Tales of the Thinking Machine

down from the ceiling with wings outstretched, what might have been a nook in a palace of East India. Draperies hung here, there, everywhere; richly embroidered divans sprawled about;

g. He was fifty, perhaps sixty, years old with the ruddy colour of one who has lived a great deal out of doors.

hich the man was a contradiction. Her lustrous black hair flowed about her shoulders; lambent mysteries lay in her ey

a greeting. “Do I intrude?” Her voice was softl

h. Come in,”

and sat down on a

her?” sh

in the

cancy. From time to time she looked up at him shyly, with a touch of eagerness,

you this time, Sahib?

lessly. “It seems to have puzzled Adhem as much as it

the hassock deeply thoughtful. Her head was tilted upward and the flickering light fell full on her face. It crossed Varick’s mind that she was prett

the ostentatious robes of a seer. He, too, was a part of the picture. There was an exp

em?” inqui

ib,” replied the seer, solemnly.

ght lifting of his brows. “Oh well,

the crystal gazer went on with troub

e. He answered in the same language, and she rose suddenly with terror stricken face to fling hersel

claimed. “What

ed his head respectfully before the s

ast. “I did not remember that

isted Varick, abr

not, S

e other. He had arisen

nt with his hand on the white man’s shoulder, and his e

,” he began. “It te

ther,” plead

Varick

hom I love as I do you, Sahib,” said the seer, s

en,” said Varick. “I

he grace o

here,” Varick remembered. “

rent, Sahib,” said Adhem, qui

imself a littl

he replied.

seriou

impatient twist of

g,” he exclaimed shortly.

here Adhem had entered while the girl on her k

o,” she pl

yance, but gently he stooped and lifted her

y behind him he heard a pitiful little cry of g

gings of black velvet. For awhile he stood still so that his eyes might become accustomed to the utter blackness, and gradually th

on a stool in front of the table whereon the crystal lay and leaning forward on his arms stared into

tely, and out of this utter darkness grew shadowy, vague forms to which he could give no name. Finally a veil seemed lifted for the

light grew until his tensely fixed eyes pained him, but he stared steadily on. Another quick brightness came and the objects all became clear.

Varick gave a little gasp as he recognized the man. It was — himself. He watched the man — himself — as he moved about the study aimlessly for a time as if deeply troubled, then as he dropped into a chair at the desk. Varick rea

the vision from his own view point. His face was averted — Varick did not recognize the figure, but he saw something else and started in terror. A

ure that was himself move a little and the unknown leaped. The upraised knife swept down and was buried to the handle. Again a cry, an unintelligibl

of velvet but that hideous thing which had been there was gone. The thought came to him to bring it back, to see more, but repulsive f

, and looking into his face she knew. Again she buried her face in her han

d Varick between his teeth,

ies, Sahib,” said th

that,” Varick dec

b, oh, be careful

enly he turned to the crystal gazer and there was a menace

once,

d it co

ined his h

aimed Varick suddenly. “This r

icked up his hat and rushed out into the world of realities. The cryst

ds will,” he sai

seat. Varick’s face was ashen; there were dark lines under his eyes and in them there was the glitter of an ungovernable terror. Ever

ing; he seemed to be struggling to c

day next week. Is there

yellow head and looked at him in a m

n’t see what can be done.” There was a trace of irony in his voice, a cold

the back — by a man whom I don’t k

arose and went into his laboratory. After a moment he returned and handed a glass of some effervescent l

der fingers pressed tip to tip. Gradually Varick recov

hinking Machine at la

The Thinking Machine listened with polite interest.

any psychic force?”

wer. “The God who hung a sun up there has done other things which we will never und

superficially all over the world. I met Adhem Singh in India ten years ago, afterwards in England where he went through Oxford with some financial assistance from me, and later here. Two years ago he convinced me that

h Adhem

es

I imagine — that is secrecy as t

es

insanity in

e nature of insolent reproof, or was a request

ered. “Never

ve you consul

told him nothing. There have been other times when he advised me correctly. He has never given me bad

urself in the crystal until this vision

as the

o take place at any given time —

ve me,” was the reply. “He can read the

es it a profession?” in

es

o

when it would happen. There is a calendar by weeks in my study; that is, only one week is shown on it at a time. The last time the vision appeared he note

and forth across the room deeply thought

atically. “It approaches nearer to the unbe

was a look that wa

mpossible then?”

