Robert W. Chambers

“ Barris also had spoken gravely, ominously, of the sorcerers, the Kuen-Yuin, and I had seen with my own eyes the graven reptiles turning and twisting on the glowing globe.
"Still," said I, aloud, "God lives, and sorcery is but a name."
"Ah," murmured Ysonde, drawing closer to me, "they say, in Yian, 'the Kuen-Yuin live; God is but a name.'"
"They lie," I whispered fiercely.
"Be careful," she pleaded, "they may hear you. Remember that you have the mark of the dragon's claw on your brow." ”

“ There was no forest fire, no cyclone, no flood.
If Barris had passed that way could he have stirred up this sudden exodus? Impossible; even a regiment in the forest could scarcely have put to rout these frightened creatures.
"What on earth," thought I, turning to watch the headlong flight of a fisher-cat, "what on earth has started the beasts out at this time of night?"
I looked up into the sky. The placid glow of the fixed stars comforted me, and I stepped on through the narrow spruce belt that leads down to the borders of the Lake of the Stars. ”

“ No, no!" he cried violently; "it was not from Yue-Laou, the sorcerer, the Maker of Moons, that my happiness came. It was real; it was not a shadow to vanish like a tinted bubble. Can a sorcerer create and give a man the woman he loves? Is Yue-Laou as great as Xangi then? Xangi is God. In His own time, in His infinite goodness and mercy. He will bring me again to the woman I love. And I know she waits for me at God's feet."
In the strained silence that followed, I could hear my heart's double beat, and I saw Pierpont's face blanched and pitiful. Barris shook himself and raised his head. ”

“ Barris twirled the crimper and looked at the pile of loaded shells. Then he picked up one and crimped it.
"Let 'em alone," said Pierpont; "you crimp too tight."
"Does his little gun kick when the shells are crimped too tight?" inquired Barris tenderly; "well, he shall crimp his own shells then—where's his little man?"
His little man was a weird English importation, stiff, very carefully scrubbed, tangled in his aspirates, named Hewlett. As valet, gillie, gun-bearer, and crimper he aided Pierpont to endure the ennui of existence by doing for him everything except breathing. ”

“ All that I know is yours, as I am yours, all that I am. Bend closer. Is it of Yue-Laou you would know? Yue-Laou is Dzil-Nbu of Kuen-Yuin. He lived in the Moon. He is old—very, very old; and once, before he came to rule the Kuen-Yuin, he was the old man who unites with a silken cord all pre-destined couples, after which nothing can prevent their union. But all that is changed since he came to rule the Kuen-Yuin. Now he has perverted the Xin—the good genii of China—and has fashioned from their warped bodies a monster which he calls the Xin. ”

“ It was an oval glade in the heart of the forest, level and carpeted with green grass. The trees that surrounded it were gigantic; they formed one towering circular wall of verdure, blotting out all except the turquoise blue of the sky-oval above. And now I noticed that in the centre of the greensward lay a pool of water, crystal clear, glimmering like a mirror in the meadow grass, beside a block of granite. ”

“ Certainty is better than suspense.
If the Government dares to disregard this warning and refuses to send a thoroughly equipped expedition at once, the people of the State may take swift vengeance on the whole region and leave a blackened devastated waste where to-day forest and flowering meadow land border the lake in the Cardinal Woods.
You already know part of the story; the New York papers have been full of alleged details. This much is true: Barris caught the "Shiner" red-handed, or, rather, yellow-handed, for his pockets and boots and dirty fists were stuffed with lumps of gold. ”

“ Roy, did it ever strike you how queer it is that this wonderfully beautiful country should contain no inhabitants?"
"It's like those splendid stretches of pools and rapids which one finds on every trout river, and in which one never finds a fish," suggested Pierpont.
"Exactly; and Heaven alone knows why," said Barris. "I suppose this country is shunned by human beings for the same mysterious reasons."
"The shooting is the better for it," I observed.
"The shooting is good," said Barris; " have you noticed the snipe on the meadow by the lake? Why, it 's brown with them! ”

