The Sleuth of St. James Street [102]
Tibet. The expression and the pose of the figure differ from the conventional Buddha. You might not see that, but to any one familiar with this religion these differences are marked. This is a monastery image, and you will see that it is cast, not graven." He beckoned me to come closer, and I rose and stood beside him. He went on as with a lecture: "The reason given by the natives why this image is not found in Southern Asia is that it cannot be cast anywhere but in the Tibetan monasteries. A certain ritual at the time of casting is necessary to produce a perfect figure. This ritual is a secret of the Khan monasteries. Castings of this form of image made without the ritual are always defective; so I was told in India." He moved the glass box a little closer to the edge of the mantelpiece. "Naturally," he went on, "I considered this story, to be a mere piece of religious pretension. It amused me to make some experiments, and to my surprise the castings were always defective. I brought the image to England." He shrugged his shoulders as with a careless gesture. "In my idle time here I tried it again. And incredibly the result was always the same; some portion of the figure showed a flaw. My interest in the thing was permanently aroused. I continued to experiment." He laughed in a queer high cackle. "And presently I found myself desperately astride a hobby. I got all the Babbitt metal that I could buy up in England and put in the days and not a few of the nights in trying to cast a perfect figure of this confounded Buddha. But I have never been able to do it." He opened a drawer of the gun-case and brought over to the fire half a dozen castings of the Buddha in various sizes. Not one among the number was perfect. Some portion of the figure was in every case wanting. A hand would be missing, a portion of a shoulder, a bit of the squat body or there would be a flaw where the running metal had not filled the mold. "I'm hanged," he cried, "if the beggars are not right about it. The thing can't be done! I've tried it in all sorts of dimensions. You will see some of the big figures in the garden. I've used a ton of metal and every sort of mold." Then he flung his hand out toward the bookcase. "I've studied the art of molding in soft metal. I have all the books on it, and I've turned the boathouse into a sort of shop. I've spent a hundred pounds - and I can't do it!" He paused, his big face relaxed. "The country thinks I'm mad, working with such outlandish deviltry. But, curse the thing, I have set out to do it and I am not going to throw it up." And suddenly with an unexpected heat he damned the Buddha, shaking his clenched hand before the box. "Your pardon, Robin," he cried, the moment after. "But the thing's ridiculous, you know. The ritual story would be sheer rubbish. The beggars could not affect a metal casting with a form of words." I have tried to set down here precisely what my uncle said. It was the last talk I ever had with the man in this world, and it profoundly impressed me. He was in fear, and his jovial manner was a ghastly pretence. I left him sitting by the fire drinking neat whisky from a tumbler. The old man-servant took me up to my room. It was a big room in a wing of the house looking out on the garden and the sea. I saw that it had been cleaned and made ready against my coming; clearly the old man expected me. He put the candle on the table and laid back the covers of the bed. And suddenly I determined to have the matter out with him. "Andrew," I said, "why did you add that significant word to my uncle's letter?" He turned sharply with a little whimpering cry. "The master, sir!" he said, and then he stopped as though uncertain in what manner to go on. He made a hopeless sort of gesture with his extended hands. "I thought your coming might interrupt the thing . . . . You are of his family and would be silent." "What threatens my uncle?" I cried, "What is the thing?" He hesitated, his eyes moving about the floor. "Oh, sir," he said, "the master is in some wicked ,and dangerous business.