He was, however, a very bold man and sat there awaiting developments.

At one in the morning he heard footsteps approaching the bed-room from the direction of the dining-room.

He could distinctly hear the rustle of the skirts.  Gradually the door between the two rooms began to open wide.  Then the curtain began to move.  Mr. Hunter sat with straining eyes and beating heart.

At last she came in.  The Englishwoman in flowing white robes.  Mr. Hunter sat panting unable to move.  She looked at him for about a minute and beckoned him to follow her.  It was then that Mr. Hunter observed that she had only one hand.

He got up and followed her.  She went back to the dining-room and he followed her there.  There was no light in the dining-room but he could see her faintly in the dark.  She went right across the dining-room to the door on the other side which opened on the verandah.  Mr. Hunter could not see what she was doing at the door, but he knew she was opening it.

When the door opened she passed out and Mr. Hunter followed.  Then she walked across the verandah down the steps and stood upon the lawn.  Mr. Hunter was on the lawn in a moment.  His fears had now completely vanished.  She next proceeded along the lawn in the direction of a hedge.  Mr. Hunter also reached the hedge and found that under the hedge were concealed two spades.  The gardener must have been working with them and left them there after the day’s work.

The lady made a sign to him and he took up one of the spades.  Then again she proceeded and he followed.

They had reached some distance in the garden when the lady with her foot indicated a spot and Mr. Hunter inferred that she wanted him to dig there.  Of course, Mr. Hunter knew that he was not going to discover a treasure-trove, but he was sure he was going to find something very interesting.  So he began digging with all his vigour.  Only about 18 inches below the surface the blade struck against some hard substance.  Mr. Hunter looked up.

The apparition had vanished.  Mr. Hunter dug on and discovered that the hard substance was a human hand with the fingers and everything intact.  Of course, the flesh had gone, only the bones remained.  Mr. Hunter picked up the bones and knew exactly what to do.

He returned to the house, dressed himself up in his cycling costume and rode away with the bones and the spade to the cemetery.  He waked the night watchman, got the gate opened, found out the tomb of the murdered woman and close to it interred the bones, that he had found in such a mysterious fashion, reciting as much of the service as he could remember.  Then he paid some buksheesh (reward) to the night watchman and came home.

He put back the spade in its old place and retired.  A few days after he paid a visit to the cemetery in the day-time and found that grass had grown on the spot which he had dug up.  The bones had evidently not been disturbed.