Karen
Tandy’s medicine man?
What do you
suppose he was doing? I mean, why should he want to be reborn in her?”
Dr. Snow
scratched his ear. “It’s difficult to say. From what you’ve told me about her
dream of the Dutch ship, I’d hazard a guess that the medicine man’s existence
was being threatened by the Dutch settlement on Manhattan. Maybe the medicine
man had tried to prevent the rest of his tribe from selling the island so
cheaply. With the kind of occult powers that medicine men possessed, he may
have been able to see how instrumental the possession of Manhattan by white men
would be in the development of a white America. It’s also possible that the
Dutch, being strict Calvinists, considered the medicine man an evil influence,
and were out to destroy him.
Whatever happened,
he obviously thought that the only way he could escape was by leaving his
seventeenth-century existence, and reappearing in some other time. I wouldn’t
have thought he chose Karen Tandy deliberately. She probably just happened to
be a receptive home for his reincarnation, at the right place at the right
time.”
“Dr. Snow,” I
asked him. “If we’re not equipped to fight with this medicine man, then do you
have any idea who might be? I mean, can anyone at all summon enough power to
destroy him for good?”
Dr. Snow looked
thoughtful. “This is such a remarkable occurrence that one wishes that a young
girl’s life wasn’t involved. Just think of it, Mr. Erskine, within two or three
days we could actually meet an Indian medicine man, living and breathing, from
another time far in America’s past. It seems almost criminal to think of
destroying him.”
MacArthur
turned round from his seat by the window. “We all know the wonders of
anthropology, Dr. Snow, but this is a human life we’re trying to save here.
Karen Tandy didn’t ask to have this witch doctor grow inside here. I think it’s
up to us to do everything we can to save her.”
“Yes, I know,”
said Dr. Snow. “But there really is only one way we can do that.”
“And what’s
that?” Amelia asked. “Is it difficult?”
“It could be. And dangerous. You see, the only person who can fight a
medicine man is another medicine man. There are one or
two around still, in some of the reservations. But none of them would be nearly
as powerful as this man. They might know some of the old rituals, but it’s
doubtful if they’d have anything like the same abilities and strength. And if
they couldn’t beat him, if they couldn’t destroy him utterly, they’d inevitably
be killed themselves.”
“But wait a
minute,” I said. “That medicine man is still in the process of rebirth. He
hasn’t grown to his full size, and he’s obviously not as strong as he could be
when he’s completely redeveloped. If we could get hold of another medicine man
now, we could kill him before he emerges.”
“It would be
very dangerous,” said Dr. Snow. “Not only to our own medicine
man, but to the girl as well. They might both die.”
“Doctor,” I
said, “she’s going to die anyway.”
“Well, I guess
that’s true. But how are we going to persuade some poor old peaceful
reservation Indian to risk his life for a white girl he doesn’t even know?”
“We bribe him,”
said MacArthur.
“What with?”
asked Amelia.
“Maybe we ought
to talk to Karen Tandy’s parents,” I suggested. “They’ll be in town by now.
They’re
obviously quite wealthy, and I guess a couple of thousand dollars would take
care of it.
Dr. Snow, do
you think you could find a medicine man?”
Dr. Snow rubbed
his chin. “Oh, that shouldn’t be too difficult. I have a friend in South Dakota
who could probably dig someone up. We’d have to pay to fly the medicine man to
New York, naturally, even supposing that he’d agreed to do it.”
“I think it’s
time we talked to Karen Tandy’s parents,” I said. “They have a right to know
what’s going on, and we’re obviously going
Tandy’s medicine man?
What do you
suppose he was doing? I mean, why should he want to be reborn in her?”
Dr. Snow
scratched his ear. “It’s difficult to say. From what you’ve told me about her
dream of the Dutch ship, I’d hazard a guess that the medicine man’s existence
was being threatened by the Dutch settlement on Manhattan. Maybe the medicine
man had tried to prevent the rest of his tribe from selling the island so
cheaply. With the kind of occult powers that medicine men possessed, he may
have been able to see how instrumental the possession of Manhattan by white men
would be in the development of a white America. It’s also possible that the
Dutch, being strict Calvinists, considered the medicine man an evil influence,
and were out to destroy him.
Whatever happened,
he obviously thought that the only way he could escape was by leaving his
seventeenth-century existence, and reappearing in some other time. I wouldn’t
have thought he chose Karen Tandy deliberately. She probably just happened to
be a receptive home for his reincarnation, at the right place at the right
time.”
“Dr. Snow,” I
asked him. “If we’re not equipped to fight with this medicine man, then do you
have any idea who might be? I mean, can anyone at all summon enough power to
destroy him for good?”
Dr. Snow looked
thoughtful. “This is such a remarkable occurrence that one wishes that a young
girl’s life wasn’t involved. Just think of it, Mr. Erskine, within two or three
days we could actually meet an Indian medicine man, living and breathing, from
another time far in America’s past. It seems almost criminal to think of
destroying him.”
MacArthur
turned round from his seat by the window. “We all know the wonders of
anthropology, Dr. Snow, but this is a human life we’re trying to save here.
Karen Tandy didn’t ask to have this witch doctor grow inside here. I think it’s
up to us to do everything we can to save her.”
“Yes, I know,”
said Dr. Snow. “But there really is only one way we can do that.”
“And what’s
that?” Amelia asked. “Is it difficult?”
“It could be. And dangerous. You see, the only person who can fight a
medicine man is another medicine man. There are one or
two around still, in some of the reservations. But none of them would be nearly
as powerful as this man. They might know some of the old rituals, but it’s
doubtful if they’d have anything like the same abilities and strength. And if
they couldn’t beat him, if they couldn’t destroy him utterly, they’d inevitably
be killed themselves.”
“But wait a
minute,” I said. “That medicine man is still in the process of rebirth. He
hasn’t grown to his full size, and he’s obviously not as strong as he could be
when he’s completely redeveloped. If we could get hold of another medicine man
now, we could kill him before he emerges.”
“It would be
very dangerous,” said Dr. Snow. “Not only to our own medicine
man, but to the girl as well. They might both die.”
“Doctor,” I
said, “she’s going to die anyway.”
“Well, I guess
that’s true. But how are we going to persuade some poor old peaceful
reservation Indian to risk his life for a white girl he doesn’t even know?”
“We bribe him,”
said MacArthur.
“What with?”
asked Amelia.
“Maybe we ought
to talk to Karen Tandy’s parents,” I suggested. “They’ll be in town by now.
They’re
obviously quite wealthy, and I guess a couple of thousand dollars would take
care of it.
Dr. Snow, do
you think you could find a medicine man?”
Dr. Snow rubbed
his chin. “Oh, that shouldn’t be too difficult. I have a friend in South Dakota
who could probably dig someone up. We’d have to pay to fly the medicine man to
New York, naturally, even supposing that he’d agreed to do it.”
“I think it’s
time we talked to Karen Tandy’s parents,” I said. “They have a right to know
what’s going on, and we’re obviously going
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