I _felt_ him here while I was sleepin'.

_where is he ?_" "He has stepped out for an instant," answered Byrne smoothly.

"He will be back shortly." "He--has--stepped--out ?" echoed the old man slowly.

Then he rose to the full of his gaunt height.

His white hair, his triangle of beard and pointed moustache gave him a detached, a mediaeval significance; a portrait by Van Dyck had stepped from its frame.
"Doc, you're lyin' to me! Where has he gone ?" A sudden, almost hysterical burst of emotion swept Doctor Byrne.
"Gone to heaven or hell!" he cried with startling violence.