The Grey Room

nscious man to the ground, and knew that he was dead, for he had looked on sudden death too often to feel in any doubt. Others, however, were

ding at the dining room door, waiting for him

then, thoroughly unnerved, he fell into

been the eyes first to confront a tragedy, and his the voice to report it. The fact persisted

calling to Masters, hastened upstairs, followed by Septimus May. The clergyman

tching us, powerless to touch either you or me.

ay," said Sir Walter. "Then this innocent m

listen. Your heart was har

estore him. It is impossible t

and Fred Caunter, with courage and presence

utler

down his neck if we can. I don't feel the gentleman's

stle was laid upon his back. T

up. It may be b

ned, Sir Walter spoke again. His mind wandered backward and s

id was to ask me why ghosts haunt

l! He is answered,"

that the man was dead. No sign of life rewarded their protracted efforts to restore circulation. How he had come by his end, how death had broken into his frame, it was impossible to determine. Not an unusual sign marked the bo

x. She implored him to use his influence with her father-in-law; for they had forgotten Septimus May, while hastily deliberat

g texts from Scripture, addressing the spirit that he believes to be listening to

red Sir Walter. "I have withstood him

is playing with dea

said, walking up and down, with fierce joy of bat

ht triumph and the will of G

however, when th

etween me and my duty again, Sir Walter. You have gravely erred, and

should return to their forgotten meal. In the matter of th

ing, his punishment will not be heavy; if he hardened his heart against truth and rejected the faith from pride-but even

ome impulse to leave his fellow-creatures and court solitude, excused himself, begged Lennox and Mannering

is old spaniel standing

atter with Pri

ad his dinner

e," answered her fathe

but Mannering, who had stopped and w

ther, as well it may. He's all right. Make him take his b

and the weather of his mind welcomed it. He alternated between bewilderment and indignation. His own life-long philosophy and trust in the ordered foundations of human existence thr

rows and countenanced his joys. It seemed a trial undeserved, that in his old age he should be thrust upon a pinnacle of publicity, forced into the public eye, robbed of dignity, denied the privacy he esteemed as the most precious privilege that wealth c

itely odious even in anticipation. Indeed, Sir Walter's simple intellect wallowed in anticipation, and so suffered much that, given exercise of restraint, he might have escaped altogether. He was brave enough, but personal bravery would not be called f

he could not in the least realize the new tragedy. He had as yet barely grasped the truth of his son-in-law's end, and still often found himself expecting Tom's footfall an

e returned to the event of that day. A thought struck him, and though elementary enough, it seemed to Sir Walter an important conclusion.

must practice faith and trust in God. Septimus May had said that such unparallele

for that in any court of inquiry. Sceptical men would doubtless say that he had done rightly in refusing Mr. May his experiment. But Sir Walter now convinced himself that he had done wrongly. At such a time, with l

power of human mind to approach, unless a man walked humbly with his hand in his Maker's. Septimus May

wise? To limit its activities was to limit its powers, and the Almighty alone knew what powers had been granted to it. He shrank from further inquiries or investigations on any but a religious basis. H

is marriage he had hardly left England, save when yachting with friends, and an occasional glimpse of a Mediterranean port was all that Sir Walter knew of the earth outside his own

ith rain. Reluctantly enough he returned to the present. A telegram had been received from London, directing Dr. Mannering to reach the nearest telephone and communicate direct. T

our stopping, and, after this, it is certain the authorities will not rest until they have made a far m

uspect every man and woman under my roof-myself with the rest. These appalling things have occurred in my home, and I must bear the brunt of them and stand up to all that they mean. No Lennox ever ran from his duty, however painful it might be. The death of this man-so eminent in his calling-will attract tremendous attention and be, as you say, a sort o

spoke to his uncle, with his eye on the wind

ely. They'll certainly have no mercy on the st

s," declared Septimus May, who had joined them. "It is imp

lly on the track of those responsible for Tom's death. They will guess that, in some way, or by some accident, he surprised the author of the tragedy, and the assassin, seeing his danger, resorted to the same unknown means of murder as before. They m

