The Adventures of Dick Maitland: A Tale of Unknown Africa Read online

  CHAPTER TWO.

  DICK MAKES UP HIS MIND.

  It was late in the evening of the day upon which Mrs Maitland, havingfulfilled the formalities required of her by Graham, had received fromhim a cheque for the sum of four hundred and eighty-seven pounds,seventeen shillings, and eightpence, which, apart from the house inwhich she lived, represented all that remained to her of the verycomfortable fortune left to her by her late husband. Dick had escortedhis mother up to town, and, upon the conclusion of the transaction, hadtaken her back to The Cedars; after which he had made the best of hisway to 19 Paradise Street; for the moment had now arrived when he mustcome to an understanding with his friend Dr Julian Humphreys, andconsult with him respecting the future. Ten o'clock had struck a fewminutes ago, a belated patient had been attended to and dismissed, thesurgery had been closed by the simple process of drawing down the blindand locking the outer door, and now the two friends were sittingopposite each other in that same drug-scented apartment, conversingearnestly together, as Humphreys pulled contemplatively, yet somewhatvexedly, at a brier pipe which had seen so much service that it was nowcharred down to about half its original size.

  "The fact is," remarked Dick, in continuance of their conversation,"that there is no other course open to me; for I am resolved that I willnot touch a farthing of the money that your friend Graham has socleverly rescued from the ruins of Cuthbertson's estate; every stiver ofit will be required for the maintenance of the poor Mater while I amaway. And I must go away, because, as you yourself have admitted, thereis no employment or occupation of any kind here at home to which, in mypresent condition of unpreparedness, I could turn my hand with any hopeof earning a sufficient income to maintain her and myself, though everso modestly; even if posts were to be had for the asking, which--in thiscountry, at all events--they are not. You know that to be the plain,unvarnished truth, do you not?"

  "Yes," Humphreys answered unhesitatingly, "it is true--unfortunately."

  "Very well, then," Dick resumed; "that being the case, the next questionis: Where am I to go, and what am I to do, in order to earn enough moneyto maintain myself and my mother in the meantime, and eventually torestore her to that position of security of which she was robbed by thatrascal Cuthbertson?"

  "_De mortuis nil nisi bonum_!" reproved Humphreys gravely. "The poorchap has gone to answer for his sins, whatever they may have been, andthere is an end of him, so far as you are concerned. To rail at himnow, and speak of him disparagingly, will not hurt him, or do you anygood, Dick, my friend, so do not unnecessarily bespatter his memory.This by the way. And now to return to our muttons. The problem thatyou propound is indeed a hard one to solve; to many it would probablyappear an impossibility. But, although I am by no means an old man, Ihave been long enough in this world to have recognised that what manypeople deem impossibilities are nothing of the sort, if only one has thegrit to face and tackle them. It is grit, my boy, that makesimpossibilities possible, and I believe you possess that quality insufficient measure to enable you to accomplish great things. Thequestion is: What is the particular great thing which will meet yourcase? What is the work which you are best fitted to do? You arealready very well up in the profession which you have chosen. There ismany a man in successful practice to-day who knows less about it thanyou do; but, unfortunately, you are not yet `qualified', therefore youcannot set up for yourself, even if you could afford the time to createa practice--which you cannot. And as to becoming an unqualifiedassistant, that of course is out of the question; the pay is altogethertoo poor to justify the entertainment of that idea. But there arecountries where the restrictions are not nearly so great as they are inEngland; and there are others--beyond the pale of civilisation--where norestrictions at all exist, and where a clever man, with plenty of gritto back him up, might perhaps do remarkably well. Still, to penetrateto such countries a man must take his life in his hands, and, even then,all his courage may prove insufficient to save him from an unspeakable,horrible death. Now, what can you do besides doctoring?"

  "Nothing that will help me in my present strait," answered Maitland. "Ican sail a boat, swim, ride, or drive a horse, and I can shoot straight;consequently if I possessed sufficient influence I might be able to geta job as groom, stableman, or even under-gamekeeper. But none of thosethings is good enough for me; I am capable of better things thangrooming horses, cleaning harness, or looking after pheasants; I wantemployment that will bring me in good money, and I mean to have it too."

