Randolph Carter

“ Randolph Carter, who had all his life sought to escape from the tedium and limitations of waking reality in the beckoning vistas of dreams and fabled avenues of other dimensions, disappeared from the sight of man on the seventh of October, 1928, at the age of fifty-four. ”

“ Trapped though he was by fabulous and hippocephalic winged nightmares that pressed around in great unholy circles, Randolph Carter did not lose consciousness. Lofty and horrible those titan gargoyles towered above him, while the slant-eyed merchant leaped down from his yak and stood grinning before the captive. Then the man motioned Carter to mount one of the repugnant Shantaks, helping him up as his judgement struggled with his loathing. It was hard work ascending, for the Shantak-bird has scales instead of feathers, and those scales are very slippery. ”

“ As soon as Randolph Carter was back among them he knew that he was close to one of the gates which a few audacious, abhorred and alien-souled men have blasted through titan walls betwixt the world and the outside absolute. ”

“ As de Marigny paused, old Mr. Phillips spoke in a harsh, shrill voice.
"We can know of Randolph Carter's wandering only what we dream. I have been to many strange places in dreams, and have heard many strange and significant things in Ulthar, beyond the River Skai. It does not appear that the parchment was needed, for certainly Carter re-entered the world of his boyhood dreams, and is now a king in Ilek-Vad."
Mr. Aspinwall grew doubly apoplectic-looking as he sputtered: "Can't somebody shut that old fool up? We've had enough of these moonings. ”

“ I've listened an hour to this madman—this faker—and now he has the damned effrontery to say Randolph Carter is alive—to ask us to postpone the settlement for no good reason! Why don't you throw the scoundrel out, de Marigny? Do you mean to make us all the butts of a charlatan or idiot? ”

“ We in India have always done that, just as all the Carters seem to have done it. You, Mr. Aspinwall, as a maternal cousin, are naturally not a Carter. My own dreams, and certain other sources of information, have told me a great deal which you still find obscure. For example, Randolph Carter forgot that parchment which he couldn't decipher - yet it would have been well for him had he remembered to take it. You see, I have really learned pretty much what happened to Carter after he left his car with the silver key at sunset on that seventh of October, four years ago. ”

“ The abnormal ticking went on, beating out the dark, cosmic rhythm which underlies all mystical gate-openings. On the floor the great white mitten, and the dead man with a bearded mask clutched in his hand, had nothing further to reveal.
A year passed, and nothing has been heard of Randolph Carter. His estate is still unsettled. The Boston address from which one "Swami Chandraputra" sent inquiries to various mystics in 1930-31-32 was indeed tenanted by a strange Hindoo, but he left shortly before the date of the New Orleans conference and has never been seen since. ”

“ And now for the first time my memory records verbal discourse, Warren addressing me at length in his mellow tenor voice; a voice singularly unperturbed by our awesome surroundings.
"I'm sorry to have to ask you to stay on the surface," he said, "but it would be a crime to let anyone with your frail nerves go down there. You can't imagine, even from what you have read and from what I've told you, the things I shall have to see and do. It's fiendish work, Carter, and I doubt if any man without ironclad sensibilities could ever see it through and come up alive and sane. ”

“ For the first time Carter realized how terrific utter silence, mental and physical, may be. The earlier moments had never failed to contain some perceptible rhythm, if only the faint, cryptical pulse of the Earth's dimensional extension, but now the hush of the abyss seemed to fall upon everything. Despite his intimations of body, he had no audible breath, and the glow of 'Umr at-Tawil's quasi-sphere had grown petrifiedly fixed and unpulsating. A potent nimbus, brighter than those which had played round the heads of the Shapes, blazed frozenly over the shrouded skull of the terrible Guide. ”

“ As he has said to us, they are his slaves, and he can do what he likes with them. He may be sorry to lose their services, but he never would think of avenging them. They are not important enough, in his eyes.”
“There’s truth in that, Adil,” assented Nick Carter. “We have seen how he caused the death of one of his guards [3] just because he stumbled and dropped a package he was carrying. No, I dare say he will pretend to be friendly with us, as if there never had been a fight.”
“He’s a sly old rascal,” snorted Jefferson Arnold. “But we’ll beat him yet. We’ve got to do it. ”

