Four Summoners Tales Part 44

He said nothing, only glowering at me for a moment before looking away.

"As I suspected," I said. "Now, I shall proceed."

Elizabeth Benton now rose to her feet, cloth still pressed firmly to her face. "No you shall not!" she cried, though the force of her words was m.u.f.fled by a piece of embroidered linen dyed the most exquisite shade of sky blue. "You have abused our hospitality long enough. You have lied to us and played your tricks upon us, and now you come here and behave in a manner so shocking I can scarce believe it. Leave-and never return!"

"Sit down!" I shouted at her. And she did. I did not love to be so forceful with her or with any lady, but I had no choice. Given that I was a thief and a liar, and I had deposited a rotting animal carca.s.s before her, I expected a certain amount of indignation. It was, I believed, only natural. However, I could not allow that indignation to metamorphose into something like authority. Another piece of wisdom I had learned from my father was that when a man took command, others naturally obeyed. I therefore took command, so that they might see what I had come to show.

With the opposition now properly subdued, I smiled most charmingly and cleared my throat. "I am truly sorry you must witness so terrible a thing, but it will not remain terrible for long.You will see the wonder of it soon, and you will forget the horror. Indeed, the sad sight before you will make your surprise and delight all the more exquisite."

So saying, I crouched over the poor animal, which I had found in the street the night before. I proceeded to work upon it the method I had discovered in the book. I muttered the words and sprinkled the ingredients and followed the procedure rapidly so as to obscure what I did. The more mystery the better, I thought.

In a trice, the dog was upon its feet, yapping happily and dancing about in excited circles. It was no longer decayed and rotting. Its eyes, in their sockets once more, were bright, its limbs whole, and its movements fluid. It was still covered with filth, but there was no helping that.The unpleasant odor that had filled the room was gone as well.All was converted to sprightly, happy things.

The company stared at me. Mr. Langham attempted to say something several times but stammered. At last he managed actual words: "It is a trick. Some kind of terrible trick. You think we wish you here to perform legerdemain for us?"

"It is no trick," I said. "I have discovered the means to return the dead to life.You all saw the beast, you saw what I did. I could not have smuggled a live creature in here and replaced the dead one. It was dead, and now it is alive.The change was affected by my own hands."

"And what?" demanded Susan Harrow. "You wish us to pay you for your secret? You think you can perform a parlor trick and we shall shower you with coins? Go see the theater managers. Perhaps they will employ you for the after-show."

The dog yipped at this. It attempted to jump into Mrs. Harrow's lap, but she pushed it away as though it were a thing of revulsion. The dog ran away to a corner, hiding behind a divan, and curled up, falling asleep almost at once.Apparently it found the business of revival a tiring affair.

"I do not wish to be paid to perform this act," I said. "I wish to be paid not to perform this act."

Lady Caroline, who had been silent throughout all this, now faced me. "What do you mean, precisely, Mr. January? Speak plainly." Her voice was cold and hard.

"For your sake, I shall. I wish your friends to pay me what I ask, or I shall return their dead spouses to life, and their property shall revert to them. You shall be widows no more, but wives, ruled over by your rightful husbands.You shall have such money and such things as they see fit.You shall go where they permit, and no other place. You shall enjoy the company only of those acquaintances that they approve. So then . . . should you like to revert to your former states, ladies? If not, I suggest you think what price you would affix to your liberty."

They stared at me in horror.

"See here," began Mr. Langham. "You must be mad if you

think-"

I held up my hand to interrupt him. "You inherited your

fortune from your father, sir, a rather tyrannical and unyielding

man. Believe me, you have my sympathies, for I know what it is

to have such a father. I have been told by men who know you

that you waited all your life for him to die so you could take

possession of his estate. When he returns, that money shall be

his once more. Now, all of you, excepting Lady Caroline, must

present me with five thousand pounds each or you shall lose

everything you have to those from whom you've gained it." "You don't really expect us to hand you a fortune because of

your bit of mummery, do you?" said Mr. Langham.

"If I do not have the money in twenty-four hours," I said,

"then one of this company will see what I can do, and the rest

of you will pay quite willingly. It is truly that simple. I a.s.sure

you, it is no trouble for me to bring a husband or a father back

from the grave. A bit of digging, of course, but a life of poverty

has the advantage of providing a man with a strong back and no