Chapter 5 Chapter Four

They came to a crowded and narrow street that led directly to the boulevard Montparnasse.Trams whizzed by with their screeching bells, and the sidewalks were thronged with people. The market they were going to was near the Lion of Belfort, at most a mile away.Arthur called a taxi.Susie told the driver the destination.As they waited to go, she noticed Haddo put his hand on the horse's neck.Suddenly, without warning, the horse trembled.Immediately afterwards, the entire horse trembled from top to bottom, from head to tail, including its hooves, staggering as if it was about to fall.The groom jumped off his seat and hugged the poor horse's head.Margaret and Susy got out of the car and saw that the horse was in great pain, but it didn't seem like she was in real pain, but rather out of terrific fear.Although Susie didn't know what was going on, a thought flashed through her mind.

"Take your hand off, Mr. Hadow!" she said sharply. He smiled and did as she asked.At the same time, the trembling of the horse gradually stopped, and in a blink of an eye, the poor horse returned to normal. Although there was still some fear, it had basically calmed down. "What the hell! I want to know what the hell is going on," said Arthur. Oliver Hadow looked at him with those blue eyes that seemed to see right through.Then he raised his hat, turned and left.Susie turned suddenly to Dr. Bojoy. "Do you think he's capable of making a horse like that? As soon as he puts his hand on the horse's neck, the horse starts shaking, and as soon as he removes his hand it's all right again."

"Nonsense!" said Arthur. "I think he's playing some kind of game," said Dr. Bojoy seriously. "A strange thing happened when he came to see me once. I have two Persian cats, which are very well-behaved and well-bred." During the day, he always nestled in front of the fireplace and meditated on metaphysical issues. But as soon as he entered the door, they jumped up, and the hairs on their bodies stood up one by one, as if feeling great fear, they froze in the room like crazy. Running around. As soon as I opened the door, they rushed out. I have never been able to understand what happened."

Marguerite shuddered with fear. "I've never been so disgusted by anyone," she said. "I don't know what I was afraid of, but even now I still feel him staring at me strangely. I hope I will never see him again." Arthur smiled slightly, and shook her hand.She clutched his hand tightly, and he felt her trembling.Personally, he has no doubts about this matter, because he doesn't care about the truth of these things at all.Whether Haddo really believed things that only a madman would believe, or was trying to get attention in this way, he was just a mean guy anyway.It is a true fact that no one in the world can perform miracles.

"Don't worry," said Arthur, "if he really knows Frank Herrier, I'll be sure to find out about him. I'll leave Herrier a message tonight and ask him to tell me all about the man." Condition." "That's great," said Susie, "because I'm very interested in him. There's no place like Paris where you always meet all sorts of weirdos. You live here sooner or later and you meet someone who believes in everything." .Here, no matter what form of belief, eccentricity or heinous crime, there will be adherents. Think what a privilege it is to meet a person who believes in the occult in the twentieth century."

"Because I study these things, I have met a lot of weird people." Dr. Bojoy said calmly, "But I agree with Miss Boyd that Oliver Hadow is the most special. One thing, you don't know how much he is." Believe what he says. Is he a liar or a lunatic? Is he lying to himself, or is he secretly laughing at those stupid people who believe his words to be true? I can't tell. All I know is that he has traveled a lot and mastered Many languages. He knows alchemy literature very well, and there is no book I have heard related to this dark art that he does not know." Dr. Bojoy slowly shook his head, "I know that one should not be arbitrary I know it would make my friend Arthur angry, but I have to say I wouldn't be at all surprised if he was actually magical and able to do things that on the surface look like miracles of."

Before Arthur could speak, they came to the Lion of Belfort. The market was extremely lively, and the noise was deafening.The high-spirited band roared out the current popular tunes, and amidst their din, the carousel turned.The men at the entrance of the booth forced passers-by into the store with loud voices.From the shooting hall came the crackling of toy rifles.The noisy crowd was bustling, shoulder to shoulder, moving slowly along the middle avenue.The acetylene torches burned continuously, brightening the night red.It's an interesting scene, half utterly hilarious, half obnoxiously nasty.It was as if the crowd had made up their minds to have a good time, as if worn out by the weariness of their daily work, they were desperately struggling to be happy.

