full of
wakeful people; and though there are on watch in the room and around it
a detective officer, a trained nurse, an earnest friend, and the man's
own daughter. The nurse is thrown into a catalepsy, and the watching
friend--though protected by a respirator--into a deep sleep. Even the
detective is so far overcome with some phase of stupor that he fires
off his pistol in the sick-room, and can't even tell what he thought he
was firing at. That respirator of yours is the only thing that seems
to have a bearing on the 'fact' side of the affair. That you did not
lose your head as the others did--the effect in such case being in
proportion to the amount of time each remained in the room--points to
the probability that the stupefying medium was not hypnotic, whatever
else it may have been. But again, there is a fact which is
contradictory. Miss Trelawny, who was in the room more than any of
you--for she was in and out all the time and did her share of permanent
watching also--did not seem to be affected at all. This would show
that the influence, whatever it is, does not affect generally--unless,
of course, it was that she was in some way inured to it. If it should
turn out that it be some strange exhalation from some of those Egyptian
curios, that might account for it; only, we are then face to face with
the fact that Mr. Trelawny, who was most of all in the room--who, in
fact, lived more than half his life in it--was affected worst of all.
What kind of influence could it be which would account for all these
different and contradictory effects? No! the more I think of this form
of the dilemma, the more I am bewildered! Why, even if it were that
the attack, the physical attack, on Mr. Trelawny had been made by some
one residing in the house and not within the sphere of suspicion, the
oddness of the stupefyings would still remain a mystery. It is not
easy to put anyone into a catalepsy. Indeed, so far as is known yet in
science, there is no way to achieve such an object at will. The crux
of the whole matter is Miss Trelawny, who seems to be subject to none
of the influences, or possibly of the variants of the same influence at
work. Through all she goes unscathed, except for that one slight
semi-faint. It is most strange!"

I listened with a sinking heart; for, though his manner was not
illuminative of distrust, his argument was disturbing. Although it was
not so direct as the suspicion of the Detective, it