The Mystery of Munroe Island

by Satyajit Ray

  In order to call for Jabir ibn Hayyan’s spirit, Crole adopted an innovative method which involved the incantation of Latin and Tibetan mantras. The first one was rendered by Saunders, and the other by Crole. Following this, Crole, using his special flute made of human bone, played a medieval European devotional tune for about five minutes. I must mention that other than the three of us, there was also the presence of another being during the séance. And that was Saunders’s cat, Mustafa, who had already caught three mice in this castle. Perhaps that is why he looks quite content.

  After the chants and the flute rendition, like the usual practice of a séance, we sat around a table to meditate on Jabir ibn Hayyan. As both Crole and I were conversant with Arabic, we faced no problem in communicating with Jabir ibn Hayyan’s spirit. Crole himself was the medium and therefore the spirit was to appear through him. His eyes were shut; both Saunders and I were looking at him with all our attention. The light in the room came from two candles. Their flames were swaying gently and with that our shadows on the wall quivered, too.

  After gazing at Crole for fifteen minutes we noticed the sudden play of a shadow against the wall. Following the direction of the shadow we looked up at the wall and realized that a bat had taken shelter against a roof joist. Mustafa, sitting on Saunders’ lap, was also gazing at the bat. There’s nothing new about a bat swinging from a beam, but what made this one unique was that it was swinging like a pendulum, silently . . .

  *

  Crole was undergoing a change. The alteration could be observed not only in his appearance but also in his sitting posture. The body from waist to his head folded up and stooped forward, and with it the lower portion had risen from the chair and was rising even higher.

  After a couple of minutes, Crole’s body involuntarily took up a posture that resembled the position of a person reading his namaaz. Both Saunders and I clearly saw that his feet were no longer on the ground level. And the chair in which he was sitting was no more connected with any part of his body.

  From somewhere we got the whiff of attar. The minute I sensed this, I also heard the soft sound of something being dropped. I noticed a pearl rosary on the table where Crole’s head was resting—Muslims call it the ‘Tasbih’.

  Yet more wonder! In an instant the pearls loosened and spread all over the table and then rearranged themselves into a line of an Arabian script! It read, ‘May you succeed.’

  Soon, the pearls once again set themselves to form a new line. This time the words read, ‘The value of gold.’ I began to wonder what the spirit was trying to convey through these words. Just then these pearls joined together to create yet another sentence—‘Value of life.’ With this last message, all the pearls disappeared!

  Crole’s body now fell back into the chair with a loud noise. I explained the meaning of these words to Saunders. He said, ‘Of course I could follow “to succeed”, but what sort of messages are ‘value of gold’ and ‘value of life’? What do they mean?’

  Crole could not offer any satisfactory response to this. He said he had been in a deep trance. He had no knowledge of what he had done in that state.

  I feel that we need not pay too much attention to the second and the third word formations. To succeed—that’s all matters.

  When we were coming out of the room after our séance, we glanced at the beam and noticed that the bat was still hanging there. Has he become a permanent resident of this lab?

  1 July

  Today we checked out of the hotel and arrived at the castle. Before leaving, however, an incident took place which perturbed us all. The person chiefly responsible for this is the hotel authorities and hence we gave a mouthful to the manager. Let me tell you all about it.

  Even in a most ordinary hotel, the key of one room should not fit into another door. But upon our arrival on the first day we noticed that using Crole’s key we could easily unlock Saunders’s room. Despite that, as we loved the ambience as well as the quietness of the hotel, we had decided to stay on. Now Crole entered my room in a state of bluster. He reported that apparently in the middle of the night a thief had entered his room and ransacked it thoroughly. ‘Have they taken anything?’ I asked anxiously. ‘No, they haven’t.’ said Crole, ‘But they could easily have. Imagine . . . what if I had the Saavedra diary with me!’

