“Done!” he said.  “I acknowledge the honour of your confidence; and on my part I pledge myself that if I find my duty to Mr. Trelawny’s wishes will, in his own interest, allow my lips to open on his affairs, I shall speak so freely as I may.”

Accordingly I began, and told him, as exactly as I could, everything that had happened from the moment of my waking at the knocking on the door in Jermyn Street.  The only reservations I made were as to my own feeling toward Miss Trelawny and the matters of small import to the main subject which followed it; and my conversations with Sergeant Daw, which were in themselves private, and which would have demanded discretionary silence in any case.  As I spoke, Mr. Corbeck followed with breathless interest.  Sometimes he would stand up and pace about the room in uncontrollable excitement; and then recover himself suddenly, and sit down again.  Sometimes he would be about to speak, but would, with an effort, restrain himself.  I think the narration helped me to make up my own mind; for even as I talked, things seemed to appear in a clearer light.  Things big and little, in relation of their importance to the case, fell into proper perspective.  The story up to date became coherent, except as to its cause, which seemed a greater mystery than ever.  This is the merit of entire, or collected, narrative.  Isolated facts, doubts, suspicions, conjectures, give way to a homogeneity which is convincing.

That Mr. Corbeck was convinced was evident.  He did not go through any process of explanation or limitation, but spoke right out at once to the point, and fearlessly like a man: 

“That settles me!  There is in activity some Force that needs special care.  If we all go on working in the dark we shall get in one another’s way, and by hampering each other, undo the good that any or each of us, working in different directions, might do.  It seems to me that the first thing we have to accomplish is to get Mr. Trelawny waked out of that unnatural sleep.  That he can be waked is apparent from the way the Nurse has recovered; though what additional harm may have been done to him in the time he has been lying in that room I suppose no one can tell.  We must chance that, however.  He has lain there, and whatever the effect might be, it is there now; and we have, and shall have, to deal with it as a fact.  A day more or less won’t hurt in the long-run.  It is late now; and we shall probably have tomorrow a task before us that will require our energies afresh.  You, Doctor, will want to get to your sleep; for I suppose you have other work as well as this to do tomorrow.  As for you, Mr. Ross, I understand that you are to have a spell of watching in the sick-room tonight.  I shall get you a book which will help to pass the time for you.  I shall go and look for it in the library.  I know where it was when I was here last; and I don’t suppose Mr. Trelawny has used it since.  He knew long ago all that was in it