Original subtitles

The film you're about to see

is the story of strange happenings

out on the bleak moors of Northumberland

at the turn of the century.

You will not find any official records in existence,

neither will you find this story in any fairy books.

It is purely a legend, handed down

by the descendants of the inhabitants of that village,

who preferred to forget what started

on that cold November night in the year 1890.

No!

Now, Martha, there's no sense in your carrying on like this,

and it's no use screaming.

Now let's get this over so I can return to my work.

I won't let you!

Martha, you're not making sense.

We've administered this dozens of times without all this nonsense.

All that snake poison in my blood for months, years.

You don't know,

nobody knows, what it will do.

Of course I know what it will do.

I know what it's done.

It gave you back your mind

when they all said you were hopelessly insane.

I know that, but...

Other investigators have employed snake venom

in the treatment of haemophilia, epilepsy,

rheumatism, hypertension, even cancer.

But it is Horace Adderson, your husband,

who is the only herpetologist

to have cured a sick mind with snake venom.

But what about the baby?

The baby?

That snake poison flowing through my blood,

what will it do to my unborn child?

So that's it.

Under your microscope, doesn't all new life look the same?

Plant, fish, human,

even... serpent.

That's true but...

Life is such a miraculous, delicate thing.

What if this poison were to upset the balance?

And instead of a normal healthy child,

ours were to be born a...

That's ridiculous.

Don't you see, it just shows that your mind is... is slipping away again?

Now, Martha, just relax.

No, no. Until the baby comes, I would rather take that chance.

Well, I wouldn't. Besides being my wife,

you're the living, breathing proof of the soundness of my theories.

Those things are more important than a child.

Not to me.

Now, Martha, suppose we did neglect your treatment

and the child was born like you were mentally.

Oh...

You don't want that.

It wouldn't be fair to the child, would it?

Now, that's being sensible.

There.

Martha, what...?

The baby!

It's coming!

Are you sure? It's not due.

Your... poison!

Oh!

I'll go and fetch Dr Murton.

Here, take her, Aggie.

A little girl?

I'll do for her what I can.

- This poor woman... - You mean?

Your wife is very weak.

Hardly a flicker of life.

The child?

The baby's cold.

No chance of life.

Strange.

It looks so alive, Aggie.

Those eyes so wide open.

It is evil. It has the eye.

It is the devil's offspring!

You speak like a witch.

I am not a witch, but I have certain powers.

I can see things.

Why do you think no other midwife would come here?

But you came.

Out of pity for that poor woman.

Because I have charms to ward off evil.

Nonsense.

Two crossed knives on the stairs

at the full of the moon.

This blessed cord to keep the spirits from the body,

and this stone from the druids' cave to break all spells.

Those eyes.

- I could swear I saw them move then. - Dr Adderson.

I am puzzled by her reaction.

There's something strange,

almost as if she had received a neurotoxic poison.

Poison?

I'm afraid there's little hope.

My baby?

Yes, a girl, but...

That's impossible. The child can't live!

Its blood was cold.

Cold... blood?

I won't touch it. A thing of evil.

The baby is cold as ice.

Doctor, its eyes, so wide and staring, and they never close.

It doesn't seem normal.

The eyelids appear undeveloped.

It can't close its eyes.

Like a reptile.

Let me see the child.

No, Martha, it wouldn't be wise.

Let me see my daughter!

She is dead.

Poor woman.

The child is evil.

It has the eye.

One look killed the mother.

Give me those scissors!

It will kill us all!

It must be destroyed!

Try to hold her!

This will calm her down.

No!

What a horrible woman.

Are you all right?

I think so.

Look!

- Double to finish, George. - Ah.

- Jimmy lad. - Evening, Constable.

Ah, Susie!

Hello, Alfie.

Made your evening quota of murderers, I suppose?

Footpads mostly this fine evening, Barkis, old friend.

Oh, and a few thugs and knifers.

I tell you, Alfie,

it's a shame you should go so unappreciated.

It isn't every officer who can uncover such heinous offences in a village of 200.

Murder!

Murder, evil, a curse on us all!

A curse on the village!

You're all lost! You're cursed! You're doomed!

Unless you come with me now.

- To where, Aggie? - To the house of the snakes,

where the evil thing was born tonight.

- Adderson's? - The wife was expecting, sure enough.

And didn't the evil thing look up

and murder the poor, weak mother with one look?

