I glanced at McGinity, and whispered: "He must have gone on a rampage—just as I feared."
"Where are all the servants, Miss Royce?" McGinity asked, as Jane recovered some semblance of her natural poise.
She smiled a little grimly. "I guess they've all been frightened away," she answered. "You see, I don't know about everything that happened, but it's my belief that all the servants have locked themselves up in the service wing. Oh, neither of you can comprehend the utter reign of terror we've just passed through. Here I was, by myself—Henry and Pat both out—the servants fleeing in alarm. Naturally, at first, I was in a state of absolute despair as to what to do."
"Let's begin at the beginning, Jane," I counselled, softly. "When did you first hear of Mr. Zzyx acting up?"
"About half an hour ago," she replied. "I was in my room, reading, when Schweizer knocked at my door. His face was as white as a sheet. He said a great commotion was going on in the State Apartment, and hadn't he better call the police. But I advised him to summon all the men-servants in the place, as I felt they could handle the situation, whatever it might be."
"Then what?"
"The butler had not been gone two minutes when I heard that dreadful thing, screeching—oh, terrible to hear!—and running up and down the hall, outside my room, and smashing the furniture. Then everything became quiet. He must have gone downstairs, for, a few minutes later, I heard the woman servants screaming—such screaming as I never heard before and never want to hear again."
"What did you do, then?"
"As soon as the screaming had subsided, I decided that something must be done, for I suddenly realized that all the men on the place had gone off on a half holiday. Besides, the telephone extension on the second floor went out of order this morning. My intention, as I slipped out of my room, was to go downstairs to the library, lock myself in, and phone the police. As none of the servants, not even my personal maid, had shown themselves, and viewing the awful wreckage that creature had made of the tables, chairs and tapestries in the hall, I was convinced that something terrible was going on."
"But how did you happen to be lying at the foot of the staircase?"