  "That's right, Dick; that's the way to talk," returned Humphreysapprovingly. "Modesty is all right, a very desirable and admirablequality in every young man's character, and one which is seen far tooseldom nowadays. Modesty, however, is one thing, and self-depreciationquite another. It is a mistake for anyone to underrate his own value,and, as you very truly say, you are capable of doing much better workthan that needed in either of the occupations that you have named;therefore you are justified in insisting upon having it. A man has aperfect right to the very best and most profitable work he is capable ofdoing; but he must get it for himself; it is no use for him to sit downsupinely and demand that Providence shall put it into his hands. Theman who is worth his salt will get up and `hustle'--as the Americanstersely express it--and not rest until he has secured what he wants.Now, you, my boy, are very heavily handicapped. You have neither moneynor influence to help you to what you want, therefore you will have todepend upon `hustle' and grit alone; also you have no time to waste inlooking about in this country for the kind of thing you want, which,even with all the `hustle' and grit imaginable, may take you months, oreven years, to find. No, as you said at the beginning of thisconversation, you must go somewhere abroad to get what you want; and ina foreign land you may find even such despised accomplishments asriding, swimming, and straight shooting of the utmost value to you. Butin my opinion your mainstay must be the medical and surgical knowledgewhich you have acquired. Now, whereabout on the face of this old globeof ours are you likely to be able to employ your knowledge to the bestand most profitable account? It should be where wealth is abundant, andwhere medical and surgical skill is pretty frequently in demand, alsowhere there is plenty of scope for a young fellow who, like yourself, isimbued with the spirit of adventure. Now, let me consider for amoment--where is the country which most nearly answers to theseconditions? What do you say to South Africa? It is the land of goldand diamonds; it is not, I believe, overrun with medical men; and as toadventure--" Humphreys shrugged his shoulders and spread his handsabroad expressively.

  Dick's eyes sparkled and his face lit up with enthusiasm.

  "South Africa is the place for me, without a doubt," he exclaimed withanimation. "It is, as you say, rich; it is also a land of unboundedpossibilities; and-- But how am I to get there? The passage moneyamounts to something considerable, and I have no money to spare for thatsort of thing; also, as I have said, I will not take a penny from theMater."

  "What about borrowing?" suggested Humphreys. "As you know, Dick, I amnot a rich man, but I have no doubt I could manage to--"

  "No!" interrupted Dick emphatically; "a thousand times no. It is likeyou, Doctor, to offer to help me out of your own exceedingly limitedmeans, and I am more grateful to you than I have words to express; but Isimply will not avail myself of your kindness, or that of anybody elseindeed, for I should be starting with a millstone of debt hanging roundmy neck. No, I have thought of a better way than that; I will work mypassage out."

  "Work your passage out!" ejaculated the Doctor, staggered, in spite ofhis whole-hearted belief in the virtues of self-help, at this boldsuggestion on Dick's part. "In what capacity, pray?"

  "Oh, as anything!" returned Dick buoyantly; "as ordinary seaman, cook'smate, stoker--what does it matter? I will find a way, never fear. I'lltake a trot round the docks to-morrow, and it will be strange indeed ifI cannot somewhere find a market for my labour. Why, even theelementary knowledge of nautical matters that I have acquired in sailingmy little sing
le-handed cutter during holiday time will be of service tome. I can steer, I can box the compass, I know the name of every sailon a full-rigged ship; and I will guarantee that before I have beenforty-eight hours out I will know the function of every bit of runningrigging, and where to lay my hand upon it in the dark."

  "Ay, I'll bet that you will, Dick," answered Humphreys, with enthusiasmas great as Dick's own. "And I have not much doubt as to your beingable to get a berth as ordinary seaman; for you are a big strong fellow,and for mere pulling and hauling purposes any skipper ought to be gladto get hold of you. Yes, I think we may consider that part of yourproblem solved. But what about after your arrival in South Africa? Howdo you propose to proceed at the end of the voyage when you have safelylanded? For you must remember that in all probability you will have nowages to draw; people who work their passages are usually shipped at theprincely rate of pay of one shilling per month."

