face and saw that wore an expression I had
never seen there before. I can describe it best by
saying that it was one of absolute cruelty. I'm relieved
by even the smallest gleam of pity. And yet it
was not cruelty in the accepted meaning of the word,
so much as an overwhelming desire to punish an avenge.

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I am quite aware, on reading over what I have
just written, that my inability to convey the exact impression
renders my meaning obscure. Yet I can do no more.
It was a look beyond the power of my pen
to describe. Presently, he put down the grass he held
in his hand and looked up, with his head a
little to one side, as if he were listening for

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some sound in the adjoining room. There was a shuffling
footstep in the corridor outside, and then the door opened,
and there entered a figure so awful that I shrank
back from it, appalled. It was Don Martinez, and yet
it was not the Don. The face and the height
were perhaps the same, but the man himself was I

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was so different on seeing Niccola. He shambled forward rather
than walked, and dropped in a heat at his feet,
clutching his knees and making a feeble, whining noise and
unlike that of an animal in pain. Get up, said
Nicholas sternly. And as he said, he pointed to a
couch on the further side of the room. The man

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went and stretched himself out upon it, as if in
obedience to some unspoken command. Nichola followed him, and, having
exposed the other's chest, took from the table what looked
like a hypodermic syringe, filled it from one of the
graduated glasses upon the table, and injected the contents beneath
the man's prostrate skin. An immediate and violent fit of

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trembling was the result, followed by awful contortions of the face,
and suddenly he stiffened himself out and lay like one dead.
Taking his watch from his pocket, Nicola made a careful
note of the time. So vivid was my dream that
I can even remember hearing the ticking of the watch.
Minute after minute went by, until at last the darn

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opened his eyes. Then I realized that the man was
no longer a human being. But an animal. He uttered
horrible noises in his throat that was not unlike the short,
sharp bark of a wolf, and when Nicola bade him move,
he crawled upon the floor like a dog. After that
he retreated to a corner, where he crouched and glowered
upon his master, as if he were prepared at any

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moment to spring upon them and drag him down, as
one throws a bone to a dog. So Nicola tossing food,
he devoured it ravenously, as would a starving curve. There
was foam at the corners of his mouth, and the
light of madness in his eyes. Nichola returned to the
table and began to pour some liquid into a glass.

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So busily occupied was he that he did not see
the thing. Cannot call it a man in the corner
get on to his feet. It taken up a small
tube and was stirring the contents of the glass with it,
And the other was less than a couple of feet
from him. I tried to warn him of his danger,
only to find that I could not utter a word.
Then the object turned upon him and clawed at his throat.

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He turned, and a moment later the madman was lying
whining feebly upon the floor, and Nichola was wiping the
blood from a scratch on his left hand side of
his throat. That moment I awoke to find myself sitting
up in bed, with a perspiration streaming down my face.
I have had such an awful dream, I said, in
answer to my wife's startled inquiry as to what was

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the matter. I don't know that I have ever been
so frightened before. You are trembling now, said my wife.
Try not to think of it, dear, Remember it was
only a dream, that it was something more than a
mere dream. I felt certain it was so complete and
dovetailed so exactly with my horrible suspicions, that I could
not altogether consign it to the realms of fancy. Fearing

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a repetition if I attempted to go to sleep again,
I switched on the electric light and endeavored to interest
myself in a book, But it was of no use.
The face that the poor brute I had seen crouching
in the corner haunted me continually and would not be dispelled.
Never in my life before I had been so thankful
to see the dawn breakfast, my wife commented upon my dream.

(08:45):
Miss Trevor, however, said nothing became quieter and more distracted
every day. Towards evening, Glenbarth spoke to me concerning her.
I don't know what to make of it all, he said, anxiously.
She assures me that she's perfectly well and happy, But
seeing the condition she is in, I can scarcely believe
that it is as much as I can do to

(09:07):
get a word out of her. If I didn't know
that she loves me, I should begin to imagine that
she regretted having promised to be my wife. I don't
think you need to be afraid of that, I answered,
One only has to look at her face to see
how deeply attached she is to you. The truth of
the whole matter is, my dear fellow. I've come to
the conclusion that we have had enough of Venice. Nicholer

(09:28):
is at the bottom of our troubles, and the sooner
we see the last of him, the better it will
be for all parties concerned here Here to that, he answered, firmly,
deeply grateful though I am to him for what he
did when Gertrude was ill, I can honestly say that
I never want to see him again. At luncheon that day,
I accordingly broached the subject of our return to England.

