Mysteries - Knut Hamsun [57]
“Ah—!”
“There’s more. I had come to a tower. There was a tower in front of me, I had bumped into it; I saw it more and more clearly: a black octagonal tower, like the Tower of the Winds in Athens, if you’ve seen a picture of that. I’d never heard of any tower in that forest, but the fact remains: I stand before this tower, I hear another ‘Come!’ and I go in. The gate was left open behind me, which I felt as a relief.
“Inside, in the archway, I again meet the little man. A lamp was burning on one of the walls and I could see him clearly; he came toward me as if he’d been in there all along, laughing silently as he stood there staring at me. Looking into his eyes, I felt they were full of all the terrible things which those eyes had seen in his lifetime. Again he winked at me, but I didn’t wink back, and I retreated from him as he approached me. Suddenly I hear light footsteps behind me and, turning my head, I see a young woman come in.
“Well, I look at her and feel delighted. She had red hair and black eyes, but she was not well dressed and walked barefoot on the stone floor. Her arms were naked, and without any spots.
“She scrutinizes us both for a moment, then makes a deep bow to me and walks up to the little man. Without a word, she begins unbuttoning his clothes and feeling him all over, as if she were looking for something, and presently she pulls a burning light, a small flashing lantern, out of the lining of his cloak and hangs it on her finger. The lantern shines so brightly that it completely eclipses the lamp on the wall. The man stood perfectly still, laughing silently as before while being searched. ‘Good night!’ the woman said, pointing to a door, and the man, that terrible, mysterious half-animal creature, went away. I was left alone with the newcomer.
“She came toward me, made another deep bow to me and, without smiling or raising her voice, she said, ‘Where do you come from?’
“‘From town, fair maiden,’ I replied. ‘I’ve come all the way from town.’
“‘Stranger, forgive my father!’ she said all of a sudden. ‘Don’t do us any harm because of him; he’s sick, he’s mad, you saw his eyes, didn’t you?’
“‘Yes, I saw his eyes,’ I answered, ‘and I felt their power over me, I followed them.’
“‘Where did you meet him?’ she asked.
“‘At home, in my room,’ I replied. ‘I was reading when he came.’
“She shook her head and lowered her eyes.
“‘But don’t feel sad because of that, fair damsel,’ I said; ‘I was glad to take that walk, I didn’t neglect anything by doing so, and I don’t regret having met you. Just look, I’m happy and contented, why don’t you smile, too?’
“But she did not smile. She said, ‘Take off your shoes. You mustn’t leave tonight, I’ll dry your clothes for you.’
“I looked down at my clothes—they were soaking wet, and water was oozing out of my shoes. I did as I was told, pulled off my shoes and handed them to her. But when I had done so she blew out the lamp and said, ‘Come!’
“‘Wait a moment,’ I said, stopping her. ‘If I’m not going to sleep here, why did you make me take off my shoes right away?’
“‘That I won’t tell you,’ she replied.
“And she didn’t tell me.
“She led me through a door, into a dark room; there was a sound as if someone were sniffing about for us. I felt a soft hand on my lips, and the girl’s voice came, aloud, ‘It’s me, Father. The stranger is gone—gone.’
“But again I could hear how the deformed madman was nosing about for us.
“We walked up a flight of stairs, she holding my hand and neither of us speaking. We stepped into another vault, where you couldn’t see a ray of light; it was black night everywhere.
“‘Quiet!’ she whispered, ‘here’s my bed.’
“And I groped for the bed and found it.
“‘Now, take off the rest of your clothes,’ she whispered.
“I took them off and handed them to her.
“‘Good night!’ she said.
“I tried to hold her back, begging her to stay: ‘Wait a moment, don’t go. Now I know why you made me take off my shoes downstairs. I’ll be very quiet, your father didn’t hear me—come!’
“But she