Brandon gave a little shudder; and then, after a silence he said: “May I ask what impression you formed of our poor friend?”
“It is most difficult to put it into words. Physically and mentally he has undergone a very curious change; and he appears to wield a strange power over all with whom he comes in contact. As I say, I felt it myself. I shall never forget the shock I had when those eyes emerged from that bearded face. For a moment one could have almost believed oneself in the presence of Someone Else. Then I remembered where I was, but it needed an effort I assure you.”
“Do you still feel that Wellwood is the place for him?”
“Yes, I do. I discussed the matter with Dr. Thorp, and he is strongly of the opinion that the poor fellow is better off at Wellwood than he would be elsewhere. They have come to love him there. He is extremely well cared for, he never complains of the loss of personal liberty, and, as I say, there is every reason to think that his days are numbered.”
“Dr. Thorp has no doubt on that point?”
“None. The poor fellow is failing physically. At the present time he appears to live more in another world than he does in this. One does not pretend to know what that other world is or may be. Apparently it is a kind of mystical dreamland, in which he persuades himself that he communicates with departed spirits. And there are times when he enters a soul condition which lies outside Dr. Thorp’s own experience of psychical phenomena. In fact, he considers John Smith to be by far the most baffling and complex case with which he has ever had to deal.”
A number of other questions Brandon put to the vicar, in the hope of light from an authentic source upon a very remarkable matter. For himself he could only account for it by means of a far-fetched hypothesis, with which he knew that Mr. Perry-Hennington was the last man in the world likely to agree. All the same, one clear fact emerged from this conversation. There was a change in the vicar. Could it be that, since his recent visit to Wellwood, Mr. Perry-Hennington had begun to realize that there might be more things in earth and heaven than his philosophy had dreamed of hitherto?
XL
After luncheon that same day, the salutary process now at work in the vicar’s mind received a further stimulus. He was to find himself involved in a matter at once painful and unexpected, and the impression left upon him was deeply perplexing.
At the urgent request of Professor Murdwell, who had just returned from New York, he had promised to go to Longwood that afternoon. Mr. Murdwell had been out of the country six months, and now that he had got back, almost his first act had been to send for the vicar.