interesting, the double working of the mind, often so much more apparent during times of stress.  The two clouds came from two faintly shining shapes, which I knew must be the metal of the lanterns; and the things that looked black to the sight with which I was then seeing, could be nothing else but what to normal human sight is known as light.  This phenomenon I have always remembered.  I have twice seen a somewhat similar thing; in the Dark Light Case and in that trouble of Maetheson’s, which you know about.

“Even as I understood this matter of the lights, I was looking to my left, to understand why the Child was hiding.  And suddenly, I heard the landlord shout out:—­’The Woman!’ But I saw nothing.  I had a disagreeable sense that something repugnant was near to me, and I was aware in the same moment that the landlord was gripping my arm in a hard, frightened grip.  Then I was looking back to where the Child had hidden.  I saw the Child peeping out from behind its hiding place, seeming to be looking up the passage; but whether in fear I could not tell.  Then it came out, and ran headlong away, through the place where should have been the wall of my mother’s bedroom; but the Sense with which I was seeing these things, showed me the wall only as a vague, upright shadow, unsubstantial.  And immediately the child was lost to me, in the dull violet gloom.  At the same time, I felt the landlord press back against me, as if something had passed close to him; and he called out again, a hoarse sort of cry:—­’The Woman!  The Woman!’ and turned the shade clumsily from off his lantern.  But I had seen no Woman; and the passage showed empty, as he shone the beam of his light jerkily to and fro; but chiefly in the direction of the doorway of my mother’s room.

“He was still clutching my arm, and had risen to his feet; and now, mechanically and almost slowly, I picked up my lantern and turned on the light.  I shone it, a little dazedly, at the seals upon the doors; but none were broken; then I sent the light to and fro, up and down the passage; but there was nothing; and I turned to the landlord, who was saying something in a rather incoherent fashion.  As my light passed over his face, I noted, in a dull sort of way, that he was drenched with sweat.

“Then my wits became more handleable, and I began to catch the drift of his words:—­’Did you see her?  Did you see her?’ he was saying, over and over again; and then I found myself telling him, in quite a level voice, that I had not seen any Woman.  He became more coherent then, and I found that he had seen a Woman come from the end of the passage, and go past us; but he could not describe her, except that she kept stopping and looking about her, and had even peered at the wall, close beside him, as if looking for something.  But what seemed to trouble him most, was that she had not seemed to see him at all.  He repeated this so often, that in the end I told him, in an absurd sort of way, that he ought to be very glad she had not.  What did it all mean? was the question; somehow I was not so frightened, as utterly bewildered.  I had seen less then, than since; but what I had seen, had made me feel adrift from my anchorage of Reason.