Colesworthy, "if you do not wish to
perish at the hands of an infuriated mob; to die a thousand deaths
before your vile spirit leaves this world, knowing that, besides the
torments you feel, and those which are to come, you will be in the power
of men who will bring you back in a half-finished form to make sport at
their meetings whenever they feel like it--"

Drops of perspiration stood on the doctor's face. "Stop that!" he
cried, throwing up his arm. "I cannot stand that! I did not know the
subject had such friends!"

"Nothing shall be stopped!" exclaimed my wife, "and everything shall
happen unless you immediately sit down at that table, or wherever you do
those things, and rematerialize Mr. Kilbright, just as you found him,
and into the very clothes that were left lying upon the floor!"

The doctor stepped forward--his face was now pale--and addressed himself
very deferentially to my wife, totally ignoring me. "If you will
retire," he said, "I will try; I swear to you that I will try."

"There is not a minute to be lost," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "not one
second. And, if as much as a finger-nail is missing, remember what I
have told you!"

And with this we quickly left the room.

As we went down the steps of the hotel Mrs. Colesworthy looked at her
watch. "It is twenty-five minutes to twelve," she said. "We must get
home as fast as we can."

We hurried along, sometimes almost running. When we reached our house,
Mrs. Colesworthy motioned to me to go upstairs. She had no breath left
with which to speak. I ran up, and stood for a moment at the closed door
of our guest-room. With my hand on the knob, I was unable to open it. I
heard a step on the stairs behind me, and I opened the door.

There stood Mr. Kilbright in his wedding clothes, with the whisk-broom
in his hand.

He turned at the sound of my entrance.

"Do you know," cried the cheery voice of my wife, from just outside the
door, "that we have barely fifteen minutes in which to get to the
church?"

"Can that be?" cried Mr. Kilbright. "The time has flown without my
knowing it. We must truly make haste!"

"Indeed we must," said Mrs. Colesworthy, and as she stepped back from
the door, she whispered in my ear: "Not a look, not a tremble to let him
know!"

In less than thirty seconds we were on our way to the church, in the
carriage which had been ordered for the purpose.

On the church porch we found old Mr. Scott. He was dressed in his best
clothes,