"Деннис Уитли. The Devil Rides Out (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

'I'll take him,' volunteered Rex. The less the servants have to
do with this the better,' and picking up Simon in his strong arms as
though he had been a baby, he carried him straight upstairs to the
first floor where De Richleau's flat was situated.
'Put him in the library,' said the Duke, who had paused to murmur
something about a sudden illness to the porter, when he arrived on
the landing a moment later. 'I'll get something to bring him round
from the bathroom.'
Rex nodded obediently, and carried Simon into that room in the
Curzon Street fiat which was so memorable for those who had been
privileged to visit it, not so much on account of its size and
decorations, but for the unique collection of rare and beautiful
objects which it contained. A Tibetan Buddha seated upon the Lotus;
bronze figurines from ancient Greece; beautifully chased rapiers of
Toledo steel, and Moorish pistols inlaid with turquoise and gold;
ikons from Holy Russia set with semi-precious stones and curiously
carved ivories from the East.
As Rex laid Simon upon the wide sofa he glanced round him with an
interest unappeased by a hundred visits, at the walls lined shoulder
high with beautifully bound books, and at the lovely old colour
prints, interspersed with priceless historical documents and maps,
which hung above them.
De Richleau, when he joined him, produced a small crystal bottle
which he held beneath Simon's beak-like nose. 'No good trying to
talk to him tonight,' he remarked, 'but I want to bring him round
sufficiently to put him to sleep again.
Rex grunted. That sounds like double-dutch to me.'
'No. I mean to fight these devils with their own weapons, as you
will see.'
Simon groaned a little, and as his eyes flickered open the Duke
took a small round mirror from his pocket. 'Simon,' he said softly,
moving the lamp a little nearer, 'look upward at my hand.'
As he spoke De Richleau held the mirror about eighteen inches
from Simon's forehead and a little above the level of his eyes, so
that it caught and reflected the light of the lamp on to his lids.
'Hold it lower,' suggested Rex. 'He'll strain his eyes turning
them upwards like that.'
'Quiet,' said the Duke sharply. 'Simon, look up and listen to me.
You have been hurt and have a troubled mind, but your friends are
with you and you have no need to worry any more.'
Simon opened his eyes again and turned them upwards to the
mirror, where they remained fixed.
'I am going to send you to sleep, Simon,' De Richleau went on
softly. 'You need rest and you will awake free from pain. In a
moment your eyes will close and then your head will feel better.'
For another half-minute he held the mirror steadily reflecting
the light upon Simon's retina, then he placed the first and second
fingers of his free hand upon the glass with his palm turned outward
and made a slow pass from it towards the staring eyes, which closed
at once before he touched them.