The countess seemed greatly put out that I would not stay. But I was persistent. Turning at the door, I said, “You must come to see me. And in as much as you delight in having a pretty girl, I shall take great pleasure in furnishing one or two for you."
So you see, my friend, I did not gain much by this visit. True, I had had the pleasure of having a very talented girl perform for me, but I had set the countess as my game and, like her, I was disappointed.
Anna and Nina, who were almost daily visitors at my apartment, were waiting for me when I returned. They were anxious to hear the results of my visit.
"The huntress goes forth to conquer and returns empty-handed!” cried Nina, springing up to embrace me, smiling the while.
"Not entirely,” I said, passing into my room that I might get out of my clothes. “I'll admit my trip wasn't entirely a success, but it wasn't without a certain amount of pleasure; the countess has some very pretty maids,” I said, looking at her from the corner of my eye.
"But I'll bet a pretty penny you didn't capture the countess,” she insisted. “If you did, you are the first."
"Nina, dear,” I said as I settled myself to enjoy a rest before going to the theater, “there is something about that house that is next to terrifying, and I would give much to penetrate its secret.” Both girls listened in rapt attention as I related everything that had transpired in the countess’ home. I described with minute detail everything as I remembered it. I told how she had almost openly solicited me; how I had had the pleasure of beating her in her scheme. And I told them of the brief conversation between the girl and myself.
When I ended my recital, Anna said, “All right, my dear. You wanted to take the matter into your own hands and you have failed. Now we'll tell you the truth of the matter. No, don't look so startled; you would never have been satisfied until you made that call, and now that you have been there yourself-and gotten nowhere-we'll tell you what we know about her."
"Tell me this first,” I said. “Why do those girls remain there for the sole purpose of being whipped? What power does she hold over them, and why are they deprived of the pleasure afforded most young women who crave the flesh?"
"One question at a time, dearie,” suggested Nina. “Let us take them in the order asked. To begin with, this woman, as you undoubtedly know, is Russian. She is of a class who delight in lording it all over those beneath her. She was reared, undoubtedly, in an atmosphere of mock splendor; lived and breathed wealth and power. The girls do not remain with her through their own initiative; they are held there quite against their will. Why? Listen carefully and I shall tell you. Our friend, the countess, has a brother. Like her, he is a low beast-I have met him and know, as has my pretty sister. At the moment, he is chief jailer at a prison in Budapest. He rules like a czar; the people of Budapest look upon him as something akin to the unnatural, and that is exactly what he is: an unnatural beast.
"Now, then, the beautiful girls our friend the countess maintains in her spacious home are provided by this wealthy brother. He keeps her provided with pretty and talented young women. The girls have all been arrested at some time or other on trumped-up charges and are held there against their will. With his unholy power, this is easily done. Believe it or not, that prison is the worst den of iniquity in all Europe. Men of great wealth-and women, too-frequent the place for the sole purpose of holding orgies of the most awful sort. During these orgies-and that's all they are-the most fiendish and brutal practices are inflicted upon the inmates. Men and women, mostly young women, are stripped stark naked, fastened to, or on, strange instruments of torture and brutalized to the point where it is not at all uncommon for the victims to die. The more beautiful of these are shipped to the countess and are held in her house under pain of death. Now, as far as the girls liking the idea of administering to the sensual desires of the countess-to say nothing of liking the lash-it is because they are instructed by the noble brother. They are deprived of the pleasure derived from men and women. It is true that they are not allowed to frequent each other's rooms. They are told that if they disobey a single rule laid down for them, they will be returned to Budapest to finish their days in prison.
"We know for a fact that has already happened on several occasions. Those girls would put up with anything the countess suggests rather than be returned to prison. As far as their appearing to like being whipped, they do not; it's simply that they know they must do it, and so they concentrate their thoughts on lascivious things and actually bring themselves to the spending point for the sole purpose of entertaining their mistress. Does that explain it, my dear?"
"Partly,” I answered. It was, without doubt, the strangest story I had ever heard. “Tell me this,” I continued. “Why does she have the girls wear such strange outfits? Why is her home decorated with the most obscene pictures all devoted to whipping, and why, above everything else, does she wear such an asinine headdress and go about otherwise naked?"
Nina laughed. “For a young woman you have a happy faculty of asking questions. If the girls were allowed clothing, they might try to escape; naked they wouldn't get far. Her home is decorated with whipping pictures for the simple reason that there is little else on her mind; the strange headdress you refer to is a direct symbol of her insanity."
"You mean,” I ventured, “that the woman is insane?” I began to realize how silly I had been in laying myself open to an attack from her.
"Crazy, yes,” answered Nina, “but crazy on one thing; otherwise she is quite sane."
"Why didn't you tell me of this?” I asked.
"Why try telling you anything? You would have gone anyway."
I saw the truth of this and did not press her further.
"There is one thing, however, that isn't at all plain,” I said. “How can one get pleasure-sexual pleasure-in watching another suffer?"
Both girls looked at me for a moment before Anna said, “Think back for a moment, my dear. Weren't you highly excited at witnessing the show?"
I wondered at that. I wasn't at all sure whether it was the sight of their nakedness or the whipping. “I don't know,” I said in answer to the direct question. “I am somewhat in doubt about it."
"Enough to want to put it to the test?” asked Nina, gazing at me from beneath her lowered lids.
"What do you mean by that?” I asked, mystified as to her meaning.
"I mean,” she said, “do you care enough about it to want to put it to the test? If you do, it can be arranged."
"How?"
"By making up a little party and visiting the prison in question. I know the very person who would be delighted at the chance of going with us-say a party of four?"
Something snapped within my brain! The thought intrigued me!
Why not? I thought. If there is a chance to visit this den and discover if I, too, have an inborn desire (unknown to myself) to witness another's suffering, then why not take advantage of it?
"How can it be arranged?” I asked, trying to remain calm.
"Easily,” answered Anna. “We can arrange it for one week from this Saturday. That Sunday the theater is closed for Saint's Day. We could leave right after Saturday night's performance and have plenty of time to enter into the spirit of the thing; then you could return either late Sunday night or early Monday. In any event, it would give you plenty of opportunity to rest for your next show."
I gave it considerable thought for a few moments, then said, “Are you sure there will be no danger in this wild scheme?"
"None whatever. We have both been there and suffered little or no damage to our delicate persons."
"And this other person-a woman, I presume? Who is she?"
"Her name is Bernice; she is one of the most beautiful and prominent women in Pest, and maintains one of, if not the best-known whorehouses in all of Europe."