In addition to cooking and bringing up Gregory's meals, Tarik had taken Kuporovitch's place in looking after him and now helped him with certain exercises the doctor had prescribed to keep his circulation going. As he had soon learned, the hunchback always either communicated in silence with his master or spoke Yiddish to him. Apparently he knew no other language so Gregory had to indicate his wants by signs and was unable to find out whether under the man's bald cranium there lay the mind of a simple, unfortunate being or a sinister personality.
Khurrem had already visited the invalid several times and now she came to see him more frequently. But she was still obviously oppressed by her secret worries, so made anything but a cheerful companion. Gregory felt sure that her visits were due only to her wish to show appreciation of his having offered to help her if she would confide in him, but she came no nearer doing so. In consequence, when their stilted conversations lapsed, and she said that she ought to get back to the farm, he never sought to detain her.
The result was that he now spent many hours each day alone, and as pain often kept him awake at nights he became subject to terrible fits of depression about his future as a cripple. His only escape lay in reading. Before the end of the week he had got through several books in German on hypnotism and J. Mime Bramwell's great opus on the subject in English.
When, in due course, Malacou asked him how he was getting on with his reading, he replied, `I have learned quite enough to convince me that hypnotism is simply an extension of the powers of the human brain and owes nothing to the supernatural.'
The doctor showed his long teeth in a smile. `Yet you will agree that anyone who practised it a few hundred years ago could have been credited with supernatural powers? 'Yes, I don't doubt that they would.'
`There, then, you have the explanation of all these mysteries. supernatural is simply a word to express any happening that is beyond our present comprehension and magic the procuring of a result normally regarded as impossible when judged y the accepted laws of cause and effect. As more and more natural laws receive recognition, the magic of yesterday becomes the science of today.!
'That sounds perfectly reasonable; but do you suggest, then, that contrary to popular belief magic never entails calling upon the forces of evil?
'I would not say that, although, of course, from the beginning of time people have differed about what is good and what evil. There are laws governing the material plane and laws governing the spiritual plane. During the past two hundred ears many of the former have been harnessed to the great benefit of mankind-electricity, for example; and the modern wizards we term scientists take credit for new discoveries every day. But the greater part of the laws governing the spiritual plane they still refuse to recognize or investigate. To apply such laws requires the development of a person's higher being so- that he is in rapport with powers that enable him to bring about that which he wishes to achieve.'
`I see. But as spiritual powers are either of God or the Devil, that must entail becoming a priest of sorts to one or the other.' `Not necessarily. Everyone has spiritual powers within him self. A knowledge of them enables an occultist to use certain unseen forces for his own ends without attracting to himself their good or evil. Prolonged study of these mysteries has enabled me to do so.'
`Then why did you not use yours to ensure Kuporovitch's getting away safely?' Gregory asked shrewdly.
`Because my command of the unseen forces is strictly limited. Just as scientists are still only on the fringe of discovering the laws that govern the material universe, so modern occultists are still only gradually obtaining knowledge of the laws that govern the realm of the spirit. The ancients knew far more of them than we do; but when their civilizations were overrun by barbarians that knowledge was lost. We are regaining it only a little at a time by deep thought and patient experiment.'
`Your contention is, then, that such people as yourself are, in a way, scientists and that evil plays no part in occult operations.'
Malacou shrugged. `It need not do so. Naturally the supreme powers lie at the root of all things. I was seeking only to assure you that certain results that you would term "miraculous" can be achieved without calling for help upon either good or evil forces. There are ten grades of occultists, ranging from Neophyte to Ipisissimus. Only those holding the three highest ranks have passed the Abyss and so irrevocably committed themselves to follow either the Right Hand or Left Hand Path. I am no more than a Practicus, so still engaged in mastering the mysteries of the Qabalah. However, while in the lower grades I achieved entry to the Astral Plane and complete success in Asana and Paranayama, which enables me to perform many minor magics.'
`And you claim that your success in such practices owes nothing to evil forces?
'I do. Surely you do not suppose that every clairvoyant, thought-reader, hypnotist and pain-taker has entered into a pact with Satan?
'No; of course not.'
`Then why be so frightened and continue to put up with your pain when by hypnotizing you I could relieve you of it?'
For several minutes Gregory remained silent. All things considered, he decided that Malacou had made his case; so at length he said:
`Very well, then. Life will be a lot pleasanter for me if I don't have to lie here for hours dreading these daily ordeals. Let's start tomorrow.'
When Malacou came up next morning he was wearing an elastic band round his head, from the centre of which, above his forehead, there rose a circular metal mirror of the kind that doctors use for reflecting light down a patient's throat. Sitting down opposite Gregory, he told him to keep his eyes on the metal disc and to open his mind by not allowing it to follow any chain of thought.
Having taken a decision, it was against Gregory's nature to adopt half-measures in carrying it out; so he fixed his gaze steadily on the disc and as each thought drifted into his mind promptly dismissed it. As he stared at the bright metal it seemed gradually to increase in size until its light blotted out everything else and he had the sensation of being drawn towards it. Surprisingly soon he felt drowsy, his eyelids flickered a few times then fell; yet through them he was aware of a strong, rosy glow. He then felt his hand lifted and was vaguely surprised that when left unsupported his arm remained up in the air at right-angles to his body without his exerting the least effort. After that his mind became blank.
When he recovered his faculties he was again lying back in bed and Malacou was looking down on him. With a smile the doctor said, `By offering no resistance you made things easy for me. You were under for half an hour and did not make so much as a murmur. What is more I was able to lift you up and turn you round so that for a while both your legs were dangling over the side of the bed and the blood could flow more freely to them.'
Gregory returned his smile. `I didn't feel a thing. What a blessed relief to know that I haven't to suffer any more when you do my dressings. I'm very grateful to you, Doctor.'
Since Gregory and Kuporovitch had returned from Peenemьnde Malacou had, from time to time, brought them up news of the progress of the war as given out on the German radio. For the first fortnight Gregory had been too ill to take much that had happened, but he gradually caught up with events. Two days after he had been struck down the Allies had completed their conquest of Sicily; and on September 3rd they had gone into the toe of Italy.