You mean, Adderson's wife is dead?

Aye, and so would the serpent child be, too,

if I hadn't been prevented.

- By what? - By the father.

I came to you all for help.

Unless you go there with me now, we're all lost, all!

Well, what are you thinking, Alfie?

Aggie has the gift of sight, as well you know.

If there's someone dead, it should be investigated.

I've had my suspicions of Adderson for some time now.

The things he does with those ugly reptiles.

Well, if you're going, I'll go, too.

Come on, lads!

Maybe Aggie was right.

Maybe she should be destroyed.

Ridiculous!

There must be an explanation for the child's characteristics and reactions.

There is and the mother knew what it was.

I was too blind to imagine.

You're a research scientist, man.

So am I.

Can you imagine the excitement

when the scientific world learns

that a cold-blooded child was born alive?

Millions of cold-blooded children are born alive.

Serpent children.

I'm surprised at you.

It is of the utmost importance to human knowledge

that your child's life be preserved at all costs.

What was that?

What about you?

The things are everywhere!

It's Aggie.

She's bringing the men from the village.

I didn't think they'd listen to a crazy old woman.

There are many superstitious people in Northumberland.

They believe in Aggie's magic.

Then we must get the child away.

Is there someplace?

The old shepherd's house on the moor. Nobody ever goes there.

I'll take her, but mind you,

I have to leave for Africa tomorrow morning, you know that.

Tell the shepherd I'll call and fetch her in the morning.

Good luck. Where can I go?

Out through the back door.

- Be careful. - Thank you.

In there!

Open up!

What is it, Constable?

We've been hearing of strange goings on out here tonight.

- I don't understand. - Ask him about his poor wife.

Talk to Dr Murton.

Mind if we have a look around?

Come in by all means.

- Where's Mrs Adderson? - She's through there.

Please! Don't disturb my specimens.

There something strange about a man

consorting with wicked reptiles like these.

There's nothing strange, and snakes are not wicked.

They're much maligned, highly intelligent, useful creatures.

It was the serpent brought man's downfall.

Mrs Adderson's dead, all right,

with marks on her arm.

Looks like she's been poisoned.

Bitten by a snake most like.

Nonsense!

Hold the husband while I investigate.

Where's the evil thing?

The child! What has he done with it?

She's gone, with Dr Murton.

You mean, you killed her like you killed the mother,

with these slimy monsters!

Absolute idiocy!

Let's kill the slimy things, every last one of 'em!

- Stop it! - We don't want them around here!

That's right, smash it up!

One of them's on the table!

It's on fire!

Listen, my friend, you must do me a favour.

Dr Adderson is in grave danger.

This newly born baby as well.

It's only for tonight. It may mean the child's life.

I don't know.

But you must, man, you must! It's only humane!

Her father will fetch her tomorrow morning.

So where's... where's the harm?

What about yourself? Can you not keep her for one night?

It's not that easy. I have to leave for Africa tomorrow morning.

Well?

You're a good man. Thank you.

What's got into you, Robbie?

Come inside by the fire where this little thing will be warm.

Robbie!

Goodbye, Doctor.

Goodbye. My best regards to the town.

Goodbye.

- Ah, goodbye, Doctor. - Take care of everything.

Come back soon. Have a good trip.

Goodbye!

Robbie! Robbie, come back!

I can't believe it.

It's... it's 19 years.

No, 20.

Yes, it is.

Dr Murton, come back home after 20 years at last.

For what reason, Doctor?

To retire.

Our research in Africa was successful.

Wonderfully so.

Now it's finished.

I see. I... I thought it might have been...

What?

The wee girl you left here that night.

I admit I... I thought often of her while I was away,

wondering about her and her father.

Father?

Why, yes, after he had come for her.

Adderson did come for his daughter?

I waited here all the next day until after sundown.

Then I went after to him.

In what was left of his snake house, I found Adderson's body.

All because of that crazy old woman.

Where's the child? Where is she?

I don't know.

You don't know?

Yes, I kept her here with me,

even though the animals were strange with her.

Strange?

My sheep bolted at the sight of her.

My old dog Robbie would not enter the house with Atheris in it.

Atheris? Is...

Is that what you called her?

I found the name in a book at her father's house.

Atheris is the name of a ser...

Odd that you should have called her...

I hate telling you, Doctor, but that one was unnatural.