Henry was not prepared to t

ns as you to yours," he said. "And

of the house and afforded a view of the main drive, along which the doctor's little hooded car came fl

nd the house was first thrown into a g

t puzzled him not a little by their implication. For a moment he seemed unwill

w's body to London to-night. Every care must be taken, warmth and air applied, and so on. They've evidently got a notion that, since life appears to go so easily in the Grey Room, and leave no scratch or wound, either life has not gone at all, or that it may be within the power of science to

" and he could not fail to welcome these events, for they were destined to lend extr

oke a

l have a police inspector from Plymouth; but it would be a satis

tainly. You don't

than we can ever repay. Anything that we ca

ght. We shall be met at Paddington by some of their doctors. And as to Chadlands, four men arrive to-morrow morning by the same train that Peter H

llingly pull down Chadlands to the foundatio

ct a thunder-cloud to find the lightning as destroy material substances to discover what is hidden in this house. The unknown being, about his Master's business

ering and asked a

ng these facts? In what way shoul

fe, then she would surely think that perhaps her husband and your son might have been. Imagine the agony of that. I speak plainly; indeed, there is no rational or sentimental reason why I should not, for the truth is, of course, that the sig

on," said Sir Walter; and the

ning my son," he said; "nor is there an

s opinion, and he only realized the painful nature of his task when he came to undertake it; but he carried it through in every particular as directed, conveyed the corpse to Newton after dark, and had the ambulance bed, in w

who accompanied him; but in secret he experienced emotions of undoubted satisfaction that life had broken from its customary

his unfortunate man, rigor mortis has set in. Whether the authority in London regards that as a

ter of the task put upon them sufficed to fill their minds, and it was not until the small hours, when they sat with t

give Uncle Walter a caution. May's not quite all there, in my opinion, and very like

became i

t he wants to try his luc

s been so full that you

im, and he came down to his luncheon. He must have thought over

's what he said. And that means he'll tr

rted. But surely we can trust Sir Walter; he knows what

etty wild to-day, and who shall blame him? Things like this crashing into his life leave him guessing. He's very shaken, an

ll let May go into

fact, he made me keep watch to see he didn't. But I think he's weakened a lot sinc

If harm has happened-it has happened. We can onl

"Of course, she'd be dead against her father-in-law's idea. But she wo

sonable. We'll telegraph to hear if a

the carriage. It was a famous tempest, that punished the

their thoughts by the te

," said Mannering. "This is a fi

this, the mind switches off to trifles. Does it on purpose, I suppose, to relieve the strain. Yes, the trees will cat

u've made me devilish uneasy now. If anything further went wrong-well, to put

y; and even if my uncle were for him, on a general, vague theory of something esoteric and outside nature, which you can't fairly call unreasonable any mor

would take a lot of explanation if the result were another of th

n't see how a dozen of them will be any safer than one-even if it's some material and physical thing that happens, as we must suppose. And for that matter, if i

was considering a little book in his pocket, which he

he problem by the throat, as he has written h

ook from his pocket and re

ould surely have been girt up in every limb to face fact

e found memoranda and jottings, doubtless destined to be worked out at another time. It was clear that he had, for a few moments, drifted away from the Grey Room in thought when his death overtook him. Past events, not present problems

y deliberate art, shall we find the truth ultimately permitted to appear in some subordinate incident, or individual, studiously kept in the background-that is the craft of telling detective stories. But, in truth, one needs to lay hold of the problem by the throat at the outset. Deception is too much the province of the criminal and too little the business of the investigator; and where it may be possible to creep, like a snake, into a case, unknown for what you truly are, then your opportunities and ch

ts in the Grey Room and a rough ground plan of it; but nothing more. He had evidently, for the time