Ironically, Dr. Bojoy and his party had scarcely been in the fair until Oliver Hadow joined them.People didn't like walking with Hador, but he didn't care.His appearance and demeanor are very eye-catching, so he has attracted the attention of many tourists.He was constantly being pointed at, Susie noticed, and he enjoyed it.He wore a large Spanish cape, a matador's red cape, with a flamboyant red and green velvet lining thrown over his shoulders.He wore a big fedora hat on his head.He was tall, and although he didn't feel noticeable because of his obesity, he still stood a lot taller in the crowd.

They casually watched various performances, while rejecting all kinds of traffickers who were clamoring to solicit customers.Some of those dealers show melodramas, some perform circuses, and some exhibit all kinds of weird things.After a while they saw a craftsman who could cut out human silhouettes from black paper.Hadow insisted on posing and cutting a portrait.At this moment Hador was surrounded by many people, all joking about his unusual appearance.He assumed his favorite smug command pose.Margaret wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of him, but Susie insisted on staying. "He's the most ridiculous person I've ever met," she whispered. "You can't just let him go."

After the silhouette was finished, Hadow bowed slightly to Margaret and handed the silhouette to her. "I implore you to accept this unique portrait of Oliver Hadow," he said. "Thank you." Margaret said coldly. She was not at all willing to accept the portrait, but she could neither think of a jesting excuse nor a rude and straightforward refusal.He carefully placed the portrait in an envelope, as if he knew she would treasure it.They continued to walk forward, and suddenly saw a canvas shed with a very oriental pattern painted on the roof.It was a beautiful Arabian snake with some Arabic characters on it.A native Arab sat at the entrance with his legs crossed, beating the drum listlessly, and when he saw Dr. Bojoy and his party stop, he introduced them in broken French.