“ The only thing that remains to her of her former life is the gold serpent in the Metropolitan Museum and her golden globe, the symbol of the Kuen-Yuin; but the latter no longer changes colour.
David and the dogs are waiting for me in the courtyard as I write. Pierpont is in the gun-room loading shells, and Howlett brings him mug after mug of my ale from the wood. Ysonde bends over my desk—I feel her hand on my arm, and she is saying: "Don't you think you have done enough to-day, dear? How can you write such silly nonsense, without a shadow of truth or foundation?" ”

“ General Drummond knows what he has lost in Barris, and we, Pierpont and I, know what we have lost also. His will we found in the drawer, the key of which he had handed me. It was wrapped in a bit of paper on which was written—
Yue-Laou, the sorcerer, is here in the Cardinal Woods. I must kill him, or he will kill me. He made and gave me to the woman I loved. He made her—I saw him—he made her out of a white water-lotus bud. When our child was born he came again before me, and demanded from me the woman I loved. ”

“ There are three left alive—the Shiner, whom we have; another criminal named 'Yellow' or 'Yaller' in the vernacular, and the third——"
"The third!" repeated Pierpont excitedly.
"The third I have never yet seen. But I know who and what he is—I know; and if he is of human flesh and blood, his blood will flow to-night."
As he spoke a slight noise across the turf attracted my attention. A mounted man was advancing silently in the starlight over the spongy meadowland. When he came nearer, Barris struck a match, and we saw that he bore a corpse across his saddle-bow. ”

“ Voyou went to her again and laid his head in her lap.
"What is your name?" she asked at length.
"Roy Cardenhe."
"Mine is Ysonde. I carved these dragon-flies on the stone, these fishes and shells and butterflies you see."
"You! They are wonderfully delicate; but those are not American dragon-flies."
"No; they are more beautiful. See, I have my hammer and chisel with me."
She drew from a queer pouch at her side a small hammer and chisel, and held them toward me.
"You are very talented," I said; "where did you study?" ”

“ Birds, half asleep and confused by the darkness, fluttered away before them in helpless fright, rabbits sprung from their forms, weasels glided away like flying shadows. What remained of the forest creatures rose and fled from the loathsome invasion ”

“ For some time I had noticed a damp acrid odour in the air, and Godfrey said it came from the reptile.
"Then kill it and bury it," I said; "and, by the way, where did it come from?"
"I don't know that either," laughed Godfrey; "I found it clinging to the box that this gold serpent was brought in. I suppose my old Reuben is responsible."
"If the Cardinal Woods are the lurking-places for things like this," said I, "I am sorry that I am going to the Cardinal Woods."
"Are you?" asked Godfrey; "for the shooting?"
"Yes, with Barris and Pierpont. Why don't you kill that creature?" ”

“ You understand the danger this is to every civilised nation. It's got to be stopped, of course. Drummond and I have decided that I am the man to stop it. Wherever and whoever these people are—these gold-makers—they must be caught, every one of them—caught or shot."
"Or shot," repeated Pierpont, who was owner of the Cross-Cut Gold Mine, and found his income too small. "Professor La Grange will of course be prudent; science need not know things that would upset the world!"
"Little Willy," said Barris, laughing, "your income is safe." ”

“ When the satchel is full he takes it out into the woods where the men live, and I don't know what they do with it. I wish he could sell the gold and become rich, for then I could go back to Yian, where all the gardens are sweet and the river flows under the thousand bridges. ”

“ Will you ask Howlett to pack our kits—lightly, mind you—no bottles, they clink."
"My flask doesn't," said Pierpont, and went off to get ready for a night's stalking of dangerous men.
"It is strange," said I, "that nobody ever settles in this region. How many people live in Cardinal Springs, Barris?"
"Twenty, counting the telegraph operator and not counting the lumbermen; they are always changing and shifting. I have six men among them." ”

