Just then Rivers came to his senses.
“That you, Mr. Carpentaria?” he murmured, rubbing his eyes.
“Yes. What’s happened? Where’s Jetsam, as he calls himself? You’re not seriously hurt, are you?”
At the name of Jetsam, Ilam caught his breath and took hold of a bedpost.
“Jetsam?” he repeated.
“You evidently recognize the name of my ghost,” said Carpentaria, “though he isn’t here.”
“He bashed me on the head with a chair,” said the doctor, sitting up and putting a handkerchief to his head, “and I suppose I must have—— It can’t be more than a minute or two since——”
“But what was he doing? Where’s he gone?” inquired Carpentaria impatiently.
“He recovered consciousness quite quickly,” answered Rivers, “and I gave him something to drink; then he asked me about Mrs. Ilam, and I told him she lived with Mr. Ilam here, and he grew very excited, and said he must go to her at once. I said he couldn’t; I said you wouldn’t allow that, and he pretended to agree; but it was only a pretence. He began to talk about other things, and then, all of a sudden, he sprang at me, and that’s as much as I remember.”
Without a word Carpentaria ran out downstairs and into the avenue. The door of Ilam’s house stood wide open. He entered. In the hall he perceived that the door of the drawing-room was also wide open, and he entered the drawing-room..There was no light in the room save that of a match, and the match was held by Mr. Jetsam. Mr. Jetsam stood staring at Mrs. Ilam, and Mrs. Ilam sat motionless in her chair, apparently trying to articulate and not succeeding. An appalling fear shone in her eyes. No sound could be heard except the rattling of the rain on the French window.