第65章

"Yes--Harden.You must go down to Richmond at once, see Harden personally, and tell him to send twice as many orchids as I ordered, and to have as few white ones as possible.In fact, I don't want any white ones.It is a lovely day, Francis, and Richmond is a very pretty place--otherwise I wouldn't bother you about it.""No trouble, sir.At what time shall I be back?"Dorian looked at Campbell."How long will your experiment take, Alan?" he said in a calm indifferent voice.The presence of a third person in the room seemed to give him extraordinary courage.

Campbell frowned and bit his lip."It will take about five hours,"he answered.

"It will be time enough, then, if you are back at half-past seven, Francis.Or stay: just leave my things out for dressing.You can have the evening to yourself.I am not dining at home, so I shall not want you.""Thank you, sir," said the man, leaving the room.

"Now, Alan, there is not a moment to be lost.How heavy this chest is! I'll take it for you.You bring the other things." He spoke rapidly and in an authoritative manner.Campbell felt dominated by him.They left the room together.

When they reached the top landing, Dorian took out the key and turned it in the lock.Then he stopped, and a troubled look came into his eyes.He shuddered."I don't think I can go in, Alan," he murmured.

"It is nothing to me.I don't require you," said Campbell coldly.

Dorian half opened the door.As he did so, he saw the face of his portrait leering in the sunlight.On the floor in front of it the torn curtain was lying.He remembered that the night before he had forgotten, for the first time in his life, to hide the fatal canvas, and was about to rush forward, when he drew back with a shudder.

What was that loathsome red dew that gleamed, wet and glistening, on one of the hands, as though the canvas had sweated blood? How horrible it was!--more horrible, it seemed to him for the moment, than the silent thing that he knew was stretched across the table, the thing whose grotesque misshapen shadow on the spotted carpet showed him that it had not stirred, but was still there, as he had left it.

He heaved a deep breath, opened the door a little wider, and with half-closed eyes and averted head, walked quickly in, determined that he would not look even once upon the dead man.Then, stooping down and taking up the gold-and-purple hanging, he flung it right over the picture.

There he stopped, feeling afraid to turn round, and his eyes fixed themselves on the intricacies of the pattern before him.He heard Campbell bringing in the heavy chest, and the irons, and the other things that he had required for his dreadful work.He began to wonder if he and Basil Hallward had ever met, and, if so, what they had thought of each other.

"Leave me now," said a stern voice behind him.

He turned and hurried out, just conscious that the dead man had been thrust back into the chair and that Campbell was gazing into a glistening yellow face.As he was going downstairs, he heard the key being turned in the lock.

It was long after seven when Campbell came back into the library.

He was pale, but absolutely calm."I have done what you asked me to do,"he muttered "And now, good-bye.Let us never see each other again.""You have saved me from ruin, Alan.I cannot forget that," said Dorian simply.

As soon as Campbell had left, he went upstairs.There was a horrible smell of nitric acid in the room.But the thing that had been sitting at the table was gone.