After we had been driving for something like five minutes, a most curious thing happened. I was trying to make out an object in the street through which we were passing, when suddenly I found myself in total darkness. Putting my hand up to the right-hand window to see what had occasioned it, I found that a sheet of iron had interposed itself between me and the glass. The same thing had happened in front and on the opposite side, though how it had been arranged, I could not for the life of me discover. Then I tried the doors, but the handles refused to turn. I felt that I was trapped indeed, and to make matters worse, a villainous smell of gas was fast taking possession of the carriage. I shouted for assistance with all the strength of my lungs, but no help came. I tried to force the panels of the carriage, but it was a useless endeavour. Still the sickening smell of gas increased, until I felt that, unless I could get into the fresh air without delay, I should be suffocated—as a matter of fact my senses were already leaving me. Was this how Woller and Castellan had died? I asked myself, for in my own heart I felt that my last hour had come. Scarcely conscious of what I was doing, I believe I stood up and struggled with the door, but with as little success as before. Then I fell back upon the cushions and became oblivious to everything.
How long I remained in this condition I cannot say; I only know that my next waking thought was the realisation of a spasm of acute pain. It was as if every muscle of my body were being drawn by red-hot pincers. My brain whirred as though to the rattle of a thousand pieces of machinery, while an indescribable nausea held me in its grip. I could not have lifted my head, or have opened my eyes, had my life depended upon my doing so. For what seemed an interminable time, I lay like this, totally unconscious of my surroundings, and, indeed, of everything else save my agony. After a time, however, my senses began to return to me, and I was able to reduce my thoughts to something like order.
At first I had no recollection of what had transpired since I had left home, but little by little it all came back to me. I recalled the letter I had received from Rotherhithe, and the haste with which I had complied with the summons it contained. I remembered the drive through the lamp-lit streets, the sudden darkness that had descended upon me, the overpowering smell of gas, and the sensation, which I could compare to nothing, save that of approaching death, which I had experienced when I fell back upon the street.
At last I opened my eyes and looked about me. Had I found myself in a vault, I doubt whether I should have been more surprised. As it was, my astonishment was the greater at finding myself in a comfortable bed-room, not very large, it is true, but cheerful to an eminent degree. The furniture was useful, but not luxurious; it consisted of a wash-hand stand, a chest of drawers, a toilet table, two chairs, and the bed upon which I was lying. There were also two pictures, I remember; one, of German origin, in colours, represented the sale of Joseph to the Ishmaelites, and the other, a print of Exeter Cathedral, in which the façade of that fine building was entirely out of the drawing. There was a fire-place, but no fender; a skylight, but no other window. A strip of Dutch matting covered the floor on the left-hand side of the bed, and when I have recorded that fact, I think I have given you a description of everything in the room.
As for myself, when I had taken these things in, I closed my eyes and tried to rest. The clang and whir still echoed in my brain, and when I endeavoured to lift my head I discovered that I was as weak as a baby. Though I tried hard to arrive at an understanding of the situation, the attempt was far from being a successful one.
That I was the victim of that same mysterious power which had abducted Woller, Castellan and the Commander-in-Chief, I had not the least doubt; but if they had taken me off, where was I now, and what were they going to do with me? Was I to be retained as a perpetual prisoner, or were they only keeping me until a good opportunity presented itself for doing away with me? Either theory, as I think you will agree, was of a nature calculated to render me sufficiently uncomfortable.
After a time I must have fallen asleep again, for I remember opening my eyes and feeling much stronger than when I first woke. What was more, I was also conscious of a decided sensation of hunger. From the waning light in my room, I gathered that the day was far advanced, and I groaned aloud as I thought of the trouble my absence must be causing my friends. It seemed to me I could hear the cries of the newsboys in the streets as they shouted:—
"DISAPPEARANCE OF ANOTHER CABINET MINISTER!"
"SIR GEORGE MANDERVILLE MISSING!"
I could picture the anxiety of my own household, and Rotherhithe's anger when he discovered, as discover he certainly would, the use that had been made of his name. Then an overwhelming desire to find out something concerning my whereabouts took possession of me, and I rose from the bed upon which I had hitherto been lying. As I did so a handful of money fell from my pocket. Instinctively, I felt for my watch; it was still in its accustomed place. It was certain, therefore, that robbery had no part in the business.