“Now, now, Winwood,” protested Marchmont in an agony of uneasiness as to what his partner might say next, “I must really beg you⁠—er⁠—to refrain from⁠—what Mr. Winwood means, Dr. Thorndyke, is that⁠—er⁠—we do not quite perceive the relevancy of these⁠—ah⁠—observations of yours.”

“Probably not,” said Thorndyke, “but you will perceive their relevancy later. For the present, I will ask you to note the facts and bear them in mind, so that you may be able to follow the argument when we come to that.

“The next set of data I acquired on the same evening, when Dr. Jervis gave me a detailed account of a very strange adventure that befell him. I need not burden you with all the details, but I will give you the substance of his story.”