Mr Scarletti's Ghost (14 page)

Young Mr Clee, however, a trim and active gentleman with a sweep of dark Byronic curls, was a bold, even impudent individual, who had no reservations about making a public display of scepticism. Once the recess was empty of other guests, he strode inside and examined the walls minutely, first passing his hands over their surface, hitting them soundly with his fists, and closely examining any marks that excited his suspicion. He next stamped upon the floor as if testing for trapdoors, peered under the little table, scrutinised everything on it, and lifted the chair to look underneath. He even attempted to lift the edge of the carpet, but it was too securely fastened to suggest that anything might be hidden beneath it. Finding nothing untoward, he folded his arms and shook his head with a very puzzled look that was almost comical. Perhaps it was his bemused expression that led the Gaskins not to regard him as a serious threat to the proceedings, and he was not asked to leave, but the professor and his wife, after a long and earnest conversation of which he was undoubtedly the subject, kept him under careful observation.

Professor Gaskin started urging the visitors to sit around the table, and the troublesome Mr Clee was so shepherded that he found himself situated at the furthest location from the corner that had so captivated his attention. Once everyone was in place the curtains were drawn to conceal the recess.

The maid came to the door and announced Miss Eustace, which created a surge of excitement, as if the medium was about to walk in with stars and moons and rainbows sparkling about her head. That lady, with her customary demure and humble deportment, entered the room without fuss. A hush fell as she was conducted to a vacant place at the table, the one nearest the recess, where she reposed with a Gaskin guarding her on either side.

Mina had expected the gas to be turned off as it had been before, but this time the room remained lit. She was not in an unfavourable place, since she could see the curtains to her right. There was no cloth on the table and Mina laid her hands on its surface and found it very smooth and polished. Had she or anyone else wanted to move the table while their hands were in such a position this would have been quite impossible, as they could not have obtained any purchase. It was not a heavy table by any means, and anyone, even Mina, was capable of effecting some movement, but only by grasping it at the edges in a very pronounced and obvious manner. She determined to watch and see if anyone attempted to grasp the table, but this possibility was immediately removed when the company was asked to hold hands. ‘We take hands,' said Professor Gaskin, ‘to form a complete circle and concentrate our energy. I beg you all not to release your hands until asked. We will now sing ‘
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow'
.'

Mina realised that she had omitted to see if the table was upon casters. She would have to do so later. Her mother was holding her right hand very tightly with thin strong fingers like a pair of sugar nippers. Dr Hamid sat to her left, and as he took her hand she sensed a considerable strength from him, but without the crushing muscular pressure that so many gentlemen thoughtlessly inflicted. Perhaps, she concluded, his knowledge of bodily massage, applied to both frail and robust, had given him this rare sensitivity. She looked at Miss Eustace. The medium's eyes were closed, and she had drawn a shawl over her head, and was bending forward as if she wanted to seal herself away from the world and all its corporeal creatures.

Once the badly sung hymn had reached its merciful end, all fell silent. Ten pairings of clasped hands rested upon the table. Nothing moved. They were all seated very close to the table's edge, and while hands and arms and the tabletop were all clearly visible to everyone, there was, thought Mina, no method of knowing what feet might freely do.

It was no surprise to Mina, therefore, when she heard a few light knocking sounds that vibrated through the wood of the table. These were followed, however, by other sounds which she felt sure did not originate from the table and could have been produced by no one in the room, as they appeared to come from the wall. These noises were very similar in nature to those that had been heard at the previous séance although softer, more like a sharp tapping with knuckles than a stick. The sounds seemed to travel along the far wall then briefly stopped, and after a few moments appeared to be coming from a side wall. Everyone followed the noises with their eyes but there was nothing to be seen.

‘Spirit, make yourself known!' said Miss Eustace. It was the first time that Mina had heard the lady speak, if one discounted the sighing and moaning that had accompanied her previous exhibition, and it was a melodious voice, which, while soft, suggested that it could, if required, flow thrillingly through a large space.

Three very loud raps came from the centre of the table, which made everyone start. Mr Clee tried to peer underneath but from his position was not able to see to the table's centre, a situation he clearly found frustrating.

‘Archibald, is that you?' asked Miss Whinstone, querulously.