w, Mr. Varick, you are firmly convinced that what you saw was

thing else — I can’t

identity of the murderer-to-b

The figure was wholl

— that the room you saw i

ugs, furniture, mantel, bo

hine was again s

is perfectly simple. Will you place yourself i

eager, hopeful note

scientist gravely. “I don’t know what will happen but it will be interesting to

ephone in an adjoining room and called some one. Varick heard neither the name nor what wa

— a valet for instanc

rance, I gave him a little vacation. I really don’t need

to have three or four thou

t,” was the puzzled rep

affairs like these because I like them. They are good mental exercise. P

no reply. The cheque was drawn and

and another man whom he introduced as Philip Byrne were ushered in. As Hatch shook hands with Varick The Thinki

is cheque and get it cashed immediately,

turned with the money. The Thinking Machine thrust the bills into B

s to your apartment, plea

e placed them in his pocket

a letter, a postal, a telegram or a package to anyone; you are to buy nothing, you are to write no checks, you are not to speak to or recognize a

grown wider and wi

— my business?

life or death,” said The

a little. He felt that he wa

y,” he sai

nd yourself. Take him away somewhere to another place. There is enough money there for ordinary purposes. When you learn that there

se with a bus

r. Smith,”

wed him out

h books and papers, there a c

t the desk made some hopeless gesture with his hands and leaned forward on the desk with his head on his arms another figure in the ro

smoke, a sharp click and through the fog came th

where you

good picture,” said

oncern a revolver in the hand of Hatch, who had suddenly arisen from t

It seems a little bold to have interfered with what was to be like this, but you wanted too much deta

prisoner?” asked

with the attempted murder of Mr. Varick. Your wife will be a prisoner i

l flashlight photograph in the camera that The Thinking Machine held — the only photogr

y to come here and get this gentleman, and also to send men and arrest ever

dozen questions and receiving no answers he gave it up as hopeless. After awhile Detective Mall

h four prisoners, among them the girl Jadeh. They obtained an entrance through the courtesy of a policeman left i

s done,” said the reporter after

trying to locate a slight click. Then he fumbled all around the table, above and below. At his su

r, Mr. Hatch, clever. Just stand here a few minutes i

, which had been only dimly visible, and he found himself looking into — the room in Howard Varick’s apartments, miles away. As he looked, startled, he saw

e turned the light of his analytical genius on the p

Then quacks began to prey upon man, and do to this day under many guises and under many names. This condition will continue until enlightenment has become so general that man will realize the absurdity of such a thing as Nature, or the other world’s forces, going o

tive Mallory chewed his cigar uncomfortably. He was there to

. Varick came to me I saw he was an intelligent man who had devoted years to a study of the so-called occult. Being intelligent he was not easily hoodwinke

quackery; the mere fact of him seeing it proved that, but the quackery was so circumstantial that he was convinced. Thus we have quackery. Why? For a fee? I can imagin

or perhaps in another way, Singh would benefit by Mr. Varick’s death. There was a motive for the ‘vision,’ which might have been at first an effort to scare him to death, because he had a bad heart. I saw all these things when Mr. Varick talked to me f

ge channels. It loves the mystic, the theatric, and I imagined that having gone so far Singh would attempt

e. I ‘phoned to you, Mr. Hatch, and asked you to bring me a private detective who would obey orders, and you brought Mr. Byrne. You heard my instructions to him. It was necessary t

confined to his room, and for the present was unable to see anyone. In this note a date was specified when he would call on Singh. Mar

rick’s size and a wig helped us along. What happened then you know. I may add that when Mr. Varick told me the story I commented on it as being almost unbelievable. He understood, as I meant he should, th

hine stopped as

Hatch. “How did that wo

rom success. I can best describe the manufacture of the ‘vision’ as a variation of the principle of the camera obscura. It was done with lenses

the wrong end of a telescope of course? Well, the original reduction of the murder scene to a size where all of it would appear in a small mirror was accomplished that way. From this small mirror there ran pipes with a series of mirrors and lenses, thr

was a small trap in the pedestal, covered with velvet. This closed automatically and presented a solid surface when the crystal was lifted, and opened when the crystal was replaced. Thus the reflection reached the crystal which reve

allory. “That’s the most elab

had. Of course any ‘vision’ was possible with a change of scene in the basement. I

l have to do with

a certain class of men. She was really Singh’s wife I imagine, not his sister. She was a prominent figure in th

e city in tow of Philip Byrne. The Thinking Machine

did you intend

was to be used under his direction in furthering an investigation i

no longer interested in t