"Doesn't this remind you of a muddy Nile, Dr. Bojoy?" said Hadow. "Let's go in and see what treasures this fellow has." Dr. Bojoy took a step forward and said a few words to the snake charmer.As soon as the snake charmer heard the language of his native land, he immediately regained his spirits. "He is an Egyptian from Asyut," said the doctor. "I've taken your tickets," said Haddo. He lifted the curtain that hung over the door, and Susie went in first.Margaret and Arthur Burden reluctantly followed in.The stall owner closed the entrance and came in after them.It was a small, dirty tent, dimly lit by two smoking lights.A dozen chairs formed a circle on the floor.A peasant woman sat motionless in a corner, wearing a baggy, dirty black gown.Her face was hidden behind a veil.It was a long veil, fastened to a curious brass ornament in the middle of her forehead, between her eyes.All that was left of the face were the large, sad eyes.Her eyelashes are thickly coated with makeup toner, so they appear darker.Her nails were a bright reddish-brown with henna.After the guests came in, she moved slightly, and the man at the door handed her his drum.She rubbed the drum with her hands, and it was strange that the drum made a buzzing sound, which sounded strange and mysterious.There was a peculiar smell in it, which made Dr. Bojoy feel like he was back in the stinking Cairo Street.It was a very pungent smell, a mixture of sacrificial incense, rose oil, and every rotten smell imaginable.The two ladies choked on the smell, and Susie asked for a cigarette.The Arab grinned when he heard English, showing a row of shiny and very beautiful teeth. "My name is Mohammad," he said, "and I performed snake-charming for the commander, Lord Kitchener. Just wait and see what I do. Snakes are very poisonous." He wore a blue gabardine robe, but it was too dusty to distinguish the color.He wears a tarsh hat on his head.His attire was more suited to the sunny banks of the Nile than to a Parisian market. There was a carpet on one side of the tent, and he took out a goatskin bag from under the carpet, placed it in the middle of the circle surrounded by chairs, and then the cat bent down.Seeing that the surface of the pocket fluctuated strangely, Margaret couldn't help shivering.The Arab opened his pockets.The woman sitting in the corner rubbed the drum indifferently, and now and then let out a wild cry.The Arab smiled wickedly, a gleam of white teeth, and plunged his hand into the sack, groping for something like he was rummaging through a sack of corn.Then he pulled out a long writhing snake.He put the snake on the ground, and after waiting for a while, put his hand on the snake.In an instant, the snake stiffened like an iron bar.No one would have believed it was a living thing if it hadn't been for those wide, cruel eyes. "See," said Hador, "this is the miracle that Moses performed before Pharaoh." Then the Arab produced a reed flute.This reed flute is no different from the flute that Pan, the shepherd god, played to the forest elves.He blew a weird and unchanging tune, and the originally stiff snake slowly moved with the music.It raised its head, slowly straightened up, and finally stood up completely by its tail, and then slowly swayed back and forth with the music. Oliver Hadow seems obsessed with it.He leaned forward, eagerly, and his unusual eyes fixed on the snake charmer with an indescribable expression.Margaret backed away in fear. "Don't be afraid," said Arthur, "these people have their fangs pulled out when they play with animals." Oliver Hadow looked at Arthur, who seemed to be thinking about who he was talking to every time. "A true snake charmer is only one who is immune to the venom of the most venomous snakes without medical assistance." "Really?" said Arthur. "In Madras, I was there when one of the most famous local snake charmers died two hours after being bitten by a cobra," said Hadow. In the evening, I asked a friend to take me to his place. He was not at home, so we stayed and waited for him. After a while, he came back with some friends. We told him the purpose of our trip. He just After the wedding banquet, he was very drunk. But he still got the snake, and immediately put on a jaw-dropping show for us. I don't think this snake charmer has ever heard of those shows. Finally, he took out the snake from the bag. He caught a giant cobra and started to manipulate it. Suddenly, the snake flew towards his jaw and bit him, leaving two wounds as big as needlepoints. The snake charmer was startled and backed away. "'I'm doomed,' said he. "The friend next to him wanted to kill the cobra, but he stopped him. "'Let it live,' said he. 'Perhaps it will serve other snake charmers. It is of no use to me. Nothing can save me now.' "Surrounded by his friends, companions, and other sorcerers, he was lifted onto a chair. Two hours later, he was dead. He was so drunk that he forgot a few protective spells, and that was the end. killed." "You've got so many wild stories going on in your head," said Arthur, "that I'd need better evidence to believe that these snakes were poisonous." Oliver turned to the snake charmer and said something to him in Arabic.Then he said to Arthur: "He had a viper with horns, which you gentlemen of science call a viper. It was the most venomous snake in Egypt, and is commonly called Cleopatra's serpent. Considering that this Caesar's mistress was in August After the victory, Stu was unable to save his life, so he put this snake in a basket of figs and sent it to her." "What are you going to do?" said Susie. He smiled, but did not answer.He walked to the center of the tent, knelt down, and read Arabic.Dr. Bojoe translated what he said to everyone. "Ah! Viper, I implore you to come forward in the name of Almighty God. You are just a humble snake, and none of your brothers can resist the greatness of God. Follow my command and come forward." The goatskin bag trembled, and then a head poked out, and then the soft body snaked out.It was a pale gray snake with a horn above each eye.It fell on the ground, curled up slightly. "Can you tell what kind of snake it is?" Oliver asked the doctor in a low voice. "can." The snake charmer sat motionless, and the woman who had been rubbing the drum in the dark also stopped at this moment.Hador took the snake and opened its mouth.At this moment, the snake exerted force suddenly, wrapped around his hand, and its fangs pierced deeply into his flesh.Arthur saw the look of pain on his face, but he didn't flinch.The writhing snake hung from his hand.He kept repeating a sentence in Arabic, and then suddenly, a drop of water dripped from the roof, and at the same time the snake fell down.Blood gushed out of the wound immediately.Haddo murmured incantations that the crowd could not understand, spat three times on the bleeding place, and rubbed the saliva on the wound three times with his fingers.The bleeding stopped.He held out his hand to Arthur. "I suppose that's what you surgeons call primary healing," he said. Arthur was shocked and angry at what he saw, and he was unwilling to admit that there was anything unusual about such clots. "You haven't proved that the snake is poisonous." "It's not over yet," said Haddo, smiling. He spoke a few more words to the Egyptian, and the Egyptian gave his wife instructions.The woman stood up without a word, and took out a white rabbit from a box.She clutched at the rabbit's ears, and the poor little thing kicked and struggled.Haddo put the rabbit in front of the horned snake, and the snake struck the rabbit like a bolt of lightning.The poor little beast gave a faint shriek and shuddered, and died. Margaret jumped up with a cry. "My God, it's cruel! It's bloody cruel!" "Now do you believe it?" Haddo asked coldly. Terrified and disgusted, the two ladies hurried towards the door, leaving Oliver Hadow alone in his tent with the snake charmer.