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It was received by my wife and the Duke with
unfeigned satisfaction, and by Mistrevor with what appeared to be approval.
It struck me, however, that she did not seem so
anxious to leave as I expected she would be. This
somewhat puzzled me, but I was not destined to remain
very long in ignorance of the reason. That afternoon I
happened to be left alone with her for some little time.

(10:14):
We talked for a while on a variety of topics,
but I could see all the time that there was
something she was desirous of saying to me, though she
could not quite make up her mind on how to commence.
At last, she rose, and, crossing the room, took a
chair by my side. Sir Richard, I'm going to ask
a favor of you, she said, with a far away
look in her eyes. Let me assure you that it

(10:37):
is granted before you ask it, I replied, will you
tell me what it is. It may appear strange to you,
she said, but I have a conviction absurd, superstitious or
whatever you may term it that some great misfortune will
before me if I leave Venice. Just yet, I am
not my own mistress and must stay. I want you
to arrange you. This was a nice sort of shell

(10:58):
to have dropped into one's camp, particularly at such a
time and under such circumstances. Well, I scarcely knew what
reply to make. What possible misfortune could before you? I asked,
I cannot say, she replied. I am only certain that
I must remain for a little while longer. You can
have no idea would I have suffered lately? Bear with me,

(11:18):
Sir Richard. Here she lifted a face of piteous entreaty
to me, which I was powerless to resist, adding, I
implore you not to be angry with me. Is it
likely that I should be angry with you, Miss Gertrude,
I replied, why should I be? If you really desire
to remain for a little longer, there's nothing to prevent it.
But you must not allow yourself to become ill again.

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Believe me, it is only your imagination that's playing tricks
with you. Ah, you do not know everything, she answered.
Every night I have such terrible dreams that I have
come to dread going to bed. I thought of my
own dream on the previous night and could well understand
how she felt. After her last remark, she was silent
for some moments. That there was something still to come.

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I could see, but what it was I had no
more idea than a child. At last, she spoke, Sir Richard.
She said, would you mind very much if I would
ask you a most important question? I scarcely like to
do so, but I know that you are my friend
and that you will give me good advice. I will
endeavor to do so. I replied, What is the question

(12:24):
you wish to ask me? It's about my engagement, she replied.
You know how good and unselfish the Duke is, and
how truly he believes in me. I could not bear
to bring trouble upon him. But in love there should
be no secrets, nothing should be hidden from the other.
Yet I feel I am hiding so much. Can you
understand what I mean in a great measure? I answered,

(12:46):
But I should like you to do so thoroughly, Miss Gertrude.
If I may huzard a guests, I should say that
you've been dreaming about doctor Nicholer again. Yes, she answered,
after a moment's hesitation. Absurd though it may be, I
can think of no one else. He weighs upon my
spirits like lead. And yet I know that I should
be grateful to him for all he did to me
when I was so ill. But for him I should

(13:08):
not be alive. Now. I'm afraid that you have been
allowing the thought of your recent danger to lie too
heavily upon your mind, I continued. Remember that this is
the nineteenth century, and there are no such things as
you think Nichola would have you believe. But when I
know that there are, she asked, looking at me, reproachfully. Ah,
Sir Richard, she continued, If you know all that I do,

(13:31):
you would pity me. But no one will ever know,
and I cannot tell them. But one thing is quite certain.
I must stay in Venice for the present happen what may.
Something tells me so day and night, And when I
think of the Duke, my heart well nigh breaks, for
I fear I should bring trouble upon him. I did
my best to comfort her, promised that if she really

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desired to remain in Venice, I would arrange it for her,
and by doing so, committed myself to a policy that
I very well knew when I came to consider it later,
it was not expedient, very far from being judicious, regarded
seriously in a sober, commonplace light, the whole affair seems
too absurd, and yet at the same time nothing could

(14:14):
possibly have been of more real or erness. When she
had heard me out, she thanked me very prettily for
the interest I had taken, and then, with a little
sigh that went to my heart, left the room. Later
in the afternoon, I broke the news to my wife
and told her of the promise I'd given Gertrude. But
what does it all mean, Dick, she asked, looking at

