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THE TWO MAGICS
THE TWO MAGICS
THE TURN OF THE SCREW
COVERING END
BY
HENRY JAMES
AUTHOR OF “DAISY MILLER,” “THE EUROPEANS”
ETC., ETC.
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd.
1898
All rights reserved
Copyright, 1898,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith
Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
THE TURN OF THE SCREW
The story had held us, round the fire, sufficientlybreathless, but except the obvious remarkthat it was gruesome, as, on Christmas eve in anold house, a strange tale should essentially be, Iremember no comment uttered till somebody happenedto say that it was the only case he had metin which such a visitation had fallen on a child.The case, I may mention, was that of an apparitionin just such an old house as had gathered us forthe occasion—an appearance, of a dreadful kind,to a little boy sleeping in the room with his motherand waking her up in the terror of it; waking hernot to dissipate his dread and soothe him to sleepagain, but to encounter also, herself, before shehad succeeded in doing so, the same sight that hadshaken him. It was this observation that drewfrom Douglas—not immediately, but later in theevening—a reply that had the interesting consequenceto which I call attention. Someone elsetold a story not particularly effective, which I saw he was not following. This I took for a sign thathe had himself something to produce and that weshould only have to wait. We waited in fact tilltwo nights later; but that same evening, beforewe scattered, he brought out what was in hismind.
“I quite agree—in regard to Griffin’s ghost, orwhatever it was—that its appearing first to thelittle boy, at so tender an age, adds a particulartouch. But it’s not the first occurrence of itscharming kind that I know to have involved achild. If the child gives the effect another turn ofthe screw, what do you say to two children——?”
“We say, of course,” somebody exclaimed, “thatthey give two turns! Also that we want to hearabout them.”
I can see Douglas there before the fire, to whichhe had got up to present his back, looking downat his interlocutor with his hands in his pockets.“Nobody but me, till now, has ever heard. It’squite too horrible.” This, naturally, was declaredby several voices to give the thing the utmostprice, and our friend, with quiet art, prepared histriumph by turning his eyes over the rest of usand going on: “It’s beyond everything. No