"How--did I--get--here?"
"You came out of the Blind Spot!" I spoke, jerking out the words
nervously and, as I saw, too rapidly. I repeated them more slowly.
But she did not comprehend.
"The--Blind--Spot," she pondered. "What--is that?"
Next instant, before I could think to warn her, the room trembled
with the terrific clang of the Blind Spot bell. Just one
overwhelming peal; no more. At the same time there came a revival
of the luminous spot in the ceiling. But, with the last tones of
the bell, the spot faded to nothing.
The girl was pitifully frightened. I sprang to my feet and
steadied her with one hand--something that I had not dared to do
as long as the Spot remained open. The touch of my fingers, as she
swayed, had the effect of bringing her to herself. She listened
intelligently to what I said.
"The Blind Spot"--speaking with the utmost care--"is the name we
have given to a certain mystery. It is always marked by the sound
you have just heard; that bell always rings when the phenomenon is
at an end."
"And--the--phenomenon," uttering the word with difficulty, "what
is that?"
"You," I returned. "Up till now three human beings have
disappeared into what we call the Blind Spot. You are the first to
be seen coming out of it."
"Hobart," interrupted Charlotte, coming to my side. "Let me."
I stepped back, and Charlotte quietly passed an arm round the
girl's waist.
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