CHAPTER XII

THE THIEF

I heard a kind of whisper, a kind of soft whisper. It was still some distance away, but it indubitably came from a human being who was drawing nearer, but drawing nearer without making any other sound; and it was this which filled me with affright.

I expected to hear the twigs and dead leaves crack under the feet of the persons who were coming, but there was nothing, no sound in the dead silence of the night but this human murmur which seemed to be wafted on the air not far from me, and was approaching closer and closer.

I gave no further thought to the stone bench which I had left. The voice, soft and clear, was growing more and more distinct, so distinct that I seemed to hear a few words which sent a shiver through me from head to foot, and made me draw back and conceal myself in the wood.

I withdrew in haste, in great haste, for the voice was drawing still nearer. It now seemed borne along by the water, and I turned my head towards the river. A word, a terrible word—I could distinguish only this one word—reached my ear from the river. It was the one English word _love_.

I was standing at no great distance from the bank of the river. Suddenly I saw the reeds bend and the hearts of innumerable water-lilies on the silver surface of the water give way to a small skiff which glided to the bank facing the bridal-chamber.

A man was seated in this light skiff and I at once recognized him by the curious beating of my heart and his strange sad-looking eyes, eyes like those of a cat, which seemed to light up his pale face. I recognized him, too, from other details. He was clad in the same loose clothes, the same sports jacket open at the neck worn by him on the evening when I encountered him for the first time. And, he was bare-headed, as on that evening, and his hair was well brushed back, disclosing the high white forehead which he had pressed against the garden gate.

My first impulse was to make a rush at him. I had every reason to settle my account with him once for all. His presence in my park, on my property, fully entitled me to take the law into my own hands. It was the finishing touch to his audacity and his felonious love-making. It explained quite clearly why my poor dear Cordélia was the victim of these perverse and uncanny influences. Dr. Thurel’s intervention had been fruitless, because the instigator of the mischief was near at hand, prowling round us, prowling round _her_. During the last two days the scoundrel must have remained hidden in this obscure retreat, or have left it only to approach Cordélia like a thief; to ensnare, surprise and recapture her by fixing a gaze upon her which would enable him to overcome her mind, and carry her away with him to his lair.

Alas! Why did I not that very night make an end of the man who had burgled Cordélia’s heart? For he was there right enough in flesh and blood; and Heaven knows that I could have made good use of my fists despite his great eyes, like the eyes of a mournful cat.

Now this is what happened: He dropped his sculls and stood up in the skiff, and I was about to throw myself on him when I heard him utter this sentence in English: “My love I am yours with all my heart,” and then leaning over the boat he went on: “There is nothing I would not do for you.”

To whom was he speaking, since he was alone in the skiff?

“Come, come, now,” I said to myself, “You know quite well to whom this man is speaking these soft words of love and their meaning is obvious. To whom is he saying ‘My love’? No need to look far. She is seated beside him. He is leaning over her, whispering in her ear words that she comprehends as well as you do.... _For she is there_! Cannot you see her? Cannot you see her? And yet you know that she is seated in the skiff.”

Well, no, I was unable to see her. In truth I did my utmost to see her, for I was conscious that he saw her, but I did not possess his vision. Yet there was no doubt that she was there ... I had only to look at him. And to listen to him.

He affected an attitude as he drew himself up, and then with his airs and graces sat down beside her. To me he was grotesque, hideous. I sincerely pitied Cordélia for having to listen to such an unmitigated bore. At one moment he was spouting poetry to her. What a comedian!

Suddenly he sat down again, leaned on one side and threw out his arm as though to place it round her waist. It was more than I could bear. I resolved to put an end to this grim farce, when a new scene riveted me to the spot. _I could now see her!_

I must explain what I saw and endeavor to make myself understood. I am setting down the facts for public information and to relieve my mind, and also to lay bare the terrible truth. Thus I confine myself to what I saw, and I do not wish any person to go beyond my own interpretation of my testimony, nor do I wish any person to stop short of it.

I would urge the reader to be not less courageous than I was in venturing on this startling voyage into the abyss of psychical research in which the best hope for the future of mankind lies.

Let this terrifying love story serve at least one purpose. Let the world learn once for all how mortifying it is to remain a heavy-weight, hermetically closed in a mass of flesh, when faced by the mind which in its wanderings is unsubstantial and intangible or at least as elusive as a handful of water.

The man stood up in the skiff, his head still a little on one side and his arm round a waist which I was unable to see. For I saw him only in the skiff; saw him making the gesture of a ladies’ man which had infuriated me. But though I saw but one person in the skiff, I could distinguish both of them in the mirror of the water.

In the slight swirl caused by the swing of the boat I discerned in the moonlight the reflection of the pair of them standing up.

Was it an optical illusion? Was it the result of defective vision? Were my senses playing me false? At the present time, after having gathered together and placed in compact form my recollections, I am bound to say: No it was no optical illusion. I saw. I saw. I saw the reflection of the skiff in the water, and below it, also in the water, Patrick and Cordélia leaning against one another.

I am convinced of the fact, for though I turned my eyes, after seeing the double vision on the water, to the boat, to confirm the reality, and saw only Patrick alone with his arm thrust out and his head a little on one side, on the other hand, when I looked again at the water I beheld the double presentment once more.

I lay stress upon these details because they obviously represent a phenomenon which unites in a peculiarly interesting manner physical science with psychic science. I offer it as a subject for investigation to those men of science who are engaged in their laboratories in endeavoring to probe the secrets of every aspect of Force.

It would seem that my eyes passed through Cordélia’s aura, as it stood in the atmosphere, without being in the least aware of it, while, on the other hand, I could perceive the outlines—somewhat faint, I confess, but unmistakable for all that—by fixing my gaze on that part of the water which had taken the picture, just as photographic negatives were taken of pictures of Katie King during the time that one of the most renowned scientists of the last century was making his experiments in psychical phenomena—I mean Professor Sir William Crookes.

It will be readily understood that these interesting scientific considerations, which I set down here by the way, occurred to my mind subsequently, and that, at the time, I was much more absorbed in the phenomenon itself than in attempting to discover an explanation of it. I was unable, unfortunately, to suppress a cry of fury when I beheld in the mirror of the river the great thief press a kiss upon my beloved’s forehead. The picture at once vanished, that is to say, nothing remained on the surface of the water but Patrick’s reflection. Cordélia’s silhouette had disappeared, while I heard the villain exclaim: “Remember! Remember!”