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me with startled eyes. What is it she fears will
happen if she goes away from Venice? That is what
I cannot get her to say, I replied. Indeed, I
am not altogether certain that she knows herself. It's a
most perplexing business, and I wish to goodness I had
never had anything to do with it. The better plan,
I think, would be to humor, to keep her as

(14:56):
cheerful as we can, and when the proper time arrives,
get her away from Bellison home to England as quickly
as we can. My wife agreed with me on this point,
and our course of action was thereupon settled. Later in
the afternoon, I made a resolution. My own suspicions concerning
the wretched Martinos were growing so intolerable that I could

(15:18):
bear them no longer. The memory of the dream I
had had on the previous night was never absent from
my thoughts, and I felt that unless I could set
matters right once and for all, and convinced myself they
were not as I suspected with Anstruther's friend, I shall
be unable to close my eyes when I next went
to bed. For this reason, I determined to set off

(15:39):
to the Palas Ravici at once to have an interview
with Nickol, in a hope of being able to extort
some information from him. Perhaps, after all, I argued, I
am worrying myself unnecessarily, and maybe no connection between Martinos
and that South American. I determined, however, to set the
matter at rest that afternoon. Accordingly, at four o'clock I
made an excuse into parted for the Rio dink On Siglio.

(16:03):
Was a dark, cloudy afternoon, and the house as I
approached it looked drearier. If such a thing were possible,
then I had ever seen it. I disembarked from my
gondola at the steps, having bade the man wait for me,
which he did. On the other side of the street.
I rang the bell. The same old servant, whom I
remembered hadn't seen on previous occasions, answered it and informed

(16:25):
me that his master was not at home, but that
he expected him every minute. I determined to wait for him,
and ascended the stairs to his room. The windows were open.
From where I stood, I could watch the gondolier placidly
eating his bread and onions on the other side of
the street. As far as I could see, there was
no change in the room itself. The center table was

(16:46):
as usual littered with papers and books. That near the
window was covered with chemical apparatus, while the old black
cat was fast asleep upon the couch on the other side.
The oriental rug described in another place covered the ominous
trap door, so that no portion of it could be seen.
I was still standing at the window, looking down upon

(17:07):
the canal below, when the door at the further end
softly opened and a face looked in at me. Good heavens,
I can even now feel the horror which swept over me.
It was the countenance of Don Martinez, but so changed
even from that what it had been when I'd seen
him in the Rio del Baccaroli, that I scarcely recognized him.

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It was like the face of an animal and of
a madman, if such a thing could be combined. He
looked at me and then withdrew, closing the door behind
him ily to reopen it a few moments later, having
apparently made sure that I was alone, he crept in and,
crossing the room, approached me. For a moment, I was
at a loss how to act. I was not afraid
that the poor wretch might do me any mischief, but

(17:50):
my whole being shrank from him with a physical revulsion
beyond all description. In words, I can understand now something
of the dislike. My wife and Duke declared. They entertained
for him on tiptoe, with his finger to his lips,
as if to enjoin silence. He crept towards me, muttering
something in Spanish that I could not understand, and then

(18:11):
in English he continued, hush, senor can you not see them?
He pointed his hand in various directions, as if he
could see the figures of men and women moving about
the apartment. Once he bowed low, as if to some
imaginary dignitary, drawing back at the same time as if
to permit him to pass, and turning to me, he continued,
do you know who that is? Know that I would

(18:32):
tell you sennor And is the most noble, admirable Levichi,
the owner of this house. And for a short time
he stood silent, picking feebly at his fingers, and regarding
me and ever Anon from the corner of his eye.
Suddenly there was a sharp, quick step in the corridor outside.
The handle of the door turned. A Nicoler entered the room.

(18:52):
As his glance fell upon the wretched being at my side,
a look not unlike that I had seen in my
dream flashed into his countenance. It was gone again, however,
as suddenly as it had come. He was advancing to
greet me with all his old politeness. It was then
that the folly of my errand was borne in upon me.
Even if my suspicions were correct, what could I do

(19:13):
and what chance could I hope to have of being
able to induce Niccola to confide in me. Meanwhile, I
had pointed at the door on Martinos, trembling in every limb,
was slinking towards it like a whipped hound. At that
moment I made a discovery that I confess came near
to depriving me of my presence of mine altogether. You
can judge of its value for yourself when I say,