  I haven’t mentioned that while we were still in London, Crole had copied the process of making gold from Saavedra’s diary and written it in his own code before depositing the original diary in the bank. We have divided copies of this in three parts among us. Each one has been allotted three foolscap sheets. Now we feel we would have faced a lot of trouble if we hadn’t worked it out like this. Saunders went straight to the manager’s room and nearly struck him. The gentlemen was almost in tears and said that in the last twenty-six years—that is, since they had set up this hotel—not once had they had any case of robbery. The nightwatchman of the hotel, that Pedro fellow, is a little above sixty. Upon investigation, he said one tourist had arrived after 1 a.m. to look for a room. Pedro said no room was available. Then that fellow offered a cigarette to Pedro. Noticing it was a good quality French cigarette, he couldn’t refuse. Right after taking the first drag his eyes instantly grew heavy with sleep. When he woke up it was 6.30 a.m.

  ‘What did he look like?’ asked Crole.

  ‘The man was bearded and mustached and wore black glasses,’ said Pedro. Pedro thinks that this man had not come in through the front door. It’s not difficult to climb up the pipe on the southern wall of the hotel to reach the verandah of the second floor. And after reaching the verandah you can straight away reach the staircase using the corridor.

  Now I was compelled to ask Crole how he had remained asleep with so much activity in his room. Crole said he had taken two sleeping pills so that before the work started he could rest well for one whole night. In any case, as none of Crole’s money or any other stuff was missing and we are to check out from the hotel today, there’s no point in lamenting now. The manager said as per custom he’ll report this to police. In case any new tourist has arrived in any other hotel he would go and investigate.

  *

  After arriving at the castle, the three of us checked it carefully in the morning light. You cannot comprehend the complicated plan of this castle by studying it only once. To be frank, if we didn’t have Pablo with us we would have lost our way on many occasions.

  On the second floor of the eastern side of the castle we had heard about a locked room; today we finally came across it. A huge padlock hung from the door. Moving and stirring the lock didn’t yield any result. It would be ridiculous to use the keys we have with us in trying to unlock the door. Crole said, ‘We will be staying here in any case; one day we can take a hammer and use our strength to see if that works.’

  Saunders looks a bit morose since last night. I think he is trying to relate the forewarning of the gypsy fortune teller to the words spoken by the spirit yesterday. He said, ‘Madam Renata had predicted, “I see death”, and the words the pearls revealed were. ‘The price of gold is the price of life.’ If I see my life in question due to the greed for gold, I’ll be nowhere in the scene. And not just my own life, Mustafa’s life is no less valuable than gold.’

  Crole was turning out to be an incurable optimist. He said, ‘There’s no need to pay any heed to that gypsy’s words. There can be no connection between gold and death. What the spirit of Jabir ibn Hayyan said only suggested that gold is an invaluable metal.’

  In clockwork precision, exactly at 12 noon, we put fire to the furnace and began our work. There’s no complication in our work’s procedure—it’s crystal clear—all we need are time and patience. We have devoted the whole of today just turning various herbs and roots of different trees into ash; and to measure out the ingredients—chiefly, mercury, sulphur and salt—weigh them in different quantities and put them in different containers. The rainwater has been retained in an oval-shaped water tank kept in the middle of the room.

 
; Now it’s 10 p.m. The three of us had taken turns to sleep since at least two of us have to be present during our experiment. Pablo, too, has slept for four hours and will keep a watch all night.

  4 July

  As nothing worthwhile happened yesterday I did not write anything in my diary. Today’s work progressed in the right direction. But something took place this afternoon which I must record in my diary.

  Around 12.30 p.m. when I heard the sound of an alarm from Saunders’s clock in the next room, I realized he had to join back work and now it was my turn to rest. But I could strongly feel that I would not be able to sleep currently as my nerves were all alert. However, as I didn’t want to upset our routine, the moment Saunders entered the laboratory I left. I decided to venture out a bit and explore this castle.

