Part 1 (2/2)
”Yes, dear doctor, extraordinary indeed I have used these techniques with great success on many occasions, for in e may be of use”
”And how did you acquire these techniques?” I asked
”Diligence, of course, and a bit of luck in finding the right teacher My interests are in the main practical, Watson, as you know Whatever the metaphysical foundations of Indian science are, I am of course uninterested Give me a technique, however, that will contribute to the success of a, Watson, the practical aspect of Indian science, becan death; second in the ability to iuise, to the point where the illusions created could be assuuise of any kind My purpose was of course a siland once I returned, for unless I increased my arsenal of tricks, sooner or later one of my dedicated enemies would doubtless do e of disguise, as I well knew, having fallen victim to his impersonations h whom he could expand these techniques His nareat masters of the holy city, he lived on a dirt road not far fro he asked what Holmes's intentions were Holmes spoke frankly
”I told hio no further, and ht the evils of crier, with a completely different face
”'Like this,'” he said, ”and I knew that I had found what I required”
Holes of clothes The raising of an eyebrow, furrows in the brow, the ability to change the shape of the eyes at will, to draw the nose in or push it out, all these practices were coa, Watson A thin man can become stout and a stout one thin After a few months of coht without appearing hunched and could add several inches to it if I so desired without appearing unnatural Breath control allowed e my coht in colour Yoga becauise and illusion”
As I listened to his narration, I becaed for neck disappeared into his shoulders, his stomach protruded, his eyes widened, his cheeks rounded Unexpectedly, I found lish working class, rather than the elegant and slender gentlelishh minute movements of his face, into a swarthy Indian Brahhed at the shocked expression on my face as he took his own foric, Watson, but only committed practise and attention to detail I was now able to lish”
Hol introduction to the tale fascinatedaspects ofhidden from me His face then sobered
”But I knew that soic techniques as well,” he said ”There were several students in Benares under the tutelage of a far ressive teacher, a master named Senapati Raja Some of these students I suspected of evil intentions Their training, however, was aa, followed by hand-to-hand coi I saithhours at the ghats on the Ganges On several occasions I saw young hts on their feet I saw the themselves out exhausted Soes dolphin, the chief denizen of the river Whoever these students were, I knew that they would make formidable opponents Indeed, as I left Benares, I came into contact with one of them in what I shall describe presently as an unusual incident”
After ent study, he said, he had acquired what he needed, and he yearned for social intercourse with souard lest his eneo to Calcutta, where he thought he ht reveal himself to some of his countryracious uise, this time as a Hindoo mendicant, he bade farewell to his teacher and took a rickshaw to Mughal Sarai, where he was to board the Toofan Express that would take hiht to the capital of our Indian Empire
As his rickshaw pulled into the station, however, he felt a face in the crowd staring at him He soon saw that it was the face of a fakir, someone unfamiliar to him at first, except his eyes had had a familiar implacable look of evil in them Naked except for a loincloth, the holy man was covered with ashes from head to toe His hands and feet were bound, and a chain froht bunch He appeared therefore incapable ofof his feet and the grasping ers
”Or so it seemed, Watson, for suddenly this repulsive creature, by sheer force of will, propelled hi next to me in the rickshaw He stared ath, and with several incredible jureeable it was, Watson, and eventhe Ganges swian the search in my er alone in India”
I was by now thoroughly engrossed in Holmes's adventure I had hanistan many years before and had always hoped to visit the eastern ramparts under our jurisdiction
”I won't bore you with details of the city of Calcutta, Watson Suffice it to say that once one overcomes one's revulsion at the native squalour and becoal cli metropolis, with most unusual possibilities for criuise, and again becalishman He created for hier Lloyd-Smith, recently arrived from London as a representative of a firsway, Finsbury, London He took a roohee, and decided to enjoy the delights of this large city
”I knew of no one there, save Reginald Maxwell-”
”The Reginald Maxwell?” I interrupted
”I see,” said Holmes, ”that the case did have a certain notoriety even here in London”
”It is still a mystery to most of us His death occurred so prematurely-”
”Yes, Watson, and I shall relate to you how and under what bizarre circuinald, and he, he said, were schoolether After university, they grew apart but corresponded occasionally Reginald wrote at one point that he had entered His Majesty's Foreign Office, that he hadfor a number of years in distant parts of the Empire, most probably Africa and India He was, if not one of our ent diplomats, at least a man of charm and industry, and his qualities became rapidly known to Lord Curzon, who, shortly after his appointment as Viceroy, asked him to serve as his personal assistant
”You ine, Watson, what a step forwards this was in theand i-Emperor in the Indian Subcontinent”
Holmes stopped for er Lloyd-Smith, was of course no accident, he said It was the name of a third schoolmate hom Maxwell and he had been fairly close They had spent ether at snooker It was under this na that Maxould be equally happy to see Roger, who, if Hol happily outside London, working for Redfern and Russell, blissfully unaware that he was about to visit Lord Curzon's assistant
”I therefore wrote Reginald, explaining to hih Calcutta on ht nise me instantly, but my true identity would be preserved until ere face-to-face The following er, So happy you are here Come to my office at four toood to see you
Reggie It was a most welcome relief to Holinald's office was in a wing of Government headquarters, a little distant from the Viceroy's own offices He had only a moment's wait after his arrival before he was led to his old friend The peon left, and as Holasped and turned pale
”Good lord! I don't believe it Holht you were dead!”
”A double surprise, eh?” said Holmes
”Excuse me, HoliveSmith, a surprise in itself, but to see you, Holmes-and here, of all places”
Holmes explained to him in brief what had transpired over the last several years and his reasons for wishi+ng to preserve the ier alive, and his desire to spend a few days a isolation in Tibet, the Himalayas, and India itself
”Of course, I understand perfectly, Hol the Gyht be easier for me if I let my wife in on your secret And with your permission, the Viceroy himself I am sure that he would be most happy to meet with you and to learn your impressions of Central Asia The Great Game, as they call it, is still afoot”
Holmes replied that he would be happy to meet with the Viceroy if he so wished, and that he had no objection to revealing his identity in these two instances, provided that he was referred to publically at all tireed to use the ute for every social convenience for Roger Lloyd-S his stay in Calcutta
The two old friends then reminisced about their university days As they talked, Holed soie that he had known, as would be natural considering the number of years that had intervened A bit stouter perhaps, and grey had begun to appear in his still full head of hair As they talked, however, Holuised so, his s in its place an expression of deepest conflict
”I must meet with the Viceroy in a few minutes, my dear Hol Edill arrive in Calcutta shortly for an extended visit and darbar His shi+p has been reported in the Bay of Bengal just north of Ceylon He should arrive therefore in a few days We have much to do in the , about eight? Here is my address”
He handed Holmes a card with an address in the Alipore district of the city
”My wife,” he said, ”has heard h the years and ant to land”
”Indeed, I should like to ?”
It was at this point that the look of pain that Hollimpsed before covered his face His voice cracked as he said: ”I a”
Holuely and asked no inald's pain lay in his personal and domestic life rather than in his work, which had all the outward appearance of complete success
Holmes took his leave, and was escorted out by the same peon who had led him in He returned to the hotel, pleased at the prospect of being once again a his countrymen, but also uneasy about his friend's obvious discomfort
”I should tell you, Watson, that this was the last tiinald alive”
By now Holmes had refilled his pipe, reached for the brandy, and poured us two full measures