“Phew！Ifeel’sifI’dbeenvisitingstate’sprison。Letmesetoutdoorsaspellandlistentothesurf。It’sclean，anyhow，andthatcritter’stalkmakesmewanttogivemybrainsabath。“
Thewoodenclock，loanedbyMrs。Parker，thedoctor’swife，tickedsteadily，althoughahalfhourslow。Ellery，glancingatittoseeifthetimehadcomeforgivingmedicine，suddenlynoticedhowlouditstickingsounded。Wonderingatthis，hewasawaretherewasnoothersoundinthehouse。Heroseandlookedinatthedooroftheadjoiningroom。Thepatienthadceasedtoraveandwaslyingquietonthebed。
Theministertiptoedovertolookathim。And，ashedidso，themanopenedhiseyes。
“Halloo！“hesaidfaintly。“Whoareyou？“
Ellery，startled，madenoanswer。