There was no one there.
Arthur stepped back in terrified surprise. There was no one in the room,
living or dead, but the three friends. The ground sank under Susie's
feet, she felt horribly ill, and she fainted. When she awoke, seeming
difficultly to emerge from an eternal night, Arthur was holding down her
head.
'Bend down,' he said. 'Bend down.'
All that had happened came back to her, and she burst into tears. Her
self-control deserted her, and, clinging to him for protection, she
sobbed as though her heart would break. She was shaking from head to
foot. The strangeness of this last horror had overcome her, and she could
have shrieked with fright.
'It's all right,' he said. 'You need not be afraid.'
'Oh, what does it mean?'
'You must pluck up courage. We're going now to Skene.'
She sprang to her feet, as though to get away from him; her heart beat
wildly.
'No, I can't; I'm frightened.'
'We must see what it means. We have no time to lose, or the morning will
be upon us before we get back.'
Then she sought to prevent him.
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