novel

                                                     CHAPTER 9

                                              AN ARM AND A LEG

"So at last you have come back to me, my pet," said Mr. Broadhurst with a twinkle in his lustful eyes (a twinkle that, it must be confessed, barely shaded the expression of total and bestial lust which dominated his every feature). Lyn sat down and made herself comfortable. "I have come to talk to you about Jill," she said. "You remember that time after..." "That will do, that will do," said Mr. Broadhurst; "if I want to talk about Jill I can talk to her myself. Now that you are here let us talk about you." "Me? there is nothing to say about me," Lyn said modestly, searching around the room for the picture of Bud which she had come to get. "Why don't we have a 'Bourbon Cocktail,' " cried Mr. Broadhurst. "All right," she said, and he ran into the kitchen on little egg feet. When he was once safely out of the room my intrepid aviatrix went at once to his safe and placed four sticks of dynamite there; lighting a match she took a deep breath but just then she heard the booming voice of Albert Broadhurst from behind her. "Drop that flame," he cried, and she turned, bewildered, to his primrose kiss...When Albert awakened it was already light, and the tiger hunt had begun. Luc and Lyn were safely ensconsed in the "hutmen" which was the most attractive feature of the mud and grass river boat which Louis had given to Luc. Had his experience all been in vain? Albert scanned the Asian coast disconsolately. He decided that, having nothing else to do, he would go to the octopus market and have a look. Now, you must know that the octopus market in Ytek is one of the wonders of the world. Men have traveled thousands of miles to see it, and women, faint souls, have passed away at the very thought of its bloody and grisly horrors. Once the French poet Margève visiting in these parts happened to come upon the thing by accident, and left a record of his experience (the last thing, by the by, that he ever wrote) which begins

     Si le bon dieu a commencé
     Par donner tout ce qu’il fallait
     A Adam et à Eve—
     Cheval, chat, chien, tout utile—
     Ce que je me demande, Seigneur,
     Est simplement cela—comment
     As-Tu jamais créé le Poulpe
     Qu’on voit ici saigner…

For my own part, it is less the bloody and horrible aspects of the market that attract my interest than it is the human ones. What a symphony of chatter! of buy and sell! of how much this! and how high that! of cut his legs off for me will you and those are not legs those are arms, what matter?! And what feed for a novelist, for a teller of tales! Who is that man there selling only the eyes? how did he awake this morning? and where does he go to pluck them? how, my ladies, and this is your novelist’s great dilemma, does the earth seem to him this morning? the same, think you, as it seems to you as you sit in your well-kept room overlooking the garden, with the fresh bare paper before you and the maids in white starched dresses awaiting your command in the pantry—? And who will tell me the story of that old woman in the octopus-hide coat, who is huddled in converse with a bearded stranger over there across the way?

Jill uncrossed her legs coolly. Her whole body was blasted with love. So are you set upon going away? she said. Yes he said. She smiled up at him a little sadly. He took the blue skull and crossbones into his hands and kissed it. The gigantic airplane slowly settled down on the white mountain. The bridge had hair on it. Luc said it was a “sacred horse.” When Louis returned to the monastery he found another gift from Ellen. That time it had been flowers; this time it was a human head. But already they were moving about him, “blasting the incense.” She crossed the little garden quietly and bumped into the white wall. Don lay there bleeding. The Moslem women picked it up and “garnished” it. Neal started up the plane, but both of them had already almost certainly lost the use of their left legs.

October. Albert was sad. He took down the book of Noh Plays and began to read. The plays were good. He laughed. It was fun reading them. They had many different plots. But there was always a priest. In each Noh play there was a priest. Albert called Bob, but Bob was gone. Albert called Bill. In came Bill. Albert said to Bill, “Ha ha. In each Noh play there is a priest.” “Ha ha,” Bill said. “Ha ha ha ha,” Albert said. Bill laughed again too. Then both men laughed a long time. Then they went to bed. Albert laughed again. He was already in bed. He called in to Bill. “There is a priest in each play!” Bill laughed and both were in bed. “Ha ha.” Albert felt better. “Ha ha ha ha.” But he remembered that moment long ago when Lyn destroyed the ring.