'No, sir, but--the marquis is gone.' 'I _know_ he is gone, your telegram and what I observed of his health led me to fear the worst.' 'But his body is gone--vanished.' 'You suppose that it has been stolen (you know the American and other cases of the same kind) for the purpose of extracting money from the heir?' 'That is the obvious view, whoever the heir may be. So far, no will has been found,' the doctor added some sugar to his cheerer, and some whisky to correct the sugar. 'The neighbourhood is very much excited. Mr. Logan has telegraphed to London for detectives.' Merton reflected in silence. 'The obvious view is not always the correct one,' he said. 'The marquis was, at least I thought that he was, a very eccentric person.' 'No doubt about _that_,' said the doctor. 'Very well. He had reasons, such reasons as might occur to a mind like his, for wanting to test the character and conduct of Mr. Logan, his only living kinsman. What I am going to say will seem absurd to you, but--the marquis spoke to me of his malady as a kind of "dwawming," I did not know what he meant, at the time, but yesterday I consulted the glossary of a Scotch novel: to _dwawm_, I think, is to lose consciousness?' The doctor nodded. 'Now you have read,' said Merton, 'the case published by Dr. Cheyne, of a gentleman, Colonel Townsend, who could voluntarily produce a state of "dwawm" which was not then to be distinguished from death?' 'I have read it in the notes to Aytoun's _Scottish Cavaliers_,' said the doctor. 'Now, then, suppose that the marquis, waking out of such a state, whether voluntarily induced (which is very improbable) or not, thought fit to withdraw himself, for the purpose of secretly watching, from some retreat, the behaviour of his heir, if he has made Mr. Logan his heir? Is that hypothesis absolutely out of keeping with his curious character?' 'No. It's crazy enough, if you will excuse me, but, for these last few weeks, at any rate, I would have swithered about signing a fresh certificate to the marquis's sanity.' 'You did, perhaps, sign one when he made his will, as he told me?' 'I, and Dr. Gourlay, and Professor Grant,' the doctor named two celebrated Edinburgh specialists. 'But just of late I would not be so certain.' 'Then my theory need not necessarily be wrong?' 'It can't but be wrong. First, I saw the man dead.' 'Absolute tests of death are hardly to be procured, of course you know that better than I do,' said Merton. 'Yes, but I am positive, or as positive as one can be, in the circumstances. However, that is not what I stand on. _There was a witness who saw the marquis go_.' 'Go--how did he go?' 'He disappeared.' 'The body disappeared?' 'It did, but you had better hear the witness's own account; I don't think a second-hand story will convince you, especially as you have a theory.' 'Was the witness a man or a woman?' 'A woman,' said the doctor. 'Oh!' said Merton.