The Black Swans 



"Come quick! I heard it! I am sure 

 I did!" 



I knew that if matters were moving, 

 as I now fully suspected, some minutes 

 were likely to elapse before any further 

 progress in the action of the play was 

 to be anticipated, so I did not hurry, 

 but making the open window at the 

 psychological moment I caught in sub- 

 dued yet unmistakable staccato: 



"Kate! Kate-kate! Kate!" Then 

 silence. 



The voice was the same that I had 

 thought I heard twenty-four hours 

 previously, only now it was stronger. 

 Its exact location could not be deter- 

 mined, and I wasted no time trying 

 to make out the particular tree or 

 clump of bushes whence it had eman- 

 ated, for long familiarity had made me 

 too wise to expect any further develop- 

 ments even on the second appearance 

 of this strange visitor from the un- 

 known. I could now figure with exact- 

 ness. 



