“’Round and ’round it moved, and ’round and ’round I turned.  Then, just opposite to one of the Vales’ in the pentacles, it seemed to pause, as though preliminary to a tremendous effort.  It retired almost beyond the glow of the vacuum light, and then came straight toward me, appearing to gather form and solidity as it came.  There seemed a vast, malign determination behind the movement, that must succeed.  I was on my knees, and I jerked back, falling on to my left hand, and hip, in a wild endeavor to get back from the advancing thing.  With my right hand I was grabbing madly for my revolver, which I had let slip.  The brutal thing came with one great sweep straight over the garlic and the ’water circle,’ almost to the vale of the pentacle.  I believe I yelled.  Then, just as suddenly as it had swept over, it seemed to be hurled back by some mighty, invisible force.

“It must have been some moments before I realized that I was safe; and then I got myself together in the middle of the pentacles, feeling horribly gone and shaken, and glancing ’round and ’round the barrier; but the thing had vanished.  Yet, I had learnt something, for I knew now that the Grey Room was haunted by a monstrous hand.

“Suddenly, as I crouched there, I saw what had so nearly given the monster an opening through the barrier.  In my movements within the pentacle I must have touched one of the jars of water; for just where the thing had made its attack the jar that guarded the ‘deep’ of the ‘vale’ had been moved to one side, and this had left one of the ‘five doorways’ unguarded.  I put it back, quickly, and felt almost safe again, for I had found the cause, and the ‘defense’ was still good.  And I began to hope again that I should see the morning come in.  When I saw that thing so nearly succeed, I had an awful, weak, overwhelming feeling that the ‘barriers’ could never bring me safe through the night against such a Force.  You can understand?

“For a long time I could not see the hand; but, presently, I thought I saw, once or twice, an odd wavering, over among the shadows near the door.  A little later, as though in a sudden fit of malignant rage, the dead body of the cat was picked up, and beaten with dull, sickening blows against the solid floor.  That made me feel rather queer.

“A minute afterward, the door was opened and slammed twice with tremendous force.  The next instant the thing made one swift, vicious dart at me, from out of the shadows.  Instinctively, I started sideways from it, and so plucked my hand from upon the Electric Pentacle, where—­for a wickedly careless moment—­I had placed it.  The monster was hurled off from the neighborhood of the pentacles; though—­owing to my inconceivable foolishness—­it had been enabled for a second time to pass the outer barriers.  I can tell you, I shook for a time, with sheer funk.  I moved right to the center of the pentacles again, and knelt there, making myself as small and compact as possible.