Jean-Marie Blas De Robles - Where Tigers Are at Home

That was precisely what I had been doing for a while with no other result that a growing headache & once more I had to admit defeat.

“A chicken, Caspar, a poulet , a pou-let ! Don’t you get it? That’s why the riddle’s in French,” my master said with a smile. When I looked baffled, he pretended to be looking for a flea in his hair. “Well try this one, since it’s written in our own language,” he went on, hardly giving me time to catch my breath: “ Ein Neger mit Gazelle zagt im Regen nie … Well?”

I puzzled over this for five minutes but I could not work out why a negro with a gazelle never despaired in the rain or what it might signify.

“This time you’re quite right, the sentence has no hidden meaning; on the other hand, it is a perfect palindrome & can be read equally well from right to left. This kind of frivolity was much in fashion in Rome during the days of her decline & I only wish Egyptian writing was as easy to decipher as these lame riddles.

“When it spotted me it was the one who was spotted …” he went on. “What do you think, Caspar? Is it not a witty way of painting with words the leopard’s coat?”

My master was about to tackle a further puzzle when the valet returned to say that his Highness would soon be there but in the meanwhile he asked us to be patient & to take a seat. As he said that, the servant gestured toward several chairs arranged around a picture showing the Prince in hunting dress.

Hardly had I sat down than I felt a sharp pain in my posterior: the cushion on my armchair was bristling with tiny pins causing unbearable discomfort. I immediately stood up again, in as natural a manner as possible &, following my master’s order, without saying anything. He, I think, immediately realized what the difficulty was.

“Oh, do forgive me, Caspar,” he said, also standing up, “I’d forgotten your hernia and that you shouldn’t sit in chairs that are too comfortable. Take mine, you’ll be better there.”

He immediately sat in the chair I had left without appearing to feel any pain at all. I admired the strength of character through which he could suffer a torment I had not been able to bear for five seconds. The armchair I was sitting in was not lacking an uncomfortable feature: the front legs were shorter than the back ones so that I kept sliding forward & had to tense my leg muscles to stop myself falling. The back sloped forward, aggravating the awkwardness of my posture, but compared with the other chair, it was a bed of roses & I was grateful to Kircher for having suggested this unfair exchange.

“But let’s get back to our puzzles,” my master said. “ Legendo metulas imitabere cancros . Oho! Latin now & some of the very best. It’s your turn, Caspar—”

At that moment the lackey reappeared behind us as if by magic; he announced the Prince of Palagonia. I was not in the least unhappy to leave my torture chair. The Prince was already approaching us with his limping gait. He was a small, very dry man, at most fifty but his uncombed wig and several bad teeth made him look as if he had one foot in the grave. His dress, of green silk, was rather austere in style & even somewhat dusty, betokening a man who cared little for his appearance.

“Good, good, good, that is good. My unworthy house is proud of your presence,” he said to Kircher in the bad German he insisted on speaking to the end of our stay.

My master bowed without returning his compliment.

“Good, even better like that. I like men who do not put on false modesty, especially when they possess the means to it. But come, come, I must myself excuse & to see is better than to speak …”

As he said that, he led us out of the room by a concealed door. After going along several corridors, we came to a library, well stocked, as it seemed to me, where he locked the door behind us. Going over to the shelves, he made as if to take out The Golden Ass by Apuleus — I remember the book because I could not see why he should suddenly want to talk to us about that author — but in fact by so doing he released a mechanism which opened a little window in the books, revealing the back of a painting. The Prince invited Kircher to put his eye to a tiny hole. My master did so & let me take his place after a few seconds.

“Amusing but rudimentary,” he commented without a muscle in his face expressing anything other than profound indifference.

I looked in my turn. The aperture gave a view of the room where we had been before.

“You understand,” the Prince went on, “that I show out of sincerity that & to prove to you how much I your worldly wisdom greatly value. I offer you all my excuses for this modest examination. It allows me to judge human honesty & you are first to succeed. Believe me that I great opinion of your abilities have & trust you not to reveal little secret of mine.”

Kircher assured him that we would never reveal the device to anyone, adding that the Prince’s suspicion was fully justified: there was, he said, no limit to human hypocrisy & if one were going to waste one’s time with people, it was best to take precautions in choosing those one was going to deal with.”

“Good, good, good,” said the Prince, nodding. “You permit me congratulate you for decipherment of decorative enigmas. It prove great knowing never before seen. But we speak later. I beg you first visit your habitation and rest you a little your travails. We see each other at lunch if that agree with you.”

Athanasius nodded his agreement & a servant came to take us to our apartments, where we found our luggage. They were extensive and comfortable, with flowers in beautiful arrangements, a bottle of malmsey ready to drink and crystal glasses. In an open box we found a set of surgical instruments with everything we needed to treat the wounds caused during our wait. I encouraged my master to make first use of it, since he had suffered the torture of the armchair longest, but he waved my offer away. I was dumbfounded by such stoicism, but Kircher lifted the back of his cassock &, after having untied a few tapes, revealed a sheet of thick leather so well placed that it remained invisible from outside.

“Yes, my friend,” Kircher said, giving my shoulder a friendly squeeze, “concerned by the rumors about the Prince, I took further advice & … several precautions. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about these preparations but our good faith had to be absolutely convincing. I suspected we would be observed & you, with your innocence & your usual courage, were the one who served that objective. I only intended to inflict the sloping chair on you, but you immediately sat down on the worst one of all. Let me tell you very sincerely how much I admire the way you reacted.”

“But what about the riddles, the pictures?”

“Yes, Caspar, yes, I had done my homework on those as well, so as not to appear unworthy so close to our goal. But don’t ask me any more questions, it’s still too early to explain all that to you. All I ask is a little patience & you’ll see yourself how justified this mystery-mongering was.”

I assured Athanasius I would obey him implicitly & started to put my things away. You can imagine how dumbfounded I was at my master’s cleverness & the way he took all possible steps to achieve his ends! His undertaking must be of some importance, I thought, as I swore to myself to do my best to support him in his projects. My unease regarding the Prince & his house had disappeared & I was full of impatience to take part in this unexpected adventure. My master was resting on his bed, his beard sticking up, his eyes closed, august & majestic, like a statue recumbent on a tomb. I almost knelt down before him, such was the effect of his strength of mind & superhuman intelligence on me.