  "Yes, I know," said Dick. "Still, I shall have reached the scene of mygreat endeavour without cost, and that is the important thing. Afterthat I shall of course be obliged to trust to my own push and `hustle',as you call it, for it is impossible to make any definite plans at thisdistance from the scene of operations."

  "Quite so," agreed Humphreys. "And you must also remember that there isalways the element of luck, or chance, or whatever you please to callit, in the background, and to be watched for. Opportunity oftenpresents itself literally at a moment's notice and in the mostunexpected fashion, and the one who profits by it is he who is alertenough to seize it as it passes. But there is one thing you must do,Dick; you must take with you a well-stocked chest of drugs, as well asyour case of surgical instruments; and, since you will not let me lendyou any money to help you on your way, you must allow me to make you apresent of that medicine chest just as a token of my appreciation of theway in which you have conducted yourself as my pupil-- Nay, boy, youmust not refuse me, for if you do I shall be deeply hurt as well asseriously offended."

  "Very well, then," acquiesced Dick, "since you put it in that way, andso very strongly, I will accept your generous gift with a thousand mosthearty thanks, not only for the gift itself, but also for the kindlyfeeling that prompts it."

  "My dear Dick," protested Humphreys, "there is really no reason at allwhy you should feel so extraordinarily grateful, for in doing what Ipropose to do I shall only be very inadequately repaying you for muchvaluable assistance rendered, and much very pleasant companionshipduring the time of your pupilage with me. And do not think that becauseI have not expressed much voluble regret at this abrupt severance of ourconnection I do not feel it, for I do very keenly, I assure you; but Isee quite clearly that the thing is inevitable, therefore to complainabout it would be both useless and foolish.

  "Now, there is one other way in which I can help you; and when I haveexplained to you how tremendous is the power which I propose to place inyour hands you will understand, more clearly than I could show you inany other way, the absolute trust that I repose in you. For I tell youthis, Dick, in all sincerity, there is not another person in the wholecircle of my acquaintance--and it is pretty wide--whom I feel I couldsafely trust with this power, so potent is it for evil as well as good.But I am convinced that I can trust you; and that is why I havedetermined to endow you with the ability to perform deeds which to manypeople will seem positively miraculous.

  "You have often expressed amazement at the uniform success which attendsmy treatment of even my most difficult cases, both medical and surgical,but especially the surgical; and I know, from the remarks you have made,that you attribute those successes purely to the extent of my knowledge.Well, of course, knowledge has something to do with it; but the truesecret of my success lies in the free use which I make of hypnotism.Yes, no doubt you are surprised; for you have never seen me employ anyof the well-known methods of the ordinary hypnotist. Very true. But mymethod is not the ordinary method at all; it is one which I claim as myown exclusive discovery, and it is as far in advance of ordinaryhypnotism as that is in advance of the methods of the stage hypnotist.

  "Almost at the outset of my professional career I directed my attentionto the investigation of hypnotism, determined to ascertain whether ornot there was anything in the claims set up by its exponents; and I soondiscovered that there was something in it, despite the disrepute castupon it by the grotesque performances of certain so-called entertainers.There is no need for me to detail to you the successive steps by whichI at length attained my present knowledge of the marvellous powers ofthe science. Let it suffice me to say that by diligent study of it Ieventually acquired such a mastery of it that it has enabled me to--well, to put it mildly--succeed where but for it I must have failed.And a large measure of this success is due to the fact that I havediscovered an infallible method of instantly hypnotising a patientwithout that patient's knowledge. They are hypnotised, but they don'tknow it; haven't the remotest suspicion of it. Then I convey to them apowerful suggestion that my treatment of them is going to be absolutelysuccessful, and--there you have the whole secret."

  Humphreys paused for a moment, as if considering whether or not heshould say more; then he gazed abstractedly at his carefully kept fingernails, and his right hand wandered to his waistcoat pocket. Then,looking up, he extended the hand toward Dick, saying:

  "Just lend me your penknife a moment, will you?"

  Dick produced the knife and held it out to Humphreys, who looked at it,then shrank back.

  "Good heavens, man," he exclaimed, "I asked for a penknife, not for anadder! Where did you get that brute from?"