As if two forces of nature are fighting within her wee self.

Good and evil.

At times she was the sweetest little tyke.

Other times, well, like the dead sheep.

And when I found my old dog Robbie,

stiff he was and swollen like as if he'd been poisoned.

A tiny him mark so long on his neck.

You mean to say, the girl?

Well, I can't prove it, but...

Well, we moved a lot easier around this house

the last few years since she disappeared.

And you let her go just like that, a small child?

Aye, Atheris moves up and down every crag, every cranny, but never a sound.

I see.

I am sorry.

Whatever happened to the old Adderson place?

Oh, never a body goes near it anymore.

Aggie Harker has half of them convinced

that the ghost of Dr Adderson haunts the place in the form of a snake.

And the other half?

Guilty conscience, mainly.

Remembering what they did to the girl's father.

Well, since neither half concerns me,

I think I'll have a look into it before I return to town.

Well, it's good to see you back in Bellingham, Doctor.

Thank you.

I'm afraid he's dead.

My God, look!

I can't believe it.

The bite of a king cobra.

A cobra?

As a military surgeon in India,

I treated hundreds of these bites.

I couldn't possibly be mistaken.

Now, someone explain to me

how a man in the north of England

can suffer the bite of a king cobra.

It's the curse.

The what?

That black thing that was born out on the moors,

near a score years back.

Mr Barkis means the snake girl.

Look, this is England, the 20th century, isn't it?

You can scoff if you like, Colonel Wynborn.

But how do you explain the fate of our town since that night?

This isn't the first time something like this has happened.

No.

Every so often someone's found on the moors dead

with those same little marks.

The cobra doesn't exist in England.

There must be some logical explanation.

You said you served in India, Colonel.

Were there logical explanations

for all the things you saw there?

No, no, no. That was different.

Aggie Harker says we're all cursed

until the serpent's child is destroyed.

Oh! Ridiculous!

She has been seen, sir, by her victims.

The looks in their eyes.

Are you trying to say that this man was bitten tonight by...

by some kind of demon or something?

- As good a name as any. - Well, you're wrong.

He was struck by a cobra.

There's not the slightest doubt about it.

Maybe not.

But you won't persuade anyone in this town of that.

Perhaps I can.

Come in.

You sent for me, Inspector?

Yes, Prentice, I did.

They tell me you're our bright young man in scientific investigation.

Well, I've had a good education, sir,

- and I feel with proper experience... - Yes.

...I believe I can do a good job.

As sure of yourself as all that, eh?

Then perhaps you're my man.

Sit down.

Just take a glance through that, will you, please?

Well, what do you think of it?

- Is there any doubt, sir? - Of what?

That it was written by a crackpot.

There certainly is doubt.

Colonel Clyde Wynborn is one of the most respected men

ever to wear a British uniform.

But even the best of men when they reach their dotage...

I served with the Colonel in India.

Is that your opinion of me?

I didn't mean to imply that...

Never mind.

Your reaction is perfectly understandable.

The curse of the serpent child,

haunting a 20th-century English village.

You had me worried, sir.

For a moment, I thought you were beginning to believe it.

Hardly.

But if Wynborn says this has caused a serious situation,

he knows what he's talking about.

Investigating local superstitions?

Isn't that a little out of Scotland Yard's line?

Strictly speaking, yes,

but this country owes a lot to Wynborn and to men like him.

The least Scotland Yard can do is to grant him this favour.

I gather I'm involved, sir.

I want you to leave at once for Bellingham.

You'll have full authority.

Take whatever equipment you need and do whatever you think best.

I want you to run this curse to earth,

and to prove scientifically beyond anyone's shadow of doubt

that it's utterly baseless.

- Yes, sir. - If you can.

What does that mean, sir? If you have any doubts of me...

Oh, not of you, no.

I was recalling a line from "Hamlet".

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio,

than are dreamed of in your philosophy."

I'm afraid I don't...

Just don't get too smug, young man. Keep an open mind.

Make your ideas fit the facts, not vice versa.

If you're going snake hunting, you'd better have this.

Thank you, sir.

Well, good luck.

Excuse me.

Colonel Wynborn's house, please?

- Over there. - That way?

- Straight ahead. - Thank you.

Not the most exciting assignment the Yard has to offer,

humoring an old man, eh, Prentice?

Oh, that's all right, sir.

