"Yes," added the sleeper quietly, "her favorite color, as you know. She fades and fades as I look at her," he went on. "She is gone. I only see _you_, under a new aspect. You have a pistol in your hand. Opposite to you, there stands the figure of another man. He, too, has a pistol in his hand. Are you enemies? Are you meeting to fight a duel? Is the lady the cause? I try, but I fail to see her.""Can you describe the man?"
"Not yet. So far, he is only a shadow in the form of a man."There was another interval. An appearance of disturbance showed itself on the sleeper's face. Suddenly, he waved his free hand in the direction of the waiting-room.
"Send for the visitors who are there," he said. "They are all to come in. Each one of them is to take one of my hands in turn--while you remain where you are, holding the other hand.
Don't let go of me, even for a moment. My mother will ring."Madame Lagarde touched a bell on the table. The servant received his orders from her and retired. After a short absence, he appeared again in the consulting-room, with one visitor only waiting on the threshold behind him.
CHAPTER IV. THE MAN.