Was I frightened? I do not know.
At first my heart certainly pounded as though it would leap from my body, and I felt dazed, lost, and shocked.
I think I was frightened—not of Burker so much as of the unfamiliar, the unknown, the impossible.
How would you feel if your piano suddenly began to play of itself? You would be alarmed and afraid probably, not frightened of the piano, but of the fact.
A door could not frighten you—but you would surely be alarmed at its persistently opening, each time you shut, locked, and bolted it, if it acted thus.
Of Burker I had no fear—but I was perturbed by the fact that the dead could ride with the living.
When I gave the order "Dismiss" at the end of the parade Burker rode away, as he had always done, in the direction of his bungalow.
Returning to my lonely house, I sat me down and pondered this appalling event that had come like a torrent, sweeping away familiar landmarks of experience, idea, and belief. I was conscious of a dull anger against Burker and then against God.
Why should He allow Burker to haunt me?…
Why should Evil triumph?…