“ The chief played dead lucky in that, for it put him wise at once when Clara Randall’s name and conduct were stated. She knows where Amy Madden is, all right, but the kid may not be in the Duffy house, possibly not within miles of it. We must plan to clinch the whole business before arresting any one, or we might make a bad mess of it.”
“Sure thing,” said Danny. “I see the point.”
Twenty minutes served to land Patsy at his destination. He sprang from the car a block south of the Duffy place, still in disguise, and then directed Danny to return home with the car. ”

“ Kate Crandall’s voice took on more vicious accents. “He has turned all of his fortune into cash and has it in a deposit drawer downtown.”
“Well?”
“Providing I will marry him and go with him to live in Europe, he will get the bundle of money from the safety deposit in order to take it with us.”
“Well?” Dacey repeated grimly.
“Here, now, is the point,” Kate went on. “The Carters have us hard pressed, but they do not yet suspect that Sheldon and Cyrus Darling are one and the same.”
“Surely not.”
“They are the only persons on earth who really believe that Darling is alive. ”

“ Calaman has no mercy on those who oppose him. I’m with you in this venture. In return, I ask you to stand by me.”
“Till the death!” returned Nick Carter earnestly.
“Here, too,” added Chick.
“And you can bet your pile on me,” announced Patsy.
“Where do we strike first?” asked Jefferson Arnold.
“I only have my knife,” bewailed Jai Singh. “It will have to serve until I can get a spear. But I’ll take one from some of those men as soon as I get near to them.”
“I have a revolver,” modestly spoke Adil, who seldom said anything unless he considered it absolutely necessary. ”

“ An open desk stood near one of the walls. The first article on it to catch the detective’s eye was a large pad of plain paper, remarkably like that on which was written the Redlaw letter.
Nick instantly noticed all of these things, however, and his ears were alert to detect a sound from any other part of the house. None could be heard. He apparently had found the woman alone. He remarked casually, nevertheless, while he took a chair near the table:
“Are we likely to be overheard? My business relates to private political matters, Miss Randall, and what I tell you must go no further.” ”

“ I’ll send Sarah to bed, though she’s as deaf as an adder.”
“Would she squeal, Jim, if she knew?” questioned Kate Crandall.
“Never a squeal,” Dacey declared. “But she’s best out of the way, for all that.”
“By Jove, that was a woman’s voice, as sure as I’m over seven,” thought Chick, when he heard Kate’s question. “A woman in male attire, eh? Great guns! I begin to scent the rat in the meal. This bunch of rascals have in some way got the best of Nick and Patsy. But there still is a third string to the chief’s bow. It’s always safe to bank on one of us.” ”

“ He found one stall empty, and in the other there was only a drunken countryman sleeping with his feet on the table and his chair tipped back against the wall.
“Now, then,” he said, sitting down again, “are you sober enough to understand what I say?”
“I’m all right now,” said Amos, who really appeared to be in fair shape. “Talk away, Martin.”
Martin talked in a low tone, which, however, was loud enough to be understood by the detective.
“It’s all fixed. The horse is to be let alone and remain in good shape until the last moment. ”

“ Nick then inquired, not yet in a position to contradict the woman. “Why was he going to the Darling residence? What is his interest there? Why did he——”
“Stop a moment!” Kate exclaimed, lurching forward in her chair. “What do you think I am, Carter, an information bureau? I’ll stand for this no longer. I don’t know what you suspect, nor care, and you evidently don’t intend to enlighten me. It’s a mighty poor rule that won’t work both ways. I’ve told you all I’m going to tell you. If you want to learn more of Cyrus Darling, or of Jim Dacey, or of Sheldon and Floyd—go and question them. ”

“ Nick exclaimed, interrupting. “I know her.”
“Know her?” Mr. Madden stared.
“As sure as you’re a foot high,” Nick declared emphatically. “You asked me a minute ago, Mr. Madden, whether I had any definite clew to these rascals. I now revoke what I said. I have a decidedly definite clew.”
“Good heavens!” Mr. Madden exclaimed. “You do [Pg 17] n’t mean, Carter, that you suspect Clara Randall of this abduction?”
“That is precisely what I suspect.”
“But why so? What do you know about her?”
“Enough to convince me that I am right,” said Nick. “Her name is not Clara Randall. It is Kate Crandall. ”