  Intuitively my attention went towards the locked room on the first floor. Among all the twenty-six rooms in this entire fort, why one room must remain locked had become the subject of great curiosity as well as suspicion for me.

  After reaching the first floor, I crossed the dark corridor and went towards the door. It was a humongous door—at least ten feet in height and certainly four-and-a-half feet in width. The body of the door had copper plated motifs on it. The iron lock had designs on it. I had a torch with me. While focusing the torchlight on the door from several directions, I noticed a small crack on the wooden surface. After removing my glasses I put my eyes right next to the crack. I had no hope of seeing anything at all. I assumed the inside of the room would be swathed in darkness.

  But when I peeped through that quarter of an inch gap, as thin as a thread, I could see that the inside of the room wasn’t pitch dark. Light was probably coming in through a skylight or a window and I could also clearly see that the colour of the light had a yellow tinge. Either the colour of the wall was yellow or perhaps the window glasses had a yellow shade.

  It was not possible for me to investigate any further. Another person would, however, be capable of doing so. Without waiting any further, I came out of the castle to look out for him.

  It didn’t take too long to locate Pablo. In the garden of the castle, under an oak tree surrounded by weeds and shrubs, he was trying to lay a trap. He said he had spotted a hedgehog and planned to catch it. I said, ‘The hedgehog can wait. First do me a favour.’

  After showing the room to Pablo I said, ‘Use the stairway to go on the second floor and check out if there’s any terrace on top of this room. Also look out for any skylight through which some light can enter that room.’

  Within ten minutes, Pablo returned puffing and panting. His eyes were sparkling. ‘Professor, come along with me!’

  Till we reached the second-floor terrace Pablo did not let go of my hand. In fact he almost dragged me throughout the way. On reaching the terrace he pointed with his finger,

  ‘There’s the skylight. Just glance through it once simply to see what amazing stuff is inside it!’

  I was hardly satisfied with just that one peek. I managed to find a thick rope and after breaking the skylight glass, using the rope I let Pablo climb down the room. When he scaled up with the help of the rope, his hands carried an animal, a bird and a flower—all made of pure gold. The animal was a squirrel, the bird was an owl and the flower was a rose. After wiping these well with my handkerchief, the glitter which they produced dazed my eyes. There’s no doubt that this metal is 100 per cent gold.

  Also there’s no doubt left that this gold had been produced by the Spanish alchemist, Manuel Saavedra, in the thirteenth century. Now I understand why this alchemist had called himself an artist. He was not only second to none in alchemy but an excellent goldsmith too. Even works by the noted sixteenth century Italian goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini’s works come out as a pale shadow.

  5 July

  I decided that as of now I would not show these gold objects to Saunders and Crole. In the end, however, keeping Saunders in mind I showed these sculptures to them that very day. Within two days of starting our work Saunders had to an extent lost his high spirits—one reason obviously being it’s very difficult for a scientist to take the course of alchemy seriously. I can understand this. But by virtue of being an Indian perhaps I can’t pooh-pooh concepts like ghosts and spirits, hymns and chants. From the various kinds of experiences I’ve encountered in my life, I find it difficult to associate any scientific explanations behind them. But Saunders is a thorough-bred Englishman; he has no belief in mumbo jumbo or in spells.

  Of course today Saunders has undergone a complete, change and the only reason is the discovery of the Saavedra made gold. We have set out those items on display on a shelf in our lab. One can’t describe how much the look of the room has changed. But then, with it, one needs to worry about burglars, as well. All three of us are carrying arms with us. Saunders is a great huntsman and Crole, too, knows how to use a pistol. My Annihilin gun is always there in my pocket. Hence there’s no need to fear anyone.

  Pablo is keeping a watch every night on a regular basis. The hedgehog has been captured in his trap. He is happily dealing with both the mongoose as well as the hedgehog.

  I think we’ll require two more days to finish our work. Today we produced that sticky matter. It’s taken a very strange appearance. It turns different shades of colours seen from different directions, and due to the presence of mercury each colour reflects a silver tinge.

