The Uninvited

I give the short version.‘So I and twenty-seven other men sawthe figure that de Vries called atokoloshi,’ I finish. I’m aware of themlooking at me. The silence lasts longenough for me to complete the cockroach.Professor Whybray shifts painfully inhis chair, then rises and goes over to thewindow. The silence continues as hestands there staring out at the cumulus ofsmoke on the horizon.Ashok has had his head in his hands, butfinally he looks up and says, ‘Why the helldidn’t you tell us this before?’‘Because you very specifically said, nolittle people.’ Ashok lets a rush of air outof his nose and drums his fingers on thetable in a way that indicatesaggressiveness. He can’t deny it. ‘But