I can imagine your reactions when you've got my letter.

If I hadn't had a friend at court,

I don't think I'd dared write it.

You mean the Inspector?

Yes, he assured me that you wouldn't have written

unless the situation here was serious.

It is, my boy. It is, deadly serious.

You mean there is a curse on the village?

Well, there's something.

After the incident of which I wrote,

the man being bitten by the cobra, here in England, mind you,

- I checked the local death registry. - And?

Would you believe that this tiny community

for nearly a score of years has averaged

more than one death a year from poisonous reptiles?

But that's not possible. Not here.

No? That's exactly what I thought.

But it's all there in the records.

Ask the residents, they'll verify it.

They're scared to death, every one of them.

Of the curse?

- Exactly. - I can't believe that.

There has to be an explanation,

a perfectly logical scientific explanation.

Well, there is one of sorts.

Quite a few years ago,

a world famous herpetologist, Dr Horace Adderson,

maintained an experimental laboratory out there on the moors.

- With a collection of live snakes? - Yes.

Then there's your answer.

Almost.

It's quite possible the natives were bitten

by the descendants of Adderson's reptiles,

after they'd killed him and wrecked his laboratory.

They what?

- Another drink? - No, thanks.

That was the beginning of the curse.

It was the night Adderson's daughter was born.

Apparently, he'd been injecting snake venom

to cure his wife's insanity.

Sounds like the Middle Ages.

Far from it.

Adderson was a marvel in his own field.

- However... - Yes?

...the mother died giving birth.

Aggie Harker, the old midwife,

who is considered something of a witch,

was convinced that this little girl was strange.

- Strange? - Yes.

She convinced the village that the baby was evil,

and that unless they destroyed it immediately,

they would all be cursed.

So they killed the father and destroyed the child?

No, not the child.

Somehow that was saved.

Well, what became of it?

It's hard to say.

Some of the victims of the curse were found alive.

And they claimed they'd been attacked,

not by a poisonous snake,

but by a beautiful girl.

Hallucinations.

Maybe.

Do you know what this is?

No idea.

It's a snake charmer's flute.

I picked it up in Asia.

Anyone who plays it is said to possess a certain power over reptiles.

Or perhaps "music hath charms".

Well, ever since the Garden of Eden,

every civilisation has regarded snakes

with some kind of awe or dread.

In parts of Asia, snakes are worshipped to this day.

American Indians still perform

their traditional snake dances.

And in Bellingham, England?

Well, maybe science can explain everything on this Earth.

I can't.

Anyway, there's your problem, my boy.

You can stay with me if you like.

Where do you propose to begin?

At the beginning, I suppose.

Aggie Harker, if she's still alive.

She's still alive.

Her hut is over the hill there, out of town.

You take the path to the right of the bald oak tree

and you'll come to it.

It's a pleasant walk in the morning.

- I'm going tonight. - You are?

What's the matter?

Well, the natives would say you're taking your life in your hands.

Then perhaps you'd better lend me this.

In case I bump into any snakes or, uh, snake girls.

If you like.

Well, goodnight, my boy.

And take care of yourself.

Well, hello.

All alone out here at night?

Aren't you nervous?

Nervous?

After all the stories I'd heard in the village,

I was afraid everybody in Bellingham

locked their doors from the inside at sundown.

I'm not nervous.

What are you doing here?

Waiting for you.

For me?

You'd better explain.

I heard your music.

Why did you stop?

You mean this?

I never saw it before tonight.

You must be kidding.

There's something about the sound I never felt.

Sit still.

Don't move a muscle.

- What are you doing?! - Saving your life.

It's gone. Why did you stop me?

You'd have killed it!

To keep it from killing you.

Why should it do that?

Because it's a poisonous snake.

Isn't that reason enough?

He was doing us no harm.

He has a right to live.

You really believe that?

But you're trembling.

So cold.

That won't be necessary.

I must go.

I'm worried about a friend.

I'll be around here for a while.

May I see you again?

If you play for me.

Oh, come now, haven't we carried this far enough?

Then you won't?

If you want me to, but...

You must go.

Aggie Harker's expecting you.

I didn't tell you I was going to Aggie Harker's.

Now, miss... Where...?

Come in, young man.

Aggie Harker?

Your tea is ready.

It's hot.

- You must have just poured it. - Of course.

