"
At home Albert took off his great hat and cloak. Then he sat in his
study--an amazing chamber, lined with books to the lofty ceiling and
dark in tone by reason of the prevalent rich but sombre bindings of
five thousand volumes. Jenny told him that she had seen Robert
Redmayne, whereupon her uncle considered for five minutes, then
declared himself both puzzled and alarmed. He showed no fear,
however, and his large, luminous eyes shone out of his little,
withered face unshadowed. None the less he was quick to read danger
into this extraordinary incident.
"You are positive?" he asked. "Everything depends on that. If you
have seen my unfortunate, vanished brother again here, so near to
me, it is exceedingly amazing, Jenny. Can you say positively,
without a shadow of doubt, that the melancholy figure was not a
figment of your imagination, or some stranger who resembled Robert?"
"I wish to Heaven I could, Uncle Albert. But I am positive."
"The very fact that he appeared exactly as you saw him last--in the
big tweed suit and red waistcoat--would support an argument in
favour of hallucination," declared her uncle.
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