  6 July

  We have a real reason to worry. It seems that the thief is still after us. It was only after Pablo informed us this morning that we went out and noticed a new pair of footprints in the garden. We spotted these footprints in various places. And some of these had appeared near the window of our lab. Yet Pablo could not make out anything of this affair. But that’s not unusual as other than the main entrance there are other ways to enter the garden. Many parts of this seven hundred-year-old wall have collapsed. Using the disintegrated areas any stranger from outside can easily come into the garden and move around without any problem. From now on Pablo needs to be much more alert.

  It’s 9 a.m. I’ve just finished my coffee and have started writing my diary. Right now, it’s Crole’s turn to sleep. But I doubt if any of us can afford to sleep today. Today we have to dissolve that sticky element into the rainwater and purify it continuously for the next seven hours. Then by God’s grace we have to dip either a pot or a pan made out of some metal like tin, iron, copper, brass into that liquid using tongs to see if our experiment with alchemy will turn out to be a success. If not, then none of us knows about our next course of action. I suppose like obedient children we will return to our respective homes. If asked, I won’t be able to explain why, yet I can intuit that our experiment is edging towards success.

  7 July

  The depths of dejection. The liquid was the result of great labour and diligence on our part, following accurately the alchemic procedures in the diary, but we could not make gold with it .

  Whatever metallic items that I had with me I immersed into that liquid—yet noticed no change in any of them. However, I can strongly feel that this liquid has some distinct potential; it needs to be cold in temperature, but when I place my hands near the liquid, I feel as if countless invisible pins are pricking my hand. Of course, Saavedra has clearly warned in his diary that no one should come in contact with this liquid. Along with Mustafa, Saunders has gone out of this laboratory and is now sitting in the garden. Sitting on a stool, Crole is looking blankly at the oval water tank. The bat, from the top of his head, continues to hang. Ever since his entry on the first day he has never left the room. I soon realized that Crole was almost on the verge of insanity when I suddenly saw him charging at that bat. After he uttered a few abusive words in German, aiming the bat on top, he took out the revolver from his pocket and with one shot killed him. What an extraordinary bat—even after his death he continued to dangle just like before from the ceiling—except that drops of blood from his body began to drip onto the floor.

  Hearing the sound of the shot, Saunders h
astily entered the laboratory and comprehending the situation began to shout at Crole. Watching this precarious situation, I left the room. Finally, signs of fatigue set in me after facing the lack of success despite all our countess days of hard work as well as staying up at nights. In general, my adventures never meet with failure. But this time it’s likely to turn into one.

  7 July, 11 p.m.

  This day turned out to be the most thrilling and memorable one of my life.

  I had left the room after hearing the altercation between Saunders and Crole and within ten minutes a series of horrifying events took place. I am trying my best to coherently jot down how things happened.

  After coming out of the lab, instead of going to my room I headed for the garden. A couple of minutes ago we’d had a bout of rain despite the sunshine. Standing outside, when I glanced at the east, I could see the peak of Spain’s highest mountain, Mulhacén. Atop the peak, across the sky, reflected a beautiful pair of rainbows. As I stood gazing at the rainbow I heard a muffled scream.

  I ran in the direction of the sound and found Pablo lying on the grass, unconscious. His jaw was bruised, one tooth was broken, and blood was oozing out of his mouth.

  And soon after, suspicious noise started coming out of the laboratory. Rushing breathlessly inside, I reached the door and stood motionless. Rufus Blackmore, sporting a satanic grin on his face and holding a .38 colt revolver in his hand, stood facing both Crole and Saunders. Noticing me he said, ‘The moment you cross the threshold you’re sure to die!’

  Saying this, he got his hands on the gold making formula kept on the table—to be precise he snapped up nine foolscap sheets. And then he began to proceed towards the shelf containing the gold objects on the right side of the wall.