  With an inarticulate cry, and an expression of unutterable disgust andloathing, Maitland dropped the penknife to the floor, and then stampedon it savagely, grinding the heel of his boot on it as though grindingthe head of a snake into the ground.

  "Why, Dick!" exclaimed Humphreys, looking his assistant square in theeye; "what are you doing? What has that good knife been doing to youthat you should treat it in that barbarous manner?"

  Maitland stared back blankly into the Doctor's smiling eyes for amoment, then looked long at the penknife on the floor, and finallystooped and cautiously took it between his forefinger and thumb, eyeingit doubtfully the while. Then he suddenly sat down, pulled out hispocket handkerchief, and mopped off the perspiration that freely bedewedhis face.

  "Well, I'll be shot!" he ejaculated. "What an extraordinary experience!Will you believe me, Doctor, when I tell you that as I drew thispenknife out of my waistcoat pocket it actually seemed to change into anadder in my hand? There was the flat, wicked-looking head, themalevolent eyes, the characteristic markings of the body, and, aboveall, there was the feeling of it writhing strongly in my grasp, asthough it were trying to get enough of its length clear to turn andstrike me! Talk about Aaron's rod and those of the old Egyptiannecromancers turning into serpents! Why, I could have sworn that thisknife of mine did precisely the same thing! Now, there is a problem foryou, Doctor: What sort of mental aberration was it that caused me toimagine such an extraordinary thing as that, eh?"

  "Simply, my dear boy, that I hypnotised you `unbeknownst', so to speak,in illustration of what I have been telling you," answered the Doctor,laying his hand upon Dick's shoulder. "Hope I didn't scare you veryseverely, eh?"

  "N-o," answered Dick slowly, "you did not actually scare me, Doctor; butyou managed to give me such a thrill of horror and disgust as I have notexperienced for many a long day. But, I say, do you really mean to tellme, in sober earnest, that that abominable experience was due tohypnotic suggestion on your part?"

  "Yes, I do," answered Humphreys. "I wanted to bring home to you in avery convincing manner the power which the hypnotist exercises over hissubject. I could have done it even more convincingly, perhaps, bycommanding you to take that perfectly cold poker in your hand, and thensuggesting to you that it was red hot, when--despite the fact of thepoker being cold--your hand would have been most painfully blistered.But probably the `adder' experiment was convincing enough, e
h?"

  "It was indeed," assented Dick with a little reminiscent shudder. "Butlook here, Doctor, you say that you hypnotised me. When did you do it?I didn't see you do anything peculiar."

  "No, my boy, of course you didn't, because I adopted my own especialmethod, which is instantaneous and undetectable, and which I will teachyou if you care to learn it; for I seem to foresee that there may beoccasions, by and by, when you get out to South Africa, when you mayfind the power extremely useful to you, particularly if you should getany medical or surgical work to do. In such a case just hypnotise yourpatient in the way that I will teach you, then powerfully suggest to himthat your treatment is going to cure him--and it will do so. As to whenI got you under my influence, it was done while I asked you to lend meyour penknife."

  "By Jove!" exclaimed Dick; "it is marvellous, perfectly marvellous; andif I did not know you to be an absolutely truthful man I do not think Icould bring myself to believe it. Now I can understand what you meantwhen you spoke of the potency of hypnotism for good or for evil, andwhy, as I understand, you have never yet dared to pass on the secret ofyour power to anyone else. But I swear to you, Doctor, that, if youwill entrust it to me, I will never, under any circumstances whatsoever,use it except for a good purpose, nor will I ever pass on the secret toanyone else except with your express permission. And now that you havegiven me an idea of its capabilities I simply long to know the secret,for it seems to me that a chap with your powers could come very near toworking miracles."

  "Yes," assented Humphreys quietly, "that is so; indeed, even with myimperfect knowledge--for I have not yet nearly mastered all thepossibilities of the science--I have done things that without its aidwould have been impossible. And now, if you like, I will initiate youinto the secret of my power, which is very simple after all, and which,once known, will enable you to do everything that I can do. First ofall, however, I propose to throw you into a cataleptic sleep, in orderthat, while you are in that condition, I may imbue you with an absolutefaith in yourself, without which everything that I can teach you wouldbe practically useless, at least until you had acquired faith inyourself by the somewhat slow and laborious process which I had topursue. I had to acquire faith in myself and my powers by repeatedexperiments extending over a period of several months; but you have nottime for that, so I must imbue you with it by the process of suggestionwhile you are in a state of trance. Now, are you ready?"

