II

Mrs. Bantry sat up in bed.

Either her dream had taken a very odd turn or else—or else Mary hadreally rushed into the room and had said (incredible! fantastic!) that therewas a body in the library.

“Impossible,” said Mrs. Bantry to herself. “I must have been dreaming.”

But even as she said it, she felt more and more certain that she had notbeen dreaming, that Mary, her superior self-controlled Mary, had actuallyuttered those fantastic words.

Mrs. Bantry reflected a minute and then applied an urgent conjugal el-bow to her sleeping spouse.

“Arthur, Arthur, wake up.”

Colonel Bantry grunted, muttered, and rolled over on his side.

“Wake up, Arthur. Did you hear what she said?”

“Very likely,” said Colonel Bantry indistinctly. “I quite agree with you,Dolly,” and promptly went to sleep again.

Mrs. Bantry shook him.

“You’ve got to listen. Mary came in and said that there was a body in thelibrary.”

“Eh, what?”

“A body in the library.”

“Who said so?”

“Mary.”

Colonel Bantry collected his scattered faculties and proceeded to dealwith the situation. He said:

“Nonsense, old girl; you’ve been dreaming.”

“No, I haven’t. I thought so, too, at first. But I haven’t. She really came inand said so.”

“Mary came in and said there was a body in the library?”

“Yes.”

“But there couldn’t be,” said Colonel Bantry.

“No, no, I suppose not,” said Mrs. Bantry doubtfully.

Rallying, she went on:

“But then why did Mary say there was?”

“She can’t have.”

“She did.”

“You must have imagined it.”

“I didn’t imagine it.”

Colonel Bantry was by now thoroughly awake and prepared to deal withthe situation on its merits. He said kindly:

“You’ve been dreaming, Dolly, that’s what it is. It’s that detective storyyou were reading—The Clue of the Broken Match. You know—Lord Edgba-ston finds a beautiful blonde dead on the library hearthrug. Bodies are al-ways being found in libraries in books. I’ve never known a case in reallife.”

“Perhaps you will now,” said Mrs. Bantry. “Anyway, Arthur, you’ve gotto get up and see.”

“But really, Dolly, it must have been a dream. Dreams often do seemwonderfully vivid when you first wake up. You feel quite sure they’retrue.”

“I was having quite a different sort of dream—about a flower show andthe vicar’s wife in a bathing dress—something like that.”

With a sudden burst of energy Mrs. Bantry jumped out of bed andpulled back the curtains. The light of a fine autumn day flooded the room.

“I did not dream it,” said Mrs. Bantry firmly. “Get up at once, Arthur,and go downstairs and see about it.”

“You want me to go downstairs and ask if there’s a body in the library? Ishall look a damned fool.”

“You needn’t ask anything,” said Mrs. Bantry. “If there is a body—and ofcourse it’s just possible that Mary’s gone mad and thinks she sees thingsthat aren’t there—well, somebody will tell you soon enough. You won’thave to say a word.”

Grumbling, Colonel Bantry wrapped himself in his dressing gown andleft the room. He went along the passage and down the staircase. At thefoot of it was a little knot of huddled servants; some of them were sobbing.

The butler stepped forward impressively.

“I’m glad you have come, sir. I have directed that nothing should bedone until you came. Will it be in order for me to ring up the police, sir?”

“Ring ’em up about what?”

The butler cast a reproachful glance over his shoulder at the tall youngwoman who was weeping hysterically on the cook’s shoulder.

“I understood, sir, that Mary had already informed you. She said shehad done so.”

Mary gasped out:

“I was so upset I don’t know what I said. It all came over me again andmy legs gave way and my inside turned over. Finding it like that—oh, oh,oh!”

She subsided again on to Mrs. Eccles, who said: “There, there, my dear,”

with some relish.

“Mary is naturally somewhat upset, sir, having been the one to make thegruesome discovery,” explained the butler. “She went into the library asusual, to draw the curtains, and—almost stumbled over the body.”

“Do you mean to tell me,” demanded Colonel Bantry, “that there’s a deadbody in my library—my library?”

The butler coughed.

“Perhaps, sir, you would like to see for yourself.”