(19:35):
and extending to the lobe of Nicholas's left ear, half
way down and across his throat, was a newly made scar,
just such a one, in fact, that would be made
by hand with sharp finger nails clutching at it. Could
my dream have been true? After all? I cannot tell
how delight I am to see you, my dear Sir Richard,
said Niccola, as he seated himself. I understood that you

(19:57):
had returned to Venice, having up, Rather than desire to
learn how Nichol had become aware of anything, I merely
agreed that we had returned, and took the cherry offered me.
When all the circumstances had taken into consideration, I really
think that that moment was certainly the most embarrassing of
my life. Nicholas's eyes were fixed steadily upon mine, and

(20:17):
I could see in them what was almost an expression
of malicious amusement. As usually he was making capital out
of my awkwardness, and as I knew that I could
do no good, I felt that there was nothing for
it but for me to submit. Then the miserable Spaniard's
face rose before my mind's eye, and I felt that
I could not abandon him without an effort to what
I knew would be his fate. Nichola brought me up

(20:40):
to the mark, even quicker than I expect. It's very plain,
he said, with a satirical smile playing around his thin lips,
that you have come with the intention of saying something
important to me. What is it? At this I rose
from my chair and went across the room where he
was sitting, placing my hand upon his shoulder. I looked
down into his face, took and began. Dear Nikola, I said,

(21:02):
you and I have known each other for many years now.
We've seen some strange things together, one of us perhaps
less willingly than the other. But venture to think, however,
that we have never stood on a stranger or more
dangerous ground than we do tonight. I am afraid I'm
scarcely able to follow your meaning, he replied. I knew
that this was not the case, but I was eagerly
convinced that to argue the question with him would be

(21:25):
worse than useless. Do you remember the night on which
you told me that story concerning the woman who lived
in this house, who was betrayed by the Spaniard, and
who died on that Spanish island? I asked. He rose
hurriedly from his chair and went to the window. I
heard him catch his breath, and I knew that I'd
moved him at last. Well of it, he inquired, turning

(21:45):
upon me sharply as he spoke, only that I have
come to see you concerning the denouement of that stall.
He was hunswered. I have come because I cannot possibly
stay away. You have no idea how deeply I've been
thinking over this matter. Do you think I cannot see
through it between the lines? You told it to me because,
in some inscrutable fashion of your own, you had become

(22:06):
aware that Don Martinez would bring a letter of introduction
to me for my friend Anstruther. Remember it was I
who introduced him to you. Do you think that I
did not notice the expression that came to your face
whenever you looked at him. Later, my suspicions were aroused.
Don was a Spaniard, he was rich, and he'd made
the mistake admitting that while he had been in Chile,
had never been in Equinata. You persuaded me to bring

(22:28):
him to this house, and here you obtained your first
influence over him. My dear Hazardus, said, Nikolay, you are
pre supposing a great deal. You get beyond my depths.
Don't you think it would be wise if you would
stick to plain facts. My suppositions are stronger than my facts,
I answered. You laid yourself out to meet him, and

(22:49):
your influence over him became greater every day could be
seen in his face. He was fascinated and could not escape.
Then he began to gamble and found his money slipping
through his fingers like water through a scythe you've come
to the conclusion, then, and I am responsible for that. Also.
I did not say that it was your doing, exactly,
I said, gathering courage from the calmness of his manner

(23:09):
and the attention he was giving me. But it fits
in too well with the whole scheme to free you
entirely from responsibility. Then, look at the change that began
to come over the man himself. Its faculties were leaving in,
one by one, being wiped out, just as the schoolboy
wipes his lesson from a slate. If he'd been an
old man, I should have said that it was the
commencement of his second childhood. But he's still a comparatively

(23:32):
young man. You forget that while he had been gambling,
he'd also been drinking heavily. May not debauchery tell its
own tale. It is not debauchery that has brought about
this terrible change. Who knows that better than yourself. After
the duel which you had providentially prevented, he went to
Rome for a fortnight. On the afternoon of our return,

(23:52):
I met him near the telegraph office. At first glance
I scarcely recognized him, so terrible was the change in
his appearance. If ever a poor wretch was on the
verge of idiocy, he was that one. Wherever he informed
me he was living with you. Why should the fact
that he was so doing produce such a result? I
cannot say. I dare not try to understand it. But