  "Yes, quite," answered Dick, with a quick indrawing of the breath; fornow that it came to the point he suddenly found that to submit himselfunreservedly to the hands of even his friend Humphreys, for the purposesof an experiment that smacked rather strongly of the uncanny, wassomething of a nerve-trying experience. Humphreys evidently noted hismomentary hesitation, for he said:

  "You need not have the least fear; you will be profoundly unconsciousduring the period of sleep, and will awake without the slightest traceof any unpleasant feeling. Now, stretch yourself out comfortably onthat sofa, and do exactly as I tell you."

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  When Dick descended to the surgery, a few minutes late, the nextmorning, he found his friend Humphreys, with his coat off, his shirtsleeves rolled up, and his clothes protected by a white apron extendingfrom his throat to the tops of his boots, busily engaged in dusting hisbottles and the shelves whereon they stood.

  As Dick entered, the Doctor, mounted upon a step ladder, looked down athim with a smile and nod of welcome, and said:

  "Well, my boy, how did you sleep, and how do you feel after your ordealof last night?"

  Dick laughed joyously. "My `ordeal'!" he exclaimed. "I hope I maynever have to undergo a more trying ordeal than that. I slept like atop, thank you, and feel as fit as a fiddle this morning, indeed I don'tknow that I ever felt so fit in all my life before. But that is notall: I have not the remotest idea what mysterious thing you did to melast night, but this I know, that you have imparted to me a somethingthat I have never hitherto possessed. I feel this morning a buoyancy ofspirit that it seems to me no amount of disappointment could damp orlessen for a moment, and I have a belief in myself so complete, soboundless, that I feel I cannot help but be successful in this newventure of mine upon which I am about to embark."

  "Yes," said Humphreys, nodding his head in a manner which very clearlyexpressed his satisfaction, "that is the result of your `ordeal', and itwill be quite permanent. Mind you, I don't say that you will alwaysfeel quite so buoyant and confident as you do at this moment, for it isbeyond the power of any man to make another absolutely immune tocircumstances; but in spite of circumstances, however adverse, you willalways retain some at least of your present buoyancy and confidence. Ido not think you will ever sink into that condition of utter and abjectdespair which overwhelms some people and drives them to suicide. Tochange the subject. Are you still minded to go to the docks thismorning in quest of a shipmaster benevolently enough inclined to allowyou to work your passage out to South Africa?"

  "Rather!" answered Dick. "That is to say, if you think you can spare mefor a few hours."

  "Of course I can spare you," answered Humphreys. "And I would adviseyou to go immediately after breakfast, for, as you know, `it is theearly bird that catches the worm.' But how do you propose to set aboutyour quest? Not quite haphazard, I suppose?"

  "No," answered Dick. "I thought of getting the _Shipping Gazette_, andperhaps the _Telegraphy_ and consulting their advertisement pages, withthe view of learning what ships are on the berth for South Africanports, where they are lying, and their date of sailing."

  "An excellent idea," declared the Doctor. "As soon as Polly has putbreakfast upon the table we will send her out to get the papers, and youcan consult them and prepare a list of likely vessels before you goout."

  This was done; and by nine o'clock, Dick, having breakfasted, was readyto sally forth on the first stage of his journey in quest of fortune,duly armed with a slip of paper containing a list of some half-dozenships loading for South Africa, "with quick dispatch."

  And two hours later he returned to the surgery, his visage beaming withsatisfaction.

  "Hurrah, Doctor!" he exclaimed, as he dashed in through the opendoorway. "I've done the trick; got the skipper of the _Concordia_ toallow me to work my passage out to Port Natal as ordinary seaman at ashilling a month. I `sign on' at the shipping office the day after to-morrow, and have to be on board by eight o'clock the same evening inreadiness to haul out of dock at daylight on the following morning."