He's merely got hold of
it in advance of the others; that's all."
"Then you think that the woman, too, is human?"
"The Nervina?" I hesitated. "Perhaps you know more of this part of
the thing than I do."
"I only know"--slowly--"that she came and told me that Harry was
soon to call. And somehow, I never felt jealous of her, Hobart."
Then she added: "At the same time, I can understand that Harry
might--might have fallen in love with her. She--she was very
beautiful."
Charlotte is a brave girl. She kept her voice as steady as my own.
We next discussed the disappearance of Chick Watson. These details
are already familiar to the reader of Harry's story; likewise what
happened to Queen, his Australian shepherd. Like the other
vanishings, it was followed by a single stroke on that prodigious,
invisible bell--what Harry calls "The Bell of the Blind Spot." And
he has already mentioned my opinion, that this phenomenon
signifies the closing of the portal of the unknown--the end of the
special conditions which produce the bluish spot on the ceiling,
the incandescent streak of light, and the vanishing of whoever
falls into the affected region. The mere fact that no trace of the
bell ever was found has not shaken my opinion.
And thus we reached the final disappearance, that which took away
Harry. Charlotte contrived to keep her voice as resolute as
before, as she said:
"He and the Nervina vanished together.
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