“I may have to hold you as a witness,” was his curt reply. “Stick around until I can find time to question you. Now Peret, before we enter the house, spill the details. What do you know about this ‘invisible monster’?”
“Little more than I have already told you,” answered Peret, and launched into a detailed recital of his harrowing experience.
Although Detective Strange was a man difficult to surprise, he made no effort to conceal his astonishment when Peret brought his story to an end.
“You say Dr. Sprague and this other man were seized by the Thing when your back was turned?” he questioned.
“Oui; as I was leaping over the fence,” nodded Peret, “I heard Dr. Sprague scream just as I landed on the ground. When I turned to see what was the matter, both he and the other man appeared to be struggling with some invisible antagonist. Before I could reach them, both men fell to the ground. Sprague was apparently dead before he fell. The other man, after a struggle, threw off the Thing—whatever it was or is.”
“Didn’t you see anything at all?” demanded Strange.
“Absolutely nothing.”
“Hear anything?”
“No. But that man”—jerking his thumb at the pedestrian—“said he heard the Thing whisper.”
“I also heard the Thing whisper,” interposed the druggist, a small, bald-headed individual with a cataract over one of his eyes. Still in a state of nervous apprehension, he had edged up close to the two detectives as if seeking their protection. “I was talking to Dr. Sprague when he was attacked,” he continued, darting furtive glances over his shoulder from time to time. “An instant before he screamed I heard a—a whispering sound.”