I'm Charles Prentice, Miss Harker.

I'm interested in how you knew I was coming.

I expected you sooner.

I was delayed. I met someone.

Where?

Well, out on the moors somewhere.

The serpent child.

That's ridiculous.

She was a beautiful girl.

Have you not been told how it is here

since the evil thing was born?

Of course I have.

Now, that's why I came to you.

I thought maybe you and I together could,

well, solve the problem scientifically.

You are wiser than I thought, young man.

Perhaps we can,

but not with your science.

With mine.

Here it is.

A voodoo doll?

Such images are called

by different names in different places.

Surely you don't believe this

can destroy the curse of the serpent child?

Not by itself alone.

And I was too close to the evil thing when it was born.

By helping it to live, I lost the power to kill it.

Not that I haven't tried.

It requires your help.

My help? How?

You have a gun, young man.

Oh, yes, but...

Then you must use it.

What?

Take it.

Now, fire three bullets into the image.

But this is...

Fire three times.

There, you see, it is done.

What I wonder?

The curse is broken by science.

That is how she will die.

Three bullets from that gun.

You will kill her.

I'll admit that things seem a little different this morning.

Can you imagine me drawing my gun,

shooting at a stuffed doll?

You know, she's absolutely balmy.

I think she actually believes in all that mumbo-jumbo.

A lot of people do, more than you imagine.

- More tea? - Hmm, thanks.

You know what bothers me is this girl you say you saw.

Say? Of course I saw her.

I'm trying to think of any local maid

who'd, well, who'd venture out alone on such a night.

Well, one did venture out, I can assure you.

I put my arm about her.

She was as flesh and blood as you or I.

And scared half to death.

Why do you say that?

Oh, just when I touched her, her skin was as cold as ice.

Cold? Did you say cold?

Yes.

What is it? What did I say?

"Cold.

Not a chance for life, yet the baby lived."

- Whom are you quoting? - The old doctor, Murton.

He attended the birth of Adderson's daughter.

The child was born with cold blood.

And that means something?

Reptiles are all cold-blooded creatures.

Oh, come now, you're beginning to sound just like Aggie.

Yes, I suppose I am.

Anyway, you couldn't have seen the serpent girl.

- Why not? - Well, you didn't die.

Any of the natives will tell you

no man looks into her eyes and lives.

Oh, and by the way,

I wonder if I might keep this for a day or so.

Certainly, but what for?

That girl I met, she thinks I have hidden musical talent.

She wouldn't promise to see me again until I agreed to play for her.

I think I need a drink. Come on.

Here you are, Doctor.

Roddy!

Let me.

It's no use, Doctor, my lad's dead.

The fangs of a serpent.

Do you suppose she did it?

My horse came home alone.

I went out to look and found him out on the moors like this.

Something's got to be done!

Killing young boys in broad daylight now!

It must have been a snake.

It has to be.

It can't be that...

Poor man.

He came here to retire and now all this.

It's affecting his mind.

She'll pay! Snake or fiend or witch, whatever she is,

I'll make her pay for murdering my son.

Come and have a drink, Darrow.

You've had a shock to make us all shook up.

Something's bothering you, Colonel.

- Now why don't you tell me? - You're right.

I suppose we all hate to say farewell to our pet theories, but...

But the facts don't seem to fit.

Well, I was just on the point of recognising a similarity,

a pattern in these occurrences.

But this one - boy was bitten in broad daylight.

Not by a cobra, mind you, but by a fer-de-lance.

Fer-de-lance?

Yes, it's a species of pit viper from the French Antilles,

sometimes known as the rat-tail viper.

But you can be sure, about the difference in the two bites, I mean?

Yes, one secretes a haemolytic poison, the other a neurotoxic.

I've treated enough snake bites in my time

to distinguish the symptoms.

I see.

Then that means there are at least two poisonous species

running loose in this countryside.

And it disposes of our snake girl.

With all her talents, I can't believe that she could strike

like two different serpents secreting two different poisons.

You think it'll convince Aggie Harker?

I wonder.

Give us another one, Barkis.

You've had enough, Darrow.

You've been drinking all day.

Come on, just one more.

Snake or fiend, or whatever she is,

she'll pay for killing my boy.

She'll pay wherever she is.

She can't hide from Darrow.

I'll get you. You killed my son.

I'll get you!

You won't get away from me.

Fiend, I'll get you!

