At about one in the morning there was a loud knock at the front door.  Mr. Jones who was wide awake thought it was one of the servants returning home late and so he did not take any notice of it.

After a few moments the knock was repeated at the door which opened on the stairs leading to the roof of the second storey on which Mr. Jones was sleeping. [The visitor had evidently passed through the front door].  This time Mr. Jones knew it was no servant.  His first impression was that it was one of the mutual friends who had heard of Smith’s death and was coming to make enquiries.  So he shouted out “Who is there?”

“It is I,—­Smith” was the reply.

“Smith—­Smith is dead” stammered Mr. Jones.

“I want to speak to you, Jones—­open the door or I shall come and kill you” said the voice of Smith from beyond the door.  A cold sweat stood on Mr. Jones’s forehead.  It was Smith speaking, there was no doubt of that,—­Smith, whom he had seen expire before his very eyes five hours ago.  Mr. Jones began to look for a weapon to defend himself.

There was nothing available except a rather heavy hammer which had been brought up an hour earlier that very night to fix a nail in the wall for hanging a lamp.  Mr. Jones took this up and waited for the spirit of Smith at the head of the stairs.

The spirit passed through this closed door also.  Though the staircase was in total darkness still Mr. Jones could see Smith coming up step by step.

Up and up came Smith and breathlessly Jones waited with the hammer in his hand.  Now only three steps divided them.

“I shall kill you” hissed Smith.  Mr. Jones aimed a blow with the hammer and hit Smith between the eyes.  With a groan Smith fell down.  Mr. Jones fainted.

A couple of hours later there was a great commotion at the house of Mr. Smith.  The dead body had mysteriously disappeared.

The first thing they could think of was to go and inform Mr. Jones.

So one of the young sons of Smith came to Mr. Jones’s house.  The servant admitted him and told him where to find the master.

Young Smith knocked at the door leading to the staircase but got no reply.  “After his watchful nights he is sleeping soundly” thought young Smith.

But then Jones must be awakened.

The whole household woke up but not Mr. Jones.  One of the servants then procured a ladder and got upon the roof.  Mr. Jones was not upon his bed nor under it either.  The servant thought he would open the door leading to the staircase and admit the people who were standing outside beyond the door at the bottom of the stairs.  There was a number of persons now at the door including Mrs. Jones, her children, servants and young Smith.

The servant stumbled upon something.  It was dark but he knew it was the body of his master.  He passed on but then he stumbled again.  There was another human being in the way.  “Who is this other?—­probably a thief” thought the servant.