Part 25 (1/2)
At this point the groom interrupted us to say that he had caught the rabbits. Kennedy at once hurried to the stable. There he rolled up his sleeves, p.r.i.c.ked a vein in his arm, and injected a small quant.i.ty of his own blood into one of the rabbits. The other he did not touch.
It was late in the afternoon when Tom returned from town with his uncle and cousin. He seemed even more agitated than usual. Without a word he hurried up from the landing and sought us out.
”What do you think of that?” he cried, opening a copy of the Record, and laying it flat on the library table.
There on the front page was Lewis Langley's picture with a huge scare-head:
MYSTERIOUS CASE OF SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION
”It's all out,” groaned Tom, as we bent over to read the account. ”And such a story!”
Under the date of the day previous, a Saranac despatch ran:
Lewis Langley, well known as sporting man and club member in New York, and eldest son of the late Lewis Langley, the banker, was discovered dead under the most mysterious circ.u.mstances this morning at Camp Hangout, twelve miles from this town.
The Death of ”Old Krook” in d.i.c.kens's ”Bleak House” or of the victim in one of Marryat's most thrilling tales was not more gruesome than this actual fact. It is without doubt a case of spontaneous human combustion, such as is recorded beyond dispute in medical and medico-legal text-books of the past two centuries. Scientists in this city consulted for the Record agree that, while rare, spontaneous human combustion is an established fact and that everything in this curious case goes to show that another has been added to the already well-authenticated list of cases recorded in America and Europe. The family refuse to be interviewed, which seems to indicate that the rumours in medical circles in Saranac have a solid basis of fact.
Then followed a circ.u.mstantial account of the life of Langley and the events leading up to the discovery of the body--fairly accurate in itself, but highly coloured.
”The Record man must have made good use of his time here,” I commented, as I finished reading the despatch. ”And--well, they must have done some hard work in New York to get this story up so completely--see, after the despatch follow a lot of interviews, and here is a short article on spontaneous combustion itself.”
Harrington and the rest of the family had just come in.
”What's this we hear about the Record having an article?” Harrington asked. ”Read it aloud, Professor, so we can all hear it.”
”'Spontaneous human combustion, or catacausis ebriosus,'” began Craig, ”'is one of the baffling human scientific mysteries. Indeed, there can be no doubt but that individuals have in some strange and inexplicable manner caught fire and been partially or almost wholly consumed.
”'Some have attributed it to gases in the body, such as carbureted hydrogen. Once it was noted at the Hotel Dieu in Paris that a body on being dissected gave forth a gas which was inflammable and burned with a bluish flame. Others have attributed the combustion to alcohol. A toper several years ago in Brooklyn and New York used to make money by blowing his breath through a wire gauze and lighting it. Whatever the cause, medical literature records seventy-six cases of catacausis in two hundred years.
”'The combustion seems to be sudden and is apparently confined to the cavities, the abdomen, chest, and head. Victims of ordinary fire accidents rush hither and thither frantically, succ.u.mb from exhaustion, their limbs are burned, and their clothing is all destroyed. But in catacausis they are stricken down without warning, the limbs are rarely burned, and only the clothing in contact with the head and chest is consumed. The residue is like a distillation of animal tissue, grey and dark, with an overpoweringly fetid odour. They are said to burn with a flickering stifled blue flame, and water, far from arresting the combustion, seems to add to it. Gin is particularly rich in inflammable, empyreumatic oils, as they are called, and in most cases it is recorded that the catacausis took place among gin-drinkers, old and obese.
”'Within the past few years cases are on record which seem to establish catacausis beyond doubt. In one case the heat was so great as to explode a pistol in the pocket of the victim. In another, a woman, the victim's husband was asphyxiated by the smoke. The woman weighed, one hundred and eighty pounds in life, but the ashes weighed only twelve pounds: In all these cases the proof of spontaneous combustion seems conclusive.'”
As Craig finished reading, we looked blankly, horrified, at one another.
It was too dreadful to realise.
”What do you think of it, Professor” asked James Langley, at length.
”I've read somewhere of such cases, but to think of its actually happening--and to my own brother. Do you really think Lewis could have met his death in this terrible manner?”
Kennedy made no reply. Harrington seemed absorbed in thought. A shudder pa.s.sed over us as we thought about it. But, gruesome as it was, it was evident that the publication of the story in the Record had relieved the feelings of the family group in one respect--it at least seemed to offer an explanation. It was noticeable that the suspicious air with which everyone had regarded everyone else was considerably dispelled.
Tom said nothing until the others had withdrawn. ”Kennedy,” he burst out, then, ”do you believe that such combustion is absolutely spontaneous? Don't you believe that something else is necessary to start it?”
”I'd rather not express an opinion just yet, Tom,” answered Craig carefully. ”Now, if you can get Harrington and Doctor Putnam away from the house for a short time, as you did with your uncle and cousin this morning, I may be able to tell you something about this case soon.”
Again Kennedy stole into another bedroom, and returned to our room with a hunting-jacket. Just as he had done before, he carefully washed it off with the gauze soaked in the salt solution and quickly returned the coat, repeating the process with Doctor Putnam's coat and, last, that of Tom himself. Finally he turned his back while I sealed the gla.s.ses and marked and recorded them on my slip.
The next day was spent mainly in preparations for the journey to New York with the body of Lewis Langley. Kennedy was very busy on what seemed to me to be preparations for some mysterious chemical experiments. I found myself fully occupied in keeping special correspondents from all over the country at bay.
That evening after dinner we were all sitting in the open summer house over the boat-house. Smudges of green pine were burning and smoking on little artificial islands of stone near the lake sh.o.r.e, lighting up the trees on every side with a red glare. Tom and his sister were seated with Kennedy and myself on one side, while some distance from us Harrington was engaged in earnest conversation with Isabelle. The other members of the family were further removed. That seemed typical to me of the way the family group split up.