wonderful,
Satanic countenance of the man. His filmed eyes turning to right and
left, he dragged himself to a wooden chair that stood beside the
operating-table and sank down upon it, breathing sibilantly,
exhaustedly.
Zarmi dropped the curtain and stood before it. She had discarded the
dripping overall which she had been wearing when I had followed her
across the common, and now stood before me with her black, frizzy
hair unconfined and her beautiful, wicked face uplifted in a sort of
cynical triumph. The big gold rings in her ears glittered strangely
in the light of the electric lamps. She wore a garment which looked
like a silken shawl wrapped about her in a wildly picturesque
fashion, and, her hands upon her hips, leant back against the curtain
glancing defiantly from Sir Baldwin to myself.
Those moments of silence which followed the entrance of the Chinese
Doctor live in my memory and must live there for ever. Only the
labored breathing of Fu-Manchu disturbed the stillness of the place.
Not a sound penetrated to the room, no one uttered a word; then—
"Sir Baldwin Frazer." began Fu-Manchu in that indescribable voice,
alternating between the sibilant and the guttural, "you were promised
a certain fee for your services by my servant who summoned you. It
shall be paid and the gift of my personal gratitude be added to it."
He turned himself with difficulty to address Sir Baldwin; and it
became apparent to me that he was almost completely paralyzed down
one side of his body. Some little use he could make of his hand and
arm, for he still clutched the heavy carven stick, but the right side
of his face was completely immobile; and rarely had I seen anything
more ghastly than the effect produced upon that wonderful, Satanic
countenance. The mouth, from the center of the thin lips, opened only
to the left, as he spoke; in a word, seen in profile from where I sat,
or rather crouched, it was the face of a dead man.
Sir Baldwin Frazer uttered no word, but, crouching upon the bench
even as I crouched, stared—horror written upon every lineament—at
Dr. Fu-Manchu. The latter continued:—
"Your experience, Sir Baldwin, will enable you readily to diagnose my
symptoms. Owing to the passage of a bullet along a portion of the
third left frontal into the postero-parietal convolution—upon which,
from its lodgment in the skull, it continues to press—hemiplegia of
the right side has supervened. Aphasia is present also...."
The effort of speech was ghastly. Beads of perspiration dewed
Fu-Manchu's brow, and I marveled at the iron will of the man, whereby
alone he forced his half-numbed brain to perform its function. He
seemed to select his words elaborately and by this monstrous effort
of will to compel his partially paralyzed tongue to utter them. Some
of the syllables were slurred; but nevertheless distinguishable. It
was a demonstration of sheer
Force
unlike any I had witnessed, and
it impressed me unforgettably.
"The removal of this injurious particle," he continued, "would be an
operation which I myself could undertake to perform successfully upon
another. It is a matter of some delicacy as you, Sir Baldwin, and"—
slowly, horribly, turning the half-dead and half-living head towards
me—"you, Dr. Petrie, will appreciate. In the event of clumsy surgery,
death may supervene; failing this, permanent hemiplegia—or"—the
film lifted from the green eyes, and for a moment they flickered with
transient horror—"idiocy! Any one of three of my pupils whom I might
name could perform this operation with ease, but their services are
not available. Only one English surgeon occurred to me in this
connection, and you, Sir Baldwin"—again he slowly turned his head—
"were he. Dr. Petrie will act as anaesthetist, and, your duties
completed, you shall return to your home richer by the amount
stipulated. I have suitably prepared myself for the operation, and I
can assure you of the soundness of my heart. I may advise you,
Satanic countenance of the man. His filmed eyes turning to right and
left, he dragged himself to a wooden chair that stood beside the
operating-table and sank down upon it, breathing sibilantly,
exhaustedly.
Zarmi dropped the curtain and stood before it. She had discarded the
dripping overall which she had been wearing when I had followed her
across the common, and now stood before me with her black, frizzy
hair unconfined and her beautiful, wicked face uplifted in a sort of
cynical triumph. The big gold rings in her ears glittered strangely
in the light of the electric lamps. She wore a garment which looked
like a silken shawl wrapped about her in a wildly picturesque
fashion, and, her hands upon her hips, leant back against the curtain
glancing defiantly from Sir Baldwin to myself.
Those moments of silence which followed the entrance of the Chinese
Doctor live in my memory and must live there for ever. Only the
labored breathing of Fu-Manchu disturbed the stillness of the place.
Not a sound penetrated to the room, no one uttered a word; then—
"Sir Baldwin Frazer." began Fu-Manchu in that indescribable voice,
alternating between the sibilant and the guttural, "you were promised
a certain fee for your services by my servant who summoned you. It
shall be paid and the gift of my personal gratitude be added to it."
He turned himself with difficulty to address Sir Baldwin; and it
became apparent to me that he was almost completely paralyzed down
one side of his body. Some little use he could make of his hand and
arm, for he still clutched the heavy carven stick, but the right side
of his face was completely immobile; and rarely had I seen anything
more ghastly than the effect produced upon that wonderful, Satanic
countenance. The mouth, from the center of the thin lips, opened only
to the left, as he spoke; in a word, seen in profile from where I sat,
or rather crouched, it was the face of a dead man.
Sir Baldwin Frazer uttered no word, but, crouching upon the bench
even as I crouched, stared—horror written upon every lineament—at
Dr. Fu-Manchu. The latter continued:—
"Your experience, Sir Baldwin, will enable you readily to diagnose my
symptoms. Owing to the passage of a bullet along a portion of the
third left frontal into the postero-parietal convolution—upon which,
from its lodgment in the skull, it continues to press—hemiplegia of
the right side has supervened. Aphasia is present also...."
The effort of speech was ghastly. Beads of perspiration dewed
Fu-Manchu's brow, and I marveled at the iron will of the man, whereby
alone he forced his half-numbed brain to perform its function. He
seemed to select his words elaborately and by this monstrous effort
of will to compel his partially paralyzed tongue to utter them. Some
of the syllables were slurred; but nevertheless distinguishable. It
was a demonstration of sheer
Force
unlike any I had witnessed, and
it impressed me unforgettably.
"The removal of this injurious particle," he continued, "would be an
operation which I myself could undertake to perform successfully upon
another. It is a matter of some delicacy as you, Sir Baldwin, and"—
slowly, horribly, turning the half-dead and half-living head towards
me—"you, Dr. Petrie, will appreciate. In the event of clumsy surgery,
death may supervene; failing this, permanent hemiplegia—or"—the
film lifted from the green eyes, and for a moment they flickered with
transient horror—"idiocy! Any one of three of my pupils whom I might
name could perform this operation with ease, but their services are
not available. Only one English surgeon occurred to me in this
connection, and you, Sir Baldwin"—again he slowly turned his head—
"were he. Dr. Petrie will act as anaesthetist, and, your duties
completed, you shall return to your home richer by the amount
stipulated. I have suitably prepared myself for the operation, and I
can assure you of the soundness of my heart. I may advise you,
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