(24:14):
for pity's sake, Nicola, by all that you hold dear,
I employ you to solve the riddle. Last night, I
had a dream. You are a perhaps a believer in dreams,
he remarked, very quietly, as if the question scarcely interested him.
This dream was of a description such as I had
never had in my life before, I answered, disregarding the sneer,

(24:35):
and then told it to him, increasing rather than lessening
the abominable details. He heard me out without moving a
muscle of his face, and it was only when I
had reached the climax and paused that he spoke, this
is a strange rigmarole, you tell me, he said, Fortunately,
you confess that it was only a dream. Dr Nikola,
I cried, it was more than a dream. To prove it,

(24:57):
let me ask you how you received that long scratch
that shows upon your neck and throat. I pointed my
finger at it, but Nicoller returned my gaze, still without
a flicker of his eyelids. But if I do admit it,
he began, what if your dream were correct, what difference
would it make? I looked at him in amazement till
the truth I was more astonished by his admission of

(25:19):
the correctness of my suspicions than I should have been
had he denied them altogether. As it was, I was
too much overcome to be able to answer him. For
a few moments come me, said, answer my question. What
if I do admit the truth of all you say?
You confess then that the whole business has been one
long scheme to entrap this wretched man and to get

(25:40):
him into your power? Tis, he answered, still keeping his
eyes fixed upon me. You see, I am candid. Go on.
My brain began to reel under the strain placed upon
it since he had owned to it. What was I
to do? What could I say, sir Richard hatteras said Nichola,
approaching a little nearer to me, resting one hand upon
on the table, and speaking very impressively. I wonder if

(26:03):
it has struck you that you are a brave man
to come to me today and say this to me
in the whole circle of the men I know, I
may declare with truth that I'm not aware of one
other who would do so much? What is this man
to you that you should befriend him? He would have
robbed you of your dearest friend without a second thought,
as he would rob you of your wife if the
idea occurred to him, he is without the bowels of compassion.

(26:27):
The blood of thousands stain his hands and cries out
for vengeance. He is a fugitive and justice, a thief,
a liar, and a traitor to the country he swore
to govern as an honest man. On a certain little
island on the other side of the world, there's a
lonely churchyard, and in that churchyard are still lonely a grave.

(26:48):
In it lies the body of a woman, my mother.
In this very room. That woman was betrayed by his father.
So in this room also shall that betrayal be avenged.
I waited all my life. The opportunity has been long
and coming. Now, however, it has arrived, and I am
decreed by fate to be the instrument of vengeance. I

(27:10):
am a tall man, But as he said this, Nichola
seemed to tower over me, his face set hard as
a rock, his eyes blazing like living coals, and his
voice trembling under the influence of his passion. Little by
little I was growing to think as he did, and
to look upon Martinos as he saw him. But this
cannot go on, I repeated, in a last feeble protest

(27:33):
against the horror of the thing. Surely you could not
find it in your heart to treat a fellow creature.
So he is no fellow creature of yours on mine,
Niccola retorted sternly, as if he were rebuking a childish mistake.
Would you call the man who had shot down those
innocent young men of Equatina before their mother's eyes a
fellow creature? Is it possible that the son of a

(27:55):
man who is so cruelly wronged and betrayed the trusting
woman he first saw in this room, who led her
across the seas to deserter and send her to a grave,
could be called a man. I'll give you one more
instance of his barbarity, So saying, he threw off the
black velvet coat he was wearing, and drawing up his
right shirt sleeve, bade me examine his arm. I saw

(28:17):
that from the shoulder to the elbow it was covered
with scars of old wounds, strange white marks in pairs,
and each about half an inch long. These scars, he
went on, were made by his orders and with hot
pincers when I was a boy, and as his negro
servants made them. He laughed and taunted me with my
mother's shame. No, no, this is no man, rather a

(28:39):
dangerous animal that were best out of the way. It
has been told to me that you and I shall
only meet twice more. Let these meetings lead you to
think better of me. The time is not far distant
when I must leave the world. When that hour arrives,
there is a lonely monastery in a range of eastern
mountains upon which no Englishman has ever set his foot.

(29:01):
Of that monastery, I shall become an inmate. No one
outside its walls will ever look upon my face again.
There I shall work out my destiny, and if I
have sinned, be sure I shall receive my punishment at
those hands that alone can bestow it. Now leave me,
God help me, for the coward I am. The fact

(29:23):
remains that I left him without another word. End of
Chapter twelve.