Page 83 - Phantom of the Opera

Chapter 11 The Scorpion or the Grasshopper These rooms are not unusual today, but the invention belongs to
Erik, who built the first room of this kind under my eyes at that
"Listen, dear. My mouth is closed, but you can hear my voice," time in Mazenderan in Persia. But the Persian princess grew
said the ventriloquist. "See the two boxes on the shelf? My voice tired of this, so Erik changed his invention into a torture room.
is in the little box on the right. What is it saying? Shall I turn the He put an iron tree with painted leaves in one corner. The
scorpion? And now, what is it saying in the little box on the left? attacks of the person in the torture room could not destroy it.
Shall I turn the grasshopper? Here it is in the little bag. What is it There was only this tree and nothing else, except the electric
saying? I am the little bag of life and death! And now it's in heating system, which could be controlled. The mirrors multiplied
Carlotta's throat! Co-ack! It's on a chair in the ghost's box and it is the tree so that it gave the impression of a tropical forest under a
saying, Madame Carlotta is singing tonight to bring the chandelier burning sun.
down! Where is Erik's voice now? Listen, Christine, my dear. It's The viscount was in a terrible state of worry. He rubbed his
behind the door of the torture room. It's me in the torture room! forehead with his hands, hoping to drive away a bad dream. He
And what am I saying? Look out if you have a nose, a real nose, and opened and shut his eyes, but the forest did not disappear.
have come to look around the torture room!" I noticed that the mirrors were marked and scratched, which
Oh, the ventriloquist's terrible voice! It was everywhere, proved to me that this torture room had already served a
everywhere! It ran around us, between us! Erik was there, purpose. Yes, someone driven crazy in this room had kicked
speaking to us! We jumped across the room to catch him, but his those mirrors. And the branch of the tree where he had put an
voice jumped back, behind the wall! Soon we heard nothing end to his own suffering was arranged so that, before dying, he
more because this is what happened: had seen a thousand men suffering with him. Yes, Joseph Buquet
had undoubtedly experienced all this! Were we to die as he had
"Erik! Erik!" said Christine's voice. "Stop! I'm tired of this.
done? I did not think so. I knew we had a few hours, and I could
Isn't it very hot here?"
use my knowledge of Erik's "tricks" to try to find a way out.
"Oh, yes," replied Erik's voice. "The heat is unbearable."
"But what does this mean? The wall is really getting hot! The We had dropped too far down to go back the way we came.
wall is burning!" The only possible way out was through the door that led to the
"I'll tell you, Christine. It is the forest next door. Didn't you room where Erik had kept Christine. Although this door could
see it was an African forest?" be seen by Christine, it was impossible to see from inside the
And the devil laughed so loudly and terribly that we could no torture room. We had to try to open it without even knowing
longer hear Christine's cries. Viscount Chagny shouted and where it was.
banged against the walls like a madman. I could not stop him. I had to calm the viscount, who was already walking about
And then there was the sound of a body falling on the floor and like a man going mad. His worry for Christine, the magic forest,
being dragged along. A door banged and then nothing. Nothing and the burning heat were having their intended effect on his
more around us except the burning silence of a tropical forest. brain. I made him touch the mirrors and the iron tree, and I
Our prison had six walls completely covered in mirrors. explained to him what was happening. I promised to find the

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