"I could see nothing but just this face—low down as if the person it belonged to was crouching on the floor; and there was a tall plant of some kind just beside it—"
"Well," said Dr. Cairn, "go on! What did you do?"
"I turned to run!" confessed the man. "If you had seen that horrible face, you would understand how frightened I was. Then when I got to the door, I looked back."
"I hope you had closed the door behind you," snapped Saunderson.
"Never mind that, never mind that!" interrupted Dr. Cairn.
"I had closed the door behind me—yes, sir—but just as I was going to open it again, I took a quick glance back, and the face had gone! I came out, and I was walking over the lawn, wondering whether I should tell you, when it occurred to me that I hadn't noticed whether the key had been left in or not."
"Did you go back to see?" asked Dr. Cairn.
"I didn't want to," admitted Crombie, "but I did—and—"
"Well?"
"The door was locked, sir!"