“I will have you put out. What insolence! Janet! Janet! Will no one look after me this morning?”
“Look round you, lady. Is this your bedroom?”
Terbane looked round with a wild stare.
“It is a room I never saw in my life. Where am I? What is the meaning of it? You look like a kind lady. Tell me, for God’s sake, what is the meaning of it? Oh, I am so terrified! So terrified! Where are John and Janet?”
“What do you last remember?”
“I remember speaking severely to Janet. She is my maid, you know. She has become so very careless. Yes, I was very angry with her. I was so angry that I was ill. I went to bed feeling very ill. They told me that I should not get excited. How can one help getting excited? Yes, I remember being breathless. That was after the light was out. I tried to call Janet. But why should I be in another room?”
“You passed over in the night?”
“Passed over? Do you mean I died?”
There was a long silence. Then there came a shrill scream. “No, no, no! It is a dream! A nightmare! Wake me! Wake me! How can I be dead? I was not ready to die! I never thought of such a thing. If I am dead, why am I not in heaven or hell? What is this room? This room is a real room.”