Ah! There you are!

I knew I'd find you!

There's your answer. The end of a legend.

A perfectly normal, everyday dead snake.

- Fer-de-lance. - Same that bit the boy.

Why not put this on display somewhere, Constable?

Do the people good, reassure them.

I suppose.

I'll write my official report for the Yard

and post a copy beside it.

As simple as that, young man?

These things usually are once you get to the basis of them.

And you're satisfied that you have?

You do nothing further?

What else is there I can do, Doctor?

Perhaps nothing.

But there's something... I can do.

Something I should have done... years ago.

You look almost disappointed, Colonel.

I am.

Because there is no supernatural curse?

No, because the explanation is not as simple as I hoped.

What does that mean?

Look, my boy, I think we better go home

and discuss this thing in the morning.

Atheris.

Atheris.

Atheris!

Atheris.

Atheris!

Atheris!

Ath...

Atheris, I'm sorry for you.

It was not your fault that you were born what you were.

I should never ever allowed you to live,

but since I have,

it is my duty to...

I'd be interested to hear your explanation

of what happened to Darrow and his son.

It's pretty obvious, isn't it?

- Is it? - Certainly.

The boy was struck by the snake.

The father got drunk, went out to kill it,

and was bitten himself.

On the neck?

Well, the snake could have fallen on him from a branch.

The fer-de-lance never climbs.

Or Darrow could have stumbled and fallen.

- He was drunk. - Possibly.

We'll pass that for the moment, but there is something else,

something that requires a little more explanation.

Yes?

The boy was killed by a fer-de-lance,

but the father's wound held cobra venom.

What?

That's why I was so disappointed.

The boy's death is easily explained.

There's one other answer, Colonel.

Now, you could be mistaken, about the two bites, I mean.

- Well, none of us is infallible. - True enough.

And if you are convinced of that, my boy,

you'd better get on the evening train

and go back to London and tell the Inspector there

to ignore future letters from elderly crackpots.

Well, I didn't mean that, sir.

Oh, it's quite understandable.

You have a logical scientific mind.

And this business defies logic and science.

Ordinary science.

I'm sorry, sir.

Now, you have a theory about this, haven't you?

And, well, I've been too smug to listen.

Well, not exactly a theory,

but I have gone over Adderson's research data very carefully,

and I've been wondering whether Aggie Harker wasn't right

from the beginning.

About the curse?

No, no.

About the child being born with serpent-like characteristics.

You really think that's possible?

Well, for months before the child was born,

Adderson was injecting an extract of cobra

and other venoms into his wife's veins

in order to control her mental state.

Hmm, you told me about that before.

Yes, I know and I've been thinking about it since so much has happened.

There's so much we don't know and so little we do about life.

How it begins,

why all life seed should appear identical

under the finest microscope.

Yet one will produce a tiny fish,

another a bird or a human being,

another a monstrous whale.

Or a snake.

Exactly.

Suppose this cobra venom,

flowing constantly through the mother's veins,

had an effect on the new life inside her,

an effect we know nothing about as yet,

but which could account for a baby being born

without eyelids, with cold blood,

and other ophidian characteristics.

Such as?

Such as the secretion of venom

and a peculiar attraction to the music of a snake charmer's pipe.

I've heard enough.

And if you're suggesting that that beautiful girl I met could be a...

Look, my boy, you go back to London where you belong,

where things are exactly as they seem.

You're out of your element here.

Possibly I am.

Thanks for your hospitality, Colonel.

Don't mention it.

We are sorry to see you go, sir.

You are? You really are?

Well, of course, sir.

We all had such high hopes when you came up from London.

- You know, even Aggie said that... - Said what?

Well, the serpent girl's days were numbered now that you're here.

I see.

So the whole village thinks I failed, eh?

Course not, sir.

I mean, after all, there... there are things

that we ordinary mortals are powerless against.

I tell you there's a perfectly logical explanation.

There has to be.

But of course there is, sir.

It's just, well, sometimes even the best of us

look only where we want to look,

see only what we want to see.

Make our theories fit the facts and not vice versa.

What was that, sir?

A smart man warned me about that.

Tell me what this does to you.

Well, sir.

- It's not very good, is it? - Now don't you get discouraged, sir.

With a little practice...

With practice, it would still be terrible.

No normal girl would ask to hear that again, would she?

Well, not unless she had too many of those.

