“Yes, sir, as for what sort of sound it was, it reminded one of what Godson had said about Black Jack’s whistle, it seemed to scream in one’s head. You know that high noise bats make, piercing, but so high one can only just hear it. Well, sir, it was like that a thousand times louder, and it never stopped from dusk till dawn for a second. It seemed to cut us at the Hall from the rest of the world, close us in, as it were. I can’t tell you, sir, how horrible it was at its worst, but at first it was quite soft, though all the servants noticed it, and kept going to the windows to look out, and wondering what it was. “At dinner that night Sir Roger was very queer. He had just started on the soup when I saw his eyes go to the dark corner I mentioned before, sir. He never touched another mouthful of anything, but all the time his eyes travelled round the room as if he was following something about. Once or twice when he seemed to follow it right up to his side, he half started from his chair, but he always had great self-control of a sort, that is to say, he hated to make any kind of exhibition of himself before other people, sir, and he held himself in, though I could see his knuckles go white as he hung on to the chair. He got up half-way through dinner and went back to the morning-room. When I took in his coffee he was peeping through the blind on to the lawn. “When I came in he turned round rather slowly and said, ‘You know that dog I spoke to you about. It’s here again. Take the rook-rifle and see if you can find it. I thought I heard it barking just now in Grey Fallow.’ (Grey Fallow, sir, is a big copse in the Park, up the hill a bit, about three hundred yards from the wild-rose hedge which cuts the Park off from the lawn.) “‘There,’ he said, ‘can’t you hear it?’ “‘I’ll see if I can find it, sir,’ I said, and got the rifle out, for I thought it would upset the master if I said I couldn’t hear anything. By the time I’d reached the rose-hedge I felt I wanted to turn back, but I went through the gate up towards Grey Fallow. There was just a little moon coming through the clouds. Suddenly I felt I couldn’t go any further. It was cowardice, I expect, sir, but there were two shadows which seemed to be coming from something standing, and another one crouching just inside the wood, which were more than I could face up to, sir. And then I found myself walking through the open window into the morning-room. “‘Well?’ asked the master. “‘I couldn’t see anything, sir.’ “‘Damn you,’ he said, ‘I can hear it now; give me the rifle and pour me out a whisky and soda!’