A Watcher by the Dead

At a physician’s office in San Francisco one night, three men sit around a table drinking, smoking, and playing cards. Dr. Helberson, the oldest and most distinguished, states that fear of the dead is hereditary and incurable, a claim that his companions, Mr. Harper and Dr. Mancher, dispute. They argue that if a man could spend the whole night in a dark room with a corpse, he would demonstrate great bravery in the face of it. Harper says he knows just such a man—the gambler Jarette, who looks oddly like Mancher and could easily complete the task. All three men decide to wager on the outcome of this contest. The next night, a dark-haired man—Jarette—enters a room in the same California city, and the “corpse” of Dr. Mancher sits next to him on a table. Jarette sits down and reads a book by candlelight, occasionally sneaking glimpses of the body. The room is locked and all of the windows are covered, so that no light can enter. Jarette checks the candle and estimates that he has about another hour of light. He then blows out the candle. Having decided to save some of the candle in case of need, Jarette now sits in complete darkness—yet he does not feel sleepy, as he thought he would be. Not sure of what to do with himself, Jarette thinks he hears a noise from the table. He listens so intently that he finally realizes he was holding his breath almost to the point of suffocation. He lights the candle just to check the situation, and also confirms that the door is locked. Jarette now extinguishes the candle, reasoning that he has nothing to fear, and determines that he, who has no sense of superstition, will not be reduced to hysteria while spending the night with a corpse. Suddenly, Jarette hears footsteps behind him in the darkness—deliberate, regular, and coming successively closer. Dr. Helberson and Mr. Harper are driving through the streets of San Francisco on their way to the locked room where Jarette and Dr. Mancher are ensconced. They are starting to feel uncomfortable with their plan to have Mancher pose as a corpse and scare Jarette. Even Helberson says that if the latter had not been so rude to him, he would not have gone along with the plan. Once out of their carriage, Helberson and Harper approach the unoccupied house where Mancher and Jarette are confined, and notice a crowd there along with a police presence—something unusual, since it is four o’clock in the morning. A stranger then runs past Mr. Harper and Dr. Helberson on the street, and Harper calls out “Jarette! Jarette!” as the latter disappears into the night. Helberson and Harper go up to the room and see what appears to be the corpse of Dr. Mancher, looking repulsive and terrifying. It seems that Jarette had killed him out of fear and rage when he heard Mancher rise from the dead, as it were. Harper and Helberson are shaken and know they could be in trouble, so Helberson casually suggests that they visit Europe for a while. The two men depart that afternoon. Seven years later, Harper and Helberson are sitting on a bench in New York City. A white-haired man approaches and explains that when one kills a person by coming to life, it is best to change clothes with him and make a break. The stranger identifies himself as Mancher, though he sometimes calls himself Jarette. He explains that, on that fateful night, he noticed how nervous Jarette was becoming and decided to frighten him by coming to life. Helberson and Harper then reveal that they are no longer physicians, but gamblers instead. Mancher says that he is still a doctor—head of a mental asylum—before leaving.