Instinctively, his eyes went to the clock above him, but the hands of it seemed to be swinging round and round.

He stared at it bewildered.
But when he tried to rise and investigate the mystery, the whole room began to spin, and he sank back with a feeling of intense sickness.
It was then that he became aware of another presence.

Someone came from behind him and, stooping, held a tumbler to his lips.

He looked up vaguely, and as in a dream he saw the face of Piers Evesham.
But it was Piers as he had never before seen him, white-lipped, unnerved, shaking.

The hand that held the glass trembled almost beyond control.
"What's the matter ?" questioned Tudor in hazy wonder.