We were all, therefore, at a standstill, or moving so slowly that I couldn't perceive that we were moving at all, when in the middle of a May forenoon I was summoned to the telephone. I was not surprised to find Mr. Strangways at the other end, since he used any and every excuse to call me up; but his words struck me as those of a man who had taken leave of his senses. He plunged into them without any of the usual morning greetings or preliminary remarks.
"Are you game to go to Boston by the five-o'clock train to-day?"
I naturally said, "What?" but I said it with some emphasis.
He repeated the question a little more anxiously.
"Could you be ready to go to Boston by the five-o'clock train this afternoon?"
"Why should I be?"
He seemed to hesitate before replying.
"You'd know that," he said at last, "when you got on the train."
"Is it a joke?" I inquired, with a light laugh.
"No; it's not a joke. It's serious. I want you to take that train and go."