There were three stronger raps. It was hard for Mina to tell, but they appeared to be coming from the underside of the table and not its top.

‘This has happened before,' said Professor Gaskin, excitedly. ‘The spirits always take three raps to mean yes, and one is no. Miss Whinstone, you may question the spirit if you wish.'

Mina wondered what the spirit of Archibald Whinstone might be doing crouching underneath a dining table, something she felt sure he had not been in the habit of doing while alive.

‘Archibald – will we meet again in Heaven?' asked Miss Whinstone.

Three raps sounded very emphatically, and the lady could not withhold a sob.

‘And when will that come to pass?' she blurted out.

There was a moment of shocked silence as everyone, including possibly the spirit of Archibald Whinstone, took in the enormity of her question. ‘Dear lady, the spirits will not answer such a question,' said Professor Gaskin, gently. ‘Some things are known only to God.'

The table gave a curious little motion; Mina might almost have said it twitched. It was not attempting to slide or rise, rather it appeared unsettled and Miss Whinstone gave a little scream of fright. ‘The spirit is disturbed,' said the professor, but Mr Clee burst out, ‘Oh, take no notice! I am sure that Miss Eustace was making the raps with her foot and now she is obviously moving the table with her knee.' Several of the people around the table gasped.

‘Sir!' exclaimed Professor Gaskin. ‘That is an insult to a very fine and selfless lady!'

‘Well, I'll not see any more of this nonsense!' said Mr Clee. ‘It is an outrage to the intelligence! If Miss Eustace can make the table rise up in the air without being near it
and
without touching it, why then I might say I'd seen something.'

Miss Eustace raised her head and gazed on Mr Clee with an expression of great calm. Her mouth curved softly into a smile. Even he, with his contemptuous scowl was taken aback, and said no more. She rose slowly to her feet, her face bearing an expression of sublime and intense concentration. She let go of the Gaskins' hands, and stepped back a pace, her chair sliding back from the table's edge, lifting her arms like the wings of a bird. She had the rapt and astonished attention of everyone in the room. With great deliberation, she let her arms sink downwards, until her palms hovered just above the tabletop, and there she stood, eyes closed for a full minute during which no one, even Mr Clee, dared speak or move. She then took a deep breath, and her hands trembled as they gradually rose until they were more than four inches above the table. As she did so, to everyone's amazement, the table rose with her. She was gasping, and there was a flush of moisture on her forehead.

Miss Whinstone moaned, and Mr Clee, who was placed directly opposite Miss Eustace, looked on aghast. He had jumped to his feet, and was holding his hands over the table as if trying to feel the power that was making it rise. Everyone had now taken his or her hands from the tabletop. Mina, still in the circle, could see the table rising before her, but with no idea of how it had been achieved. She was small enough to glance underneath but this only confirmed that all four legs of the table had risen from the floor and there was neither a secret mechanism nor a hidden confederate. The table began to vibrate, and then quite abruptly, it fell back to the floor with a loud crash.

Miss Eustace sat down again. Breathlessly, she took a linen kerchief from her sleeve and dabbed her forehead.

‘I don't know what to say!' exclaimed the formerly sceptical Mr Clee. ‘I confess that I came here with the express design of proving fraud but now I see that I was wrong – very wrong.' He hurried to the medium's side. ‘Miss Eustace, please accept my sincerest apologies.'

She bowed her head. ‘Of course.'

‘I suggest,' said Professor Gaskin, ‘that we all rest for a short while. Miss Eustace, will you be able to continue?'

‘I will,' she said. ‘I feel a strong connection with my guide this evening, but I need to gather my strength again.'

Miss Eustace was brought a glass of water from which she sipped, then she rose and went to the hidden corner, drew the curtains aside and sat upon the chair leaning forward a little, as one who prayed. There she remained motionless.

Mina and the others left the table and gathered into little knots of eager whisperers to talk of what they had seen. She would have liked to make a close examination of the table, but since she was affecting the manner of an uncritical believer, dared not do anything that might suggest prying. She was able, however, to see with a quick glance that the table was not on casters and its legs were very slender. The amount of force required to move it was no longer an especially relevant question, however, since it had clearly risen while Miss Eustace was not in contact with it.

