“I had a walk in the grounds myself and went ’round the house, but saw no traces of hoof marks and after that I spent the rest of the day making an examination of the house, but found nothing.

“I made an end of my search before dark and went to my room to dress for dinner.  When I got down the cousin had just arrived and I found him one of the nicest men I have met for a long time.  A chap with a tremendous amount of pluck, and the particular kind of man I like to have with me in a bad case like the one I was on.  I could see that what puzzled him most was our belief in the genuineness of the haunting and I found myself almost wanting something to happen, just to show him how true it was.  As it chanced, something did happen, with a vengeance.

“Beaumont and Miss Hisgins had gone out for a stroll just before the dusk and Captain Hisgins asked me to come into his study for a short chat whilst Parsket went upstairs with his traps, for he had no man with him.

“I had a long conversation with the old Captain in which I pointed out that the ‘haunting’ had evidently no particular connection with the house, but only with the girl herself and that the sooner she was married, the better as it would give Beaumont a right to be with her at all times and further than this, it might be that the manifestations would cease if the marriage were actually performed.

“The old man nodded agreement to this, especially to the first part and reminded me that three of the girls who were said to have been ‘haunted’ had been sent away from home and met their deaths whilst away.  And then in the midst of our talk there came a pretty frightening interruption, for all at once the old butler rushed into the room, most extraordinarily pale: 

“‘Miss Mary, sir!  Miss Mary, sir!’ he gasped.  ’She’s screaming ... out in the Park, sir!  And they say they can hear the Horse—­’

“The Captain made one dive for a rack of arms and snatched down his old sword and ran out, drawing it as he ran.  I dashed out and up the stairs, snatched my camera-flashlight and a heavy revolver, gave one yell at Parsket’s door:  ‘The Horse!’ and was down and into the grounds.

“Away in the darkness there was a confused shouting and I caught the sounds of shooting, out among the scattered trees.  And then, from a patch of blackness to my left, there burst suddenly an infernal gobbling sort of neighing.  Instantly I whipped ’round and snapped off the flashlight.  The great light blazed out momentarily, showing me the leaves of a big tree close at hand, quivering in the night breeze, but I saw nothing else and then the ten-fold blackness came down upon me and I heard Parsket shouting a little way back to know whether I had seen anything.

“The next instant he was beside me and I felt safer for his company, for there was some incredible thing near to us and I was momentarily blind because of the brightness of the flashlight.  ’What was it?  What was it?’ he kept repeating in an excited voice.  And all the time I was staring into the darkness and answering, mechanically, ’I don’t know.  I don’t know.’