“ Howlett, bring the new box of Panatellas—the mild imported—and leave the decanter. Now, Barris, I 'll be dressing, and you and Pierpont keep still and listen to what I have to say. Is that door shut tight?"
Barris locked it and sat down.
"Thanks," said I; "Barris, where is the city of Yian?"
An expression akin to terror flashed into Barris's eyes, and I saw him stop breathing for a moment.
"There is no such city," he said at length: "have I been talking in my sleep?" ”

“ She leaned over the gleaming water and drew her polished hand across the surface.
"Why do you ask me these questions?" she murmured. "Are you displeased?"
"Tell me about your step-father," I insisted. "Does he look as I do? Does he dress, does he speak, as I do? Is he American?"
"American? I don't know. He does not dress as you do, and he does not look as you do. ”

“ Coal! It was not a coal, but a golden globe staining the night with crimson flames: it was the symbol of the Kuen-Yuin.
"See! See!" gasped Ysonde, trembling violently. "See the moon rising from between his fingers! Oh, I thought it was my step-father, and it is Yue-Laou, the Maker of Moons—no! no! it is my step-father—ah, God! they are the same!"
Frozen with terror, I stumbled to my knees, groping for my revolver which bulged in my coat pocket; but something held me—something which bound me like a web in a thousand strong, silky meshes. I struggled and turned, but the web grew tighter ”

“ He worked on the flaw and separated gold into its three elements."
"He is a great man," said Pierpont; "but he will be the greatest man in the world if he can keep his discovery to himself."
"Who?" said Barris.
"Professor La Grange."
"Professor La Grange was shot through the heart two hours ago," replied Barris slowly. ”

“ I asked, thinking also of the white mark on Barris's arm.
"Ah, don't you know that those who are marked with the dragon's claw are followed by Yue-Laou, for good or for evil, and the evil means death if you offend him?" ”

“ Howlett swept the repulsive creature out, and Barris and Pierpont went to change their dew-soaked clothes for drier raiment. David came to take the dogs for an airing, and in a few minutes Barris reappeared and sat down in his place at the head of the table.
"Well," said I, "is there a story to tell?"
"Yes; not much. They are near the lake on the other side of the woods—I mean these gold -makers. I shall collar one of them this evening. I haven't located the main gang with any certainty—shove the toast-rack this way, will you, Roy—no, I am not at all certain, but I 've nailed one anyway. ”

“ Pierpont sat down and tore off his stiff muddy leggings.
"Barris is telephoning to Cardinal Springs—I believe he wants some of his men. Down, Gamin, you idiot! Howlett, three eggs poached and more toast! What was I saying? Oh, about Barris—he's struck something or other which he hopes will locate these gold-making fellows. I had a jolly time—he 'll tell you about it."
"Billy! Billy!" I said in pleased amazement, "you are learning to talk! Dear me! You load your own shells and you carry your own gun and you fire it yourself Hello! here's Barris all over mud. ”

“ The snipe did not come back."
"But that splash in the lake?"
"I don't know what it was, Sir."
"A salmon? A salmon wouldn't have frightened the duck and the snipe that way!"
"No—oh, no, Sir. If fifty salmon had jumped they couldn't have made that splash. ”

“ I said; "you are expecting to catch one of the gold-makers, are you not?"
"Yes," said Barris listlessly.
Pierpont began to speak about the Chinaman; but Barris motioned him to follow, and, nodding to me, took the path that Howlett and David had followed toward the house. When they disappeared I tucked my gun under my arm and turned sharply into the forest, Voyou trotting close to my heels. ”

“ Pierpont set his mug on the turf beside him and returned to his loading.
We spoke of the murder of Professor La Grange, of how it had been concealed by the authorities in New York at Drummond's request, of the certainty that it was one of the gang of gold-makers who had done it, and of the possible alertness of the gang.
"Oh, they know that Drummond will be after them sooner or later," said Barris; "but they don't know that the mills of the gods have already begun to grind. ”

“ I know that you fellows have never suspected what I was about on my little solitary evening strolls after dinner. I will tell you. Already I have unobtrusively killed four of these gold-makers, my men put them underground just below the new wash-out at the four-mile stone. ”