Watch my bags for me, will you, Polly?

Then you're not leaving?

Not for a while.

But if someone asks for you, like the Colonel,

what shall I say?

Tell him I've gone looking for a girl

who, uh, appreciates my music.

- But... - I still love you, Polly.

Don't worry.

Atheris.

Atheris.

Atheris.

Atheris! What's the matter?

Aggie.

You're surprised to find an empty skin.

I don't understand.

All serpents shed their skins regularly.

Why shouldn't she?

Then it's really true.

Yes, of course.

What are you doing here?

I came to see you.

But I was supposed to leave.

I only just decided.

You couldn't leave.

You have a destiny.

Ridiculous!

I just came...

To find her, but she's not here and she won't be.

She's to be found at Adderson's ruins.

Now, hurry.

All right, I'll go there to humor you.

But I have no intention of killing anybody or anything.

Well, that's about the situation, Inspector.

I'm very glad you called.

Yes, yes, I am. Bitterly disappointed.

What? Stay over? Wait for the relief?

But he's already gone.

Well, that is, he was going on the night train

in about a quarter of an hour.

Yes, I'll try and catch him.

No, not at all, Inspector,

I'm very grateful for everything you've done.

Yes, I'll look forward to it. Goodbye.

Polly, that young man from Scotland Yard, has he been here?

Well, he was here, sir, but...

These are Prentice's bags, aren't they?

Well, yes, sir, he asked me to look after them for him.

But if he's catching the night train...

Oh, he isn't, sir. Well, that is, he won't now, it's too late.

Look, Polly, please tell me where he is.

I have an urgent message for him from London.

Well, uh, I would tell you, sir, if I knew.

Do you mean he went off without saying a word?

Well, no, sir.

He was acting very strange.

How do you mean strange?

Well, he had a funny sort of little pipe thing

that he wanted to play for me,

and then he asked me how I liked it.

- Had he been drinking? - Oh, only a little, sir.

He wasn't what you would call squiffy.

I see. And then?

Oh, sir, it was horrible.

- Oh. No, I mean, the music. - You told him that?

Yes, sir, you know, but funny thing was he didn't seem to mind.

Well, it was as though he wanted me to say that.

Yes. Now look, Polly, this is all very interesting but...

- Then he said... - Said what?

Well, something very strange.

He said if you was to ask for him,

to tell you he'd gone looking for someone,

well, a girl, I think, who'd appreciate his music.

Are you sure of that? Is that exactly what he said?

Well, yes, sir. Is there something wrong?

I think there is, something terribly wrong.

He doesn't realise the danger.

Then you know where he is.

I think so. I'm almost sure.

Look, Polly, get some men around. We may need some help.

Tell them to meet me outside my house.

All right, leave it to me, sir.

Atheris.

Atheris.

- Has the Colonel come yet? - He'll be here soon.

You got your torches ready, lads?

- Here he comes. - Good.

- Here are your men, Colonel. - Good. Let's hurry.

Come on, lads.

Atheris.

Atheris, where are you?

- You? - Yes, of course.

Where's Prentice?

Not here.

He's gone to meet her, just as it was destined.

Stop it, you crazy old crone, and tell us where he's gone.

The home of the evil one.

Adderson's?

Atheris.

Atheris.

Atheris, where are you?

Dr Murton?

Doctor?

Atheris!

Atheris.

Atheris.

Where are you?

Atheris.

I promised I'd play for you, remember?

Or do you prefer the music of the shepherd's pipe?

Whatever you are, whatever you've done, we understand.

It wasn't your fault.

It was your father's.

You can't help being what you are, what he made you,

any more than any of us can.

If you'll trust me, I'll see that no one harms you.

You'll be safe from others and safe from yourself.

No more killings.

Well, will you trust me, Atheris?

Prentice, where are you?

I'm here, Colonel.

Hurry!

Prentice!

Prentice, are you all right?

Well, young man?

Good Lord! Prentice, look!

She's dead all right.

Amazing!

Absolutely utterly incredible.

I know it, sir, but that's exactly the way it happened,

page by page and word for word.

And there are witnesses.

Your friend, the Colonel,

the woman, half the village.

Three bullets.

Even that aspect, sir.

But, sir, that's the only copy.

I know.

Then you're afraid they won't believe it, upstairs.

No, my boy, I'm just afraid they might.