The Bronze Devil by Ranpo Edogawa

Author:Ranpo Edogawa
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781005422875
Publisher: Peaks Island Press
Published: 2023-05-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

The Magic Bedroom

So what became of Yoshio, Shoichi and Yukiko? They appeared to be on the verge of drowning. Where did that water come from in the first place? Did the Devil devise such a contraption to kill the three children? Quite to the contrary. Other factors were at play.

While all this turmoil was going on underground, an equally alarming incident was taking place above ground.

At the Tezuka manse in Minato Ward, a week had passed since Shoichi and Yukiko went missing, prompting much consternation. Not content with snatching the children, the Bronze Devil continued to make appearances on the premises. As a result, the police posted officers on the property and kept a lookout around the clock.

At the stroke of midnight, the same time that Shoichi and his companions were being engulfed by the wall of water, a policeman began his late-night shift in the back yard of the Tezuka house. Squatting down, he could make out Tezuka-san’s bedroom window through a gap in the trees. The yellow curtains were drawn. Within the darkness, the glow from the lamp next to the bed lit up the curtains like a movie screen.

Gazing indifferently at the window, the policeman noticed a strange shadow playing across the curtains. With a start, he jumped to his feet. The shadow had a human form but was clearly not Tezuka-san. Moving in awkward, clunking fashion, it looked like the silhouette of a suit of western armor.

“It couldn’t be!” he silently exclaimed.

Muffling his footsteps, the policeman approached the window. An iron grill covered the window. He pressed his face against the grill and peeked through a gap in the curtains. Just as he thought. The intimidating figure of the Bronze Devil stood at the foot of Tezuka-san’s bed, reaching out as if on the verge of grabbing hold of him.

Sound asleep until that moment, Tezuka-san woke up. Noticing the presence of the monster, he sat bolt upright in bed. Its eyes like two black pits, the Bronze Devil fixed him with a menacing glare. Like a frog mesmerized by a snake, Tezuka-san gazed back, unable to move a muscle.

And then the moment broke as Tezuka-san’s face crumpled like a man on the verge of tears. Finally fully awake to the situation, a scream gushed forth from his mouth. It was an awful and unearthly sound that sent a shiver down the spine.

The scream ringing in his ears, the policeman shot like an arrow from the window to the back door and sprinted down the hallway to Tezuka-san’s bedroom. He couldn’t go through the window because of the iron grill. The door to the bedroom was shut tight and didn’t open when he turned the knob. Out of a surfeit of caution, Tezuka-san always locked the door at night.

The policeman blew a trilling alarm on his whistle.

Footsteps thudded down the hallway. A second officer and the houseboy and several others arrived at a run.

The two police officers slammed against the door together. The doors panels cracked and splintered.

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