Mr Clee was in any case doing Mina's work for her, since he started busily examining the table, running his hands over its surface, feeling about its edges, and even getting down on his hands and knees and looking underneath. At last he stood and shook his head. ‘I am astonished,' he said at last. ‘I had thought I might witness a simple sleight of hand, but I cannot explain it at all, apart that is, from the operation of some supernatural agency.' Mina thought that the gentleman was too easily convinced.

Miss Whinstone was swaying in an alarming fashion, but Mrs Bettinson made sure that she tottered into a seat, and having been prepared for such an emergency, produced a fan, which she used with some energy. ‘Dear Archibald!' exclaimed Miss Whinstone. ‘I do so hope I didn't offend him!'

‘Well, he was a mild enough creature when he was alive so I shouldn't think he'd be easily offended now he's dead,' said Mrs Bettinson.

Mrs Gaskin came and took the suffering Miss Whinstone by the hand. ‘Please do not distress yourself,' she said. ‘I do not think your brother's spirit was offended at all, rather he was showing a commendable sense of delicacy by not replying to a question of a personal nature while in the company of others.'

‘Then – will he answer me while I am alone?' exclaimed Miss Whinstone. ‘I have so prayed to hear from him!'

Mrs Gaskin patted her hand. ‘His spirit will be directed by Miss Eustace. If you so wish, I will recommend that she make an appointment to call on you. You will be assured then of a result.'

Miss Whinstone burst into tears of gratitude, and even had the strength to wave away Mrs Bettinson's intrusive fan. And now, thought Mina, it was certain; Miss Eustace was offering private consultations, much as Mr Home had done, and the unhappy Miss Whinstone was her dupe. It was useless, of course, to say anything to the lady. Mina could only watch and hope that the comfort of conversation with a deceased brother was not bought too dearly.

After a short while, Professor Gaskin suggested that the next exhibition was about to commence. He could not promise what might occur, perhaps nothing, perhaps a great wonder. He asked Mr Clee to assist him in ensuring that Miss Eustace was securely tied to her chair, and the young man agreed with some enthusiasm. As the knots were tied Mr Clee gazed up into the lady's face with an expression of very pronounced admiration, although her features remained serenely unmoved.

Professor Gaskin asked for volunteers to assure themselves that the knots were securely tied and that it was impossible for Miss Eustace to rise from her chair. Dr Hamid came forward for this duty and Mrs Mowbray almost elbowed her sister aside in her eagerness to assist him. This done, the curtains were drawn, concealing Miss Eustace from view, the candle lit, and the gas turned down, and everyone repaired to the now motionless table, and held hands in a circle. Professor Gaskin blew out the candle, and they were all plunged into the dark.

There was another round of hymn singing, and another silence, but barely a minute later the bell and the tambourine sounded from behind the curtains. Mina kept her eyes on the shrouded corner, looking for the emergence of stuffed gloves or bearded mops, but to her surprise there was a faint whisper of sound as the curtains parted, and a figure, enveloped in a pearlescent glow, was revealed.

There was an intake of breath from all around her. The figure was quite still, like a statue, or a life-size doll. Mina, who thought it might be a doll, although she could not explain where it had come from, was expecting that after it had attracted the admiration of the onlookers, the curtains would simply close and hide it from view, but then the apparition raised its arm towards the company, very slowly and gracefully, and extended its fingers. Mina was still not convinced that the thing before her was anything more than a manufactured object that would have been better employed in a booth on the West Pier, but then it began to come forward, and emerged completely from behind the curtains. It was covered from head to foot in a fine filmy drapery, which shone with its own luminescence. Its form was female, that much was apparent, but it was rather taller than Miss Eustace. The features were indistinct, as if seen through a cloud, and the arms and hands were bare although covered from shoulder to fingertips in a soft mist of light. It was not clad as a lady might decently be clad, but it was a thing of nature, having hardly more than a layer or two of glowing veils covering its form. Even the shape of its lower limbs could be seen as if through a fine gauze. If it resembled anything it was like a marble statue of a Greek goddess, except that it had every appearance of being alive. It walked forward very slowly. It was not, thought Mina, the usual walk of a living creature, and its feet, assuming it had them, made no sound as they traversed the carpeted floor.