“ As he said this, he skillfully brought the boat to a stop in the shallow water near the shore, and jumping in, followed by his four oarsmen, pulled at the craft till it was firmly fixed in the soft mud of the bank.
With the four men to help, the labor had been nothing.
“This is as far as we go on the river,” announced Jai Singh. “Now we walk. Will the sahib give orders to the men?”
Nick Carter nodded and directed the oarsmen to line up in front of him. Adil, without being told, took his place by the side of the oarsmen.
“Not you, Adil,” put in Jefferson Arnold. ”

“ This case is the kind of thing that makes a man go stale. Gee! To think that a dub like John Garrison Rayne can keep out of our way on an island that you can almost spit across! Jumping cats! I’d rather go out and——”
“Patsy!”
It was the voice of Nick Carter. Garvan swung around.
“What is it, chief? Anything I can do?”
“Only stop your growling over there,” answered the detective, good-humoredly. “It’s got on your nerves, I dare say. But so it has on those of the rest of us. Grumbling and complaining never moved even a pebble out of the road yet. ”

“ I’m to join him later and go out with them in the car.”
“I know about that, Kate.”
“Get a move on, then, and look after the goods. There is nothing to fear, so don’t lose your sand. We’ll win out a mansion in Easy Street, Maggie, take my word for it.”
Kate Crandall turned with the last and walked rapidly away.
Maggie Duffy hurried the red-headed youngster away in the opposite direction.
Patsy Garvan paused only briefly to determine what he would do.
“Gleason must be Duffy’s chauffeur,” he quickly reasoned. “He is going to take this bunch of blacklegs somewhere in an automobile. ”

“ Calaman glanced at the millionaire with a scowl that promised no good to that impetuous gentleman. Then he turned again to Nick Carter, with a cunning smile, as he fingered his long gray beard.
“I know I made some such promise,” he purred, smiling. “And, behold, I am keeping my word to the letter. I promised you free entrance to the city—and you are here. I promised to entertain you as my guests, and I sent you food and wine and the choicest tobacco to smoke.”
“That’s true enough,” muttered Jefferson. “He’s as cunning as a rat. ”

“ He had allowed the other white man he spoke of to make the same sort of test, which had failed. Now this quiet, keen-eyed man had knocked over the mountain goat at a longer distance, seemingly without difficulty.
The priest was busy stroking the neck of his mule when Nick Carter turned to him.
“If your men want meat,” he said coolly, “let them go and fetch it. I have sealed one side of the bargain.”
“That is true, stranger,” replied Calaman. “You have kept your word, and I will keep mine.”
The group of white men, with Jai Singh and Adil, were [13] regarding the priest closely. ”

“ He swung around, to see that Nick Carter had rushed into the arena and was facing Calaman with a half smile on his strong features.
“Your spear, Jai Singh!” ordered the detective, extending his hand.
Wonderingly, the Hindu placed the weapon in Nick Carter’s fingers, and looked at him inquiringly.
“Go back to the others,” Nick told him, in a low voice that no one else overheard. “Be ready for any attack that may come. Understand?”
Jai Singh made a low salaam, and, without looking [15] again in the direction of Calaman, strode across the sand and into the tunnel from which he had emerged. ”

“ Nick Carter turned and addressed all the members of his little band:
“Don’t overlook the odds against us. Our four coolies—who could be depended on to keep up their end in a mêlée when told to drive ahead—are prisoners somewhere in this place. Then Calaman has all our cartridges. We can’t do much for ourselves or for Leslie till we get hold of our ammunition.”
“We’ll get it,” declared Patsy, with his usual confidence.
“We’ve got to do it,” added Chick. “We are inside the walls of Shangore, and there is nothing for us but to fight. ”

“ Rohan’s hands fell at the same moment. As quick as a flash, in the hundredth part of a second, he snapped handcuffs on the wrists of the recreant army officer. Then he arose, sweeping off his disguise and saying sternly:
“Let the plans lie there, Captain Dillon.”
“Oh, my God!” Dillon fell back with a terrible cry. “Nick Carter!”
“Yes. Let them lie. I had Mr. Garland get them for me from his department this morning. They are not the plans you stole and lost, but they have served my purpose. You are under arrest, Captain Dillon, as a traitor to your country and a conspirator with foreign spies.” ”