Here, the frontiersman emitted a sigh so profound that it appeared to originate in the uttermost depths of his bosom. Indicating, with a tilt of his head, the shrouded figure near the threshold, he said: “Miz Nicodemus’ man, Toby, was first through the door. When he set eyes on the horrificacious sight, why the poor feller went down like the Philistine temple when ol’ Samson give it a shove. We done our best to bring him to, but it wasn’t no use, for his heart had plumb give out, and the life was already extinctified in him.”

Captain Russell had, by this point, joined Crockett at the bedside. From his presence, and that of his subordinates, I deduced that I must have been unconscious for a considerable period of time—long enough, at any rate, for the police to have received word of the atrocity and make their way to the locale of the crime. This supposition was confirmed by Russell, who—scrutinizing me with a singular and somewhat disconcerting intensity—explained that he and his men had already been on the scene for nearly twenty minutes.

“I need hardly say,” remarked the stout, moustachioed police captain, “that—in addition to my distress at the appalling sight which greeted us upon our arrival—I experienced no small degree of surprise at finding yourself and Colonel Crockett here.”

At this moment, the young policeman whom Russell had addressed as “McGrath” returned to the room, holding a large tumbler of water, which I gratefully took from his hands and drained in a single, greedy swallow. Then—clearing my now-moistened throat—I began to explain to Captain Russell how we had come to be present at the ill-fated masque.

Before I could complete more than a few sentences, however, Russell interrupted me with a dismissive wave of the hand and declared: “Colonel Crockett has already informed me about the contents of the newspaper article that aroused your concerns over Mrs. Nicodemus’ safety—concerns that have now been all-too-fearfully realized. I must confess, Mr. Poe, that I am dismayed at your having withheld such vital information from me.”

“There were compelling reasons to do so,” I softly replied.

“Be that as it may,” he declared, “I must request—no, demand—that, in the future, you apprise me of any discovery that may have bearing on this case.”

Arranging my features into an expression of sincere compliance, I gave a nod of assent.

“Now, Mr. Poe,” said Russell grimly. “Since you have fully regained both your conscious faculties and powers of speech, please tell us in as much detail as possible precisely what transpired in this room.”