E. Nesbit

“ Maskelyne & Devant’s clever magic-working machine, by which the head was given to the dancer, seeming to come to her out of space, evoked by her longings—showed on this machine, last used, as everyone agrees, on the Monday night, definite traces of blood. So the police are looking for Sylvia. And it seems that they do not at all know where to look, for the daily Press is informed that they have a clue. Also they would like to question Denis, the handsome, talented lame boy who played so well and whose magnificent symphony, etc. ”

“ And a man has given himself up for the murder of the man Saccage, and the police are looking for Sylvia the dancer, whose husband the dead man was, and who is supposed to have had some share in the murder, for did she not dance, holding the dead man’s head in her hands, clasping it in her arms, pressing it to her bosom. ”

“ You cannot hear any voices through the door, but you get an impression that outside it people are whispering. The doctor comes in again, leaving the door open—a foot or so. You can see that there is a light on the landing outside. ”

“ Everything will be perfectly right.” He speaks in his quiet, strong professional tones, slips a practical hand under the head of the dying man, and lifts it so that he can drink.
“Ah,” the pale lips breathe through the wetness of the draught, “thanks—but go. Only Sandra now. No one else.”
The doctor touches the nurse on the shoulder and they go out. The door is left open—but the man on the bed cannot see it—and the woman who sits by him can see nothing but what lies on the bed. ”