"It must be Jim!
"I let out a loud shout.
"The laughing stopped dead.
"Then I knew it was Jim; things that weren't human wouldn't care if I shouted or not.
"'Keep quiet!' I said to Anton. 'It's Jim, and he's coming this way.'
"Presently the laughter began again, a sort of half choked scream, like I said, but it was laughing just the same. It made my flesh creep to hear it. Somehow it wasn't quite human, more like an animal trying to laugh like a man.
"It was quite close to us, now. I got up, for I could hear steps shuffling along the gallery.
"Suddenly, something bumped into me, though I thought the steps were several yards away.
"It was Jim, sure enough.
"He gave a sort of screech and both his hands went up to my throat, in a strangling grip.