Free The Devil Rides Out by Dennis Wheatley Page A

impatient with Rex’s previous unbelief. Most people he knew regarded devil worship and the cultivation of mystic powers as sheer superstitions due to the ignorance of the Middle Ages. It had been too much to expect Rex to accept his contention that their sane and sober friend Simon was mixed up in such practices, but now he had actually witnessed a true instance of Saiitii, De Richleau felt that his co-operation would be ten times as valuable as before.
    In the St John’s Wood Road they picked up a belated taxi, and on the way back to Curzon Street he questioned Rex carefully as to the form the Thing had taken. When he had heard the description he nodded. ‘It was Mocata’s black servant, undoubtedly.’
    â€˜What did you say he was?’
    â€˜A Malagasy. Half Negro and half Polynesian. A great migration took place many centuries ago from the South Seas to the East African Coast by way of the Malay Peninsula and Ceylon. Incredible though it may seem, they covered fifteen thousand miles of open ocean in their canoes, and most of them settled in Madagascar, where theyintermarried with the aborigines and produced the Malagasy, which are said to have inherited the worst characteristics of both races.’
    â€˜And Madagascar is the home of Voodoo, isn’t it?’
    â€˜Yes. Perhaps he is a Witch doctor himself… and yet I wonder …’ The Duke broke off as the taxi drew up before Errol House.
    As they entered the big library Rex glanced at the clock and saw that it was a little after three. Not a particularly late hour for him, since he often danced until the night clubs emptied, nor for De Richleau, who believed that the one time when men opened their minds and conversation became really interesting was in the quiet hours before the dawn. Yet both were so exhausted by their ordeal that they felt as though a month had passed since they sat down to dinner.
    Rex remade the remnants of the fire while the Duke mixed the drinks and uncovered the sandwiches which Max always left for him. Then they both sank into armchairs and renewed the discussion, for despite their weariness, neither had any thought of bed. The peril in which Simon stood was far too urgent.
    â€˜You were postulating that he might be a Madagascar Witch doctor,’ Rex began. ‘But I’ve a hunch I’ve read some place that such fellows have no power over whites, and surely that is so, else how could settlers in Africa and places keep the blacks under?’
    â€˜Broadly speaking, you are right, and the explanation is simple. What we call Magic–Black or White–is
the Science and Art of Causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.
Any required Change may be effected by the application of the proper kind and degree of Force in the proper manner and through the proper medium. Naturally for causing any Change it is requisite to have the practical ability to set the necessary Forces in right motion, but it is even more important to have a thorough qualitative and quantitative understanding of the conditions. It is infinitely harder for the wills of either race to work on the other.
    â€˜Another factor which adds to the difficulty of a Negro or Mongolian Sorcerer working his spells upon a European is the question of vibrations. Their variation in human beings is governed largely by the part of the earth’s surface in which birth took place. To use a simple analogy, some races have long wave lengths and others short, and the greater the variation the more difficult it is for a malignant will to influence that of an intended victim. Were it otherwise, you may be certain that the white races, who have neglected spiritual growth for material achievement, would never have come to dominate the world as they do today.’
    â€˜Yet that devil of Mocata’s got me down all right. Ugh!’ Rex shuddered slightly at the recollection.
    â€˜True, but I was only speaking generally. There are