A BAG OF BONES 115 



hour or so; then came a fresh outburst of noises, 

 and returning to the room he again found his friend 

 pounding and kicking the panels of the cupboard. 

 Nor was he to be pacified even when his host told 

 him that the cupboard contained nothing but his old 

 sporting gear, his boots, blazer, caps, fishing-rods 

 and such things, which he had locked up there years 

 before, as he had no further use for them. 



But all he could say was useless. " I don't want an 

 inventory of your possessions," he returned. " If 

 you don't know there are human bones in the cup- 

 board, give me the key and we shall see." 



But this key had been put away, and my friend 

 didn't know where, but as he could not convince the 

 other, he at last went off to see if he could find a key 

 to fit this lock. Eventually he succeeded, and threw 

 the door open and immediately began throwing the 

 things out to convince his poor demented friend that 

 there were no bones. The other stood by him staring 

 in at the old school-day rubbish inside, when suddenly 

 he dashed his hand in, and, seizing a leather bag, 

 began struggling to open it. By-and-by he got it 

 open, and there it was — a bag full of human bones! 

 These were mostly bones of the arm, and right on top 

 of the pile an entire skeletonised hand. 



" Are you satisfied now that I'm not mad ? " he 

 exclaimed, pointing at the bones. 



My friend said that he was never so amazed in his 

 life. For some moments he stared silently at the 

 bones, then suddenly the explanation flashed into his 

 mind. He remembered that this room had been used 



