“You always were a bit of a hypochondriac,” observed his friend.
“Be that as it may,” continued Garvers, “it was the only explanation I had at the time. Either someone was watching me, which seemed impossible, or I was beginning to crack under the strain.
“Well, I put my papers away and [p 61] tried to take a short break. I was reaching into my drawer where I keep magazines when, so help me, a man stepped out of the wall into my office.”
“What? It seems as if you just said a guy stepped out of the wall.”
“That’s just what I did say. It sounds crazy, but let me finish, will you? I’m not kidding, and I’ll show you proof later if necessary.
“Anyway, this bird stepped straight out of the wall as if it had been a waterfall or something, but the wall itself was undamaged. The only proof I had that he had actually done it was the fact that he was in my office, but that was proof enough.
“To put it mildly, I was thunderstruck. After jumping to my feet, I could only stand there like an idiot. I was so shaken that I couldn’t speak a word. But he spoke first.
“‘General Garvers?’ he asked, just as if he had run into me at a cocktail party or on the street.
“I told him he was correct, and asked him who he was and what he wanted. And how he got into my office.
“He identified himself as a Henry Busch and explained that he was acting in behalf of a good friend of his, the late Dr. Hymann Duvall. Have you ever heard of Duvall, Max?”