"He's been attacked."

"Attacked?"

"Yes, just as he was turning out of the High Street, and within a
hundred yards of the gate of Old's."

"But who----"

"Ah, that's the rub!  If you said 'what,' you would be more
grammatical.  Norton swears that it was not human, and, indeed, from
the scratches on his throat, I should be inclined to agree with him."

"What, then?  Have we come down to spooks?"

Abercrombie Smith puffed his scientific contempt.

"Well, no; I don't think that is quite the idea, either.  I am inclined
to think that if any showman has lost a great ape lately, and the brute
is in these parts, a jury would find a true bill against it.