beg his pardon, and
inquire for Nealman. But the words didn't come out. I was suddenly and
inexplicably startled into silence.

It is the rare man who can analyze his own mental processes. Of all the
sensations that throng the human mind there is none so lawless, so
sporadic in its comings and departure, so utterly illogical as fear--and
great surprise is only a sister of fear. I can't explain why I was
startled. There was no reason whatever for being so. I must go
further--I was not only startled, but shaken too. It has come about that
through the exigencies of the hunting trail I have been obliged to face
a charging jaguar--in a jungle of Western Mexico--yet with nerves
holding true. My nerves didn't hold true now--and I couldn't tell why.
They jumped unnecessarily and quivered under the skin.

I did know the man beside the window after all. He was Major Kenneth
Dell that I had observed particularly closely--due to having heard of
him before--when he had first dismounted from the car. The thing that
startled me was that in the hour and a half or so since I had seen him
his appearance had undergone an amazing change.

It took several long seconds to win back some measure of common sense.
Then I knew that, through some trick of nerves, I had merely attached a
thousand times too much importance to a wholly trivial incident. In all
probability the change in Dell's appearance was simply an effect of
light and shadow, wrought by the window in front of which he stood.

But for the instant his face simply had not seemed his own. Its color
had been gone--indeed it had seemed absolutely bloodless. His eyes had
been vivid holes in his white face, his features were drawn out of all
semblance to his own, the facial lines were graven deep. His lips looked
loose, as with one whose muscle-control is breaking.

But my impression had only an instant's life. Either the man drew
himself together at my stare, or my own vision got back to normal. He
was himself again--the same, suave, genial sportsman I had seen dismount
from the car. He answered my inquiry, and I turned through the library
door.

If I had seen true, there could be but one explanation: that Major Dell
had undergone some violent nervous shock since he had entered the door
of the manor house of Kastle Krags.

CHAPTER VII

After the dinner hour Nealman came for me, in the room just off the hall
from his own that he had designated for my use. I'd never seen h