rise. No
incredulous smile appeared on his face; no jesting words passed his
lips. He was listening to us attentively. He was waiting gravely to hear
more.

"I declare to you, on my word of honor," I said to him, "that I saw the
apparition writing with my pencil at the bottom of that page. I declare
that I took the book in my hand, and saw these words written in it,
'When the full moon shines on Saint Anthony's Well.' Not more than three
hours have passed since that time; and, see for yourself, not a vestige
of the writing remains."

"Not a vestige of the writing remains," Mr. MacGlue repeated, quietly.

"If you feel the slightest doubt of what I have told you," I went on,
"ask my mother; she will bear witness that she saw the writing too."

"I don't doubt that you both saw the writing," answered Mr. MacGlue,
with a composure that surprised me.

"Can you account for it?" I asked.

"Well," said the impenetrable doctor, "if I set my wits at work, I
believe I might account for it to the satisfaction of some people. For
example, I might give you what they call the rational explanation, to
begin with. I might say that you are, to my certain knowledge, in a
highly excited nervous condition; and that, when you saw the apparition
(as you call it), you simply saw nothing but your own strong impression
of an absent woman, who (as I greatly fear) has got on the weak or
amatory side of you. I mean no offense, Mr. Germaine--"

"I take no offense, doctor. But excuse me for speaking plainly--the
rational explanation is thrown away on me."

"I'll readily excuse you," answered Mr. MacGlue; "the rather that I'm
entirely of your opinion. I don't believe in the rational explanation
myself."

This was surprising, to say the least of it. "What _do_ you believe in?"
I inquired.

Mr. MacGlue declined to let me hurry him.

"Wait a little," he said. "There's the _ir_rational explanation to try
next. Maybe it will fit itself to the present state of your mind better
than the other. We will say this time that you have really seen the
ghost (or double) of a living person. Very good. If you can suppose a
disembodied spirit to appear in earthly clothing--of silk or merino, as
the case may be--it's no great stretch to suppose, next, that this same
spirit is capable of holding a mortal pencil, and of writing mortal
words in a mortal sketching-book. And if the ghost vanishes (which your
ghost did), it seems supernaturally appropriate that t